Weng Tonghe had fainted while kneeling outside the Ancestral Temple. He was the teacher of Emperor Tongzhi, a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, and a leader recognized by Qingliu.
At a time when the country is in crisis like today, traditional scholars like Weng Tonghe cannot lag behind. He must make his voice heard and show his loyalty to the emperor. He must also inspire scholars all over the world and tell them that the power of Confucian scholars has not dissipated. !
How could such an important meeting be without the voices of scholars, who would knock on the door of the Imperial Ancestral Temple even if they were cut off?
The heavy door opened a gap, Weng Tonghe walked in with dignity, and then the door was closed tightly again.
There were seven people in the Ancestral Temple, and now there was one more person, a total of eight people!
Weng Tonghe did not speak first but instead knelt down three times and kowtowed nine times to the tablets of the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty in the Ancestral Temple, and then kowtowed meticulously to the little emperor and the queen mother.
"Your Majesty! I don't know what the Queen Mother, Your Majesty, the Prince and all the other adults were talking about just now. I am not well versed in military matters and I dare not talk nonsense..."
"But I always have to correct the omissions. Nowadays, the big hidden dangers in the imperial court are not only the foreign invader Xiao Letian but also the internal thief Jiziliu. There is also a big loophole right under everyone's nose. I wonder if Lord Long Live has ever thought about it?"
Everyone looked at each other and said, "Master Weng, please tell me, don't be pretentious, time is running out, we must make a decision before dawn!"
"Well... I am going to write a book today. Please take care of Li Hongzhang in Handan. This is a huge hidden threat. You must be prepared in advance..."
"Hiss..." Everyone was puzzled, "Why does this require Li Hongzhang?"
"Your Majesty! Have you forgotten that Li Hongzhang is the closest armed force of the Han people to the capital, and he is the biggest threat!"
"Zuo Jigao has abandoned his martial arts. Even if he wants to recruit troops in Zhili, he has no time and no money..."
"But Li Hongzhang has just been authorized to form the Great Qing Navy, and he still has tens of thousands of Huai troops... These Huai troops are all soldiers from his hometown. They are an unbreakable group, just like a local prince!"
"Since last year, the imperial court has successively allocated more than four million taels of silver to Li Hongzhang. He has plenty of money. What if he recruits troops?"
"On the Jiaodong Peninsula, Qingdao in the south was given to the Chinese as a concession, and Li Hongzhang began to build a military port and commercial wharf in Yantai..."
"And the imperial court gave him the right to borrow money! He has full authority to borrow money from European banks without going through the Accounts Department... The armored ships that Europe is building for us now are all directly borrowed!"
"So how much money does Li Hongzhang have in his hands at this time? Who can tell clearly? How long has it been since we checked his accounts?"
"Your Majesty! Also, Li Hongzhang is the person in charge of the establishment of the navy appointed by the imperial court, which gives him the right to negotiate and purchase with Western powers. This Li Hongzhang can already order arms from overseas on behalf of our Qing Dynasty!"
"How big a right is this? Your Majesty, have you forgotten what the Americans told us in the past?"
ah? Everyone present exclaimed. Xiao Letian was involved in this old American incident. It was naturally the secret that happened when the Tanggu Special Administrative Region was first planned to be established!
Of course it is no longer a secret now. Xiao Letian went to Tanggu to build a special zone with the imperial decree, and then secretly contacted the American minister.
Hua Ruohan and Xiao Letian met privately, and Xiao Letian proposed the intention to purchase American military equipment, machinery, coin minting machines, and ships!
But Hua Ruohan refused, saying that this kind of large-scale arms equipment business was all done by country to country, government to government, official to official... You Xiao Letian was not an official at that time, and you did not have the authorization of the Qing Dynasty. Isn't giving it to you equivalent to selling it to a careerist?
The Americans asked Xiao Letian for authorization, an identity that could purchase large quantities of arms and machinery!
Only then did Xiao Letian cross the sea to Ryukyu to ask for the identity of the prime minister of the ancient Ryukyu country, and this officially kicked off the rise of the Chinese nation!
This was originally a secret, but with the rise of the Chinese, the United States leaked this old story bit by bit, which made the court furious!
Now that Weng Tonghe has mentioned this old incident, is it possible that he is insinuating that Li Hongzhang also has rebellious intentions?
It is very likely that Li Hongzhang was authorized by the imperial court to entrust the establishment of the Great Qing Dynasty Navy. This is known to all countries, so Britain, France, Germany and the United States can safely sign contracts with Li Hongzhang to sell battleships, cannons and arms!
With the authorization, Li Hongzhang can use the court's credit endorsement to borrow money from foreign banks!
Weng Tonghe said with a sad face, "On one hand, he borrowed money from foreigners, and on the other hand, he used the money to buy arms and arm himself. Now the court has given him the right to suppress rebellion!"
"Oh my God! What if he is stationed in Handan and takes advantage of the opportunity to suppress the rebellion to collect the victims and send them into the army?"
"He is rich! As long as he can get food, he can recruit troops... Now there are plenty of available troops in the southern part of Zhili. This famine has destroyed the people of the three provinces!"
"Long live my Lord! You must not have the intention of harming others, and you must have the intention of guarding against others. You must always be on guard. Don't reject the tiger through the front door and let in the wolf through the back door..."
Weng Tonghe's reminder frightened the faces of everyone present. This was really an oversight. No one thought about the situation on Li Hongzhang's side. They knew that he was always asking for help, saying that there were many victims and rebels.
The intelligence in southern Zhili has been completely cut off, and now no one knows what the problem is there!
Zai Chun didn't speak for a long time, "Master Weng... we... we can't frame someone's innocence for nothing! However, you are right to be careful when you say, but now that internal and external news is cut off, the intelligence from the south of Zhili cannot be sent! "
Weng Tonghe turned to look at Fu Qing, "Sir Fu Qing has a way! Wasn't Prince Dun saved by the Kirigakure brat? Please ask the Chinese to take action to find out the information..."
"Li Hongzhang and Xiao Letian also had some dirty dealings. They fought each other... It's impossible for the Chinese to cover up for him. They will definitely find out the truth!"
Fu Qing asked, "Old man, if what you said is found to be true, how should we respond?"
Weng Tonghe shook his head, "We have to build a bridge across mountains and rivers. We can't say how to deal with it now. It depends on how the battle between us and Guiziliu goes!"
"We have lost, so naturally we have to win over Li Hongzhang and give him more rights. If we take the initiative, there will be no danger..."
"Then immediately force Li Hongzhang to go north. Regardless of whether he is ready or not, he must join the battle immediately. He must wear down his troops!"
"The worst thing I'm afraid of is a stalemate, which would be difficult..."
Zai Chun pointed his finger at the back of the chair, "So, even Master, you don't have any good solutions? It's not enough to just discover the problem without coming up with a solution!"
