The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 486 Li Datou goes to Beijing! (Happy New Year, please give me a monthly ticket)

The first year of Tongde, the eighth day of the first lunar month, Zhili, Tianjin, French Concession.

Tianjin French Concession is bustling with activity at the moment. The gravel-rammed roads meander freely in the core area of ​​the concession like a lively dragon. Western-style buildings spring up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, and Chinese-style garden houses are completed in the blink of an eye, just like the magic of immortals. Outside the core area of ​​the concession, there are busy construction sites everywhere, and the circle of city walls under construction seem to be announcing the vigorous vitality of this land.

On both sides of Mathilde Street (also known as Ma Niangniang Street), the widest and most prosperous street in the French Concession, shops, money houses, banks, foreign companies, restaurants, and hostels were built and opened for business in a very short time. Although the entire Qing Dynasty was in turmoil, Ma Niangniang Street was prosperous. The dignitaries of the capital, the wealthy merchants of Shanxi, and the officials and gentry who fled from the south with their belongings, all gathered in this "free city" blessed by France, the first Western power, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea!
Several vigorous horses were galloping on the wide Ma Niang Niang Street. The rider of the leading horse was wearing a yellow jacket, and it was obvious that he was a guard sent by the Imperial Guards. He must have brought the imperial edict of the current emperor Tongdedi to the French Concession to deliver it to the Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang.

Speaking of Li Hongzhang, all the Chinese and foreigners in Tianjin Concession admired him. Everyone knows that the French Concession was nominally managed by the French envoy, but in fact it was Princess Mathilde, Li's confidante who met in France, who was in charge of the overall situation. And this French princess who followed Li Hongzhang to China from afar, obeyed the orders of Li Hongzhang, the Minister of Beiyang... So, the French Concession was actually a "Li Concession"!
Li Hongzhang also openly moved his Beiyang Minister's Office and the Tianjin Customs Office, which he also managed, into the "Li Concession". He also approved tens of thousands of acres of land on the north bank of the Haihe River for the "Li Concession" and allowed his Beiyang Army to build barracks in the "Li Concession" and even built city walls for the "Li Concession".

Furthermore, he did not conceal his relationship with Princess Mathilde, and they openly went out together, living together in an anonymous state. Everyone in the Tianjin Concession knew that Lord Li was already the de facto French vassal!

As for the French officials in the concession, from the French envoy Bourboulon on down, they all regarded themselves as subordinates when they saw Li Hongzhang! In Li Hongzhang's shogunate, his Beiyang Army, and the Customs, a large number of French officials were employed. With the assistance of these foreign officials, the administrative efficiency and integrity of the Tianjin Wei Li Concession, the Beiyang Minister of Commerce, the Beiyang Army, and the Customs, rose straight up like a rocket! Compared with the previous time when Emperor Tongde managed foreign affairs in Tianjin Wei, it was a world of difference.

The dignitaries of Beijing, the big businessmen of Shanxi, and the masters who had fled from all over the country with their valuables, were attracted by the uniqueness of the "Li Concession" with the French flag, and settled down here. Living here, they could enjoy the care of Mr. Li and the protection of the French soldiers of "Madam Ma", which was a safe and secure place.

"Sir Li, please receive the emperor's secret order!" The guard in a yellow jacket stood outside the hall of a small western-style building like an iron tower. He held the yellow-sealed secret box in his hands respectfully and shouted loudly. His voice was like a loud bell, shaking the air around him slightly.

Hearing the guard's report, the two chess players in a hall of the Beiyang Minister's residence, who were fighting fiercely, looked up at the same time and their eyes met in the air. Li Hongzhang was wearing a gray woolen military uniform, and a tricorn hat was casually placed on the coffee table beside him, which made him look like a Chinese extended version of Napoleon. Mathilde, who was playing chess with him, was wearing a tight red Chinese fur coat. Her small waist was tightened, and hey, it really made people sigh, what kind of peach blossom luck did Lord Li have!
Feng Guifen, Li Hongzhang's chief of staff, came with the "yellow jacket". He smiled like a cunning old fox, stepped forward quickly, took the yellow-sealed box, and then took out a silver note without anyone noticing, and quickly stuffed it in. His movements were so skillful that people were shocked. Then he told his servants to take the guard to have a feast and have a good rest.

Then, Feng Guifen strode into the hall, impatiently opened the yellow envelope and took out the neatly folded secret decree. As soon as he unfolded it and took a few glances, he let out a "huh" and froze in place as if he was cast under a spell, with a look of disbelief written all over his face.

"Jingting, what's the matter?" When Li Hongzhang saw Feng Guifen's appearance, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he asked slowly with a calm look as if he had everything planned out.

"Shao Quan..." Feng Guifen slowly raised her head and looked at Li Hongzhang, her face looking as if the sky was about to fall, "The Emperor's secret decree said that a traitor suspected to be Emperor Xianfeng appeared in Haizhou!"

"Suspected of what?" Li Hongzhang was stunned, his expression as if he had heard something out of the ordinary.

"Xianfeng!" Feng Guifen raised her voice. "The emperor said that a rebel suspected to be Xianfeng appeared in Haizhou, and he led thousands of defeated soldiers who escaped from Baoying to seize Haizhou where Ma Xinyi was stationed. The emperor asked you to come to Beijing immediately... In my opinion, I am afraid that he wants you to lead the troops to fight against the suspected Xianfeng."

"What do you mean by 'suspected Xianfeng'?" Mathilde, who was sitting opposite Li Hongzhang, suddenly interrupted and asked like a curious little girl.

Li Hongzhang touched his chin, thought for a moment and said, "It's a suspicion... I'm afraid it's almost certain!" At this point, his brows instantly wrinkled into the shape of the Chinese character "川".

Mathilde, on the other side, seemed to have discovered a new world. She showed a pleasant surprise on her face and said to Li Hongzhang with a smile: "My dear, this is a great opportunity...Chaos is a ladder!"

Li Hongzhang glanced at Feng Guifen again: "Jinglin, what do you think?"

Feng Guifen nodded and said seriously: "Princess, you are right. Chaos is indeed a stepping stone for you to take a step forward! However... we have to think carefully about who we should support? Tongde or Xianfeng?"

Li Hongzhang shook his head slightly, his face darkened, like a tiger about to show its power: "I support the eldest prince and Concubine Yi! Jinglin, what do you think of this idea?" "My lord wants to..." Feng Guifen stared at Li Hongzhang closely, as if she had thought of something, her breathing became rapid, and her chest heaving violently.

Li Hongzhang glanced at Mathilde, then smiled coldly, the laughter sounded like a thunder in the night sky: "The world has already fallen apart like this, and the Aisin-Gioro family is still staging a farce of brothers fighting each other. In my opinion, the fate of the Qing Dynasty is probably over. I will take the world from the hands of that orphan and widow... Jinglin, what do you think?"

"Ah..." Feng Guifen was shocked, and then turned her gaze to Mathilde.

Mathilde covered her mouth and smiled, her smile full of pride: "Mr. Feng, Shaoquan is a descendant of the Li Tang royal family. If he restores the Tang Dynasty, then I will be the queen!"

Feng Guifen suddenly understood what was going on. It turned out that Mathilde and Napoleon III wanted to support Li Hongzhang to usurp the Qing Dynasty. No wonder they invested so much money and even Mathilde herself. It turned out that she not only had a crush on Li Hongzhang, but also had her eyes on the position of the Queen of the Tang Dynasty!

"My Lord, Princess..." Feng Guifen said after thinking for a moment, "Our Beiyang Army is still too small, with a total of more than 10,000 people. Even if you count the troops of the old Lord and Lord Yuan, it is barely 20,000. This is far from enough! If you want to achieve great things, you must first go to Beijing and obtain the power to expand the Beiyang New Army from Emperor Tongde... At least expand it by three towns!"

Li Hongzhang laughed: "Three are not enough, at least we have to train them into the Six Beiyang Towns!" As he said that, he turned his gaze to Mathilde again.

Mathilde patted her chest and said confidently, "I will take care of the military pay and weapons and ammunition! The Bank of the Orient has plenty of silver, and the arsenal of the Tianjin French Concession Municipal Council has 15,000 foreign rifles and 50 foreign cannons, enough to arm two towns. In addition, I can place orders with foreign companies in Tianjin and Shanghai. In six months at most, a large batch of brown bass will be shipped to Tianjin."

"Okay!" Li Hongzhang slammed the table, stood up, and said to Feng Guifen with a smile, "Make arrangements, I will go to Beijing to meet the emperor immediately!" After saying that, there was a firm light flashing in his eyes, as if he had already seen the beautiful country waving to him.

The atmosphere in the Palace of Heavenly Purity in the Forbidden City was solemn. A dusty man strode into the palace and knelt down with a plop. It was Li Hongzhang, the Beiyang Minister who had come from Tianjin. With a sincere face, he said loudly to the high and mighty Emperor Tongde: "Your Majesty, please relax! I will lead the Beiyang New Army to march south day and night, and will definitely bring the fake Emperor Xianfeng to the capital for you, and cut him into pieces to relieve your hatred!" At this moment, he did not mention the expansion of the Beiyang Army at all, but only described the capture of the fake Emperor Xianfeng as easy as taking something out of a bag.

When Emperor Tongde heard this, he didn't smile, but frowned, and remained silent for a long time. How could Li Hongzhang not know what the emperor was thinking? But he pretended to be confused, with a smile on his face, and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry! They are just a few thousand defeated soldiers. My Beiyang New Army has more than 10,000 people, all of whom were trained by the French generals. They are all highly skilled in martial arts and good at fighting. With just a few thousand mobs, my new army can wipe them out in one go!"

Emperor Tongde looked at Li Hongzhang's faithful and reliable appearance and could not help but sigh and whispered, "Shaoquan, what if that Xianfeng is not a fake?"

"What? Your Majesty, what did you say?" Li Hongzhang was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out and his voice rose a few notches.

Emperor Tongde looked solemn and said slowly: "I say, the Xianfeng who occupied Haizhou is real..."

"Really, really..." Li Hongzhang widened his eyes and stammered, "Your Majesty, was Xianfeng released by the Taiping?"

Emperor Tongde shook his head and said, "He was not released by the Taiping. The Xianfeng that was captured by the Taiping was a substitute. The one who fled to Haizhou was the real one! Moreover, Zeng Guofan's father Zeng Jialinshu was still with Xianfeng and helped him attack Haizhou! Shaoquan, what do you think we should do?"

Li Hongzhang opened his mouth for a long time, as if he had been acupunctured. After a long while, he murmured to himself: "Your Majesty, it seems that one town of Beiyang Army is not enough. At least six towns are needed!"

(End of this chapter)