Chapter 190 Yingtai sunset (2-2)

Therefore, after Zhang Zhidong entered the pilgrimage, he never returned to the original province. He was ordered to "confer on academic affairs", but in fact he presided over it alone. Zhang Zhidong has a very special temper, "Whatever is built must be the first to open up the atmosphere, and whatever is advocated must be slightly different from the fashion. If there are good friends to advise and public opinion to be persuaded, then it will be more firm. "So when the whole country was discussing current affairs, he was conservative in drafting the school system, he was not in harmony with Zhang Baixi, but he was on the same path as Rong Qing.

This meant that Zhang Baixi was at a disadvantage and Rong Qing had succeeded.In order to pay mediocrity, Rong Qing was transferred to be Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and then transferred to the Ministry of Household Affairs to fill Na Tong's vacancies.But he, the hall official of the household department, only cared about the routine, and if there was any change, it was Yikuang, Qu Hongji, and Natong who exercised the duties of the finance department of the household department, and they decided on their own, and there was no room for Rongqing to comment. Because of this, Yang Shixiang went to Beijing to press for the source of salary, instead of looking for Rongqing, he only looked for Natong. After several negotiations, the result was not satisfactory.

"Assessment is inevitable!" Natong said decisively: "No matter what Qu Zijiu says, don't pay attention to him. As long as you are confident." Therefore, two apportionment methods were determined, please approve them, and issue an edict. One is apportionment of tobacco and alcohol taxes. , is that there are not many repayments, and it is actually due to the ineffectiveness of the collection. According to Yuan Shikai, the governor of Zhili, Zhili collects two taxes on tobacco and alcohol, and the yearly income is more than 800,000 taels of silver. In the withered areas of Zhili, you can still collect this. The huge amount of money shows that the governor is loyal to the country and does things with sincerity, which is very honorable. That is to say, he copied the current regulations of Zhili and sent them to the provinces, and ordered the general and governor to follow suit. To determine the amount of tax, Zhili province, that is, according to the current collection, still distributes 800,000 taels a year; Fengtian Province should distribute 800,000 taels a year; Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Sichuan provinces should distribute 500,000 taels a year. ; Shanxi Province should send 400,000 taels a year; Jiangxi, Shandong, Hubei, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces should send 300,000 taels a year; Henan, Anhui, Hunan, Guangxi, and Yunnan provinces should send 100,000 taels a year; , 60,000 taels should be distributed every year;

Taking into account the above 21 provinces, a total of 6.4 million taels of tax is assigned each year. " There is another edict, which is to rectify floating revenue and deed tax. As usual, there is also a grandiose sentence at the beginning: "Now the country is in dire straits, a hundred wastes are waiting to be raised, and the treasury is empty. How can we cook without rice? If we don't try Operations, the overall situation is becoming more and more dangerous, and the upper and lower levels are in trouble. How can the future troubles be imagined? In recent years, the price of silver has dropped, and there is no great disparity among the provinces. They use the money to pay for the collection of Ding Cao, and the provinces and counties have a lot of floating revenue, but the land tax that should be levied Deed, there is not even one person who repays. The states and counties have a lot of money and sit back and watch the country suffer alone. With a little conscience, there must be some people who are uneasy. If you are willing to have clear strength, but do not know that the country is in peril, how can you always enjoy peace and happiness? The governor and others have received a lot of kindness, so how can they bear the responsibility of the court because they see good officials? Since the 30th year of Guangxu, instruct all The governor will thoroughly investigate the items that are good or bad, good or bad, and return them to the public as appropriate, and rectify the tax deeds of real estate and land, and allocate quotas for each year's increase, and report them to the source. Except for Xinjiang, Except for Gansu, Guizhou and the three eastern provinces, where the local barrenness and hardship are avoided, Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces should each send 350,000 taels a year; Zhili and Sichuan provinces should each send 300,000 taels a year; 150,000 taels; Henan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Hubei, and Hunan provinces, 200,000 taels each; Anhui province, 150,000 taels a year; Shanxi, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Guangxi, and Fujian provinces, 100,000 taels a year each Sixteen provinces, a total of 3.2 million taels per year."

The two items totaled 9.6 million taels of silver. Even if they could not collect enough, there would be at least 7 to 8 million taels a year. Considering the amount of initial military training and the public expenses for repairing Xiyuan, it was barely enough.Anyway, if you have money, you can eat more than you want, Yuan Shikai can rest assured. So Yikuang, as the minister in charge of the military training department, invited Jane to send an envoy to the department.Yuan Shikai, the Minister of the Association, and Tie Liang, the Assistant Minister, who are Manchurian inlaid white flags and graduates of the first period of the Japanese Non-commissioned Officer Academy, were specially appointed long ago.Now Yikuang should ask Jane for four missions: Ti Tiao, Military Political Department, Military Command Department, and Military Science Department.

It is Xu Shichang who is stationed in Changchuan and is an important person in charge of general affairs. He is sent by Xu Shichang.In the same year as Chen Kuilong's rehearsal, he ordered the Imperial Academy and never let the examiners go. He was a very black Hanlin, so he became Yuan Shikai's staff when he was training at the military station. When Yuan Shikai released the governor of Shandong, Xu Shichang planned to donate an additional Taoist, pointing out that the province will distribute Shandong, and it will naturally make up for the shortage as soon as it arrives.But Yuan Shikai had a different idea.

"Based on our friendship, Shandong's road shortage, let you choose. However, if you want to climb to the supervisor, you will have to work for a few years. After you climb to the supervisor, you want to be promoted internally to minister, externally promoted to governor, and even more so. I don’t know what happened in that year? You are just forty this year, and you will have a long time to come. Why don’t you raise your qualifications in the Imperial Academy, once you stand out, it will be of great use. This is my advice, please think twice.” It turns out that ever since Yuan Shikai was released from the position of governor, he knew that his footsteps had been firmly established, and he was expected to become a pivotal figure after Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, Ding Baozhen, Zhang Zhidong, Shen Baozhen, and Liu Kun. A famous governor relied on by the imperial court.

But in terms of background, Yuan Shikai knew that he was too poor. In the future, the shogunate would have to find more Jinshi and Hanlin, one for decoration;So for my own sake, I don't want to spoil Xu Shichang's future. It's not bad to think about it, Xu Shichang still went back to Beijing to be an Hanlin.Yuan Shikai tried many ways to brag about him, and even persuaded Zhang Zhidong to recommend him.He himself once kept it secret, saying that Xu Shichang "has a sharp mind and a clear mind", and he was ordered to hand it over to the Military Aircraft Office for storage.In the year when Xin Chou returned to Luan, when Yuan Shikai greeted him, he specially defended him, so the Empress Dowager Cixi summoned him in Baoding and asked about the situation of the Shandong Defense Army in Zhili. In addition, Yuan Shikai asked for a license to be assigned to the Gyeonggi Battalion Office of the New Army.

The Ministry of Commerce was established, under Shangshu Zaizhen and the left and right ministers, the left and right ministers were set up separately.You Cheng was the Xixi teacher of Prince Qing's Mansion, and Tang Wenzhi was born in the Imperial Academy, and Yuan Shikai recommended Xu Shichang as Zuo Cheng.This is a deficiency of the third rank, and it is made up for by the sixth rank Guozijian Siye, which is an extraordinary promotion. In fact, this is also a transition, and Yuan Shikai had planned it long ago.The military training office was established, and Yikuang was named as Xu Shichang's "housekeeper" in order to control everything from it.But in Xu Shichang, the vacancy was opened as a candidate for a cabinet bachelor, and he was promoted to the military training office. Although he was a second-rank student in the cabinet, he could still wear a red top.

The chiefs of the three divisions are all called "envoys".Liu Yongqing, the envoy of the Military and Political Department, was a small fellow of Yuan Shikai's Xiangcheng. Duan Qirui, the chief envoy of the Military Command, and Wang Shizhen, the chief envoy of the Military Science Department, both came from the Tianjin Armed Forces Academy run by Li Hongzhang.Duan Qirui studied artillery. He once went to Germany and had an internship at the famous Krupp artillery factory. Both Wang Shizhen and Yin Chang, who had studied military in Germany for many years, appreciated him very much.When Yuan Shikai was training troops at Xiaozhan, Duan and Wang were recommended by Yinchang to be the commanders of artillery and engineers. The ability of the "new army" impressed Rong Lu. Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen put a lot of effort into it, so they became Yuan Shikai's confidantes and were promoted to Taoist members after their meritorious service.Now he is sent as an envoy in the military training department, and he is rewarded with the title of "Deputy Dutong" of the second rank, and the top son is also popular.

Xu Shichang is even more satisfied with the new appointment and the celebration of the officials.The fellow villagers and the same year held banquets to congratulate each other, and wore brand-new red caps and men's gowns to the banquet, but the men's clothes were not Wen Erpin's golden pheasants, but Wu Erpin's lions.All the civil servants were seated in the same seat, among the golden pheasants, peacocks, geese, white pheasants and other cultural birds, there was a lion with its teeth and claws in the middle, which was really neither class nor indecent, and it looked particularly glaring, which caused ridicule and made it almost indistinguishable. parted ways. ※ ※ ※ On the second day after the decree on various errands issued by the Jianpai Military Training Office, Japanese Minister Yasuya Uchida visited Yikuang and secretly informed that the negotiations between Japan and Russia were about to break down because of the conflict of interests between North Korea and the three eastern provinces, and Japan had begun preparations for war. .Uchida said that Japan's efforts to stop Russia's expansion are also for the sake of China's security.Therefore, once Japan and Russia go to war, Japan hopes that China will be neutral. Then, Yang Shu, the Minister in Japan, also sent a telegram, saying that the Japanese Foreign Minister had an appointment with Yang Shu, and the content of the discussion was exactly the same as that reported by Uchida.Yikuang was very anxious, not because he was afraid that Japan and Russia would open fire on Chinese territory, and the people would suffer a lot, but because he was afraid that the personal wealth he had accumulated in the past two years would not be guaranteed. Yikuang's greedy reputation has long been spread outside, and since he took the palm, he has become more and more unscrupulous.In addition to the 30,000 taels of silver sent by the Beiyang Office every month for the family, there are also door bags that are openly required. There are three types of bags, and each door bag costs a total of 72 taels of silver.The servants of the palace, from the "Master of the Gatekeeper" to the servant girl under the stove, only take care of the board and lodging, and do not pay wages. Half of them are taken out of the door bag to share equally, and the other half is "returned to the public".All foreign palaces who enter Beijing and Beijing officials who are released from abroad must have an audience, and their gates are like a market every day.Including the red envelopes presented face to face by the officials who met with the audience, a total of 600,000 taels of silver was accumulated, which was deposited in the Japan Specikin Bank and the Sino-Russian Daosheng Bank.When Japan and Russia started a war, the military expenditure was huge, so it was natural to use the bank deposits. What Yikuang was worried about was that the deposits would be ruined. "It's better to bring it up and deposit it in another foreign bank." Na Tong suggested to him, "HSBC is the oldest foreign bank in the UK. It is safe to store in HSBC." Yikuang thought so deeply.They sent people to inquire, and the monthly interest was only 2%, but capital preservation was the first priority. Zhengjin and Daosheng respectively withdrew 600,000 taels of silver and transferred them to HSBC. This transaction was handled by Wang Zhuxuan, a comprador of HSBC Bank.Wang Zhuxuan is a rich visitor in Bada Hutong. He often meets Zai Zhen who looks at flowers in a "micro-service" style, and calls him "Zhen Beizi" and "Uncle Zhen" very affectionately.But when Zai Zhen saw him, he always had a sour taste, because Wang Zhuxuan was not only rich, but also handsome in appearance and good at speaking, so there was no red girl in the Eight Great Hutongs who did not flatter "Fourth Master Wang", even if It is the first rank in the dynasty, and the father and son's famous "Zhenbeizi" can't help but pale in comparison. This day was in Fengyun Xiaoban in Shanxi Lane, and they ran into each other by chance, because Wang Zhuxuan had just made a deal in Prince Qing's Mansion, so he was very flattered, went up to meet him, greeted him with a smile, and said in a friendly way: "Is the yamen sealed?" Because of HSBC's savings, Zai Zhen's monthly interest was only 2%, and he thought it was Wang Zhuxuan's fault, so he squinted at him and asked coldly, "How about the seal?" As soon as Wang Zhuxuan heard that his tone was not good, he quickly replied with a smile: "It's sealed, Zhen Beizi can play more!" "Can you control it? Hmph!" Zai Zhen sneered, flicked his sleeves heavily, and walked inside. The girl he greeted was the number one celebrity in Fengyun's small class. She was named Cuifang and occupied the three best rooms in the group. It's into the east room.If you put down the door curtain, you will know that there are guests, and you will sit in the west room temporarily, and wait for the team to try to move the guests to another place, and then move there when there is an empty room.That day the east room also had a door curtain, Zai Zhen was annoyed, and walked quickly, as soon as he opened the door curtain, he barged in, which was a big taboo in a brothel.The guest inside was furious and was about to explode. He recognized Zai Zhen, restrained himself, and did not make any bad noises, but his complexion would not be good. Zai Zhen knew that he had made a joke, so he turned around and retreated, and sat down in the west room.The team knew that something was wrong, so the bawd and the old lady all came to show their courtesy, say good things, and try to make room.Zai Zhen was angry, raised his face and ignored him, and asked for a long time, "Where is he?" This refers to Cuifang.She had just been bored with the benefactor for a while, her temples were disheveled, and her makeup was too much. She had to retouch before she could see people.And the benefactor over there was also angry, so he had to comfort him with nice words.In this way, the delay will be great. After finally urging her to come, the bawd and the old lady breathed a sigh of relief, made a wink, and agreed to leave, leaving Cuifang to perfunctory in the room alone. "What are you doing? You're so aggressive!" Cuifang put one hand on Zaizhen's shoulder and sat down on her lap. "Who is the boy in the East Room?" "Who cares about him? Ignore him, or it's over." "Strange!" Zai Zhen asked, "Why are you protecting him?" "Who is protecting him? I am alone, Mr. Zhen, what kind of jealousy are you eating?" "Hmph!" Zai Zhen turned her face to take a closer look, "The hair was just combed, and the rouge was freshly applied. What are you doing?" Cuifang blushed, deliberately poking up her face to hide her embarrassment, "What's the matter? Did you get upset there and come here?" She winked her eyes, took out a handkerchief and blew her nose. Zai Zhen was silent, just sneered.Cuifang was a little guilty and didn't dare to pretend anymore, but the situation was frozen, it wasn't the case, after thinking about it, she felt that there should be an explanation. "It's a friend of Fourth Master Wang, so I have to be perfunctory..." Before he finished speaking, Zai Zhen interrupted him and asked, "Which one is the fourth prince?" "Isn't he the comprador Wang Siye of HSBC?" It’s okay not to say anything, but every pore of Zaizhen was fired when he said it, and he pushed Cuifang to the ground, stomped his feet and scolded: "You shameless bitch! You are the friend of that bastard. You have to be perfunctory, why? Such a lowly thing, it hurts you for nothing!" After finishing speaking, he grabbed Cuifang with one hand, and was about to slap her mouth with the other hand, but after all, he couldn't bear it, and when he let go, Cuifang fell again. He went out of the house, his anger still lingering, but Wang Zhuxuan was having a feast in another room, golden cups and sandalwood boards, surrounded by emerald green bamboos, it was so lively, Zai Zhen's eyes were red when he saw it. "This traitor who has no conscience, eats inside and out, bastard!" Zai Zhen roared: "Hit me!" Every time Zai Zhen came out, he brought the guards of the palace with him, there were as many as twenty, and as few as seven or eight, all of them liked to make trouble.Hearing this sound, someone immediately yelled: "Bastard surnamed Wang, get out!" This guard can "tick" blackheads, with an official voice, this roar shakes the roof tiles, but it is like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, the guests and hosts in the house are pale from looking at each other, and the girls are even trembling with fright, and run away from the door one after another. Seeing this scene, Wang Zhuxuan had no choice but to stand up, staggered forward, bent his waist, and said with a smile: "Zhen Beizi..." "Do you understand the rules?" Still the guard yelled, "Kneel down!" Wang Zhuxuan had no choice but to bend his knees and knelt down on the ground. Another guard, Dai Hualing, immediately scolded his colleagues loudly: "What are you waiting for? Do you want to wait for the uncle to do it yourself?" So the guards rushed forward, fisted and kicked, and beat Wang Zhuxuan severely, and then, like a gust of wind, hugged Zaizhen and left. At this time, someone dared to come up to support Wang Zhuxuan, but he saw that his eyes were bruised and his nose was swollen, his mouth was full of blood, and the white fox fur robe was stained bright red. "This is too lawless!" A guest said after a pause, "Go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and sue him." "It's useless!" Wang Zhuxuan shook his head, fell on the chair and closed his eyes without saying a word, but tears kept streaming down. Naturally, the team was terrified.Zai Zhen and Wang Zhuxuan probably won't come again in the future, why not rush to go to two big guests at once?In front of him, he could only try his best to comfort Wang Zhuxuan, but he was afraid that Zaizhen would come back if he left. If he found out that the team was so flattering to Wang Zhuxuan, he would smash the brothel in a fit of anger.So up and down, inside and out, everyone was a little uneasy, and tried to surround Wang Zhuxuan with words of comfort and reassurance, but no one said that he should be let to lie down and rest, and that a traumatologist should be invited to take a look. During this chaos, someone shouted outside: "The master of the workshop is here, the master of the workshop is here." It turns out that the grounds of the capital are under the management of Xuncheng Yushi, which is divided into five cities: east, south, west, north, and middle.Under the Xuncheng Yushi, there are one chief and deputy commander of the military and horse department, and one official. Each city has two squares, which are in charge of the deputy commander and official. The Eight Great Alleys are outside Xuanwu Gate, under the jurisdiction of Nancheng Yushi. The "Fangli Master" who came here is an uninformed official, but Nancheng is prosperous, and the five cities have their own characteristics. Millet, merchants traveling in the south city, clothes and cultural relics in the west city, traitors and thieves in the north city." The "merchants and travelers" in the south city must rely on the protection of the "Fangli Master" for protection, and they must pay filial piety on a monthly basis. The top leather warm hat, with a shiny golden hat, is also very airy. But when he saw Wang Zhuxuan, he seemed to be a bit shorter, and the official bowed his waist and asked in surprise: "What's going on? Fourth Master Wang!" "The person from Zhen Beizi?" The official came here after hearing that Zai Zhen's subordinates were causing trouble here, and it was Wang Zhuxuan who didn't want to be beaten, so he said comfortingly: "Forget it, forget it! You always follow Zhen Beizi Beizi is a good friend, he must have had a few more glasses of wine, and got really angry with a joke. This is nothing!" He turned around and asked loudly, "Where is Fourth Master Wang's car? Hurry up and get the car, I will take Fourth Master Wang back government." Wang Zhuxuan's family lives in Dongjiaomin Lane, and there must be a red envelope as a thank you gift. Wang Zhuxuan also said: "Please go back and bring a letter to Master Jiang Du. When you are free, please come over." This "Master Jiang Du" is Jiang Shixuan, the supervisory censor of Canton Road who patrolled Nancheng.This character, Xingfu, was born in Yutian, Zhili. He was a good friend of Wang Zhuxuan in Hanlin in Renchen in the eighteenth year of Guangxu.As soon as he got the news, he came to visit the injured that night. "Such a heavy blow!" Jiang Shixuan said sadly: "Fourth brother, I feel really bad for you to suffer such a loss in my area." "Xingfu!" Wang Zhuxuan called him directly, "I don't blame you at all, and you don't need to take the blame. The current Minister of Commerce is also a son, and the young master of the military aircraft foreman. Who can touch him?" "Having said that..." "No, no!" Wang Zhuxuan shook his hand and said, "Let's not mention this part. Xingfu, is this year going well?" As soon as this was mentioned, Jiang Shixuan became concerned, and after thinking about it, he answered honestly: "It takes two hundred and two taels of silver to pay off the bill." "This amount is easy to handle." Wang Zhuxuan said: "We have a lot of deposits in the bank, and the 'bad debts' have also increased. 'It's all right." "That's right, fourth brother," Jiang Shixuan rubbed his hands happily, "You really saved my life." "I know your situation. You don't have tens of thousands of silver, and you can't hold your head up in front of your wife." Wang Zhuxuan said: "Xingfu, you'd better ask God to bless you, Japan and Russia will fight!" "How do you say that?" Jiang Shixuan asked, "Fourth brother, what you said is too mysterious." "That's right! It's a very mysterious matter. Don't leak the secret. You keep it in your stomach first, and don't reveal a word. Be sure! Be sure!" Seeing that he said it so solemnly, Jiang Shixuan was determined not to forget it, and only copied from the palace gate and the news paper every day to pay attention to the war between Japan and Russia.It turned out that Russia’s seven demands on China, since Lienyoshi revealed them to Uchida Yasuya, and Uchida bribed him with his firm rejection, the development of the situation is very unfavorable to Russia. The United States first protested, and Japan and Britain also adopted the same approach. step.At the same time, they jointly signed a note to China, advising them to "don't be threatened by Russia".Yikuang believes that with the support of the three countries, he might as well be tough on Russia.The note rejecting Qi’s request was sent to the Russian embassy, ​​and Uchida immediately sent someone to deliver the seal of the “Qingji” depositor of Zhengjin Bank. In fact, Russia's China policy has two schools of slow progress and rapid progress.The faction that advocates slow progress, including Weed, Ramsdorf, and Secretary of War Krobatkin, have publicly expressed their opinions, explaining why it is not appropriate to make rapid progress, so this faction is called the open faction. The opposite faction is the radical secret faction, led by Emperor Nicholas II of Russia himself. After seven requests were rejected, he suddenly issued an imperial edict, appointing the commander of the Far East Army, Aleksev, as the "Governor of the Far East". Similar to "Grand Governor of the Caucasus".This is tantamount to clearly declaring that the three eastern provinces of China have become Russian territories. This arrogant and arrogant attitude will of course arouse the public indignation of all countries.Japan, on the other hand, took the issue of the so-called "Manchuria Incident" to Russia because of the high stakes, hoping to "delineate the special interests of the two countries in the Far East." During negotiations between Japan and Russia from midsummer to early winter, Japan and Russia proposed countermeasures several times, but none of them were accepted by the other side.China also sent a note to Russia to withdraw its troops, which was tantamount to helping Japan invisibly.Therefore, the attitude of the Japanese government is even tougher.On December 20, the Japanese foreign minister, Komura, sent a telegram to the Russian minister to submit an ultimatum to Russia. The combined fleet led by Togo Heihachiro immediately began to attack the Russian warships in Incheon, South Korea, and Lvshun in the three eastern provinces. .On December 25, the two countries declared war on the same day. As the news spread, countries declared their neutrality one after another, including China.However, Japan and Russia are at war, and the Chinese territory is the battlefield. Even Qu Hongji, who is more clear-headed, doesn't know how to maintain neutrality?As for Yikuang, he secretly rejoiced that he saw the opportunity early and transferred the deposit to HSBC Bank in the United Kingdom. No matter whether Japan or Russia wins or loses, this property can be preserved. As soon as the new year passed, on the sixth day of the first month of the 30th year of Guangxu, Russia appointed Minister of War Krobatkin as the commander-in-chief of the Manchurian military aircraft.On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Japan scuttled several ships at Lushunkou as a means of blocking Lushun Port. ※ ※ ※ After recovering from his injuries, Wang Zhuxuan went out for the first time on the day of Lantern Festival, and the first house he wanted to visit was Prince Qing's Mansion.Kowtow to Yikuang and his son to pay New Year's greetings, and reward the servants heavily. Two days later, I sincerely posted a post, asking Zai Zhen to have spring wine, drink quickly, and let go of the past. On the contrary, Zai Zhen is not without apology.Just mentioning that "misunderstanding" briefly, Wang Zhuxuan used other words indiscriminately.It seems to be a real grudge. Seeing that the time was right, Wang Zhuxuan invited Jiang Shixuan over for a secret chat over wine: "Xingfu," he asked, "do you remember what I said last year?" "Of course I remember!" Jiang Shixuan said, "I read the newspaper yesterday. Russia had already occupied Fengtian, and Japan sank several ships at Lushunkou. The fighting became more and more lively." "Yes!" Wang Zhuxuan said, "'Qing Ji' has a sum of money, which was originally divided into Zhengjin and Daosheng, but it was proposed to be transferred to HSBC for the war between Japan and Russia. I dare not tell you at that time, because First, I don’t know if Qingji will change his mind. According to the current situation, HSBC will not move.” Jiang Shixuan didn't know what he meant by saying this, so he just nodded and asked, "What about the second one?" "Secondly, I had a 'holiday' with Zai Zhengang at that time, and it was inconvenient to touch his hands. Now," Wang Zhuxuan said, "it's okay!" "What can I do?" "Do you want to spend two or three hundred thousand silver coins?" "Fourth brother..." Jiang Shixuan only felt his heart beating and out of breath, and said to himself repeatedly in his heart: calm down, calm down! "I know your situation. I couldn't help you before, but now I'm sure that I can make Zun Hu look at you differently." These words really touched the depths of Jiang Shixuan's heart, it turned out that he had an unspeakable secret.Xu Xian married an old lady from the Wang family. The dowry jewelry and cash amounted to about 10,000 taels of silver.This amount is nothing in the wealthy family, but in the eyes of the poor Beijing officials, it is very remarkable.Jiang Shixuan felt that he had made a fortune and spent the money carelessly without caring.Once upon a time, when the cash ran out, he sold his wife's jewelry. It took less than three years, and the situation was stretched, and the scene that had been set up could not be recovered all at once.For this reason, the couple turned against each other and had several quarrels.Of course, it was Jiang Shixuan who was wronged, so he could only cry and curse with his wife, and quietly avoided it. Listening to Wang Zhuxuan's words now, he was definitely not joking, and he was thinking in his heart, let alone two or three hundred thousand silver, as long as he has thirty to fifty thousand silver, even if he lost his official position, it would be worth it.So I stood up, bowed to the ground, and said in my mouth: "Fourth brother, I know that you are the God of Wealth, and you will surely save my poverty! I think there is always a saying in it, if there is an order, you will follow it." "Heavy words! Serious words! Please sit down, we will discuss in the long run." "Yes!" Jiang Shixuan pulled up the chair and approached Wang Zhuxuan. "Xingfu, I don't know if you are brave enough, but if you are big enough, things will be easy." "Of course! As long as things are easy to handle, I am brave enough." "How courageous are you? Do you dare to participate in the celebration?" Wang Zhuxuan asked him, staring at him. "Dare!" Jiang Shixuan replied without hesitation, and then asked: "Who wants to join him?" "It's you. If you participate in Qingji, you will receive two to three hundred thousand silver." "Is there such a thing?" Jiang Shixuan said: "If it is true, don't talk about participating in Qingji, I will also participate in the old queen." "Okay, okay! Don't say anything besides the topic. Xingfu, come here and listen to me." The heads of the two were put together, Wang Zhuxuan gave a trick with a voice so low that only the other party could hear, Jiang Shixuan understood it, nodded repeatedly, and the smile on his face was so thick that it couldn't be melted away. After listening, Jiang Shixuan kept silent, suppressed his smile, concentrated his thoughts, and finally spoke after a while, "Fourth Brother," he said, "This matter must be worded cleverly, otherwise, it will be 'flooded'." Lose!In that case, it would be a waste of effort. " "It can't be considered a waste of effort. If things don't work out, your reputation will grow. I'm afraid that the so-called 'straight voice shakes the world' will skyrocket in the future?" "That's right! Famousness is not about gain, and the same should be the same for both. I'll do it when I get back." ※ ※ ※ Coincidentally, there is an excellent title for the article about the impeachment of Qing Wang Yiqian. The Ministry of Accounts is preparing to set up a bank, jointly established by the government and businessmen. The capital is set at four million taels of silver, half of which will be raised by the Ministry of Accounts, and the other half will be invested by investment.But the reaction of the businessmen was very cold, because banknotes were issued during the Xianfeng period, and Zhaoxin stock was established before the coup of 1898, but the credit was not obvious.White flowers, heavy cash, exchanged for a few pieces of colorful waste paper, it would be too unfair!Therefore, "attracting investment and investing in shares" is extremely difficult.Lu Chuanlin, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, for the sake of appeal, said that he first wanted to invest in shares, thinking that he advocated, those who speak earnestly, and those who listen are contemptuous, so far no one has invested in shares. Jiang Shixuan made a fuss about this matter, saying that "in China's historical situation, the government and businessmen have always been separated. Since the Xianfeng years held banknotes, and in recent years Zhaoxin stocks have been held, there is no way to win the trust of the world. Officially run, frowning at every turn, it is regarded as fear of the road. The minister of the household department can still plan carefully, and the minister Lu Chuanlin declares to the public that he intends to be the first to invest in the shares, and he thinks it is advocating. However, the outside bank discussions are still hesitant to wait and see, unwilling to actively compete for the first place. Lu Chuanlin usually knows the word "honesty", and he still knows how to be strict, even if he orders all the cheap salaries to be confiscated, the number is still limited." A few words to Lu Chuanlin, as a turning point, Zhang Ben, and then, the pen immediately swept to Yikuang: "I heard that on November 22 last year, the news of the declaration of war between Russia and Japan was communicated. Knowing the inadequacy of Sino-Russian Bank and Japan Specikin Bank, they sent 1.12 million gold of their private property to HSBC Bank in Dongjiaomin Lane for deposit. , the monthly interest rate is only 2%. It’s very pity for you to be sneaky.” The third paragraph is a big criticism of Yikuang: "Since Jian was appointed Minister of Military Aircraft, the prince has not donated to the small and big, and his family is like a market. In September last year, the ministers participated in the case, and there is nothing like this prince. I never returned by myself, but I asked foreign officials to come to pay homage, and they were all exempted from seeing them. They chatted to cover up their eyes and ears for a while, but they still did not change their old ways. It is Yizi's daily life, food, carriages, clothes, and extravagant extravagance, which can still be stored. Huge sum of money. In case my majesty is furious, ask him where he came from? I know that the prince will be sweating profusely, so I can’t put it right. Allow the holy emperors to punish and reward the power, and they are responsible for atonement, or they will be confiscated. It is not an exaggeration to punish the treasury for stolen goods to punish corrupt ink." Sure enough, such a request made Empress Dowager Cixi embarrassing!Either thoroughly investigate and deal with it strictly, or keep it in the middle, which is the so-called "flooding".As far as Yikuang's relatives are concerned, the Empress Dowager Cixi will probably summon Yikuang to scold him and settle the matter.Therefore, Jiang Shixuan had to make an excuse for Yikuang, that is, to turn around himself, so this article will be useful.This shows that the timing is clever and the wording is clever.He said: "The Holy Dynasty is generous, benevolent and generous. If it is necessary to do something extreme for this, it is not what the courtiers would like to hear. Please order this money to be raised by HSBC Bank when the prince is summoned. Handing over to the government bank to become a shareholder, so that the cost can be easily collected, and it can be started quickly. The monthly interest rate of 2% has increased to 6%, which is also of great benefit to the prince's private property. One word said, "Prince Qing is still willing to invest in this huge sum of money, we villains, why should we be suspicious?" See what you can do and scramble to be the first, and actively engage in it, and you can watch it happen in a short time!" It was folded in the royal history, named "Feng Zuo", and it went straight to the imperial front. The emperor saw it and didn't make any representations. The original was packed in a yellow box and sent to the Empress Dowager Cixi. Because Jiang Shixuan listened to Wang Zhuxuan's teaching and intentionally doubled the deposit amount, the Empress Dowager Cixi was not moved, so she specially asked the emperor for his opinion. "Jiang Shixuan's words seem to be very reasonable. However, whether to do it or not, I'd like to let the emperor's mother decide." "Of course we have to do it! If we don't do it, don't we think that Yikuang is corrupt and I'm covering him up." The Empress Dowager Cixi said again: "If Yikuang really has so much cash and puts it in a foreigner's bank, that would be too wrong. !" So when the military plane was summoned, he handed over the papers face to face. When King Qing saw it, his face turned yellow with fright, he knelt down and shook his head twice, and said, "Please ask the empress dowager and the emperor to investigate thoroughly." "Yikuang!" Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "Do you have any money in HSBC?" "No!" Yikuang said firmly. "Nothing is the best!" Empress Dowager Cixi said gratifiedly, "What is clear is pure by itself, and what is turbid is turbid by itself. I want to send someone to check. " "Yes!" Yikuang bumped heads again, "Your servant asks for an order, please avoid it for now." "Also!" When Yikuang left the palace, the monarch and his ministers discussed who to send for a thorough investigation.Qu Hongji replied: "To check such cases as usual, we should ask special briefings to handle it. However, HSBC is run by foreign businessmen, and they deal with foreign businessmen with the sky full of nobles. It hurts the state, I think this case should be an exception, please send ministers to investigate thoroughly." "That's right!" The Empress Dowager Cixi thought for a while, "Qing Rui is indispensable, and I want another one, I think it is Lu Chuanlin!" "Yes!" Lu Chuanlin agreed. Therefore, the decree was drawn up immediately, and after recording Jiang Shixuan's original performance, "the Minister of Military Aircraft, etc., Jiang Shixuan played, and the government bank invited relatives and noble ministers to buy shares, and the rate was 10% discounted. It is said that Prince Qing of HSBC Bank has Deposit private funds and other words, send Qingrui and Lu Chuanlin to bring the censor, and go to the bank today to confirm the performance." This Qingrui is the censor of Zuodu. After receiving the imperial edict, he immediately went to meet with Lu Chuanlin to discuss the steps to confirm the investigation. "The Shangyu said that this is the day, so of course I will go today, and it also said 'bring the censor with me'. This master Jiang Du is a nobleman, please tell me that when he comes, he will leave immediately." "Yes Yes!" Qing Rui agreed, and immediately sent someone to find Jiang Shixuan, and asked him a few words first. Princes and ministers have always been very polite to Han Zhan Kedao. Although Qing Rui is an official of the Inspectorate, he dare not regard Jiang Shixuan as a subordinate. They sit opposite each other and call him "Sex Man". "I don't know what is the basis for the plot described in Xing Weng's excerpt?" "Naturally, it has roots, this level, please rest assured, my lord." "Yes, ask Xing Weng," Qing Rui asked again, "I don't know who said it?" "Well," Jiang Shixuan smiled apologetically, "but there is no need to tell me." "Okay! If you don't want to say it, I can't either. Presumably Mr. Xingweng has verified the truth, what's the inside story, why don't you talk about it, and it will save us a lot of trouble." "The inside story is as described in the scriptures, so we know it, and it is reported according to the facts. As for the truth, I have heard rumors and things, so I have no way to investigate it carefully." Jiang Shixuan said, "This is exactly what the two adults have to worry about!" The last sentence was a soft nail, and Qing Rui was silenced, so Lu Chuanlin continued to cross-examine. "Xing Weng's strength of character is extremely admirable. However, after all, Qing Mansion is in the country, and the relationship between China and foreign countries cannot be changed. If Xing Weng is sure that there is something going on, we will naturally investigate. If it is vaguely affected, he will act rashly and involve Yu Zhanghuang, if it is published on the news paper, it will hurt the dignity of the imperial court!" Lu Chuanlin was headstrong by nature, but these few words made sense, Jiang Shixuan thought for a while and replied: "Yes! It is known that it is true." "Okay!" Lu Chuanlin said to Qing Rui: "Then there is no need to ask any more questions. Please, Mr. Jiang Du, accompany us!" He turned to ask Jiang Shixuan again: "How is it?" The upper edict clearly instructed, "Lead the censor there." Jiang Shixuan naturally replied without hesitation: "We should follow." So, two sedan chairs and one car arrived at Dongjiaomin Lane. It was only two o'clock in the afternoon, but the iron gate of HSBC had already been pulled up.Looking in through the glass window, there are only two servants cleaning the chandelier, and there is no third person. "What's going on here?" Lu Chuanlin asked loudly. Only after I asked did I know that it was Sunday.Not only HSBC, but all banks run by foreigners will be closed.It's natural to be disappointed, but there's no way, so I go back home and come back tomorrow. In fact, Qing Wang Yikuang had already sent someone to spy in the dark. Seeing this scene, he flew to report to the government.Yi Kuang, who was frowning, lifted his spirits.Of course he knew that HSBC would not be open for this day of worship, but he was afraid that Qingrui and Lu Chuanlin would not dare to delay because of the emperor's fate. Will look at it differently, and welcome it as an exception.Now seeing Qing and Lu, they left in high spirits, and returned in disappointment, not feeling overjoyed, they said repeatedly: "Look for the uncle!" When Zai Zhen was found, the father and son had a private conversation behind closed doors. Yikuang thought that there was still time to close the gap, so he told Zai Zhen to go to Wang Zhuxuan to withdraw the money and write off the account without leaving any traces. "Of course this requires a lot of effort from him." Yi Kuang said, "Tell him that the interest for the past few months is not needed, and I will give it to him as a reward. After the matter is settled, I will naturally take care of him in the future." Zai Zhenying left in a hurry, thinking of a "holiday" years ago, afraid that Wang Zhuxuan would take the opportunity to retaliate and make things difficult, so what should he do? For this reason, before Zai Zhen went to Wang Zhuxuan, he first went to ask Na Tong for advice.He is the main person in the so-called "Qingji Company", and he is closely related to each other, so naturally he should be as dedicated as he is doing his own business.After contemplating for a while, he resolutely said: "It's okay, it's a big deal to spend a few pennies more. You ask him to come to me, and I'll tell him." Na Tong is also a major client of HSBC Bank, and Wang Zhuxuan will definitely follow suit if he comes forward, so Zai Zhenxing rushed to visit Wang Zhuxuan himself. "Recall Beizi's words," said the person at the door, "I went to see friends in Tianjin last Saturday." "Go to Tianjin?" Zai Zhen was taken aback: "When will you be back?" "It's not sure." The doorman said with a smile: "The day after tomorrow is the 'Foreign Qingming Festival', the bank is closed, and I have asked for another day off. I probably won't be home until the evening of the day after tomorrow." "That can't be done!" After he said it, Zai Zhen heard his own voice and realized that he shouldn't have said that, so he put away his anxious look and asked, "Your master, where does Tianjin live?" "There used to be a small mansion, but it was closed at the end of last year. It probably lived in a friend's house." "what is it call?" "It's not Master Wu's house in Yanyuan, or Yang's house in Zizhulin." "You write down the addresses of both." "Yes!" The door said as promised. Zaizhen didn't neglect, he sent his capable family members to Tianjin to find Wang Zhuxuan according to the address, and at the same time sent a telegram to Yuan Shikai, briefly explaining the matter, and specifically told him to find Wang Zhuxuan and send him back to Beijing overnight by special car. After dinner, Yuan Shikai called back, saying that neither the Wu nor the Yang families had seen Wang Zhuxuan, and they had sent several people to search separately, and they would call immediately if there was any news. So Zaizhen told Yikuang that the father and son wandered around the room and sent someone to wait for the letter at the telegraph office.At midnight, Yuan Shikai sent a second telegram, saying that Wang Zhuxuan's whereabouts had been investigated. According to the telegram, Wang Zhuxuan originally went to Tianjin to visit friends, but he met two foreign friends from Shanghai on the train and insisted on visiting Beidaihe together, so he got off the train in Tianjin and then transferred to Beidaihe.At this moment, someone has been sent to chase him down, and he will be transported to Beijing as soon as possible. Calculating the distance, no matter how fast it is, we will not be able to meet each other until the next afternoon.Yikuang and his son invited Natong over, showed the telegram, and proposed a plan to stop the army. "Qinxuan," Yikuang said, "just fight for one day! Find a way to let Qingqiupu and Lu Zixuan go to investigate at night, and the matter will not matter!" "It's just that this day is not easy!" Natong replied: "My lord, please think about it. I was ordered to investigate and deal with the incident, and I went as soon as I heard the order. I went, and people closed their doors for worship. When they opened the door on Monday, they didn't go. Yanghuo, don't you see evil? Besides, Qingqiupu and Lu Zixuan are not responsible people, if they refute it, where will the prince's face go?" The words were reasonable, but Yikuang refused to give up. "According to you, let them all shake out?" he asked. "That's not entirely true. From my point of view, they will not be able to get results if they try to be afraid. According to the rules of foreigners, the public is not allowed to interfere in private affairs, so they may not be willing to take the account out." "If that's the case, it doesn't matter." "It's likely to be like this!" Natong lowered his voice and said, "My lord, don't mess up your steps. It's better to be still than to move. I heard that someone Jiang is very close to Wang Zhuxuan. Maybe it's because the surname is Wang. It is only when the surname Wang came back that he got into trouble. Now we can only talk about it when the surname Wang comes back. As for Qing and Lu, we can talk about it after they go. Anyway, they will find out, and they will not repeat it immediately. It’s hard to think of a way. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to hold my breath, and if I make a wrong move, I’ll mess up the situation, and it’s hard to recover.” "That's true!" Yi Kuang nodded deeply, "It really was Wang who caused the trouble, and he has to find a way to make up for this leak."