After Li Hongzhang resigned from the post of prime minister, although he was idle at home, he has not been idle. has been secretly recruiting forces, hoping to bring down Ren Chao. But he never got his wish, Ren Chao was always pressed like a mountain, and he didn't move, which made Li Hongzhang feel desperate.

Whether it is Emperor Guangxu or Li Hongzhang, who is still loyal to the Qing Dynasty, why can't he overthrow Ren Chao. The reason is also very simple, just like Li Hongzhang said at the beginning, 'To put it bluntly, it is worthless, because people have soldiers in their hands!' And these soldiers are the best of a hundred battles.

Of course, these people have not adopted some unconventional methods, such as assassinating Ren Chao, what kind of poisoning! Put a bomb on Ren Chao's car! I have basically tried all kinds of methods, but the results are all failures. Why Ren Chao was able to escape assassination again and again, both Guangxu and Li Hongzhang were puzzled.

But Ren Chao was clear about this, because the guards who were responsible for protecting Ren Chao's safety by Ren Chao's side were all system warriors, and they were loyal to Ren Chao, and those assassins had no chance to get close to Ren Chao at all. In addition, Ren Chao's intelligence system is all over the streets and alleys of Beijing, and even every corner, those assassins often haven't done it yet, Ren Chao's side has already obtained the information in advance, how can they succeed?

The exhausted Li Hongzhang fell ill again, and this time Li Hongzhang failed to survive. In the spring of 1901, when the willow trees in Beijing had just sprouted their first buds, Li Hongzhang died of illness in his mansion in Beijing.

Ren Chao was shocked when he learned of Li Hongzhang's death, because according to his memory, in the original history, Li Hongzhang died of illness in the autumn of 1901 after signing the "Xinchou Treaty", and before he died of illness. The Russian minister also took the treaty that had been drawn up long ago and forced Li Hongzhang, who was already bedridden, to sign it. And now? The arrival of Ren Chao exempted Li Hongzhang from the humiliation of Maguan, not to mention the later Eight-Nation Alliance, and the later "Xinchou Treaty", why did Li Hongzhang die half a year early?

No one can answer Ren Chao's question, but the system elf is not in the scope of human beings, and the answer he gave is that because Ren Chao is more difficult to deal with than those foreign devils, because those foreign devils can naturally be sent away as long as they give them some benefits. And Ren Chao's appetite is much greater than that of all foreign devils. It was Ren Chao who completely sent the Huai Army, which Li Hongzhang had painstakingly managed for most of his life, to the grave, and buried it so thoroughly that Li Hongzhang lost the foundation of his rights and completely became a bare-bones commander. In addition, he has been fighting with Ren Chaoming for the past two years, and even did not hesitate to use assassination methods, but he failed repeatedly, which greatly hit the self-confidence of this old guy. Exhausted, depressed, and not very good in the first place. That's why I couldn't afford to get sick and swallowed my breath in advance.

Dead is dead! Although Ren Chao was a little surprised by this, he didn't take it to heart, after all, Li Hongzhang's life didn't have much effect on Ren Chao. On the contrary, it will become a stumbling block for him, although Li Hongzhang has no real power, but after all, his prestige over the years is still there, and he still has a certain influence in the court. So now it's clean when it's dead.

After Ren Chao sighed, he then rushed to the palace to ask to see Emperor Guangxu, who was very sad about Li Hongzhang's death. Li Hongzhang died. Emperor Guangxu has one less important minister to compete with Ren Chao.

"I am ready to posthumously crown Li Zhongtang as the Taifu, give Wenzhong, give 5,000 taels of silver for funeral, and build an ancestral hall in Jingshi and Li Zhongtang's hometown and meritorious province, so as to comfort Zhongtang's soul in the sky." Emperor Guangxu said in a deep voice with a sad face.

"The emperor is sage, but the minister thinks this is not enough." Ren Chao said respectfully.

"Not enough? What should I do with Aiqing? Emperor Guangxu asked with a frown, really not understanding what Ren Chao meant. Emperor Guangxu thought that he could give the posthumous glory he could give, and even made an exception for Li Hongzhang to establish an ancestral hall in Beijing, which was the first person among Han officials!

"The minister thinks that Li Zhongtang has worked hard for the country for most of his life, and has made countless meritorious contributions, and few people can compare with Lord Zhongtang. If the emperor can't give the greatest honor to the Lord of the Middle Hall, I'm afraid it will chill the people of the world. Therefore, the minister dared to ask the emperor to posthumously crown Li Zhongtang as the prince and knight, so as to comfort the soul of Lord Zhongtang in the sky. Ren Chao said in a deep voice.

"Prince?" Emperor Guangxu couldn't help but widen his eyes, and an anger flashed on his face, "According to the ancestral system, meritorious heroes with different surnames can be crowned dukes at most, and now Li Zhongtang is already a first-class duke, this is already the highest title, and the king is not in harmony with the ancestral system." ”

"Did the emperor forget, since ancient times, there is no immutable law, Li Zhongtang has made great contributions to Sheji, it can be said that there is no ancient, and it is difficult to have someone in the future, even the Empress Dowager Cixi called Li Zhongtang the person who recreated Xuanhuang, and such a credit is enough to be crowned king." Ren Chao said with a stern face, "What's more, the emperor also declared that the Manchu and Han families are one, and the monarch and the minister are one." And now the emperor still holds the inherent ancestral system, and still treats meritorious heroes as Manchu and Han, doesn't it make the subjects of the world chill. If Li Zhongtang can be crowned as the prince, he can declare to the people of the world that everyone in the Qing Dynasty is equal, and there is no distinction between Manchu and Han, high and low. No matter who has contributed to the country, they can receive the rewards they deserve, and the subjects of the world will be able to feel the emperor's grace and will loyally support my Qing Dynasty forever! ”

The reason why Ren Chao wants to fight for such a posthumous honor for Li Hongzhang this time is that on the one hand, he is somewhat sympathetic to Li Hongzhang, an old guy. Regardless of the merits and demerits of this person in history, at least before Ren Chao captured Beijing, Li Hongzhang was still good to Ren Chao, and from this point alone, Ren Chao felt that it was necessary to do something for Li Hongzhang, after all, death is great, and previous grievances can be written off. On the other hand, there has recently been a wave of anti-Manchu sentiment in China, and many people have turned over the old accounts of the Manchu Qing Dynasty's massacre of Han people, and even many people have come to Ren Chao to blow the wind in their ears, hoping that Ren Chao can stand up, overthrow the Manchu Dynasty, and restore the Han dynasty. Although Ren Chao has long had such an idea, he is still undecided, and his only worry is that he is afraid of affecting the political turmoil in the country. After all, the top priority now is to vigorously engage in development and secretly accumulate strength. Ren Chao was worried that if the political situation was unstable and affected the development of the country, it would not be good, so he could only put it on hold for the time being. Ren Chao fought for Li Hongzhang for this prince, and also hoped to temporarily ease the current intensifying Manchu and Han contradictions. (To be continued......)