On June 16, 1876 (the second year of Guangxu), a fierce controversy was taking place in the East Warm Pavilion of the Yangxin Palace. At issue was how to deal with the Margaret affair, and just yesterday, dissatisfied with the findings of the investigation by Li Hanzhang, the governor of Huguang, the British minister of the Imperial Mission, Wittoma left Beijing for Shanghai to threaten the Chinese government. This made the imperial court feel a lot of pressure, so today's court meeting must be able to come up with a solution, and the key is whether to accept the conditions put forward by Wei Tuma.

The important ministers in Beijing were almost present, such as Prince Yixun and Yixin, Beile Zaishu and Zaizhi, the former ministers of the Imperial Palace, Boyan Namohu and Jingshou, the ministers of military aircraft Wenxiang, Shen Guifen and Li Hongzao, the ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yinggui and Chonglun, the Hongde Hall walked Xu Tong and Weng Tongyi, the south study walked Pan Zuyin and Huang Jue, the cabinet bachelors Sun Yuwen and Chen Baochen, the editors of the Hanlin Academy Zhang Peilun and Zhang Zhidong, the prime minister Yamen walking and military aircraft Zhang Jing Xu Yongyi, the head of the household department Yuan Chang, the director of the Ministry of Officials Tang Jingsong, the governor of Zhili Li Hongzhang and the governor of Huguang Li Hanzhang, etc. Will be the East Warm Pavilion station full.

Ding Yuntong sat expressionlessly, looking at Li Hongzao, the Minister of Military Aircraft, who was shouting loudly below.

"Wei Chen thinks that the British ships are strong and powerful, and they are not the enemy of our Qing Dynasty, and yesterday's envoy left Beijing to warn us that if we delay again, I am afraid that there will be unforeseen disasters. If you wait for its soldiers to gather, it will be even more difficult to get things done. ”

"Lord Li is reasonable, we must not provoke lightly and give the British the truth." It was Sun Yuwen who spoke.

"What the two adults said is not true, now Russia is looking at the north, there is Japan watching in the east, and now Britain and France are involved in the southwest, if we make concessions again, in the long run, one day we will be slaughtered, then what face will we have to see our ancestors and the people of the world?"

Ding Yuntong took a look, it was edited Zhang Zhidong.

Shen Guifen also agreed with Zhang Zhidong's opinion: "The conditions of the British are too harsh and difficult to accept. ”

Li Hanzhang sneered: "The two of you are indeed commendable, but the British army is coming to the city on his day, I wonder if the two adults are willing to go out of the city to meet the enemy?" ”

Yuan Chang, the head of the household department: "What does Lord Li mean by this, we will talk about the matter, even if the British army invades the border, the soldiers will block it, why bother to lie and threaten." ”

The military machine Zhang Jingxu shouted with a loud instrument: "The two Lord Li are really the words of Lao Cheng to seek the country, and the foreigners are powerful, and I hope that the emperor and the queen mother will see it." ”

Xu Tong, who walked in the Hongde Palace, also said: "Since the beginning of the Daoguang period, China and Britain have fought each other many times, and our army has won fewer victories and lost more, and its personnel and equipment are at a disadvantage. In case of war, the Qing Dynasty will be destroyed, the minister thought that he might as well endure the humiliation and ask for peace, and the British made all the requests to come down, leaving Qingshan here, and then thinking about it in the long run. ”

Tang Jingsong, the head of the ministry, shouted: "Please make an edict from the Queen Mother, behead the Xu thief first, and then deal with the British." ”

The former minister Jing Shou angrily reprimanded: "Tang Jingsong, you are simply a fart." ”

For a time, the court was chaotic and noisy, and the ministers blamed each other and quarreled endlessly, like a group of shrews fighting in the streets.

The Empress Dowager Ci'an had no idea, and she didn't know what to do at once.

At this time, Ding Yuntong jumped up from his seat and knocked down a cloisonné enamel crane-shaped incense burner in front of his seat. Then he scolded the following group of people: "A group of bastards, on weekdays, they shake their heads in the Four Books and Five Classics, they come when they open their mouths, and they attack each other when they have different opinions." At present, the monarch is so noisy and scolding, do you still want the way of loyalty and filial piety? ”

Everyone looked at the angry little emperor in astonishment, and fell silent for a while.

At this time, Ding Yuntong began to talk slowly: "The cause of this incident is that the British entered our southwest border without authorization, violated our territory first, and provoked the incident later. This is one of them.

If we insist on compromising and conceding and accepting the terms of the British, it will be tantamount to telling the great powers that they can do whatever they want, and that they do not need to pay any price, and that everyone will naturally follow suit, and then there will be no peace in our country. Therefore, even if Britain really sends troops to attack in the future, our country's losses will be greater, and we cannot back down. You must not let the other party profit with just one mouth. This is also the second.

And even if they retreat, the British will taste the sweetness and gain an inch, and they will definitely create trouble elsewhere in the future. It's like feeding a hungry wolfdog with bones, the wolfdog will never be satisfied, and the bones are exhausted, what should be done when the time comes? This is also the third.

What's more, the great powers are not monolithic, they are surrounded by wolves, they just want to spread the news, and they also contain each other. At the moment, the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire is on the verge of breaking out, and Britain is not necessarily going to make a big move. The matter has been disputed for more than a year, and the British have only verbally threatened, which shows this. Fourth, too.

With the above four points, I will never let Britain succeed. Of course, it is not impossible to make some small concessions, so that Britain can also have a step. In short, it is possible to suffer a big loss if you stick to your position, or you may suffer only a small loss. But if you don't persevere, you will definitely suffer a big loss, and you will have to eat it in the future. ”

The little emperor's long speech made everyone stunned, thinking about it so comprehensively, the image of the little emperor in front of him suddenly became taller, and everyone forgot that this was just a child. The ministers who are interested in innovation are even more enthusiastic when they hear it, and their hearts are full of emotion: I am hopeful for the Qing Dynasty.

When the Empress Dowager Ci'an saw Ding Yuntong's wise and martial appearance, she was overjoyed, and when she saw that everyone was silent, she said, "This matter is decided." ”

After the court meeting dispersed, in the Zhongcui Palace, Ci'an gave Ding Yuntong his imperial reward seal, and said: "Your knowledge is far better than mine, and you can deal with government affairs by yourself in the future." It's just that you are young after all, and I still need to listen to the government and check the government at the court meeting. ”

Ding Yuntong knelt down and kowtowed to Ci'an: "The emperor's mother, the ministers must be in the public all night, and live up to the ancestors and hundreds of millions of people." Today, above the court, the emperor also saw that some ministers in the court were cowardly and incompetent, and they were really overwhelmed, and the ministers wanted to replace a few. ”

Ci'an nodded: "You can make your own decisions about this." I will also hand over the imperial reward seal to you, and in the future, unless there is a major military matter, there is no need to tell me everything about the rest of the government affairs. ”

Ding Yuntong and Ci'an talked again, and then went back to their own palace of the Heart Nourishing Palace.

Today he has gained a great deal, first of all, he has gathered many ministers, that is, to behave well, to increase his prestige, and when the British compromise, the people will naturally be convinced, and it will be very beneficial for him to carry out reforms.

Secondly, it can make Ci'an feel at ease with himself, although he still listens to the government, but when he gets the imperial reward seal, he may show his strength and quietly carry out a "quiet revolution".

zuihou, through the performance of the court, he can naturally replace the person he wants in the future.

Ding Yuntong drew on the experience of his previous life, and in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, he carried out an open reform of the law, which was bound to fail. Because of the stubbornness of many people, for their own interests, they cannot be persuaded by any reason. It's better to do specific things one by one, so that everything is already in the boat and becomes an established fact. Use facts to prove your opinions, and use facts to change everyone.

Now the first goal, power, has been largely achieved.

Everything is ready to go.

The first is the material basis for reform, money. In 1876, the Qing Dynasty's fiscal revenue was less than 80 million taels of silver, and the central government was overstretched, and there was no extra money at all. What to do?

The first is to abolish the Green Battalion, select the best among them, form a future police force, and at the same time gradually reduce the number of Eight Banners, which should save several million taels; Businessmen who borrow foreign debts from foreigners to engage in financial speculation may also be able to make a profit; Let most of the industrial and mining enterprises be invested by private capital, which can also make some money; Coupled with his own more than two million, and then squeezed out some of the budgets of various ministries of the imperial court, all the construction in the palace was stopped, and all the savings were saved. If you put the money together, it can be regarded as the start-up capital of Huaxia Bank.

Come to think of it, hope has to be pinned mainly on financial speculation.

In this way, Fan Changlu came in to report, Li Hongzhang, Xu Jianyin, Li Fengbao, Hu Xueyan and Zheng Guanying had already been ordered to come to see the driver.

Ding Yuntong nodded, he knew that Li Hongzhang was contacting Hurd to buy British mosquito cannon boats, and later there were many such expensive junk goods in the Beiyang Naval Division and the Nanyang Naval Division, and he must not let history happen again.

As for Hurd himself, many historical books in his previous life have alleged that the evidence of the Qing Dynasty's betrayal was the cession of customs power to outsiders, but this accusation is actually inaccurate propaganda. He was an employee of the Qing government and exercised his powers. His management not only modernized China's customs rapidly, but also made it the most efficient and least corrupt Qing bureaucracy. In the previous life, it provided a large amount of customs revenue for the Qing Dynasty government, which reached 4.96 million taels in 1861, 11.21 million taels in 1871, and 30 million taels in 1902, which was the most stable and reliable source of revenue for the central government. In the corrupt administrative system of the late Qing Dynasty, the customs managed by HD was the most orderly and efficient institution. The Qing Dynasty, which was extremely erosive, became the only clean government department in China because it handed over the customs to foreigners.

Ding Yuntong once heard such a story with infinite emotion: The Englishman Li Taitai served as the chief tax department of the customs, and the Taoist platform in Shanghai tried to pull him into the water many times, for example, two merchant ships arrived at the port together, and the Shanghai Taoist platform suggested that Li Taitai and the two sides should swallow the tariffs privately with one person and one ship, but they could not succeed. The incorruptibility of foreigners has become the sand in the eyes of the Daotai, but there is always nothing to be done. It is based on the above considerations that Ding Yuntong decided not to move Hurd's position as the General Department of Customs and Excise before he completely turned his face with the UK.

As for Xu Jianyin and Li Fengbao, they are famous weapons experts in the future, in the history of the previous life, Li Fengbao was slandered and embezzled 600,000 taels of silver when he bought the Dingyuan, Zhenyuan and Zhiyuan ships, and died depressed, and he will not be wronged again in this life.

In addition, Huaxia Bank is about to be founded, and Hu Xueyan and Zheng Guanying naturally have a lot of questions to explain.

After this is done, the military aircraft department will start to change personnel.