Song Xiaofei heard that Li Hongzhang resigned and returned to his hometown to worry about his mother, so he hurried back to China, bought wreaths, couplets and other sacrificial supplies in Hefei, and rushed to Li Hongzhang's hometown to mourn.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, Hefei was not the capital city of Anhui. The old Hefei City is located at the confluence of the Nanqi River and the Dongqi River, a typical ancient city in the south of the Yangtze River. Song Xiaofei rode in a carriage and walked on a potholed dirt road, bumpy all the way. Endless paddy fields beside the road. Starting from Hefei, to the northeast direction walked for two hours, a gray and white Hui-style building complex jumped into view, the intersection stood a bluestone archway two zhang high, written "mill shop" two words, there is Li Hongzhang's hometown.

Song Xiaofei got out of the carriage and walked to the door of the Li Mansion. There is an ancient well and a grain field in front of the Li family, the main gate is near the square pond, the clear water reflects the Li family compound with white walls of the green tile horse head, and an old buffalo lazily buries its body in the pond. There are several willows on the pond embankment, across the pond, you can also see a rice field, the golden rice waves are rolling in the wind, a typical picture of the rural water town by the Yangtze River.

Song Xiaofei knew that when Li Hongzhang was unwilling in his early years, his family also relied on these fields to live, and he was a farming family. Unexpectedly, in just ten years, China's fate Li Hongzhang is in the palm of his hand, and his fate is really an incomprehensible legend!

Song Xiaofei approached, and the servants lit firecrackers to welcome the guests. Li Hongzhang wore a white filial piety belt around his waist and a white filial piety hat on his head, and in accordance with etiquette, he personally went to the door to greet Song Xiaofei. Li Hongzhang's face was yellow, the dark circles under his eyes were very heavy, and he obviously didn't rest well, but there were no tears in the corners of his eyes, his steps were steady, his spirit was good, and he was not as depressed as Song Xiaofei had imagined before. But when he walked in front of Song Xiaofei, he was touched by a stone on the ground, and Song Xiaofei hurriedly stepped forward to help Li Hongzhang and said, "Teacher's Day mourns, take care of your body." ”

Li Hongzhang sighed and said, "There is always a day. My mother is over 80 years old, which is considered a long life. ”

Song Xiaofei said a few more words of consolation, and sent wreaths and couplets. The domestic servants who received the wreaths and the couplets needed to write down the identity of the visitor, and Li Hongzhang instructed: "Write the Prime Minister in Korea to negotiate with the Minister of International Trade."

In the sacrificial hall of the Li family ancestral hall, Song Xiaofei bowed and found that the Empress Dowager Cixi also enshrined Mother Li as the wife of a first-class order, Liu Mingchuan, Zhang Shusheng, Sheng Xuanhuai and other Huaijun generals have already sent sacrificial baskets and elegiac couplets, and there is no sign of snubbing in front of the Li Mansion, which shows that the backbone of the Huaijun Group is still Li Hongzhang, and he must be strategizing in his hometown and controlling major events in the world.

After sacrificing Li's mother, Li Hongzhang ordered his servants to arrange a guest room in the west chamber for Song Xiaofei, leaving him to live in the countryside for a few more days. Song Xiaofei said: "The students also have this intention, I have many ideas for training in the Vietnam battlefield and North Korea, and I hope that my teacher will give me ideas. ”

Li Hongzhang asked Song Xiaofei to rest first, and after two days, he talked to Song Xiaofei about state affairs. Song Xiaofei first talked about the children in the United States, he said: "The students received a letter from the daughter of Rongda, saying that all the children in the United States have returned to China except for those who died of illness. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "The old man is also worried about this matter. To run foreign affairs and train strong soldiers, the country cannot be said to be without talents. But now the Queen Mother and Prince Gong have made up their minds not to send students abroad. ”

Song Xiaofei said: "Since it is not possible to send foreign students abroad, it is better for teachers to run schools in China and ask foreign instructors to teach classes." When the students fought against Li Weiye's French army in Vietnam, they realized that not only did we have a gap with the great powers in the navy, but also that our so-called new French army was also decades behind Tessie. For example, in Vietnam, the students found that the French soldiers were divided into horsemen, infantry, artillery, and engineering troops, and the infantry was also divided into flintlock musketeers, grenadiers, and riflemen. Our army and the Black Flag Army occupied the right time and place in Hanoi last time, but they annihilated 400 French troops and suffered more than 1,000 casualties themselves, which taught a profound lesson. The students wanted to invite the imperial court to select capable men from the Korean Huai army and train them in imitation of the new German army methods, but they needed to update their weapons and equipment, which required a huge amount of military salaries. ”

Li Hongzhang nodded in support and said to Song Xiaofei You have a good idea, you can try it in North Korea first, and as for the funds for the purchase of new army equipment and weapons, you can go to Zhang Shusheng for support, he is now the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang.

Song Xiaofei said: "The teacher can also open the Beiyang Military Academy to train the new army. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "The idea of the Beiyang Martial Arts Academy is good, and when the old man returns to the court after three years, he can invite the court." ”

Song Xiaofei said with a smile: "The student thinks that the imperial court will not let the teacher worry about it at home for three years. Zhang Peilun didn't know the height of the sky, so he asked for orders to supervise the Nanyang Naval Division, I think the Mawei Shipyard that Zuo Zongtang worked so hard to found, as well as the Fujian Shipbuilding Naval Division, will be destroyed in one fell swoop. At that time, the imperial court will definitely invite the teacher to go out of the mountain for peace talks, hoping that the teacher will change his position and actively lead the battle at that time. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "The old man also thinks the same way, at the beginning of the plan, we must not talk lightly about the battle, and after the defeat, we must not speak lightly of peace, if the clear stream in the DPRK and the central government, if we can understand this truth, how can China be said to be passively beaten everywhere today." ”

Song Xiaofei said: "The students also have another idea: to set up a foreign affairs yamen in Korea, open the country to handle foreign affairs, and let the countries of Thailand and Spain open treaty ports, so that the Western powers can be used to contain the ambitions of the DPRK, and second, the Chinese army stationed in the DPRK can also have more military salaries, so as to facilitate the training of the new army." If necessary, the imperial court can also set up Korea as a province, and then Korea will no longer be a burden to China. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "If the doors and windows are closed for too long, the inside of the house is easy to stink!" It is indeed not a long-term solution for the DPRK to close itself off from the rest of the country for a long time, and it is not good for China if it is too backward, and you are now the minister in charge of DPRK affairs, and you can do it boldly if you think you can do it. However, when concluding trade treaties with European and American countries, it was necessary to specify that 'Joseon was a feudal feudal domain' in order to confirm the suzerain-vassal relationship between Korea and Japan. lest you be used by the annihilators of the imperial court to attack you and betray the country. In addition, it is also necessary to stipulate that China's intention to give preferential treatment to subject countries is not included in the list of other countries. ”

Li Hongzhang did not oppose and came up with an idea, obviously supporting North Korea's opening to the outside world, Song Xiaofei hurriedly said: "The teacher's reminder is right, and the students will definitely do it." North Korea is also in urgent need of talents to run foreign affairs, and it just so happens that students studying in the United States have returned to China, and the students want to invite a group of talents to use them for my use. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "You have to contact Rong Chunfu (Rong Hong) about this matter, and the children who have studied in the United States all these years have been handed over to him to manage." ”

Song Xiaofei was embarrassed: "A few years ago, Master Rong asked someone to tell the student to be a matchmaker, the student was young and vigorous, and for a while he insisted on making meritorious contributions, but now I am afraid that I have to ask the teacher to intercede for the student, otherwise the student will definitely be closed." ”

Li Hongzhang put on a wisp of his gray beard and said, "Oh, there are such things." I just heard you mention the daughter of the Rong family, but Rong Rong? Chunfu intends to marry her to you? ”

Song Xiaofei replied: "Exactly." ”

Li Hongzhang said: "In this case, the old man is a good person to the end, not only to help you find Chunfu talents, but also to help you promote this golden and jade relationship." ”

Song Xiaofei was overjoyed: "Thank you for the success of the teacher, the student will return to Beijing immediately, prepare the dowry, and invite the uncle to go to the Rong family to propose marriage." ”

Rong Hong had a good impression of Song Xiaofei, and when he saw Li Hongzhang matchmaking, he felt that Song Xiaofei had a bright future, so he let go of his previous suspicions, agreed to Song Xiaofei and Rong Rong's engagement, and arranged for Song Xiaofei to meet with students studying in the United States.

Song Xiaofei met Tang Shaoyi again, found that he was eloquent, had grown a lot, and studied English and law at Columbia University, so Song Xiaofei invited Tang Shaoyi and himself to return to the dynasty to do a big business.

Tang Shaoyi saw that Li Hongzhang was leaving his post in China, and most of the court officials were conservative, so he agreed. Li Hongzhang also sent his young and powerful staff member Mu Linde, a German who was only 35 years old, to North Korea to help Song Xiaofei deal with customs matters. With the help of the two of them, Song Xiaofei coerced and persuaded Concubine Min to sign eight trade treaties with Britain, Germany, the United States and other countries in one go, opened four treaty ports, and allowed them to set up consulates, which was a big step towards their dreams!;