Master Yuan, start!

On April 1895, 1, the 2nd Brigade of the st Regiment of the National Defense Army entered Bengbu Village, Fengyang Prefecture, and collected boats to cross the river.

On April 1895, 9, Cao Kun of the 17th Brigade of the th Regiment of the National Defense Army landed on the beach and rushed hundreds of miles to capture Yancheng, an important city in Jiangsu.

On the third day of May in 1895, Wang Zhanyuan of the 6th Regiment of the National Defense Army marched from Kaifeng and successively captured Fuyang and Yingshang. The defenders of Shouzhou fled without a fight, and the gate of the Huaihe River defense line was wide open.

From then on, when midsummer approached, the organized Hunan Army north of the Huaihe River in Anhui and Jiangsu was either annihilated or fled south in a hurry, leaving only two isolated cities, Luzhou, Hefei and Chuzhou, in the Huainan area of ​​Anhui.

The Jianghuai Maginot Line, which originally seemed as solid as a rock, was broken through from the inside by the Wehrmacht and British forces who were well-supplied and came from behind by sea, and it shattered at the first touch.

In fact, this is also predictable.

From the moment it was formed based on the old Hunan Army, the Jiangnan New Army was destined to be unable to adapt to modern combat methods.

Why was the Hunan Army led by Zeng Guofan finally able to wipe out the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? It was nothing more than "building a strong camp and fighting a stupid battle." In the end, it all comes down to one word: "grinding."

The bloody battles of Anqing, Wuhu, Suzhou, and Tianjing exhausted the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's vitality, which could not be replenished.

After all the old brothers in Guangdong and Guangxi were killed or injured, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had no choice but to face the fate of defeat.

In contrast, Zeng Guofan was able to fight again and again despite repeated defeats, and was even called an "example of tenacity and excellence" by later generations. This was all because he relied on the huge size of the Qing Dynasty, which allowed him to obtain soldiers and food almost without restrictions.

The Taiping Army looted the local areas, but how much better were the Xiang Army? How many people in Liangjiang were killed after their property was robbed by the Xiang Army, and the crime was pinned on the Taiping Army?

Moreover, in terms of battlefield tactics, the Hunan Army has never been outstanding.

For example, when they encountered the Taiping Army that had fled all the way from Guangxi, they had no choice but to watch these people break through the Hunan, Wuchang, and Jiujiang defense lines and advance calmly into the south of the Yangtze River.

If Hong Xiuquan had not established the capital in Tianjing and turned the Taiping Army from a "roving bandit" into a "seated bandit", Shi Dakai, Li Kaifang, Li Xiucheng, Chen Yucheng and others within the Taiping Army who were extremely skilled in movement and infiltration tactics would probably have been able to lure Zeng Guofan into the river ten times.

Therefore, now, when the Hunan Army encountered Feng Guozhang, who imitated the Red Army's light infantry infiltration tactics, they panicked and became confused. Like a headless fly, they could only sit and wait for reinforcements, and called for help from friendly forces without clear intelligence, which led to the destruction of the friendly forces.

...

The National Defense Forces are unstoppable!

On the fifth day of May in 1895, Yuan Shikai sent a telegram to the whole country called the "Dragon Boat Festival Declaration", claiming that the trend of unification was unstoppable and that Liu Kun had to surrender and follow Qu Yuan's example of committing suicide by jumping into the river in order to ensure the safety of the Hunan Army.

Novel 86?959*738

When the news came out, the whole country was shocked.

It was originally thought that the National Defense Army, after resting for a winter after breaking through the city of Xuzhou, would make a strong push, then weaken, and finally be exhausted.

But no one expected that the Jiangnan New Army, which seemed to be equally powerful, would eventually be defeated after confronting the National Defense Army for more than half a year.

Just over a month after the fall of Huai'an, the Hunan Army disappeared from the entire north of the Huai River.

After receiving this news, the capital and Northeast Korea immediately fell into a sea of ​​carnival.

"Go south, go south! Who will unify China? Only the Yuan family's Xiangcheng!"

"Today I am the General of the Southern Expedition, tomorrow I can be the General of the Barbarian Expedition. To avenge our national humiliation, who else can I choose but Xiangcheng?"

... 5

Looking at the flattering slogans in newspapers outside the Great Wall, Yuan Shikai published an article in the East Asia Times under the pseudonym "East Asian Nationalist" for the first time in a long time, which tells the story of the historical struggle between the northern and southern regimes.

It points out that since ancient times, once the Huai River is broken, the southern country will be in your pocket and there will be no more worries about the war situation recurring.

In the capital, in the Eight Great Hutongs where the Manchus gathered, a Manchu from the Zhenglan Banner heard the news that the army had overcome the Huaihe River defense line. Without even pulling up his pants, he hurried to the alley entrance, wanting to know what was going on.

"The Xiang rebels have retreated across the Yangtze River, and Lord Yuan's troops are heading straight for Jiangning City!"

"Master Yuan, you are truly the best martial artist today!"

"Who says it's not true? The Qing Dynasty has been around for over 250 years, and this is the first time someone like Mr. Yuan has appeared, right?"

The common people, both Manchu and Han, were extremely respectful to Yuan Shikai. Just based on his military achievements over the years, everyone admired him.

"First, we defeated the external enemies, then recovered the vassal territories. Now, we are about to eliminate the internal thieves. Lord Yuan is indeed the best minister. If we want to compare him, only the Holy Ancestor who recovered Yaxica, Taiwan, and defeated Wu Sangui can be compared!"

The stubborn leader of the Eight Banners holding the birdcage twirled his beard lightly. Although he was now a good-for-nothing and had to make a living by selling his ancestral property, he couldn't help but straighten his chest whenever he thought of the glorious days of his Manchu ancestors.

He had no idea that his words, comparing Yuan Shikai and Kangxi, were an act of usurpation.

But fortunately, the whole city is celebrating at the moment, and no one cares about these things.

The sound of cheers once reached from outside the Forbidden City to the East Warm Pavilion.

"Master Yuan, you are truly the savior of the Qing Dynasty!"

Listening to the cheers coming from outside, Guangxu couldn't help but shed tears while holding the telegram in his hand. For thousands of days and nights, what he had been looking forward to was a lasting rule and the recovery of his ancestral land.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, Your Majesty."

Although all those present were civil servants, they were well-read in history books and knew that as long as the Huaihe River defense line was captured, the army could march straight in and it would be only a matter of time before Jiangning was captured.

Next, how to fight?

... 6

...

While the emperor and his ministers in the court were considering how to fight, the foreigners had already responded to the electricity.

Britain was the first to express its support for the Wehrmacht's southward advance, and hoped to conduct "joint military exercises" with the Beiyang Fleet on the Yangtze River next time to consolidate the friendship between the two armies.

France, on the other hand, stated that the Jiangnan issue was of great importance and that it was willing to mediate the dispute between the two parties. It did not want to see any unilateral change to the status quo. It also concentrated the Far East Combined Fleet in Kaohsiung Port, and its words were full of threats.

The Americans called for peace, but it was obvious that their focus was not on China, but on the nearby Cuba. They only asked the National Defense Force not to invade the concessions and not to damage American property.

The Russians remained silent, as they were busy cutting further losses from Japan. They simply expressed their "continued attention" to the matter and remained silent.

Li Hongzhang was horrified to see the fierce offensive of the National Defense Army. He hurriedly asked the British whether they supported Yuan Shikai's advance into Guangdong and Guangxi. After receiving a negative answer, he was still worried and began to expand the Lingnan New Army.

The merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang also fell into panic. They had bought both Yuan Shikai's and Liu Kunyi's bonds, and now they were worried. They immediately ordered their housekeeper to rush to the Northeast Border Industry Bank in Shanghai to purchase more government bonds and to sell off the bonds sold by Liu Kunyi in large quantities.

Yuan Xiangcheng once said that when confiscating property, one should not confiscate national debts. In case of disaster, at least there will be some protection left for future generations.

Just when merchants and people in the north and south were in a state of either sadness or joy, a telegram sent from Taiwan and signed by Sun Wen gave a reassurance to the people in the south who were worried about the war, but also poured a bucket of cold water on the heads of the scholars and people in the north.

"Why don't Han people take Wu Gou and take over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun?

"Would it be better to point your sword at the little Tartar chieftain than to march across the Purple Light Pavilion in the capital?"

Chapter 247 Double Act

Printing portraits of famous officials in the Ziguang Pavilion was Emperor Qianlong's favorite thing to do. He claimed that he was no less capable than Li Shimin, so he built a Ziguang Pavilion in the Forbidden City modeled after Li Shimin's Lingyan Pavilion.

Obviously, the meaning of this poem is very clear. As a Han Chinese, Yuan Xiangcheng should serve the Manchus instead of making decisions for the Han Chinese.

Let’s attack Beijing, seize the throne, and vent the anger of the Han people all over the world!

An open conspiracy, an obvious conspiracy.

Regardless of whether Yuan Shikai was willing to rebel against the Qing Dynasty at this time, Sun Wen felt that his telegram was putting Yuan Shikai in a difficult position.

...

In Tianjin City, there were more than a dozen people sitting in the Taotai Yamen. There were ministers sent by the court to express condolences and commendations, local official Jingdong Governor Cheng Hou, and Xu Shichang who was promoted to Tianjin Taotai years ago.

In addition to these "civil servants", there were also Ming Ye, Yan Fu, Tang Shaoyi and others within the Red Confucian Society.

Of course, they openly held Qing Dynasty official positions, such as prefect, transport commissioner, and supervisor, and most of them were of the fourth or fifth rank.

Yuan Shikai was successful and gradually appointed the ministers of various departments of the Red Confucian Society to official positions. The rank was just a reference. When discussing political affairs on a daily basis, the identity of the Red Confucian Society was still the basis.

In the yamen, Yuan Xiangcheng, as the General of the Southern Expedition, sat in the main seat, the ministers from the court, He Chenghou, sat in the second seat, and the rest of the people sat according to their official status.

"Who the hell is this Sun Wen? The Southern Expeditionary Army has just taken over the Huai River, and the French are using him to sow discord between the emperor and his subjects?!"

Chenghou, the Prince of Li and the Governor of Jingdong, stretched out his right hand and pointed at the telegram with an indignant look on his face.

The Governor of Jingdong was an official position established by Emperor Guangxu specifically for the defense of Beijing and Tianjin. It was in charge of Tianjin, Hejian, Baoding, Ninghe County of Shuntian Prefecture, Zunhua Prefecture, Yongping Prefecture and other places.

The general scope is several prefectures close to the sea to the east of Shuntian Prefecture.

The fact that Prince Li's family, despite being a branch of the Aisin-Gioro clan, was able to have two princes in the same family, with both father and son inheriting the throne, and the father being a key official and the son being an important official, was closely related to Yuan Shikai.

Therefore, regardless of whether Yuan Xiangcheng had the intention to rebel or not, Chenghou had to treat it as if Yuan Xiangcheng did not have the intention, otherwise his and his father's future would be over.

When Yuan Shikai's empire prospered, Prince Li's palace prospered; when Yuan Shikai's empire fell, Prince Li's palace fell.

If Yuan Xiangcheng had any evil intentions, Chenghou knew that he and his son would be the first to be targeted.

From the beginning of the military training in Tianjin, Prince Li's family was closely tied to Yuan Shikai. After Guangxu's wedding, Chenghou fled the capital, he mediated in the Anti-Curtain War, and was later invited to serve as the supervisor of railways inside and outside the Great Wall.

Until the railway inside and outside the customs was completed, he was transferred to the interior of the country and took charge of Tianjin Road. With the assistance of Xu Liushichang, the new Tianjin prefect, he made logistical preparations for the national defense army to move south.

According to his original plan for promotion, the next step was for him to return to Beijing and become a minister, or be sent out to serve as a provincial governor, paving the way for his future promotion to governor or governor-general.

But as soon as this telegram was issued, it immediately put Yuan Shikai in a difficult position and made his future unclear.

Seeing the anger on Chenghou's face, Yuan Xiangcheng didn't know whether it was true or not, and he didn't have the time to figure it out because his mind was all on Sun Wen's poem.

He didn't expect that Sun Wen would hook up with the French and use this method to make his voice heard in the new time and space. Calculated, Sun Wen's "Xing Zhong Hui" should have just been established, and its current headquarters would not be in Taiwan, right?

But there was clearly no defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, and no such major trigger, so why did Sun Wen still embark on this path?

Is it true that studying medicine cannot save the Chinese people?

However, what Sun Wen did not expect was that he thought this telegram was to create trouble for Yuan Shikai, but in fact it was handing him a knife.

Thanks to their status as goalkeepers for the great powers, the Chinese people do not have a deep memory of national humiliation in this life.

The most recent humiliating period in history was the Sino-French War. China won on the battlefield but lost in the negotiations, and Empress Dowager Cixi ordered the cession of Taiwan.

Thanks to Yuan Shikai, the people of the Qing Dynasty felt that they had stood up, as they later fought against the invading Japanese invaders and abolished the feudal system and established provinces in Korea.

In addition, Guangxu did not favor the Manchus in employing people under the new policy, which attracted a considerable number of Han bureaucrats.

In addition, the voice saying that Yuan Shikai was Cao Cao gradually disappeared, and he and Guangxu were called the Qing version of Zhuge Liang and Liu Chan by people of the time.

Yuan Shikai put himself in an awkward position. The domestic political atmosphere did not allow him to usurp the throne, and he did not make corresponding political arrangements.

2 Now he can certainly destroy his own political reputation and replace Guangxu.

But he did not want the new regime he established to be regarded as "illegible". After all, in the eyes of the world, Guangxu had done him a favor, Yuan Shikai.

So what he wanted to do was to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, but at the same time maintain his own "bright identity". In short, he wanted to have both.

In fact, if it really didn't work out, after defeating Li Hongzhang, he decided to seize power by force, bear the identity of a traitor, and bury the Qing Dynasty.

But Sun Wen and the French gave Yuan Xiangcheng an inspiration. He could take this opportunity to find an excuse to solve the trouble he had been having.

Xu Shichang looked at Cheng Hou and the Imperial Minister who represented the Qing Dynasty, and then looked at Yuan Shikai. The two looked at each other and smiled slightly.

Wu pondered for a moment, then took out the anti-poem telegram and said, "In my opinion, this is a psychological attack and there is nothing to be afraid of. The army should not stop advancing."