Qin Zheng said with a smile: "This is the third telegram sent by Li Zhongtang, which shows that Li Zhongtang is very eager to hope that Mr. will go south, and in the past, because we had to deal with the Eight-Nation Alliance's counterattack on Tianjin, we were unable to let Mr. go to Shanghai, but now we have defeated the attack of the Eight-Nation Alliance and eliminated the military threat from Tianjin, since Li Zhongtang is urging Mr. to go south, we should naturally not stop Mr. from going to Shanghai, as long as Mr. is willing, we will immediately arrange ships to send Mr. south to Shanghai to meet Li Zhongtang." ”

Zhao Weizhong nodded, he is not a stupid person, of course he knows that Li Zhongtang is so eager to ask himself to go south to Shanghai, speaking of which, although he is a member of the Huaijun Group, he is not a big man, and it is rare to see Li Zhongtang a few times a year, usually Li Zhongtang will not notice himself at all, but now this group of overseas Chinese is in the limelight, and he has been involved with this group of overseas Chinese by mistake, which has attracted Li Zhongtang's attention, hoping to understand this group of overseas Chinese through himself.

It is estimated that this group of overseas Chinese also wanted to get in touch with Li Zhongtang by pulling the line by themselves, otherwise they would not have discussed in their own name and sent a telegram to Li Zhongtang first. Of course, Zhao Weizhong can also understand that since this group of overseas Chinese wants to return to China, in addition to their own strength, they also need to find supporters in the court, and although Li Zhongtang's power is not as strong as before, after all, it has been in business for many years, intertwined, and flourishing, and its influence in the Qing Dynasty is still unparalleled, and they have been engaged in foreign affairs for many years, and they only have far-reaching knowledge, and they are not comparable to the corrupt bureaucrats in the imperial court, so this group of overseas Chinese want to take Li Zhongtang's line, in Zhao Weizhong's view, it is naturally extremely correct. Now if I let myself go to Shanghai, I must bring a message to Li Zhongtang, or a letter, or introduce them to meet Li Zhongtang.

Of course, Zhao Weizhong is also willing to play such a matchmaking role, on the one hand, he hopes that Li Zhongtang can use the power of this group of overseas Chinese to regain power, so that the old brothers of the Huai Army will have a better life, and on the other hand, it is also to improve his status in the eyes of Li Zhongtang and overseas Chinese. Therefore, Zhao Weizhong immediately said: "Okay, prepare immediately and set off as soon as possible." ”

Qin Zheng said with a smile: "Then there is Mr. Lao Zhao, we will arrange for Mr. Zhao to arrange ships from people, all of whom are soldiers of the original Beiyang Naval Division, and we must let Mr. Zhao arrive in Shanghai smoothly." ”

Zhao Weizhong said: "Don't you send someone to go with you?"

Qin Zheng shook his head and said, "No need, Li Zhongtang asked Mr. Zhao to go south by name, so it is naturally inconvenient for us to send someone to accompany Mr. Zhao." ”

Zhao Weizhong thought about it, Qin Zheng's words were not unreasonable, and it was reasonable not to send someone to Shanghai now, and said: "I don't know if the political commissar Qin can write a letter or a message, and let him forward it to Li Zhongtang." ”

Qin Zheng was stunned for a moment, and then said with a smile: "We have no relationship with Li Zhongtang, so naturally it is inconvenient to pass on the letter, and there is nothing to trust Mr. Zhao to convey. ”

Zhao Weizhong couldn't help but ignore it, and couldn't help but say, "Is there really not?"

Qin Zheng said: "Oh, it's not completely nothing, Mr. Zhao can convey our greetings to Li Zhongtang." ”

Zhao Weizhong couldn't help but be a little confused, this group of overseas Chinese proposed to send a telegram to Li Zhongtang in their own name, and now they are sending themselves to Shanghai to face Li Zhongtang, but they didn't say a word, just a polite greeting, so what are these overseas Chinese going to do?

After thinking for a while, Zhao Weizhong said again: "If Li Zhongtang asks about the matter here in Tianjin, as well as your matter, how should I answer in the future?"

Qin Zheng said: "It's very easy, just answer truthfully." ”

Zhao Weizhong is even more confused, how can it be regarded as a truthful answer?

Qin Zheng said with a smile: "Mr. Zhao doesn't need to think about it, Mr. Zhao has been with us for more than a month, and he must have seen and heard a lot, and we have always acted above board, and there is nothing that cannot be told to others, so when Li Zhongtang asked something, Mr. replied to Li Zhongtang with what he saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears, and there was no need to add branches and leaves." ”

Zhao Weizhong listened to it and felt as if he understood a little, but after thinking about it seriously, he found that he still didn't understand the intentions of this group of overseas Chinese, but Qin Zheng said this, and Zhao Weizhong couldn't ask any more, so he could only truthfully report to Li Zhongtang after arriving in Shanghai, and let Li Zhongtang speculate about the intentions of this group of overseas Chinese, so he nodded and said, "I will act according to the instructions of Political Commissar Qin." ”

At this time, Qin Zheng said: "I remember when I met Mr. Zhao, Mr. Zhao was going to go to Shanghai to join Li Zhongtang, if Mr. Zhao has not changed his decision, then he can take this opportunity to bring his family to Shanghai to settle down, of course, if Mr. Zhao is willing to stay in Tianjin to develop, we are also welcome, Mr. Zhao does not have his own industry in Tianjin? We want to develop Tianjin's economy, and we need an industrialist like Mr. Zhao." ”

Listening to Qin Zheng's words, Zhao Weizhong's heart couldn't help but move, when he went to Shanghai to defect to Li Hongzhang, it was because Tianjin was occupied by the Eight-Nation Alliance, and it was difficult to ensure peace in Tianjin, but now it is different, overseas Chinese have captured Tianjin, not only restored order in Tianjin, but also returned their own industries to themselves, and judging from the style of this group of overseas Chinese, they obviously advocate the development of foreign affairs, Those who are engaged in the industry and colony, and they are also proficient in foreign affairs, have also been operating in Tianjin for many years, so they have good development prospects if they stay in Tianjin, whether they set up their own industries or assist overseas Chinese in running foreign affairs. And when he went to Shanghai to defect to Li Hongzhang, he could only have food and clothing at most, and compared with the two, Zhao Weizhong naturally wanted to stay in Tianjin for development.

However, the only thing that makes Zhao Weizhong uneasy is that although this group of overseas Chinese obviously intends to take root in Tianjin for a long time, of course, Zhao Weizhong also hopes that overseas Chinese can manage Tianjin for a long time, but after all, this group of overseas Chinese is an outsider, although the military is strong, but whether they can gain a foothold in Tianjin, not to mention anything else, although this group of overseas Chinese has defeated foreigners many times, but Zhao Weizhong is a person who does foreign affairs, and naturally knows the strong strength of these countriesOn the one hand, it is best to stay in Tianjin for development, and on the other hand, it is best to send your family, especially your daughter, to a safe place to settle.

However, Qin Zheng's open-mindedness made Zhao Weizhong feel a little ashamed in his heart, and if he sent his family away at this time, would it affect this group of overseas Chinese's views of him? If he wanted to stay in Tianjin, he would inevitably have to have good relations with this group of overseas Chinese. Therefore, Zhao Weizhong thought about it, and decided to go back and discuss with his daughter, if his daughter was unwilling to stay in Tianjin, then he would not care about the attitude of overseas Chinese.

So Zhao Weizhong was noncommittal, and only said that he would go back and discuss it with his family, and then make a decision, and then say goodbye to Qin Zheng.

Zhao Weizhong lives in the city of Tianjin, which is still some distance away from the administrative office building of the Tianjin Provisional Government, and there are not many supplies in Tianjin now, so he has no car and can only walk back.

When I walked to the gate of Tianjin, I saw a long queue, and it was full of young and strong men, it turned out that this was a traverser recruiting new soldiers. After the celebration meeting, the enthusiasm of the people in Tianjin to join the army was greatly enhanced, so when the People's Army officially began to recruit, people who signed up to join the army flocked to the army, and a long queue was discharged at once.

Of course, Zhao Weizhong also participated in the celebration meeting, and he was still sitting on the viewing platform, and the majestic posture of the army left a very deep impression on Zhao Weizhong, and at this time, seeing this group of overseas Chinese recruiting again, Zhao Weizhong's heart moved, and suddenly a thought was born.

It turned out that he was rescued with Zhao Weizhong, as well as his daughter Zhao Shuilan, his daughter's maid Qiuqing, two family members Zhao Hong and Zhao Ping, these two family members have some relatives of Zhao Weizhong, because he is Zhao Ping, he is still a distant uncle and nephew within Zhao Weizhong's five clans, and his parents died when he was a child.

Zhao Ping is only nineteen years old this year, and he has studied under Zhao Weizhong for a few years, can do basic reading and writing, and has also practiced martial arts for a few years, Zhao Weizhong originally wanted to train him to be his bodyguard, but now it seems that it is better to let Zhao Ping join the army. Through the celebration meeting, Zhao Weizhong found that this group of overseas Chinese attaches great importance to military merits and soldiers, and if Zhao Ping can have a good future in the army, then his status among overseas Chinese will naturally be guaranteed. And if this group of overseas Chinese can't stay in Tianjin, Zhao Ping is just one of his own family members, and it's good to get out of business.

Thinking of this, Zhao Weizhong's heart couldn't help but be a little excited, and he also sped up his steps and went into the city to return to his home. At this time, it was close to dusk, and it was Zhao Hong, a family member, who opened the door, and saw that Zhao Weizhong was back, and said, "The master is back." ”

Zhao Weizhong nodded and said, "What about Zhao Ping?"

Zhao Hong said: "He helped Qiu Qing in the kitchen. "Now there are only five of their masters and servants who live here, so Zhao Shuilan's maid Qiuqing also serves as a cook, lighting a fire for them to cook every day, and Zhao Ping is young and strong, and often helps the kitchen do some heavy work of chopping wood and carrying water.

Zhao Weizhong said: "Okay, the kitchen is done, let Zhao Ping come to my room, I have something to say to him." ”

Zhao Hong said: "Yes, master." ”

After entering the house, Zhao Weizhong did not go back to his room, but came directly to his daughter's room, because this room was originally a shop and there were not many rooms, so his daughter Zhao Shuilan's room was next door to Zhao Weizhong. At this time, Zhao Shuilan was sitting in front of the window reading a book, and when she saw Zhao Weizhong entering the house, she hurriedly put down the scroll in her hand, stood up, and said, "Dad, you're back." ”

Zhao Weizhong nodded, sat down, and said, "Shuilan, Dad has something to say to you." ”

Zhao Shuilan said: "Dad, my daughter also happens to have some things to tell you." ”

Zhao Weizhong smiled: "Oh, you have to tell me first, what is the matter." ”