Volume 2: Famous all over the world Chapter 9 I don't want to do this anymore
Tang Xiangming returned to the Hai Rong ship with the check in his pocket. As soon as he stepped onto the deck, he saw Sa Zhenbing standing on the deck like an old lion, standing still in Wuchang. He felt guilty and walked up to him quickly: "Ji Wu, pay your respects to the commander."
"You're back." Sa Zhenbing didn't show any strange reaction. He glanced at him and asked, "Have you bought everything?"
"It's just some food, simple." Tang Xingming told the sailors to start moving the supplies, and he walked to Sa Zhenbing and whispered, "I met someone sent by Governor Li in the concession, and he asked me to pass this letter to you."
"This Song Qing, he sent me a letter a few days ago to persuade me to change my ways. Now he comes again, he is really promising." Sa Zhenbing took the letter without even reading it, put it in his pocket and asked, "Did you contact Jiwu during your trip?"
Tang Xingming knew that some things could not be hidden from him, so he said very straightforwardly: "Ji Wu did bring a letter to me, but I have already told him that the navy is under the command of General Sa."
"I make the decision? As long as you listen to me." Sa Zhenbing stepped onto the flying bridge. Behind him was a fleet of thirteen warships, including the newly arrived Haichou and Haichen. However, he always had a feeling of being unable to do what he wanted when looking at this fleet.
He had served in the navy for forty years. From the founding of the Beiyang Navy to the bloody battles in the Battle of Dadonggou, he had gone through countless twists and turns. How could he not know what happened after Tang Xingming rushed to the concession to purchase. Now this navy is all his hope, and it carries his dream of washing away the shame of the Battle of Dadonggou with blood! But before it could gradually grow stronger, it was dragged into the civil war and pointed its guns at its own compatriots. How could he accept this?
Feeling the river breeze, Sa Zhenbing sighed. Are his lifelong dreams, persistence and loyalty going to come to nothing?
Sa Zhenbing turned his head and looked at Tang Xingming behind him. Just as he was about to speak, the telegraph operator came over hurriedly: "Commander, Zaitao sent another telegram, asking us to attack quickly and not to waste the opportunity, and also said..."
"say what?"
"If you don't attack again, you'll have to replace the captain."
"Remove the captain?" Sa Zhenbing smiled bitterly. The Qing Dynasty was really getting worse with each generation! This Zaitao was even more cowardly. He didn't even have the courage to replace himself. He deliberately procrastinated in Yangluo and was passive in the war. Wasn't he waiting to be dismissed? He didn't want to wade into this muddy water! Now Hubei was recovered and Jiujiang was locked. The Beiyang, which was known as the best in the country, was beaten badly by the unknown Yang Qiu at Wusheng Pass. In addition, the dry season was coming soon. The navy was already in trouble day by day. If Lianghuai and Nanjing also made trouble, it would be really bad. It seemed that he had to think of other ways to fire a few shots to deal with it and then avoid it. So he immediately said: "Reply, the river is narrow, and the loss of Guishan is not conducive to the navy's single attack. Please let Beiyang come to cooperate as soon as possible." After saying that, he went into the cabin without looking back.
Seeing that he continued not to fight, Tang Xingming was secretly happy. He immediately went to Haichoujian under the pretext of delivering something to ask Huang Zhongying for help to plan a rebellion.
…
Xu Shichang got off the sedan chair and asked Yixin and Natong, "Your Highness, what happened? Why are you calling another cabinet meeting?"
Yixin curled his beard and shouted, "It's still Sa Zhenbing! He's been procrastinating and not attacking, and Yinchang is blocked outside Wusheng Pass and can't move forward. Zaifeng is so angry that he wants to make fun of us again!" He kept yelling along the way and didn't take the guards and other ministers around him seriously at all. Zai Ze, who always looked down on the three of them, was so angry that he blew his beard.
When he reached the entrance of the main hall, a ray of golden sunlight refracted from the glazed tiles and pierced Xu Shichang's eyes. This light was so beautiful, but it was a pity that this solemn and majestic Forbidden City might be in chaos... The south cannot be in chaos anymore. Today is the time to bring that person out! Thinking of this, he immediately winked at Yixin and Natong before stepping in.
Zaifeng was sitting in the hall, feeling uneasy and at a loss. Yuan Shikai finally spoke, but 3,000 people were killed and wounded, and Yinchang had not yet taken Wusheng Pass. It was said that there was already a commotion in the Beiyang government, saying that if he was not removed, they would not fight! Before they had even entered Hubei, Jiao Dafeng, Chen Zuoxin's party members and the new army in Hunan were in chaos, invaded Changsha, drove out the governor Yu Chengge, and established the Hunan Military Government, which was far away from Wuchang.
It would have been fine if it was just Huguang, but a few days ago, bad news came again. An urgent report was received from Shaanxi that the new army there contacted gangs like the Gelaohui and rebelled. Not only did they kill General Wenrui of Xi'an, but they also massacred thousands of Bannermen. Tens of thousands of Bannermen's family members either jumped into wells, hanged themselves, or collectively immolated themselves, killing thousands of people. The remaining Bannermen in the city were also killed by the rebels who rushed into the streets. The number of casualties among Bannermen reached tens of thousands!
Soon after, Jiujiang started to make trouble again. The independence of Jiangxi might be just around the corner. The four consecutive declarations of independence made the regent unable to sleep or eat. Looking at his son sitting on the dragon throne, wearing a dragon crown and covered in bright yellow, he wished he could grow up immediately and take off this heavy responsibility that was almost exhausting him. It was not until the eunuch came to report that all the ministers had arrived that he was able to gather his mind and return to normal.
Before he could say anything, Yixin, who had just entered the hall, shouted directly: "Your Majesty, Regent! It's bad, it's terrible! I just received a telegram, Nanchang... Nanchang is in danger!"
"What!" Xia Feng was really anxious, and rushed to Yi Xin in a hurry: "Is this true?"
"Does the Regent think this is a joke?" Yixin had long disliked Zaifeng, and continued with a twisted nose: "General Yinchang is not doing well in the battle. Yuan Shikai has asked the Beiyang to help, but he still can't take down a small area. At this moment, some soldiers have rebelled on the battlefield. Hunan and Shaanxi have taken advantage of this to riot. The Wuhan rebels have increased to 40,000 to 50,000 people. Please make a decision as soon as possible, Regent!"
What a bullshit decision!
Zaifeng wished he could slap this arrogant old fellow twice. Since the war broke out, he has been nagging him every day to get Yuan Shikai out of retirement. Recently, he has been spreading the word that the war in the south is not going well and that it can only be pacified by important officials. Now he wants him to make the decision, isn't he just trying to flatter Yuan Shikai?
No matter what, Yixin was a prince and no one could touch him. Zaifeng had to ask Xu Shichang with a cold face. Xu Shichang took out a memorial from his sleeve and said, " This is a proposal from British Ambassador Jordan, the American Ambassador, the French Ambassador, the German Ambassador, the four-nation banking group, and the diplomatic corps in Beijing. They hope that the Regent will allow Yuan Gongbao to serve as Prime Minister to sort out military affairs, tour the southeast on behalf of the emperor, crack down on the rebels, and restore stability."
Zaitao was young and full of vigor. When he saw Xu Shichang using foreigners to suppress them, he sneered: "In such a huge court, is it only Yuan who matters? Are all our princes and ministers useless? If I were to lead the Imperial Guard and the First Town to fight, I would not believe that I could not deal with a few rebels!"
"Aren't you ashamed to use the Imperial Guards to deal with the rebels? If the Imperial Guards go south, who will protect the important areas of the capital?" Yixin retorted, "There are 70,000 or 80,000 militiamen in Wuhan now, and only Yuan Gongbao's Beiyang Army can deal with them. Yuan Gong's talent is more than ten times better than yours! If Yuan Shikai is not asked to come out to serve as the Prime Minister of Hubei's military affairs, the situation will be even more out of control!"
Just now, it was 40,000 or 50,000, but now it's 70,000 or 80,000! Shan Mao couldn't stand Yikuang's way of blowing up tens of thousands of people in the blink of an eye and using any means to promote Yuan. He angrily said, "Yukang, you are also a descendant of the Aixinjueluo clan of the Bordered Blue Banner, but you flatter a Han slave! Yuan Gongbao is talented and has made a fortune! I heard that he has become very wealthy in the past few years since he returned to his hometown. How much silver does he give you every year? Is it worth your life?!"
Yikuang was so angry that he pointed at Shanmao and cursed, "Are you saying that I accepted bribes from Yuan Shikai? I can guarantee that I have nothing to do with him! If you don't explain yourself today, I will never forgive you!"
Shan Mao was always blunt with his words, he turned his face away and said coldly: "You are trying to cover up something by smearing shit all over your face!"
"You!!" Yikuang was so angry that his whole body was shaking. It seemed that a fight was about to break out. Everyone hurriedly pulled them apart. Zaifeng had a splitting headache and asked Xu Shichang again whether he had really reached the point where he had to rely on Yuan Shikai.
Xu Shichang was a shrewd man who knew that it would be bad to say good things to Yuan Shikai at this moment. He pretended to be silent for a moment and then said, "Hunan and Shaanxi have declared independence. Nanchang in Jiangxi has another problem after Jiujiang. No matter what, someone should come out to take charge of the situation. Most of the soldiers who can fight in the front are former Beiyang troops. Yinchang lacks experience in commanding troops. He is not an army or a team. He has messed up Wusheng Pass and lost sight of everything. He is not a good commander. If the Regent wants to find someone who can take his place and command the troops, I don't think he will necessarily be asked to come out."
"Then you, Xu Shichang, come! You are also an old Beiyang veteran, you can calm those soldiers down, right?" Shanqi immediately jumped out to suggest, but before he could finish, Xu Shichang took out a letter from his sleeve and said, "Regent, as an assistant minister, I watched Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi and other places rebel and declare independence. Now Jiangxi is unstable again, and it may even affect Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. I am really ashamed of the emperor, so I resign today and return home."
Before Zaifeng and the others understood, Yixin and Natong immediately bowed their heads and said, "I, your humble servant, also ask to step down from this important responsibility and enjoy my remaining years in peace..."
Zaifeng never expected that the three would threaten him with resignation to force him to make a decision. He was so angry that he was shaking all over. He wished that the Imperial Guards would drag the three out of the Meridian Gate and behead them. Shanqi, Zaitao and others also glared at each other, ready to start a fight. At this moment, the captain's shouting came from outside the palace. Without waiting to look up, the captain of the Imperial Guards knelt on one knee holding a telegram and shouted: "Your Majesty, urgent news from Hubei, yesterday at midnight, the rebels gathered more than 10,000 people and used cannons and machine guns to open the way to Xiangyang. The Xiangyang Patrol, Xie Baosheng, and Liu Yunyu, who were waiting for reinforcements there, fought hard but were still outnumbered. They lost 34 warships, more than ten cannons, and more than 2,000 soldiers were captured! Countless bullets were lost, and the vanguard of the rebels has now headed for Wusheng Pass!"
Zaifeng fell down on the chair with a thud, scaring the little emperor behind him so much that he burst into tears.
