Chapter 40 Chapter 40: The way of being an official

As soon as the vacation was about to expire, Li Hongzhang arranged for his family to pack up, bring his mother and children with him, and set off to return to his post.In the old house in Hefei, only a dozen family members were left to take care of it; On June 23rd in the third year of Tongzhi (AD 1864), that is, the tenth day after Li Hongzhang returned to Suzhou from Hefei, Jinling was captured by Zeng Guoquan.Under the protection of Hong Rengan and Huang Wenjin, the young king Hong Tianguifu pretended to leave the city and fled towards Huzhou. Zeng Guofan, the commander of the Hunan Army, was awarded the title of Marquis for his meritorious service, and Zeng Guoquan, the commander of the siege of Jinling, was awarded the title of Earl for his meritorious service.The two brothers were knighted on the same day, overwhelming countless people in the officialdom.

But Zeng Guofan didn't want to enjoy this merit alone, he wanted to share a leaf of glory with Li Hongzhang. When Zeng Guofan played to the imperial court, he did not mention the ability of other officials and troops to support the suppression, but only showed Li Hongzhang's contribution to raising wages.Zeng Guofan's request for credit for Li Hongzhang was quietly handed over to the capital, and even Zeng Guoquan was concealed from it. A month later, an imperial decree was delivered to the Governor's Yamen of Jiangsu by Babaili Kuaiqi.Li Hongzhang led a group of subordinates to kneel down to receive the imperial edict.

The decree said: "According to Zeng Guofan's statement today: the reward of the second-rank Ding Dai, the Minister of the Ministry of War, the title of Minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs, the right deputy of the Metropolitan Police Department, and the history of the Governor of Jiangsu Province, Li Hongzhang. Fu raised salaries and food for the besieged Jinling army, and spared no effort, resulting in the early recovery of Jinling and the elimination of Hongni in the whole of Jiangsu. The title of Shaobao, the title of first-class earl, hereditary succession, and wearing double-eyed feathers. This is my honor."

The leaf Zeng Guofan distributed to Li Hongzhang was not small, it turned out to be a super-grade earl of the Qing Dynasty, and it was first-class!Li Hongzhang took the imperial decree with both hands, and kowtowed to express his gratitude to the north. After sending away the official who passed the decree, all the attendants congratulated Mr. Futai one after another. With a smile on his face, Li Hongzhang called him "Tongxi".Qiao Songnian sent people to separate ways to deliver good news to Zhang Shusheng, Liu Mingchuan and others, and at the same time asked people to buy a banquet, and he must set up a few tables.Qiao Songnian, who is the most playful, does not want to miss this opportunity to perform.

Ding Richang also came to Suzhou in a hurry from Shanghai, and delivered a ticking Western watch to Li Hongzhang, saying that it was "congratulations".Li Hongzhang couldn't refuse, so he could only accept it, but he asked the accountant to return a hundred taels of silver, and he also asked the accountant to give back a gift to the staff or servants around him who gave him a congratulatory gift. Reciprocity. After a day's rest, Lian'er suddenly said to Li Hongzhang: "My lord, this concubine asked about the account today, and you said, how much did you lose in the account when you were promoted this time? If you continue like this, don't you It's better to be a prince."

Li Hongzhang said with a smile: "You little lotus, I don't believe you don't want to be Mrs. Gaoming! Did the old lady say anything?" Lian'er laughed and said: "It's too late for the old lady to be happy when you get promoted. What else can she say? It's just telling the concubine behind her back that your life is not as good as the master's when you reach the first rank. My lord, You said that the money we give back is not too much? When Ding Richang sends you a tick, you will give him one hundred taels of silver; The master has earned you a mountain of gold, so it's worth it!"

Li Hongzhang patted Lian'er's head with his hand: "You women, you are locked in the house all year round, how do you know the difficulties of being an official. These people have followed me for a long time, and they all hope that I will be successful, so they can take a few steps forward .I am promoted to a noble now, and they come to follow me, how can I refuse? But, if you really take their things and don’t give any gifts in return, they will open their mouths to you in a few days, isn’t it? If you want to be an official, you want a good score, and the benefits you get are many times more than what he gave! I reward them one by one, but I just want to stop them from talking behind their backs. As the old saying goes, Cannibals are soft-spoken and short-handed. He gives me things, and I return his money. I don’t owe him anything, so he doesn’t dare to think too much. Only I, the governor, can sit securely. Don’t you think so?”

Lian'er buried her head on Li Hongzhang's chest and said, "It's the first time a concubine has heard of your way of being an official. But after thinking about it, it really makes sense. I hope that you will be promoted quietly in the future. It's good for people to know." Li Hongzhang hugged Zhao Lian tightly, and said while undressing: "Who says that a woman is virtuous without talent, but my little Lian'er is talented and virtuous! Remember what I said, an official position is compared with silver Heavy, silver is light. If you want to have great prosperity in the future, you must first make your officials reliable."

Seeing Li Hongzhang talking, Zhao Lian started to move his hands and feet, and said in a hurry: "Be more honest! Zhang Youfu's knife is almost worn out by your corns!" Two months after the restoration of Jinling, the Yamen of Liangjiang Governor moved from Anqing to Jinling. Zeng Guofan wrote to Li Hongzhang to discuss: "Should the governor's office of Jiangsu be moved here as well?" Li Hongzhang considered that teachers and students lived in the same city, and some things were difficult to handle, so he declined on the grounds that "Suzhou is close to Shanghai, so it is more convenient to handle business".But he still decided to go to Jinling to discuss a big matter with Zeng Guofan.

The governor of Liangjiang was located in the Tianwang Mansion. When Li Hongzhang arrived, Zeng Guofan was taking a nap in his room. Li Hongzhang didn't dare to disturb him, so he quietly led people out of the yamen, and took a sedan chair to meet Qiao Songnian at the yamen of Jiangning chief envoy who had just moved here.After saluting the gift, Qiao Songnian led Li Hongzhang to the signing room, and said straight away: "My lord Futai, you came to Jinling in such a hurry, did you hear something?" Li Hongzhang was startled, and hurriedly asked, "What happened to the governor's yamen?"

Qiao Songnian said: "It's not that there's something wrong with the governor's yamen, it's that there's something wrong with the imperial court. The Secretary heard from people from Beijing that many of them went to the imperial court and asked for the dismissal of the Hunan army. The military commander was disturbed by this incident. Well, it’s been a few days since I can’t eat well! My lord knows that the army has been fighting hard for several years, and it’s only after exhausting its efforts that it managed to make the Hunan army look good. Now it’s going to be dismissed again. Isn’t this a trap? Many Hunan braves died The dead, the wounded, the ones who didn’t die or were injured, all made contributions, big or small, how do you let the army deal with it? Isn’t this forcing them to rebel?” Li Hongzhang was even more surprised when he heard this, and said, "Master Qiao, where did you get this news? Is it reliable?" Qiao Songnian said urgently: "The whole Jinling has spread, why don't you always know about it?" "Hearing what you said, I really can't sit here any longer. I'll come to you for tea when I see my teacher." Li Hongzhang said goodbye to Qiao Songnian in a hurry, and then returned to the governor's office. Zeng Guofan had passed his nap and was sitting in the signing room, drinking tea while waiting for Li Hongzhang. After the ceremony, Li Hongzhang opened his mouth and said, "Teacher, my disciple just heard Qiao Fangbo say that the imperial court is going to attack our Hunan army. Is it true?" Zeng Guofan sighed, and said slowly: "It will happen sooner or later. The so-called birds are exhausted, good bows are hidden, cunning rabbits are dead, and lackeys are cooking. The superiors want to lay off the Hunan army, but I don't care. What I am gratified is that the court It’s only the dispatch of the Hunan Army, but we haven’t attacked the Huai and Chu armies yet, this is a blessing in misfortune, and we should be content!” Li Hongzhang said anxiously: "It's too early for the imperial court to act. It's true that the long hair in the south has been wiped out, but the farmers in Anhui, northern Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and other border areas have risen to make trouble again. Master, can't you always fight for it?" ?” Zeng Guofan didn't answer Li Hongzhang's words, but smiled wryly, and said, "Shaoquan, you came to Jinling in a hurry, do you have other things to do?" Li Hongzhang hurriedly said: "The students came to Jinling because they really wanted to discuss an important matter with their teacher. The teacher knows that since the Changmao uprising, the provincial examinations in various provinces in the south of the Yangtze River have been suspended for twelve years. , with a long-cherished wish for many years. The disciples thought that now that the chaos is peaceful and people’s hearts are still not very stable, if Liangjiang can resume the rural examination this year, it will not only stabilize people’s hearts, but it will be like a nectar for thousands of scholars. Wouldn't it be more effective in eliminating the harm caused by Chief Hong?" Zeng Guofan nodded approvingly and said: "Well said. It seems that the imperial court is right to let you be the governor of Jiangsu. How about it, you stay here for a few more days, first draw up a note, and the old man will jointly play with you , and strive to hold the Liangjiang Township Examination this year." Li Hongzhang hurriedly said: "If Liangjiang scholars hear that the provincial examination will be held this year, they may be very grateful to their mentor!" Zeng Guofan suddenly asked: "Shaoquan, if I remember correctly, you seem to be forty-two years old this year, right?" Li Hongzhang replied: "Master has a good memory. In three days, the student will be forty-two years old." Zeng Guofan sighed and said: "At your age, I have the title of second-rank servant, but at your age, you have not only become a feudal official, but also a super-rank earl! Let's see who in the world can compete with you!" compared to?" Li Hongzhang hurriedly said: "The teacher is serious! The students who are today are not all trained by the teacher!" Zeng Guofan stroked his beard and smiled and said, "You really can tell jokes, Shaoquan. You have only been with me for a few days! I said goodbye to you in the capital and didn't meet again until the eighth year of Xianfeng. At that time, you were already a third-rank envoy. Didn’t you earn it all by yourself? Shaoquan, I’m going to open my heart to tell you the truth today. Changmao’s energy is exhausted, and the Hunan Army is about to cease to exist. Now the old man is sick and can’t do much. It's over. What happens after the Qing Dynasty depends on you, Li Shaoquan." Li Hongzhang was sweating all over his face, and said sincerely and apprehensively: "Men, you are in your prime, and you have just become a Marquis. How can you say such a thing? If the Qing Dynasty did not have your experienced Hunan Army, what would it be like now?" Zeng Guofan smiled wryly and said, "Shaoquan, don't talk about it. It's a matter of one generation and one generation. You should take care of it. After you go down, first draw up a draft. The township examination is a big event, and it must be well-arranged before it can be carried out. As you just said, thousands of scholars have been waiting for twelve years, it's time for them to show their faces!" Soon, the copy of "I implore the Jiangnan Rural Examination to be held this year" jointly played by Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang was quickly sent to the capital.However, in more than ten days, the imperial court issued a decree to approve it, and ordered Liu Kun, a well-known scholar of the Imperial Academy, to be the official examiner, and Ping Buqing, editor of the Imperial Academy, to be the deputy examiner. Township examination. On the second day after receiving the imperial decree, Li Hongzhang left Jinling, inspected some counties and counties in Jiangsu along the way, and walked through several military camps before returning to the commercial office in Shanghai. There are a few things that need to be done by the Commercial Yamen.One is that Li Taitai, the Chief Taxation Officer, resigned, and the British side recommended Hurd to take over the position of the Chief Taxation Department. Regarding the sale of the factory, although the factory management had already discussed with Ding Richang twice, the Americans desperately wanted to talk to Li Hongzhang again, just to make more money. There is another matter that requires Li Hongzhang's final decision, that is, the addition of Russian classes to the Cantonese Dialect Center. The Russian side has sent three instructors to wait in Shanghai, but Ding Richang has not dared to answer for a long time. I didn't return when I was on business. Ding Richang is also really mischievous, if you say that when he is courageous, he dares to poke a hole in the sky, but when he is less courageous, he dare not touch an ant, how incompetent he really is. On the day Li Hongzhang arrived in Shanghai, the first thing he had to do was Li Taitai's resignation from Hurd to take over.