Chapter 52: Yuan Shikai is really depressed

  In the capital, in front of the main gate of Xu Shichang's mansion, Yuan Shikai rushed wildly, and his heart was even more wildly shouting: damn it, after being a supporting actor for so long, today is finally my turn, old Yuan.

  Xu Shichang was practicing calligraphy at home when he heard Yuan Shikai's loud voice, "Big brother, what great joy! What great joy!" The excitement in his voice was unmistakable.

  Xu Shichang smiled and looked at Yuan Shikai walking quickly into the room, he had an idea in his mind, saying: "Cuiting, is there a way to talk about military training?"

  Yuan Shikai grasped Xu Shichang's hands, beaming with joy: "Big brother is indeed a master strategist. After using your two plans, I've finally succeeded today. The Military Affairs Department has issued an official document, ordering me to go to Tianjin immediately to take over the training of the Dingwu Army from Governor Hu."

  Xu Shichang was also delighted and said: "Today, Cuiting's wish of ten years has finally come true. Tonight, we will not return until we are drunk."

  Yuan Shikai smiled and invited: "Cui Ting will go to Tianjin soon, I don't know if Big Brother can work with Cui Ting to lay the foundation for the new army of the Great Qing Dynasty. The position of General Affairs Office in my army is truly yours, Big Brother."

  Xu Shichang raised his hand and answered without hesitation: "As a seventh-rank official in the capital, I've had enough. Why not follow Cui Ting and take up arms?" Yuan Shikai was overjoyed, and that night the two of them got drunk together.

  Shu Xu Shichang then went to the imperial court to change his job and followed Yuan Shikai, who before leaving Beijing thought of his own thin foundation and looked around for talent, hoping to find one or two thousand-mile horses.

  Yuan Shikai walked out of the Yinchang Mansion with a look of indignation, and Xu Shichang stepped forward to ask: "How was it? Governor Yin should have some talented people to recommend, right?"

  Yuan Shikai couldn't help but curse, and retorted: "That scoundrel Ye Zhiwei is really detestable. It's not surprising that there was no one left at the Zhongtang, but I didn't expect him to even poach all the students from Wubei Academy, leaving not a single one for me. This is truly infuriating!"

  Yuan Shikai had no choice but to go through his uncle's connections and the relationships he had established in Korea, and after great difficulty, he finally assembled his own staff, leading them and a dozen or so family soldiers and officers to rush straight to Tianjin.

  Tianjin Xiaozhan, after Yuan Shikai and Hu Yufen took over, he thought that in the future, he would have an army under his command, and he couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart. He immediately ordered the assembly of the whole army. However, when he saw the soldiers standing on the parade ground in a disorderly manner, Yuan Shikai became angry again. What kind of soldiers were these? Even the soldiers he trained in Korea were stronger than these. In fact, it was not the fault of these soldiers. Firstly, they were all newly recruited; secondly, Hu Yufen was an official who was not very familiar with military affairs; thirdly, the elite troops of Xiaozhan had been taken away by Ye Zhikui, and even the German instructors inside had been taken away.

  After learning about the situation, Yuan Shikai was extremely indignant and had already cursed Ye Zhiqi nineteen to eighteen times in his heart. He had no choice but to submit a memorial to the imperial court requesting to recruit more soldiers to reach the quota of 7,000 men, which the imperial court naturally agreed to.

  In the capital, Kang Youwei hastily entered Xu Zhiying's mansion again. As a sixth-rank official of the Ministry of Works, appointed after passing the imperial examination in 1884, he was not entitled to an audience with the Emperor unless under special circumstances. Therefore, his previous memorials were all submitted in the name of Xu Zhiying, a Reader-in-waiting. This is why he came to Xu's mansion three or five times to inquire about the situation.

  Kang Youwei hastily asked as soon as he entered the house: "Zi Jing brother, has His Majesty sent any message?"

  Xu Zhi Jing let Kang Youwei calm down, then slowly replied: "The Emperor said that he has already submitted the reform memorial you wrote to the Empress Dowager for her review, and she didn't have any opposing opinions."

  The madman Kang Youwei exclaimed with surprise: "It seems that the timing has already matured, the period of success is not far away. Brother Zi Jing, I have one more thing to add fuel to the fire and promote the emperor's reform."

  Xu Zhi Jing opened his eyes wide and curiously asked: "What kind of thing can have such an effect?"

  Kang Youwei gritted his teeth and said: "I received a message that not long ago, in the Tianjin concession, several French soldiers entered a Confucius temple while strolling around. Those French soldiers actually destroyed the statue of the sage, poking two big holes in the eyes of the sage and breaking off one of the arms of the sage. This is simply an insult to our sage by foreigners, and even more so an insult to us, the descendants of the sage. Why do foreigners dare to destroy our sacred teachings? It's because our national power is too weak. If we don't stand up for ourselves now, Confucianism will perish and our country will perish with it. Only reform can make China strong, only then can we avoid being bullied by Western powers."

  Xu Zhi Jing listened to the words and became extremely angry, saying: "Foreigners are simply too deceitful. Tomorrow I will definitely submit a memorial to request that the Emperor summon the British envoy to question the British government. If the British do not offer an apology and compensation, don't think we will let this matter drop."

  Kang Youwei agreed: "Nowadays, there are many candidates waiting for the imperial examination next year in the capital. I will spread this news tomorrow to attract their attention and gather everyone's strength to make a big noise, so that the emperor can understand that it is impossible not to reform under current circumstances."

  On the vertical day, Kang Youwei wrote an article about this matter and distributed it among the candidates who came to Beijing. The news spread, and the front door of the Ducha Yuan appeared with a crowded carriage phenomenon. Within a few days, many scholars submitted books to the imperial court, asking the imperial court to compromise on this matter. At the same time, many officials also submitted memorials, asking Guangxu to reform and strengthen the country. For a time, the momentum of reform and innovation was overwhelming, and it seemed that this year's capital would spend the festive season in this bustling atmosphere, and those who were idle and talked nonsense had more topics to discuss.

  Ye Zhi Kui, who was in Tianjin at the time, had heard the news but didn't have time to bother with the commotion in Beijing because he was really furious and the consequences were severe!

  Originally, today's mood was not bad, after all, it's the New Year, and Ye Zhi Kui naturally wanted to spend his first year in the Qing Dynasty with a happy heart. However, this mood only lasted until the afternoon. The chief of the Law Enforcement Department, Bao Bu Tong, suddenly sent news that more than ten soldiers were fighting on the streets of Tianjin, severely injured and carried back.

  Unexpectedly, his kindness in giving the troops a small holiday had turned out like this. Ye Zhi Kui was furious and had to rush back to the military camp. As soon as he entered the military medical bureau, the soldiers who were lying on the beds and humming with laughter struggled to get up and salute. Ye Zhi Kui's face was gloomy, and he held them down with his hand, then asked in a slightly angry tone: "Whose men are you? Why did it turn out like this?"

  The soldiers all hung their heads in shame, and one of the old soldiers replied: "Return to Ye Shao, we are all under Wu Dashi's command, but today we had a dispute with the Dingwu army on the streets of Tianjin, and it ended up like this."

  Ye Zhi's face turned red with rage, and he cursed: "You are all good-for-nothings, are you all soft-shelled crabs? You broke military rules and were beaten like this. Are we Wu Yi Army all such trash?"

  At this time, Wu Dashan had already received the news and led a group of battalion officers and team officers to hurry over. He happened to hear Ye Zhi Kui scolding the useless people, his face flushed with anger, he rushed up and gave those slightly injured soldiers a few slaps in the face.

  "Enough, Da Shan! You're also an old comrade of mine. Can't even let Ye Zhi Kui take a break in peace? You bunch of bastards are just looking for trouble because you've got nothing better to do. Now that you've broken military rules, what do you think should be done?"

  Wu Dashan immediately knelt down, and the officials who followed him in were also scared into kneeling by Ye Zhi Kui. Wu Dashan said seriously: "I am willing to accept punishment for not being strict with my subordinates. These soldiers are all old comrades from the Hu Yong Army, I hope you will take their injuries into consideration and be lenient."

  Ye Zhi's eyes turned cold, and he said: "It is right to be punished for making mistakes. But before you, Wu Da Shan, are punished, think about what you have done. Our Wu Yi army has always bullied others, but we have never been bullied by others. Do I need to teach you how to do things?"

  Wu Dashan sprang up with a loud "Hou" and said in a murderous tone: "I know what to do! I'll go do it right away."

  Ye Zhihui waved his hand and said expressionlessly: "Alright, you go down first. If you lose face for the Wu Yi military again, don't come back to see me. Also, from now on, don't mention the Hu Yong military, everyone is now part of the Wu Yi military, do you understand?"

  Wu Dashan stepped down at the sound, and Ye Zhi-kui was worried about the implicit formation of the Tiger Courage faction, Nie Shicheng faction, and Wu Bei Academy faction in the army. It seems that we need to organize more social activities to deepen exchanges in the future, and cannot let the army go on like this to form a mountain stronghold.

  Wu Dashan returned to the camp and, in a rage, summoned all the soldiers who had stayed behind. Without saying a word, each of them picked up a wooden stick and rushed straight to the small station where Yuan Shikai's Dingwu Army was stationed.