Master Yuan, start!

8997389 Old Man

There is also a saying that the blue sky is dead and the yellow sky should be established.

There are also theories about restoring the Han Dynasty and returning to the old capital.

Later on, the slogans became more straightforward.

There is also the appearance of Li 9 Chuang's eight and Chuang Wang Er, who do not pay taxes, distribute land equally, and enjoy a peaceful and healthy life.

As well as the naked vernacular such as Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing's "We have the land to farm together, the food to eat together, and the money to use together".

But no matter which slogan they were, people understood what they were trying to do, and they were both very popular among the people at the time.”

Li Jingfang did not state the conclusion directly, but instead linked the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising at the end of the Qin Dynasty with the later Yellow Turban Religion, Shu Han, Li Zicheng, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom decades ago.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Li Hongzhang smiled, wanting to see if his eldest son could understand what he was thinking.

"What I mean is, what do the people hate the most now?" Li Jingfang raised his head and looked at everyone in the room.

After handling Guangzhou's government affairs for several years, Li Jingfang knew very well what ordinary people hated.

"What do you hate most?" Li Hongzhang continued to ask.

"I hate the corrupt officials of the Qing Dynasty first, and I hate the evil foreigners second!"

Li Jingfang straightened his chest and said loudly: "What Yuan Shikai said about expelling the Tartars and restoring China" is exactly what the people care about most!

Eliminating the Manchu Tartars' Mandate of Heaven and the Russian Tartars' Life might seem like making enemies on both sides, but in reality, it was raising a banner that attracted all the aspiring people in the world to his side."

Speaking of this, Li Jingfang recalled the bustling scene on the streets of Guangzhou after the defeat of the Spanish navy a few years ago.

The people's hearts must not be taken away by Yuan Shikai!

"Marshal Quan, Yuan Shikai rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, so we can rebel too. Yuan Shikai resisted Russia, so we can resist too.

Since the guys outside are all shouting about opposing the Manchus and driving out the Russians, and recovering our Han land, then what's wrong with us adopting this slogan?

The Russians are in an extremely cold place thousands of miles away. To drive them out, we just need to close the Russian Guildhall in Guangzhou. As for the Russians inside, we can just send them out of the country with courtesy.

The only real troublesome thing was the Guangzhou general and the remaining bannermen in the city. The gentry in Guangdong and Guangxi had long been dissatisfied with these bannermen, so they simply dealt with them all!

This reputation as the world's first righteous man must not be enjoyed by Yuan Xiangcheng alone."

When it came to the key point, Li Jingfang looked at everyone and emphasized:

"The Manchus have lost their lives, and now it's time for the Han people to fight for the world.

Tsuen Shuai, Dad!

If we want to fight for the world, we cannot do without the support of the gentry in Guangdong and Guangxi. If we want to win the trust of Guangdong and Guangxi, we must be more drastic than Yuan Shikai's anti-Manchu rebellion! "

The more Li Jingfang spoke, the more excited he became. He even forgot Li Hongzhang's admonition and called out "Dad" again.

At this time, Li Hongzhang had no mood to scold his son. When he heard what his son said, his eyes were full of satisfaction.

You are right, I can also talk and I can also oppose the Manchus.

After the division between the North and the South, Manchu cities in southern places such as Jiangning, Guangzhou, and Chengdu were forced to open up and integrate into the entire city.

Many bannermen who could not survive in the Manchu city chose to change their names and surnames, and then escape from the city, intending to disguise themselves as Han people and find a legitimate livelihood.

Most of the rest were high-ranking officials or local bannermen who were related to local generals and governors-general. Although the Han governors were powerful, they disdained to follow the example of the lower-class bannermen and change their Chinese names.

After the poor bannermen moved away, since most of the Manchus were located in the core area of ​​the city and had access to all directions, many wealthy Han families chose to move in to fill the vacancies.

I thought they would live in peace and harmony, but who could have expected that Yuan Shikai would rebel?

Yuan Shikai's rebellion also inspired Li Hongzhang to rebel.

In order to win the trust of the gentry in Guangdong and Guangxi, the remaining bannermen in the city of Guangzhou would naturally become Li Hongzhang's token of allegiance, and become fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of others.

But Li Hongzhang himself could not say this, because he had received favors from the Qing court, just like Cao Cao.

If you want to rebel, only others can do it.

Li Jingfang guessed Li Hongzhang's intention, and his words of "anti-Manchu and anti-Russian" really touched Li Hongzhang's heart.

"Then Jing Fang, according to what you said, what should we do now?"

"Of course, we should invite the students from outside the Governor's Mansion in and grant their request." Li Jingfang took a deep breath and said confidently to Li Hongzhang, "With the wealth of Guangdong and Guangxi, plus the army and navy, Lingnan will be the birthplace of our Huai Army!"

　"As for the banner, I've already thought of it. The Lingnan New Army will be renamed the Lingnan Xinghan Army from now on.

The Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office will also be renamed the Dahan Lingnan Governor's Office, and you, Dad, will be the Grand Governor!"

"Xing Han Army, Grand Commander?"

Li Hongzhang was moved. Although the title of Grand Commander had not been used for nearly a thousand years, he could still feel the heavy atmosphere contained in it.

However, Li Hongzhang just stroked his white beard lightly, looking unmoved.

"Please, Marshal Quan, take the position of Grand Commander!"

While Li Hongzhang was still pretending to hesitate, Wei Rugui took the lead and knelt on one knee to express his loyalty to Li Hongzhang.

"Please ask Marshal Quan to take the position of Grand Commander and send a telegram to the whole country to fight against the Manchus and drive out the Russians, and recover our Han territory!"

Immediately afterwards, Li Jingfang, Wang Xiaoqi, Ding Ruchang, Liu Ruifen and others also spoke out to persuade.

"it is good!"

With a smile on his face, Li Hongzhang finally "reluctantly" agreed to everyone's request.

In this way, the Qing Dynasty lost its power and a great era was about to begin.

Li Hongzhang, a native of Hefei, decided to join forces with the gentry of Guangdong and Guangxi, and the two sides joined hands to fight for imperial hegemony.

Chapter 295: Foreigners who stood by and watched

The city of Guangzhou was filled with the sounds of gongs and drums and the blast of firecrackers.

The news that Li Hongzhang declared independence and proclaimed himself the Grand Commander of Lingnan Xinghan quickly spread throughout the country.

However, within one day, Sichuan, Gansu, Taiwan, Shanghai, Jiangnan, Beijing and North Korea all received this telegram.

Liu Bingzhang of Chengdu also announced his independence from the Qing Dynasty as soon as he received the telegram, echoing Li Hongzhang's Xinghan Governor's Office and proclaiming himself the Grand Governor of Xinghan in Sichuan.

From the Chengdu Plain to the Pearl River Delta, a vast territory in southwest China is dyed with different colors.

In the face of such a major event, even the news that Yuan Shikai ordered the National Revolutionary Army to rush north to raid the capital was overshadowed.

Dragons and snakes rose from the land of East Asia. Originally, all parties in the world believed that the dispute between Yuan Shikai and Xiang Yu after they captured Jiangning was at most a case of local governments holding the central government hostage and forcing the emperor to abdicate.

But no one expected that the situation would change so drastically in just over a month.

All this was thanks to the daring Russians who crossed the Amur River and boldly outflanked the Chinese troops on the south bank of the river.

It was precisely because of the Russian invasion that the Chinese realized that there were fools in the world who would not hesitate to collude with foreign races and get rid of their best generals.

When the news spread that Duan Zhigui had broken through the fragile defense line of the capital and was approaching the city of Tongzhou, not only the Chinese but also the foreigners knew that the country was undergoing a revolution.

A bloody revolution within the ruling class.

...

"Your Highness, the British Acting Consul, Sir John Jordan, has sent a telegram saying that Yuan Shikai's rebel forces have launched two simultaneous attacks. The Southern Army has reached Baoding, and the Northern Army has also reached Zunhua."

Inside the Grand Council, a military secretary tiptoed forward and reported the latest situation to Prince Yi D first.

Hearing this, several Manchu nobles in the Grand Council could not help but wipe away their tears and looked down at Yi D in front of them with their peripheral vision.

When Yuan Shikai rebelled, Yi took advantage of the situation to abolish the cabinet and re-establish the Grand Council.

The Grand Council was not big, only a few dozen square meters. In the past, when a few Grand Councillors and officials came in, the room seemed full.

But today, although there was a charcoal fire burning and a few people standing inside, the Grand Council still looked very empty.

It's not a physical emptiness, but a spiritual loneliness.

"What do the British want? I've already decided to cede Shanghai to them, and they're still unwilling to take action? They're truly barbarians, barbarians!"

Yi D didn't even have time to take care of his braids, a few strands of hair flew in front of his forehead, his eyes were bloodshot, he was muttering, and he looked quite crazy.

"Mikhail, Mikhail, Minister Mikhail!"

Yi D stood up from the heating pad in a flash, walked to the back of the people in the Grand Council, and fixed his eyes on the newly promoted Grand Councilor Shanqi.

"Shanqi, what did the Russian envoy Mikhail say? Didn't they say they were sure to defeat Yuan Shikai? Not only Heilongjiang, but even Korea was promised. Why haven't we seen the Russian army yet?"

"Your Majesty, Minister Mikhail is staying behind closed doors. He sent a message saying that the Russian army has already entered the Heilongjiang River as agreed, but... but..."

Shanqi carefully raised his head and glanced at Yi D, who was in an unstable mood, not knowing whether to say it or not.

"Just what? Tell me, tell me quickly!"

"Snapped!"

Yi D suddenly yelled and threw the teacup on the small square table to the ground.

“It’s just that something went wrong on the prince’s side, and he failed to convince Yiktang’a to cooperate with the Russians.

So Minister Mikhail said he had done his utmost and that they would continue to honor the Northeastern agreement, but the capital simply lacked the capacity to do so.

"Unfaithful, ungrateful, and shameless!"

Yi D waved his hands and roared at the top of his lungs, as if to condemn the treacherous Russians.

"Waste, good-for-nothing, damn it!"

Yi D's eyes were red as he cursed Fu Yu and Boyan Nemuhu.

It was these two who contacted Yi D through someone and told him the idea of ​​"allying with Russia to contain Yuan Shikai". Yi D was moved and finally decided to cooperate with the Russians.

However, Yi D never expected that the two's plan was so crude that they couldn't even control Yiktang'a and his group, and let Wu Daji escape, putting himself in such an unfavorable situation.

"These two pigs and dogs are more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything. I shouldn't have believed their words. I should have let them die in Outer Mongolia!"

Seeing that Yi D had gone crazy again, even more so than in the past few days, the new military officials in the Grand Council did not dare to breathe.

No one wants to take the blame, and no one can afford to take the blame for colluding with foreigners.

Everyone is here nominally to discuss countermeasures, but in reality everyone knows that there is no countermeasure at all.

Sometimes when something happens, it happens and there is nothing you can do about it.

It was like the former Ming Emperor Chongzhen sitting in the Forbidden City and watching Li Zicheng fight all the way from Shaanxi to the suburbs of Beijing.

Things have come to this point, unless a meteorite falls from the sky and kills the enemy soldiers in one blow.