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"The Great Qing Kingdom really has no direction!"

In the study in the backyard of the Yamen of the Governor of Huguang in Wuchang, there was a sudden sigh of great sorrow, and Zhang Zhidong, who was dressed in cloth, made this long sigh, and tears flowed down his old face, but whether these tears were for the Qing Dynasty or himself, I am afraid that only he can understand the meaning.

Although he had no indication of the Qing Dynasty since the day he was attached to the "Eight Governors' Discussion of Politics" ten years ago, in the past ten years, he has relied on the financial resources of Huguang and Guangxi to build iron works, gun factories, shipping companies, and coal mines.

The Tangshan Iron Works in Beiyang produces only 300,000 tons of steel a year, while Daye produces as much as 360,000 tons of steel, and as for the anthracite produced in Hunan, it is even more popular along the Yangtze River, even in Shanghai, where sales are increasing day by day, and as for the Huguang Shipping Company, it transports local products, steel, and coal from Huguang and Guangzhou to various places along the rivers and lakes.

After ten years of expansion, the current Huguang "self-improvement army" is not the original power of a town, and the self-improvement army of thirteen towns plus the soldiers of the artillery along the river, he Zhang Zhidong has a new army that is not inferior to Li Hongzhang, even if he Li Hongzhang has the Beiyang Navy, what can he do? How could the batteries along the river be broken through by the Beiyang Fleet?

Just two years ago, he even agreed with Liu Kunyi to co-found the navy, with Wusongkou as its home port, and purchased several light cruisers and destroyers in the northeast, which was just a move under his ambitions.

This year, after the war against Russia in the Northeast, the victories of the Northeast Army in front of him made Zhang Zhidong feel relieved for a while, and at the same time began to worry about when the Northeast would enter the pass, considering whether the Huguang New Army could resist the attack of the Northeast Army at that time, and it was from that time that he really felt his mistake at the beginning - too dependent on the Northeast!

Unlike other provinces, which mostly relied on Western and Oriental officers to train the new army, with their closeness to Tang Haoran, Huguang relied more on the help of the Northeast to establish a self-improvement army, and many Huguang self-improvement army officers were taught by the Northeast Army Military Academy.

Just when Zhang Zhidong was worried about how to solve these problems, the changes in the domestic situation made him completely in a state that he had never been in before. Zhang Zhidong sat on the chair and stared at the secret telegram sent from the capital for a long time, and the anger in his chest burned with scorching heat. It burned his heart, made him angry, and made him miserable.

He didn't expect that this court would be overthrown by the mob in one day, and he didn't expect that the queen mother and the emperor would either commit suicide or be killed by the mob, if they died under the sword and axe of the soldiers, he would not be so angry, but they died at the hands of a group of thugs, who did it?

Is it him Tang Ziran? Could it be that this is the means he used to win the world? And now, Tang Haoran's actions of the new emperor have made Zhang Zhidong realize what his real means is, which is to drive the wolf and devour the tiger!

Thinking about it like this, a heart-wrenching pain made Zhang Zhidong dizzy, his palms were sweating, and he finally collapsed on the Taishi chair. After a while, Dagen came in to pour tea, and saw that the fourth uncle's eyes were closed tightly, his face was pale, and he shouted in fright: "Fourth uncle, fourth uncle" After shouting a few times, Zhang Zhidong opened his eyes.

"Fourth uncle, are you not feeling well?"

Dagen picked up Zhang Zhidong's left hand and pressed it slightly hard at his tiger's mouth.

"Is it better?"

Zhang Zhidong nodded lightly and said weakly.

"You carry me back to the backyard to lie down!"

Seeing that Dagen came to the backyard with the master on his back, Peiyu was taken aback, hurriedly put down the work in his hand, walked over quickly, and asked repeatedly.

"What's wrong, what's wrong?"

Seeing Mrs. Dagen, he hurriedly replied.

"Fourth Uncle is a little uncomfortable."

It's been more than a few months, when has the fourth uncle ever been comfortable, the things in his own house are one after another, and then Liu Shen over there in Jiangsu is seriously ill, Liangjiang is the most important ally of Hubei after all, now there is no need to think about these problems, but there is no need to think about them anymore.

Peiyu touched Zhang Zhidong's forehead:

"What's uncomfortable?"

"Tightness in the chest."

Zhang Zhidong replied softly, his face was already better than just now. Peiyu laid out the quilt, and together with Dagen, took off Zhang Zhidong's coat and pants, and let him lie down well.

"Would you like to have a doctor come and take a look?"

"No, you don't." Zhang Zhidong shook his head gently, and then explained to Dagen.

"Don't tell others that I'm sick, so as not to disturb the morale of the army and delay the big thing. If you have something to do with me, tell him to come back tomorrow. Go out, and I'll lie down quietly. ”

Zhang Zhidong, who was lying on the bed, closed his eyes, his eyes were full of pain, and after realizing the instability within the army, on the one hand, he began to think about sending graduates from the army primary school to enrich the army's grassroots level, and in order to save the situation, he not only increased the military salary of the self-improvement army, but also made an exception to open a double salary, which finally temporarily stabilized the army's morale.

Originally, he thought that he still had time, but he never thought that Tang Haoran casually ordered Beiyang to go south and stationed in Keelung, Taiwan, and ordered Henan's Beiyang Army to go south to Nanyang, and the Jiangsu Army was stationed in Jiujiang under the pretext of reinforcing Jiangxi.

This series of actions is not just to force him Zhang Zhidong, as soon as he Zhang Zhidong makes any changes, he will immediately deploy troops to attack!

And when the time comes, he Zhang Zhidong will have to meet the enemy on all sides, and if the front line is a little careless, Huguang will be finished, if there is any change in the army at that time...... This Tang Ziran is really good at using soldiers! How come it hasn't been discovered in the past?

Just when Zhang Zhidong was thinking about it repeatedly, Dagen came in and said to him.

"Fourth uncle, Mr. Gu is here from the north and wants to see you, are you free?"

Since that year, Zhang Zhidong "lent" Gu Hongming to Tang Hao, Gu Hongming and Zhang Zhidong have not seen each other again, and Gu Hongming has been serving in the Korean Governor's Office until the Governor's Palace. At present, Zhang Zhidong did not expect that he, Gu Hongming, would become a lobbyist sent from the north to lobby him for Zhang Zhidong's words.

Originally, Zhang Zhidong didn't want to see him, but he wanted to find out the bottom line of the north, so he asked.

"Where is Gu Hongming now?"

"He's outside the gatehouse."

"Have you asked him, where does he live?"

"Yes, he said he was still living in the Quad Courtyard in Wicker Lane."

It is not far from the Governor's Palace, in fact, it is the residence of the Governor's Palace, and it is also where Gu Hongming lived when he was in Wuchang.

"What does he mean by that?"

Zhang Zhidong, who was lying on the bed, thought about it and said.

"Go and tell him that I have urgent business to do at this time, and ask him to come back in the evening, and I have important matters to discuss with him."

In the evening, Gu Hongming came to the Supervision Office as promised, and Zhang Zhidong, who was in good spirits, happily received this unusual old friend in the small study. Gu Hongming looked him up and down and sighed.

"Brother Xiangtao, you are getting much older. The case is hard work, this is true! ”

Zhang Zhidong saw that although his old friend was thin, he was full of energy, and he also said with emotion.

"You're not much different from the last time we met, and if you want to come to the Northeast, everything should be going well."

After that, both of them laughed, the former laughing with embarrassment, while the latter laughed heartily.

After laughing, Zhang Zhidong asked.

"Tang Sheng, what have you done in the Northeast over the years?"

Gu Hongming replied heartily.

"Stayed in the Northeast all these years. first compiled a textbook, and then became the director of education, and then went to Northeastern University, and before I knew it, more than ten years had passed. How the years go by! ”

"Yes, yes!"

Zhang Zhidong nodded again and again.

"The years have passed so fast, even the concierge who received you back then has become an old man."

Looking at Gu Hongming, his friend who had returned to the Tang Clan early on, Zhang Zhidong opened his mouth after thinking about it.

"Tang Sheng, the reason why I asked you to come here tonight, you should know the reason."

Zhang Zhidong turned the conversation to the topic with a solemn face. Regarding the change in Zhang Zhidong's complexion, it was especially expected by Gu Hongming, but he shook his head.

"You think that the important thing I came to talk to you about is a state affair, but now I am a person who does not ask about state affairs, at most a university professor, I'm afraid you will be disappointed!"

Belch...... Zhang Zhidong, who was very surprised, blinked, almost couldn't believe Gu Hongming's words, he, why did he come to Hubei?

"Well, Tang Sheng, in that case, what I want is to not ask the opinion of the state minister."

Staring at Zhang Zhidong, after hearing his words, Gu Hongming nodded solemnly.

"Then you can speak, and I will answer you to the best of my knowledge."

The old friend's answer made Zhang Zhidong look solemn, and his words were a little dignified.

"In fact, it's not a secret matter, the world has mutated mutations, and everyone knows about it!"

"Ziran's accession to the throne?"

Gu Hongming said casually.

"Exactly, you look at this first."

Zhang Zhidong handed the secret telegram of the capital to Gu Hongming. Gu Hongming took it and was taken aback, but his face was silent and said calmly.

"I know, you and I both know, since Ziran became the emperor, it can be said that the hearts of the people in the world have returned to him, and at this time you want to ask my opinion......

Zhang Zhidong nodded a little solemnly, if he regarded Gu Hongming as a lobbyist before, then now, he hopes that the other party can give him some opinions.

After a moment of silence, Gu Hongming spoke.

"For such a big event, you can take it out and discuss it with me, which shows that you believe in me, and I will naturally not divulge everything we talked about here tonight. Although I am no longer in the scene, but in school, I may be more sober about such things than you insiders. But I have to ask you one thing, and you have to tell the truth. ”

The solemnity of the old friend made Zhang Zhidong nod.

"Just ask if there's anything, I have no reason not to tell you the truth."

Gu Hongming stared at Zhang Zhidong's eyes and asked.

"Regarding the current situation, do you think it is better to keep this Manchu Qing or not?"

"The court has a great favor from the husband, so I should naturally repay the court. However, the deep defects of the present dynasty have long been changed by implementing new policies and reforms, so this Qing Dynasty has long been out of date. What's more, this Great Qing Kingdom is a country of Manchurians, so Zidang can't stay ...... anymore."

A lifetime of conscientious and painstaking management is just to make the Qing Dynasty rich and strong as soon as possible, but now? Thinking to himself, Zhang Zhidong's expression dimmed, after all, whether it was public or private, he knew that his life's hard work was in vain.

Listening to his words, Gu Hongming nodded.

"I understand, this is your difficulty: the court is kind to you, you can't help but serve the court, but now the situation has been decided, the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty has been decided, and the dilemma!"

Gu Hongming's words are very skillful, and he did not point out the selfishness of Zhang Zhidong, but attributed the matter to "kindness", although he knew that it was not all, but this would Zhang Zhidong also nodded.

"Exactly. Do you have any good ideas to help me get out of this dilemma?"

After thinking for a long time, Gu Hongming spoke.

"Brother Xiangtao, tell me, since ancient times, the dynasty has collapsed, but there are loyal ministers?"

Without thinking about it, Zhang Zhidong replied.

"Throughout the ages, there have been countless loyal ministers."

"Then in the future, why is it difficult to be a loyal minister?"

Gu Hongming's rhetorical question made Zhang Zhidong silent.

"The loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, if he is not loyal to the name of a traitor, why is it not difficult for people to tarnish the name behind him?"

After a moment of silence, Zhang Zhidong replied.

After thinking for a while, Gu Hongming looked at Zhang Zhidong and asked.

"Even if you are a loyal minister, why are you afraid of being defiled by others?"

As he spoke, his peak turned.

"Brother Xu is Xiangtao is worried about the name of the traitor, that is, the loyalty of the Qing Dynasty, so why worry about the name of the traitor? If you are a Han Chinese, how can you care about the grace of the court. ”

Zhang Zhidong thought in his heart, although Gu Hongming's words were a little harsh, most of them were true. But for Zhang Zhidong, what he thinks about is more about personal interests, what is the purpose of ten years of hard work? thought that he had been chasing fame all his life, but he ended up like this. Zhang Zhidong was naturally unwilling.

But Gu Hongming continued.

"Ten years ago, the Tang Emperor was electrified and divided into the Han Dynasty, the nine governors discussed the government, and the power of the world was all vested in the locality, and today, after the Tang Emperor ascended the throne, why did all over the country return to the court, why did the Hanchen have many different hearts, because the imperial court will be overthrown, the trend is inevitable. Second, because of the name behind him, it is said that the people who are full of things are traitors and thieves, and the Manchu Dynasty is not a Chinese dynasty, and the Han Dynasty is full of things, and the ancestors are ashamed, if they are loyal to their deeds, their actions are shameful, they are hateful, and the clansmen are hateful, and they need to be remembered. The grace of the court is a personal affection and the loyalty of the nation, but it is the duty of the clan to abandon the past and take the future for the major affairs of the clan! ”

Zhang Zhidong seemed to be enlightened by these words, and his heart brightened a lot for a while. But he was thinking about another thing in his heart, how willing to be willing after ten years of work!

"Therefore, in the opinion of me, a teacher who does not know the art of power, it is better to suffer his life and end up in the name of a traitor, so as to learn from the pain and act the loyalty of the clan."

Zhang Zhidong looked at Gu Hongming and silently recited what he said.

Gu Hongming looked at his old friend and sighed in the end, he knew that the other party did not tell the truth, and he also knew his selfishness, but sometimes, there were some words that could not be said thoroughly.

Staring at his old friend in front of him, Zhang Zhidong frowned and thought for a moment before speaking.

"Towngson, let me think again. I've had a lot of things to do these days, so that's all for tonight, and I'll get some time there. I will go over to see you again, and then talk to you about this teaching and educating people, maybe in the future, I, Zhang Nanpi, will also have the opportunity to give a few lectures in the university. ”

After Gu Hongming left, he walked out of Zhang Zhidong in the study and looked around, with a sad look on his face. (To be continued.) )