Standing on the balcony outside the office on the second floor, watching Bao Jun in a dress board the four-wheeled carriage and hurriedly leave, a smile appeared on the corner of Walson's mouth, with his keen political sense, he had a hunch that a large-scale civil war was very likely to break out in the Qing Kingdom - the imperial court and Yuan Qi were about to break.

For England, East-West trade has always been the most important and indispensable part of the British world trade system, and among all the foreign trade countries in England, the status of the Qing State is absolutely the most important, there is no one! It can be said that everyone from the queen to the merchant and the common people generally paid great attention to the interests of England in the Far East.

If a civil war of the scale of the American Civil War broke out in the Qing Kingdom, it would undoubtedly be great news for England and the countries of Europe! England will be expected to quickly emerge from the economic crisis and reap unimaginable benefits from the war.

However, thinking of the huge losses of European financial forces in the American Civil War, he quickly calmed down, the situation of the Qing State was very different from the United States, the strength of the Qing court was very different from that of Yuan Qi, and if he chose the wrong camp, it was very likely to repeat the mistakes of the Civil War.

But if you choose Yuanqi, the benefits you can get will be very limited, if you want to maximize the interests in the Far East, you must choose the Qing court, as the so-called greater risk, the richer the return! The question is whether the Qing court is worthy of support?

After thinking for a while, Walson quickly turned back to the office and quickly drafted a telegram, this is not a trivial matter, he must report to the country as soon as possible, it can be seen from Baojun's attitude that the Qing court is more anxious, if the delay is too long, the other party is very likely to take risks and contact with the French.

Yes, it is a desperate move, this kind of highly confidential thing is naturally known to as few people as possible, once the news is leaked, it may be a disaster for the Qing court, he is sure that the other party will not easily contact the French unless it is absolutely necessary, but this matter is too big, and he does not dare to slack off in the slightest.

Coming out of the British Embassy, Bao Jun went straight to the four-wheeled carriage and changed into official robes, and then ordered to go to the Fengtai camp, which was very lively during this time, and all the officers of all levels of the Beijing Eight Banners New Army and the Beiyang Naval Division were gathered in the Fengtai camp for training.

On the drill ground of the Fengtai battalion, the sound of orders came and went, a team of officers conducted queue training under the scorching sun, and on the parade platform, Yi Zeng sat on the Taishi chair with a solemn expression and watched, he was originally on the front line of the war, and was inexplicably recalled to the Beijing division to preside over the whole army training.

After learning that King Gong Yixun secretly infiltrated the Wa Kingdom with the cooperation of Seng Lingqin and usurped the military power of the camp of the Minakata, and then the Empress Dowager issued an order to replace the general of the Wa War, this series of changes made him even more frightened, all day long like walking on thin ice, what rectification, what ideological education, preaching constitutionalism and the like, he left it behind, and turned a whole training into a military training, but he could vigorously train these officers, in the name of strengthening the obedience of the officers.

"Junmen, Baozhongtang is here." A guard hurriedly approached and whispered.

Bao Jun? Yizeng's heart sank, he was really afraid of something, Baojun was a series of emperors and queens - that is, the right-hand man of the royalist faction, he came to the Fengtai camp, mostly at the behest of the Queen Mother, it seems that the Queen Mother was quite dissatisfied with the military training he presided over.

He immediately got up and hurried out to meet him, hurried to the outside of the camp gate, just in time to see a four-wheeled carriage galloping towards him, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the other party's light carriage.

The carriage stopped, Bao Jun got off the car with a smile on his face, and Yizeng, who saw it, stepped forward to salute, he waved his hand, "The main hall is just passing by, stop by to see ......." ”

Passing by Fengtai Camp? Naturally, he couldn't believe this kind of nonsense, and he said cautiously: "The army is being reorganized, and I would like to ask Baozhongtang to train a few words ........" ”

"The headquarters does not know the soldiers, and the Yijunmen don't expect to see the jokes of the headquarters." Bao Jun said in a relaxed tone.

Hearing him say this, Yizeng put his mind at ease and said, "How dare the last general look at Zhongtang's jokes." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand, "Please enter the camp." ”

"Yijunmen, please ——。" Bao Jun hurriedly gave in, and did not dare to take it big at all.

Entering the camp, Bao Jun watched the queue training with great interest, and then with Yi increased the signing room, sat down to serve tea, and chatted a few words, Bao Jun said: "This has been the whole training for this time?" ”

It is impossible to hide the situation of the training in the Fengtai camp at all, Yizeng nodded very simply, and said: "This training is aimed at strengthening officers at all levels to obey orders and obey commands, instilling the idea that soldiers take obedience to orders as their duty, and emphasizing being a pure soldier, but asking the government ......." ”

But ask the government, be a pure soldier? Bao Jun smiled secretly in his heart, this was a way to block his words as soon as he opened his mouth, he smiled and nodded, "No wonder King Gong recommended Yijunmen to preside over this training, it is really a unique ......." ”

What is the current situation of Gong Wang Yixun? As soon as he opened his mouth, he mentioned that he was recommended by Yixun, which is not a good thing, Yizeng said with a wry smile: "I don't know who recommended him, and the last general will return to Beijing to preside over this training at the behest of the Empress Dowager." ”

"The Queen Mother does have a purpose, to strengthen the inculcation of officers at all levels to obey the command and obey orders, but there is nothing purely military." Baojun didn't go around in circles, and said straightforwardly: "The New Army of the Eight Banners is transformed from the Eight Banners Forbidden Army, and its mission of the forbidden army must be implemented!" ”

Hearing this, Yizeng's expression became solemn, Yuan Qi and King Gong asked him to carry out ideological education and indoctrination of officers to instill constitutional thoughts, to put it simply, it is to let the Eight Banners New Army support the constitution, but the Queen Mother wants the Eight Banners New Army to support the emperor! This errand is an offense to people, and there is no way to do it!

He really wanted to pick a son, but he didn't dare, he was not afraid of offending the Queen Mother, it was a big deal to be at home for a while, after all, he was a distant branch of the clan, and he had outstanding military achievements, and he had a lot of prestige in the Eight Banners New Army and the Beiyang Naval Division, there was no big mistake, and the Queen Mother would not treat him well.

What he is worried about is Yuan Qi, now in this situation, Yuan Qi is clearly pressing step by step, he will preside over the training, maintain an impartial position, Yuan Qi may not say anything, but if you want to change someone and completely turn the Eight Banners New Army into a tool of the royalists, Yuan Qi will definitely react!

The current situation seems to him to be like a string that has been stretched to the limit, a little radical move, it is possible to break this string, for Yuan Qi's strength, he may be the most clear, once the court and Yuan Qi turn against each other, the consequences are unimaginable!

After a long silence, he spoke: "The last general still insists that the army cannot have any political position, whether it is constitutional or royalist, the army cannot participate, and it should remain neutral, otherwise, the world will inevitably be in chaos!" ”

Hearing this, Bao Junmu didn't say a word with a straight face, and only said after a while: "Whether it is the New Army of the Eight Banners or the Beiyang Naval Division, they are all ....... of the imperial court's economic system. ”

Yi Zeng interrupted him and said: "It is precisely because he is the master of the imperial court that he must strictly abide by neutrality and maintain an impartial position on the dispute between the court!" ”

"Constitutionalism and royalism are not a dispute between the courts!" Bao Jun said in a deep voice: "The implementation of constitutionalism is the death of the Qing Dynasty!" ”

took out a cigarette case and lit a cigarette, Yi Zeng said in a calm tone as much as possible: "Zhongtang has also been in Shanghai for several years, and he should know Yuan Qi's situation very well, have you ever thought about what will happen once the Eight Banners New Army and the Beiyang Navy Division are biased towards royalism?" ”

After a pause, he continued: "Yi Guocheng did not cut off the alleged king, did not pull the flag and set off artillery to raise troops for the Northern Expedition, there is only one purpose, led by the imperial court, from top to bottom to implement innovation, implement constitutional government, and smoothly realize the alternation of political systems. If this goal cannot be achieved, it must be achieved by overthrowing the imperial court by force, but the imperial court is ready to start a war with Yuan Qi? ”

Bao Jun said: "The period of preparing for the constitution has not yet ended, and Yuan Qi dares to risk the disapproval of the world to provoke a war? ”

Yi Zeng said coldly: "Gong Wang dare!" ”

Hearing this, Bao Jun was silent when he landed, Gong Wang Yixun even went to the Wa Kingdom to usurp military power, if there was Yuan Qi's support behind him, it was really possible to dare to do something to provoke a war! Once King Gong provokes a war, Yuan Qi can send troops openly.

Seeing that Baojun was silent, Yi Zeng said slowly: "In the current situation, only by keeping the army neutral can we maintain the stability of the DPRK situation. ”

Bao Jun glanced at him and said, "Kyoto has fallen, the Japanese king has fled, the shogunate has surrendered the city, and the war against the Japanese is about to end. ”

Yi Zeng sighed lightly and said, "That's all I say, if Zhongtang insists, I will resign!" ”

The Forbidden City, the Palace of Nourishing the Heart, the East Warm Pavilion.

After listening to Baojun's description of the situation in the Fengtai camp, Ci'an raised his face and didn't say anything for a long time, originally he agreed to carry out the training in order to let Yixin return to Beijing as soon as possible, after Yixin went to the Japanese State to usurp military power, she didn't pay much attention to the training of the Fengtai camp, Yizeng was perfunctory, and replaced the training with military training, she was naturally clear, but she didn't care.

Let Bao Jun go to the Fengtai camp, the purpose is to test whether Yi Zeng can be reused, the war of the Japanese State is about to end, Yi Xun is about to return to Beijing, the Beijing division may have a tense situation, Yi Zeng is not only a handful of status, qualifications and military exploits, and prestige in the army, she hopes to persuade Yi Zeng to be used by her, and through Yi Zeng to fully control the Beiyang Naval Division.

The Beiyang Naval Division is not as good as the Eight Banners New Army, and Yuan Qi's infiltration of the Beiyang Naval Division is quite serious, after all, most of the officers of the Beiyang Naval Division are almost all from the Nanyang Navy, and the previous Admiral Zaizhao of the Beiyang Naval Division is still the brother-in-law who is easy to be content, and this Yizeng has always been between the imperial court and Yuan Qi, and the relationship with Su Shun is still very good, which makes her feel very unsure.

However, despite her dissatisfaction with Yizeng, she didn't plan to replace the other party, to put it bluntly, she didn't dare, if she really stretched out her hand directly to the Beiyang Naval Division, Yuan Qi was very likely to react.

As for the whole training, she didn't want to end it, so she didn't want to wait until Yixun returned to Beijing, and after a long time, he asked, "Have you been to the British Embassy?" ”

"Back to the Queen Mother." Bao Jun hurriedly said: "England is the only country that attaches great importance to such a large arms order, but the stakes are very high, and it must be reported to the country, and it will take a few days to reply." After a little hesitation, he continued: "What Walson meant by what he said was that he wanted to ask for some other benefits...... ”

"As long as it's not too much, you can give them some benefits." Ci'an said without thinking, at present, the imperial court can borrow from England and France, and if the situation deteriorates, it is reasonable to rely on the two countries to help and give some benefits.

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

Ren An hurriedly walked into the bookstore, and after saluting, he presented a telegram, saying: "Big shopkeeper, this is a telegram sent by Minister Walson of England to London. ”

"Can you decipher some of the British's telegrams?" Yi Zhifen was a little surprised, from the beginning of the preparation of Yuanqi, he attached great importance to the spy and collection of intelligence, at the beginning of the promotion of cable telegraphy, he realized the great value of deciphering and stealing cable telegraphs, so he had already begun to recruit talents to decipher cable telegraphs.

"Go back to the treasurer." Ren An didn't dare to hide it, and hurriedly replied truthfully: "We bought a ..... from the British Embassy. ”

"Well done!" Yi Zhifu nodded, all the spying and collection, he has always only looked at the results, regardless of the means, picked up the telegram and glanced at it twice, his expression became solemn, the court was so generous, he actually bought arms from England to equip 50,000 people in one go! What is this trying to do?

After a slight mutter, he ordered: "Closely read the cable telegrams of the British, and report them quickly as soon as there is a reply." ”

"Subordinates obey." Ren An hurriedly said respectfully.

After a pause, Yi Zhishu continued: "The decipherment of cable telegraphs must be given sufficient attention, technical decipherment is more important than bribery, it is also more secure and secure, and the credibility is also higher. ”

"My subordinates understand." Ren An bowed slightly.

"Go get busy." After Ren An retreated, Yi Zhishu picked up the telegram again and read it carefully, Walson's telegram clearly pointed out that large-scale civil strife may break out in the Qing State, although it was a request for instructions, but the attitude was very clear, and he agreed to give strong support to the Qing court.

Yi Zhishu slowly lit a cigarette, standing in the position of the British, Walson's attitude is completely understandable, just like he looks at the outbreak of a large-scale war in Europe every day, war means opportunity!

Of course, he would not give the British this opportunity, Yuan Qi has been trying his best to prevent the outbreak of a large-scale civil war in the country, how can it fall short? Even if Ci'an wanted to provoke a war, he wouldn't let Ci'an have this opportunity!

After a little muttering, he took up his pen and wrote a telegram, ordering Seng Lingqin to give up the pursuit of the Wawang and quickly lead his troops back to Osaka, and at the same time order Yixun to lead his troops back to Beijing as soon as possible.