Chapter 35 Bleak foreign field (3-2)

Zeng Jifen's husband-in-law, Nie Jiji, whose name is Yuntai, belongs to a Hengshan family, and his ancestors were famous for doing good deeds.But Nie Jiji didn't even pass the exam, so he could only do a little job; he had a brother-in-law who was appointed as the "General Office of the Defense Preparation Bureau" by Liu Kun, the former governor of Liangjiang, and Nie Jiji followed him to Jiangning alone. , working in the Defense Preparation Bureau, only eight taels of silver for traveling expenses, but he had to take care of his family; it turned out that Nie Gui came to Jiangning, and only then did he know that Zeng Guofan was really a protégé and old official all over the world, so he named his wife "Zeng Wenzheng's Miss Man" as "Miss Man Moving out the "title" can really bring out some benefits in the nepotism, and this is his plan to marry.

Sure enough, according to her husband's instructions, Zeng Jifen went to visit the wife of Li Hanzhang, governor of Huguang, when she passed by Wuchang by boat from Hunan, and to talk about her husband's situation. Nie Jiji was immediately appointed as a member of the Hunan Transportation Bureau in Jiangning , with a monthly allowance of fifty taels, life is very comfortable. When Zuo Zongtang took Liu Kunyi's hand, he took Zeng Jifen to the Governor's Yamen not long after he arrived in Jiangning to reminisce about the old days. Zeng Guofan was born in Xinwei, the sixteenth year of Jiaqing;Zuo Zongtang lost peace with Zeng Guofan after Zeng Guoquan conquered Jiangning, and there was no communication for three or four years. What's more, the key to fame and fame in his life is that Zeng Guofan knew his talent, so he sent him to recover Zhejiang on his own, and was knighted at the same time as the Zeng brothers.Worshiping the Prime Minister, being an extremely human minister, drinking water and remembering the source, he cannot but be grateful to Zeng Guofan; so on the surface, he is as stubborn as before, and still criticizes Zeng Guofan everywhere, but his private attitude has changed greatly. After Zeng Guofan died, he sent a gift In the elegiac couplet, the way is: "Seeking loyalty to the country and knowing people's wisdom, I am ashamed to be inferior to Yuanfu", which is tantamount to admitting defeat, which is very rare given Zuo Zongtang's temperament.

As for taking care of Zeng Guofan's descendants, it is to prove the next sentence in his elegiac couplet: "One heart is like gold, one heart is like gold, and one's mistakes are like stone, and you will never lose your life."Especially the elderly, often have a tendency to regard a friend's daughter as a jewel in their palm. They love their houses and crows, and they look at Nie Jiji differently. They send him an errand from the camp office, and they have lunch at noon every day. They must find Nie Jiji; He is quite appreciative of his willingness to tell the truth and pay attention to Western learning, and intends to train him.

This time when Zuo Zongtang was out of the province for a military parade, Nie Guiji was his entourage. Li Mianlin was an acquaintance with him. Zuo Zongtang deliberately asked, "Mianlin, are you familiar with Nie Yuntai?" Zeng Guofan once ran a grain platform, and immediately replied: "He is Zeng Wenzheng's Manchu son-in-law, of course I know him very well." "That would be the best. I see you are busy too, and I want to send him to be your assistant." "Your Excellency misses the old man and wants to adjust Nie Zhongfang. Of course, we must respect this sincerity. I think it's better to work as an errand for Your Excellency with a monthly salary of fifty taels of silver."

Zuo Zongtang was stunned when he heard that, "Why, Mian Lin," he asked, "You don't welcome Nie Zhongfang?" "Don't dare to bully your lord. Nie Zhongfang is with your lord, personally teaching and supervising him. He doesn't dare to deviate. When he comes to me, he might revert to his old ways. He is Zeng Wenzheng's man's son-in-law. I don't want to talk about him. It delays business, everyone is not good. " At this point, Zuo Zongtang, who was originally a little angry, asked calmly: "You said he's 'returning to his old ways'. Excuse me, what is the old way?"

"Nie Zhongfang is a dandy. He is three years younger than Miss Man. He got married in the first year of Guangxu; in the fourth year of Guangxu, he was only 24 years old, and he was already married to his concubine." "I know about this, his one has already been sent away." Zuo Zongtang asked, "What else?" "Also, when Zeng Jiegang was sent as an envoy to Britain and France that year, the second lady's old grandfathers, Chen Songsheng and Nie Zhongfang, both wanted to be attendants, but as a result, Jie just brought Chen Songsheng, but not Nie Zhongfang. When Jie just passed by Shanghai, , I asked him why he favored one over another because he is also a sister-in-law. Jie just said: I was tired of taking him there. Then he said: "You can see it after reading my diary. " Li Mianlin said again: "Their uncle Lang is a close relative, and if this is the case, my lord thinks, how dare I use him?" "

"Oh," Zuo Zongtang asked, "Have you read Jie Gang's diary?" "Yes." "What does it say in the diary?" "I recorded a copy and sent it back for adults to read." "Okay! Please send it to me to have a look." Li Mianlin agreed, and sent a copy of Zeng Jiegang's diary to Xingyuan of Tianhou Palace as soon as he returned.Zuo Zongtang had nothing to do under the lamp, so he read it carefully. Among them, there were two criticisms against Nie Jiji. My younger sister was tortured, and I was very depressed." This is a housework, and it is difficult for an upright official to judge. There is another record on September 15 of that year, explaining why he did not use Nie Zhongfang: "After lunch, write a letter to my sister-in-law, Nie Zhongfang, To prevent him from going overseas, and to be his sister-in-law, and to prevent Zhongfang from being born with Song Song, he will definitely attract resentment in the future. However, traveling thousands of miles away is not Yu's private business, so it is impossible to favor the favor of his new relatives and just accommodate him. Song Sheng is knowledgeable about virtue , friends are really rare, and walking together will be beneficial to things. Zhong Fang is young and has too many dandy habits, except for socializing, he has no strengths, and his nature is unstable, moody, how can he carry himself tired, so resolutely Say goodbye."

Zuo Zongtang thought to himself, this is not an incurable disease.If Nie Guiji was as Zeng Jize said at the time, but now it seems that there is no such problem, it just shows that this person has tried his best to correct his mistakes and is willing to make progress in the past three or four years.Li Mianlin had many problems in the manufacturing bureau, and he was afraid of falling into Nie Guiji's eyes, so he used Zeng Jiegang as a shield and ignored him. Although the idea was decided, but because he had to leave for Jiangning the next day, he could not have an interview with Li Mianlin, so he personally wrote a letter saying: "Zeng Wenzheng laughed at himself that his luck was not good, and few of his sons-in-law agreed. Hong also didn't like him very much, and the person he allowed was only one person, and he was worried that he was too smart, so he must see it. Last year my younger brother lived in Beijing, and seeing Ji Hong’s distress and embarrassment, he didn’t realize that he was discriminated against in order to obtain medicine bait, funeral coffin and return to the hometown. Jie just wrote a letter of thanks in London , but Jiquanquan, it is not dare to have the idea of ​​love and hate between the flesh and blood, it is also conceivable. This is for Zhongfang, why is it not the case. The diary says that it is just a momentary misconduct, and it cannot be judged according to it. "

When I write this, I feel a little bit unreasonable; in his position, he is bullying others, so I thought about it for a while, and came up with some reasonable reasons. "The legend says: 'Thinking of his people is like loving his tree, and a gentleman uses his affection, but his generosity'. In this way, it is not difficult for you to be Zhongfang. The bureau members are not the ratio of bureaucrats; the affairs of the bureau are not the ratio of political affairs. If you can advance, if you can’t, you can withdraw. If you are lucky, you will tolerate it if you have no faults. If you are unfortunate, if you have faults, you will attack and criticize them. Zhongfang has achieved something, and he will not be discarded as waste material, but if you treat Zhongfang well, you will be able to correct Zeng Wen."

Zuo Zongtang felt that this passage was upright and reasonable, but it was not meaningful enough, so he added another paragraph: "My younger brother and Wen Zhenglun had the earliest friendship, and we all know each other sincerely; It’s also common knowledge in the world, but after Wenzheng’s death, treating Wenzheng’s son Ruodi and his relatives and friends is no different from Wenzheng’s survival. Do you think so?” After sending Zuo Zongtang away, Li Mianlin received Zuo Zongtang's letter and Zeng Jize's diary as soon as he returned to the manufacturing bureau.The previous article of the letter not only insisted on the original intention, but also implicitly blamed him for refusing to take care of Nie Guiji, and instead alienated the feelings of his uncle Lang's close relatives. I am sorry for the virtues cultivated by Zeng Guofan during his lifetime.Li Mianlin was naturally very unhappy.

There is no way!He was thinking in his heart that he was not afraid of officials, but of being in charge; Zuo Zongtang wanted to send Nie Guiji to take care of it. It was his authority, and it was still polite to write a letter to explain.Then I thought, Zuo Zongtang admired Nie Jiji because he was willing to tell the truth and he was willing to pay attention to "Western learning". The Bureau's many shady inner admirers couldn't hide it.Zuo Zongtang sent this person to act as a meeting manager, maybe it was specially to catch his faults. Thinking about it like this, I can't help but have a lot of thoughts, but I still have to work hard to deal with it. Immediately, I found all the copywriting and general affairs of my cronies, and announced that Nie Guiji will be in charge in the future, and I will take care of the copywriting. Words should be polite and praiseful.Then explain two general affairs: first, find a spacious mansion for the office, and furnish it beautifully; second, send a special person to Jiangning to pick up the "Nie Huiban" couple to take up the post with three months' salary. This factory manager is called Wang Boyan, and he is Li Mianlin's confidant. He is called Factory Affairs, and he doesn't just take care of the trivial matters of the manufacturing bureau. Li Mianlin's eyes and ears, and the criticism of the manufacturing bureau from the outside world, have always been very careful.When Li Mianlin’s task was finished and he returned, Wang Boyan mentioned Falk, “The contract with Falk,” he asked, “does the general manager plan to talk to him himself, or wait for Nie Huiban to come and talk about it?” ?” "what do you say?" "It depends on the intention of the General Office." Wang Boyan said: "Each has its own advantages. When Nie Huiban comes to talk, the advantage is that Mr. Zuo has full face, and Nie Huiban is also very happy. The good thing is that there is a handle in the hands of the general office, and I won't be afraid that he will not give in in the future." "Hmm, um!" Li Mianlin asked, "What are the disadvantages?" "The disadvantage is that he doesn't want benefits. It's an exception in business affairs. From now on, all such contracts will be negotiated by him, and the power of the general manager will fall to the side." "Li Mianlin thought for a while and replied: "He just came here, and he never dared to take advantage of it, and he would not have a handle in our hands; instead, he set a bad example." "That's right. The general office's approach is also very clever. Try to be polite to him and make him comfortable; just don't give him real power and tell him to take care of business." "Yes! How can you make him comfortable? I'll leave it to you; it's okay to spend a few taels of silver at worst." "Yes!" Wang Boyan replied: "Fokk came to ask yesterday when the contract will be negotiated. I said Master Zuo is here for the past two days, and the general office has no time. We will talk about it after Master Zuo leaves. I will notify him now. Tell him to come and talk right away." "Okay! You talk to him." Fokker has already prepared, the category, price, delivery date, and contract draft; the price is determined according to the quantity, the more you buy, the cheaper it is, but the commission is calculated in full proportion. The commission for ammunition varies from high to low, but at least a 28% discount is required, but the commission offered by Fokker is only a discount; Wang Boyan smiled to the translator: "Mr. Fokker has been in China for many years, how do you speak in layman's terms?" "Yes, it's a commission discount, right?" "It's not that the commission discount is wrong." Wang Boyan changed his words again: "Take us as laymen." The translator chatted with Fogg for a while, then turned to Wang Boyan and said, "What Falk means is that because this business was ordered by Mr. Zuo, the price is extra, so he opened it at cost, which is equivalent to being a freelancer. I want to ask Master Wang to forgive me." "Heavy words, serious words!" Wang Boyan said: "We want to ask him to forgive me, how can I explain this amount to my superiors? Could it be that he made a deal with Mr. Hu Da with this discount?" "Yes," Fogg actually replied through an interpreter; but he also explained, "If you talk to Mr. Hu himself before.It's easy to talk about anything; if it's about talking to Mr. Zuo himself, Mr. Hu doesn't even want a kickback. "" Hey!Yo! "Wang Boyan fussed, "According to this, he is still special to take care of us?" " "It's not like that." The translator replied: "As far as we know, the amount of kickback depends on the situation; fortunately, there will be business in the future, and there will always be a time to make up for it." "This is the first time for me, Always make me face, you tell him, I will repay him next time." The translator talked with Falk for a long time, and finally replied helplessly to Wang Boyan, "Master Wang," he said, "Fogg means that any rebate is acceptable, but the price has to be increased." "How much will it increase?" "It depends on Master Wang, as much as you want." "Oh, did he mean 'wear a hat'?" "yes." "Then does he admit to wearing a hat?" "Of course I admit it. But..." The interpreter hesitated and did not continue.Of course Wang Boyan wanted to ask, "But what?" He said, "It's the first time for everyone to do business, so we must treat each other with sincerity." "Then, to be honest, the price list has already been published." "Which one is it for?" "Mr. Hu Da." The translator hurriedly added: "It's not about these two days." Wang Boyan was furious when he heard this; !" At the moment, Wang Boyan broke up unhappy, and after inquiring again, there was something annoying. It turned out that Fokker was determined to maintain a good relationship with Hu Xueyan, so he reserved a discount for him in the commission for the arms; Although Hu Xueyan expressed that he was unwilling to get something for nothing, Falk still followed the original plan.20% rebate for the purchase of arms is the minimum market price, and half of it should be distributed to other people for nothing. Wang Boyan felt that it was really difficult for the general office to explain this matter. Li Mianlin already felt cheated. In his judgment, Hu Xueyan brought Fokker to Zuo Zongtang to intervene in Jiangnan's arms procurement as a member of the Western Expedition and Transshipment Bureau. Even Zuo Zongtang didn't look good, so he asked Falk to introduce him.In fact, they had already talked about it in secret, and they just used him as a way to pass.Therefore, after hearing Wang Boyan's report, he thought the situation was serious, and went to Shanghai Taoist Shao Youlian to discuss it. "Zhao Dingyou from Hefei Road, it's really a coincidence that Zhang Zhenxuan intends to replace Beiyang; Zuo Xiangyin is aggressive here, and Nie Zhongfang is undercover inside; " Li Mianlin said worriedly: "Brother Xiaocun, you have always been resourceful, and you must help me because everyone is Zeng Wenzheng's descendant." "Heavy words, serious words." Shao Youlian, nicknamed "Xiaocun", said: "We are closely related to each other, and I have no reason to sit idly by. Hu Xueyan's weight in front of Zuo Xiangyin is not as good as before. You first grit your teeth and hold on, and wait for me." Find a chance and hit him with a sap so that he can't get up." "A centipede, dead but not stiff." "Even if you're not stiff, you can't do anything." Shao Youlian interrupted him and said, "Brother Mian Lin, the most important thing right now is to deal with Nie Zhongfang well." "I understand." "As for Falk's contract, you'd better let Hu Xueyan book it with him." "Oh, well, what's the point?" "Naturally, there are particulars. This fund will have to be spent in the income of Jianghai Customs in the future; if I can't manage it here, won't you be forced by others?" Li Mianlin pondered for a while, and suddenly realized that the taxation of Jianghai Customs is under the control of Shao Youlian, and he can delay the payment of Fogg's money in the future; if Hu Xueyan signed the contract with Falk, Fogg can only go to Hu Xueyan to negotiate. Therefore, Shao Youlian's making things difficult for Fogg was actually making things difficult for Hu Xueyan. "Okay, okay!" After figuring it out, Li Mianlin agreed, "I'll do it when I get back." Li Mianlin's solution is to order Wang Boyan to report to Zuo Zongtang on official business, saying that Fokker's asking price is too high and the contract cannot be negotiated. Tangjing ordered Hu Xueyan to sign a contract with Fokker. At the same time, Fokker originally planned to give a 10% rebate. The Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau would never dare to receive this rebate. This "report" was so eloquent, and when it reached Liangjiang Governor's Yamen, Zuo Zongtang thought it was justified; he made a copy of the original report and sent it to Hu Xueyan for processing.In this way, from Shanghai to Jiangning, from Jiangning to Hangzhou, and then from Hangzhou to Shanghai in a big circle, letters and telegrams were exchanged, and two months passed quickly. There was still no result, but the situation had a major change. It turned out that there was a civil strife in North Korea in the east, the king Li Xi was weak, and the princess Min was in power; Li Xi's biological father was Li Baoying, and his title was "Lord of the Great Court". The palace, hurt the princess, and killed the minister Min Qianhao and others.Seeing an opportunity, Japan sent troops to North Korea; Li Shuchang, the Minister in Japan, sent an urgent message to Zhang Shusheng, Governor of Zhili, suggesting that Beiyang send warships to contend with the Japanese army. Zhang Shusheng wanted to make a big splash at first, but when he received Li Shuchang's warning telegram, he decided to send troops to observe the change and report to the court at the same time. The imperial court appreciated Zhang Shusheng's quick response, but because France was conspiring against Vietnam at the time and North Korea had another alarm, they were afraid that Zhang Shusheng would not be able to cope, so they decided to order Li Hongzhang, who was in charge of the system, to recover and return to Tianjin on the same day. Therefore, someone persuaded Zhang Shusheng: "Since the central government has ordered him to take charge of this matter, it seems appropriate to send troops after Hefei returns to his post." Whip first, China will fall behind.He is responsible for Beiyang, and he cannot follow his own mistakes. So when the second telegram urging Li Hongzhang to leave had just arrived in Hefei, Li Hongzhang had already repeated the message and went on his way. When he transferred from Shanghai to Tianjin, the army sent by Zhang Shusheng was already on the way to "conquer the east across the sea". Zhang Shusheng sent two generals on land and water, one was Ding Ruchang, the registered admiral of the Beiyang Navy, and the other was Wu Changqing, the admiral of the Guangdong Navy. The Sixth Battalion went to sea from Dengzhou on a ship of the China Merchants Bureau. There were many talents in the shogunate. Yuan Shikai, the nephew of Ai Baoheng, Zuo Zongtang who once ran Liangtai. Yuan Shikai didn't like reading since he was a child. Although he was a child of a family, he behaved like a scoundrel and despised the township party.Unable to survive in his hometown, he had a wild idea and gathered more than ten jobless teenagers from Xiangcheng, Henan to Yantai, Shandong, leaving his companions in the hostel, and went to see Wu Changqing alone. At that time, Wu Changqing was in charge of military affairs in Shandong as the admiral of the Guangdong Navy. He and Yuan Shikai's heir father, Yuan Baoqing, were friends of eight worshippers. Yuan Shikai replied: "As the son of a general, I will join the army." He also said that the dozen or so young men he brought were all rare generals, "I ask you to hire them all." Wu Changqing was very surprised, so he couldn't call him absurd and presumptuous.Immediately, an officer was sent to the inn with a bank note to send his companion away with good words.Of course, Yuan Shikai was left behind. "Have you entered school yet?" "No." Yuan Shikai was not even a scholar, but he donated his supervisor, so he could pass the Beiwei Shuntian Township Examination as usual; Wu Changqing asked him to study in the camp and worship Zhang Jian as his teacher.This person, Ji Zhi, is a famous scholar in Nantong. He was a military counselor in Wu Changqing's shogunate, and he was also a professional teacher of Wu Kaiqing's second son, Wu Baochu. Since he had to take the exam, Zhang Jian of course taught him to do eight-legged essays.Yuan Shikai lacked interest, but he talked about current affairs with Zhang Jian, and the methods of employing people to control people, but he was very clear, which was very appreciated by Zhang Jian.In Wu Changqing's shogunate, there was also Zhu Mingpan, who was also from Nantong, and together with Zhang Jian and another Fan Kentang who wrote excellent poems, he was called "Three Lives of Tongzhou"; this Zhu Mingpan also had a good impression of Yuan Shikai, so when When Zhang Jian recommended Yuan Shikai, and Zhu Mingpan supported him, Wu Changqing appointed Yuan as an assistant in the camp affairs office and sent him two orderlies.This happened in April of the sixth year of Guangxu.When civil strife broke out in North Korea, Zhang Shusheng sent Ding Ruchang to summon Wu Changqing to discuss matters.Wu Changqing, together with Zhang Jian, spent three days in secret business in Tianjin, making plans to put down the chaos.In Renwu of this year, "Ziwu violated You, the year of Dabi", Yuan Shikai was ordered to go to Beijing for the provincial examination, and he happened to be in Tianjin. When he heard that he was going to send troops to North Korea, he went to see Zhang Jian.Zhang Jian agreed, and asked Wu Changqing for him, and he got his wish. After arriving in Yantai, Wu Changqing went back to Dengzhou to dispatch troops and generals. Zhang Jian was responsible for sending ships to Yantai to collect food and supplies. The former Enemy Battalion Office" actually took charge of it alone. On the evening of July 12, Wu Changqing led a brigade from Yantai to Incheon, North Korea; but the Japanese navy and army arrived an hour earlier.It's just that it's getting late, and the Chinese and Japanese armies are living on the ship, preparing to land at dawn. Unexpectedly, in the darkness of night, the secret envoy sent by Concubine Min arrived.It turned out that Li Xi, the king of Korea, was a successor from a side branch like Emperor Guangxu; Li Shiying, the "Lord of the Great Court" Li Xi's biological father, was equal to Prince Chun, but the difference was that the "Lord of the Grand Court" was the regent.After Li Xi became an adult, the "Lord of the Grand Court" naturally couldn't see it, so he fought for power with Concubine Min. Concubine Min was very capable like Empress Dowager Cixi, thinking that North Korea was a vassal of China, so as long as she devoted herself to making friends with Chinese officials, she would naturally gain the upper hand. At this time, Japan's ambitions were growing. Seeing that the two parties in North Korea were confronting each other, they deliberately looked for opportunities as an excuse to invade. The opportunity came.North Korea’s internal affairs were not maintained, and the people were in poverty. The soldiers’ wages were owed for several months, and they repeatedly “argued about the wages”, and the payment was not enough, so there were often rebellions and rebellions. The Japanese bribed the rebels and deliberately let them rob The Japanese consulate, in the name of protecting the consulate, Japan is planning to send troops to North Korea. When Concubine Min got the news, she informed the Chinese officials; the envoys stationed in Japan also sent urgent telegrams to Beiyang. These secret envoys had an audience with Wu Changqing and Ding Ruchang, saying that Japan and Li Huang should have colluded.Whichever army reaches Seoul, the capital of North Korea first, will control the entire situation.This is the same reason as Chu and Han fighting, the first to enter Xianyang wins. "For today's plan, we advise the army of the Celestial Dynasty to land in the dark and enter Seoul by the secret road, and they can arrive in one day and night. This shortcut is unknown to the Japanese." "The idea is very good, but what about the day and night supply? Soldiers have to eat!" "Please let go." Concubine Min's secret envoy said: "All the equipment along the way has been prepared." Wu Changqing was overjoyed, and immediately summoned Zhang Jian and Ma Jianzhong for a secret discussion, and decided to accept Concubine Min's plan, and first sent 500 people to land overnight; another 1,000 people were sent to disembark at dawn, and the rest stayed on board for orders. The secret meeting was established, and Wu Changqing ordered soldiers to issue orders in the dinner room of China Merchants Steamship. This should have been a scene of high morale and eagerness to be the first, but after Wu Changqing gave the order, there was silence for about five minutes; now the atmosphere became very stiff. Finally a leader surnamed Liu approached Wu Changqing and said in a low voice: "This battalion is the army, and has never been out to sea. Now the ship has just stopped, and many brothers are seasick. Can you ask the commander to be considerate and let everyone Rest overnight and go ashore at dawn." As soon as this remark came out, Wu Changqing's face immediately changed, but there was another request of the same kind. Wu Changqing was furious, slapped the table and scolded: "When and where is this? How dare you disobey my order? Don't tell me you don't know military law?" As he said, he wanted to draw his arrow and kill that Liu Bangdai. Zhang Jian was at the side, before he could open his mouth again, he rushed to say: "Marshal, it is not appropriate for Liu Bangdai to lead troops anymore; send someone else!" "Who should I send?" "I think Yuan Shikai can take over." "Okay!" Wu Changqing said to the left and right: "Take care of the surname Liu first, and deal with it after I finish the big things." At this time Yuan Shikai had been notified and came in to salute; Zhang Jian said, "The commander-in-chief has sent you an errand, listen carefully." Wu Changqing interfaced and ordered: "Liu Gangtao didn't obey the order, I have dismissed him to take care of him, and now I will send you as Gangtao to take over his team; prepare immediately, after half an hour, first lead a battalion of people, and take the boat sent by North Korea." Landed, led by North Korean guides, and marched overnight. Yuan Shikai, you can take on this mission, can you not take it?" "Yes." "Okay! If anyone of your subordinates disobeys orders and violates military laws, you are allowed to kill them first and report later." Wu Changqing passed the command arrow in his hand forward. Yuan Shikai received the order in his hand, and replied loudly: "Follow the command of the commander-in-chief." Before half an hour, Yuan Shikai had already tied up, straw sandals and shorts, clean and neat, and came in to report to Wu Changqing: "I have discussed with the North Korean interpreter. After landing, we marched quickly overnight, went to Guoshan for breakfast in the morning, and waited for the commander to come there." Farewell to Jihua, and immediately disembarked. At dawn, Wu Changqing personally led the two battalions and continued to advance. He arrived at Guoshan at noon. waiting. "How's the road going?" "Safe journey, North Korea's supply is complete, please rest assured, commander." "Okay!" Wu Changqing asked again: "Is there anything else to report?" Women are disrespectful, Wang Shi is in chaos, this will make people look down on him, Shi Kai has obeyed the commander-in-chief's order, and executed seven people on the spot." Hearing this, Wu Changqing was relieved.I thought he would not be able to lead troops, but now it seems that he is really worthy of being a general, so he comforted him and told Yuan Shikai to move on. In the middle of the night, 500 pioneers arrived in Seoul and camped at the south gate.At around ten o'clock in the morning of the next day, a thousand people under Wu Changqing's personal command also galloped up again, and set up a camp at Tunzi Mountain, seven miles away from Seoul. General Li Zaimian came to see Wu Changqing and expressed his condolences.Wu Changqing was also very polite and perfunctory, and when Li Zaimian left, he immediately went to the city to visit Li Huangying, and made a deal of politeness. After leaving the city and returning to Daying, Wu Changqing immediately summoned the senior generals and his staff and secret merchant Ma Jianzhong to suggest that the thief should be captured and the king should be captured.If the rebellious party is not appeased, it will be suppressed again. Wu Changqing thought the plan was great, and the rest of the people agreed, so he made intensive deployments and set up traps, waiting for Li Zhenying to vote himself. It was four o'clock in the afternoon when Li Zhenying paid homage back and forth, and he brought dozens of guards with him. After entering the account, Zhang Jian and Ma Jianzhong had a written conversation with Li Zhenying. Once there, it is also very troublesome.When the guards of Li Huangying outside the camp were isolated, it was almost time to see: Wu Changqing immediately said: "I am ordered by the imperial court to deliver an order, and I will send you to Beijing in person to present everything about the rebellious party." After finishing speaking, regardless of whether Li Zhenying understood or not, Ma Jianzhong helped Li Zhenying out of the camp; there was a sedan chair outside, he was stuffed into the sedan chair, he was lifted up and left, surrounded by more than a hundred healthy soldiers, and they braved the rain all night After galloping for 120 miles, he arrived at Nanyang port early the next morning and boarded the Weiyuan military ship. Only then did Li Shiying know what was going on. The next target was Li Baoying's eldest son, Li Zaimian, brother of Han Wang Lixi, who was said to be in command of the rebellious party.Wu Changqing sent Yuan Shikai to lead troops into the city and arrested Li Zaimian, but the rebel party had already fled. That night, Wu Changqing received a secret report from Li Xi that the rebels were stationed in two places, one called Litaiyuan and the other called Wangxunli.Wuxunli was near Wu Changqing's camp, so he went out in person; Li Taiyuan sent Yuan Shikai to make a surprise attack in the dark and arrested more than a hundred people, and the rest of the mob fled; the situation in Wuxunli was similar.By the time the 3,000 Japanese troops arrived in Seoul along the main road, the situation had calmed down. As a result, the Japanese army had no reason to enter the city. In order to avoid conflict with the Qing army, they stationed outside the city.Yoshima Hanabou, the Japanese Minister to Korea, also returned to Seoul to negotiate compensation with South Korea. This was not Wu Changqing's business.