Since Long Ao and Lu Shaochuan went to the north, Li Zhen has been busy. He first led troops to Guangxi and quelled the Xi Yinglong rebellion in Guangxi, and then led the army back to Nanjing. Taiwan was invaded again. He then led troops to regain Taiwan, followed by the Japanese Civil War, and he led troops to control Japan.
A year has passed since a series of things were resolved.
Li Zhen pondered for a long time and said: "Long Ao and Lu Shaochuan were located in Heilongjiang, sandwiched between Yi and the Russians. Before their identities were exposed, although the two faced crises, they were able to persevere and even be able to survive. Yi believes that he is a righteous man and can get Yi's support. Once Long Ao and Lu Shaochuan are exposed, they will be in danger and will be attacked by both sides. Therefore, we cannot support openly and openly. We can only support secretly and let Long Ao He and Lu Shaochuan can establish a firm foothold."
Zhao Liewen said: "Your Majesty's words make sense."
Li Zhen changed the topic and ordered: "Inform Wang Xiaoyang, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and others to come to the palace to discuss major matters in the north."
"Yes." Zhao Liewen said.
After Zhao Liewen left, the housekeeper walked in and said, "Your Majesty, Ye Mingchen, the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, is here to visit."
"Ye Mingchen."
Li Zhen blinked, but he didn't expect Ye Mingchen to come back to Zhennan Palace. Ye Mingchen was also a feudal official after all, a real high-ranking official. Li Zhen couldn't refuse, so he said: "Please."
The housekeeper turned around to report. Not long after, Ye Mingchen walked in.
At this time, Ye Mingchen's temples were already graying, and there were old wrinkles on his face, giving off an old look. Li Zhen even observed that Ye Mingchen's eyes were filled with bloodshot eyes, which must be due to excessive thinking and lack of rest.
When Xianfeng was in power, Ye Mingchen's career in officialdom was smooth and unimpeded.
After Li Zhen came to power, the value of Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, depreciated.
Although he, the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, governs Guangxi and Guangdong, he sounds very powerful, but he cannot control any place. In Guangxi, the governor of Guangxi, Liu Taiping, has the final say, and in Guangdong, the governor of Guangdong, Wang Xiaoyang, has the final say. Ye Mingchen's words do not count. , under such circumstances, Ye Mingchen's house was deserted and deserted.
For a short period of time, Ye Mingchen could endure it, but as time passed, Ye Mingchen began to get used to it, and his whole body began to look haggard. He was only about fifty years old, and he was not old in the officialdom, so he could continue.
Li Zhen waved his hand and said: "Governor Ye, please sit down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Ye Mingchen bowed respectfully before sitting down.
Li Zhen smiled slightly and asked, "Governor Ye is here today. What's the matter?"
Ye Mingchen clasped his hands and said: "Reporting to the prince, I do have a big matter to discuss with the prince."
What Ye Mingchen called a major event, Li Zhen believed it would not be a trivial matter.
His mood suddenly became tense, and he asked in a deep voice: "What happened to Governor Ye? You might as well tell him directly. As long as I can do it for Governor Ye, I will do my best." Li Zhen couldn't talk about Ye Mingchen, an old fox. There was a bad feeling, not a good impression, and there were some overt and covert fights between the two, but no major incidents occurred, so Li Zhen did not act condescending.
Ye Mingchen said in a deep voice: "Some time ago, people from the North Yi came to Guangzhou."
"boom,."
One sentence is like a thunderous explosion.
Li Zhen's eyes were slightly cold, and he kept staring at Ye Mingchen, as if he was confirming the authenticity of Ye Mingchen's words. Li Zhen was surprised, but he calmed himself down as quickly as possible, put a faint smile on his face, and asked: " Since Governor Ye told me the news that Yi sent people to Guangzhou, he must have some ideas, but I am a little curious about what conditions Yi can offer."
Ye Mingchen said: "Yi sent someone to contact me and promised me to surrender to him secretly. After he overthrows you, I will continue to serve as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and he will make me a first-class loyal and brave prince, who will be hereditary and irreplaceable."
"Hiss, hiss,."
When Li Zhen heard this, he immediately took a breath.
First-class Zhongyong Gong, this is the highest title obtained by the courtiers of the Qing Dynasty.
You must know that among the famous officials in the Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan, who left his footprints in the long history, was only awarded the first-class Yiyong Marquis; Li Hongzhang was only awarded the first-class Suyi Bo; and Zuo Zongtang was also awarded the first-class title. Waiting for Ke Jingbo, the three of them were heroes made by the times. They rose to prominence in that era and even had enough opportunities to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, but they did not reach the level of duke.
In the entire Qing Dynasty, there were only four dukes.
One is Mingrui of the Fucha family, who was granted the title of First-class Chengjia Yiyong Gong. He was a man with a yellow banner in Manchuria and was a relative of the Fucha family of Empress Qianlong; the second was Agui of the Zhangjia family, who was granted the title of First-class Cheng Mou Yinggong was the leading military minister in the last years of Qianlong's reign, and his power was comparable to that of He Shen, which shows how powerful he was; the third was Fukang'an of the Fucha family, a native of Xianghuang Banner in Manchuria; the fourth was Zhaohui of the Wuya family, First-class Jiayong Zhongrui Gong, a man of the Zhenghuang Banner.
These four people all have strong backgrounds and outstanding military exploits. In the entire Qing Dynasty for hundreds of years, there were only a handful of four people. Now Yi Xu promised to make Ye Mingchen a first-class loyal and brave man, which can be said to be a huge investment.
Li Zhenxiao asked: "Yikai offered such good conditions, why didn't Governor Ye agree?"
Ye Mingchen looked serious and said sincerely: "There are three reasons for not agreeing to Yi. First, Yi humiliated the country by losing power and betrayed the country to gain support from the Russians. This country is a traitor. In the hundreds of years of Qing Dynasty history, no emperor was willing to The land was given away. During the reign of the Holy Ancestor Kangxi, the Russians were defeated one after another. Now, each generation of descendants is worse than the last."
Having said this, Ye Mingchen let out a long sigh, hating that iron could never become steel.
Immediately, Ye Mingchen continued: "Secondly, compared with the strength of the armies under Yi and Prince, there is a huge gap. Whether it is the combat effectiveness of the army soldiers or the weapons and equipment used by the soldiers, they are far inferior to you. There is no doubt that Yi will be defeated in the war. I followed Yi, but in the end it ended in disgrace; thirdly, Yi usurped power and seized the throne, and took advantage of the late emperor's death to launch a mutiny. His name was not justified, so how could I support him."
After talking about it, even Li Zhen agreed with Ye Mingchen's words.
However, Li Zhen could not be convinced by these words.
Li Zhen said with a smile: "Governor Ye, your words are very convincing, but they are empty words. What if you really took refuge in Yi, but then deliberately lied to me and were willing to be used as a pawn planted by Yi in the king's army? Isn’t this king a huge loss? Most people who become bandits and join the bandit dens need to submit a certificate to prove themselves. Since Governor Ye knows about Yi’s people’s activities in Guangzhou, he must know these contacts. I want to get it Everyone, can Governor Ye do it?"
When Ye Mingchen heard this, a look of embarrassment flashed in his eyes.
According to Li Zhen, he wants to reveal all of Yi's contacts and completely oppose Yi. From now on, he can only stand on Li Zhen's side and cannot maintain his aloof status. Ye Mingchen pondered in his heart. He originally wanted to use this matter to He showed his loyalty through his work and gained Li Zhen's trust. Now he showed his loyalty with the help of the people Yi placed in Guangzhou, and the effect was even better.
After Ye Mingchen figured it out, the expression on his face became more respectful, as if he regarded himself as Li Zhen's minister.
