Master Yuan, start!

Just stand still for a moment, the light flashes, and with a "snap", the "photo" is taken.

Ever since Yuan Shikai presented a camera to Cixi, she fell in love with it. She took pictures in spring, summer, and even in the heavy snow, she was not afraid of the cold. She even took the eunuchs and palace maids to stand in the imperial garden and take pictures.

She was not at all afraid of the rumors circulating among eunuchs and palace maids that "taking photos can capture souls", and took photos at the rate of almost one photo a day.

He was in a very good mood every time he saw a camera, so out of love for Yuan Shikai, he became more protective of Yuan Shikai. He also kept the memorials submitted by some ministers that Yuan Shikai seemed to be acting like a vassal state in Korea.

"In today's world, which minister stationed abroad doesn't have a vassal attitude? Didn't Zeng Guoquan and Li Hongzhang have it?

I don't know where they got the money, but they built the Jiangnan and Nanhai navies. Humph! I didn't see any of these ministers contribute to the construction of the Summer Palace, but when it comes to the project, they complain about being poor and ask the Ministry of Revenue for money.

On the contrary, after Yuan Shikai went to Korea, he never asked the court for a penny except for the annual quota of 2 soldiers' salaries. Although there was the Korean customs as a basis, it was also because Yuan Shikai knew when to advance and retreat and knew the limits.

Unlike this bunch of governors and governors-general, there is also Zhang Zhidong, who built four iron factories in Hubei and actually insisted that the court should allocate 4 taels in advance. How ridiculous!

Due to public opinion in the court, I have to give it, but I am not happy about it. The little emperor is not at peace in Beijing, and these governors and governors-general in the local area are also a worry. It is really difficult for me.

Never mind, let’s take a picture first!”

Cixi finished cracking the melon seeds in her hand and took Li Lianying to the Imperial Garden. Today is another day for beautiful selfies!

Chapter 97 The Railway Reaches My Hometown

In the Grand Council, several Grand Council ministers and ministers from the Zongli Yamen were discussing something together, and sighs could be heard from time to time.

"Ever since winter came, the Empress Dowager has repeatedly asked the Grand Council to decide everything on its own, and all she has to do is submit a memorial with the results later. But I always feel that this is not a solution!" The Mongolian Elhebu was loyal to Cixi, so when she didn't come to the Grand Council, Elhebu always felt that something was missing.

"I heard the Queen Mother went to take those pictures again today. Are these Western things really that attractive?"

Originally, after Cixi stopped coming to the Grand Council, several ministers were secretly happy. Without the Empress Dowager, the Grand Council became the cabinet, and their group of ministers became real prime ministers, able to do whatever they wanted.

But this good mood did not last long and was broken by bad news from North Korea.

First, there was the bombardment of Yongxing Bay, then Yuan Shikai banned rice exports, and Yuan Shikai reported that he had sent a large army to the Sino-Korean-Russian border for defense. Recently, there was a "Sino-British joint military exercise"

"Yuan Xiangcheng, ah Yuan Xiangcheng, you can make trouble all you want, who can beat you?" said Yi Lie, the minister of the Zongli Yamen.

At the beginning of the conflict, the court held the idea of ​​calming the situation and asking Yuan Shikai to solve the problem as soon as possible without angering the Russians.

But who would have thought that before the first telegram was sent, news of Yuan Shikai's trade ban came. The central government didn't know what to do. Fortunately, the British issued a statement saying that they stood on Yuan Shikai's side. The central government had never seen such a situation before, so it could only order the Heilongjiang general to intensify military training and deploy defenses in key areas.

During this period, the Russian ambassador to China also went to the Zongli Yamen several times to consult with Yiliba Shousha Baoyilinhuangqianpuxun and Sishunxian local affairs. However, the situation in Korea was special, so he was asked to go to Korea to resolve it.

After more than ten days, the situation improved again. It turned out that the British were really helping Yuan Shikai. They even sent warships. It was not just talk!

Now they were in a dilemma and didn't know how to deal with Yuan Xiangcheng.

Sun Yuwen, a Han Chinese cardinal and close confidant of Empress Dowager Cixi, began by criticizing Yuan Shikai: "If governors and governors-general in various places were like Yuan Shikai, provoking border conflicts and disregarding foreigners, I am afraid that there will never be peace on the borders of the Qing Dynasty.

It would be better to issue an imperial edict to reprimand him and make him be more careful in what he says and does."

Sun Yuwen knew that Cixi did not want to replace Yuan Shikai at this time, so his words were very loud, but also had a sense of raising high and then letting go.

"This Yuan Xiangcheng, relying on the favor of the Queen Mother, has been doing evil things in Korea, without knowing the difference between the important and the minor. He has offended the Russians again and again and almost made a big mistake. In my opinion, it is better to recall him to the capital for questioning!" Another Han Chinese cardinal, Zhang Zhiwan, also spoke out to express his position. Even though he felt that Yuan Xiangcheng's actions were inspiring in his heart, he could not say so openly.

Zhang Zhiwan's admiration for Yuan Shikai was not only due to his handling of Korean affairs, but was also influenced by his brother Zhang Zhidong.

Zhang Zhidong once said in a letter that after Yuan Shikai received the news of the opening of the Hanyang Iron Works, he sent his Hubei engineers to assist, making great contributions to the establishment of the Hanyang Iron Works.

Therefore, in order to reduce the fear of the Manchu ministers in the central government towards Yuan Shikai, he decided to severely reprimand Yuan Shikai first to reduce the dissatisfaction of others.

"Yuan Xiangcheng has lived in Korea for a long time. Although he is respectful to the Queen Mother, I am afraid he has become a vassal state! It is said that the Korean people now only know about Xiangcheng and not the imperial court. If we don't deal with him in time, his power in Korea will grow day by day. What will happen if he uses Korea to force the central government in the future?"

"Master Zhang, why are you so worried? When Zuo Zongtang recaptured Xinjiang, wasn't the entire army cheering his name? How could the imperial court not even be so tolerant?

No matter how bad Yuan Xiangcheng is, he is still a Qing Dynasty man, and he won face for our Qing Dynasty! I am not worried about a single Manchu, so stop talking about vassal states. If we talk about vassal states, who in the south is not more like him? "

"Prince Qing, be careful with your words!" Seeing that Prince Qing had revealed his true intentions, Shi Duo hurriedly stopped him.

It's really outrageous that the ministers started arguing when the Empress Dowager was not around.

Zhang Zhiwan's words to Yuan Xiangcheng were indeed a bit too much. The head military official, Prince Li Shiduo, frowned a little: "The situation in Korea is complicated. China, Britain, Russia, Japan, and North Korea are entangled. Yuan Xiangcheng served in Korea six years ago. Although he is young, he was able to seize opportunities and take advantage of the situation.

Now he has become the only candidate to be stationed in North Korea, both inside and outside the court. If he is removed from office, who can have the same prestige as him in the hearts of the North Korean people?

North Korea is not like the Qing Dynasty!

If Xiangcheng retreated, chaos would break out in Korea, and the land that could have belonged to the Qing Dynasty would be lost in vain. This matter would cause an uproar among the people of the world.

This kind of person has been bullying the people for so many years, and finally a San Yuan Xiangcheng appears to vent the people's anger, and the court cannot go against the people's will. "

Prince Li Shiduo was a person who liked to listen to music, so he had a clear understanding of public opinion and knew what kind of image Yuan Shikai had in the eyes of the people. Forcing him to do something would probably be a thankless task.

"If that's the case, then we can only entrust this matter to Yuan Xiangcheng. The central government has neither the manpower nor the energy to handle negotiations with Russia."

Since they had reached a consensus and Cixi was not there, everyone quickly reached a decision.

The Zongli Yamen informed the Russian ambassador to China of the order appointing Yuan Shikai as the special envoy to Russia. At the same time, a telegram was sent to Yuan Shikai, reminding him to be cautious in his words and actions and not to anger Russia and start another war.

However, just as everyone finished writing the memorial and was about to hand it to the Empress Dowager, an official outside the door came in with a telegram.

"Your Excellencies, we have a telegram from Mr. Yuan of Korea!"

"Bring it here quickly!"

When everyone saw the telegram from Yuan Xiangcheng, they thought something big had happened again.

I never thought that what it said was: Please build the Northeast Railway to defend against the Russians!

After reading the telegram, Sun Yuwen said: "It's strange, why does Yuan Shikai want to build a railway in the Northeast instead of just negotiating with the Russians?

Didn’t he build a railway in Korea? Why, that’s not enough, he wants to build it all the way to Qing Dynasty?”

The Mongolian Elhebu said, "Lord Sun is wrong. I have heard of railways before. They are an excellent tool for transmitting military intelligence and transporting troops.

The 20-li express train of our Qing Dynasty only allowed one horse to run 40 miles, and it would take good horses to accomplish this.

After the railway was completed, it was like thousands of Mongolian horses galloping tirelessly, and thousands of troops could appear hundreds of miles away overnight.

Yuan Shikai wanted to build a railway in the Northeast, presumably to be able to quickly deploy troops and guard against the Russians. This is good governance!

"If the train passes through the ancient land of Longxing in Shengjing, the capital of the Qing Dynasty, wouldn't it disturb the dragon vein? This is absolutely not feasible! There will definitely be a lot of controversy in the court!" Sun Yuwen refused.

"Why not imitate the old Zunhua Railway and use horses to pull the train?" Zhang Zhiwan was talking about the Tangshu Railway.

But Prince Chun Yixun, who had been to Seoul and seen the workings of the train, objected: "What do you mean by destroying the dragon vein? In my opinion, this railway is reinforcing the dragon vein of our Aisin-Gioro family with steel and iron. It will transform the earthen dragon into a steel dragon. With this railway, the land where the Qing Dynasty rose will be preserved, and our country will be forever secure!"

When Yi X was in Beijing, he also heard about Li Hongzhang's request to lay a railway in Tangshan, but at that time he was not yet in power and rarely went out, so he did not know much about it.

It was not until he took a train between Incheon and Seoul last year that he understood what trains and railways were all about, and how ridiculous it was to have a horse-drawn train.

Therefore, he will definitely not let such a ridiculous thing happen again.

Since the descendants of the Aisin Gioro family have spoken, the rest of the people can't say much.

"If that's the case, we'll need the cooperation of the generals from Shengjing, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. Building a railway is no small undertaking. The Northeast is vast and sparsely populated. Do we have enough manpower?"

"This is a trivial matter. Besides, Yuan Xiangcheng is also the Inspector General of the Northeast and has the right to interfere in the affairs of the Northeast.

As for the manpower issue, we need to speed up the recruitment of people from Zhili, Shandong and other places to go to the Northeast to reclaim wasteland. The move of immigrating to the border will not only solve the problem of too many people and too little land in the interior, but also put an end to the Russians' ambitions to move south. The court must always do something about such a good thing and cannot always expect the people to go there voluntarily.

If the Northeast were all under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, there would be no reason for it to be lost again!"

Therefore, the two matters of requesting the construction of Shengping Shengjing-Pyongyang, Shenglu Shengjing-Lushun, and Shengjing to Heilongjiang railways, as well as requesting county magistrates from all over the country to gather people to immigrate to the border, were also written into the memorials by everyone, waiting for Cixi to seal them and then hand them over to the officials.

However, the money needed to build the railway was astronomical. According to the current cost of 800 taels of silver per mile of railway, the distance from Lushun to Shengjing alone was more than miles.

Although the imperial court had an annual revenue of more than 8700 million taels of silver last year, money is needed everywhere. Can it squeeze out money to build this railway? What would the Empress Dowager think?

However, once the memorial was submitted, these ministers could no longer influence it.

Now the eyes of the whole world are focused on North Korea, and the situation in North Korea depends on Yuan Shikai alone. No one knows what this Lord Yuan is going to do next.

Chapter 98: The Red Confucian Society’s Explanation of the Principles

Cixi was somewhat unhappy when she received the memorial from the central military officials.

Cixi originally thought that Yuan Shikai was a sensible man and would not ask the court for no reason. Unexpectedly, just a few days later, he sent a telegram asking for the construction of a railway.

Railway, railway!

The price quoted by the central authorities was 500 taels of silver per mile, and the initial investment would be more than million taels. This amount of money made her feel painful, and at the same time she also blamed Yuan Xiangcheng in her heart.

But since it concerns national defense, in order to guard against the Russians in the north, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and spend the money to repair it.

Relationships between people are sometimes very good, but often they become sour when money is involved.

No matter how considerate this person has been to you before, you will wake up instantly as long as he wants to take money from your pocket.

Cixi sighed. She felt somewhat powerless in handling the state affairs. The struggle between the court and the little emperor's faction alone was enough to make her worry a lot, and now she had to deal with such a mess with the Russians.

At the same time, she gradually recalled what others had told her about Yuan Shikai's various acts of disloyalty.

Korea had not yet abolished the feudal system. Even if it had, Yuan Shikai had petitioned for a three-year tax exemption. He also blocked the customs and promoted Western-style democratic ideas.

Each and every action seemed normal to her before, but now when she thought about it carefully, it seemed so wrong. As the saying goes, "To serve the king is like serving a tiger." The king's thoughts are so unpredictable.

"It seems that Yuan Xiangcheng is indeed a bit too powerful to be removed. Cixi smacked her lips and planned to find a reason to transfer Yuan Xiangcheng back to the capital in the future."

Sorry...

:...

Seoul, North Korea.

There was no new news from the Russians, so Yuan Shikai did not waste time and simply expanded the army in Korea while arranging the expansion of Incheon Wharf.

The Beiyang Incheon Military Academy has been established for five years, and more and more people are graduating from the rapid officer training class.

In order to accommodate these increasing number of grassroots officers, after the four towns of Jiashen were basically established, Yuan Shikai established a number of officer camps, in which all the soldiers were trained to become officers of the Jiashen Right Army.

Therefore, with just one order and complete equipment and personnel, the officer camp can be quickly expanded into officer brigades, and the four regiments of the Jiashen Right Army are also rapidly moving towards the goal of six regiments after the expansion.

The 6 garrisons, with more than 6 men, were already comparable to the current 6 major garrisons of Japan. However, the Japanese garrisons were all supplied by the state, while only 6 of Yuan Shikai's 2 garrisons could be reimbursed by the court, and the other 4 had to raise funds on their own.

As the military force grew, Yuan Shikai's funding gap also grew. There was not much silver left from the last raid on the Japanese houses, and he could only rely on tariffs to survive. Fortunately, the factory opened in Korea was already developing positively and no longer needed capital investment.

It was the ice age at the time, and the busy Incheon Port had become unusually quiet. Liang Pushi, who was in charge of civil engineering, suggested taking the opportunity to expand the port and increase throughput.

Liang Pushi was a young student studying in the United States and a classmate of Zhan Tianyou. He came to the court with Zhan Tianyou when he opened a new-style school in Incheon.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xiangcheng naturally accepted the advice. Expanding the wharf would allow more ships to enter the port, and more ships entering the port for trade would bring in more tax revenue.

Anyway, it's winter and the workers at the dock are idle. Instead of leaving them with nothing to do, it would be better to organize them to carry out large-scale construction activities, which would also exercise the Red Confucian Society's grassroots control.

The Red Confucian Society chose a very direct method at the beginning of its grassroots promotion. It planned to organize a trade union and wanted to organize the laborers at the Incheon dock.