Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 217 Promote Yuan Shikai

Guan Xuqing appointed Sheng Xuanhuai as the general office of the Bank of Great Qing, and Yan Jingming as the assistant. Sheng Xuanhuai's most proud achievement at the beginning of his tenure was the acquisition of 20% of the equity of the British shipbuilding giant Armstrong under the instruction of Guan Xuqing, and the full acquisition of the Rotterdam shipbuilding company in the Netherlands. The factory, as well as several large ironworks and oil refineries in eastern France, also bought 500 million pounds of bonds from the Royal Bank of England under the banner of supporting the United Kingdom.This series of crazy moves made the whole of Europe exclaim: The Chinese are coming!

Fortunately, Guan Xuqing implemented the enlightened policy of vigorously attracting foreign capital and increasing the total volume of foreign trade. Many powerful British and French companies and businessmen came to China to invest and build factories. At the end of the 19th century, there was an oriental gold rush. Only the traditional powers such as Britain and France were against China. Let down some vigilance.

After the unveiling ceremony of the Bank of Great Qing, Wang Shang pulled Sheng Xuanhuai out of the crowd of domestic and foreign reporters and called him to the emperor.

Guan Xuqing handed over 500 million taels of symbolic banknotes to Sheng Xuanhuai in front of the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs: "The silver amount of the Qing Navy was deposited in the Bank of the Qing Dynasty. Li Hongzhang worked hard in running the navy. Hey, I don't have a good idea. Now that I have a little more money, I will pay more for the navy, and you have to manage the money for me."

Sheng Xuanhuai took the bank note and knelt down to thank him, feeling that the burden on his shoulders was really heavy.

Guan Xuqing also said: "Money is the blood of the country. You must always remember that every coin in the Bank of the Qing Dynasty is the people's anointing of the people. You must not only keep it for me, but also use it well. Use it wisely. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Xuanhuai will definitely not disgrace Shengming, and do everything possible to make every penny count." Sheng Xuanhuai replied firmly.

"I heard that the United States is very capable in finance. The Prime Minister's Office has already contacted the United States. In a few days, I will send you to Wall Street to learn how they master capital operations."

"twitter."

In the evening, Guan Xuqing received Li Bingheng, governor of Shandong. "I heard that your 60th birthday will be in a few days. I have specially prepared a bowl of bird's nest porridge. I hope you will be strong and strong, and serve the country a lot."

Holding this bowl of bird's nest, Li Bingheng burst into tears, not knowing how to thank the emperor.

Guan Xuqing asked Wang Shang to hand over a handkerchief: "Wipe your tears, how inconvenient it is for your subordinates to see you at such an advanced age."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." If it was said that Li Bingheng was afraid of this master, now he respects him more.

"I heard from Li Hongzhang that you came to Shandong not long ago, but you have quite a lot of political achievements. You are not young, but I still have to work on you for a few more years. The Qing Dynasty cannot do without a veteran like you." Guan Xuqing said leisurely.

"Your Majesty's kindness, I dare not forget it for a moment. I just came to Shandong not long ago, and I can't say too much for a while. I think that this governor of Shandong, I want to find a place for tens of millions of people in Shandong to live and work in peace. Share your worries for the navy." Li Bingheng was very thin, but his voice was very loud, and it was clear at a glance that he was a man with a clear heart.

Guan Xuqing nodded: "Shandong is an important province of coastal defense, and it also defends the capital. I entrust Shandong to you, and I always want to hear your opinion. Don't expect me to give you any instructions today. You are better than me in Shandong. If you need to know more, let’s talk about it. Are you from logistics?"

Li Bingheng bowed and said: "Returning to the emperor, I have been in Guangxi since the Sino-French war in the seventh year of Guangxu. I was born in a bureaucracy, so firstly, I handle things more carefully. Secondly, the emperor clearly learned that this bureaucrat has a good reputation." It's not very good. The officials who are handling the matter don't dare to deceive the minister easily. Therefore, the matter should be handled smoothly. The minister thinks that Shandong Province is just like what His Majesty said, with an outstanding status. The capital will be frightened, and if Shandong is lost, the capital will be in danger. The defense of Shandong also takes coastal defense as the top priority. From Shandong to Haifeng in Wuding in the north, and from Yizhou in the south to Rizhao, the coast stretches for more than [-] li. Among these [-] li, Dengzhou, Yantai, and Weihai are the most important. Therefore, as the governor of Shandong, on the one hand, he must govern the local area and ensure that the people live and work in peace and contentment. The foundation of the people is also the foundation of the country.”

"Well said! With this understanding, your governor will definitely be able to be a good one, and you will write these down later, so that you can set an example for other officials."

"According to the order."

The next day, when Shengjia came to Tianjin, he was naturally warmly welcomed by local officials and people.The leader is none other than Li Hongzhang, Minister of Beiyang.Sheng Xuanhuai also served as Tianjin Taoist, so he also greeted him with Li Hongzhang.

Guan Xuqing looked at the majestic palace, and his face was immediately clouded: "Before I came, I asked Xianghua to generate electricity, and repeatedly told me not to set up guards of honor along the way. The simpler the palace, the better. Do you think my words are on your ears!"

Everyone knelt down together, and Li Hongzhang said sincerely and fearfully: "The emperor calms down, and the ministers are afraid that the poor preparation will detract from the emperor's majesty, so"

"Forget it, let's all be flat. Shaoquan (Li Hongzhang's words), the emperor's majesty is not accumulated by extravagance and splendor. I order you to supervise the navy, and a lot of money in the treasury will be used for you to buy ships and build ships. Let me tell you a little bit." I don't feel sorry for you, but if you spend all your energy and money on these things, you will disappoint me." Guan Xuqing helped Li Hongzhang up with his own hands, and said earnestly.

"I'm guilty." Li Hongzhang's forehead was beaded with sweat, and he didn't dare to lift his eyes.

"If there are any difficulties in the navy, you can just tell me." This was Guan Xuqing's biggest concern.

Li Hongzhang wiped the sweat from his forehead, and his expression eased a little: "It's okay to say other things, that is, the supply of ammunition for the Beiyang Navy is not guaranteed, and the training of the navy lacks professional guidance."

"I have thought about the ammunition supply of the Beiyang Navy for a long time. You can build ammunition factories locally to guarantee the expenses of the Beiyang Navy. In terms of training, you can hire more foreign instructors, especially retired naval officers. Well, they have actual combat experience, and the guidance for training will be more professional."

"Zha. There is one more thing. The Beiyang Navy's warships and soldiers are quite complete, but there are still very few talented commanders and generals. I want to boldly recommend someone to the emperor and let him be enriched in the Beiyang Navy. In the future, there will be a lot of people." Helpful." Li Hongzhang secretly glanced at the emperor, wanting to observe the emperor's reaction.

"Tell me, who is this person?" Guan Xuqing also often felt that talents were rare, and the person Li Hongzhang wanted to recommend should not be wrong.

"This man's name is Yuan Shikai. When the envoy hijacked the king, this man advocated the current battle plan and personally led a team to rescue the king of Han into our Qing camp, which relieved the emperor from worries." Li Hongzhang's eyes flickered, and he said the key Every voice trembled with excitement.

So he was the one who rescued King Han?However, Yuan Shikai in history was indeed courageous and resourceful. As long as he served the country wholeheartedly, such a person could be reused. "I heard that the person who rescued King Han was called Yuan Xiangcheng, and I commended him for this at the beginning."

"Yuan Xiangcheng is Yuan Shikai. His ancestral home is Xiangcheng, Henan. People are used to calling him by that."

"Since the person recommended by Shaoquan must have two talents, call him over, and I will give you a face-to-face lecture." Guan Xuqing was very interested in this person, and wanted to see this historical thief with his own eyes.

After a while, Li Hongzhang asked his personal guards to bring a young officer. He was not tall but very strong, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his brows were full of heroism. Long live Long live Long live!"

It seems that Yuan Shikai is still a passionate young man.Guan Xuqing asked: "You have made great contributions to the court, why are you now a criminal minister?" At the same time, he beckoned Yuan Shikai to stand up and speak.

After Yuan Shikai thanked En, he thanked Li Hongzhang: "Shi Kai met with Enxiang, and the emperor was here just now. Shikai saw the emperor first, and he was allowed by the emperor, so Shikai dared to thank him for mentioning something."

Li Hongzhang smiled lightly and said: "You can tell. It is your blessing that the emperor wants to see you. When the country is employing people, Li is also doing his duty as a minister."

"Yuan Shikai, the criminal minister, was recommended by Li Zhongtang of the Huai Army to go to North Korea as a tax assistant in North Korea in the eighth year of Guangxu, and he was also suggested by Marshal Wu. He has successively served as assistant, battalion, management, military affairs assistant, etc., and assisted the king of Han in training the Korean army. Young and ignorant, unrestrained, with only a reputation for bravery, but does not know the hearts of the people. During the period of the court, the criminal minister also won the advice of Marshal Wu, so he was jealous, and the Renwu incident in North Korea, Concubine Min monopolized power. This woman's power is no less than that of a man. Therefore, the guilty ministers boldly used money to bribe the Koreans, and also took care of the Korean people. Because the criminal ministers spent money on this matter and often embezzled military funds, there were many complaints from their peers, and the admiral Wu Zhaoyou impeached the criminal ministers for raising Military prostitutes, selling tobacco, embezzling military pay. In this matter, Li Zhongtang also scolded the criminal officials for buying people's hearts with money. In the Jiashen year, the Korean incident broke out, and the Japanese envoys colluded with rebellion and hijacked the king. Concubine Min also helped in this matter Inside, the guilty minister strongly advocated the current battle and then asked for an order to save the King of Han to my camp. On this matter, Li Zhongtang also scolded the criminal minister for buying people's hearts with money." At this point, Yuan Shikai stopped and looked at Li Hongzhang .

Li Hongzhang said: "Your Majesty, the Marshal Wu he said was Wu Changqing, who died of illness in the tenth year of Guangxu. Wu Changqing's old department was mostly at odds with Yuan Shikai, and he blamed him for failing Wu En and fell under my Li Hongzhang's command. All talk makes money, and veterans fall It's not good to protect him too much. Thinking that Wu Changqing is also my former Huai army, the old minister is really embarrassed."

Speaking of this, Li Hongzhang turned to Yuan Shikai and reprimanded: "Is what the old man said wrong? You can buy money for a while, but you can't buy it for a lifetime. Besides, you can make money, but people can't? Is it true that I am a big country and want to buy money?" Are you going to fight for money with this little country!" The voice was extremely severe.

Yuan Shikai quickly knelt down and kowtowed, "Master Zhongtang punished him." He raised his eyes and glanced at Guan Xuqing.

(End of this chapter)