The night was hazy, and the shadows of the trees were swaying in the courtyard, and Li Guolou followed the servant to a small living room, in which was a bed collapsed.

In ancient times, people chatted with guests with a bed collapsed, covered with a bamboo mat, placed a desk in the middle, the Tang Dynasty used a chair to replace it with a chair, and the guest became a guest seated, and the guest chatted on the collapse, indicating that it was a very close to the person's move, and the Qing Dynasty used the collapse to chat There is also a role, that is, friends smoke opium together, princes and nobles, and large families This kind of display is used to smoke opium, of course, Li Hongzhang and Li Guolou do not smoke this kind of thing, although the propaganda is also a kind of medicine.

At this time, even pharmacies and medical centers in the Qing Dynasty also sold Fushou cream, and doctors also prescribed Fushou cream, but this is a trace ingredient and belongs to a kind of anesthetic.

The Qing Empire's Yunnan-Guizhou region widely cultivated opium poppies, has benefited from the cultivation of opium poppies, tobacco taxes are very heavy, from opium cultivation tax, become a source of large tax revenue in Yunnan-Guizhou region, more than grain planting, so opium prices are high, smuggling is prevalent, even Li Hongzhang Huaijun also do opium smuggling business, opium sales in every place, there are smugglers, the underworld, the army have a piece of the pie, opium trafficking has become a fixed income for the army, even the coastal navy also do this business, because foreign opium dumping, the price is extremely cheap, The scourge of the Qing Dynasty people with opium is a good stepping stone.

Li Hongzhang was holding a transcript of the manuscript written by Li Guolou in his hand, and many words had been densely written by him next to him, and a few of them had been criticized by him to the point of incompleteness, but now he was in a good mood, and he didn't show Li Guolou a stinky face, and he didn't care about Li Guolou's nonsense.

Li Hongzhang and Li Guolou sat cross-legged face to face, Li Hongzhang got straight to the point and said: "Xiaolou, I have read your Chen Tiao, most of them are still quite pertinent, and also point out many ills of our country, as long as the country is reunited, some ills will disappear, like the General Administration of Customs is in charge of foreigners, in fact, the knife will occupy Shanghai, the British came to help save the General Administration of Customs, at that time it was a last resort, now the balance of heaven, the knife society, the East Twist has been cleared, and the General Administration of Customs is bound to be recovered, but the lack of talent is very heavy, The important positions are all foreigners, and it takes a long time to train international French, so start with opening a school, and those foreigners will also support them, they are all hired workers, and they also know that there will always be a day to go! ”

Li Guolou said: "Uncle, the General Administration of Customs can't be rotten, the professional ethics of foreigners are better than those Manchurians, they will not be corrupt if they get high salaries, but if the Manchurians occupy a high position in the General Administration of Customs, the national tariffs will be reduced compared with the current income, this is too dangerous, starting a little, it can't be recovered, it becomes the ancestral rules, and it is worse to change back than not to change back, just like Shanhaiguan, it is rotten!" ”

Li Hongzhang said: "Shanhaiguan is the exclusive use of the emperor's slaves, it has become the ancestral rule, let him go, I have the General Administration of Customs here is a thing, there will be no such thing, just like you said with a high salary to maintain integrity, let the policy of the General Administration of Customs continue, people will also have motivation to do things, I think two years can roughly recover sovereignty, put the General Administration of Customs in Shanghai, I can also control it, I appreciate you very much!" ”

Like Shanhaiguan Customs used to be the main import and export customs defense of the Qing Empire, just like the General Administration of Customs, (there is also a place that is the thirteen lines of Guangzhou) to obtain the national tariff, in addition to the officials to fill their own pockets, most of the income into the Ministry of Internal Affairs, into the emperor's small treasury, because there are many concessions throughout the country, the customs ports have become more, Shanhaiguan Customs has not been prosperous in the past, has sunset, a year to pay the treasury less than 200,000 taels of tariffs, Li Hongzhang has ignored the Shanhaiguan Customs, rectify the rule of officials, some places are not touchable, This is also a common problem of the Qing Empire, the Huangzhuang occupies a rich land, the imperial store monopoly, these local financial revenues, the state can not control, all into the internal affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The palace spends 40,000 taels of silver a day, three points of truth and seven points of nothing, that is to say, seven parts of the sale are privately swallowed by eunuchs at all levels and the emperor, the queen mother, the mother, and the concubines.

The state's financial revenue does not match the facts, as long as the officials know, filial piety to the silver in the palace, how can it be put on the official article, the common people only know that the internal affairs government has money, but the specific figure is a state secret.

Li Guolou listened silently, nodded frequently, and secretly praised Li Hongzhang for having the courage to do things, doing things without leakage, first easy and then difficult, and handling things clearly, as long as the General Administration of Customs is taken back, the sovereignty of the customs will be taken back, this is of extraordinary significance, it is a symbol of the re-rise of the Qing Empire, and he is sensible, in a word, can see the disadvantages of the times, and can also think of solutions, should be given a high reward, "Jinshi and first" Rong returned to his hometown, one door and two Jinshi.

Li Guolou spied on Li Hongzhang's facial expression, he shouldn't know that he was going to take the Jinshi examination, this kind of thing is still not good, adding supreme glory to the Li family, and when he returns to his hometown, he will rebuild the ancestral hall of the Zong's family, rebuild the old residence, and let the world visit the place where he lived and studied when he was a child.

The more Li Hongzhang spoke, the more excited he became, he didn't see that Li Guolou was perfunctory to him, and admonished: "Xiaolou, I am optimistic about you, since you have stayed abroad and have an orderly conversation, you can broaden the students' ideas and horizons, and in the future, you can also be competent in the General Administration of Customs, be a gentleman, and teach those people a lesson!" ”

Li Guolou said happily: "Uncle Xie, my grandson's criminal department is not good at anything, and he is good at preaching, even Lord Bao likes to listen to me preach, and now where I do business, Lord Bao will follow!" ”

Li Hongzhang stroked his beard, shook his head and said: "Xiaolou, your thinking is advanced and reactionary coexist, what is written in the Chen Tiao to move the capital, Lushun and Weihai can't hold it, where do you let me go, where is Prince Gong, how do you know if you can't hold it if you don't fight!" ”

Li Guolou replied: "Uncle, the last time the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded, our Qing army was able to fight a lot of troops, some of them were wiped out, or they didn't hold it, history has proven it, now we don't have the right to control the sea, we still can't hold it, we will only stick to the fort, think about it, it's aggrieved!" ”

Li Hongzhang shouted: "Then you still don't support the construction of the Beiyang Naval Division!" ”

Li Guolou said in a low voice: "Lord Zhongtang, don't be angry, I'm not unsupportive, I'm not desperate to raise military funds for you, but we have to see our strengths and weaknesses, if they are all shortcomings, which one can be used as a breakthrough, effective, let the world be astonished, the army has passed the test of blood and fire, as long as it has some more blood, it can immediately compete with Russia, Britain, and France, the last time we defeated the French devils in Annam, it is a good proof, and now our land is surrounded by jackals, and the vassal countries have fallen, Again and again, the land reparation payment, the army is at a critical point, breakthrough, our army is one of the strongest in the world, no change, still defeated by the Western powers, the country will be lost in the future, the navy is slow, the army is effective, this Zhongtang lord, you should be very clear, don't do it, but do slow things, isn't it pulling out the seedlings to help grow! ”

Li Hongzhang shook his head and said: "Huangmao Xiaoer, where can I understand, I am a historical precedent, the Beiyang Navy Division must be done, no matter how difficult it is, there are conditions to go up, there are no conditions to create conditions to go up, otherwise we will be more and more backward, now we can't even keep the Yangtze River, foreign warships casually enter and leave the Yangtze River estuary, the Huangpu River has become a Western warship exhibition, and even the plaster flag has been opened to Shanghai to show off its might, this makes people embarrassed, what face to face the Chinese people, I spend a lot of money to do it, this heart is unswerving, every day can be learned, No one wants to stop my determination, even if there is a mountain of swords and a sea of fire ahead, it will take more than ten years, and the Qing Empire will have a modern navy in the East! ”

Li Guolou was speechless, he was not a decision-maker on national defense policy, Li Hongzhang couldn't listen to the opposing opinions, although the Beiyang Naval Division was still in infancy, but the senior generals were all from the Huai Army, and they were also Li Hongzhang's political capital.

Li Guolou retreated, said his inner thoughts, and slowly swallowed: "Uncle, my grandson has a poisonous plan, which is guaranteed to be a big thing, and the Qing Empire will be able to turn over in less than ten years, but if you swallow a piece of poison, you will succeed in fighting poison with poison!" ”

Li Hongzhang glanced at it and said: "Xiaolou, this is a casual thing to say at home, as long as you don't talk about rebellion!" ”

Li Guolou shook his hand and said: "Sun Er has no intention of rebelling, he wants to betray national sovereignty in exchange for the rise of the Qing Dynasty!" ”

Li Hongzhang sighed: "Xiaolou said, there are countless precedents for betraying national sovereignty, and it doesn't hurt to add one more!" ”

Li Guolou glanced at Li Hongzhang's face, he is a traitor, and he will be nailed to the pillar of shame by the Chinese people forever, but in troubled times, if you don't do this, who will help you, the lesser of two evils, this kind of trick, Li Guolou is familiar with it.

Li Guolou didn't dare to sit cross-legged, standing next to the bed, ready to kneel down and admit his mistake at any time, and said in a deep voice: "Uncle, grandson is familiar with history books, our Qing Empire is now like the Yue Kingdom in the Spring and Autumn Period, countless heroes and heroes, for the sake of the Yue King Goujian career, and grovel to the foreigners, no matter how despicable and shameless, betraying the state affairs, but also swallowing poison, so that the foreigners are satisfied, so that they can have a chance to breathe, waiting for the comeback, from the Daoguang Emperor to the Xianfeng Emperor, and then to the Tongzhi Emperor The three generations of emperors are all doing this, it can be said that they are all working hard, and they want to be ashamed, No emperor spendthrift and led the Qing Empire into the abyss, but until now the gap is still obvious, but there is a tendency to pull us more and more, a foreigner can scare us half to death with a warship, so that we have no choice but to use superior trade conditions to meet them, so that our country's silver flows overseas, and the wealth is gathered in the foreigner concession, and if this situation is not changed, the country will become more and more impoverished, the silver of the Qing Dynasty will dry up, and we will borrow from foreign banks to live! ”

Li Hongzhang stroked his beard and nodded: "Xiaolou, you said it very well, you are qualified to be a teacher, do you have any countermeasures!" ”

Li Guolou nodded and said: "Yes, uncle, there are two ways to go, one is to choose a friend, sell some national sovereignty to this friend, in exchange for the full support of this friend, the Qing Dynasty has established a modern army of foreigners, and even military facilities, such as military factories, including gun factories, artillery factories, shipyards, and even the Beiyang Navy Division can also let this friend build it for us, and the other is to change the bad habits of silver circulation, like the silver coin system of Western countries is more advanced than the silver system of the Qing Empire, and the advanced monetary system, even the fire consumption is saved, there is no harm in all benefits, and no one can fill their own pockets! ”

Li Hongzhang laughed and said: "Okay, good, Xiaolou second you said great, but the government still needs to study, the silver coin system is to establish an advanced industrial level, a silver coin to add a certain proportion of nickel, zinc, tungsten copper, our Qing Empire can not make the kind of silver dollar of foreigners, there is a hurdle to pass, but this is a good way to solve the loss of silver, I agree with the Qing Dynasty to implement the silver coin circulation method, now you say which friend, worthy of our own betrayal of national sovereignty, in exchange for the world to scold us!" ”

Li Guolou said: "Uncle, the enemy is our friend, only this enemy will ignore the ban of other Western countries to help us build modern industrial facilities in the Qing Dynasty, including the military industry, and we have no trouble, sell the land, interests, sovereignty, we can get it back after a hundred years, unlike polar bears, sign a treaty with them, and the land will be lost forever, and this friend is born a polar bear enemy, and he also hopes that there is an ally like us in the East!" ”

"Oh······" Li Hongzhang looked at Li Guolou deeply, "grandson" actually wanted to sell the matter of national sovereignty, and even wanted to lease a large piece of land to the Prussian Empire, and also wanted to lease the military port to the Prussian Empire, looking for a Western ally, and changing the situation of the Qing Empire being poor and white.