"Although Cheng Beile is shameless, he is not stupid. This guy always has a backup plan for everything he does... Of course, it is also possible that the prince and Fujin are wiping his ass!"
The staff pointed at the three families kneeling on the outer wall of the inn. In two of them, a husband and wife knelt there together and kowtowed, while in the other family, an old man was begging for mercy, apparently wanting to save his granddaughter.
Judging from their exhausted looks, they must have been kneeling here all night. There were some police officers further away who were dressed up and evasive, not daring to come and take care of them!
The magistrate already knew about Zai Cheng's evil deeds, but he couldn't afford to offend Cheng Beile, so he could only watch from afar!
Li Hongzhang's hands were shaking with anger, "What are you asking me to see? This villain is so insane! So shameless..."
"My lord, look at the ground...look!"
Scanning his eyes along the direction of his finger, Li Hongzhang's expression froze. Only then did he realize that there were a bunch of shiny things in front of the three families who were kowtowing to beg for mercy.
"Silver dollars?"
"That's right, it's just silver dollars. I have a good eye for a humble job. At least three hundred silver dollars for a family... My good lord, this is a trap waiting for you to jump!"
"Look, isn't that Enguang? He's stuffing money into the arms of the sufferer!"
Sure enough, Enguang, who had returned here after delivering the message last night, was stuffing silver coins into the arms of the suffering master. It is estimated that Li Hongzhang and the others would not have been able to see this scene if they arrived a little later.
"Sir! Do you know why no one in the capital can defeat Cheng Beile? This kid is a bastard, but there are many people behind him to wipe his ass!"
"If you just got mad and took part in this matter, it would probably become a joke in the end!"
"Money can make the world go round. These sufferers also know that the prince's family cannot afford to offend them. How dare they really have the guts to file a lawsuit with the prince's family? In the end, they just took the money and accepted their fate!"
"If you take part in this book, you won't even be able to find the witness to the suffering in the end!"
"Although prices here in the capital are soaring now, three hundred silver dollars is enough for their family to build three tile-roofed houses. If you are more frugal, you can buy a few acres of land. It's a lot to buy a daughter for so much money!"
"How much is a country girl worth? So, sir, please don't interfere. If you do, it will be a trap!"
Li Hongzhang thought for a while and couldn't help but lamented, "The people are weak! The people are weak..."
"Sir, this people's weakness is not something that can happen in a day or two. You have to take your time, take your time..."
While he was talking, Li Hongzhang had already arrived at the door of the inn, and En Guang had already greeted him. "Greetings, sir, Mr. Beile is waiting for you. Please come inside..."
As soon as the three families saw a high-ranking official, they knew he was a big shot even though they didn't recognize him but there were so many cavalry guards around him. They quickly took a few steps to kowtow to Li Hongzhang.
"Your Majesty, Lord Wandai! Please save my little girl, please be merciful..."
Enguang angrily asked his men to drive him away, "Get out! We've been making noise all night, and it's never going to end. I'll just give him back to you sooner or later. What are you making the noise about? If you dare to cause trouble again, be careful, both money and people will be lost!"
"Master Li, please come in..."
Li Hongzhang suppressed his nausea and walked into the inn. As soon as he entered the lobby, he heard the cry of a girl in the backyard. Zai Cheng had been sitting in the lobby preparing to drink after getting up early in the morning.
This Zaicheng seemed to be very comfortable last night. His braid was wrapped around his neck like a coolie, and his clothes were not fully buttoned. He stood up quickly when he saw Li Hongzhang.
"Oh...it's been a long time. Mr. Li is always well? Sit, sit, sit..."
"Toefl, toefl, thanks to Mr. Tobele, I can eat well and sleep soundly!"
"Haha, that's great! Come on, let's have a drink together?"
"Thank you Lord Beile for your kindness, but I never drink in the morning. I have official duties and I have to enter the capital before the city gate closes tonight!"
"So let's keep Lord Beile's wine for now. I'll serve it later, hahaha!"
Zai Chun squeezed the wine glass and drank a drink with a squeak, and then sneered, "Going to the capital in such a hurry? I'm afraid that Mr. Li won't be able to eat well or sleep after entering the capital!"
"How do you say this?" Li Hongzhang asked.
"Master Li, you don't know yet? Just yesterday, your old friend Gordon came to Beijing! Not only did he come to Beijing, he was summoned to the Forbidden City without even going to his residence!"
"In the Hall of Cultivation, Long Live talked with him for an hour and a half. No one knows what they talked about... Do you think they will talk about you, Mr. Li?"
Li Hongzhang was secretly frightened but was not at all confused on the surface. He smiled and said, "Is this what Mr. Baylor is asking his subordinates to do? Then Gordon is also an old comrade of mine. I am very happy to be able to see you again!"
"Hahaha... Mr. Li is not being frank, isn't he! What else can you pretend to do with me? Are you pretending that I don't know about the turmoil between you and Gordon?"
"When you were killing prisoners in Suzhou, did you forget that Gordon broke into your camp with a pistol? Do you think Gordon didn't know the inside story about Bai Qiwen's death?"
"Master Li! I'm a straight person, not as round and round as those in the court... Bah!" Zaicheng spat out a piece of shrimp skin and said ruthlessly.
"You are a member of the Queen Mother of the West. Don't hide this from me, but I have to remind you that if you climb the high branches of the Queen Mother of the West, you may not be able to climb the warship of Lord Long Live!"
"In His Majesty's eyes, who is more important, you or Gordon?"
"Don't talk official talk with me. I'm impatient with that... Gordon is behind the British. How can the emperor offend the British for you? And Gordon must still control this part of the pound!"
"Don't worry, as long as Master Long Live is not stupid, he will definitely choose him as his confidant instead of you!"
"If you are confident that you can reconcile with Gordon, and then you are too fat to wear a pair of pants, then just pretend that I didn't say it... But if you can't do it, then you should listen to my advice!"
Li Hongzhang didn't like Zai Cheng's negotiating style very much. He was very rogue and had the energy of ruffians from the capital to grab territory, but he had to admit that what Cheng Beile said was what he was worried about!
If the imperial court in the late Qing Dynasty wants to be successful, it must be connected to form a force. When you are not able to become the leader of a force on your own, first surrendering to a group to protect yourself and then progress, that is the only option.
When Li Hongzhang boarded Cixi's warship, he was also betting on his future position after Emperor Tongzhi came to power!
No matter how powerful the six forces of Ci'an and Guizi are, sooner or later they will have to give way to the little emperor who is in charge! For the benefit of the next 20 to 30 years, Li Hongzhang got on board when Cixi was not strong!
There is nothing wrong with this strategy per se, but I never expected that the situation would change so quickly that I couldn’t even blink!
Due to Xiao Letian's strong intervention, Cixi's palace quickly collapsed. If Ci'an hadn't let Cixi go in the end, Cixi might not have been able to survive at that time!
Xiao Letian took Emperor Tongzhi away for a study tour, which also broke the interest pattern of the people around Emperor Tongzhi!
Now Emperor Tongzhi suddenly had many reformers from the Qing Dynasty around him, and now there were also faces of foreign devils. Such changes directly diluted the rights that Li Hongzhang and the others deserved.
The resentment has long been buried in their hearts!
