There was wind at Li Zhen's feet, and he ran from the backyard to the front hall in the blink of an eye.
Entering it, Li Zhen saw the old man standing in the hall.
This person is Wei Yuan.
The Wei Yuan in front of him was wearing a simple black robe and cloth shoes. He was simply dressed and stood inconspicuously among the crowd. As the saying goes, a person's Qi nourishes his body. Wei Yuan was once a Jinshi scholar. He had been an official for a long time, so he should have something.
He has a unique official aura, but the person in front of him looks like an old man next door, with a kind face and kind eyes.
Wei Yuan has big earlobes, gray eyebrows are sparse and slender, his eyes are calm and clear, with a smile, and he has a Maitreya look. He has a high nose bridge, a Chinese character face, a long beard, and is calm, giving people a sense of tranquility and elegance.
a feeling of.
Li Zhen also noticed a detail, Wei Yuan had a string of Buddhist beads on his hand.
Li Zhen kept this detail in mind.
Historically, Wei Yuan was elected in the second year of Daoguang. He was promoted to Jinshi in the twenty-fifth year of Daoguang and became an official. In his later years, Wei Yuan couldn't stand the strife in the officialdom and the vegetarian diet.
'Cheng Guan', that's why we have a string of Buddhist beads on our wrist.
Li Zhen looked at Wei Yuan, and Wei Yuan also looked at Li Zhen intently.
However, their moods are different.
Li Zhen was very clear about Wei Yuan's affairs and knew that the man in front of him was one of the pioneers of "opening his eyes to see the world". He admired and respected Wei Yuan, and he praised Wei Yuan in his heart.
Wei Yuan looked at Li Zhen and frowned.
The admiral in front of him had fluffy hair, not combed properly, and his clothes were disheveled. He even had two buttons on his official uniform wrong. This alone made Wei Yuan very unhappy. Wei Yuan was a very traditional scholar who paid attention to details.
Although Li Zhen was decent and unkempt, Wei Yuan was very disappointed.
After Wei Yuan resigned and returned home, he lived in seclusion in Hangzhou, devoted himself to practicing Buddhism, and continued to study the method of reform. Wei Yuan heard in Hangzhou that Li Zhen was a person different from ordinary officials, and also learned about Li Zhen's deeds.
After taking all the trouble to come to Guangzhou, I thought he was a vigorous and masculine official, but he turned out to be an unkempt and lazy man.
For a moment, Wei Yuan felt very disappointed.
Hearing something is worse than seeing it. If you don’t see it with your own eyes, it can’t be taken as true.
Wei Yuan thought that Li Zhen had a false reputation, and secretly guessed that Li Zhen's achievements were blown out by people below. If Li Zhen knew Wei Yuan's thoughts, he would definitely cry and complain. When he saw the person in front of him, he was so excited that he burst into tears.
When I came out, I was filled with excitement.
Wei Yuan did not walk away, but cupped his hands and said, "Old Wei Yuan, I have met Admiral Li."
After Li Zhen sat down, he asked: "May I ask sir, are you Mr. Wei Yuan who compiled "Hai Guo Tu Zhi"?"
"That's the old man." Wei Yuan said politely.
"Mr. Wei Yuan is here, and the humble abode is in full bloom. Come and serve tea." Li Zhen stood up and ordered, and then said: "I remember that sir should study Buddhism in Hangzhou. Do you have anything to do in Guangzhou?
"
Wei Yuan said calmly: "Admiral Li, please tidy up your clothes first."
Li Zhen looked down and felt extremely embarrassed.
Looking at his clothes, Li Zhen felt his cheeks burning with embarrassment. He hurriedly reached out to button the buttons again, straightened his clothes, and then said: "I have been busy dealing with the affairs of the Tiandihui these days. This morning I finally got the news from the Tiandihui."
The leader of the thieves, Chen Qiankun, and others were captured in one fell swoop. After returning home, I fell asleep without having time to have lunch. I didn’t wake up until now. I came out in a hurry and my clothes are disheveled. Please forgive me, sir."
"Oh, Admiral Li just woke up." Wei Yuan's tone was a little warmer.
Li Zhen nodded and said with a smile: "Xiaoye reported that Mr. Xi was visiting, so I came out in a hurry."
When Wei Yuan heard this, he sighed: "It seems that what you see with your own eyes may not be true."
Li Zhen was confused and said, "Sir, I don't quite understand."
Wei Yuan stood up and bowed to salute Li Zhen.
How could Li Zhen dare to accept Wei Yuan's salute? He stood up from his chair in a flash, ran to Wei Yuan's side like lightning, held Wei Yuan in his hands, and said with a smile: "You always salute me, isn't that embarrassing me?"
Wei Yuan said seriously: "Since I was wrong, I naturally have to apologize and salute."
Li Zhen was confused again and asked: "Sir, I still don't understand what you said." Wei Yuan shook his head, pushed away Li Zhen's hands, and stubbornly saluted Li Zhen before returning to his seat.
Li Zhen also sat down and asked: "Mr. Wei, can you explain it clearly?"
Wei Yuan looked apologetic and said calmly: "Just now I saw the Admiral running out of the backyard in disheveled clothes. I subconsciously thought that the Admiral was sleeping during the day and neglecting official duties. Unfortunately, I didn't expect that the Admiral was busy with state affairs. Admiral Your Excellency received the news that I was coming to visit, so you came out to greet me without even having time to tidy up your clothes. Such courtesy made me feel even more ashamed. Your Excellency, the Admiral, accepts this gift as a matter of course and deserves it."
After hearing this, Li Zhen finally realized.
It turns out that Wei Yuan had a straight face just now for this reason, but this man is really a humble gentleman. Li Zhen thought about it and said: "Sir, my name is Hongyi. You can just call me by my name. If you always I can't bear to be called 'Admiral-sama' for the first time."
"Ha ha……"
Wei Yuan laughed heartily, stroking his long beard with admiration in his eyes.
The person in front of me, this is not bad.
‘Hongyi’: A scholar cannot be without Hongyi. The responsibilities are long and the road ahead is long. This word is still very good.
This trip to Guangzhou was well worth it.
After laughing, Wei Yuan said calmly: "I got the "Four States Chronicles" written by brother Yuanfu (Lin Zexu's nickname) and compiled it into "Haiguo Tu Chronicles". I learned more about the thoughts of the foreigners and thought it needed to be changed. , At that time, all the Dukes and the Emperor had no intention of making progress and were mediocre and inactive, and they were old and had no intention of becoming an official."
"The appearance of Hongyi gave me a glimmer of hope."
"You purchased weapons from the foreigners, learned their military training methods, and purchased ships and cannons, all of which gave me hope. I originally thought that this broken body could only be buried in the ground. I didn't want to see hope in my lifetime, so I came here." I came to Guangzhou and wanted to use my few remaining years to help Hongyi change the current situation of the Qing Dynasty."
Wei Yuan's eyes were wild and he said in a deep voice: "As an assistant to Hongyi, I must let our Qing Dynasty regain its national prestige, overwhelm the foreign barbarians, recreate the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong, and recreate the great scene of all nations coming to the dynasty."
Although the old gentleman was indifferent, when it came to the affairs of the Qing Dynasty, he had the spirit of a young man.
After hearing this, Li Zhen frowned.
From Wei Yuan's words, Li Zhen understood that although the old man in front of him was open-minded and more accepting of new foreign things than most people, Wei Yuan still had a loyal mind in his heart and wanted to protect the interests of the Qing Dynasty. With Wei Yuan around him, relying on Wei Yuan's connections, he was indeed able to gain the support of a group of humanistic people, and even became the backbone of this faction.
However, the shortcomings are also obvious.
It is difficult for Li Zhen to get rid of these people, and it is also difficult for Li Zhen to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Even if he has a good relationship with Wei Yuan now, he will definitely break up in the future.
Seeing that Li Zhen was silent, Wei Yuan asked, "Hongyi, are you in any trouble?"