Emperor Tongzhi is very smart, he left Prince Gong's fold in the middle, and presented Weng Tong's fold to the queen mother of the two palaces, he thought very well, and he could be pro-government in another month, and he could do it according to his own will, but sitting next to Weng Tonggong had already made up his mind in his heart, to stab this matter to the queen mother of the two palaces, how could he corrupt the rules of the ancestors, if it was a big debate in the early dynasty, Li Guolou's official lord was slight, and he didn't even have a chance to speak, and it was not known who would die.

Li Guolou's excerpt, in fact, said the same thing as Weng Tong, Weng Tong's excerpt is to start from the big picture, that is, the eight banners and six armies to rectify the defense, and Li Guolou is starting from a small place, mainly talking about the formation and training of a battalion military system, in addition, Li Guolou is to ask the emperor for leave, he wants to return to his hometown, Jinshi and the first, high school Tanhualang, how can there be no reason not to go back to his hometown to worship his ancestors, although now he is full of yellow flags, but there are still ancestors.

Jinshi and the first person, they have to go back to their hometown once, there is a system on vacation, this is also a happy event in life, Emperor Tongzhi immediately agreed, and said with a smile: "Hmm······ Li Guolou, the Queen Mother admires your ability to do things very much, so let's take advantage of the trip back to my hometown, I will give you another errand, give me a good job, do the post of 'Wenfeng Messenger', and report what you have seen and heard along the way to me! ”

"Thank you, Lord Long." Li Guolou was overjoyed, and the position of a low-level minister was rewarded to him by Emperor Tongzhi.

The privilege of "Wen Feng Envoy" is given to the imperial historian, that is, he can attack other officials casually when he presents it to the emperor, and he can also write about hearsay, and the court will not reprimand the "Wen Feng Envoy" for false accusations, and the person who sits in this position is qualified to be an upright official, that is, the Tongzhi Emperor regards Tanhualang Li Guolou as a high-spirited and bright festival and a scholar full of wealth, or it can be said that Li Guolou is regarded as his own slave and let Li Guolou make a small report casually.

Li Guolou took a secret box from the great eunuch Liu Deyin, and held it in his heart, this is the tool for communicating with the Tongzhi Emperor in the future, there are two locks, one is placed in Li Guolou, and the other is kept by the Tongzhi Emperor.

Li Guolou left the study with a yellow brocade silk wrapping "secret box", but smiled bitterly in his heart, Emperor Yongzheng came up with a way, and it is still used now, Emperor Tongzhi still regards this kind of thing as a treasure, such an old-fashioned secret box, it can already be regarded as an antique, he only needs to use a hairpin to open the "secret box", which is presented to the emperor, and there should be a backup of the empress dowager of the two palaces.

Out of the palace gate, Prince Gong pulled Li Guolou's sleeve and said, "Li Guolou, go to the Yamen of the Prime Minister's Palace, I have something to look for you!" ”

Li Guolou smiled and said, "Okay, I just want to eat the pork belly there!" ”

With a treacherous smile on his face, Prince Gong lowered his head and stepped into the green official sedan chair.

Li Guolou stepped into the carriage and waved his hand: "Battle, go to the Yamen of the Prime Minister's Office, and I will invite you to eat the world's best pork belly at noon!" ”

Battle smiled and said, "Okay, Master Li, sit down!" ”

The carriage started and went straight to the yamen of the Prime Minister's Palace, Li Guolou shouted: "Battle, more than Prince Gong's official sedan chair, don't care about their honor guard!" ”

Li Guolou was impatient when he saw it, why are there so many rules, eight people carry a sedan chair, and there are 24 people in the honor guard, it is a waste of time, he doesn't care about any officialdom etiquette, the official is behind the prince's buttocks, and the person sitting in front of him is Prince Gong, so he will not be blamed for not abiding by the etiquette system.

Li Guolou first came to the Yamen of the Prime Minister's Office, had lunch in the canteen, came to the Chrysanthemum Hall, waited for Prince Gong to summon him, drank afternoon tea, looked at the beautiful scenery in the courtyard outside the window, and enjoyed a short leisure.

After half past one o'clock, out of the screen came Prince Gong Yixun, the governor of Zhili Li Hongzhang and another middle-aged governor of Jiangsu, Ding Richang.

Ding Richang, the word Yusheng, also as Yusheng, the number is quiet, Guangdong Fengshun, 2 years old in Xiucai, the first Jiangxi Wan'an, Luling Zhi County, in 1861 for Zeng Guofan's staff, is Li Hongzhang's brother, in May 1862 was sent to Guangdong to supervise the affairs and firearms, in the summer of 1864 as Su Song Taibing Beidao, the following autumn transferred to the two Huai salt envoys, is now the governor of Jiangsu, but was retained by Li Hongzhang in Tianjin, in charge of the preparation of the Beiyang Naval Division.

Ding Richang looks very similar to Li Hongzhang, both have a rectangular face, with three strands of beard, but he looks old, in his forties, his beard and hair have turned gray, he has a nickname called "Ding Ghost Slave" and "Little Devil", he is very flattering to foreigners, has a good relationship with foreigners, and has many very good personal friends with foreigners.

Now the three of "Devil Six", "Little Devil" and "Fake Foreign Devil" gathered in the Chrysanthemum Hall, and the three of them not only pursed their lips and snickered.

The four of them looked at the tea and sat down, and Prince Gong sighed: "Guolou, I called you here in such a hurry to tell you something, the Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau is about to close down!" ”

Li Guolou held his breath and was asked by Prince Gong's words, what does the matter of the Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau have to do with him, the wind and horses are not related, he just wants to run a shipyard, and he also invests in the Tianjin Beiyang Naval Division to open the "Tianjin Machinery Manufacturing Bureau" to make more contributions to the Beiyang Naval Division, Li Guolou still understands the rules, so he can only follow the topic and ask: "Prince Gong, this Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau is not done well, why can't it be done!" ”

"Hey, it's not for the silver, the Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau spent nearly two million taels of silver before and after, but now even a decent ironclad ship has not been built, Prince Qing Yixuan, Xu Tong and others jointly gave the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces a few folds, saying that they would close the Shipmaster's Bureau, the Queen Mother asked me what to do, I just want to ask a few of you, is there any good idea to let the Shipmaster Bureau continue, and the court will not lose money, and can build an ironclad ship like a foreigner!"

Li Guolou looked at his uncle Li Hongzhang, he was already angry when he heard it in his heart, but he still couldn't help but speak.

Li Hongzhang said: "Prince Gong, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau and the Tianjin Machinery Manufacturing Bureau use foreign loans to maintain their operations, and the Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau may as well try this way, Xiaolou, what other good ideas do you have!" ”

Prince Gong frowned and said: "Shaoquan, I have thought about your idea, but it is not a long-term solution, not to mention the high interest rate of foreign money, once the foreigners turn their backs and refuse to borrow money, what should we do with these manufacturing bureaus, and isn't it a lot of money, the queen mother is not easy to explain, Guolou, you have a lot of ideas, think of a good way for this king!" ”

Prince Gong, Li Hongzhang and Ding Richang, the three of them have already talked about this issue, they invited Li Guolou to inquire, and they secretly knew their scheming, and Li Guolou already knew about it.

Li Guolou stood up, bowed and said: "Prince Gong, the lower officials are officials and do business for the sake of the country's prosperity and people's strength, and they should serve, but the first time the lower officials told you their ideals and ambitions, they said that the country's thieves must be eradicated, two million white flowers and silver are so happy, and if you can't do it, pat your ass and leave, how can there be such a cheap thing, so that this kind of thief can escape the punishment of the law, and the people behind will also follow suit, and then spend two million silver, or a pile of scrap copper and rotten iron, this kind of benefactor who does not know the king and the emperor, do not kill, The lower official said a heart-wrenching word, how can there be heavenly reason! ”

Prince Gong never thought that Li Guolou would come up with such a bad idea, and talked about the last crooked reason, "Use corrupt officials, anti-corrupt officials." The officials of the Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau are all his protégés, and even he has taken a filial piety, how can he cut off his arm and kill the foreign affairs faction, and said: "Guolou, your idea is too radical, the leading group of the Shipbuilding Bureau is to be adjusted, if not, a group of people will be replaced, and the matter of discussing the crime should be raised, the family has family rules, the country has national laws, isn't it by the atonement silver system, let them spit it out when the time comes!" ”

Li Guolou bowed his head and said: "If I am asked to be a messenger, I will cut it first and then play it, copy the hometown of those cockroaches together, and even give them the ancestral grave to step on, this kind of person is not worthy of being a Westerner person, not worthy of being a student of the prince, and he can't do anything, what use do you want him!" ”

Li Hongzhang couldn't listen to it anymore, and said angrily: "Li Guolou, don't talk about things, the prince asks you, even if you are angry in your heart, you can't have bad ideas!" ”

Li Guolou was also filled with righteous indignation for a while, "two million silver" could not even build a decent ironclad ship, and it was not for the Harbour Administration Bureau to build a cruiser, Li Hongzhang ordered two cruisers from Britain for only 1.35 million taels of silver, ironclad ships, just ironclad ships running around in the rivers, and it didn't cost so much money to learn the magic skills of Westerners.

Li Guolou calmed down, his eyes became red, and said: "Lord Wang, Li Zhongtang, and Lord Ding don't blame the lower officials for talking nonsense, now the country is showing a prosperous situation, grasp it, we are the heroes of the Qing Dynasty, don't cherish it, our generation is a sinner through the ages, others have progressed, but we committed suicide by breaking our stomachs, even if the lower officials risk their lives to pay for money, and the people under them all do things like this, even if I can make money again, it is difficult to fill the desire, and then there will be nothing!" ”

Prince Gong coughed and said: "Don't be anxious about Guolou, this king is also not thinking about tea and dinner, and wants to find someone to turn the tide, no, I called Lord Ding here, just to prepare to promote him to be the Minister of Ship Administration of Fuzhou, and clean up the affairs of the Ship Administration Bureau again, things must come one by one, you are so eager for quick success, I can't protect you!" ”

Li Guolou is submissive and refuses to say a word, everyone has selfish interests, he also wants him to be one acre and three points of land, "Wutang" is his main direction, Fujian is thousands of miles away, what does he matter, even if he has silver, he is not willing to give it to the "little devil", crabs have crab roads, each shows his magical powers, if he can't make money, who will pity him.

Prince Gong made a look, Li Hongzhang sighed and said: "Guolou, things must be slowly explored, the Fujian Ship Administration Bureau has come to this point, how can the conservative conspiracy of the imperial court succeed, the abolition of the ship administration is absolutely impossible, now the foreigners rely on the elite of guns and ships, rampant in the Qing Dynasty, so that our people suffer deeply, I just signed a treaty with small Japan, even such a small country of projectiles, but also dare to threaten this dynasty at the negotiation table, Japan was bombed by American gunboats, added steel plants, build more ships, The army also uses foreign guns and cannons, all of which are ahead of us, and our country, there are only a few manufacturing factories, and it has cost so much silver to begin to take shape, it is not easy, Xiaolou, you have a patriotic heart, and now you are in so many important positions, the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces reminds you to share more worries for the country! ”

Li Guolou is still silent, maintaining his demeanor, he is not in a hurry, waiting for good news, the interests are mutual, there is no benefit, always give him a reason to serve.

Prince Gong took a sip of tea, smiled and said: "Guolou, Shaoquan and I have also helped you calculate, please come into the bank business, make sure you don't lose money, that's good, Fujian is your third pilot province, and cooperating with Lord Ding will do you no harm, it depends on how you behave!" ”

Li Guolou said with a sad face: "Prince Gong, Lord Ding, this chicken has not laid eggs yet, you can't do the thing of killing chickens and taking eggs, you must always give me time to spend a few years of development!" ”

Ding Richang said: "Guolou, you first open a bank in Fuzhou, hand over the money to me, and hand over the money to you, so it's okay!" ”

Li Hongzhang also said: "Xiaolou, you must help Prince Gong, whether this excerpt can succeed or not, just wait for your words!" ”

Li Guolou was ruthless and said: "Okay, the lower officials will make a modest effort first, give Lord Ding 50,000 taels of silver first, let the Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau operate normally, and wait until next year to talk about other things!" ”

The words of the light flutter made Prince Gong, Li Hongzhang, and Ding Richang a little unbelievable, this invitation to come in the bank has not yet opened, Li Guolou has a huge amount of 50,000 taels of silver around him, and it seems that this golden rooster still has a lot of oil and water.

"Hahahaha, Guolou is really a thousand miles of the Li family, old man, I like to deal with you, and drink leather wine together at night, K." Ding Richang can only say a few sentences of foreign language, and he likes to show off.

How to tap Li Guolou's potential, Prince Gong couldn't help but ponder, smiled and watched him accept disciples, and let "Xi Shi" Zhen Yuhuan lurk beside Li Guolou, this move is right,