Chapter 49: Helpless

  The Forbidden City, The Palace of Mental Cultivation.

  In the East Warm Pavilion of Nurturing Heart Palace, the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive. Empress Dowager Longyu of the Qing Dynasty sat on the edge of the kang, wiping away tears. The ministers and eunuchs kneeling on the ground were also wailing in unison. Due to the emperor's incessant crying and tantrums, it was now impossible for him to continue attending this court meeting, so he was being escorted back to his bedroom by the eunuchs.

  Today's gathering did not summon any Han ministers, those present were either banner people or Mongolian nobles, their fate had long been tied to that of the dynasty, sharing its joys and sorrows, when the country perishes they will lose all their privileges, can't they cry?

  The current imperial court is on the verge of collapse, and this dilapidated house of the Qing dynasty may collapse at any time. The mender of the dilapidated house, Li Hongzhang, has long since passed away. Who can be relied upon to repair this dilapidated house now? Yuan Shikai? That would be like inviting a wolf into one's home.

  "Admitting the wolf into one's home", these were the words spoken by Xiao Gong Wang Puwei just now, and he was also the only person in the crowd who didn't cry out loud. Even Qing's acknowledged "treacherous minister" Qing Wang Yihe followed the Empress Dowager and shed a few tears, no wonder the Empress Dowager didn't give Xiao Gong Wang a good look earlier.

  It's not true that the little Gong Wang has no feelings for the Qing Dynasty, he himself is a bloodline of Aixinjueluo, an orthodox imperial clan, can't he care about the fate of this dynasty? In the past few days, several letters from the Hubei Military Report were presented to the Gong residence one after another. The little Gong Wang had not closed his eyes for several nights, sitting in the study with several princes and sons, anxiously discussing countermeasures, but there was no way out.

  The only mobile force that the Qing court can rely on now is the six divisions of the Beiyang New Army. However, among these six divisions, the imperial court can only trust the first division with confidence, because most of its soldiers are Manchu people who share a common interest with the court. As for the other five divisions, not only are their soldiers mostly Han Chinese, but also their officers and generals were all promoted by Yuan Shikai himself. Who can guarantee that they are more loyal to Yuan than to the imperial court? Since the revolutionary army's "telegram" was sent out, declaring support for Yuan as the "Republican Grand Leader", some people in the Beiyang Army have begun to stir up trouble. The imperial court is not unaware of this, but it cannot take action at present. In times of great change, stabilizing the military's morale is most important. As for Yuan Shikai, he will probably be allowed to continue his antics for a few more days.

  When it comes to that telegram, what makes people angry is not just the issue of Yuan Shikai's future, but also the fact that in that telegram, the revolutionary army vowed to march east and take down the rich lands of Jiangnan, attacking Jiangning and Guangdong, cutting off the imperial court's source of grain and supplies. As a result, the imperial court really took the bait and hastily dispatched troops southward for reinforcement. Since the Tianjin-Pukou railway was just beginning construction and had not yet opened to traffic, they could only transfer two divisions of Beiyang troops from Dagu to board ships, escorted by warships, heading to reinforce Shanghai, Jiangning, Yangzhou, Suzhou, and other places. However, before they even landed, news arrived from Hubei that the revolutionary army was marching westward.

  Why is the revolutionary army so cunning? Instead of attacking the rich southeast, they went west and caught the imperial court off guard. But thinking carefully, the imperial court really can't avoid this trap. With the national treasury empty, implementing new policies means burning silver, which cannot be separated from the wealth of Jiangnan. If the revolutionary army really attacks Jiangnan and seizes the imperial court's source of taxes, then there is no need to fight this battle. Without silver to pay wages, the Beiyang Army will also change sides and become a revolutionary army. Moreover, the revolutionary army in Anhui is still causing trouble, with the possibility of heading south at any time. Even if the Jiujiang Revolutionary Army does not attack Jiangnan, who can guarantee that the rebel army in Anhui will not covet it? Who can guarantee that the Huidang in Jiangsu and Zhejiang will not raise their flags and revolt? Since the 9th Division of the New Army in Jiangsu has already defected, the situation in Jiangsu is empty, so even if the revolutionary army does not attack Jiangsu, the Beiyang Army must still go south to provide reinforcements.

  What is meant by "Ma Gong beats the wolf, both heads are afraid"? This is it. The southeast cannot be neglected, and the west also cannot be reinforced, but the Beiyang Army is unreliable. The imperial court's military strength is insufficient, and there is no way to express the difficulties: the training progress of the new army in the south is too slow, and too many overseas students have been mixed in, making it unreliable; the patrol camp is old and outdated, with too much influence from the Elder Brother Society, making it impossible to rely on. As for the Beiyang Army, there is also the need to guard the capital and garrison the northeast, so they cannot all be sent to the south. Now, who in this imperial court has the magical power to turn beans into soldiers? It's clear that if one side is taken care of, the other side will be neglected. There are not just a few loyal officials like Xiao Gongwang who have turned white-haired overnight.

  Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, all was gloomy and desolate. Outside the palace, not a single crow or sparrow made a sound. The eunuchs and palace maids walked with utmost care, speaking in hushed tones, fearing that if they accidentally provoked the Empress Dowager, they would be beaten to death and have to follow the deceased Emperor to the afterlife.

  After a moment, a small military officer walked to the outside of the Nurturing Heart Palace and called out in a low voice: "Empress Dowager, just now the British minister sent an urgent telegram saying that the British warship at Hankou has received a telegram from the rebel army at Jiujiang, which has already arrived at the foot of Wuchang City and is engaged in fierce battle with the government troops."

  Everyone in the Nourishing Heart Palace stopped sobbing, wiped away their tears and turned their eyes to the Empress Dowager. The Revolutionary Army of Jiujiang was bound to attack Wuhan sooner or later, this was everyone's consensus, but when the revolutionary army really attacked Wuhan, everyone hoped that it was just a rumor.

  "Alright. Send a telegram to the British Minister, see if we can get British warships to help us fight?" Longyu sighed and waited for the small military officer outside the door to retreat before raising his head to scan the princes and ministers in the East Warm Pavilion, finally stopping at King Qing's side and saying: "King Qing, has Yuan Shikai been behaving himself these past few days?"

  "Very honest, very honest indeed. Every day except for attending to official duties, there are no other social engagements. After returning to the mansion, he closes his doors and refuses visitors. Either he is writing or reading books, or else he is studying maps and making plans to send reinforcements to the north to aid in the southern campaign. This time, Wang Zhanyuan and Lu Yongxiang, who led troops south to reinforce Hankou, were personally appointed by Yuan Shikai himself. The two men are known as the bravest generals of the Beiyang Army."

  Longyu nodded and didn't say anything else. The others naturally didn't dare to make a scene, so the Nourishing Heart Palace fell silent once again.

  Just at this moment of complete silence, a sudden shout came from outside: "Slave Cao Zhen, paying respects to Your Majesty!"

  "Call him in." Empress Dowager Longyu wiped her eyes with a silk handkerchief, and an eunuch beside her immediately went out to call in the Regent King, who had a gloomy face.

  "The Regent, you are not in charge of the military, what brings you here?" asked Longyu.

  "The Empress Dowager, just now the Telegraph Office of the Military Council received a telegram from Shanghai, which is of great importance. I, as a humble servant, dare not make a decision alone, so I came to ask for your wise instruction." Zaiyi presented a sealed copy of the telegram draft.

  Longyu didn't dare to take the telegram, he just took a glance and said: "I alone can't make a decision, everyone here is not an outsider, nor are there any Han officials, you can read it out loud, let's all discuss it together."

  "This... Empress Dowager should read the telegram first before saying anything else." Zaiyong's voice was trembling slightly.

  Long Yu didn't persist, tore open the telegram envelope, took out the draft, glanced at it, and was shocked to jump down from the kang. His hand holding the telegram trembled, he raised his other hand pointing at Zaiyuan, wanting to say something, but felt a blackness in front of his eyes, his hand relaxed, and he fainted backwards onto the kang.

  "Empress Dowager! Empress Dowager!"

  "Master, you can't have three long and two short ones!"

  ……

  Everyone saw the situation and suddenly shouted, the eunuchs and palace maids rushed to support Longyu, pinching her people and shouting for a doctor, the Yangxin Hall was in chaos.

  In the chaos, the telegram copy with its back facing up was trampled by several people, but no one dared to pick it up.

  They were afraid.