Chapter 185 Mother and Son Monarch and Minister (20-1)

It has been less than a year since the two palaces returned to Luan, and the officialdom has been ups and downs. Several people celebrate each other, and several people can't bear to look back. They have already experienced a lot of vicissitudes. Central Beijing is relatively stable, and the provinces have been mobilized heavily. Half of the governors have been transferred. In addition to Enshou in Jiangsu, Shengyun in Shaanxi, and Duanfang in Hubei, the governors have been transferred to twelve provinces.Although Duanfang has not been transferred, he has been promoted to an official position and temporarily serves as the governor of Huguang.Because Liu Kunyi, governor of Liangjiang, died of illness in September of the twenty-eighth year of Guangxu. Zhang Zhidong, governor of Hubei, acted as the agent of Jiangdu, so the rules of "supervisors and governors in the same city" were the only ones in Wuchang.

Zhang Zhidong, who had saved Liu Lang before, was not as happy as Duan Fang.The former acting agent was because Liu Kun worked hard for the king's affairs, so it was not convenient to dismiss his vacancy. It can still be said that this time Jiangdu is vacant. In terms of seniority, it is a fair thing for him to transfer to make up for it. Is it an agent? Especially when I think of Yuan Shikai, I feel even more uncomfortable.Zhang Zhidong had been the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi in the tenth year of Guangxu. At that time, Yuan Shikai was only a five-rank acquaintance, and he "knowledgeed to run the camp affairs office" in Wu Changqing's army in North Korea.The naughty child who has never even "learned" has become the leader of the border ministers!The most irritating thing is that Yuan Shikai, the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang, is the actual professor, while Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Liangjiang and the minister of Nanyang, is a temporary situation!This is not a joke?He was thinking like this in his heart, but he never said a word verbally, because with his teeth and virtues, he competed with the young boy for fame, and if he said it, people would look down on him.

Of course, Yuan Shikai knew very well that there are only two important ministers today, one Ronglu in the court and Zhang Zhidong outside.As for Wang Wenshao, Lu Chuanlin and the like, don't take it to heart.Now that Rong Lu is old and sick, and is declining day by day, it seems that it is not a year to delay the time. Once Rong Lu is passed away, Qu Hongji must not be allowed to climb up among the military ministers.In terms of qualifications, he is not good enough to be a "master". At that time, Zhang Zhidong may call for a big worship, so he should conclude this Austrian aid as soon as possible.

Therefore, before returning to Xiangcheng from Baoding, he made a decision to take a detour to Nanjing Xiaozuo on the way back. ※ ※ ※ Yuan Shikai was granted a two-day leave by order to return home to bury his mother.Headed south in September, stayed in Xiangcheng, set off on October 21, and took the train to Hankou via Xinyang. Duanfang received Wuchang Kantie Factory and Kangun Factory.However, Yuan Shikai didn't think highly of Duanfang. He only got close to the copywriter of the supervisory office, Xie Yuan Zheng Xiaoxu of Fujian in Renwu in the eighth year of Guangxu, and praised Zhang Zhidong's plan in Hubei. Nanpi and I can still take on big things."

It is conceivable that, given the relationship between Zheng Xiaoxu and Zhang Zhidong, he will definitely send these words to Jiangning.This made Zhang Zhidong feel much better, so Yuan Shikai's special ship arrived at Xiaguan, Nanjing. Zhang Zhidong followed the rules and greeted Chen Yiwei in person. When he arrived at the governor's office, he held a banquet at one o'clock in the afternoon. half an hour. This time is very unlucky!It turns out that Zhang Zhidong's daily life is different, and everyone in the official circles in Hubei knows it. There is a couplet sent to him by the deputy: "The orders are not from time to time, and the daily life is chaotic; the language is tasteless, and the appearance is disgusting."The second couplet is unavoidably mean, but the first couplet is more or less documentary, and Zhang Zhidong thinks that one day can be used for two days.

He has two days in one day, that is, the turn of noon is the dividing line.Roughly every evening is his morning. When he wakes up, he will watch business, meet guests, and eat at midnight. His eating habits are also very strange. He must drink at every meal. So again, a table is full, and they can be used at will, without a certain order. Going to bed after eating, I often just take a nap with my clothes on. I use rattan chairs in winter and summer, but in winter I add a stove, so I sleep until five or six in the morning and wake up again. When the banquet started, it was time for him to find a good dream, and he went to Xiaguan that day, and his energy was extremely weak. After the banquet, he couldn't hold on anymore, his eyes were heavy, and he just wanted to close them, barely opening them wide. When you open it, it's only half open.

In the solemnity of the hall, I saw Yuan Shikai humbly say less than three or five sentences, and would quietly interrupt, because Zhang Zhidong closed his eyes and opened his mouth, and was about to fall asleep. When he woke up with his head turned to the side, Yuan Shikai just started Open your mouth. This situation made all the accompanying guests feel uneasy. The most helpless thing is that, for a feast, the lower side of the table is used to face the square table on the stage. If you have no other guests, you can chat with distinguished guests and relieve the embarrassment a little, so that everyone can see Yuan Shikai sitting in a daze, thinking about him, it is really embarrassing in the world.

Zhang Zhidong finally fell back on the chair and started snoring.Yuan Shikai took a look around and stood up, so the second secretary of the Fanjian who accompanied him rushed to him from left and right. Before he could speak, Yuan Shikai waved his hand to them not to disturb Zhang Zhidong. It's just that the governor went in and out of the gate and fired the cannon as usual, commonly known as "firing the gun", but the sound of the cannon woke Zhang Zhidong up. Seeing that the guest seat was empty, he knew that Yuan Shikai had left without saying goodbye.This was not only disrespectful, but also a loss of self-control. Zhang Zhidong wanted to make up for it, so he had to hurriedly pass the sedan chair to Xiaguan to see him off.

From the Governor's Yamen to the riverside, there is a long way to go. Eight large sedan chairs were carried, and two groups of bearers switched shoulders and walked quickly. Zhang Zhidong could still get a good night's sleep in the sedan chair, so when he arrived at Xiaguan, he was full of energy. It was just the beginning of another day that he used for two days, but Yuan Shikai's special ship was about to set off, so he just cupped his hands on the watchtower to thank Zhang Zhidong from a distance. ※ ※ ※ After staying in Shanghai for three days, Yuan Shikai sailed directly to Tianjin on the warship Haiqi. The day he arrived was the sixth day of November when the 40-day holiday was over.On this day, news came from Beijing that Wei Guangtao, governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, was transferred to Liangjiang, and Zhang Zhidong returned to his post.

It is no surprise that Jiang will fall on Wei Guangtao's head.This character Wuzhuang, native of Shaoyang, Hunan Province, was born as a cook, and later joined the Hunan Army, served under Zeng Guoquan's subordinates, and later went west with Zuo Zongtang, and was promoted to a Taoist priest after his meritorious service.In the year of Jiawu, the official residence of Hunan Fansi, the governor Wu Dacheng invited Ying to leave the customs, and Wei Guangtao led the troops to Niuzhuang.Before the Japanese army arrived, they fled in anticipation of the wind. They walked three hundred miles a day and a night, fell off their horses several times, and hurt their feet.After the peace talks were concluded, Wu Dacheng returned to his post with his "General Du Liao" jade seal. Wei Guangtao's official fortune was better, and he was promoted to governor of Shaanxi.

During the Rebellion of the Gengzi Year, an imperial edict was issued to King Qin, and those who raised their troops to respond were lucky. Lu Chuanlin joined the army; Cen Chunxuan was promoted to governor; Wei Guangtao was promoted to governor.In Kunming, the governor of Yunnan, Li Jingxi, was in charge of all political affairs, while Wei Guangtao listened to him and did nothing.But he is very energetic, he wakes up early in the morning, and after meeting his subordinates, he always goes to various camps to watch exercises. He is very famous for being "Shuai Wei Wu". Yuan Shikai can conclude that such a mediocre person can go to Liangjiang to be the governor. It is definitely not because he is diligent in watching exercises.Sure enough, he asked the people in Beijing and told an inside story. Among the senior officials who were born in the Hunan Army, there was a Hengshan native named Wang Zhichun.He was originally Peng Yulin's "Cultural Patrol", and he was responsible for conveying his duties. He was handsome and blessed, so Peng Yulin transferred him to the camp and was promoted to a Taoist priest after his meritorious deeds.During the war between China and France in the tenth year of Guangxu, veteran generals were appointed, Peng Yulin specialized in military affairs in Guangdong, and Wang Zhichun was appointed as the battalion department.In the future, he will be promoted to the governor of Hubei and then transferred to Sichuan. It will be very difficult to climb up to the governor. Wang Zhichun has a lot of tricks, and he knows that writing a book is also a shortcut for hunting officials. He once invited Pan Naiguang, a native of Guangxi, to compile a book titled "Prince Gong's contacts with other countries since the founding of the Prime Minister's Office" according to the year. "The History of Commerce", thus winning a reputation as "familiar with Western affairs", was actually sent as a special envoy to mourn the Russian Emperor Alexander in the 21st year of Guangxu.Russia treats each other with the etiquette of a "first-class imperial envoy" and has "heart-to-heart language", so the emperor's teacher Weng Tongsu attaches great importance to it. When the new Russian king was crowned and planned to still send Wang Zhichun as the special envoy to celebrate, Russia felt that his position was inappropriate, so Li Hongzhang was reassigned.But Wang Zhichun, after the 1898 coup, took the path of Ronglu, and finally fulfilled his wish to seal off the border, and became the governor, first in Anhui, and then in Guangxi.I have always relied on Ronglu as my backer, and I have letters to greet me every month, and naturally there are important gifts of accompanying letters. It was because of Wang Zhichun that Wei Guangtao joined Ronglu's line, and also prepared a door bag of 20,000 silver.In this way, his desire to be transferred to Liangjiang can be conveyed to Ronglu. So when it came to the candidates for Jiangdu, Rong Lu put forward two opinions: Since Zeng Guofan, Liangjiang should be used as a veteran general of the Hunan Army, and Zhang Zhidong is too good at spending money, how can he squander the rich land of Liangjiang?The latter statement most touched the heart of Empress Dowager Cixi, so Wei Guangtao's new order was issued very quickly. Yuan Shikai thought to himself, if Nanyang is the territory of the Hunan Army, then Beiyang is the territory of the Huai Army.Wei Guangtao is mediocre and mediocre, and he is much easier to deal with than Zhang Zhidong. Compared with Li Hongzhang, when he had Shen Baozhen first and Liu Kunyi later, he was in a better situation.As long as Sheng Xuanhuai can be suppressed and prevented from climbing up, he can grasp many profitable businesses in his hands like Li Hongzhang when he was in Beiyang, and have a big expansion. This of course depends on Rong Lu, his days are numbered, Yuan Shikai is thinking silently, he is not qualified to take his place, but he can help qualified people to take his place and manipulate them, that is tantamount to taking Rong Lu and replacing him up. Of course, in front of him, he had to pay special attention to Rong Lu.Turning to this thought, thinking of Rong Lu's congratulatory gift for marrying a daughter, even if it can't be like Wei Guangtao's gift of 200,000 taels of silver, at least it must make Rong Lu happy. "To make Rong Zhongtang happy is worse than to make Miss Rong happy." Yuan Shikai's cousin, Zhang Zhenfang, who is in charge of his personal wealth, suggested: "Therefore, in the congratulatory gifts, more precious and ingenious jewelry should be prepared." Yuan Shikai appreciated this view very much.Because Ronglu had only one son and one daughter, one son died of illness on the way back to Luan, and only one daughter was left with blood and blood, and she loved him very much.As long as the lady said, "The gift from Yuan is so good", Rong Lu would be very happy. "Two copies of the gift." Yuan Shikai asked again: "Where are you going to send the dry house?" "There are rules as usual, and you can only deliver Ruyi." It turns out that the dry house is the palace of the prince.The ministers of the Han Dynasty celebrated with their relatives and dignitaries. According to the rules of banner people, the only way to celebrate the celebration is to show respect, but Yuan Shikai felt that it was too meager, so he decided to send a gift of 20,000 silver in the name of the Beiyang Office. ※ ※ ※ The ban on non-marriage between Manchu and Han has been abolished by the Ming Dynasty, but the system of selecting beautiful women from the Eight Banners is still preserved.Bannermen who meet the qualifications for selection and Jiji's daughter are not allowed to choose a match before they have been selected.Therefore, how many rich and powerful families wanted to marry Rong Lu, but they couldn't open their mouths. Even though Rong Lu, a beautiful daughter named Fu Niu, had already reported her name to the Ministry of Household Affairs, she was already waiting for election. In 2009, and the system of drafting girls every three years, due to the catastrophe of the country, has not yet been restored. Fu Niu's life-long event, the parents also have no control over it for a while. However, there is one person who can make the decision, Empress Dowager Cixi.The empress dowager or the emperor can designate a relative and noble clan to marry someone's daughter, which is called "finger marriage" or "tie marriage".Empress Dowager Cixi decided to "marry Fu Niu" to Prince Jin Zaifeng. Tying up this marriage was the most proud thing that Empress Dowager Cixi did after returning to Luan.Everyone could see that it was Empress Dowager Cixi's reward and win over that allowed Fu Niu to become the successor of the palace. However, she knew in her heart that there was another role that was far more important than winning over Ronglu.She is convinced that only by doing so can she completely eliminate her worries. When negotiating peace, one of the things that Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't let go of at all times was that other countries would interfere in China's internal affairs and force her to return to power.The "Xin Chou Peace Treaty" made by Qing Wang Yikuang and Li Hongzhang almost fully accepted the requirements of all countries. It seemed that anyone could make such a negotiation, but outside the treaty, there was a negotiation that was not in writing. Don't mention the end of political training.Li Hongzhang's gift code is very thick, and Yikuang's popularity and trust are all due to such a credit. However, during the period from the signing of the contract to the withdrawal of troops, the Empress Dowager Cixi discovered that there were hidden dangers, and all countries still had a good impression of the emperor. This was expected and nothing to worry about.Later, it was discovered that all countries also had a good impression of the emperor's younger brother, and there was a hint of support, which was not only unexpected, but also had to be on guard!