The first winter moon after the winter fell, although the snow was not big, but it also made the lively Tianjin city a lot colder, the weather naturally followed the cold, the guards outside the Beiyang Yamen Yuanmen, but also changed into thick winter clothes, and the navy changed into a Western-style military uniform in the spring, the Beiyang Army Division is still wearing the old-style cloud clothes, bloated cotton clothes on the body, although wearing a Western-style holster, waist and crotch foreign knife, but it can not show a trace of might, especially when there is no one, the guards are leaning against the wall, The appearance of putting hands into the sleeves of each other to keep warm, that appearance is not much better than that of the market vendors, this is regarded as the elite of the Huai army of the empire, and only when the adults come, will they show their might. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

When the guards outside the gate were standing listlessly, on the side of the corridor in the back garden of the Yamen, Li Hongzhang, wearing a bearskin coat, stood on the edge of the corridor, staring at the snowflakes that fell into the pool and disappeared immediately, and watched for nearly half an hour, ignoring the cold wind that hit.

At this time, on his pale face, wrinkles are deep, this boss empire in the past 20 years, completely rely on it to support, maintain, to the Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang can be said to be loyal, dutifully to maintain the dignity of the country, even if the country has long been weak, reliable and barely paste, but also pretended to be a bit of "strong country" momentum.

Whether it is foreign affairs or Beiyang, it is just a barely vague appearance, which can hide from outsiders, but it can't hide from himself.

What a country......

After a sigh, Li Hongzhang's brows furrowed even tighter, thinking of himself, and naturally thinking of the junior who was determined to forge ahead and implement changes in North Korea. Compared to their own cautiousness. The young man could be described as bold. And he went further, even ......

Oh time!

Compared with himself, his youth is the biggest support, sooner or later, one day, the vigorous Unified Supervision Office will leave the sinking Beiyang far behind, at that time, who can stop him?

"Dad, are you worried about Tang Haoran's affairs again?"

Read a book for a day. Li Jingshu, who came out to breathe, saw his father's sad appearance, so he walked over and interjected a sentence, interrupting Li Hongzhang's thoughts, but Li Hongzhang didn't say anything. How could he say anything in front of his son, worried that Tang Haoran's junior would have no one to support him in the future?

As a result, both father and son were silent, which made Li Hongzhang's brows lock tighter than before.

Tang Ziran!

The name mentioned by Li Jingshu always makes Li Hongzhang's heart appear with various emotions. For Tang Haoran. Li Hongzhang has never been able to figure out what kind of feeling he feels.

On the one hand, Tang Haoran in the past year. What is done and done, people can't guess it, and if they can't guess it, they can't let go of it. On the other hand, his talent for managing the country and helping the world has made Li Hongzhang breathtaking, if it were not for this, how could he secretly help the DPRK and make him let go of it in Korea.

But this person is really reassuring, in North Korea to build a large number of "Cheng'en Temple" to commemorate the former Ming officers and soldiers, although the sick and anxious medicine of the imperial court acquiesced to his method of "consolidating the domain", but on the other hand, how can the Chinese people not be affected by it? And then think like the North Koreans? Just like the staff of the Fuzhong and the police of the police department, there is more than one person who has cut off his braids, and some people even privately claim that Tang Haoran has cut off his braids himself.

If he had put aside a few decades ago, he would have been convicted of great rebellion by virtue of this article, but now...... Li Hongzhang finally shook his head, this braid is the most inconvenient in the army and workshop, especially in the army, just like the Beiyang Navy now wears a Western-style military uniform, but because of the braid, it is somewhat inconvenient to wear a military hat.

Will Tang Haoran oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore sight?

Li Hongzhang did not believe it, and he preferred to classify his behavior in North Korea as "cutting hair and changing clothes" after the Meiji Restoration in Japan, rather than a great rebellion, after all, Tang Haoran grew up in the West.

If he will not oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore his sight, then why worry about him?

What I am worried about is that in the future, he will have no one to control him, and no one will control him, will he Tang Haoran have a heart of disobedience? There are some things that Li Hongzhang can't help but think about, and even sometimes, he himself has had such thoughts, but in the end, those thoughts are still diffused, after all, the Li family is favored by the country, but he Tang Ziran......

But apart from Tang Ziran, who can do things in China today?

This is exactly where Li Hongzhang is entangled, Tang Haoran is not a loyal minister, but he is a person who can do things. Now China needs people who can do things like this, and can get things done, otherwise, who can solve problems in China in the future? Thinking of his age, Li Hongzhang's mind became more and more depressed.

"Daddy, if, if no one chooses, child, child......"

Seeing his father's increasingly gloomy face, Li Jingshu, who was originally very filial, hurriedly shared his father's worries.

"I hope the father can agree to the child to go to North Korea and share the father's worries!"

Although he studied behind closed doors in the house to prepare for the examination of the Ministry of Rites, Li Jingshu also knew that his father was worried about who to send to North Korea these days, and many people were willing to go to North Korea, because going to North Korea was a fat and worrying problem, and the so-called inspection was actually a tight spell put by the imperial court on the head of the unified prison office, whether it was King Li or Tang Ziran, he would inevitably give three points.

Of course, the most important thing is that the current North Korea is not as poor as it was a year ago, but the current North Korea is a fat flowing oil, Pyongyang's coal mines, and Incheon's foreign goods, all of which have elements in the government, and when the time comes, just send someone over to it, but it will be of infinite use.

But it is precisely because of this that Li Hongzhang is worried, he is worried about whether someone will take the opportunity to enrich himself, and then divide the relationship between Beiyang and North Korea, thus damaging his plan, if he wants to elbow him Tang Haoran in the future, he still has to rely on Beiyang, or he still has to rely on Beiyang to be included in the Beiyang Gate.

"You want to go to North Korea?"

looked at Li Jingshu in surprise, although Li Hongzhang loved this real eldest son, he was not as important as Li Jingfang, who was sent to Japan.

"Dad, my son thinks that those who go to North Korea are not for inspection, because North Korea is a vassal country, not China, and it is inconvenient to send personnel to inspect it, so as to undermine the authority of the commander-in-chief......"

Li Jingshu hurriedly and cautiously expressed his thoughts, six years ago, he went to Beijing to participate in the court examination with the qualification of Yin Sheng, but did not pass. Although he was not recorded as a jinshi, he also had good grades, and was selected by the imperial court as an internal and external officer, and was rewarded with a flower feather, and had a nominal title. This title only indicates a person's qualifications, not the actual grant, and often belongs to the "alternate" status. Therefore, Li Jingshu actually only obtained the qualification of a fourth-rank official, and still lived in his father's Beiyang minister's yamen in Tianjin, studying hard, preparing for the next year's examination.

Although it is Li Jingshu's wish to be admitted to the Jinshi, he hopes to share his father's worries like a big brother, and he pays attention to the affairs of the house, so he naturally knows what his father's headache is, and the headache is that no one can go to the North Korean faction, so he has his volunteer.

“…… Therefore, in my opinion, there is no one more suitable than to go there, a child in North Korea, who is not interested in making meritorious contributions, but only wishes to be able to discuss Western knowledge with Lord Tang, or to recite poems by Korean scholars......"

Although Li Jing said that he had no "ambition", but these words came into Li Hongzhang's ears, but he nodded his head from time to time, indeed as his Li Hongzhang's sister-in-law, it is said that there is indeed no need to make meritorious service or fight for power in North Korea, if he goes to North Korea, it can not only satisfy the imperial court, but also make Tang Haoran not feel bad, and moreover......

Looking at the son next to him, his age is only a few years older than Tang Haoran, if the two become friends, they will ...... in the future After a moment of silence, Li Hongzhang looked at the falling snowflakes outside the corridor and said slowly.

"After that, do you know why I sent the Jing Fang to Japan as a minister to Japan, and I had no intention of ordering it to withdraw despite the war?"

"Father must want the eldest brother to see more in Japan, in the past, it was the reality of the innovation of the Japanese people, and now it is also the reality of the observation of Japan and Russia......"

Li Jingshu's answer made Li Hongzhang nod with satisfaction,

"Outsiders say, now that Japan and Russia are at war, the benefit is in my Qing Dynasty, and there is no worry about the East in recent days, and there is no worry about the East, but I don't know, if I don't forge ahead in the Qing Dynasty, I am afraid that today's Japan is tomorrow's Qing Dynasty, your father and I have done so many years of almost, and the little thing that is barely decorated is punctured by the foreign ocean, I am afraid that my Qing Dynasty will be disturbed by the foreign again."

During the words, Li Hongzhang's words became low, it is too difficult to do things in China, this is his biggest experience over the years, every time he does anything, there is always a lot of involvement between all parties, and it is precisely because of this that when Tang Haoran starts various businesses in North Korea, he will fully support it, not so much to support Tang Ziran's work, but to use Tang Ziran to do things in North Korea and promote domestic reform, but he is worried that Tang Haoran will have no one to support him in the future.

Maybe...... Suddenly, a name appeared in his mind, isn't Yuan Shikai also running a new deal in Taiwan? Although it is not as significant as Tang Haoran, Yuan Shikai is from the Beiyang Sect after all, after all, he is the grace of the imperial court, and if the two are tied to each other...... Groaning, Li Hongzhang looked at Li Jingshu and said.

"As it is said, you need to know that if you go to North Korea, you may miss the examination of the Ministry of Rites in Japan, and then you will ......."

Staring at his son, Li Hongzhang did not finish his words, officials who were not born as jinshi were quite ostracized in the court, and it was because of this that he hoped that his son could be admitted to the jinshi, but on the other hand, he wanted to see this son, who was usually filial and loyal, could do something that surprised him.

"Father's ......"

Just when Li Jingshu was hesitating, he suddenly saw Zhang Peilun trotting all the way over in a hurry, all with a panicked look, and when he got closer, he only heard him say.

"My lord, something is wrong, something is wrong, the Russians, the Russians have landed in Japan......" (To be continued.) )