c_t; Li Hongzhang listened to Weng Tongyi's words, and said coldly: "Master Weng, since you want to fight, how much silver do you have in your household department that can be used to support the war against Japan?" If you don't have money, what can you do to advance the war? Where does the money come from? Where do the weapons come from? Where does the ammunition come from? Where does the compensation for the fallen come from? ”

"This ......" Weng Tongyi was dumbfounded when asked, yes, if you want to fight, you must at least have money, now the balance of the household department and the taxes and silver paid by Jiangnan in advance for next year are less than one million taels, and it is estimated that it will not be able to support it for even half a month, and it will be spent at the bottom, how can you fight? Lafayette even took out 1.5 million taels of funds for the repair of the Summer Palace, and asked her again, that is, he was really looking for death, and he Weng Tonggong had not lived enough.

Li Hongzhang said: "The queen mother, the emperor, it is the best policy to discuss peace, Jianzhi said it is very reasonable, we must refuse all unreasonable requirements, otherwise, it will be difficult to explain to the people, and we will not be ashamed to face the ancestors and ancestors." It's just that once peace is negotiated, as Japan's ally, England will inevitably support Japan, and we don't have strong reinforcements in hand, so I'm afraid that it will be difficult to negotiate peace. ”

Emperor Guangxu looked at Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, Lafayette, Lord Zhongtang, in fact, the German Legation coming to China is the best opportunity. The German Legation's visit to China this time was actually a request from our Qing Dynasty, and we just took this opportunity to ask the German Legation to intervene in mediation. ”

Guangxu was overjoyed when he heard this, and asked: "Jianzhi, you said that Germany has a request for us?" What does that mean? ”

Zhang Yi replied: "Your Majesty, in the Great War, the minister designed several new weapons, which showed great power in the Sino-Japanese battlefield and posed a huge threat to Japan, but our factory engineers are too few to produce on a large scale, otherwise, we can completely defeat the Japanese army this time." Even so, these weapons have already attracted the attention of European and American countries. When the minister was in Korea, he once captured a German **, who was a descendant of the famous Krupp family in Germany, and had a strong interest in our weapons, and after communication, the German Empire had a great interest in our weapons production license, and asked us to sell them drawings and technology patents, so that we could make a request to Germany. I think that Germany, anxious to acquire these weapons technology, will certainly accede to our request. In any case, for them, it was only a good deal, and there was nothing to lose, and Germany and Britain were already on the same page in Europe, and they would inevitably resist the pressure of England for us, so as to draw us into their camp. ”

Li Hongzhang applauded, and said continuously: "Okay, the emperor, Jianzhi's plan to drive the tiger and devour the wolf." It is absolutely feasible, only need to promise heavy benefits to Germany, it will definitely be used by us, and at the same time, the old minister is also willing to meet the Russian minister and ask the Russians to come forward to reconcile. ”

Cixi shook her head and said, "Shaoquan." You think too simply, there is no benefit, the Japanese will never give up easily, and England, if there is no benefit, England will definitely unite all the powers to put pressure on the Qing Dynasty. Shaoquan. The matter of this peace negotiation is completely up to you and Prince Gong, let Jianzhi cooperate with you, and listen to Jianzhi's opinions in everything. ”

Li Hongzhang hurriedly got up.

Weng Tongyi said: "The Queen Mother, now that the German legation has arrived in Beijing, it has already handed a note to the Prime Minister Yamen, asking to meet the Queen Mother. How do you see this arrangement? ”

Cixi said: "Since Jianzhi has arrived in Beijing, the German legation is a name to see Jianzhi, then arrange it the day after tomorrow, the mourning family will hold a banquet in Cining Palace, receive the German minister, and all the officials in Beijing will be present, Jianzhi, you also have to come." ”

Guangxu nodded, turned back to Cixi and said: "Dear father, Zhang Yi is an all-round talent in civil and military affairs, he is really a rare figure, Erchen thought that the show of China and Japan was over, and he was left by his side to assist Erchen in handling government affairs, and now there are too few talented people in the court." ”

Cixi nodded and agreed: "Well, when the Sino-Japanese matter is over, it will be decided by the emperor." ”

After hearing this, Zhang Yi was anxious, and said in his heart: "Don't, once Guangxu is really left in Beijing, all parties will be constrained, and it will be too difficult to take himself if he wants to strengthen the country and rectify the army." ”

Zhang Yi was helpless, hurriedly knelt down, and replied: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, the micro-ministers thank the Emperor and the Empress Dowager Longen, but the ministers have a reciprocal performance." ”

Emperor Guangxu was stunned for a moment and asked, "Jianzhi, what's wrong?" ”

Zhang Yi replied: "Your Majesty, Weichen knows that the emperor loves him and wants to keep his ministers in Beijing, but Weichen Zhishi is not here. Back then, Huo Qubing once said that the Huns would not be destroyed, so why should they be at home? Weichen didn't dare to compare himself with Gu Xian, but he didn't dare to be arrogant. Now that the Qing Dynasty is in crisis, and the strong are peeping at their own interests, it is really not the time for Weichen to sit in the center. Guanwai is the land of Longxing in the Qing Dynasty, its importance is extraordinary, the current Japanese invasion of Korea, in fact, their target has always been the three provinces outside the Guanwai; Also, Tsarist Russia, Tsarist Russia is insatiable, has taken from outside the Guan, plundered our Qing Dynasty land tens of millions, according to the minister's data, the territory occupied has even exceeded ten Jiangsu, once the actual maturity of the other day, it will inevitably go south, continue to invade Guanwai or Mongolia, Tsarist Russia is not better than Japan, the army is strong, with millions of troops, if it really fights, we are afraid that it will be difficult for the Qing Dynasty to take the slightest advantage. Therefore, the minister asked the queen mother and the emperor for orders, and was willing to stay outside the gate forever, so that the young people did not dare to wantonly peep at the land of the Qing Dynasty. As for staying in Jingshi to serve, I think there are six princes in Jingshi, and there are important ministers such as Lord Zhongtang and Master Weng to assist the emperor, and they are not much stronger than Weichen. ”

Emperor Guangxu was slightly unhappy when he heard Zhang Yi's refusal at first, and when Zhang Yi explained the reason, his heart was shaken: Loyal ministers, loyal ministers, are willing to give up the opportunity to stay in the center, go to the bitter cold land, and guard the frontier.

When Emperor Guangxu was moved, Weng Tongyi and Li Hongzhang actually knelt down together, and said: "Your Majesty, the heart of loyalty to the monarch and the country is expected to be lamentable, and the intention is far-reaching and reasonable. The minister asked the emperor to be gracious, so that Jianzhi can continue to be useful, the place where the ancestor of the dragon outside the gate is not trivial, there is no capable minister to guard, once the strong enemy invades, the ancestral mausoleum is damaged, and our sin is great. ”

The two old foxes have reached a serious agreement at this time, once Zhang Yi stays in the capital, with Zhang Yi's ability and the love and respect of the queen mother and the emperor, what will happen to the two of them in the future? Although Li Hongzhang hopes that Zhang Yi will be able to take over the team of his Beiyang series in the future and carry the banner, but not now, my Lao Li is still jumping around, and he hasn't enjoyed enough glory and authority, so he can't lose it now, and he will give it to you when Lao Li can't walk anymore.

As for Weng Tongyi, he is even more reluctant, Zhang Yi is a rising star in Li Hongzhang's Huai department, and he is Li Hongzhang's person, originally the DPRK and China are the Beiyang family, it is estimated that the Sino-Japanese war is over, Lao Li is very likely to follow Zuo Wenxiang's example to stay in the center, become the Minister of Military Aircraft, and press himself, and if Zhang Yi also enters Beijing, how can there be a foothold for their Qingliu party?

It was two people who opposed it with one force, and insisted that it should be guarded outside the pass, and with its genius military talent, it deterred Tsarist Russia and Japan.

Cixi was a little suspicious in her heart, but she didn't think about it for long, and finally nodded, and replied: "Your Majesty, this matter is reasonable with Shaoquan and Master Weng, the border of the Qing Dynasty and the ancestral land of Longxing need a tiger minister like Jianzhi to go to the town, so let's do it, if the affairs of China and Japan go well, then appoint Jianzhi as the governor of Fengtian, build a Yashengjing, and take care of the defense of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Fengtian provinces, together with the coastal defense of Dalian and Lushun, and hand it over to you, and your Beiyang assistant is still hanging. When you are free, you can help Shaoquan more, and over the years, Shaoquan has really worked hard. ”

Zhang Yi was overjoyed when he heard this, acting in charge of the military affairs of the three provinces of Liaoji, Hebei and Heihei, this is the real power in his hands, and he finally has a place to use it at will!! (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. )

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