Chapter 194 Yingtai Sunset (4-2)

After withdrawing from Liaoyang, Krobatkin guarded the Hunhe River. When Lushun fell, a regiment of Cossack cavalry arrived. In order to boost morale, he decided to use this regiment of cavalry to make a surprise attack. The selected targets are Niuzhuang and Yingkou.Krobatkin used a tactic of attacking the east and attacking the west, pretending to attack the "neutral ground in western Liaoning".It has become an open secret that the Qing army assisted Japan in attacking Russia. Russia has repeatedly sent notes to protest, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Beiyang ignored them. Therefore, the Russian army’s attack on Western Liaoning was regarded as a common act of defeating the army and Japan did not. Thought it should be more vigilant.

Ma Yukun, who was ordered to guard the west of Liaoning, could not help being frightened. The regular army could not cross the river to the east of Liaodong. They could only use Feng Linge, who was called the "Justice Army" and the "National Troupe" and others, to fortify the mountains east of Niuzhuang and Haicheng.The name of this place is Qianshan, with rolling hills and good terrain, but the firepower of the militia is insufficient, and it is still not an easy task to block the Cossack cavalry, which is famous for their hustle and bustle. So someone in Ma Yukun's shogunate suggested setting up suspicious soldiers.Twenty-four carts were used, converted into gun carriages, and distributed on the tops of Qianshan Mountains from north to south.In fact, only the two most important places are equipped with old-fashioned muzzle-loading guns, and the remaining 22 carts are all equipped with wooden field gun models.

As for the Cossack cavalry, they swept over like a gust of wind, and naturally fired artillery to demonstrate without waiting for them to approach.The avant-garde commander of the Russian army looked through the binoculars, only to realize that his subordinates had strayed into the enemy's artillery position, and hurriedly ordered to retreat.But instead of returning to the original place, they gave up the task of pretending to attack the neutral ground in western Liaoning. As soon as they got out of the range of the wild artillery, they turned south and galloped from north to west of Haicheng.The Japanese army guarding Niuzhuang was caught off guard and suffered a lot.

Then, Krobatkin mobilized 80,000 troops to attack the Japanese First Army at Heigoutai near Liaoyang. The Japanese army deployed the second, fourth, and eighth divisions for reinforcements and fought hard to hold the original position. After these two battles, both Japan and Russia mobilized large armies to help. Russia has concentrated adjustable troops, totaling 400,000 troops.More than 300,000 soldiers were divided into five armies, facing each other with flags, and the front from northeast to southwest stretched hundreds of miles away. On the Lantern Festival in the 31st year of Guangxu, the Japanese army launched a general offensive. The elite Fifth Army attacked Fushun in the east of Shenyang.On the front, the Second and Fourth Armies attacked from Liaoyang to the north.Krobatkin mistook the main force of the Japanese army, divided the majority of the troops, and attacked the enemy northward, while sticking to the front.Neither the north nor the south were playing badly.

Unexpectedly, the third army, which was severely injured in the attack on Lushun, regrouped, circled out of the northwest of the Russian army, and went straight to Xinmin west of Shenyang. At this moment, Krobatkin knew that he had been surrounded by the enemy, and hurriedly ordered to break through.So the Japanese army captured Lushun first, and then entered Shenyang. This great battle lasted 20 days. The Russian army suffered more than 90,000 casualties, and the Japanese army suffered similar losses. However, the war did not end. Kroubatkin was defeated and deposed. Zuo moved to be the commander of the First Army, and the commander-in-chief was replaced by Li Niweiqi.The Japanese army took advantage of the victory to advance to occupy Kaiyuan and Tieling, but at the end of their efforts, they were unable to advance further, and the two sides became a stalemate.

At that time, the newspapers were buzzing, and everyone said how excited the morale of the Japanese people was. The Japanese army in Fengtian will surely take advantage of the victory and go north, heading straight to Russia.At this time, China and Japan are closely related, and the scholar-bureaucrats in Beijing and China have the same idea as the Japanese people, thinking that the three eastern provinces will be recovered soon, and how to deal with the aftermath should be planned as soon as possible.So the Military Aircraft Department sent a request to send Zhao Erxun, the acting secretary of the household department, to Tianjin to have a preliminary discussion with Yuan Shikai.

Zhao Erxun, who was full of enthusiasm, rushed to Tianjin excitedly. When he met Yuan Shikai, when he mentioned the words in the newspaper, seeing his indifferent expression, Zhao Erxun couldn't help being discouraged. "Ciweng," Yuan Shikai said, "Japan's victory has been won, indeed! To say that Russia is going straight to Beijing is just a dream, and the war cannot end for a while." "Why can't the war end yet? Could it be that Russia still refuses to admit defeat?" Zhao Erxun asked: "Even if Japan can't go straight to Russia, it has more than enough power to drive the Russian army out of the three eastern provinces. Can't Russia see this?"

"Russia has a different view, and the views of the Japanese rulers and the people are different. The Japanese army has suffered heavy losses. Although it is not at the end of its strength, it is still unable to move. It will take at least a few months of recuperation before it can regain its momentum. Now those who are eager to seek peace, Japan, not Russia." Zhao Erxun became more and more surprised, and asked in disbelief, "Japan wants to seek peace?" "Yes." Yuan Shikai replied clearly: "Japan's important ministers all advocate that enough is enough to seek peace in a timely manner. Emperor Meiji held an imperial meeting and planned to ask the United States to mediate. However, Japan's people are so popular that it is inconvenient to announce these decisions for a while." That's all."

"Is there such a thing?" Zhao Erxun remained silent for a long time. "Russia refuses to admit defeat, and of course he has his own plans. The army, Japan is no longer able to advance, and Russia still has a reserve force to adjust; the navy, Russia's second and third fleets, have at least fifty warships, From the Baltic Sea to the east, we want to compete with the Japanese navy. Don't listen to the rumors in the newspapers, Ciweng, Russia is not completely defeated." "According to this, the end of the war is nowhere in sight?" "It won't be close anyway."

"Then, is it within our reach to take back the three eastern provinces?" "These six words 'hope but can't reach' are wonderful descriptions. However, everything can be done beforehand. If there is a great talent like Ci Weng who can be ordered to leave the customs first, it will be much more convenient in the future in terms of reception. .” "Yes!" Zhao Erxun nodded deeply, and then asked: "Weng Wei, shall I just take your words and return to my life according to the facts?" "Yes! Yes! Fanci Weng told me that the three eastern provinces are the birthplace of this dynasty, and I dare not take it lightly."

※ ※ ※ Sure enough, not long after Zhao Erxun returned to Beijing, Yang Shu, the Minister to Japan, and Liang Cheng, the Minister to the United States, received secret telegrams respectively, stating that Japan had informed the United States of its intention to make peace with Russia.However, President Roosevelt of the United States believed that the time for mediation was not yet ripe, and he was unwilling to come forward rashly. He just issued a statement, urging Japan and Russia to negotiate peace directly, and at the same time asked Japan to keep the door of Manchuria open and return sovereignty to China. These news and Yuan Shikai's words corroborate the situation. The situation is quite clear. Taking back the three eastern provinces is indeed an elusive thing.The Empress Dowager Cixi and the Minister of Military Aircraft seemed to have taken a reassurance, and they ignored the northeast and took care of the southeast first. ※ ※ ※ Yikuang fulfilled his promise and advocated the abolition of the Jianghuai governor, but supported Yuan Shikai's suggestion that Zhou Fu, the acting governor of Jianghuai, should come forward and set up a commander in chief to deter the bandits.The upper edict said: "According to the postings of various yamen, it is inconvenient to change the governor. Most of them plan to change the admiral to be stationed. After reviewing and checking Zhou Fu's performance, it is also more appropriate to set up a governor than to set up a governor. As the governor of Liangjiang, it is even more true, and I plan to change the commander-in-chief of Huaiyang Town to the governor of Jianghuai as requested by the governor of the department, and use both civil and military skills to control Xuzhou Town and Jiangbei defense training battalions." Since the establishment of Jianghuai admiral focuses on deterring thieves, the rule of law must be aggravated. Therefore, it is also stipulated that "with the Huaiyang Sea Road and the title of inspector, any serious case of Jiangbei thieves should be punished immediately, and those below the rank of the army who commit crimes should be brought to justice." There is no need to dismantle the Soviet Union to avoid delays in reviewing and surveying. It seems that both the civil and military forces in the Jiangbei have a program. If there is a shortage of Jianghuai governors, there is no need to establish them. Xiang is an area infested by thieves. Now that the governor has been abolished and an admiral has been replaced, the governor of the department should be ordered to reorganize the battalion and train seriously to focus on the local area. The rest of the unfinished matters should be carefully considered by the governor of Liangjiang and the governor of Jiangsu. , and deal with it separately.” This edict was not very cleverly drafted, fragmented, vague, and unclear. In addition, it happened that Empress Dowager Cixi was in a bad mood on this day, so she made a big fuss.If the wording is inappropriate, it will be corrected immediately, and if there is a discrepancy in the method, it will take a lot of talking. "How do you call it 'Civil and Military Combination'?" For the four characters of "both civil and military use", there was a dispute in the military aircraft department. The full name of "Admiral" is "Admiral General Military Affairs Officer", and he is honored as "Junmen". According to the establishment of the Green Battalion, he is the highest military officer in the province.The rank is the same as that of the governor and the garrison generals, they are all from the first rank, but the status and position are not only inferior to the governor, general, and even the governor of the second rank.Because the governor and the governor usually hold the title of Minister of the Ministry of War and Minister of the Ministry of War, and are in charge of military affairs, they can control the generals. When the admiral sees a governor who is two levels lower than him, he must also "attend", not to mention the governor. As usual, the governor and the governor also bring the right capital censor and the right deputy capital censor, whose status is equal to the hall official of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.When the big officials of the feudal border join the subordinate officials, there are some inaccuracies. For example, when they join the military generals, even the admirals and chief soldiers wearing red hats are all inaccurate.For this reason, in the sixth or seventh year of Tongzhi, when the Nian bandits first leveled off, veteran generals were dismissed one after another. For example, Liu Mingchuan, the governor of Zhili who had been baronized, couldn't sleep because he felt that the military officer was too wronged. Now it is said that an admiral can use both civil and military affairs. In Qu Hongji's view, it means that there is no distinction between civil and military affairs, and equal status. The idea of ​​"combining civil and military use" was conceived by Yuan Shikai. Its function is: first, literati who know soldiers among the aides can also be released from Zhang Yijun; , the identity of the Governor-General who was born in the army.With these two important relationships, Yikuang insisted on the original proposal.Although Qu Hongji was appreciated by the Empress Dowager Cixi, he was no match for Yikuang as the foreman of the military aircraft, so he had to give in. At this time, Empress Dowager Cixi also asked this question, and Qu Hongji applauded secretly, and listened to Yikuang's answer: "Use both civil and martial arts, regardless of qualifications, flexible scheduling, and easy to reward talents." The words "independently qualified" are bad words. "If you are an official or a errand, can you not be qualified?" Empress Dowager Cixi asked: "Civil and military have different paths, each has its own strengths, and they are mixed. It will be difficult to rectify the administration of officials in the future!" "If you go back to the Empress Dowager," Yikuang's eloquence is not bad, and he said calmly: "The reason for the different careers in civil and military affairs is that most of the generals in the past were from the army and were illiterate, so they can't be mixed. Since the new army was established, all the generals were from schools. There are also quite a few people who study abroad in the East and the West, unlike the military officers of the past. Now that the army is being organized, in order to encourage talented people to join the army, it may be better to give them the best. Furthermore, in the military training in various provinces, although the person in charge is a military general, he is often appointed as a Taoist. It’s not as good as it is, it’s not as good as using both civil and military skills, and it’s more practical.” These remarks are not easy to refute. The Empress Dowager Cixi acquiesced in not talking further, but she picked another problem, "Where are the areas under the jurisdiction of the Jianghuai admiral?" She asked. "From Xuzhou in the west to the sea in the east, they are all under the jurisdiction of Admiral Jianghuai." "Haizhou is not included?" "included." "Haizhou is Zhili Prefecture. Since it is included, it should not be called Jianghuai Admiral." Empress Dowager Cixi asked eloquently: "Isn't this not worthy of the name?" Yikuang was at a loss for words, so he had no choice but to meet.So Qu Hongji said upwards: "Jianghuai Admiral is not worthy of the name, it seems that it can be changed to Jiangbei Admiral." "That's right!" The Empress Dowager Cixi spoke approvingly, "This name really makes sense." This hurdle is finally over.Immediately after the governor of Jianghuai revoked the decree to establish the Jiangbei admiral, he first acted as the Jiangbei admiral with the commander-in-chief of Huaiyang Town.A few days later, Yikuang asked Jian to send the chief envoy of the Military and Political Department of the Military Training Department, and Liu Yongqing, the alternate Taoist priest, to act as the admiral of Jiangbei. He was awarded the title of minister of the Ministry of War.Wu Neng is in charge of the general soldiers, and Wen Neng is the plumbing officer. It is no different from setting up a governor.This person was protected by Yuan Shikai, so he is naturally from the Beiyang family. Yuan Shikai's influence has clearly extended into the boundary of Liangjiang. ※ ※ ※ Russia's second and third fleets sailed eastward from the Baltic Sea around the Cape of Good Hope, and were unwelcome everywhere, and finally cruised in the Yellow Sea, planning to wait for an opportunity to escape into Vladivostok. Togo Heihachiro, the commander of the Japanese navy, saw the movement of the two fleets. From the Yellow Sea to the Sea of ​​Japan to Vladivostok, they had to pass through the Tsushima Strait between Korea and Japan's Kyushu.Sasebo, Nagasaki, and Kagoshima in the southwest of Kyushu are all seaports where giant ships can berthed, and Fukuoka and Hiroshima later serve as military depots.Therefore, Togo Heihachiro waited for work with ease, determined to defeat the Russian navy in one fell swoop. The two fleets of Russia, unable to return home, are very anxious. If they enter the East China Sea and return to Vladivostok around the east of Japan, the journey will be too far, and the fuel and food will not be able to support them.We had no choice but to venture northward across Jeju Island in North Korea and enter the Tsushima Strait. Twenty-nine warships, cruisers, coastal defense ships, destroyers, and supply ships, etc., joined each other end to end, heading north at full speed. So the Japanese navy went all out to intercept and fought two battles day and night. The Russian army was defeated and almost the entire army was wiped out. The commander, Vice Admiral Roger Stwinsky, surrendered. Sakhalin Island, north of Hokkaido. The results of the Japanese army are quite brilliant, but the Russian army is gradually reinforcing from the Siberian Railway.Under the situation that Russia has no hope of victory and no power to continue the war, US President Roosevelt believes that the time for the two sides to negotiate a peace is ripe, so the world mediates.Japan responded first, and Russia finally accepted the persuasion, agreeing to hold peace talks in Portsmouth, USA.The plenipotentiary representative of Japan is Komura Komura, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, while the Russian Prime Minister is the plenipotentiary, who is the same Weide who plays with Li Hongzhang and his son.As soon as he arrived in the United States, he issued a pre-emptive statement: "What Russia has lost is only a colony, which does not affect the safety of the country. If Japan's request is detrimental to Russia's national prestige, it will never be recognized." Until Roosevelt personally accompanied the two countries with full powers , took the yacht "Mayflower" and arrived in Portsmouth to discuss. Wade announced the imperial edict of the Russian Emperor: "The principle of not cutting an inch of land or paying a ruble is the principle of persistence." Therefore, the peace talks were on the verge of breaking down several times. At the conference table, Wade was aggressive, and Komura couldn't help but sarcastically said, "Listening to your speech, it seems like you are the representative of the victor." Wade immediately replied: "There is no victor here! Therefore, there is no loser. "The Japan-Russia Treaty of Portsmouth indeed proved that Japan was not victorious and Russia was not defeated. Apart from the transfer of the interests of the three eastern provinces, Russia's only loss was the cession of the southern part of Sakhalin Island and Japan at the 50th parallel north latitude.However, as an incidental agreement, the two countries shall not obstruct navigation in the Soya Strait and the Tatar Strait, and Japan shall not build any military facilities on Nanku Island. ※ ※ ※ At the time when Japan and Russia were planning to negotiate peace, from Tianjin to Nanjing, many major events were beginning to take place. These big things belong to the New Deal.Since Xin Chou returned to Luan, it took three or four years for the Empress Dowager Cixi to be persuaded that the implementation of the New Deal was the only way to strive for strength.However, the New Deal has many aspects, and some of them can be implemented gradually without being affected by the situation, such as setting up more schools, revitalizing business, etc., while some big plans for managing the world and building a country cannot be held unless the situation is quite stable. Now that the Russo-Japanese War is coming to an end, the recovery of the three eastern provinces seems to be more assured with the support of the United States.Therefore, the Military Aircraft Department, Beiyang Minister's Yamen, and Huguang Governor's Yamen are all very busy, formulating policies, drafting regulations, formulating plans, and exchanging letters and telegrams. However, before launching these major events, everyone has their own opinions and scruples when evaluating the future.Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong had similar views. To implement the New Deal, obstacles must first be removed. If Wang Wenshao was in power, it would be impossible to completely abolish the imperial examinations. Therefore, scholars were more on the sidelines, and schools were generally established in difficult times.As a result, Wang Wenshao was sent to the post of the Minister of Military Aircraft, and Xu Shichang, because Qu Hongji had a good impression of him, under the protection of Yikuang, became a "military aircraft with curtains", "learned to walk" among the Minister of Military Aircraft, and Acting as the left servant of the Ministry of War. Others, mainly a group of relatives and people with deep views of Manchu and Han people, were suspicious of Yuan Shikai day by day, but there was Yiqian who supported him in secret, and boasted in public, and asked at every turn: " After going to Yuan Weiting, who can replace him? Especially in military training, let alone such a person!" These words are very convincing, and after much deliberation, the only good strategy is to find someone who can succeed Yuan Shikai.Of course, this person has to be found among the bannermen. As a result, Tie Liang, who was born in the first batch of Japanese non-commissioned officers, was able to stand out.First, he was a Taoist who was not a real vacancy, and he became the right servant of the household department. In April last year, he was transferred to the left servant of the military department. Soon he was given a secret order to check the warehouses and military equipment in all provinces from Beijing to Jiangsu.The trip lasted half a year, passing through six provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, and Henan. Wherever he went, he checked the treasury, checked the battalion, and also inspected the fort, navy and military training school. A memorial of tens of thousands of words details the real situation of the armies of various provinces. From the Empress Dowager Cixi to the military commanders, none of them can read this protracted and trivial memorial, but they have the impression that Tie Liang is very serious in his work. In addition, there are also detailed reports on the revenue and expenditure of each province, and there are suggestions for rectifying taxation.The most relevant thing is that the Soil Paste Taxation Bureau set up in Yichang was requested to be reorganized into the Soil Paste General Administrations of the eight provinces of Lianghu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Fujian to collect unified donations for native products and opium. In addition, let it be what you want”, if it is not “sales on the ground”, no additional tax will be levied.Compared with the previous lijin, it is much lighter to pass the card every time and collect it step by step.If the tax is light, the tax will be reduced privately, and the tax will be greatly increased.The military training office made a decision that all provinces should only allocate the amount before the establishment of the Soil Paste General Administration, and the excess revenue will be stored in a special case for military training. Therefore, Tie Liang gave another impression to his relatives: he not only knows soldiers, but is also good at managing money.This can give Yuan Shikai the important task of training soldiers and raising salaries in the future.So immediately after Xu Shichang's appointment, the Empress Dowager Cixi sent Tie Liang to act as Minister of the Ministry of War, and Xu Shichang would handle military training matters, and had been appointed to walk on the Minister of Military Aircraft. In addition, there are some urgent transfers, the most eye-catching one is that Zhao Erxun was released as the general of Shengjing to take over the three eastern provinces; serve as. This position, one can tell at a glance that it is a good job to make money every day.In Tie Liang's original melody, he said: "The general office of taxes and taxes in the eight provinces has heavy responsibilities, and Sun Tinglin, who now acts as the general office of the bureau, supplements Dao Sun Tinglin. "Having said that, I always think that the so-called "big officials" are nothing more than third-rank officials who serve as supervisors outside and Jingtang inside.Therefore, people who thought they had the qualifications moved one after another, sharpened their heads and drilled upwards, but they did not expect to fall on the head of Ke Fengshi, who had been a great official in the frontier. It turns out that it has no effect.This Ke Fengshi was from the Imperial Academy of Guiwei in the ninth year of the Guangxu Period. His style name was Xun'an. He was born in Wuchang, Hubei. Participate in impeachment.Articles and New Deals were known as capable members for a while.Therefore, as soon as Cen Chunxuan took office, he expelled Wang Zhichun, the governor of Guangxi, and the imperial court succeeded him with Ke Fengshi. In fact, Cen Chunxuan moved to Guangxi to command the suppression of bandits. "Governors and governors in the same city" are often in dire straits, let alone Cen Chunxuan as the governor? Cen Chunxuan, of course, would not take Ke Fengshi seriously, and acted arbitrarily when things went wrong, and there was no room for the governor to participate.Ke Fengshi thought to himself that the governor of Guangxi is no better than the governor of Guangdong. Cen Chunxuan took his power for no reason. I figured out a way.Cen Chunxuan was born as a noble son, even though he frequently impeached his subordinates for corruption, he himself just didn't take money home and enjoyed his daily life without being wronged.There are often banquets in Xingyuan, and opera troupes are often passed on to entertain guests. Ke Fengshi came up with a solution on this matter.One day, when Cen Chunxuan came across an opera passing on, he personally led the tender soldiers on guard on the road. When the troupe passed by, he asked where he was going, and then ordered the troupe to turn back halfway on the grounds that "it is time to use soldiers, and drama should be banned." When he heard the news, he was furious, but there was nothing he could do for a while. Cen Chunxuan, who must avenge his grievances, began to inquire about Ke Fengshi's misdeeds in many ways, and prepared to seize the opportunity to read a book, not only dismissed, but also investigated, not only investigated, but also imprisoned, so as to relieve the hatred in his heart . According to his estimates, Ke Fengshi must have been corrupt to ink, because before he was transferred to the governor of Guangxi, he served as the governor of Jiangxi for eleven months, and his political reputation was very bad. A couplet is given as a gift, and the couplet is a collection of sentences: "When you meet the king's evil, the crime cannot be tolerated; when the time is mourned, I will die with you."The banner shouted loudly and attacked in groups: "Fake Fake!" The scolding was so vicious that it was enough to relieve hatred.Someone else said that this couplet was written by Wang Xiangqi, and that Ke Fengshi treated him just like Cen Chunxuan treated Ke Fengshi. However, in Guangxi, he couldn't catch him, so someone made a mockery for Cen Chunxuan: "Ke Xun'an is shocked by the prestige of the commander-in-chief. If you want to be greedy, you dare not be greedy. Where the scepter comes, it is really enough to be stubborn and cowardly." These words Naturally, it can make Cen Chunxuan proud, but he still can't spare Ke Fengshi. When he reported the military situation, he included an attached piece, saying that Ke Fengshi was "stubborn when things happen, and he didn't understand the military situation".This is different from corruption and dereliction of duty, which can only be transferred but not punished, so he was swapped with the governor of Guizhou.Guangxi is a central province, while Guizhou is a small province. This tune is invisibly tantamount to punishment. Of course Cen Chunxuan was pleased, but Ke Fengshi was greatly aggrieved, so he excused his illness and refused to take up the post, but he brought with him the eunuch money he had accumulated in Jiangxi. Traveling far away to Beijing and Tianjin, introduced by Rongqing in the same year, he got on a line with Yikuang.However, half of the reason why he was able to win this coveted job was due to his filial piety to Yikuang, and half because he dared to stroke Cen Chunxuan's beard, which Yuan Shikai thought should be rewarded. ※ ※ ※ In the last edict: "Wang Wenshao, a university scholar, has been on duty for many years and has been hardworking. Now he is over seventy years old, and it is difficult to kneel down every day when he is summoned. He should be sympathetic and drive to the Minister of Military Aircraft to save labor. On the third day, led by Yuan Shikai, together with Zhang Zhidong, governor of Huguang, and Zhou Fu, acting governor of Liangjiang, they jointly entered the memorial, please implement a constitutional government after twelve years.Then, an edict was issued: "The current situation is difficult, and there are many things to be dealt with. The imperial court has repeatedly issued edicts, trying to reform and revitalize. For several years, although the scale has been achieved, the actual effect has not been shown. Stressing nothing, but failing to understand the whole story. It seems that this is perfunctory, how to save the crisis from the decline. Zi Te Jian Zaize, Dai Hongci, Xu Shichang, Duan Fang, etc., accompanied their personnel, and went to Eastern and Western countries to study everything Politics, in order to choose the good and follow. Afterwards, they will be selected and dispatched, and they will go in groups. They will consult with each other, carefully examine them, and prepare for selection, without any appointment." Constitutionalism was not mentioned in the decree, and Yuan Shikai and others kept the original document requesting constitutionalism, and the intention of the imperial court was obvious.Many people who claim to be knowledgeable about current affairs have bought many books and studied day and night for the constitutional regimes of the East and the West, especially Japan's "Meiji Restoration" and the actual effects of constitutionalism. Nouns such as "virtual monarch system", "responsible cabinet", "members of the upper and lower houses", "exercising the right of consent" and other terms are catchy, and they are thought to be copied by important ministers, and they must be widely consulted. According to the imperial edict and Chen Yan, you can be prosperous and prosperous, and you can expect wealth.Now it's all gone. Fortunately, there is a sentence in the imperial edict that "then you will be selected and dispatched in different classes", which shows that the imperial court regards sending officials to investigate politics as a regular task. No matter what, it is always a good thing to go abroad.So there are still some people who are very active, posting articles and posting posts, all making a big fuss about the phrase "understand the truth".The desks of the four ministers who were sent to investigate were all piled up with these articles. But no one is willing to take the time to take a closer look, because they all know that the court's move is to prevaricate public opinion, and there is no plan to "return the power to the people".Those "rebel" words are fine if you don't read them, they will inevitably be imprinted in your mind, and if you are not careful, they will be verbal, especially when they are played correctly, it is even worse, so it is best to ignore them. Therefore, everyone has their own plans this time, some are to curry favor with errands, some are for gaining money, and some are aiming to gain knowledge and knowledge. Among them, Duanfang wants to go overseas to search for antiques, while Zaize has other deep-rooted intentions. Originally from Zaifeng who returned from his trip to Germany to apologize for his crimes, talking about what he saw and heard during his trip to Yinghai, all relatives and nobles realized that European royal families, rich and honored, and enjoying a long period of peace, have a set of ingenious means to maintain their status, such as Germany It is the relatives and nobles who hold the military power in their hands to ensure that the regime will not fall. Therefore, Zaifeng has already played to the Empress Dowager Cixi and sent his two younger brothers, the sixth Zaixun and the eldest Zaitao, to Germany To study abroad, one studied the navy and the other studied the army. In addition to this, of course there are other methods, but it cannot be understood without field investigation.The investigation is not to make friends with the royal family, so you can't learn about its details, and making friends must be of equal status, so it is necessary to send relatives and nobles.But they were sent to Zaize for another reason. Zaize is Shuzong—the fifteenth son of the holy ancestor, Yujun Wang Yinxuan, who was passed down four times as In the "Yi" generation, there is Yifeng, who has seven sons, and the youngest is Zaize.When he was young, he went to the palace with his mother to congratulate him, and by chance, he was quite fond of the Empress Dowager Cixi.At that time, Yixun, the fourth son of Prince Hui Mianyu, the "Old Fifth Master", died of illness and had no children. This has immediate benefits.Because of the title of Zaize, according to the rule of the royal family, there can only be one "General Fengguo" at most, and the clothes are the same as those of the third-rank military officer. They are the so-called "idle clan". Among the "princes and princes", the status is quite different. In the early years of Guangxu's draft period, Zaize was appreciated by the Empress Dowager Cixi, who married the daughter of Dutong Guixiang and became the emperor's brother-in-law. Zai Ze's wedding date is April 19th, Guangxu thirteenth year. Before Jiali, he had learned that his biological father, Yi Shu, was seriously ill and was in critical condition, but Zai Ze dared not ask for a change of court.On the day of the wedding, the sedan chair is carried on one side, and the list of disasters is posted on the other side. Yi Fang will die on this day, and the auspicious date will not change.The congratulatory ministers of the Han Dynasty, such as Weng Tonghe, were amazed by the unheard of strange things, but the Empress Dowager Cixi said that he was "filial and conscientious", and she looked at him more and more differently.This time he was sent abroad, and the Empress Dowager Cixi was doing it for him, so she was going to make good use of him. ※ ※ ※ In addition to inspecting politics, the four ministers became five ministers. In addition to Zaize, the minister of the state, Xu Shichang, the minister of the Ministry of war, Dai Hongci, the minister of the household department, and Duanfang, the governor of Hunan, Shaoying, the right minister of the Ministry of Commerce, was added. Choose your entourage, book your itinerary, organize your luggage, and book your boat ticket. Everything is ready. On August 19th, please ask for training. On the twenty-sixth auspicious day, you will set off on the train and head south by train. The special car prepared by the Railway Bureau has a total of five sections, the first two sections are for the entourage, the third section is for the floats of the five ministers, the fourth section is for the servants, and the last section is for luggage.It was early in the morning at Qianmen Station, just after eight o'clock, and people who saw us off arrived one after another.Xu Shichang was the first to arrive, followed by Shaoying, Duanfang, Dai Hongci, and of course Zaize the last. The people seeing off are naturally divided into three classes. The first class is the princes and ministers, who get on the float to say hello, "Bon voyage" and "Take care of the journey". On the platform of the bus, you can only smile and express your sincerity to see off with the five ministers; the third class is just standing on the shift from afar, but if the people in the car can look around and find that he is also coming to see him off, it is a worthwhile trip. "My lords!" The captain of the special car shouted at the entrance of the float: "The special car will leave at nine o'clock, and there is still a quarter of an hour. The adults who are seeing you off, please get out of the car!" As soon as this remark came out, the people who came to see off the red-topped flower feathers got off the car one after another, while the attendants in the front and the servants in the back, either to curry favor with their superiors or serve their masters, all flocked to the floats.The front is fine, but there are guards brought by Zai Ze at the back, guarding the car door.There was a thin, thin man in his thirties, wearing a thin blue padded robe, soap boots, and a red tasseled cap on his head, with his hands covering his waist, he was about to cross the junction of two cars. The iron plate was stopped by the guards. "What do you do?" "Master Xu's follower." The man spoke with the accent of Anqing Mansion in Anhui. "It's almost time to drive, don't squeeze in!" "No! My adults will look for me." The man said, "I got on the wrong bus just now." The latter sentence is puzzling, "Which car should you get in?" the guard asked. "Of course it's a float, I have to follow my lord." "Then why didn't you follow up just now?" "There are too many people on the platform, and they are scattered." The guard became suspicious, stared at him, pointed at his waist and asked, "What are you carrying in your arms?" Before he could finish his sentence, there was a "bang lang" sound, the front of the car reversed and connected to the carriage, the strength increased, and all five cars shook violently, with a series of "clang lang lang" sounds.Those who were standing couldn't stand, and the guard had already fallen on the man.At this moment, there was a loud bang, and flowers bloomed on the roof of the carriage. Wood chips, blood, severed hands, and feet flew up from the gunpowder smoke, and fell on the roof of the carriage with a clatter, and it took a while to stop. The souls of the five ministers flew into the sky, and Zai Ze touched his neck with a wounded bloody hand and asked, "Where is my head?" ※ ※ ※ Of course the trip was discontinued.Among the five ministers, only Zaize and Shaoying were slightly injured, and three of the five ministers' followers died.The assassin died the worst. His lower body was blown off, but his upper body remained, embedded between two carriages.His face was bloody and bloody, and his eyes were bulging like copper bells. The name of the assassin is not known.It's just that some experts pointed out that the bombs carried by the assassins were extremely simple and had no lead wires, and they exploded upon impact, so there was this result. "Who is the murderer?" Everyone from the Empress Dowager Cixi to the small people in the palace and alley asked this question, but there was no answer.But there is a person who has to find the answer. This man is called Zhao Bingjun, whose name is Zhi'an, and is from Zhili.He was very scheming and good at flattering people, so he was appreciated by Yuan Shikai as a miscellaneous official, and he was promoted repeatedly, and became a Taoist priest in five or six years. His lack of road is called "Patrol Road".After the Xinyou Rebellion, Yuan Shikai founded the police administration, which was promoted from Tianjin to the capital, and Nie Shicheng's rout soldiers were recruited and trained as patrol police, that is, Zhao Bingjun presided over the affairs. The patrol police in the capital are subordinate to the Industrial Inspection Bureau and under the management of Prince Su Shanqi. In fact, Zhao Bingjun is in charge.Now under the chariot, there is such a case of murdering a minister with a bomb. Naturally, the government and the public are shocked, and they must investigate the truth, but they don't even know the name of the murderer!If this matter was not explained, Zhao Bingjun knew that he would lose his job, so he personally planned and supervised, and started the search without sleep or food. Fortunately, the assassin's face is still intact, washed with water, photographed, printed hundreds of copies, distributed to all plainclothes detectives, to inns, guild halls, temples, and any place where tourists can stay to check and ask . After asking and asking, I finally got the result.There was a little girl in the Tongcheng Guild Hall, who recognized him as "Master Wu" who lived in the Guild Hall, Wu Yue, a son of Tongcheng's aristocratic family. As a result, the deacon of the Tongcheng Guild Hall was arrested and taken to the Industrial Inspection Bureau, where Zhao Bingjun interrogated himself.The deacon said he was Wu Shilu, and the little girl who recognized Wu Yue from the photo was his daughter. "What does Wu Yue do?" "I don't know." Wu Shilu replied, "There are many fellow villagers, so I can't ask the details." "Who does he come and go with on weekdays?" "Master Wu is very withdrawn and has no friends." "Hmph!" Zhao Bingjun sneered, "You are very loyal, you are from the same hometown, and you always hide it for others. However, the word loyalty is not so easy to come by. I want you to taste the taste of loyalty!" After all, order the execution, the lightest one, fifty slaps on the mouth.The fifty slaps with the leather gloves on caused Wu Shilu's mouth to bleed, and he had to tell the truth. "Master Zhang often came here. On the night of August 25th, I slept in the same room with Master Wu, and the two of them talked quietly in the middle of the night. They went out together early the next morning and never came back." "Is it this person?" Zhao Bingjun took out a photo found in Wu Yue's house and asked Wu Shilu to identify him. "That's right! It's Master Zhang." "anything else?" There is also a "Master Yang".Wu Shilu asked his coachman, and he knew that the name of "Master Yang" was Yang Dusheng, a native of Changsha, Hunan.The current teacher of the Institute of Translation and Translation was recommended by Zhang Baixi, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, but he often went to the home of Qu Hongji, Minister of Military Affairs.He was also one of the entourage when the five ministers inspected constitutionalism.Such a well-known figure involved him, and Wu Shilu thought that he could be killed.So I said firmly: "Yes, yes, one or two, two or three times, I don't know what the last name is?" Seeing this situation, Zhao Bingjun felt that there was no need to ask any more questions.The most important thing is to catch this person whose surname is Zhang with an outside accent. He talked quietly with Wu Yue all night, and then went out together the next morning. Naturally, he is an accomplice in the case.Catch this person, and the truth will naturally come to light. So he took this photo, reproduced it many times, and distributed it everywhere with a reward for arrest.Of course the Tianjin Visiting Bureau also received it. The head of the visiting bureau, named Yang Yide, was originally a steward of Tianjin Laolongtou Railway Station, in charge of cutting tickets.During the Xinyou Rebellion, they took advantage of the fire to rob and made some money. For a while, the official prosperity flourished, and a miscellaneous official was donated and sent to the Visiting Bureau as an errand.At that time Yuan Shikai was arresting the Revolutionary Party. Yang Yide knew that the only way to get promoted was to ask for credit, so he spent his own money and spread his eyes and ears. As long as his behavior was slightly suspicious, he would be arrested immediately and tortured. Many people died in his hands.Therefore, he was greatly appreciated by Yuan Shikai, and after only three or four years, he was promoted to a Taoist member with donations and protection, and became the leader of the visiting team.When the visiting team was reorganized into the Visiting Bureau, Yang Yide actually had the title of general office. Since he worked as a station ticket cuter for a long time, he didn't know how many strange faces he had to see in a day. Therefore, Yang Yide developed a special skill. He knows people's faces and never forgets them with his photographic memory. Once he has seen this face, whether it is fat or thin, round or square, what are its characteristics? , Immediately engraved in the brain.In his "signature room", there are many photos hanging across the desk. Sun Yat-sen, Huang Xing, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Zhang Binglin, etc., have nothing to do, staring at them endlessly. Live in one, and the third-rank hall official is just around the corner." Since the bombing of the five ministers happened, Yang Yide's heart has been pounding, thinking that this is an excellent opportunity to do meritorious deeds, so he has already sent people to investigate secretly to see if there are any mysterious people appearing.When he got the photo surnamed Zhang, he was overjoyed as soon as he saw it. It turned out that he had found four people of unknown origin who were under secret surveillance, and this person surnamed Zhang was one of them. Yang Yide has a competent subordinate, the captain of the third visiting team, whose surname is Ma, who happens to be Mazi, so the nickname of Mamazi is particularly resounding.Those four people with unknown origins were under the surveillance of this team, so Yang Yide asked him to ask. "Look! Does it look like someone surnamed Yu?" "Xiang!" Ma Mazi replied, "Yu Benqiang must be a pseudonym." "Are you still here?" "Why aren't you here? There was a report just now, and I was in the kiln behind Hou's house at noon." "Then what are you waiting for?" Yang Yide asked. "No! This guy has a hard hand and knows how to handle. There are only five or six people who can't move him." Ma Mazi said: "And the waist is always bulging. Maybe he also has a bomb in his mouth. He has to cook it in a pot and can't catch him." It’s not economical to live on and spare a few instead.” "So, what do you say to do?" Ma Mazi thinks that it can only be captured by outsmarting, by surprise in the middle of the night, and by catching him quietly.Yang Yide naturally agreed.This night, he went out personally, climbed over the wall and entered, and grabbed the "vital criminal" who was sleeping soundly after drinking from the bed. "Why is that so!" The man said calmly, "I'm not a thief, I just go with you." "Okay! You're a man. But, my friend, I heard that you're a good man, so we have to be a man first and then a gentleman." Yang Yide ordered his men to cut Zhang Rong's hands behind him, put a robe on him outside, and help him into the car. Drive to the Visitor's Office. In Yang Yide's signing room, the man surnamed Zhang sat for trial.He said that his name was Zhang Rong, his style name was Yinhua, he was a native of Fushun, and he was a member of the Han army, and he had served as the "guardian" of Fuling for many generations.He also admitted that he and Wu Yue are good friends and know all his plans.Wu Yue assassinated the Lord. This trip to Beijing was originally intended to be detrimental to Tie Liang. Later, because the imperial court decided to establish a constitution, they were afraid that the people would be deceived and unwilling to make a revolution, so they instead started to investigate the five ministers of politics. "On the night of August 25th, did you talk all night?" Yang Yide asked. "yes." "Go out together early the next morning?" "good!" "Then, of course you are responsible for assassinating the five ministers!" "No!" Zhang Rong calmly denied: "Without me. I persuaded him the night before that there is no need to use this method. I would go with him to do such a stupid thing." "Since you know that Wu Yue has such a plan, and you don't agree with it, why don't you surrender yourself?" "Isn't that a betrayal of a friend?" Zhang Rong grinned with a relaxed attitude. Yang stopped in German.Ask him again about the source of the bomb, Zhang Rong knew it was made by Yang Dusheng, a teacher of the Translation Institute, but shook his head and did not answer.