Chapter 41 Section 41

Chun Wang returned to Beijing on April 26th.However, the electronic play has already been played first, and the order will not be returned until the first day of May, because the trip brought back many pictures of ships, forts, and docks, which have yet to be sorted out and submitted. It is also necessary to make a comprehensive plan to deal with the needs of the navy, and it will take at least three or four days to complete the work. However, the process of King Chun's inspection tour was known to the Empress Dowager Cixi without waiting for his return, because Li Lianying also had to return.According to him, running a navy doesn't need that much money at all, especially the cost of keeping ships, which can save a lot of money.In addition, he also talked about the great style of the Beiyang Yamen and the excellent salaries of Beiyang officials, which is quite unfair.

Naturally, this is a bit of an exaggeration. He meant to cater to an idea that Empress Dowager Cixi had long had in her heart: instead of letting you waste money, it is better for me to spend it myself.Sure enough, the Empress Dowager Cixi made a decision at that time: to surrender Yizhi as soon as possible to declare her return to power, which is to urge King Chun to complete the Forbidden Garden project that will be built early. Early in the morning on the first day of May, Chun Wang's replay arrived, and it was 10% off.The memorial states the situation in Beiyang, the size of the navy that should be built, and the selection of generals for military training. The most important thing is talents, so the general situation that must be promoted in military schools.The attached piece is the sea and land generals, civil and military personnel who are capable of secret protection.The Empress Dowager Cixi looked at it very carefully, and confirmed Li Lianying's statement, and she already knew the overall situation in Beiyang.

After the summons, there will naturally be some rewards.Then listen to Chun Wang's dictation of the situation.He is not good at eloquence, and he speaks a very lively matter in a dull and boring way, which is far less vivid than Li Lianying's portrayal.However, the Empress Dowager Cixi was inconvenient to interrupt, so she patiently listened to him and asked, "The navy has only just started. According to what you saw this time, there will be a lot of money to spend in the future. Why?" How to raise funds, have you talked to Li Hongzhang?" "This must be discussed. There are several ways, but it seems that it is not appropriate to express it at the moment." Chun Wang replied: "The new donation for Haiphong, the deadline is coming, it seems that we must extend the limit."

"Yes." The Empress Dowager Cixi replied, "It might as well announce it early." "If you go back to the Empress Dowager, because the deadline is approaching, people in Zhili are very enthusiastic about donating. If the announcement is too early, everyone will definitely wait and see. It has a lot to do with Beiyang's donation." "Well! Well! Let's talk about it slowly." The Empress Dowager Cixi asked again, "Besides the method that the Ministry of Household Affairs is planning, do you have any other ways to make money?" "Li Hongzhang has a few words that are right. The navy is the navy of the country. The safety of the Beiyang is not only related to the capital, but also related to the country. Therefore, the provinces should raise funds according to their ability, and the navy government should use them together. These words seem to be in front of you. It's too early, and when the army is formally established in the future, I will ask the provinces to do so."

"Since it's still early, there's no need to talk about it." The Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "How did Li Lianying go out with you this time? Is there anything unruly? Don't hide it from me!" "I dare not hide it, and there is nothing to hide. Li Lianying went out with me this time, and his behavior is beyond my expectation." Without waiting for the Empress Dowager Cixi to ask, Chun Wang praised Li Lianying for how well-behaved he was, especially how he refused outsiders and refused to enter. That kind of integrity is really hard to come by.Therefore, the officials of the big and small yamen not only admire him, but also respect him.

King Chun sincerely praised him, and there was nothing false in his words. In the end, of course, it came down to the "Ode to the Holy Spirit". Will be so law-abiding. This is of course an excellent compliment to the Empress Dowager Cixi, and at the same time she feels that Li Lianying can indeed be fully trusted.However, although she attached great importance to this matter in her heart, she was quite indifferent on the surface. After listening to King Chun's energetic speech, she only replied: "He can understand the rules, it is his good fortune." Then he talked about the demolition of the North Hall.

Negotiations on the demolition of the North Hall went smoothly.Dun John lived up to his mission, persuaded the Pope to agree to the demolition, and telegraphed Fan Guoliang, the representative of the Holy See in Beijing, to return to Rome to discuss ways to move the church. This is at the end of March.After receiving a telegram from Dun John, Li Hongzhang entrusted Tianjin Customs Tax Department De Cuilin to invite Fan Guoliang to Tianjin for a meeting.The location of the relocation was originally agreed to be Xishiku in the north of Xi'anmen Street.This Xishi library is also called Xishi library. The Ming Dynasty set up ten libraries here, namely A, B, C, Dingwu, Chengyun, Guangying, Guanghui, Guangji, and spoils, to store silk, pigments, and paints. Such objects, as well as stolen goods confiscated into the government.After entering the Qing Dynasty, Xishiku was taken over by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was closed for more than 30 years, and it was not until the Kangxi period that it was slightly counted.The place is remote, and the ten storehouses have been stored as waste for a long time, so the Ministry of Internal Affairs has always abandoned it, and it is just used for the relocation of Beitang.

According to the conditions promised at the beginning, the imperial court not only had to allocate another place to build the church, but also built it on its behalf according to the original style.However, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Construction Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are unwilling to undertake this project, because the price is not easy to open, and if the report is truthful, it will appear that the Sanhai Project under construction is too phony in comparison.If it was built according to the usual rules for undertaking palace projects, the cost of such a cathedral would not be too much at half a million silver, so where did this huge sum of money come from?What's more, there are foreigners involved, asking everything, and being true everywhere. In the end, the benefits must have never been achieved, and the troubles are too many to describe. .”

In this way, we had to discount the price and let the Catholic Church make it by itself.The main thing Li Hongzhang wanted to discuss with Fan Guoliang was the amount of discount.But before talking about money, there is one more important thing to settle first, that is, the bell tower of the North Hall, which is eight feet four feet high, overlooking the Forbidden Garden, is very inappropriate.Wenzong was in Japan, and he was very worried about this.During the Tongzhi period, there were also many negotiations, hoping that the Beitang would demolish the bell tower, but it was still in vain. Now that the hall is moved, it is natural to avoid the previous failure.Li Hongzhang told Fan Guoliang with a very firm attitude that for the sake of Fengshui, the bell tower of Xishiku Xintang should not be higher than the ridge of the roof with a measure of five feet.

Originally, he thought that Fan Guoliang would be embarrassing, but he promised to do it.Li Hongzhang was overjoyed, and he let go of the discounted amount, and Fan Guoliang's original intention was to take this concession in exchange for real benefits, so Li Hongzhang promised 200,000 yuan, but he was not satisfied, so he added it up to 300,000 yuan, and still had to add more. fifty thousand. At this time, King Chun came to Tianjin, Li Hongzhang asked him for instructions, and signed a five-item contract according to the agreement of 350,000 taels. What Chun Wang is going to present at this moment is the content of the five contracts.He specifically mentioned Article 5, which stipulated that the collection of "exotic rare birds and animals", all antiques, as well as organs and trumpets used in missionary and singing poems in Beitang, after Li Hongzhang's efforts, Fan Guoliang finally had to agree to "repay all of them." , specified in the contract.These things are worth a lot, and after discounting, the price is really less than 350,000 silver.

"All in all, relying on the empress dowager's blessing this time, the negotiations went extremely smoothly. Avoiding France and directly connecting with the Holy See, this purpose is set very wisely." King Chun said excitedly, "Whether the country's fortunes are prosperous or not? There is improvement, the minister and Li Hongzhang support internally and externally, Mian Tu reported, and finally there is some result. However, the minister's talent is short, and he always asks the empress dowager to teach him from time to time." After hearing King Chun's words of meritorious service, Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help but encourage her, and then brought the topic back: "When will the Beitang be relocated?" "From the beginning of the first month of next year, the relocation will be completed within two years." King Chun replied: "The foundation of the new hall will be handed over in November, and the construction will start next year, because it is not suitable to break ground in the northwest direction this year." "Fengshui is important." Empress Dowager Cixi turned sharply and asked: "The relocation of Beitang has been agreed, so when will the Sanhai project be completed?" "This...," Chun Wang hesitated, "It depends on whether the payment comes smoothly?" "I don't understand that! If the payment doesn't come smoothly, the project will just stand there and never be completed?" There was a sense of reproach in the words, which made King Chun feel a little uneasy, and hurriedly replied: "What I said was smooth or not, and it only took a few months to go in and out. The total cost of the three seas is more than 1.8 million. One million raised by the customs is a large amount. Up to now, the number of those who have reported to Beijing is only a few hundred thousand. The one that is to be released now is more than three hundred thousand. It is inconvenient to rush the project because of the money owed to the merchant. The Ministry of Internal Affairs urges the project, and the businessman wants to urge the payment. I estimate that the project will be completed by next winter at the latest." "When the northwest wind blows, you have to go back to the palace. If it is completed next winter, doesn't that mean it will be completed in the summer of the following year?" King Chun thought it was right. According to the traditional rules, he stays in the garden in spring and autumn. If he doesn't visit Rehe in summer, he also lives in the garden. He only stays in the palace in winter.The Sanhai project is completed in winter and cannot be used. If it is idle there, it will cost more labor costs and take care of it carefully. What kind of calculation is this? Turning to this point, he said without hesitation: "The minister will definitely urge them to complete the project next summer." "That's more or less the same!" The Empress Dowager Cixi's voice softened, "But if you need to pay for the work, what's the matter?" "I'll try my best to get it right." "You don't need to bother too much!" The Empress Dowager Cixi said compassionately: "Isn't Beiyang depositing money in foreign banks to earn interest? First raise 300,000 yuan and use it." "That money is to pay the price of the ship..." "What are you afraid of?" The Empress Dowager Cixi became impatient, and her voice was very loud, "When the money from the Guangdong Customs comes, won't it be returned? Millions of silver are left with foreigners, not only will they not be able to make much money, maybe It was misappropriated by others!" King Chun didn't know that Empress Dowager Cixi's words were well-founded, so he could only accuse someone in the Navy Yamen of misappropriating shipbuilding funds, and tried his best to defend it, but nothing happened.It was inconvenient for Cixi to reveal the source of the news, so she just said: "You don't understand much about the outside world, so do what I say, there is nothing wrong with it." Naturally, King Chun did not dare to disobey, and wrote in the Beiyang Yamen, borrowing 300,000 taels.Li Hongzhang was very happy when he received the message, because the four iron-clad fast boats that were scheduled to be ordered from Britain and Germany originally had 2.48 million taels of silver, which were deposited in HSBC Bank, and the foreign exchange was settled one after another. Now there is 1 million taels left. However, Liu Ruifen and Xu Jingcheng, the ministers stationed in the UK and in Germany, called again and again, either to add equipment or to increase the price of materials, asking for an increase in payment. According to calculations, there was still a shortfall of 800,000 taels.When I was worried that I couldn't speak, there was this message, which happened to be accompanied by an explanation, which solved a big problem. However, 300,000 taels cannot be released for a while. When signing the contract with HSBC, they deliberately left room for maneuvering, and stipulated that when the withdrawal amount exceeds 10,000 taels, a one-month notice must be given.Therefore, the money will not be sent to the Navy Yamen until mid-June.