Master Yuan, start!

Yuan Shikai knew that Cixi was using the military expansion as a warning to him, but he did not intend to take the blame.

It was obvious that the imperial court could not afford the money, so it acquiesced to my use of Korean customs silver to expand the army, and now it is looking for trouble.

Second skirt?9384?50.9^?

Moreover, he has secretly expanded his army to 6, 2 more than reported. It would be even more troublesome if he made it known.

"Yuan Xiangcheng, do you think we need to lay off the soldiers?"

"I, your servant, dare not speak nonsense."

It’s okay to talk about it secretly.”

"North Korea is under threat from the Russians and south from the Japanese. 4 Tiger Soldiers are already struggling to resist the enemy. If we further reduce the number of Tiger Soldiers, we will be in trouble."

"Didn't you drive the Japanese away?"

"I have heard that the Japanese Emperor donated money and took the lead in expanding the military, so the Japanese must still have evil intentions."

Cixi, who was sitting on a cushion, shifted her body when she heard this, then said nonchalantly, "I see. I understand."

"Have you been quiet all this time?"

"The roads were quiet, but the capital was crowded with people. We saw many disturbances within a day of arriving."

"The capital has been quite noisy these days, but it should be much better after the Emperor's wedding."

Cixi said this thoughtfully, and it was unclear whether she was talking about the situation in Beijing or herself.

"Did you bring any officers with you this time?"

"I brought one."

"What is your name?"

"Duan Qirui."

"What kind of official is he?"

"Commander of the First Regiment of the Right Army of Jiashen, admiral in name only."

"Have you met many good generals in North Korea?"

"There are quite a few good generals, but most of them are brave but not wise. Only Duan Qirui once passed the imperial examination, so he can be considered to have some knowledge."

"how did it get here?"

"Take the train, then ride on horseback."

"Trains, trains are good things, Yuan Xiangcheng. You must work hard on railway affairs."

"As you say, I will do my best to do it, but I'm afraid I won't be able to do it."

"If you try your best, there is nothing you can't do."

There was another silence. Yuan Xiangcheng stared at the floral quilt on the bed, wondering what Cixi was thinking.

"Have you ever thought of returning to the court to serve as the Governor-General of Zhili?"

A sudden word brought Yuan Xiangcheng back to reality.

"I know something about Zhili, but Korea is at a critical juncture in establishing a province."

Hearing that Yuan Xiangcheng was about to explain again, Cixi waved her hand to interrupt him.

"Okay, I understand. Just focus on your work in North Korea."

"Thank you Queen Mother!"

"I'm tired, Li Lianying, please help me to rest."

"!"

The eunuch Li Lianying who was standing at the door quickly took Cixi's arm and helped her walk out.

Yuan Xiangcheng also retreated and went out of the palace. He suddenly felt that Cixi was no more than that.

During today's conversation, Cixi first asked about his background to get close to him, then used the issue of military expansion to criticize him, and also tried to see if he could reduce the military.

After being pushed back by Yuan Shikai, he was pretended to be asked to concentrate on building railways and was asked if he would be the governor of Zhili.

"It's ridiculous, it's so ridiculous."

Yuan Xiangcheng originally thought that Cixi, as a master of political struggle, could be so smart, but he didn't expect that she was just like the auntie from the neighborhood committee.

Even if she took off that identity, her communication skills would be worse than those of the neighborhood committee auntie. At least when she came to communicate with her, she would bring two cartons of milk.

Cixi was not willing to spend a single ounce of silver. She wanted to disarm, protect Korea, and build railways. It was really wishful thinking.

It was normal for Cixi to be suspicious of him, but why did she always think that she could get things done without spending money?

Yuan Xiangcheng had just hinted to Cixi, "I will try my best to do it, but I'm afraid it won't work."

But Cixi acted as if she didn't hear anything and just said that she would try her best and everything would be done.

Is this an effort?

It's clearly about money!

Forget it, Yuan Shikai didn't want to get entangled with Cixi now. When Guangxu got married, he would force Cixi to take action.

After that, funds could be allocated from the national treasury to build the railway planned by Yuan Shikai.

However, as soon as Yuan Xiangcheng returned to his residence from the Forbidden City, he saw Ming Ye coming in from outside and said excitedly:

"Head Instructor, everything has been arranged as you instructed. You can give a speech in front of all the scholars tomorrow!"

Chapter 117

Yuan Xiangcheng's prestige among young scholars was so high that after learning that Yuan Xiangcheng had arrived in Beijing, everyone was looking forward to having a conversation with him.

Just like he often did in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace Square in Seoul, scholars who failed to go to Joseon also wanted to pursue fame.

So after learning that the Queen Mother had summoned Yuan Xiangcheng, someone among the scholars immediately suggested inviting Lord Yuan to come and discuss the current situation.

Of course, this person was also a Korean scholar who was loyal to Yuan Shikai. After a brief communication with Ming Ye, they decided to hold such a debate in front of the West Market.

It is actually not quite appropriate to say that it was a debate. It would be more accurate to say that the scholars asked questions and Yuan Shikai answered them.

After all, who doesn’t want to meet this great hero?

What's more, unlike other officials, he often communicated with young scholars, exchanged views and answered their questions.

Except for a small number of stubborn scholars who adhered to the Four Books and Five Classics and looked down on Yuan Xiangcheng, the rest of the scholars, from the scholars to the Jinshi, all thought that Yuan Xiangcheng was a man of great knowledge.

It's just that he is not proficient in Chinese, but his attainments in Western learning are quite high.

Before leaving Korea, Yuan Xiangcheng specially updated the French and German chapters of the Rise of Great Powers series.

The Yuanshen tabloid in the capital also reprinted the two articles as soon as possible. The scholars at that time were particularly concerned about the two countries that had just invaded them, so the newspapers printed with these two articles were snapped up by the scholars.

Several reprints were always in short supply.

Yuan Shikai has also become the most concerned person in the second half of this year.

Among the people, there were also some gossipers who gradually put Yuan Shikai on the same level as Zeng, Zuo and Li.

It is said that "Zeng Hou suppressed the civil strife, Zuo Gong pacified the western border, Li Bo protected the coastal defense, and Xiang Cheng pacified the eastern threat."

The first three are all well-known figures. The fact that Yuan Shikai can be ranked alongside them also shows how highly he enjoys reputation among the people.

So who wouldn’t be excited when hearing the news that Yuan Shikai was coming to Xishi to meet with students?

Tan Sitong was looking around in the bustling crowd, being pushed around and accidentally bumped into.

Just when he was about to lose his balance, he quickly grabbed someone's braid and stabilized his body.

"Fuck off! Who's pulling me?"

With a cry of pain, the scholar whose pigtail was pulled turned around angrily, wanting to see who was so blind.

"Brother, please calm down, calm down." Tan Sitong also knew that he had caused trouble and was about to clench his fist and bow to apologize.

Unexpectedly, in the crowded situation, before he could even bend down, he was pushed in front of the scholar whose braid was being pulled by the crowd.

Legs against legs, belly against belly.

The two were squeezed into the crowd and drifted with the current. Tan Sitong, while trying to keep his balance, apologized to the man in front of him:

"My dear, it was an unintentional mistake. I hope you can forgive me."

The man whose braid was pulled was the scholar who covered his face and sighed after hearing the Five Sons' Song in the restaurant yesterday.

Today he heard that Yuan Shikai was going to Xishi to give lectures, so he hurried from Qinghua Temple in the east to the west.

Unexpectedly, he was grabbed by the pigtail right at the start. The scholar felt that he had really bad luck.

However, seeing that the man in front of him was not sincere, he couldn't blame him, so he could only make up his mind to stay away after the crowd thinned out.

For some reason, the crowd was pushed back and forth like a tide, and the scholars could only stand on tiptoe to look around.

"Get out of the way!"

"What are you guys doing? Why are you gathering here for no reason? Disperse immediately!"

It turned out that the soldiers patrolling the city had begun to disperse the crowd.

The unprovoked gathering of scholars has always been a sign of trouble in all dynasties, so it is natural to get to the bottom of it.

"We are here to wait for Master Yuan. We will not leave until Master Yuan arrives!"

"What about Lord Yuan and Lord Fang? Even if the emperor comes today, he will have to..."

"Third brother, third brother!" The soldier next to him pulled the man in front of him.

"Huh? What's wrong!"

The soldier pointed at the avoidance and silence signs that were slowly approaching from a distance, as well as the Flying Tiger flags held by the civilians on both sides, and the apricot-yellow umbrella in the middle.

"They seem to be talking about the Governor-General of Korea, Yuan Xiangcheng, Lord Yuan."

"what?"

5 ...

rugged...

Lu Yuan Xiangcheng did not expect that Mingye would set the agreed location as West Market. The so-called West Market, or Caishikou, is a more widely known name.