The Empress Dowager Cixi was waiting for Prince Qing Yikuang to jump out to refute Li Hongzhang's proposition, but she waited for Prince Qing and other conservatives, but no one jumped out to speak. This was quite different from the usual court discussions, and she felt a little bit in her heart. Strange, why is this?
The Empress Dowager Cixi listened to the bickering between the Qing school and the Westernization school, and after several rounds she got the general idea. She couldn't help but smile and said: "Since you are all talking about Li Guolou, Li Guolou, you should step forward and speak. ,"
"Zha, this slave obeys the order," Li Guolou responded with a cry, took a step forward and knelt on the gold brick floor. He felt so aggrieved that those Qing sects actually said to him in the court, "The reason for the lack of personal morality is because The reason for returning from studying abroad, "In the upright Jinluan Palace, the people of the Qing Dynasty are really shameless. Both sides are trying to reason and tell the facts. How can they expose his background? These things are all in his files, the Queen Mother Didn’t he still be appointed as the prostitute?
Li Guolou said loudly: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces, I have to make some rebuttals first. How can private ethics be discussed in an open and aboveboard court? Private is a secret. Can a gentleman do it in the court?" Are you talking about private life? Even if you have an opinion on the moral character of a slave, you can report it to the court and let the emperor and the empress dowagers of the two palaces judge you. The first thing the country chooses to recruit is based on the person's ability. Just like Chen Ping, the founding hero of the Han Dynasty, in the history books It was also written that he had shortcomings in personal ethics, but it still could not cover up the great achievements he had made. In the end, Chen Ping dedicated his whole life to the Han Dynasty and died in his job as prime minister. What an admirable person he was. The slaves took Qu Nihou as an example. , I want to make immortal contributions to the Qing Dynasty. It is my wish to be granted the title of Marquis. I will bear the humiliation and taste the gall of bitterness. I will ride the wind and waves in the future and the blue sky will shine in the east."
Li Guolou was really quick-witted, and his speech not only made the princes and ministers look at him with admiration, but also made two admiring "um" sounds from behind the Ci bamboo curtain. Even the Empress Dowager Ci'an also had a good impression of Li Guolou. ,
Li Guolou showed gratitude and continued: "I have read the books of sages and learned foreign literature. It is meaningless to talk about which one is better and which one is worse. If there is a big debate, it should be placed in the Hanlin Academy, not in the Imperial Academy. We talked freely during the meeting in Yangxin Hall, because this principle is so profound that no matter who starts it, we can’t finish it in a day. Our Qing Dynasty does not want to educate the people with foreign culture, but needs to master some things that are not written in the teachings of our saints. The actual operation skills, as the saying goes, teach the apprentice to starve the master to death. Therefore, the senior foreign technicians hired in the Qing Dynasty will have reservations in order to save their jobs. Everyone has selfish motives, and it is absolutely not the case. Because those technicians are foreigners, but it is due to human nature. If you want to break this pattern, you can only go out, learn all the skills of foreign technicians, and start from laying the foundation in a down-to-earth manner. Only in this way can you build tall buildings and let smart people School children learn Western skills from an early age. This is just like the sage teachings we learn. Only after ten years of hard work can we gain something. How can a half-hearted person become a Jinshi on the second list? The content is the actual experience of the servant. The so-called "seeing flowers in the smoke", who can explain it clearly? If you want to have the right to speak, the servant dares to say that I can listen to the words of Li Guolou, a student who has studied abroad and studied Neo Confucianism assiduously. By avoiding many detours, the Qing Dynasty relied on a group of people like Li Guolou who were able to integrate foreign affairs into China. The ultimate goal is to let Neo-Confucianism flourish and go to the world. In the future, the Qing Dynasty will be able to stand tall in the world. At the top, the grand scene of congratulations from all nations is just around the corner. I hope that the Emperor and the Queen Mother of the two palaces will fulfill this slave's wish."
Li Guolou was so thick-skinned that he boasted about himself so much that the Qing school was unable to do anything about him for a while, because what Li Guolou said had gone back to the original source, and finally fell into the Neo-Confucianism of the sage.
"Well... Li Guolou is a loyal and patriotic man. I admire your courage and confession, please give me peace." Empress Dowager Ci'an, who seldom spoke, spoke up, and her words were true to her words.
The historian next to him immediately recorded it in the record. "Li Guolou is a loyal and patriotic man." This sentence was the highest praise given to Li Guolou by Empress Dowager Ci'an of Donggong, who was the mother of the world. It will be recorded in the annals of history forever.
Even the Empress Dowager Cixi was happy after hearing this. She and the Empress Dowager Ci'an nodded to each other, praising Li Guolou for being an eloquent man and worthy of being their favorite Tanhua Lang. His words were so resounding that even the Westernization School and the Qing Dynasty School could not speak out.
The sound of the sound and the silence of the flags and drums ceased. The princes and ministers were all distracted by Li Guolou's words. For a while, no one could figure out the reason behind his words.
Li Lianying found the booklet about Li Guolou from the folded plate and handed it to the Empress Dowager Cixi to read. She was delighted again. Li Guolou was written in both Manchu and Chinese characters. Such a servant is considerate.
The Empress Dowager Cixi smiled happily and said: "Well, the more you debate, the clearer it becomes. Today's court meeting presented an eloquent Li Guolou, who spoke very well.
The truth is, regarding Prince Gong’s excerpt "Intended to Select Schoolchildren to Study Abroad", the imperial court approved it, but they were not allowed to let the failed candidates go to the Prime Minister’s Office to study foreign language. Even if they failed to pass the exam, they could still become officials. Didn’t Zuo Zongtang do what he did in Shaanxi?
Governor Gan, besides, you can still take the exam again after two years. Don’t you understand the principle of eager for quick success and quick gain, and destroying the potential of others?"
"I accept the edict to express my gratitude and send you to the Emperor. The Empress Dowagers of the two palaces are setting off." Prince Gong glanced proudly at the group of Qing faction that had not changed from the past. The morning ended with the victory of the Westernization faction. Those who snitched would not have a good end.
Emperor Tongzhi kept silent from beginning to end, and kept reading the book. There was no emotion or joy on his face. Finally he said: "Appreciate the Li Guo Tower with one flower feather at a glance."
"Slave, thank you for your grace, long live my emperor," Li Guolou knelt on the ground and kowtowed. The ministers next to him turned green with envy. There was a "blue feather" on the official hat of the fifth-rank official, and "
"Hua Ling" was worn by officials of the third rank. In the eyes of Emperor Tongzhi, it was equivalent to
Li Guolou was treated as a third-grade official, and there was a certain way to reach the sky in one step. Li Guolou climbed to the top, which made the princes and ministers dumbfounded. This is how "He Shen" climbed up. They all talked about him behind Li Guolou's back.
Cheng was the "He Shen" beside Emperor Tongzhi.
Li Guolou just stepped out of Yangxin Hall. Li Hongzhang whispered: "Guolou, come with me to Tianjin tomorrow."
"Zha, I am willing to accompany you," Li Guolou babbled, but did not dare to object. He had a wife and a large number of children, so he had no choice but to leave alone and work diligently on errands for the country and the people.
After attending the morning court, ministers are not allowed to whisper to each other. This is to avoid suspicion. The so-called clique is to gather together to form cliques. Therefore, no matter what the relationship between the princes and ministers is, after the morning court, they all walk with their heads down, and those who sit directly in the sedan chair sit in the sedan chair.
Those who got on the carriage got on the carriage and went home, some of them had to go to the Yamen to run errands.
Li Guolou went straight to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Yamen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was not far from Xihua Gate. He had an official title of "Wanshoushan Project Supervisor" and his office was there. He was the emperor's personal servant and ran errands for his master.
He has to go to the office several times. Minister of the Interior Ronglu is also one of his immediate bosses. In the future, he will also contribute 1% of the funds allocated to the Wanshou Mountain project from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to Ronglu.
Ronglu always appeared in Li Guolou's mind. He looked like a gentleman and was radiant. He tried to win over him and show his kindness to him. A banknote of 500,000 taels was sent to him the next day. , but to play tricks on him, he was allotted ten official slaves all at once. I didn’t even think about how many spies from the Ministry of Internal Affairs were among them. They actually got five pretty little girls to seduce him.
Alas, Ronglu is so rich. He is the most famous official in the capital who likes to show off his clothes. He is very particular about clothes and decorations. Every winter from November to the Lantern Festival of the following year, Ronglu wears his clothes for two and a half months. The mink coat he wore was not worn twice. There was a new style every day. In order to make it easier to wear and identify, he numbered hundreds of mink coats and sewed them into the clothes to avoid wearing them repeatedly. This is what Ronglu is like. Flaunting his taste, worth and strength, wondering whether Ronglu was an enemy or a friend, Li Guolou came to the headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with his hands behind his back.
Next to Xishiku is the magnificent courtyard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. There is still a need to check the seal at the gate. Li Guolou took the seal of "Wanshoushan Project Supervision" from his personal follower Cheng Kun. After checking it, he led a group of men Enter the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
If the Ministry of Household Affairs is likened to the "Banking Department", then the Ministry of Internal Affairs is the golden mountain. The Qing Empire's normal treasury income per year is 30 to 40 million taels of silver, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs needs at least 10 million taels of silver to cover its own profits and losses. , to allow the palace to operate normally. If the general ledger is calculated, the fiscal revenue of the Qing Dynasty is actually at least 50 million taels per year. One-quarter of the country's finances are spent on the emperor. In a feudal society, all the money left by the country was ultimately spent by the emperor. Go, the manpower and material resources required to maintain a huge royal family are terrifying. This is a national secret. Outsiders can only rely on imagination to describe the scenes of royal life.
Ronglu did not come to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Li Guolou was directly led by two eunuchs to a courtyard. On the left and right of the door stood two brand-new signboards "Wanshoushan Project Office" and "Wanshoushan Project Preparation Office".
"Hahahaha, this is really nice. It's the most luxuriously decorated office I've ever seen." Na BaZi took the lead in crossing the threshold with bared teeth and claws. He had already turned into a phoenix. In terms of benefits, Li Guolou was the first to think of him. Here From now on it will be his territory,
"What are your names?" Li Guolou could now speak straightly to the eunuchs.
"Hey, hey, Mr. Li, my name is Yan Mei'er and his name is Xiao Lian'er. We are the clerks here," the eunuch Yan Mei'er warmly entertained the new master Li Guolou and several of his followers, as well as the eunuch Xiao Lian'er. Busy pouring water and tea,
Li Guolou was sitting behind a large desk, a chair or a sofa chair. It seemed that the eunuch knew that he was a fake foreigner and got him a foreign chair. Li Guolou tried the elasticity of the sofa chair and nodded in approval. Said: "Yanmei'er, Xiaolian'er, I won't treat you two badly when you go on errands with me in the future. You must work diligently on your errands and understand the rules. You can't do things that break the rules. If you stretch your hands out of bounds, I can't protect you. I understand. ?”
"I understand, understand, Mr. Li, don't worry. We have been promoted step by step. How can we break our own rules?" The eunuch handed over a stack of banknotes with a charming smile. These are the rules. The new officer When you arrive, I will give you a brief introduction to my heart.
"Well... you have a bright future with your charming eyes and smiling face. I won't move you two. From now on, listen to Mr. Caijin and you will be the first to benefit," Li Guolou said without any hesitation. He politely asked Na Bazi to accept it. He didn't even look at how many banknotes there were. This was just the beginning. In the future, his hands would be weak when accepting money.
"Thank you for your kindness, Master," Yan Mei'er, with tears flashing on her smiling face, knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Li Guolou and Na Bazi respectively. These were their first and second masters.
Yan Meier brought the account book and gave it to Li Guolou to look at. This is not a running account book, but a general income ledger. The two eunuchs have also just been promoted to the Wanshou Mountain Project Preparation Office. This is also the rule in the palace. After a few years of service, you have to step down. You have a certain limit on how much money you can make. If you continue to make money without limit, you will attract people's hatred. If your subordinates have no hope, why don't you betray your superiors?
When Li Guolou looked at it, he also sighed deeply. The country has been at war, and the Old Summer Palace can only sustain the annual repair costs, which are slightly more than each year, but still do not exceed 600,000 taels of silver. The life of the empress dowagers of the two palaces is very hard. Ah, this little money can only maintain the normal operation of the Old Summer Palace.
"Well... I know. I will deal with Mr. Rong. In the future, the amount of money allocated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs will not be less than one million taels. As for the shortfall, I will cover it for the two empress dowagers. The Empress shared her worries. From now on, all the funds for the Wanshou Mountain Project will be deposited in the bank, and the interest earned will be given to the two Queen Mothers for their birthdays. This rule is stated as an iron rule in the Wanshou Mountain Project Office. It will be written down and submitted to the Palace Chronicle. "Stop," Li Guolou made a move to make the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces have a good impression of the people who came to the bank.
"Zha," Meier with eyes and a smiling face was still laughing as she knelt on the ground. From now on, the Wanshou Mountain project will receive at least two million taels of silver every year. The future will be even more terrifying figures. They finally got through it.