Chapter 78 The seventy-eighth section was involved in ten crimes

At the end of the sixth year of Guangxu (AD 1880), Li Hongzhang requested the establishment of Tianjin Naval Academy in Tianjin, which was approved by imperial edict. The Tianjin Naval Academy imitated the British Naval Teaching Charter to formulate regulations and plans. It was the first specialized academy in the Qing Dynasty to train naval personnel.At the beginning of the school's establishment, Li Hongzhang secretly protected Yan Fu as the chief instructor, hired British naval officers as instructors, and the funds were covered by the Beiyang Coastal Defense Fund. There were two departments: driving and management.The driving department specializes in managing ships, and the management department specializes in managing engines.Students also study English, geography, arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, driving, surveying, calculation, re-learning, chemistry, etc. The homework is generally the same as that of the British Naval School.

This year, there is another major event that cannot be ignored: under the strong support of Li Hongzhang, the power lines between the north and the south were connected.In order to prevent the line facilities from being damaged, Li Hongzhang ordered soldiers to guard along the route and sent military ships to patrol; despite this, some people poured blood on it, and three people were electrocuted to death in a row.The common people called the electric wire a big monster and dared not touch it again. In February of the seventh year of Guangxu (AD 1881), Zuo Zongtang, a scholar of the Dongge University who had only been in the court for two months, was squeezed out of the Military Aircraft Department and transferred to the governor of Liangjiang and the Minister of Nanyang.In the same month, Zeng Jize succeeded in changing the contract, and China and Russia re-signed the "Ili Treaty" and the "Land Trade Regulations".Sino-Russian relations gradually eased.Li Hongzhang's hanging heart was completely let go.

The signing of the "Ili Treaty" not only enabled the Qing Dynasty to successfully take back the nine cities of Ili, but also won back most of the territory ceded by Chonghou. This was almost the only successful negotiation in the diplomatic history of the late Qing Dynasty. Do not consider it a miracle. At the reception held by Li Hongzhang for this matter, the British ambassador to China, Wade Wade, heard the news and rushed to Tianjin to attend the meeting. He said: "China has forced Russia to do things it has never done before. territory that has been swallowed." Li Hongzhang's hand holding the cup trembled slightly, but he was speechless for a long time.Even though he knew that Wade's words were nothing more than praises to Zeng Jize and did not mean Li Hongzhang to him, he still felt hot and anxious.

Li Hongzhang couldn't help but came up with this idea: "It seems that I suggested to the court to approve Chonghou's signing of the contract. Maybe I really did something wrong. Could it be that I am really old!" A few days after the reception, behind Xue Fucheng's back and all his staff, he once again sketched out an imploring draft. Li Hongzhang wrote in the excerpt: "The minister has been lacking in Jijiang for ten years, and he has done too much. The Holy Mercy of Lihe is extraordinarily preserved and does not condemn him. The minister is also exhausted and stupid, but he has a grateful heart and never looks forward Fear of difficulties. Zhili is very calm now, and there is no military; China and Russia have reached a treaty, and the border threat has been eliminated. Although there are many clues about China and foreign negotiations, the emperor's benevolence is announced every year, and Zhu Zhen posts reports. Just be careful as you go The charter is properly manipulated, and there is no need to worry about discord. The minister is just sixty years old, frail and decrepit, and has been unbearable. The corpse is a vegetarian meal. I beg you to take a break. I beg the empress dowager and the emperor for instructions. I would like to play it. "

He copied the scriptures clearly one by one, and prepared to send them out at noon tomorrow, but he made up his mind that if the court refused to approve his request, he would send out two or three scriptures until the court approved it. That night, the messengers from Prince Gong's mansion rushed to Baoding like the wind, and handed him a private letter from Prince Gong.At that time, after dinner, Li Hongzhang talked with a group of staff about the anecdotes of the previous dynasty. The guards broke into the official hall without waiting for the summons, walked up to Li Hongzhang, handed the letter from Prince Gong forward with both hands, and said: "Mr. Fu, this is a private letter from Prince Gong's mansion."

Li Hongzhang was stunned, took it hastily, and said casually: "Okay, you go down." The guard turned and walked out.Li Hongzhang opened the letter in front of Xue Fucheng and other staff, and after reading it, his expression became gloomy.He handed the letter to Xue Fucheng casually, and said angrily: "Yesterday, Liu Xihong handed over the empress dowagers of the two palaces a ginseng, and he was involved in the ten crimes of the old man. It is contempt for the discipline to say that the old man played the role of Ren Daorong, the governor of the feudal clan. , the preparation of the payment needs to be done again is to defy the imperial court and slander the decree. Even Huang Huihe, the member of the preferential protection committee, Xingsun and Yongyu, the secret protection member, have also become guilty. He also said that the old man asked for permission to sign the "Li The Treaty of Wadia was bribed by the Russians and took advantage of Buce! According to what Liu Xihong said, what the old man has done is already outraged by gods and men, and the punishment is light. It should be destroyed Only the Nine Clans can relieve their hatred!"

Xue Fucheng quickly read the letter, handed it to Xu Qianshen, Huang Huihe and others beside him, and said in a low voice: "Fu Xiang, this Liu Xihong has been traveling in Western Europe for two years, and he has not seen much progress, but he has developed his courage. It doesn’t count if Mr. Guo is defeated, but you still have to stew your old spoon! He is just a second-rank general political envoy and councilor, and he is too arrogant! But then again, with his Liu Xihong’s ability, he is not so good. Get carried away? Could it be that someone in the palace ordered you, or someone wants to use Liu Xihong's hand to overthrow you and replace you?"

Li Hongzhang twisted his beard and said thoughtfully: "I think about it for a while, probably some old man in Beijing has taken a fancy to the title of bachelor on my head. Yongyu, I trouble you to go to the signing room and seal the table. Bring the good one over here." Xue Fucheng hurriedly agreed and got up and left.Xu Qianshen put the letter back on the table at this time, and said: "Master Fu, Liu Xihong is right, he is crazy! It seems that Liu Xihong has eyeliners in Baoding and Tianjin! Do you want me to conduct a secret investigation? " Staff member Huang Huihe said at this time: "Master Fu Xiang, do you always think that the person standing behind Liu Xihong should be a senior member of the court? Is it Li Hongzao? Is it Xu Tong? Or Weng Tonghe, Minister of Industry? Emperor Father, he won't be envious of the hat of a university scholar, will he?"

Xu Qian said: "The lower official speculates that Liu Xihong is desperate to be Fu Xiang's enemy. In all likelihood, it is Xu Tong's crooked idea made by this stubborn old man!" At this time Xue Fucheng came in with the memorial in his hand and said, "Fu Xiang, but this?" Xue Fucheng handed the memorial to Li Hongzhang. Li Hongzhang took it over and looked at it and said, "That's right, it's this one. Yongyu, you probably can't figure out what is written in this booklet, right?" Xue Fucheng said with a smile: "Fu Xiang is very clever, ghosts and gods are unpredictable, you should just say it straight."

Li Hongzhang unsealed the memorial, handed it to Xue Fucheng, and said, "This is a pleading letter drafted by the old man himself. The old man plans to send it out tomorrow afternoon, but unexpectedly, Liu Xihong became fussy. He participated in the ten major crimes of the old man in a row. If it is verified One, the old man will be the official for the end! It seems that the old man really hinders some people's eyes. Don't some people want to overthrow the old man to make room for him?" When Li Hongzhang said this, he stood up suddenly, raised his head, stared at him, slapped his right hand on the table, and said something like this: "This old man won't let me go! This old man has been in the officialdom for a long time. In ten years, except for my mentor Zeng Wenzheng, I have never convinced anyone!"

After finishing speaking, Li Hongzhang picked up the booklet, tore it into pieces, threw it to the ground, and said with a sneer, "I'm just sitting in Baoding, waiting for the Ministry of Criminal Justice to come and arrest me! Why does Liu Xihong hate me so much? I know it well. Today, I simply opened up my words so that I would not be able to speak to others after being imprisoned in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. Guo Yunxian was dismissed and returned to the country. The court originally proposed that Liu Xihong be appointed as minister to consult the old man. The old man told the court that he could not, so the court then The matter was dismissed and Zeng Jiegang was reassigned as an envoy. At this time, someone recommended Liu Xihong to be the envoy to Germany, and the imperial court asked for an order, but the old man still said no. The imperial court had to recall Liu Xihong together, and first rewarded the third-rank Dingshu Guanglu Doctor, soon he was appointed Minister of Guanglu Temple. The imperial court thought that he was doing well and had suffered a lot abroad, so he was rewarded with a second-rank title and transferred him to be a councilor of the General Political Department. That's why Liu Xihong became famous. The right to impeach. Liu Xihong thinks too highly of himself!" Xue Fucheng hurriedly got up and said with a smile: "Fu Xiang is angry. What kind of person is Fu Xiang? Who is Liu Xihong? If you have the same knowledge as him, won't the people in the world laugh at you?" Li Hongzhang sat down again, stroked his beard and said, "Yongyu, you probably don't know that in the eighth year of Tongzhi, Wu Tang also participated in the case, and the court sent me to Sichuan to investigate and deal with it. After investigation, the old man defended Wu Tang a few words. In this matter, someone handed over three papers to the Queen Mother in succession, referring to the fact that the old man's investigation was not true, saying that the old man was trying to cover up the criminals, and there was an uproar, even Zuo Jigao was dissatisfied with the old man. Did the old man really cover up? What about covering up Wu Tang? The old man admitted that he covered up, and Wu Tang did not think carefully. But the old man thought that what Wu Tang did was not worth one-tenth of Fuji's. He can make a lot of money like crazy. If someone dares to participate, Han officials will be guilty if they get ten thousand eight taels of silver? This person does things, leaving a way out for others, but in fact he is leaving a way out for himself.” Xue Fucheng asked in a low voice at this time: "Fu Xiang, should we send someone to Beijing to find out the news?" Li Hongzhang waved his hand and asserted: "There is no need for that! I just sit here and wait for them to come and get it! I don't believe that a toad can overturn an iron-clad boat!" The next day, Li Hongzhang opened the door as usual.As in the past, discuss official matters with subordinates as usual, as if nothing happened.But Xue Fucheng and other staff members couldn't cheer up for more than ten days in a row, thinking about retreating in their hearts. The imperial decree finally came to Baoding.When Li Hongzhang heard the news, he immediately sent someone in to change himself into an official uniform. Then he straightened up, calmly came to the official hall, knelt down facing north, and said: "My minister, Li Hongzhang, is waiting for the imperial edict." The official who delivered the decree opened the imperial decree and declared: "Today, it is reported that Liu Xihong, the second-rank Dingdai Tongzheng envoy, and the counselor Liu Xihong played the frontier ministers. It is very surprising to see the performances. Li Hongzhang has been in Fengqi for a long time. , deeply invested and relied on, and he could not be without fault in his daily affairs, and the imperial court admonished him at any time, and it was not a little lenient. According to Liu Xihong's various items, such as playing Liu Fansi Ren Daorong's view of contempt for discipline, and repeating The preparation of the salary needs to be neglected for defiance of the imperial court, defamation of the edict, Huang Huihe, member of the preferential protection committee, etc., for lying and deceiving. It is said that he is domineering and disobedient, just like the monarchy, and published various memorials with absurd words , wantonly falling, especially absurd and confused. The imperial court listened to the words under the control and was upright. It seems that such a slander must be punished. Liu Xihong's work is strictly discussed and punished by the Ministry of Communications, and Li Hongzhang should not be punished for being falsely involved. Feeling cold, you can only concentrate on doing things and stick to chasteness. I respect this." Li Hongzhang took the aim, faced north to thank Enbi, two lines of big teardrops rolled out of his eyes suddenly, his expression also swept away the anger of the past few days, and became sad and wronged.Xue Fucheng and others hurriedly helped him into the signing room, and took turns to comfort him, but he didn't say a word, just holding the imperial decree and sobbing. Xue Fucheng sighed and said: "Thinking about Fu Xiang, I have really been wronged. In the past few decades, Fu Xiang has done so many things for the court, but he still has to be attacked and slandered. Isn't the conscience let the dog eat it? It’s really magnanimous, just sternly discuss Liu Xihong’s Ministry of Communications and settle the matter? He should be sent to prison and let him speak out who instigated him!” Xu Qianshen secretly pulled Xue Fucheng with his hand, and said in a low voice: "Don't add fuel to the flames. There is an old saying in Zhejiang that if you are in charge for three days, you will be disgusted by a dog. How can Fu Xiang keep the official in his current position without being punished?" Are you jealous? Don't be too sad, Fu Xiang, although your old body is strong, but after all you have worked hard for many years, you should cherish it!" Xue Fucheng hurriedly said: "Yes, Liu Xihong is a cheap bone, Fu Xiang must not fall into his tricks!" Xue Fucheng's words made Li Hongzhang laugh out of tears.Li Hongzhang stopped crying, took out a cloth towel and wiped away his tears and said: "Kaiping Mining Bureau, I don't know how it is doing, and the Shanghai Machine Weaving Bureau also doesn't know if it can start work next year. Dai Heng, Gong Shoutu, Zheng Guanying, Jing Yuanshan These few people don’t know if they can get shares. Tomorrow, you can go around with the old man. The Kaiping Mining Bureau has been mining countless coals for three years. Tang Tingshu’s contribution is indisputable! Sun summoned him from Tianjin and asked him to go to Luanzhou as well." Xue Fucheng and his staff looked at each other, and suddenly burst out laughing.Li Hongzhang returned to normal, stroked his beard and said slowly: "You laugh at me today, tomorrow, you may shed more tears than me! I don't cry this time, it's strange if I don't get sick from anger? Having said that , the old man was really thrown into the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, let's see how you dare to collude with foreigners in the future!" That night, Li Hongzhang tossed and turned, unable to sleep at night.On the one hand, he felt the kindness of the imperial court, and on the other hand, he felt the trust of the queen mothers of the two palaces.According to the ancestral system of the Qing Dynasty, no matter what level of official it is, as long as someone participates in the performance, the imperial court should send personnel to verify it.However, Liu Xihong participated in Li Hongzhang's ten major crimes this time. The imperial court not only did not send personnel down, but also did not even issue the "inquiry" that should be issued by the military aircraft department, so Liu Xihong was directly handed over to the Ministry for strict discussion. This could not help but move Li Hongzhang. Feelings. In the middle of the night, Li Hongzhang put on his clothes and got out of bed, quietly came to the study, lit the lamp, and wanted to write an excerpt about Liu Xihong's participation in the court, to show that he understood the emperor's grace and the love of the two palaces.He smoked a bag of hookah first, sorted out his thoughts, then spread the paper, and wrote "Lek Chen Feelings and Desires": "Fu Nianchen has no academics and lacks talent, but his loyalty to serve the country, and he has allied himself with the lonely. He has never dared to slack off. He has been in the army for a long time and has suffered from fatigue. He is now sixty years old. , the energy is exhausted day by day, the disease invades, the responsibilities are too heavy, and the government affairs are too complicated. There are often some mental negligence, and occasionally fail to check, and often blame and slander. , steal a breath of peace, cause a mistake to ask for the father, and worry about the father. I don’t want Liu Xihong to coerce my ministers to obey the order last year. The withdrawal of the play made Germany suspected, and rumors arose, and it was notorious. If you follow what you said, you will have no face Abusing the toilet in court, and death is not the responsibility of the underground. Since it is not my empress dowager, the emperor's grace to recreate the world, there is no one else to judge the minister, and the Ming minister is innocent. The reason why I am grateful for the benevolence is that I can't help sobbing and hurting myself, and those who have lost sleep and food. But the fault of the minister is originally in the sage's cover. It is the most fortunate thing for Quyou Weichen, and the punishment and the words are also uneasy. Mistaken reposting, accumulating guilt, self-defense at night, all the facilities, ashamed of the sub-precepts, slightly satisfying the expectations of the public. Even if the criticism is not in time, the minister is always cautious, helpful, respectful, and always in awe , Gathering people's thoughts to tackle key problems, being careful to serve the public, not daring to love oneself, not wanting to make mistakes in writing, and hoping that the court will rely on it to preserve it. I am so afraid of dogs and horses, I will write it down and write it down." More than ten days after the papers were sent out, Li Hongzhang took Sheng Xuanhuai, Xue Fucheng and other aides, and drove to Luanzhou Kaiping Mining Bureau to inspect the matter. On the day he arrived in Luanzhou, Li Hongzhang received a secret message from the Military Aircraft Office: Empress Dowager Ci'an is coming!While Li Hongzhang set up a spirit to cry and worship in Luanzhou, he rushed to get a discount on "Kowtow to the Zigong".Li Hongzhang knew that in the Qing Dynasty, the history of the empress dowagers in the two palaces no longer existed, and the power would be in the sole hands of the Empress Dowager Cixi.He was at a loss as to what would happen to the Qing Dynasty after that, and he couldn't think of a definite answer.