I don't know when this Tianjin has been said to be a "half capital", and the root cause may be because the Beiyang Yamen has controlled diplomacy for many years, but the more important thing is one person -- Li Hongzhang, the minister of Beiyang and the governor of Zhili, who used to be the "first governor of the world", and now he is the "minister of leading the government", and naturally he is still the "head of the nine governors". Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

In fact, although there are adults who intend to challenge Li Hongzhang, on the other hand, even those such as Zhang Zhidong and Liu Kun have to agree with his title of "leading the government", and on many issues, as long as Li Hongzhang nods, even if he is unwilling to do so, he has to agree, just like when the local government wants to default on the payment to the imperial court under the pretext of financial constraints after the year, Li Hongzhang did not have any arrears, but took the initiative to solve the full amount, so that the provinces followed up one after another, thus ensuring the last bit of prestige of the imperial court.

Although the satirist still satirizes Li Hongzhang with the words "Prime Minister Hefei is thin in the world", everyone knows that this old man in his seventies is actually the anchor of the "Great Qing Dynasty" in this era.

This was not only the common view of the imperial court and the local government, but also recognized by the Western ministers, and in the eyes of the ministers of various countries, it was precisely because Li Hongzhang presided over the "council" that the situation of the Qing State was maintained without collapse. Compared with the past, the current Tianjin is even "solid" in the name of "half capital" because of Li Hongzhang's dignity.

And the heart of this half of the capital is the city of Beiyang Minister Xingyuan, in the past few days, this line has been the attention of the outside world, and the reason for the attention is also simple, a few days ago, the sudden death of Bian Baodi, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, really made the domestic political arena a swing. If Bian Baodi died, he would die, and it would be a big deal that the big guy pushed up a person from the Bian family to be the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, but who would have thought that Bian Baodi played a chess game before he died, that is, this chess move, which stirred up a pool of muddy waters in this political situation. It is the muddy water of this pool that makes the eyes of Quanzhong focus on the North Ocean. Eyeing this line.

It's easy to say that matter, but before Bian Baodi died, he handed over the position of governor of Fujian and Zhejiang to the imperial court, which is terrible. It stands to reason that now, it has long been a public matter for the power of this place to be granted privately, but he Bian Baodi is good, and he returned the power to the imperial court.

Facing Bian Baodi's will. In addition to shaking the world, the other eight governors are all silent, people are always selfish, especially for the governors who have tasted the beauty of power, have changed from frontier officials to local ministers, and are walking towards the warlord ministers, even when the day has to hand over power, they are more inclined to hand over power to their children and grandchildren. No matter how bad it is, it should be his cronies and return it to the court? That's not the same as handing over the heads of a family to the court. Who can have such courage?

But Bian Baodi's choice is undoubtedly a big shot, in addition to everyone's surprise, no one said that he could not say a word, after all, that Fujian and Zhejiang belonged to him Bian Baodi, and he Bian Baodi returned Fujian and Zhejiang to the imperial court, how could others say anything? But if you don't say anything. If one day, the imperial court compares Bian Baodi's precedent, how should it deal with it?

So, almost naturally, the world's telegrams kept shooting towards Tianjin. Those governors all inquired about the attitude of Li Hongzhang, the minister of Beiyang, as in the past, even if they were usually dissatisfied with him in various ways, and thousands of dissatisfactions, but once they encountered something, in the final analysis, in the hearts of the local governors, like the imperial court, they all regarded Li Hongzhang as the needle of the sea. Not only did the local governor inquire about Li Hongzhang's attitude, but even the imperial court, which was jealous of the power of Fujian and Zhejiang, quietly tested Li Hongzhang's attitude in other names.

After all, no one in the world knows that Yuan Shikai is from Beiyang, and the Zhejiang New Army is even listed in the Beiyang Yamen, and even in the land of Fujian and Zhejiang, it is also in the Beiyang Yamen.

Not to mention the rest, just to say, without Li Hongzhang's first pleading, even if the imperial court wants to send ministers to comfort the descendants of the Bian family, it can't do it - out of the capital, it is the territory of Zhili, not to mention anything, select the elite of the Eight Banners of the First Association to go to Fujian, anyway, in the end, it will be possible to wait until Li Hongzhang agrees.

It is in this great expectation that people did not see Li Hongzhang's move to recommend the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and even took the initiative to say to the imperial court that the minister of comfort could take the warship of the Beiyang Naval Division to Fuzhou, it seems that as in the past, Li Hongzhang is still a loyal and brave courtier of the Qing Dynasty, and this Beiyang Yamen is still the Dinghai Shenshen Needle of the Qing Dynasty!

In the middle of spring, a spring rain fell for two days in a row, only making the Tianjin in the northern seem to be like the south of the Yangtze River, the fog and rain shrouded the garden in the meantime, but it also showed a bit of the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River, but there was a hearty laughter in the corridor next to the garden.

A very tall old man was sending a Westerner out, and the two seemed to be very close while walking and chatting, and the two laughed from time to time, until a moment later, the Westerner outside the yamen boarded a carriage, and after the carriage left, the smile disappeared from the old man's face.

"Hmph, none of these foreign devils have a well-intentioned ......"

The reason why he came to meet Li Hongzhang was not just a simple diplomatic representation, but to seek Li Hongzhang's support.

Two months ago, with the support of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines landed in Hawaii to support the local Americans in a coup d'état, thus announcing the end of the Kingdom of Hawaii. What originally happened in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, far away from China, naturally had nothing to do with Li Hongzhang, but he could never have imagined that the US annexation of Hawaii was like burning Tang Haoran's tail, which immediately aroused his strong reaction, and he even directly protested to the United States in the name of the Governor of Northeast China, and even swore that China would never tolerate any US occupation of Hawaii and would never recognize the so-called Republic of Hawaii.

Tang Haoran's reaction was completely unexpected by the Americans, especially in the name of "China", which made Washington really nervous, after all, the United States naval power is inferior to China's navy, if China intervenes. The U.S. Navy will hesitate. That is why, after Tang Haoran's strong protest, the United States tried to negotiate directly with Li Hongzhang on the suggestion of the minister to China, because after all, he was the actual holder of the "Chinese Navy."

"Wenjue, why did you say Ziran's reaction was so fierce this time?"

When walking towards the study, Li Hongzhang asked Wu Tingfang beside him softly. Even now, he didn't know where the so-called Hawaii was, and after a little understanding, he didn't know that it was the so-called Honolulu, but what could provoke such a violent reaction.

"Zhongtang, I don't know if Zhongtang knows, Beiyang Fishery Company?"

Now Wu Tingfang is now engaged in foreign affairs in the palace more than as a legal adviser in the past. The importance of Hawaii to Tang Haoran is naturally quite understood.

"Fishery?"

was stunned for a moment, and then Li Hongzhang said.

"Could it be that canned fish?"

Li Hongzhang is no stranger to canned fish. Its price is even cheaper than meat, and the meat of the Beiyang land division now depends on it.

"Yes, Zhongtang, this fishing company catches more than a million fish a year, and it specializes in whaling with whaling ships, and Hawaii is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and it has been a whaling base for decades, so it is naturally valued by the Tang family. Now, although the United States has immigrated to overthrow the kingdom and establish a so-called republic, its wolf ambitions can be said to be obvious. If the United States annexes Hawaii and adopts the policy of discriminating with China, it will definitely lose this whaling base, and Tang Ziran will not sit idly by and watch the annual loss of millions or even ......"

After a slight pause, Wu Tingfang said with a smile.

"If it weren't for Tang Ziran's Northeast Navy, there would not be a single ocean-going warship. Otherwise, after getting the news, it will definitely send troops to Hawaii to maintain its interests! ”

Although Hawaii is only a contracted whaling base in the Northeast, in Wu Tingfang's view, no one in China attaches more importance to business profits than Tang Haoran, and this is why. The reaction was so violent that even Americans were taken aback by his protest.

"However, now that he is saying so much, it is just a bluff after all!"

With a long sigh, Wu Tingfang glanced at the middle hall, after all, the Beiyang Navy was still under the banner of Beiyang. As the governor of the Northeast, he can only take advantage of the situation at most, and it is impossible for Beiyang to take millet from the fire, just like the previous Lord and Minister Tian Bei played in a circle, that is the only favor that can be exhausted.

"This Ziran!"

Li Hongzhang sighed helplessly.

"I really stabbed Lou Zi, in the past, it was our Great Qing Kingdom that stabbed it, but now it's okay, even Westerners like the United States have been stabbed, I really don't know, if he is the governor of the Northeast for a few more years, what kind of Lou Zi will he poke!"

After this exclamation, Li Hongzhang suddenly exclaimed as if he remembered something.

"Oh no, I remembered, the "Jiyuan" is not in the northeast now, will that kid ......?"

Li Hongzhang, who had just sat down, hurriedly jumped up from the chair as if he had been pricked by a needle, and said urgently.

"No wonder this kid didn't even say hello here when he protested, maybe he was thinking about sending the "Jiyuan" to that Hawaii now, if it really caused a foreign trouble......

Thinking of the trouble at that time, Li Hongzhang suddenly panicked, if he was not worried about others, but he must not consider Tang Haoran's kid with common sense, the "Jiyuan" in his mouth, although it once belonged to Beiyang, but when it attacked Lushun, it was occupied, for this warship, Beiyang and the Northeast did not have a war of words, in the end Tang Haoran gave in, with 200,000 yuan worth of materials as compensation, and bought the "Jiyuan".

If he sends the "Jiyuan" to Hawaii, if something goes wrong, how will Beiyang deal with itself and how will the Beiyang Fleet express its stance under the coercion of the United States? In the event of a fight, if the Beiyang Fleet is cowering in the harbor, how will the Chinese people view the Beiyang?

In a panic, Li Hongzhang hurriedly said to Wu Tingfang.

"Quick, immediately send a telegram to Tang Haoran and tell him that this diplomatic matter is not hasty and patient, and must not be ......"

After a pause in his words, Li Hongzhang's brows furrowed violently, and he immediately thought that if he lit a fire, he would need Beiyang to extinguish this fire in the end, but with Tang Haoran's character, he would never take this risk from the fire, after all, this risk is too big.

"Zhongtang, you mean that Tang Ziran sent a warship to Hawaii?"

Wu Tingfang asked in surprise, and then said nervously.

"If it really sends warships, I'm afraid, I'm afraid it will cause trouble in vain, Zhongtang, but you must not let it do it arbitrarily, after all, after all, this United States is not a ......"

But it's not the Great Qing Kingdom, it can't be solved by relying on brute force with three fists and two feet, no matter what, the United States is also a big Western country today, and it is not something that the Great Qing Kingdom can provoke, let alone Tang Haoran.

"This kid, this kid is ...... at all"

It's everything that has been calculated, Li Hongzhang's heart is annoyed, knowing that it is absolutely impossible for him to be haste-stricken and patient, this will figure it out, the reason why Tang Haoran didn't say hello to him and protested to the United States was not to bypass him, but to tell him that he could tie Beiyang to the ship, and only if he sent a warship to provoke foreign strife, he could force Beiyang to make a statement.

Forcing Beiyang to make a statement?

What is the state? And its general power generation in the United States protested? Cooperate with him Tang Haoran to sing this play to ensure his fishing profits in the Northeast? But what can Beiyang get?

For Li Hongzhang, who has been engaged in diplomacy for decades, he is convinced of a principle, that is, he will never get involved in disputes between Westerners, and he will never get involved in anything other than China's interests, but it is obvious that the "interests of China" in Tang Haoran's eyes are completely different from the "interests of China" in his eyes.

"It's just forcing us!"

With a long sigh, looking at the garden in the fog and rain outside the window, Li Hongzhang only felt a dull mood, this feeling of being led by the nose is really uncomfortable, especially being held by a young man who is dozens of years younger than himself.

"Zhongtang ,......"

The dumb fan who had never communicated between the two adults looked at Wu Tingfang's eyes, which only made him feel a little confused, what did the adults mean by force?

"Wenjue, in the name of the Yamen, you have drafted an official document to inform the envoys of various countries that this month, the Beiyang Fleet will have a routine meeting off the coast of Qingdao, and will conduct a regular meeting to shoot targets, and ask the ships of various countries to avoid it...... Hmmm......"

After pondering for a moment, Li Hongzhang added unwillingly.

"Send another telegram to Tang Ziran, saying that due to limited inventory, the Beiyang Fleet really has no ammunition, and I hope it will help one or two, this kid wants to use our Beiyang as a gunman, but he has to let him shed some blood......"

Snorted coldly, Li Hongzhang smiled again, but his brows were full of sorrow, and now he can't understand the chess played by that kid more and more, this is the real worrying part.

What does this kid mean?

(Tomorrow 10,000 words will be added, ask for a monthly pass!) (To be continued.) )