Chapter 9 Section IX

In the end, Shen Guifen thought of one person, Guo Songtao's successor, Zeng Jize who was sent to England as an envoy in Guangxu four years ago. "Finally found the right one!" Bao Jun let out a long sigh of relief, "This is a unique person! His talent, age, status, and the shadow of his old master are enough for this matter." Zeng Jize's understanding of Western Affairs was no less than that of Guo Songtao, and he was still young. He traveled thousands of miles and was capable of doing what he could. He was a first-class resolute and brave marquis, and he was more important than Russian monarchs and ministers. Negotiations were easier to start.The best thing is the so-called "his old man's shadow". Zeng Guofan's achievements are shining through, and his disciples and old officials are all over the world. From this point of view, even if there are unsatisfactory things in future negotiations, everyone is embarrassed to criticize them.If Zeng Jize could not be scolded, then the ten ministers of the prime minister's office would also be less blamed.

"Okay!" Prince Gong also nodded, and had a further opinion: "The Zeng family has received a lot of kindness. After Zeng Jiegang's honorary minister, he shared weal and woe with the country. I think he knew it was difficult, but he couldn't shirk it. Let's play it like this. , there is no reason why it is not allowed.” "What about Chongdishan's charges?" Bao Jun said again: "Ministers from all over the world are protesting together. We should let the higher-ups know about this situation!" "Not good!" Prince Gong refuted him very bluntly, "'Xi Bian' hates hearing these words the most, thinking that foreigners are coercing everywhere, so if you don't ask, you don't need to say more."

"Yes!" Shen Guifen glanced at Bao Jun, "Chongdishan must be wronged first, he will not be wronged, the big thing can't be done, once the big thing happens, he won't have any big trouble." Bao Yun thought about it and sure enough.If the overall situation breaks down, of course Chonghou will lose his head, otherwise he will be a bit of a teacher.If Zeng Jize came to Russia and managed to negotiate, then according to the public law of all nations, there is no reason to kill Chonghou.Moreover, there are many ways to make things right in the future. For example, instructing Zeng Jize to release Chonghou under the guise of the Russians' demands and express his sincerity in negotiating peace is a very good way.

"I have already asked Xu Songge to pay my respects to Pan Boyin," Shen Guifen said, "The Ministry of Punishment is preparing for a replay, and I invite Minister Wang to convict. This can give me another breath of relief." Xu Songge is Xu Yun, a native of Jiading, Jiangsu Province, the number one scholar in the first year of Tongzhi. Now he is the official of Zhan Shifu and walks in the South Study Room. Shen Guifen used Weng Tonghe to communicate with Li Hongzao, and Xu Yong to connect with Pan Zuyin who was also in the South Study, which is the wonderful use of "Lianheng" and "Hezong" of the Southern School.

Of course, this year has not been easy, but in the same heavy heart, there are still differences after all.One is that it is so heavy that it is almost unbearable, and they just want to unload the load and take a good breath; The general difference with the northern faction. On the third day of the new year, the Empress Dowager Cixi met with the military aircraft.In the Qing Dynasty, diligence was the law of the family. It is not surprising that government affairs were handled on the first day of the Lunar New Year, but it was always a false story, and most of the things were not bothersome.This day is not the case, since we met at the beginning of Chen, we talked for two full hours before ending.

Then, several envoys were issued, and the most important thing was to send Zeng Jize as the imperial envoy to Russia.This time Chonghou was sent to Russia, and the treaty and regulations discussed were not in line with the original intention of the imperial court. Zeng Jize "will do the things that should be done before going through business." Another important decree, of course, is about Chonghou.After careful consideration of his charge, he settled on four words: "violating training and exceeding authority".Violation of the training can be used as a reason for refusing to approve it, and exceeding the authority means that the treaty "drawn" by Chonghou is only his personal intention.The four-character crime is, on the one hand, to facilitate international negotiations, and on the other hand, to save Chonghou.Because his crime should have been "forfeiting power and humiliating the country". If it was the era of "Lord Qianlong", before Chonghou arrived in Beijing, he would meet an imperial envoy on the way and issue an edict to execute him immediately.

However, the authority of "Xi Buddha" is also impressive.On the third day of the first lunar month, Ming issued an edict, according to the request of the Ministry of Punishment, to hand over Chonghou's charges to the meeting of princes and ministers, and no one dared to defend Chonghou.The replay said that he "violated the training and exceeded his power, and the circumstances were serious", so the Empress Dowager Cixi further decreed that he would be handed over to the ministers above the Jiuqing, until the princes of the county met together to convict him. On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Li Hongzao went to the pearl to mend his gown. Before dawn, he went to the palace to deliver the mourning clothes.When summoned at that time, the Empress Dowager Cixi promised: "Li Hongzao is still walking in the Minister of Military Aircraft and the Prime Minister's Office of State Affairs."

As soon as the imperial decree came down, congratulatory guests filled the door.Zhang Zhidong already had a "prophet", he rushed to Li Hongzao's house early in the morning, and when he got the good news, he was obliged to share the work for Li Hongzao, and happily received guests for his house. The most eye-catching guest among the guests was naturally Shen Guifen.Although he is narrow-minded, but the city is very deep, when he came to Li's house to congratulate him, his demeanor was extremely calm, and he did not say congratulations, he did the etiquette of socializing, and then left, but sat down leisurely, chatting with acquaintances, doing enough He has a very close friendship with Li Hongzao, and they seem to be familiar with each other in an informal manner.

He was originally from Wujiang, and was originally from Wanping. He was also a fellow of Shuntian and Zhili. Therefore, Zhang Zhidong discussed with Li Hongzao to use the surplus funds for disaster relief in Shanxi to build the "Jifu Pantheon". He is also one of the patrons. It's time to talk about it. "The Pantheon was completed in July last year, and this year is the first year." Shen Guifen looked at Zhang Zhidong and said, "Xiang Tao, should we do something?" "It is a common ritual to offer sacrifices in spring and autumn. The first year of this year is a different matter."

So they agreed to hold a ceremony in the first month. Zhang Zhidong and Shen Guifen talked about "Jifu Pantheon", and they talked very speculatively, but they were out of tune when they talked about the current situation.At that time, Chonghou was dereliction of duty, and the recommender could not be blamed. Zhang Zhidong would not mention these words about the accountability. Talk about pointing, as if no one else is around.Among all the sideways glances, Shen Guifen was the only one who kept shaking her head, sometimes with a silent sneer, that contemptuous demeanor, to the elated Zhang Zhidong, seemed like a bucket of cold water.

"It's not about what happened." When Zhang Zhidong's words came to an end, Shen Guifen interjected: "An outsider's high-spirited theory can be rationalized, and it is naturally pleasant. People in the game should not talk about empty talk, but talk about reality. Xiangtao, One day you will be in power, remember what I said today." As he spoke, he immediately stood up and cupped his hands without moving, "Excuse me." This soft nail made Zhang Zhidong's face turn blue and red for a while, and he felt very uncomfortable.Thinking about it afterward, the more I think about it, the more unconvinced I am. Shen Guifen always thinks of politics as a pure stream, nothing more than a scholar's opinion, talking about wars on paper, but I want to make a show of it for him to see. So he thought of a person: Wu Dacheng. Wu Dacheng returned to Beijing after his tenure as an academician in Shanxi, Gansu, and Shanxi. Soon after, due to the severe drought in Shanxi, Henan, and Shaanxi, he was ordered to provide relief.Zuo Zongtang, governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Li Hongzhang, governor of Zhili, and Zeng Guoquan, governor of Shanxi, all spoke well of him in the memorial.The Empress Dowager Cixi decided to release him. Hanlin served as a local official, either as a magistrate or a Taoist priest. Wu Dacheng released him from Hebei Road in Henan Province and was stationed in Wuzhi, Henan Province. As usual, he was also in charge of river affairs and water conservancy. This lack is very bitter, but there is Kaifeng in the east, Luoyang in the west, and Xingyang and Sishui on the south bank, which are the ancient battlefields of the Central Plains. Although Wu Dacheng was from Suzhou, he deeply admired his hometown sage, Han Yong of the Ming Dynasty.He usually likes to talk about military affairs, and often practice foreign gun shooting with his own soldiers. He is quite "accurate" and complacent. So when he came to this place, he paid homage to the historical sites in the shadow of the setting sun, rode his horse on the high hill, and took the bridle, and he had the ambition to clarify the world. .He was also in the same class as Pan Zuyin, and there were a lot of Zhou and Qin ancient artifacts unearthed in Henan. In his spare time, he copied steles, inscriptions, and stones. When there was a dispute with Russia, a person like him would naturally not be silent. He and Zhang Zhidong were congenial, and they often exchanged letters.At that time, inspired by Zuo Hou's martial arts in the west, it was popular to study Northwest geography. Wu Dacheng's fellow countryman, Hong Jun, who was also the number one scholar in the subject of Wuchen in the seventh year of Tongzhi, specialized in this kind of work.Wu Dachen also knows a lot about it, so when he talked about the situation of mountains and rivers in the northwest and northeast, he was very clear.Zhang Zhidong had an idea, thinking that Wu Dachen should be able to do something. He had a temper when he thought of it, so he found out two long letters written by Wu Dacheng recently, sent them to Li Hongzao to read, and asked Li Hongzao to recommend Wu Dacheng to lead the army. The Empress Dowager Cixi had already made up her mind at this time that she could let go of it with Russia, or let it go, otherwise she would have to go to war.So every day King Gong was urged to plan the frontier defense and rectify the war preparations. Once there was an agreement, it was imperative to issue an edict to seek talents. Veteran general Bao Chao decided to use him.Seeing this situation, Li Hongzao felt that recommending Wu Dacheng was just what a minister should be, so he agreed to Zhang Zhidong's request. Having said that, it cannot be recommended rashly.Although Li Hongzao has a bit of a reputation, he is sincere. He feels that recommending talents is the way for a minister to serve the country, but it is also necessary to find a good place for the recommended person to give full play to their strengths, and the generals will be in harmony with each other. The responsibility of supporting. After discussing with Zhang Zhidong, Li Hongzao found a suitable job for Wu Dacheng, which can be done only after the meeting on the 17th day of the first lunar month. At the cabinet meeting on the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, two major issues were to be discussed.One is the crime of Chonghou. The Secretary of the Ministry of Criminal Justice has carefully considered and drafted a memorial as the basis for the meeting.It is a general statement to say that he "violated training and overstepped his authority". How exactly did he "overstep his authority" and how did he "violate training"?It is necessary to seek an appropriate analogy from the laws and regulations of the Qing Dynasty.It seems that there is a "law of increasing or decreasing book making" that can be compared. For foreign treaties, they must be enshrined in imperial order, which is no different from "manufacturing imperial edicts". The act of "increasing or subtracting books" has its own distinction between those that have already been done and those that have not. waiting for the crime. After reading the judgment made by the Secretary of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, no one raised any objections, and the matter of the crime was considered a decision.The other thing is a memorandum written by the Prime Minister's Office, which is "Preparation for Frontier Defense Matters". There are eight articles in total, thousands of words long, and the scope is too wide to discuss. So much time has been devoted to careful research, and one after another, they have drawn bets and made a hasty discussion. The cabinet will play it and wait for the holy order.