Master Yuan, start!

If Greece becomes suspicious of Tsarist Russia, Serbia and Bulgaria will follow. Now is the critical period for the struggle between Austria-Hungary and Russia for the Balkans.

The death of the Greek prince is bound to cause a bloody storm.

In this life, with my "assistance" from the side, I must make Japan and Russia fight in advance.

Yuan Xiangcheng firmly believed that no matter who won or lost, he would be the one who benefited in the end.

If the Japanese win, Tsarist Russia will relax its vigilance against China and cooperate with China to fight against Japan; if Russia wins, Tsarist Russia will have to cede territory and pay compensation to expand its influence, and Yuan Shikai can use the defense against Russia to ask for more aid from the British.

It’s not a loss no matter what!

Of course, the more likely scenario is that both Tsarist Russia and Japan would suffer heavy losses. After all, Tsarist Russia was not an advanced industrial country, its railways were not opened, and its logistics were not guaranteed.

If they really had to fight a war thousands of miles away, the Japanese would not be pushovers. The weapons of the 1890s were not much different in generation, so at least the Japanese could still exchange their lives for others'.

However, although Yuan Shikai worked hard to create an international situation favorable for China's development, the domestic situation was not very positive.

Zeng Guoquan and Li Hongzhang did not know how they knew about the "duty-free industry" proposed by Yuan Xiangcheng that day.

Now the newspapers in the south are all saying that Yuan Shikai has surrendered to the foreigners and opened four "concessions" in order to win their support.

In addition, it is not over yet. Some people even brought up the phrase "using the emperor to command the princes", accusing Yuan Shikai of bringing Guangxu to Korea and raising troops to enter the pass, which showed that he had no good intentions and was up to no good.

Now that the Queen Mother has been driven away, he wants to control the government and become the "Cao Cao" of the Qing Dynasty.

This kind of statement is too contrasting and naturally difficult for the current mainstream public opinion to accept. After all, it is recognized by everyone that Guangxu is the legitimate emperor.

Everything was fine before, a new emperor was established in the capital, and then news came out that the empress dowager poisoned the old emperor, which was known to the world.

Therefore, most people still recognize that Yuan Shikai was a great savior rather than a traitor.

But it is undeniable that Yuan Shikai's move to establish the "bonded zone" was a step too big, so big that most people did not understand it, and even misunderstood it.

Zeng and Li took advantage of this misunderstanding and made a big fuss about it, causing some scholars who were originally eager to go to the north to hesitate.

Ancient people simply lacked vision of the times, but they were not stupid. After discovering that tools such as newspapers and telegraphs were becoming increasingly useful, they began to learn how to use them.

Especially Guangzhou and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, which have been the gathering place of merchants from all over the world since ancient times, are most concerned about current affairs in the north and south, so various newspapers have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

The Hunan and Huai factions also took this opportunity to slander Yuan Shikai in the newspapers.

After all, they did not dare to slander Guangxu, but if they said that Guangxu was coerced by Yuan Shikai, it would be hard to make sense. After all, Cixi had used this trick before, saying that Guangxu was coerced, but it was quickly debunked by Yuan Shikai with a photo.

Therefore, we can only say that Guangxu was deceived by Yuan Shao and Xiang Yu, and that some misunderstanding must have occurred in the capital that day, which led to the conflict between the Empress Dowager and Guangxu.

Yuan Shikai took the opportunity to kidnap Guangxu, and the empress dowager had no choice but to establish a new emperor in order to stabilize the court.

They simply turned black into white and called a horse a zebra. It was clearly Empress Dowager Cixi who poisoned Emperor Guangxu, and Yuan Shikai also issued a telegram accusing them, yet these officials were able to openly confuse good and evil.

However, Zeng and Li had no choice but to do so, because if they didn't, they would not be able to wear the hats on their heads for long.

Originally, they planned to sit back and watch the emperor and empress fight each other, and then develop into local lords. But who could have imagined that Cixi would be defeated so quickly and fled south in less than half a year.

Now that Emperor Guangxu has returned to the capital, will he continue to recognize Cixi and Emperor Baoqing, or will he recognize Guangxu?

If they recognized Guangxu, then Guangxu would issue an imperial edict to replace the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi or the Governor-General of Liangjiang, and they would obey or not.

If he had complied, why had he sent troops north before? Not only was his position in jeopardy, he was also afraid he would face a reckoning after leaving office.

If they refused to obey, the imperial court would suppress them in the name of justice and they would be immediately labeled as traitors.

Since the greater good does not allow it, then they will find the greater good themselves. Cixi and Emperor Baoqing who fled south were targeted by them.

However, this triggered the Hunan-Huai dispute.

Li Hongzhang wanted to bring Cixi and her entourage to Guangzhou, while Zeng Guoquan wanted to bring Cixi and her entourage to Jiangning. After all, whoever the Empress Dowager was with had greater legitimacy.

But the two sides continued to argue, and finally Li Hongzhang used the old method of learning foreigners' advanced technology to defeat them, and asked the French to mobilize.

Unexpectedly, the French proposed to place Cixi on Xiamen Island. How could this be feasible? In the end, they had no choice but to compromise and transfer Cixi to Wuchang.

This was a good thing for Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, as it made him stand out in the Hunan-Huaihe dispute.

Even Zhang Zhidong's own staff urged him to expand the several thousand troops under his command and establish the "Hubei Army".

However, this was what happened in the south after all. As time passed, Yuan Xiangcheng continued to receive good news in the capital.

First, Duan Qirui went south to Shanxi and entered a deserted place. The governor of Shanxi fled with Cixi. All places were leaderless and raised white flags when they saw the National Defense Army.

The situation in southern Zhili and northern Henan was similar. Wherever Sheng Fei's army went, the people basically surrendered.

Only in Shandong, after Wang Zhanyuan crossed the Yellow River, he was harassed by the newly formed Hunan Army when he headed towards Jining and Yizhou in southern Shandong.

Nearly 2 Hunan troops who fled south from Shanhaiguan were stationed in Xuzhou to guard the Jianghuai defense line.

Seeing that he was outnumbered, Yuan Shikai had no choice but to let Wang Zhanyuan lead 1 national defense troops to deploy defenses along the Grand Canal, Mount Tai and the East Sea area, giving up southern Shandong.

In the end, the Guangxu court actually controlled Shanxi, Zhili, northern Henan, northern Shandong, Northeast China, and Korea.

The area under its control is not large, and its economy is not developed. It is not as large as the entire South, but it is larger than the area under the jurisdiction of any governor in the South.

With so much territory, Yuan Shikai lay on the armchair in the mansion, basking in the sun leisurely, and imagining how to build an economic circulation system in northern China.

"Chief Instructor, the ceremony of taking over the throne is ready." Ming Ye trotted into the room. "The eunuchs from the palace are here. They said they have some good things for you. You will be attending court tomorrow."

"Okay!" Yuan Xiangcheng stood up and asked the doorman to welcome the eunuch who came to give instructions into the house.

Chapter 157: End of Volume

On the second day, Yuan Xiangcheng, wearing patched robes, went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony along with all the civil and military officials in the court whose faces were missing.

With the red hat on his head, Yuan Xiangcheng's bald head was no longer conspicuous, and it could also block the wind and not feel cold. At this time, Yuan Xiangcheng had a rare and brief liking for this hat.

Although it was a ceremony to restore the throne, Guangxu did not make it very grand. Yuan Xiangcheng took a quick look and saw that there were only a few hundred guards and eunuchs in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which was not as grand as Cixi's 50th birthday.

When all the ministers were present, an official from the Ministry of Rites stepped forward and read out an imperial edict, which read: "Two" "0钐[罩" Then he began to scold Cixi according to the procedure. After that, he presented the seal of Emperor Guangxu.

Since Emperor Qianlong, the Qing Dynasty has stipulated 25 jade seals, which were called the Seal of the Mandate, the Seal of Heaven, the Seal of the Emperor, the Seal of the Emperor's Travel, etc. They were used in different aspects such as sacrifices, enthronement, enthronement, conferring titles, issuing edicts, and receiving foreign vassals.

However, these seals had now been taken away by Cixi when she fled south. Guangxu had only used them a few times, so he simply stopped thinking about them and ordered someone to carve a jade seal with the four big characters "Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty" written on it, and used it as a daily seal.

The process was quickly completed with burning incense and praying. Finally, the Living Buddha from the grassland who had "wiped off" the clothes of the fake Guangxu last year was invited out to recite scriptures.

It wasn't that the old monk didn't want to leave, but his old nest was outside the Great Wall, and Cixi was heading south, so he had to stay in the capital.

Since he didn't leave, Yuan Shikai urged Guangxu to keep him to avoid chaos on the grassland. After all, the Qing Dynasty was now internally unstable and had to be on guard against the Mongols.

At this time, Guangxu was quite willing to follow Yuan Shikai's advice, so he vacated the Longfu Temple inside the Forbidden City and used it as a temple for the Living Buddha of the Grassland, allowing him to stay there.

After "wiping off" the clothes, the process was truly completed. All the ministers in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony held their breath, knowing that the really important thing was coming.

A thin but energetic middle-aged man walked up to the platform, took the imperial edict and coughed twice.

"Prince Li, who is this person?" Yuan Xiangcheng poked Shi Duo in front of him.

Although it was a grand occasion, there were 39 steps between where the ministers stood and the platform of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. In addition, the terrain was open, so the officials' whispers below could not be heard from above.

"Yang Shenxiu," Shiduo stared at the platform intently, but his voice was transmitted to Yuan Xiangcheng behind him.

One of the Six Gentlemen of the Wuxu Reform who was beheaded in the original time and space finally got his reward in this time and space, standing beside the emperor holding the imperial edict in his hand.

Before Yuan Xiangcheng could sigh in his heart, Yang Shenxiu over there had already begun to recite aloud:

"The country was in turmoil, and I suffered many hardships. Fortunately, with the assistance of ministers both inside and outside the country, the evil queen and the false emperor were able to flee south in fear. Observing this situation, I am truly moved by the loyal ministers' righteous actions."

The imperial edict set the tone and whetted the appetite of all the officials present. Since it said that it was assisted by "internal and external ministers", it was not just the credit of Yuan Shikai alone.

To be frank, the emperor can now return to the capital thanks to Mr. Yuan’s national defense army. Without their assistance from the “outside”, these officials from the “inside” of the capital would not be able to achieve anything.

But when it came to rewarding people for their contributions, there was only Lord Yuan on one side, and a group of "old ministers at the central government" on the other. The court still depended on them to run, so they had to share part of Lord Yuan's contributions.

I don’t know whether he is happy or not.

Thinking of this, many officials glanced at Yuan Xiangcheng secretly, but they did not see any reaction from Governor Yuan.

At this time, after Yang Shenxiu paused, the voice of reading the imperial edict sounded again:

"Yuan Xiangcheng, Governor-General of Korea, Minister of Beiyang, Inspector General of Northeast China, and First-Class Viscount, quelled the Korean rebellion from the 8th year of the Guangxu reign while stationed in Seoul. He quelled the rebellion again in the 10th year, and made many meritorious contributions.

Since the new army was organized and trained, it has marched from Tianjin to Inchon, defeated the French in the capital, restored Korea to China, and resisted the Russians to the Whale Sea.

Now he has raised an army to support the king, marched into the pass, killed Ronglu and seized the capital, and the great feat has been almost accomplished. Although he has not yet exterminated the evil queen and the false emperor, the merits outweigh the flaws. I was able to restore the throne, all thanks to this minister's wise deployment of troops.

Yuan Shikai rewarded him with the titles of Associate Grand Secretary and Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, and added the title of Minister of War. He was also appointed Governor-General of the Three Eastern Provinces, and was also responsible for preparing for the establishment of the Three Eastern Provinces.

Governor of the Three Northeastern Provinces!

Many officials looked at him with envy and regret. They were envious because Yuan Shikai had risen to prominence overnight and was now a governor in name only, no longer a governor-general like the Governor-General of Korea who was only a governor in name only.

One regret is that the emperor finally chose the civil servants headed by Lord Weng to take the central position, and sent Lord Yuan to the outside of the Great Wall.

However, how could the officials know that this was the result of many discussions between Yuan Shikai and Guangxu?

Guangxu naturally wanted to keep Yuan Xiangcheng in Beijing and make him his master.

This move would not only help the reform, but also keep Yuan Shikai away from military power. After all, no matter how much Guangxu trusted him, he still had to be on guard with a large army at his side.

But it was impossible for Yuan Shikai to stay in the capital, so he repeatedly explained the pros and cons to Guangxu, exaggerated the threats posed by Russia and Japan to the Northeast and Korea, and volunteered to go outside the Great Wall to fight the enemy.

However, Yuan Shikai did not want to be in conflict with Guangxu now, so after he had resisted, he also gave Guangxu a little sweetness. At the same time, in order to show his loyalty, Yuan Shikai ordered Duan, Sheng, and Feng to lead troops south to quell the riots, and promised to stay in the local area from then on.

Such an action naturally gained Guangxu's high trust.

"Half of the National Defense Army's forces have been sent south. Master Yuan must really want to go north to defend the Eastern Province and North Korea, right?"

No one could answer Guangxu's question, but in the end, he chose to believe it and agreed to Yuan Shikai's request to be the governor of the three eastern provinces.

At the same time, in order not to disappoint Yuan Xiangcheng's loyalty, Guangxu also decided to give him an excessive reward.

Before the imperial edict was finished, Yang Shenxiu saw the words at the end. His hands trembled as he held the imperial edict. He couldn't help but take a deep breath and continued:

"Also, I grant Yuan Xiangcheng the title of Third Class Loyal and Brave Protector of the Country Duke, and award him the Three-Eyed Peacock Feather. He is also allowed to enter the Forbidden City without dismounting his horse!"

Hey!

The officials, who had thought that the rewards would end here, exclaimed in unison, and even in front of the empty Hall of Supreme Harmony, it still created quite a wave of noise.

No one expected that Yuan Shikai would be directly granted the title of Duke, which was one level higher than Zeng Guofan's first-class Marquis Yiyong!

Although he is only a third-class duke, he is still a duke.

Moreover, his title was not the customary two-character one, but the four-character one "loyal and brave to protect the country", which shows how highly Yuan Shikai was favored by the emperor.

Rhodium. Han Jiaoliu95874+24

Now, the others no longer felt regret, but only envy, and their envious eyes kept turning to Yuan Xiangcheng who was standing in front.