Li Hongzhang rushed to Jinan and was discussing how to properly resolve the hostage problem in the court. Li Hongzhang was most concerned about the lives of foreigners. He was in a dilemma about whether to appease or fight. The old minister wanted to pursue the country and refused to express his position.t
The pressure from ministers from various countries made Shandong Governor Zhang Renjun frown. He argued with tactics in every possible way and refused to encircle and suppress Sun's armed forces. He was afraid that the kidnapping case would turn into a flagrant rebellion. The Sun brothers made the kidnapping case because they were blackmailing foreigners with rare goods. The imperial court has no intention of rebellion. If it is not handled properly, the consequences will be that Shandong will be thousands of miles away, and the Nian army will poison Shandong. The evil deeds are obvious to all and will remain fresh in people's minds. He does not want Shandong to start another wave of immigrants, so as long as someone proposes to Lincheng When he entered the army, Zhang Renjun's Chinese-character face turned into a shoehorn, as if he wanted to eat people.
He Fengyu, the commander-in-chief of Yanzhou, was heartbroken about the rebellion among his subordinates. Unfortunately, he was a guilty man and was weak in his words. He did not listen to his words. He wanted the Qing army to leave. However, his three wing commanders ignored him and asked the governor in front of He Fengyu. Zhang Renjun asked for instructions.
Zhang Renjun took the Sun brothers' letter of opinion and asked Li Hongzhang to study what could satisfy the Sun brothers without mentioning the idea of entering the army.
At this time, the army of the Qing Dynasty learned from the Prussian army. The army was organized as a regiment and division, and the wing commander (regiment commander) directly took orders from the general soldier (division commander). There was no governor in Shandong, so the general soldier took orders from the governor.[
Zhang Renjun, the governor of Shandong, could not be cruel and let several military meetings end quickly. Now Li Hongzhang came. Unexpectedly, Li Hongzhang was more afraid of foreigners and did not dare to mention the invasion of the army. He looked at the conditions proposed by the Sun brothers and carefully read them one by one. Research.
There are five main conditions offered by Sun Meifang:
1: Government troops lift the siege and withdraw to their original defenses;
2: Recruit the Lincheng garrison into four wings, with Sun Meifang as the general and Sun Meijing as the deputy general;
Three: Sun's armed forces are stationed in Lincheng County and Weishan County;
Four: Replenish munitions and issue one-year military pay to the four wings;
Five: Zaozhuang Coal Mine does not allow foreign investment.
Sun Meifang also had a verbal condition, punishing He Fengyu, the commander-in-chief of Yanzhou who rebelled. The Lincheng garrison could not stand He Fengyu's oppression, so they took the risk and kidnapped foreign businessmen as a last resort.
Someone has to take the blame. The Sun brothers did not dare to point the finger at Zhang Renjun, the governor of Shandong. He Fengyu, the commander-in-chief of Yanzhou, became the main culprit in the kidnapping case. He Fengyu became the target of public criticism. He inexplicably stood at the forefront of the storm and suffered criticism from everyone.
Li Hongzhang looked at the opinion letter and Zhang Renjun's comments on each condition. He couldn't help but get angry and angrily shouted: "Zhang Futai, do you know the consequences of supporting the bandits with funds?"
"Master Fu Xiang, I just want to rescue the hostages. As long as the hostages come back safely, I will immediately surround Sun's armed forces and never let the bandit leader escape the severe punishment of the country's law." Zhang Renjun has a shameless face and keeps his word. He is a true man. He didn't care how many good gentry and dignitaries signed and pledged his name as security for what he did.
"It's ridiculous, Zhang Futai, you have to know that the Sun family's armed forces have weapons and equipment of 4,000 people and can capture Jinan at any time. The consequences are even more serious. We must not allow the bandit armed forces to expand their army. At most, the Sun family's brothers' armed forces can return to their original state. The imperial court guarantees the supply of military pay for one wing, and the coal mines in Zaozhuang can be assigned to their jurisdiction. If you want to negotiate, you must show sincerity. The consequences of deceiving others will harm others and yourself." Li Hongzhang was good at negotiating and put forward pertinent opinions to the point. .
Zhang Renjun hurriedly said yes and took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Li Hongzhang's majesty made him frightened. However, Sun's armed forces had hostages in hand and refused to agree to Li Hongzhang's conditions. What should he do? Zhang Renjun was confused. The kidnapping case made him famous all over the world. If he handles it properly, his career will be prosperous and he will be promoted to the position of governor. If he handles it improperly, his career will be over for a lifetime. There is also the danger of being demoted and having his house confiscated. Now he does not dare to fight, and he cannot reach an agreement. , Zhang Renjun complied, listening to Li Hongzhang's nonsense, hoping that the Sun brothers would give Li Hongzhang face and agree to the conditions set by the court.
Li Hongzhang was so strange and ruthless that he refused to say much. Instead, he let everyone speak enthusiastically. As long as he listened patiently, he could find a close friend. He relied on obedient Westernizers to do things. He only used one kind of person to run errands, and Li Hongzhang beat everyone else. Into the cold palace.
Since Li Hongzhang said that he wanted to negotiate, few people disagreed. Several generals in the army said that they could not send troops. Even He Fengyu, the general in command of Yanzhou, supported the idea of holding back the troops for the first time.
Yanzhou Commander-in-Chief He Fengyu's subordinate, Wing Commander Chen Shiqi, didn't know what was going on. He looked at Li Hongzhang strangely. After hearing the long speeches of the officers, he couldn't help but said: "Excuse me, Mr. Fu Xiang, my subordinates heard that the New Armed Forces and the Changsheng Army We have already stationed in Yong'an Township and Wangzhuang Township, saying that we are going to attack Lincheng, and Li Guolou is marching alone, what should we do?"
Li Hongzhang was so shocked that he almost forgot about Li Guolou. This guy sees things thoroughly, does things very quickly, and is daring to take action. He is incompatible with the social atmosphere. However, Li Guolou is invulnerable. No one dares to throw dirty water at Li Guolou. Now he is facing The structure of the church is that he is the leader of the Westernization faction, who uses his head to think about problems and plan for the next five years. Li Guolou is the whip of the Westernization faction, just like the whip of God, which can wipe out all the evils of the Qing Dynasty and leave them alone. , and asked him to cover Li Guolou's ass.
Li Hongzhang pretended to have revealed the truth as if it were a miracle, and stroked his beard and said: "Chen Shiqi, you don't need to worry about this. I have my own ideas. Zhang Liang has a clever plan to bring peace to the world, and Lincheng is all in my hands."
Li Hongzhang thought that Li Guolou would not obey the military orders of Shandong Governor Zhang Renjun and would attack Lincheng without permission. He was preparing to tamper with Shicai's ideas at any time and wanted to know how Li Guolou arranged his troops.[
The streets of Jinan were bustling with people, and cheers could be heard even in the quiet lobby. Zhang Renjun was a little upset and shouted angrily: "Go and check what's going on outside."
"Yes." The two Goshhars walked out of the lobby and wanted to find out what was going on outside. Before they left the yard, a sergeant on a fast horse rushed straight into the hospital, turned over and dismounted, his movements were neat and clean, and in that dress, No one dared to stop him, because the sergeant had three red flags on his back, which was a sign of victory at the Eight Hundred Miles Red Flag.
"Report, red flag news, a great victory for the New Armed Forces, and the bandit leader Sun Meifang has been crowned." From far to near, a sergeant with three red flags on his back has entered the room, making everyone in the lobby stand up in surprise.
"What, say it again." Zhang Renjun couldn't believe his ears and stared at the sergeant who delivered the news.
"Report to Zhang Futai, here is Li Guolou's report of victory." The sergeant blushed, waiting for the silver reward to be received.
"Report the great victory of the ever-victorious army, conquered Lincheng two days ago, and wiped out the stubborn enemy in one fell swoop." In the blink of an eye, another sergeant entered the room, turned over and knelt in front of all the adults. At a glance, he knew that this was a scene directed by the director of the post office. What a show, this is called double happiness.
Li Hongzhang was like Kong Ming with his feather fan and turban. He was the only one who sat still and said calmly and seasonedly: "Okay, thank you for your hard work. I will reward you with two silver coins. There will be rewards at the stations along the way. Go down and have a rest."
A letter of silver coins, that is, ten silver coins sealed together with kraft paper. Two sergeants left the hall happily holding two letters of silver coins, still shouting: "The New Armed Forces have a great victory" and "The Ever-Victorious Army has a great victory"
This was to let the people in the city know about the great victory at Shenfengling and the conferment of the head of the bandit leader Sun Meifang.
In the lobby, Li Hongzhang and Zhang Renjun each held a document and were reading it. Li Hongzhang saw that Li Guolou wrote at the end of the letter, "Promoting peace through war is the best strategy." He couldn't help but think deeply and forgot to hand over the document reporting victory.
The subordinates saw it.
Zhang Renjun was impatient and ignored official etiquette. He grabbed the letter and read the general content clearly. His face turned red and blue for a while. Zhang Renjun expected that the Sun brothers would not stick to Lincheng, and the ever-victorious army captured Lincheng.
What's the big deal? This is to be expected. Sun's armed forces will definitely move to Baodugu, the bandit's lair. But it is expected that Sun Meifang will die.
In Shenfengling, Sun Meifang had 3,000 elite soldiers in his hands. How could he be killed by Li Guolou? It makes sense that Li Guolou only had 1,000 troops in his hands, and together with the Victory Army, the total was only 3,000 troops. Sun
Meifang still had thousands of militiamen in her hands. No matter how you looked at it, Sun Meifang did not deserve to die like this. The terrain in Shandong should be more familiar to the bandits, so how could the New Armed Forces successfully attack her.
There were countless mysteries that Zhang Renjun couldn't solve, and he muttered: "Well, Li Guolou deserves to be a Jinshi, a talented person who governs the world, his attacks are as fierce as a tiger, as fierce as a tiger."
The officials in the lobby circulated two documents reporting victory and chatted in low voices.
"Grandma's bear, now that the victorious army has taken over, the brothel and prostitute village in Lincheng must have been taken over by foreigners. We have worked so hard, why is it nothing?"
"Li Guolou is really good at winning people's hearts. If the Ever Victorious Army is willing to obey Li Guolou's orders, money must be at work. We are too far away from Li Guolou and we will suffer a big loss this time."
"We need a navy to attack Weishan Lake. Let me be the captain this time. Once you go out, someone has to pay for the travel expenses."
The commander-in-chief, deputy generals, and wing commanders of the four groups were very angry. It was their troops who surrounded Sun's armed forces, which allowed the New Military Army and the Ever-Victorious Army to achieve a great victory. In fact, the biggest contributors were sitting in the Jinan court.
"I told you a long time ago that we were going to fight a war, but you didn't listen. Now it's better. The pockets have emboldened the foreign gun team. The outflow of silver is your fault." He Fengyu, the commander-in-chief of Yanzhou, felt confident and couldn't help it.
Referring to mulberry and scolding huai, it alludes to the actions of Zhang Renjun, the governor of Shandong. Although he was the guilty person, he was fully emboldened by the thought that Li Guolou was helping him.
He Fengyu prepared to attack alone, but the three wing commanders did not listen to his orders, so he took his own troops and set off. Li Guolou can accomplish a great feat with a thousand men. He has a thousand elite soldiers, no worse than the Xinwu Army.
Although we can't capture Baodugu, we still have confidence in attacking the bandit den in Weishan Lake.
Zhang Renjun is not a jealous person. He certainly hopes that the kidnapping case will be solved as soon as possible. Seeing his officers arguing endlessly and thinking about making contributions, he has forgotten how important the lives of foreigners are. He jumped up and shouted: "Don't make any noise, listen to Mr. Fu."
Your Majesty's instructions, you must understand that the thirty-five foreigners are still in Sun Meijing's hands, and we are still using the enemy as a weapon to prevent them from attacking."
Li Hongzhang coughed, stopped smoking, put down the long pipe in his hand, and said slowly: "Zhang Futai is careful, in the future we will talk about forty-five hostages, Qing businessmen are also the objects of our care, we must not favor one over the other, Han
The hearts of people all over the world."
Zhang Renjun stood up and saluted: "Thank you very much, Mr. Fu Xiang, for your teachings. I will keep this in mind. The businessmen of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce are all patriotic compatriots. I will try my best to rescue the forty-five hostages from the tiger's den." [
Li Hongzhang spoke, and the hall became quiet. His high position and power made people awe-inspiring. Li Hongzhang was used to it, and he said in a deep voice: "It has been my decision long ago to mobilize Li Guolou's new armed forces and Browning's victorious army to Shandong.
The two of them are united in spirit and will destroy the enemy's main force in one battle. You must learn from them."
"Yes, learn from Li Guolou and pay tribute to Browning." The officers in the lobby roared loudly, as if they were rushing to the battlefield. They all stood motionless with their chests and belly protruding. Since Sun Meifang is dead, Lin
The main force of the city garrison was gone, and the remaining bandit forces were nothing to worry about. Every officer was determined to die.
The lives of the thirty-five foreigners were very important and related to the face of the Qing Dynasty. Li Hongzhang was in charge of Jinan to rescue the thirty-five foreigners, and he was willing to spend a lot of money to buy the bandit armed forces at any cost. The Zaozhuang coal mine was his bargaining chip.
But the Qing government could not make too many concessions to the kidnappers. Li Hongzhang wanted to make peace with the kidnappers.
The kidnappers negotiated and were willing to give the kidnappers a way to survive, but Li Hongzhang had a bottom line, that is, the bandit armed forces could not threaten the state power. Let the bandit armed forces turn into a town and four thousand people eat the imperial food. This was something he would never allow. The consequences would be too terrible.
, we must not allow heroes like Zhang Xianzhong to appear in the Qing Empire.
Li Hongzhang adjusted his strategy and made two-pronged preparations. He decided to use a two-pronged approach of suppression and pacification, and issued a military order for the four armies to march towards Weishan Lake. Under his planning, Li Guolou could reach a higher level. Li Hongzhang would add the icing on the cake and make persistent efforts to capture Weishan Lake.
Shanhu, leaving the bandits in Baodugu alone and waiting to be killed, in exchange for the forty-five hostages at the minimum price.
Li Hongzhang was so scheming that he did not believe that bandits dared to kill foreigners. The dead were valuable. Under heavy siege, the bandits would definitely break up and disintegrate. Li Hongzhang was well versed in the philosophy of using barbarians to control barbarians. He had caused troubles in Xiaoqiang but kept it secret. The evildoers would let Shandong go.
Governor Zhang Renjun was appointed, and Li Hongzhang was a man of his word, known as the "Iron-Blooded Prime Minister of the East."
Listening to the sound of firecrackers in the city, the roar of gongs and drums, and the voices of people celebrating, Li Hongzhang was pacing cheerfully, as if dancing on the green bricks. With Li Guolou as the pioneer, victory was immediately achieved, and Li Guolou's horoscopes and his
The official fortunes are perfectly coordinated. As the saying goes, if everyone is prosperous and everyone suffers, Li Hongzhang's gold and stone voice sings military songs, just like the beating of a broken gong.