Master Yuan, start!

The two words "yes, yes" also express agreement.

But the three words "yes, yes, yes" mean agreement on the surface but denial in reality.

Whether it was flattery or unworthy of the position, this was what Zhang Zhidong did in the original time and space.

And his methods in this life are actually no different.

In 1885, Yuan Shikai won the anti-French battle near the capital, which led to Zhang Zhidong taking office as the governor of Hubei five years earlier.

All in all, by 1897, he had been in Hubei for a full 12 years.

12 years is enough to breed different ambitions.

Especially during these 12 years, for 6 years, the court in Beijing had no control over the south, and the court in Wuchang had no control over Wuchang.

Zhang Zhidong actually monopolized all the power of the Governor-General of Huguang without any constraints.

Holding great power also means responsibility.

After losing the opportunity to please both sides, Zhang Zhidong first expanded eastward blindly and came into conflict with the Hunan Army entrenched in the south of the Yangtze River.

However, the news of the defeat of the Hubei New Army in Jiangxi suddenly woke Zhang Zhidong up and made him realize that what he was good at was not military affairs, but political speculation.

However, at that time, he had long lost the trust of the Qing court. Both the Guangxu court in Beijing and the small Baoqing court in Wuchang regarded him as an enemy.

If he gave up the power in his hands and supported one of the parties, perhaps he could save something.

However, support Guangxu. Zhang Zhidong once secretly passed a memorial to Guangxu, but Guangxu dismissed it, believing that Yuan Shikai would wipe out all the rebellious forces.

Support the little emperor in Wuchang. Zhang Zhidong was worried that the northern army would move south, the Wuchang court would be lost, and he would be liquidated in the future.

Therefore, after hearing that Yuan Shikai raised the banner of "anti-Manchu and anti-Russian" and marched into Beijing, and Li Hongzhang carried out a large-scale purge of the Manchu city of Guangzhou.

He immediately ignored the friendship between the monarch and his subjects, and directly sent troops to attack the palace where Cixi and others were, and slaughtered all the princes and ministers.

The purpose was to clear himself of any connection with the two Qing dynasties and to be able to "jump" to the Republican side.

After the establishment of the Republic, he made friends with both the North and the South. Now he is trying to get rid of Empress Dowager Cixi and the young Emperor Baoqing and execute them, intending to resume his old business of playing both sides.

The approach is still the same approach, and the means are still the same means.

However, compared to the original time and space where Zhang Zhidong killed the Huguang Reformists to gain the trust of the Qing court, this time and space used the heads of Cixi and the young Emperor Baoqing to gain the trust of the people of the world. This method is inevitably too shocking.

You know, Yuan Shikai didn't even think about taking Guangxu's life.

Although the bannermen were liquidated, Yuan Shikai still ordered people to take good care of Guangxu, who was still lying unconscious in the Imperial Hospital.

Keeping Cixi alive and parading her around the country would allow more people to witness her ugliness. This would be much more effective than simply beheading her.

However, Zhang Zhidong had already chopped off her head, so Yuan Xiangcheng couldn't say much.

Hubei is really a strange place. In the original time and space, there was Li Yuanhong, and in this time and space, there is Zhang Zhidong, both of whom are able to step on the pulse of the era of reform and innovation.

Zhang Zhidong led the way, followed closely by Yuan Shikai, Li Hongzhang and a group of guards from the north and south.

The group quickly walked down the city wall and entered the Yellow Crane Tower, which was just a stone's throw away.

The Yellow Crane Tower is adjacent to the Wuchang city wall, less than 0 meters away from the west wall. From the top of the Yellow Crane Tower, one can get a glimpse of the entire city and overlook the surging Yangtze River.

4 Throughout the dynasties, the Yellow Crane Tower has undergone many renovations and reconstructions. The last time it was destroyed was 40 years ago.

In order to defend Wuchang, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom fought a fierce battle with the Qing army in the city, and the Yellow Crane Tower was destroyed in the war.

5. It was not until Zhang Zhidong took office as the Governor-General of Huguang that the temple was completely restored under his leadership.

The exterior of the Yellow Crane Tower has flying eaves and interlaced brackets, and the roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles.

Yuan Xiangcheng followed Zhang Zhidong up to the top floor slowly. After pushing open the door and entering the room, he found that the view on all sides was excellent. The wooden window frames were all installed with transparent glass.

He looked westward through the glass, over the city wall, and even could see merchant ships sailing on the Yangtze River.

"I didn't expect that Zhang Zhidong would be so Westernized." Yuan Xiangcheng silently looked at the rooftop scenery around him.

4 However, before Yuan Xiangcheng could utter a word of praise, he saw Li Hongzhang beside him twirling his beard and sighing:

“It only takes one day to destroy something, but years to rebuild it.

When Dai left Wuchang 30 years ago, the place was full of broken walls and ruins left by the Guangdong bandits.

The Yellow Crane Tower is in such good condition today, thanks to Brother Xiaoda’s renovations.”

: What Li Hongzhang lamented was the regret in his heart.

After the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Li Hongzhang supervised the suppression of the Nian Rebellion for two years. Although he was granted the post of Governor-General of Huguang by the Qing court in 2, he actually took over the post in the Huaibei military camp.

After the Nian Rebellion was quelled, he rushed to Wuchang in 1869 and officially took office.

But just two days after taking office, he went to Sichuan to investigate the case of Sichuan Governor Wu Tang, supervised Guizhou military affairs to suppress the Miao uprising, and led troops to Shaanxi to suppress the Hui uprising.

Until he was recalled to the north by the Qing court to serve as the Governor-General of Zhili, Li Hongzhang had not stayed in Wuchang for more than a month.

Therefore, he never found the time to rebuild this world-famous building in the minds of literati and scholars.

Zhang Zhidong's eyes narrowed when he heard the word "bandit", but then he pretended not to hear it and said, "Brother Shaoquan is absolutely right. It only takes one day to destroy it, but it will take several years to rebuild it."

Li Hongzhang echoed this, saying, "Therefore, now that the people have a chance to breathe, we should stop fighting, support the people, convene a parliament, and reassure the people, so as to prevent ambitious people from rising again.

You must know that the rebels marched north from Guangxi, killing tens of millions of people in the five provinces south of the Yangtze River and destroying countless houses.

When Yuan Shikai heard Zhang Zhidong and Li Hongzhang reminiscing about the past, he originally did not intend to interrupt. Although theoretically, he was the one with the highest status among the three, he did not care about these false names.

However, when he heard Li Hongzhang calling them "Guangdong bandits" and "rebels" on the left and right, Yuan Shikai became extremely angry.

He pulled out a revolver from his waist, slammed it on the table, and said bluntly: "General Li, don't forget what kind of blood is flowing in your body.

The Taiping Army was a hero who restored the Han Chinese people's clothing and customs. They were the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang of the late Qing Dynasty. How could they be regarded as bandits and rebels?

Seeing Yuan Xiangcheng's stern tone, Zhang Zhidong simply stopped talking and looked directly at Li Hongzhang.

Li Hongzhang raised the freshly brewed teacup, took a sip, and said calmly, "Mr. President, this is wrong.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom destroyed Confucian classics, betrayed the Way, and violated morality. How could it be said to be a contribution to the Han Dynasty?

"Why not?" Yuan Xiangcheng raised his eyebrows and asked, "Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing, which one of them is not Han Chinese?

Shi Dakai, Li Xiucheng, which one of them is not a Han general? "

Li Hongzhang saw Yuan Xiangcheng's rebuttal, but instead of confronting him directly, he began to attack the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:

"These remarks are too much of an overestimation of those bandits from western Guangdong. They are only out to rob money and women.

Hong Xiuquan has 3000 concubines in the palace, and he needs 88 strong women to carry his sedan chair when he travels. If such a person were to seize the world, he would be like the reincarnation of Jie and Zhou.

What Li Hongzhang said was true. After all, Hong Xiuquan was indeed too greedy for pleasure in the late Heavenly Kingdom. However, this was not the main reason for the demise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Seeing Yuan Xiangcheng looking thoughtful, Li Hongzhang continued, "Those heroes followed the wrong person.

With the benefit of hindsight, if they had been willing to gather under Marshal Zeng, the Qing Dynasty might have vanished 50 years ago and might not have survived until today.

It is a pity that so many loyal and brave men, capable of governing the country, were buried in the city of Tianjing."

Following the wrong person?

Li Hongzhang was quite good at sophistry.

Yuan Xiangcheng glanced at Li Hongzhang and said disdainfully:

"General Li is wrong. If the Taiping Army had not established a nation in Jiangning, its influence would have shaken the world and threatened the Qing Dynasty's rule.

How could the Qing court delegate power to local Han militia?

How could the Hunan Army and the Huai Army grow so powerful under the nose of the Qing court, and even push their own commanders to the level of "noble titles and officials as high as governors"?

In other words, without the blood shed by these people, how could the hats on your heads turn red and purple?

If the Taiping Rebellion had not punctured the Qing dynasty's paper shell, how could the governor-generals of Liangjiang, Huguang, and Guangdong and Guangxi have been in the hands of Han people for 30 years?

Yuan Shikai's words were extremely directed at Li Hongzhang, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were heartbreaking.

cHow did Li Hongzhang make his fortune?

First they fought the Taiping Army, then the Nian Army, and in between they suppressed various popular uprisings.

: And what about Yuan Shikai? He first fought the French, then the Japanese, then overthrew the Manchus and went north to fight Russia.

Compared with Yuan Shikai, Li Hongzhang's hands are stained with the blood of his compatriots. What qualifications does he have to blame others?

As for Li Hongzhang's accusation that he was ambitious, it was even more nonsense.

Who among those who want to control power does not have ambition in their heart?

Yuan Shikai figured it out. If Li Hongzhang wanted to convene a congress, then let him do it!

He couldn't judge whether it was good or bad to open up the people's political life ahead of time, but no matter what, the Congress could not be handed over to others.

However, when thinking about this, Yuan Xiangcheng still found it a little difficult to understand.

Why did Li Hongzhang insist on convening a parliament?

Where does his confidence come from? Doesn't he know that even if Congress is convened, he will still have a majority in Congress by relying on the existing forces?

As if he had guessed what Yuan Xiangcheng was thinking, Li Hongzhang took out a telegram from his arms slowly, unfolded it, and said:

"This is a telegram that Mr. Li received from Pierre, the French Governor-General of Taiwan, and Sun Yat-sen, the administrator of the Taiwan Civil Affairs Bureau, before he went north.

It says above that after the French saw China unified, they no longer wanted to monopolize Taiwan and were willing to return it.

only"

"what?"

When Yuan Shikai heard the news of "returning Taiwan", he stood up immediately.

The French, with their love for land, would give up Taiwan for nothing? Are they crazy?

Li Hongzhang was not disturbed by the noise and continued, "There is only one condition."

"What conditions?" Zhang Zhidong asked hurriedly without waiting for Yuan Xiangcheng to speak.

"Taiwan will not join China, but will formulate its own constitution and then convene its own parliament to form China together with other provinces of China in an independent manner.

It is called federal autonomy.

Federal autonomy was Li Hongzhang's trump card and also the olive branch extended by the French.

After the French knew that they had fallen out with Yuan Shikai, they had to look for new helpers in China to fight against Britain and the National Revolutionary Army in the north.

Li Hongzhang naturally became the object of their consideration.