There has never been an airtight wall in this world. The so-called keeping of secrets can only be done within a certain time and within a certain range at most. What's more, Guangxu's measures are not even as good as the "so-called wall"! In the eyes of Guangxu and others, it only takes a few people

It's enough to keep it tight-lipped, but in fact, even if all participants keep a secret of such a big operation, it will still be noticed by the other party, not to mention that some people themselves are the nails that Cixi drives into the imperial party!

Although those people didn't know how Guangxu obtained a large amount of equipment and funds, it was enough for them to know that the increase in the strength of the imperial party was a huge threat to the rear party! And these spies were very quick.

Send this information to Cixi's desk

On the surface. At this time, Cixi could no longer remain calm. In his eyes, the original imperial party was just a thorn in the side, but now, the imperial party has the possibility of overthrowing it! How can this make Cixi, who regards power as his life?

Can you feel at ease? So you called King Qing and Ronglu overnight to discuss countermeasures!

"It seems that the emperor is really going to take action." Ronglu said anxiously after looking at the information sent by the secret agent.

"I don't know where Yuan Shikai, Weng Tong and the others got so much money and weapons. If this rate continues, I'm afraid Yuan Shikai's army will be able to recruit about 5,000 more troops after they are all redressed. Especially these

The new rapid-fire artillery is said to be several times faster than the original Krupp camp cannon. With the addition of these machine guns and sufficient ammunition, I am afraid that the offensive and defensive momentum of the capital will change." King Qing glanced at Ronglu.

, and then said.

"How much do you know about this Yuan Shikai? Who can provide Yuan Shikai with such sufficient equipment behind the scenes? Is it Li Hongzhang? Or someone else?" Cixi's face was calm, but the chill in her tone made people tremble. How much money did she have in the treasury?

It is very clear that even though Weng Tonghe is in charge of the Ministry of Accounts, he is definitely not able to cover the sky with one hand! More importantly, the treasury does not have much money in the first place, and it is impossible to take it out even if you want!

"Yuan Shikai was considered a fierce general in Beiyang back then. He was well-known in the world and had a great desire for power. Before the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1894, he had conflicts with Li Zhongtang's disciples over the issue of the mainland army.

There was deep resentment between them. So during the Sino-Japanese War, Yuan Shikai claimed to be ill at home. As a result, after the war, Li Hongzhang's disciple became very popular in the Beiyang system. This Yuan Shikai

Kai was also alienated by Li Hongzhang because of his actions in the Sino-Japanese War. Under this situation, Yuan Shikai may have felt that he had no future with Master Zhongtang, so he withdrew from Beiyang. At the same time, he took away part of the old Beiyang army.

.So, neither Li Hongzhang nor Xu Jie have a good impression of Yuan Shikai." Prince Qing was not good at other things, but he was very clear about the resumes of these officials.

"So, Yuan Shikai is quite capable. If it weren't for Mr. Xu who came back from overseas, I'm afraid Yuan Shikai would be able to show off his talents in Beiyang," Rong Lu said.

"What is the combat effectiveness of Yuan Shikai's new army on the ground? Who is stronger than my northwest training army?" Cixi didn't care about Yuan Shikai, she cared about the military strength of both sides!

"Although Yuan Shikai's army comes from Beiyang, as far as I know, these troops are old armies that have been eliminated. Their combat effectiveness cannot be compared with the new Beiyang army, and their equipment is also much inferior. When they were first formed, they had

It's just that Li Hongzhang made some random tactics out of face, but Yuan Shikai still has the ability to run an army. With these weapons, Wei Chen's northwest training army may not be able to resist it," Rong Lu said.

"The only plan for now is to prepare the army quickly for war. Once the emperor takes action, we will really become fish on the chopping board! This person is easy to find, but this weapon is not easy to find. Now it is difficult to talk to Beiyang and Nanyang.

, Governors and governors in various places are vigorously preparing local armies. And even if the military factories have products, the national treasury does not have enough money to buy them! Now there is a situation of feudal separatism in various places, and there are too few places that the central government can control. " Qing.

Wang said.

"The center has no money, how did Guangxu get so much money? Since Li Hongzhang didn't give it, Liu Kun, Zhang Zhidong and others were even less likely to give it. Who could be so generous and give Guangxu so much money?

What about advanced equipment? You can naturally get a lot of money by selling part of the palace's collection, but these rapid-fire cannons and machine guns are in short supply for various armies and cannot be bought with money!" Cixi frowned.

asked.

"Could it be the foreigners who are behind this?" Ronglu's words instantly brought the atmosphere in the whole room to a freezing point! Neither Beiyang nor Nanyang are possible. Do other Manchu governors and admirals have so many things in their hands? Then there is only one

The first possibility is that there is a certain country supporting Guangxu! This is terrible. If nothing else, it is just a country with an area only the Qing Dynasty.

Less than one-thirtieth of Japan almost defeated the Qing Dynasty, and the other powers were even stronger. In this way, I am afraid that the winner will be known before the war begins. What does Cixi think of some people in her party?

I know virtue very well. Regardless of the loyalty shown by everyone now, once the imperial party gains power, I am afraid they will change their families without hesitation!

Faced with this critical situation, Cixi and others finally understood that if they didn't take a chance, they would definitely be doomed. Under this situation, Cixi did not hesitate to use her own small treasury. This was the first time that she was so happy.

Expanding armaments, of course, her purpose is for her own "rights"

Not for the country. Money is not a problem. Cixi, who regards the country as her private property, naturally has enough money, but how to buy these equipment is a problem. It is not impossible to buy directly, but she is afraid of attracting Guangxu's attention, and even more

I was afraid that some country behind Guangxu was secretly obstructing him.

"Li Zhongtang seems to be neutral so far, at least not going to the emperor's side. If possible, can the Queen Mother entrust Li Zhongtang to purchase a batch of weapons? If Li Zhongtang is willing to help, the number of weapons will definitely be sufficient.

And it’s not easy for the news to leak out!” Prince Qing thought for a while and said.

"If Li Zhongtang does not agree, we can also seek help from other local officials. It is better than sitting still and waiting for death. Moreover, local forces loyal to the Queen Mother will also secretly gather in the capital. What we need are veterans of hundreds of battles. We need

He is an absolutely loyal person." Ronglu added.

After hearing the words of her Ronglu and Prince Qing, Cixi felt very depressed. She did not expect that in the end, it was not that Li Hongzhang wanted to please her, but that she had to give money to Li Hongzhang. She knew very well that as the governor of Zhili and the boss of Beiyang, Li Hongzhang

Zhang Cai was the decisive force in the entire political situation. If Li Hongzhang was willing to help, he and the Beiyang Army could uproot the Imperial Party now! And if Li Hongzhang supported the Imperial Party, the Imperial Party probably wouldn't have to go to such trouble to unite with foreigners.

Fortunately, Li Hongzhang is at least neutral so far. From this point of view, she can still win his support. Even if she knows that she will be killed in this arms trade, she has no other choice.

choice. After thinking about this, Cixi could only nod and said: "In this case, those two

I will be responsible for supervising this matter. Whatever Li Hongzhang wants, as long as the court can afford it, we can give it. In addition, tell those minions to send as many people as possible. If the emperor wins, my old woman will get

If we don’t get better, we won’t worry about our lives, and I’m afraid they will inevitably have to beheaded at Caishikou!”

Any person or organization will show amazing efficiency when it comes to life and death. Especially when Cixi, an extremely smart person, felt that disaster was approaching, she would do everything she could to save the situation. In terms of funds, Cixi spent almost all the cash.

and things that can be used to repay the money to raise funds. Since the bosses are like this, the party leaders like King Rong Luqing must also set an example and spend all their wealth to support this life-and-death battle.

The last half of Cixi's words was actually meant for these two people to hear. Now, Cixi doesn't believe anyone, not even King Qing and Ronglu! Guangxu, the emperor who he single-handedly supported

Du wanted to fight to the death with herself, let alone these two people? So she told these slaves who may have been a little restless very clearly! Once they failed, they were the ones who were really unlucky, not Cixi. Even if Guangxu hated him again

It would be difficult for Cixi to kill her directly, but in the face of these Cixi's lackeys, neither Guangxu nor the officials with Guangxu would spare these people!

While raising funds, the ministers of the rear party also sent batches of servants to secret training camps. Although it was ridiculous to let these idle guys go to war, at this juncture, Sima could only treat him as

It's a cure. Of course, the rear party will not take the last step

Putting their hopes on such a group of people, Ronglu and King Qing decided to seek as much support as possible from the feudal officials of the Hou Party faction, so some soldiers from the Green Camp or the Eight Banners took off their uniforms and wore them under the orders of their masters.

Went to Beijing quietly in civilian clothes to participate in the upcoming war.

In this way, although the imperial party contacted Tsarist Russia early and gained the upper hand, after the rear party noticed the other party's movements, it also began to do its best to make up for the gap caused during this period. Unlike Guangxu who simply relied on Yuan Shikai's military training, he had been operating for many years.

Cixi's faction has more human resources and funds to use, while in bei

In Jingcheng, most of the Manchu and Qing bureaucrats still sided with Cixi, so after this preparation, the strength of the rear party has also increased significantly. People are not a problem, and money is not a problem. But weapons procurement is still a problem, don't

Talk about a lot of new recruits

They held various models of outdated rifles. Even Ronglu's northwest training army could not compare with Yuan Shikai's new army. What's more, Yuan Shikai also had some new 75mm rapid fire cannons in his hands. Then the party had no choice but to

I can place my hopes on Li Hongzhang!

Thanks to book friend Dongguan Bald King for his monthly ticket support. Today, the author took a look at last month’s income. On average, he can’t even buy a hamburger every day--! What a tragedy this is--! Dear book friends, can you take a look at this?
Chapter completed!