Chapter 3 Borrow foreign debt

Xianliang Temple was originally the former residence of Prince Yixian in the Yongzheng Dynasty. The house is clean and the flowers and trees are sparse, and it is very close to Donghuamen, so it is convenient to go to court. Therefore, the officials of Fengjiang love to live here.The place where Zuo Zongtang stayed was the largest courtyard among them, and there was another door to go in and out, there were seven or eight strong men standing at the door, dressed casually, behaved roughly, they looked like servants, but Gu Yingchun didn't dare to neglect at all. It turned out that Zuo Zongtang Ping Hongyang, Ping Nian, and Ping Hui had commanded countless battles in the past 20 years. The generals and schools under his command spent the rest of their lives in battles.But the warriors are honest and simple, and they are quite reluctant to take up the post. They would rather follow Zuo Zongtang as an official, and go in and out of each other. Don't tell me, I don't know that they all have red caps, yellow jackets, and even double-eyed feathers.

Once, Zongbing He was ordered by Zuo Zongtang to meet with the Shaanxi feudal secretary to discuss business.This vassal is a member of a Manchurian family, with great airs, he usually regards his subordinates as servants, and takes it for granted that they call and drink, so they all respect ghosts and gods and stay away.Originally, this person didn't know much about foreign affairs, so he alienated his subordinates and became even more estranged from all aspects of the situation. He didn't know the origin of He Zongbing, but for Zuo Zongtang's sake, he treated each other with common courtesy when interviewed.It's just that I have an idea in my heart, I respect the one above the other and put more emphasis on the one below, you should abide by your rules and be humble and polite.

No way, Zongbing He ignored it all, and "raised the kang" to get promoted to the kang! "Sit on the top" means sitting on the top, and raise your legs, talking loudly as if no one else is around.The vassal was already very disgusted, and when it was time to "bring tea" to see off the guests, He Zongbing went straight out of the middle door boldly, leaving the vassal behind him, and he seemed to pretend to be an officer.Is it tolerable, which is unbearable?When the vassal was furious, when he had an audience with Zuo Zongtang the next day, he talked about this matter, and his indignation was still reflected in his words.

Zuo Zongtang smiled, and sent He Zongbing to reprimand him, and he said: "You think that you have been born and died, have made military exploits, and it is all right to sit and laugh in front of me at will. Master Fantai is a member of the court. How noble the system is, how can you be presumptuous, as if you are in front of me, why are you so overconfident. You should kowtow to Fan Tai now to make amends, otherwise Fan Tai loses his temper, and I don't have the face to intercede for you again. " He Zongbing agreed, knelt down on the ground, and kowtowed to plead guilty.After a while, Zuo Zongtang saw off the guests. As soon as the vassal came out of the middle gate, he saw a dozen military officers in red tops, flower feathers and yellow jackets standing on duty with their waists and knives in their hands. One of them was He Zongbing.

At this moment, the vassal, with a blue crown on his head and only a braid behind his head, was shocked and at a loss.Still seeing the opportunity, he bent his body intently, said hello one by one, and walked outside the gate before getting into the sedan chair, but he was already drenched in sweat. Ever since Gu Yingchun heard this joke, he didn't dare to underestimate these "old men". At that time, he asked with a smile, "Your Excellency is back?" Your Excellency has just come back." He said, "Mr. Hu Da and the foreigners have already arrived, and sent someone out to ask you twice, please come in quickly!"

When I arrived at the flower hall, I saw Hu Xueyan, but before I had time to say anything, I saw that the corner door had opened, and two officials flashed out. Knowing that Zuo Zongtang was coming, he immediately called the two foreigners to stand up and greet him. Zuo Zongtang was of course in plain clothes, an old thin cotton robe, and on his head was a snuff-colored felt hat from the Lanzhou Weaving Factory.Hu Xueyan and Gu Yingchun naturally kowtowed to greet each other, while the foreigner bowed, and then shook hands with Zuo Zongtang. Zuo Zongtang sat alone on the table, and asked some questions such as "when will I arrive", "how is the road", "what's the news in Jiangnan", Hu Xueyan answered them one by one, and after a while, the conversation got to the point.

The topic is borrowing foreign debts.From the fifth year of Tongzhi to the fourth year of Guangxu, Hu Xueyan borrowed foreign debts for Zuo Zongtang four times to fill the "Western salary".To use troops in the western frontier, the provinces must subsidize the military salary, which is called "cooperative salary".However, the co-payment is paid every year, and when fighting a war, it cannot be said that this year's salary is used up, and the fight will not be fought, and the next year will be fought again when the salary is available.So Hu Xueyan came up with a way to borrow foreign debts, and the biggest "banker" was the British HSBC Bank.The method of repayment is to issue a promissory note from the Jiangguan Customs, and the governors of the co-paying provinces, mainly Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Fujian, will affix a big seal, expressing their commitment to hand over the co-payment before the due date. Jiang Customs repays foreign merchants, and the term is always around six years, with interest paid every six months.The way is for Hu Xueyan to follow Zuo Zongtang's meaning, find foreign businessmen to discuss the details, and then Zuo Zongtang will play.After the performance was approved, the above-mentioned provinces were ordered to issue stamps and hand them over to Jiang Customs. At the same time, the Prime Minister's Office sent a note to the British Minister and informed the HSBC Bank of the loan to pay.

This set of procedures is very cumbersome, and there are two checkpoints in it, one is the general tax department Hurd - according to the Sino-British treaty, the tariff is used to compensate the military expenses for the failure of the Opium War, so the British demanded to control the newly opened ports in China, The customs office called "Western Customs" has the title of Taxation Department, and they are all under the jurisdiction of the General Taxation Department, Hurd.If Hurd didn't issue an order, and the Tax Department of Jiangxi Customs refused to issue an invoice, the loan could not be made.

Another barrier is the British Minister to China. Without his approval, HSBC cannot allocate funds. With his approval, it means that the British government guarantees that HSBC will not suffer default.It's okay for Hurd, because he is a guest official in China after all, and he can't help but buy into the Zongli Yamen's account, and he has a good commission, so he is willing to be optimistic about his success.But the British minister's hurdle was very trivial. Even if the imperial edict was approved, the stamps of the provinces were ready, and the prime minister's office had agreed with Hurd. Without the British minister's nod, the money still could not be borrowed.

With Zuo Zongtang's unconstrained character, this is of course intolerable. The Chinese borrowed foreign debts, and the British Hurd, who was going to be a Chinese official, agreed, and he felt even more disgusted.Therefore, when Falk, the manager of Tailai Matheson Co., Ltd. in Germany, told Zuo Zongtang that he could borrow money and save a lot of procedures, Zuo Zongtang naturally welcomed it. Fogg was able to meet with Zuo Zongtang because of Hu Xueyan's recommendation. It was a year ago, the western frontier had been pacified, and Zuo Zongtang was planning to start a business in Shaanxi-Gansu Daxing. He asked Hu Xueyan to recruit technicians, and Hu Xueyan approached Fogg.During the conversation in Hami, Zuo Zongtang thought that Falk was "practical and organized" and appreciated it. Falk seized the opportunity to find a way for German capital. Of course, Hu Xueyan was still needed to discuss this loan.

At that time, Chonghou signed a contract without authorization, was arrested and imprisoned, and when Sino-Russian relations were at a standstill, Zuo Zongtang received a report that Russia raised a huge "national debt" of 52 million taels. To expand the armaments, I think that a war between China and Russia is inevitable. In the future, there will be a series of disasters, and the trend will be difficult to stop. We must also plan ahead. If we can borrow 20 to 30 million silver and repay it in ten years, the source of salary will be wide, and the training of troops will be fine. , wrote to Hu Xueyan, asking him to negotiate with Tailai Matheson, and asked him to come to Beijing for an interview after the New Year's Lantern Festival. Soon, this matter was dismissed, because thanks to Zeng Jize's mediation, the situation between China and Russia had eased, and there was no reason for further large-scale foreign debts. This is the first time, and the second time the old thing is brought up again, and I have to borrow it again.It turned out that when Zuo Zongtang was summoned to enter the military plane, he was ordered to hand over his errands and vacancies separately. One errand was "imperial envoy to supervise Xinjiang affairs" and handed over to Liu Jintang to take over. Acted by Yang Changjun.Liu and Yang are both generals under Zuo Zongtang's command, but they are not qualified enough to take on important tasks. Shaanxi, Gansu and Gansu are barren, and they all depend on the co-payments of the provinces. If the provinces do not sell their accounts, Liu and Yang will be helpless. , Yang Changjun has raised the salary, and the achievements of the Western Expedition can be considered settled. According to Zuo Zongtang's calculations, Xinjiang and Shaanxi-Gansu are bounded by Yumen Pass, and the annual military salary outside the pass is 3.7 million, 2.1 million inside the pass, and 5.8 million taels for the whole year.Since the fifth year of Guangxu, all provinces have been issued a decree to pay five million taels, with a difference of 800,000 taels. It can always be perfunctory if they are combined one after the other. Then the decree belongs to the decree, and the co-payment belongs to the co-pay, two years In the meantime, the outstanding payment of the provincial associations reached a huge amount of 4.2 million taels. For this reason, Liu Jintang was very worried, and Zuo Zongtang made a statement for him, saying: "I am not worried about the slowness of the military plan, but I am worried about the difficulty of the payment. It is too much to regret." This is also true, even if Baojun said, "We can delay the western payment, and there is no need to worry about the foreign payment." The imperial court still allowed him to borrow another foreign loan to make up for the shortage of the cooperative payment. Hu Xueyan and Fogg came here for this matter. Hu Xueyan's credibility in front of Zuo Zongtang is not as good as before.One is that the interest on borrowing foreign debts and business loans is too high, and people say that even Zuo Zongtang loses face when borrowing money; the other is that there are false reports about the purchase of arms.But Zuo Zongtang still cannot do without Hu Xueyan, and Hu Xueyan also wants to cover up his past mistakes, and he has devoted himself to this trip to borrow foreign debts. I hope Zuo Zongtang will be satisfied with his achievements. "Xueyan, you said in your letter that the tickets will be issued to HSBC, why is it HSBC?" Zuo Zongtang pointed at Fogg and said, "Isn't it Tailai Foreign Bank?" "Yes. More than half of it is Taylor's money, but it has to be HSBC." "What's the point?" "HSBC is the leader of foreign businessmen. It is easy to arrange funds if it comes forward. This is like Liu Qinchai and Yang Zhitai who can't raise salaries. As long as the adults call, Wanshan will immediately respond. It's the same. reason." Zuo Zongtang has always been obsessed with being flattered. Hearing what Hu Xueyan said, he felt very comfortable. "Xueyan," he said, "you want to study while leaning against the red and nestling in the green?" This remark presumably refers to the two idioms "climbing high and shouting" and "ten thousand mountains responding". Hu Xueyan replied with a smile: "My lord praises me too much. How can I talk about studying? It's just that my lord taught me last time. Take a break and read "Three Hundred Poems of the Tang Dynasty", now I finally understand the mediocrity, and Wang Huang can also tell the difference." "I actually understand it evenly, it's rare, it's rare." Zuo Zongtang turned to look at Fogg and said, "I was going to borrow three million, but you must ask me to borrow an extra million. The superior should be more self-restraining." Gu Yingchun was responsible for the translation, and Falk and Cameron had their own words, and when he translated them to Zuo Zongtang, they were no longer the original words of foreigners. Fogg's answer was: "Didn't we talk about it earlier?" After Gu Yingchun translated it to Zuo Zongtang, it was: "One cent and one cent." "Still high." As soon as Zuo Zongtang finished speaking, Hu Xueyan interjected, "Really?" He said to Gu Yingchun, "I said earlier that my lord would not agree. You tell him, no matter what, you can't exceed one point." So Gu Yingchun asked Falk to reduce the negotiated interest rate by a certain amount, Falk was naturally displeased, and there appeared to be a dispute.Of course, the interests of HSBC are also involved, so Cameron also expressed his opinion.Finally, Gu Yingchun said: "Okay! Just follow the original proposal." The foreigners stopped ringing. "How is it?" Hu Xueyan asked, "Are you willing to lose weight?" "Fogg told Cameron that it used to be 1 cent, 2 cents and 5 cents, but this time it has been reduced by 1 cent and 1 cent. I told them, you can't let Mr. Hu lose face. Finally, I reluctantly agreed to within one cent, nine cents." Seventy-five cents." "Is it annual interest?" "Of course it's annual interest." So Hu Xueyan looked at Zuo Zongtang in a blink of an eye, pinched his nails, and said, "The annual interest rate is nine cents and seventy-five cents, and the combined monthly interest is only eight cents and twenty cents. The monthly interest of four million taels is thirty thousand." Two thousand and five, six months is only 200,000 silver. In the first two years, only interest is paid, and the principal is not repaid. From the third year, one million is repaid every year, and it is paid off in four years. My lord, will this regulation work? ?” "A total of six years." "Yes." Hu Xueyan replied, "In the first two years, I only paid interest and did not repay the principal. It took me a long time to grind it down. In the past two years, the provinces have enough capacity to repay the previous foreign funds, and they will be much more generous. " "Good, good!" Zuo Zongtang praised twice, then leaned forward and asked with concern, "Do you want the customs to issue a ticket?" "No!" Hu Xueyan replied loudly. "As long as Shaanxi and Gansu issue tickets?" "Yes. Just relying on the defense of the 'Shaanxi-Gansu Governor's Office' is enough." Zuo Zongtang nodded again and again to express his satisfaction, but he couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "The customs defense of the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu is finally worth a fortune!" Then he sighed, "Oh!" "It depends on man's effort." Hu Xueyan said, "Shaanxi and Gansu are the poorest, most miserable and most remote provinces. Except for Russia, even foreigners who have lived in China for a long time do not know where Shaanxi and Gansu are. Now it is different. Everyone knows that Shaanxi and Gansu are A nobleman of the left, foreigners respect the prestige of a great man, and the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu is even more effective than the two rivers of Zhili." At this point, he turned to look at Gu Yingchun, "Ask them, if Li Hefei wants to borrow foreign money, Do they want stamps from Zhili governor's office?" Gu Yingchun said something to Falk and Cameron each, and waited for their answers before saying: "They all said that we still need to issue a ticket." Hearing this sentence, Zuo Zongtang smiled brightly. He always thought that his achievements were better than Li Hongzhang, but now he even surpassed Li Hongzhang in foreign affairs.This pride is no small matter. "Okay! Let's make a deal like this. The performance will be played in three or two days. There should be no afterwords from Baozhongtang this time." Hu Xueyan didn't understand the word "later words", but the meaning could be guessed, and he was sure that he could make Bao Yun obey.Therefore, the most important sentence is put forward. "There is one level that needs to be explained to the adults first. Now that HSBC is still required to take the lead in dispatching, it is still necessary for the Prime Minister's Office to send a note to the British Minister." "There's something to it. I know it." "There is one more level. I need to ask for your lord's instructions. Should I still ask my lord to give me a letter?" Downstream official affairs are called "Zhazi", which instructs how to handle them.Zuo Zongtang replied: "This is not possible! If you are not in your position, you will not seek to govern yourself. You are a member of the Shaanxi Transit Bureau in Shanghai, and you should be signed by Yang Zhi." "Yes! However, I have something to say, I don't know if I should say it or not?" "You say, it doesn't matter." "It's also a letter from the governor's office of Shaanxi and Gansu, but the weight is different. If it's a letter from an adult, it will be much more convenient for me to do things." "Uh, uh! I see." Zuo Zongtang thought to himself, Yang Changjun's prestige is not enough, so Hu Xueyan can't be more important than others. For the sake of his smooth affairs, this obstacle has to be removed for him. After thinking about it for a while, there is a workaround, "In this way," he said, "As long as foreigners are involved, the General Administration can take care of it. I will make a special statement for you in the memorial, and I will ask the Prime Minister's Office to order it." Daoist Hu Moumou complied. What do you think?" Hu Xueyan was overjoyed, because this time he was ordered by Prince Gong, and his status has increased again.However, on the surface, he didn't dare to express anything, and said with a slightly helpless expression: "If it is inconvenient for you to write a letter for me, then I have no choice but to ask the Prime Minister's Office to do so." "Okay! It's settled." Zuo Zongtang went on to say, "Xueyan, let's discuss it. The situation in the western border is very embarrassing. Liu Yizhai is about to withdraw again. I don't know where Panchuan was sent. Can you Collect one million first, and get it to Yang Shiquan as soon as possible." Yizhai and Shiquan are nicknames of Liu Jintang and Yang Changjun.Hu Xueyan was duty-bound and readily agreed. At this moment, a servant quietly went to Zuo Zongtang's side to say something, and he asked, "Do these two foreign friends know how to use chopsticks?" Zuo Zongtang intends to stay with Falk and Cameron for dinner.Hu Xueyan felt that there was no need for it, so he replied, "Your Excellency, don't worry about it." "Then, you stay and talk with me." "yes." Seeing this situation, Gu Yingchun told the foreigners that business matters had been settled and he should leave.Then he stood up and said hello, and the foreigners also stood up and bowed.Zuo Zongtang wanted to see off the guests, but Hu Xueyan persuaded him, saying that he would send them off on his behalf, and he could take this opportunity to say a few words to Gu Yingchun. "Ying Chun, you sent them back, and told the people who accompanied them to take care of two things." Hu Xueyan explained, one thing is to talk to Wang Weixian, can you plan to plan a million cash in two places in Beijing and Tianjin? "There will be an answer to this matter soon." Hu Xueyan said softly, "As soon as Mr. Zuo opened his mouth, he first talked about the merits of the Western Expedition, and then scolded Zeng Wenzheng. This meal will take at least three hours. You should come before three o'clock. , I must still be here." "Okay! And one more thing?" "One more thing, you can ask Falk if there are telescopes and pocket watches in the German foreign company on Wangfujing Street. If there are, you can ask him how many they have and make a decision first." "Oh," Gu Yingchun understood that it was Zuo Zongtang who was invited by King Chun to "watch exercises" as a reward, so he immediately asked, "There must be some. I don't know how much I want." ?” "I don't know yet. You ask first." Gu Yingchun agreed, and accompanied the foreigners back to Fukang.At three o'clock in the afternoon, he returned to Xianliang Temple. Sure enough, the lunch was not over yet. When he was waiting outside the flower hall, he heard Zuo Zongtang talking about the grand occasion of "Huxiang's children are all over the Tianshan Mountains". The tired face, it seems that it will take some time to dissipate. Gu Yingchun thought to himself that Hu Xueyan was eager to know the results of the two tasks assigned to him, so he could report to Zuo Zongtang impromptu.That being the case, there is no need to wait for the interview, just write a note to inform him. After making up his mind, he took out a foreign paper notebook from his pocket, tore a piece of paper, took out the pencil attached to the notebook, dipped in a little saliva, and wrote: "There are 300,000 yuan in silver here, and about 100,000 yuan in Tianjin. .There are more than a hundred mirrors and watches, all of which have been paid for. But the size is uneven." When this note was passed to the table, Zuo Zongtang discovered it and asked about it, Hu Xueyan just said, "Return to your lord," he said, "You can collect half a million yuan in cash in Beijing, and it will be paid out within a day or two. The other half, When I get back to Shanghai, I'll think of a way right away. I don't know if it's too late, too late?" "If you can solve half of them first, it doesn't matter if the rest are slower." "Yes." Hu Xueyan asked again, "I heard that Prince Chun wants to invite your lord to go to Shenji Camp to watch the exercises?" "There is such a thing." As soon as this was mentioned, Zuo Zongtang's spirit came again, "Shenjiying is the essence of the Eight Banners. Now King Chun is the emperor's own father, and he can't take care of other government affairs. One can imagine how much the superiors value Shenjiying. Li Shaoquan has been in Beiyang for several years, and King Chun has never invited him to see a gym. When I arrived in Beijing, the first time we met, he asked me out. Ask me to set a date, so that he can give orders. I thought to myself, people respect me, and I have to save face for King Chun. I want to wait for you to come to discuss, how should I reward you?" "What do you mean, my lord?" "I want to reward each person with five taels of silver, calculated according to the number of people." "Soldiers in the Shenji Battalion are no more than ten thousand people. I have prepared fifty or sixty thousand silver for my lord." Hu Xueyan added, "But the cash can only be rewarded to soldiers, and it seems inappropriate for officials." "Yeah! I think so too." "I think it's better to give something away. Of course, it should be practical, and it's for military use. I have an idea, and adults can see if it can be used." "you say." "Everyone will be given a telescope and a watch." As soon as the words were finished, Zuo Zongtang praised the case, "These two things are good! They are very practical." He said, "There are more than one hundred officers in the Shenji Camp, and they want more than a hundred copies. I don't know if they are all ready. Incomplete?" "Your Excellency has made up my mind. I will write a letter to Shanghai immediately and send it as soon as possible. I think there will be time." Hu Xueyan said immediately, "It is best to wait until the matter of borrowing foreign money is settled before my Excellency goes to see the fuck." Definitely. Otherwise, I am afraid that some people will gossip, saying that your lord is very rich, and the western salary must be very rich, and it does not matter if the foreign money is slow." Before he finished speaking, Zuo Zongtang nodded repeatedly and said, "You reminded me. Although this matter is small, it is enough to affect the overall situation. I will definitely do as you say." "Yes!" Hu Xueyan asked, "What else do you want to say, my lord?" "I can't think of it for a while, but I'll talk to you when I think about it." Zuo Zongtang said, "You can write an abbreviation of the regulations for borrowing foreign money immediately, and I will try my best to prepare the performance tomorrow and hand it over. It will be settled in three to five days." "Yes!" Hu Xueyan said, "Tomorrow I want to take a day off from my lord to do some private work. I will serve you the day after tomorrow." "If you have nothing to do the day after tomorrow, you don't have to come. I will send someone to greet you at any time. You can go about your own business." So Hu Xueyan left and returned to Fukang, first asked Master Yang to write down the conditions for borrowing foreign money in an abridged form, and immediately sent someone to Xianliang Temple.Then he asked Gu Yingchun in detail about the process of the joint in Haiyue Shanfang. "Ying Chun, you know, because of the price of mines bought last year, Ford blew it all out, Mr. Zuo has already become suspicious of me. I am very sad about this matter, so this time borrowing foreign money, in addition to everyone deserves In addition to the benefits, I not only don't want a penny, but I am going to pay tens of thousands of silver. I must make this matter a success. It doesn't count if it is a success, but it must be done beautifully, and Master Zuo must feel comfortable. Even if it is successful, he will not be happy, so Baozhongtang must settle it, and he can tell you that this foreign loan is a good deal. My tens of thousands of silver are well spent." "I've seen my uncle's intentions a long time ago. However, I don't think it's necessary to spend money on Bao Zhongtang alone. The people under him are also important." Gu Yingchun asked, "Uncle is ready How much does it cost?" "This number." Hu Xueyan stretched out his hand. "Then, send 40,000 yuan and keep 10,000 yuan for expenses." "Okay. Go discuss it with Xu Xiaoyun, and see how this path should work?" The next day, on the ninth day of March, Xu Xiaoyun came to visit without waiting to invite, but Gu Yingchun received him while Hu Xueyan was away.He told Gu Yingchun that Zuo Zongtang's manuscript was written by him, and it had been transcribed and submitted.However, within three to five days, there will be no results, because Prince Gong took seven days off for Fujin's burial, and this important matter must be discussed by Prince Gong. "So, Bao Zhongtang can't work either?" "No, no! It's useful. Prince Gong listens to him. Besides, no matter what happens, there is always more than enough to get you wrong." "Xiao Weng, so to speak, Mr. Hu Da would like to ask you a lot. I have been to Haiyue Shanfang, and I had a good talk with Lao Zhu. Mr. Hu Da asked me to discuss with Xiao Weng. This way must be cleared, you How much should I give?" "The conditions for borrowing foreign money are better than in the past. My memorial is very realistic, and things will definitely happen. It doesn't matter if you don't give it away. If you want to give it away, it's almost the same." Xu Yongyi pointed at him. "Xiao Weng, 'almost' is not enough, it must be done." "Of course it's safer to give more money, but the money should be used wisely." Xu Yongyi asked, "Will you go to Xianliang Temple tomorrow?" "I will go. Tomorrow I will take foreigners to Mr. Zuo to bid farewell." "Then, let's meet at Xianliang Temple at noon tomorrow, and I'll talk to you then." At noon of the next day, Hu Xueyan and Gu Yingchun brought two foreigners to Xianliang Temple and waited quietly for Zuo Zongtang to return to his apartment from the military plane so that he could say goodbye.Unexpectedly, when it was 3:30 in the afternoon, there was still no one and no news.The key was issued at the palace gate, and it was four o'clock when it was announced. Usually, the military aircraft department arrived at Zhangjing by two quarters at the latest, that is, at half past two, and all of them must have left, and Zuo Zongtang arrived here in time Not leaving the palace is a puzzling thing. "I'm afraid something happened in the palace." Hu Xueyan whispered to Gu Yingchun quietly, "Could it be that the Empress Dowager's illness has changed?" Before he finished speaking, he saw Xu Yongyi coming in a hurry, and he didn't care about saluting. He pulled Hu Xueyan to a secluded place, and said in a low voice: "Master Zuo asked me to deliver a letter. Foreigners walk slowly, things may happen later." twists and turns." "What?" Hu Xueyan asked again, "Why hasn't Mr. Zuo left the palace yet?" "An unexpected and strange thing happened in the palace." Xu Yongyi's voice became lower and lower, "The military plane didn't call out today, and it was said that the Empress Dowager had caught a cold and felt uncomfortable. Everyone thought it was a cold, and went to the office to see the prescription. The eunuch in charge said that it had not been issued. Later, I heard from the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the illness occurred yesterday afternoon. Suddenly, foaming at the mouth, like epilepsy. Up to now, I have called for the pulse three times, once in the morning , Once at noon and once at midnight, I'm afraid it won't work.” "Slow down, Xiao Weng," Hu Xueyan asked, "Do you mean the Eastern Queen Mother or the Western Queen Mother?" "It's the Queen Mother." "East Queen Mother?" Hu Xueyan was even more surprised. "Of course it's the Eastern Empress Dowager. The Western Empress Dowager ignored the court for a long time, because the Eastern Empress Dowager violated the peace, so the military plane was not called." "Oh." Hu Xueyan nodded and said, "I see. I'll keep the foreigners here." So Hu Xueyan whispered to Gu Yingchun, telling him to take the foreigners back first, and ask them to stay for a few days for any reason. "If the Empress Dowager Dong really dies, and the palace has to hold funerals, the matter of foreign funds will be put on hold." Hu Xueyan asked, "Ying Chun, what do you think Lord Zuo will do?" "Let's put it aside," Gu Yingchun replied irrelevantly, "The money has already been raised, and the interest is the next priority. If it's too late, how will I explain to him?" "It won't happen." Hu Xueyan said, "It's still a small thing to eat interest. Liu Yizhai and Yang Shiquan raise their salaries like sparks. The delay is a big deal." "Then, Mr. Big, what do you think Mr. Zuo will do?" "Naturally, it's arbitrariness, let's talk about it after we do it." With Zuo Zongtang's temperament, this is possible, but Gu Yingchun has doubts in the end, because four million silver is not a small amount after all, even if Zuo Zongtang is courageous, he would not dare to be so good at it. Zuo Zongtang didn’t return to Xianliang Temple until after four o’clock. As soon as he arrived, he told Hu Xueyan, “The country will change a lot!” He expressed emotion as soon as he opened his mouth, and then said, “It’s time to respond early. You tell Fogg and them, the matter Even if it's a foregone conclusion, ask them to prepare the money as soon as they return to Shanghai, and the stamps are ready-made, and I have brought a blank document that covers the customs and defense of the Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, just fill it out, and let them take it with them." As Hu Xueyan expected, but he had to think about Zuo Zongtang's future, "My lord," he said bluntly, "The amount is too big, will Master Bao gossip in the future?" "Gossip is also helpless." Zuo Zongtang said again, "I will not accept the order of the emperor outside. Now there is no "order of the emperor". " "My lord, I have an idea. My lord, why don't you tell King Chun about this matter. King Chun is in charge of the army, and he always knows that 'making wages' is no joke." "Tongji!" Zuo Zongtang patted his knees and said, "If he knows about this, forgive Bao Peiheng and dare not gossip again." Bao Peiheng is Bao Jun.Hu Xueyan thought to himself, if he wants him not to gossip, he has to go to Zhu Tiekou of Haiyue Shanfang, otherwise even if he dare not gossip, he will always have ways to make things difficult. "I have to lie down for a while." Zuo Zongtang said, "Maybe something big will happen in the palace tonight." "Yes." Hu Xueyan took the opportunity to inquire, "Just now Xu Xiaoyun came to pass on your lord's words, talking about the empress dowager's political violation of peace, does it seem to be a big deal?" "It's not just that it's not light, the teeth can't be pried open." "So, what is the disease?" "Who knows?" Zuo Zongtang clapped his hands together, "It's not a good thing after all." Hu Xueyan couldn't understand what he said, so he stood up and said goodbye, "I'll serve you tomorrow." He said hello. "Tomorrow, what about tomorrow?"