Of course, Cixi was very clear about Guangxu's actions. The reason why she did not intervene was because of her calculation of Li Hongzhang's power. Although the two sides were allies, if Li Hongzhang had any second thoughts, Cixi would really not fight with him. Confronting human hands.
Therefore, Cixi seemed invisible and turned a blind eye to Emperor Guangxu's suppression of Beiyang.
Emperor Guangxu thought he had caught Empress Dowager Cixi's painful leg this time, so he chased Li Hongzhang and beat her fiercely.
If this was the case, Li Hongzhang could endure it temporarily, but then Weng Tonghe announced that he would provide 2 million taels of silver to the Nanyang Navy every year.
Li Hongzhang is quitting his job now. Didn’t you say that the imperial court has financial difficulties? How come you have money to send military expenditures to Nanyang but no money to send funds to Beiyang?
And Weng Tonghe's clamor for Li Hongzhang is also justified. Beiyang has already taken Nanyang's military expenditure for more than ten years, and let Nanyang rely entirely on Liu Hai's private wealth to support it. In this way, Nanyang Navy belongs to Liu Hai personally. Or does it belong to the imperial court?
Li Hongzhang had nothing to say at this time. You can't say that the Nanyang Navy is Liu Hai's personal property, right?
With the arrival of one or two million taels of silver in the first year, Liu Hai also clearly felt the goodwill of Emperor Guangxu.
Liu Hai thought about this and couldn't make up his mind whether he should fully support Emperor Guangxu.
There is a saying that three cobblers are worth one Zhuge Liang. Since you can't make up your mind, you should find someone to discuss it with you.
So Liu Hai summoned all his staff to the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion.
You heard it right, Liu Hai already had his own personal staff, which was common for the governors of the Qing Dynasty at that time.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, joining the staff of various governors was also a promising path for those scholars who had failed through repeated trials and were consciously capable.
As far as I'm concerned, today's big bosses Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang were all originally Zeng Guofan's staff.
More recently, Li Hongzhang’s staff, Ma Jianzhong, Yuan Shikai and others, have all been reused.
Therefore, after Liu Hai started to build a staff team, the number of people who came to sign up was very enthusiastic. In the end, Liu Hai selected 5 people from these people to serve as his staff team.
These five people are Zhao Chuanren and Hu Youxing from Jiangning, Pan Weibin from Anhui, Zhang Guiping and Zhao Jiahua from Jiangxi.
These people all have Juren backgrounds, and after passing the bangs exam, they are all very smooth, not as dull as some nerds.
This time Liu Hai encountered difficulties, it was time for these people to show their skills.
Liu Hai met with several staff members in the study. The staff members bowed to Liu Hai first, and then sat down on both sides at Liu Hai's signal.
Liu Hai coughed when he saw that everyone was here, and then said to the people below: "Long live the military expenditure of our Nanyang Navy, but withheld the military expenditure of Beiyang? It seems that he is showing goodwill to our Nanyang Navy." ? What do you think we should do?"
After listening to Liu Hai's questions, the several staff below all fell into deep thought.
This matter is not something to be said casually. It will determine the future of their lord Liu Hai? It will even determine whether they can prosper in the future? Therefore, it must be considered comprehensively without any omissions.
The study became quiet again. After about a stick of incense, Zhao Chuanren from Jiangning came out first and said, "Sir, I think it's better to observe for a while first? Although the current court said that the Queen Mother has returned to the emperor, the emperor is still in power. Weak, are you frantically trying to win over the officials from above and below the imperial court? Are you giving us some benefits in Nanyang now? Are you just trying to win over the governor? If you agree to the emperor now, I'm afraid there will be consequences in the future."
Liu Hai nodded after hearing this. This is a mature and prudent approach. Sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight? Waiting for the final winner? There will be no trouble in the end.
However, Liu Hai is not optimistic about this method. If he does not know that there will be no modern support in the future, this method is the safest. But now that Liu Hai has the support of the huge industrial base of the entire modern plane, this method seems too conservative.
Another staff member next to him, Pan Weibin from Anhui, observed very carefully. He saw that although Liu Hai nodded, his brows furrowed, and he knew that Liu Hai did not agree with this method.
So Pan Weibin stood up immediately, interrupted the other party's speech, and said impassionedly: "Although the Queen Mother has been in charge of the world for many years, she has now returned to the emperor. If she continues to interfere in politics, it will be unjust and unjust. Although the emperor is weak, but
But there is justice and justice on this side.”
When Pan Weibin said this, he looked at Si Zhou again, and then continued: "Furthermore, your Excellency has already offended the current Queen Mother. Even if you are flattering the Queen Mother, I am afraid that the misunderstanding will not be resolved. It is better to go the same way."
If you go to the dark side and completely surrender to the emperor, you may be able to win the emperor's trust."
When Liu Hai heard this, his brows relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face. It seemed that he was quite satisfied with this strategy.
After listening to Pan Weibin's words, the other three people also began to nod frequently.
Pan Weibin's method is very consistent with the orthodox Confucian thought, and it is also beneficial to Liu Hai, so several other staff members also agree.
After hearing this, Liu Hai nodded with satisfaction, and then said to the following: "In that case, then I will write a note of gratitude?"
Zhao Jiahua, a native of Jiangxi, heard that Liu Hai was just writing a memorial to thank him, and hurriedly reminded him: "My lord, just writing a memorial to thank you is not enough to show your determination."
"Then what do you think I should do?"
"My lord, why don't you send someone to the capital to give some gifts to the emperor's teacher, Mr. Weng Tongshu Weng. No matter how big or small the gift is, it will show that your heart is devoted to the emperor, and it is also a letter of surrender to the emperor."
After hearing this, Liu Hai looked at the others below, meaning to ask what they meant.
These people whispered to each other for a while, and finally Pan Weibin stood up and raised his hands and said: "Mr. Zhao's words are wise words, please adopt them."
Liu Hai saw that all the staff below agreed with Zhao Jiahua's method, and he accepted it, so he asked: "In this case, who do you think is appropriate to send?"
Although Liu Hai is now the governor of Liangjiang, he is really short of people under his command. Except for the old subordinates of the Hunan Army, there are almost no civil servants under him in the Liangjiang area.
Since Zhao Jiahua came up with this idea, he naturally did his part, so he stood up and said, "My lord, why don't you go ahead."
Liu Hai nodded with satisfaction. Although Zhao Jiahua was young, only in his 30s, he had the courage to do his job and had a very tenacious personality. He would feel relieved that such a person would go to Beijing.
"In this case, let Mr. Zhao go. I don't have any treasures for you this time, so you can just bring 200,000 taels of silver. I think Weng Tonghe is also a man of money and will not turn you away."
Zhao Jiahua said hurriedly: "Thank you for your trust, sir. I will definitely come back with a full load from this humble post."
Liu Hai shook his head and then said: "Don't be too confident. Weng Tonghe is not free. He has been an official for so many years and served several emperors. How often have you seen him make mistakes?"
Zhao Jiahua had already seen that Liu Hai had something to explain, so he quickly asked: "What do you mean, sir?"
Liu Hai stood up and walked around the room several times, thinking about it for a long time, and finally made up his mind and said: "After you go to the capital, it is best to meet the emperor through Weng Tonghe and express my loyalty and patriotism to the emperor. As long as you The emperor has issued an order, and our Hunan Army, with more than 100,000 troops, will definitely obey the emperor's orders."
After hearing this, Zhao Jiahua suddenly realized that by saying a few respectful words to the emperor now, Emperor Guangxu could help Liu Hai withstand the pressure of Empress Dowager Cixi in the court, and all he had to pay was some empty promises.
Zhao Jiahua received Liu Hai's money order on the same day, and then took a coal ship of the Nanyang Navy directly north. After several days of sailing, he disembarked in Ma Tou, Tianjin.
Once here, it only takes one day to take a train to reach the capital. Therefore, Zhao Jiahua planned to rest in Tianjin for a night and set off again tomorrow. After all, he had been miserable on the ship these past few days.
When Zhao Jiahua first got on the boat, he was still looking forward to the sea. However, within an hour or two of walking, he felt his stomach churn. Then he did nothing else but lay on the edge of the boat and vomited and ate. After vomiting and eating for a long time, he felt some relief. Therefore, as soon as he arrived at Tianjin Port, he felt that he couldn't stand it anymore and had to rest for a few days before setting off.
When Zhao Jiahua got off the boat with his escort, four or five man-powered rickshaws came to solicit business from Zhao Jiahua.
Zhao Jiahua saw that the pier was still some distance away from Tianjin city, so he ordered five rickshaws and the five of them entered Tianjin city together.
After entering Tianjin City, Zhao Jiahua asked the driver of the cart, "You are traveling in Tianjin City. Do you know which inn is the most comfortable?"
When the coachman saw that Zhao Jiahua was dressed in unusual clothes and had several guards with him, he knew that he was no ordinary person, so he ran forward and said while breathing heavily: "If you want to talk about the best inn, it is naturally the one run by foreigners. But I don’t know if sir can adapt to foreign food and rules.”
After hearing this, Zhao Jiahua shook her head and said, "You'd better introduce me to some inns run by our Chinese."
"Then the next one is the Yuelai Inn. It's a century-old hotel, and it's very clean inside. Many businessmen come and go to rest there."
"Okay, then let's go to Yuelai Inn."
A group of people arrived at the Yuelai Inn. When they arrived in front of the inn, Zhao Jiahua paid the driver and sent the driver away. A young man from the shop had already greeted them.
"Sir, do you want to work as a prostitute or stay in a hotel?"
“I stayed in a hotel and ate at the same time.”
When the waiter heard this, a smile appeared on his face, and he quickly led Zhao Jiahua and others into the lobby of the inn, then placed them on a table, and immediately brought them teapots and teacups.
"Sir, we have a nice private room and a small courtyard. Are you...?"
"Arrange a small courtyard for me. I'm the most annoying person to bother you." After Zhao Jiahua finished speaking, he threw a piece of silver into the arms of the guy.
The boy took the silver dollar and immediately became more respectful, "Master, I will go and make arrangements for you now."
After saying that, he lit the lighter and ran to the counter, where he told the shopkeeper.