Young Master Meng has been stunned for a long time, Prince Gong Yixun, Zuo Zongtang, Xu Tong, Li Hongzao, and now there is only one Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, otherwise, the main ministers of the Great Qing Kingdom are all here!

Even Weng Tonggong can only sit at the table below, and he sits at the same table with these famous big names, tsk, enough to save face.

Although Zuo Zongtang was at the peak of his military exploits, he was indeed dressed as a literati, and his voice was not loud, "I just heard that Lord Li accepted the disciples of the closed door, so he came to disturb him, Lord Li won't be surprised, right?" ”

Li Hongzao took Zuo Zongtang's hand and said with a smile: "Ji Gao, don't come to these false courtesies, please sit down quickly." ”

Zuo Zongtang saw Yixun, and the expression on his face did not change at all, but simply arched his hand, "The prince has also arrived?" ”

This makes Young Master Meng secretly praise, Zuo Zongtang's demeanor and Li Hongzhang are different, Li Hongzhang always gives people a sense of wisdom, always feels that in front of Li Hongzhang, everything will be seen through, and no matter what trick you make, Li Hongzhang can accumulate thick and thin, and take the initiative to kill you all at once.

Zuo Zongtang gives people a feeling of being thick and capable, it seems that if you hit him, you will definitely be able to fight, but it is difficult to hurt his muscles and bones, but if he hits you, you will be flattened, which makes people involuntarily feel awe.

In short, the aura of these masters makes Young Master Meng very intoxicated, and the members who can achieve the position of the top of a country, which one is not really talented and learned?

Of course, it's about Hanchen, and there are still a lot of stupid Manchu ministers who occupy high positions, and they are confused.

Prince Gong smiled coldly: "Ji Gao is rare, this is the first time this king has seen Ji Gao outside the court, it seems that Lord Li's wine is good." ”

Zuo Zongtang is far inferior to Li Hongzhang, but his prestige in the court is not less than Li Hongzhang, but his connections are very poor, which is related to Zuo Zongtang's character.

From Zuo Zongtang's refusal to answer Yixun's words, Young Master Meng can see it.

Prince Gong Yixun is also a person with a lot of self-cultivation, but being snubbed in front of him is very rare in Yixun! That is, Zuo Zongtang, that is, in Li Hongzao's mansion, otherwise, he really couldn't help but leave with his sleeves.

Young Master Meng saw that no one at the table spoke, the atmosphere was very embarrassing, and he hurriedly bowed his head to Zuo Zongtang and saluted, "I've seen Lord Zuo!" ”

Young Master Meng not only relieved the cold atmosphere, but also got a different look from the guests at the table, not only behaved calmly, like a little adult, but also knew how to see the timing, it was really rare, even Xu Tong smiled, "Master Li, I am really envious, you, a closed disciple, should be a genius made in heaven." ”

Zuo Zongtang laughed and touched the head of the young master Meng: "I don't have anything to give you, here is a piece of red jade and jade pendant, which is obtained from the battle and returned to the department, and I will give it to you this child!" ”

Everyone is a person who knows the goods, and when they look at the red body of the jade pendant, they know that it is not an ordinary product, or gold of the same volume of importance, and it is definitely not as expensive as this piece of red jade!

Everyone didn't expect Zuo Zongtang to say that he would give it away, and they all secretly sighed that Zuo Zongtang was heroic.

Li Hongzao hurriedly said: "This is too valuable!" I can't get it! ”

Young Master Meng sweated profusely, and people gave me drops, but I thought that without Li Hongzao, why did Zuo Zongtang send such a valuable thing to a child he knew? Looking at the jade pendant secretly liking it, secretly greedy, even if Young Master Meng now has a net worth of millions of taels of silver, he has never seen such a treasure, and secretly sighs that a person like Zuo Zongtang is indeed extraordinary!

Zuo Zongtang said with a smile: "This is for the child, Lord Li don't stop it!" Didn't you give it to Master Li? ”

Li Hongzao saw Zuo Zongtang's resolute attitude, and also knew that Zuo Zongtang had a big temper at any time, so he had to smile and stop talking, this was in front of everyone, it was not a private gift, and it was indeed not a violation of etiquette, so he nodded to Yuemeng with a smile.

Young Master Meng was overjoyed and thanked him: "Thank you Lord Zuo for your love!" ”

Zuo Zongtang smiled and hung the red jade on Yue Meng's neck, which was originally tied to Zuo Zongtang's waist, "This jade, it was originally suitable for children, it is said that it is to be raised from an early age, and it will be humane in the future, and if this jade is sold, it is worth at most fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver, if it can be sold for six million taels, to help my court send troops to the northwest to fight against Agubai's invasion of my Qing Kingdom, I will be reluctant." ”

When Li Hongzao heard it, he knew that the topic was coming, but he didn't expect Zuo Zongtang to say it in public.

Prince Gong smiled slightly, but did not answer.

Xu Tong continued: "Agubai invades, even if it is difficult for the imperial court, it must not be ignored!" I agree with Lord Zuo's proposition on the use of troops in the northwest. ”

Li Hongzao nodded and said, "Yes, the country's land must not be humiliated!" I should be in favor of Lord Zuo. ”

With Li Hongzao's words, everyone present nodded one after another, and most of them were in favor of using troops to resist the insult!

Zuo Zongtang was even more overjoyed when he heard Li Hongzao express his approval so clearly, "Okay, what Lord Li said is good, Lord Li has this attitude, I am relieved." ”

Prince Gong Yixun smiled and said: "This king is also in favor of using troops against the northwest, the key is, what about the silver?" How much silver is in the imperial court now, everyone here should know, right? Less than 700,000 taels, just such a little silver, but also to prepare for disaster relief, and the emperor's wedding has been delayed for a long time, the queen mother's birthday, don't these all need silver? ”

Zuo Zongtang snorted, "The matter is serious, the land is incomplete, what is more urgent than this?" Could it be that there is a fire at home, and at the same time, there is still a happy event? ”

Young Master Meng is sweating profusely, Zuo Zongtang really dares to speak, looking at your old thing's polite appearance, you are very good at talking.

Prince Gong was not angry, still with a faint smile, "Lord Zuo doesn't need it, didn't this king say it just now?" What about the silver? This king is also in favor of the court using troops in the northwest. The urgent task at the moment is still foreign affairs! It should be placed on shipping, on the one hand, to send schoolchildren to go to sea, to learn the advanced technology of foreigners, and on the other hand, to buy foreign ships and set up a steamship China Merchants Bureau! Let the goods flow smoothly in the north and south of the Great Qing Kingdom, and the Great Qing Kingdom has been sent to bandits, and the bandits have been tossed for so many years, and it is time to recover and recover. ”

Zuo Zongtang hurriedly said: "It is natural to recover your vitality, but outsiders have already run to sleep on your kang, can you still sleep?" How do you recover? If you don't drive away foreign enemies, how can you continue to do foreign affairs? ”

Prince Gong Yixun smiled and said: "The matter of doing foreign affairs, Lord Zuo doesn't understand, Lord Zuo doesn't do less foreign affairs in Jiangnan, and the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau is the head of Lord Zuo, how about it?" Losing money year after year, the cost of the ships built is much higher than that of the western country. ”

Young Master Meng sweats, Zuo Zongtang and Yixun, who are both Westernists, seem to be very unmatched, in the heart of Young Master Meng, the relationship between Yixun and Li Hongzhang seems to be very good! However, it seems that Li Hongzhang has a good relationship with anyone, which is also Li Hongzhang's excellence, at least, if Li Hongzhang is swapped with Zuo Zongtang now, he will never quarrel with the high-ranking Prince Gong in public.

Young Master Meng also felt that Yi Xun was talking too much, he was running an industry himself, of course he understood the difficulties of Zuo Zongtang in running the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau, without the backing of the energy industry and the metallurgical industry, he came up directly and opened the Machinery Bureau, which is the same difficulty! Materials and equipment are completely dependent on imports, how can this fraud not be high?

Moreover, he still knows a little bit of science knowledge, and he must be much stronger than people like Zuo Zongtang who were born in the imperial examination, he can think of it, if a person like Zuo Zongtang wants to run an industry, he must completely trust a foreigner, and entrust a foreigner casually, and the money will not flow out!

Young Master Meng knew that the manager of the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau was a Frenchman Riyige, and Young Master Meng estimated that the money that this Frenchman Riyige had made in the years of opening the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau might be more than the money he made in the Klinsmann Development Zone during this time!

Zuo Zongtang was exposed by Prince Gong in person, where did he hang his face? Snorted and said: "Lord Wang, you can't say that, you bought a boat in your hand, who doesn't know, spent millions of taels and bought a bunch of old ships back!" You said that you want to set up a steamship China Merchants Bureau, but this has been said for seven or eight years, right? Why hasn't it been done yet? (To be continued.) )