In the name of the Yamen of the Prime Minister's Office, Ding Richang drew up an irrevocable plan for the Fujian Shipping Administration Bureau. There were six reasons for this:
1. The Western powers were able to dominate the Qing Dynasty because of their strong ships and powerful artillery.
Second, only by independent research and development of shipbuilding can we not be controlled by others. Western man-made ironclad ships have a history of hundreds of years. I have just tried to build them, so I cannot give up halfway.
Third, in order to catch up with the Western powers, Japan, a small country, has already gone ahead of the Qing Dynasty. It has even built additional steel plants, manufactured armored ships, and imitated foreign guns and cannons. We, the Qing Dynasty, cannot lag behind others.
Fourth, all the previous efforts are wasted, and the subsequent effects are difficult to achieve, and the expenditure is turned into waste, which not only makes outsiders laugh, but also undermines the aspirations of the general public.
5. Maintaining ships and training troops to enrich the country and strengthen its military.
Sixth, "Please Come in to the Bank" will raise funds of ten thousand taels of silver for the "Fujian Shipping Bureau", and will raise more than ten thousand taels of silver for the Shipping Bureau every year in the future.
The last point hits the mark. The Ministry of Revenue only provides 30,000 taels of silver to the Fujian Shipping Bureau each year for maintenance funding. Now it is equivalent to the "Fujian Shipping Bureau" no longer applying for funding from the state. The Ministry of Revenue only needs to pay the salaries of officials in the Fujian Shipping Bureau. In fact, Li Guolou secretly negotiated with Ding Richang, and the amount given to the Shipping Bureau next year will not be less than 10,000 taels of silver. The two of them have a hand and will work out a new figure based on the actual situation in the future.
Ding Richang wrote such a memorial like a dragon, eloquently and confidently. He smiled, threw the brush away, and passed it to Li Hongzhang with a relaxed pace. Prince Gong stroked his short beard and nodded kindly in approval.
Li Guolou frowned and said: "Prince Gong, Li Zhongtang, I have tried my best. Don't trouble me again within a year. Let me finish the errands on hand, and don't make other plans for me." The province's goal is beyond the reach of the province without talents, even if I know how to make money,"
"Okay, okay," Prince Gong said three times in a row, looking at Li Guolou with a smile. With Li Guolou raising funds for him, there is nothing he can't accomplish.
Taking advantage of Prince Gong's happiness, Li Hongzhang began to complain and slander Zuo Zongtang. He was talking about the Machinery Bureau set up by Zuo Zongtang in Lanzhou, which learned the model of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau and copied it to revitalize the southwest military industry.
"Prince Gong, Zuo Zongtang, who was born in the year of Donkey, always aims too high in everything. When he first founded the Fujian Shipping Bureau, I wrote to him repeatedly, asking him to follow the steps step by step and start on a small scale. I also specifically warned him that he would be careful in raising funds and You must not be sloppy in employing people, but this Hunan stubborn donkey just refused to listen to me. He insisted on submitting the 30,000 taels to the court for approval, and let the profiteer Hu Xueyan go to negotiate the loan with a foreign bank. In the end, it was more than half of the foreign money I borrowed from Qing Dynasty. I don’t know what the boss thought, but he actually approved it. Now it’s good that he just slapped his ass and left. This mess of Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau has left me and Yusheng He came to take care of it and dragged the small building into the sewage in this beach. It would be better for his brother to go to the northwest and there would be no peace. It is better to let the big profiteer Hu Xueyan borrow money from foreigners. I will not talk about the interest. He also made bold claims that the Lanzhou Machinery Bureau would be bigger than the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. If he continues like this, the Qing Dynasty will collapse first before it becomes strong, and it will be dragged down by the economy."
Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang had a bad relationship. They had different political ideas and different ways of employing people. Zuo Zongtang liked his subordinates to be as honest as water and capable ministers and officials. He wanted horses not to eat grass at night, but wanted horses The children ran happily, and the agricultural economy was effective. As for the modern industrial projects, they were all unfinished projects. The Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau was originally a key military industrial project planned by Zuo Zongtang when he was in Fujian.
Li Hongzhang liked his subordinates to be capable, able to make a lot of money, and become rich. He allowed his subordinates to commit corruption and bribery, but he required them to be able to achieve results. This was forced, and it was also the need of the times. The superiors above must be filial, even the emperor, Both the empress dowager and the prince had to accept bribes. Officials who could not make money were of little use to Li Hongzhang.
"Well... I know who is trustworthy," Prince Gong unconsciously glanced at Li Guolou again. He was also a businessman. Li Guolou only wanted a favor and took over the water transportation cash business, and directly transferred the money to Li Guolou. Millions of dollars were paid in taxes to the country, but Hu Xueyan was colluding with foreigners, raising interest rates on foreign money, and embezzling the country's money.
Li Hongzhang also glanced at Li Guolou and had the same thoughts as Prince Gong. It was rare for Li Guolou to contribute to the country at a young age. He could also speak English and was good at making friends with foreigners. He was really a rare breed. " There are three outstanding figures of the Westernization faction: "Jai Zi Liu", "Little Jai Zi" and "Fake Foreign Japs". He is full of confidence to be the Minister of Commerce and Affairs of Beiyang.
"Prince Gong, don't you think the small building looks like a person?" Li Hongzhang suddenly said during the chat. He loved Cai Cai very much and thought of a past event in the Qing Dynasty.
"Who is it?" Prince Gong rarely had free time and stopped meeting other guests. Instead, he drank afternoon tea with the three men who had negotiated a deal.
"That American Burlingame, who has a Qing background," Li Hongzhang chuckled.
"Oh..." The three people's eyes were all focused on Li Guolou, trying to find the shadow of Burlingame in him, which made Li Guolou feel a little angry and felt unfair for himself.
The American Burlingame was originally an American diplomat. In the 11th year of Xianfeng's reign, he was sent to the Qing Dynasty as the minister of the legation. During his tenure, he had a good relationship with Prince Gong. In the 6th year of Tongzhi, Burlingame resigned, and the United States appointed Williams as the minister.
At this time, Hurd, another British general who held an important position in the Qing Dynasty, jumped out and proposed to the Prime Minister's Office whether Burlingame could be appointed as the "Minister for Chinese and Foreign Affairs" in the Qing Dynasty. Hurd's reason was that : Burlingame has a loyal heart, and has traveled to Western countries and is familiar with the conditions of each country. Prince Gong has a good impression of Burlingame, and now it is recommended by Hart. He immediately agreed and handed the brochure to the Queen Mother of the two palaces.
The Empress Dowager Cixi didn't know much about diplomacy at first, so she listened to the advice of the "Japanese Six", and this time she was equally accurate. In this way, Burlington, an American from the Qing Dynasty, stayed in the capital and was entrusted with important tasks by the Qing Dynasty. He soon formed the Qing Dynasty. Burlingame's visiting mission,
Prince Gong also gave the American Burlingame two seals, "Minister in charge of all foreign affairs with China" and "Minister of Imperial Envoy", which made Burlington, an American from the Qing Dynasty, so happy that he woke up from his dream several times.
In the year of Tongzhi, Burlingame led the Qing envoys from the capital to represent the Qing Empire as envoys to the United States, Britain, Prussia, Russia and other countries. In that month, he signed the "Sino-U.S. Continuation Treaty" with U.S. Secretary of State Westward in Washington, U.S. Unlimited expansion of U.S. trade interests in the Qing Dynasty,
In April of the first year of Tongzhi, Burlingame went on a diplomatic mission to Russia. Before the official visit, Burlingame died of an acute illness the next day, and the mission returned home.
What kind of character Burlingame was depends on benevolence and wisdom. From the Westernizationist point of view, the Qing Empire did not collapse, but was able to embark on the road of revival. Burlingame took the greatest credit. In recent years, foreigners were willing to help the Qing Dynasty and buy guns. He provided artillery to the Qing Dynasty, and even organized foreign gun teams to destroy the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Eastern Diversion, all because Burlingame worked through it and made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty.
And those knowledgeable people all laughed at Prince Gong for doing the stupidest thing. Even foreigners found it difficult to understand and thought it was very naive. He actually let a foreigner be the foreign minister of the Qing Dynasty.
At this time, Li Hongzhang raised the Burlingame matter because he believed that Li Guolou had the bearing of a diplomat. Of course, he was not mocking Prince Gong. You must know that the British Chief Tax Secretary Hurd, who recommended Burlingame, is now from Shanghai because of Li Guolou's lack of communication. Although he was transferred, he still held the important position of Director of Tianjin Customs and Taxation. Prince Gong and Li Hongzhang still favored the British man Hart.
This is also a common problem in the Qing Dynasty. The Chinese people are not yet familiar with the situation in the West. They are blind to many things. Foreigners need to be hired for external affairs. There is also a foreign gun team of 3,000 people stationed in Tianjin. At this time, it has not been disbanded to protect the Qing Dynasty. This army made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty. It was directly commanded by Li Hongzhang. The Beiyang Navy hired many foreigners, not to mention the manufacturing bureaus and senior technicians all hired foreigners.
"Well... Guolou, it's easy to work hard. The great weapons of the country need to be sharpened," Prince Gong gave Li Guolou the highest praise, and he will promote Li Guolou in the future.
"I would like to thank Mr. Zhongtang for your cultivation." Although Li Guolou did not agree with Burlington as a person, he also knew what Li Hongzhang meant. He wanted to train him as a diplomat. Who called him a "fake foreign devil"? He had studied abroad and knew foreign languages. , the family also has several foreign wives,
The banquet was started, and four people took their seats one after another. Each person had a large glass of skin wine. The "skin wine" made at this time was made from large wooden wine barrels, which is an original ecology. The four people who admire foreign countries raised their glasses and prepared to drink the first wine. After drinking a glass of wine, Li Hongzhang sat down in vain and chuckled: "I won't clink glasses with you. I still want to live a few more years in this world."
"Cackle, cluck," "Jai Zi Liu," "Little Jaap," and "Fake Foreign Japs" laughed together, raised their glasses high, and shouted: "Cheers,"
Li Hongzhang smiled and said: "Tomorrow the teahouse will tell this allusion, and the three of you can also become brothers in Taoyuan,"
After joking and talking without any etiquette, they clinked glasses casually and spent a banquet in laughter. Li Guolou left the Prime Minister's Office with a belly full of wine and a full meal. It was almost nine o'clock when he got home. Now, the house is still brightly lit, with oil lamps and lanterns filling the living room and corridors. Everyone at home is waiting for him. Thirty servants have already changed their clothes, all dressed like sergeants. Seeing the servants dressed up, full of energy and joy. Li Guolou was quite satisfied with the appearance. Ten official slaves came to the living room, which were the servants assigned to the fifth-rank officials by the Ministry of Rites.
When Li Guolou saw this group of official slaves, including middle-aged maids and young maids, he felt frightened. The spies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were lurking among these people. From now on, the court will know about his every move. , this group of people must not be allowed to enter the inner house,
The grandmothers at home stood nearby, beaming with joy. Chen Xiangfang smiled and said: "How are you doing, Xiaolou? Is it okay?"
"Well, very good. It's too late today. Let them rest in the yard next door. The errands will be arranged tomorrow." Li Guolou politely nodded to a group of maids and said hello, then turned and returned to the inner house.
Li Guolou immediately called Chen Xiangfang, Xie Xiuzhu, Zhen Yuhuan, and Wu Peipei. The five of them hid in the bedroom and murmured, lowering their voices and saying: "Don't laugh so happily. Among these ten official slaves, there must be someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs." Even some people in our family have been bribed by outsiders. Please be careful what you say in the future. Ronglu of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is very arrogant. He gave me a mansion on Shiwangfu Street and wanted to get along with me. Now he has got a few more powerful people. The pretty little maid wants to seduce me and wants me to die early. This boy is the eldest son of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Seeing that I am favored in front of the two empress dowagers, she uses her evil tricks one after another."
Chen Xiangfang retorted: "Xiaolou, why do you say that to me? Today I had someone send me five hundred thousand taels of silver notes."
Li Guolou looked sideways and sneered: "Grandma, don't think that if someone gives me a banknote of 500,000 taels, he is my good friend. Doesn't this money come without interest? I am afraid when I see money now. The more I save, the more money I save." , the more people try to mess with my crooked thinking, Prince Gong invited me to dinner tonight, and he asked me to shell out ten thousand taels of silver for each meal. I want to leave the capital as soon as possible now. If I don’t leave, someone will ask me to do it again. The country is for the people,”
Zhen Yuhuan was also shocked and quickly asked about the cause and effect. Then she felt a little relieved. However, the family was under a lot of pressure and the money had not been earned yet. A large amount of interest had left people with no time to think about anything else.
Xie Xiuzhu said suspiciously: "Xiaolou, how are the ten maids arranged?"
Li Guolou sighed: "What can I do? In order to reassure the master, when they move, let them all work outside the house and put them outside as a cordon."
Chen Xiangfang asked: "Xiaolou, just now you said that someone in our mansion was bribed, do you think it was who it was?"
"Hey, people are all greedy. No matter how nice you are to them, you are not satisfied. It's better for you not to know. Let these slaves who cheat on you make some money by selling information about our family." Li Guolou refused to say it clearly, but Let the grandma at home be careful, and even your own "mom" should be careful,
Li Guolou got up and made the grandmother at home uneasy. They were all thinking about who would betray their interests. Tossing and turning, the family did not sleep well all night.