Chapter 92

Lin Yuan stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong?"

Chen Fei, seeing Lin Yuan, said, "These are a group of Boxers who want to attack the Russian and Japanese embassies."

Lin Yuan, anxious, said, "What are you thinking! How can you attack the Russian and Japanese embassies in this situation!"

The leader of the group angrily said, "What do you want us to do? The Russians and Japanese are killing our fellow countrymen in Manchuria. Are we just supposed to stand by and watch?"

Lin Yuan said, "What can you do if you go there? They have guns, and the Qing court won't let you kill foreigners!"

The leader doubted, "We are helping the court! How can the court not help us!"

The crowd immediately chimed in, saying, "These two don't have queues; they must be fake foreigners. Kill them first!"

A large man with a steel saber rushed forward and swung at Chen Fei's head. Chen Fei quickly dodged, so fast that Lin Yuan couldn't even see it clearly. Then Chen Fei's hand shot out, grabbed the man's wrist, and twisted it. The man cried out in pain, and the saber fell from his hand. Chen Fei kicked the handle, and the saber landed behind him.

Chen Fei pushed the man back into the crowd and said helplessly, "Are you done yet?"

The leader said, "Everyone, attack separately and surround these two. I don't believe they have three heads and six arms!"

Lin Yuan thought, "If I don't persuade this person, there will be big trouble today, and we might even lose our lives."

So Lin Yuan roared, "Enough!"

The crowd was stunned by his roar, and then Lin Yuan said coldly, "I ask you, are the lives of foreigners more precious, or the lives of our fellow countrymen?"

The leader didn't even think before saying, "Nonsense! Of course, the lives of our fellow countrymen are more precious!"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "If so, why don't you go out of the pass to rescue the suffering people?"

In these few sentences, Lin Yuan actually used conversation techniques to make them believe that the lives of their fellow countrymen were more precious, so everyone should go out of the pass to rescue the people. This cause-and-effect relationship was not unfounded, as everyone's abilities were different, and for this group, they simply couldn't do it.

But these simple-minded Boxers, who couldn't even read their own names, clearly didn't understand this point. They immediately fell into deep thought. After a while, the leader said, "That's the court's business. All we can do is kill more foreigners!" He pointed his saber at Lin Yuan and angrily said, "And you, fake foreigner."

Lin Yuan chuckled and said, "If someone leads you out of the pass to fight the foreigners, will you go?"

The leader said, "Of course, what's the point of killing foreigners here?"

Lin Yuan said, "If you trust me, go back for now. The court will be recruiting soldiers in a few days. Come find me, I'm Lin Yuan."

The leader exclaimed, "You're Lin Yuan? The one who can level a mountain with a wave of your hand?"

Lin Yuan smiled and nodded. The leader said, "Alright, brothers, let's follow you! Let's go, let's go, we'll go back first."

Chen Fei watched the group leave and said to Lin Yuan, "Revolutionary history tells us that relying on others without having your own armed forces is no good. Can we use this group as our first armed force?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Let's see. I'll discuss it with Emperor Guangxu and see if we can recruit some soldiers."

When they asked Zhang Hua, he learned that the chamber of commerce president was willing to provide funds, but the exact amount was still being negotiated. Zhang Hua smiled bitterly and said, "Captain, we need to hurry and study the tobacco production process for the Beijing ship! Yesterday, I had to give away two cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes!"

Lin Yuan smiled and agreed. In the afternoon, he went to see Emperor Guangxu, who readily agreed. Lin Yuan left the Forbidden City, and Chen Fei was already waiting outside, insisting on seeing his new house.

On the way, Lin Yuan thought, "That young girl was quite nice to me, but I don't even know her name. Maybe I should buy her something."

Lin Yuan thought, "Girls must like small jewelry, right?" So he bought a pair of bracelets. The shopkeeper said they were made of cuitext stone, which was not expensive but very delicate.

Lin Yuan knew that the cuitext stone was actually serpentine, a mineral commonly used in the inorganic salt industry. The shopkeeper changed the name because "snake" sounded bad.

Lin Yuan and Chen Fei arrived at the house given by Empress Dowager Cixi, and the young girl was already waiting inside. As soon as they entered, she screamed and hid behind a screen. Chen Fei was confused and asked, "Why is she hiding from me?"

Lin Yuan said, "Think about the era. Women can't just see strangers, not even their husband's friends."

Chen Fei said, "Oh," and stepped out.

The young girl then came out, and Lin Yuan asked, "I don't know how to address you yet."

The young girl blushed and said, "Master can call me whatever you like." In ancient times, masters could name their servants as they pleased, so she said this.

Lin Yuan said, "What was your original name?"

The young girl said, "They call me Guan'er."

Lin Yuan said, "Alright, I'll call you that. By the way, I bought you something. I hope you like it." He handed her the gift.

The young girl's face turned red, and she hesitated to take it. Lin Yuan, though familiar with ancient society, had forgotten that in this era, a man giving a woman a gift often implied a token of affection, which made the young girl too embarrassed to accept it.

Just as they were stuck, someone outside announced that the Hunan governor Wu Dacheng and the Sichuan commander Song Qing were hosting a banquet at the Mengxian Tower and invited Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan put the gift aside and said, "I have to go. Take a look at the gift when you have time."

Lin Yuan came out and saw Chen Fei looking worried. He smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"

Chen Fei shook his head lightly and said, "Nothing." Lin Yuan had a hunch, thinking, "Is he thinking about that Matsushima Hikari again?"

Lin Yuan knew that Wu Dacheng was the commander of the Hunan army at Shanhaiguan. Song Qing, as mentioned earlier, was ordered by the Qing court to lead his troops to the Sino-Korean border and had been stationed in Jiuliancheng. Before he could withdraw to Lüshun, the Japanese attacked Shengjing (roughly today's Liaoning Province).

The Japanese landed at Jinzhou Bay and quickly advanced to Fengtian and Changtu. In the north, the Jilin general Changshun surrendered without a fight. Jilin and Changchun were located on the vast Songnen Plain, with no natural defenses. The Russians could march from Qiqihar and join forces with the Japanese, which would encircle Song Qing's entire force. Therefore, Song Qing retreated overnight. He couldn't go through Shanhaiguan, so he had to take a large detour through Inner Mongolia to return to Beijing.

Emperor Guangxu had already ordered Lin Yuan, as an imperial envoy, to command the Beijing forces and reclaim lost territory. At that time, the military valued seniority over ability, and these people might not be willing to follow him, so Lin Yuan thought, "This banquet is probably a trap!"

Next episode preview: How will Lin Yuan win the hearts and minds of the generals at this banquet?

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