Chapter 20 10. Eunuchs parade on behalf of the Qing Dynasty (1)

Outside the mouth of Lushun, more than a dozen warships of the Beiyang Navy flew their battle flags and fired salutes... The man who came to parade on behalf of the Qing Dynasty was a eunuch without male roots--Li Lianying... A few years have passed since the last fire in the palace and Empress Dowager Cixi moved into Chuxiu Palace.This Chuxiu Palace is the most magnificent palace among the six western palaces.In the tenth year of Guangxu, although China and France were at war in Vietnam, and China and Japan were having disputes in North Korea, reports of battles were frequently reported, and the situation was tense, but the Empress Dowager Cixi didn't care about it, and only wanted to enjoy herself.In order to celebrate his own birthday, he also decreed to rebuild Chuxiu Palace, together with rewarding his servants, it cost 1.25 million taels of silver.The originally magnificent Chuxiu Palace is even more magnificent after this decoration.But who would have thought that the Empress Dowager Cixi got tired of living there after not living there for two years, and she always felt that this deep palace compound seemed too cold and stuffy.He was always thinking about changing another place, but after much deliberation, Nuo Da couldn't find a place he liked in the Forbidden City.

That night, with the bright moon in the sky, the Empress Dowager Cixi sat on the grand master's chair covered with yellow cushions, resting her chin on her hand, staring at the round moon in the sky sullenly.Li Lianying, who was standing aside, saw the empress dowager Cixi's expression, as if she had lost her job, and her face was full of anxiety.I thought to myself, what's going on with Lafayette these days, he doesn't like tea or food?Hastily activated his thirty-six rotating shafts and seventy-two minds, thanks to the fact that he has served Empress Dowager Cixi for so many years, he has a clear understanding of Empress Dowager Cixi's temper, and when he turned his head, he came up with an idea.I thought she must be for this matter.From the twelfth year of Tongzhi, she was going to rebuild the Old Summer Palace, and instructed Emperor Tongzhi to issue an edict to repair the Old Summer Palace in the name of "supporting the two palaces". However, due to the emptiness of the treasury, Prince Gong, Prince Jin and other princes and ministers dissuaded them one after another, and the garden was not allowed. Do not put it aside.Even though she has moved to this magnificent Chuxiu Palace, she is tired of living in this cold and stuffy palace after all.So he broke the silence and said: "Lafayette, according to my servant, this Nuo Da palace is too cold."

The Empress Dowager Cixi said with an "ah", "it's cooler, but what can I do?" "Thinking about it, my slave, I really feel sorry for Lafayette. The court is always thinking about the local area; if there is something, Lafayette, you have rewarded him with your body. But in the end, what happened? It's still crying poor everywhere. Stretching out their hands upwards, why do they think that money is not easy to come by? How much painstaking efforts did the imperial court take? For more than ten years, those adults who have been doing foreign affairs have spent a lot of money. What kind of factories can they build? What kind of soldiers can they train? What kind of ship is it? Foreigners come in and still pay compensation, millions of silver, just like this, the slave really feels distressed."

"What do you mean by saying that?" The Empress Dowager Cixi didn't understand what he meant after listening for a long time. Li Lianying hesitated for a moment, and then said: "My servant said that you can still hear the sound when you throw money in the water. It's a pity to throw away millions of money for nothing like this! Instead of letting them spend money indiscriminately, Why don't you spend it, Lafayette! If Lafayette didn't dare to spend money, would he be able to live in such a deserted life? I feel uncomfortable when I think about it!... But who can save it and save it?" He said Li Lianying actually sobbed.

"Don't talk about it!" Empress Dowager Cixi sighed, "Are these all for our Daqing society?" Seeing the Empress Dowager Cixi's expression, Li Lianying knew that she had guessed right, so she boldly said: "Lafayette is only thinking about our country in the Qing Dynasty, thinking that half of our country in the Qing Dynasty would be in danger? It's almost over. "If it weren't for Lafayette, you can hold back, what would you look like now? But who is there to be considerate of Lafayette? No one will make a face for Lafayette, bully Lafayette for his kindness. Lord Qianlong has built so many gardens. No one dared to say no, Lafayette wasted sleep and food for state affairs, and he was so worried that he wanted to build a garden. They all tried to dissuade him, but this slave is a little bit aggrieved!"

After going around half a circle, I finally got to the point. As Li Lianying expected, these words hit the Empress Dowager Cixi's heart, and she said excitedly: "It's really rare that you have such filial piety!" Hearing this, Li Lianying became more courageous, and he said: "Lafayette, you are open-minded. You have both the blessing of Qianlong Lord and the wisdom of Qianlong Lord. If Qianlong Lord can do it, why can't Lafayette Lafayette do it? Didn’t the foreigners burn down the Old Summer Palace back then? According to my servant, we might as well build another garden now, and see if the foreigners can touch it.”

Hearing these impassioned words, the Empress Dowager Cixi's heart was surging, and her eyes were filled with tears of excitement.However, recalling the uproar caused by the construction of the Old Summer Palace in the last years of Tongzhi, I couldn't help but feel lingering fear, and hesitated: "It's just..." "There is a way that there are no rules and regulations, and there are rules that cannot be abolished. Lafayette has worked so hard for so many years. According to the rules of the ancestors, the emperor should also cultivate a country to honor the Lafayette! With the rules of the ancestors, what is the Lafayette afraid of?"

Repairing a garden is not something that can be said and done, it requires money!Although the Empress Dowager Cixi was quite tempted, she couldn't do without money, so she said: "Forget it! Now the situation is tense, and if we want to build a navy, an ironclad ship costs one or two million silver. In the end, it costs tens of millions, at least. Have money to repair the garden?" "Building a navy is a major national event and should not be neglected." Li Lianying said in a very forceful voice, "But it doesn't necessarily cost that much money. Just talk to Li Zhongtang and let him hold it tighter."

One sentence made the Empress Dowager Cixi beam with joy and smile all over her face.That's right, quietly mentioning some money and secretly repairing it. Once the raw rice is cooked, what else can they say?Thinking about it, a garden landscape with carved beams and painted buildings, pavilions, lakes and mountains, and rippling blue waves can't help but emerge in front of my eyes... Speaking of the establishment of the Qing Dynasty Navy, the road can really be said to be bumpy.In the mid-1970s, the Qing government began to rectify coastal defense and build a new type of navy.In the thirteenth year of Tongzhi, the Japanese armed forces invaded Taiwan, and the powerful navy of the Qing court was humiliated by a small country.Ding Richang, the former governor of Jiangsu Province, put forward six articles in the "Regulations of the Marine Navy", suggesting the establishment of three navies, Beiyang, Dongyang and Nanyang, each with an admiral.After discussions between the central and local officials of the Qing Dynasty, the Prime Minister’s National Affairs Office basically agreed with Ding Richang’s proposal, but said that “the financial resources are not sufficient, and it is difficult to make a big move, so please. First create a navy army for Beiyang, and then gradually fill it up. Just convert one into three, and choose the distribution." After several plans, the Qing government finally appointed Li Hongzhang to supervise the Beiyang coastal defense affairs and Shen Baozhen to supervise the Nanyang coastal defense affairs on April 26, the first year of Guangxu.As for naval military expenditures, the Prime Minister's Yamen agreed to allocate 4 million taels a year from the lijin items of Guangdong, Fujian, and other six provinces including Jiangsu and Zhejiang, with the north and the south split half, but the provinces allocated more than enough, and owed a lot.In the third year of Guangxu's reign, Henan and Shanxi provinces suffered severe droughts, and the Empress Dowager Cixi borrowed funds from Haiphong for disaster relief.

It is said that the coastal defense funds of four million taels per year are actually only hundreds of thousands of taels. Since then, the Qing court navy has not made great progress. During the Sino-French War in the tenth year of Guangxu, the French Navy raided the Fuzhou Navy, and the Fuzhou Navy was almost wiped out. Nine of the eleven ships were destroyed. Such a battle situation shocked the whole court.In addition, since then, foreign aggressive forces have deepened their attacks on China, and Japan, Britain, Russia, and France have invaded and occupied China's border areas.In order to cope with this complicated situation, under the urging of the Westernization Movement, the Empress Dowager Cixi ordered Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Peng Yulin, Zhang Zhidong and other important officials to build a large navy and expand shipbuilding factories on the ninth day of May in the eleventh year of Guangxu. , Purchase iron-clad fast ships, and set up defenses in Taiwan, Penghu and other places.On the fifth day of September, the Naval Affairs Yamen was formally established in charge of coastal defense affairs, and Prince Chun Yixuan was appointed as the prime minister for naval affairs. Zeng Jize, the Minister of the Ministry of War, helped him handle it; first, he trained a navy from Beiyang, and Li Hongzhang was in charge of it.

Judging by the momentum, they were ready to do a big job, but who knew that there was still a lot of thunder and little rain.Not to mention that Yizhen, Yikuang, Shanqing and others have never even experienced the sea, so they don't know what a navy is.The issue of funding alone could not be solved. It was not easy to build a navy at that time, and it cost at least several million taels of silver.Li Hongzhang allocated huge sums of money, but the Empress Dowager Cixi often stayed in the middle school and refused to distribute them; the Ministry of Households reluctantly raised funds until the petition was repeated.Li Hongzhang wanted 100,000 taels, but the household department only allocated 30,000 to 40,000 taels; Li Hongzhang wanted 200,000 taels, and the household department only allocated 60,000 to 70,000 taels.For Li Hongzhang, he was also a dumb man who ate Coptis chinensis, unable to tell what he was suffering. In the spring of the twelfth year of Guangxu, they managed to get a batch of silver together, and purchased more than a dozen ships of various sizes from Britain, Germany, the United States, France and other countries.Later, soldiers were recruited, and a Beiyang naval fleet was built. Looking at the Beiyang Fleet that he had built up through all kinds of hardships, Li Hongzhang was really moved!But he knew in his heart that such a small fleet would not be of much use at all. He wanted to expand it, but the imperial court did not provide funds. Finally, after thinking about it, he simply submitted a memorial, saying that the Beiyang Fleet has a certain scale. People review.What did Li Hongzhang think?He originally wanted to pass the review, so that the Empress Dowager Cixi realized the important role of the navy in the war, and then allocated huge sums of money to expand the strength of the fleet.But who would have thought that it would be self-defeating, not only did not increase the funds, but it reduced the originally scheduled funds by a lot... After listening to Li Lianying's words, Empress Dowager Cixi made up her mind to build the Summer Palace.But it is not so easy to ask Li Hongzhang to squeeze out some money secretly.As the governor of Zhili, Li Hongzhang was based in Tianjin and could not leave easily. Even if he was called to Beijing, it would inevitably leak the news; he wanted to send someone there, but there was no proper reason.When I was struggling with nothing to do, who would have thought that Li Hongzhang's booklet was presented, and the Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help secretly delighting, there is a way now!Immediately, Li Lianying was ordered to pass Prince Chun into the palace. However, when Prince Jin heard Li Hongzhang's report that the Beiyang Fleet had grown in size and requested to send personnel to inspect it, he couldn't help but wondered. , Can I buy a few ships?Hearing that the Empress Dowager Cixi summoned him, he hurried into the palace, planning to tell the Empress Dowager Cixi about this matter. "Your Majesty Chun," said the Empress Dowager Cixi with a beaming face, "Have you read the book by Li Hongzhang?" "The minister has seen it." The Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't hide her inner joy, laughed twice and then said: "This is so gratifying. I didn't expect Li Hongzhang to do it twice. In just a few years, he built a decent one for our Qing Dynasty. Fleet, let's see who dares to bully us in the future!" "Empress Dowager", Prince Jin said with a flat face after hearing her words: "This matter is indeed gratifying. But according to Yichen, this matter may..." "how?" "Queen Mother, I feel that this matter is a bit strange. Since last year, the purpose of training the Beiyang Navy has been quite effective, but the funds given are really limited. It is not easy to build a decent navy with such a small amount of funds. Things." After hearing this, the Empress Dowager Cixi said unhappily: "No way! Hongzhang has always been safe and reliable in his work, so how can he lie? Besides, this is the most important matter of the court, and he will never deceive him. If he wants to deceive him, why would he ask for an officer?" What about inspection?" "I just don't feel at ease." "Since that's the case, then you should bring Shanqing, Enyou and others to see for yourself what happened." "The minister obeys the order." Prince Jin thought that the matter was over, but who would have thought that Empress Dowager Cixi said again: "Lord Chun, I want Lianying to go too, what do you think?" After hearing this, Prince Jin couldn't help but wondered, thinking that it's not good to send someone, why did he send a eunuch, could it be that the Queen Mother is afraid that I will deceive you, and wants him to be your eyes and ears?But the eunuch was too ostentatious when he went out to review the army in Beijing, so he played back cautiously: "Queen Mother, this may not be very convenient." "What's the inconvenience?" Empress Dowager Cixi said coldly with a sullen face. "This..." Prince Jin hesitated for a moment, and said, "What I mean is that Manager Li is the second-rank leader, and his position is too high." "Let him bring a sixth-grade crown." Seeing that the Empress Dowager Cixi had already made up her mind, Prince Jin couldn't say anything more, so he had to reluctantly agree. As soon as the news came out, the government and the public were all shocked, and sent an eunuch to review the army. Isn't this the disaster of the Tang Dynasty's army supervisor, and it will be seen again today?But everyone was frightened by the empress dowager Cixi's despotic power and dared not say anything more.It was the foolish mausoleum guard, Yibeizi Yimo, encouraged by his wife and younger brother Zhirui, who planned to persuade Prince Chun to fight. On this day, Yimo set up a car and drove directly to Prince Chun's Mansion by the Taiping Lake, and saw that the front of the mansion was crowded with officials from the Navy Office, the Prime Minister's Office, the Military Aircraft Office, and the Beiyang Office. There was a business discussion, so Yimo waited in the small living room for more than half an hour before seeing Prince Jin Yixuan. Yimo and Prince Chun are cousins, so they are not polite when they meet, and they open their mouths and ask, "I said Seventh Brother, it is justifiable to send you to inspect the Beiyang land and water armies this time. I just don't understand, how could the superiors send you?" Then Li Lianying accompanied? Isn't this the disaster of the Tang Dynasty's supervisory army, and it will be seen again in our Qing Dynasty?" "Why, what's going on outside?" "Seventh brother, don't you know? There are a lot of discussions outside. It is said that eunuchs are not allowed to go out of Beijing. It is a very holy family law in my dynasty, and I should strictly abide by it. If this case is opened, then it can be done at any time in the future. Send eunuchs to the provinces to inspect military affairs. The local governors are not comparable to you, Seventh Brother, and they will not be able to restrain this generation. In this way, the disaster of the eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty will be far away, and the faults of the eunuchs guarding the eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty will be repeated in the near future. today." "What do you mean?" "Little brother also feels that this matter has a lot to do with it, so I came to see you, Brother Seven." Prince Chun knows everything about Yimo.I thought to myself that with your fiery temper, I'll tell you the truth, can you let it go?What if something bad happens again?Thinking like this, he refused to tell the truth, and simply took it all by himself, "I asked the Queen Mother to send him. At this time, there is no way to argue. From now on, I will find a way to suppress them." Upon hearing that it was Prince Chun himself who invited him, Yimo couldn't help being dumbfounded, and asked in amazement: "Seventh brother, why are you so confused, that slave is so powerful now, who else do you care about? If you don't try to stop it, how can you?" Please send him to accompany you, won't this increase his arrogance?" "This..." After hearing Yimo's words, Prince Jin really didn't know what to say for a while, after thinking for a long time, Fang finally found a reason: "Oh, I also worked hard. They are pampered and pampered in the deep palace all day long, and they don't know the difficulty of the current situation. Let them see the situation outside, let them know the danger of the storm, the suffering of the soldiers, and restrain themselves a little in the future. " Yimo sneered slightly: "Seventh brother, you really have a good intention! But in my opinion, I'm afraid it's not that easy, and maybe it will increase the arrogance of the deep palace." "No, no, don't worry! Don't you worry about your brother?" When Prince Jin said this, Yimo couldn't say anything more.He dared to contradict the Empress Dowager Cixi, but he didn't dare to be too presumptuous when it came to Prince Gong and Prince Jiu, because these two were the younger brothers of Emperor Xianfeng, so he had no choice but to leave immediately. As soon as Yimo left, Prince Jin stood blankly in the room, thinking about what Yimo said, it really made sense.Helpless to this point, the uncooked rice will be ripe rice, and it is impossible to recover.How can this be good?When he was restless, someone came to report: "Master Sun is here." Prince Chun couldn't help feeling relieved, and summoned him immediately. "Laishan", he quietly asked, "What's happening on Yan Road recently?" Knowing that Prince Jin was referring to Li Lianying's entourage, Sun Yuwen hurriedly replied: "There is nothing happening now, but what will happen in the future, I dare not say anything about it." "Ah!" Prince Jin sighed, "Yi Beizi came just now and said that this move might encourage the arrogance of the deep palace. Now that I think about it, I'm really worried. It's like this now, if in the future... , how can I do it!" "My lord, you don't have to worry too much. After all, he is not as impetuous as Xiao Anzi. I think he will restrain himself a bit. But since your lord has thought of this, it doesn't hurt to plan ahead." Prince Jin hurriedly asked: "Laishan, tell me quickly, what should we do?" This really baffled Sun Yuwen, the backer of Prince Chun could not be offended; Li Lianying, a big tree, could not be ignored either.After thinking for a long time, Fang replied: "From the point of view of my humble position, the prince might as well issue an edict to instruct the entourage not to harass and demand; if there is any violation, there will be no mercy. I think he should also understand what this means. If not, the prince might as well kill a chicken and show it to the monkey, and use someone as an example. " "Wonderful, really wonderful!" After hearing this, Prince Chun couldn't help praising him repeatedly, and immediately drew up a letter and sent the guards to the Navy Yamen to issue it. "One more thing," Prince Jin continued to ask: "Lai Shan, what do you think the empress dowager sent Li Lianying to accompany this time?" Sun Yuwen had heard rumors from Li Lianying a long time ago, but how dare he speak out?He had no choice but to say: "Beiyang military training, whether it's the navy or the navy, has spent a lot of money. According to my humble opinion, the Queen Mother may be a little suspicious about this, so I sent Director Li to see what's going on. " "That's right! In that case, I'd better watch out." So the next day, the word came down: this review must be a big show of military prestige.The meaning is naturally to make Li Lianying dazzled by the military power, so that he can go back and report to the Empress Dowager Cixi, thinking that the money is not in vain. When the news reached Tianjin, Li Hongzhang was really happy and worried.The happy thing is that this time Prince Chun Yixuan came to review in person, and the funding problem may be more settled; the worry is that I don’t know what kind of medicine is sold in the gourd of the Empress Dowager Cixi, so I sent Li Lianying to review it.Li Hongzhang knew that Li Lianying was the favorite prisoner of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and Prince Chun asked him to accompany him during the military parade.Prince Jin was easy to deal with, but he had to be more careful with Li Lianying.Li Lianying is amazing, he has experienced it before... It was still in the early years of Guangxu, once the Empress Dowager Cixi issued a decree calling Li Hongzhang to Beijing to discuss matters immediately.After receiving the order, Li Hongzhang hurried from Tianjin to Beijing with several entourages. At that time, although Li Lianying was only the second in charge, due to the favor of the Empress Dowager Cixi, he had already gained a lot of power. Whenever an official entered the palace to perform affairs, he had to give him some gifts first, ranging from a few dozen taels to hundreds of taels at most. Otherwise, don't even think about seeing the Empress Dowager Cixi.Li Hongzhang only knew that the Empress Dowager Cixi favored and trusted Li Lianying, how could he know that he would dare to do such a thing? On this day, Li Hongzhang arrived in the capital, and after a little rectification, he hurried into the palace. "Director Li, please inform me that Li Hongzhang has come to see you by order." Li Hongzhang was already the governor of Zhili at this time, with high power and position.Li Lianying thought that he would definitely back up a generous gift for herself, but who would have thought that Li Hongzhang had nothing in his hands, so he lazily said: "Oh, it is Li Zhongtang, I'm really sorry, the Queen Mother is resting now, so I can't report." "Director Li, the Queen Mother announced that I have something urgent, so you can go up and talk about it." Li Hongzhang said with a smile. "Lord Zhongtang, it's not that our family doesn't inform you. Don't you understand the queen mother's temper, don't disturb her when she's sleeping! If the queen mother blames her, our family can't bear it." No way, wait!Who would have thought that as the sky was getting darker, Li Lianying would still say the same thing. The second day and the third day, three days in a row passed, but I couldn't see the Empress Dowager Ci.Like an ant on a hot pot, Li Hongzhang was running around in a hurry and said a lot of good things, but Li Lianying just ignored him and made him tremble with anger, stamping his feet and beating his chest. On the fourth day after the Empress Dowager Cixi issued the decree, she was discussing matters with Prince Gong in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, when she suddenly thought of this, she felt suspicious, so she asked Prince Gong: "Master Gong, why did Li Hongzhang not come to Beijing after receiving the decree?" come?" "Li Zhongtang entered the capital three days ago, I just saw him outside the palace gate when I came in, I'm afraid he didn't bring any money!" Yixin said coldly. After hearing this, the Empress Dowager Cixi understood what was going on in her heart, and without saying a word, she took a pen and wrote a Daoyi decree, and handed it to a young eunuch, asking him to pass Li Hongzhang into the palace immediately. Li Lianying wanted to embarrass Li Hongzhang again, but when she saw that the Empress Dowager Cixi had issued a moral order again, she had to give up. Seeing that Li Lianying made fun of him like this, Li Hongzhang couldn't help being furious. He thought that you, a little eunuch, dare to treat me so presumptuously.Who wants to see the Empress Dowager Cixi, before he can speak, the Empress Dowager Cixi asked angrily: "Li Zhongtang, why didn't you enter the palace to answer after receiving the order!" "This..." Li Hongzhang said full of grievances: "Quiet the Queen Mother, I am really wronged. The minister entered the capital immediately after receiving the order. It was Li Lianying, the chief steward, who forbade the minister to enter the palace. Waited for three full days." After hearing Li Hongzhang's words, Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help but giggled.Li Hongzhang knelt on the ground. Monk Zhang Er couldn't figure it out, and said in a daze, "Queen Mother, this is..." "Forget it, why didn't you bring him something." Bring something?I have to bring something for him when I go to the palace to play something?Li Hongzhang said angrily: "Queen Mother, this Li Lianying is too arrogant. Please punish him severely and let him know how serious he is." Empress Dowager Cixi waved her hand and said with a smile: "Okay, calm down! This matter is over." "The Empress..." Before he finished speaking, the Empress Dowager Cixi became impatient: "Okay, as the saying goes: a prime minister can pull a boat in his belly, why bother to be as knowledgeable as him." The next day Li Hongzhang returned to Tianjin, thinking more and more about this matter, he became more and more angry, thinking that I, Li Hongzhang, had worked hard for the Qing Dynasty, galloped on the battlefield, and became famous all over the country.No, even if I lose this flower feather crown, I will kill you dog slave to relieve the hatred in my heart!Immediately, he took up his pen and wrote a letter to Li Lianying, asking Li Lianying to go to Tianjin to briefly describe his friendship in order to dispel Beijing's misunderstanding. When Li Lianying received the letter, she couldn't help being elated, thinking why not take advantage of this to go outside to see the scenery, so she went to find the Empress Dowager Cixi. "Queen Mother, Li Zhongtang sent a letter to my servant, asking me to go to Tianjin, do you think so?" Li Lianying handed over the letter while speaking. Seeing the sincerity in the letter, the Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help but feel moved, thinking that Li Hongzhang would lose face by entering the palace this time, so why not let Xiao Lizi go to Yuanyuan as he said.So he said to Li Lianying: "Xiao Lizi, you did too much last time. After all, Li Hongzhang is a hero of our Qing Dynasty. Since he said so, you should go and apologize to him and clear up the misunderstanding. But remember, don't cause me any more trouble on the way." "Thank you master Long En, slave, just remember it." Immediately Li Lianying took the little eunuch out of the capital.As soon as she left the capital, Li Lianying ignored the advice of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and ate, drank and had fun along the way.Unexpectedly, he was having a good time, but the Empress Dowager Cixi sent someone to hurry up and ask him to return to Beijing immediately.Li Lianying was really reluctant, but she dared not refuse to listen, so she had to return. "Empress Dowager, the slave is back." Li Lianying said dejectedly when she saw Empress Dowager Cixi. "It's good to come back. Once you come back, I will let go of my heart." Li Lianying couldn't help wondering, what's going on, didn't you let me go?So he asked, "Queen Mother, what's going on here?" "You!" The Empress Dowager Cixi breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "You are usually so clever, how can you be confused now! Don't even think about it, is Li Hongzhang an honest and easy-to-provoke person? You let him eat this time." Shut the door, how could he let you go so easily? Did you forget how Xiao Anzi died?" After being instructed by the Empress Dowager Cixi, Li Lianying suddenly realized, thinking about it, she was a little scared, and almost fell into the trick of others! As soon as Li Lianying came out of the capital, Li Hongzhang got the news, and couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, thinking that this will let you know how powerful I am, Li Hongzhang.But who would have thought that Li Lianying hadn't come after two days, and couldn't help but feel anxious, fearing that the trick would be seen through, and worried.They sent someone to inquire, and found out that Li Lianying was not far from Beijing, and was chased back by the Empress Dowager Cixi.This time, Li Hongzhang was frightened and confused. Knowing that the empress dowager Cixi had seen through this plan, he couldn't help but sighed and was stunned.After thinking about it, if the Empress Dowager Cixi pursues it, how can I answer it correctly?He hurriedly called his son Li Jingfang. "Father, it's not that you don't know that the queen mother is pampering Li Lianying, why bother to provoke him." Li Jingfang was full of complaints after hearing the ins and outs of the matter. "Stop it!" Li Hongzhang wanted him to give him an idea, but when he heard this, he couldn't help getting angry, "Is he provoking me or am I provoking him? You are here to give me an idea, not for you complain!" Li Jingfang really deserves to have stayed abroad for a few years, and he came up with an idea as soon as he turned his head: "Father, isn't Li Lianying greedy for money? In my child's opinion, it's better to write a book, describe our friendship, and give some money." Thinking about it, this is the only way to do it, so I asked Li Jingfang to write a letter to the effect: After the capital visit, I wanted to invite the general manager to come to Tianjin to talk about our friendship, but I heard that the court was busy with official duties and couldn't get away, so I felt very regretful.Today I sent someone to send two hundred thousand taels of silver, which is a small amount, please don't be offended, in front of the Empress Dowager, I hope the manager will take care of her.When he goes to Beijing in the future, Hongzhang will visit him. After reading Li Hongzhang's letter, Li Lianying couldn't help laughing, and blurted out: "The dignified Li Zhongtang, I finally took him down from the horse." The dignified first-rank official was subdued by Li Lianying. I am afraid that this is also the most humiliating thing in Li Hongzhang's life. With this difficulty, can Li Hongzhang not be more careful?At that time, because there was no suitable building in Tianjin, the Haiguang Temple outside the city was used as a place to work and rest for Prince Chun; The residence of Vice President Enyou.Shi Hongzu of Wannan Township led a team of hundreds of cavalry to warn the gates of the temple, and when they went out, they would lead the way and protect the rear.These are good arrangements, but where does Li Lianying live?Of course, he can't be compared with Prince Jin, but he is too far behind Dutong Shanqing and Vice Dutong Enyou.After thinking about it, I finally came up with a good place - Zilin Academy not far from the Huai Army Camp Manufacturing Bureau.It is the property left by a minister in the late Ming Dynasty. It is surrounded by green pines and green bamboos, singing birds and cicadas, flowers and plants everywhere, quiet and leisurely. There is a place, but there is something more troublesome for Li Hongzhang, and that is the specification of the room.Li Hongzhang knew very well in his heart that one was the prince and the other was the deputy chief of the inner court, which should have been the relationship between master and slave.But Li Lianying was no ordinary servant. If he didn't serve her well, she would be more than enough to say a few words in front of the Empress Dowager.But he didn't entertain according to the difference of rank, and he was afraid that Prince Chun would blame him, so Li Hongzhang was so anxious that he ran around in circles.Thanks to his son Li Jingfang's many ideas, he came up with a more appropriate method: to show the difference between the prince and the general manager by the size and squareness of the house; Magnificent, but also elegant and pleasant.After the arrangement was completed, Li Hongzhang checked it again himself. He took a brief look at Prince Chun's room and settled the matter; he paid special attention to Li Lianying's room. Ask to rearrange before giving up. In the early morning of April 13th, Li Hongzhang led the Beiyang navy and Tianjin local officials to greet him in person at the mouth of the river, wearing a coral cap, a five-clawed python robe, and a golden pheasant mandarin jacket.At noon, Prince Chun and Li Lianying arrived in Tianjin in a mighty way, but when they heard a "playing music", a group of nondescript, local and foreign military bands began to play.Li Hongzhang stepped forward in a hurry, greeted Duan An politely, paid homage to Prince Chun, and then greeted Li Lianying with polite words and courteous questions.Then the two imperial envoys were escorted by traffic, and they went to Xingyuan to stay. As night fell and the sea was extremely calm, Prince Jin and his party boarded a ship and sailed on the largest warship of the Beiyang Fleet - the Dingyuan Ship.The largest cabin on the ship, that is, the Dingyuan warship belt, was used as the special cabin of the lieutenant general Liu Buchan for the rank of commander in chief, and it was rearranged and changed into the bedroom of Prince Jin; the second one was originally used by Li Hongzhang and was specially reserved for the rest To Li Lianying.Zhou Fu of Tianjin Customs who specially handled this errand personally led Li Lianying into the cabin, thinking that he would definitely get a few compliments, but he didn't know otherwise! "Lord Zhou," Li Lianying, who was wearing a six-grade flower plume and gray cloth clothes, asked, "Could it be that the cabins on the ship are so spacious and bright, why is this cabin similar to the prince's?" "What are you talking about, the general manager? According to the rules of warships, the best room is reserved for Guan Dai, which is the room where the prince lives; after that, the one used by Guan Jia is reserved for you, the general manager." "Oh," Li Lianying seemed to have suddenly realized, turned around in the room, and asked: "So there are so many rules, so what about Li Zhongtang, where does he live?" Zhou Fu replied: "Master Zhongtang is the master, and the room he uses is smaller than this one." "How is this possible?" Li Lianying shook her head and said, "Li Zhongtang is the master. He is a high-ranking official who galloped for our Qing Dynasty and became famous all over the world. How can our family be compared with him? You change the place for me." Zhou Fuxin said, why are you so polite?Who doesn't know your character, so he said with a smile: "You don't have to be polite, the manager, all this is ordered by Master Zhongtang." "Li Zhongtang respects his master and his servants! How can our family not have a sense of importance? Mr. Zhou, if there is really no place to change, it doesn't matter. I think the suite next to the prince's cabin is quite good. Our family Just stay there." Do you know why Li Lianying is so polite? It turns out that before leaving Beijing this time, the Empress Dowager Cixi had repeatedly told him to be extra cautious, and not to let the slightest bit of information leak out because of greed for pleasure.In addition, he came here with Prince Jin this time, and he was a little scared in his heart, lest if he made a mistake, he would end up like An Dehai! Besides, after hearing what Li Lianying said, Zhou Fu wanted to laugh his teeth out. It turned out that the suite was a "foreign thatched cottage". How can I hang on?I had no choice but to agree to ask Li Hongzhang for instructions. At this moment Li Hongzhang was wearing Ning silk jacket trousers, sitting barefoot on the copper bed, letting his attendants wash his corny feet.Hearing Zhou Fu's words, he couldn't help but burst out laughing, but stopped immediately.But from this point of view, this Li Lianying is far from being comparable to An Dehai.The more so, the more articles there are.Thinking of this, I just heard Li Hongzhang say: "Give him your cabin, and find a place to squeeze yourself. Remember, this person is no better than An Dehai, you must be careful in serving him, and there must be no mistakes!"