Chapter 80 This Li Er is really not "two"

As mentioned earlier, Sheng Xuanhuai privately seized the telegram that Cixi ordered the governors of the provinces to "call together the righteous people, work hard to fight against the enemy, and overcome difficulties together", and reported the matter to his teacher Li Hongzhang. When Governor Li heard the apprentice's report, he was stunned, and it took him a while to realize: This is a muddled order to subjugate the country, and it must not be carried out! However, since ancient times, the officialdom of the empire has never allowed resistance to edicts. No matter how absurd the imperial order is, it must be completed without compromise. Li Hongzhang, who has worked in the officialdom for decades, knows this truth well. During the fierce ideological struggle at night, he thought of a way to deal with it, a strange trick unprecedented in thousands of years of Chinese history.

Li Hongzhang sent a telegram to Cixi. The content of the telegram was: "This is a disorderly order, and Guangdong will not obey the edict." If someone modifies your will, I will not carry out this wrong order. Li Hongzhang's behavior tells us: he is a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, but not a slave of the Qing Dynasty! Cixi was so angry that she almost fainted after seeing the telegram, but Li Hongzhang gave her a reason to step down, and she was too embarrassed to trouble Li Hongzhang. For a while, the phrase "this random fate" became a buzzword in the officialdom at that time, just like the current "magic horses are all floating clouds".

Under the tandem of Sheng Xuanhuai and Li Hongzhang, the leaders of the southern provinces all joined the camp of refusing to carry out the order, and even formed a political alliance called "Southeast Mutual Protection".Under the leadership of Yuan Shikai, Shandong Province in the north also joined the southeast mutual protection camp. This alliance signed an agreement with the powers, the general content is: First, divide their respective responsibilities and protect their own citizens and property.The concessions are protected by foreigners themselves, and other places do not need to worry about foreigners, and are managed by the provinces of China.

Second, limit the scope of activities of foreigners.Foreigners can only operate in the statutory concessions, otherwise the Chinese will not be responsible for any accidents. It was an agreement that did not lose national dignity, and it was definitely a wise move at the time. But the "patriotic scholars" quit: traitors!Li Hongzhang, Sheng Xuanhuai, and Yuan Shikai are all traitors! ... When the entire north of the empire was in chaos beyond control, the south of the empire was a scene of tranquility and peace, as if the Qing Empire had split into two different countries, the north and the south.