Chapter 130 Second History of the Qing Palace (3-2)

At around noon on September 28th, there was a lot of noise from sedan chairs and horses, and gatherings of ceremonies. The inside and outside of the Prime Minister's Office had never been so lively. On this day, King Chun presided over the meeting, with Li Hongzhang, Li Wang Shiduo, Qing Wang Yikuang, Minister of Military Aircraft Yan Jingming, Zhang Zhiwan, Erlehebu, Xu Gengshen, Sun Yuwen, Minister of the Household Department Fukun and the Ministry of Punishment walking in the prime minister's office. Shangshu Xizhen, Xu Yongyi, the right servant of the Ministry of Industry, Liao Shouheng, the right servant of the Ministry of War, Shen Bingcheng, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, and Xu Chang, a cabinet bachelor.There is also a prime minister, Deng Chengxiu, the minister of Honglu Temple, who was sent to Yunnan and Guangxi to survey the Sino-Vietnamese border.

As soon as they arrive at the Zongli Yamen, they eat first, drink tea after dinner, and then chat.By the time the meeting started, it was already three o'clock. The first thing is to discuss the navy.King Chun first announced his decree, and first set up a large branch in Beiyang.In fact, everyone already knows this.Moreover, Li Hongzhang had already talked with Yan Jingming, Xu Gengshen, and Sun Yuwen when visiting guests these days, and they had already discussed how to do it.Discuss at this time, as long as the remaining details can be arranged properly, the performance can be played.

However, there is an insurmountable system for governing and employing people, so although it has been decided to set up a special naval office, presided over by King Chun, and Yikuang and Li Hongzhang will run it, Shanqing and Zeng Jize will help, but in the memorial of the title, it cannot be clearly stated. , You must ask for the Jianpai. "There is a report, so I have to check it carefully." King Chun said: "Peng Xueqin reported illness, please send various errands. Of course, this is because the navy is related to the Yangtze River Navy, and they knew that there must be some rectification, so they gave way to Xianlu The superiors explained: Peng Yulin is a meritorious person, don't let him lose face too much. According to this, the rectification of the Yangtze River Navy can only be done slowly."

After finishing speaking, King Chun looked over from the east.Sitting in the east is the Minister of Military Aircraft, the foreman Li Wang Shiduo, looking at the nose and the heart with his eyes, as if the eyebrows of a Bodhisattva are lowered; Without saying anything, he asked Xu Gengshen: "Uncle Xing, what do you think?" "Cisheng is sympathetic to the virtues of the ministers. As a minister, he naturally follows the principle of sincerity. According to my opinion, now that he is obeying the decree, he will refine one from Beiyang first. The Yangtze River Navy is inseparable from Nanyang, and has little to do with Beiyang. , Slow down and rectify, it also makes sense in theory.”

"That's right." Jin Wang readily made a decision: "That's it! Of course, Peng Xueqin doesn't need to open a vacancy, just give him a few months off. Shaoquan, do you think it's appropriate to deal with it like this?" "It's as good as it gets." Li Hongzhang thought deeply of it.It would be a big problem for him to put forward his opinions on the rectification of the navy. "Seven princes," Sun Yuwen saw that it was not too early, and there were still two thorny important issues to discuss, so he cut through the mess with a quick knife, and took out the draft of "Following the Aftermath of Coastal Defense" that he was ordered to write. Put your hands together, "Please sign the title!"

Chun Wang had already read this manuscript, so he didn't need to read it again, so he handed it to Ximian.Sitting next to him was Yikuang, but King Chun passed behind him and handed it to Li Hongzhang: "Shaoquan, look!" "My lord, please take a look first." Li Hongzhang and Yikuang were polite. "I've already read it. Lord Qi is the prime minister's overall situation. You are in charge of Beiyang. You have to take a closer look." Li Hongzhang took his advice, and he really looked at it from the beginning to the end very carefully. He really wanted to make an opinion on the fact that the funds for the North and South Oceans should be coordinated and supported by the Navy Yamen.However, after thinking about it, it is useless to argue, and it hurts the harmony. It is better not to argue, so after reading it, I repeatedly praised it.

Even he has no objection, and others naturally will not have anything to say.So he signed the manuscript in turn, expressing his agreement.Such a major event was settled very smoothly. ※ ※ ※ The second major event is to discuss the railway. "This matter," Chun Wang leaned back, with a hint of staying out of the matter, "I have no prejudices, please discuss it publicly!" So Yikuang presided over the meeting and said: "Sheng Xingsun's remarks are not unreasonable. However, this is a big matter, and the attitude on the road of speech is very fierce. Before the railway is planned, we must first appease this generation. In my opinion, start with this Let’s talk about it! Laishan, this railway was built in your province, do you always have something to say?”

Not only did Sun Yuwen have something to say, but he also opposed the construction of the railway.Because this section of the railway starts from Dong'e and ends at Linqing, although it has nothing to do with the Feng Shui of his ancestors' graves in Jining, his hometown, he has been asked by his fellow villagers in Shandong to "preside over the truth". It's just that he didn't want to openly offend Li Hongzhang, so he came up with a tactful way, notified Zhang Jing of the military plane, checked out the old files, and made a copy of the document that opposed the railway on the road. It was at the turn of autumn and winter last year, and Li Zhongtang had a look at the speeches of the officials."

Li Hongzhang knew it was not a good word, so he refused to accept the copy. "Laishan," he said, "please read it aloud for everyone to listen to." So Sun Yuwen counted and said: "There are six excerpts in total. Xu Zhixiang, a cabinet bachelor, has accepted two. Let's read his first." Xu Zhixiang's first memorial was submitted on September 13 last year. At that time, there was already a proposal to use the railway to transport water; another said that the railway would be built from the capital to Qingjiangpu; Wanliang, build a railway from Xishan to Lugou Bridge.There are many legends and people are confused, so Xu Zhixiang's discussion is very passionate, thinking that there are "eight evils" in the construction of the railway plan.

"Nancao is transshipped by railway, and it will take two to three years to complete the project. Regardless of whether it is urgent or not, the merchant ships are out of business, the hunger and cold are oppressed, and the robbers are rampant. The harm is one. The flood of the Yellow River in Shandong has caused disasters year after year, and the people have been in constant hardship. If a railway is built today, more than tens of thousands of dollars will be invested, instead of controlling the river, it will be used for the barbarians, and complaints will be chilled. Qingjiangpu is the hub of water and land, the throat of the north and the south, and the non-commercial wharf.As soon as the railway was opened, the barbarian people would demand to build bungalows here, build more inspection houses, and build churches.Use the throat to rush to the important place, and share it with the barbarians, the harm is three.

The barbarians want to open a railway in China, and they have been thinking about it for more than ten years!Today China first creates its own, and it will follow suit.If Xu Zhi opens the door and bows to robbers, if he refuses, he will provoke and prosper, which will cause four harms. China can rely on the only land route, open railways widely, extend in all directions, and lose all its dangers. How can China stand on its own?Its harm five. If it is said that it is easy to recruit troops and adjust wages, it is not possible to control the land even though the railway is strong.If guarded by soldiers, how can Ande take precautions everywhere?Its harm six. For example, it is said that it is convenient for documents and newspapers, and it is only 50 miles per hour to check the steamer, and the emergency post in China can cover 600 to 700 miles in a day and night, and there is no delay... " Just after reading this, Li Hongzhang laughed loudly on purpose, expressing his resentment and contempt, "I really admire these famous scholars who write big papers as economics!" The voice said, "Please think about it, Lie Gong. If you walk fifty miles in an hour, how much should you walk in twenty-four hours a day and night? Isn't it 1,200 miles? Compared with six or seven hundred miles, it is said that there is no delay? Isn't this staring at you?" Talking nonsense? Who does he want to deceive!" Because Li Hongzhang grasped Xu Zhixiang's shortcoming of almost self-deception, he made his words so strong that the original "eight evils" could not be completed in his words, including the "four evils" of Shandong Road Supervisor Shi Wenhai, and Shaanxi Road Supervisor Wenhai's "four evils". Shi Zhang Tingliao's "six must not be opened" and other comments, such as "six must not be opened" and so on, can not be mentioned again. In fact, there is no need to repeat these arguments, Li Hongzhang has heard about them a long time ago.In his view, all the reasons for opposing the development of railways are ignorance of the vastness of the world, and the crowing of frogs peeking at the sky from the bottom of the well is not worth refuting.The only justification is that many graves have to be dug up, which will damage the family's Feng Shui. However, in order to make the country rich and the army strong, so many of them are ignored. Of course, this can only be discussed in private, and it is inconvenient to announce it in such a meeting that attracts the attention of the ruling and opposition parties.Li Hongzhang was thinking that today's meeting is not about talking about the Tao, but about practical strategies for managing the world, so it is best to talk about the effectiveness of "teaching barbarians" in the mouth of the fortress. So when all the seats were looking at each other and hesitating in silence, Li Hongzhang spoke with a slightly excited expression: "In the fifth year of Tongzhi, Prince Gong and Wen Wenzhong founded the Tongwen Museum, using the right way to learn astronomy, calligraphy and calculation. Wow, there is also a seal in the Japanese language, please stop discussing it now. How does it look now? It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? This can’t be blamed on the Japanese language. At that time, we first talked about Westernization, but I don’t know how effective it is? I’m surprised that the difference between the past and the present Power, clearly mastering the strengths of teachers and barbarians, has already seen its benefits, why do you still have the set of opinions in Japanese? Take land wires as an example, thousands of miles of messages can be communicated in an instant, respond quickly when there is something to do, and facilitate merchants when there is nothing to do. Today, that Do you dare to say that the telegraph should not be established? However, some people insisted at that time that it was not possible, and the people of Fujian began to resist and steal it. Now I would like to ask everyone in the capital of Fujian, is it better to have a telegram or not? I remember that the Japanese Wenduan is an excerpt written by the Tongwen Museum, respectfully citing the imperial edict of Emperor Zuren: "Western countries, after thousands of years, China will suffer from it." Thinking that "the holy plan is far-reaching, although it is used in its own way, it is actually evil." His person', this is a Japanese text out of context! I dare say that if Emperor Ren is still alive today, even though he hates him, he must use his own law. The master of the barbarians is the place to control the barbarians! I remember Prince Gong’s refutation of the Japanese text. There is a saying, "Since the great scholar's actions are hindered, he must have a good plan. If there is a clever strategy to control foreign countries and not be controlled by foreign countries, the ministers should follow the great scholar and use up their ignorance." , Carefully do business." He also said, "If there is no other good strategy, I would like to use loyalty and trust as armor, etiquette and righteousness as dry oars and other words, saying that you can break the bottle and use it to control the enemy. The ministers really dare not believe it." Today's matter, I also have the same opinion. Please judge the king, and all the gentlemen agree!" Speaking of this, Li Hongzhang was already out of breath, and his own servant beat his back, wiped his chest, wiped his sweat and served him a note, which made him look more loyal to the country.And the people present here, from King Chun down, are all intimidated by the momentum of Li Hongzhang's words. Even if they have reasons to refute, they have to think about it, is it appropriate to speak at this time? Others can be silent, but the King of Alcohol cannot keep silent.He was originally in favor of building a railway, but last year Shenjiying planned to borrow foreign debts to build a railway from Xishan to Lugouqiao, which was specially used for coal transportation, and he didn't want to attack the public opinion, so he was a little timid. Excited by Li Hongzhang's words, he couldn't help expressing his support. However, it was just an expression of support. "The benefits of the railway cannot be seen by outsiders, and those discussions cannot be heard." Even so, he couldn't decide, "I think this matter must be called to the Holy Order." So, the next thing to discuss is the third one, which is also the last major event to be discussed this day, which is to set up a bank.Li Hongzhang gave an explanation for the post proposed by Kemilon: five million taels of silver will be allocated by the Ministry of Accounts as capital. If there is no such huge sum of money for a while, you may wish to borrow money from HSBC.Then he listed many benefits of the bank. Yan Jingming, who is good at financial management, leaned over to listen and was very interested. "Foreign banks look no different from our Chinese banks and banks. They are, as the saying goes, 'tumbling in the eyes of copper coins'. In fact, they are very different. There are no rules for receipts and payments. So Whether the person in charge is successful or not depends on success or failure." Li Hongzhang paused for a moment when he said this, and then waved his hand to emphasize his tone: "If our bank does not operate, it is enough. If we want to operate, we must use foreigners. Kemi Long, is the general manager of Shanghai HSBC Bank. He took over the bank in the 12th year of Tongzhi until now. HSBC Bank was losing money, but after this person tried to rectify it, the business is booming. Now it has become the leader of Shanghai Foreign Bank. It reaches as far as the East and West. If we can get his help, I can guarantee that our bank will be prosperous." After Li Hongzhang finished speaking, it was time for King Chun to express his opinion.He looked at Yan Jingming and asked, "Danchu, what do you think?" "I agree. However, first, the bank is called by foreigners. We don't have to force it to be the same. It is still appropriate to call it 'Official Bank'." "Obviously!" Li Hongzhang hurriedly said, "Since the Ministry of Households has an 'official money account', it might as well set up an 'official bank account'. This name is well changed, and it is in line with the system." "Second, if we want to do it, we can do it ourselves, why use foreigners?" "You don't need foreigners, but they don't trust your household department." This blurted answer is really the so-called "surprised by words".Yan Jingming's face suddenly changed, his big and small eyes blinked randomly, describing him as ugly.Li Hongzhang knew he had made a mistake, so he quickly explained again. "It's definitely not that people look down on our household department, because in business, the most important thing is the credit of the person in charge. Our official bank account has been set up to communicate with other countries. For example, now we have to pay one dollar in London. The money needs to be urgently needed. According to the rules of bank remittances in various countries, a telegram will be sent and the money will be paid in full. If the manager of our official bank is unknown to foreigners, how can they rest assured? Use Kemi Long just wanted to use his reputation and credibility." This explanation can finally be justified, Yan Jingming nodded slightly to express his understanding.King Chun was afraid that Yan and Li would disagree and overthrow this good thing, but seeing this situation now, he is relieved. "This is a big matter, and I can't discuss it in detail for a while. Since Dan Chu also agrees, then this matter will be handed over to the Ministry of Accounts for discussion. Look, everyone, is it impossible to do it like this?" "This is being done!" Shi Duo replied. "It's not too late." King Jin said to Yan Jingming: "Danchu, you have made an appointment with Shaoquan face to face at the meeting at the Ministry of Household Affairs. If there is a result, it is best to play it early. This matter, it is best to take advantage of Shaoquan in Beijing. Here, it will be a foregone conclusion.” "Yes!" Yan Jingming begged Li Hongzhang for a day: "Your Excellency, are you free that day?" "This is a big deal. Unless I'm summoned, I can spare time. Danchu, please discuss it with Chonggong and let me know anytime." Chonggong refers to Chengengong Chongqi.He has been unlucky for several years. It was Yan Jingming who respected his Neo Confucianism and tried his best to protect him in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi, so he became the Secretary of the Household Department in November last year. So in the twilight, they scattered back to the mansion.Li Hongzhang originally had seven dinners that day, but because he predicted that the meeting would be very long, he had already resigned from all of them.On the way back to Xianliang Temple, on a whim, he ordered the material officer in front of the sedan chair to invite Yan Jingming to come to the hotel for a drink with a name card, and specifically told him to explain when entertaining guests that no other guests were present. Not long after returning to Xianliang Temple, Yan Jingming came as promised.They are happy to meet each other, one of them certainly has something to say, and the other has something to ask, they can talk over cups, very harmonious. What we need to discuss and ask is the establishment of an official bank account.In front of Yan Jingming, Li Hongzhang did not dare to speak unsure layman's words, but said a lot of financial management experience that is not humane.Li Hongzhang believes that the issuance of banknotes can sweep away the long-standing disadvantages of over-inflows and outflows in terms of money, grain and taxation, and that the sick and the poor are enriching themselves. Especially when he mentioned the benefits of "reducing the balance", it is even more beneficial to use banknotes. Uniform leveling is proposed by Yan Jingming.In December of last year, the Ministry of Household Affairs received an order to pre-plan military pay, Yan Jingming presided over the meeting in person, thought hard, and drafted twelve strategies for increasing revenue and reducing expenditure.The first strategy for throttling expenditure must be uniform across provinces.During the Jiaqing period, due to the Chu religion rebellion in Pingchuan, the military expenditure was huge, and it was necessary to try to make up for the shortage of the Ministry of Finance, so Bi Yuan, the governor of Shaanxi, initiated the idea of ​​"reducing the level".Reducing the level is to reduce the fineness of silver. The amount of silver on the surface has not decreased, but the expenditure has been reduced secretly. It is estimated that the amount of silver saved by each province from the reduction is about 740,000 taels.However, after a long period of practice, the advantages have not been seen but the disadvantages have arisen, because the standards for reducing the level are different, and it is easy to get mixed up. "At present, the provinces pay soldiers, and they pay more according to the reduction. For every tael of silver, some deduct three cents and six cents, some deduct four cents and nine cents, and some deduct four cents. It was agreed with you last year. Four points will be deducted, uniformity is uniformity, Danchu, do you know if the provinces have the strength to implement it?" Li Hongzhang continued, "To tell you the truth, as far as my Zhili is concerned, there is no uniformity." "Your province is like this, and other provinces can be imagined. In fact, the theory of 'reducing flatness' is self-deceiving and meaningless, but it is hard to get back and it is hard to get rid of it." "Yes!" Li Hongzhang said, "Actually, Yingge's disadvantages are not only reduced. I remember there are two sentences in the Dashu: "He is like foreign silver in various provinces converted into silver, and the price of silver is converted into money. Orders will only make people full.' And those who have no rules are nothing more than the chaos of the currency system. There are silver and silver coins. Silver has various finenesses, and foreign money is not limited to Mexican eagles. Danchu, there is a fundamental and easy way to be uniform, which is to issue banknotes! After paying taxes, one tael will be one tael, and for public cashiers, one tael will be one tael. May I ask where to go for fooling around and where to get rich? " Yan Jingming heard this, and praised him. "Master Jue!" he said, "this matter must be done! This is a great cause for thousands of years. The 'drenching' and 'kicking' of grain harvesting cannot be eradicated for a while, and the 'fire loss', 'Pingyu' can be wiped out from now on. How quickly?" "Dan Chu!" Li Hongzhang said, "You have to keep this in your heart." "why?" "Creating evils will be tabooed by others." Li Hongzhang said, "Let's only talk about the benefits!" "Ah, ah! Your Excellency saw the truth!" Therefore, it was agreed that after a meeting in the household department the next day, they happily broke up.Yan Jingming was happy, and Li Hongzhang was even more happy. With King Chun's full support and Yan Jingming's full support for his success, this matter is not as extensive as building a railway. It seems that this proposal will be implemented. ※ ※ ※ Yan Jingming also had the same idea, this discussion must be implemented, what should be discussed is how to implement it?So when I arrived at the yamen the next day, I first went to talk with the right servant, Sun Jianai, who was also in charge of Qian Fatang's affairs.Sun Jianai was the number one scholar in the ninth year of Xianfeng, but he didn't have the arrogance of being the number one scholar at all. He dealt with people on a daily basis, and always said that he should "follow the sage's purpose of neutralization", so listening to Yan Jingming's talk, although he didn't know that this "official bank account" was established after a foreign bank. , how to start preparing?But he said yes, without any objection. At noon, Chongqi came.After talking, he shook his head and said again and again: "Unbelievable, unbelievable!" Yan Jingming was quite displeased.This is an effective way of imitating the West. Even if the system is different from that of China, or has a style, it will not reach the level of absurdity. Why is it called "unbelievable"?I was thinking in my heart: "Talking about Confucianism, or "Zhuzi Daquan" can't be memorized as thoroughly as you. When it comes to financial management, is it true that Li Hongzhang and Yan Jingming are not as good as you, the 'Mongolian number one scholar'?" With this in mind, his face became a little ugly. "Chong Gong," he asked, "I want to ask for advice, why is it unbelievable?" "Using foreigners to manage our money, isn't that opening the door and stealing?" "Using a foreigner is just using the foreigner's credit among various countries to let him open the situation for us. The Ministry of Households still has the right to supervise. How can we say it is opening the door and stealing? What has it to do with money management?" "Why doesn't it matter?" Chongqi's voice was high and anxious, "Please invite a foreigner to be the manager. He will take care of the money and distribute the banknotes. Take a few worthless flower papers in exchange for my vain money. , Wuhuke?" When Yan Jingming heard this, he couldn't help but explain, "Chonggong, the money is in the treasury, how can he exchange it?" "This treasury is not the treasury of our household department, but the treasury of his bank. You always pass by Dongjiang Mixiang, but you don't see their bank. Foreign soldiers guard the door, and no one is allowed to interfere with the money in and out. Can you protect him from stealing? Our Kuyin?" "That's someone's foreign bank." Left servant Sun Zhijing couldn't help interjecting: "The official bank account of the Ministry of Households, how can there be foreign soldiers guarding the door?" "If you want to use foreigners, you may be sure that he will not send foreign soldiers. If you stop him and refuse to use them, won't you have another negotiation?" It's unreasonable!Yan Jingming blinked his eyes randomly, and he was speechless with Sun Zhijing.Sun Jianai was deeply afraid that his wife would raise an argument again and cause a stalemate, so he said something else and put the matter aside. "Dan Weng!" Chongqi still refused to give up, and said awe-inspiringly: "This matter is absolutely impossible. I will not discuss it, and I will not act. If the imperial court conducts such a bad policy, I will have no choice but to hang up the crown." It is really so-called stupid to strive for it.Yan Jingming regretted it unceasingly, he actually made a false claim and recommended such an unreasonable person to hold him back, what can he say? "Oh!" He sighed, "That's all!" ※ ※ ※ How can Chongqi be willing to be kind?He really believed that with the use of Kemiron, the vain silver in the treasury of the Ministry of Finance would flow overseas.So I went out of the yamen, went home, copied some documents, and went to see King Chun in Shiyuan. "Qi Ye!" As soon as we met, Chong Qi said: "I want to ask Qi Ye for advice today. What was the reason for the quarrel with the British back then?" Seeing his despondent look, Chun Wang was very puzzled, "Wen Shan," he waved his hand, "sit down and talk if you have something to say. Why? Are you so angry?" "Traitors are rampant, why not get angry?" "Traitor?" King Chun was even more surprised, "Who are you scolding?" "Li Shaoquan and Yan Danchu are all traitors. Seventh Master, you can't be fooled by them!" Chongqi said loudly, "The foreigners have malicious intentions and coveted the silver in China. It's not a day. Daoguang started a war with Britain for twenty years. , for what? Just for the outflow of silver.” Then, Chongqi took out a stack of papers from the boot leaf, and first read a passage from the last edict in December of the ninth year of Daoguang: "I heard that foreign money from foreign countries has names such as big bun, small bun, shaggy head, bat, double pillars, and horse sword. It is used in the interior. It is not used to buy goods, but to buy silver; it is secretly consumed, and every penny is exchanged for inland silver. From Fujian, Guangzhou, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu to the provinces south of the Yellow River, foreign money is prevalent. All payments of money and food and merchant transactions do not use foreign money. Fanbo, in the name of selling goods, specially brings Foreign money went to Haikou in various provinces to buy Wenyin, which caused the inland silver to decrease for two days and foreign money to increase day by day. The rising price of silver in recent years is not necessarily due to this. " "Qiye, listen again. This melody was given by Huang Juezi, Zhengqing of Honglu Temple, in April of the eighteenth year of Daoguang. Please listen to what he said?" A passage from Chongqi Nian is again about the outflow of Wenyin: "I have seen that the price of silver has been increasing in recent years. Every silver is one tael. It is easy to make money with 1,600 and zero. It is not the consumption of silver in the interior, but the leakage of silver to foreigners. Since opium flowed into our country, Emperor Renzongrui knew that it must be Harmful too, a special ban was set up, and the ministers at the time did not expect the poison to be so poisonous!" "What do you mean by spreading poison? It's 'the rottenness of foreign countries, and the latent consumption of silver taels in the mainland'!" Chongqi then recited Huang Juezi's play, the number of opium smuggled into the country and silver smuggled out in the early years of Daoguang: "The profiteers in Guangdong province colluded with sea patrolling soldiers to transport silver out of the ocean and smoke into Therefore, from the third year of Daoguang to the eleventh year, the annual leakage of silver was 17.8 million taels; from the eleventh year to the fourteenth year, the annual leakage of silver was more than 20 million taels; There are more than 10,000 taels, and in addition to Haikou in Fujian, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Tianjin, there are also tens of millions of taels. Using China's useful wealth to fill the infinite abyss of overseas countries, this harmful thing is gradually becoming a worry for the sick country. Day after day, year after year, do you not know Yiyuhudi?" "I heard my late father tell me." Chongqi was referring to his father Sai Shang'a. "At that time, Emperor Cheng was horrified when he talked about Huang Juezi's memorabilia. Wenyin flowed overseas, and he didn't know Yiyuhudi, so he made his own decision. He did not hesitate to fight the foreigners in order to close the loopholes of this disease that harmed the country and the people! Now that the Ministry of Households has set up an official bank account to let the foreigners manage the affairs, is it not asking him to flow the money abroad. The seventh master is the love of Emperor Xuanzongcheng Son, why do you have to do this?" As he spoke, two lines of tears rolled down. This made King Jin both perplexed and uneasy, "Wenshan, Wenshan!" He shouted repeatedly in bewilderment, "Why do you do this, why do you do this!" "At present, there is only one person in the dynasty, and all the responsibilities rest on Qi Ye's shoulders. As long as Qi Ye works hard to restore the righteousness, all the ghosts and monsters will naturally disappear." These words made Chun Wang feel stinging.Chongqi opposed the establishment of an official bank, but she was holding boundless hopes for this matter.Then, the so-called ghosts and monsters, don't they also include themselves? Thinking about it like this, he said seriously: "Wenshan, who is not as good as me in seeking loyalty to the country? You must always have a heart for others." "It should be so. As long as it is beneficial to the national economy and the people's livelihood, and the morals of the world are not against the people, of course it should be praised. Unfortunately, in today's world, the accumulation is not true. The saying goes, 'The promise of the people is not as good as the swearing of one person.' Seven Lord, it is hard to repay the favor of the country in Chongqi's life, so I can only be a scumbag and do my best to be loyal." "Yes, yes! I know, I know." Chun Wang didn't bother to talk to him again, "Please go back! I'm always cautious about this matter." "Please Seventh Master be very careful!" Chong Qi added: "The so-called danger is in my heart, I dare not say nothing. If it is not enough to say it, then I have to fight!" These words sounded like a threat, Chun Wang felt unhappy, and at the same time very troubled.In the past, I always used to be that group of people who don't understand the past, talk about the truth, and are stubborn in choosing the good. This year, after going through a lot of things, I realized that this generation is stubborn, and choosing the good is not necessarily true. As long as there is a lump in the chest, the armored soldiers attack If you don't go, there is nothing you can do about it! ※ ※ ※ Li Hongzhang knew about such an incident early in the morning of the next day. Not only did Yan Jingming write to tell him: "Chong Gong has deep prejudices about this matter, and it is not easy to resolve it. Let's discuss it for a while, let's stop discussing it for the time being." The "spotters" he sent in the capital heard detailed information, only to find out that Chongqi did not hesitate to fight with each other, it was really unexpected. "This matter, I see it hard!" Zhang Yinhuan, who happened to be visiting, said, "Chongwenshan and Xu Yinxuan flaunt each other and claim to be Neo-Confucianism. , Literary talent, not as good as Qingliu, but more aggressive. According to my opinion, there will be some excerpts fighting soon. Zhongtang should be careful!" Li Hongzhang also hated and feared the speech officer, but the completion of this matter was a panacea for financial management, and of course he refused to give up easily.So he asked Zhang Yinhuan for advice. "Chongwenshan is against foreigners, and he is against foreigners because he is afraid that the money will flow out. If there is a guarantee that the money will not flow out, there is no reason to object. Zhongtang, please think about it, what guarantee is there?" "Unless foreigners are not used." "It can be done without foreigners, can't it be done?" "There's nothing we can't do." Li Hongzhang said, "But I can't rest assured that no foreigners are needed." "how?" "Kemiron talked with me in detail. When issuing banknotes, there must be cash reserves. According to Western rules, the reserve does not have to be full, but there must be a certain amount. We recommend fair gentry supervision and regular inspections to show our confidence. Now please Miron is in charge of the matter, of course it will be handled according to his regulations, if it is sent by the Ministry of Households, it will definitely not be able to do this. Maybe there is a decree to take a certain amount of money, can you resist the decree and not obey it?" "According to this, the establishment of an official bank account is to open up a way for the officials to collect money and open a door of convenience. Once money is issued indiscriminately, it will do the same thing as Xianfeng's hair for a hundred dollars, and the harm will be unspeakable." Zhang Yinhuan frankly persuaded Said: "Zhongtang has no responsibility for financial management, why bother to bear the infamy? Besides, Xunye is like a Japanese middle school, and there are many important things to do, so there is no need to do this thankless thing." Li Hongzhang thought for a while and decided to accept his advice, "Your words are very practical, I don't have to be so stupid!" He said, "Let it be! Anyway, if you want to run an official bank, you have to use foreigners, otherwise it's better not to do it." ※ ※ ※ At this time, Zhang Yinhuan began to talk about his reason for coming.He also had very important news that he had to tell Li Hongzhang. Before talking about it, he asked someone first: "Xu Zhuyuan's entourage, Wang Zishang, have you met Zhongtang?" "No." Li Hongzhang asked, "I heard that he is Weng Shuping's disciple." "Yes." Zhang Yinhuan said the person's resume.Wang Zishang's name is Yong Ni, from Zhejiang, he was a famous scholar in his early years, and he was very good at parallel prose.He was originally in charge of the Ministry of Punishment, but last year Xu Jingcheng was ordered to replace Li Fengbao as the imperial envoy to Germany, and Zou Tiao was an attache. "Oh," Li Hongzhang asked, "how is he?" "He recently came with a letter. Who is this letter for? Please don't ask Zhongtang. I managed to record a copy here for Zhongtang's consideration." Don't ask why?Li Hongzhang felt his love and care at first, gave him a deep look, and then took the copy to read.There is no title in the letter, which was omitted on purpose, but from the greetings, it can be seen that the recipient has a considerable friendship with Wang Yongni, and they are friends who often discuss Westernization together. This letter is dedicated to the gains and losses of the newly purchased Zhenyuan and Jiyuan warships.He said: Western warships have recently used iron armor, and iron armor can be divided into two types: fast boats and battleships.Warships, first of all, have two broadsides of guns, small guns and thin armor, which are not enough to attack and repel. After changing again and again, there are turrets that can be rotated on the ship, and the giant guns are thicker, so they become a powerful weapon at sea. However, the rotating turret still has shortcomings and cannot be perfected, so it was changed to "the system of rotating cannons on the terrace".Dingyuan and Zhenyuan are the latest warships with the same structure.But Zhenyuan's work materials were not as good as Dingyuan's. For example, the planar armor was replaced by clinker, but the cost at that time increased by 100,000 silver.Why?Puzzling. Now let's talk about the Clippers.Wang Yongni said: Clippers are designed to patrol the sea, and they can also go deep into enemy ports to assist warships.Due to the lack of firepower of the Clippers, thick armor was necessary for self-protection.There are two methods, one is to thicken the steel armor below the water line; the other is to install a flat steel armor at the bottom to defend against falling shells.However, the structure of the Jiyuan ship is extremely unreasonable. There is no steel armor protection below the waterline, and it is dangerous when encountering small shells. The draft is not deep and it is easy to sway.The biggest mistake is that the deck is top-heavy with the turret, which is not only difficult to drive, but also extremely dangerous.Wang Yongni asserted that there was no such regulation on Western warships, and that the Jiyuan ship was modeled on two small German ships of less than 1,000 tons, and these two small ships had no forts at all. Li Hongzhang's face changed when he saw the words "Jiyuan was built in the Fuerkeng factory. It was the first trial, and it was not perfect. The people in the factory can't deny it." Look, this letter from Wang, just relying on his ears, is exaggerated." Hearing what he said, Zhang Yinhuan knew that he hadn't finished reading it, "It may not be all rumors." Zhang Yinhuan said: "Zhongtang, please read the letter first!" So Li Hongzhang looked down intently and whispered at the same time: "It's as narrow as the engine room, there is no gap, and you are walking sideways, and you may accidentally touch it. The test machine the day before yesterday has already been destroyed by tentacles. The summer moon is scorching hot, and the battle is in a hurry, and it is difficult to perform skills; the water pipe is broken, as far as the steam boiler, and it has been damaged and repaired successively, which is very inconvenient. The coal tank in the lower cabin can only hold 100 tons, and the cover is limited to water entry, which is full of disadvantages.However, the mouth of Dagu is shallow and cannot be approached any longer. Yantai and Lushun can be deepened without hindrance. If the depth is increased by one foot, 40 tons of coal can be added. How can you see anything other than this?However, the medicine in the gun room is stuffy, so the layout of the platform is not tight, and the disadvantages are still small. At present, the Tingjia intends to imitate Taiwan and Penghu, but Jiehou and Fu Xiang have different opinions. Jiehou, please return to China for inspection. He is naturally cautious. Hefei said that there is no need to wait for a long time.How can it be said that the success period is two years, and it is stipulated that it cannot be delayed by two months?This is what Yudi did not describe. " This refers to the two newly ordered warships.When Li Hongzhang saw this, he was very angry, "Nonsense. You don't have to wait long, and you can buy it quickly by telegram. That's what I mean. In June, the General Administration sent me a letter saying that Taiwan and Penghu are isolated overseas, and you should buy it quickly." Ships, just in case. Because the cost of warships is too high, I replied to the letter, saying that I will temporarily order a few ships according to Jiyuan. On June 24, I received a telegram. I still remember the full text: "According to Jiyuan or fast ships, Order four for use in Taiwan and Penghu. That is to say, the Minister of Envoy Yingde will handle it properly. The Ministry of Ship Price and Households can allocate funds. 'You comment, is it my fault? "The Zhongtang is good. It's an emergency plan, so naturally we can't wait for a long time. Moreover, the Ministry of Accounting has a 'money', which means that at this time, it has been delayed for a long time. The 'money' may have built the imperial boat of Sanhai. Wouldn't it be in vain? " "Here! You know the meaning of joys and sorrows." Li Hongzhang said again: "As for my letter to Jiehou, you can ask him in the future. I just say: the gun should not be smaller than eight or nine calibers; the armor should not be thinner than twelve Inches, such as with an iron surface, should not be thinner than ten inches; the speed of the ship should not be lower than fifteen miles; the draft should not be deeper than eighteen feet. It's disheartening to have outsiders criticizing you for anything other than infidelity." "All those who know how to seek the country in the middle hall will succumb to it. However, even though the rumors on the road of speech are groundless, there are still other opinions in the end." "What do you say?" Li Hongzhang asked with his eyes wide open. "If there is no 'hole', how can there be 'wind'?" Li Hongzhang was taken aback for a moment, and then changed his calm expression, "This statement is interesting!" He said, "What rumor did you hear?" "I heard that there was another letter from the embassy in Germany. Sheng Boxi received one, and he was going to move his son to participate in Li Danya." Zhang Yinhuan said, "Sheng Boxi's pen is known to Zhongtang. Leave room for people." "Oh!" Li Hongzhang asked, "What else?" "There are still people who want to take advantage of this. It is said that there is a public opinion at present, 'Dingyuan ships are of good quality but cheap; Zhenyuan ships are of inferior quality but their prices are slightly higher; They say a boat is worth a boat!" "Where do you hear these words?" "Shanghai's "Shenbao" has it." "The nonsense of outsiders may not be credible." Li Hongzhang said disdainfully, "Fortunately, Li Danya has already surrendered and returned to the country, and was ordered to be sent to Beiyang. The three ships Ding, Zhen and Ji are about to arrive at Dagukou. Whether it is right or wrong, There will always be a day when the truth will come to light." “是！”张荫桓的本意是来报告消息，原意既达，不必词费，所以起身告辞。 李鸿章却不愿放他走。李凤苞的毛病在李鸿章自然不是一无所知的，所以话虽说得坦然，心里却不免嘀咕，希望张荫桓能替他想个化解之方。只是言语之中，袒护李凤苞在先，一时改不得口，唯有先拿张荫桓留了下来，再作计较。 “如果没有事，你再坐一会……我还有话跟你谈。或者，”他沉吟了一下说：“托你再去打听一下，还有什么人从德国写信来？” “是！我晚上再来跟中堂回话。” ※ ※ ※ 从张荫桓辞去以后，便是接连不断的访客。李鸿章本来是不想见的，但就这一天之间，发觉京中的各种迹象，都对他不利，为了听听消息，也为了笼络朝士，一改本心，尽量延见。 访客是来巴结的多。因为听说朝廷要大办新政，用人必多，或者想兼差、或者想外放，都得要走手握实权的“李中堂”的路子。此辈见识有限，但消息灵通，所以李鸿章倒听了许多想听的话。 到了四点多钟，贴身跟班悄悄来提醒，该赴庆王的饭局了。这天，奕劻为李鸿章接风，陪客是总署、军机两方面的大臣，所以等于又一次会议，李鸿章当然要早到。 果然到得早了，在座的陪客，还只有一个孙毓汶。谈到铁路，他告诉李鸿章说，反对的人很多，不过事在人为，最好准备一份详细的图说，再奏请懿旨定夺。 “那方便。我三五天以内就可以预备好。”李鸿章答道，“洋匠已经勘查了好几次，每一次都有详细禀帖，不过用的是洋文，我关照他们加紧赶译就是。” “是的。等中堂一交来，军机上立时呈递。”孙毓汶略停一下问道：“中堂的意思是从陶城埠到临清，沿河兴造铁路，如果阿城一带河水漫决，向北冲刷，不会把铁路冲断？” “不要紧！洋匠已经顾虑到这一层，近河之处，路基筑高六尺，漫水从没有高过六尺的。” 孙毓汶点点头又问：“倘或奉旨准行，中堂意中想派什么人督办？” 李鸿章心目中已经有人，决定派盛宣怀去办。话到口边，忽然警觉，说不定孙毓汶想保荐什么人，倘或落空，难免失望，或者会故意阻挠，这时以敷衍为妙。 于是他摇摇头说：“此刻那里谈得到此？将来是不是交北洋办，亦未可知。就是交北洋办，派什么人经理，也得请教诸公的意思。” “那当然请中堂一力支持。”孙毓汶说，“我看盛杏荪倒是适当的人选。” 听得孙毓汶称赞盛宣怀，李鸿章不能不留意。因为孙毓汶固然一言一行，无不隐含心计，而对盛宣怀更不能不防。北洋幕府中两类人才，一类讲吏治、论兵略，还保留着曾国藩开府的流风遗韵，论人，大多正人君子；论事，亦多罕言私利。另一类办洋务、辟财源，此中又有高下两等，上焉者如张荫桓，下焉者就是盛宣怀之流，李鸿章在他们面前，就象在贴身侍仆面前一样，毫无秘密可言。事实上李鸿章也是要靠盛宣怀等辈，才有个人的秘密，此所以不能不防。 他防人的手段，因人而施，对于淮军将领，是造成他们彼此的猜忌，免得“合而谋我”；对于盛宣怀这些人，在陷之以利以外，就是严禁他们另投靠山。不过，盛宣怀固然不必，也不敢出卖自己，就怕孙毓汶别有用心，将盛宣怀拉了过去，自己的秘密如果都落在此人手中，却是大可忧之事。为此，他试探着问：“多说盛杏荪是能员，莱山，照你看，他的长处，到底何在？” “盛杏荪是中堂一手提拔的人，难道还不知道他的长处？” 照这话看，孙毓汶或者已经猜到自己要委盛宣怀办铁路，有意说在前面，以为试探。李鸿章心想，言路上对盛宣怀深恶痛绝，如果自己承认有此意向，一传出去，先招言官反感，益增阻力，还是先瞒着为妙。 “盛宣怀的长处，我当然知道。不过，知人甚难，要听听大家对他的批评，尤其是阁下的批评。” "why?" “那还不容易明白？军机为用人行政之地，何能不听听你对人物的品评？” “中堂太看得起我了！”孙毓汶忽然问道：“听说盛杏荪到杭州去了？” “他老翁在浙江候补，请假去省亲。”李鸿章又说，“也要去整顿整顿招商局。” 谈到这里，客人陆续至，而且非常意外地，正要开席的时候，醇王亦作了不速之客。不过他一进来就先声明，他不是来闯席，只是听说大家都在这里，顺路进来看看。 这一下，使得做主人的奕劻很为难。不留醇王，于礼不合，留下醇王，自然是坐首座，便委屈了李鸿章。想一想只有口中虚邀，暗地里关照，暂缓开席。 醇王自知不便久坐，觑个便将孙毓汶拉到一边，有一句要紧话关照：“你们跟少荃同席，不必再谈铁路。这件事，八成儿吹了！” "how?" “这位，”醇王揸开五指伸了一下，意思是指惇王，“今天不是'递了牌子'？我刚刚才知道，为的是反对造铁路，当面力争。有几句话说得很厉害，说是铁路造来造去，怕动了西陵的龙脉。上头一听这话吓坏了！派了传谕，明天一早，让我头一起递牌子，说是要问铁路。多半会作为罢论。” 孙毓汶不即回答，问到另一件事：“那么，官银号呢？” “这又是件棘手的事！崇文山到我那里痛哭流涕，真正愚忠可悯！看样子，除非不用洋人，不然就办不成。” “合肥迷信洋人。听说他有过后，不用洋人，宁可不办。现在铁路再作罢论，所议的三件大事，倒有两件不成功，而这两件又是合肥的献议，一点结果都没有，似乎于他的面子上不好看。” “说得是啊！”醇王倒未曾想到，此刻一被提醒，才觉得十分不妥。 “而况现在还有求于他！” 这话，醇王也能深喻，有求于李鸿章的，不止于先办北洋一大支海军，还要靠他遮掩着拿海军经费移作别用。这样，就必得设法圆他的面子，否则，他未必肯乖乖听话。 “王爷，”孙毓汶低声说道：“办不办，王爷在心里拿主意，眼前先不必说破，尽管照合肥的意思降旨。横竖这又不是三天两天便得见分晓的事，且等崧镇青跟陈隽丞复奏了再说。” 这是指漕运总督崧骏跟山东巡抚陈士杰。修造铁路事关南漕，地在山东，当然要征询他们的意见，如果他们的复奏，认为窒碍难行，将来就可以搪塞李鸿章。倘或复奏赞成，也不妨示意言路上折反对。总之要打消此事的手段多得很，眼前能保住李鸿章的面子，不教他怀怨于朝廷，便是上策。 “你的话不错。一准照此而行！”醇王欣然答应。