In the middle of February of the lunar calendar, li Hongzhang had just returned to Tianjin from Baoding, and De Cuilin, a German from the Tianjin Customs and Taxation Department, came to see him and said that there was an important report. De Cuilin was a frequent visitor to the Governor's Palace, and the patrol immediately went to report to him, and Li Hongzhang sent a message inviting him to the signing room. When Li Hongzhang went to Yantai to negotiate with Wittoma, De Cuilin was very attentive and came up with many ideas along the way, which was appreciated. Later, Hurd proposed to set up a trial office of Huayang Letters, and Li Hongzhang strongly recommended De Cuilin to help him. Since Hurd returned to China to visit his relatives while attending the Universal Exposition in Paris on behalf of Daqing, it took nearly a year before and after the establishment of the Letter Bureau to be completely undertaken by De Cuilin. Li Hongzhang encouraged him: "You have spent more than half a year to handle things well, and this is exactly the time for you to get ahead." He took advantage of the fact that the customs was in charge of import and export taxes, and negotiated with the steamship merchants bureau, Jardine Matheson, Swire and other steamship companies to bring customs mail free of charge, and through Li Hongzhang ordered the Beiyang warships to also carry the mail for free. Because the three ports of Tianjin, Yantai, and Yingkou were frozen in winter, the ships could not sail, and De Cuilin organized a riding errand to be responsible for the land mail between Beijing, Tianjin, Shanhaiguan, Yingkou, and Yantai. Moreover, a few months after the trial operation, the three ports in Beiyang were introduced to all customs ports, and by the time Hurd returned to China, De Cuilin had already made astonishing achievements in postal construction; not only were the letters of the customs and prime ministers carried by the Letter Bureau, but also stamps had been issued and the postage of non-governmental letters had been undertaken. There was a Postal Department under the General Department of Customs and Taxation, which was originally the department of De Cuilin, and because De Cuilin handled it too well, Hurd became wary and deliberately let others take care of the postal service. De Cuilin came here today in the hope that Li Hongzhang would be able to recommend him through the Prime Minister Yamen to continue to serve as the Postal Department. Li Hongzhang agreed, saying that he would write a letter to Dong Ke, the minister in charge of Prime Minister Yamen, and ask him to negotiate with Hurd.
"My lord, is there something I wonder if you are interested in?" De Cunlin clearly had a secret to tell. "Oh, you ask that, it must be something I'm interested in. Don't sell it, I'll listen to it. Li Hongzhang laughed. "The General Taxation Department submitted a secret proposal to Prime Minister Yamen that the General Coastal Defense Department should be established, and that in the future the coastal defense funds for the North and South Seas should be managed by the General Coastal Defense Department, and that the Navy should also be responsible for purchasing ships and developing plans." De XuanLin said mysteriously. "Erchi made another mistake with Li Thailand." Li Hongzhang was immediately alarmed, and he often privately called Hurd Erchi. Hurd was very clever and knew how to give face to the Qing officials, but his heart was sometimes too gloomy, and Li Hongzhang admired and wary of him, "How does this General Coastal Defense Division plan to operate?" "What he meant was that there was a fleet in each of the north and south oceans, each commanded by a coastal defense division, and the two coastal defense divisions were directly responsible to the general coastal defense division." He also served as the General Coastal Defense Department and obeyed the orders of the two major constitutions of the North and South Oceans. De Chuang Lin said.
"Erchi had a good calculation, nominally under the command of the Minister of The Southern and Northern Oceans, but in fact the two fleets were under his command, and he became the commander-in-chief of the Great Qing Fleet. However, he should not deceive the Great Qing dynasty and no one, because this little plan of his will be seen through by the prime minister and the minister at a glance. Li Hongzhang immediately saw Hurd's intentions. "No, listen to him, the Prime Minister Yamen has already been presented to the Empress Dowager, and it is very likely that it will be approved." This matter was taken over by Li Junji, a new prime minister. This plan has been implemented about a year ago, and I reported the postal work to the General Tax Department yesterday, and he proudly showed off to me. I think the stakes are high, so I'm here to report to the grown-ups. Didn't the former adults get any news? De ChuangLin revealed many more plots. Li Hongzhang really did not get any news. Previously, Shen Guifen and Dong Ke presided over the prime minister Yamen, and the general government always consulted the Xinjiang ministers first, especially him, the Beiyang minister. However, because of the loss of power and humiliation of the country, together with the lord Shen Guifen, who was violently criticized by the Qing Council, Shen Guifen fell ill a few years ago and took a leave of absence for three months. He took a leave of absence, and Li Hongzao, who had returned to the military plane and prime minister Yamen at the end of his period of worry, said everything in Premier Yamen. Li Hongzhang understood that the fault must be in Li Hongzao, who was not knowledgeable and stubborn in foreign affairs, and could easily be deceived by Hurd. He refused to invite the North and South Oceans to consult as usual, and directly played the matter. And because Cixi has been ill since last winter, the two palaces have always been ci'an yigong listening to the government. Ci'an didn't know much about government affairs, and of course it was difficult to see the problems. This news is very important to Li Hongzhang, and cultivating De Cuilin around Hurd is a wonderful move, and it really lives up to expectations and should be rewarded for him. Li Hongzhang immediately thought of a messenger that could be entrusted to De Cuilin's fame and fortune: "At present, there are already six mosquito ships in Beiyang, and two more fast ships will arrive soon, and in the future we will have to buy ironclad ships. "Rest assured, I have asked a technician from Germany to come, and I will certainly not disappoint the adult." De Chuang Lin was overjoyed. "Well, I'll leave it to you, and I'll get down to you soon." You can discuss specific matters with Zheng Observation at any time, and if you have difficulties, you can always find me. De Cuilin immediately suggested: "The idea of the adult buying an ironclad ship is very clever, and it must be implemented as soon as possible." Li Hongzhang sighed, "I'm just afraid it's difficult." Hurd said that mosquito ships and collision clippers were the nemesis of ironclad ships, so the court meant that since mosquito ships were enough to deal with ironclad ships, why bother to buy ironclads. ”
"Mosquito ships can be ironclad ships, just the selling point of arms dealers to fool people." I discussed with my Friends of the German Navy that although the Mosquito ship had fierce artillery fire, its hull was too small and its speed was slow, and it was impossible to go out to the open sea to fight, in fact, it could only be regarded as a water battery, and the only advantage over the land battery was that it could move. How can this kind of water gun be used to help guard the mouth of the sea, and how can it be compared with ironclad ships? If you think that a few mosquito ships can deal with ironclad ships, you don't have to buy ironclad ships, which is a big mistake. If this is the case, then why do countries still want to build iron armor? De Cunlin pointed out the weakness of the Mosquito Ship, and then asked rhetorically. Yes, if the Mosquito ship can really deal with the ironclad ship, why should countries build the ironclad ship? Unwilling to admit that he might have fallen into Hurd's trap, Li Hongzhang said: "I am engaged in coastal defense, as long as I can resist the invasion of the sea by ironclad ships, and I have not thought of competing with others on the ocean." De Cuilin patiently explained: "The coastal ports only want to use the forts to defend it, especially the Chinese coastline is nearly 10,000 kilometers, how can it be defended by relying on the forts?" It is only when a navy can gain sea supremacy over the ocean, and only then is the fundamental plan for coastal defense to be firm. There is a general in the US Navy who specializes in making seas, so you may wish to have someone translate it for your adults to read. "Sea control, this is the first time I've heard of it, as the name suggests, the power to control the sea, right?" Li Hongzhang asked. "It's pretty much the same. A country's navy must control the seas for our own use in order to ultimately protect its land territory. ”
Li Hongzhang shook his head and said, "How big is the ocean, how can it be controlled?" We built ships or bought ships, but we had no intention of galloping outside the territory, and it would be nice if we could prevent enemy soldiers from landing from the coast. Competing with people at sea, financial resources are not allowed, and there is no need. "Of course, what the Lord said is reasonable, but to prevent enemy troops from landing along the coast, China's coastline is so long that there are no ironclad ships that can gallop on the sea, and if people are allowed to sail along the coast, I am afraid that it will not be possible to rely on a few gunboats alone." Seeing that Li Hongzhang did not agree with his own views, De Cuilin had no choice but to retreat to the second place. "This is natural, ironclad ships must be purchased." De Xuanlin had just resigned, and Xue Fucheng had come. When his mother died last year, Xue Fucheng returned to his home to bury his mother, and according to the rules, he should abide by the system for three years, but Li Hongzhang urged him again and again, so he had to return early. The three brothers of the Xue family, the eldest Xue Fuchen is the Shandong Taiwu Lindaotai, at home at ease to keep the system, the second xue Fubao in Sichuan Ding Baozhen curtain, the third elder Xue Fucheng in Li Hongzhang curtain, were all prompted back in advance by the master of the curtain, so they were criticized a lot, and were ridiculed by the neighbors as "not a descendant of Xiao Xiao." Li Hongzhang comforted: "Even if you are a senior member of the imperial court, there are also rules for the comeback of the love affair, you are in my Beiyang curtain, I recruit you to come back is to make a comeback, not that you intentionally violated the system, how do the village people in the countryside know that my Beiyang affairs are complicated and complicated?" You don't have to pay attention to them. There is one thing that you think about first. What he wanted Xue Fucheng to consider was that Hede had offered Prime Minister Yamen to set up the General Coastal Defense Department, and if the imperial court approved it, how should it be salvaged? The next day Li Hongzhang received a letter from Prime Minister Yamen, who had already made a decree requesting the establishment of the General Coastal Defense Division, and asked the South and North Oceans to consider recommending candidates for the Coastal Defense Division, and attached the charter of the General Coastal Defense Division of Hurd. Li Hongzhang sighed continuously, only to be afraid that the Qing navy would be controlled by Hurd before it could become an army. The imperial court has approved it, how can this be salvaged? Shen Baozhen, the governor of Liangjiang and minister of trade and commerce in Nanyang, died a few years ago, and the new governor of Liangjiang and minister of Nanyang, Liu Kunyi, was a general of the Xiang clan, and because he had been serving in isolated Jiangxi, he was very dismissive of Li Hongzhang and others' "mastery and skill to strengthen themselves." The guns, guns, ships, and ships of the division were wasted in vain. The good laws and good intentions of the national dynasty all have established rules, because they are old and new, and they are true in their name, and it is really not appropriate to be extravagant. "He became the governor of Liangjiang a few years ago, and the first thing he did when he took office was to rectify the China Merchants Bureau, claiming to drive out the corrupt officials and pointing the finger at Sheng Xuanhuai. Such a person, how can Li Hongzhang discuss a grand plan with him? If Li Hongzhang goes east, and he gambles to go west, wouldn't it be a big deal? Li Hongzhang couldn't get the point when he thought about it, and he thought that it was better to ask for others than to ask for himself, or to discuss secretly with his own staff. Therefore, he sent someone to copy several copies of Prime Minister Yamen's letter, together with Hurd's Charter of the Coastal Defense Department, one copy to Xue Fucheng, and several other copies to several close aides, asking him to discuss the method.
This matter was really not trivial, and the next day, Li Hongzhang summoned several confidants to discuss. Some people say that the Ministers of The South and North Seas can fold up and oppose the establishment of the Coastal Defense Department. But if you are already determined to oppose things, is it not a matter of resistance and disobedience? Some people say that the South and North Oceans can delay the lack of suitable candidates for the Coastal Defense Division at present. But if it can be delayed for only fifteen years, it cannot be dragged on forever, so will it not affect the coastal defense plan? Everyone is full of gossip and ideas, but there are no feasible ones. Xue Fucheng hadn't spoken, and Li Hongzhang asked, "Uncle Yun, you haven't spoken all the time, what do you think?" Xue Fucheng said in a different way: "This matter is really difficult to handle, everyone has thought of so many ways to fail, and I have no good way." However, we have no way to stop it, can we let Hurd resign himself? "Let him resign on his own?" How could the General Coastal Defense Division, which he had painstakingly obtained, resign? Li Hongzhang did not understand. Xue Fucheng laughed: "Hurd's achievement is in the customs, and the General Taxation Department of the Customs is a messenger of fame and fortune. If Hurd were to be selected for two positions in the General Division, he would certainly be reluctant to go to the General Tax Division. Hearing this, everyone suddenly realized, Li Hongzhang said: "You mean not to let Hurd also be the General Coastal Defense Department, but to choose between the General Taxation Department and the General Coastal Defense Department." wonderful! Wonderful! ”
"Yes. I read the statutes of the General Coastal Defense Department and the letter from Prime Minister Yamen, and only said that the General Coastal Defense Department should be set up, and did not say that the General TaxAtion Department had to work part-time. If the general coastal defense division has a heavy function and must be single-handedly responsible, so that it does not violate the will, Hurd has nothing to say, I think he will propose not to hold the post of general coastal defense division, and his calculation will be frustrated. Xue Fucheng had always been known for his writing in Li Hongzhang's shogunate, and he did not expect to be so insightful and skillful in the affairs of the world, and everyone present was impressed. Li Hongzhang was as kind as a stream, and personally wrote a letter to Li Hongzao, reminding him that if Hurd concurrently served as the General Coastal Defense Department, the power of the water division might fall by the wayside, and the harm would be endless. At the same time, he wrote a letter to Prince Gong and asked him to try to turn the circle around. Li Hongzao read Li Hongzhang's letter and broke out in a cold sweat, if Hurd's plan is successful, and the navy is in the hands of foreigners, how will he, the leader of the Qingliu, face the mouth of the world and the sword-like edge of the Qingyi sword? He personally went to Prince Gong to discuss the way to turn the circle: "It was not Li Shaoquan who reminded me, and I did not expect that Hurd's method concealed the machine blade." If he is really allowed to succeed, the Minister of the South and Northern Oceans will have to command the Marine Division through him, and will he not become the admiral of the Navy of the Great Qing Dynasty? His mind was actually the same as that of Li Thai at that time. Li Shaoquan is right, Li Thai is a wolf with teeth and claws, and He ren is a wolf in sheep's clothing. "Hurd may not have that intention, he may only want to unify the powers of coastal defense." However, your and Shao Tsuen's worries are not superfluous, the key now is how to get everyone off the stage. Prince Gong has always had a good feeling for Hurd and leaned on him as an arm. Li Hongzao said Li Hongzhang's method, and Prince Gong nodded, "That's the only way, Lan Sun will work harder and personally take care of this matter." "It started because I didn't look into it, and of course I'm responsible for it to the end." Li Hongzao did not shirk his responsibility. Prime Minister Yamen formally wrote to the General Taxation Department, and Hurd did indeed give up his part-time position in the General Coastal Defense Department, and the matter was closed. Li Hongzao went to a piece of heart disease and wrote a letter to Li Hongzhang to express his gratitude. Li Hongzhang personally replied to the letter and secretly sent Qiu Bo to Li Hongzao, saying that this was the duty of his Beiyang minister, and that in the future, he would certainly consult with Premier Yamen in a timely manner on his foreign affairs. After all, Li Hongzao used to be dismissive of foreign affairs, and now that he is also the prime minister, he cannot afford to study without his heart. At this time, Li Fengbao, the minister stationed in Germany, sent a secret letter to Li Hongzhang, saying that the British had two ironclad ships ordered from Turkey and intended to transfer them to the outside world, and that the opportunity was rare, and asked him to move the imperial court to buy them as soon as possible. At this time, because the imperial court formally decreed that the crime of exaltation and imprisonment was imposed, the Russian minister in China, Butze, was greatly angry, threatened to return to China with the banner, and gathered troops on the Sino-Russian border, and the Black Sea Fleet also rushed to the coast. The imperial court refused to budge at the instigation of Qingliu, so the idea that there would be a war between China and Russia was very popular. There is still Zuo Zongtang in the northwest, but what does the coast rely on to resist the enemy? There are only eight mosquito ships in the north and south seas, and the others are wooden-shelled warships made by the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau and the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. The cunning Japan, on the other hand, took the opportunity to make a fuss about the Ryukyu issue, and did not even agree to give up the southern islands in the past. Prince Gong wrote a letter to Li Hongzhang asking him to strengthen coastal defense, and Li Hongzhang seized the opportunity to buy two ironclad ships first.
It is not easy to say that it is not easy to move the imperial court, and the newly bought mosquito ship in recent years is known as the iron armor nemesis, why not buy iron armor? Li Hongzhang said in his recital, "The mosquito ship is a weapon for guarding the harbor, such as those purchased by Hurd, the cannon position is large, and it can also destroy the iron armor in shallow water." However, the coastal areas of the north and south oceans are thousands of miles away, the ports are complex, and they cannot be fortified everywhere, so they must purchase ships such as iron armor, train several armies, and win a decisive victory on the sea. Although China does not plan for the poor soldiers overseas, but in the hope of defending the war, the barriers can be consolidated, and there will be a number of ironclad ships cruising the ocean, which will be enough to cover the mouths of the north and the south, and the construction of prestige will be meng, and the foundation for the country will not be able to stand up. The Qing Dynasty must buy iron armor, and of course Li Hongzhang said to himself that Japan's aggression and Russia's threat were imminent reasons, "Recently, Japan has three ironclads, daring to despise China, yaowu coastal, to the battle of Taiwan, the destruction of Ryukyu. Because of the Ili amendment of the treaty, Russia reported that many of the troop ships had come to China, and there were two ships with large ironclad armor, which were very heavy in tonnage and very thick in armor. Since he has insulted all who have insulted him, I should also find nothing to strengthen myself. Former Li Fengbao wrote a letter saying that there was no ironclad to sit in town, no clipper ship to think that it was facing the enemy, and it was a mosquito ship that failed to strike a blow and was trapped with its hands tied. The Foreign Overseer of the Japanese-Italian Ordinance, also known as: "Those who can fight against ironclad ships are only ironclad ships." Therefore, there is iron armor in the neighbor, and I must not be without it. If only a few mosquito ships are used, the Toyo ironclads will be disturbed by the passage of the Sea, and there will be no help, and it will be wrong. ’”
Then he said that Britain had two ironclad ships to sell, which was a perfect opportunity, "The real price of the two ships is 543,380 pounds, which is about 2 million taels of Chinese silver." Liu Butou, a student who went abroad, was said to have been on the ship when he was in England, and it was very sturdy and fit. If the opportunity is lost, it will never be a pity that China will never buy ironclad armor, that is, the day of self-improvement." Li Hongzhang first attacked Fujian's idea, "Fujian has successively ordered the purchase of four mosquito ships and two bumper ships, with a total of about 1.3 million taels of silver at a real price, and it seems that the purchase can be postponed, that is, the first purchase of iron armor is purchased with this money." When he first bought and merged Qichang, he borrowed nearly one million taels of official funds through Shen Baozhen, and in the second half of this year, the date of return was reached, and Li Hongzhang asked the imperial court not to repay this money and use it to buy ironclad ships. In addition to the cost of purchasing ships, there is also the issue of talent, and Li Hongzhang also put forward his own opinions, "And cultivating talents is a particularly urgent task." It is imperative that people such as driving, arms, sails, cables, machines, and rudders and waters should be carefully taught and selected by the boat training school, and they should be used in a variety of ways. He proposed that Beiyang should build a water teacher's school, and "the funds should be spent within the funds of Beiyang Coastal Defense." It is proposed to set up two sections of driving and pipe wheels, driving special training to manage and steer ships, and pipe wheels to manage marine engines. Courses in English, Arithmetic, Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry, Heavy Studies, Astronomy, Geography, Surveying, Driving, Chemistry, and Gezhi are offered, and courses are also taught in the history and literature of foreign sailors. Li Hongzhang grasped the timing well, and when the song was folded, there was no objection to the Qing deliberations, and the imperial court immediately approved it. He was very happy, and the household departments, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and other provinces were indignant and indignant, especially the official funds of the provinces, which were originally explained to be lent to the China Merchants Bureau and paid annually, but now they have been pocketed by Li Hongzhang. However, the edict has been issued, and everyone can only scold Li Hongzhang for eating people and not spitting out bones to relieve the hatred in his heart. In fact, the idea of playing the official funds of the China Merchants Bureau is all the trick of Sheng Xuanhuaizhi. Sheng Xuanhuai has been in Tianjin for some days, because Liu Kunyiyan participated in his personal fraud in the purchase of Qichang, and the steamship China Merchants Bureau office should not be hung up again. Although the Danyang Coal Mine and daye Iron Mine were explored, the cost of transporting coal or iron was too high. According to Guo Shidun's suggestion, if a railway is built to transport coal out, it will certainly be able to reduce costs and be profitable, but machine mining and construction of railways will cost more than half a million taels, whether Li Hongzhang or Li Hanzhang, they both said that they did not have the financial resources and could only let Sheng Xuanhuai handle the investment. However, Sheng Xuanhuai's shopping mall has limited contacts and cannot recruit commercial stocks, so it can only announce the suspension of production, and he himself loses more than 20,000 yuan. At the beginning, he reported to Li Hongzhang that it was crazy, and the result was such that he was severely reprimanded by Li Hongzhang. Of course, he could not lose his patron, and seeing that Li Hongzhang was upset that he had no money for the purchase of the ship, he racked his brains to find a way. He served as the meeting officer of the Steamship Merchants Bureau, and he was very clear about the ins and outs of the official funds of the Steamship Merchants Bureau, and the idea of transferring the official funds of various provinces to beiyang for ship purchase was indeed very ingenious, which was enough to make up for the mistake of running a mine.
On this day, the Mine Academy reported to Li Hongzhang that the telegram from Dagu to the Mine Academy had been successfully sent, and asked him to go and inspect it. Li Hongzhang was very happy and asked Sheng Xuanhuai to go with him to see the liveliness. The Mine School was set up in the Tianjin Machinery Bureau, which was set up by Li Hongzhang in the second year of Guangxu to recruit bright teenagers and ask foreign instructors to teach mine-making techniques. Last year, Li Hongzhang ordered them to open a telegraph department to learn how to receive telegrams, and to run telegraphs on a trial basis in the academy. This year, they were asked to carry out a telegraph from The Dagu Fortress to Tianjin City on a trial basis, which took half a year and was completed. Li Hongzhang's honor is outstanding, and the Mine Academy is also carefully prepared. Teachers and students of the academy lined up outside the door to greet them, and then surrounded Li Hongzhang into the telegraph room. The telegraph room could not accommodate so many entourage, except for the foreign teachers of the academy, the students who sent newspapers, and then the chief teacher of the academy, Sheng Xuanhuai, and others. Chief Instructor Xi reported to Li Hongzhang: "According to the instructions of the Middle Hall, this telegram was directly connected from the Dagu Fort to the School, with a total distance of forty-five miles. After three consecutive days of testing, the telegram was reported as usual. "It's so good, how to test you decide." Li Hongzhang was full of smiles. The chief instructor suggested: "The middle hall can order a certain fort to report the situation on the sea. ”
Li Hongzhang was still a little unconvinced at this time, so he said smoothly: "Then let The Dagu No. 2 Fort first report who is on duty." The two students pressed the "Tick-tock" pass, and after a while, it was another "Tick-tock" pass, and the future telegram was translated and presented to Li Hongzhang, which read: Tianjin Li Zhongtang: The Jun Order has been received, and Zhao Cheng'en, who is now the deputy general of the Town Guard Dagu Fort, is on duty. May 20, 20, Guangxu 7: 10:00 a.m. Li Hongzhang was surprised and excited, and joked with the chief teacher: "There is an echo so soon, shouldn't you have arranged it in advance?" Chief Instructor Xi bowed his hand, "If you dare to deceive the Middle Hall, the Middle Hall can ask Vice Admiral Zhao to report on the situation on the sea surface." Li Hongzhang nodded. After about ten minutes, the telegram came back, and the content was -- Tianjin Li Zhongtang: The situation on the sea surface of The Dagu Fort is reported as follows: There is no incident outside the mouth, and there are three British and French warships on the water surface, and the attitude is still friendly. There are two sampans, and the front is a foreign wheel for freshwater vegetables, please show the middle hall. Zhao Cheng'en, deputy general of the Zhenshou Dagu Fort, was respectful. At 10:35 a.m. on May 20, 2007, Guangxu. "Sure enough, it's speed!" Li Hongzhang expressed his heartfelt admiration. The chief teacher also suggested: "The middle hall can also order the cannon to fire, and the sound of the cannon can be heard in Tianjin City." Li Hongzhang took out a reed gold watch from his arms, looked at it and commanded: "Let the Dagu No. 1 Battery distribute the cannon at 10:45 a.m., and limit the ammunition to 5 rounds." After the telegram was sent, there were still four or five minutes before the firing time, and no one spoke, waiting for the cannon to sound in the east, and the room was so quiet that there was only the ticking of the Western bell. Forty-five minutes have passed the hour hand, but there is no cannon shot, and everyone is suspicious of you looking at me and I look at you. The telegraph school student had a sharp ear and said, "Listen, sir, the sound of the cannons." Everyone listened carefully, and sure enough, the cannon continued to sound, counting, it was exactly five.
Li Hongzhang sighed: "Telegraph technology is really magical, and if you ask about the situation for tens of miles, you can see that you have a clairvoyant eye and a tailwind ear!" Sitting in the house, you can command the war thousands of miles away, which is really 'in the midst of planning, decisive victory thousands of miles away', which in the past, really did not dare to think about it. After testing the telegram, he demonstrated the mine. The chief instructor reported to Li Hongzhang that the Mine School was capable of producing the most advanced mines, including 500-pound hitting mines, 1,000-pound sinking mines, and between 150 and 700 pounds of hitting mines. In addition, the ability to manufacture mines has also been greatly improved; forty-nine were built the year before, one hundred and ninety were built last year, and in the first half of this year, more than two hundred were already built, and they went to the seaside many times to demonstrate, and the effect was very good. The place where the demonstration was done in the academy was a not too large pond, so a smallest one hundred and fifty pounds of thunder was chosen. After the mines were laid, seven or eight students led a small wooden boat forward from a distance on the shore, and at the moment of encountering the mine, there was a loud bang, which stirred up a splash of several meters high, and the wooden boat was blown to pieces, and almost smashed the people in the courtyard, and even the teachers and students of the Mine Academy did not expect that the power was so great. The chief teacher asked Li Hongzhang to lecture, and he happily agreed: "There is no need for training, but when I see these young babies, I really want to talk to them." ”
The students stood neatly in the playground, on the stone steps to the north, and set down a Taishi chair, and Li Hongzhang sat down, and the majestic eyes inspected the week, and the students were silent. He shouted, "Dolls, you are so young! You are better than me, when I was your age, I was still bored in the private school to read the eight strands of literature! But you can build mines, you can send telegrams, it's amazing! I've heard foreigners give lectures, and I like to stand and talk, but people who listen to lectures are all sitting, and it is said that this can make them less nonsense. I'm going to learn a foreigner today and stand and talk to you. I have heard that most of you are from Fujian and Guangdong, and I have also heard that people in the north laugh at you for not learning the eight strands to follow the right path, but rather learning the strange tricks of foreigners. Don't listen to their nonsense, this is not a miracle, this is a real skill, it is the most lacking and useful skill of our Daqing. They laugh at you for not going the right way, and I tell you that in the future your rice bowl will be much better than theirs, and what you have in your hands is a golden rice bowl! Speaking of excitement, Li Hongzhang stood up, and his one-meter-eight head looked incomparably great. Li Hongzhang was really excited, and while speaking, he walked back and forth on the steps: "How many sea mouths need mines to resist the enemy when we are in the great Qing Dynasty?" Lushun, Dagu, Yantai, Weihai, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, you go from north to south, do you need mines in these places? Of course, we can't buy them all from foreigners, we want you to build them! In the future, you will all go out to become masters, at least we in Beiyang, Lushun, and Dagu will build a mine school in the future, and if you learn well, you can go to be a teacher! The students burst into applause. Li Hongzhang was even happier: "Dolls, I was really shocked to see your telegram received today!" Yes, it should be the word shock, which best expresses my mood at this time. "More than ten years ago, when I was just patrolling Jiangsu, foreigners came to me to set up a telegraph line. At that time, I did not understand, and felt that the foreigners were nothing more than for themselves, so I refused, and I told them that the telegram was not suitable for our Great Qing. Later, the foreigners repeatedly asked for telegrams, and the imperial court did not agree. As a result, they laid wires on the bottom of the sea, built a boat on the seashore, and received telegrams on it, and telegraphs from Hong Kong to Shanghai, Shanghai to Nagasaki, Japan, and the result was very good! "No matter what others say, I think the telegram is suitable for us Daqing, and we have to do it ourselves!" We have more than 10,000 miles from the north to the south, more than 10,000 miles from east to west, relying on the transmission of information, and the farthest place can not be delivered in a month! If the telegram had been opened, it would have taken no more than a day to travel from Guangzhou in the south to the Heilongjiang General's Mansion! Why don't we do such a good thing? "I want to go to the imperial court and get the telegraph up, first the telegram from Tianjin to Shanghai, and the north and south oceans will be close at hand!" Then it will be connected to Fuzhou, Guangzhou, and even Guizhou and Yunnan, and the telegraph will be opened in the future! "I have already appealed to the imperial court to buy ironclad ships, ironclads, and telegraphs, which are all the most urgently needed foreign affairs for defense, and when our ironclad warships of the Great Qing Dynasty cruise through the sea ports, and when the telegrams are from south to north and from east to west, our coastal defense and land defense have been strengthened, and we will no longer be angry with the foreigners, so we will straighten up and talk to them." Dolls, I look forward to the great Qing Dynasty, I look forward to the great Qing Coastal Defense is unshakable, looking at you young dolls, I am more confident, the day when we stand up and speak will definitely come! ”
Below was another warm applause, which lasted for a long time. Until Li Hongzhang had already walked down the steps, the children were still clapping desperately. Back at the Governor's Office, Sheng Xuanhuai sighed: "Zhongtang, you talked really well today, the dolls' hands are swollen." "Seeing that the young man forgot his form as soon as he got excited, didN't I say anything out of the ordinary?" Li Hongzhang laughed. Sheng Xuanhuai strongly agreed with Li Hongzhang's idea: "No, especially after you said that after the ironclad telegrams were all set up, our coastal defense and land defense were all deeply entrenched, and I was very excited at that time." The ironclad warship court finally agreed to buy, now is also a good time to do the telegram, the Russians threaten, the small melons are also making trouble in Ryukyu, as you said, the Qing Dynasty, east, west, south and north are more than ten thousand miles, how can there be no telegram? "Yeah, the telegraph has to be done. Now that the Tianjin-Gu telegraph experiment has been successful, the Tianjin-Shanghai telegraph is finally assured, and I am ready to go to the imperial court. "The lowly man is willing to serve and take a draft for the middle hall." Sheng Xuanhuai immediately made his mind clear.
Li Hongzhang immediately understood Sheng Xuanhuai's intentions, and thinking that he could do this important thing at hand, Sheng Xuanhuai was still quite suitable, so he said: "Sai Weng lost his horse, and he knew the misfortune and happiness." Hubei mining is a lesson for you, you can cheer up, and dare to create a great cause again, which is very good. You are still young, and the courage to take responsibility should not be lost. We should have a far-sighted vision and not only focus on the gains and losses of silver money. Xingsun, in order to do great things, in addition to having good ideas, we must also be able to bend down and handle them in a down-to-earth manner, neither to be deceived by other people's rhetoric nor to be deceived by ourselves." "People want to succeed in their hearts, so when doing things, they always think about the good, consciously or unconsciously avoid the problems they encounter, and listen to people talking, but also listen to joy and not listen to worry." This is also human nature, and there is nothing wrong with it. However, those of us who do great things must remember that, first, we must have vigor and responsibility, and second, we must be pragmatic and down-to-earth. The so-called pragmatic and down-to-earth means that when doing things, we must think of possible difficulties as much as possible, and we must do everything possible to solve them. In a word, it is what you think should be done, and once you have started, you must make it done, one year is not two years, two years is not three years, do not give up lightly. Sheng Xuanhuai took the order, and was so excited that he sat restlessly. He only served as a nominal office for the Steamship Merchants Bureau, and he did not say enough about the coal mine in Hubei, but he failed to do it, and now he is facing a perfect opportunity, and he must strive to become the general office of the telegraph! For more than two thousand miles from Tianjin to Shanghai, the cost of setting up a telegraph was not cheap, and he really could not afford to recruit commercial stocks, so he could only handle it officially. Moreover, the telegraph line crossed the three provinces of Zhili, Shandong, and Jiangsu along the road, and it was necessary to have an official intervention to protect it. However, if we use purely official funds to do things, and the profits and losses go to the officials, it will not be convenient for using commercial stocks to make profits. He will run a merchant bureau, and he has already seen the ingenuity of it, which is called the official supervision and commercial office, but in fact, the interest on official funds can be postponed again and again, reduced and reduced again and again, while commercial stocks pay dividends on an annual basis. In other words, it is to put the profits of the official money into the pocket of the commercial stock. Tang Tingshu, Xu Run, and others had a large number of commercial stocks in them, and the shares of China Merchants Bureau appreciated one after another, and they all made a lot of money. The ingenuity of the official supervision and business office is that they can take advantage of the official position to overpower the businessmen, and borrow the business situation to conceal the official, which is really the source of the left and the right. Therefore, in the early stage, the telegraph should be handled by the government, and in the later stage, the official supervision and commercial office should be handled. Moreover, telegraphs are related to national security, and it is impossible to compete with several companies like the Steamship Merchants Bureau, and when the time comes, there will be only one of them, so why not make money? Businessmen see that they can make money, Sheng Xuanhuai no longer has no connections, and he is not worried about the business stocks! Imagining the future like this, he had a sleepless night. The next day he got up for breakfast, and Sheng Xuanhuai, still full of energy, went to the Mine Academy and asked the chief teacher about the telegram. Heng Ningchen told Sheng Xuanhuai that in fact, it is not difficult to run a telegram, all materials are entrusted to foreign businessmen to buy, there is no difficulty in erecting poles, there is no difficulty in setting up poles, there are several guides, and hiring a group of coolies can be completely competent. Sheng Xuanhuai's work has always been a scene, and he asked the chief teacher And Heng Ningchen at the "Li Shunde" hotel. "Li Shun De" is a restaurant opened by the British, the name of the shop is said to be taken from Mencius's motto "Li Shun Yi De", and it is also said to be taken from the harmonic sound of the English "Lan Shi Qian". This three-storey hotel, typical of the English style, the entrance is the red head station door, inside the door is the lobby manager with etiquette, porters and other people waiting. Of course, the price is not cheap, even Heng Ningchen, who has a high annual salary in the Mine Academy, is rare to enter the store to consume. After eating a meal, Sheng Xuanhuai, the chief teacher Xi and Heng Ningchen had become friends who talked about everything, and the two said that they would do telegraphs in the future and would definitely help each other.
That evening, Sheng Xuanhuai began to draft the draft of the founding telegram. Sheng Xuanhuai originally had the ability to write a thousand words, and that night it was a fountain of literary thoughts. From the long-term significance of the telegram to the urgent needs of the present, from military value to commercial interests, as well as the first official office, and then the official supervision and commercial office, thousands of words were written in a flash. The next day, I got up early to revise it, then carefully transcribed it clearly, and personally went to Li Hongzhang's signing room to hand it over. Li Hongzhang was not in the signing room, and a special clerk in the copy room told him that zhongtang had gone to see Zhang Shu who was going north to help the coffin. "Which Zhang Waiter?" Sheng Xuanhuai asked again. "Zhang Youqiao Peilun waiter." When it was nearly noon, Li Hongzhang returned, with a worried face, and when he saw Sheng Xuanhuai, he asked, "Is there anything wrong with Xingsun?" Sheng Xuanhuai replied, "The lowly post drafted a draft, please ask zhongtang to review it." "It's a telegram draft, right?" Fast enough to write it out in more than a day. ”
Entering the signing room, Sheng Xuanhuai handed over the manuscript, and Li Hongzhang turned it over, seeing that there were more than a dozen pages, and frowned: "It's so long, I'll take the time to look at it." Then he casually put it aside and sighed, "Zhang Youqiao is really a fengcai encounter." Zhang Peilun, who was proud of the official field, his family was repeatedly changed. He married the daughter of Zhang Jing, a military machine, and Zhu Xueqin, a great collector of books, and lived in the Zhu family, and the husband and wife Qinse and Ming were very good, but unfortunately, less than two years later, his father-in-law, who had just passed fifty, died. Last year, when his mother died again, he went south to Hangzhou to prepare to transport his mother's coffin back to his hometown. But just after arriving in Hangzhou, my wife died again. After taking care of his wife's funeral, his daughter also died prematurely, and they were all suddenly evil diseases, and the doctors were helpless. So he single-handedly helped the three coffins to the north. After the death of his wife, he had no reason to live in the Zhu family; although he had no worries about food and clothing in the past few years, he did not have his own house in the capital, and moving out of the Zhu family meant that he would never be able to return home. He also has two young sons, who can only be raised in his brother's house with his face. As soon as he thought of all this, he felt an irresoluble desolation, loneliness, and helplessness. Passing through Tianjin, Zhang Peilun could not even think of going to pay homage to Li Hongzhang, but when Li Hongzhang heard the news, he personally went to see him at the che and horse shop outside the city and gave him another five hundred taels of silver. The arrogant Zhang Peilun knelt in front of Li Hongzhang and cried loudly, which made Li Hongzhang also feel sad. He said to Sheng Xuanhuai, "Xingsun, I'm in a bad mood today, I don't have the heart to read your manuscript, and when I've read it, I'll call you." The next day, Li Hongzhang asked Sheng Xuanhuai to sign the room. Li Hongzhang said: "Xingsun, playing things to the imperial court, it is not necessary to be too fancy, just explain things clearly." Your manuscript is good, and everything that should be said has been thought of, but it is too much. I changed it a bit, ready to play this draft, you see. Sheng Xuanhuai took the manuscript handed over by Li Hongzhang, and the title was "Please Set Up a North-South Ocean Telegraph Film." If there is still a small matter that is not enough to be folded, it is called an appendix. Setting up the North-South Ocean Telegraph was originally a major event, but Li Hongzhang listened to the heavens with an attached film, which shows that he deliberately made the big thing small, which made Sheng Xuanhuai a little puzzled. Because it is an attached piece, of course, the number of words should not be too much, straight to the point, "Again, the way of using soldiers, it will be expensive to be fast." In addition to paying attention to guns and artillery, there are fast steamships on the waterway and steamships on the land routes, so that the use of troops and the flight of extinction are extinct. And tens of thousands of miles of the sea want to communicate with the military, there is also a method of telegraph. Therefore, he and Ze were close to each other with jade, and when they fought, they met each other with soldiers, and the sea country was like a household court. Recently, Russia and Japan have all done the same, so from various countries to Shanghai, they have set up telegrams, and in an instant they can ask each other questions and answers. The Russian sea line can reach Shanghai and the dry line can reach Kyakhta, and its information is extremely quick. That is to say, as in the previous year, it would take only one day for the Russian telegram to arrive in Shanghai, and from Shanghai to The capital, it is now a steamship to send it, and it will take six or seven days to arrive in Beijing. Shanghai to Beijing is only two thousand and hundreds of miles, which is ten times later than the news from Russia to Shanghai, and if they are employed by troops, their foreign armies are fast in China, and the stakes are already judged. Moreover, its ironclad and other military vessels, traveling more than a thousand miles a day on the ocean, are bound to strike from the east to the west, and they are unpredictable, thanks to the speed of the military report and the assistance of the camera. It is the telegraph that is really necessary for defense! ”
Sheng Xuanhuai could not but admire, and with a few words, he clearly explained the role of the telegram. Compared with his thousands of foreign words, it seems to be a snake and a snake.
The next thing to say is that the Tianjin Telegraph School was successful in running the Tianjin Telegraph on a trial basis, "The minister tried to set up a telegraph at the Dagu Beitang Haikou Fort last year to reach Tianjin, and ordered all battalions to respond immediately. In the past, the transmission of telecommunications was still in foreign characters, which must be translated and known, but now it has been changed to Chinese, which is more convenient than before. If you pass on the secret and important matters, set up another secret code, that is, the manager of the wire can not know, there is no worry about leakage. At present, from Beiyang to Nanyang, troops are being dispatched to pay salaries, and it is urgent to set up a telegram to ventilate the pulse when it is at juju. "To create a telegraph, it is bound to cost money, and what the imperial court is most worried about is silver, and Li Hongzhang has taken all the financial problems to the head of the Beiyang, and anyway, he will first get things done before saying," If you go from Tianjin to the canal by land and even to Jiangbei, and cross the Yangtze River from Zhenjiang to the sea, the resettlement of the dry line is connected to the foreign wires to China, which will cost no more than a hundred thousand taels, and it can be completed in half a year." The main branch line must stretch for more than 3,000 miles, and there are bureaus along the road, and the perennial usage fee is quite complicated, and it is planned that the ministers will prepare and advance the funds at their discretion before the military salary, and after the completion of the plan, they will imitate the charter of the steamship to attract businessmen, choose the fair merchants and directors to raise funds, and order them to pay back the principal bank every year, and then the officials and supervisors will handle the business office, and listen to their own credit funds to replenish the funds. He also set up a telegraph school by his subjects, hired foreigners to teach Chinese students, managed themselves, and exercised several powers of self-control, which lasted for a long time. In a few words, he not only clarified the issue of funding, but also made it clear that Sheng Xuanhuai was most concerned about the first official office and then the official supervision and commercial office. Finally, it also explained that officials along the way needed to pay more attention, "If allowed by the edict, we should ask the governor of Liangjiang, the governor of Jiangsu, the governor of Shandong, and the governor of Caohe to change careers to pass through the magistrates, take care of and protect them as one, and do not cause damage." In order to ensure that the defense was urgent, the subject repeatedly thought about it, and the invitation to the South and North Oceans to set up a telegram was indeed beneficial and harmless, and there was a piece of instruction from The Empress Dowager Chen Fu and the Emperor's Holy Book. Sincerely. After Sheng Xuanhuai finished reading it, Li Hongzhang asked, "Xingsun, is everything you want to say clear?" "Humble and ashamed, a few thousand words is not as clear as a few hundred words in the middle hall." Sheng Xuanhuai wiped the sweat from his head. Li Hongzhang smiled and said, "I am in the writing, and if I have words, I am long, and if I have no words, I am short." If the imperial court approves it, it will be up to you to handle it. "The lowly post must do his best, and please ask the middle hall to give guidance at any time." Sheng Xuan was overwhelmed with excitement. When Li Hongzhang's piece was delivered to the palace, the situation in Beijing was quite tense, because Zuo Zongtang carried the coffin out of the expedition, went from Suzhou to Hami, commanded the war in Xinjiang nearby, and took the posture of recapturing Ili by force. The Russian envoy to China went to Prime Minister Yamen to protest, saying that since China had already reassigned Zeng Ze to negotiate the treaty, why should it be so belligerent, which was obviously not sincere. Britain, France, the United States, and other countries have one after another advised Prime Minister Yamen not to provoke Russia; if China and Russia go to war, China will undoubtedly lose, and there are many demands for the release of Chonghou. When the Qingliu people learned the news, they were all fighting. Prince Gong was only afraid that the overall situation would break up and he would not be able to clean up. Li Hongzhang's appendix was sandwiched in "The Thunder Army Asks for the Appointment of Officials and Horses", and the military ministers saw at a glance that Li Hongzhang was deliberately reversing the weight, and his intention was nothing more than not to provoke the attention of the Qing Council. This attachment was sent down and handed over to the military plane for negotiation. As soon as he left the palace, Li Hongzao went to zhang zhidong, and whenever he encountered foreign affairs problems, he liked to ask Zhang Zhidong for advice. Although Zhang Zhidong is a clear stream, unlike other clear streams, it does not reject all foreign affairs. This point is very similar to Zhang Peilun, but it is a pity that Zhang Peilun is worried and does not hear about official affairs. During Zhang Peilun's period of worry, it was precisely when the reverence for the loss of power and humiliation of the country, and the Qingliu dynasty was greatly attacked, and russia threatened to send troops, and the war and dispute between the imperial court and the qingliu people were very busy, and Zhang Zhidong was connected with several twists and turns, such as "The Effectiveness of Border Defense Is All Folded by People", "Russian Affairs Can Be Resisted by Taking Advantage of Good Chips", "The Unfinished Matters of the Meeting", "Asking the Ministers of Xinjiang to Make Detailed Plans to Revise the Contract", and so on. As soon as Zhang Zhidong, who had large eyes, high cheekbones, and a slightly shouldered back, arrived, the concierge whispered, "The two sides of the strait are coming, so go and make retribution." The so-called "two sides of the strait" are Li Hongzao's concierge's pranks, "the apes on both sides of the strait can't stop crying," and they are darkly thinner and more refined than Zhang Zhidong.
Li Hongzao was naturally quick to ask, and he took out a copy of Li Hongzhang's request for a telegram and handed it to Zhang Zhidong: "Xiangtao, Li Shaoquan wants to handle a telegram. Zhang Zhidong looked at it and said, "It should be done!" As far as I know, telegrams are indeed, as Li Zhongtang said, a necessity for military affairs. At present, the Russians are looking at the tiger, and it is more appropriate to run a telegram. Li Hongzao nodded, indicating that he was as kind as a stream, and then asked: "Xiangtao, the current situation is as tight as a day, and the Russian ironclad ships are coming towards our coast, what is your high opinion?" "Don't be afraid of them, don't believe the words of Britain, France and other countries, they are just joining forces to scare us, this is their habit for many years." Zhang Zhidong's newborn calf was not afraid of tigers, and he said, "Now that the center is too weak, we should let people with hard bones join the counselor of the cardinal court to serve in military affairs." "There are many people with hard mouths in the clear stream, but who of them is qualified to enter the Cardinal Court?" Li Hongzao didn't know who to recommend. Zhang Zhidong suggested: "We should invite Marshal Zuo to beijing, one can be a military counselor, and the other can also show the Russians my determination to dare to fight." "Everyone praised Zuo Dashuai for his hard bones, and when he entered the Shu Court, he could strengthen the spirit of the Middle Dynasty." Xiang Tao, this matter you come out, you fold up, I will naturally strive for it when I arrive. Li Hongzao nodded in agreement. Since he re-entered the military plane, he has taken advantage of the situation to spread his strength and is quite comfortable.
Every few days, the two palaces are respected. Cixi's health has been bad since last winter, lung fever, coughing, insomnia and spleen and stomach discord, cold during the day, night sweats, the imperial doctor tried more than a dozen doses but has not seen improvement, so it is often Ci'an who listens to the government. Today, the two palaces are combined, and it is obvious that there is a major matter to be decided. The first was about the telegram, and whether it was Prince Gong or Li Hongzao, there was a rare unanimous agreement. "There are also objections." Ci'an was referring to the opposition to the engineering department, who believed that the telegraph could be used in foreign countries, not in China. Cixi handed his recital to Prince Gong and said, "Look at what he said." "Stone, you have a good voice, you pick the most important to read." Prince Gong handed it to Wang Wenshao, who had just entered the military plane. Wang Wenshao was a native of Renhe, Zhejiang Province, and was a protégé of Shen Guifen, and after Li Hongzao was worried, he was recommended by Shen Guifen to join the Zhi Military Plane and was assigned to the Military Department. He was the most junior in seniority, and of course he had to serve in such a thing as reading the folds. He also did have a good voice, and read aloud: "The harm of the copper thread cannot be enumerated, and the subject only speaks of its greatest." Fuhua foreign customs are different, and so is the nature. Foreigners know that there is God and Jesus, but they do not know that there are ancestors, so all those who join their religion must first destroy their own masters. China regards death as life, and has not changed for thousands of years, and the body is particularly important. The design of the electric wire, deep into the ground, rampage, in all directions, the earth's veins are extinct, the wind invades the water, it is inevitable, how can the hearts of the descendants be at peace? It is said: 'To be loyal to a subject is to be at the door of filial piety'. By making the people of China disregard the tomb of their ancestors and listen to it set up a copper thread, shang an wang, respect the king? Ci'an Joo understood the meaning of this recital and asked, "He means that running a telegram will disturb the ancestors?" Prince Gong replied, "That's roughly what it means." Cixi's health was not good, her liver was on fire, and she said loudly: "It is purely the opinion of a scholar, and I guess at my own." How did he know what his ancestors thought? The ancestors saw that we were being deceived by foreigners, and perhaps hoped that the telegraph would help national defense. Needless to say. The military planes surrendered their promises, and Prince Gong said, "Zhang Zhidong still has a fold, please ask Zuo Zongtang to return to Beijing to consult military affairs." "Sister, have you heard?" Zuo Zongtang went out of the customs with him with something, which was really unthinkable, and he actually brought a coffin. Hearing Zuo Zongtang's name, Ci'an said again.
Carrying the coffin out to show the determination to put life and death on the outside, has been around for a long time. Zuo Zongtang had already made it clear in the recital, and Cixi of course knew that the public opinion in Beijing was excited and praised it one after another. However, Cixi did not think that this was a good thing, and the theory of the main battle was high,000, and it was difficult for the imperial court to ride the tiger, so how did it end? Of course, she couldn't say this, and she rubbed her temples and said, "He's messing with the Russians." Old Six, what do you think of Zhang Zhidong's suggestion? Zuo Zongtang was accustomed to making up his own mind, as was the case when he was fighting against the Taiping Army, and often thought that the general was not subject to the orders of the foreign army. If he had made up his own mind in the northwest and really started a war with the Russians, he would not have been able to clean up, and it would have been a method of transferring him back to Beijing to draw salaries from the bottom of the barrel, so he immediately expressed his support: "Zuo Zongtang can recruit good soldiers and transfer him back to Beijing to serve as counselors for military affairs, which is most appropriate." Cixi's gaze swept over Li Hongzao's face and she asked, "Master Li, what do you mean?" Li Hongzao was first the emperor of Tongzhi, and now he is the emperor of Guangxu, the emperor of the two dynasties, Cixi was particularly graceful, calling him "Master Li". "The minister also agreed to transfer Zuo Zongtang to Beijing." Li Hongzao is also very supportive. Both the Main Peace Faction and the Main War Faction approved of Zuo Zongtang's entry into Beijing, and although they had their own thoughts, in the end there was a rare consensus of opinions. After discussing a few things, Cixi was a little unable to hold on. Ci An hurriedly advised, "You really have to take good care of this body." Cough, these imperial doctors, how can not prescribe the formula for the top use. I was expecting it was me who was sick. ”
This is the big truth, for more than half a year she has been alone in government, often not leading the way, she is tired, Prince Gong is also tired. "Whatever my sister says, no one is sick." To recuperate, to recuperate, you always have to be quiet to recuperate, but this chaotic situation, teach me how to calm down? Cixi was very impressed by her kindness. "You have to find a way." Sixth Master, do you know that there is a skilled Lang Zhong outside the palace? I don't think it's all up to Li Deli! Ci'an was very concerned about this and asked again. Prince Gong replied, "The slave has a suggestion, can you secretly supervise and recommend a famous folk doctor?" This matter must be decided by Cixi, because the empress dowager's health is not safe, and it is not always a good thing to spread it to the outside world. However, Cixi was really disappointed in the imperial doctor, and said, "Now I can't take care of it, if the folk have good medical skills, they may as well invite them into the palace." This matter must be handled immediately to show everyone's concern for the Empress Dowager's holy bow. Prince Gong commanded, "Chu Shi, you are not going to return to the military plane, so immediately draw up a secret edict to see it." Wang Wenshao immediately retreated to the outside of the palace, and the eunuch had already brought out a case, and the pen and ink were all ready-made. This kind of secret edict is relatively simple to draft, and there is no need to go into a long speech, but it is difficult to grasp the measure. However, this did not have to be too much for Wang Wenshao, and soon he wrote the transcription and returned to the palace to hand it to Prince Gong. Prince Gong meditated, "Imperial Chancellor of the Military Aircraft, etc.: It has been more than a few months now that Empress Dowager Cixi Duanyou Kang Yi Zhao Yu Zhuang Cheng Emperor sheng has been in peace. The treatment of the hospital did not confirm the effect. The provinces pay attention to Qi Huang, those who have fine pulses, and there is no shortage of people, such as the Governor of the province, and the detailed extension of visits, if there are those who are medically reliable, regardless of the officials, gentlemen, and people, that is, send personnel to accompany them to Beijing. "A special article should be added, and the famous doctors who are recommended should be inspected in detail by the minister of the interior and the officials of the Same Hospital, and the request should be made clear." Prince Gong was going to examine the recommended Lang to see if he had the real talent to learn, and also to give the Tai Hospital a face. "If you don't see the real effect, you don't see Daan." Empress Dowager Cixi looked at the aftermath. This is also to save face for the Hospital, and "no real effect" is tantamount to saying that the Doctor is a bag of wine and rice. "I didn't see Daan" shows that it is valid, but it is almost over. Wang Wenshao went out of the palace again, and quickly changed it and submitted it again. Cixi shook her hand and said, "You can send it down, you don't have to look at it again." Li Hongzhang received a secret edict from the Military Aircraft Department of five hundred miles to expedite, and he was naturally very concerned. He immediately thought of a person, Xue Fucheng's brother Xue Fuchen. In the fifth year of Xianfeng, he had already taken up a post in the Ministry of Works as a person, but because his father died of illness, he rushed back to his hometown, just when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom attacked Jiangnan, he again took refuge with his mother, and it dragged on for three years, and when he returned to the Ministry of Works, he actually worked in a low-level post for six or seven years. Such a subordinate work was really boring, so he began to study medicine, read medical books widely, and became a famous doctor. When he was in the shogunate of Li Hongzhang, there were sick people in the yamen who often looked for Xue Fuchen, and it was always medicine to get rid of the disease. At this time, Xue Fuchen's period of worry expired, and the imperial court transferred him to Ren Ren Lei Qiong Dao, Guangdong, and the road was far away, not to mention that he wanted to cross the sea to Hainan Island, and he regarded it as a fearful road and was worried. Li Hongzhang immediately recommended him to the imperial court and asked him to go to Beijing to diagnose and treat the empress.
Not only Li Hongzhang but also Li Hongzhang, Li Hongzhang's eldest brother, recommended Xue Fuchen, so the Military Aircraft Department immediately asked Li Hongzhang to send someone to accompany Xue Fuchen into Beijing. Xue Fuchen sailed north by steamship, and when he arrived in Tianjin, Li Hongzhang sent his henchmen to accompany him to Beijing, and instructed his staff to bring a silver ticket and give it to Li Lianying, the chief eunuch of Cixi, so that he could take more care. After accomplishing this important matter, Li Hongzhang immediately asked Sheng Xuanhuai to come and discuss the establishment of the telegraph. Sheng Xuanhuai told Li Hongzhang that he had already corresponded with Zheng Guanying, the head of the Steamship Merchants Bureau, hoping that in the future he would be able to run a telegraph bureau in order to make it easier for him to win commercial shares in the future with the help of his strength in the Shanghai business community. Li Hongzhang was very satisfied with this: "Xingsun, if you entrust Zheng Taozhai to convene the commercial stocks now?" ”
When Sheng Xuanhuai heard that Li Hongzhang was going to change his mind, he hurriedly advised: "Zhongtang, it will never work." Because the telegraph has not yet been done, is the profitable businessman without confidence, how can he be willing to take shares? Moreover, the telegraph land spans three provinces, the magistrates hear that it is a commercial office, they are bound to refuse to protect it, and the people hear that it is a commercial office, they must do everything they can to blackmail it. At present, it is necessary to handle official affairs, and the people know about official affairs and dare not act rashly; officials know state affairs and dare not patrol them without serious inspection. If it is fully negotiated, it will be several times the amount of money for the guards, and I am afraid it will not help. ”