Chapter 22 Section 22

On the day the letter arrived, it happened that Li Hongzhang and Fluoro signed an agreement; there are five items in total, the first item is: the southern border of China, adjacent to Beiqi, and the French agreement, no matter what opportunity it encounters, it should be protected if it is violated by others.On the surface, it seems to respect China, but in fact, France has obtained Vietnam's protection rights in disguise.Of course Li Hongzhang understood the mystery, but he only asked for no compensation for military expenses, and everything else was negotiable. As for the text of the treaty, as long as there were no dazzling words, it could be fooled by the officials.Therefore, after drawing the pledge, it was reported to the imperial court, and the meaning of the song was explained: "Since the seventh year of Guangxu, Zeng Jize and the General Administration of the Ministry of Justice, Jichen and Baohai, Te Ligu, etc. have debated back and forth, and the case volume is full, and there is no agreement. It is getting worse and worse. Shanxi and Bac Ninh fell, and the flames of the law spread, and the Vietnamese subjects hoped that the wind would be smooth. The situation was hopeless, and the peace situation could hardly be guaranteed. Fortunately, the legal person asked for peace and deleted and amended the Vietnam treaty, although it is not clear Think that I belong to the state, but do not add the meaning of the violation, how dare Vietnam borrow words to recite it? In the section on trade, the decree is not allowed to go deep into the interior of Yunnan. Since it says "the border of Beiqi", it is clear that it is not allowed to enter the interior. Military expenses should be rejected. The country originally wanted to extort six million pounds for military expenses, but Ma Jianzhong and others have tried and refuted it. It is stated in the present contract that no further compensation will be claimed, which is still respectful and decent. China promises to transport and sell goods on the border of Beiqi, which is enough for The evidence of Sino-French reconciliation and mutual accommodation.”

The scope of "commercial trade" and "military expenses should be rejected" are the gist of the imperial court's special handling of the peace treaty. Another point is to preserve Liu Yongfu's black flag army.This involved the withdrawal of Beiqi troops, which took the most time and effort. The second article of the simplification stipulated: "China's southern border has been confirmed by France, and there is no danger of invasion and occupation. China has agreed to withdraw the Beiqi defense camp to the border." But Liu Whether Yongfu is willing to withdraw, Dacheng doubts.

The origin of Liu Yongfu and the Black Banner Army was the most troublesome thing for Li Hongzhang.Almost up to the Queen Mother, down to Xiaomin, the Military Aircraft Office, the Prime Minister’s Office inside, and Zeng Jize, the envoy stationed in France outside, all think that Liu Yongfu and his subordinates have not only made great contributions to the country in the past, but will also be of great use to the country in the future, so From the time when Ma Jianzhong accompanied Fu Lunuo to the north from Shanghai to prepare for the peace talks with Li Hongzhang, there have been constant reports, including Zhang Peilun, who all demanded the preservation of Liu Yongfu.Of course, Empress Dowager Cixi and King Chun would follow the public opinion. Among the four secret decrees instructing Li Hongzhang on the purpose of negotiating peace, the last one was designed to protect Liu Yongfu.

What one suffers is exactly what the enemy suffers. Li Hongzhang knew that the French would not give in on this point. If the Chinese government does not regard Liu Yongfu as an official army, it will retreat from Beiqi according to the second paragraph of the five simple rules. , France will act as a "bandit suppression office", where is the way to preserve it?Of course, it would be best for Liu Yongfu to retreat in the face of difficulties, but unfortunately this is impossible.As for Li Hongzhang's personal perception of Liu Yongfu, it is similar to the French. The first is hatred, hating Liu Yongfu for making troubles, making peace impossible; the second is contempt, concluding that Liu Yongfu can't do anything.From the perspective of the overall situation on the border between Yunnan and Guangxi, Li Hongzhang believed that Liu Yongfu was a "lone chess player" who was besieged and unable to fight his way out.But Guqi has two "eyes" that can also "work". The two eyes in the past were Tang Jiong and Xu Yanxu. These two eyes have now become "false eyes" that cannot protect themselves, but they may find another two eyes. , with Cen Yuying in one eye and Tang Jingsong in the other.

Therefore, at the beginning of the negotiation, Li Hongzhang had a plan. Regarding Liu Yongfu's origin, he had to not discuss it in the peace treaty.However, why not talk about it, there must be some words to evade the imperial edict and clear discussion, so the wording of the replay took some pains: "As far as Liu Yongfu's black flag army, when there were few French soldiers in the past, they repeatedly killed the French generals. The legal person hated it and wanted revenge. Last year, Zeng Jizedie discussed with the outsider that China tried to dissolve the restraint, but the court added troops to attack, and he did not want to return. In the winter to conquer Shanxi, the black flag elites were injured a lot. Creation. This spring Liu Yongfu recruited 4,000 people to aid Beining, but he was defeated without a fight. How cowardly is his enemy? Lu Nuo never mentioned it, so I don't feel comfortable discussing it in depth. In the future, the country will send another envoy, if this is discussed, Cen Yuying and Pan Dingxin should decide how to arrange them."

This is an extreme statement that Liu Yongfu cannot "defend the enemy", and he is despised by the enemy, so it is not worth preserving.Next, I want to use the power of the imperial court to solve Liu Yongfu first, so as to avoid conflicts in the future. I will deal with the peace treaty myself, and I will not get rid of it: "The current peace agreement has been completed, the legal person will not repeat, the French soldiers will gradually withdraw, and the border defenses of Yunnan and Guangxi All armies should also be reorganized as early as possible. All the brave camps that are unable to do their best should be gradually reduced, and the useless ones should be retained. I heard that Liu Yongfu's troops are harassing and harassing the Vietnamese people. Order the governors of Yunnan and Guangxi, strictly enforce restrictions, increase and decrease at discretion, plan and arrange in advance, so that there will be no troubles, and many people will be preserved."

This memorial and the agreed five briefs were presented to the imperial court at the same time.The Empress Dowager Cixi had nothing to say with the ruling king and ministers, but the words were very uproarious. The imperial decree Li Hongzhang should learn from others and not hold on to prejudice.As a result, Li Hongzhang was afraid, and he had some verbal agreements with Fulu Nuo, so he didn't dare to report. The accompanying agreement is derived from the second paragraph of simplicity.The first paragraph of this paragraph stipulates: "Since the southern border of China has passed through France and based on real evidence, there is no fear of invasion and nuisance. China has promised to transfer all the defense battalions stationed in Beiqi back to the border." However, China's "defense battalions" When will it be called back?Fluno made a request that those along the border of Guangxi should be withdrawn within 20 days after the simplification takes effect, and those on the border of Yunnan should be doubled to 40 days.Although an agreement was not reached, the person who negotiated the peace must clarify the beginning and end of the peace talks, and Li Hongzhang was dissatisfied with the simplicity of "not making Vietnam a vassal of our vassal and explaining it", so he dared not talk about withdrawing troops, so Can't hide the above news.

Fortunately, this is simplicity after all. According to the provisions of the fifth paragraph, after three months, "according to the above-mentioned sections and detailed terms of the meeting", Qingyi felt that there was still a chance to recover the rights, and thought it might as well to speak at that time.Li Hongzhang thought that after three months, he could still explain what happened, so it would be better if he didn't say anything at this time. In this way, the discussion on the law and peace is over in a daze. At this time, Zhang Zhidong was called to Beijing.In Shanxi for three years, I was overworked, so I was not yet fifty years old, but my beard and hair were graying, which seemed to be the appearance of a minister who worried about the country.As soon as he arrives, greet him at the palace gate as usual, and summon him immediately.The Empress Dowager Cixi held a memorial to Zhang Shusheng who asked for the absence of the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi due to illness, and to rule the military. It depends on how Zhang Zhidong's memorial is right before making sense.

Of course, the purpose of the summoning was that he had already received the news.There are several key points in official career. Once you jump over it, you will be in Longmen, Taoist is promoted to supervisor, governor is promoted to governor. Zhang Zhidong knows it well and has planned it long ago. When asked about Vietnam's military, he didn't need to argue for his close relative Tang Jiong, nor did he need to criticize Zhang Shusheng. He only said that the current military use on the border between Yunnan and Guangxi, the role of the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi was the same as that of the governor of Liangjiang during the suppression of Nian.When Zeng Guofan was in Jiangning, he was doing his best to organize food platforms for the front, and Li Hongzhang had no worries about the future, so he could make great achievements in leveling and twisting.If the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi can also make arrangements in many ways, if there is an endless stream of transportation to the border, there will be no shortage of soldiers in the front, and they can naturally enforce strict discipline and obey their orders.

Empress Dowager Cixi naturally found these words pleasant.Zhang Shusheng was born in the Huai Army, and he favored one over the other in support of the border. Many people have talked about it, and Zhang Peilun recently mentioned it.Zhang Zhidong was born in Hanlin, he has no connection with Xianghuai, and he has the courage to take charge of affairs. If you teach him to go to Guangdong and Guangxi to plan food and pay, of course he can be impartial and impartial. But where did the food and pay come from?Zhang Zhidong had already figured out a way, but this way should not be announced in the temple, and he was afraid of being criticized by the Qing Dynasty, so he had to keep it a secret.So I just answered vaguely, Guangdong is rich and well-known all over the world, and all the patients have been embezzled by others. As long as they are willing to rectify it honestly and comb it in many ways, the disadvantages will be eliminated and the benefits will arise.

These words are what the Empress Dowager Cixi loves to hear. Therefore, within three days, she issued a decree: "Zhang Shusheng will open the vacancy of the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and he will still lead the department to handle the defense of Guangdong. agency." The great use of Qingliu has reached its peak so far, and the two houses under Li Hongzao's sect are as popular as the market, and they are so popular that they are purple. The great use of Er Zhang is a great comfort to Li Hongzao, and even a great hope.It has been a month and a half since March 13th when the "downgrading to the second level" was carried out, and there has been no further order.This means that the case of abuse of protection Tang Jiong and Xu Yanxu is still pending, and they will not be used until they are released to Beijing, interrogated and convicted, and they can be dismissed depending on the circumstances.Of course, this is not a bad thing. If you don't have an official or a job, you don't have to go to the Yamen, so you won't be embarrassed.To be able to spend a year and a half like this "closed doors thinking about mistakes", and when Zhang Zhidong is in Guangdong and Zhang Peilun is in Fujian to show their talents and invite their relatives, they will work together to ensure that they can be rehabilitated at once. How much more powerful will it be to make up for the cabinet's bachelor's degree? Because of this, he didn't want the Ministry of officials to make up for it.Fortunately, the two ministers of the Ministry of Officials, one is Xu Tong, who has been a colleague of Hongde Hall for a long time, and the other is Weng Tonghe's brother, and Guangshou, who has a deep relationship with him, can act according to his wishes.It's just that although they have been dismissed from office, the court is not indifferent, especially the two Zhangs, who almost never go outside the Xuanwu Gate, the rope maker alley where Yan Song's former residence was located, talked with Li Zhaizhang. At this time, Zhang Peilun had already complied with the Empress Dowager Cixi's order, and submitted a memorial to "please set up soldiers and sailors in the seven coastal provinces, and send important ministers to scriptures". If the Yamen is located in the capital or Tianjin, Li Hongzhang will only manage it part-time, not full-time. The full-time responsibility must fall on himself.Therefore, "being able to deal with matters related to the coastal areas of Fujian" seems to him to be like a certain place where the Yellow River bursts, and the special minister goes to find out the truth for the imperial envoy, and instructs the supervisor on the spot to prevent the blockage. In just three to five months, he can return to Beijing Return to life.Then he will work with Li Hongzhang to organize the Navy Yamen, manage the coastal defense of the seven provinces, and have the co-pays of the seven provinces available. , and the scholar Dianbing, "juvenile burden", is more likely to recommend Lu Xun as Lu Meng recommended.If Li Hongzhang called internally, or marched into the army, or the General Administration, he would of course recommend himself. When Zhang Zhidong knew that he was going to Guangdong, he was not in charge of the military, so he might as well give Peng Yulin a lot of respect. The shortcut to raising wages is to start gambling. Soon, Zhang Shusheng gave a memorial. First of all, he said: "Two governors of Guangdong, several and three years, have been empty of sincerity to serve the country, but have been unable to save the time. It is ineffective, and it is difficult to name it. The advantages and disadvantages of special Guangdong affairs, The minister exhausted his request, learned the whole story roughly, and would like to make a general outline, and Chen Zhi for the empress dowager and the emperor." The following is divided into four major sections: official administration, military administration, financial management, and folk customs. In the article of folk customs, Guangdong's gambling style is mentioned: "There are so many names for gambling that it is impossible to count. Today, there are more votes for white pigeons than households. Aggravated crimes, and addicted to gambling has become a custom. It is almost a matter of violating the public to ban the people. In the sixth year of Guangxu, the minister and the Fuchen Yukuan inspected and returned Chen. Please strictly prohibit buying and suppressing the regime. Leaks, the words have been detailed. Compared with the funds, there are repeated rumors of borrowing military supplies, and those who are invited to lift the ban. The minister insists on the correct words of financial management, and bans the people in the war of wrongdoing, and dare not be swayed." The Empress Dowager Cixi and the Military Aircraft Office were quite confused about the purpose of making such a memorial before Zhang Shusheng confessed. Is it self-declaration of political achievements, intentionally attached to the stack, and the possibility that the imperial court may take back Zhang Zhidong to govern Guangdong? Because he has a few cases involved in the investigation, let's confess to himself first?There is no way to understand.However, after three years in office, it is too late to come to "report" until today.Therefore, there was quite dissatisfaction in the upper edict, saying that Guangdong "has accumulated malpractices so far. Zhang Shusheng has been in office for several years. Why didn't he rectify it as soon as possible, until the replacement is imminent, and he started Chen Zou. It is really arbitrary prevarication. After Zhang Zhidong took office, he will All the matters that should be done should be carefully managed, and the overall profit will be prosperous, and there will be no disadvantages without reform, and capital management will focus on the local area.” Seeing this edict, Zhang Zhidong was relieved.For Zhang Huakui's loss of office for his father, he will try to get revenge. Only Zhang Zhidong understands this.The prohibition of gambling was mentioned in the memorial, which was intended to embarrass Zhang Zhidong. He thought that his way of raising money was nothing more than gambling. He hoped that he could resort to a clear argument and block Zhang Zhidong's way of thinking. that way. It was expected.Zhang Zhidong's private plan was indeed the case. Guangdong was not the only place where gambling flourished, but only gambling in Guangdong, because it complied with the rules of issuing lottery tickets in the West, could draw donations from it.The most famous kind of gambling is called "Xing Xing". It uses the country's talent ceremony as the gambler's advantage. Most of the people in charge are powerful gentlemen in the local area. In the next year, wait for the list to be released to see how many surnames are bought to determine the winner.It is not surprising that a big surname such as Qu Liang Tanli won the buy, but the surprise winner is the rare surname in the buy.Therefore, the powerful have a way of manipulating, find out about the surname, secretly find a shooter for him, pass the joint, and this person is on the list, that is, he bought an extra surname, and he is naturally superior to others. The second is the "white dove ticket", release a group of carrier pigeons, and see how many it flies back?Guess is the winner.Of course, this is easier to operate, the outcome is unreliable, and the gambler is unhappy, so it has been improved into a "mountain ticket". Shanpiao is the first 120 characters in the thousand-character script, and the number of guesses and purchases is limited to 15 characters.Every time 30 words are written, if all hits are the jackpot, the same score will be awarded.This is easier to be caught off guard than the white dove ticket which has no proof. Therefore, hundreds of thousands of tickets can be sold each time. , You can get as much as tens of thousands of yuan, so even the poorest families in Guangzhou also buy mountain tickets.If some of them are added as military pay, it will be a breeze and a steady stream of reliable income. In addition to mountain tickets, there are also "shop tickets" and "poetry tickets".Shop tickets are guessed based on the 120 characters on the shop signboard, while poetry tickets use five-character and eight-rhyme poems to predict the outcome. Zhang Zhidong had inquired clearly about these situations long ago, and he had a plan in mind, so it is inconvenient to say it clearly, and he just waited until after he took office, so please implement it.As soon as a case is settled, there will be accusations in the clear discussion, and the raw rice is already ripe, so you are not afraid of obstruction.What's more, if you take it from the public and use it for the public, as long as you entrust it to the person and don't get a single drop into your private pocket, you have a clear conscience and you should be able to invite clear understanding. But Zhang Shusheng's performance almost directly determined his concealment, so he couldn't help but be surprised, and he was even more afraid that the imperial edict would agree with him, and the order would continue to prohibit gambling. At that time, it would be very difficult to recover. Therefore, Zhang Shusheng hit a big nail, and it was really a pleasure to be in Zhang Zhidong!Although the imperial decree enjoined him to "prosper if there is any benefit, and never reform if there is no harm", but the "pros and cons" may as well be as far as the country is concerned. Gambling can raise wages, but it is a benefit rather than a disadvantage, and it does not violate the imperial edict. In addition to the two new appointments, the imperial court also has some measures to reward talents.Yan Jingming was promoted to be a co-organizer; Zhang Yinhuan was very fond of the Empress Dowager Cixi for Western affairs, so he opened a vacancy and awarded him the title of third-rank minister, and sent him to walk in the prime minister's office; Liu Mingchuan and Bao Chao were about to recover; and Zuo Zongtang's eye disease had healed , Specially called to Beijing, still as the minister of military aircraft, and managed the Shenji camp with a bachelor, and for the sake of sympathy for the veterans, Zuo Zongtang was not required to be on duty in Changchuan, and he was exempted from sending all errands. Although the peace agreement was concluded, all the measures of the imperial court, with the encouragement of the Empress Dowager Cixi from King Chun, and the support of Zuo Zongtang, Peng Yulin and Qing Yi, were still moving towards the direction of reorganizing the army.This does not conflict with Li Hongzhang's approach.Because Li Hongzhang advocated peace talks to buy enough time to build coastal defense, which is the same as Chun Wang's view. However, the aggressive French soldiers did not allow China to have the opportunity to deploy calmly, and the peace treaty between Li Hongzhang and Fronaut quickly changed.