Chapter 21: Enshrouded in Mystery (Part 2)

  It was not only Yun Chang, but many people in the dark room who were also listening to the conversation of the two sentries. Some quick-witted people began to ponder and the shadow of Yuan Shikai gradually became clear in their minds.

  Yuan Shikai could not easily enter and exit the palace and Yingtai, if he wanted to assassinate Guangxu, he could only do so through eunuchs or palace maids. Among the eunuchs in the palace, there were many who did not get along with Guangxu. The head of the imperial household, Li Lianying, was one, and the deputy head, Cui Yugui, was another. Cui Yugui was notorious for assassinating Guangxu's favorite concubine, Zhenfei. Although he was expelled from the palace as a scapegoat after Cixi returned to power in 1900, Li Lianying remained in the imperial palace and was deeply entrenched. On the surface, he showed great respect to the emperor, but in reality, he only looked up to Cixi. After Guangxu was imprisoned in Yingtai, all the security measures were handled by Li Lianying. Who could guarantee that Guangxu had no complaints about him? Guangxu once escaped from Yingtai, but as soon as he landed on shore, he was caught by eunuchs and taken back to Yingtai with his arms bound behind his back. Those eunuchs were Li Lianying's trusted followers! For an emperor, being manipulated by eunuchs was a great humiliation! If Guangxu were to take power again, who could guarantee that the emperor would not kill Li Lianying and implicate his family?

  Yuan Shikai + Li Lianying = Perfect Murder Duo.

  To get rid of Guangxu, these two people just need to join hands. Yuan Shikai controls the troops outside, and Li Lianying gives poison inside. Who can still find any clues? For the manager of the inner court, it is easy to reverse the time of death between the emperor and the empress dowager. It's as easy as turning over one's hand, and no one else needs to help. Even if someone suspects something, who dares to say a word? Besides, poisoning Guangxu before Cixi's death was not difficult at all. Putting arsenic in his food would be enough, since the emperor's meals were all taken care of by the manager of the inner court.

  At this thought, everyone in the black house was covered in cold sweat, and for a moment they forgot that they were already prisoners, all sighing endlessly.

  No way, the Guangxu Emperor died too suspiciously, losing two palaces in just two days. Looking back at history, it's really hard to find a second example like this, and it's impossible not to be suspicious.

  "Yuan Shikai! You son of a bitch! Treacherous minister and traitorous son! Luckily, I still have a familial relationship with you, but I was blind to think that you're not a Cao Cao!"

  A mournful howl rose from the darkness, and Duan Fang had already begun to wail. As he made such a commotion, some people who had not yet figured out who the "inside man in the North" of that revolutionary party was suddenly had their eyes opened and their minds enlightened.

  Yes, the Beiyang Army's six divisions are powerful, with strong combat capabilities and advanced equipment, looking down on the world. But except for the first division, the other five divisions all look up to Yuan Shikai as their leader, from officers to soldiers, they only know of the "Yuan Palace Guard" and not the Qing Empire. If Yuan Shikai were to take advantage of this opportunity to rebel, reenacting the Chenqiao story, it's likely that no one would be able to stop him.

  "Crossing the river and governing! Wearing a yellow robe!"

  These words kept swirling in everyone's mind, making people dizzy, and then a flag bearer fainted.

  At that moment, several people followed Duan Fang and shouted again. It was mostly the banner people who were shouting, while a group of Han officials still had that dull expression on their faces. Everyone's thoughts were fluctuating, having been oppressed by the banner people for so many years, with no reward for merit and severe punishment for minor faults. The crowd also felt discontent in their hearts. Now that Yuan Gongbao wanted to rebel, was this an opportunity for the Han officials?

  However, before they could recall their current identities, Ying Chang had already poured a basin of cold water on them.

  "Empty words are useless! How can we know what is true or false in their scheme to sow discord?" Yin Chang said coldly.

  Although he said so, Yin Chang's heart was also drumming. Just now, he took advantage of Duan Fang and others' chaos to think carefully, and he found a problem: this story is too touching, the layout is as clever as the story in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

  After careful analysis, Yinchang quickly grasped the key to this story: the time of Guangxu's death. The fact that it was deliberately arranged after Cixi's death is probably not meant to show that Guangxu lived half a day longer than Cixi, but rather to subtly lead people to think about this question: what would happen if Guangxu didn't die? Whose interests would be harmed? Who would most want Guangxu dead?

  If Guangxu did not die, according to the ancestral family law, Guangxu would resume control of state affairs. He was nominally always the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and no one had the qualifications to compete with him for the throne. As a grown monarch, combined with his long experience as a puppet, he would never be willing to be a puppet again, and must take power personally. To take power personally, he must eliminate the enemies who blocked his path to taking power personally, eliminate those who had humiliated and suffered him! Yuan Shikai, Li Lianying, even Qing Wang and Na Tong could not escape death. The emperor's party wanted to take power, they must eliminate the remnants of the Hou Party!

  No one is willing to die, whether it's Yuan Shikai or Li Lianying. As the saying goes, "a cornered dog will jump over a wall" and "a desperate man will climb a house." When someone knows they can't escape death, they often take a risk and go all out. Either way, it's death, so why not gamble? This fits Yuan Shikai's character.

  Of course, this is what the moving story tells, as for the truth of the facts, it's probably impossible to figure out. Yinchang didn't examine its authenticity from the story itself, but analyzed it from another angle: What purpose did the person or people who told this story want to achieve?

  Borrowing a knife to kill someone, using the imperial court's knife, killing Yuan Shikai? Yuan Shikai is the spiritual leader of the Beiyang Six Towns. If the imperial court suspects and kills Yuan Shikai, the military morale of the Beiyang Six Towns will be shaken. Those officers promoted by Yuan Shikai may also feel threatened, leading to a situation where soldiers have no fighting spirit and scholars have no war heart. The imperial court will destroy its own Great Wall, allowing the southern revolutionary forces to take advantage of the situation and attack the northern region, even turning against the Beiyang army.

  It's not impossible that such a thing could happen, as similar counter-espionage operations have occurred many times throughout history, with the deceived side often having its military morale shaken and its fighting spirit dampened, leading to an irreversible defeat.

  If that's the case, then most of the people in this black house won't die here. If they died here, there would be no one to spread the story, and the counter-espionage plan couldn't be carried out, so the captors must let them go.

  But careful analysis reveals that this approach is foolish, the imperial court is not stupid, and it's clear that Yuan Shikai holds significant military power, making him impossible to lightly punish. Instead, they can only slowly divide his forces, clip his wings, which means for the revolutionary army, this isn't good news. As long as Yuan Shikai remains alive, the Beiyang Army will remain their greatest enemy.

  So, the purpose of this story is probably not as simple as a counter-espionage plot.

  So, what did the person who made up this story want to do? If it's really a made-up story, then who is the person who made up this story? Why did he do this? Is it just to make Yuan Shikai stink in the eyes of the people?

  This person is very sinister.

  Yin Chang fell into deep thought.

  The house fell silent again, and everyone was thinking about Rong Chang's words. The term "counter-revolution" made people hesitate - could Yuan Shikai be trusted? Did Yuan Shikai have the ambition and courage to rebel?

  Before everyone could sort out their confused thoughts, they heard several rebukes coming from outside the house.

  "You two! Are you standing at attention like soldiers? Stand up straight! Are the prisoners still there?"

  At the shout, the two sentries outside the hut stopped talking. After a moment, one of them said: "Report to the officer, all prisoners are present!"

  The sound of chains echoed, the door of the house was opened by someone, and the prisoners' eyes lit up. Two lanterns swayed in front of them, making it hard for them to open their eyes.

  Everyone was in an uproar, and before they could even get up, the sound of guns being cocked rang out. In front of them, besides the lanterns, several gleaming bayonets were visible. It was impossible to charge forward.

  "Bring out Xu Shaozhen, the commander-in-chief," said the officer.

  Xu Shaozhen in the room immediately jumped up and ran out of the detention house in a few steps before everyone reacted.

  The captives looked at each other in dismay, but then they heard the officer outside say to Xu Shaozhen: "Officer Xu, we apologize for the inconvenience. We have now investigated and found that you are loyal to the revolution. Many officers in the Jiangsu New Army are willing to vouch for you. Without your cover, our revolutionary party would not have been able to develop its organization within the Jiangsu New Army. Therefore, our vanguard officer wants to meet with you."

  The people in the monitoring room finally understood why Xu Shaozhen ran out, and suddenly everyone scolded loudly, but Xu Shaozhen outside didn't care, and followed a staff officer to leave.

  "What's going on? Call again and you're all dead!" The officer shouted viciously outside the door.

  Everyone has calmed down, Xu Shaozhen has defected to the enemy, what's the point of following the flag and scolding again? It's better to think about how to show sincerity towards the revolution.

  "Bring out Duan Fang and Yin Chang!" The officer's purpose in coming to the cell was clearly not just to take Xu Shaojing away.

  "Yes!"

  "Du Fang, Yin Chang! Follow me!" A staff officer stood at the door with his hands behind his back and shouted. Behind him were more than a dozen soldiers, all fully armed, carrying lanterns, rifles, and bayonets on their guns. They no longer had queues behind their heads, and their short hair was fluttering in the gentle breeze, looking particularly spirited.

  Yin Chang stood up, originally intending to tidy his military uniform, but when he reached out to touch the collar, he suddenly remembered that his own military uniform had long been stripped off by the changing soldiers, and even the riding boots on his feet had been looted. Now his feet were only wearing socks.

  Yin Chang sighed and walked over to stand in front of a bayonet, saying proudly: "What do you want from me? I will never surrender."

  "We didn't expect you folks from the banner system to make revolution either. I'm taking you out for a drink!" The staff officer couldn't bear to deceive him either.

  The room fell silent all of a sudden, "a heroic farewell drink", that's the last meal before execution.

  "Ha! Just in time, I'm starving!" Yin Chang smiled wryly, and in an instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind. What he thought about the most was still that story of Empress Dowager Cixi poisoning Guangxu.

  If Guangxu had taken control himself, perhaps this coup would not have occurred? Whoever poisoned the emperor inadvertently helped the revolutionary party.

  The fate of the country is like this, and Yinchang can only sigh deeply.

  "Please." The staff officer stepped aside.

  Yin Chang was about to take a step when someone handed him a pair of cloth shoes with rubber soles.

  "Master, have a good trip. I'll help you put on your shoes." The man said, holding the shoes.

  Yin Chang looked at the servant, a flicker of gratitude flashing in his eyes. His lips moved, but the words "thank you" never left his mouth. Instead, he silently lifted his foot, allowing the servant to put on his shoes for him.

  "It's almost dawn. The country's fate is ending, the heavens are exhausted, humans are on the chopping board, and I'm just a piece of meat!" Ying Chang glanced at the door, where the sky was faintly glowing with a silken light. He let out a long sigh, then walked out without looking back, his hands behind him, allowing the several soldiers to bind him up.

  "I'm not going! I'm not going!" Behind him came a loud, piercing cry like the sound of a pig being slaughtered. Yun Chang didn't turn his head back because from the change in the voice, he could tell that Duan Fang had already been dragged out of the house and was now following closely behind him, wailing pitifully as they walked.

  "Go by yourself! Brother, go by yourself! Don't lose face for our flag bearer!" A shrill cry came from inside the house, accompanied by a sob.

  The light on the horizon gradually intensified, and a faint dawn appeared on the horizon, a dull red, just like the fresh blood flowing from the necks of those soldiers killed by Yin Chang, which made people's hearts tremble with fear.

  In the distance, several crisp gunshots rang out, which was the insurgent soldiers bidding farewell to their comrades who died for the country. Along with the sound of gunfire, the birds left in the forest took off, circling in the sky and flying south.

  In the distance, the team's password and whistle sounded one after another, and the dense troops advanced in the same direction from all directions, with guns like forests and knives like snow, dazzling people under the dawn.