Xianfeng five years, spring and March. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

In late spring in March, it was the rainy season in Shanghai, and the light rain seemed to be endless, Wei Yuan walked slowly into the Changle Book House along a newly built road with a black cloth umbrella, and when he saw him come in, the little guy guarding the door hurriedly stepped forward to take the umbrella.

This newcomer Mr. Wei is very respected and respected by the big shopkeeper, and he seems to be very familiar with the big shopkeeper, the little maids and maids in the yard naturally dare not be a little lazy, and the little maids and maids who can work in Changle Book House are one in a hundred, and they are all clever and shrewd.

In the study, Yi Zhizhi was sitting on the desk and reading a book, and when he saw him come in, he looked up and said, "Mr. is casual, it will be fine soon." After writing a paragraph, he put down his pen and got up and said, "Have you seen it all?" Can there be good talents and beautiful jade? ”

With the Yuanqi New Army successively pacified the Twist Rebellion and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the situation of separating the southeast was formed, and the scholars from the southeastern provinces came to vote one after another, and after the Lantern Festival, almost every day there were scholars who came to visit the Zhenhai Mansion, all of which were recommended by local officials in various provinces and the treasurer of the Yuanqi branch. However, Yi Zhizu didn't have the time to meet them one by one, and they were all handed over to Bao Shichen and Wei Yuan to check first, and he would only meet if two of them were eye-catching.

"There is a man named Zhao Liewen, which is quite unusual." Wei Yuan said and handed over a few posts, Zhao Liewen? Yi Zhishu quietly took the post, he was very familiar with this name, Zeng Guofan's confidant and staff, and it can also be said that he was the most knowledgeable of all Zeng Guofan's staff.

Zhao Liewen, the word Huifu, a native of Yanghu, Jiangsu, born in the twelfth year of Daoguang, read the post, Yi Zhishu was secretly surprised, Zhao Wenlie is so young? It's only twenty-three or four? After a slight sigh, he said: "If you can be valued by Mr., you must have something extraordinary." As he spoke, he instructed the outside world: "Meilian, go and invite Zhao Huifu here." ”

Zhao Wenlie and Cao Gensheng came together, and when they entered the study, he bowed down and said, "The student has seen Master Yi and Mr. Wei. ”

As soon as he entered the door, Yi Zhishu noticed that he was in his early twenties, with a handsome face, dark and bright eyes, a calm demeanor, and an excellent official language, "Huifu does not need to be formal, sit." ”

Cao Gensheng then spoke: "The big shopkeeper, Lushun and Jingshi are in a hurry." ”

"Read." Yi Zhishu didn't care about Zhao Wenlie's presence at all, and commanded directly.

"Lushun called to intercept a merchant fleet flying the British and French flags, saying that it was a supply fleet of the Anglo-French combined fleet and wanted to go to Tianjin for replenishment."

"The Beijing division called, and the Gurkha sent 20,000 troops to invade Tibet's hidden throat and Nyalam."

As soon as the words fell, Yi Zhi's brows furrowed, and the supply fleet of the Anglo-French combined fleet appeared in Arthur? Could it be that the combined Anglo-French fleet once again went to Kamchatka to attack the Russian Far East Fleet?

In September last year, the Anglo-French combined fleet entered the Avacha Bay and shelled Petropavlovsk, the home port of the Russian Far East Fleet in Kamchatka, but the commander of the British Pacific Fleet, Plath, died unexpectedly, and in the end, the British and French forces carried out two hasty landing operations, suffered heavy casualties, and were forced to lift the siege of Petropavlovsk, the French fleet sailed to San Francisco, and the British fleet sailed to Vancouver.

Even if the combined Anglo-French fleet made a comeback, it seemed impossible to send the supply fleet to Tianjin for replenishment!

After a slight groan, he spoke: "Lushun detained the fleet in Dalian Port, boarded the ship to search, and if it was indeed the supply fleet of the British and French combined fleet, organize the fleet to be transported from Tianjin to Dalian for replenishment." ”

"Yes." Cao Gensheng hurriedly recorded,

Yi Zhizhi lit a cigarette and wondered, where is the Gurkha? Blending with Tibet? Gurkha scimitar? Nepal? Could it be that at this time, the Qing Dynasty and Nepal were still fighting? After thinking about it, he said, "What's going on with the Gurkhas?" ”

After a slight sigh, Wei Yuancai said slowly: "Gurkha is located in the southwest of Tibet, is a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, in the Qianlong period has invaded Tibet twice, the Qianlong Emperor ordered the general Fukangan and the counselor Hailancha to lead troops into Tibet to repel and force the Gurkha to pay tribute to the Qing Dynasty once in five years. ”

There were two invasions during the Qianlong period, this Gurkha is not simple, Yi Zhishu nodded slightly, and said: "Call back, you need detailed information about the Gurkha, including the two advance routes, battle plans, and combat processes during the Qianlong period, the more detailed the better." ”

After Cao Gensheng recorded it, he asked Yi Zhishu to sign before leaving quickly, Wei Yuan hesitated for a moment before he said: "I'm afraid that the imperial court intends to let Yuan Qi send troops to Gurkha to disperse the troops." ”

Yi Zhishu instructed: "Find out the map of Tibet." ”

Soon, Lin Meilian turned over the map of Tibet and hung it up, and when she looked at the map, she understood that the Gurkha was indeed Nepal, "You have to jump even if you know it's a pit." He pointed to the Gurkhar on the map, "The Gurkha borders India, and I am afraid that the British are fueling the troubles behind this, and there can be no appeasement in the slightest, otherwise, the British will gain an inch!" ”

After a pause, he instructed: "Notify the telegraph office, concentrate manpower and material resources, and immediately lay a cable telegraph to Tibet." ”

"Yes." Lin Meilian hurriedly responded.

Wei Yuan said with a worried face: "The troops were transferred here? ”

"The importance of the Gurkha is no less than that of the Northwest expansion, if not more so." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Gathering heavy troops in Gorkhatun can greatly contain the British army in India, and it is a strong support for the Taiping army to enter Burma. ”

Zhao Wenlie secretly wondered when he heard this, wasn't Yuan Qi encircling and suppressing the Taiping Army? How can you listen to this tone, Yuan Qi seems to support the Taiping army into Burma? However, he was more excited in his heart, and Yi Zhixin said such an important thing in front of him, obviously to keep him.

Turning back to sit down, Yi Zhixiang glanced at Zhao Wenlie, and said with a smile: "What does Huifu think of Yuan Qi?" ”

This question is a bit big, and it is a little empty, Zhao Wenlie groaned slightly, and then said: "Yuan Qi advocated Western learning, opened a bank factory, set up a Western-style school, founded a newspaper, built a railway, laid a telegraph....... which opened the eyes of the Chinese people and made Guangzhou and Shanghai develop rapidly, but the students secretly thought that this was just a Chinese style and a Western use, which was not enough to completely change the backward situation of the Qing Dynasty. ”

This guy can't be a maniac, right? Wei Yuan glanced at Yi Zhifen quietly, there were really few people who dared to speak like this in front of Yi Zhifen, and he was a little worried that he would look away.

Yi Zhixiang encouraged: "Huifu believes that how to completely change the backward situation of the Qing Dynasty. ”

"Students secretly believe that the fundamental reason why Western countries can enrich the country and strengthen the army lies in the separation of powers, the discussion of politics in the parliament, the unity of the monarch and the people, the unity ......of the upper and lower levels, and the pragmatism and abstinence from hypocrisy." Zhao Wenlie said unhurriedly: "Otherwise, it is not enough to completely change the backward situation of the Qing Dynasty. ”

"Huifu is talking about the form of government, the form in which the ruling class of the country organizes the political power." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The philosophers of Western countries have put forward many kinds of political systems, such ......as the sage government, the warlord government, the chaebol government, the democratic government, the tyrannical government, the oligarchy government, the civilian government, the autocracy, the monarchy, the tyrant, the aristocracy, the republic, and the mob government.

However, Benjue feels that there is no best form of government, only the most suitable form of government, and there are huge differences between the East and the West in terms of history, culture, tradition, thought, economy, and so on.

Not to mention the huge differences between the East and the West, there are also huge differences in the political systems of Western countries, just like the United States, the United States has no monarch, it is a new capitalist country, its political system is a presidential republic, the separation of powers, but the executive, legislative, and judicial are all centered on the president who holds executive and military power.

England has a long history, has been ruled by the monarch, the use of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the monarch is only the nominal leader, the dynasty does not take care of the government, there is no right to decide only the right to agree, simply put, domestic and foreign affairs are all carried out by the cabinet headed by the prime minister, any document cabinet sent to the queen, the queen can do only to sign and agree, nothing else.

It has been ridiculed that if the House of Commons of England were to decide to send the Queen's own death sentence to her, she would have to sign it. ”

After a pause, he continued: "Tangerine is born in Huainan and is orange when it is born in Huaibei, and it is born in Huaibei as a form of government, and as the foundation of the country, it cannot simply copy the Western country, but must go through continuous exploration and summarization, and finally choose a political system that suits its own national conditions.

The Qing Dynasty is currently in a stage of transition from a feudal society to a capitalist society, and it cannot be rushed. ”

Listening to these words, Zhao Wenlie's face was a little sneering, there was a kind of embarrassment of Confucius selling books in front of the door and playing with a big knife in front of Guan Gong, people didn't expect it, but thought about it in the long run, he was also single, and immediately got up and shook it, "The student is ashamed......." ”

"Huifu doesn't need to mind." Yi Zhizu waved his hand and said with a smile: "If you don't feel condescending, you can help Mr. Wei first." ”

Assist Mr. Wei? Zhao Wenlie couldn't help but be stunned, this was a step to the sky, Wei Yuan was one of Yi Zhi's most relied on staff, and when he came back to his senses, he hurriedly got up and said, "The student has seen Dong Weng." ”

"Let's go down and settle down first." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile.

Wei Yuan glanced at Zhao Wenlie's back in disbelief, he really couldn't figure it out, but with a few words, Yi Zhixiang would pay so much attention to this kid, but he didn't ask much.

Yi Zhishu thought of Li Hongzhang, who laughed at himself as a pasteur of the Qing Empire, in the twenty-seventh year of Daoguang, and was elected to the Hanlin Academy as a Jishi, I don't know if he stayed in Beijing or went out to the place after the museum was dissolved? Gotta find somebody.

In less than an hour, Cao Gensheng hurriedly came in and reported: "The big shopkeeper, Lushun is urgent, and the British and French supply fleets are unwilling to go to Dalian, and they also refuse to accept boarding and inspection, and go straight home. ”

Be a thief! Yi Zhishu understood in an instant what was going on, what the supply fleet of the Anglo-French combined fleet was pure nonsense, it was the merchant fleet of the United States! It must be related to the private signing of the lease of the port of Kaohsiung, what is the merchant fleet loading? What the imperial court desperately needed, and what the Americans were willing to give, could only be arms or machinery and equipment - machinery and equipment for the manufacture of guns and ammunition!

After a slight groan, he said in a deep voice: "Let the fleet intercept and detain it, and try to avoid large-scale conflicts." ”

At noon the next day, Lushun called again and said that all 15 merchant ships of the merchant fleet had been intercepted and detained in the port of Dalian.

After reading the telegram, Yi Zhishu immediately ordered to send someone to invite the American minister, Meilian came quickly, and after the two sides exchanged greetings, Yi Zhixiang did not talk nonsense, and handed the telegram over directly, saying: "Lushun has seized a merchant fleet of your country at the mouth of the Bohai Sea. ”

After reading the telegram quickly, Meilian's face was a little uncertain, and she flatly denied that it was not the American merchant fleet, afraid that there might be a situation beyond his control, and this matter could not be hidden, as long as he contacted the British and French consulates, he could make it clear, he did not think that Britain and France would help him to lie. Besides, the other side said conclusively that it was the American merchant fleet, and God knows if it has been verified?

After weighing it carefully, he said truthfully: "Your Excellency, the goods loaded by this merchant fleet are all ......specially approved by His Majesty the Emperor of your country. ”

Yi Zhizu said bluntly: "Something to do with the lease of Kaohsiung Port? ”

Mei Lian knew that she couldn't hide it, and said truthfully: "Yes, my country and your emperor privately signed an agreement to lease Taiwan's Kaohsiung Port, and that batch of arms and machinery and equipment is the condition for leasing Kaohsiung Port, which is the ..... of the agreement signed by His Majesty the Emperor of your country himself. ”

Yi Zhishu stretched out his hand to interrupt his words, and said coldly: "I give your country two choices, one is to cooperate with His Majesty the Emperor of our country, and the other is to cooperate with Yuan Qi.

If you choose the former, Yuanqi will terminate all trade and railway construction projects with your country, and if you choose the latter, Yuanqi will buy all the goods of the merchant fleet with silver. ”

Mai Lian said with a pale face: "I can guarantee that there will be no next time." ”

As if he hadn't heard, Yi Zhishu lit a cigarette, looked out the window, and Mai Lian said with a wry smile: "Okay, it's okay to sell it to Yuanqi, but it's ...... Kaohsiung Port ....... ”

"It is impossible to lease the port of Kaohsiung." Yi Zhi's contentment said without hesitation.

Mai Lian was speechless for a while, although the United States was eager to obtain a port or a place in the Far East, but if it was at the cost of cutting off trade and cooperation with Yuanqi, the United States really could not afford it, after all, the price was too great, after thinking about it, he said: "Then can you give a foothold in the Ryukyus or in the Japanese country, and Korea can also do it." ”

Yi Zhishu said slowly: "If the United States is willing to lease a port in California to Yuanqi, I can consider it." ”

This is simply impossible, Mai Lian sighed lightly, and said, "The Ryukyus, the Wa Kingdom, and Korea are all just vassal states of your country. ”

"Neither can a vassal state." Yi Zhixiang glanced at him, slowed down his tone and said, "However, Kaohsiung Port can allow American businessmen to trade with each other. ”

For this condition, Mai Lian obviously couldn't accept it, "This question is beyond my authority, I'm sorry, I have to ask for instructions from China." ”