Stuffed a silver ticket in Menzi's palm, explaining his identity, Menzi's attitude was obviously much better, "Yes, I'll inform you of the housekeeper, whether you can see Zhongtang or not depends on your creation." Menzi arched his hand to Ning Shijun, turned around and entered the gate, took advantage of the people's attention, looked at the silver ticket in his hand, and was happy in his heart, it was a ticket of one hundred taels, under normal circumstances, it would be good to receive twenty taels. Menzi's heart swelled up with a good impression of the handsome young man just now, and if he didn't say anything, he had to say a few kind words for him.

"Manager Zhang, there is a person who claims to be the chief of staff of the right wing of the Weisheng Army, please see Zhongtang," Menzi bent down and stood in front of Steward Zhang, "That person said that there is an urgent military need in Shandong to face Lord Zhongtang__"

Steward Zhang was the head of Rong Lu, who was rescued from Beijing by Long Qian, "The right wing of the Weisheng Army? Ah, it's General Long's troops, what's his last name? ”

"The surname is Ning. Very young. What did he bring with him, Long Qian's handwritten letter__"Menzi saw that there was a door, and his heart became happy, eating people's benefits, doing things for others, Menzi wanted to get the one hundred taels of silver right."

"Didn't General Long come in person? The old man was still talking about him yesterday. By the way, you kid have a clean mouth, what Long Qian? Is Long Qian's name yours? He's the master's lifesaver! Invite him to come in and rest in the guest room, and I'll tell the master. ”

Before Ning Shijun could sit down in the guest room, Steward Zhang hurried over, "Is the person who came is General Long's subordinate?" The lord passed on __"

Ning Shijun took the painting of Wen Zhengming and followed Steward Zhang into the backyard, which was a two-entry courtyard. It's a bit like a courtyard house in Beijing, but without a cloister. The shape of the doors and windows is also completely different.

"Humble Ning Shijun, knock on Lord Zhongtang." Ning Shijun came to the door and saw Rong Lu sitting at the head of the Eight Immortals table, and immediately knelt down and bowed to worship.

"Well, get up and speak. What kind of official position do you occupy in Long Qian's department? ”

"Xie Zhongtang." Ning Shijun stood up and replied in a proper manner, "The humble position is appreciated by General Long, and he is currently the chief of staff of the Weisheng Army. ”

"Chief of Staff__ Battle of King Qin, you participated?"

"Yes. He followed General Long and participated in all the battles of the Battle of King Qin__"

"The old man doesn't seem to have seen you." The light in the house is not good. Rong Lu couldn't see Ning Shijun's face.

"Back to the middle hall. After the Battle of Xigu, he followed General Long into Beijing, and fought fiercely with the foreigners in the area of Dongbianmen, and the troops were scattered, and General Long could not be found. The situation was chaotic. He took his 100th brother to hide in Beijing for a period of time. I heard that the two palaces were hunting in the west, so I chased them all the way to Taiyuan before I met with General Long__"

"Hmm. No wonder the old man hasn't seen you. Rong Lu nodded, "I heard that Long Qian has a letter to me?" Why didn't he come? ”

"General Long returned to Shandong, just in time to catch up with the bandits who hugged the calf for the disaster in the area of Yi County, and after several fierce battles, captured his big leader Tao San and his main bandit leaders. Basically wiped out the three Tao departments. General Long was originally going to come in person, but the situation in Lunan was unstable, and several ringing horses released the wind to rescue Tao San, who was detained by our department, General Long was afraid of disappointing Zhongtang's hopes, so he personally led the troops to suppress the bandits, entrusted the humble post to bring his handwritten letter, and played the reorganization of the right wing of the Weisheng Army and the situation of suppressing bandits in the Zhongtang, and listened to the instructions of the Zhongtang. As he spoke, he took the letter out of his bosom and presented it with both hands.

Rong Lu opened the envelope and saw that there was a silver ticket inside, but he didn't say anything, took out the letter and looked at it carefully, and only said to Steward Zhang after reading half of it, "Give him a seat." ”

Long Qian's letter was very long, and the words were very ugly, and Rong Lu looked at them patiently one by one. Finally understood the situation of the return of this directly subordinate army to Lunan, everything was good, Long Qian lived up to the trust, annihilated the calf cub and occupied the bandits' nest in one fell swoop, there was the performance of the Shandong magistrate, he already knew the Tao, this matter made Lafayette very happy, and praised Long Qian for his solid errand. But after reading the letter, I realized that the battle of Lu Dao was very mysterious, and it was the right time for Long Qian to return to his teacher. However, this giant force was finally wiped out. Regarding the reorganization of the right wing of the Wasion Army, Rong Lu actually didn't care very much. The larger the establishment, the better, because he was the commander of the Wasion Army appointed by Cixi. Now the key is the food and salary of this army.

"Have you ever gone to Jinan to see Yuan Shikai?"

"When I came to Taiyuan, I went to Jinan by the way, but I didn't see Lord Futai." Ning Shijun originally reported to Rong Lu about his nail in Jinan, without any added fuel and vinegar.

"Well, I see. Where do you live? ”

Ning Shijun replied.

"In this case, you go back and wait first, and I will send someone to contact you." Rong Lu picked up the teacup, this is the send-off.

"This ancient painting was dedicated to Zhongtang by General Long. He said that Zhongtang was elegant and good, and he hoped that Zhongtang would accept it with a smile. ”

Rong Lu smiled, "Whose painting is it?" From whom did Long Qian listen to this official Yahao Danqing? As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to take the ancient painting, and Steward Zhang came over, helped untie the string, and unfolded the scroll.

"Hmm, Long Qian has a heart." Rong Lu waved his hand, and Steward Zhang rolled up the scroll. It's kind of accepted.

After Ning Shijun left, Rong Lu had been thinking about Long Qian's question. This time, Long Qian gave a heavy gift, a 10,000 taels of silver tickets, and a valuable ancient painting, which is undoubtedly a heavy gift for Long Qian, who has no territory and no foundation. As far as Ronglu's position is concerned, it is not greedy. But it's not that it's not greedy. Long Qian gave him a heavy gift, and what he valued more was Long Qian's attitude.

I thought that Long Qian would come to report everything after settling down, but I didn't expect that he just sent someone under the pretext of being busy with military affairs, although the etiquette was quite comprehensive, but it was always not as good as himself. Yuan Shikai's attitude of resisting the right wing of the Weisheng Army is conceivable, and this is also the original intention of sending Long Qian back to Shandong in the first place. Rong Lu silently calculated the situation, Yuan Shikai was his person, not his person. Compared with Long Qian, Yuan Shikai has a higher reputation and is more valued by the imperial court. But because of this, Rong Lu must support Long Qian, and must establish the Weisheng Army__However, the core problem is money and food, and what the imperial court lacks most is money.

The next day, after discussing the establishment of the administrative office of the conference and sending Prince Alcohol as a special envoy to Germany to apologize, Rong Lu was left behind by Cixi as usual, and Rong Lu seized the opportunity to report to Cixi about the situation of Long Qian's department.

"Well, there's always to be a charter. What does Zhonghua mean? Cixi's face was expressionless. Her eyelids drooped, and she couldn't tell how she was feeling.

"Since Long Qian has been appointed as the town guard of Yi and Yanzhou, it is better for the right army of Wuwei to withdraw from the two states. There was no problem for Long Qian to be loyal to the imperial court, but his subordinates had a grudge against Yuan Shikai's subordinates, and the minions were worried that there would be disputes if they were not handled properly__" Rong Lu slowly expressed his opinion.

The original intention of the Wasion Army was to have a few more reliable armies, especially when Gyeonggi's armed forces withered. However, the imperial court imprisoned in Taiyuan did not form the headquarters and left wing of the Weisheng Army for several months, everything was in the planning, and there was a shortage of money and people. At present, only a few members of the Wuwei Central Army, including Chen Eun, are running for the headquarters and left flank of the Weisheng Army. After the situation was calm, the desire for a new army faded considerably. More attention has been focused on the ongoing peace talks in the Kyoshi Division.

"Yuan Shikai has been in charge of Shandong for two years. Didn't exterminate a calf-hugging cub, but as soon as they went, they won. Long Qian's soldiers are still very capable of fighting. ”

"The Queen Mother Mingjian. The minions are just worried. It's better to give them a place __"

"What boundaries should be drawn? Isn't Long Qian the envoy of Yanzhou Town, Yizhou? Let Yuan Shikai's troops withdraw, why do you have to fight for a few mountains in southern Lunan in such a big Shandong Province? Cixi lifted her eyelids. looked at Rong Lu, who was sitting not far from the front. "How much silver does his soldier cost a year?"

"According to the standards of Yuan Shikai's department. To raise a wing soldier, it always costs more than 100,000 taels of silver every month__The person he sent gave the slave a detailed list of the establishment and military expenditure, and the slave read it. It's reasonable. ”

"Can Yizhou and Yanzhou be raised?"

"Lunan is barren, and it is difficult to raise a wing of new troops. But Long Qian put forward the idea of setting up a business and commerce, which seems to have the intention of making a living for himself__"

"There's nothing wrong with running a business. But it didn't happen overnight. I think it's okay, since Long Qian said a big thing, let him raise it himself. Zhonghua, you have prepared a decree to Yuan Shikai. ”

"Huh. However, not to mention the military salary, Long Qian's department is currently not satisfied, but the equipment is insufficient, how to make up for it? ”

"Where does the imperial court have the money to do this? Let him figure it out on his own. When it's time for Beijing, you can go to Shandong. ”

"The minions obey."

"If Long Qian can raise troops on his own, it can be regarded as opening a new road for the imperial court. It is always a hidden danger for the Han people to take charge of the army, and if you form a new army, you have to work hard to train a flag soldier to come out. We flag people, these children__, I hope that after this national disaster, the children of the country can be ashamed and brave. ”

"The Queen Mother saw everything. The minions are also thinking about the left wing of the Weisheng Army in the future, mainly the bannermen. "Why doesn't Rong Lu want to form an elite banner man army and take on the heavy responsibility of guarding Gyeonggi, but in addition to bragging, watching plays, fighting crickets, and walking birds, where can those uncles endure the hardships of being soldiers?

"Li Hongzhang has been negotiating peace in Beijing for several months, and he hasn't pulled out a charter yet, and he doesn't know how much money he will have to lose." Cixi's mind turned to Beijing.

Rong Lu did not answer. The imperial court paid close attention to the affairs of Beijing, and an excerpt came over almost every few days. The foreigners first focused their attention on punishing the "culprit", but helplessly, the imperial court executed a large number of important ministers one after another, Prince Zhuang Zaixun, the minister of military aircraft Gangyi has been killed by the chaotic army, the scholar Xu Tong, the governor of Sichuan Li Bingheng has died, all of them pursued the original officials, and the minister of military aircraft Zhao Shuqiao and the right capital Yu Shi Yingnian were ordered to commit suicide; Shanxi Governor Yuxian, Shangshu Qixiu of the Ministry of Rites, and Xu Chengyu, the left attendant of the Criminal Department, have been beheaded; Dong Fuxiang, the commander of the Wuwei Rear Army, who fled back to Gansu, has been dismissed from his post and wanted. However, the foreigners were still not satisfied, and decided to investigate the responsibility of Duanjun Wang Zaiyi and Fuguo Gong Zailan. It was a matter of the face of the imperial court, Li Hongzhang and King Qing tried their best to get a distribution to Xinjiang and imprisonment for life. finally smoothed out the breath that the foreigner was holding. But the face of the court was really lost.

The Germans did not give up, and insisted on avenging Minister Klinder, first asking Emperor Guangxu to go to Germany to make amends, and after several negotiations, he was finally replaced by his younger brother Prince Alcohol. I'm ready to leave for the ocean right away.

The last thing is the reparation. The foreigners insisted on 450 million taels of silver, and Li Hongzhang relied on Seymour and hundreds of officials captured by Long Qian, and finally pressed the indemnity to 300 million taels, which was mortgaged by customs duties and salt taxes and paid off within 40 years. The final figure has not yet been decided, but Cixi has already acquiesced to this result, and the most important thing is the garrison problem. The foreigners proposed the demolition of the Dagu Fort and the Tianjin Concession Exhibition, but Li Hongzhang refused to agree to the conditions for the garrison along the line from Shanhaiguan to Beijing, and the peace agreement was frozen there.

Cixi had actually lost interest in the peace talks and had achieved this result. Especially the foreigners did not pursue her, the biggest main battle faction, which has made her overjoyed. Neither the reparations nor the garrison were important issues in Cixi's eyes. And Li Hongzhang's recital said that the indemnity can be paid, and letting the foreigners garrison in the hinterland will definitely leave a great disaster for future generations, insisting that the foreigners cancel this clause, and the imperial court is not good to make a clear will for Li Hongzhang to promise the powers, betrayal is inevitable, but the fig leaf must always be found, and there must be a scapegoat.

Rong Lu's basic purpose has been achieved, doesn't Long Qian want territory? Now it is clear that the two states of Lunan will be given to him. As for military spending, since you boasted about Haikou in front of the Queen Mother, then you should find a way to go yourself.

Rong Lu's character is like this. It always gives people a vague and uncertain feeling. He rarely supported anyone firmly. It is also seldom clearly opposed to whom, and rarely gives the impression of taking power, but it has long been at the peak of power. The reason why Cixi reused Rong Lu was not that the two people in folklore were childhood sweethearts, but that Rong Lu could always consider problems from Cixi's standpoint. As for the contradictions that have already occurred between the two new armies. Rong Lu adopted a basically neutral attitude. That's what he's always done. He would never look at the 20,000 taels of silver that Long Qian paid for the Mengshan army. It's about working hard. Yuan Shikai's efforts were both earlier and greater than Long Qian's. It was able to make Cixi publicly state that Yuan Shikai's troops should withdraw from Lunan and Lunan Prefectures. It's enough to favor Long Qian.

Next, Rong Lu avoided Ning Shijun's request to see. He knew that Ning Shijun was seeking results, and when he waited for the edict on the stations of various departments in Shandong, everything was solved. It doesn't matter if you see it or not. But a few days later, the Queen Mother suddenly summoned Rong Lu. Seeing Cixi's face sinking like water, Rong Lu didn't know where something went wrong.

"Yuan Shikai is really daring! Do you really think that with 20,000 new troops in his hands, the imperial court can't do anything about him? Cixi angrily slapped the table and shouted.

Only Li Lianying was in the house, and Rong Lu didn't know what trouble Yuan Shikai had caused, which made the Queen Mother Lafayette so angry.

"Lianying, you tell him."

"Huh." Li Lianying glanced at Rong Lu and began to tell the story of Long Qian, Zhang Lianfen and Wu Yong being ambushed in Yizhou.

"W-how can this be?" Rong Lu was also frightened, Yuan Shikai's troops pretended to be bandits to attack three court officials, if it was true, wouldn't Yuan Shikai be going to rebel? "The Queen Mother is angry, the slave knows that Long Qian and Yuan Shikai have a gap, is this Long Qian's report?"

"Nope! It's a joint report by Zhang Lianfen and Wu Yong! Wu Yong was also shot and almost killed! Could it be that the two of them will deceive the court together! Moreover, Long Qian's department has captured several ambushers, including Yizhou soldiers! I also learned from the detained Tao Sankou that Bao Qigu has always had a relationship with the Yizhou garrison! No wonder they keep holding calves and can't do anything! Hmph, what a good minion! ”

Li Lianying handed the two letters to Rong Lu, and moved a Xiudun on her own initiative. Rong Lu didn't dare to sit down, first read Long Qian's report, and then read Zhang Lianfen and Wu Yong's report, judging from the date, Zhang Wu's report was one day earlier than Long Qian's report, I don't know if Lu Dao discussed it, and the content is also different. Zhang Wu was complaining about the Yizhou New Army, and the spearhead was aimed at Yuan Shikai. However, Long Qian only stated the facts, and proposed that in order to avoid the intensification of the contradictions, he asked the imperial court to transfer the right wing of the Weisheng Army out of Shandong.

"Ronglu, what do you think?" Cixi stared at Rong Lu.

"But he ordered Yuan Shikai to answer clearly. The slave thought that perhaps it was his subordinates who made their own opinions, or it could be the Yizhou patrol battalion, in short, the imperial court should not be biased. ”

"Lianying, tell me." Cixi turned her gaze to her chief eunuch.

In public, Li Lianying has never expressed her opinions on the government, but today is only the smallest scope, Li Lianying pretended to think about it, "Back to Lafayette's words." The slave thought that what Lord Ronglu said was very true. But now, an order should be issued immediately to appease Long Qian, so that his subordinates do not have a grudge against the court. ”

"I ordered Yuan Shikai to be blamed. I want him to understand the reply. In addition, in addition to Yizhou and Yanzhou, Shandong Province allocates 300,000 taels to Longqian's department every year. 500,000 taels of silver for military expenses. and the will agreed the day before yesterday, sent to Shandong together! ”

Rong Lu thought that Long Qian must have sent someone to follow Li Lianying's path. Otherwise, this treacherous and cunning eunuch would not have favored Long Qian so openly. However, what Yuan Shikai did was really wrong! There were also two civil officials who testified, no wonder the Queen Mother was furious.

"Huh. I'll do it. ”

"Also, I want Long Qian to give that Tao San and several captured murderers to Yuan Shikai!" Cixi added.

After this change, Long Qian and Yuan Shikai can be regarded as having a personal feud. Rong Lu thought, maybe this is exactly what Cixi wants to see. (To be continued......)