Li Hongzhang, a native of Hefei, Anhui Province, was known as "Li Zhongtang" and "Li Hefei". Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi regarded him as "the only person in the Qing Empire who had the ability to compete with the world powers," and he was called "the three great men of the world in the 19th century" along with Bismarck, the iron-blooded chancellor of the German Empire, and Grant, the first president of the United States to graduate from the West Point Military Academy. At that time, Li Hongzhang was over fifty years old and reached the age of knowing the destiny of heaven. Although Li Hongzhang wrote the awesome poem "Who has written history in 10,000 years, and wants to be a marquis 3,000 miles away" at the age of 20, and became famous as a master of Beijing, but his career was not smooth, and he only joined the Hunan army staff of Zeng Guofan at the age of 30. However, Li Hongzhang in 1874, after Zeng Guofan's vigorous support and twenty years of bloody struggle, has grown from the down-and-out, full of stomach scratches, melancholy middle-aged frustrated man to the Qing Dynasty's No. 1 Hanchen, in the Forbidden City have the privilege of riding horses, then the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang trade, the official residence is a product, the mansion is naturally much more magnificent than the Yuan family, it is a typical Chinese style large courtyard, surrounded by two rows of pines and cypresses, the shade of the trees is shady, the stone lion with protruding eyes is majestic and mighty, standing next to the door more than one zhang high, There is a pair of large tiger-headed brass knockers on the door.

Song Xiaofei got out of the carriage, picked up the copper ring and knocked three times, a lean old housekeeper opened the door with a "squeak", Song Xiaofei took out the greeting post written by Yuan Baoheng, reported to the door, and the old housekeeper in the black coat nodded, "Yuan Gongzi, please, my master is waiting in the living room." ”

When Song Xiaofei heard this, Li Hongzhang was actually waiting for him, after all, it was the first time he saw a famous person in history, his mood was a little nervous, his legs trembled, and he followed the housekeeper into the living room of the Li Mansion. In the middle of the living room, a large wooden kang is placed, a layer of tiger skin mattress is laid on it, and a low-legged coffee table is placed in the middle, two people can sit on both sides of the kang, and two rows of Taishi chairs are placed under the kang. According to traditional etiquette, when the subordinates see the superiors and the juniors see the seniors, they should sit on the Taishi chair in front of the kang. Only peers or superiors can "ascend to the kang" and sit next to the master. However, the host will politely invite the guests to take a seat, and the guests will have to postpone it.

Seeing Song Xiaofei coming, Li Hongzhang, who was wearing an official uniform embroidered with a crane first-class grade, greeted him with a smile on his face, and did not have the frame of a big official, and said in a tone of concern from the elders to the juniors, "I heard that there is a young talent in the Yuan Mansion, and I can't find a suitable teacher when I visit the capital, is it a virtuous nephew?" Come, raise the kang. ”

Song Xiaofei was not familiar with the feudal society's "ascending kang" rules, so he didn't think much about it, and sat down. He looked at Li Hongzhang, this male was middle-to-high, about 1.8 meters tall, with a gray beard, a red face, and his eyes were shining like an old fox, unfathomable.

After a while, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old maid in Tsing Yi brought a tea tray with two official kiln pastel lids on it, and two fragrant Lu'an melon slices tea were brewed in it.

Li Hongzhang was about to call for tea, Song Xiaofei was already thirsty in the carriage, and after entering the living room, he was very nervous, his mouth was dry, so he took the tea in his hand, opened the lid with one hand and the other, blew off the hot air, and drank the tea with a grunt, making an abnormal sound. Li Hongzhang frowned, did not speak, and put down the tea cup. After Song Xiaofei finished drinking tea, he asked, "How old is the virtuous nephew this year?" ”

"Lord Huizhongtang, fifteen."

Li Hongzhang said "oh", Song Xiaofei remembered his uncle Yuan Baoheng's instructions to "say something straight", so he went straight to the point and said to Li Hongzhang: "In the past, Ganluo Twelfth was the prime minister, and I also wanted to learn from him, and I said that I would enter politics and serve the country as soon as possible." ”

"What kind of fame has the virtuous nephew obtained?"

"I have been learning boxing and swordsmanship since I was a child, paying attention to current affairs, reading military books, and I don't want to be dirty and trapped in the pen and inkstone for a long time, and win any imperial examination fame, but I learned English, German, French, and other foreign languages with the daughter of Lord Rong Que, and I know a little bit about military affairs." Song Xiaofei deliberately showed off.

As soon as Li Hongzhang heard that he knew foreign languages and a little bit of military affairs, he became interested and said: "It is really rare for a virtuous nephew to have military attainments at a young age, so you might as well talk about it." ”

Song Xiaofei said: "Now the east of the Qing Dynasty is eyeing Taiwan's Ryukyu, the French in the south are raising troops in Vietnam, the British in the west are plotting against Tibetan Province, and Tsarist Russia in the north has coveted Xinjiang Province for a long time, and the country is being bullied everywhere, the main reason is that there is no strong naval division. If it was fought on the ground, the Qing Dynasty would have a chance of winning against the great powers. In the case of a naval battle, our Qing Dynasty would have no ships to fight at all. At that time, the British and French forces attacked Tianjin Wei from the sea and took Yanjing City directly, and the shame of the Old Summer Palace should wake up the imperial court. ”

A few months ago, he divided into six strategies to plan coastal defense and go to the imperial court, but was obstructed by the "Qing school" headed by Li Hongzao, and even Zuo Zongtang strongly opposed it, saying that the Qing Dynasty had always focused on the defense of the land frontier, and that coastal defense would cost a huge amount of money and was unnecessary. After the death of Emperor Daoguang and Emperor Xianfeng, the current power struggle in the imperial court has become more complicated, not only the Westernists and the Qing school led by Li Hongzao, the teacher of the Tongzhi Emperor, are intolerable, but the opinions of the two empress dowagers of the East Palace and the West Palace are becoming more and more inconsistent. There are also Prince Gong Yixun and Prince Alcohol Yixun, each with their own forces, and the relationship is very delicate. The water builders had to buy warships and artillery, and they couldn't move an inch without money, and the imperial court was spending huge sums of money to restore the Old Summer Palace, which had been burned down by the British and French bandits in 1860, and the treasury was empty.

Song Xiaofei's history is a dead thing, underestimating the complex surname of politics at that time, he can't figure out the relationship between the two queen mothers of the East Palace and the West Palace, Prince Gong and Prince Alcohol, and he only knows a little about the struggle between the Westernists and the Qing School, he continues to talk on paper, and also talks about building railways, opening coal mines and other strategies to strengthen the country and enrich the people, Li Hongzhang has not interjected, before leaving, let the housekeeper take pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and inscribe a word to Song Xiaofei, let him take it home and read it again.

Before leaving, Song Xiaofei suddenly remembered that the army had not said anything about changing the law, so he said: "Lord Zhongtang has been training for many years, although the Huai army also trains foreign guns, but now the military system and ordnance of the Qing Dynasty are lagging behind Western countries, and the law must be changed, otherwise in a decade or two, don't talk about the enemy of Taixi, even the book will be difficult to balance." ”

Li Hongzhang stroked his gray beard, patted Song Xiaofei's shoulder, and said, "The virtuous nephew has excellent learning and knowledge, and he is a material that can be made." When I was young, I thought that by writing articles and raising my arms, I could raise people's morale and change the world. But now that I have been in the company for 30 years, I understand a truth: there are rules in this world, and only those who understand the rules can succeed. To change the rules, you must first adapt to it; Changing the law is not a matter of moving your mouth. You have to remember that a country is the same as a person, and if you are seriously ill, you will be supplemented with good medicine, although the effect will be slow but effective, and if you take a strong medicine, the disease will increase before it is eliminated. Now the government affairs of the Qing Dynasty are heavy, and the whole body must be considered in the long run, and young people must learn to be pragmatic! ”

Back home, Song Xiaofei proudly talked to his uncle about how Li Hongzhang treated himself with "Kang", and he entertained himself with Lu'an Gong tea in his hometown, and also called himself "manufacturable material", Yuan Baoheng asked in detail about the meeting between the two, when he heard that Song Xiaofei actually "raised Kang" and sat on an equal footing with Li Hongzhang, Yuan Baoheng patted his thigh, shook his head, and said to Song Xiaofei, "My nephew is young and frivolous, and he mistook himself!" Lord Zhongtang was brought out by Zeng Wenzhenggong, who pays the most attention to etiquette and demeanor, and is good at observing people's self-cultivation from details. When Lord Rong Hongrong saw Wen Zhenggong for the first time, he only wore a dress that he didn't have time to change under his coat, so he destroyed the Great Wall and didn't reuse it for ten years. He used to say that knowing people is not based on what he says, but by what he does! ”

"Huh? Uncle, what should I do? Song Xiaofei didn't expect Li Hongzhang to care about these trivial things.

"You're still talented, but you lack experience. Master Li often told us that the situation in the imperial court is very complicated now, and we only need to work hard to do foreign affairs! The current power of the imperial court is said to have four factions, the emperor, Wang Zuo, the ghost envoy, and the gods, and the emperor faction is headed by Li Hongzao, and a group of Qingliu ministers echo and keep the old-fashioned; Wang Zuo refers to the Military Aircraft Department, Li Hongzao, Prince Gong, etc. are all ministers of military aircraft; The ghost envoy refers to the prime minister's yamen, headed by Prince Gong, Li Zhongtang and others, who is mainly engaged in diplomacy, foreign affairs, and industry; The god sent to refer to the Shenji battalion, headed by Prince Alcohol. The relationship between the East Palace, the West Palace, and the Tongzhi Emperor is very delicate. You talk about foreign affairs and the way to change the law, and it is normal for him not to intervene. Can you stay at home for dinner? ”

"Nope. Before leaving, Li Zhongtang inscribed a picture for me. Song Xiaofei unfolded the word, which was a "sting" word.

"Big dragon sting! The word 'sting' has a profound meaning, you must remember this word firmly! Li Zhongtang wants to teach you: when your ability can't control your goal, then you should lie dormant and sink down to experience. Yuan Baoheng said.

Song Xiaofei didn't expect to show his talents for the first time, and he was poured a basin of cold water on the head by the scheming Li Hongzhang, and he was quite depressed, Yuan Baoheng comforted him and said, "This time it's all because of Uncle Wei's carelessness, and he usually doesn't deliberately ask for your courtesy." You're still young, so look for another chance in the future. By the way, recently Agu Bai made trouble in Xinjiang Province, the imperial court sent me to Lord Zuo Zongtang's military curtain to assist in quelling the rebellion, I will set off immediately, in the next half a year, you study hard, strive to gain fame in the next year, and you have to strengthen self-cultivation and surname, maybe Lord Li will use you again one day! ”

Song Xiaofei thought to himself, when will this be in the future? No, I have to think of another way to remedy it, I can't wait for the young man's head to be white, empty and sad!;