Chapter 432 Southeast Mutual Protection
Chapter 432 Southeast Mutual Protection
"Maria, draft a telegram to appoint Zeng Xiaoyi as the acting Minister of Military Affairs of the Crimean United Kingdom, recruit soldiers in Crimea, establish the First Division of the Crimean National Defense Force, and be responsible for the defense of the Crimean Grand Duchy."
"Xu Bangdao was transferred to be the commander of the Qing military base in Istanbul, and the Chu army was stationed in Istanbul. Lin Tai once led the joint fleet of the Qing, Turkish and Crimean countries to stay in the Golden Horn."
After arranging Türkiye's defense, Shao Quanzhong boarded the Haiqi.
At the order of Liao Rong, who came to pick up the Huai Army, more than 100 transport ships carrying the main force of the Huai Army set out from the Golden Horn Bay and headed for Hailing Port under the escort of the British Far East Fleet.
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There was a rebellion within the Qing Dynasty and the Qing army withdrew from the European war. Most of the warring parties in the European war actually felt relieved.
Queen Victoria and Emperor Alfonso I of France spoke on the phone, and both expressed regret that the Qing army could not participate in the war, but their tone was relaxed.
Although the Qing army had a small number of troops participating in the war, they were well-equipped and had superior combat effectiveness. They easily defeated the Ottoman Empire and eliminated a major threat to the Allied Powers.
The King of England and the King of France both felt a growing sense of crisis in their hearts. A new top power was threatening Britain and France's dominance over the world.
Now, they have a revolution and civil war. Britain and France are very familiar with this. How much trouble did the Great Protector cause Britain? The French Revolution killed a lot of people.
Once the civil war broke out, the rapidly developing economy of the Qing Dynasty was bound to decline. A competitor for world domination fell, and the King of England and the King of France celebrated.
The Qing Dynasty defeated the Ottoman Empire, which was already quite impressive.
A revolution broke out in Türkiye and the Ottoman Empire disintegrated. The Qing Dynasty was able to conquer Türkiye and make a huge profit.
As retribution, the Qing Dynasty itself also had a revolution and was doomed. It would be best if the Qing Dynasty also disintegrated and split up, which would make us feel more at ease than participating in the war and making contributions.
German Emperor Wilhelm I and Count Andrassy, the Regent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, had a phone call. Both sides said that Shao Quanzhong was a righteous man and that the aid from Germany and Austria to the Qing Dynasty was not in vain.
We fully suspect that the unrest in the Qing Dynasty was just a show, and Shao just didn't want to fight us and was looking for an excuse to retreat back to the country.
Look, the arms we bought from the Qing Dynasty through a third country are also being shipped to us from Italy in a steady stream. How considerate!
The only one who was sad was Russia's Tsar Alexander II. Alas, there was a revolution in my son-in-law's country and he couldn't help me. Russia had to fight alone on the Eastern Front of the European War.
Fortunately, Lucia has already obtained the benefits in Türkiye. I hope nothing happens in the Qing Dynasty.
He turned around and told his second son who had rushed back from Volgograd, "Vladimir, send me secret detectives to arrest all the Narodnaya Volya members who are causing trouble. I have been feeling very nervous lately, and I hope nothing happens to us."
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In the Forbidden City, the Empress Dowager Cixi, who had returned to the West Warm Pavilion to rule the country, was extremely worried. Bad news kept being sent to the Grand Council.
"Reporting to the old Buddha, the new army's third regiment stationed in Changchun and the new army's temporary 23rd regiment stationed in Yongji have rebelled. The troops led by Heilongjiang General Jierhong'e who were sent to support the emperor have been blocked by them and cannot reach the capital."
"General Yiktang'a of Jilin stationed in Vladivostok called and said that the 20th Regiment and the 2nd Mixed Brigade of the New Army stationed in Fengtian had rebelled and were blocked by them, so General Jilin's subordinates were unable to return to the capital to provide assistance."
"Due to the rebellion in neighboring provinces, no reinforcements arrived in Sichuan. The 17th Regiment of the Sichuan New Army launched a rebellion out of desperation. Wen Xiang was killed, and the situation in Sichuan Province deteriorated. The 17th Regiment announced that it would accept Chen Siqi's leadership and join the Shaanxi rebel camp."
"At present, the rebels outside the Great Wall are trying to stop the return of the Heilongjiang and Jilin generals, but they have not taken any action yet."
"The rebels in the twelve provinces of Ili, Kokand, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan and Hubei, which are rebellious south of Shanhaiguan, are colluding to form a coalition army."
"The rebel leader Chen Siqi was elected as the leader of the alliance. They are preparing to gather 100,000 new troops to attack the capital. Most of the rebels have gathered along the railway." Li Hongzhang was in charge of reporting. He spoke seriously but calmly. "I heard that the rebel leader Chen Siqi was dragged out from under the bed by the rebels and became their follower—"
Hearing that everyone in the Military Affairs Office couldn't hold back their laughter, the old Buddha was furious, "The rebels have gathered 100,000 people, and they are all elite regular new troops. How dare you still laugh?"
"Report! Report to the old Buddha, something terrible has happened!"
Li Lianying ran in breathlessly, panting for a long time, "The Sixth Army Regiment stationed in Baoding, the Second Regiment stationed in Qian'an, the Fourth Regiment stationed in Machang, and the Zhili Mixed Brigade stationed in Langfang jointly launched a rebellion and are gathering towards the capital!"
Now everyone stopped laughing. Something unexpected happened. The new army of the three towns and one association in Zhili also launched a rebellion. The Empress Dowager was panicked on the spot.
What to do? The capital was surrounded, with nowhere to escape.
The little emperor Zai Yi was standing beside him with his eyes gurgling, as if nothing had happened and he didn't seem worried at all.
"Where are my father's men? Haven't you heard of any trouble in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Jiang? Fujian, Zhejiang, and Shandong seem to be fine too. Well, Nie Shicheng is a loyal minister, and the two provinces in North America are well under control, and there has been no rebellion."
The old Buddha let out a long sigh, "I didn't expect that the court was on guard against Prince Rui's rebellion every day, but in the end, it was the Huai Army that saved the emperor. Shao Quanzhong is the real loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty."
Everyone nodded. The emperor was the son of Prince Rui, and Prince Rui must be extremely loyal to the Qing Dynasty.
"Issue an imperial decree, ordering the Nine Gates Admiral Jin Shun to lead the new army of the Bordered Blue Banner to cooperate with the First Regiment of the Banner Army stationed in Yangshanwa, north of Beijing, to defend the capital. Order the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Liangjiang, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Shandong to send troops to Beijing to defend the king!"
A day later, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Shao Hengzhong, and the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Lin Bo, jointly reported, "The main forces of our five provinces have followed Marshal Shao to Europe. The new troops in the province are all newly recruited reserve forces and have no ability to fight outside the province. It is the limit to keep the jurisdiction from chaos."
"Marshal Shao is now on a ship returning from Istanbul and cannot be contacted. We cannot decide to abandon our territory and send troops without permission. Please understand."
On the third day, Li Henian, the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, reported that "the elite troops of Fujian and Zhejiang have been taken to Japan by General Zuo. Fujian and Zhejiang are unable to provide external assistance and can only join the ranks of Liangjiang and Guangdong to defend themselves."
The seven southeastern provinces disobeyed the imperial edict, refused to support the king, and united to protect themselves, which is known in history as the "Southeast Mutual Protection."
Soon, Shandong Governor Ding Baozhen wrote a letter in tears, "The literary society of the new army under my command is rampant. It is already very difficult for me to control the situation and prevent rebellion. I am unable to serve the king."
Shandong joined the Southeast Mutual Protection.
The newly appointed governor of the Arab Empire, Zhang Zhiwan, reported that "the new armies in Sinai and Mecca have just experienced the European war and suffered heavy losses. The new army in Babylon is still being formed and is unable to return to the court to provide assistance."
The three provinces of the Arab Empire joined the Southeast Mutual Protection.
Nie Shicheng, who was the only one in Japan, expressed his willingness to send his men to the capital to defend the emperor, and asked the Beiyang Fleet to send a ship to Vancouver to pick up the two mixed brigades left behind in North America to go to the capital to defend the emperor.
The Beiyang Fleet set out for North America and at the same time sent a squadron to Vladivostok to pick up the new bannermen troops from the two towns under General Yiktang'a of Jilin to come back for support.
Two months later.
Shao Quanzhong led the main force of the Huai Army, the Third Division and the First Brigade, with 46,500 people, to Hailing.
(End of this chapter)