"You have a good daughter! Shaoquan, you are already an emperor's grace, and with love to fuel the fire, the Li family can prosper for at least three generations. ???" Zhang Zhidong sighed with emotion, why don't he have such a daughter!

Unexpectedly, Li Hongzhang leaned back on the chair and sighed: "I'm afraid that the higher I sit, the harder I fall." ”

"I'm worried about it. Du Shaoquan is the person of the Empress Dowager of the West, but since the formation of the Royal Army, the saint's trust in Shaoquan has never decreased by half a point. First of all, Shaoquan strongly advocated for the emperor after the Yiwei Palace Change, and then when the Qing and Russia were at war, Shaoquan tried to provide supplies to the emperor. After the emperor returned to Beijing to pro-government, he conferred the post of prime minister of Shaoquan, which was the proper meaning, and now he is entrusted with the important task of supervising the country. Shaoquan puts state affairs first, and the emperor has the wisdom of the holy lord. Why did Shaoquan say this? ”

Li Hongzhang clenched his fists and arched his hand to the south and said: "The emperor reuses the heart of his subordinates, and the old minister remembers it in his heart, and he should also drive for the emperor." But Xiangtao should not forget, the emperor must be full of people - flowers and brocade, fire cooking oil, seemingly infinite scenery, who knows if there is a huge bomb behind it. Although you and I have political disagreements, we will be ministers in the same palace, maybe when that day comes, not only will the old man be shattered, but the family may not be able to protect it. At that time, I hope that Brother Xiangtao will save the old man's life regardless of his previous suspicions——"

"What do you mean-" Zhang Zhidong was shocked when he heard this, and then said in his heart: "The cunning rabbit is dead......

"At least not until the plague in Japan is put to rest." did not let Zhang Zhidong continue, Li Hongzhang took over: "The Empress Dowager West has been in power for decades, and most of the official history of the world is drawn by the Empress Dowager West. Now that the emperor has just taken over the government, it is the time to take over the power of the world. At present, the two rivers and the three northeastern provinces are cleared, and it is not easy for the emperor to make a decree. It's not the old man who brags. Most of the people in the Jianghuai area of Zhili are the protégés of the old man, and if the old man is moved at this time, I am afraid that it will chill the hearts of the scholars in the world. If the emperor wants peace in the world, I am afraid it will not be easy. ”

Zhang Zhidong opened his mouth but didn't know how to persuade Li Hongzhang to say these heart-wrenching words in front of a political enemy like him, which shows that Li Hongzhang is very worried. But after thinking about it carefully, this worry is not just Li Hongzhang's alone, it is even the worry of all Hanchen. Since the Qing Dynasty, each ministry has two Manchu and Han ministers, and the Manchu ministers are greater than the Han ministers. Let's take a look at today's Guangxu Dynasty. Among the six departments, only two departments of criminal punishment and officials still have two Shangshu, and the remaining four departments only have one Han Shangshu left, and the newly established units such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Academy of Sciences are all Hanchen.

"No, no, no. Shaoquan really thinks too much. Zhang Zhidong was also sweating: "The Qing Dynasty is decadent, and if you want to strengthen the army and enrich the country, you naturally have to make some changes." The emperor knows how to make good use of people, and has the wisdom to defeat the enemy, and he is already the image of a holy monarch. In addition, Li Xiang has more Beiyang on the side. Nothing like that will happen. ”

"Old man Du sits in Beiyang and leads the government. But who knows that since the old man entered Beijing to serve as the prime minister, Beiyang has nothing to do with the old man. Li Hongzhang sighed: "It is true that the emperor has the wisdom to know people, and the old man naturally agrees, which is also the emperor's cleverness." In the past, the Beiyang Naval Division dominated Asia, but since the Pacific Fleet was born in the First Sino-Japanese Season, it is no better than the Nanyang Fleet, and now the Beiyang Fleet can only cruise in the Bohai Bay and has been reduced to a training fleet of the Naval Academy. Let's take a look at the Huai Army back then. Where is there a shadow now? ”

"No, the two generals Liu Lin are now going to Germany to receive the most powerful warship of the Qing Dynasty. Deng Shichang is also the Minister of the Navy. Not to mention Liu Shengxiu and Nie Shicheng, now the imperial court is only forced by Japanese pressure to blindly expand the navy. Since the beginning of this year, only two of his subordinates have been expanded. One of them is in North Korea and the other is in Xinjiang, and the military and political power is grasped, which is the power only the officials of Xinjiang have power. ”

"The warships led by Liu Lin are the most powerful, but their every move is limited by the naval commander Wu Deren. Deng Shichanggui was the Minister of the Navy, but his jurisdiction was over seaports, schools, shipyards, and the most of them, the Beiyang Fleet, which had become a training fleet. In addition, he can command which warship. Liu Shengxiu and Nie Shicheng seem to be strong and strong, but you don't know that the supplies they brought in the army were less than two months' worth of supplies. On the one hand, he gave the old man an official and a knight, and even entrusted him with state affairs. On the one hand, the old generals of Beiyang will either have no right after being promoted, or they will be released after being promoted. It seems that the emperor's grace is vast, but it is not. If you look at the surrounding area of the capital, there are all the emperor's descendants, even if Liu Nie's army has sufficient supplies, how much strength is left after the attack if he wants to lead his troops back to Beijing. Lao Li became more and more excited: "That's why the emperor is clever, it seems that the old man is promoted and given greater power and responsibility, but in fact, the old man is raised high." It seems that the power is overwhelming, but in fact, the foundation has been lost, and now the old man is like sitting in the clouds, and the prosperity and disgrace are determined by the emperor's thoughts. Then transfer you to Zhili to balance the old man, the old man is no Beiyang, you are no Huguang, even Liu Kunyi is also transferred to the Northeast, we who have lost our foundation, what can we do except obey the emperor's orders? ”

Zhang Zhidong was dumbfounded, he had never thought about the problem like this. I only heard Li Hongzhang continue: "When the Empress Dowager Xi was in charge, the court was full of people in their fifties and sixties, but now the Guangxu Dynasty is mostly young people in their twenties and thirties. Why? Because the Empress Dowager of the West is in power to seek stability, she uses the elderly more. And the emperor works hard, so only young people who are equally enterprising can be reused by the emperor. Whether it is Yan Fu or Tang Shaoyi or Lin Qizhao, they all have their own merits. Not to mention Wang, Duan, Feng, Liang and other generals are even more wise and brave. We are all old, and the dynasty is now the time when the old and the new are changing, so we old people still have a place to play. As long as these young people have three or five years of experience and a more stable temperament, they can take up the burden of the court. Anyway, the old man has already decided that after my Qing Dynasty completely quells the troubles in Japan, the old man will return to his hometown. I hope that the emperor can see that the old minister has many merits for the court, so that the old man can spend his old age in peace. ”

Zhang Zhidong was shocked and sweated profusely: "Actually, I came to ask if there was an excerpt for the construction of the double line of the Beijing-Tianjin Railway." At the same time, I shouted in my heart, I really didn't want to know anything else. Now that I hear it, I can't stay out of it, Li Hongzhang is going to make an alliance.

"Approved, the first batch today is this excerpt. Maybe you haven't sent it yet, but you'll be able to see it tomorrow. Li Hongzhang took a sip of tea and was silent for a long time. If you want to, then it's thorough. Maybe there will be another road in the future, and I don't know if it's not. So Li Hongzhang said faintly: "Didn't you think that the situation in the Qing Dynasty would have such earth-shaking changes, really." The old man didn't even notice it. The defeat of Beiyang in the First Sino-Japanese War, and the birth of the Pacific Fleet meant the decline of the Beiyang Naval Division, which is understandable. But the emperor expanded the ten divisions of the army, and its main source of troops was the old man's Beiyang Huai Army. There are also veteran generals of the Huai Army such as Nie Shicheng, Liu Shengxiu, and Zuo Guigui who each lead a division. Although Zuo Guigui was transferred to the military academy as the director of teaching due to injuries in the Russo-Japanese War, Nie and Liu were as powerful as you are. The old man also thought that this court was getting more and more stable, even when the regimes of the two dynasties were alternated, he was still favored. You and I are both people who have been in officialdom for a long time, but who has noticed this problem. If it weren't for the woman reminding the old man, he wouldn't have paid attention. The emperor is really high, and quietly, he twice took advantage of the invasion of foreign enemies. He also used these to return to Beijing to seize power and clear all dissidents out of the capital. ”

"Isn't it inappropriate for the emperor to tour the south before he moved the Houdang back to Fengtian? The old man thought that this was deliberately done by the emperor. Once a son of heaven and a courtier, it is not an empty word, it is written with countless blood. Let's look at the changes of power in previous dynasties, how many old ministers of the previous dynasty withered in the new dynasty, and which emperor came to power did not kill or imprison the old ministers of the previous dynasty. Look at our emperor again. Except for the staunch faction at the time of the Yiwei Palace Change. Has the emperor ever killed a person? No. Why? Because the emperor is still a benevolent king, otherwise the old man's grave would have been erected a long time ago, how could there be the scenery of today's prison country. The reason why the emperor did not kill is that he does not want the world to shake too much, and secondly, he also wants to win the hearts of the people, after all, the biggest crisis of the current dynasty is abroad. But you really think that the emperor will not kill them, then you are wrong, the emperor wants to kill them more than anyone else, because these people are the power of the Empress Dowager Xi. That's why the emperor chose to tour the south at this time. He also transferred most of the descendants stationed in the capital to deliberately give these people a chance. Only these people jumped out against the emperor. Only then can the emperor justifiably kill them, so that the emperor will not be charged with killing innocents, and the world will not have any worries about being implicated. In this way, the world can be peaceful. You don't need to be suspicious, you can see clearly, no matter how much these post-party people agitate, it will be impossible to succeed, even if they don't move, the emperor will have the means to force them to move. After the emperor returns to Beijing, there will definitely be countless heads hanging up at the entrance of the vegetable market. ”

Maybe Li Hongzhang had too much, he grabbed the teapot and drank the tea in one go. Seeing this scene, Zhang Zhidong immediately got up and retired, he couldn't listen anymore. Every word here is a heart-wrenching sentence, and anything can happen if you listen to it again.

"After hearing so much, don't you want to leave without saying a word? What are you as an old man? Li Hongzhang lifted the teapot heavily: "At present, it seems that it is only a problem for us, the old ministers of the former dynasty, but in fact, it is related to the future fate of all Hanchen." The reason why the emperor reused Hanchen was also due to the oppression of the Western powers, and it was also because there was no available talent among the Manchurians. Take 10,000 steps back, even if we Hanchen help the emperor to revitalize the country and eliminate external troubles; Even if the emperor treats us and other meritorious ministers with kindness, what about after the new emperor ascends the throne? Who dares to guarantee that the new emperor will not raise a butcher's knife against Hanchen again. That's the biggest worry—"

Zhang Zhidong, who is honest and honest, and Zhang Zhidong, who has always been loyal to his family and country, felt lost for the first time, and Li Hongzhang's words completely subverted his values over the years. Li Hongzhang has a daughter who can solve problems for him, but he can only think about it alone. Zhang Zhidong sat down in the chair as if he had lost his strength, and asked decadently, "Is there a way for Li Xiang?" ”

"If the old man has a way, he will still need to talk to you so much. This is an unsolvable problem, and neither the Ming monarch nor the faint monarch of the past dynasties can solve this problem. It turns out that there are two ministers of the Manchu and Han who can contain each other, and now the court is already the emperor's hall, which is okay for a short time, but once it has passed for a long time, it is not good for the country and the people. The old man can't control it, just wait for the destruction of Japan to repay the shame of the Japanese humiliating the old man, the old man will definitely tell the old man, and at that time I hope that Xiangtao can help the old man say a few good words in front of the emperor, so that the old man can return to his hometown smoothly. This is not only for the old man himself, but also for you to prepare for old age in the future. ”

"If Li Xiangzhen decides to return to his hometown, the old man will do his best to help." Zhang Zhidong got up and saluted and asked, "I have had a doubt from beginning to end. Although the general direction of the policy is good, the specific behavior of the emperor's administration shows the immaturity of the emperor when he first took charge of the court. Although the major affairs of the DPRK and China were decided by the emperor, the specific implementation was handled by Li Xiang. If it is really as Li Xiang said, the emperor's city is so deep, then there will not be such an old-fashioned layout but such immature in government affairs. Perhaps the current situation is not deliberately done by the emperor, and the following officials seem to be more homeopathic. Just like Liu Shengxiu stayed in North Korea because no soldier was more familiar with North Korea than Liu Shengxiu, and the reason why Nie Shicheng was sent to Xinjiang was just to compensate for his lack of military achievements in the war against Russia, and let him pursue Dong Fuxiang. Li Xiangzhen was too worried. ”

"The emperor's governance methods are immature because the emperor has never had experience in governance. Since the emperor ascended the throne, it has always been the Empress Dowager of the West who has been training and governing the government, and everything is decided by the Empress Dowager of the West. It's always a fact that the Queen Mother of the West has rich political experience, think about it, the emperor has been comparing the Queen Mother of the West for 20 years, can the government not be deep? If you think carefully about the emperor's every move in the past five years, you will understand that the emperor has always been targeted. The purpose of organizing and training a new army and secretly forming the Pacific Fleet was to deal with Japan. In the name of training in the Northeast, putting all the elites in the Northeast is preparing to fight Russian Maozi. The disbandment of the Royal Army after the palace rebellion was deliberately in preparation for the pro-conquest of Russia. Except for the fact that the pro-conquest in the first year of the first year was really to fight Japan, the pro-conquest of Russia was just that the emperor put himself under the protection of the descendant army, so that he could have a showdown with the Empress Dowager of the West. Look at the war against Russia, the Royal Army was defeated before all the Russians plus the Japanese, does this need to be conscripted? Don't be deceived by the phenomenon in front of you, it is clear that the emperor's southern tour is for a private meeting with his lover, and now there are a few people who secretly don't know that the emperor is going to rectify the officialdom in Jiangnan. But the old man always thought that the emperor's southern tour was a cover for something else. ”

Li Xiangshen said......, "It's impossible for Zhang Zhidong not to be nervous at this time."

"Xiangtao has been in the place for a long time, and it is normal for you to not know about some things in the court. In fact, this is also what the old man guessed. Do you know why the Army has not rebuilt the 4th Division now? Because they were looking for horses everywhere, they spent all the money on the formation of the Fourth Division to buy horses. The Second Division was forming cavalry when it was stationed in Tongliao, and now it is stationed in Hohhot, and the Third Division is in contact with the Horqin tribe in the northeast and is training cavalry with the help of the Horqin tribe, while half of Nie Shicheng's sixth division is cavalry and is still expanding. If you look at the other troops, there is not a single horse. If you look at the location of these troops, where can they use so many horses? Only here--" Li Hongzhang put his baton on Outer Mongolia: "The Mongolian steppe is the most suitable place for cavalry combat. ”

"It's time for the lower officials to take their leave." Zhang Zhidong didn't care about any etiquette anymore, got up and turned around and left. We can't talk about it anymore, sometimes it's dangerous to know too much. As the old saying goes: let's be confused.

"Since Xiangtao doesn't want to listen to the old man, he is not reluctant, but he still has something to tell you. Although you and I have different political views, we are both for the sake of the country's strength. When the emperor returns to Beijing, the old man will promote you as the secretary of the Ministry of Industry. After the troubles of Japan are settled in the next year, the imperial court will be handed over to you. After saying this, Li Hongzhang seemed to have lost the strength of his whole body and collapsed in the chair.

"But Li Xiangzhen can let it go?"

"What if you can't put it down? Wealth and life come first—"

"Hi-" Li and Zhang sighed at the same time, but they sat down without saying a word.

When the servants of the house came to change the tea for the two of them, the night was already dark. Zhang Zhidong opened his mouth to think about something, but in the end he didn't come out, and left silently after giving a salute.

Seeing Zhang Zhidong's slightly rickety back walking out of the door, Li Hongzhang's face slowly improved. When he was the only one in the study, and when the servant covered the door of the study for him, Li Hongzhang smiled slightly and said to himself a little self-deprecatingly: "You Zhang Zhidong think that the old man is alarmist, and this is exactly the truth." But with today's conversation, I want you to have a reputation for being honest and honest, and as long as you can help the old man when the old man says good words, the future will be much better. As for the fate of Hanchen after the new emperor ascended the throne, the old man couldn't take care of it. If today's conversation can save his life, it is already a blessing, where do you dare to ask for it. (To be continued......)