The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 338 As long as Luo Xueshuai takes action, the Qing Dynasty will definitely get better! (Please subscribe, please vote)
Shanghai, Xujiahui.

Weng Tonghe and Ronglu, accompanied by a group of followers carrying large and small bags, took the address of his family's newly purchased luxury house in Shanghai and asked along the way. They finally found a Chinese-style garden house covering an area of ​​20 acres with a "Wenglu" sign hanging at the gate.

This should be the 21-acre mansion of Weng Tonghe in Xujiahui, Shanghai. acres, more than square meters, not the building area, but the pure land area! If this house is passed down to the st century, the descendants of the Weng family will be rich!
"clap clap"

A servant of the Weng family went up and knocked on the gate, and then saw a small door on the door creaking open, and then a gray-haired old man poked his head out from inside, squinting his eyes and asking, "Who is it?"

Weng Tonghe recognized it as his housekeeper An at a glance, and immediately said with a smile: "Uncle An, it's me, Weng San!"

The old man took a look at Weng Tonghe and immediately recognized him: "Third Young Master! Third Young Master is in Shanghai. Hurry up, go and invite the Second Madam, the First Miss, and the Second Miss."

The old man asked people to invite Weng Tonghe's second sister-in-law Yang, and sisters Weng Shouzhu and Weng Xuanhua, while he opened the door for Weng Tonghe, Ronglu and others.

When Weng Tonghe heard the old man calling his two sisters, he felt a little strange, so he asked Butler An, "Mr. An, are my elder and second sisters both in Shanghai?"

As Butler An invited Weng Tonghe and Ronglu in, he sighed and said, "We can't do anything about it. The Taiping rebels are so powerful that they have occupied Suzhou and Huzhou. They will have to divide up the land. Your eldest brother-in-law, Master Yu, and your second brother-in-law, Master Qian, dare not stay in Changshu and Huzhou any longer, so they came to Shanghai with the eldest and second young ladies to seek refuge with the second young master."

"What about my eldest brother-in-law, second brother-in-law, and my second brother?" Weng Tonghe asked again, "Aren't they at home?"

Steward An replied with a smile: "The three masters are all scholars who have done great things. Now they are all Luo Xueshuai's assistants. They should be in Yuyuan Military Governor's Mansion right now!"

"Really?" Weng Tonghe asked with a smile, "My second brother, eldest brother-in-law, and second brother-in-law are all working for Luo Xueshuai? What about Luo Xueshuai?"

Steward An raised his thumb and said with a smile, "Luo Xueshuai is a capable man! Third Young Master, if you live in Shanghai for a few days, you will know that Shanghai is thriving under Luo Xueshuai's governance! Otherwise, with the ambitions of Second Young Master and Mr. Qian, it would be impossible for them to join his government."

The "Second Young Master" that Butler An mentioned is Weng Tongjue. Historically, he entered the Imperial Academy as a student with imperial favor. Although his studies were not smooth, he had a successful career and eventually became the Governor-General of Huguang!

Mr. Qian was Qian Zhenlun, the second brother-in-law of Weng Tonghe. He became a Jinshi in the 18th year of Daoguang's reign and served as the director of the Imperial College. In the 30th year of Daoguang's reign, he returned to his hometown to observe mourning. Before he had finished being a filial son, Luo Yaoguo's army "defeated" Zuo Zongtang and captured Huzhou without bloodshed.

Seeing that something was not right, Qian Zhenlun took his wife, children and Qian Zhenchang to Shanghai, and stayed in Weng Lu in the Weng mansion with Weng Tonghe's eldest sister Weng Shouzhu and brother-in-law Yu Dawen.

After Weng Tongjue, Qian Zhenlun, Qian Zhenchang, Yu Dawen and others settled down in Shanghai, they happened to meet Luo Xueyan's military governor's office and the Nanyang minister's office recruiting talents. The four of them all thought they were talented, so they went to Luo Xueyan's office to apply for the job together, and they all succeeded!

On his way to Wenglu in Xujiahui, Weng Tonghe had already witnessed the prosperity of Shanghai!
The newly opened roads are already busy with traffic, and busy construction sites can be seen everywhere on both sides of the road. The whole city is prosperous. Although it cannot compare with Suzhou, where the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Wu Wang Mansion is located, it is comparable to Yang Xiuqing's Yangzhou.

You should know that Suzhou and Yangzhou are ancient cities that have been prosperous for more than a thousand years, and Shanghai was just a small county town not long ago. Its rapid development can only be described as a miracle.

And this rapidly rising "miracle city" now seems to still belong to the Qing Dynasty!
Thinking of this, Weng Tonghe smiled and said to Ronglu: "Zhonghua, let's settle down first, and then go to the Yuyuan Mansion in Shanghai County to visit Luo Xueshuai together!"

Ronglu nodded and said with a smile: "Okay! I also want to meet this southeastern pillar of the Qing Dynasty!"

Yu Garden, Shanghai.

When Weng Tonghe and Ronglu were heading towards the Governor's Mansion in Yu Garden in Shanghai County, Luo Xueyan was chatting with several aides in Dianchun Hall in Yu Garden.

There were three aides with him, one of whom was a young, handsome scholar named Zhao Liewen, from Yanghu County, Changzhou Prefecture. Although he was young, he sat closest to Luo Xueyan and was obviously highly respected.

The other two were middle-aged scholars in their forties, both of them were handsome and dignified. The older one with a kind face was Weng Tonghe's elder brother, Weng Tongjue. The other one had a square face, a high forehead, and wore glasses. He was obviously a learned man. He was Weng Tonghe's second brother-in-law, Qian Zhenlun. Qian Zhenlun had a nephew, Qian Zhenchang, who was also Luo Xueyan's staff member. His name was Qian Sanqiang.
"You three are all very intelligent and know how to handle current affairs. You should know why I want to make things difficult for Japan today, right?"

Luo Xueyan picked up the coffee cup on the coffee table, took a sip of the bitter coffee, looked at the three colleagues he had recruited through the "Talent Recruitment List" with a smile, and asked questions.

"Master Xue," said Zhao Liewen, the youngest of the three, with a smile, "Let me start by throwing out some ideas and saying a few words."

"Please." Luo Xueyan said with a smile.

"The reason why Marshal Xue is making things difficult for Japan is to strike first," Zhao Liewen said, "to prevent that country from getting involved in China's internal strife in the future!"

"What did you say?" Luo Xueyan looked expectantly at the "prophet" who had accurately predicted the time of the demise of the Qing Dynasty and the subsequent chaos in the world - he had met a fellow traveler!

"Isn't this obvious?" Zhao Liewen said, "Now the era of the great struggle between the north and the south has come! The world has already shown the situation at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. In the eleventh year of the Yuan Dynasty, Han Shantong and Liu Futong first raised the banner of rebellion, and in the first year of the Hongwu period, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty successfully swept the north. It took 17 years in total. Looking at history, it can be said that the speed of going from chaos to order was extremely fast. I am afraid that this chaotic era will not end faster than the chaotic era at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

The world today is different from the end of the Yuan Dynasty. There are many powerful countries and wolves around. China's internal strife will surely attract the covetousness of the powerful countries. Fortunately, most of the powerful countries are far away from China, and they make friends with distant countries and attack nearby countries. Japan is very close to China. Although its national strength is not as powerful as that of the powerful countries, its population is 30 million, less than that of France and more than that of Britain. If it can work hard to govern and get support from one or two powerful countries, it is hard to guarantee that it will not be a disaster for China! It is better to use the sword of the powerful countries to kill it first! "

"Good, good, good!" Luo Xueyan said three good words in a row, and his eyes looking at Zhao Liewen were full of respect!

This guy is good at being a military strategist!
He then looked at Weng Tongjue and Qian Zhenlun.

The former stroked his beard and said, "China is big and Japan is small. Since ancient times, it has been difficult to pacify big countries but easy to stabilize small countries. I am afraid that after being ravaged by the four countries, Japan will learn from its mistakes, make reforms, get rid of old problems and use new ones, and soon become stronger!"

The latter frowned and said: "In fact, it is best for Japan not to open up. In the past two hundred years, the Tokugawa shogunate has been closed to the outside world and has not asked about the outside world. This is the most beneficial to us. If we can maintain Japan's seclusion..."

Luo Xueyan has already started to shake his head: "It is not that I do not want to make Japan close its doors, but I cannot. Now the warships of the four countries have gathered together, and they will soon go on an expedition. Britain, the United States, and France all have powerful ships and artillery, and General Iesada and Emperor Toshihito must open up the country. We can only go with the flow and try to disrupt the situation in Japan and get more privileges. Only in this way can we slow down the pace of Japan's progress! Although we do not use this strategy, China will not necessarily lose in this competition of opening up the country and reforming it.

But, there is no morality in the struggle between nations! If the knowledgeable people in Japan could take action against China now, they would definitely not hesitate! Do you understand?"

All three nodded.

"Then," Luo Xueyan asked, "who will go with me on the expedition? Who will stay in Shanghai to assist Zuo Jigao?"

Zuo Zongtang was now the governor of Ningshao, Zhejiang and the supervisor of Zhejiang Customs, assisting in the affairs of Southeast Asia trade.

If Luo Xueyan wanted to personally lead the expedition to Japan, then the affairs of the Minister of Nanyang would have to be handled by his assistant.

Zhao Liewen smiled and said, "I'll go to Japan with Xue Shuai!"

Qian Zhenlun said, "Master Xue, Luo Tongshi and I have learned some Japanese these days, and we can speak a few words now. I'll go with you!"

Weng Tongjue said with a smile: "Since Lunxian and Huifu are accompanying Marshal Xue to Japan, I will stay in Shanghai with Chixian (Qian Zhenchang) to assist Zuo Jigao!"

"Okay!" Luo Xueyan clapped his hands and said with a smile, "I have already made an agreement with the foreigners. We will march to Japan in three days!"

(End of this chapter)