Chapter 20 Section 20 Li Hongzhang Shocks Shanghai Officials

When Wang Zonglian returned to the county government that day, he did not dare to neglect.He first gave Feng Rikun a big wooden shackle to wear in prison, and then got a pair of iron chains to tie Feng Rikun's feet.After Feng Rikun was imprisoned in the fasting room, he was still not at ease after thinking about it, so he brought several policemen to move into a bed, and the policemen tied up Feng Rikun and tied him to the wooden bed. Feng Rikun was so angry that he blew his beard and stared, and his ancestors cursed for three generations. After Wang Zonglian finished all these, he felt that there was nothing wrong with it, so he rushed to the grain platform of the military camp to withdraw the silver taels, and arranged for craftsmen to repair the prison.That night, Feng Rikun bribed the guards in custody, broke free from the shackles, and escaped from the fasting room.Feng Rikun first fled to Xue Huan's mansion, and after Xue Huan negotiated, he fled to the home of Di Weili, a British arms dealer.

Knowing that the matter was serious, Di Weili sent Feng Rikun to the old Qichang foreign firm outside Shanghai overnight.After making arrangements for Feng Rikun, Di Weili returned to the city immediately with the interpreter. He neither returned to his mansion nor went to Xue Huan's place, but rushed to the governor's office to see Li Hongzhang. At this time, Li Hongzhang did not know that Feng Rikun had escaped from the city. When Li Hongzhang was washing up early in the morning, his soldiers suddenly came in and reported that an Englishman had asked to see him.He hurriedly changed his clothes and invited Di Weili into the signing room to meet him.

The two knew each other before, and Li Hongzhang talked to Di Weili about buying muskets last month, but the business failed because Di Weili charged too much. Seeing that it was Di Weili, Li Hongzhang thought it was about muskets again, so he said calmly: "The Ministry has long said that the country that makes muskets is by no means the UK, and German muskets are also good. How about it? Di Wei Mr. Weili still wants to talk to the headquarters? Should we talk now, or after we have dinner with the headquarters?" When Di Weili heard the interpreter finished speaking, he suddenly jumped three feet high and yelled loudly: "Master Li, you are too confused. Someone has already put a sword on your neck, and you still have the mind to eat breakfast! You people from the Qing Dynasty are really incredible!"

When Li Hongzhang heard this, his head buzzed, and he hurriedly asked: "Why did Mr. Di say that? The Ministry is sitting here talking to you, how could there be a knife stand?" Di Weili laughed and said, "Your Master Li is really an expert on forgetfulness. Your court's most important criminal just ran out of the city, and he will bring his troops in soon!" Li Hongzhang turned pale with shock: "Mr. Di, this department does not understand what you are talking about. Who is the important criminal you are talking about?" Di Weili said: "Isn't Feng Rikun a key criminal of your court?"

Before Li Hongzhang could speak, Wang Zonglian from Shanghai County came in panting. Regardless of the presence of foreigners, he just plopped down on his knees at Li Hongzhang, kowtowed and said, "Damn you! Damn you! Damn Feng Rikun, He's gone! His detainees are gone!" Di Wei pointed to Wang Zonglian who was lying on the ground with his finger, and said to Li Hongzhang with a smile: "Look, he knows that Feng Rikun has gone away, but you are still here pretending to be confused with this idiot!" Li Hongzhang pondered for a while, ordered Wang Zonglian to go down and wait for the biography, and said to Di Weili: "Mr. Di, where is Feng Xietai now?"

Di Weili said: "Feng Rikun is in my hands!" Li Hongzhang said: "Mr. Di, Feng Rikun has committed a serious crime. He is a key criminal of our country's court. I hope you will hand him over as soon as possible. In the future, the department will take care of you for business matters!" Di Weili rolled his eyes slyly and said: "Feng Rikun sleeps in my foreign firm, but I can't hand him over. I am a businessman, and businessmen value profit. Feng Rikun promised me 20,000 taels of silver, Master Xue gave me another five thousand taels of silver. I can’t just watch the two thousand five thousand taels fly out of my hand!"

Li Hongzhang said with a smile at this time: "When Mr. Di came here, he kept saying how confused the department is. According to the department, it is not the department that is really confused, but Mr. Di himself. Why doesn't Mr. Di think about it? Feng Rikun has become Lost dog, his followers have been disbanded by Zeng Junmen, and his mansion has been sealed up by Zhang Shusheng, where can he get twenty thousand taels of silver? It’s not dark yet, why are you talking in your sleep?” Di Weili shook his head and said, "You're wrong. The 25,000 taels of silver that I got, I can't get away with a penny. Feng Rikun can't get the silver, so I can ask Mr. Xue for it. Mr. Xue is from Shanghai. The famous God of Wealth, with him here, not to mention a mere 20,000, is one hundred thousand million silver, as long as I open my mouth, Lord Xue will take it out without blinking an eye! This time, I don’t want to open my mouth like a lion, As long as Mr. Li is willing to pay 50,000 taels of silver, I will hand over Feng Rikun. How about it? Let’s make a deal?"

Li Hongzhang replied without hesitation: "Mr. Di is really a straightforward person! Well, the Ministry will agree to your request. However, the Ministry has a premise that the fifty thousand taels of silver can only be paid after you hand over Feng Rikun! Why? So, it’s a reciprocal transaction, right?” Di Weili shook his head and said, "No! No! I can't agree to this condition. I won't hand over Feng Rikun unless Mr. Li hand over the silver. There is an old saying in your country, if you don't see a rabbit, you don't cast an eagle. Feng Rikun is an eagle. Silver is a rabbit. If you can’t see a rabbit, you can’t let a hawk out. This is a principle, and it’s not negotiable!”

Li Hongzhang said patiently: "Mr. Di, listen to me. Feng Rikun is indeed a man who committed a serious crime, but his army has been disbanded by the court, and he himself is worthless. The government can arrest him or let him go. What's more, this is Shanghai, no matter how much he can escape, he can't escape the palm of the court. This department can tell you frankly that it doesn't make any sense for you to hide Feng Rikun. On the contrary, your own life will always be Threatened. Feng Rikun is a man with no faith at all, he can attack anyone around him." Di Weili shook his head again and again, and said: "I am a businessman, and Feng Rikun is just a commodity in my eyes. As long as there is money to earn, I will do it. No matter what Master Li says, if you don't get money, you will never think about it." Catch him. Master Li, I will give you three days. After three days, if you have not seen Yinzi, then I will go to Anqing to find your governor, and discuss this business with him personally."

Di Weili stood up while talking: "Master Li, let's see you in three days, but I have one thing to say first. Within three days, if Feng Rikun suddenly leads tens of thousands of long hairs to attack Shanghai, your loss will be terrible." It’s not tens of thousands of taels of silver!” After speaking, he shrugged his shoulders in a mysterious way. While translating the words, the translator stood beside Di Weili, pretending to leave at any time. After listening to the translator, Li Hongzhang frowned and thought about it.Although he has only been in Shanghai for a few months, he has already dealt with many foreigners, and he has a good understanding of their temper. The fact that foreigners dare to speak and do is especially impressive to him.

He stood up, walked slowly to Di Weili, and said with a smile: "Mr. Di, we have not dealt with each other once or twice. This department decided to cooperate with you once. This department can ask Liangtai to give you a bank first." But this banknote will not be cashed until three days later. If you agree, go to the Liangtai to get the banknote, and then take Wang Ling to get Feng Rikun." Di Weili shouted happily: "You Lord Li, I think you are not suitable for being a governor, but for doing business! If you are willing, my foreign firm will offer you a high price!" Li Hongzhang smiled, and suddenly shouted: "Wang Ling!" Wang Zonglian entered in response, saying: "The lower official is here." Li Hongzhang said: "Brother, please accompany Mr. Di to the Liangtai for a while, and ask the Liangtai to issue a fixed-term bank note of 50,000 taels of silver to Mr. Di. It will take three days to cash it. Then, you can bring a few An arrester, follow Mr. Di to arrest Feng Rikun. Can you hear what the department said clearly?" Wang Zonglian hurriedly said: "Your Excellency's words, the lower officials have heard the truth, you can rest assured, Your Excellency." At this time Li Hongzhang shouted loudly again: "Come on!" A personal soldier hurried in and said, "My lord orders!" Li Hongzhang said: "pass on the word, pick ten good gunmen from the personal barracks and hand them over to Mr. Wang, there must be no mistake!" The personal soldiers nodded and walked out quickly. Soon, Wang Zonglian went out together with Di Weili and the translator.Li Hongzhang breathed a sigh of relief, walked out of the signing room, and went to the dining room to eat. While eating, Li Hongzhang received an urgent letter from Anqing. Li Hongzhang put down his bowl and chopsticks, and hurried to the signing room.He sent the messenger away, and then carefully opened the letter, but it turned out to be a piece of court mail from the imperial court to the governor's office and the governor's office delivered it. It reads: "Someone claimed that Shanghai Deputy General Feng Rikun sent troops to help the bandits bravely and so on. The Jiangnan water and land armies were originally set up to suppress the bandits. The province has been occupied for a long time, and only Shanghai and Jiangbei are left. If it is as stated in the report, military affairs When will it turn around? The empress dowagers of the two palaces saw this situation, and they had no food or sleep. They immediately asked the minister to consult with the governor in secret, and asked him to pay attention to the investigation. If Feng Rikun had an affair with a thief, the minister would immediately deliver an order Rectification of the Dharma, while hearing about it. Ministers and others also sent an order on May 20: Zhan Shi Yin Zhaoyong's memorial is in the register, and if you hear about the situation, please rectify it. There is a hidden conspiracy. Those who are on the opposite side of the two ends of the rat, Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang will conduct strict investigations, and follow the instructions sent by the festival. They should be arrested and interrogated, and those who take action should be punished. One or two giants should be punished as an example. Fold the banknotes for reading." Behind the post are the original folds of Zeng Guofan, Yin Zhaoyong and others. This is obviously another foreshadowing that Zeng Guofan laid down in advance for Li Hongzhang to smoothly rectify Jiangsu's military administration.Li Hongzhang read the sentence "that is, the minister secretly consults the governor of the department and asks him to pay attention to the investigation. If Feng Rikun has an affair with a thief, the minister will immediately preach the decree and rectify the Dharma, and at the same time report the news" several times. Over and over, an idea is formed in my mind.He decided to make the article full of this sentence. Before lunch, Wang Zonglian returned to the signing room and said: Feng Rikun was arrested again. Because he resisted arrest, a soldier shot off his left leg with a musket. In the afternoon, Li Hongzhang sent a letter to the Yamen of the Minister of Commerce and Industry to inform Xue Huan of Feng Rikun's affairs. At the same time, he asked for the flag of Wang Ming and sent an order to Shanghai County to drag Feng Rikun outside the city and behead him.Before the execution, in order to prevent Feng Rikun from jumping over the wall in a hurry, Li Hongzhang ordered someone to break Feng Rikun's right leg with a musket. Feng Rikun cursed all the way until his head fell to the ground.All the official circles in Shanghai were shocked by the methods used to appease Li Hongzhang. Li Hongzhang told the court overnight why he had to kill Feng Rikun first and then play. At the beginning of the excerpt, he first repeated it to Tingji as usual, and then explained four reasons why Feng Rikun should be killed: 1. Communication with the thief Li Shaoxi; 2. Trafficking in arms;When sealing the booklet, Li Hongzhang sneered in his heart. He didn't believe that the court would hand over a dead man instead of a living one.