Master Yuan, start!

Theoretically speaking, Feng Guozhang was right. Although Li Hongzhang was timid in diplomacy, he was a crazy weapons enthusiast, especially obsessed with advanced Western weapons.

In terms of weapons and equipment alone, the newly formed Huai Army is not inferior to the current Jiashen Right Army. Even without considering the navy, the Huai Army has a considerable number of Armstrong and Krupp cannons.

Li Hongzhang's newly formed Huai Army was equipped with various cannons including Green, Armstrong, Krupp, and Jiangnan Arsenal frog cannons.

There are several types of guns, including Remington, Mauser, and Hotchkiss.

The only guns used by the Jiashen Right Army were the Winchester 1866 and the Hanyang 88 rifle of the Incheon Machinery Bureau, which was imitated from it. It was named so because the person who presided over the imitation was Kuang Chunhua, whose pen name was Hanyang.

The only two types of cannons were the 60mm field guns that were copied in large quantities and the 90mm field guns that were captured from the French.

However, in modern warfare, the battle is not about caliber, but about logistics!

Li Hongzhang's Huai Army's main focus was to have guns, not to worry about logistics. After all, more than a dozen types of ammunition were enough to drive the logistics crazy.

The logistics of the Jiashen Right Army were under much less pressure.

Moreover, although the Sheng Army, Ming Army, Gongwei Army, Qinqing Army, Suigong Army and other camps under the Huai Army were all reorganized in Guangdong, only the name changed, and the essence did not change.

The general still has his own way of doing things.

In comparison, the Jiashen Right Army was more reasonable in terms of personnel organization and weapons matching.

However, despite this, Yuan Xiangcheng thought about it in his mind and gave up the plan to start from Seoul and raid Tianjin.

Even though Yuan Shikai defeated the Japanese, there was still a big gap between the Japanese in 1887 and the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese War of - in the original time and space.

At that time, the Japanese had developed the Murata Type 6 rifle, which used smokeless gunpowder with greater explosive energy and was safer.

The Qing army on the opposite side still had rifles filled with black powder.

Moreover, during the Sino-Japanese War of 12-15, the Qing army gradually increased its troops to 24, like dumplings being dropped into the water. However, the Japanese army had troops at the beginning of the war, and later expanded its troops to after landing in the Northeast.

It can be said that the Japanese army at that time was stronger than the Qing army in terms of both numbers and weapons and equipment, so there was no reason for them to lose.

But in 1890, and in China which has been affected by the butterfly effect of Yuan Shikai, the Huai Army is stronger than in the original time and space. Coupled with the four armies of Jiashen that appeared earlier, Yuan Shikai is not without rivals.

If a war really broke out regardless of the consequences, Yuan Shikai would have to face seven obstacles: the Eight Banners outside the Great Wall, the Zhili Green Camp, the Zhili Training Army, the Jiashen Four Armies, the New Huai Army, the New Hunan Army, and the South China Sea Fleet.

Excluding the army of the governor-general in the south, the military force directly under the Qing court included more than 4 Eight Banners outside the Forbidden City, more than 2 Zhili trained troops, more than 1 Zhili Green Camp troops, and more than 5 troops from the other four armies in Jiashen.

The Jiashen Right Army has only expanded to more than 6 people, and it needs to be divided into several parts to defend various parts of Korea, with a maximum of 4 people deployed.

It is not easy to rely on 4 people to fight against nearly 12 people in the Bohai region.

Even if the Green Camp is of little use, it is impossible to withdraw all the Eight Banners outside the Great Wall, but there are still nearly 10 people.

Seeing the solemn expressions of the people present, Yuan Xiangcheng encouraged them, "No matter how powerful Li Hongzhang's navy is, can he really sail it to the land?

Since we can't take Tianjin quickly, let's fight slowly this time, from the northeast all the way to the capital!"

Ming Ye also helped out: "The chief instructor is right! Let's take down the Eight Banners of Shengjing first. Maybe Li Hongzhang will be scared and won't dare to come!"

"Alright, immediately order the First and Second Regiments of the Jiashen Right Army to cross the Yalu River and capture Fenghuang City first as a Lantern Festival gift to Empress Dowager Cixi!"

Chapter 127: The Eight Umbrellas are not aware of the "warlord" ideology

Jiangning City, the headquarters of the Governor-General of Liangjiang.

Although Liangjiang Governor Zeng Guoquan missed the opportunity to reunite with his family, he spent this New Year's Eve in the capital.

But after he came back, his expression did not change. Instead, he always smiled at the servants in the Governor's Mansion and asked everyone he met, "Where is home? Has the telegram been sent?"

This is really rare. Governor Zeng has always been known for his bad temper. Apart from his elder brother Zeng Guofan, he has never been submissive to anyone.

Book search group 97wu874;

Why are you so concerned about your servants now?

In fact, what Zeng Guoquan cared about was not other people's homes, but the telegrams from other people's homes.

Ever since he witnessed the convenience and spread of "electricity" in the capital, Zeng Guoquan became very interested in the telegraph office in Jiangning City as soon as he returned.

Moreover, he changed his previous stingy behavior and planned to expand the telegraph lines on his own initiative without waiting for the court to pay. He not only wanted to connect the provincial capitals in various places, but also wanted to connect all the key cities in Liangjiang, such as Wuhu, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Changzhou, and Suzhou.

He even wanted to build a telegraph line directly from Jiangning to Xiangxiang, Hunan, but his staff persuaded him that there was no need to build a separate line, and that it would be enough to run a telegraph line from Changsha south to Xiangxiang. Only then did he give up.

However, although Zeng Guoquan was obsessed with the telegraph business, the other Hunan Army leaders were not so leisurely. They were eager to know what was happening in the capital.

Why did Zeng Guoquan spend money lavishly and mobilize troops north after he returned?

Seeing Zeng Guoquan return from the telegraph office, Liu Kunyi, who had just rushed to Jiangning from his hometown, asked anxiously, "Yuanfu, tell me the truth, why are you sending troops north to Zhili?"

After the Chinese New Year, word of what happened in the capital gradually spread, especially after Cixi sent a telegram to the whole country, claiming that Yuan Shikai had abducted Guangxu and wanted to become Cao Cao, causing an uproar in public opinion.

However, after Yuan Shikai fought back with photos, the balance of public opinion began to tilt towards the imperial party.

But public opinion is public opinion, and reality is reality.

Those who supported Guangxu generally had few troops. Those who could become governors of a place no longer cared about loyalty and integrity, but instead valued immediate interests.

Therefore, when Zeng Guoquan sent troops north to confront Yuan Shikai's army, it naturally displeased the scholars in Jiangnan. They dug up old stories from decades ago when they suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and attacked him.

The scholars in Jiangnan ridiculed Zeng Guoquan openly and secretly. They claimed that Zeng Guoquan accepted money from Cixi, so he ignored the righteousness between the monarch and his subjects and only knew how to protect Cixi.

He even wrote a poem in the newspaper:

"In the past, we defeated the Taiping rebels because of our wealth, and now we worship the Queen Mother because of our wealth."

"The Heavenly King's palace no longer exists, only the Governor's Office once shaved his head."

The Heavenly King's Residence and the Governor-General's Mansion of Liangjiang are the same place. The brothers Zeng Guofan and Zeng Guoquan were also called "Zeng the Barber" because of the number of heads they killed in Nanjing.

Zeng Guoquan once attacked the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's "Tianjing" city and killed many people. He dug deep into the ground and looted all the Heavenly Kingdom's gold, silver and treasures, and transported them back to his hometown in Hunan in carts and boats.

When the Qing imperial envoy came to count the stolen money, the man said very bluntly, "I don't know, maybe Hong Xiuquan spent it all."

Such a greedy young man so angered the then Qing court ruler Prince Gong that he even wanted to bring him back to the capital to be executed. It was only after his elder brother Zeng Guofan's strenuous refutation and explanation that the Qing court was forced to give up punishing Zeng Guoquan.

However, Zeng Guoquan did not care about other people's opinions when he was young, and now that he is over 60, he naturally cares even less.

He joked to Liu Kunyi: "Of course I am doing this in response to orders from above. I am following the Empress Dowager's decree to send a town of troops to garrison Dezhou in eastern Shandong Province to suppress the rebellious people in Zhili and Shandong."

Liu Kunyi naturally didn't believe it: "Don't try to fool me. The scholars in Jiangning all said that you were moving troops north to deal with Yuan Shikai. You can't even fool them, how can you fool me?"

As he spoke, Liu Kun held up the Shenbao in one hand and questioned Zeng Guoquan, "Yuanfu, do you know how the Shenbao described you? They say you are unworthy of being the brother of Wen Zhenggong. They say you were loyal to the emperor in the past for money, but now you are even disloyal to him for money!"

They say you only know silver, but not the emperor's money from the Zeng State."

Zeng Guoquan sneered at the words and said, "This so-called newspaper is full of alarmism. If it weren't in the concession, I would have had the newspaper shut down long ago."

"What's the point of closing down the newspapers? The Empress Dowager has closed down many newspapers in the capital, but what can you do if they take refuge in the concessions?" Liu Kunyi retorted, "The key question is why is it so, Yuanfu? You could just sit back and watch the fight, why do you have to wade into this mess?"

Zeng Guoquan explained, "At that time, I was in the Forbidden City and couldn't come and go freely. If I didn't agree, I was afraid it would be difficult for me to return to Jiangning safely."

Zeng Guoquan's explanation naturally failed to convince Liu Kunyi: "Could she have risked the wrath of the world by first poisoning the emperor and then killing the governor?

I do not believe! "

Zeng Guoquan stared at Liu Kun for a moment, then laughed heartily: "Xianzhuang Liu Kun's words really can't be hidden from you. I also plan to wait for Xueqin and Peng Yulin's words to return from Hunan and then tell you two in detail."

Since Liu Kunyi asked, Zeng Guoquan no longer concealed it and opened his heart to tell the story of his confrontation with Cixi.

“It was indeed inconvenient for me to come and go in the capital that day, but it was far from life-threatening. I knew that after Yuan Xiangcheng defected, the Queen Mother would definitely ask for my help.

So that day I retreated to advance, resigning as Governor-General of Liangjiang in exchange for my safe departure from the capital." Zeng Guofan recounted the story.

"The Governor-General of Liangjiang has always been in the hands of the Hunan Army. Even if you, Yuanfu, resign, the Empress Dowager will not be able to find anyone to take over, so she will certainly not agree." Liu Kun pointed out Zeng Guoquan's plan.

Zeng Guoquan planned to threaten Cixi by resigning and returning home. If Cixi did not want to let the two Jiangs get out of control at this critical juncture, she would have to reach an exchange of interests with Zeng Guoquan.

"That's how it is. She refused my resignation several times, but she also didn't allow me to leave the capital.

She also knew that although I was not in Jiangning, the Hunan Army was not something she could control. So, she made some conditions for me.

"What are the conditions?" Liu Kunyi asked.

"She said that from now on, the lijin tax in Liangjiang and the three provinces would only be collected according to the standard of the 400th year of the Guangxu reign, that is, only million taels per year, and the rest would not be inquired about.

In exchange for this, I will not oppose the new emperor and will send troops north to help defend the capital."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zeng Guoquan took out a stack of account books from the table behind him, which recorded the total amount of lijin collected in the Liangjiang area in recent years.

Liu Kunyi stretched out his hand and read it for a moment, then calculated it and said in surprise, "Now the annual tax on Liangjiang lijin starts at at least 500 million taels. Is she willing to spend over 100 million taels of silver every year?"

Zeng Guoquan asked in return: "What can I do if I am reluctant? Is money more important than her position?"

Seeing Liu Kun's hesitation, Zeng Guoquan said to him, "Xianzhuang, the Governor-General of Liangjiang has an additional one million taels of silver in his account every year, not counting the money he collects privately!

After all this is taken into account, the Hunan Army will be able to regain its power in suppressing the bandits in no time, and will no longer have to endure the hardship of the Ministry of Revenue’s lack of funding.”

Liu Kunyi was born into a family of noble birth, and had studied a few more years than Zeng Guoquan, who entered the Imperial College through connections. Therefore, he had a strong sense of monarchy and subjectivity, so he asked again:

"Yuanfu, why should we abide by the agreement? It's a secret agreement, known only to heaven and earth, she and you. After we come back, just pretend it never happened.

Why should we allow the Hunan Army to march north, causing disgrace among the Jiangnan scholars and bringing trouble upon ourselves?

Zeng Guoquan laughed out loud when he heard Liu Kunyi's words, but he still explained: "Well, of course I am coveting those millions of taels of silver.

Since the scholars in Jiangnan are all scolding me for not having integrity and saying I am Zeng Guoqian, then I can't even give up silver now, right? "

Liu Kun was helpless when he heard this. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Zeng Guoquan stand up and pace around the room.

Walking up to Liu Kunyi, Zeng Guoquan said, "Secondly, Xianzhuang, don't you think the Qing Dynasty today is quite like the chaos of the late Yuan Dynasty?"

Liu Kun's mind tightened, and he stared at Zeng Guoquan in disbelief: "Yuanfu, are you still thinking about the old story of proclaiming yourself emperor in Tianjing?"

Zeng Guoquan did not shy away from Liu Kunyi's gaze when he heard this. His eyes were full of heroism, which was completely different from his greedy image of only talking about money.

The eunuch ripped open his official uniform, revealing his weathered chest covered in knife scars.

Tong moved to another village. People all over the world say that my Zeng family has killed too many people, so our family has not prospered.

There were five brothers. Except for the second brother who took care of the household affairs in the village, the third brother died in battle in Anhui, and the fifth brother died of illness in the Yuhuatai camp in Jiangning.

Although my elder brother and I were lucky enough to survive, the sin of killing was committed by our sons. My elder brother's eldest son died young, and his third son died early, leaving only one son, Lu Ze, who was also in poor health.

I was even more miserable. Both of my sons died before me. I experienced the situation of the elderly sending off the young twice."

Zeng Guoquan held up two fingers.

"But I won't give in!" Zeng Guoquan closed his clothes, and his old body seemed to hide an unyielding soul.

"If you ask me, it would have been better if Big Brother had declared himself emperor after conquering Tianjing City. Perhaps with the nourishment of Nanjing's dragon energy, our Zeng family wouldn't have ended up like this."

Zeng Guoquan seemed to recall the glorious years when he and Zeng Guofan pacified the bandits together.

"Xianzhuang, do you still remember that twenty years ago my eldest brother asked Huifu Gong Zhao Liewen that the people in the world were impoverished and there might be a sudden change. What should we do? What did he say?" Zeng Guoquan suddenly brought up an old story.