Chapter 370: When will the dragon lie low? The river will flow

Chapter 370: When will the dragon lie low? The river will flow

Chapter 370: When will the dragon lie low? The river will flow

The next morning, the Forbidden City was silent.

The meeting of the Grand Council was cancelled early, and the princes, dukes, beizi and beile in the city who had not slept all night did not receive any news.

The high-ranking officials from various countries who were waiting to meet the Qing Dynasty's top leaders in the Forbidden City were warmly received by the Prime Minister's Office and tasted all kinds of Qing Dynasty court delicacies, but they were not told when the emperor would receive them.

The senior officials knew that Shao Quanzhong had just returned to China and must be engaged in a game of interests with the top leaders of the Qing royal family. Only after the result was out would he have time to receive foreign visitors.

They understood that they came to the capital to support Shao Quanzhong and exert pressure on him as a powerful country. Meeting with the emperor was just a formality, so there was no rush.

Is Shao Quanzhong playing a complicated political game? Ahem, he is sleeping soundly on the big bed in the west warm room.

Yesterday, he inherited the will of the late emperor, fought bravely, and defeated six generals. The women's revenge group left by the late emperor finally defeated the powerful minister on another battlefield, causing heavy losses to Shao Ni.

It is said that when people lie down, they are calmer and less likely to get carried away and make irrational decisions.

After scientific calculations, a UN official suggested that UN meetings should be held lying down in the future, which could reduce many unnecessary armed conflicts and save the common people who have suffered from war.

This proposal was not passed because it was too unconventional. However, Shao Quanzhong has now put it into practice.

In the afternoon, Shao Quanzhong woke up and held a high-level sleepover meeting in the bedroom of the west warm pavilion on the adjustment of the structure of the Qing Dynasty court.

The three participants had an unusually candid and selfless face-to-face exchange, and the meeting was a complete success.

Real business meetings are like this, with welcoming parties and banquets, they basically only talk about feelings and not business.

Once the relationship has become closer and they have become familiar with each other, when they discuss business, they don't drink, don't talk about feelings, keep a clear head, haggle over every penny, and won't give an inch.

This is the case with Shao Quanzhong and Cixi and Ci'an. The so-called business talks over the wine table are actually low-end small businesses...

On the morning of the third day, the fourth day of the fourth month of the tenth year of the Tongzhi reign, Empress Dowager Cixi summoned all the ministers of the Grand Council and drafted an edict to be issued to the whole country, confirming the reward for Shao Quanzhong's return from the European expedition and the final plan for the adjustment of the court structure.

Shao Quanzhong led an expedition to France and made unprecedented contributions to the country. He was granted the title of General Fuyuan, the title of Taibao, and was posthumously named Prince Heshuo for the fifth generation.

Shao Quanzhong was given the title of "Regent" and was named "Heshuo Regent Rui Prince", and was given the Leopard House as the Regent Prince's residence.

Grand Tutor Qiao Songnian was promoted to Prince Qinke, and Minister of Revenue Zhang Zhidong headed the Grand Council.

Guaerjia Wenxiang was dismissed from his post as Minister of Personnel and the Grand Council, and transferred to be the Governor-General of Sichuan.

The British Columbia Governor Rong Hong was appointed Prince of Jinchun and was assigned to work at the Grand Council.

The first-class baron Wu Wenxi was re-employed and appointed as the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

Zeng Guofan was promoted to the first-class Duke Yiyong, and the title was hereditary without interruption, and he was dismissed from the post of Governor-General of Liangjiang.

Shao Hengzhong was promoted to Governor-General of Liangjiang and given the title of Minister of War.

Song Lejin was a third-class viscount and was transferred to be the governor of Jiangsu.

At the same time, Shao Quanzhong submitted a letter of thanks, asking for the exemption of the title of "Regent", and resigned from the posts of Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of War. He only retained the three honorary titles of "Prince Heshuo Rui", "General Fuyuan", and Taibao, and lived in seclusion in Hailing.

He recommended Grand Tutor Qiao Songnian to be given the title of "Regent" and be named "Prince Regent".

Qiao Songnian and Wu Wenxi moved into the Leopard Room to monitor and rectify the government.

He recommended Yung Wing as the Minister of the Zongli Yamen and Lin Bo as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

The court readily approved it, and a letter of thanks was also sent throughout the country.

All the princes, dukes, beile and beizi in the capital had not slept for two days. They finally felt at ease on the morning of the third day and all fell into a sound sleep.

It’s okay, the Qing Dynasty has been saved.

His mother, the Empress Dowager, personally led the five concubines in the harem to pacify the powerful ministers and successfully. Shao Quanzhong neither rebelled nor deposed the eldest son and enthroned the youngest son, and he even did not serve as regent.

Even Wen Xiang, who had always considered himself Shao Quanzhong's mortal enemy, was not held accountable, but was simply transferred out of the Grand Council. It is not an exaggeration to say that it was a promotion for a frontier official to be transferred from the central government to the governor-general.

After a dazzling series of operations, Shao Quanzhong was promoted to the highest official position at the age of 31 and lived in seclusion in Hailing, which was basically considered retirement.

He also promoted Zeng Guofan's title three times and then retired with him.

All the warlords who emerged to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom have disappeared at this point, and our Qing Dynasty has become peaceful.

The imperial court merely appointed another king of a different surname, and a prince at that. Shao Quanzhong just managed to get his father-in-law Yung Wing the treatment of a prince.

The title of Prince of a County is not hereditary. After a few generations, its rank will be reduced to a negligible level. As it is said, Yung Wing does not even have a son yet, so it is not certain whether the title can be passed on.

Our Qing Dynasty had previously enfeoffed nine kings of different surnames, six Han and three Manchu.

The banner kings of different surnames included the founding heroes Yangguli and his son Fukangan.

The Han kings of different surnames include King Sanshun, King Pingxi, Sun Kewang, and Huang Fangdu, who died in the war against Zheng Jing. The last one was posthumously honored.

Most of them are heroes in the founding period of the country.

Now there are three more people, Shao Quanzhong, Qiao Songnian and Yung Wing. This is the price the court paid for safely passing through the turmoil of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

In fact, it was not necessary for Yung Wing to be given the title of a prince. The main thing was to give him a status so that he would be qualified to be in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was the most suitable position for him.

…………Hailing, Qiao Garden.

Lord Wu Wenxi and Qiao Songnian laughed at each other.

"Grandmaster, Zhang Zhidong is indeed wise. They didn't allow you to lead the Military Affairs Council, and now they are begging you to do it, but you still refuse to do it."

"You are now the Prince Regent. You have absolute control over the Qing Dynasty. Even the Emperor has to listen to you. It is worth it for you to have adopted this son."

Master Qiao smiled and twirled his beard, "What a pity! I just built the Rishe Garden, but neither you nor I got to enjoy it. The kid Yuting got the advantage. He went to Hailing to live in seclusion at such a young age, leaving us two old brothers to go to the capital and suffer. He is really unkind."

"Master, you are showing off, do you know that? My adopted son traded the Leopard House for Qiao Garden. You made a fortune."

"I know what Yu Ting is thinking. I, the Prince Regent, am just a decoration. He asked me to help him build the Leopard House. Otherwise, why would he ask you, Lord Wu, to come out and supervise all the officials? This hard work is yours."

"I will not care about anything else. I will just maintain the garden for Yu Ting for a few years. When I am too old to do it anymore, I will retire. I am afraid that the time Yu Ting has been waiting for will come. I will then exchange Rishe Garden with him. As his adopted son, I am not a smart person. How can I really live in seclusion?"

Wu Wenxi is full of energy, with the demeanor of an old horse still eager to run further.

At that time, he had no hope of promotion in the officialdom, so he retired and went home, living in seclusion in the stink garden, intending to stay there for the rest of his life.

Unexpectedly, just because he arranged a servant for his mother-in-law to participate in militia training, he has now regained his youth and become a big boss in the central government, supervising officials all over the world.

Wu Wenxi took up his brush and wrote two lines of poetry that he had written for Dujiangyan when he was in charge of the Sichuan Salt and Tea Road: "When did the dragon lie down, and the river flowed."

Mr. Wu has lived in seclusion in Hailing for more than ten years, and his works are all about traveling and enjoying the scenery. Now he is full of vigor and vitality, and his calligraphy has become majestic.

The two brothers packed their bags, boarded the train, and headed for Beijing to take up their posts.

When the two elders Wu and Qiao arrived at the Leopard House, they saw the words "Virtue is shared by all people" written by Shao Quanzhong himself on the screen wall at the entrance.

The two men smiled at each other. Since Yu Ting had this ambition, it meant he was definitely not going to live in seclusion. We officials would not have to worry about the future, as our descendants would still be able to hold high positions and enjoy high salaries in the new dynasty.

In a pavilion in the Leopard House that was filled with portraits of meritorious officials, the young emperor formally met with President Johnson, accompanied by Shao Quanzhong and Maria serving as an interpreter.

The little emperor had nothing to talk about with the President, so he left after a few polite words. Johnson, on the other hand, chatted and laughed with Shao Quanzhong.

"Congratulations, Shao. You are now a general and the commander-in-chief of the Qing Dynasty's armed forces. Your subordinates control the most important territories of Liangjiang and Guangdong. The internal affairs, foreign affairs, and supervision of the Qing Dynasty are all under your command. I believe that under your leadership, the Qing Dynasty will surely prosper."

Shao Quanzhong was about to say something polite when he suddenly saw his Guards Brigade Chief of Staff Fan He peeking at the door.

Fan He is a steady man. He would not be so rude as to disturb the Marshal's meeting with others. Something important must have happened.

Shao Quanzhong bowed to Johnson and said, "Sorry, I'll go ask what happened."

Arriving at the door, Fan He reported in a low voice, "Yokohama has just connected the trans-Pacific telegraph cable between Qing and the United States. The intelligence personnel over there sent us an important intelligence about the latest war situation in Japan."

"What's going on? Are Generals Zhang and Yang not making progress?"

"It was very smooth at the beginning. Since the main force of the new army of overthrowing the shogunate, 3,000 people, was annihilated in Ezo, the army was able to advance like a hot knife through butter. It took only one month to march from Ezo to Kyoto. It was basically a process of marching, and we did not encounter any decent resistance."

"More than 100,000 soldiers from the southern Japanese feudal domains gathered in Kyoto to support the king. A great battle broke out near Fushimi Castle. Yang Fuqing defeated the Japanese pirates and almost all of their main forces were destroyed."

"The Taiping Army also suffered heavy losses, with casualties reaching 20,000. Generals Zhang and Yang were furious and massacred the capital, killing and wounding 300,000 civilians, and turning the city into a scorched earth."

"Meiji fled southwards, and Generals Zhang and Yang left the rubble area of ​​Kyoto and retreated to Azuchi Castle, where they rested by Lake Biwa and sent 50,000 Japanese vassal troops who had been brought along along the way to pursue the Japanese pirates."

"Since the Japanese pirate army was defeated in the defense of Kyoto, the vassal army quickly moved south and reached Kyushu Island in a month, occupying more than 90% of the Japanese territory."

Shao Quanzhong was very surprised. "The reformists are out of soldiers and land. From what you said before, Zhang and Yang are still at a disadvantage?"

"Meiji was desperate, so he went to Liu Mingchuan stationed in Hirado and expressed his willingness to surrender and become a vassal. He wanted to be a rich man."

"There has been no telegram from Hirado so far. Liu Mingchuan made a quick decision. While sending a report back to China, he also asked for help from the neighboring Joseon Dynasty. He received help from Joseon's 20,000 troops stationed in Busan."

"Liu Mingchuan went north to fight?"

"No, he sent 20,000 Joseon troops to fight against 50,000 Japanese vassal troops, risked his life by leaving only 1,000 logistics soldiers to guard Hirado, brought a town of Shanghai troops with him, transferred the Beiyang Navy stationed in Sasebo to help, sailed directly to Osaka, and suddenly landed in Osaka."

"Osaka was only defended by the vassal army. Liu Mingchuan launched a surprise attack with the support of the Beiyang Navy's artillery fire. Osaka fell in the middle of the night."

"The 50,000 vassal troops of Generals Zhang and Yang were originally peasants held hostage by the Taiping Army. Their retreat and food supply were cut off by Liu Mingchuan, and their morale was greatly reduced. They were defeated by the 20,000 regular troops of the Li Dynasty."

"Right now, the regular army of the Li Dynasty is marching quickly to join Liu Mingchuan's landing surprise attack force, preparing to attack the main force of the Taiping Army in Azuchi Castle."

"Liu Mingchuan's troops are equipped with the latest Krupp cannons and Mauser bolt-action rifles."

"Generals Zhang and Yang's troops are equipped with American-style equipment, or Schneider modified breech-loading rifles. Only a few of them are equipped with French-style striker-type bolt-action rifles, and they still use paper-wrapped fixed bullets."

"In addition, Generals Zhang and Yang now have 100,000 troops, of which only 30,000 are veterans, and the remaining 70,000 are newly recruited Chinese workers in France. They have not yet completed formal training and are basically a mob."

"The two generals thought that they would suffer heavy casualties if they faced the combined forces of the advanced-equipped Shanghai Army and the regular army of the Joseon Dynasty."

"The situation in Japan is critical now. Liu Mingchuan is very arrogant, clamoring to conquer Ezo in two months and take over Japan for the Qing Dynasty."

"General II was preparing for a strategic retreat. Just as the Yokohama telegram came through, I urgently reported the battle situation to you. Now - what should I do?"

(End of this chapter)