Chapter 457: Determined to Start a Rebellion
The Russian army’s invasion of the east was thwarted, with heavy casualties, and was forced to retreat to Gaiping and Liaoyang for rest and recuperation.

The Tsarist Russian troops in other places also came under attack from local militias and volunteer forces.

The Yisheng Army led by Liu Zhentang in the Hulan Uprising, the Yixiao Army led by Sun Benrong, the Bayan Yi Army “Zhanbei”, the leader of the Huashudian militia Han Dengju, and so on.

From Heilongjiang in the north to Liaodong Peninsula in the south, the vast anti-Russian volunteer army fought in deep mountains and dense forests and important transportation routes, attacking the enemy everywhere.

These volunteers shouted slogans such as “fight to the death with the Russian bandits, recover our land, and save our people.” and “eradicate them completely to demonstrate our national power and to fight against the enemy.” They vowed to fight the Russian army to the end.

Under the attack of the military and civilians of the Eastern Road and various volunteer forces, the Tsarist Russian army suffered heavy losses and dared not act rashly again.

The only way was to put pressure on Zengqi and Changshun and force the Qing government to suppress the rebels.

Just at this time, the “Provisional Regulations for the Handover of Fengtian Territory” was announced, causing shock both at home and abroad and causing an uproar in public opinion.

Under pressure, the Qing court dismissed Zengqi from his post and ordered Qingrui to act as the Fengtian General.

However, a few days later, under the request and coercion of Tsarist Russia, the Qing court ordered Zengqi to remain as the General of Fengtian.

However, all matters concerning the Fengtian negotiations were given full authority to Yang Ru to handle, and Zengqi was not allowed to interfere.

In the winter, the Qing government sent envoy Yang Ru to negotiate with Russia on the issue of the handover of the three northeastern provinces.

At the same time, the British “Times” disclosed the contents of the charter, which aroused fierce opposition from the great powers, and they questioned the Qing government one after another.

At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, the Qing government announced to China and the world that the “Provisional Regulations for the Transfer of Fengtian Territory” was invalid.

Tsarist Russia was afraid that Britain, Japan and other powers would intervene, so it adopted a strategy of retreat in order to gain greater benefits.

Tsarist Russia notified the Qing government that it agreed to abolish the charter and move to negotiations for a new treaty.

The Russian negotiating representative Ramsdorf presented Yang Ru with a twelve-article draft treaty on the handover of the three northeastern provinces.

After the contents of the Twelve Articles were announced, countries such as Britain, Japan, the United States, and Germany, out of their own interests, all notified the Qing government to prevent it from signing the treaty and oppose Tsarist Russia’s monopoly on the Northeast.

At the same time, most governors-general and Qing envoys abroad, represented by Zhang Zhidong, Governor-General of Huguang, and Liu Kunyi, Governor-General of Liangjiang, also strongly opposed the signing of the contract.

People from all walks of life in Shanghai denounced Tsarist Russia, and overseas Chinese in Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Honolulu and other places also called the Qing government, strongly demanding that the treaty be rejected.

As the whole country was advocating to refuse to sign the Russian treaty, the Qing government was intimidated by public opinion. At the same time, it was also afraid that signing a treaty alone with Tsarist Russia would affect its “return to the throne” and that other countries would “follow suit”, so it refused to sign a separate treaty with Tsarist Russia.

During the period of negotiations between the Qing government and Tsarist Russia, the military and civilians of Dongbiandao were united and made full efforts to defend themselves, and defeated the Tsarist Russian army that invaded Xingjing and Xiuyan.

It prevented the Tsarist Russian army from invading the Eastern Road region, thus protecting the lives and property of the people in the Eastern Road.

The Tsarist Russian army suffered a series of heavy losses and dared not act rashly again.

However, the victory in Dongbiandao cannot affect the overall situation.

The imperial court even issued a strict order, prohibiting the military and civilians of the Eastern Road from going to war with Tsarist Russia again, so as not to affect the negotiations. Any officials of the Eastern Road who violated the order would be severely punished.

Under pressure from the imperial court, Zhang Xiulan, Qu Shaoyang and others had to passively defend themselves and could not take the initiative to recapture the cities captured by Tsarist Russia.

As a last resort, Qu Shaoyang could only secretly support the anti-Russian volunteers.

At this time, Er Yuehong’s troops had already joined Qu Shaoyang and were incorporated into the Dingbian Army, the Militia Security Battalion, etc.

Among the other rebel forces active around Dongbiandao, there are several that are relatively strong.

The Loyal Army led by Liu Yonghe, the Anti-Russian Army led by Wang Heda and Dong Laodao, and the Zhendong Army led by Yang Yulin.

In the first month of the Xinchou year, the three rebel armies met in Hailongfu and decided to unite to fight against Russia, collectively known as the Loyal and Righteous Army.

The unified Loyal and Righteous Army had a total of more than 20,000 people, divided into 40 battalions, still using the Qing army organization of the original Loyal and Righteous Army.

Liu Yonghe was the president and commander of the whole army, while Liu Binghe assisted him and was called assistant commander.

Wang Heda, Dong Laodao, Yang Yulin, Li Guichun and others were called commanders, and they were in charge of several camps. Under them were positions such as camp officers, assistants, sentry officers, etc. In addition, there were also titles such as general patrols and inspections.

The Loyal Army has strict discipline and rich combat experience. With Qu Shaoyang providing them with all kinds of equipment, food and military supplies, their combat effectiveness is very strong.

After the formation of the Loyal Army, it basically formed an anti-Russian center with Hailong and Tonghua as the main areas.

This place is vast with high mountains, dense forests, and crisscrossing rivers and gullies, making it a convenient place for the loyal army to hide.

In addition, with Qu Shaoyang’s full support behind the scenes, the army has sufficient manpower, sophisticated weapons, and adequate food and wages. It can be said that the army is strong and the morale is high.

The Loyal Army was good at utilizing the surrounding terrain and adopting flexible tactics such as feinting to the east and attacking in the west, roundabout encirclement, ambushing in dangerous places, and avoiding the strong and attacking the weak.

During the day, everyone lay in ambush and rest, waiting for the time when the clouds were dark and the moon was dark to raid the camp.

The Tsarist Russian army was unfamiliar with the terrain, and the Loyalist Army did not engage in a head-on battle with the Russian army, but instead ambushed and attacked in secret.

The Tsarist Russian army was fooled by the Loyalist Army and suffered heavy losses.

This also led to great dissatisfaction among the high-ranking Russian official in Kwantung, Alexeev, who criticized Zengqi and Changshun for their incompetent command and failure to suppress the rebellion.

In order to achieve the goal of defeating the Loyal Army, Zengqi and others decided to adopt a strategy of both suppression and appeasement.

Yiling’a, the general manager of Hailong Hall, suggested to Zengqi that he should resolutely suppress Wang Heda, Li Guichun and others whose anti-Qing activities seriously threatened his rule.

The strategy of appeasing Liu Yonghe, Yang Yulin and others who resisted Russia but not the Qing Dynasty was adopted.

So Zengqi sent people to plan to recruit Liu Yonghe, and at the same time wrote a letter to Changshun, asking him to use the past subordinate relationship to transfer Yang Yulin back.

Under the deception of the rebellious officials and the wavering elements around him, Liu Yonghe sent people to negotiate the terms of surrender with Zengqi in March of the Xinchou year without the knowledge of the loyal army officers.

However, the Russian governor in Fengtian learned about this and killed Liu Yonghe’s negotiating representative, causing the negotiations to break down.

At the same time, Chaerpicki, who invaded Fengtian, and Gaolibals, who invaded Jilin, divided their troops into three groups and attacked Tonghua and Hailong in an effort to encircle and suppress the Loyal Army.

Unexpectedly, the Loyalist Army relied on the terrain and fought with the Tsarist Russian Army for more than 40 days.

Countless Russian soldiers were killed and a lot of weapons and food supplies were seized. In the end, the Russian encirclement and suppression ended in failure, and they had no choice but to withdraw to Fengtian and Jilin City.

In April, the Qing government exiled Jin Chang, deputy governor of Fengtian, E Ying, commander of Bayansusu, and others to the border to do hard labor on the charge of “tolerating the Boxers’ hatred of religion.”

At the same time, Liaoyang and other places issued notices strictly prohibiting the Boxer Rebellion and requiring the bannermen, village security guards and training chiefs to investigate and arrest them seriously.

By July, Yixin and Li Hongzhang, under the order of the Empress Dowager Cixi, signed the twelve-article “Xin Chou Treaty” with eleven countries.

In August, the Qing government announced punishment for officials involved in the Boxer Rebellion.

Among them were not only the Deputy Governor-General of Fengtian Jinchang, the Deputy Governor-General of Heilongjiang Fengxiang, but also more than 140 officials from the capital and local areas.

Among them were many royal relatives, nobles, governors and high-ranking officials.

Among these officials, some were ordered to commit suicide, some were sentenced to immediate execution or execution pending execution, and those who had already died were punished after their death and their original official positions were revoked.

The Tsarist Russia also wanted to hold the officials of the Eastern Road accountable, especially Qu Shaoyang, Chen Yunhan and others who led the people to fight against the invasion of the Tsarist Russian army, causing heavy losses to the Tsarist Russian military.

However, Qu Shaoyang and Chen Yunhan did not participate in the early stages of the Boxer Rebellion, and in the later stages they were only ordered to defend against the enemy.

After the imperial edict came down, they immediately stopped the action and did not do anything out of line. How can we hold them accountable?

Zengqi racked his brains to please the Russian Empire. In the end, he dismissed Qu Shaoyang and sent someone to take over the Dingbian Army on the pretext that Qu Shaoyang disobeyed orders and disobeyed orders from his superiors.

“Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.

Those who fled without fighting or surrendered to the enemy in battle could continue to serve as generals, while those who fought to the death, defended the city, and protected the people were dismissed. How could this be called justice?”

When Zengqi sent someone to deliver the message, Qu Shaoyang was stationed in Andong City. Upon learning that he had been dismissed from his post and investigated, Qu Shaoyang was furious.

“That’s right, that’s right, what kind of world is this? It’s really infuriating.

Damn it, we fought bravely and killed the enemy in the front line, and they only sabotaged us and hindered us. What the hell are they? A bunch of traitors. “

“Sir, why should we risk our lives for this government that cannot distinguish right from wrong and is worthless?
I have been humiliated all day long. Damn it, I can’t stand it anymore. I’m quitting.”

When the generals around Qu Shaoyang heard about this, they were also very indignant and started cursing.

“Sir, now that things have come to this, we must come up with a charter as soon as possible. We can’t really let them take over the Dingbian Army, right?”

Er Yuehong was beside Qu Shaoyang and said worriedly.

“Take over the Dingbian Army? What are you dreaming of? They are so beautiful.” Qu Shaoyang snorted.

“Come here, arrest all the people sent by Fengtian General’s Mansion.”

Are you kidding? Zengqi really thinks that Qu Shaoyang is as easy to bully as he was during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895?
You want to exclude me and dismiss me? You are dreaming.

In recent years, although the Dingbian Army has been disbanded on the surface, it has actually expanded a lot of troops.

Together with the forest inspection team, tax inspection team, patrol team, security team, etc., before the fight against Russia, there must be at least 30,000 to 40,000 people obeying Qu Shaoyang’s command.

After a year of fighting against the invasion of Tsarist Russia, a lot of volunteer armies and local militias were recruited. Excluding the Loyal Army, the number of troops that Qu Shaoyang could command was no less than 70,000 to 80,000.

Qu Shaoyang is now fully grown, and Zengqi still wants to manipulate him at will?

At Qu Shaoyang’s command, the soldiers immediately rushed out and detained all the officials sent by Zengqi to take over the Dingbian Army.

Immediately afterwards, Qu Shaoyang led his men straight to the Andong County Government Office and put the Andong County Magistrate under surveillance.

The city of Anton is under strict control and no one is allowed to enter or leave to prevent the news from leaking.

Afterwards, Qu Shaoyang led a thousand trusted soldiers to Phoenix City to discuss matters with the Chen brothers.

At this time, Chen Yunhan was still stationed in Tongyuan Fort. After receiving the news, he immediately rushed back.

“Fuck, it doesn’t matter if I don’t deserve this position.

If we had known this would happen, we would have been better off being bandits in the mountains, living a carefree life.”

Chen Yunhan was so angry that he paced back and forth in the room like a mad lion.

“Fuck it, let’s just rebel. Life is so frustrating.”

Chen Yunhan was a military man and didn’t want to beat around the bush. Once he got angry, he didn’t care about anything else and just started shouting that he wanted to rebel.

“Second brother, shut up. How can you talk nonsense like this?” Upon hearing this, Chen Yunzhe quickly scolded his brother.

“Shaoyang, don’t listen to your second brother’s nonsense.

It’s not easy for you and me to be where we are today. We have such a big family business, parents, a wife and children. No matter what we do, we must think twice and consider the consequences.”

Chen Yunzhe rolled his eyes at his brother and turned to persuade Qu Shaoyang.

“Even if you and I really want to do something, we should plan carefully and make sure our family members are well taken care of. We shouldn’t act impulsively.”

If they were single brothers, they wouldn’t be afraid of anything, because the worst that could happen is their life.

But now they have a large family and a big business, with parents above them and wives and children below them, so they have to think carefully before doing anything. Even if they are not afraid of death, they cannot harm their families.

“Brother, this is no longer a question of being impulsive or not.

If I don’t resist now and let them control me, then I’m afraid that not only will I lose my position, but I’m afraid that even my family and relatives may not be able to be preserved.”

Qu Shaoyang shook his head and spoke in a firm tone.

When Tsarist Russia invaded, except for Heilongjiang General Shoushan who committed suicide, the other two generals all surrendered to the enemy, and almost all of Northeast China fell.

Under such circumstances, Qu Shaoyang and Chen Yunhan led the people of Dongbiandao to resist the Russian army and saved Dongbiandao from war.

In this comparison, Zengqi is a waste. In this case, how could he not suppress Qu Shaoyang?

If Qu Shaoyang endured this time and really handed over the Dingbian Army, then Zeng Qi would definitely frame him and completely eliminate Qu Shaoyang and the Qu family’s power.

Therefore, Qu Shaoyang could not retreat, nor could he allow Zengqi to control him. He had to resist.

Chen Yunzhe and Chen Yunhan looked at each other and sighed.

“Have you figured out what to do? Are you really going to rebel?

A hasty uprising may not succeed, so a detailed plan is needed.”

The Chen and Qu families are relatives by marriage, and their interests are intertwined. They prosper together and suffer together.

What’s more, the Chen brothers’ current status is all thanks to Qu Shaoyang.

So the two brothers decided to go along with Qu Shaoyang without even thinking about it.

“For now, we can only take the initiative and control all the counties under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Circuit.

Then he issued a manifesto to condemn Zengqi’s crimes and declared the independence of Dongbiandao, which was no longer under the jurisdiction of General Fengtian.

Big Brother, Second Brother, if you feel this is too dangerous, you don’t have to get involved. After all, this is about your life and property, so please consider it carefully.”

Qu Shaoyang had always adhered to the principle of keeping a low profile, and tried to stay hidden as much as possible. Anyway, the Qing Dynasty would not be able to survive for many more years, so he might as well take the opportunity to accumulate strength.

Qu Shaoyang did not expect the situation to develop to this point.

For now, we can only declare the independence of Dongbiandao and wait and see the reaction of the imperial court. Anyway, the final result will be a fight to the death.

“What are you talking about? Are we brothers still divided by those things? If something happens to you, can we remain unscathed?
There’s no need to say anything, just tell me what to do and I’ll do it right away.”

Chen Yunhan is a straightforward person. Even after serving as an official for all these years, his temper has not become much smoother.

“How can a man like you endure such humiliation?”

After the three of them had discussed it, Chen Yunzhe immediately arranged for people to send his parents, wife and children to Linjiang City.

Then, Chen Yunhan was ordered to go to the prefectures and counties in the eastern route and pass on orders to the soldiers stationed in various places, asking them to quickly take over the towns and cities, and to strictly control them, not allowing officials from various places to contact Fengtian.

Qu Shaoyang led his troops to seize the weapons of the Phoenix City guards, and then took control of the Tongzhi Yamen and the Dongbiandao Yamen.

(End of this chapter)