Chapter 93 Section 92

Investigating the case of Li Deshun is relatively easy to be caught off guard.Because the gentlemen of the direct governor have an extremely strong backing, Nan Pi Zhang and Ding Xing Lu, these two little fellow countrymen who have become big military aircraft, might as well be tough.Natong only needs to conform to the public opinion, and Zhang and Lu will naturally echo and support in the court, and there will be no difficulty. For Li Deshun, Yang Shixiang's death is an opportunity.It turned out that he told people that Yang Shixiang got 4/10 of his private income, and he and Lu Haihuan each got 3/10. At this time, he made a big fuss and pushed all his brains on Yang Shixiang. He also said that it was Yang Shixiang who bought the land in Nanguan According to the instructions, I hope that once the terminus is built, the land price there will increase, so that it can be used to make up for the shortfall of the two predecessors.

This is a deadly unsubstantiated statement, and the wording is quite ingenious, but no one is willing to believe it.Moreover, there are many people who sympathize with Yang Shixiang, saying that he died in the hands of two people. Once the financial supervisor arrives, Yuan Shikai's huge deficit is bound to be exposed.Therefore, he died anxiously for Yuan Shikai and for Li Deshun, who was the culprit.So someone mocked up an obituary and published it in the newspaper: "The unworthy Li Deshun committed a lot of crimes, and he couldn't keep it secret. Yang Shixiang's style name Lianfu, because of the official title he added, is extremely ironic. , Minister of Foreign Affairs".This is the homonym of "Dr. Ronglu awarded by imperial edict, doctor Guanglu granted by Jin Dynasty, successively served as Tong Yongdao, Zhili chief envoy, Shandong governor, Zhili governor, and Beiyang minister".In addition, there are titles such as "General Qi Sha, First-Class Beijing Tune, Sports Baturu, Superintendent and New Drilling Camp, Mahjong Race Horse Racing, Royal Blessing Shou Gao, Drunk Eight Immortals, Happy Ruyi", etc. Take him as an official, As well as singing Beijing opera, smoking opium, playing mahjong and other hobbies, I laughed about it.

Although the public opinion was very unfavorable to Li Deshun, and the Zhili gentry supported by Zhang Zhidong and Lu Chuanlin had a very fierce attitude, Na Tong could not take such severe measures as Duan Fang's treatment of Yang Chongyi, which could satisfy people's hearts.This was because on the one hand Lu Haihuan was involved, and on the other hand Li Deshun's activities, the German minister and Baylor Zaixun had all told Natong that he had to relax a step. At this time, there was a popular legend from Tianjin to Beijing that Natong would live in the Xingyuan of the Beiyang Minister, and Duanfang would be transferred to the military plane.This legend is well-founded, but it is only a suggestion.It was Zhang Zhidong's hope to cite Duanfang's opportunity to join the army. It turned out that he was also at a disadvantage in Hubei, and his intention to protect Chen Kuilong as the governor of Hubei was the same as Yuan Shikai's intention of protecting Yang Shixiang as the governor.Once the financial order was issued, Chen Kuilong's situation was not much better than that of Yang Shixiang, but Zhang Zhidong could not be as relaxed as Yuan Shikai, because one was on stage and the other was off stage.Those who have stepped down from the stage, anyway, the matter has been the way it is, and it is useless to be anxious, so simply ignore it and see how King Qing Yikuang arranges it.If you are in a hurry, you will make a list of the relatives and important officials who have spent Beiyang silver, and say that you will send it to the newspaper for publication, and someone will come out to take care of it for him.

Zhang Zhidong, the current Minister of Military Aircraft, is different.In case the fire can't be covered by paper, the officials are involved in the impeachment, the newspapers attack, and the reputation has been cleared for forty years, how can we be willing to pay for it?Therefore, on November 1 of last year, Zhang Zhidong was ordered to supervise the operation of the Guangdong-Han Railway and the Hubei-Jingchuan-Han Railway, and immediately dispatched Gao Lingba, an academic envoy from Hubei, to Beijing to specialize in borrowing foreign debts.In April of this year, it was decided that the banks of Britain, France, and Germany would jointly borrow 5.5 million pounds, with an annual interest of 5%, and a 95% discount, for a period of 25 years. It is expected that after the completion of the railway, It can be paid off in ten years.

This way, Zhang Zhidong can breathe a sigh of relief.Borrowing this huge sum of money, at any rate, repay the shortfall first, and after the start of work, Chen Kuilong will move east and west from other public funds to make up for it one after another, so nothing will happen.Unexpectedly, the contract had already been initially signed, sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for review, and when the funds had been regularly signed and allocated, something went wrong. The American Minister submitted a note, saying that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had promised that the Sichuan-Han Road could be borrowed from the United States, and asked for accommodation.This is a misunderstanding, and it should be refuted according to reason. It should be fine, but American bankers have already reached an agreement with this consortium formed by Britain, France, and Germany in London. The loan required for the Guangdong-Han Railway shall also be handled in the same way.While negotiating, Russia asked for a split loan on the pretext that Hankou's tea business was related to Russia's interests.

There are many branches and details, and I don't know when it will be decided.Zhang Zhidong was angry and anxious, a lump developed on his right side, and it was painful. The doctor said it was liver disease, if ignored, it would spread into the stomach. Although he was ill, Zhang Zhidong was still struggling to get straight, Duan, the theory of mutual adjustment started at this time.Zhang Zhidong and Duan Fang have a deep friendship, and he also knows that Duan Fang has a lot of shortfalls in Liangjiang, so he plans to introduce him into the military plane, so that they can cover each other, and nothing will happen to them.However, Yikuang did not agree to mobilize the direct supervisor, because Yang Shiqi and Yuan Keding had repeatedly requested that if Duan Fang supervised the straight, he and Yuan Shikai were brothers in exchange, so they had to try to make big things into small things.If it is changed, it will be hard to say.

This made it even more difficult for Zhang Zhidong to raise his baby with peace of mind. Unhappy things came one after another. The first one was that the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Sheng Yun, opposed the constitutional government. , so Sheng Yunzuo please open a vacancy.The telegram said: "My minister is not completely ignorant of Chinese and Western knowledge, but I am suffering from heart disease recently, and my five sense organs are useless. The new policy is flourishing, and the old diseases are increasing day by day." It seemed to be mocking and ironic, which made the regent very angry. He said: " The language is not rude, almost angry." Granted to open the vacancy.Zhang Zhidong persuaded the regent, saying that although he spoke too well, he was a decent person among the full staff, so it was not appropriate to ask him.But Yikuang had always been dissatisfied with Shengyun, and Zhang Zhidong was naturally unhappy because he still had a vacancy.

Another thing is that the pro-guidian soldiers have long been dissatisfied with Zhang Zhidong. First, a guard army was established, and the county king was named Baylor Zaitao, and Baylor Yulang was in charge of training. Then the navy was reorganized, and the county king was named Baylor. Zai Xun and Sa Zhenbing, the admiral of the Guangdong Navy, were the ministers of the navy.Finally, it is planned to establish the Military Advisory Office. As the staff of the Generalissimo of the Army, the Military Advisory Office will be set up first, and Zai Tao will be assigned to manage it. training matters.

At this moment, Zhang Zhidong felt that he had to give up his direct admonition from the veterans of the three dynasties, and took an edict drawn up by the Military Advisory Office to see the regent Zaifeng. "Prince Regent, Zhidong thinks this is inappropriate." Zaifeng read the edict again, and asked in confusion: "There is nothing wrong! Tell me, what's wrong?" "It's inappropriate from the beginning to the end." Zhang Zhidong held the above edict, read it while saying: "'The Constitution outlines that the power to command the army and navy should be exercised from above'. That's why the emperor is the 'Commander-in-Chief of the Qing Dynasty. Grand Marshal of the Land and Navy'. This statement is specious. The emperor is the king, and the marshal is the minister. Hu Ke can be confused? The Wuzong of the previous dynasty called himself "the general of the state and the general army", which made people laugh and serve as a lesson for future generations."

"This is the rule of a constitutional monarchy, and Japan is like this." "The national conditions are different, so why copy other people's rules? For example, Li Hongzhang was assassinated in Japan, and he made bandages himself in the future. This is a more polite and unfeasible thing in China." Zaifeng was at a loss for words, so he let it go: "If you say it again, what's wrong?" "Constitutional government has been implemented for nine years, and there are many major policies that should be handled. Since the original intention of constitutionalism is to calm the hearts of the people, it is natural to be anxious about the people's urgency. Now it is urgent to assert the monarchy. What's more, less than a quarter of the newly trained army's thirty-six towns have become an army, and the formation of a navy is far away, so there is no need to declare military power at this time, which will arouse the suspicion of the people in vain!".

"Tell me, what suspicions will the people have?" "Suspecting the court's military training is not external, but internal." "This," Zaifeng was a little annoyed, "it's a baseless guess." "Zhidong also knows that the imperial court has no such intentions, but the common people in the market can hardly see the temple, and think that if the training of soldiers is outside, they should reuse generals. Now the control of the army and navy is in the hands of relatives. It is puzzling. When Zhang Zhidong said this, he was a little excited: "Xuntao is two Baylors, and his wisdom is extraordinary, but there is nothing in this world that is known by birth! Since Zhidong was in the Imperial Academy, he has paid attention to training soldiers, raising salaries, equipment, etc. , until he was ordered to supervise Guangdong, and the Sino-French war was a personal experience. Later, when he was transferred to Jianghan, he paid attention to the way of strengthening the armor and benefiting the army. Xuntao's two Baylors are still at the age when they should be studying in the study room. General Zhen Guo can't read a lot of words, but he can be the commander-in-chief. What do you rely on? The hole is unexplainable!" This eloquent talk made the regent Zaifeng's face turn blue and red for a while, and he was not allowed to step down.I wanted to refute him with a sentence or two, but I really couldn't think of words.After a stalemate like this for a while, the more I thought about it, the more annoyed I became, and the more I thought about it, the more ashamed I became, and finally became angry. "This is our family business! You'd better leave it alone." Zhang Zhidong was stunned, he couldn't believe his ears, the majestic regent said such childish and ignorant words, what can I say? In fact, there are no words at all!Because of the sudden pain in the right flank, the pain caused beads of sweat the size of soybeans to flow on his forehead.Zaifeng couldn't bear it, so he ordered the eunuch to help him out, carried him to the gate of Longzong on a soft chair, and then went home in a sedan chair and lay down. After two days in a row, his brother-in-law Lu Chuanlin came to visit him and brought news that the gentry in Zhili believed that Lu Haihuan had to go, and Qing Wang Yikuang planned to protect Xu Shichang as well, and the regent had agreed. It's okay if you don't know this, but once you know, he can't help but want to fight again.Because although Xu Shichang is from Tianjin, his local relationship is not good. Moreover, Xu Shichang is very frugal and is famous for squandering public funds.When he was the governor of the three eastern provinces, he brought 20 million silver, together with the original inventory, no less than 30 million, and built a large-scale construction project in Shenyang.Now it is also the general office of Jinpu Road, and the style of work remains the same, and the road will never stop.Furthermore, the relationship between Xu Shichang and Yuan Shikai was too deep, so he would definitely discuss with Zhang Zhenfang to increase the price of salt catties on the basis of the insufficient funds for the construction of Jinpu Road, so as to make up for Yuan Shikai's shortfall.Isn't this going to spark a civil uprising? Therefore, Liji entered the palace the next day, and when he arrived, he asked the regent to summon him to ask him frankly whether there was anything wrong. "Yes. Prince Qing guarantees that he is 'worthy to succeed'." "Although he is worthy of succession, but the public opinion does not belong." "Isn't it public opinion?" Zaifeng smiled: "It means a gentleman from Zhili." The interests of gentlemen and ordinary people are different. Zhang Zhidong is inconvenient to elaborate, but only said: "Otherwise! Public opinion does not belong, and it will trigger changes." "What are you afraid of!" Zaifeng said lightly, "There are soldiers here!" Zhang Zhidong seemed to have been punched in the head, and suddenly felt something rising from his throat, and he smelled a fishy smell, opened his mouth, and spit out a mouthful of blood in front of the regent Zaifeng. "It's terrible, it's terrible!" Zaifeng was shocked: "Quickly send the imperial doctor! Quick, quick, carry Zhang Zhongtang to the military plane!" So the eunuch hurriedly took Zhang Zhidong Temple to the military plane, and lay on the rattan chair, his face was like gold paper, his breath was dying, and his right side was in pain in his stomach, and he had to use a hot towel to cover it. It's better. It was the fourth day of June, and Zhang Zhidong fell ill.The first time I asked for a five-day leave, on the ninth day of the lunar new year, I continued my five-day leave, and then I extended my leave twice, ten days each time.In the blink of an eye, the condition of the illness still did not improve. When I asked for a continuation of the leave, I received an imperial edict: Zhang Zhidong continued his leave due to illness. Zhang Zhidong, who was ill, complained a lot. He said that the reason for his nausea was that the regent's words "there are soldiers" were "words of subjugation".Never satisfied the people's will in governance or improper measures by officials, so as to stir up popular uprisings, always give priority to appeasement, and after the event is investigated for responsibility, it must be repeated and admonished, and it is necessary to prevent problems before they happen. Looking at it on a deeper level, even if it is called a rebellion, it must be suppressed first and then appeased, or both. Seeing that the civil uprising is about to start from ignorance, and ignoring it, and planning to rein in the army to watch the uprising, this is self-destruction from the people. , what to do if you don't die? When this word reached the regent's ears, he felt that he had made a mistake.But I don't think this sentence will make the seventy-three-year-old veteran of the three dynasties vomit blood with anger, I feel guilty.So he sent people to visit Zhang Zhidong again and again, sending ginseng and Western tonics with deep affection, which naturally comforted Zhang Zhidong, but it could not cure his heart disease, and it would not help his serious illness. His first heart trouble was the shortfall in Hubei.Due to the intervention of the United States, the three countries' large loans were "on the brink of failure." After all, Ye Chang had many dreams, and public opinion was against borrowing foreign loans to build roads. Even if the United States withdrew, the three countries' loans could not be contracted for a while.It seems that we have to resign ourselves to fate. Another thing he was not reconciled to was that he vomited blood and fought, but still could not restore the regent's will. The general office of Jinpu Road was still led by Xu Shichang.Lv Haihuan lost his job, Li Deshun was dismissed and would never be employed again, and his son-in-law Yongqi was also dismissed and sent to the army. "The one who prolongs the misfortune", Yang Shixiang lost his understanding of people and couldn't absolve himself of the blame for indiscriminate protection, so he "revoked the prince's title of less protection". With a high-ranking official like Yang Shixiang, it is natural to think of Yuan Shikai and Cen Chunxuan, governors who can control subordinate officials.Zai Tao repeatedly spoke in front of the regent, advocating the recovery of Yuan and Cen.Zaifeng knew that there was a lot of resistance to the appointment of Yuan Shikai. First of all, he could not pass the test of the Empress Dowager Longyu, but he could consider recalling Cen Chunxuan. Therefore, there is a legend that the regent intends to let Cen Chunxuan return to the postal department and transfer Xu Shichang to be the governor of Huguang.As soon as the news spread, the Ministry of Post and Communications rushed to tell each other, as if a catastrophe was imminent, especially from Liang Shiyi to the General Railway Administration, everyone panicked.The memory of Zhu Baokui being expelled by Cen Chunxuan before he took office is chilling!The worst thing is that Cen Chunxuan doesn't care about the friendship between the two countries, and has a deep prejudice against Guangdong gentlemen.If this legend becomes a fact, the Cantonese in the General Administration of Railways will feel that they have to pack their bags. Fortunately, there are many avenues of activity.Tai Fujin, the Prince Regent, was instigated by the Chief of the Northern Mansion recently to solicit affairs, so through Zai Xun's relationship, he sent a passbook of 100,000 silver to the Bank of Communications, and the rumors of Cen Chunxuan's resurgence quickly subsided. Duanfang came to Beijing not long after Zhang Zhidong's sick leave, and he returned with a full load. The special car for him to transport the stele tablets and antiques had as many as six carriages.He has gone to all the ancient sites of the Six Dynasties. There is a pair of carved stone well fences of the Empress Chen and the Empress Li. It is said that they are also in his special car. Greetings at the palace gate, meeting with the regent, and visiting the military aircraft, Duanfang specially took half a day to investigate Zhang Zhidong's illness, half of which was to talk about something he was proud of.Of course, Zhang Zhidong liked to hear about this proud event, and he worked together with like-minded people-purchasing private collections and setting up government libraries.