Sheng Xuanhuai is the direct manager of the entire Southeast Mutual Insurance Agreement, and the history books say that including Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong were all agreed to at Sheng Xuanhuai's request.

But here's the problem, Li Hongzhang can't wait for all the warlords in the world to send troops to fight the Eight-Nation Alliance. It's a pity that he is no longer the Lord of Zhongtang. He, the governor of Liangguang, had no way to order Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong.

Although Cixi let him enter Beijing and serve as the governor of Zhili, he also served as the minister of Beiyang. But Li Hongzhang did not follow the edict at all. What is the problem? Very well understood. Because the governor of Zhili has no soldiers in his hands. Rong Lu, the former governor of Zhili, had been killed in battle. Yuan Shikai, the new army under the former governor of Zhili, had already followed Yuan Shikai to Shandong. Yuan Shikai was the governor of Shandong at this time.

Li Hongzhang's governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang couldn't control the scene at all. To say something unpleasant, Li Hongzhang asked Yuan Shikai to send troops. I'm afraid Yuan Shikai will throw it directly into the trash. Li Yuan had already turned his face.

Historically, Li Hongzhang's attitude was to suppress the Boxers from the very beginning, so as not to give foreigners an opportunity. It's a pity that Cixi's old lady didn't agree at all. Li Hongzhang had no choice but to unilaterally order Nie Shicheng to send troops to suppress the Boxers, but unfortunately he was finally stirred up by Cixi. In the end, this old lady even issued a declaration of war. In other words, the situation is no longer controllable, and declaring war is never a joke, and Li Hongzhang, a great traitor who has signed countless traitorous agreements, knows this very well. The most important thing is that Nie Shicheng has died in battle. On the one hand, Li Hongzhang did not accept Cixi's edict to declare war, claiming that it was a chaotic life, and on the other hand, he asked Nie Shicheng to defend Tianjin. It is difficult for people today to understand his inner torment.

Li Hongzhang could already predict that the Qing Dynasty would be defeated, and if he took over as the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang at this time, his only role would be to sign his name on the traitorous agreement in the future, and once again bear the blame for the stupid actions of Cixi, an old lady.

Li Hongzhang is over seventy years old, is he willing to carry the black pot?

Li Hongzhang did not take office, and finally under Cixi's twelve gold medals, he reluctantly went to Beijing, and then stopped in Shanghai. It is undoubtedly dangerous to go to Beijing at this time. The Tianjin Massacre is ahead! If you encounter rebels on the road, the rebels will not care whether you are the governor of Zhili or not. He wanted to wait for the situation to become clear. In fact, he could only wait for fate to come at this time. Because Li Hongzhang didn't even have any hole cards at hand.

The current strength of the Beiyang Naval Division is not even as good as that of the Nanyang Naval Division. Huai Army? The Huai army has been almost completely wiped out.

The fate of Li Hongzhang, a poor old man who was seventy-eight years old, was already doomed to tragedy from the moment he first pledged his allegiance to the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Li Hongzhang must have known about the Southeast Mutual Insurance Agreement, but it was absolutely impossible for him to do so. Because he was the last Dinghai god needle and paster of the Qing Dynasty! We should not aspire to a seventy-eight-year-old man to maintain a lifetime of wisdom and martial arts, nor should we look at him harshly.

So this Sheng Xuanhuai is very problematic.

Sheng Xuanhuai, the word Xingsun, is a native of Changzhou, Jiangsu, and his ancestral home is Jiangyin. He is 57 years old. In 1870, he joined Li Hongzhang's curtain, assisted Li Hongzhang in foreign affairs, and began to enter the Manchu political arena. During this period, because of his proficiency in foreign affairs, he was appreciated by Zhang Zhidong, which is also the reason why Zhang Zhidong handed over the Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant to him to operate. It's a pity that if we turn the pages of history, we will clearly see how Sheng Xuanhuai "repaid" Zhang Zhidong's trust in him. During this period, he developed various foreign affairs and took over the Hanyang Iron Works, etc., and his business prosperity once reached the height of Hu Xueyan.

At this time, Sheng Xuanhuai, whether in terms of official position or power, was actually equivalent to Li Hongzhang. Therefore, the southeast mutual insurance agreement he presided over was immediately approved by almost all the governors. This practice is actually a betrayal of Li Hongzhang.

Why can Li Hongzhang achieve the position of Lord Zhongtang? Relying on Zeng Guofan's recommendation? No kidding! Zeng Guofan's brothers fought the Tianjing of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but they couldn't do it in a few months, and the imperial court ordered the Huai army in Shanghai to go against the current to replace the Hunan army, Li Hongzhang pushed it and sent the imperial edict to Zeng Guofan, the meaning is obvious: Teacher, you should hurry up, otherwise I can't withstand the pressure. Li Hongzhang bought time for Zeng Guofan. After Zeng Guofan defeated Tianjing, he also said that it was Li Hongzhang who fulfilled us. So does Li Hongzhang need Zeng Guofan's recommendation?

Li Hongzhang can sit in a high position, one in the Huai Army, and the other in the Beiyang Naval Division. With the two armies in hand, it was not impossible at that time even if the emperor was abolished and self-reliant!

The Gengzi Incident led to the annihilation of Li Hongzhang's last armed army. That is, Cixi, who was originally hard-mouthed, only began to negotiate peace after Nie Shicheng's death. It was not until the Eight-Nation Coalition did not agree that war was declared in desperation.

No matter who is in Li Hongzhang's position, Huaijun must be protected. Otherwise, there is no political future to speak of.

Sheng Xuanhuai's Southeast Mutual Insurance Agreement was an accomplice to let the Huai Army fight alone and annihilate the whole army!

"Shanda? What do you mean? Xia Guan doesn't understand very well! Hu Xiaoyan thought about it, but his mouth still didn't relax.

"Master Hu!" Sheng Xuanhuai was a little annoyed.

"Didn't you see the telegram? If you want to be stubborn, don't blame this official for being unpredictable. ”

Sheng Xuanhuai is really angry, in fact, he and Hu Xueyan himself do not have such a deep hatred (don't believe in romance novels), and the reason why Hu Xueyan was killed was also out of political and business needs.

Politically, everyone understands that the dispute between Li and Zuo! The competition in business is actually the big one! You must know that Hu Xueyan is rich and rivals the country, as long as he intervenes in the business, it will inevitably be a big sell. To say that Sheng Xuanhuai is not moved is false. If it weren't for the fall of Hu Xueyan, which left many business vacancies, Sheng Xuanhuai would never have had the capital to reach his current height. Just by copying Hu Xueyan's house, he divided at least 100,000 taels of silver.

Therefore, Sheng Xuanhuai still owes Hu Xueyan's family. Otherwise, if Sheng Xuanhuai really hated the Hu family so much, how could he let the Hu family spend so many years safely?

Sheng Xuanhuai is indeed here for the Southeast Mutual Insurance Agreement. He is now preparing for negotiations with the Eight-Nation Alliance, and of course he does not want to make another military disaster. And Hu Xiaoyan fought hard with the Eight-Nation Coalition Army in Tianjin, and even killed more than 10,000 members of the Coalition Army. This not only made Sheng Xuanhuai feel relieved, but also made him frown secretly. If you want to discuss it, the Eight-Nation Alliance is likely to want Hu Xiaoyan's life!

So Sheng Xuanhuai actually came here to save Hu Xiaoyan's life! He is a Westernist and very appreciative of what Hu Xiaoyan has done in Anhui.

It's a pity that Hu Xiaoyan doesn't have any good feelings for Sheng Xuanhuai. He didn't know what the man himself thought. He only knew that Sheng Xuanhuai's Southeast Mutual Insurance Agreement was actually a surrender agreement!

You see, we are all dissatisfied with that old lady of Cixi, and we will not cause trouble for your Eight-Nation Alliance. I am willing to compensate you. Let's talk about it.

This is the ultimate purpose of the Southeast Mutual Insurance Agreement.

As a result, the capital of China, Beijing, was captured and the Old Summer Palace was burned and looted. The Beijing Massacre ensued.

Hu Xiaoyan was able to have a good impression of Sheng Xuan, the initiator of such a traitorous agreement. Compared with the Southeast Mutual Insurance Agreement, he is more interested in Sheng Xuanhuai's backstage.

Although Sheng Xuanhuai did a good job in foreign affairs, his grade was also high. But in reality, there is no real power at all. Any Governor's Mansion can easily kill him. Saying that he doesn't have a backstage, who is he fooling? And now can Li Hongzhang do backstage? Don't be funny! Having lost the last Huai army, Li Hongzhang's political career is in fact over! Didn't you see that Sheng Xuanhuai was the main minister of the negotiations after the Gengzi incident? As a result, it was Li Hongzhang who signed the agreement! Even though Li Hongzhang is dead, everyone still glues the dead man's hand to the ink and covers it? Sheng Xuanhuai, as a person who was pulled up by Li Hongzhang, has cheated to this extent, if he wants to say that his backstage is Li Hongzhang, I am afraid that the eyes of people all over the world are almost blind.

"What telegram?" Hu Xiaoyan did not receive Sheng Xuanhuai's telegram. But as soon as I heard it, I understood. It must have been a telegram of the South-East Mutual Insurance Agreement.

Sheng Xuanhuai sneered, he had already done his duty. If there was still an emphasis on Li Yan in his heart before, then now there is only contempt left. In the face of Sheng Xuanhuai's obvious olive branch, it is completely stupid.

Sheng Xuanhuai got up with a sneer, sneered and waved away.

Is it Zhang Zhidong? Or a foreigner?

Hu Xiaoyan couldn't figure it out. Because the Southeast Mutual Insurance Agreement did not benefit Sheng Xuanhuai in any way.

No matter what, if you offend Sheng Xuanhuai today, maybe there will be a big disaster tomorrow.

In the back hall, Hu Xiaoyan had a detailed discussion with Yan Fu again. Of course, Yan Fu could not accept the concept of pyramid schemes. All the students are high-minded, and let them pull people for the money. Yan Fu couldn't open this mouth.

Hu Xiaoyan had no choice but to spread his hands. Now there are only so many new-style schools in the country, and all of them have been moved to universities by Rong Hong. The current new school is all first-year freshmen, who have only been studying for less than a year. If they go to university, they can only enter the preparatory class. But if Rong Hong robs this group of first-year freshmen again. Then it is certain that Rong Hong will never dare to step out of the university gate again.

Liang Qichao also rushed to the doctor in a hurry, so he came to Hu Xiaoyan. But what can Hu Xiaoyan do? could only settle Yan Fu down with kind words.

Then it was He Min who was confronted.

He Min had participated in several imperial examinations, three of which he had shared an inn with Zhang Jian, a leading businessman, and participated in the imperial examinations together. Again, they were both twice unsuccessful. However, He Min was much more unlucky, he did not pass the exam from beginning to end. But Zhang Jian finally passed the test. The two have been connected by the same fate for many years, and they are also considered old friends.

Later, Zhang Jian set up a Dasheng Yarn Factory, and He Min also contributed. He Min is a native of Zhejiang, and his family is also wealthy. Because he failed many times, and saw that Zhuangyuanlang was not an official, he went to run an industry. So he also went to Shanghai to open a teahouse, and at the same time sent his son and daughter to Shanghai to go to school. Shanghai is also famous for its new-style schools and church girls' schools. As a result, one day He Min received a notice from his son that a person named Li Yan was going to the school to give a speech and asked him to make it convenient.

It's not that hard! He Min also invested some money in the school. Arrange it with ease. As a result, my daughter found out and wanted to attend the class.

Mixed gender! What is this system? Although Ho Min is enlightened, he is not yet enlightened to this extent!

However, there are countermeasures at the top, and countermeasures at the bottom.

The brothers and sisters of the He family found Zhang Song, and it was true that he was the down-and-out international student who later defected to the Chinese newspapers and periodicals of Hu Xiaoyan's time. Zhang Song is deeply loved by students because of his humorous lectures.

When Zhang Song heard about this, he just smiled. It is more difficult for male students to get into girls' schools. But it is not too easy for female students to enter boys' schools.

Zhang Song used the reason that the classroom was too small, and placed the lecture room in the Great Hall. The so-called Great Hall is actually a large classroom where freshmen gather to listen to the principal's lectures when they report. It's just a little bigger than a normal classroom.

Move more chairs and desks, and a new classroom will be complete. As for some of the male classmates who lost their desks, they have to apologize. Under the silent gaze of the beautiful women, they could only run with red faces and squeeze with their tablemates.

Xiao He's sister ran out with more than a dozen female students to ask for leave and follow her brother to listen to the class. It didn't cause much of a stir at first. This is because the other teachers and principals in the school simply don't know about it.

But after class, even the principal came to listen to the class. Naturally, I found out that there was such a thing as a mixed school for men and women! So Zhang Song, a temporary worker, had no choice but to roll up and leave, and ran to seek refuge with Hu Xiaoyan. Having lost his job as a temporary worker, Zhang Song even had problems with his life.

Hu Xiaoyan was not surprised that co-eds sat in the same classroom at the time, because the civilian schools in Britain themselves were co-educational. Only the wealthy aristocrats would send their daughters to special schools for nuns and aristocratic girls.

Hu Xiaoyan grew up in the UK, so he naturally didn't think that this kind of thing was so bold in China at that time!

Although He Min was very emotional about his children's private hands afterwards. But there is nothing to be done about it, which has already happened. He still loves these children very much.

Therefore, when I received a letter from my child saying that I would go to a school in another place with my classmates, I was a little worried. But in the end, he was given a sum of money to support his children. But what he didn't expect was that after a year, he had only received a few letters, and finally he found out that the letters were actually from Shanghai! You must know that He Min has been in Shanghai for a long time. If your children are in Shanghai, why don't you go home? He Min missed his children, so he ran to the school to find his children's classmates to find out that his beloved pair of children actually went abroad with that Li Yan! It's been a year since I left! The letter was also sent from England to Shanghai, and then transferred to He Min from his classmates in Shanghai.

He Min and his wife always thought that their children were exchange students in other new schools! He was an enlightened man, so he didn't care. Who knew that it would be such bad news in exchange. You must know that it is the United Kingdom, and it is thousands of miles away from the Great Qing Kingdom!

He Min ran to Anhui to find Hu Xiaoyan in a hurry, but unfortunately Hu Xiaoyan had already gone to Tianjin. When He Min rushed from Anhui to Tianjin, it coincided with the beginning of the war, and Hu Xiaoyan himself was running around on the battlefield and couldn't find anyone else at all.

Until Hu Xiaoyan began to move the people of Tianjin. He Min realized that the situation on the battlefield was not good, and did not dare to stay, so he had to return to Beijing and wait.

When Hu Xiaoyan returned to Beijing, He Min also came to the door. But the barracks will not receive any mercy. When Hu Xiaoyan returned to the barracks, he shouted loudly, but Hu Xiaoyan, Huo Yuanjia and others were in a bad mood at that time, so they didn't pay attention at all.

At the door, he met Yan Fu and Sheng Xuanhuai again. Sheng Xuanhuai followed Hu Xiaoyan closely. It's just that Hu Xiaoyan is riding a horse, and he is sitting in a sedan chair.

He Min knew Sheng Xuanhuai. Sheng Xuanhuai then agreed to the introduction.

Listening to He Min's narration, Hu Xiaoyan was also a little embarrassed. When he came back, he was so busy that he forgot about a few students who had run away without permission.

Watching a thirty or forty-year-old uncle cry in front of his eyes. Hu Xiaoyan actually wanted to say: I am also innocent.

"Mr. He, you don't have to worry, I let the people from the embassy take care of them. There will be no problem. One of my students, Liu Min, also stayed in the UK. It's also good to go abroad and see the market. Hu Xiaoyan had to be careful to comfort him.

"Master Hu, my two naughty sons and daughters have never been far away until now, and now in a foreign country, can my father rest assured?!" He Min was indeed angry and anxious.

"How can you experience a rainbow without experiencing wind and rain? I promise your children will be all right. All right? Why don't I send a telegram and ask them to come back at the end of this year for the New Year? ”

He Min nodded vigorously.

Hu Xiaoyan had no choice but to be speechless. He's just being polite. Now is not a few decades later, from the UK to Shanghai, no matter how fast and fast it will take more than ten days. The winter break at UK universities is not very long, and the most important thing is that the winter break in the UK is not based on the spring break in China (the lunar calendar is generally between mid-January and mid-February). ) to calculate. Rather, it comes according to Christmas (December 25 in the Gregorian calendar). Then do the math. The Ho siblings had little time to return to China for the Spring Festival.

But could he tell this to his worried father?