Of course, Zhang Zhidong would not explain these situations. First, this is just his own guess and has no empirical evidence; second, there is no need to offend Yuan Shikai or the East China government. However, Zhang Zhidong was thinking in his heart that although Yuan Shikai was smart in his calculations, this time he might have to do too smart in his calculations and make wedding clothes for others.

Sure enough, Zhang Zhidong's words also made Cixi very satisfied. As Zhang Zhidong said, overseas Chinese could not start wars within 5-10 years, which even dispelled Cixi's last doubts. Anyway, Cixi would have to spend two years in a year. Even Cixi himself had no idea whether she could live until five years later. Moreover, when it was really time for that time, Japan and Russia could rely on. In this way, the Qing court could indeed be invincible. Therefore, Cixi hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, Tieliang, I will leave this matter to you to quell the rebellion."

When Tieliang heard this, he couldn't help but feel overjoyed and hurriedly fell to the ground, saying, "Thank you, the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, I must do my best to serve the court."

At this time, Cixi said again: "Yuan Shikai, you can't be idle either. Although the imperial court sent troops to suppress overseas Chinese troops this time, it was just because overseas Chinese did too much, and the imperial court did not want to turn against them. However, there must be an explanation for overseas Chinese. If you can speak with overseas Chinese, you will be responsible for this matter. You will stay in Tianjin during this period."

Yuan Shikai is also bitter now. Before he came to Beijing, he had indeed negotiated with the East China government. Yuan Shikai led his troops to fight. The East China government would give up all the captured areas, but he just asked Yuan Shikai to delay some time and at least drag this year over. This is of course not a difficult task for Yuan Shikai, and he can make a contribution to continue to consolidate his position in the court. However, Yuan Shikai did not expect that someone would come in. As a result, when Tie Liang also volunteered to lead the troops to fight, Yuan Shikai knew that things were not good, but at this time, Yuan Shikai could not take them back.

Sure enough, Cixi issued an order to make Tieliang fight, and Yuan Shikai even regretted it. Moreover, Cixi also issued an order to let Yuan Shikai stay in Tianjin. The famous discussion was to collude with overseas Chinese, but in fact it was to transfer Yuan Shikai from the battlefield so that he could not interfere with Tieliang's military use. But now Yuan Shikai had no other way, so he could only say: "I respect the order." He sighed in his heart. It seemed that he was still a little tender compared to Cixi.

Seeing that although Yuan Shikai tried his best to make ordinary things, but could not hide his disappointment, Cixi felt quite happy. In Cixi's opinion, Yuan Shikai was capable and capable of doing practical things, and was indeed a rare talent. However, he was very powerful and liked to play power. He might be the second Li Hongzhang before the Sino-Japanese War. Therefore, it is necessary to hit him frequently. Since the Gengzi Reform, Yuan Shikai has been promoted all the way, from the Governor of Shandong to the Minister of Military Affairs, the Governor of Zhili, and the Minister of Beiyang. He should also find a reason to suppress him, otherwise Yuan Shikai would be arrogant. After pacifying the civil unrest in Hebei this time, he would find a reason to remove Yuan Shikai from several positions and make up for it later. Slapping a slap and giving him a date is the way to rule.

Thinking of this, Cixi sighed secretly. If there were a few decent talents in the crowd, she wouldn't have to be both harsh and defensive to Yuan Shikai. Tieliang and Liangbi were both pretty good. Unfortunately, they were too young and a little bored. They needed to be hard-working for several years to be useful. I hope that this time I can make these two people grow up so that I can worry less in the future.

Thinking of this, Cixi was also a little concerned about Lanshan and said, "Then let it go, you guys will kneel down to everyone."

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"What, the Qing court did not lead the army this time."

"Well, I sent two people to lead the troops. I guess Mr. Lao Fu thought this battle was easy to fight, and he was afraid that Old Yuan would make contributions again, so he was not good at commending him, so he did not send Old Yuan this time. It seems that Old Yuan had miscalculated this time."

"Yes, so now Old Yuan is as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He looks for Zhang Hui as soon as he returns to Tianjin. Now he can only rely on us?"

It turned out that Yuan Shikai left Beijing with his belly, and on the way back, he had already figured out that if Tieliang and Liangbi really succeeded in quelling the rebellion, then the new army he had worked hard to train would definitely not be controlled by him. At least half would be lost. Maybe he would only leave one or two towns for him. Yuan Shikai was of course unwilling to give up. The only way to resolve the situation now is with the East China government. Only when the East China government defeats Tieliang and Liangbi's army can he protect the military power of the Beiyang New Army. But now the focus of the East China government is on the battlefield in Liaodong. Can they defeat Tieliang, Liangbi?

So as soon as Yuan Shikai returned to Tianjin, he met with the newly appointed mayor of Tianjin Zhang Hui. If he reported the situation in Beijing and repeatedly asked the East China government, he would never let Tieliang and Liangbi make the contribution. He must strengthen the troops in the river and lake bases and defeat Tieliang and Liangbi. He also said that he would do his best to cooperate with the East China government and provide information from the Qing army.

After receiving Zhang Hui's report, the East China government seemed very relaxed. Although the strength of the river and lake bases was not strong, it was probably not difficult to defeat Tieliang, Liangbi and others. This was not really arrogant, but based on the comparison of strength between the two sides. Although the Beiyang New Army was an army formed by modern army organization and training, it was still the essence of a feudal army in its bones. Although the Beiyang Army still had a certain vitality when training in the small station, Yuan Shikai was determined to build the Beiyang New Army into his own private army; Tieliang, Liangbi and other Manchu powerful people also tried their best to insert their trusted forces into the Beiyang New Army, and as the army expanded, the soldiers were of varying quality. Although the Beiyang New Army is stronger than the Hunan Army and the Huai Army of the Qing court, it is not a powerful army.

Now the river and lake bases now have 560,000 troops, and most of the soldiers are ordinary farmers. Since everyone has divided the land at home, they are extremely loyal to the travelers. And as long as they say they are fighting to defend their homes and protect the land, their morale will immediately increase. Although there are no heavy weapons, they have a base to rely on and are familiar with the terrain. Therefore, as long as the tactics are used properly, there is a high chance of defeating the Qing army.

Xia Bohai said: "I informed the river and lake bases that the situation has changed. This battle must be won, and to win beauty. Not only should Lao Yuan owe us a favor, but also let Lao Yuan know that the agreement we reached with him before was not because we could not beat him, so don't be too self-righteous."

Xiao Jianjun smiled and said, "This is good news for the river and lake bases. They were unwilling to give up the place they occupied. Now, I suggest that after winning this battle, occupying a few more places will also teach the Qing court a lesson. Even if the Qing court replaces Old Yuan's troops in the future, they don't have to give up all of them. As long as they can let Old Yuan give an explanation to the Qing court."

Qin Zheng said: "Maybe even if Old Yuan leads his troops, we don't have to let the local area. This time Tieliang and Liangbi lead the troops to fight, and the preliminary preparations will take at least 1 or 2 months. The battle will take at least 2 or 3 months. Therefore, this battle will take at least 3 months. If it delays again, 4 or 5 months is possible. When Old Yuan leads his troops again, it will be almost half a year later. At that time, as long as our Vladivostok battle is successful, the overall situation in Liaodong will be basically decided, and we don't have to be slandered with the Qing court. We just tear the face and beat Old Yuan again, and the Qing court will not be able to send anyone out."

Xia Bohai nodded and said, "This is also a preparatory plan. In short, defeat Tieliang and Liangbi first. Do you need any additional resources for the river and lake bases? Without affecting the Liaodong battlefield, try to meet their requirements. In another two months, German supplies will arrive, and we will be much more abundant at that time."

It turned out that after careful consultation, the German and US governments agreed to the East China government's requirement to increase bond issuance and allowed the East China government to directly exchange the income from bond issuance to the two countries' materials. Moreover, after several rounds of negotiations, the two sides also clarified the details and regulations of the two countries' dispatch of military observation groups to the East China government.

The German government has decided to send a military observation group of up to 62 people to the East China government, including 35 troops in the army and 27 troops in the Navy. In addition, the first batch of arms transported to the East China government include 500 various artillery pieces, 70,000 shells, 8 sets of 305 mm turrets, 10 sets of 200 mm turrets, as well as other machinery, accessories, etc. Now this batch of materials and military observation group have set off from Germany and are expected to arrive in Qingdao in three months.

The United States has a small number of military observation groups, with only 43 people, 23 people in the army and 20 people in the navy. The materials needed by the East China government have also been issued, and some of its materials, mainly grain, and wood is directly sent from the Philippines, so it can reach Qingdao within one month, which is much faster than Germany.

Of course, Germany and the United States' actions were also strongly protested by Britain and France, accusing their actions of seriously undermining the peace process in the Far East. However, Germany and the United States also refuted this. In this war, France had provided Russia with billions of francs of loans, and Britain also provided Japan with a large amount of funds and weapons. The normal trade between the German, the United States and the East China government should not be criticized at all. Britain and France are not the parties to the war, and they did not accuse Germany and the United States of America.
Chapter completed!