After Ye Faguang left the lobby and left the Shanxi Governor's Yamen, he finally let out a long breath.
This time he volunteered to intercept Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu who might be escaping. The main reason was to save the lives of these two supreme beings.
Because the longer Ye Faguang stays in Liu Hai Group, the more he becomes afraid of Liu Hai's unfathomable connotations.
If these two supreme beings fought against Liu Hai and escaped again in Xi'an, Liu Hai's character would never let him go.
At that time, the most likely solution Liu Hai would take is to directly send out the air force to conduct air strikes on the two supreme beings.
The Empress Dowager Cixi managed to escape an air raid last time, but she may not be so lucky this time.
Therefore, Judge Ye proposed to Liu Hai that they would make a large circle to occupy Lanzhou, and then outflank them in two directions so that the Empress Dowager Cixi would have no room to escape.
Although Empress Dowager Cixi could not escape by then, she managed to save her life.
Who would have thought that Ye Faguang's little thought was clearly seen by Liu Zhi.
Liu Zhi did not report this matter to Liu Hai, but he believed that the Empress Dowager Cixi's affairs were not enough to affect the overall situation.
However, he was also very dissatisfied with Ye Faguang's little thoughts. Unexpectedly, Ye Faguang had not accepted the lesson. He was put aside for so long last time, but this time he was still evil. Therefore, Liu Zhicai gave Ye Faguang a reminder to let him know his intentions.
Every move is within Liu Hai's sight.
Liu Hai was sitting in the center at this time, and had a clear view of what was going on below. Especially the scene where Liu Zhi warned Ye Guangming, Liu Hai could see very clearly.
Liu Hai knew in his heart that although Ye Faguang had defected to him early, he had received many years of Confucian education and still had respect for the Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty.
But Liu Hai didn't pay much attention to these little thoughts, because he knew what kind of background he had.
In the face of absolute power, these little thoughts and conspiracies are nothing.
On the second day, Ye Faguang led 300 Type 59 tanks and nearly 1,000 vehicles of various types, leaving Taiyuan City in a mighty manner and heading north, preparing to detour through Mongolia and go straight to Xining.
He kept his bangs on one side but did not act in a hurry, because Ye Faguang had to cooperate with them in this long-distance expedition. Only by acting together could they pose the greatest threat to Xi'an.
Therefore, Liu Hai ordered the remaining troops to rest and regroup in Taiyuan, and at the same time began to raid other prefectures and counties in Shanxi.
The news of Taiyuan's defeat also reached Xi'an four or five days later.
When the Empress Dowager Cixi received the news, she was only frightened because she had no master. Originally, the Empress Dowager Cixi had placed her hope in the danger of Taiyuan, coupled with Zhang Zhidong's self-improvement army, she was able to withstand Liu Hai's westward advance today. She did not expect that in such a short period of time,
Inner Taiyuan was occupied by Liu Hai, and even Zhang Zhidong became his prisoner.
Now, the Empress Dowager Cixi could only summon several ministers beside her to discuss how to resist Liu Hai's next attack.
As for the people who can be used by Cixi's subordinates now, one is Prince Li Shiduo, and the other is Shaanxi Governor Wei Guangtao.
These two people can be said to be the most useful people under Cixi.
But to be honest, Empress Dowager Cixi now doesn't trust Wei Guangtao very much.
If it weren't for the fact that he had been operating in Shaanxi for many years and had disciples and local officials all over Shaanxi, the Empress Dowager Cixi would have removed him long ago.
It turns out that Wei Guangtao was born in the Hunan Army, and later served under Zuo Zhongtang. It can be said that he is inextricably linked to the current new Hunan Army.
How could Empress Dowager Cixi use such a person with confidence?
Therefore, during this period of time, Empress Dowager Cixi has been rising up and down secretly, ostensibly treating Wei Guangtao as the Minister of Military Aircraft Department.
But secretly, he was deprived of his rights as governor of Shaanxi, and these military and personnel powers were given to Prince Shiduo of Li.
Wei Guangtao naturally saw these things very clearly, but he did not have any resistance and obediently handed over his rights.
Because of this, the Empress Dowager Cixi gained some confidence in him, and now she began to pay attention to his opinions when big things happened.
This made Wei Guangtao feel very gratified, thinking that his loyalty was finally recognized by the Empress Dowager Cixi.
This time, the Empress Dowager Cixi summoned Wei Guangtao and Prince Li to the temporary palace to discuss how to deal with Liu Hai next.
"Have you all heard? That traitor Liu Hai has captured Taiyuan, and this incompetent Zhang Zhidong has also been captured. What do you think we should do next?"
Wei Guangtao did not speak first because this matter was indeed very difficult. Although he had been in charge of Shaanxi for so many years, he had not accumulated much wealth.
This is because Shaanxi is poor and has no money to increase its armaments.
But Prince Li Shiduo spoke up, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, the situation is critical now. It is better to ask Kui Jun, Governor of Sichuan, to bring Sichuan's elite troops to Shaanxi for reinforcements."
The Empress Dowager Cixi thought about it and realized that this was a solution.
Now there are not many governors that the Empress Dowager Cixi can command, and this Sichuan governor is one of them.
This Kui Junnai was Ronglu's uncle. Because of this relationship, he won the trust of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
"Prince Li is right. Now that Shaanxi is in danger, it is time to recruit soldiers from all walks of life."
But Wei Guangtao, who was standing by, poured cold water on Cixi's head.
"Go back to the Queen Mother, I'm afraid we can't count on reinforcements from Sichuan now."
The Empress Dowager Cixi was very surprised after hearing this, "Why is this? Sichuan is a relatively wealthy place, and he should have some military strength under his command."
Wei Guangtao let out a long sigh, and then said: "Kui Jun's calligraphy is good, and he can be said to be the best in calligraphy. But his management of the place is a mess."
"When he arrived in Sichuan, he didn't think about governing the place after he took office. Instead, he intensified his efforts to collect taxes. He has even begun to collect "dung tax" now."
Speaking of this excrement tax, Liu Shiliang, the master of satire at that time, wrote a wonderful couplet: "Since ancient times, there has never been a tax on excrement, but now there is nothing left to donate." Later, this couplet was mistakenly attributed to Guo Moruo.
The Empress Dowager Cixi felt very disgusted when she heard this. Although Wei Guangtao seemed to be loyal for the time being, he still caused a little discomfort to himself from time to time.
Prince Li Shiduo frowned when he saw the Empress Dowager Cixi nearby, and hurriedly came out to smooth things over and said: "Kui Jun, although you have some minor problems, you are still loyal to the court."
After he finished speaking, he glared at Wei Guangtao next to him, which was meant to warn him to watch his mouth.
Wei Guangtao had no choice but to step aside and continue to remain silent.
The Empress Dowager Cixi was sitting in the middle, hesitant. Although she believed Kui Jun was loyal, she began to doubt his ability.
Prince Li Shiduo was a little anxious when he saw this situation. If Empress Dowager Cixi really gave up on Kui Jun, he would have to fight Liu Hai alone in Shaanxi.
Why is Prince Li Shiduo so anxious to bring Sichuan over to fight alongside him? There is a reason for this. Although Prince Li Shiduo has recruited many new troops during this period, he also relied on his own connections to
The arms dealer purchased some miscellaneous weapons.
But he knew very well that these people had only been trained for a short time, and their weapons were not very neat. If these people were to fight against Liu Hai's powerful warriors, it would be a recipe for death.
It was precisely because of this that Prince Li Shiduo thought of putting someone on his back.
The only country around Shaanxi that has this capability is Sichuan. The other places are either occupied by ethnic minorities or are unstable and cannot mobilize forces to reinforce Shaanxi.
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, Shaanxi is currently in crisis. Only Sichuan still has the strength to provide reinforcements. I am afraid that other places cannot mobilize troops. Therefore, I beg the Empress Dowager to issue an order as soon as possible. Otherwise, I am afraid it will be too late by the time the traitor Liu Hai arrives at the city."
The Empress Dowager Cixi thought for a moment, and the most important thing now was to put aside all other matters of defeating Liu Hai, the traitor.
"Okay, I will do as you say and immediately issue an order to the Governor of Sichuan, asking him to lead Sichuan's army, escort grain and fodder, and come to Shaanxi for reinforcements."
Wei Guangtao did not have any objection to this. Although Kui Jun, the governor of Sichuan, was indeed out of tune, Sichuan still had some old roots.
The Empress Dowager Cixi finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the issue of reinforcements had been solved, but just thinking about reinforcements was not the solution. She also had to strengthen her defenses on the Shaanxi side.
So Empress Dowager Cixi asked Prince Li Shiduo, who had been preparing troops in Shaanxi, "How is the training of the new army in Shaanxi?"
Prince Li Shiduo felt his head hurt when he heard the Empress Dowager Cixi's question. However, the ugly daughter-in-law still had to see her parents-in-law, so he could only tell the truth.
"Reporting to the Queen Mother, during this period of time, the slaves worked hard to serve the court and finally recruited more than 200,000 troops in Shaanxi."
When the Empress Dowager Cixi heard that there were so many people, a long-lost smile appeared on her face. Now she thought in her mind that she finally had the troops to resist Liu Hai.
But Wei Guangtao, who was standing aside, grinned. Unbeknownst to others, as the governor of Shaanxi, he knew this matter well.
Speaking of which, 200,000 men and horses are already a lot, but only 40,000 to 50,000 of these people use foreign guns and cannons, and the rest use large blades.
Even those who use foreign guns and cannons are untrained and their formations are very loose.
If that's all, these people can still fight. The main thing is that these people are equipped with a variety of weapons, including everything.
In addition, the army currently being recruited still lacks heavy weapons, with only a few dozen machine guns and only four or five cannons.
It's just a fool's dream to be able to withstand bangs with these equipment.
But the Empress Dowager Cixi didn't know about this. She praised Prince Li Shiduo in court and asked him to keep up his efforts and continue to serve the court.
After this imperial meeting, a telegram from Shaanxi was sent to Chengdu, Sichuan.
After receiving the order from the Empress Dowager Cixi, Kui Jun, the governor of Sichuan, immediately issued his military order, requiring troops from all ministries in Sichuan to immediately converge on Chengdu.
His purpose was to organize the army in Chengdu and then lead the troops out of Sichuan to reinforce the Empress Dowager Cixi.