The continuous combination of punches was simply dazzling, and only a month after the Qing court received Zuo Zongtang's call for help, Chengdu was occupied, Zuo Zongtang committed suicide, and then the entire territory of Sichuan was captured. This change came too quickly to be expected.

In the late autumn, the capital seems to be very calm, and many news is blocked, and the poor people cannot know the accurate news. Coincidentally, it is no coincidence that a mourning hall was also set up in Bauhinia City, and the Empress Dowager Cixi led a group of ministers to worship Zuo Zongtang in order to appease and win people's hearts.

On the mourning hall, the Empress Dowager Cixi cried very sadly. In terms of intimacy, Zuo Zongtang is heavier than Li Hongzhang on Cixi's Tianping Mountain, so her tears are not all contrived. Cixi was crying and chattering, and the ministers were also apprehensive, thinking more about their fate. Sad and exhausted, soon the Empress Dowager Cixi was supported by the palace maid and went to the back to rest.

After Li Hongzhang finished worshipping Zuo Zongtang's spiritual position, he pushed back to the side and had mixed feelings in his heart. Then the ministers began to come forward to worship one by one, some cried bitterly, and some beat their chests, presumably these sad ministers had a good personal relationship with Zuo Zongtang, or they were leftists. Although Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang have a contract, the two have almost been safe in recent years, and there is no obvious friction. Suddenly, Li Hongzhang remembered Deng Zixuan, this evil god. He not only colluded with Sheng Huaixuan, but also got along with Hu Xueyan. Is it this kid's driving force behind the scenes, that there are many incredible phenomena.

Thinking of this, Li Hongzhang sweated on his head, this was simply terrifying. If this is the case, it shows that Deng Zixuan's contact with Hu Xueyan and Sheng Huaixuan was intentional, and it was completely premeditated and Jihua's action. At the beginning, the scheming in his twenties was so good, including Zhang Zhidong and Shen Baozhen, who were all played by this kid. Thinking of this, Li Hongzhang felt powerless. Zuo Zongtang's 400,000 army was wiped out within three months, if it weren't for the help of foreigners, Deng Zixuan would probably have stood on the Tiananmen Tower in the Forbidden City.

Now Zhang Zhidong, Shen Baozhen, Sheng Huaixuan, and Hu Xueyan have all become prominent figures in the Guangzhou Military Government, which is enough to see that Deng Zixuan's courage is incomparable to ordinary people. Especially Deng Zixuan treats the Manchurians well and appoints the officials of the previous dynasty, this hand is even more terrifying, as the saying goes, those who win the hearts of the people win the world, Deng Zixuan did a flawless job. It was also important to note that Deng Zixuan had built an army that was completely loyal to him, and at the same time he had built a strong economic foundation, and in just one year, the silver dollar of the Canton military government became hard currency and began to circulate north of the Yangtze River.

Li Hongzhang has never seen Deng Zixuan, but for some reason, for more than a year, he has often seen a young man in his dreams, looking at him with a smile. Probably this is because I think about it day and dream about it at night. His former competitor Zuo Zongtang can be called a generation of geniuses, and now he is easily planted at the feet of Deng Zixuan, the Qing Dynasty, don't look at the support of foreigners, but can foreigners be reliable? Even if it can be relied on, how long can it last? Li Hongzhang began to worry about his fate.

"Lord Li, the Queen Mother is invited!" The eunuch Li Lianying didn't know when she appeared in front of her, and Li Hongzhang seemed to have recovered from a confused state. When he entered Cixi's dormitory, he found that the sixth prince was sitting inside, presumably he had chatted with Cixi for a while. Empress Dowager Cixi's eyes were a little red and swollen, but her mental state was much better than just now. Li Hongzhang knew that the tears of the Empress Dowager Cixi were half true and half false, the real side was regretting the loss of Zuo Zongtang, the pillar, and the fake side was worrying about the Qing Dynasty.

Cixi said very politely and softly: "Lord Li, Lord Zuo was martyred, and the Great Qing Kingdom lost a pillar. The following military affairs all depend on Lord Li's work, I discussed with the six princes, and asked the emperor to give you the post of secretary of the ministry, and walk freely in the palace, and our orphans and widows will ask you! Cixi's voice was a little choked when she said Zuihou. Thank the Queen Mother for her grace, and the ministers will follow the work of dogs and horses, and never disappoint the love of the Queen Mother! ”

Li Hongzhang immediately came to his senses, and a trace of apprehension disappeared. hurriedly got up and was about to kneel, but the Empress Dowager Cixi hurriedly got up and stopped: "It's all your own family members who don't need to be formal, and adults don't need to report when they enter the palace in the future, and they can come and go freely!" Yi said: "Lord Zuo left, and the rebels occupied Sichuan. But there is no need to be anxious, at present, the Russian army of 50,000 has reached Xi'an, and the situation will not be so bad that it cannot be controlled. ”

Li Hongzhang said: "At present, the defense line of the Yangtze River is becoming more and more stable, and the defense of the west is the top priority. Yi Dao: "It is this matter that I discussed with the Queen Mother, and the defense line of Taihang Mountain and Tongguan is very important, so I will leave it to you." "The minister is determined to go all out!" Empress Dowager Cixi said: "The Russians asked for troops to be stationed in Xinjiang, and we negotiated and promised the Russians to garrison troops in Ili, and they could be reinforced in times of crisis. ”

Li Hongzhang's heart tightened when he heard this, Xinjiang itself is a land of right and wrong, and the Russians have always been eyeing the enemy, and it is easy to invite God and difficult to send God, and the Russian army will not go out again when it enters Xinjiang. But in this time of crisis, there is no reason to object. Li Hongzhang couldn't help but cry out for Zuo Zongtang, if he knew underground, he wouldn't know what he would be angry about. "Queen Mother, the measures related to foreigners are co-organized by the Military Aircraft Department, and it is difficult to take on this big responsibility due to busy military affairs." Li Hongzhang didn't dare to take this hot potato, and he couldn't afford the charge of betraying the country.

"Since Lord Li has no opinion, this matter will be undertaken by the prince!" The Empress Dowager Cixi made a final decision, and Li Hongzhang hurriedly left under the pretext. Li Hongzhang knew in his heart that if he wanted to be a bitch, he had to set up a chastity archway, how could there be such a thing in the world, no matter what the outcome of the Great Qing Kingdom was, Li Hongzhang would never bear this kind of infamy. Li Hongzhang knew that Cixi must rely on herself now, because there was no second person in the Great Qing Dynasty to support the crumbling country.

The situation is so bad, the civil and military people of the Manchu Dynasty are panicking, and the Empress Dowager Cixi is a woman after all, so the relationship between him and Yi has warmed up rapidly in the past year. "It's hard for you, Li Hongzhang is a Hanchen after all, and it is commendable to be able to support the Qing Dynasty wholeheartedly, so you can't put pressure on him, you can only appease and entrap him. At present, foreigners are our saviors, and it is a last resort to do so. "Queen Mother, I understand what you mean, for the sake of the Qing Dynasty, I won't go to hell, who will go to hell!" In front of Cixi, the six princes must stand up like a gentleman.

The next day, Commander of the Allied Forces McMahon held a military meeting at the joint headquarters, at which French, Russian, American, and German generals were seated, and Li Hongzhang was naturally among them. Looking at the star-studded generals, McMahon said disdainfully: "Zuo Zongtang's 400,000 army was actually defeated by the 60,000 army of the Northern Expeditionary Army, which is simply a shame for the soldiers. The Qing Kingdom has been corroded to the point of no return, how do you explain this, respected General Li? ”

Li Hongzhang was stimulated and retorted: "I can't know Zuo Zongtang's failure, so it's inconvenient to draw conclusions. But the mighty French army, numbering 5,000 men, was quickly wiped out in Annam, and I ask you, Commander, how can this be explained? At this time, the commander of the French army stood up and said: "The battle of Annam is the result of a despicable sneak attack, and our army caused the total annihilation without knowing it and without any preparation, and the two cannot be compared!" ”

Li Hongzhang sneered: "Soldiers are not tired of cheating, this is the trick used by our ancestors. Covering up defeat with a sneak attack is not convincing. To say that he didn't know, Zuo Zongtang had never fought with the rebels, and he also didn't know anything about the other party's combat methods and combat effectiveness. Knowing himself and knowing that he is invincible in a hundred battles is the main reason for his failure. Your Excellency, Honorable Commander, it is pointless to discuss who is right and who is right, and it is up to us to stop the powerful offensive of the rebels at the moment. ”

McMahon said: "General Li, I have no intention of slandering the soldiers of the Great Qing Dynasty, and now we are more soberly aware of the strength of the Northern Expeditionary Army. Empress Bixia ordered that 50,000 native soldiers be requisitioned to the Qing Kingdom, and that our esteemed ally, the French government, should levy another 50,000 troops. At present, 10,000 Russian cavalry are in the hinterland of the Central Plains, 50,000 Russian troops have arrived in Xi'an, and 100,000 Russian troops are about to be stationed in Xinjiang, and the total strength of our United Nations Army will reach 500,000! ”

McMahon said proudly: "The Northern Expeditionary Army is not now declaring war on the Great Qing State, but in the face of all nations. Ladies and gentlemen, I swear on behalf of the United Nations Army that I will not withdraw my troops until the Northern Expeditionary Army is destroyed. Now let's look at the new military deployment ······. After the military meeting, Li Hongzhang seemed to have a lot of confidence and his mood improved. Regardless of the ulterior motives of foreigners, at least foreigners have invested so much manpower, material resources, and financial resources, and there is no return on huge interests, and foreigners will not back down. Since the foreigners continued to increase their troops, Li Hongzhang naturally increased his confidence.

Li Hongzhang returned to the Prime Minister's Yamen, where his office is now located. At the military meeting, Li Hongzhang proposed to form a second line of defense on the line of Tongguan and Taihang Mountain, and McMahon agreed to this plan, saying that if the British troops from the mainland could assist the Qing army in defending the second line of defense. Li Hongzhang entered his office and his butt was not yet hot, and a subordinate came in to report.

"My lord, there is news from Fushun that the coal mine has been put into production. The first batch of coal has already been shipped to Dalian. In addition, the railroad prepared by the Americans has been paved to the Golden State. Construction of the Anshan Iron and Steel Plant, which was being built by the Americans, also began. Li Hongzhang nodded and said he understood. Since the beginning of the year, Western countries have begun to build large-scale mines and factories in order to supply strategic materials, so as to break the bottleneck of ocean transportation.

Another subordinate of this kung fu came in and reported: "My lord, the equipment of the gun and ammunition factory and artillery factory built by the German government has been transported to the dock at the Tianjin wharf. At present, the construction of the plant is nearing completion, and it is estimated that it will be put into production by the end of the year. "The Germans were very trustworthy, informed the Tianjin side, and went all out to assist the Germans." At the beginning of the year, the Germans demanded the construction of a gun and ammunition factory and a gun factory in Tianjin. With such favorable conditions, the Qing court, including Li Hongzhang himself, had no reason not to agree. Even if the Germans hosted it independently, it would be at least half cheaper to buy guns in the future, so Li Hongzhang went all out to support it.

All I heard was good news, and the shadow of Li Hongzhang due to Zuo Zongtang's death seemed to drift away.