After getting off the train at Tianjin Laolongtou Railway Station, Yuan Shikai did not go back to the "New Army" camp at the small station, but rode his horse straight to the Yamen of the Beiyang Minister at King Kong Bridge, asking to see Rong Lu. Rong Lu was a close confidant of Empress Dowager Cixi, and there was an indisputable and suspicious legend.About 20 years ago, the Empress Dowager Cixi was seriously ill. The imperial physician consulted with her and was at a loss what to do, so she ordered all provinces to recommend famous doctors.Governor Li Hongzhang of Zhili recommended Xue Fuchen, the former Taiwu Lindao Wuxi native of Shandong, and Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Shanxi, recommended Wang Shouzheng, the current magistrate of Yangqu County, Shanxi, from Hangzhou. There is improvement.A special decree: "Xue Fuchen was promoted to the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, and Wang Shouzheng was promoted to the prefect of Tianjin." This favor is not only for remuneration, but also for the convenience of diagnosis and treatment.

According to the traditional rules, when the emperor and the empress violated the peace, all prescriptions for pulse cases were handed over to the "internal affairs office" every day for the ministers to read.Those who are well versed in medicine always feel that the pulse case is extremely clever, but the prescription is not necessarily excellent, and sometimes the medicine is not right for the symptom.After a long time, I realized that the Empress Dowager Cixi was suffering from an unspeakable disease: miscarriage, bleeding and metrorrhagia, dripping with menstrual flow.The empress dowager's miscarriage is an anecdote in the world, and the imperial physicians are admonishing each other, keeping silent, and prescribing medicines, so there is no target.

Xue Fuchen and Wang Shouzheng, after all, were educated and became officials, so there was something wrong with them.The symptoms are obvious, so if you can't say it, don't say it!The symptoms of name-calling syndrome are similar, but the "gu steaming" caused by overwork and depression hides the medicine for treating miscarriage and metrorrhagia and impure menstruation in the prescription for treating bone steaming.Using the trick of "telling the truth and selling fake medicines" to prescribe the right medicine, it really paid off. This raises another question, if Empress Dowager Cixi is Wu Zetian, who is "Liuhua Lianhua"?According to word of mouth, this is Rong Lu, who is rich, handsome, and the most particular about clothes.

However, Ronglu 20 years ago was not promoted because of this, but frustrated.At that time, the two factions in the north and the south were in dire straits. The leader of the southern faction, Shen Guifen, and the minister of military affairs, Dashi Baojun, worked together to exclude Rong Lu, who was attached to the leader of the northern faction, Li Hongzao. "The commander of the infantry was demoted to lieutenant general.Rong Lu was very opportunistic, so he asked for a vacancy, and lived behind closed doors. It was not until the twelfth year of Guangxu that he was released as General of Xi'an.

This is a lack of idleness, but fortunately he was able to hold on to it for eight years, until the 20th year of Guangxu, when the Empress Dowager Cixi lived in her 60s and came to Beijing to celebrate her.It happened that King Gong came back to lead the military plane again. Knowing that Rong Lu was capable and talented, he was guaranteed to return to the infantry to command the yamen, and he was also the Prime Minister and Minister of State Affairs. The next year, he was transferred to the Minister of the Ministry of War.Soaring upwards, he will be promoted to a co-organizer bachelor in the next year.This year—the 24th year of Guangxu, on April 23rd, the emperor issued an imperial edict to "determine the country", the tenth day when he decided to reform and reform. Under the instruction of Empress Dowager Cixi, Ronglu was promoted to a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion, In fact, he was granted the title of governor of Zhili and minister of Beiyang.

The governor of Zhili was titled "Leader of Frontier Ministers".However, the importance of this lack lies in the concurrent leadership of the ministers of Beiyang. Since Li Hongzhang supervised Zhizhi in the early years of Guangxu and insisted on strengthening the army, Beiyang has mastered the main force of the country and has become the real "leader of the frontier ministers." .The Empress Dowager Cixi sent Rong Lu out of Beiyang to rein in the troops to observe the change, and what she played was a ruthless move that could kill the New Party! Rong Lu has three generals under his command.One is Dong Fuxiang, whose style name is Xingwu, Huizi from Guyuan, Gansu.In the early years of Tongzhi, there was chaos in the northwest, and Dong Fuxiang was also one of the leaders.Later, it was defeated by Liu Songshan, Zuo Zongtang's most powerful general in the Western Expedition, and he surrendered and adapted it.Now the official worships the admiral of Gansu, adds the title of minister, and rewards the prince Shaobao.The troops are called "Gan Army".

The other is Nie Shicheng, named Gongting, who was born in the Huai Army and is Li Hongzhang's little fellow.In the first year of the Jiawu period, the Korean Dongxue Party rebelled, and China and Japan sent troops to aid South Korea at the same time. Nie Shicheng followed the admiral Ye Zhichao and led his division to the east. He defended Motianling alone and defeated the Japanese army.He is also proficient in writing, once patrolled the border with horses, and wrote "Journey to the East", he can also be regarded as a Confucian general.The name of the department is "Wu Yi Army", which is half imitating the German style of operation, and its strength is quite considerable.

Another one is Yuan Shikai.After the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War, although he still had the real shortage of Zhejiang Wen Chu Dao, he was unwilling to take up the post, because it would take at least ten years for a Daoist to be promoted to supervisor and governor. Take a shortcut to the south.So the last article advocated training a new army to correct the long-standing shortcomings of the green battalion.Li Hongzao and Rong Lu of the current state accepted his suggestion and recruited 7,000 people to garrison and practice at the old base of Zhou Shengbo of the Huai Army in Xinnong Town, named Xiaozhan, south of Tianjin. "Army", foreign drums and foreign ships, with a new barrier, deeply appreciated by Rong Lu.

Yuan Shikai, who was promoted to be the inspector of Zhili, began to train troops at Xiaozhan in the winter of the 21st year of Guangxu. After three years, he achieved outstanding success, so he was favored by Kang Youwei.In June of this year, people were sent to the small station to carry out activities. Yuan Shikai pretended to be stupid and did not allow lobbyists a chance to speak.In this way, in July, the New Deal was in full swing, the emperor's leadership was vigorously promoted, and the new party's arrogance became more and more powerful.The two things that most attracted the attention of the elders of the court and central government were two things: On July 19th, Wang Zhao, the head of the Ministry of Rites, specifically participated in impeachment of the ministers Huaitabu, Xu Yingtao and others who obstructed him, and refused to act on his behalf. Shangshu and left and right ministers were all dismissed by order.The chiefs of the yamen in central Beijing are called "Tangguan". The expulsion of the ministers and the whole class is unprecedented since the founding of the Qing Dynasty.

The other is an edict on July 20th: "Yang Rui, the alternate minister of the cabinet, Liu Guangdi, the alternate principal of the Ministry of Punishment, Lin Xu, the alternate secretary of the cabinet, and Tan Sitong, the alternate magistrate of Jiangsu, will all be rewarded with the title of fourth-rank minister, and they will be awarded the rank of minister in the military aircraft Zhangjing. Let’s walk and participate in the New Deal.” All major policies are proposed by the “Sijingqing” and give orders, and the Sijingqing also drafts an edict and submits it to the cabinet, or sends the leftovers to the Ministry of War. This is equivalent to the emperor organizing another government. Just like the cabinet seven years after Yongzheng, it has become a nominal one.

So the old party, in fact, the queen party, used various channels to speak to the Empress Dowager Cixi who was recuperating in the Summer Palace, and had to take decisive measures.The Empress Dowager Cixi just sneered and said nothing. On July 26, there was a telegram: "Order Zhisu Governor Rong Lu, and inform the procurator Yuan Shikai to come to Beijing to see you." Yuan Shikai arrived in Beijing on July 29. On this day, I returned to Tianjin on the fifth day of August and stayed in Beijing for seven days. "Congratulations, congratulations!" Rong Lu congratulated as soon as they met, "I have seen the edict on the first day of August." It turned out that there was an edict on the first day of August, praising Yuan Shikai for his "diligence in work and seriousness in school training", and opening up a vacancy to be a substitute for a servant, "instructing him to specialize in military training affairs, and to perform all the necessary matters at any time."This not only made Yuan Shikai jump into the ranks of the first and second ranks, but also got to specialize in composing and playing directly to Tianting.This is the beginning of the so-called "big use", and the extraordinary promotion is comparable, so it should be congratulated. However, Yuan Shikai knew that in this edict, Rong Lu attached the most importance to the sentence "instructed to specialize in military training affairs". Now the military power is in the hands of Rong Lu, that is, in the hands of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and the emperor wants to give it to him If he seized the military power of the Queen Mother, Rong Lu would have to protect the military power for the Queen Mother and himself.As soon as this edict was issued, anyone with a discerning eye could see that there was little possibility of mediation in the conflict between the empress's mother and son, and the one who bore the brunt was himself and Rong Lu! The situation is like a bucket of gunpowder, and the gunpowder is in your hands. Once it is ignited, how can you burst out a bright future instead of being blown to pieces?It was time to make a decision on this big problem that he had been thinking about for five hours since he got on the train at eleven o'clock in the morning and could not be resolved. The situation is urgent and there is no way to think about it. The only way is to use the eight-character mantra that he usually believes in and implements: adapt to the wind and adapt to the situation. Thoughts were spinning like lightning in my heart, and I could still say politely, "This is all cultivated by the commander." As he said, he greeted him with his hands and expressed his thanks. "Don't dare to be, dare not be! What does the emperor's knowledge of Teda matter to me?" Rong Lu asked, "How's the weather in Beijing?" At this time, there was such the most general greeting, which greatly exceeded Yuan Shikai's expectations.But after thinking about it for a while, it is not difficult to understand that this is why Rong Lu is wary.I don't have to answer with any overtones, it's best to answer honestly. "It rained on the day I arrived, and the past few days have been good. But sooner or later, it will look like autumn." "Hey, where do you live?" "Live in Fahua Temple." From then on, Rong Lu continued, only talking about irrelevant gossip.This deep and unfathomable attitude made Yuan Shikai very vigilant. If he continued to perfunctory like this, what would Rong Lu think?He must have said in his heart: This kid, what is he planning?Unpredictable, can no longer be trusted. Thinking of this, he immediately glanced to the left and right, took two steps forward, and said softly: "Shi Kai has some important words, and I will report them to the commander-in-chief." Rong Lu remained calm, he just waved his hand sideways and said, "Everyone get out!" So the servant who filled the hookah took the lead, and all the attendants withdrew from the signing room and stood far away. Yuan Shikai knelt down on his knees and said in a painful voice: "Shikai came here today on orders, and he must not dare to do anything." Do it, and can't bear to do it, only ask yourself to die!" Rong Lu smiled. "What's the matter?" he asked, "to embarrass you so much?" "Look, handsome!" After receiving the piece of paper from Yuan Shikai's sleeve, Rong Lu saw that it was Zhu Yu, and was taken aback, but immediately returned to normal, and sat in the same place to look closely.Zhu Yu wrote: "Rong Lu conspired to abolish the establishment and kill the king, a great treason! I sent Yuan Shikai to Tianjin, read the Zhu Yu, and immediately executed Rong Lu. The vacancy is Yuan Shikai's succession. I admire you!" Yuan Shikai felt that this moment was of great importance, so he concentrated on rectification and looked up at Rong Lu's face.Seeing that he didn't stand up after reading Zhu Yu, he knew that he didn't have an emperor in his mind, which was a bad sign!After thinking about it again, this is because I don't know the content of Zhu Yu.If after reading Zhu Yu, you are panicked and at a loss, you might as well take the opportunity to threaten, or if you have a worried and embarrassed look, then you can give him advice, plan for others as well as for yourself, at least fish in troubled waters and get some benefits.If he is neither surprised nor worried, but at least expresses his gratitude, then simply say a few words of sincerity to teach him how to make love. As soon as he finished thinking about it, Rong Lu had finished reading Zhu Yu, put it on the desk, pressed it with a crystal paperweight, and said with a straight face: "The minister is the king, rain, dew, thunder, and thunder are nothing but grace. But how many years have the ancestors done in the imperial court?" According to the rules that have been passed down, the military plane is responsible for "accepting the order"; the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Punishments are responsible for convictions; Just a piece of paper, can you 'respect this, respect this'?" Before the answer was over, Yuan Shikai knew that he was capable of manipulating the officialdom, and he still had a lot of people left behind. Seeing the turmoil, if he didn't get down quickly, he would be in danger of being overwhelmed! "Marshal!" He said angrily, "Shi Kai's allegiance is uncompromising, and God can show his sincerity. If Marshal misunderstands that Shi Kai has a different heart, Shi Kai will have to die in front of Marshal!" Having said that, I burst into tears.Weeping and complaining, he said that he had been summoned by the emperor three times in Beijing, and all three times were in the huge court, only the so-called "individual pair" between the monarch and his ministers.The first time was on the first day of August, when he inquired about the situation of the military training at the small station, and on that day there was an edict to "open a vacancy and fill in as a servant"; the second time was on the second day of August, when the emperor asked about foreign military affairs. Then comes the most important day.On the third day of August, Rong Lu sent a telegram to Beijing, saying that Britain and Russia had started fighting in Vladivostok, and that Dagu should be on guard, urging Yuan Shikai to return to his post immediately.And on that night, Tan Sitong visited his apartment and asked him to lead troops into Beijing, surround the Summer Palace, and kidnap the Empress Dowager Cixi.At the same time, he said that the emperor will summon him again on the fifth day of August, and Zhu Yu will hand it over in person. "Seeing Zhu Yu, Shikai was so frightened that he was so frightened that he wished he could fly back to Tianjin. Shikai has been favored by Marshal Shi Kai for his promotion..." "Okay, okay!" Rong Lu interrupted him impatiently, "I'll talk about it tomorrow!" After finishing speaking, he put the tea bowl on one end, and the footman who was watching from outside the door raised his voice and sang: "See off!"