Master Yuan, start!

However, in Seoul, Yuan Shikai did not set up any obstacles for his travel. Instead, he gave Guangxu sufficient protection. As long as he wanted to meet with scholars, he could do so at any time.

This move gradually dispelled Guangxu's concerns, but he did not seem to be good at communicating with many people.

When there are too many people around, he finds it difficult to express himself and cannot state his views fluently.

After Yuan Xiangcheng learned about this situation, he judged that Guangxu might have been too seriously influenced by Cixi and suffered from a fear of public speaking.

During the period of regency, Emperor Guangxu basically did not express his own opinions and could only listen to the communication between Cixi and the officials.

Over the past decade, Guangxu may have rehearsed how to speak over and over again in his mind, but when he really faced the public, he found it difficult to speak.

Yuan Shikai did not inform Guangxu of this news. Instead, he suggested that Guangxu rest more, read Western books, and postpone meeting with a large number of scholars. Even if he had to meet with them, he should meet them one by one.

Guangxu did not think much about it, just thought that Yuan Xiangcheng was concerned about him. In such an atmosphere, his doubts about Yuan Xiangcheng gradually dissipated, and his gratitude became stronger. He even thought about what reward to use to thank Yuan Xiangcheng.

But today, Yuan Xiangcheng had no time to pay attention to what Guangxu was thinking.

Seeing that most people were there, he walked forward to the center of the platform and shouted loudly.

"All of you, stand at attention!"

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The sound of coordinated footsteps echoed in Gyeongbokgung Palace Square.

Yuan Xiangcheng held a simple loudspeaker in his hand and said in a strong and firm voice:

"The wind is blowing and the clouds are flying, how can I find brave warriors to travel to all directions!"

"When evil spirits appear in a country, its national strength will decline day by day. Evil spirits must be eliminated at all times. There is no other way!"

"Just think about it, Britain, France, Russia, Germany, and the Netherlands, each of these countries has ceded Chinese territory and demanded huge compensation from the imperial court!"

"As long as all the scholars have their country in their hearts, they will sigh with regret whenever they encounter such a situation, lamenting the country's misfortune and being angry at the country's inaction."

"But, aren't we going to fight?" Yuan Xiangcheng roared, picked up the Type 88 Hanyang rifle in his hand, and fired a shot into the sky.

"Pa!" A crisp sound made all the scholars in the audience silent.

"No! No! No!"

The soldiers of the Jiashen Right Army raised their guns and refuted in unison!

"Who on earth forced our country to cede territory and pay indemnities, allowing the Chinese people to be bullied and humiliated by foreigners?"

"Demon Queen! Demon Queen! Demon Queen!"

"Yes, it is the evil queen sitting in the Forbidden City. She clings to power and refuses to let go. She even poisoned the current emperor and now even staged the farce of establishing another emperor!

We must never repeat the tragedy of ceding land and paying indemnities. From today on, we must be upright Chinese!

As Chinese people, we must defend our homeland and protect our country from humiliation.

In this case, the title of Jiashen Right Army is no longer applicable. We soldiers are not the evil queen's lackeys, but the soldiers of the country!

I declare that the National Defense Army is established here today!" Yuan Xiangcheng shook his arms, looking very much like the top orator in Germany more than 40 years later.

Along with Yuan Xiangcheng's voice, a banner was unfolded at the back of the high platform.

"National Defense Army of the Qing Dynasty"

These big words are extremely eye-catching.

Western journalists stationed nearby picked up their pens, wanting to compile this information into news as quickly as possible and send it back to their country.

American journalist Arthur Morgan has mastered the sketching skill, and he is trying to record the scene at an extremely fast speed.

He had already thought of the title for this painting: DongyiO07A1/四3溜sOo: The Great Change of the Eastern Empire.

However, the hundreds of soldiers below did not react much, because they were all carefully selected members of the Red Confucian Society. They had long recognized the true nature of the Qing court after repeated teachings. Now they only recognized Yuan Shikai, not the Qing Dynasty.

However, the scholars on the side were inspired by these passionate speeches and began to shout. It was a bit noisy at first, but the slogans were soon unified.

"Wehrmacht! Wehrmacht! Wehrmacht!"

The dragon flag fluttered before my eyes, the cheers shook my ears, the ground trembled under my feet, and the smell of gunpowder filled my nostrils.

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The five senses including vision, hearing, touch and smell were shocked in all directions.

How could the intellectuals who had been suppressed by the Qing Dynasty for more than 300 years have ever seen such a comprehensive and three-dimensional scene?

Thousands of people gathered in one place, cheering loudly for a goal.

Yuan Xiangcheng's shouts and roars all touched the hearts of ordinary people present. Even Guangxu's blood boiled with excitement at what Yuan Xiangcheng said.

He stood behind Yuan Shikai, watching the man in front of him give an impassioned speech, his fists clenched, his whole body filled with uncontrollable excitement, he only wished he could join him in the battle to kill the enemy.

When Yuan Xiangcheng saw this scene, he had an idea and called Guangxu, who was standing on the side of the platform, to the center.

He handed the simple loudspeaker in his hand to Guangxu: "Your Majesty, would you like to say a few words?"

Guangxu held the trumpet in his hand, and under Yuan Shikai's encouragement, he also felt eager to try.

However, when Guangxu walked to the center of the platform, his passion instantly cooled. Looking at the bustling crowd below the stage, his tongue became tied and he was unable to speak.

All the passionate words that were swirling in my mind disappeared without a trace, completely vanished.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds.

The expressions of the scholars below the stage also changed from excitement and anticipation at first, to doubt, and then to calmness and confusion.

Yuan Xiangcheng's passionate performance of commanding the country and making bold decisions just now formed a sharp contrast with Guangxu's hesitation and tension.

Arthur Morgan had just finished the sketch, and seeing this, he picked up his brush to record the scene before him.

"It seems that this Eastern Emperor, like the recently crowned German Kaiser Wilhelm II, has some flaws. However, Wilhelm II's flaws are physical, while this Eastern Emperor's flaws are psychological."

After a few simple sketches, Arthur Morgan looked at Guangxu on the platform and found that he had not taken any action yet.

The sunlight hit the ground from behind, lengthening the shadows on the platform.

7 Although Guangxu was a few inches taller than Yuan Shikai, his stiff body and awkward movements were clearly seen by the people below.

Yan Pinglang Xiangcheng was the tall one, while Guangxu on the side was weak and timid. If it weren't for the yellow robe on his body, he would look more like a vassal.

Is it true that San, a man who can't even speak clearly, is he the emperor of the Qing Dynasty?

4 Upon seeing this, the scholars attending the meeting felt some inexplicable emotions in their hearts.

For a time, many people even felt that the long braid behind Guangxu was a bit glaring.

Seeing that Guangxu still didn't open his mouth, Yuan Xiangcheng felt that the time was almost right. He took a half step forward and whispered to Guangxu:

"Your Majesty, just say the word 'expedition'."

Guangxu's tense body suddenly relaxed when he heard this. He turned around and looked at Yuan Xiangcheng excitedly. He reached out to wipe the sweat from his forehead and roared with all his strength.

"Let's go!"

As soon as Guangxu finished speaking, a large flag was erected in the National Defense Army column below the stage, with "National Defense" written from top to bottom.

Guangxu also felt relieved and put down his hands that were holding the loudspeaker.

"Believe in Lord Yuan. At least he has never disappointed the people of the world!"

Amid the disappointed expressions of the scholars, hundreds of soldiers sang "Chinese Men" loudly, carried the flag of the National Defense Army on their shoulders, and marched from Gyeongbokgung Palace to Seoul Station.

Chapter 129: Rebels Rise in Seoul

The walls of Zhenjiang Fort on the right bank of the Yalu River were damaged, and dozens of Eight Banners officers and soldiers dropped their swords and knelt on the roadside, waiting for the arrival of the Chinese National Defense Army.

Zhenjiang Fort, the original site of Andong City, was an important military town in the late Ming Dynasty and the frontier position for Mao Wenlong to harass the rear of the Later Jin Dynasty. Together with Pi Island, it constituted the two major sea and land bases of the Ming army's anti-Jurchen campaign in Korea.

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The Eight Banners of Shengjing were stationed here originally to deal with enemies from Korea.

But since Korea was taken over by Yuan Shikai, Zhenjiang Fort has lost its function and has been neglected for several years. Even the soldiers on duty every day have disappeared.

As for what to do, of course it is to make money.

After the railway was opened on both sides of the Yalu River, the cargo carrying capacity of the river was greatly improved, rapidly increasing from more than ten tons per year before the opening of the railway to hundreds of tons per year.

The railway shortens the sales distance of mountain products and agricultural products from the Liaodong hills.

Instead of loading the goods in the mountains, transporting them to a small port, and then loading them onto ships to be shipped to Seoul, the process has changed to loading the goods in the mountains, transporting them to a train station, crossing the river, and then sending them to the entire North Korea by train.

Industrial products such as iron sleds, cotton clothes, and cotton hats produced by Pyongyang Iron Factory No. 8 and the Fifth Incheon Spinning Mill were also transported north by rail, providing a considerable amount of essential production and living materials to the people who crossed the Guandong Pass.

Business dealings will generate profits, and profits will naturally attract attention.

The Eight Banners soldiers stationed here were originally marginal figures among the Eight Banners outside the Great Wall. They were sent here because they could no longer make it.

But they didn't expect that the opening of the railway would bring them immense wealth.

Relying on the advantage of being stationed on the Yalu River, they could earn more than ten taels of lijin a day by extorting merchants and collecting protection fees, and more than 5000 taels a year.

It’s not that no vendors have reported this situation to the dock and station staff, and these people have long since reported the situation to the Anton branch of the Red Confucian Society.

However, in order to successfully implement the plan to seize the Northeast, it was not too early to attract the attention of the Shengjing General.

The Andong branch did not choose to make too much noise, but only organized a few small marches to force the Eight Banners to cancel the protection fee and change the lijin rate to a reasonable proportion.

When Yuan Shikai swore an oath in Seoul, the National Defense Army had already crossed the Yalu River and captured Zhenjiang Fort.

It was called an attack, but they didn't even use field artillery. After crossing the river, the National Defense Army just fired a few shots at the low city wall.

The Eight Banners hiding behind the parapet saw thousands of fully armed enemy troops outside and decisively chose to open the city gate and surrender.

"Aren't these brothers from the Jiashen Right Army? Why did you suddenly mobilize troops? Could it be that you saw that I, your brother, made some money and you want to share some of the profits?" The Eight Banners captain, who was kneeling beside him with his hands raised, came closer to Feng Guozhang and tried to get close to him.

He thought that the generals of the Jiashen Right Army were jealous of the money he had earned, so they sent troops to attack.

However, Feng Guozhang did not want to talk nonsense with him. He pointed to the white cloth tied on his left shoulder, on which was written "China".

"Look carefully, we are no longer the Jiashen Right Army, but the Chinese National Defense Army!"

"National Defense Army? What a grand name!" The Eight Banners lieutenant echoed, but muttered in his heart, so what if it was the National Defense Army? It was still just for this little money.

"The news of the emperor's eastern tour to Seoul spread more than ten days ago. Why didn't you go to see him?" Feng Guozhang asked.

The Eight Banners' lieutenant knelt in the snow, twisting his body as he explained, "Look at what you said. The Emperor went to...Seoul. That's a matter in the capital. What does it have to do with us, the Eight Banners outside the Great Wall?"

"This is a serious matter. Are you loyal to the Emperor, or to the Demon Queen in the capital?!"