Although the situation in the Shanghai Concession had stabilized somewhat, the Qing officials in Shanghai were still very nervous, and they were just as worried about the overseas Chinese attacking Shanghai as the foreigners in the Concession.

Although the overseas Chinese are indeed descendants of China, although they also play the banner of "returning to China", but in fact they are also a foreign force, after they captured Tianjin, they did not immediately ask the Qing court for restoration, but set up posts in Tianjin, recruited troops, and resolutely attacked Weihaiwei. Judging from Qingdao's behavior, overseas Chinese actually did not take the Qing court seriously, and from this point of view, there is actually no difference between overseas Chinese and foreigners.

Shanghai is an area heavily influenced by foreign countries, and the local officials here have some interests with the foreigners, and some have even formed a community of interests with the foreigners, so when the Boxer Rebellion broke out in the north, Yu Lianyuan, the Taoist of Shanghai, took the lead and signed the [Southeast Mutual Insurance Agreement] with the consuls of various countries on behalf of the southeastern officials, which was almost tantamount to betraying the Qing court. Once the overseas Chinese occupy Shanghai, no one can say for sure whether their own interests can be preserved, so the best outcome is that Shanghai will still maintain the status quo.

However, the countries in the Shanghai Concession still have their own countries to back, and the Qing court officials in Shanghai rely on to go, and the court still does not know where to flee. Of course, the local governors of the southeast of the Qing court who signed the [Southeast Mutual Insurance] are a force that can be relied on. Therefore, a few months ago, Yu Lianyuan of Shanghai Daotai and Sheng Xuanhuai, the secretary of Dali Temple, who signed the [Southeast Mutual Insurance Agreement] with the consuls of various countries on behalf of the Qing court's southeastern governors, discussed for days and came up with a solution: also organize an army to protect Shanghai. Of course, the army was drawn from the governors who participated in the [Southeast Mutual Insurance], so as to form a coalition army, with about 50,000 people, stationed in Shanghai.

Of course, such a major matter could not be decided by Yu Lianyuan and Sheng Xuanhuai, so the two of them jointly asked to see Li Hongzhang and told Li Hongzhang about the results of the discussion.

After listening to what the two of them said, Li Hongzhang's face changed, shook his head, and said, "Yu Shan (Yu Lianyuan), Xingsun, this matter must not be." ”

Yu Lianyuan and Sheng Xuanhuai were stunned when they heard this, and they glanced at each other, Yu Lianyuan owed a debt, and said, "Please also ask Lord Zhongtang to teach?"

Li Hongzhang said: "Let's not care about anything else, will the countries allow our troops to be stationed in Shanghai?"

Sheng Xuanhuai said with confidence: "Although Lord Zhongtang can rest assured, now the foreigners are worried about the overseas Chinese attacking Shanghai, if we organize an army to defend Shanghai, and at the same time protect the interests of the foreigners in Shanghai, the foreigners will not be able to ask for it." As long as the governors of the provinces agree to this matter, Xuanhuai can take on the heavy responsibility of negotiating with the foreigners. ”

Li Hongzhang glanced at Sheng Xuanhuai, and sighed in his heart, Sheng Xuanhuai is knowledgeable, responsible, and capable of doing practical things, but it is a pity that the field of vision is too narrow to see the overall situation clearly, and said: "The foreigners will indeed not object, but they will use this as an excuse to ask us to increase troops and ships in Shanghai, and not only increase troops in Shanghai, but also to station along the Yangtze River, how do we think we should respond?"

Sheng Xuanhuai was stunned, in fact, during the Boxer Rebellion, all countries wanted to increase troops and ships in Shanghai, and then deploy the entire Yangtze River to take the opportunity to expand their sphere of influence in China. At that time, it was really difficult to reply to foreigners.

At this time, Yu Lianyuan said: "Dare to ask Zhongtang, how should this matter be handled? Or can the army be stationed in Hangzhou or Zhenjiang and not stationed in Shanghai, so that the foreigners will have no reason to increase their troops in Shanghai, and once Shanghai is in danger, the army can also enter Shanghai at any time to reinforce it?"

Li Hongzhang shook his head again and again, and said: "No, no, let's ignore the problem of foreigners, who is the enemy when you organize the army?"

Yu Lianyuan said: "It's an overseas Chinese!"

Li Hongzhang sneered and said, "We can be enemies of the Boxers, but we must not be enemies of overseas Chinese. ”

Yu Lianyuan was stunned for a moment, and said: "I really don't understand the humble position, and I ask Lord Zhongtang to make it clear." ”

Li Hongzhang sighed and said: "The overseas Chinese are not comparable to the Boxers, the Boxers are just pretending to help the Qing Dynasty to destroy the foreigners, but in fact, they pretend to be gods and ghosts, deceive the court and fool the people, and act in disregard of national etiquette, provoke foreign countries, burn churches, kill priests and people, and disturb the locality. Attracted the coalition of various countries and put the Qing Dynasty in a dangerous situation, called the righteous people and actually a bandit, in order to make the heavens angry and resentful, although the imperial court was deceived for a while, but there will be a day of awakening, so we form a southeast mutual protection, and strive to protect half of the mountains and rivers of the Qing Dynasty, so that the people of the southeast will not suffer from the boxers, and after the court wakes up, it will understand our good intentions. ”

Yu Lianyuan and Sheng Xuanhuai listened and nodded again and again. Sheng Xuanhuai said: "So what is the difference between overseas Chinese?"

Li Hongzhang said: "Although overseas Chinese are enemies of foreigners, they have strict military discipline and have not committed any crimes in the autumn, and after the capture of Tianjin, they have not done any harm to the people of various countries. ”

Sheng Xuanhuai said: "Even so, aren't overseas Chinese also enemies of foreigners? If foreigners are attracted to send another army, won't it also be a great danger?"

Li Hongzhang shook his head again and again, and said: "At this time, at that time, the attack of the Eight-Nation Alliance, although it was caused by boxers, but after all, it was also invaded by foreign invaders, not to mention the fall of the Beijing Division. The imperial court was forced to hunt north, which is really a humiliation for my Qing Dynasty, and since the Opium War, my Qing Dynasty has been defeated repeatedly in foreign wars, and since the overseas Chinese came to China, they have won several victories over the Eight-Nation Alliance, and they have taken Tianjin in one war, Weihaiwei in one war, and Qingdao in three wars。 As the old man knows, there are already a few people in the southeast who have good intentions towards the overseas Chinese, so how can they participate in the formation of a coalition army and become enemies of the overseas Chinese. ”

Yu Lianyuan and Sheng Xuanhuai suddenly realized after listening to it, to put it simply, the reason why the Boxers have become what everyone is shouting and fighting now is not because they pretended to be ghosts, burned churches, and killed priests, but because they did not win the Eight-Nation Alliance. If the Boxers defeated the Eight-Nation Alliance, then everything they did would become the right thing, and then the [Southeast Mutual Protection] would become a treasonous act, but the Boxers had already been defeated, so everything they did became a bad thing that harmed the people and the country, and the [Southeast Mutual Protection] formed in the name of the anti-Boxer Rebellion became a legitimate act, and even the imperial court recognized that the [Southeast Mutual Protection] to protect half of the Qing Dynasty was a meritorious act.

The biggest difference between overseas Chinese and the Boxers is that they did defeat the Eight-Nation Alliance, although Yu Lianyuan and Sheng Xuanhuai did not know the principle that the victor is not blamed, but the winner is the king and the loser Kou still understands the truth. If the overseas Chinese can defeat the Eight-Nation Alliance, they are naturally the righteous side, and if the governor of the [Southeast Mutual Insurance] organizes the coalition to be the enemy of the overseas Chinese, of course, it will become a rebellious character, and a traitor's hat will definitely not be taken off. Unless the Southeast Coalition Army can defeat the overseas Chinese again, but even the Eight-Nation Coalition Army was defeated by the overseas Chinese, Yu Lianyuan and Sheng Xuanhuai did not think that the Southeast Coalition Army could defeat the overseas Chinese.

Li Hongzhang is really scheming, and he can see through the essence of the matter at a glance, of course, the governors who participated in the [Southeast Mutual Insurance] are not stupid people, and there are definitely people who can see the truth in this, so the Southeast Coalition Army cannot be organized at all. Thinking of this, Yu Lianyuan and Sheng Xuanhuai couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, fortunately, they came to discuss with Li Hongzhang first, otherwise they would have been ruined.

Sheng Xuanhuai said: "Then may I ask Zhongtang, if the overseas Chinese attack Shanghai, should we resist it like this, it is difficult to let it go, or only rely on the armies of various countries?"

Li Hongzhang waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, overseas Chinese will not come to attack Shanghai." ”

The two were stunned for a moment when they heard this, and then they were overjoyed, but they couldn't believe it, Sheng Xuanhuai said: "This is true." ”

Li Hongzhang nodded and said: "Although the overseas Chinese claim to be 'the heart of China and return to China', they are still remnants of the previous dynasty, and they do not really want to return to the Qing Dynasty. ”

Yu Lianyuan immediately said: "Then what is the purpose of overseas Chinese coming to my Great Qing Dynasty? Do they want to replace the Great Qing Dynasty?"

Li Hongzhang shook his head and said, "That's not true. In the more than 250 years since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, the people have been deeply rooted, the people's hearts have returned, and they have long since revisited the previous dynasty. In the past, although the overseas Chinese occupied Tianjin, Tianjin was not a place to gain a foothold, but now the overseas Chinese have captured Weihaiwei and Qingdao, and they should have intended to gain a foothold in Shandong, so they will never attack Shanghai again. ”

Yu Lianyuan and Sheng Xuanhuai listened, and they were also half-convinced, Yu Lianyuan's face was solemn, and said: "Zhongtang, if it is as Zhongtang said, overseas Chinese occupy Shandong, it may not be beneficial." ”

Sheng Xuanhuai shook his head and said, "That may not be, if the imperial court is good at driving and letting overseas Chinese and foreigners contain each other, it may not be disadvantageous." ”

Li Hongzhang sighed and said, "Huoliao's eyebrows look at the present, and the future will not be known to us." ”

In fact, Li Hongzhang's inference is mainly based on the information brought back by Zhang Peilun, because he knows that the island founded by overseas Chinese has been destroyed, and this group of overseas Chinese actually has no place to stand, and in addition, after the overseas Chinese occupied Tianjin, they were appointed to establish a political power.

For Sheng Xuanhuai, it doesn't matter whether overseas Chinese occupy Shandong or not, as long as they don't come to capture Shanghai.