Feng Yunshan remembered that the experience he originally gave Zeng Guanlan was actually just when he had just captured Guangzhou City, and asked Zeng Guanlan to stay in Yongzhou Mansion for a period of time and preside over the government affairs there. And now the Chinese Empire, the area and population are more than 100 times that of the small Yongzhou Mansion, which is indeed a bit difficult for Zeng Guanlan.

Since this is the case, Feng Yunshan began to think about it, it is time to break it, it is time to change its position, so as not to affect the development of the empire in the future. Even if he knows that he is his confidant, he can't be too cronyistic like before.

At the beginning, he had just ruled this country, and there were not too many people to rely on, and the only people who could believe in it were his own henchmen. Today's Chinese Empire, under its rule, is on the right path to industrialization. The people do not say that they live and work in peace and contentment, at least they are much stronger than the Manchu era, and with the gradual strengthening of the emperor's ** team in recent years, the field corps has conquered the east and west, expanding the territory of the Chinese Empire to a point that is even broader than the original Yuanmeng Empire, and their orthodox position in the empire has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and since the establishment of the Chinese Empire, there has not been a rebellion of more than 10,000 people, which has fully demonstrated that the dominance of himself and the empire has been deep-rooted and unshakable.

In other words, instead of having to use only confidants, you can choose talented people to help you or even govern the country for yourself. It is precisely because he has now become orthodox and become a rightfully holy emperor in the eyes of hundreds of millions of people, that he no longer needs to worry about who will empty him, or even worry about betraying him. Nowadays, no matter who they are, as long as they are the subjects of the Chinese Empire, not to mention the original Manchu vassals, even the original courtiers of Vietnam, Korea, and Japan, they have begun to attach themselves to the huge Chinese Empire from the heart, proud of being the subjects of a great power, and even more complacent and grateful that the emperor of their own empire can use them. So, it's time to appoint meritocracy!

And if it's a replacement, who should be replaced? Feng Yunshan actually has three new candidates for prime minister in mind. On the one hand, this is the judgment of his own daily contact, and on the other hand, it is also from the historical deeds he learned.

One of them is Zuo Zongtang. However, Zuo Zongtang is now the chief of staff of the General Staff of the Chinese Imperial Army, and he has always been handy, and Feng Yunshan is not willing to replace him. The position of Chief of the General Staff is, in a sense, more important than the position of Prime Minister, the cornerstone of the empire, and there is no room for error. In fact, Deputy Chief of General Staff Mao Qi is the full-time chief of the General Staff, and he will definitely be competent, but after all, he is a foreigner, even if he joins the nationality of the Chinese Empire, emotionally speaking, the soldiers of the empire are definitely not familiar with and loved by Zuo Zongtang, who single-handedly brought them out. Therefore, even if Feng Yunshan knew that Zuo Zongtang had been in charge of Zhejiang, founded the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, pacified Xinjiang, and the governor of Liangjiang, and also walked in the Yamen, the minister of military aircraft and prime minister of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, but his personality problems and many discords with other ministers made it difficult to be a subordinate official, but it was the good of the ruling party. Therefore, after all considerations, Feng Yunshan gave up the idea of making Zuo Zongtang the prime minister.

The second is the current Minister of Supervision, Li Hongzao. Li Hongzao was born in a family of famous eunuchs, in history Li Hongzao was the "Qingliu leader" in the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods, the minister of military aircraft, one of the important ministers of the main battle faction in the late Qing Dynasty, and later even served as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, the co-organizer of the university scholar, the secretary of the Ministry of Shangshu and other positions, in the Manchu Dynasty was the peak of officials among the Han people. It can be seen that this person's talent in history is recognized.

Moreover, this person discusses politics with a clear stream, advocates strict discipline and clear politics, puts the interests of the country and the nation first, can persist in the war of resistance against foreign aggression, opposes humiliation and seeks peace, and has always expressed that he is an official for one term, and he must be worthy of his ancestors and society, and he must be worthy of the people of Limin, and he can be regarded as the backbone of the scholars of this era.

With him as the prime minister of the cabinet, Feng Yunshan is still relatively relieved. It's just that this person is currently only the Minister of Supervision, and he was the biggest official in the Manchu Qing Dynasty before, and he only did Henan Xuezheng and did not have the experience of being in charge, which made Feng Yunshan hesitate again.

The third is Li Hongzhang, the governor of Jiangsu.

Feng Yunshan was also influenced by those history books and angry young people on the Internet in later generations. At the beginning, many people said that Li Hongzhang was a traitor and a sinner of the Chinese nation through the ages, but later more and more people began to avenge Li Hongzhang, saying that Li Hongzhang was a rare elite in the Manchu era and the Bismarck of the East.

But no matter who it is, it is undeniable that Li Hongzhang's talent and ability, after all, at that time, he was the peak of the highest-ranking official of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, such as the scholar of Wenhuadian, the minister of Beiyang trade, and the governor of Zhili, and no one can erase it. Including Li Hongzhang's participation in the imperial examination of the Chinese Empire, which was personally assessed by Feng Yunshan, he believed that his talent was second only to Luo Zenan, and he was the first to be a role model.

Combined with the background of the times at that time, Li Hongzhang was indeed an enlightened and progressive official, and he was extremely talented. The only pity is that he is on the broken ship of the Manchu Dynasty that is about to sink, no matter how strong his personal ability is, how can he save the sky. Just as Liang Qichao commented on him in later generations: "I respect Li Hongzhang's talent, I cherish Li Hongzhang's knowledge, and I am sad for Li Hongzhang's encounter!" ”

In Feng Yunshan's view, Li Hongzhang is a person like Zeng Guofan, but Zeng Guofan seems to be more loyal to the Manchu Qing Dynasty than him. Li Hongzhang is a good modern professional manager, but he is in charge of a family business like the Manchu Dynasty, which is doomed to collapse, and his talent cannot be displayed. Throughout Li Hongzhang's life, there are many remarkables, but under the Manchu imperial system, it is impossible to fully realize his ambitions, which is his personal sorrow and the sorrow of the times.

However, just as in later history, what Feng Yunshan actually valued in his heart was Li Hongzhang's diplomatic skills and his vision of being able to open his eyes to the world, launch the Westernization movement, and build a navy and a new army. Therefore, Feng Yunshan took the initiative to put him in the position of governor of Jiangsu. Perhaps at that time, there was a kind of cultivation and observation in it. What is even more undeniable is that Feng Yunshan's celebrity effect has flare up again. Also, now in the entire East, in the entire Chinese Empire, only he can make hundreds of millions of subjects loyal, so why care about what his identity is, even if he is not an old man of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, even if he is a Manchu vassal who has fought against him, in this situation, who can still serve himself without giving up?

Thinking like this, Feng Yunshan was stunned for a moment, perhaps, in his subconscious, he already had the answer! Celebrity effect, really celebrity effect.

Feng Yunshan smiled bitterly.

It's just that Li Hongzhang, who has just turned 40, is it really promoted from the governor of Jiangsu to the position of premier of the cabinet at once, will this make the ministers of various cabinet ministries dissatisfied, and even make Li Hongzhang himself frightened and at a loss?

However, Feng Yunshan seems to have heard that Li Hongzhang had done a good job in the position of governor of Jiangsu, which had quickly recovered from the war between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and had made great strides in the development of industrialization in recent years, and everything was developing very well. Even in terms of education, Li Hongzhang has grasped higher than he requires, so that Jiangsu's literacy rate has far exceeded that of other provinces. Of course, this is only what Feng Yunshan knows occasionally, he doesn't pay too much attention to it, plus Feng Yunshan's laziness on the government recently, so he doesn't know much about Li Hongzhang's situation in Jiangsu.

By the way, I'd better put this matter aside for a while, and go back and carefully ask Li Hongzhang about his government affairs in Jiangsu in recent years before deciding. Now it is still a matter of dealing with the construction of the Circum-Siberian Railway.