Super dictator.

There was an order, and Wang Wenshao had no good solution. He just said that he asked the emperor to let Wei Jichen temporarily assist him in military affairs at the meeting.

Then the few people chatted about the current situation. Wang Wenshao asked about the situation on the Liaodong battlefield, and Wei Jichen answered them one by one. Before he knew it, two hours passed. Seeing Wang Wenshao's great interest, he An aide next to him had to remind him that government affairs were busy.

Seeing this, Wei Jichen got up to leave. Wang Wenshao didn't know whether he really valued Wei Jichen or was just pretending. In short, he enthusiastically sent Wei Jichen to the gate of the governor's office, and asked his servants to bring a few horses so that Wei Jichen and others could travel. A carriage Let Wei Jichen pretend to be a gift from Guangxu.

"My lord, where are we going?" Wang Huaiqing asked without saying a word after seeing Wei Jichen got on the horse.

"Go and see the central hall." Wei Jichen said softly.

For Li Hongzhang, Wei Jichen's feelings are quite complicated, full of mixed feelings.

Not long after Li Hongzhang came back from Japan, the Huai army was the loser, and Li Hongzhang was the one who signed the contract. He must be the one who was reviled by the Chinese people in the end. However, in Wei Jichen’s opinion, those in Beijing are the most worthy of reviling. , It's a pity that history will only remember those who left their names.

In any case, as a member of the Huai Clan generals, Wei Jichen had no reason not to visit him, even if Li Hongzhang was about to lose power.

After asking for the direction, Wei Jichen rode on. There were a lot of wandering soldiers in Tianjin City. Fortunately, Wang Wenshao was still capable. Wei Jichen didn't see the behavior of forced buying and selling. At most, he saw soldiers whistling to women passing by. some type of.

Half an hour later, Wei Jichen appeared at the door of Li's residence.

To Wei Jichen's surprise, the gate of Li's mansion was not only busy, but there were quite a few vehicles. It may be that Li Hongzhang had just returned to Tianjin, and his former disciples and officials still had favors, so it would not be easy to separate the relationship immediately.

Turning over and dismounting, the servants of Li's mansion rushed over.

"Excuse me, do you have a greeting card?" Although the servant asked politely, he couldn't hide a look of contempt on his face.

Come on, it's another person who judges people by their appearance, it seems that next time they will have to dress up in bright clothes.

Too lazy to talk to him, Wei Jichen directly reported his name and said: "Please also inform Zhongtang, just say that Wei Jichen is asking to see you."

"I didn't return the invitation, wait...wait, who do you say you are?" the servant asked in shock.

"You birdman, my military gate wants to see Lao Zhongtang, why are you still making noise here, if you don't inform me, be careful, you won't be able to eat and walk around." Wang Huaiqing opened his eyes wide and shouted angrily.

"The villain will report now, and report now." The servant hurriedly walked inside.

Only those with the official title of admiral can be honored as the military gate, not even the chief soldier. Of course, in order to show respect, some people will also call the chief soldier the military gate, just like the title of deputy county magistrate in later generations. Same as the county magistrate.

Not long after, the butler of the Li Mansion walked out quickly.

"Wei Junmen, Zhongtang is meeting some Zhili officials inside, please go inside." The housekeeper made a gesture of invitation, and then ordered the servants next to him: "Lead these military masters to the side room next door to have a rest."

Wei Jichen saw that the butler was very methodical, he couldn't help but secretly praised him in his heart, and as if reflexively took out a bank note from his arms, and quietly handed it over.

Unexpectedly, the housekeeper repeatedly waved his hands and said, "How dare you accept Wei Junmen's money, I have a lot of admiration for you. You must know that during these days, as soon as I hear about you, my master's mood will improve a lot."

It turned out that the servants of Li's mansion had figured out a set of rules a long time ago. As long as there was news about Wei Jichen from the front line, they would rush to report it, because it would definitely be good news. Li Hongzhang felt happy, They would give a reward of one or two dollars, and if it was news about other people, the servants kept silent and refused to report it, because most of it was bad news.

This irregular rule really became a rule later on, because Wei Jichen had never let them down, so the servants of the Li family really admired Wei Jichen.

When Wei Jichen walked to the entrance of the hall, he saw more than a dozen officials standing in a long line, holding their breath and waiting quietly.

This was the situation when Li Hongzhang was about to lose power. If it had been before, it would have been even more serious. Wei Jichen clicked his tongue secretly. No wonder some people called Li Hongzhang "sitting in Beiyang and ruling the government from afar".

An official at the front of the row was talking to an old man with a goatee and a mandarin jacket.

Wei Jichen had seen too many photos of Li Hongzhang, and he didn't even need to take a second look to confirm that the old man with the goatee was Li Hongzhang.

Li Hongzhang leaned on a cane, half closed his eyes, and listened expressionlessly.

As for the person who was talking to Li Hongzhang, Wei Jichen could only see the back, and it was very familiar.

The butler directly led Wei Jichen forward, while the officials couldn't help secretly guessing Wei Jichen's identity.

After walking two or three steps, Wei Jichen heard their conversation.

I just heard the official say: "Report to Zhongtang, the preliminary plan for military training has been deployed, and the German instructor has also been hired. The contract can be signed within a few days, and it can be formally launched immediately."

Training?Wei Jichen paused in his heart, it sounded familiar, hey, isn't this Yuan Shikai?Wei Jichen glanced at the profile, and immediately recognized it.

It turned out that Yuan Shikai was a realist, and Li Hongzhang gave him an official in charge of logistics. He was unwilling. Before that, he ran up and down the capital to find another way to sell his military training plan to Rong Lu, Weng Tonghe and others, and finally succeeded. , I got a Zhili inspector to come to the post, but he didn't take the post but was a full-time military trainer. He was preparing to take over the new army compiled and trained by Guangxi inspector Hu Yufen in Tianjin Machang.

The Zhili inspector is a local official, so he is naturally at the forefront of meeting officials. At this time, he is reporting military training to Li Hongzhang.

Wei Jichen was waiting for the housekeeper to go forward to report. At this moment, Li Hongzhang suddenly interrupted Yuan Shikai's report. He opened his eyes suddenly, raised his cane, thumped the ground, and said sharply, "Blind, kid!" I know how to train soldiers, and how to sign contracts! I have been in charge of soldiers for decades, but I have not yet dared to say anything. Is it so easy to train soldiers? You look at some foreigners, carry some foreign guns, and shout some foreign passwords. Is it considered a Western-style army?"

The 36-year-old Yuan Shikai was reprimanded by Li Hongzhang as a child, and immediately blushed and dared not refute. Li Hongzhang suddenly became so angry that all the officials lowered their heads. It looked extremely awkward.

Seeing this, the butler hurried forward and said, "Zhongtang, Wei Jichen and Wei Junmen are here."

Wei Jichen's three words were like magic. All the officials who bowed their heads suddenly raised their heads and looked at the young man in front. If it weren't for the unusual silence at this time, they would definitely start whispering.

However, although unable to talk, these officials continued to communicate with each other through their eyes.

Li Hongzhang took the opportunity to go down the steps. Firstly, he was in a really bad mood just now, and secondly, he had always been worried about Yuan Shikai running under the sect of his political enemy Weng Tonghe, so he suddenly became angry.

Li Hongzhang coughed lightly, stood up, and said in a dark and affectionate way: "Zijie, Zijie is here."

Wei Jichen stepped forward to salute and said with a smile: "As soon as the boy came, he saw Lao Zhongtang arguing in a bullfight, his voice was like a bell, and he scolded Brother Wei Ting so much that he didn't dare to say anything."

"Well, you Wei Zijie, you said the old man is unreasonable when you come here." Li Hongzhang smiled and looked Wei Jichen up and down. He still had a heart for this young man who dared to argue with himself in the telegram. Favorable.

Regarding the Beiyang Fleet, although Wei Jichen was somewhat blamed, after the Japanese marched rapidly and occupied Weihaiwei and the surrounding islands almost effortlessly, Li Hongzhang also figured it out clearly that there was only one way to die.

Wei Jichen blinked innocently, and asked in confusion: "Did you say Zhongtang that you are an unreasonable person?"

Yuan Shikai glanced jealously at Wei Jichen, who was chatting happily with Li Hongzhang, and at the same time secretly admired him in his heart. Damn, this kid is really good at fighting, and he has established his reputation with a series of victories. No wonder he is angry when he speaks. If you are calm, you really have the style of a general.

Seeing Wei Jichen's dusty appearance, Li Hongzhang couldn't help asking curiously: "Zijie, didn't you just return to Tianjin?"

"Indeed, not long after I returned to Tianjin, I originally wanted to visit you Zhongtang right away, but I never thought that Mr. Wang would have someone bind the boy to the Governor's Mansion at the train station. No, I came to see you Zhongtang right after I left the Governor's Mansion," Wei Jichen told the truth. To be honest, he didn't think that Li Hongzhang couldn't find out that he had been there.

Li Hongzhang smiled with some relief, and then said sadly: "I never thought that Zijie would come to see this traitor, old man."

Just as Wei Jichen was about to say some comforting words, Li Hongzhang waved his hands, turned around, and said to the officials with a smile, "Come on, I will introduce you to a young talent of our Huai Army."

Everyone had heard the conversation between the two just now, and now they all came forward to salute, and it was very lively for a while.