Zuo Pinghu's voice was crisp and immature, but when she said this, there was a trace of perverseness on her delicate little face, which made Kong Dehong shudder. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

At this time, Zuo Zongtang enjoyed a rare family fun, and seemed to have forgotten that his cronies and subordinates Liu Xuan had already landed on the ground, and the letters between him and Liu Xuan were in the hands of such people at this time.

Beijing, Prime Minister's Yamen for State Affairs.

As twilight approached, the russet clouds rolled, and under the impetus of the evening breeze, they slowly moved southward as if reluctantly, and the red sunset gradually set down the mountain, as if to foreshadow something.

At this time, the prime minister's yamen has become deserted, and there is no longer the busyness of the day.

In a small room in the west courtyard, Prince Gong and Wen Xiang sat opposite each other. On the small wooden table in the pit, the servant put a dry dish and a few snacks on the table, and warmed a pot of wine, and after withdrawing, only the two of them were left in the room.

When the servant had closed the door, the two began to chat.

"Wen Xiang has something on his mind these days?" Prince Gong asked with concern, his impression of Wen Xiang has always been calm and self-controlled, and his words and demeanors are not revealed, but after working together in the past few days, he can always read a little helplessness and heaviness from the latter's face, and even occasionally have some unconcealed sadness!

"I've always had something on my mind," Wen Xiang stretched out a finger and rubbed his slightly aching temples, sighed and said: "The prince knows that since the beginning of this battle, my heart has been hanging until today, and I haven't let go." ”

"Now that the Taiwan Strait has won a big victory, what are the people who are worried about the prime minister?" Prince Gong looked at Wen Xiang, whose face was cloudy and his expression was constantly changing, and he couldn't help but ask worriedly.

"In this battle of Taiwan, if you lose, you will have great worries, and if you win, there is not much to be happy about!" Wen Xiang sighed.

"Why did Wen Xiang say this?" Prince Gong asked in surprise.

"These days, the officials have participated in the excerpts of Lin Yizhe, hasn't the prince seen it?" Wen Xiang looked at Prince Gong, quietly stretched out his hand to take the wine jug, and poured him a glass of wine.

Prince Gong remembered the excerpts of the gossip officials these days, and his eyes couldn't help but flash a trace of anger.

After Lin Yizhe led the shipmaster and sailors to annihilate the Japanese navy, China's victory had been laid, and for a time the government and the opposition were famous, and many officials wrote to the imperial court to ask for praise for Lin Yizhe and the meritorious soldiers of the former enemy, and the folk scholars also wrote articles to praise them, but in such a festive atmosphere of victory, the discordant voices have not stopped.

On the same day that the news of the victory in the naval battle of the East China Sea reached Beijing, the scholar Song Jin wrote to the imperial court, accusing Lin Yizhe of "losing to the Western firearms in the terrace, bribing the Shengfan of the Peony Society for his private service, and allowing the Shengfan to harm his fellow clans, causing the Japanese people to think that there was an opportunity to take advantage of it, and brazenly entered the court", and said that "the Japanese had no intention of making difficulties with China, but only because their people were victimized, and China was unable to punish the culprits, so they raised troops to ask for the guilt." It was "for the sake of protecting the people." Lin Yizhe deliberately intensified the contradictions, and "did great things" in order to "establish a personal merit and be greedy for the court's reward." He demanded a "detailed investigation" into the causes of the war in the Taiwan Strait in order to "make clear its merits and demerits" and "reward and punish again"!

As soon as the excerpt of the Song and Jin dynasties was released, the gossip officials seemed to have received a signal, and immediately followed up, accusing Lin Yizhe of "vainly opening border provocations" and "misleading the country and sick people", and even worse, some people even accused Lin Yizhe of annihilating the Japanese Navy in order to build momentum for the ship administration and show the importance of steamships to the imperial court, so as to reach out to the imperial court to ask for money!

Prince Gong said hatefully: "This so-called 'clear stream', there is nothing to say about it when there is something going on inside and outside!" And the military is decided, then the people in power will obstruct each other when they create a thing, and the group will ridicule and spend money on making a weapon, which is really a mediocre and misleading country! ”

"Yes, and not only that, even if it is not hindered by these small nights, it is just a temporary embellishment, a little framing." Wen Xiang sighed: "Whether it is a machine or a sailor, as far as my Qing Dynasty is concerned, it is just a whitewash, even if there is an occasional small success, it is difficult to really be regarded as a road to self-improvement!" ”

"Embellishment, pasting, whitewashing?" Prince Gong repeated these words almost in a daze, and after a long time, he smiled bitterly and said, "These are the words in Lin Yizhe's excerpt, right?" ”

Wen Xiang nodded, "Exactly." What this son said is really to the point! ”

"When Wen Xiangyan wanted to ask for a protégé post, I still have a lot of puzzlement, today I heard Wen Xiang's words, Fang Zhizhongtang's eyes are like torches! If you talk about the depth of insight into the disadvantages of my Great Qing Dynasty, under Shewenxiang, this is the son! ”

For Prince Gong's heartfelt admiration, Wen Xiang could only return with a slightly embarrassed smile - now that the Qing Dynasty has defeated Japan, it is still a behemoth like a "sleeping lion" in the eyes of foreigners, and when the country is ignorant, it is naturally rare to see the country's hidden worries and make such deafening words.

"Husband, a small country in the East of Japan, has newly learned the Western art of war, and with only two ironclad ships, he dares to make trouble! And I can't be coerced by the Qing Dynasty, it's really hateful! And after the lucky victory, the official actually wrote a letter asking for 100,000 elite soldiers to cross the sea and go east! Wen Xiang sighed, "With today's situation, Japan and my Qing Dynasty will fight again, I'm afraid it's just a matter of time or night!" In the end, it seems that the construction of the navy and the construction of railways are just the techniques of military training, simplified weapons, shipbuilding, etc., and the details, if we really try to improve ourselves, so that our Qing Dynasty can stand in today's world of great contention, the only way to break the old rules and implement the change of the law! ”

"In this peace talks, Lin Yizhe sent a letter saying that it is necessary for Japan to cede land and pay reparations and reduce its national strength, thinking that it is a plan for the future.

"Although Japan has suffered a heavy setback this time, its vitality has not been injured, and the whole country has emphasized changing the law, and the country's situation is thriving, and since the incident at sea, our Qing Dynasty has experienced many setbacks, holding on to the defects, and has always remained the same, and this victory over Japan has increased its arrogance and does not want to forge ahead." Wen Xiang said, "Even if you can cut one or two pieces of land in Japan and ask for some compensation, what is the benefit?" And after this setback, Japan will be a great shame for the whole country, strive to catch up, and will achieve great success in a few years! Under the long-term situation of this and the other, does the prince think that the day when Japan will enter the Kou again will be far away? ”

Hearing Wen Xiang's words, Prince Gong didn't feel a little chill in his back.

"What Wen Xiang said is extremely true, the law can no longer control the enemy, and if you want to control a strong enemy, you must change the law!" Prince Gong said in a deep voice, "Yi said: 'If you are poor, you will change, and if you change, you will be successful. 'If the cover does not change, the battle and defense are not enough, and the peace cannot last long! ”

"It's easy to change the law, but if you really do it, it's really like entering a mountain of swords and a sea of fire!" Wen Xiang felt that the atmosphere of the two chatting had become too heavy, and smiled self-deprecatingly, "I'm afraid that you and I will be overwhelmed, and I have to ask them to help!" ”

"For this change, does Wen Xiang have a ......" Prince Gong looked at Wen Xiang's sunken eyes, as if he had an understanding.

"Everything will wait for Lin Yizhe to enter Beijing!" Wen Xiang smiled and said, "Come, Lord Wang, please drink!" ”

At about the same time, in Tianjin, there were two people doing the same small talk.

The sun had sunset, the golden sunset in the west had disappeared, and the clear moon in the sky was bright, and the mercury-like moonlight was softly sprinkled on the post road.

Li Hongzhang and Lin Yizhe walked slowly along the post road one after the other, while several Huai soldiers and shipmasters with spears on their backs followed far behind, following behind them to perform the duty of guarding.

"Kunyu ......" Li Hongzhang, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped.

Lin Yizhe raised his head and met Li Hongzhang's concerned gaze.

"Your heart seems to be in turmoil!" Li Hongzhang looked at Lin Yizhe, and under the moonlight, he could clearly see the small blisters at the corners of Lin Yizhe's mouth and some deep-set eye sockets.

And his originally delicate face also has traces like wind and frost knives!

Seeing what this young man who was less than thirty years old had experienced, Li Hongzhang couldn't help but sigh.

Listening to Li Hongzhang's words, Lin Yizhe's heart sank, he knew that his mind was indeed a little confused, although he had tried his best to cover it up, but he didn't expect to be caught by Li Hongzhang in the eyes.

Now that the war is over, the inner pain brought to him by Aya's death has not yet dissipated!

"I've been a little restless these days...... Lin Yizhe couldn't confide in Li Hongzhang, just nodded with a wry smile, "The war is over, and the rumors are coming, I don't know how to deal with it, and I feel a little exhausted." ”

"Hehe, Kunyu is too worried, how much is it worth?" Li Hongzhang smiled and stretched out his hand to pat Lin Yizhe's shoulder: "How can you be annihilated because of the Qing Discussion?" However, the villain's dark arrow is impossible to guard against......" Speaking of this, the expression on Li Hongzhang's face turned solemn in an instant, "You beheaded Liu Xuan, but you gave that person a big blow to the head, with that person's heart, he will never let you go!" So when the Queen Mother is there, she has to do her homework! ”

"Brother Shaoquan, can you teach me a lesson or two?" Lin Yizhe smiled and asked.

"You offended that Qingliu before, and this time you dared to be the first in the world and angered the Zuo family, but as long as the queen mother worked hard, they couldn't move you at all!" Li Hongzhang said, "The queen mother is kind by nature, the most affectionate and righteous, your previous foundation has been very good, this time you only need to move with affection, everything will go smoothly, no one can hinder you, it is the true nature of the Zuo family, and there is nothing you can do!" ”

"I heard the people in the palace say that the queen mother heard that many people died at the hands of the Japanese army, and she was very compassionate, and called it 'Yifan', you might as well make a fuss about this, and if necessary, Qin Ting's crying is not unavoidable." Li Hongzhang seemed to feel that he had given Lin Yizhe a somewhat bad idea, and smiled self-deprecatingly, "You just need to grasp the balance of this." ”

"Brother Shaoquan's words, I have written them down." Lin Yizhe immediately understood what Li Hongzhang meant, and also knew that he only mentioned Fanmin and did not mention the matter of Eya, because he was afraid that he would be sad, and he couldn't help but feel a warm current in his heart.

"In addition, the sixth master and Wen Xiang, you also have to work hard." Li Hongzhang said, and nodded Lin Yizhe one step further, "Wen Ji values you very much, you may as well go to Beijing to meet you this time, there is no harm in going to Wen Xiang." ”

"I have long had this intention, but I don't know if Wen Xiang is willing to see ......me," Lin Yizhe hesitated for a moment and said.

For Wen Xiang, he is no stranger to history.

Wen Xiang was one of the famous Westernist leaders in the central government of the Qing Dynasty. After Emperor Xianfeng died of illness, Wenxiang and other ministers invited the Empress Dowager Cixi and Ci'an to listen to the government, and simply sent the prince of the close branch to assist the Empress Dowager Yixin and the Empress Dowager Cixi in launching the Xinyou coup d'état, and executed Su Shun, the minister of Zanxiang. In 1862 (the first year of Tongzhi), he was promoted to the imperial history of the left capital, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, and the secretary of the Ministry of War, and served as the minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the commander of the capital. In 1865, he led the Shenji Battalion to the Northeast to suppress the uprising of Wang Da and Ma Duzi. In 1871, he was conferred the title of secretary of the ministry and co-founded the university scholar. The following year, he was a fellow of Tiren Pavilion University. After Emperor Guangxu succeeded to the throne, he was a scholar of the Yingdian University of Jinwu, and served as the Minister of Military Aircraft and the Minister of Prime Minister Yamen. He once asked Yixin and others to handle the six things of coastal defense, that is, "military training, simple weapons, shipbuilding, salary raising, employment, and durability".

"Qing History Manuscript" contains: "Between salty and same, internal and external troubles, precarious. Wen Qing proposed to reuse Hanchen, so that Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi and others could develop their experience in order to build the cause of Zhongxing, and their merits were very great. Prince Wenxiang and Baojun Xiangzangong had diplomatic relations with Ji Bang and leveled the chaos. Wen Xiang is especially hard, public and selfless, and is relied on by China and foreign countries, and the court is not the same, and he still can't do his best; In his later years, he made a big plan, and he gained and lost in decades of control, and the hole was like watching the fire, and the turtle of the rise and fall of a generation was also. Baojun Mingda is the same, and his chastity is not as good as that, so he can't hold the country with the hustle and bustle. Such as Wen Xiang, Xun Society Jichen! "The evaluation of Wenxiang is no less than that of Zeng Guofan. Emperor Guangxu once praised his people for "foreign affairs and internal governance, all of which are carefully planned, and they are really ministers with a heart." Bruce, the British minister to China, also said: "I have never met anyone smarter than Wen Xiang." The famous scholar Jiang Tinghuang called him a great statesman who "worries about the worries of the world first, and enjoys the joys of the world after the world", praised his "character can be said to be the best representative of Chinese culture", and regarded him as the "five leaders" alongside Prince Gong, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, and Zuo Zongtang. Ding Yunliang also said, "His influence is so great that no one in his time can be compared with Chinese politicians." As long as he lives, all the motivation of the Prime Minister's Yamen comes from him, he is both wise and courageous, and if he can live longer, he will definitely bring about more profound changes in the country. In Liang Qichao's view, the 60s of the 19th century was "the era of Wenxiang and Shen Guifen".

He has always admired Wen Xiang, a generation of famous ministers who are as famous as Zeng Guofan, and through Li Hongzhang's relationship, he has now been able to get on the line with Prince Gong Wenxiang. But there is no direct contact with them. When he heard that Li Hongzhang wanted to go and meet these two leaders of the Westernization Movement in the central government of the Qing Dynasty, he naturally couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

"You can go with confidence!" Li Hongzhang seemed to have guessed Lin Yizhe's thoughts, and said with a smile, "Wen Xiang will definitely not refuse!" I've heard that Wen Xiang intends to ask for a protégé post! ”

Hearing Li Hongzhang's words, Lin Yizhe couldn't help but be stunned.

Wen Xiang wanted to accept himself as a protégé, which he had never thought of!

"There is no need to rush this matter, if Wen Xiangguo has this intention, your future affairs will be much easier." Li Hongzhang said,

"Thank you Brother Shaoquan for reminding me." Lin Yizhe said gratefully.

"The affairs of the world are just man-made!" Li Hongzhang said, "Regarding the current peace situation, the Empress Dowager asked, you should also be prepared." ”

"What Brother Shaoquan said is very true, I have done some homework here in advance." Lin Yizhe smiled and said, "It's just that it's going to go out, but I'm afraid that I will end up with a 'flattering' infamy again." ”

"You're planning to pull the tiger skin of the foreigners and play the art of vertical and horizontal to suppress Japan, which is not bad." Li Hongzhang was stunned for a moment, then understood, and asked with a smile, "How did you come up with this?" ”

Lin Yizhe looked at Li Hongzhang and smiled slightly: "I don't know if Brother Shaoquan still remembers, how did he bring Huaiyong into Shanghai back then?" ”

Li Hongzhang's eyes flashed immediately - in the first year of Tongzhi, because the "Nine Marshals" Zeng Guoquan insisted on breaking the first credit of Jinling and refused to accept his brother Zeng Guofan's order to lead his troops to rescue Shanghai, which was besieged by the Taiping Army, Li Hongzhang was ordered to return to his hometown to form a "Huai Army" to aid Shanghai. As soon as the Huai army was formed, it immediately took the British steamer chartered by the Shanghai gentry for 180,000 taels of silver in seven batches, passed through the Nanjing defense line heavily fortified by the Taiping Army, and went all the way along the Yangtze River to Shanghai!

When the fleet carrying the Huai army passed through the Nanjing River, the Taiping soldiers stationed on the fortresses on both sides of the strait were all tense, and they could clearly see the Huai troops on the steamer, but they did not dare to shoot because of the cover of the "tiger skin" of foreign steamers, and the Huai army was able to arrive in Shanghai safely......

Foreigner's Tiger Skin......

"What do you mean? ......" Li Hongzhang looked at Lin Yizhe and asked thoughtfully.

"This is also a way to get the Japanese, who are trying to pull the United States into the water when they invade Taiwan this time." Lin Yizhe continued with a faint gaze: "The situation in China today, if you want to cheer up, you must be peaceful on the outside, and you must change the law on the inside!" Together with Rong, in addition to keeping treaties and making peace with other countries, it can also link one or two countries as foreign aid, otherwise, with the constraints inside and outside the imperial court, it is difficult to change the law with the strength of our own alone, and since there is damage in the embankment, why not make up for it outside the embankment? ”

"According to Kunyu's words, how should I make up for it?" Li Hongzhang asked without moving.

"Brother Shaoquan should know the situation in the West, today's West, just like the Spring and Autumn Period of China, the heroes rise together, compete for the world, and the major powers are all vertical and horizontal, folding and rushing bottles, and the strategy of combining vertical and horizontal ......" Lin Yizhe's eyes radiated a strange light, "Brother Shaoquan has a deep Chinese culture, and he should understand." What's more, the Japanese can use this strategy, how can I not use it in the Qing Dynasty? ”

"......I see," Li Hongzhang nodded again and again, at this time he already understood what Lin Yizhe was planning to do in his heart.

"Although this strategy is good, I am afraid that it cannot be ......said clearly by the Empress Dowager," Li Hongzhang muttered, "But Wen Xiang and the sixth master may as well ...... it."

"Wen Xiang and the six princes, I'm afraid it's not easy to say it clearly." Lin Yizhe said, "It's just some of my superficial thoughts, and I said that I know ...... Brother Shaoquan."

"Otherwise, Wen Xiang once said, how to solve the problem of Japan, I want to hear what you say, your method can be used to solve the problem!" Li Hongzhang said with burning eyes.