Chapter 103: The Japanese Army's Coercion

  Just as Liu Kun's counterattack on Haicheng was blocked, the main force of the Japanese army led by Yamagata Aritomo easily captured Fengtian. The troops stationed along the Hun River defense line were the 5,000-strong Jingbian Army led by General Zengji of Jilin Province. This army, which had retreated from Liaoyang, managed to hold on for a day before being overrun by the Japanese across the Hun River. The battle for Fengtian City lasted only two days, and under the relentless charge of the Japanese troops, they finally used explosives tied to their bodies to blast open the south gate of Fengtian, allowing 20,000 Japanese soldiers to pour in.

  The main force of the city's defenders was still the remnants of Xiang Army led by Wei Guangtao and Li Guangjiu, plus the remnants of Fengtian Army led by Nie Guilin after Zuo Baogui's death, as well as a small number of hastily organized militia. The Battle of Liaoyang had already dampened the morale of Xiang Army, and southerners were unlikely to be willing to sacrifice their lives in Northeast China, so Xiang Army put up some resistance before abandoning the city and fleeing. As for Fengtian Army, they had lost their spirit after Zuo Baogui's death and did not slow down in escaping from the city. It was the militia composed of local people that put up a relatively determined resistance against the Japanese army, but due to their extremely poor equipment, they did not cause much trouble for the Japanese army. In just two days, Fengtian fell into enemy hands. General Yu Lu, who knew he would be beheaded if he escaped, simply found a rope and hanged himself from the beam of his house.

  This news thoroughly frightened the Manchu royal families in Beijing, and all sorts of rumors spread on the streets. Some said that the Japanese army was preparing to blow up the tombs of Wild Boar Skin and his son with explosives, while others claimed that they had already done so. There were even those who solemnly declared that when the tombs were blown up, strange omens appeared in the sky, which could be heard for miles around. Others said that although no explosion occurred, the Japanese had found a sorcerer to perform a ritual to destroy the dragon energy of the Aixinjueluo family using witchcraft. In short, those idle and boring Eight Banner princes who spent their days raising birds fully exercised their imagination and arranged all sorts of bleak endings for Wild Boar Skin's rotten bones.

  In the end, even the nobles and aristocrats ran to the outside of the Forbidden City to petition, some old codgers even brought ropes for hanging themselves, crying and begging Empress Dowager Cixi to quickly make peace with Japan, absolutely cannot let the Japanese army disturb the mausoleums of the ancestors. If all else fails, just pay them off and send them away. As for Korea, it's just a vassal state, not even part of the Qing Empire's territory, if Japan wants it, just give it to them.

  As for the court, no one spoke up, neither the Manchu nor Han ministers. Not a single person expressed their opinion, they all almost unanimously said: "Please let the Empress Dowager and the Emperor make a wise decision." This matter cannot be discussed in terms of peace or war. If we talk about peace, it would become a laughing stock; if we talk about war, it would mean abandoning the mausoleums of our ancestors, which is a crime punishable by death.

  "You're all mute, what's the use of the imperial court raising a bunch of useless people like you?" The Empress Dowager was indeed angry this time. She usually had poise when dealing with officials and rarely spoke in such a tone. Today she was truly furious, revealing her true nature as a shrew. Can't I just get what I want? You come out and say something to appease me, it's not like you'll suffer afterwards. What's the point of putting on this deadpan expression for whom?"

  She stared blankly for a moment before turning to Li Qinwang Shideng, this old codger who was the leader of the military machine. He thought he could hide, but there was no way. Before she even opened her mouth, Shideng suddenly let out a loud cough, then clutched his throat and fell to the ground, wheezing and gasping for air like an asthma attack.

  Cixi gritted her teeth and glared at him with a fierce gaze. Holding back a bellyful of anger, she called over the eunuch to drag him out and find an imperial physician.

  At this time, a considerate Grand Scholar Xu Tong stepped forward. This nearly eighty-year-old Han military banner person had not spoken yet and first fell to the ground crying: "Empress Dowager, this battle cannot be fought again. The mausoleums of our ancestors are absolutely not allowed to be disturbed, even if one bullet or shell falls on the Fuling Mausoleum and Zhaoling Mausoleum. We slaves are also guilty of death, money can be paid, land can be ceded, but these ancestral tombs must not be disturbed."

  This famous Confucian scholar was crying on the ground with tears streaming down his face, and his head was knocking against the floor. Looking at him, who was still so loyal at such an old age, even Cixi couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for him. In front of this great righteousness, these learned scholars who had read all the classics were really accurate in their judgment. Seeing that he was crying to the point of almost being out of breath, they quickly called eunuchs to support him and found a stool for him to sit on.

  With the lead, and with Cixi's attitude, those ministers immediately spoke enthusiastically, all unanimously believing that it would be better to seek peace from the Japanese army than to let them desecrate the mausoleum. They also wanted to send a telegram to the front as soon as possible, so that Liu Kunyi could contact Yamagata Aritomo immediately, to prevent these wolf-like Japanese from doing something outrageous and contemptible.

  However, what was unexpected was that Guangxu, who had always been a good boy, suddenly blurted out: "Sichuan General Song Qing and Taiwan General Yang Fengyi have already fallen into the Japanese capital, but the court is now begging for peace from the 30,000-strong Japanese army. Are you not afraid of being ridiculed by the world?"

  A group of ministers who were discussing enthusiastically suddenly stopped, Cixi's face sank and she stared at Guangxu with a gloomy expression, saying: "Your Majesty is tired today, why don't you hurry up and take a rest."

  Several eunuchs rushed forward, Guangxu opened his mouth, but still walked away with his head down and spiritless like a dog that had been slapped in the face. Below, Master Weng couldn't help but sigh.

  Upon receiving the telegram to contact the Japanese and negotiate, Liu Kunyi was stunned. What kind of situation is this? He was in the midst of deploying troops and preparing to capture Shenyang County with a single blow, yet the imperial court demanded peace. Damn it, what about the over 200,000 people? Without reinforcements, without logistics, without a retreat route, to put it bluntly, if they didn't fight, the Japanese would be finished in less than three months. Moreover, various large armies were arriving continuously, especially Ye Zhicha's 5,000-strong Yashan army which had already begun landing at Yingkou, and the northern route was firmly blocked by Yi Ketang'a at Motian Ridge. As long as they concentrated their forces and won one battle to take Haicheng, Shenyang County would be completely trapped in Fengtian.

  This guy and several major generals on the front line immediately sent a joint telegram to explain the situation, and patted their chest that they would definitely be able to capture Shan County alive within two months. However, just as they were sending the telegram, Shan County also released a message through British journalists in Fengtian, threatening Empress Dowager Cixi to immediately withdraw Yang Fusheng's troops from Japan and compensate Japan for the losses caused by them with 200 million taels of silver, otherwise he would blow up the tomb of his father with explosives.

  The various Qing forces in Liaodong immediately ceased military action, otherwise he could not guarantee that his angry soldiers would not take some understandable extreme actions.

  The capital city of Beijing is even more chaotic now, although this number makes Cixi a bit hesitant, after all, two billion is a bit too much. In the end, the tomb of Wild Boar Skin Father and Son is definitely not worth this price, but those old guys who are always making trouble outside are also giving her a headache.

  Just then, a mysterious rumor suddenly began circulating in Beijing that the Manchu people were still able to rule over 40 million Han Chinese with their weak Eight Banners because of the excellent location where the Wild Boar Skin Father and Son were buried, which was truly a dragon vein. Therefore, the Qing dynasty had not yet collapsed. The Japanese have been saying all along that they came to help the Han people rebel against the Manchu, so they wanted to blow up these two tombs. As long as these two tombs were blown up, the dragon vein of the Qing dynasty would be completely broken, and in five years, it would be finished.

  This news spread like wildfire in Beijing, and within a few days it was embellished by idle people into a long story. As a result, the Manchu nobles became even more panicked, and those who had not been concerned about this matter before also began to worry about the country and its people. Even the Manchu generals from various provinces started sending reports to the imperial court demanding immediate negotiations.

  Cixi, this old lady was originally easy to believe in such things, and with some of her confidants occasionally adding fuel to the fire, the generals from various places were pressing in, even if she felt that the Japanese were asking too high a price, she couldn't help but be moved. After all, the country was the foundation, silver was not worth mentioning. At the same time as making contact with the Japanese army on the front lines, she also had Li Hongzhang send a telegram to recall the Japanese troops.

  "Tell me to withdraw, what a joke. I'm not the Taiwan governor now, why should an Ottoman Empire governor listen to that old woman's command? Besides, it's just two broken tombs, blow them up and be done with it. The wild boar skin has been dead for hundreds of years, now there might only be some bone residue left, it's not like it's something valuable." Yang Feng said to Song Qing in a bewildered manner.

  Although they had known him for a long time and were aware that he had no respect for the imperial court, and had said many unbridled words in his daily life, Song Qing, Jiang Zikang, and Xu Bangdao were still shocked by his treasonous remarks.

  "Wild, who is Wild Boar Skin?" Xu Bangdao asked cautiously, fully demonstrating this guy's ignorance.

  "Nurhaci, in Manchu language, this name means wild boar skin." Yang Feng kindly explained to him, scaring Xu Bangdao to shut his mouth immediately.

  But since he said that he is now speaking as the Ottoman Turkish Governor, these people naturally had nothing to say. As for his Taiwan Governor, it's not necessary to investigate further.

  "What about the withdrawal?" Song Qing asked tentatively. Xu Bangdao brought a wireless telegraph machine, so Li Hongzhang could send the telegram directly to their hands. If Yang Feng received the telegram, he probably wouldn't tell them this news.

  "I'm willing to withdraw you, but now it's time to leave, and the share of the spoils will be gone. Moreover, I won't provide ships for you either, you can ask Li Zhongtang to send a ship to pick you up," Yang Feng said.

  The three of them were stunned, and had no choice but to return and send another telegram to Li Hongzhang. Li Hongzhang originally did not want to withdraw the troops, as this would mean losing tens of millions in revenue. Since that was the case, they might as well go along with it. They could wait there for now, and when the ships arrived, they could withdraw then. Before withdrawing, they should help out by fighting first.

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