The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 361 Your Majesty, the Qing Dynasty cannot be without the Eight Banners! (Please subscribe, please vote)
A half-old horse-drawn carriage rumbled past the streets where the Zhenghongqi people lived in the west of the city and turned into an inconspicuous alley.

It was getting dark, the driver lifted the curtain, and a middle-aged man with a fair complexion and short beard walked out. He wore a melon-shaped hat and a long blue cloth gown. He was Weng Xincun's eldest son, Weng Tongshu, a good brother of Weng Tonghe.

Weng Xincun glanced around and finally landed on a very ordinary, somewhat dilapidated small wall-style gatehouse. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a wry smile.
This type of gatehouse is very common in the city. It is an ordinary gatehouse of the homes of ordinary Eight Banners children. Inside is usually an ordinary courtyard, where a family of Eight Banners children who are just eating and waiting to die and are like useless snacks live. But the person living in this small gatehouse is the leader of the Qingliu in the capital, a recognized Neo-Confucian scholar, who entered the direct study room as a substitute for the imperial lecturer and taught Duke Dun's fifth son to read.

Although Weiren is only a deputy lecturer now, he was demoted three levels because he impeached the prince of the Hui tribe of Yeerqiang when he was the assistant minister of Yeerqiang. Before he was appointed as the assistant minister of Yeerqiang, Weiren was the chief of the Dali Temple. The Dali Temple of the Qing Dynasty was responsible for reviewing the cases tried by the Ministry of Justice and the Supervisory Office. It was not a clean office.

How many corrupt officials in the Qing Dynasty had to go through the courts of the Ministry of Justice and the Supervisory Office every year? How much money did they have to give to the officials in the Ministry of Justice and the Supervisory Office? After the officials in the Ministry of Justice and the Supervisory Office took bribes and perverted the law, they all had to go through the court of the Supreme Court!
If Weiren was willing to do his work in exchange for money, he wouldn't be considered greedy if he made thirty or fifty thousand taels a year.

But this gentleman is a stubborn official who refuses to listen to any advice!

He thought he was a great Confucian scholar. He had to be sincere in his work and be self-disciplined and follow the rules when serving as an official. He could not accept money, and he had to do his job seriously and attentively.

So no one could give him money. If he found any flaws in the cases sent to him by the Ministry of Justice or the Supervisory Office, he would send them back for retrial. In those years, he really didn't know how many rich people had been delayed from making money!

Otherwise, why would he, the Minister of Dali Temple, be exiled to Yeerqiang?
However, Weng Xincun and his son Weng Tongshu knew very well how to deal with this stubborn Confucian scholar, that is, don't talk about money, but talk about reason!
In the Qing Dynasty, in Beijing, helping the descendants of the Eight Banners to cheer up was the greatest "reason"!
Even though Woren knew very well that this was unlikely, he would still do it despite knowing it was impossible.

Thinking that Woren would soon be used as a gun by his own father and son, Weng Tongshu smiled triumphantly, walked quickly forward and knocked on the door of Woren's house.

Old Summer Palace, Haiyan Hall.

"Your Majesty, this is the silver note that Luo Xueyan asked me to bring to Beijing to honor Concubine Yi. There are a total of 30,000 silver dollars!"

Ronglu was sending money to Xianfeng at this time!

"Thirty thousand silver dollars? He's quite generous!"

Xianfeng raised his eyebrows slightly and waved to An Dehai beside him. The latter immediately stepped forward, took the envelope handed over by Ronglu, and handed it to Emperor Xianfeng.

"Is this the HSBC Bank?" Xianfeng took out the banknotes and examined them. "Why isn't it called a money shop?"

Ronglu smiled and said, "I also think this name is quite strange. It is said that it was thought up by Luo Xueyan to distinguish it from ordinary money houses and ticket houses."

"Difference? What's the difference?" Xianfeng asked.

"This bank is backed by the Nanyang Minister's Office, the Shanghai Military Governor's Office, the Jianghai Customs and the Shanghai Ocean Bank. It has sufficient capital and is the most reliable. It can also lead the Shanghai money industry association and preside over interbank settlements. In short, it is more advanced than money houses and ticket houses, and more reliable!"

In fact, Ronglu couldn't explain it clearly, and Xianfeng didn't understand it either.

They still don't understand that the "HSBC Bank" created by Luo Xueyan is actually playing the role of "Southeast Central Bank". It cannot be overemphasized that a "central bank" that can adjust interest rates and exchange rates and has certain rights to issue banknotes can promote the development of capitalist industry and commerce.

In today's world, there are probably only a few similar banks such as the Bank of England, the Bank of France, and the Bank of Russia.

Seeing Xianfeng smiling and putting away the banknotes, Ronglu took out a box containing memorials and raised both hands: "Your Majesty, this is the memorial that Luo Xueyan asked me to bring."

The so-called memorials are secret memorials, which are different from the open memorials. Memorials are handed directly to the emperor, and no one else can read them first. Generally, the officials who submit memorials or their authorized persons deliver them to the Qianqing Gate, and then the guards at the gate pass them inside. "Bring it here and let me see."

Xianfeng waved to An Dehai again, and the latter immediately took the box, tore off the seal, took out the folded paper inside, and handed it to Xianfeng.

Xianfeng took the memorial and unfolded it, reading it for a while. His pockmarked face darkened, and he snorted, "What does Luo Xueyan mean by that? When will it be his turn as a Han official in the Qing Dynasty to speak up for the children of the Eight Banners?"

When Ronglu heard this, he dared not say anything more. He quickly put his forehead to the ground and stayed quiet, not daring to say a word.

Emperor Xianfeng's face gradually turned pale, his eyes narrowed, and he just stared at the few words on the memorial. The general meaning of these words was: Khorchin Mongols did not defend the Yuan Dynasty in the past, so how could they devote themselves to the Qing Dynasty now? No matter how useless the Eight Banners were, they were still the people of the Qing Dynasty. The new army of the Qing Dynasty could not be without the Eight Banners!

Luoquan Hutong, Weng Mansion.

It was already dark. In Weng Xincun's study, four people were sitting or standing.

Sitting with Weng Xincun was a man in his fifties, thin, with a firm gaze, a righteous face, and wearing a cloth robe. He was none other than Wuqigeli Woren, the leading figure of the current Confucian Neo-Confucian school.

Weng Xincun's two sons, Weng Tongshu and Weng Tonghe, stood on their father's left and right.

"Genfeng, what do you think about this?" Weng Xincun looked at Woren, his round face that looked like "hello, I'm fine, everyone is fine" was filled with a warm, benevolent, respectful and modest smile.

Weiren stroked his beard and turned his gaze to Weng Tonghe: "Shengfu, what do you think of Luo Xueyan's foreign affairs?"

"Well done!" Weng Tonghe said, "In my opinion, although Luo Xueyan is not a Confucian scholar, he is a man with far-sighted ambitions, who puts the development of the country first, and who is upright and unyielding in the face of difficulties. He can be called a gentleman. Therefore, he was able to manage the Westernization Movement well, block the offensive of the Taiping rebels, and take back the concessions from the foreigners!"

Woren raised his eyebrows: "Oh, can a scoundrel who runs a foreign affairs department be called a gentleman?"

Weng Tonghe said solemnly: "A commoner can resist the Taiping rebels, recover the concessions from the foreigners, and raise 20,000 new troops and a Nanyang navy with the Shanghai prefecture, so that the Taiping rebels and the foreigners dare not underestimate our Qing Dynasty, and even recover the Ryukyu vassal state and force the Japanese pirates to bow and sign a contract. Isn't this a gentleman? Although he doesn't know the principles of sincerity and self-discipline, but where is his behavior not upright? Where is he not following the rules? There are so many Confucian gentlemen in the Qing Dynasty, how many can compare with him?"

Woren smiled coldly: "But now he is ruling a region, following orders but not decrees, just like a vassal of the late Tang Dynasty. Is there such a gentleman in the world?"

Weng Tonghe shook his head and said, "Master Japanese, if Luo Xueyan had not been like this, there would have been no Southeast China long ago! Although he ruled a region and liked Westernization, he was still a minister of the Qing Dynasty after all, and he also saved some vitality for the Confucianists in Jiangnan. Moreover, he was still loyal to the court and the emperor, otherwise he would not have proposed to use the Eight Banners to resist the Wanping New Army."

Woren asked calmly, "How many of the Eight Bannermen are capable of doing anything?"

Weng Tonghe said solemnly: "If the rabble can become the pillars of the southeastern Qing Dynasty, can't the Eight Banners descendants rise up? Moreover, fighting nowadays no longer relies on proficiency in archery and horsemanship, but only on the sharpness of foreign guns and cannons. It is not difficult at all! Tonghe was a Confucian scholar, and he learned to use foreign guns after living in Shanghai for two or three months, and his shooting skills were quite good.

The children of the Eight Banners in Beijing could not learn it in three months, so what about six months, nine months, or twelve months? With hands and feet, if they are willing to work hard, how could they not learn it? If it is obvious that the children of the Eight Banners can learn it, why not let them learn it, but rely on the Khorchin Mongols?
Khorchin Mongols are Outer Mongolia! Luo Xueyan is a vassal, but Khorchin Mongols are not? Can the emperor hand over the new army in Beijing to Luo Xueyan? This is impossible, right? Then why can the prince of Khorchin be in charge of the new army in Beijing?

Lord Wo, let's talk about the matter, not the person. Just tell me whether this is right or not?"

(End of this chapter)