Time flies, time flies, and unconsciously, the wheel of history has slowly rolled into 1896 (the twenty-second year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty).

In more than a year, under the governance of Ren Chao, the development and construction of Shandong Province can be said to be changing with each passing day, and Shandong at this time has been very different from a year ago.

"Dashuai, this is an invitation letter just handed over by the Railway Bureau, and I hope Dashuai can attend the opening ceremony in ten days." Liu Yiyi said and put the invitation in her hand on Ren Chao's table.

"Got it, you remember this for me, and don't forget to tell me when the time comes." Ren Chao still looked at the copy of the text in his hand, and said casually without raising his head. Due to the sectional construction, after a year of construction, the Zhiji Railway has been completed and will be opened to traffic, while the Jiaoji Railway is still under construction.

After Ren Chao finished speaking, he suddenly realized something, raised his head and looked at Liu Yiyi, and couldn't help frowning, "Didn't I tell you?" Now that you're not in good health, don't do these things, wouldn't it be nice to stay at home? ”

Soon after Ren Chao took Liu Yiyi from the Qinglou to the governor's yamen, Ren Chao took her as his third concubine. Although she became Ren Chao's concubine, Liu Yiyi did not feel at home to be her official wife like the other three sisters, but became Ren Chao's confidential secretary. At this time, Liu Yiyi was also pregnant, and it had been more than five months, and her body was obviously much heavier. Liu Yiyi gently touched her already bulging belly and said with a smile. "Don't worry about me, I'm not so squeamish."

"You have to pay more attention to yourself, don't get tired." Ren Chao got up and helped Liu Yiyi sit down. Said softly.

"Thank you for your concern. I have one thing, I hope the big handsome will be approved. Liu Yiyi said a little timidly.

Ren Chao looked at Liu Yiyi with an embarrassed look, and after thinking about it carefully, he seemed to have guessed something, "You want to go see your father, right?" "Ren Chao has already investigated, this Liu Yiyi's father was just a six-grade minor official under the governor's yamen at the time, but he took advantage of his position to embezzle nearly 50,000 taels of silver from public funds before and after. Although after that, Ren Chao Naliu was still a concubine. But he didn't release this old man, but he saved his life, and Ren Chao took care of him. The old fellow was also moisturized in the cell.

"Hmmm! I haven't seen my father in months, and I don't know how he's doing. Liu Yiyi nodded lightly and said.

"I will ask Niu Kaixuan to arrange for your father and daughter to meet. Don't blame me, your father broke the law and will have to bear the consequences. Even I can't bend the law for personal gain. Ren Chao said with a soft sigh.

"Needless to say, the handsome. I get it. I can't thank you enough for being able to spare his life. Liu Yiyi lowered her head and said, having such a father always makes Liu Yiyi ashamed, and always feels that she is a head lower than others. But it was her father after all, and that fact could never be changed.

"After you met him, you told him that he could be reformed in it so that he could have a chance to reduce his sentence. Get out of that hellish place early. Ren Chao said casually.

"Yes! I know. Liu Yiyi nodded and said softly.

"Dashuai!" At this time, Niu Kaixuan suddenly ran in in a hurry.

"What's the matter? So flustered. Ren Chao frowned slightly and said with a dissatisfied expression.

"Dashuai, something is wrong. News has just come from Beijing. Li Hongzhang was dismissed from his posts as Minister of Beiyang and Governor of Zhili, and was reappointed as Governor of Liangguang. Niu Kaixuan said loudly.

Ren Chao couldn't help but be slightly startled when he heard this, thought about it carefully, and said slowly after a long time, "This is going to change the sky!" Ren Chao glanced at Liu Yiyi and casually ordered, "Send someone to send the fourth lady back to the backyard to rest, and immediately send someone to call Yang Jichang and others over to discuss matters." ”

"Yes!" Niu Kaixuan responded respectfully, and then ordered someone to send Liu Yiyi back to the backyard to rest, and at the same time sent someone to inform Yang Jichang and others.

Ren Chao was not too surprised that Li Hongzhang was transferred out of Beiyang, but to Ren Chao's surprise, he didn't expect it to be so soon. Under the recommendation of Ren Chao and others, Kang Youwei and others were successively reused by Emperor Guangxu, and under the influence of these reformers, coupled with the encouragement of Ren Chao and a group of ministers who advocated changing the law and self-improvement, Emperor Guangxu had already had the intention of changing the law. It is only because of the obstruction of some diehards in the DPRK and China that it is difficult to make up their minds for a while. And Li Hongzhang is one of the people who tried his best to obstruct the change, so Emperor Guangxu has long regarded him as a thorn in his side, and he has long wanted to take off Li Hongzhang's stumbling block. Therefore, Emperor Guangxu suddenly transferred Li Hongzhang from Beiyang and sent him to Liangguang, Ren Chao didn't rush to the accident, but Ren Chao really didn't expect Emperor Guangxu's actions to be so fast, it seems that this time Emperor Guangxu is really determined to change the law.

Soon, some of the core members under Ren Chao, as long as they were in Jinan, all rushed to the governor's yamen. "I think you all know that Li Hongzhang was transferred out of Beiyang, and it is obvious that Emperor Guangxu is going to start changing the law. I'm afraid that the Qing Dynasty is about to change, so we must also be prepared in advance. Ren Chao glanced at everyone and said with a stern face.

After Ren Chao finished speaking, he focused his eyes on Yang Jichang, "Yang Jichang, you tell me the truth, how many available soldiers does my Tiger Ben Army have now?" ”

"Returning to the marshal, the total strength of our Tiger Army is 60,000, of which 10,000 troops are stationed in Korea and the Ryukyu Islands, and the remaining 50,000 are all stationed in Shandong. In addition to this, we also have a militia of about 50,000 men, and although these troops are not as effective as the main force, they are still a combatable army after a little training. In addition, the North Korean side has trained 30,000 new troops in the past year, and with our control over the Korean royal family, this force can also be completely used by us. Yang Jichang said confidently.

Ren Chao nodded slightly when he heard this, "In Zhili, Shandong and other places, there are more than 100,000 Qing troops, not to mention those Eight Banner Green Battalions, only about fifty or sixty thousand Huai troops can go to the battlefield, and we will not pay attention to these Huai army troops at all, the only thing worth our attention is that Yuan Shikai trained more than 10,000 new troops in Tianjin, and only this army can pose some threats to us." ”

"As far as Yuan Shikai's new army is concerned, one of my divisions is enough to annihilate them in one fell swoop." Meng Yan said with a disdainful expression. According to the establishment of the Tiger Army, the strength of a division is 15,000 people, and at present, there are three divisions in Ren Chao's hands, plus three independent brigades, as well as the Korean Independent Brigade, the Ryukyu Independent Brigade, plus the Jinan Garrison Brigade directly under Ren Chao, a total of 60,000 people. (To be continued......)