Chapter 370: Wei Yuan is willing to be the vanguard (6 more)
Li Zhen was very satisfied with the decree issued by Xianfeng, and was even grateful to Xianfeng.
This result is what Li Zhen needs now.
According to Li Zhen's plan, after defeating the British and French forces, the lives of Bourlon, Bao Ling, Adams and Russell were left behind. They were originally prepared to choose the opportunity to escort them to Beijing and hand them over to Xianfeng for processing. The North Korean and Chinese officials bullied the weak and feared the hard and the foreigners. By nature, I would not dare to take action after receiving Russell, Bao Ling and others.
Even Prince Gong, who advocated reform, did not dare to kill Bao Ling and others. Moreover, with the constant pressure from Britain and France, he must be acquitted and could only let Russell, Bao Ling and others go. .
Before that, Li Zhen founded a newspaper.
The appearance of the newspaper was just to publicize this matter. Li Zhen only needed to publicize the news of escorting Rachel, Bao Ling and others to Beijing. The people would look forward to it and expect Rachel and others to be killed. But, wait. The result was an acquittal, which must have aroused the indignation of many people.
Even though the people did not dare to resist or demonstrate, after this incident, the people would be disappointed in the Manchus. Li Zhen's purpose was to use newspapers to expand his influence and weaken the people's loyalty to the Manchus to the greatest extent. Only by fundamentally solving the Manchu and Qing issues can we lay the foundation for Li Zhen to overthrow the Manchus.
Now, Xianfeng came first, which meant that he was under pressure from Britain and France.
Li Zhen only needs a little encouragement to achieve his goal, not to mention that with Wei Yuan, a world famous person, as the leader, as long as Wei Yuan writes a condemnation, it will definitely set off a huge wave.
Li Zhen thought clearly, received the imperial edict, and welcomed the eunuch who delivered the edict into the hall. During this period, he spent thousands of taels of silver to please the eunuch, and then he made the eunuch who delivered the edict smile happily. The eunuch who delivered the edict looked towards Li Zhen said with a smile: "Admiral Li, you are lucky that you did not kill the British and French commanders and ministers this time. If you had, I'm afraid your career would have ended here."
Li Zhen pretended not to understand and asked, "Please give me some advice, father-in-law."
The eunuch who delivered the order touched his white, hairless chin and said unhurriedly: "The joint protest between Britain and France is already threatening the emperor and wants to take back Rachel, Bao Ling and others. If the four of them are killed, the imperial court will But they have to deal with Britain and France, and they will inevitably push Admiral Li out as a scapegoat. Now that Bao Ling, Bourlon and others are alive, they can just take them back to Beijing and hand them over to Britain and France. Admiral Li is really in danger this time , you can beat the foreigners hard in the future, just remember not to kill the main officials of the foreigners."
"Thank you, father-in-law, for your advice."
Li Zhen looked suddenly enlightened, but he was secretly despised in his heart. He had known the nature of the court ministers and Xianfeng's temper, so he did not kill La Er and others.
"A bunch of idiots, the officials in the DPRK and China are nothing but losers."
After hearing the eunuch's words, Wei Yuan stood up and shouted loudly. Even though Wei Yuan looked kind-hearted and amiable, when he got angry, he became furious, like a angry-eyed King Kong, with a majestic demeanor.
These words shocked the eunuch who delivered the order.
Li Zhen was afraid that things would get messed up, so he immediately explained: "Father-in-law, this is Mr. Wei Yuanwei. Mr. Wei is so angry because he is worried about the country. Please take care of me, father-in-law."
When the eunuch heard that it was Wei Yuan, his anger disappeared, and a faint smile appeared on his face. The eunuch stood up, bowed and said, "It turns out to be Mr. Wei. We are rude."
The words were filled with respect, which made Li Zhen stunned.
It seems that he still underestimated the influence of Mr. Wei. Not only did this old man kill young and old, but he could also convince people like eunuchs. Li Zhen looked at Wei Yuan again in his heart and knew that he must dig out Mr. Wei. potential.
Wei Yuan looked at the eunuch and said with a smile: "My father-in-law reminds me of Admiral Li. He is loyal to the country and I admire him."
The eunuch was even more proud when he saw Wei Yuan's praise.
However, the eunuch also knew that business was urgent and he said directly: "Admiral Li, business is urgent. Please bring La Er, Bao Ling and others out. The Za family has to rush back to Beijing to resume their orders. Alas, the foreigners are pressing hard. The Emperor's Life is hard." Li Zhen ordered Ye Chengzhong to have people bring out Ra Er and others, and send the eunuch away.
After leaving the city, Russell, Bao Ling, Bourlon and Adams sat in the carriage with happy faces. Unexpectedly, they asked Li Zhen to pay for nothing this time. Russell looked in the direction of Guangzhou and said: "Wait a minute. After I return, I will resign as the commander of the French fleet stationed in China and return to China to enjoy a good life. With Li Zhen here, the Manchu Qing Dynasty cannot fall. I don’t want to fight with Li Zhen anymore.”
Adams was convinced and nodded.
Rael and Bourlon looked at each other with solemn expressions on their faces.
…
Li Zhen and Wei Yuan returned to the hall. Li Zhen looked at Wei Yuan and said, "What does Mr. Wei think of today's matter?"
Wei Yuan's face was ashen. He slapped the table with teacups next to him, causing the tea to splash out. He blew his beard and shouted with eyes wide open: "The emperor is new to the throne. He is not sensible. He was bewitched by the officials below. This time, let him go." The foreign barbarians will be attacked next time, but the crisis still cannot be resolved."
After a pause, Wei Yuan continued: "The officials in the imperial court are living in plain sight. They only know how to make money, and only know how to squeeze the flesh and blood of the people. They have no backbone when facing foreign barbarians. It's really shameful." Speaking of hatred, Wei Yuan said angrily. : "I urge God to cheer up, but it's a pity that God doesn't work hard."
When Li Zhen saw this, he had a sad expression on his face, but he smiled in his heart.
Is it possible to want the emperor to change the status quo?
Li Zhen said: "Mr. Wei, Burlon, Russell and others have all been sent back to Beijing. There is no use in sulking. For such things, the only way is to take the initiative to change and reverse the situation. Mr. Wei must arouse more The enthusiasm of scholars can awaken more people, so they can write about this matter and publish it in Jiuzhou Daily. When the foreigners were taken away, Mr. Wei wrote this paragraph to criticize the current affairs and arouse more scholars to express their opposition. "
"Yeah, why didn't I think of that?"
Wei Yuan's eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his face.
Wei Yuan stood up and paced back and forth in the hall, and said seriously: "Hongyi, you immediately allocate funds, and I rented a place for the newspaper office and settled the accommodation. I will immediately print the newspaper and write about the foreigners going to Beijing, so that the local people can The Gonggun princes in the court were so afraid that they did not dare to be spineless."
Li Zhenxiao said: "I support Mr. Wei."
"Here comes someone."
Li Zhen shouted, and Ye Chengzhong ran in. Li Zhen looked at Wei Yuan and said: "Mr. Wei and Xiao Ye will discuss and handle the newspaper matter. Once the money is received, just go to Xiao Ye to withdraw it. Please leave it to Mr. Wei. "
Wei Yuan said loudly: "I will do my duty."
After that, Wei Yuan turned around and left the hall, followed by Ye Chengzhong.
Li Zhen sat alone in the hall, with a smile on his lips. With Wei Yuan in charge, Li Zhen could rest assured. As long as Li Zhen guided him slowly, Wei Yuan would definitely become the sharpest spear in his hand.
ps; The sixth update is completed, call it a day, and finally get some rest.