Chapter 344: Diligent Last night, it rained at 3 o'clock, and life was chilly for another day
Chapter 344: Diligent Last night it rained at midnight, and life got a cool day
"The music of the officials is clearly there, but it is not as good as the one in the singing field."
In the Forbidden City, at the Grand Council, Imperial Tutor Qiao was composing a poem, nodding his head, looking very proud.
The level of Master Qiao's poems was very high, most of which were about the scenery of Hailing. However, these two lines were a bit shameful, as they were used to disparage his old subordinate Ma Xinyi.
When Qiao Songnian was the governor of Anhui, Ma Xinyi served as the Anhui Censor after Shao Quanzhong was promoted from Anhui Censor to Anhui Provincial Governor, and was Qiao Songnian's subordinate.
Ma Xinyi was recommended by Yuan Jiasan as the provincial governor, so he was considered one of the emperor's own people. However, Ma Xinyi was later favored by Empress Dowager Cixi and was promoted all the way up the ranks. His promotion speed was similar to that of Shao Quanzhong. He was quickly promoted to the governor of Zhejiang and later became the governor-general of Liangjiang.
Ma Xinyi became a public enemy of the Hunan and Huai River regions. Cixi nominated him as the governor-general of Liangjiang and replaced Zeng Guofan, which offended the officials of the Hunan Army.
The Governor-General of Liangjiang also governed Anhui and Jiangsu, and he also became an enemy of the Huai Army.
Is it possible for ordinary people to be the public enemy of Xianghuai? Even if you have the support of the old Buddha, it may not be of any use.
Before taking office as the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Ma Xinyi specially returned to his hometown in Heze, Shandong to worship his ancestors and visit all his relatives.
Before leaving, he summoned his two brothers to his secret room and repeatedly warned them: "It is hard to predict whether my trip will be good or bad. If anything unexpected happens, you must not go to Beijing to file a complaint. Only by keeping silent can you protect yourself."
The two brothers were horrified when they heard this and did not dare to tell any of it to their family.
Ma Xinyi was appointed Governor-General of Liangjiang. In addition to weakening the power of the Hunan and Huaihe warlords, Cixi also secretly ordered him to investigate where the tens of millions of silver in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's treasury had gone.
This was obviously a job that would cost him his life, and he had already anticipated that his life was in danger.
Haiqing and Lesen both asked Shao Quanzhong whether to kill him, but Shao Quanzhong refused.
The matter of Nanjing was handled thoroughly, and it should be impossible to investigate it after so many years. Ma Xinyi actually had no ability to get rid of the Huai Army's insurance team system. The Huai Army had a solid foundation, and an airborne official could not dig out the roots of the Huai Army.
However, someone from the Intelligence Department has been following him. If he finds out any clues that the Huai Army has swallowed up the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's treasures, they will not be polite.
In fact, Ma Xinyi was very honest and did not dare to investigate the whereabouts of tens of millions of silver. The Huai Army Intelligence Department formulated a plan to assassinate Ma, but the conditions for launching it were never triggered.
Shao Quanzhong was unwilling to assassinate someone unless it was absolutely necessary, but others did not have his patience. Last month, as expected, Ma Xinyi was assassinated in public.
The assassin Zhang Wenxiang was arrested calmly. He took all the responsibility for the assassination of Ma and stated that it was a personal act.
This - 300,000 Hunan troops were reduced to one town. These soldiers who were used to killing and robbing had no place to be resettled or given official positions after retirement. Could they honestly do farm work?
Now the Hunan Army's territory is full of gangs and hooligans who collect protection fees. It is easy to find a loyal warrior who is willing to sacrifice his life in exchange for a wealthy future for his family.
That would have been fine, but the problem was that the Hunan Army wanted to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, so they went even further.
Shao Quanzhong knew how to use a song and dance troupe to create publicity, didn’t the Hunan Army understand this?
As soon as the Ma Xinyi assassination case happened, opera troupes from all over the country began to perform the plays they had arranged. They portrayed Ma Xinyi as a villain and a pervert who killed his brother and took his brother's wife. After killing his sworn brother, his third brother Zhang Wenxiang upheld justice and assassinated his eldest brother who had done evil.
The confession of the arrested Zhang Wenxiang was the same as that of the troupe. The person had just died and the play was performed there. There was no time for the scriptwriter to rehearse, and the fabrication and distortion of facts were too obvious.
Then, the old Hunan Army generals boasted about the "hero" Zhang Wenxiang and prepared to publicly erect a monument to commemorate him.
The matter was too extreme, and knowledgeable people in the court submitted memorials one after another, demanding a thorough investigation of the assassination of Ma and finding and punishing the murderer behind the incident.
A group of mice decided to tie a bell to a cat's neck. When the cat comes, the bell will ring, and we will survive. It's a good idea, but which mouse will tie the bell?
So the matter dragged on for a month, and no regulations were agreed upon, and the position of Governor-General of Liangjiang was vacant.
A man's butt determines his head. Master Qiao is the spokesperson of the Xiang-Huai faction in the Military Affairs Council. Putting aside the facts, is it right for Ma Xinyi to betray the old leader of the Xiang-Huai faction and join the old Buddha?
Therefore, Master Qiao supported the folk opera troupe's vilification of Ma Xinyi and wrote a crooked poem for the first time, throwing a basin of dirty water at Governor Ma who had been dead for a month.
After Master Qiao finished writing the weird poem, he suddenly found that there were fewer people in the Grand Council office. All of them were called by the Empress Dowager to the Western Warm Pavilion to perform temporary poems, except for him, the foreman.
Cixi and the young emperor who was about to take power convened an emergency meeting of some members of the Grand Council in the West Warm Pavilion to study the memorial sent by Shao Quanzhong from Port Said and the assassination of Ma.
Wen Xiang was the first to fire, "I told you Shao Quanzhong is an idiot, but you still don't believe me. I won't say anything about him spending so much money to buy a canal that loses money, but he also wants to set up a province in the barren land of Sinai and assign people to govern it, and even dispatch a town of Hunan troops to guard it. How much money will this waste? Isn't this just a burden to the court?"
Prince Chun Yihuan waved his hand and said, "Prince Rui, this is a mature strategy for the country. The elite Huai Army is now heading to Europe and has already entered the Mediterranean. If we transfer the Hunan Army out of the Central Plains and send them to Sinai, there will be no separatist regimes in the core territory of the Qing Dynasty."
"Compared to the stability of our Qing Dynasty, that amount of military expenditure is insignificant. I support Prince Rui."
Ronglu, Shen Guifen, and Baojun bowed together, "I second the motion."
Zhang Zhidong remained silent.
Now the little emperor understood. He didn’t expect that his mother’s appeasement was so effective. Shao Quanzhong had actually been working hard for the Aisin Gioro family.
However, even if you risk your life, I cannot forgive you.
The little emperor interjected, "Shao Ni is heading straight to France now. He probably won't be able to come back. Why don't we quickly tie up that old fellow Qiao Songnian and put him in jail!"
Zhang Zhidong, who had been silent the whole time, finally came out. "Your Majesty, please be steady. I suggest that you first ask Master Qiao to return home to recuperate on the grounds of old age and illness, and then make a final decision after seeing the outcome of the war in France."
Cixi behind the curtain was very satisfied. Zhang Zhidong had completely surrendered to me. After all, he was the third place winner selected by me, and he had already begun to make sincere plans for the royal family.
Cixi finally made the decision, "Send Grand Tutor Qiao back to his hometown to retire. As for the assassination of Ma, since the Hunan Army obeyed orders and left, it means Zeng Guofan still doesn't want to rebel. Give them face and let them handle it themselves." After the meeting in the West Warm Pavilion, the court issued an edict.
Taking pity on the old and sick Grand Tutor Qiao, he allowed him to return home to retire. Li Hongzhang was transferred to the Grand Council to take up the vacancy left by Grand Tutor Qiao, and Prince Chun Yihuan was made the head of the Grand Council.
Zeng Guofan was reappointed as the Governor-General of Liangjiang and was responsible for investigating the Ma assassination case.
Ahem, the Ma assassination case is not complicated at all, the difficulty is that no one dares to investigate it. Zeng Guofan definitely did not instigate the assassination of Ma, but if he were to investigate the Ma assassination case, it would definitely end in nothing.
If it was discovered that Zeng Guoquan was the mastermind behind this, would Zeng Guofan arrest his brother?
Politics is ruthless and dull.
The Xiang army obeyed the order to withdraw from the vassal state and be exiled to the Sinai Peninsula, and the imperial court gave face to the veterans of the Xiang army. Ma Xinyi was sacrificed, lost his life for the royal family, and was splashed with dirty water, that's all.
…………
The next afternoon, Qiao Songnian appeared in Hailing Zombie Park.
After several years of construction, the Beijing-Hailing Railway (Beijing to Hailing), which was the top priority, has been fully opened, but the railway bridge across the Huanghuai River is still under construction, and a ferry is needed to cross the river.
It used to take two and a half days to travel 800 miles by express train, but now it can be done in one day.
It was early autumn and it had just rained in Hailing. The autumn heat had retreated. Lord Qiao, who had just been dismissed from office, stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the familiar Zheyuan, and seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood.
"It rained last night, and life has cooled down for another day. I have been in the political world all my life, and now I am crowned a king and given the title of Grand Tutor, and I am returning home in glory. There is nothing more satisfying in life than this."
The accompanying Lord Wu Wenxi looked anxious, "Mr. Qiao, you are so patient. If you dismiss me now and Yu Ting loses his troops in France, you and I will be confiscated and exterminated."
Qiao Songnian waved his hand, "When Zhang Zhidong sent me out of Beijing, he told me that Yu Ting would definitely win this time. Let me relax and enjoy myself for a while."
"You, Wu Wenxi, have been in Hailing the whole time. Don't you know what the Hailing Arsenal has produced? Don't you know what the Good Fruit Company is producing? Don't you know what the Lanzhou Arsenal is doing?"
Um, Lord Wu really doesn't know. He is a retired old man who spends his days traveling and reciting poems. He doesn't have the opportunity to be exposed to state secrets like Qiao Songnian and Zhang Zhidong, high-ranking officials of the Military Affairs Bureau.
Qiao Songnian looked around and said, "Lord Wu, this won't do. The Zhe Garden has declined a lot under your leadership. I didn't go back to my hometown in Shanxi, but came to Hailing to recuperate, just for the Zhe Garden."
"Why don't you sell the Zhe Garden to me, and I will do a good job of renovating it and restore it to its original appearance, so that the famous garden will not be left empty."
"You, Wu Wenxi, are worried about spending too much money and being impeached about where the money comes from, but I am not afraid. As a county prince, I get an annual salary of 5,000 taels of silver and 5,000 hu of rice. Wouldn't I just waste it on fun? No one can say anything."
"When I return to the capital, I will return the Zhe Garden to you. It will become a magnificent place in Hailing."
"Thank you, Master Qiao, for your care."
Lord Qiao was dismissed from office and went back to Hailing to rebuild the Zhe Garden, and the Zhe Garden was revived from then on.
Lord Qiao restored the name of the Zhe Garden to its former name of "Rishe Garden" and spent money to restore the landscape of Rishe Garden to its most prosperous time.
However, due to Lord Qiao's great reputation, no one called it Rishe Garden, so Zhi Garden was called "Qiao Garden" by everyone. Even after it was returned to Wu Wenxi, it was still called Qiao Garden.
…………
Havana Port, Cuba.
Outside the port, there were many sails, as more than 180 thousand-ton steam transport ships were docking one after another. In the distance, more than 40 steam sailing warships did not enter the port, but were guarding outside.
All these warships and transport ships flew the American flag. On the flagship Congress, Commodore George Dewey, who was promoted above his rank, was the fleet commander of this second "escort" mission.
The entire American Atlantic Fleet is here, and its size has expanded significantly.
After completing this "escort" mission, George Dewey, who was favored by President Johnson, might be promoted again to lieutenant general and become the commander of the Atlantic Fleet.
The new 3,000-ton steam ironclad cruiser "Atlanta" class is already being fitted out. Three ships, "Atlanta", "Boston" and "Chicago" are being built at a time. All of them will be assigned to Dewey's command. When Dewey returns, his ship will be replaced with an ironclad ship.
With the establishment of the Qing-American Alliance, the Federation's economy was given a shot in the arm, recovering quickly and growing vigorously. This increased the Federation's ambitions, and the abandoned navy has regained funding.
In the port, American equipment is piled up like mountains.
The 130,000 Cuban Taiping Army reservists have all received a full set of American equipment, converted into mercenaries, and are boarding the transport ships in an orderly manner.
On the transport ships on the sea, there were two "Irish Young Volunteer Divisions" equipped with full American equipment, with a total of 28,000 people, who were equipped and boarded directly in the United States.
There were nearly two million sets of weapons left over from the American Civil War, but they could not be sold at all and were piled up in warehouses to rust. It would not cost anything to equip hundreds of thousands of people.
The fleet has been here for a week, and now everyone is finally on board. Brigadier General Dewey, wearing a general's uniform, is in high spirits.
"Weigh anchor, sound the whistle, and set off! Crossing the Atlantic, destination: Europe!"
(End of this chapter)