Chapter 51: Loyal and Treacherous are Hard to Distinguish (Part 1)

  Empress Dowager Cixi remained silent, and Yi Kuang continued: "At present, the Beiyang Army is successively marching south to reinforce, so it is absolutely impossible to move a single hair of Yuan Shikai. Otherwise, once the military's mind is shaken, the situation in the south will be irretrievable. Therefore, whether or not what Duan Jin said was true or false, the court cannot take it as true. If the news on this telegram leaks out and there is no other choice, we can only use Duan Jin's head to appease the Beiyang Army, and consider him a rumormonger."

  "Qing Wang, what are you talking about?" asked Xiao Gong Wang Yuwei.

  "What's going on? Honestly!" Yi Kuang hummed.

  "Frame the loyal and good! These are words of national subjugation!" Yu Wei rebuked, facing Longyu and knocking his head, saying word by word: "Your Majesty, I think that the person who sent the telegram is a true minister of the imperial court, deserving of reward not death. As the saying goes 'national crisis reveals loyal ministers', in such a critical situation, the imperial court must not chill the hearts of loyal ministers." Yu Wei hastily memorialized.

  "Now is the time to distinguish between loyal and treacherous officials. At times like these, some people appear to be loyal ministers of the imperial court, speaking only of the country's prosperity and security, but in reality, they are nothing but unscrupulous traitors!" There was a hidden meaning behind Yikang's words.

  "Qing Wang, what do you mean by this? In front of the Empress Dowager, speak carefully and tell me who is the treacherous minister?" Yu Wei glared at Yi Kuang and asked.

  "Shut up! You should also consider the occasion when arguing! Regent, what do you think?" Longyu stopped the two princes' quarrel and turned his gaze to Zaicheng, asking.

  "This matter is of great importance, and I am now so shocked that I dare not speak. Please let the Empress Dowager make a wise decision." Zaiyi didn't dare to offend anyone, but that telegram stirred up his emotions again, which had just calmed down with difficulty. Guangxu was his biological older brother, although they were raised in the palace since childhood and the number of times they met could be counted on one's fingers, this couldn't sever their fraternal bond. A few days ago, there were rumors that Guangxu died under suspicious circumstances, Zaiyi wasn't without suspicion, and now with this telegram, he was heartbroken.

  "What about you?" Longyu looked at the others, but everyone lowered their heads and didn't dare to speak. In fact, most people present thought that it was not impossible that Guangxu had been poisoned, as for whether it was done by Yuan Shikai or not, that's not important, what's important is that this is a palace secret, outsiders shouldn't meddle in it casually, and if someone wants to make an issue out of it, then it's better to keep a safe distance, lest one suffers from the misfortune of being implicated.

  Everyone is not a fool, the emperor and the empress dowager died one after another, this strange thing has never been heard of in history, people with ulterior motives have also investigated it, and found that Guangxu indeed died very suddenly. In connection with Empress Dowager Cixi's death, not only did she send Yikuang, the backstage of Yuan Shikai, to supervise the mausoleum project, but also transferred the Sixth Division of Beiyang under the command of Duan Qirui to a distant place. These two measures clearly explained the precarious situation of Yuan Shikai at that time. If Guangxu did not die and came out to take power, what could Yuan Shikai do to keep his head on his shoulders except flee abroad?

  In addition, last month there were rumors that someone was going to enthrone the son of Prince Qing, Zaizhen, as emperor. At that time, the Emperor and Empress Dowager had not yet died. As for the "someone" in the rumor, who else could it be besides Yuan Shikai?

  Let's think about it in reverse, if I were Yuan Shikai, what would I do? Run away? Obviously not in line with Yuan Shikai's character. In the past, during the Kaiping Party Incident in Korea, facing the raging Korean rebels and Japanese guards, he didn't run from his small camp office, instead, he led a few hundred men to turn the situation around. Today, with tens of thousands of troops under his command and followers all over the world, how could he abandon everything and become a stray dog? Yuan Shikai is decisive in military affairs and killing, people say he's a hero, this statement is correct, being a hero means he would rather die than surrender.

  Moreover, what Yuan Shikai represented was not just the Yuan family, but a complex and powerful Beiyang clique. If we count from Li Hongzhang's era, this clique had already secretly influenced Chinese politics for nearly 40 years. Too many people relied on this group to gain benefits, their interests were intertwined, sharing honor and shame together. After Li Hongzhang's death, Yuan Shikai became their spiritual leader. If this leader fell, the Beiyang clique's interests would also be harmed. Who could guarantee that the next one to fall wouldn't be someone from among them? Who could guarantee that toppling Yuan was merely a goal of the imperial court, rather than a means?

  To put it more bluntly, even if Yuan Shikai had no intention of harming Guangxu, his Northern Warlords would never have allowed Guangxu to regain power! Or, to put it another way, Yuan Shikai's rise to power was the most in line with their interests!

  When Guangxu died, the young master succeeded to the throne. Who benefited the most? Wasn't it the Beiyang clique? Wasn't it Yuan Shikai? Zaifeng and Puyi said they wanted to deal with him, but the imperial court was concerned about the Beiyang army in his hands and didn't dare to move him easily. Now that the revolutionary army is rising, the imperial court has to reuse him instead. When the time comes, he will raise his arm and call out, who can stop him?

  Alas, those young and noble relatives of the emperor were in a hurry to seize power, but they didn't even take a good look at the timing. Compared with Yi Kuang and Zhang Zhidong, those young and noble relatives are simply a group of fools.

  "The Empress Dowager, I have an idea that doesn't involve using Yuan Shikai and can also clarify the truth." said Xiao De Zhang, the eunuch in charge of serving Longyu.

  "Speak." Longyu ignored the discontented gaze of the officials and asked the eunuch for advice.

  "Send someone to fetch Li Lianying! After capturing him, use severe torture to interrogate him and make him speak. Ask him what he was doing on the day of the Emperor's death. Was it the Empress Dowager who left first or the Emperor who left first? Now Li Lianying is in the palace guarding the coffin, no need to run outside to catch people, can't disturb Yuan Shikai. After capturing him, I naturally have ways to make him speak the truth!" Little De Zhang said kneeling down.

  "Alright, you take people to get him." Longyu nodded, and Xiao De Zhang hastily summoned several strong and sturdy eunuchs, took ropes and clubs, and rushed to capture Li Lianying.

  "If Li Lianying doesn't speak, what to do? Poisoning the emperor is a grave sin punishable by extermination of nine clans. Even if it means certain death, I cannot implicate my family." Yu Wei was not enthusiastic about this plan, but didn't stop it either, only expressing his concerns after Xiao De Zhang left.

  "This..." Longyu was at a loss, and again sought help from the crowd. Puwei insisted on asking Yuan Shikai, while Yikan firmly opposed it. The two men were on the verge of drawing their swords, and if not for Yan Detu's intervention, they would have come to blows.

  "Why don't we call Zhang Zhidong over?" Yi Kuang suggested.

  "I think, Yuan Shikai is not a loyal minister, but a Han minister, Zhang Zhidong is also a Han minister. All Hans are of one mind, as the saying goes 'hurt their own kind', so there's no need to call on Zhang Zhidong." Zhen Guo Gong Zai Ze said, pausing for a moment, then continued: "As for Yuan Shikai, whether he is captured or not, the court should take precautions. In my humble opinion, it would be better to dispatch Wang Rui and Jian Xiu to lead the troops, and have someone transmit an imperial edict to order the infantry commander to seal off the nine gates, strictly prohibiting entry and exit. Then dispatch Wang Gong to go to the Beiyang First Division and the Jingqi various camps, sit in the military camp, intimidate the new Beiyang army, and incidentally transfer the Beiyang Sixth Division that is garrisoned in Zhili far away, so as not to grow a new tumor. The troops of the Second Division that have not yet departed for the south should also be quickly transferred to Wuhan, let them fight with the revolutionary army like dogs biting each other."

  "The words of Duke Zhengguo are quite reasonable, I concur." Little Gong Wang hastily said.

  "Except for this, there is no other plan. I also agree with it." The silent Duke Shen Qi also said.

  "The Beiyang Army has all been transferred to the south, who will defend the capital? It's up to the First Division, but they seem somewhat disheartened." asked Nayanjing, the Mongolian prince.

  It'll be off the new book charts in a few more days, so those who haven't collected it yet should do so quickly, or it'll be a hassle to find later. Also, taking this opportunity to solicit votes.