Chapter 49 Section 49

When we arrived at the Military Aircraft Department early the next morning, the first thing everyone wanted to talk about was, of course, the murder of Akira Sugiyama, secretary of the Japanese Legation.Logically speaking, this is a major event, and it is necessary to ask for an order. However, Western Affairs was originally in charge of King Qing, and now the Prime Minister’s Office has additionally assigned King Duan to manage it. , I won't play it for the time being, and I will talk about it after watching King Qing or King Duan play it. "The two kings are here, I don't know if they are 'invited'?" Wang Wenshao said, "It is best to send someone to inquire."

Su La went to inquire about the report, King Qing came, and King Duan also came, and King Duan also brought Dong Fuxiang, ready to be summoned by Empress Dowager Cixi.At this moment, it was King Qing who "invited to get up", and it had been a while since he went up. King Qing knelt and exited the Qinzheng Hall, followed by King Duan entering the hall to pay his respects.The weather was too hot, and he walked in a hurry. After kowtowing, he kept wiping away the soybean-sized beads of sweat on his forehead with his sleeve.This was a disgrace, but the Empress Dowager Cixi did not reprimand her, because she didn't have the heart to pay attention to these details, and also Wang Duan's words and actions like this have been a lot of disrespect recently.

"How did Dong Fuxiang's soldiers kill the secretary of the Japanese Legation?" The Empress Dowager Cixi said in a reproachful tone, "You don't understand anything else. When the two countries are at war, don't behead the envoy! " "If you go back to Lafayette, who will the spies not kill? That dwarf, what are you doing out of Yongdingmen? It's going to Majiabao to meet the foreign soldiers in Tianjin. If he takes the lead, the truth in Beijing will be told to the foreign soldiers." Bing, we will lose first." It made some sense, so the Empress Dowager Cixi turned to the emperor and said, "It's justifiable."

"Yes!" The emperor, who had been silent since August of the previous year, suddenly had an opinion, "Having said that, he shouldn't be killed. Once he is killed, it will become unreasonable for us." Upon hearing this, Wang Duan said, "What's the point with foreigners?" Now let Empress Dowager Cixi seize the opportunity.In just two or three days, after Zhao Shuqiao returned to Beijing, there was news from Zhuozhou that after the imperial officials had done nothing, King Duan became arrogant and domineering, and the Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to teach him a lesson. Taking advantage of the topic, "You are not allowed to contradict the emperor!" She lowered her face and said, "You are getting more and more unruly."

Duan Wang was stunned for a moment, but he couldn't answer: "I don't dare!" The Empress Dowager Cixi quickly returned to normal. "No matter what happens, the people in the embassy must be protected." She said, "You tell Dong Fuxiang to keep his subordinates in check." "Dong Fuxiang is here!" Wang Duan pointed his hand backward, "Please summon Lafayette and tell him face to face." "Alright!" The Empress Dowager Cixi nodded, "Let me tell you first, we are always in debt to you in this matter. You should write a note and say something nice to them when you go to King Qing to settle the matter. negotiable."

"Yes!" Duan Wang's expression became high again, "I can do anything else, but carrying the corpse into the city is not an option!" "Go discuss it with King Qing!" Empress Dowager Cixi waved her hand, "It's called Dong Fuxiang!" Dong Fuxiang is "alone".Because the Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to investigate the difference between what he said and what King Duan said, and also wanted to restrain Dong Fuxiang and not allow him to cause more disputes.In this way, it is inconvenient to talk when there is King Duan together. "Dong Fuxiang! The clerk of the Japanese embassy, ​​was it your subordinate who killed him? This matter was done badly, and I had to send someone to investigate. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain to the Japanese envoy."

"The minion retorted, the Japanese secretary was not killed by the Gan army. If the empress dowager wants to investigate, she should kill the slave! The Gan army can't kill any of them. If they kill one, they will definitely mutiny." Empress Dowager Cixi suddenly changed color, but did not attack.After thinking about it, he became wary and told himself that in this situation, he must be appeased first, so as not to make him disagree. How to deal with him in the future has to be discussed with Rong Lu. "The matter is already like this, and nothing can be found through investigation. You and your subordinates are really loyal to serve the country, so you should do your best to block the foreign soldiers."

"Yes!" Dong Fuxiang said triumphantly: "The slave has no other ability, he will kill foreign soldiers." "Okay! As long as you defeat the foreign soldiers, the imperial court will never let you down." Empress Dowager Cixi said, "Kneel down!" After retreating, Prince Duan had already returned to the mansion, but he sent someone to wait for Dong Fuxiang, and left a sentence: "Please come to the mansion immediately, Marshal Dong." As soon as they arrived at Prince Duan's mansion, King Duan stepped down to meet him.Dong Fuxiang's "alone confrontation" has already been reported, and with a smile on his face, he took Dong Fuxiang's left hand with his left hand and patted his back with his right hand, "Okay!" Duan Wang stretched out his thumb, "You are really a good man!

The generals who lead the troops can be like you, no matter how many foreigners there are! " Dong Fuxiang must first be humble and then generous, eager to compete with foreigners immediately.While talking happily, a guard came to report quietly, saying that Rong Lu was waiting at the military plane to discuss an urgent matter. When I arrived at the military aircraft department, I saw all the military ministers from Li Wang Shiduo down, except fortitude, all the military aircraft ministers were there. "Star Friday!" He called Dong Fuxiang's alias and said, "Your team no longer needs to guard Yongding Gate, and they will all be transferred back to Nanyuan to be stationed."

Dong Fuxiang was very surprised. I don't know why there is such an order?Sweeping his gaze, he only saw the sympathy in Qixiu's eyes, and felt even more unhappy in his heart.So he replied without hesitation: "In the past, I was restrained by Zhongtang, but today I was ordered to beat foreigners. I can only advance, not retreat!" This was blatant disobedience, but he used the decree as an excuse to gag Rong Lu's mouth. He stood up and walked out without saying a word, saying loudly, "Pass the sign! I'm going to see the queen mother soon." As soon as the sign was handed over, of course he "screamed" and told the story excitedly, accusing Dong Fuxiang of disobeying orders today and tomorrow, thinking that he couldn't ignore it.

"Don't be impatient." The Empress Dowager Cixi asked calmly, "What do you want me to do?" "The servant asked the empress dowager and the emperor to issue a Zhu order, and the servant ordered Dong Fuxiang to move to Nanyuan immediately. If the empress dowager and the emperor do not issue this Zhu order, please send an order to remove the servant from commanding the entire army of the armed forces." This is tantamount to threatening to go, and Empress Dowager Cixi will naturally follow his wishes and order the emperor to write a Zhu Yu as he said. Back at the military plane, Dong Fuxiang was still there, and Rong Lu said coldly: "You said that I obeyed the edict face to face, and I also obeyed the edict face to face, and it was written by the emperor himself under the order of the empress dowager. Here, look go." Dong Fuxiang was illiterate at first, but now he has read a few sentences, so he can still understand this very simple Zhu Yu.After reading it, Zhu Yu was handed back without saying anything. "Are you obeying the order?" "Naturally." Dong Fuxiang, who had been humiliated, was naturally unwilling. When he returned to the camp, he first looked for the "Military Advisor".Li Laizhong was well aware of Dong Fuxiang's unwillingness to be inferior to others, his paranoid temperament, and the reasons why he hated Yuan Shikai and Nie Shicheng, which led to his hatred of foreigners.In addition to his subordinates, Yihequan has long been mixed with it, infiltrating and spreading, and the Gan army and Yihequan have become indistinguishable, so Dong Fuxiang and Li Laizhong cannot be separated even for a moment. "Xing Gong, I don't care about this matter." Li Laizhong said, "The situation is imminent, and Rong Zhongtang is about to lose power, don't bother him!" "How did you see that?" "Brothers in the regiment, today they burned Ermaozi's house in Yaojiajing, the outer city, and the horse race hall outside Zhangyi Gate. The infantry commander knew about this, but he didn't dare to play it. Tomorrow, two brothers will be sent to Dongjiaomin Lane Go show off your prestige, if the foreigners dare to take action, they will take advantage of it. At that time, the Empress Dowager Cixi will definitely summon King Duan, and if he comes out to preside over the whole situation, Rong Zhongtang will naturally be suppressed." "So, what should I do then?" "Mr. Xing should go up and besiege the embassy. As long as Empress Dowager Cixi nods, Zhu Yu, who is stationed in Nanyuan, will naturally be invalidated." "Hmm, um!" Dong Fuxiang said, "Prince Duan asked me several times whether I was sure about besieging the embassy? My answer was very vague..." "No!" Li Laizhong rushed to say: "Xinggong wants to give a straightforward answer, just say that within ten days, he will definitely be captured." "Is it okay?" Dong Fuxiang was confused, and hesitantly said: "Foreigners have guns." "We have guns too, cannons." "That's right," Dong Fuxiang said, "but the cannon is under the control of Rong Zhongtang." "Hey!" Li Laizhong frowned and said, "Xinggong is really smart. I was ignorant for a while. At that time, Xinggongzao please use the cannon. Rong Zhongtang dare not give it?" Dong Fuxiang suddenly realized, "Yes, yes!" He said repeatedly , "If he dares to make things difficult, I will tell him face-to-face. The embassy could have been taken down, but Rong didn't give the cannon, so the war is not sure. If you lose, don't blame me." Therefore, Dong Fuxiang immediately rushed to Duanwang's mansion again, saying that he was ordered to return to Nanyuan, because Rong Lu actually protected foreigners, and he secretly intended to compromise.Now it is up to King Duan to decide whether to obey the order or not.He also said that the coalition forces entering Beijing were already approaching the city, and if the plan for peace and war was delayed, they would suffer disaster. He also hoped that King Duan could remonstrate with Empress Dowager Cixi and invent the decree early. "War must be fought. The hateful thing is that the higher-ups are still unwilling to declare war because they are afraid that foreigners will be too useless. What should we do?" "There is a way!" Fuguo Gong Zai Lan said, "Let's make things big, come to teach us that we have to declare war." "That's a good idea." Duan Wang Zaiyi nodded. "This method is very good!" Dong Fuxiang thought to himself, if things get serious, the Gan army will not withdraw, and his own face will be saved immediately, so he tried his best to say, "Forgive the foreign soldiers in the embassy, ​​but there are only a few hundred people, what is there to do?" fear?" "Friday!" Zaiyi asked solemnly, "If you want to attack the embassy, ​​are you sure?" "Why not? Ten days at most. However, as far as the current situation is concerned, it will be hard to say when the foreign soldiers reinforce them!" "Soldiers are precious and fast, so you have to seize the opportunity first." Zai Yi talked about the art of war, seemingly making no sense. At this time, King Qing came to invite Zaiyi to the Prime Minister's Yamen to discuss matters. He told Zai Lan to discuss all the details of attacking the embassy with Dong Fuxiang, and went to King Qing's appointment by himself in a sedan chair. When we met, we discussed two things. One was how to comfort Sugiyama Binzhi for being murdered, and the other was sending a note of condolence to embassies of various countries. There is no need to panic because of Sugiyama Bin's incident. The imperial court will surely protect the embassies of various countries. "You can't say that!" Zaiyi shook his head. "Then," King Qing asked in a low voice, "how should I say it?" King Duan thought for a moment, then raised his head and said, "First, you don't need to use any notes, just 'knowledge' is enough! Second, envoys from various countries should keep their own place in China, and they are not allowed to preach, let alone protect the people." All the houses of the churchmen and the churches used by foreigners will be demolished, and I will prepare my own funds to build them." Hearing this, King Qing and Chongli, the commander of the infantry, looked at each other and remained silent for a long time.More respectful and outspoken, "Your Majesty," he said, "the preaching is contained in the treaty, and I'm afraid you can't be so reckless in negotiating with foreigners." "What is recklessness? Let me see if you can find a way to not be reckless. Now three thousand foreign soldiers are coming to attack the capital, can you let him retreat?" "Second child," King Qing said, "we have discussed it so nicely because we want him to retreat." "What if you don't return?" King Qing thought about it for a while and replied, "It's not too late to show respect before going to war." Zaiyi fell silent, which meant that he reluctantly gave in, so Zhang Jing, the general manager, said: "There is also the case of Sugiyama Bin." "Never mind it!" Zaiyi said loudly, "We'll be very polite if we don't ask them about being spies!" Akira Sugiyama is the secretary of the Japanese legation, not a Chinese official. It is his duty to go out of Yongdingmen to meet the coalition forces. Why is it called "being a spy"?Everyone felt that he was not clear-headed and unreasonable, so they could only keep silent. "Let's do one thing first!" King Qing concluded, "The case of Sugiyama Bin can only be discussed tomorrow." On the second day, each went his own way, and the imperial court issued six edicts, one of which was "traitors fabricating rumors, using the name of hatred for religion, to harass and benevolent", which should be severely punished.In addition, Song Qing, who was stationed outside the customs, supervised Ma Yukun's army, and led the team to the vicinity of Beijing every day to suppress and arrest them.The purpose of transferring Ma Yukun to Beijing is to use him to replace Dong Fuxiang and defend the capital. One is "the case of the murder of a Japanese secretary. The local civil and military forces were negligent in guarding against it, and the murderer was not caught immediately.It means not to admit that Sugiyama Bin was killed by the Gan army. One is "the capital is vast, and it is easy for bandits to hide. The infantry commanded the Yamen, Shuntian Mansion, and the five cities to patrol the city's censors, conduct strict investigations, and protect the ground."Although there are the words "boxers causing trouble" in it, it does not specify the responsibility and regiment. Another one: According to Yulu, governor of Zhili, more than a thousand foreign soldiers will enter Beijing by railway.At present, the embassies of various countries have sent more than a thousand soldiers, which are sufficient for protection. If there are more and more soldiers, what will be the consequences?Nie Shicheng's first army is about to be transferred back to Tianjin and stationed briefly. If there are troops from various countries who want to go north by train, Yulu is ordered to try to stop them.For the defense of Dagukou, Luo Rongguang, the former commander-in-chief of Tianjin Town and the current admiral of Kashgar, was instructed to impose martial law to prevent accidents.Finally, a special warning: "If foreign soldiers break into Jifu, only Yulu, Nie Shicheng, and Luo Rongguang will ask!" In addition, there are also decrees on trying to repair railways and power lines, and to stabilize rice prices. It can be seen that the original intention of the imperial court is to strive for stability.There are two types of Boxers and boxers in Yihequan. Those who are peaceful are boxers, and those who cause trouble are boxers. They should be "strictly suppressed".The task of suppressing and arresting was given to Ma Yukun who was outside the customs. He didn't mention Dong Fuxiang and the Gan army who were currently stationed in the capital. It meant that the Gan army was no different from the boxers. The Gan army should also be included in the list of being suppressed. "This is all a trick of the surname Rong!" Dong Fuxiang said angrily, "If we don't beat this man down, we will never get ahead!" "Otherwise." Li Laizhong said calmly, "The key lies in the Queen Mother. Someone Rong completely listens to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is too old to turn against foreigners. If the Queen Mother really wants to beat foreigners, isn't someone Rong? Listen obediently." "According to this, the most important thing is to find a way to make the Queen Mother turn against foreigners?" "That's right! Xing Gong, don't be too busy. Now you have an excellent opportunity. If you use it well, it is enough to change the overall situation. However, you have to spend a lot of money first." "How much?" "At least ten thousand silver." "Ten thousand silver is a small matter." Dong Fuxiang immediately went to the person in charge of the grain platform and told him face to face to prepare a bank note of 10,000 silver and wait for it.The Gan army's salary was very sufficient, and it was enough to fetch tens of thousands of silver. Li Laizhong collected it, quietly left the camp, and went straight to Bada Hutong. In Shanxi Alley where Desai Jinhua Zhang Yanzhi lived, there was a "Qingyin Class" near Baishun Hutong called "Lixiangyuan". As soon as Li Laizhong entered the door, he asked, "Is the Fourth Master Wang here?" "Just came." The man replied, "Please sit in Miss Cui's room." "Miss Cui" was named Cui'er, and there was a benefactor named Wang Jixun, who was the "Fourth Master Wang" Li Laizhong was looking for.As soon as they entered the house, there was no host and guest, only the whispering and gasping sounds from the small room behind, presumably it was Wang Jixun who was making love with Tweety. Seeing this scene, Li Laizhong was in his arms, and hurriedly withdrew, and said to the old lady who came to greet the guests, "Tell Fourth Master Wang that I will wait for him to eat at 'Zui Qiong Lin'." "Sit down for a while, Master Li! Why are you in such a hurry." "It's inconvenient!" Li Laizhong said with a smile, "Come back with Fourth Master Wang later." After finishing speaking, he walked away.When I arrived at Zuiqionglin at the entrance of the alley, I chose the farthest corner, near the hut, and sat down in a private room that no one wanted, ordered two dishes, ordered a jug of wine, and waited while eating, and waited until the jug of wine was almost finished. Seeing Wang Jixun, Shi Shi came here. "How did you find such a place?" "Hush!" Li Laizhong pinched his lips with two fingers, signaling to keep his voice down. Wang Jixun understood and said no more.Waiting for the waiter to hand over the menu, he listened to Li Laizhong's arrangement, the food and drink were ready, the waiter withdrew, and put down the curtain, Wang Jixun began to speak. "Old Li, you came just in time! It's not convenient for me to find you, I'm in a hurry." "Oh, what's the matter?" "Nothing else. Tweety's family has escaped from Tianjin to Beijing. I don't know if this is true or not, but this is a matter of asking me for money." "You don't have to worry about money." Li Laizhong took out a bank note, wiped it smooth, and placed it in front of him. Wang Jixun stretched out his head to take a look, "Good guy!" He said, "Ten thousand taels! It's a ticket from 'Si Da Heng'." Before finishing a sentence, Li Laizhong waved his hands again and again.Wang Jixun knew that he had lost his composure, so he unconsciously raised his voice again.Shrinking his neck, he smiled apologetically. "What's the news these two days?" The news in question refers to the telegram that Rong Lu received.Wang Jixun is an alternate county magistrate who donated classes, and was born as a "telegraph student" in the Tianjin Telegraph Bureau. He has been in charge of the cipher for Ronglu for several years.All telegram communications with Rong Lu in various places have to go through his hands, so many secrets have been learned.Just being young and flirtatious, hanging out in Bada Hutong all year round, what is the limited salary enough for?Therefore, Li Laizhong took advantage of the situation and bought it long ago. "There's a lot of news. Which aspect do you want to ask?" "Jiangsu side." Li Laizhong asked, "Did Luo Jiajie call back?" "Have." "How to say?" "I didn't say anything, I just said that I had received a telegram from Rong Zhongtang and went to Shanghai to inquire about the attitudes of other countries." Li Laizhong was relieved, "Did you mention when will you call back?" He asked. "No." Wang Jixun added: "According to the rules, such an important matter will not be delayed for too long." Li Laizhong pondered for a while, then pushed the silver bill forward, and said in a low voice, "Fourth Lord, there is something that you just need to do with a little effort. If it is done, the ten thousand silver will be yours." "Okay! Say it." Wang Jixun stretched out a hand to the bank note. Li Laizhong's movements were more agile than his. With a light twitch, he took back the bank note, leaned over his face and said, "Please make a fake telegram." "How to create a law?" "Fake a telegram from Luo Jiajie." "Here," Wang Jixun asked, "how do you say it?" "How to say, you don't need to worry about it." Li Laizhong said again, "Don't be afraid, you have no responsibility at all." "How can there be no responsibility?" Wang Jixun chopped the back of his neck with his hand, "It's about to be discovered, it's a crime of losing his head." "As long as you don't lose your head, you can still eat flower wine and kiss Tweety's mouth." "Old Li!" Wang Jixun said with a smile, "I am Sun Wukong, and you are the Tathagata Buddha. You can't get out of your hands in anything. To be honest, you are capable, don't be afraid, I'm afraid! I have ten thousand taels of silver, and I have it for a long time." Live a comfortable life. However, to live a comfortable life, the first thing is to be able to feel at ease. Tell me, how can I be at ease? If you believe me, I will do it!" Li Laizhong nodded deeply while listening, "Okay! The two of us have made an agreement. I'm not right. I don't blame you if you don't do it. Fourth master, let me ask you first, how did the telegram come from the south?" "The telegraph in the south has two lines, one land line and one sea line. The land line can't reach Beijing now, because the telegraph poles were pulled down by the Boxers, and Baoding may not be able to pass. As for the sea line, there are two, One is connected to Tianjin, which is in a mess now, so there is no need to talk about it. The other is connected to Shanhaiguan, which is under the control of the deputy capital stationed there. There are urgent calls from the south in the past two days, and they are all connected to Shanhaiguan first, and then dispatched fast horses Send it to Beijing." "Then, let me ask you again, if you send the telegram from Shanhaiguan, if you still translate it and send it, is there any responsibility?" Wang Jixun was stunned, "There is no responsibility at all." He said: "I have delivered it, and I have no responsibility if I don't translate it or deliver it." "That's right! The Shanhaiguan side is my business. Anyway, there will always be a telegram for you. After you translate it and send it, the ten thousand silver will be yours." "Then," Wang Jixun asked in disbelief, "is there such an easy thing?" "Of course I need to pay you a little bit of attention." Li Laizhong thought for a while and said, "There are two ways, you can choose one yourself: one is to borrow the cipher book that you used to telegram with Luo Jiajie; the other is to use it. I'll give you a manuscript, please translate it and give it to me." "It's inconvenient to take out the code book!" Wang Jixun quickly replied, "Just take it out, and you don't know how to use it, because the code is different every day. In this way, you bring the manuscript, and I will translate it for you. Where is the manuscript?" "I have to give it to you tomorrow morning, where should I send it?" "Send it to my next office." Wang Jixun said, "I will not be on duty tomorrow morning, so I just happen to be doing this." "Okay, that's it!" Li Laizhong squeezed the bank note in his hand, stood up and lifted the curtain, and shouted, "Take the piece of paper!" In the capital, everyone who is old in Hua Cong knows two lines of poems: "Sing out 'take a piece of paper' when you are proud, and 'light up a lantern' when you are sad." "Take a piece of paper" is not a flying note to invite guests, or "calling a note", which is a matter of pride.But Li Laizhong ordered "take a piece of paper" at this time, but to Wang Jixun's surprise, it was not a game, but just a piece of paper to write on. "Fourth Master, write me a receipt and receive ten thousand silver." "Okay, okay! I'll write, I'll write!" When Wang Jixun was ready to write, Li Laizhong spoke again, "Please slow down, I read you to write 'I have received the Japanese embassy handed over 10,000 taels of Kuping silver.'" "What?" Wang Jixun was very surprised, "What does this mean?" "Smart people don't do secret things, fourth master, let me tell you the truth, the person who entrusted me to do this matter explained it like this. Ten thousand taels of silver is not a small amount, and people have to guard against it. Just do what I just said If you do it, we will naturally know that I will cancel this receipt and return it to you. Since you don't have the heart to let your friend be fooled, you can be calm. Fourth master, you have to understand that we are doing business, not trying to harm you. I have no grudges or enmities with you, and I paid 10,000 silver in exchange for your receipt in order to catch you, am I not a lunatic?" The words were very thorough, and after thinking about it, the other party seemed to have no choice but to use this defensive method.But there is one point that needs to be clarified, "How do you know if I have done so?" Wang Jixun asked, "If you can't prove it, you think I am playing tricks and sue me, saying that I have liaison with foreign countries. But there is something wrong with which there is no place to complain.” "Don't worry, we will definitely know. It's ten thousand taels of silver! How can you do something you are not sure about. " Wang Jixun had nothing to say. "Okay! That's it." He followed Li Laizhong's wishes, picked up a pen and finished writing, one paper for another, and everyone got their place.