"King Qing and Master Weng are here this afternoon?" Li Hongzhang said lightly.

"They're coming to make an offer." Xu Jie said on the side.

"Is it enough to buy your loyalty?" Li Hongzhang's tone was surprisingly calm.

"The loyalty of students is only loyal to the country and the nation." Xu Jie replied.

It seems like a decent answer, but in fact, it is a bad heart. Your country is not the Qing Dynasty. Li Hongzhang said meaningfully. When you come back, I've been trying to figure out your purpose? You don't lack money, status, or reputation. So why do you have to go back to this leaky Qing Dynasty? The old man has been a pastemaker all his life, and he knows the situation of the Qing Dynasty very well, and you understand it better than me. Why did you come back? ”

"Lord Nakado, why do you think the students are coming back?" Xu Jie said cautiously.

"You said that you were for the country and the people, but the old man really didn't believe it at first. It has been decades since the old man started with flat long hair, and I really haven't seen a few people who really serve the country and the people, others are not, and neither am I. Speaking of this, Li Hongzhang smiled miserably. I used to have that ambition in my heart. But there is enough time to erase everything, and in the end it will be a mix, and a day of chaos is a day. ”

"Lord Zhongtang is serious, without Beiyang, we can't win." Xu Jie comforted.

"Just our master and apprentice. You don't have to compliment me. How I, Li Hongzhang, am not judged when I am alive, but by future generations. I have to say that you are a strange person, a person who will really put a few words on the country and the people in your heart, and you will do your best to prepare for the Beiyang War. You don't care about factions or personal interests when it comes to dealing with people. Back then, you tolerated Liu Buyun's mistake in the flag removal incident. I always thought what you were doing was just a stopgap measure. But now it seems that he, Liu Zixiang, will still be the chief soldier of Beiyang in the future. When dealing with personnel, it is really called a fair. ”

"Deng Shichang has the best relationship with you. But you didn't make him your successor. Ding Ruchang and others went to set up an ocean-going fleet. Let you do things. You're doing your duty, too. I can level a bowl of water to the brother who divides the defilement. I, Li Hongzhang, asked myself if I couldn't do it. As for those Nanyang Chinese. In order to help them, you did not hesitate to encourage the Beiyang Fleet to go to the South China Sea to make a big fuss. Do you know that if you don't do this well, you will lose your head. Li Hongzhang's eyes flashed with a cold light.

"Everyone is a son and daughter of China, and they are connected by blood. It's not something that can be cut off by a sentence of outsiders. At that time, the lives of the Chinese in Nanyang were hanging by a thread, so why wasn't my Beiyang in danger? Xu Jie smiled bitterly.

"What a stake. You know the way. These days, the old man is quite scared. Li Hongzhang glanced at Xu Jie and continued. If this war is lost, Beiyang loses! The fate of this Ito Hirofumi is the fate of the old man, or even worse, do you know the way? I'm scared if something goes wrong in the whole engagement. I'm all done with Beiyang. "Speaking of which. Li Hongzhang slapped his palm heavily on the table.

"Good thing we won." Xu Jie didn't know what Li Hongzhang meant by these words, so he could only deal with one sentence.

"Win? Yes, I won in Beiyang, and Japan is finished. But you must know that this Japan is coming to an end, and the next enemy will be even stronger and more difficult to deal with! Li Hongzhang said angrily.

"The current world is like a primeval forest. If a beast wants to grow up, it must step on the carcass of another beast. Japan was only the first country to fall. I hope the second is not my Daqing. Xu Jie said.

"It's hard. Ito Hirobumi and them are now envious of them before the war. There is a monarch who supports them, and the monarch can speak of his own private treasury for the purchase of warships. The people of the whole country also support them. Even if Ito's government took their last yen to buy warships, they had no complaints. But what about the old man? I haven't been comfortable since the beginning!! If one day, I Beiyang is defeated, not because the enemy is too strong to defeat, but the center. It's the Imperial Court!! Li Hongzhang roared. …,

I have to say that the attitude of the imperial court this time made Li Hongzhang very angry, thinking that he had won this war, even if Cixi was dissatisfied with herself, for the sake of defending the country for her Aixin Jueluo family, she always had to do some superficial actions. But who knew that the center of the road would be disarmed, and he would wait until he entered Beijing. The imperial court played another hand of rising and descending, and completely isolated him from Beiyang in the name of bringing him to the center! And after he left, he sent people to lobby his disciples. This is the future head of Beiyang, this is to completely destroy Beiyang! And on his own terms, the imperial court didn't even have a single accurate word! How does this not make Li Hongzhang angry?

"The Qing Kingdom is finished, rotten from the roots. Don't talk about Li Hongzhang, no one can bring him back to life. Xu Jie said in his heart, but he couldn't say it. After all, Li Hongzhang's attitude is still unclear. Anger is anger. But if he really reverses, Li Hongzhang is afraid that he will not be able to show this courage for a while.

"You say. What should I do in Beiyang? No land, no money, no one, how can I win the next war? This Russia is not comparable to Japan, and to fight Japan, I will dig the bottom of the Beiyang once. What about this Russia? Li Hongzhang asked.

"You can't back down. Northeast China, Zhili, Fujian, Zhejiang, Taiwan, Liangguang and Sichuan must be controlled by our Beiyang. Whoever disagrees, we will deal with whomever we want. Xu Jie said categorically.

"Do you want to take over the entire Huai system?" Li Hongzhang asked.

"It's not about taking over, it's about fighting for the country and the nation with like-minded people. With this goal in mind, I just want to take advantage of certain people in the center. Xu Jie said.

"So you didn't refuse the bribery of King Qing and others? Is it for the sake of this place in the Northeast? Do you know that even so, the Northeast will not be your Xu Jie's final say. Li Hongzhang said earnestly.

"The Northeast is vast and sparsely populated, rich in resources. In fact, Beiyang can stand on some important nodes and resource points, and establish a perfect industrial system as a backing. The troops will set up military reclamation farms to raise food and grass. For Shengjing, the direct jurisdiction of these Manchu bureaucrats. I, Xu Jie, don't have much interest yet. Xu Jie said his plan.

"But you're not greedy, you still want to control the Beiyang Fleet?" Li Hongzhang said expressionlessly.

"The students just hope that this fleet, which has been reborn with great difficulty, will not collapse in the future. The students still hope that in the future there will be a war. Our Beiyang Alliance can still be a whole to defend against the enemy. Otherwise, what awaits me in Beiyang will be an abyss! Xu Jie replied.

"It seems that the old man can only turn a blind eye and allow you and King Qing to finish this deal?" Li Hongzhang smiled bitterly. "What are you going to do?" Li Hongzhang knew that Xu Jie would not be loyal to the center, and everything he did was expedient.

And in the existing Beiyang system, in addition to the fact that he can integrate the forces of all parties. Even Li Hongzhang could not gain the absolute trust of the Nanyang Chinese and Liu Mingchuan and others. You must know that Lao Liu and Lao Li had a stiff quarrel back then. Although Liu Mingchuan is a general. However, it is very likely that this ministry will be in charge of the three provinces in the future. I have no absolute binding force on him. And Xu Jie is different from him, from the bottom of his heart, what Xu Jie and Liu Mingchuan, Peng Yi and others are trying is the rejuvenation of a country and a nation. The power of this philosophy of life is stronger than interests and rights. The mutual support relationship formed is also more unbreakable!

"I have no interest in the old secular bureaucracy in the Northeast. I will place our people within the range I have chosen. Lord Nakado can also make some concessions, and now the center is starting to solicit. I think there will definitely be some people in my Beiyang who will pass by. It's better for them to pass in the past, and it's better to let them go than to leave them useless. "Xu Jie has been cleaning up some chronic diseases in the old Beiyang for a long time, and because Li Hongzhang is not able to carry out his face, this is an opportunity. …,

"Yes, the hearts of the people are gone, and it's useless to keep them, let the emperor and the queen mother take away those who want to soar to the sky. I still need down-to-earth people like you in Beiyang. In addition, I found that you are still very accurate in seeing people, whether it is Fang Boqian or Yuan Shikai, you can see it. Li Hongzhang said with a smile.

"The teacher is overrated." Xu Jie said this, but he didn't think so in his heart, Lao Tzu is a modern person more than 100 years later, if he can't remember these scum, what else will he mix?

"So what do you think we should do now? How do we get the center to agree to our terms? Li Hongzhang finally let go of the burden in his heart. My own students are still on my own side.

"Give the emperor and the queen mother some people and guns. Let them fight on their own. If the imperial court is unstable, our Beiyang will be stable. The Queen Mother has Ronglu's Northwest Coalition Army there, and if Yuan Shikai is willing to take refuge with the emperor, it would be better to give him some guns. In this way, the imperial court not only has strength, but also becomes more lively. Xu Jie also relaxed.

"You're ruthless enough. In this way, the emperor has an army. If this queen mother does not let go. Then the central pattern will inevitably change. The queen mother refused to let in, and the emperor wanted to fight for power. In addition, Beiyang's control over the central military power has declined. Naturally, the center can solve internal problems first. Li Hongzhang said with a smile. This is a dead end, a dead end that has captured people's hearts! As long as the emperor wants to seize power, the queen mother will not let go of power. Then everything will go on according to Beiyang's plan!

"Jishi, I, Li Hongzhang, am already old and can't live for a few days, and it depends on you young people in the future. Among those old people in Beiyang, like Nie Shicheng and Ma Yukun, these people are still usable. Among the Beiyang sailors, there are some people who are engaged in skills, and they all use them, hoping that Jishi will take care of them more. Although Xu Jie is very fair, but in his bones, Li Hongzhang thinks that there is still a gap between this student who returned from overseas and the old Beiyang.

"They are all senior students. It is an honor for students to work with them. Xu Jie was finally relieved at this time, Li Hongzhang had agreed to his plan, and not only trusted himself. I also agreed with the suggestion that I dominate Beiyang. It can be said that from now on, Xu Jie will not have any major resistance to taking over Beiyang.

Thanks to the book friend Shan Qingying for the reward, as well as the book friend Taishang Hongmeng Patriarch and the croaking frog for the monthly ticket support ~~~~.