Nearly dusk Tianjin city gate in front of the eyes, the city gate has long been closed, Li Hongzhang arrived, let the city gate officials busy for a while, inspected the survey, the official seal, hurriedly opened the city gate, to welcome the arrival of Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili.

The governor was in a hurry, Li Hongzhang met Chonghou, Li Guolou sat aside and watched, but saw Chonghou castrated like a frost eggplant, kneeling on the ground, an old man, crying like a child, wronged to death, Liu Jie, the county magistrate, got into trouble, but he had to be counted on his head.

Liu Jie, the magistrate of Tianjin, also knelt on the ground, he had long lost the courage to be the master of the people, and his official hat was gone, with a bloodless face, looking at Li Hongzhang stupidly, with tears in the corners of his eyes.

Li Hongzhang had a tiger face, and did not say a word, what kind of situation would be when the sky dawned, and the first ships would gather in Tianjin Port and Yantai, he didn't dare to imagine it, and he couldn't help but shudder.

After understanding the ins and outs, Li Hongzhang reprimanded Chonghou and Liu Jie, and asked them to make meritorious contributions, manage Tianjin's defense well, and restore public order in Tianjin.

The night was quiet, the shouts on the street were finally inaudible, and a scorching smell could be smelled in the air, Li Guolou touched his nose and paced unhurriedly.

The bad news came one after another, and when he heard the tightness in his chest and shortness of breath, Li Hongzhang sat down on the Taishi chair exhausted, picked up the cooling teacup, put it down resentfully, and scolded: "Where's the hot water!" ”

With a bang, the teacup was thrown to the ground by Li Hongzhang, which startled Li Guolou, and the fragments of the teacup splashed on the surface of his feet, but fortunately, the texture of the official boots was good, and the fragments were bounced off.

The servant ran in with a kettle to pour tea and water, and cleaned up the residue on the ground, Li Guolou walked to Li Hongzhang's side, and said in a low voice: "Lord Zhongtang, woe and blessing are imminent, either fall or seize the opportunity, it depends on which direction Lord Zhongtang looks at this matter!" ”

"What do you say?" Li Hongzhang knew that Li Guolou did not play cards according to common sense and had unique opinions.

Li Guolou said in a low voice: "Lord Zhongtang, we also have a place to lose in this matter, the foreigners are insatiable, and if they don't rectify our Qing Dynasty to death, they will unite to make trouble, the Queen Mother of the two palaces in the Forbidden City must be afraid to die, and then let you sign a treaty with the foreigners to humiliate the country and betray the country, and then put the responsibility on your head, as long as the contract is signed and the anger of the foreigners is calmed, all the grievances of the people across the country will be directed at you, scolding you as a traitor, and the Qing faction in the court will portray you as a clown, and the sewage will be poured on you, will also unite with the conservatives to impeach you, the two queen mothers will lose their cars and protect the handsome, and they will definitely push you out to show the public, you, the governor of Zhili, are also at the end, and the demotion and appointment are considered a good ending, and you are in a bad situation now! ”

"Hmm······ How can I not know this truth, now I am roasted on firewood, no matter what I do, there are people who are not satisfied, where is the blessing? Li Hongzhang is scheming, and the outcome can already be seen, the post of "Minister of Beiyang Trade Affairs" is not a person inside and outside, a weak country has no diplomacy, and the Empress Dowager Cixi pushed him to the forefront, just to let him bear all the sins.

Li Guolou lightly clicked and said: "Xiaguan handed over the Chen note to Lord Zhongtang, isn't there a light at dawn now, the opportunity is rare, long-distance friendship and close attack, even horizontal and vertical strategy, it is the right time to negotiate, inside, people are angry, gnashing their teeth and hating for life, but as long as this contract is signed, only you will implement it, no one can shake your status, it is difficult to let the conservatives go to negotiate business with the Prussians!" ”

Li Hongzhang asked: "Guolou, do you mean to let the Prussians act as intermediaries to mediate this dispute, and then discuss cooperation matters in the name of justice!" ”

Li Guolou bowed his head and said: "As long as Lord Zhongtang thinks it is feasible, the lower officials will first deal with the Prussians, confide in a trace of tone, and let Prime Minister Bismarck make decisions, whether it will succeed or not depends on whether people are willing or not!" ”

Li Hongzhang stood up from the Taishi chair, bowed his head and pondered, walking back and forth with his hands behind his back, their generation betrayed countless national interests, just to let the Qing Dynasty Western powers under the gunboats to breathe, the world will only criticize the Qing authorities for being weak and bullying, and will not work hard to become strong, but if it were not for this, the Qing Empire would have been divided into several pieces by the Western powers long ago, how could there be a reason, dance with wolves, will become a wolf, one day become a ferocious lion, devour the greedy and hateful wolf, and devour foreigners alive.

After careful consideration, Li Hongzhang showed an approving expression, nodded and said: "Well, this plan is feasible, Guolou, go write it down now, I will also write the excerpt, and hand it over to the Yamen of the Prime Minister's Office to Prince Gong for reference, see what he says first, if he can't even pass the pass, just give up, if Prince Gong can approve, and then hand the fold up, so that step by step is safe, you will not be pushed to the cusp!" ”

Li Guolou arched his hand and said: "Lord Zhongtang, don't let me get on this thief ship, I still have so many errands, let's find someone else to be a gun, if it is a court discussion, the lower officials will have a certain strength, and they will also make a generous statement at the risk of death, and I hope Lord Zhongtang will forgive me!" ”

Li Hongzhang was furious and scolded: "Li Guolou, there is a person like you, when the matter is approaching, you have retreated, where is the official, write me a note now!" ”

Li Guolou twitched the corners of his mouth in embarrassment, retreated, licked his face and said: "Lord Zhongtang, if you don't write it down first, let others do it, uncle, you have to be kind, this matter has nothing to do with me, how can I pit my own grandson, I don't want to go to the field to be an official, I can't let go of the errands in my hands!" ”

Li Hongzhang's face was unhappy, he looked down on Li Guolou in his heart, he knew the truth of self-preservation, and refused to go to troubled waters, but how could the chief's mind let his subordinates see through, and he still said with a solemn face: "Hmm······ Write it down first! ”

"Zha, subordinate, let's write." Li Guolou dragged his tired body, walked to the office room next to him, and it was a sleepless night, fortunately the concession was calm, and the family was too peaceful for him to calm down, and used tweezers to provoke the wick, the oil lamp shook the light and shadow, a majestic body, concentrating on the pen, and drawing up a notorious recital!! "The Qing Empire and the Prussian Empire Can Create the Future Together"

This excerpt will inevitably rewrite history, and as a gunman, Li Guolou did not escape the attack of the world, and was very discovered Ni Duan, because this excerpt is the same as Li Guolou's excerpt to Li Hongzhang some time ago, although "The Qing Empire and the Prussian Empire can create the future together" was handed over to the Yamen of the Prime Minister's Office in the name of the "little devil" Ding Richang for discussion, but the clues were still found by historians loopholes, and many years later, historians are still arguing about the great discovery of historical research, so that the world can not distinguish between right and wrong.

The British Concession Taylor's Hotel building is located in Victoria Road, the main street of the British Concession in Tianjin, jointly built by the British Indian Taylor's and the British Ledlaw, and designed by the Belgian Yipin Company, and named after the Chinese initials of the investor's name, it is a high-end hotel in Tianjin, the first joint stock bank in the Qing Dynasty "Please Come to the Bank" is located on the left side of the Taylor's Hotel Building, and the shining golden plaque "Please Come in the Bank" hangs on the top floor of the Taylor's Hotel, and the five-storey building overlooks all the buildings in Tianjin.

Although at this time Tianjin curfew, the concession closed the road, closed to the public, but Li Guolou still stepped into the territory of the British Empire, originally invited the general manager of the bank Huang Yousheng to prepare for a big fanfare, but now can only open in the desert and welcome some old friends from the British Concession, noon banquet, on the second floor of the Taylor's Hotel.

Li Guolou walked towards the Taylor's Hotel on Victoria Road, and his mind was still arrogant and domineering French Minister Luo Shuya, British Minister Wittoma, Russian Minister Boutzer, American Minister Williams and others.

In the negotiations with the Seven Nations, he attended the audit every time, and sometimes served as an important translator, and had a positive contact with the ministers of the Seven Nations, most of the ministers of various countries talked elegantly, as if Zhou Lang could make the Qing Dynasty disappear between the feather fans, and even clamored to raze Tianjin to the ground French Admiral Bethle, he also had a great lesson, and slowly talked about the purpose of peace will not change, everyone seeks a balance point, and the weak country should accept humiliation, even if he has all kinds of reasons, he has no chance to play his strengths, what to say, grasp the handle in the words of foreigners, It's better to be reasonable.

The Qing Dynasty would always accept the humiliating and traitorous treaty, and Li Hongzhang, Minister of Beiyang International Trade and Commerce, waited for the final reply of Bismarck, the Prime Minister of the Prussian Empire.

The West is a parliamentary system, and major state affairs must pass parliamentary resolutions, so Li Guolou is not afraid of the intimidation of the French Admiral Bethle, and at the negotiation table, he revealed the weakness of Bethle, relying on the trick of scaring people to coax the Qing Dynasty The history is gone forever.

The depression of the British Concession, the British army with loaded guns and the mercenaries of the Indian Punjab with spears, the streets of Luo Mibu are at the crossings, this is the land of the Qing Dynasty, which has long been occupied by foreigners, and he can only bow down and take off his hat and salute with a smile.

"Mike, I thought you weren't coming." Yelia's eyes flew with anger, and she was angry that Li Guolou only came on time, and the joy of the opening, how could there be a reason why the master did not come.

Li Guolou stepped forward quickly, stepped up the steps, and said: "Yelia, now that I am going to fight, I can walk through the blockade line, I am already shocked, and the British devils also know how much energy I have!" ”

Yelia teased: "You British devil entertains guests inside, do you want to see what she is doing!" ”

Li Guolou smiled and said: "It's already an old husband and wife, just let her hook up with someone, I have a reserve member, ah······· Just kidding, I'd like to live a few more years. As he spoke, Li Guolou grabbed Yelia's grasp, and the two looked at each other with a smile, the French should still be friendly with the Qing people for generations.

Li Guolou stood on the stone steps in a suit, and his wife Yelia greeted every guest who came to congratulate him, drawing his sword and crossbow Zhang Qingjun and the harbor warships did not affect his mood, hundreds of various ** ships cruised in Tianjin Port, but as long as the foreigners did not fire the first shot, they had to continue the peace talks.

Li Guolou took Yelia into the spacious bank hall, European-style room, the ground floor is spacious, much higher than the Chinese-style building, there are two zhang of it, a square column, hanging on it a series of prints, blocking people's sight, a few leather sofas sitting with red wine guests, seeing Li Guolou and Yelia both politely stood up and introduced each other.

Invited into the bank, several major shareholders have also lurked into the British concession, Li Jingyi, Zaiying, Bao and Ye Senia Hall chatted together, everyone nodded slightly, greeted each other, eldest brother Li Guoyun, brother-in-law Tan Guoxi took advantage of the great opportunity to talk with high-ranking officials and magnates.

Shelia Smith's eldest brother Wright Smith came to Shanghai to celebrate the opening of the bank, and the establishment of Shelia Real Estate Company is a secret thing, Li Guolou lived in their home in London for a period of time, and the two sides hugged warmly and told about the things that had happened in the past few years.

Wright Smith is Li Guolou's college classmate, because of a fight, the two met, and Li Guolou was persuaded to quit the school because of the fight, and then Li Guolou moved out of the school and lived in Wright Smith's house, which is why he and Xie Liya met, the two told the past, not very embarrassed, and now Wright Smith works at the British Legation in Shanghai and serves as a translator.

Wright Smith is his friend and brother-in-law, so he can buy the British, Li Guolou introduced Sheng Huaixuan to Wright, so that the two of them will be "closer and closer" in Shanghai in the future, the British came to the Qing Dynasty, not to mention that the relationship between them is so close and shoulderless,