The Guangxu reform and reform were in full swing.

The new policy edict was issued like snowflakes flying down, and the conservatives delayed and made every effort to obstruct.

In the two months since the reform and reform, the conservative officials have gone to the Summer Palace to complain every day. Cixi just let it go, deliberately ignored these people, and made them hold their breath and wait until the critical moment to take action. However, Cixi had to comfort them, so she also hinted to support them.

After receiving the hint from Cixi, these conservative officials immediately had the courage to collude with local governors and jointly interfere with the new policy.

The new policy of Guangxu could not be implemented, and the edicts were all empty. The imperial party and the descendants who supported Guangxu were indifferent and had no power.

However, the Reformers were completely unscrupulous and thought that under the banner of Guangxu, the reformists could be reckless. The rapidity of the Reformers' reforms was a huge trend of thousands of miles a day. For example, one ordered the capital to build a road, the second ordered the national defense, and the third ordered the people of the Eight Banners to go out to make a living. Those who wished to leave the capital to make a living were allowed to be free. Therefore, the Eight Banners people were uproar and rumors and slander were everywhere.

The entire Eight Banners ruling group soon realized that no matter how much the reform brings to China, the bannermen must pay a heavy price, which is the main vested interest group. It may not only lose its privileges, but also lose the regime it has been controlled for two years due to the implementation of the constitutional monarchy. Reform and reform can certainly benefit the country, but the cost of those conservatives and vested interests is also heavy. The reform benefits China, which is not conducive to Manchuria: China will prosper and Manchuria will perish. So they are "rather with friendly countries than with domestic slaves" and suddenly became a fuss.

The Eight Banners' children started to make trouble, so Cixi used the clan as an excuse to defeat Guangxu. Guangxu fought with Cixi and became red in his face. As a result, Cixi began to interfere in the reform of the reform on the grounds that Guangxu was unfilial.

In early March, the reform and reform became increasingly unsatisfactory, and the quarrel between Guangxu and Cixi became more and more fierce. There were a few noises. When Cixi was angry, she even let out a tone of wanting to destroy Guangxu.

On March 8, after Guangxu and Cixi quarreled, they issued a secret edict to Yang Rui, an official of the reformists, asking the reformists to prepare good strategies and promote reforms. At the same time, the secret edict claimed that the throne could not be guaranteed, let alone other edicts?

Emperor Guangxu realized that there was something wrong with the trough and was in a dangerous position. He was anxious and wanted the reformists to prepare for countermeasures.

At this time, Cixi had already wanted to marry a coup and depose Guangxu, but she lacked enough excuses. As soon as the secret imperial edict of Guangxu was issued, officials immediately slandered, saying that Guangxu's intention was not good for Cixi. Cixi was furious and prepared to take action against the reformists.

On March 12, Guangxu asked Lin Xu to bring out the second secret decree, ordering Kang Youwei to go out quickly without delay.

Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Lin Xu, and other core figures of the Reformed Sect, kneeled down and recited secret edicts, cried bitterly, and vowed to save the emperor to the death. They had no choice but to take risks and decided to carry out mutiny, surround the Summer Palace, and force Empress Dowager Cixi to hand over power.

On the fifteenth, Chan Sitong accepted the invitation of Chen Baozhen, the governor of Hunan who was inclined to reform, and returned to Hunan to assist in the establishment of the new policy. In fact, Bu Sitong's return to Hunan was just an excuse. He used the Wuchang Huguang Governor's Office to lobby Zhang Zhidong to protect Guangxu.

Although Zhang Zhidong was far away in Wuchang, he knew very well about the matter in Beijing. Guangxu was an emperor without real power. From the beginning, Zhang Zhidong expected that Guangxu's reform would not work and would be destined to fail.

Of course, Zhang Zhidong supported the reform in principle, especially the constitutional monarchy was in line with the interests of the Han bureaucratic group. Because of this, when Hunan Governor Chen Baozhen implemented the new policy, Zhang Zhidong did not interfere. However, Tan Sitong asked Zhang Zhidong to lead troops to Beijing to protect Guangxu, which was a shocking event. It was not that Zhang Zhidong was unwilling, but that Zhang Zhidong was worried that he would lead troops to Beijing and pass through the defense zone of Zhili Province. In his opinion, Wang Chenhao was not a fuel-efficient lamp. Regardless of whether Zhang Zhidong sent troops to Beijing or not, the Beiyang Army would not let the Hunan Army pass.

Zhang Zhidong immediately rejected Tan Sitong's request, but did not report Zen Sitong, assuming that no oak was born.

Tan Sitong did not live with Zhang Zhidong's support, but was not heartbroken, so he secretly visited Yuan Shikai, the new military commander of Hubei, hoping to open a gap in Yuan Shikai.

Since the tremendous changes in North Korea in 2018, Yuan Shikai disguised himself as a civilian and fled back to his country from North Korea. He was immediately dismissed from his military post by the Qing court and left his home idle.

Due to the rise of Wang Chenhao's power in Beiyang, Yuan Shikai's name was not as good as Wang Chenhao in terms of backing, financial resources, and vision. Yuan Shikai was a man who could not stay alone. He spent all his money and gave gifts everywhere, hoping to have an errand in the Beiyang Army. Since Yuan Shikai was still very capable in North Korea, a Beiyang Army officer recommended him. But what he didn't expect was that when the huā roster was sent to Wang Chenhao for approval, Yuan Shikai's name was immediately hooked. Wang Chenhao ordered that Yuan Shikai never be used with the reason that Yuan Shikai escaped in Korea. As a result, Yuan Shikai could not survive in the area controlled by the Beiyang Group, so he had to go to Nanyang.

People rejected by Beiyang will be absorbed by Nanyang, and people that Wang Chenhao does not like will be welcomed by Zhang Zhidong.

Perhaps it was to fight with Wang Chenhao, or perhaps it was to think that Yuan Shikai was talented, so in the end, Zhang Zhidong left Yuan Shikai in the Ziqiang Army to train a new army.

After two years of training, Yuan Shikai helped train the Self-Strengthening Army to make great progress, and Zhang Zhidong was very happy, so Yuan Shikai was able to become the leader of the Hubei New Army.

However, Yuan Shikai was not satisfied with this. Although the Hubei New Army is stronger than the new army in other provinces, it is worse than the Beiyang Army. Zhang Zhidong did not have much financial resources to allocate the Hubei New Army, so the Hubei New Army's annual funding in terms of treatment, equipment, military expenditure, and logistics supply is not as much as that of the Beiyang Army in one month.

Yuan Shikai's performance in the Hubei New Army was actually because he wanted to use the Hubei New Army as the capital for promotion. He wanted to enter the Beiyang Army in his heart. He just wanted to make a move so that Wang Chenhao could see his talents, and hope that one day Wang Chenhao could change his mind and let him enter the Beiyang.

Yuan Shikai's idea of ​​choosing trees to live on is actually the idea of ​​many people.

Therefore, when Tan Sitong came to find him, Yuan Shikai suddenly realized that a huge opportunity to advance was coming.

Yuan Shikai supported the reform and promised Tan Sitong that he was loyal to the emperor. However, Yuan Shikai said that he was just the leader of the Hubei New Army and had no right to lead troops into Beijing.

Yuan Shikai was nothing more than wanting an official position. After Tan Sitong penetrated his idea, he immediately asked Guangxu for instructions to entrust Yuan Shikai with important tasks.

On March 24, Guangxu issued an order to promote Yuan Shikai to the General Office of the Five Cities Regiment, and allowed Yuan Shikai to bring a team of troops from the Hubei New Army to Beijing, and based on this team, it was planned to build the Five Cities Regiment Regiment Regiment Regiment. Guangxu originally planned to establish the Royal Imperial Guard, but considering that the Imperial Guard must be a bannerman, he appointed Yuan Shikai, the Five Cities Regiment Regiment. External propaganda was to reform the patrol battalion and form a police system similar to Zhili Province.

Yuan Shikai swore to Beijing to report his duties, and brought more than six people from the Hubei New Army and recruited soldiers in Beijing based on this.

This move immediately stimulated many forces, and Cixi was the one who was in the brunt of it. Cixi had always attached the most importance to the military power of the capital. Guangxu took advantage of the reform patrol battalion as the police force and transferred Yuan Shikai to Beijing to actually divide the rights of the Jiucheng patrol battalion. Cixi was furious and believed that Guangxu was going to disobey her prelude, so he summoned his confidant officials to speed up the pace of the coup.

Of course, Zhang Zhidong was injured when Yuan Shikai left the Hubei New Army and entered Beijing. Zhang Zhidong was very unhappy and thought that he could keep his heart if he was good at Yuan Shikai. Unexpectedly, Yuan Shikai not only flashed the crowd but also kidnapped a large number of elite generals and soldiers of Hubei New Army. He was so angry that he cursed endlessly.

Yuan Shikai went to Beijing to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Five Cities Regiment, becoming the third largest military force in the Jingji area after Wang Chenhao's Beiyang Army and Ronglu's 90% patrol battalion, which immediately attracted Wang Chenhao's strong attention.

Wang Chenhao had planned to sit in the mountains and watch the tiger fight, watching the dog biting the dog between the emperor and the empress. But with Yuan Shikai's sudden appearance, Wang Chenhao felt very uncomfortable.

Wang Chenhao knew that Yuan Shikai was a hero of the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. Once he was allowed to enter the circle of power in the capital, he would definitely be like a fish in water. Yuan Shikai's ambition and ability to win people's hearts are no worse than Wang Chenhao, Wang Chenhao, of course, could not be indifferent.

In the Zhili Governor's Office, Wang Chenhao called Ruan Zhongshu and Li Guodong to discuss countermeasures.

Ruan Zhongshu first analyzed: "Sir, Yuan Shikai's control of the regiment defense of the five cities is equivalent to dividing half of the troops of Ronglu's patrol battalion. The battle between the emperor and the empress has changed. It is uncertain who will win and who will lose." Li Guodong said: "I think Guangxu will definitely not be able to fight Cixi, and Yuan Shikai will definitely not be able to fight Ronglu. Ronglu has been operating 90% of the patrol battalion for several years. Even if Yuan Shikai distributes half of his troops, he will not be able to control it in a short period of time. If you act truly at that time, Ronglu has a great chance of winning."

Wang Chenhao shook his head, disagreed with their views, and said, "Don't underestimate the strength of Yuan Shikai. He is very good at winning people's hearts. There is no problem with half of Ronglu's troops in a short period of time. Besides, he also brought six or seven old troops. Although the new Hubei army is not as good as our Beiyang Army, it is much stronger than the 90% of the old soldiers of the patrol battalion. Six or seven people are the top three thousand troops of Ronglu." Li Guodong nodded and said, "The worries of the Lord are not without reason. When Yuan Shikai was the governor of North Korea, he was very good at leading troops. In addition, he has made great achievements in training the self-strengthening army for Zhang Zhidong in Hubei. In terms of military capabilities, Yuan Shikai does not have to be inferior to Ronglu."

Ruan Zhongshu asked Wang Chenhao and said, "Sir, it is a good thing for Cixi and Guangxu to fight intra-fight. Cixi was powerful before, and Guangxu's defeat was decided. Now Guangxu has fought back and has the strength to fight. This will make them more beneficial to the adults if they lose both sides."

Wang Chenhao smiled bitterly and said, "It would be great if it was really like that! The key is that Yuan Shikai is a fence-skinned man, and he may not be in the same position as Guangxu. If Guangxu didn't have to do anything to maneuver, Cixi would not be able to abolish Guangxu without enough excuses. What he was afraid of was that Guangxu believed in Yuan Shikai too much. If Yuan Shikai turned against him, Guangxu would have no counterattack power at that time, and he would also give Cixi a warning to depose him." Ruan Zhongshu and Li Guodong looked at each other and said that Yuan Shikai was a fence-skinned man. They had no evidence and could not believe it for a while.

Seeing that the two of them didn't believe it, Wang Chenhao said, "Look? Guangxu was sold by Yuan Shikai and he had to count the money for him!" Ruan Zhongshu asked, "What do you mean by sir?" Wang Chenhao rubbed his sunshine and felt a headache for the first time. After a long time, he said, "Anyway, Yuan Shikai helped Guangxu, we would help Cixi. Yuan Shikai helped Cixi, we would help Guangxu." Wang Chenhao was determined to deal with Yuan Shikai, which made Ruan Zhongshu and Li Guodong very puzzled.

When Wang Chenhao gave Yuan Shikai's name on the huā list, the incident that Wang Chenhao disliked Yuan Shikai was now in their minds. All signs indicate that Wang Chenhao hated Yuan Shikai very much.

Could it be that there is a deep hatred?

Ruan Zhongshu looked at Li Guodong, who shook his head and said he was not clear. Since Wang Chenhao didn't like someone, Ruan Zhongshu and Li Guodong had nothing to say, just suppress it with all their might.

Thinking of this, the two of them immediately took the order.

Putting aside Yuan Shikai's matter, Li Guodong then reported the latest foreign information to Wang Chenhao.

The first priority is naturally the Philippines war and the Caribbean war.

On February 22, 1989, w. McKel led 15,000 troops from the 8th Army of the US Expeditionary Force to cross the Pacific Ocean to Manila, preparing to capture Manila.

At this time, Manila had been surrounded by 25,000 Philippine rebels, and the city of Manila could be broken every once in a while.

In order to monopolize Manila, the US military played cunning tricks. Dewey reached an agreement with the rebels, promising to recognize the independence of the Philippines. The rebels believed the promise of the United States and agreed to fight with the US military. However, they did not know that President McKinley had already ordered the US military to prevent the revolutionary army from occupying Manila under any circumstances. Moreover, the US military had already reached a secret agreement with the Spanish Governor. Without allowing the Philippine army to enter the city, Spain "transfer" Manila to the United States. In order to take care of the face of the Filipinos, the US military launched a fake attack. The Spanish knew that Manila could no longer be defended, so they would rather let the US military occupy than the Filipinos.

On February 26, the US-Philippine coalition forces launched a general attack on Manila. After the Western Army resisted slightly, they surrendered.

But as soon as the battle ended, Dewey tore up the agreement and forced the Philippine rebels to retreat to the suburbs by force. The US military immediately established a military government and monopolized Manila.

At the same time, the US military also won a great victory in the Caribbean.

The Spanish Navy's fleet of Severa hit a wall everywhere in the Caribbean Sea. All the powers of all countries refused to supply coal to the Spanish Navy. Among the three ports on which the Spanish Navy relied on, the port of San Juan,

The Port of Santiago Yid has been occupied by the Qing Empire Expeditionary Force and the US Expeditionary Force, and the remaining Port of Havana has been blocked by the US Navy. For a time, the Spanish fleet was unable to replenish coal and faced serious difficulties.

Without coal supply, there was no hope of returning. There was no way Severa had to slowly wander around the Caribbean Sea, trying to attack one or two coal ships from the Qing Empire or the US Navy in order to obtain supplies.

On February 27, the Spanish fleet of Sevilla encountered the Qing Empire hospital ships Bianjiu and Hua Tuo, which had just bypassed South America and entered the Caribbean Sea, and the Sea Scale warships that escorted the hospital ships.

Sevilla Ben saw two hospital ships flying the dragon flags of the Qing Empire. He thought of attacking, but soon he found that the hospital ship was still flying the International Neutral Flag and the hospital ship with the Red Cross, so he chose to give up.

However, the Sea Scale, which escorted the two hospital ships, was not grateful.

The Hailin immediately raised the battle flag and at the same time asked for help from the two ships Dengyun and Tayun, who were anchored in the Port of San Juan. Liu Buchan received a report that two hospital ships were pursued by the Spanish fleet. He was immediately anxious and hurriedly led the two ships Dengyun and Tayun to rescue at combat speed. At the same time, he sent a speedboat to notify the US Navy that it said that the Spanish fleet was present and demanded reinforcements from the US Navy.

At two o'clock in the afternoon of the 27th, the brave Sea Scale, under the command of Captain Chen Jiliang, took the lead in attacking the Spanish fleet.

Severa originally planned not to provoke the hospital fleet, but she never expected that a warship on the other side would take the initiative to attack the Spanish fleet with great courage.

At this time, Severa had nine warships of various types, while the Qing Empire had only one warship.

The Qing Empire dared to attack the Spanish fleet with nine warships. Sevilla immediately became furious and believed that the Qing Empire's navy was despising the Spanish navy and despising its existence.

Among the nine battleships in Sevilla, three armored cruisers Maria, Princess Theresa, Almirante, Okendo, Biscaya, and four cruisers Isabel II.

The Duke of Juan Don Juan Austria, the Marquis of Venadito, the Duke of Antonio Ulloa, and the gunboats Max del Duiro and Damariad de Molina.

The main guns of three armored cruisers were powerful, each with two 280mm main guns and 10 140mm secondary guns. The three warships immediately faced the Sea Scale. The sound of the cannons immediately scared all the officers and soldiers on the Sea Scale.

Of course, Chen Jiliang would not be stupid enough to fight head-on with the opponent's armored cruiser. He took the initiative to attack the Spanish Navy, one was to let the two hospital ships leave safely, and the other was to drag the Spanish Navy down. Because the Hailin had a radio system, he had contacted the Dengyun and the Tayun to come for reinforcements, and the Spanish Navy did not know this.

Chen Jiliang would not fight against the warships of the Spanish Navy's three fast-pinning battleships, but instead took advantage of the speed advantage of the Sea Scale to quickly avoid the main force of the enemy fleet, detour the rear of the enemy fleet, and attacked the Spanish Navy's gunboat Damariad Molina.
Chapter completed!