Zeng Guoquan looked at this son-in-law who was licking his face in front of him and saw that he was so flexible and flexible, and his evaluation of him improved a bit.
So Zeng Guoquan gathered his energy and said to Liu Hai: "Back then, Lafayette sent people to Liangjiang to disperse the rights of our brothers. What happened in the end?"
When Liu Hai heard Zeng Guoquan's question, he immediately remembered the horse stabbing case that shocked the Qing Dynasty, and his eyes lit up involuntarily.
On July 26, the ninth year of Tongzhi, Zhang Wenxiang, a little-known bandit, unexpectedly assassinated Ma Xinyi, the then governor of Liangjiang, with a single blow outside the heavily guarded Governor's Office of Liangjiang.
Zeng Guoquan nodded when he saw Liu Hai reacting, "Sometimes you can't be merciful when it's time to take action. The Queen Mother seems to be a high-ranking official in charge of the entire Qing Dynasty. In fact, if there are not a few veterans there to support them, who can?
Listen to her?"
"Father-in-law, my son-in-law understands."
"It's good that you understand. After this incident, the imperial court will definitely reconsider the choice of governor of Liangjiang. I'm afraid your uncle will be appointed governor of Liangjiang. Don't be too hasty. If there are major changes in the imperial court after a while, you can
Action. With the prestige and strength of the Hunan Army, it is not difficult to draw the river and rule from the imperial court."
After Zeng Guoquan said this, he could no longer speak. He lay there exhausted and closed his eyes.
Seeing him like this, Liu Hai couldn't let the old man think about him anymore, "I hope the deputy and son-in-law understand. You have a good rest. I will come see you tomorrow."
Zeng Guoquan was lying on the bed, weakly waving his hands to let his bangs go away.
Liu Hai left Zeng Guoquan's bedroom and came outside to face the outside. When Zeng Guanghe and other Zeng Guoquan's grandsons saw Liu Hai coming out, they quickly went to Liu Hai and asked, what did their pillar of support say to Liu Hai?
But how could such court secrets be told to these people, so Liu Hai just said that Zeng Guoquan was worried about Zeng Yuying and told him to treat her well.
But Zeng Guanghan and others did not believe Liu Hai, but they could not force Liu Hai to tell him, so they could only watch Liu Hai leave with doubtful eyes.
After Liu Hai and Zeng Yuying returned to the guest room, Zeng Yuying sobbed and said to Liu Hai: "I see that my father is very sick this time, which is very different from before. I want to stay here with my father to take care of him for a while."
Time, sir, what do you think?"
"What's the point? It's only natural to be filial to your parents. During this period, you will stay in Nanjing temporarily. As for the child, Yuting will take care of it for you temporarily."
Zeng Yuying nodded after hearing this, and then said to Liu Hai with some worry: "The child is still young and has just learned to walk. Can you tell sister Yuting to pay attention to these things and take away all the angular things in the room?"
Wrap it in cotton cloth.”
"Don't worry, I'll tell her when I get back."
Zeng Yuying then nagged Liu Hai for a long time about the child's daily life, sitting and lying down, and then fell asleep.
But Liu Hai didn't feel sleepy at all, but he knew that in a while there would be a storm, and the world would fall apart soon.
After Liu Hai stayed in the Governor's Mansion of Liangjiang for three days, Zeng Guoquan saw that it would be okay for him to stay here all the time, so he forced Liu Hai to return to Shanghai to handle official duties.
After hearing Zeng Guoquan's words, Liu Hai could only say goodbye to his wife and return to Shanghai on the warship.
Besides, Zeng Guoquan's resignation memorial was sent to the military aircraft office of the imperial court, and there was chaos in the military aircraft office.
Although Zeng Guoquan's reputation is not very good, he has not bothered much over the years, and he still respects the court. If he is gone, I don't know who can suppress the proud and powerful generals of the Hunan Army, especially the powerful Liu Hai
.
After receiving the memorial, Prince Shiduo could not calm down. Now the older generation of Han people in power are getting older. As time goes by, they will one day withdraw from the stage of history.
This was originally what the Qing court wanted to see, so that the Qing could regain power calmly and without any disturbance.
However, as the older generation passed away, the new generation slowly rose up. Especially the Hunan Army was already somewhat decadent. Since Liu Hai appeared, it not only reorganized the Hunan Army, but also developed the navy. Now the Nanyang Navy has
No less than the Beiyang Navy.
Because of this, Liu Hai became a powerful figure in the Qing Dynasty who could compete with Li Hongzhang.
Such a person has Zeng Guoquan on top of him, and he can still be honest. Once Zeng Guoquan is gone, then Liu Hai may have some alien intentions.
So Prince Li Shiduo shared his thoughts with other people in the Military Aircraft Department.
After listening to these people, they nodded frequently. They were already beyond their control over the affairs in the south. If they left it alone, they would probably become an independent kingdom.
Zhang Zhiwan, a bachelor of Tiren Pavilion, although he is said to have a docile temperament, is a bit cowardly. After listening to Prince Li's words, he pondered for a moment and then said: "Now Liu Hai has no reaction. If we forcefully suppress it, I'm afraid it will
It would be counterproductive. It would be better to send his uncle Liu Kunyi as the governor of Liangjiang. In this way, he will have someone to suppress him. I don’t think he will have any objections."
Originally, it would have been good to handle this matter according to Zhang Zhiwan's method. After all, Liu Hai has not reacted at all, and there can be peace if there is someone who can suppress the court.
But Erhebu, who had helped her bangs several times before, spoke out against it.
"Master Zhang, what you said is wrong. Liu Hai is now in charge of power at a young age. If he does not take advantage of this period to slowly weaken his power, and when his strength expands in a few years, the imperial court may no longer be able to govern him."
I can’t hold him anymore.”
As soon as El and Bu said this, they immediately got the agreement of several other adults in the Military Aircraft Department.
You must know that they have had enough of Li Hongzhang's shadow. Although Li Hongzhang is not the military minister but the governor-general of Zhili, his influence is everywhere in the court. Even the Empress Dowager Cixi has to give him three points.
If another bang appears, the court will stop doing anything.
So Prince Li Shiduo pondered for a while, and then said: "Select a capable person from the imperial court to serve as the governor of Liangjiang. Let's see if there are any recommendations. Let's make a good deal and send a copy to Lafayette. Let's see Lafayette.
What means?"
After the several military ministers below listened, they each selected one or two people.
Among them, the one who received the most votes was Zai Yi.
Prince Li Shiduo nodded with satisfaction when he heard this figure. He could be considered a rising star of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
"Since everyone agrees with this person, I will go up and start playing the Queen Mother Lafayette."
Next, when Shiduo saw that others had no objections, he immediately started writing on the table. In a short time, he wrote the note, and then he went to Cining Palace to pay homage to Cixi in person without anyone else delivering it.
Cixi naturally granted Shi Duo's request for an audience immediately, because she also heard that Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Liangjiang, was seriously ill during this period, so he went to Zhezi to beg for help. It seems that the Military Aircraft Department has now said something about this matter.
Shiduo entered the Cining Palace, came to Cixi, bowed, and stood aside obediently waiting for Cixi to ask questions.
Cixi was still quite reserved. She first picked up the teacup next to her and took a sip. Then she straightened her clothes, and finally touched her long armor. Then she said, "What are you doing at Ai's house today?"
Son?"
"To inform the Queen Mother, Lafayette, the governor of Liangjiang, Zeng Guoquan, is seriously ill, so he begged for leave. We at the Military Aircraft Department discussed it and found that Liangjiang is a major financial and taxation center of the Qing Dynasty. We had to send a reliable person to preside over it, so we unanimously recommended Baylor.
Zaiyi serves as the governor of Liangjiang."
After listening to the appointment arrangements for the Military Aircraft Department, the Empress Dowager Cixi turned around in her mind. She knew that these people were worried that Liu Hai would not be able to get rid of the greatness in the future, but this was exactly what she wanted. As long as the Manchus came to Liangjiang to take charge of the overall situation, things would slowly disappear.
The strength of weak bangs is a good thing for the world and the court.
"This candidate is a good candidate. The Ai family agreed. However, Zaiyi's qualifications are very low. If he is appointed as the governor of Liangjiang now, he may not be able to convince the public. Let's give him the title of county king so that he can be suppressed when he arrives in Liangjiang.
Those proud and powerful generals."
Cixi said she was a proud and powerful general, but she was actually thinking of Liu Hai. Originally, Cixi had a good impression of Liu Hai, but since Liu Hai took over all the rights of the Hunan Army, and privately expanded the size of the Hunan Army to 50,000
After that, Cixi lost her original good impression of him, but became wary of him.
Prince Li Shiduo listened to the Empress Dowager Cixi's instructions and kept praising him, "Lafayette is still thoughtful. You will not be able to run the court for a while without you."
Cixi was satisfied after hearing this. The foreman of the Military Aircraft Department thought that he was the person in charge of the court, let alone others. As for the little emperor, he was not in Cixi's eyes at all.
A few days later, an imperial edict was sent to Beile Zaiyi's mansion.
Beile Zaiyi was overjoyed after receiving the imperial edict. He did not expect that he would be able to hold such an important position as the Governor of Liangjiang. If he went to Jiangnan and came back, he would still earn eighteen million taels.
On the same day, Beile Zaiyi entered the palace excitedly and asked to see the Empress Dowager Cixi.
After getting permission from the Empress Dowager Cixi, he carefully entered Cixi's side hall under the leadership of the eunuch.
When he came to the palace, he didn't even dare to raise his head. He knelt down on the ground from a distance. Then he knelt down in front of Cixi and kowtowed to Cixi.
Seeing his respectful look, Cixi felt satisfied and would not agree to him being the governor of Liangjiang.
"Get up, Little Plum, sit down with Lord Belle."
Li Lianying, who was next to Cixi, hurried out and moved a chair and placed it under Cixi's hand.
Beile Zaiyi stood up gently, and when she came to the chair, she didn't dare to sit down firmly. She only dared to let her butt touch the chair a little for some support, and listened to Cixi's teachings in such an uncomfortable posture.
"You are asked to go to Liangjiang this time. Do you know why?"
Baile Zaiyi was stunned by Cixi's question, but he quickly replied with a bit of cleverness: "I obey Lafayette's arrangements."