Chapter 33 The world is helpless

Qing Kingdom, Yanjing Xiangshan, Reclining Buddha Temple

"There should be nothing to be taken from the true realm, and if you are willing to be idle, you will become a monk. The situation of the world has been gradually dispersed, and in the end it is difficult to compete with luck. ”

Li Hongzhang took off his official hat and walked into the temple in his regular clothes.

"Lord Wang, it's so idle. Leave us mortals behind, and leave it alone. ”

An old man with gray hair and wearing a cloth robe put down the broom in his hand, "It's Shaoquana, since you go to the Reclining Buddha Temple, why don't you understand the cave." ”

"Hmm" Li Hongzhang shook his head and said, "When you are enlightened, people realize themselves." ”

The old man smiled bitterly, "You, you're still the same, since you're here, sit down." ”

This old man who was dressed in a simple Buddhist monastery was the famous minister of the late Qing generation, Aixin Jueluo Yi.

A modern historian once said that if Emperor Xianfeng had enthroned this quite intelligent and enlightened prince in the early years, history might have been a different picture, but unfortunately history is history, and history has no ifs.

"I still remember that the British and French forces burned the Old Summer Palace, and you returned to Beijing alone to negotiate." Li Hongzhang took a sip of tea and said, "At the negotiation table, you are holding foreign wine in one hand and cigars in the other. ”

"Hehe, needless to say, foreigners, even my courtiers are stunned"

"Oh?" Yi, who was already old, leaned sideways and said, "Is there such a thing?" I forgot about it. ”

Li Hongzhang sighed while drinking tea, "Later, when you were free, you put this burden on Hongzhang's shoulders." ”

"Shaoquana, why do you want to seduce my old feelings again." Yi shook his head.

"What's the matter, was the water master's money rejected by my sister-in-law again?"

"Originally, the few warships ordered were abandoned, and now they just want some money to replace the armament ......and ammunition for the sailors," Li Hongzhang sighed and said, "The neighbor in the east has been picking up arms and legs, alas~ The world is difficult." ”

"Shaoquan, don't get it." Yi on the side muttered, "Rest~"

Li Hongzhang was inexplicably surprised, "But, but this... The world is the world where you love Xinjueluo. ”

"You, you always like to fight for three points when you encounter problems," Yi said helplessly, "Your teacher taught you in vain." ”

"Think about it, why does Zeng Guofan always have to take three steps back when something happens? My sister-in-law, I know her too well. If you don't retreat, will you succeed? ”

A sound of understanding is full of the bitterness and helplessness of this prince for decades.

Li Hongzhang said angrily, "Are you still retreating?" Rajah! How far will this Qing Dynasty retreat?! ”

"There is more than enough behind me to withdraw my hands, and there is no way to turn back."

Regardless of this old friend's blushing face and thick neck, Yi looked at Chaoxia in the sky and sighed, "Shaoquana, in this world, even if you have three heads and six arms, if you want to do something, you will be firmly bound by seven or eight arms." ”

"Rest, this Qing world, let him do what he wants......"

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Nanyang, Serris Republic, Wu Mansion

That night, the Wu family's study

Wu Tingfang and Sheng Xuanhuai were sitting opposite each other in the study, chatting.

"Alas~ Wenjue, your niece and son-in-law is really a masterpiece"

Through an afternoon of nagging with Wu Tingfang's brother Wu Miaoyuan and several old people in the Wu family, the minister of Beiyang Customs has already gained a certain understanding of the Chen family in Seris, especially the young man who is currently the head of state.

"Xingsun praised" Wu Tingfang shook his head and replied, he and his friends on the other side have not come back to it so far.

Sheng Xuanhuai on the side was also thinking about his thoughts, Sheng Xuanhuai couldn't believe that someone had been preparing step by step since he was a child, and made such a thrilling career with ten years of youth.

Building steel mills, building warships, training the army, and selecting international students, the more Sheng Xuanhuai listened, the more wrong it became! No matter how you look at it, these things don't look like an ordinary young man can do and finish it in the end!

"This man has the qualifications of an emperor." Sheng Xuanhuai said silently to himself in his heart.

I don't know why, Sheng Xuanhuai felt that his heart, which had been very calm since he followed Lord Zhongtang decades ago, suddenly became a little messy.

Sheng Xuanhuai couldn't help but compare this young man he had never met with Master Li Hongzhang, who he had followed for decades.

The inner must change the law, and the outer must be harmonious.

Adhering to this idea that he has never given up from beginning to end, he has always followed Zhongtang.

After the suppression of the Taiping rebellion, he followed Li Hongzhang, and the two worked hard for decades to establish a series of military manufacturing enterprises such as Jiangnan Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, Jinling Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, Steamship Merchants Bureau, Tianjin Machinery Bureau, Tianjin Telegraph Bureau, Shanghai Machinery Weaving Layout, Fuzhou Shipbuilding Company, etc.

Later, Li Hongzhang became the center and served as the Minister of Beiyang Commerce, and the two spent a lot of energy to build coastal defense and purchase Western warships, so that they finally founded the Beiyang Navy, the first in East Asia, and preserved the peace of the Qing Dynasty for decades. I thought that the hard work of the two of them was not in vain, and it was considered to have realized the eight-character policy of "the inner must change the law, and the outer must be harmonious".

But later, especially in the past six years, since the formation of the Beiyang army, the imperial court, which seemed to see a little hope, resumed its decline, and the more than 20 million taels of silver that should have been allocated to Beiyang from the household department for several years were actually given to the queen mother in the palace to build a garden.

At the beginning, he watched the "Laiyuan" ship for which Beiyang had already paid a deposit being bought by himself, Sheng Xuanhuai felt that he had never been so powerless.

In the past, I always thought that Li Hongzhang was the only person in the entire country who had the ability to compete with the world powers.

thought that as long as there was an adult alone, plus the help of himself and others, this court would always be able to survive. But now it seems that maybe what these people have been doing is just tinkering with the "broken house" of the imperial court.

The old man in the middle hall is just a pastemaker who is reluctant to do it.

Sheng Xuanhuai's eyes seemed to have appeared in front of him again, and the huge Seris fleet composed of more than a dozen ironclad battleships appeared......

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At the same time, the city center of Seris

Accompanied by the new novelty of the electric lights on the side of the street, many Seris residents excitedly walked through the crowded streets.

Blessed with the newly completed street lamps along the city of Seris, the businesses on the side of the street, which had long been closed by this time, began to reopen their doors one by one.

It was drizzling at some point, but the crowd on the street seemed to be unaffected, and families were strolling through the night market that had never been seen before.

In the midst of this lively flow of people, Sun Wen walked alone and dejectedly on the triumphant avenue of Seris......

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