Chapter 116 History of the Palace Outside the Qing Dynasty (17-1)
Fluno left Tianjin in late April. Before leaving, he said that the French army would send troops to patrol the border and expel Liu Yongfu's Black Banner Army. Stationed in Lang Son and Baosheng, requiring the Chinese army to retreat in advance.Li Hongzhang bluntly refused this request, but he was noncommittal and did not report to the French army patrolling the border.In his view, the Chinese army stationed at the border only wanted the enemy not to invade. As for patrolling the border outside the border, they turned a blind eye and did not affect each other.
Unexpectedly, on the first day of the fifth lunar month, the 23rd of June in the Western calendar, 900 French troops, led by Colonel Desen, drove to the Guanyin Bridge in the south of Lang Son, ready to take over Lang Son.
Guanyin Bridge is an important pass. The south of the bridge and the north of the bridge are surrounded by high mountains. There are 4,000 people stationed in the south of the bridge, led by the Huai army general Wan Chongxuan, and the north of the bridge is defended by Yang Yuke, the admiral of the Guangdong Land Route, leading three battalions.Wan Chongxuan's subordinates in Qiaonan, because of Desen's arrogant and rude words, opened fire first. The firearms were not as sophisticated as the French army.Desen waved his army in pursuit, hoping to take advantage of the victory to occupy the Beishan highland, condescending, and intimidating Lang Son.
At that time, the Right Battalion was led by Ning Yuming, who was trapping Dang Minxuan. Seeing this situation, although he was worried but also happy, he hurriedly divided into three teams. Down shot, the French offensive was thwarted.So the left and right wings ambush all out, Desen was shocked, and nine hundred people retreated out of formation.All the armies chased Lang Jia.The Chinese side said that "hundreds of their sharp soldiers were wiped out", while the French side reported that 22 people were killed and 68 were injured.
Pan Dingxin, the governor of Guangxi, had already decided that the Cantonese army was useless, so he refused to pay the troops, and planned to disband them. After this battle, he was impressed and allowed to pay the troops. However, the munitions needed in the front were never given.
Pan Dingxin had a very deep relationship with Li Hongzhang, and he also knew Li Hongzhang's temperament and style very well. Of course, he should give him a strong response to "preserving the peace". Therefore, he did not advocate preparing for war in Guangxi at all.Even if he had no worries about "preserving the peace", he would not want to fight, because the present and past are different, and fighting foreigners would be detrimental to his reputation.
It has been a long-standing habit for many years: to avoid defeat is to win, if it is a small victory, it will surely become a big victory. It is not surprising that the battle reports are exaggerated, and even exaggerated to the point of unimaginable.That kind of battle can be fought, and now there are telegrams and newsprints, often exaggerated memorials of military exploits, which are still being carefully deliberated, while the newspapers have revealed the facts one after another.The imperial court often quotes news from the newspaper and criticizes them. In this way, there is no excuse, and the battle cannot be fought.
But now that he has actually won a battle, although Pan Dingxin has to pay the Cantonese army's food and pay, and also has to report the victory by telegram, he dare not exaggerate, and even deliberately dilute it. The tone of his words seems to indicate that this is a military strategist Common things, nothing to say.This has two functions. The first is not to offend Li Hongzhang and "preserve" the tie he presided over; Isn't it difficult to solve the problem that you can't get through with yourself?
However, victories were won, especially victories won by foreigners.The generals of the defeated army are as expensive as the governor and admiral, the dismissal of the dismissal, the investigation of the investigation, and the rectification of the law. Since the merits and demerits are so clear, the victorious officers and soldiers should of course be rewarded.Pan Dingxin has been leading troops for many years, and he knows that this level cannot be suppressed no matter what, otherwise it will affect morale and cause great trouble, so he has to report.
In this way, it is not easy to dilute the matter.At the same time, Pan Dingxin was far from Longzhou and did not know the process of Li Hongzhang's negotiation with Fuluno in Tianjin.When King Chun saw it, he was very surprised. The five models were simple and clearly recorded. Why did they have these words of patrolling and receiving?Something is wrong, and you have to ask Li Hongzhang to find out the reason.
Of course, Li Hongzhang does not admit that there is any promise other than the treaty. He only admits that Fu Lu Nuo once proposed to abridge the request when he intends to accept Lang Son and Bao Sheng. , strike out with a pencil, and have a "signature as proof".
This explanation is one-sided. To take a step back, since there is this section in the middle of the negotiation, no matter what, it should be reported to the court, so as to understand France's intentions.Concealment and non-reporting, it is hard to escape the blame of ambiguity.
At this time, the Paris side protested that China had violated the contract and demanded compensation for huge military expenditures, and pointed out that the content of the five simplified Chinese and French versions was different.According to diplomatic practice, all treaties are based on French, let alone the treaties concluded between France itself and other countries, of course it is even more insisting that everything is based on the French text as evidence.
At this point in the situation, the Empress Dowager Cixi was deeply annoyed. On the one hand, she issued an order to blame Li Hongzhang for not handling the negotiations well.Of course Zhang Zhidong and Zhang Peilun also received this secret decree.
At this time, the two, accompanied by Li Hongzhang, were going out to sea from the Dagu Port in Tianjin to inspect the Beiyang Navy.
At that time, Liu Mingchuan was also being called to Beijing and passed by Tianjin. Naturally, he was the honored guest of the Beiyang Yamen, a veteran upstart, with high spirits.Whether Li Hongzhang wanted to maintain his status as a personal important minister or to realize his ambition to establish a navy, he needed the group of "red men" in front of him to be his wings, so he deliberately won over, and besides the big feast, he personally accompanied two Zhang and one Wu— ——His minister, Wu Dacheng, went out to sea to inspect the Beiyang Navy.
Going out of Dagukou from north to east, he visited the fortresses of Lushun, Dengzhou and Weihaiwei, which gave Zhang Peilun a lot of insight.Of course, in Tianjin and on the ship, he and Li Hongzhang held closed doors many times, confided their hearts and obtained an understanding.Li Hongzhang almost regarded Zhang Peilun as his mantle, and his only request was to cooperate in secret no matter what to preserve the peace, otherwise not only the creation of the navy would be hopeless, but the existing situation might also be lost.
This is Li Hongzhang seeing that France has a lot of ambition and will definitely provoke in the Fujian area, but he can't say anything about backing down. He hopes that no matter how high-spirited Zhang Peilun is, he can make a concession to France at a critical juncture.In addition, Li Hongzhang also hoped that Zhang Peilun could fight against Zeng Guoquan and take over the real power of the Minister of Nanyang. On the one hand, he could support Beiyang, and on the other hand, he would be the Zhang Ben of the future "Seven Provinces of Classical Painting".
Zhang Peilun was naturally very interested in this idea, so he issued a memorial in Tianjin under the name of "Dropping Fujian Bureau Ships for Gathering Exercises":
"It is said that coastal defense is more important than navy, and that Fujian Province is more important than shipping administration.
The Shipbuilding Bureau of Zhamin Province was created by Zuo Zongtang and completed by Shen Baozhen. The shipbuilding was regarded as the foundation of the navy, and the training school was set up to select the sailors.Although the Western ship system is becoming more and more strange, the bureau ship is already an old style, but when China creates a steamship navy, the generals in the future must learn from the party from the Fujian Bureau, and the first and second are in charge of the pilots, so it is important to treat them seriously. And the inspection has to be strict. "
The so-called "bureau ships" are ships built by the Fujian Shipping Bureau. There are 22 ships in total, only 8 of which are stationed in Fujian, and the remaining 14 ships are divided into various provinces.The best of them is the "Yangwu". The Fujian Shipping Minister specially dispatched him to Tianjin to meet Zhang Peilun. He was in charge of a lieutenant named Zhang Cheng. After talking with him, he found out about the corruption in it. As for the practice, there is no definite rules, so frankly and directly according to the situation:
"There is no fixed direction for the division of operations, and there is no fixed method for joint operations. If the ships are scattered in Haikou, and they are raised but not taught, the soldiers and soldiers are bound to wander around, and the ships and machinery are worn out. If you think about the style of writing in each province, the capital city is better than the remote small town. People in the county, people of order, dedicated to their work, and people of small villages, who learn alone and have no friends. All kinds of armies, training troops in important towns are better than sporadic defenses. Simple soldiers, three-time martial arts, divided soldiers , playing wild all the year round."
The following quotes the essence of Western navy training, and then discusses the Chinese navy:
"China is rushing to catch up, but it is still too late. If it spends a lot of money to build ships, it will not talk about the method of naval training. However, it is the north and south. The practice of hobby, the establishment of seven provinces in the future, the disadvantages have not yet been realized."
This is to rectify military discipline, which is the fundamental plan for building an army. The reason is extremely convincing, but the method has other intentions.
In the method, it is first mentioned that he had "detailed acquaintance" with Li Hongzhang, and the results obtained are:
"Those who plan to divide the ships built by the Bureau into the provinces will be transferred back one after another by the ministers. They will carefully inspect them in Fujian and decide on the rules and regulations for the division of operations. All the ministers are well aware of the sharpness and bluntness, and the disadvantages of changing the ship's laxity are the capital of the experience of the minister. Regardless of the lifting of the coastal defense law, all the ships are transferred back to Fujian, and those who are close will be three to five days, and those who are far away will be more than ten days. Defense, so as not to cause delays, even if there is an incident at sea, it seems that the fleet of soldiers is scattered, and the division of defense is suitable for the enemy, so that it can be broken and charged? Therefore, if you want to respond vertically and horizontally, the most urgent thing is to build the navy of the seven provinces. The minister plans The deployment of bureau ships is also in Fujian and Fujian, a corner of the ear. Like Meng Yuyun, in addition to the five ships of "Kangji" transferred from Beiyang, the ministers follow the sea and go south, so they can inspect them nearby; the two ships of "Feiyun" transferred by Guangdong , now stationed in Qiong for transshipment, the transfer back will be postponed, and all Nanyang ships will be dispatched to the Fujian Sea for a drill, and they will still be ordered to return to defense. In the future, the division of operations will be combined. With the power of horns, there is no distinction between the three oceans, and the ministers of the northern and southern oceans, the governors of the provinces, and the ministers of the council will be examined and handled sequentially, in order to support the imperial court's intention of cultivating the sea."
What is stated in the memorial is that each is an "investigation drill", but in fact it is trying to trick the seven "juan ships" under the Nanyang Minister's command to return to Fujian and put them under their control.At the same time, there are two deep intentions in this memorial. The first is to deceive the court into admitting that all ships built by the Fujian Shipping Bureau are under the command and management of Zhang Peilun; The status of "Fujian Maritime Affairs" is the imperial envoy who surpasses the minister of shipping and works in parallel with the ministers of the Northern and Southern Ocean and the governor.
After sending out the memorial, I boarded the ship immediately, but naturally I couldn't see the instructions, and all news was blocked by the sea.After arriving in Yantai, Fang Shi said goodbye to Li Hongzhang, and boarded the "Yangwu" with Zhang Zhidong via Shanghai to Fujian and Guangdong.
As soon as I arrived in Shanghai, I realized that something was wrong. The war in Vietnam resumed, the peace treaty was on the verge of breaking down, and the "martial law" was changed from "martial law" to "martial law".The worst thing is that they won the battle of Guanyin Bridge!If the battle is lost, the imperial edict must be enough to protect the coastal areas, and nothing will happen. Once the battle is won, the imperial court will naturally be proud, let alone beg for peace, and France will definitely not give up. I'm afraid Hai will be troubled from now on.
Zhang Peilun began to feel a little regretful.After all, he is not Fan Zhongyan, let alone Lu Xun. "Walkside" can certainly show off his might, but "Linrong" has no clue, and he doesn't know how to show off the power of the heavens?Things have been like this, so I have to bite the bullet and rush to Fujian to talk about it.
Once at the mouth of the Minjiang River, enter the Majiang River from the "Northern Waterway", before entering the waterway, you can only hear the continuous bombardment of giant artillery, as if besieging the "Yangwu" from all directions.Zhang Peilun was taken aback, his mouth was dry and his heart was beating. He knew that his face had turned pale, but he wanted to imitate Xie An's hypocritical skills and asked casually, "What is this for?"
"Returning to your lord, it's Nagato and the two forts of gold medals. Let's salute your lord's appointment."
Hearing Zhang Cheng's answer, Zhang Peilun breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously, feeling ashamed and fortunate that he was able to calm down, otherwise it would be a big joke when he arrived in Fujian.
"Take two hundred taels of silver." Zhang Peilun told the old servant Zhang Fu: "Please ask Vice General Zhang to reward the bravery of the two soldiers."
So Zhang Cheng thanked the reward, personally commanded the entrance of the Yangwu, and drove southwest along the river. There were forts on both sides of the river mouth, that is, the south bank and the north bank.
Bypassing Qingzhou, but seeing the deep and wide harbor and the calm water, this is Mawei.The area to the south is called Luoxing Pagoda, and the Ship Administration Bureau is to the north. There is a wharf in front of the bureau. The Minister of Shipping, He Ruzhang, has already led the civil and military personnel to stand on duty and wait for the imperial envoy.
He Ruzhang is a native of Dapu, Guangdong. He lived in the Imperial Academy of Boshin in the seventh year of Tongzhi. This year was the year when Emperor Meiji of Japan ascended the throne. Victory resulted in the "return of the registration" and "abolition of feudal vassals and establishment of counties", which ended the dictatorship of the shogunate for many years and began the famous "Meiji Restoration".Eight years later, when China sent an envoy to Japan for the first time, He Ruzhang was selected as a minister.
After staying in Japan for four years, he returned to China at the end of his term of office. He Ruzhang went to Beijing and met with his former bureaucrats and friends, talking about the beauty of Japan's scenery and the richness of poetry.Zhang Peilun asked him, what happened to Japan's "Meiji Restoration"?He Ruzhang was dumbfounded.Therefore, Zhang Peilun looked down on him very much. Although the name of the subject was one later, he didn't want to call himself a junior. When they met, he called him by his nickname: "Ziyi!"
On the contrary, He Ruzhang called him "Young Man".Welcomed into the hall of the shipping bureau, regarded as the seat of honor, accompanied by himself, the "young man" was long and the "young man" was short, and stated the general situation of the shipping bureau.Zhang Peilun raised his face halfway, and responded with "um, um", it was like a "middle hall".
"Young man!" After the statement, He Ruzhang asked again: "The bureau has prepared a hotel for the young man. Is it an advanced province, or is it here?"
"Naturally, I will go to the province. The superiors will explain to me face to face, let me ask Mu Chunyan and He Xiaosong first. I plan to go to the province tomorrow."
This refers to General Mu Tushan of Fuzhou and He Jing, Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang. The implication is that even Zhang Zhaodong, Governor of Fujian, is not in his eyes.He Ruzhang didn't know what secret order he had in his mouth, and he wanted to go to Fujian to rectify it?Yifa didn't dare to be negligent, and accompanied him to inspect the ship tanks and docks of the Shipping Bureau, the nine factories it belonged to, and the "front and back schools" where he taught manufacturing and management.Ye Lai invites you to a banquet, but Zhang Peilun refuses to go. He Ruzhang sends a table of swallow dishes full of seafood, including the cook, to the hotel. Zhang Peilun finally never refuses.
In the early morning of the next day, He Jing specially dispatched the Superintendent of the Biaozhong Army, accompanied by Shouxian, to bring Zhang Peilun to Fuzhou in the eight-carrying green woolen sedan chair that the governor sat on.From the general to the governor, they all waited on duty at the Jieguan Pavilion at the south gate.
Whenever imperial envoys come, local civil and military officials will "invite Sheng An" as usual. At this time, Zhang Peilun's identity "is like my presence", so he got off the green wool sedan chair and went directly to the official pavilion. Set up the incense table, Zhang Peilun went to the top of the incense table as soon as he entered, and stopped to the left.Mu Tushan and He Jing took the lead. Amidst the sound of drums, the foreman saluted, and declared his title: "I respectfully invite the Empress Dowager and the Emperor Shengan."
"An!" Zhang Peilun only replied with one word, which was more noble than "title Tianxian", and it was equal to the queen mother and emperor answering in person.
After performing this set of ceremonial notes, Zhang Peilun resumed his own identity, and greeted the local officials one by one-at this time, he had to talk about the etiquette of the Hanlin.
He Jing, named Xiao Song, was born in Xiangshan, Guangdong. He was also born in Hanlin, the same age as Li Hongzhang.Zhang Zhaodong was one subject earlier than He Jing. Although he was not a member of the Hanlin Academy, he was truly an "old-timer" before Zhang Peilun's 12th subject.It's just that "the younger generations are fearful", the unshaven governor and governor, in front of Zhang Peilun, did not dare to have the slightest airs of his predecessors, just like He Ruzhang, he kept saying: "You should ask the young man to preside over everything."
"The country is in trouble, the emperor is young, and the old officials of the three dynasties, I don't know how to express it?"
Zhang Peilun's tone was reproachful as soon as he opened his mouth, He Jing and Zhang Zhaodong looked at each other in blank dismay, silent.On the contrary, Mu Tushan was more free and easy, calling out his nickname and saying: "Youqiao! You know the intention of the court. We are more familiar with the situation in Minhai. The situation has come to the point where it is today. There is a reason for it. The so-called turning the tide , I'm afraid I can't rely on the strength of one or two people. They are all doing things for the court, as long as they are open and honest, and work together, there is nothing that cannot be done."
These two sentences carry a lot of weight. In addition, Mu Tushan was first recognized by the famous general Duolong'a, and later followed Zuo Zongtang to the west. He treated Mu Tushan very politely and replied:
"See the teaching is right!"
"To be honest, we are far away in the frontier, so we really don't quite understand the intention of the imperial court. It seems that there is no consensus between Zhan and Zhan." Mu Tushan said again, "Youqiao, the higher-ups at this level need to listen to your ideas."
"Don't dare!" Zhang Peilun couldn't say something clearly because of the grand plan of peace and war, and Mu Tushan also wanted to put the responsibility of defense on his own head, so he had to be more careful when speaking: "Military affairs are closely related. The current situation in various countries is not what it used to be. Between peace and war, it is natural to measure one's morality and strength. If a quarrel is easily provoked, I am afraid that all countries will join forces to plot against me. I know the court's intentions better than your lords. Generally speaking, the peace situation can be preserved. It must be preserved. However, it is one thing to preserve the tie, and it is another thing to rectify the defense, and defense must not be relaxed just because the tie can be preserved."
"Of course." Mu Tushan said, "It's just that Fujian's defense is weak. I don't know if Beiyang is willing to help?"
"According to the rules, Fujian Defense should cooperate with Nanyang. But Hefei is a person who is willing to take care of the overall situation. This time, he has promised me in person, with 24 Krupp mountain cannons and 1,200 Hatchkiss foreign guns. Zhang Peilun then said: "I want to train a new army. I need four artillery teams and more than a dozen battalions of foreign spearmen. Of course there are not enough foreign guns. I need to ask Beiyang to do it for me. Hefei also promised me. I will try my best."
This shows Zhang Peilun's strength even more!As soon as he arrives, he will have to train the army, and it seems that he will be stationed in Fujian for a long time, so he will not use the name of "being able to handle Fujian's maritime affairs" for a long time.It is impossible to become the governor all at once, but it is a matter of course to transfer the governor of Fujian.
Therefore, Zhang Zhaodong felt uncomfortable.
"Young man," Zhang Zhaodong immediately offered a suggestion: "I am afraid that talking about war on paper will not help in practice. I think it is better to ask the young man to go to sea first, inspect the ports of the whole province, and then decide on a countermeasure. It is more practical."
"I also mean that." Zhang Peilun nodded.
"Then it's up to me to prepare." Zhang Zhaodong volunteered to do work for Zhang Peilun.
Although Zhang Zhaodong is very active, He Jing is not very interested in the tour, because one is the governor, accompanied by Zhang Peilun, it is unclear who is the master and who is the follower, which is embarrassing; I really don't dare to bear it, so I might as well take this opportunity to shirk it to Zhang Peilun.
After making up his mind, he bowed his hands to Mutushan and said, "Chunweng, please accompany the young man for a hard trip, so I don't have to go. To be honest, it's useless to go."
The last sentence, confession is useless, Zhang Peilun has no reason to force him to go.And Zhang Zhaodong saw the governor like this, and it was inconvenient to show too much affection, so in the end only Mu Tushan accompanied Zhang Peilun to Haikou for a tour.
I didn't see anything when I saw it, but I heard a lot when I heard it.Mu Tushan knew a lot about Fujian's defense, and was quite dissatisfied with He Jing's indulgence of his generals.Speaking of the military officers in Fujian, there are two people with the worst reputation. One is Yang Zaiyuan, the acting commander-in-chief of the Taiwan town. This person is from Ningxiang, Hunan. Because of short supply, short supply, playing for ginseng, dismissal and audition, and cunning confession, he was sent to prison for torture, which made his face very ugly.Unexpectedly, in the third year of Guangxu, he did not know how to go through He Jing's way, and ended up with "invading the camp, and paid the compensation according to the amount", and opened the restoration officer.
The general soldier who had been imprisoned for corruption returned to the old place, as if he had been sent again by one party. Naturally, no one in Taiwan thought highly of him.And Yang Zaiyuan actually worked as the general soldier for several years.From spring to autumn of last year, my parents died of illness one after another, and they didn't report to Dingyou, and they were still in love with each other. In Mutushan's eyes, it was really shameless.
The other two are Zhang Desheng, the commander-in-chief of Funing Town. He is under the control of his two lieutenants, one named Cai Kangye and the other named Yuan Mingsheng. His discipline is lax and he cannot fight at all.However, ten battalions of new recruits were recruited to defend the forts in Nagato and other places. If Zhang Desheng was transferred, the ten battalions of recruits might collapse.
When Zhang Peilun heard this, he was furious.He can talk about things, and of course he can correct his participation according to the facts, but the participation belongs to the participation, and the dispatch belongs to the dispatch, and he doesn't care whether he has the right to dispatch the general army.After returning to the provincial capital, he drew up a message and informed He Jing that the sea and the border were critical, and that "a corrupt and unscrupulous person like Yang Zaiyuan would be difficult to be aunted with", and He Jing was asked to "select officials to accept the administration".
His screen friends advised him that doing so seemed to make He Jing look bad.According to general rules, it is best for Zouan Yang Zaiyuan to have the rank of governor, and it is not appropriate to make such a decision to open a vacancy on his own. Moreover, Taiwan's military affairs have been ordered to be supervised by Liu Mingchuan with the rank of governor, and it seems that it is inconvenient to infringe on his power.
Zhang Peilun blatantly ignored and acted according to his own decision.After paying homage to Yang Zaiyuan's notes, he then joined Cai Kangye and Yuan Mingsheng, and made a special statement: "Zhang Desheng has made great achievements in the war, and it is inconvenient to face the enemy and change generals. He will give strict instructions, and withdraw the lieutenant general and leave the camp, and the army will begin to obey." Said: "I am a scholar who is a beginner in the army. How dare I lead you to correct the bomb when I come to Fujian for ten days? But the enemy is present, and the new general of the humble minister must be kind and trustworthy. It will collapse." After the note was issued, Zhang Desheng was passed on, and he reprimanded him sternly.
As soon as the news spread, no one dared to say that he was domineering, but felt that the imperial envoy's prestige was really impressive.He Jing, Zhang Zhaodong, and He Ruzhang were even more uneasy, knowing in their hearts that although Li Hongzao was unlucky with Prince Gong, Qingliu's power was as powerful as Japan's.Zhang Peilun was well known by the Empress Dowager Cixi, he had the reliance of King Chun inside and the support of Li Hongzhang outside, so he couldn't afford to offend him.
It's one thing not to be offended, but Zhang Peilun is aggressive, and it's another thing to make others bear it.Especially He Jing, as the governor who governs the civil and military affairs of the whole province and has the power to seize life and death, but he is so bullied by a junior, he feels that his face is shameless, and he is very distressed.At the same time, being soft is not reconciled, and being hard is unacceptable. I don't know what attitude to take?So he sighed and wished he could resign from office.
He has a friend named Zhao, from Shaoxing.This master Zhao has been in Xianfeng for ten years, and when He Jing was in Lufeng Road in Anhui, Yanzhi entered the curtain, and he has been following him for more than 20 years.Mr. Zhao originally specialized in criminal names, but he was also good at poems and elegant in speech, so Dong Weng rose to the top, from supervisor to governor, and from governor to governor. A cleaner.In his spare time when talking about poetry and art, he learned about people and commented on the current situation. He talked about the subtleties, and he became a close friend of He Jing's "you can't live without him for a day".
Zhang Peilun's deeds and Dong Weng's troubles are naturally under Master Zhao's cold eyes.Originally thought that He Jing would definitely ask for advice and talk about his sufferings. Unexpectedly, in order to deal with Zhang Peilun all day, He Jing only dealt with the friends in charge of Zhangzuo, Bingbei, and Western Affairs. Master there.
So Mr. Zhao cooked a few delicious dishes with his own hands according to Suiyuan's recipe, opened a pot of old wine sent from his hometown, replaced Cambodian with poems, and invited Dong Weng for supper.In the evening, He Jing came to meet the appointment, and the meeting was forced to laugh. Master Zhao pretended to be puzzled and asked: "Why are you not happy?"
"Haven't you heard?" He Jing asked back: "Fengrun is too deceitful! I really have a bad time."
"What did the commander-in-chief say?" Master Zhao poured wine and respected each other, "This is God's help for the commander-in-chief's success, why are you looking for trouble?"
"If you want me to have a drink, it's fine. If you want to congratulate me, it's self-evident."
Mr. Zhao kept quiet, coughed, and glanced to the left and right. The servants who waited on him understood and retreated.
"I would like to ask the commander-in-chief," Master Zhao asked in a low voice, "Why is Fengrun here?
Do you want to come to meritorious service? "
"That's needless to say! It's not meritorious service, so why use it?"
"That's it." Master Zhao asked: "His title is that he can handle Fujian's coastal affairs. If he has merit, is it because he can handle the affairs alone?"
"Ah, ah!" He Jing realized something: "Your words are a bit interesting."
"It's good that the commander understands." Mr. Zhao dipped his chopsticks into the wine and wrote the word "Li" on the table, "Fengrun's coming here is equal to his coming. Whether it's peace or war, there must be a 'tip bag' to give Fengrun, when the time comes, you will see its magical effect. Why not sit back and enjoy the success? Does the commander-in-chief forget the situation of Guan Wengong in Hubei?"
It was during the Tongzhi period that He Jing served as the governor of the Hubei feudal clan. Hu Linyi had passed away long ago, and the official document was still the governor of Huguang.At that time, Hu Linyi deliberately had sex with Guanwen, but he wanted to be able to carry out his ambitions and achieve success. He gave in to Guanwen's painstaking efforts. The old officials in Hubei could talk about it, and He Jing naturally remembered it.Although Zhang Peilun is by no means as magnanimous as Hu Linyi, he might as well imitate the magnanimity of official documents and let him carry out his ambitions. Anyway, regardless of military affairs, foreign affairs, or important events, he must be able to give a performance.
"Let's not talk about the future, let's talk about the present. Even if Fengrun is proud of the wind, he can't please the position of the commander-in-chief for a while. Now, everything depends on him, and he has nothing to say. Doesn't the commander-in-chief worry?"
This is to imply that He Jing, if he wants to protect his current position, he can only appease Zhang Peilun. Zhang Peilun can't replace him, so he won't fight.Both have room for concessions, so it is possible to live in peace.The key is the word "forbearance".
Thinking of this, he nodded deeply.Master Zhao's words are effective, and he can't stop talking, "Let's take a step back and say, if the situation is urgent, Fengrun will hold his hands, Marshal..." He suddenly stopped, and then asked: "There is a sentence, I don't know if I should say it or not. ?”
"Say it! Why can't you say it?"
"The words don't please you, I'm afraid the commander-in-chief will be angry."
"Joke!" He Jing quickly said, "You and I have known each other for more than 20 years. Could it be that you still don't know my temperament?"
"Since this is the case, I will say: If the military situation is unfavorable and Fengrun is tied up, the commander-in-chief will never have a good way to save him. At that time, there will be no way to escape defeat. Why not let Fengrun stand in front, the burden on the commander-in-chief's shoulders Can be much lighter!"
This time, He Jing not only nodded, but also raised his glass.Master Zhao has no plans to spare, and he has the right place to advance and retreat.He Jing surrendered to Zhang Peilun with peace of mind, and did whatever he said, with few objections.The only self-assertive measure was to mobilize an artillery team of Zhang Desheng to guard the Governor's Yamen.
France's attitude is quite tough.Negotiations were carried out in several areas. The first one was Paris, where French Prime Minister Jufery presented a note to the newly appointed Chinese Minister Li Fengbao; Scheder, entrusted by Li Hongzhang, is mediating with the new French minister Bardenot who has not entered; the fourth place is Tianjin, and any Frenchman who is responsible for negotiations, from Jufery to military representatives, can directly Deal with him.
Therefore, the situation of peace talks was very chaotic.But the attitude of France is clear. Acting Minister Xie Manlu issued an ultimatum to the Prime Minister’s Office on the 20th day of the leap month, demanding that the Chinese government “follow the simple treaty, specifically order the Beiqi army to retreat, and pay 250 million yuan in compensation.” Tens of millions of francs. Respond within seven days and do so, otherwise, the compensation will be paid by oneself." The so-called "indemnity by itself" is that France intends to occupy a city in China as a pledge.According to Guba's radical idea, he planned to attack Lushun, Weihaiwei and other places, but the French Prime Minister decided to occupy Keelung or Fuzhou.
Yikuang, who manages the Zongli Yamen, maintains internal and external relations with Li Hongzhang, and has always refused to break up with King Chun's wishes, but wants to preserve the peace.They tried every means to invite the new French minister, Bardenau, to Beijing or Tianjin to sit down and discuss, but the French government insisted on not following the agreement, and Bardenau would never go north.When they received the ultimatum, they naturally had to make concessions. The Prime Minister's Yamen took a note to Xie Manlu, guaranteeing that Beiqi's withdrawal would be completed within one month.However, he refused to pay compensation, and still hoped that Badeno would go north as soon as possible. According to the simple rules, "the meeting will be detailed."
France's response was to send a warship straight to Mawei.Although it ran aground as soon as it arrived, it was an alarm anyway. Zhang Peilun sent an urgent telegram to Beijing.
After much deliberation, I had to re-entrust Heder to mediate.Hurd finally lived up to his mission, and reached a result through mediation. China will withdraw its troops from Beiqi immediately, and the Minister of Nanyang will discuss with Budeno in Shanghai.
However, the situation is one of external relaxation and internal tension. Although the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Li Fengbao that the seven-day deadline for Xie Manlu could be ignored, and the amount of compensation could also be negotiated, but French warships arrived one after another in Mawei, and there were also French warships in Keelung, and Liu Mingchuan Arrived on the same day.It's just that the news of the approaching of these powerful enemies has been diluted in an edict.
This edict is to send Zeng Guoquan, the Governor of Liangjiang and the Minister of Nanyang, as the Minister of Plenipotentiary, who will go to Shanghai to discuss the detailed agreement with the legal envoy recently.He also sent Chen Baochen to negotiate, and Su Songtao and Shao Youlian will handle it together.At the same time, he instructed the divisions that should be kept in the negotiations: "The required military expenses and stipends must not be allowed, so I will ask for an order to handle it. The most important thing is that Vietnam will continue to pay tribute. Liu Yongfu's army, as he mentioned, should be handled by me. The boundary should be divided into open spaces outside the customs as a buffer. Goods transported and sold in Yunnan should be opened and closed in Baosheng, and the commercial tax should not exceed the value of the law of 50% off. The above-mentioned sections and actual debates are all determined by Telecom.
Zeng Guoquan never imagined that in his twilight years, he would have to deal with foreigners again, and the telegram showed that it was completely different from the requirements of France, and it was impossible to get together.Moreover, everything is "decided by decree", so where is the so-called "full power"?Therefore, Zeng Guoquan was deeply troubled by this new life.
Chen Baochen was even more worried.A scholar who is a soldier, knows how to run Nanyang, and at worst will serve on the battlefield. Once he dies, he can repay the emperor's favor and live up to his life.But when negotiating with foreigners, the situation of strength and weakness is clear. If you don't seek perfection through grievances, you will never be able to reach a peace negotiation.Ma Jianzhong is called a traitor, so what has he become?Half a lifetime of fame, and a lifetime of pure festivals, will be ruined, why don't you teach people to worry?
With this in mind, I decided not to accept the name of "will do".After drafting the telegram draft, he took it to discuss with Zeng Guoquan, but he was ridiculed, saying that he was alone.This is a heartbreaking theory, Chen Baochen had nothing to answer, and of course he was unwilling to give up his original intention, so he sent out the electronic performance as usual.
The "telegram" sent by the Military Aircraft Department arrived very quickly, and Chen Baochen was reprimanded. The wording was quite severe, and the telegram implied that if he did not obey the order, he would be severely reprimanded.Chen Baochen had no choice but to follow Zeng Guoquan to Shanghai.
In fact, Zeng Guoquan also resigned once, but in his shogunate, there are senior officials in the shogunate who are worried that they will run into trouble, so they dare not ask for resignation directly. Dare to make peace with Wen."When the military plane received the telegram, it was naturally surprised. The telegram arrived in an instant, and it was a secret order. How could the telegraph office dare to neglect it?After careful research, I realized Zeng Guoquan's magical effect.Of course, it is not appropriate to expose his tricks, so he sent back a telegram, thinking that he had made this telegram before he received the telegram, and now he has notified France of sending Zeng Guoquan to Shanghai to discuss peace.If it is said that warlords of the border should not negotiate peace, then isn't Li Hongzhang a minister of the border?In the end, he was particularly comforted, saying, "If the discussion fails, I will go back to Jiangning to arrange it. It is not a difficult situation. The responsibility should be supervised and must be done."
Having said that, since Zeng Guoquan was ordered, he naturally hoped that the peace negotiation would be successful. The most difficult part of the negotiation was compensation for military expenses. If he could not make concessions on this level, the negotiation would be useless.Therefore, before going to Shanghai, we must first find out the intentions of the DPRK and China. What are the plans in this regard?
At this time, Li Hongzhang sent a letter and telegram, and first made an explanation, stating three points: first, there was a reason for the delay in Beiqi's withdrawal of troops, and according to the public law of all nations, it was not considered a breach of contract; The proposed time limit for withdrawing troops was already refuted at that time. There was no official document and note, so there was no basis for it. Third, in the Lang Son conflict, the French accused the Chinese army of ambush first.
In addition, there was another very important telegram, which was exactly what Zeng Guoquan wanted to know urgently. Li Hongzhang said that if France asked for compensation for military expenses, hundreds of thousands of taels of silver would be allowed.He also said: "The public opinion of all countries is absolutely unreliable."This is because Zhang Yinhuan, who is quite in power at the Zongli Yamen, is the new faction, and he is entrusting John Yang, the US Minister to China, to suggest that Washington should mediate the Sino-French disputes, advocating that the Tianjin contract signed by Li Hongzhang and Frono should be handed over to other countries for arbitrariness.Li Hongzhang was afraid that Zeng Guoquan would place high hopes on this, so he would wait and see, so he made a special reminder.
Just as Zeng Guoquan checked his luggage and prepared to make a special trip to the meeting, the Beijing side continued to negotiate.Acting French Minister Xie Manlu sent a note to the Prime Minister's Office, stating that the Shanghai meeting must first allow compensation before discussing the details.It was another ultimatum in disguise, only with a five-day extension.At the same time, the unofficial attitude expressed by France is also very tough.According to newspaper records, once the Sino-French negotiations broke down and there was an armed confrontation, French warships would not only attack Fuzhou and Keelung, but also attack China Merchants' ships.这个消息在他人并不注意，在李鸿章及他左右的少数人，却是入耳惊心，寝食难安。
招商局是李鸿章假公济私的利薮。先以“各省在沪殷商，或自置轮船，行驶各埠；或挟资本，依附西商之籍，若中国自立招商局，则各商所有轮船股本，必渐归官局，似足顺商情而强国体”为名，在同治十三年奏准“试办”。而这年浙江漕米北运，海舶不足，由李鸿章策动浙江海运局总办，候补知府朱其昴建议，即由未来的招商局承运浙漕二十万石，酬庸的条件是由朱其昴筹办招商局事宜。
设在上海的招商局，不由两江总督或江苏巡抚管辖，却由北洋大臣遥制。李鸿章当然也知道此举揽权过甚，遇到稍微厉害些的两江督抚，一定会据理而争。所以试办之初，特为声明：“所有盈亏，全归商认，与官无涉。”将招商局的性质确定为商办，就当然可以拒绝任何衙门的干预。
但是招商局名为商办，其实是官办，户部虽只借出制钱二十万串，合银六万两，而东南各省藩库、海关，由于李鸿章的力量，都有“闲款”放在招商局生息，利息极薄，在七八厘之间。至于营运收入，光是漕米一项，每一石发水脚银五钱三分一厘，一年以运漕六十万石计，就可以坐收三十万银子，真正是包赚不亏的无本生意。
为了招商局的筹办，由浙漕海运，沙船不敷应用而来，所以不得不笼络掌管浙江海运已有十余年的朱其昴，而李鸿章所信任的，却是常州的一个秀才，捐班州县分发到直隶的盛宣怀。盛宣怀又联络广东一个商人唐廷枢来对抗朱其昴，李鸿章听从盛宣怀的策划，先奏请以唐廷枢为总办，朱其昴为会办，之后加委盛宣怀和徐润为会办，而朱其昴的胞兄朱其诏创局有功，似乎不便抹煞，为了掩人耳目，亦加派在内。招商局合计一总办、四会办，而实权都握在盛宣怀手中，间接也就是握在李鸿章手中。
由于招商局在营运上享有特权，所以一开办生意就好，但亦是一开办弊端就生，开支浮滥，冗员极多，帐目中不明不白的支出，比比皆是。好在名为商办，任何人亦不能干涉。若想干涉，有李鸿章挡在面面，告到京里，军机处和总理衙门，都是李鸿章的同年沈桂芬当权，也是“内外相维”，全力弥缝，怎么样也不能将招商局的那笔烂帐掀开来，更不用说想掘盛宣怀的根。
不过两三年工夫，招商局已设了十九个分局，有十艘轮船跑南北洋航线，南起香港，北至牛庄，营业鼎盛。这一来上海的洋商船公司，如太古、怡和、旗昌各洋行，不能不联合起来排挤招商局，压低运值，争揽客货。招商局为谋对抗，必须增加资本，扩大规模，正好美商旗昌银行，经营不善，股票跌价，盛宣怀设计收买旗昌银行，谈判成功，收买旗昌洋行的轮船，作价二百万两，码头、栈房作价二十二万两。由李鸿章奏准，两江拨借五十万两，浙口、江西、湖北共同拨借五十万两。在这笔交易中，盛宣怀很发了一笔财，照例的回扣以外，还“戴了帽子”。而从旗昌买来的船，计有江轮九艘、海轮七艘、小轮四艘、趸船六艘，数目虽不少，性能却不见得好，成了招商局一个极重的包袱，每个月须亏负五六万银子之多。
这是光绪二年年底的事。不到一年，就有个御史上奏，指责招商局“置船过多，载货之资，不敷经费，用人太滥，耗费日增。”
董儁翰的奏折中又说：“招商局各轮船每届运载漕粮之际，各上司暨官亲幕友，以及同寅故旧，纷纷荐人，平时亦复络绎不绝。至所荐之人，无非纯为图谋薪水起见，求能谙练办公者，十不获一，甚至官员中亦有挂名应差，身居隔省，每月支领薪水者。”这是承漕运的遗习，照例用来“调剂”候补州县的办法，无足为奇，只不过从无“隔省”不相干的人，亦可“挂名应差”。这所谓“隔省”就是指直隶而言。
这个奏折，措词不算峻厉，但按常规，理应查办，却由于沈桂芬的斡旋，只命南北洋大臣通盘筹划，认真整顿。这反倒给了李鸿章一个机会，明里张大其词，说英商太古洋行如何“跌价倾轧”，暗中承认购自旗昌洋行的轮船“年久朽敝”，而整顿之法，主要的是各省官帑，超过“商股”将及三倍的一百九十万银子，“缓息三年”，到光绪六年起，分五期拔本，每年缴还三十八万两。换句话说，是公家免息借出巨款，供盛宣怀之流的“商人”去做生意。同时还有一个附片：“请旨敕下江苏、浙江督抚，漕米须分四五成拨给招商局轮船承运，不得短少，余归沙船装载，以示体恤。此外江西、湖北采买漕米，仍照案归局运津”。李鸿章说这些整顿办法，“上不亏国、下不病商”。同时在折尾声明，这个折子是他“主稿”。暗示招商局归北洋所管，与南洋大臣的关系不大。
招商局那些“商总”因祸得福，而盛宣怀则更是官运亨通，补了天津道为李鸿章筹办电报局。但是旗昌洋行一案，风风雨雨，流言始终不息，而内幕亦逐渐揭露。盛宣怀经手这笔交易，有明暗两面的好处，明的是得回扣百分之五，暗的是旗昌经营不善，股票跌价，盛宣怀以七折收购，再由旗昌出面实足卖给招商局。明暗两面的好处，总计百分之三十五，二百二十二万两银子，有七十多万落入盛宣怀私囊。至于李鸿章分到多少，无可究诘，只是李家在招商局有干股，却是尽人皆知之事。
转眼三年已过，到了该拔本的时候，招商局的“商总”又出了花样，以积欠旗昌洋行船价六十九万两，不能不先行拔还，“以免外人贻笑”的理由，请李鸿章出奏，以每年所运漕米应领水脚运费抵还。这就是说，如果各省漕米不交招商局承运，应拔官帑，即无着落。此外又有一个附片，一则说：“招商局之设，系由各商集股作本，按照贸易规程，自行经理”；再则说：“创办之初，奏明盈亏全归商认，与官无涉”；三则说：“商务应由商任之，不能由官任之，轮船商务，牵涉洋务更不便由官任之。”这样反复声明“商办”，就是为五年以后留余地，只要每年有六十六万石漕米北运，水脚运费抵还官帑，则到了光绪十年，官帑还清，整个招商局就都落入“商总”手中了。
但是到了六月间，两江的局面有了变化，刘坤一调任江督兼南洋大臣。他是老湘军的系统，当然不会象沈葆桢、吴元炳那样听李鸿章的话。于是，湘淮两系的利益，在东南膏腴之地发生了冲突。
首先发难的是王先谦，官拜国子监祭酒，也是响当当的清流，奏折之中有建言、有搏击，笔锋所及，盛宣怀首当其冲，王先谦替他下了八个字的考语：“营谋交通，挟诈渔利。”
“挟诈渔利”，即指收买旗昌轮船有瞒天过海的计谋在内；“营谋”当然是指百计取悦于李鸿章，得获重用而言；“交通”二字，在这些地方常为“交通宫禁”、“交通近侍”的省略语，这例也不是无的放矢，而且王先谦本人也牵涉任内。盛宣怀走通了李莲英的路子，常有“孝敬”，而王先谦据说用过李莲英的钱，人言藉藉，大损清誉，然而并不影响他弹劾盛宣怀，尤其是因为其中有整顿招商局的建议，更不能不发交南北洋大臣处理。
这是光绪六年十月底的事，沈桂芬正揽大权，因而批复王先谦的谕旨，只令饬李鸿章和刘坤一，认真整饬。刘坤一主张彻查，李鸿章认为不必，只要分年拔还官帑一事有着落，即可奏复。正在相持不下时，除夕那天，沈桂芬一命呜呼，等于盛宣怀失却一座靠山，处境大为不利。
果然，只不过隔了半个月——光绪七年正月十五，刘坤一单衔复奏，说“王先谦所奏，未为无因”，指盛宣怀“蠹帑病公，多历年所，现在乃复暗中勾串，任意妄为”，将他于“收购旗昌时每两抽取花红五厘，私自以七折收购旗昌股票，对换足额，以饱私囊”的内幕，和盘托出以后，严词抨击：“滥竽仕途，于招商局或隐或跃，若有若无，工于钻营，巧于趋避，所谓狡兔三窟者！此等劣员，有同市侩，置于监司之列，实属有玷班联，将来假以事权，亦复何所不至？”因而请旨，“即将盛宣怀予以革职，并不准其干预招商局务”。
疆臣劾司道，很少有这样严厉的措词，只是等刘坤一来动手，为时已晚，盛宣怀已“成了气候”。李鸿章因为一方面还要重用他来办电报、开煤矿；一方面公私两端都无形中受了他的挟制。私的不必说，公的上头，李鸿章不知保过盛宣怀多少次，说他“心地忠实”，说他“志切匡时”，而结果为刘坤一骂得这等不堪，则如无一言辩解，自己又何以交代？向来保举匪人，举主连带要受处分，果然盛宣怀革了职，自己亦脱不了干系。因此，李鸿章只好抹煞良心，硬起头皮，为盛宣怀硬顶。
他是这样为盛宣怀“辩诬”，说此人“在臣处当差有年，廉勤干练，平日讲求吏治，熟谙洋务商情，遂委以会办之衔，往来查察。盛宣怀与臣订明不经手银钱。亦不领局中薪水，遇有要务，则与唐廷枢等筹商会禀。”谈到旗昌一案，说是“即盛宣怀首发其议，亦于大局有功无过。况当日唐廷枢等于洋商已有成议，始邀盛宣怀由湖北前赴金陵，谒见沈葆桢。其事前之关说，事后之付价，实皆唐廷枢等主之也。”
这个奏折实在不高明，言不顺、理不直、气不壮。收买旗昌轮船，要特地从湖北将盛宣怀邀到金陵去向沈葆桢陈述其事，反更显得刘坤一原奏中，“或隐或跃、若有若无、工于钻营、巧于趋避”这几句话，形容入妙。尤其是李鸿章将盛宣怀下一个“廉”字的考语，京中传为笑柄，说盛宣怀如果可当廉洁之称：则八大胡同清吟小班的姑娘，个个可以建坊旌表贞节了。
不过，李鸿章包庇盛宣怀，所凭借的本就是他的地位声势。由于保荐薛福辰是一件大功，慈禧太后对他真个另眼相看，恭王正在支持李鸿章全力筹办“师夷之长”的各项洋务，爱惜人才，不免曲予优容，因此，尽管刘坤一的理由充足，还是李鸿章占了上风，盛宣怀竟得免议。
刘坤一大为不服，第二次上折严参，而且隐然指责李鸿章有意包庇盛宣怀，说“招商局收买旗昌轮船等项，糜费帑藏，以及收头此项轮船后，折耗益甚，采诸物议，核诸卷宗，盛宣怀等实属咎无可诿”，所以，“即将盛宣怀查抄，于法亦不为过，仅请予以革职，已属格外从宽。”
到底刘坤一是两江总督兼南洋大臣，在疆臣的地位中，仅次于直隶总督兼北洋大臣，同时有湘军一系为后盾，并可望获得清议的支援，因而刘坤一仍有信心，必能惩治盛宣怀这个劣员。谁知奏折到京，正在慈安太后暴崩之后，国有大丧，而且暴崩的原因不明，举朝惶惑，谁也没有心思来管这件事。这给了盛宣怀和李鸿章一个绝好的机会。各方面疏通，大事化小，小事化无，刘坤一的奏折虽如烈性的火药一般，威力强大，无奈药线受潮，竟没有能炸得起来。
其时李鸿章又出了花样，决心要将各省存在招商局的官帑，归入北洋。他的办法是，配合向德国订造“钢面铁甲船”的海防计划，奏准以招商局每年用漕米水脚为担保，拔还各省的官帑，移充订造铁甲船款不足之数。这一来，等于扯断了各省跟招商局的关系，以大部分官款所办的招商局，竟越来越象“商办”了。
这个金蝉脱壳与移花接木两计合并而成的策略，相当成功，官帑营运的收益，都归入商股，所以官帑还是一百多万两，且大半属于北洋，而商股则由七十余万增至三百余万。但是，招商局毕竟为北洋大臣所创办，总理衙门跟户部亦可干预，这一点“官气”脱不掉，无法化作一家一姓的事业。
那知道法国军舰将会攻击招商局输船的消息，李鸿章与他的左右，在入耳惊心，苦思焦虑之下，竟“死棋腹中出仙着”，可以利用来作为一个让招商局脱胎换骨，化公为私的大好机会。
这个脱胎换骨的秘计，是由唐廷枢所倡议。此人是英商轮船公司帐房出身，对船务比较内行。轮船如果怕为法国军舰所劫夺，只有泊港不出，但那一来不但要蚀开销，而且机器不用，必致损坏。除此以外，就只有改变船籍之一法。
这个办法又称为换旗。交战国双方的商船，如果改换中立国的旗帜，就可免予遭受攻击，在万国公法上有详细的规定。这得请教律师，招商局聘雇得有现成的法律顾问，是英国的皇家大律师，名叫戴恩，认为此事可行，但有时效，如果一旦战事爆发，换旗就不为法国所承认了。
当然这决不可能随自己的意思，换那一国的旗就是那一国的旗，首先需要取得换旗国家的承认，这就只有一个办法，将招商局的产业，卖给那个国家。
这就有疑问了，招商局到底不是唐廷枢的私产，说卖就卖，除非暂时卖出去，事定以后还能买得回来。不过，这也不是不可以谈判的，所以唐廷枢一面向英商怡和洋行试探，一面密电北洋，请示机宜。
很快地，李鸿章派了一名道员到上海，主持其事。此人就是马建忠，字眉叔，江苏丹徒人，学贯中西，而且曾由北洋派赴驻外各使馆学习洋务。回国以后，派在北洋当差，是李鸿章幕府中洋务人才的后起之秀。朝鲜之乱，李鸿章丁忧回籍，署理直隶总督张树声，派马建忠与北洋水师提督丁汝昌率舰东渡观变。定策为朝鲜平内乱，因而有吴长庆领兵三千东援之举，及“诱执首乱之策”，将大院君李是应骗来，连夜送上兵舰，直航天津，这些都出于马建忠的策划。
李鸿章所以选派他来办这桩差使，第一是因为他精通西洋的律例，第二也就因为他有魄力。果然，一到上海不久，他就跟戴恩商量决定，因为英国的法律繁杂，不如美国法律来得简易，如果换旗以换“花旗”为妥。
美商中经营轮船最具实力的，还是旗昌洋行，一经接洽，旗昌洋行有意作这笔交易，议定招商局全部财产作价五百二十五万两银子，移交旗昌洋行接管，旗昌洋行则开具美国银行的支票交招商局收执。
一笔值数百万两银子财产的移转，就是那么买萝卜青菜似的容易，合约由何人出面所订，内容如何，原约保存在何处，什么人都不知道。而且此事瞒得滴水不漏，连总理衙门都不知道。旗昌洋行的支票，一时自然还不敢兑现，脱胎换骨，总也要长大成人。
但是，招商局的轮船，忽然由黄龙旗换上星条花旗，却是瞒不过人的，总理衙门接得报告，大为困惑，仔细一打听，才知道招商局已经被出卖。虽说是为了防备法国夺船，但事先竟不奏闻，其心何居？实在费解。
因此，总理衙门用电旨询问：
“从前设立招商局，置买轮船，系奏明办理。现闻售于美国，李鸿章何以未经具奏，殊属非是。海上转运，全恃轮船，此举自因恐为法夺起见，究竟是否出售，抑暂行租给？着据实奏闻。并随时酌夺情形，设法收回。”
虽然这通密电，措词不算峻厉，而且已为李鸿章开了路子，留下余地，如果是“租给”而能“设法收回”，便可无事。
但也够他受的了。
显然的，宰相肚里虽好撑船，但几十条轮船，几十处仓库码头，到底也难吞得下去。已成的交易，能否取消，自成疑问，而眼前却不能不先搪塞。李鸿章找了盛宣怀来，反复推敲了五天，才将复奏拟成。
这通复奏，首先还是婉转说明招商局的地位：招商轮船局本仿西国公司之意，虽赖官为扶助，一切张弛缓急事宜，皆由商董经管。至与外人交涉权变之处，官法所不能绳者，尚可援西法以相维持。
这是要表明，招商局的“商董”，有权处置招商局的产业，而对外交涉，由商人来处置，反较官府出面为方便有利。
以下便叙“海疆不靖，局势日非，华商轮船二十余艘，驶行洋面，日有戒心。法人遍布谣言，遇船劫夺，南北商旅咸以搭傤局船为戒。”因而不得不换旗，但是：
“细查各国律例成案，凡本国商船改换他国旗帜须在两国未开衅以前。黑海之战，俄商皆悬德美之旗，有二艘换旗于战事三日前，遂为法人所夺，复有二艘易旗于战前，暗立售回之据，亦为英国所夺。布法之战，两国商船多售与他国，易旗驶行，事后仍复原业。若暂行租售，则非实在转售，他国必不能保护。”
千回百折，忸怩作态，最后终于道出，