Master Yuan, start!

As they walked and talked along the way, Yuan Xiangcheng finally understood the general situation.

It turned out that after Gong Baotun brought the two groups of people to the barracks of the Infantry Commander-in-Chief's Office, he assigned two infantrymen to guard them and went back to the camp to sleep.

The two infantrymen also wanted to save trouble, so they opened two wooden cells and drove the man in. They continued to eat and drink on the side, and soon they were drunk and unconscious.

Seeing that his friend was safe in the cell, Xu Shichang planned to find a pharmacy nearby to buy some medicine for bruises and injuries for him.

But it was almost midnight, and there was no pharmacy open. Xu Shichang looked farther and farther away, knocking on seven or eight doors before he found a small pharmacy with a lantern hanging on it.

Amidst the noise of "ha ha", the pharmacy waiter slowly picked up some angelica, Chuanxiong, safflower, and Su Mu and put them into a medicine bag.

Xu Shichang was anxious and took the medicine bag and was about to leave.

The waiter suddenly came to his senses and called out behind him, "Hey! Sir, you haven't paid yet!"

Xu Shichang slapped his head and remembered that he was worried about his friend's injury and was only concerned about getting medicine, and indeed forgot to pay.

He threw out a piece of silver and ran to the street without waiting for the waiter to see it clearly.

The waiter took a bite of the silver and weighed it in his hand. He found that he had given at least three times more money. He hurriedly shouted to Xu Shichang's back:

"Thank you, sir. You are so generous. Remember to come often!"

When Xu Shichang returned to the barracks, he found that several wooden stakes at the cell door had been smashed, and a group of people in cotton robes were injured. Some of them were lying there with broken arms or legs.

On the other side, Du Liu, wearing a mandarin jacket, was lying on the ground surrounded by people, spitting blood, breathing in more than out, and it was obvious that he was not going to survive.

It turned out that the two groups of prisoners had started arguing again. Du Liu and his group knocked the wooden prison door askew. Taking advantage of his short stature, Du Liu sneaked into the cell of the group of scholars in cotton robes and started to beat them up.

Even a clay man can get angry. Du Liu came in alone again. The people behind him were still banging on the prison door and could not help for the time being. This group of scholars became furious and beat Ma Gua half to death with one punch each.

After Xu Shichang rushed back, he saw this scene and felt anxious. He hurriedly woke up the two drunk guards and called Gong Baotian to wake up.

"Damn it, if I don't kill you today, I don't deserve to be a bannerman!" Someone in the group of people wearing a Ma Gua (mandarin jacket) Du Liu shouted, wrapped his braid around his neck and was about to take action.

Gong Baotian got up quickly and stopped them immediately when he saw what was happening. He asked someone to knock on the door and call for a doctor, while keeping the two groups apart.

The doctor came half a minute later, felt the breath of Du Liu, who was wearing a mandarin jacket, shook his head, and turned to check on the injured soldiers with fractures.

Seeing this, Gong Baotian leaned over and whispered to Xu Sishichang: "Brother! This situation is beyond my control. Someone has died! I can only report this to Shuntian Prefecture. If you want to save your classmate, go and ask for help from Lord Yuan!"

...

When Yuan Xiangcheng hurriedly arrived, the yamen runners of Shuntian Prefecture were already standing by. Yuan Xiangcheng went up to them, introduced himself, and wanted to ask what the current situation was.

"So it's Mr. Yuan. I'm Kang Rui, the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture. I didn't expect that this matter was also related to Mr. Yuan."

"Lord Kang, you are too polite. I just don't know how to deal with the current situation." Yuan Xiangcheng didn't have time to say any nonsense and went straight to the point.

Kang Rui twirled his beard and said slowly, "As a rule, this case involves bannermen, so the Infantry Commander's Office should be responsible for judging it.

However, this involves four or five other successful candidates, and they need to be reported to the Education Commissioner. The current Supervisor of Education in Shuntian Prefecture is the title given by the Great Jingzhao to the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, so we still need to let Lord Zhou Jiamei know to see whether the two yamen will jointly review the case, or whether the Infantry Commander Yamen will handle it independently.

Zhou Jiamei?

Yuan Xiangcheng silently searched for this man's deeds in his heart. He only remembered that he was highly appreciated by Emperor Guangxu, served as the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture for nearly ten years, and left behind the Guangxu Shuntian Prefecture Chronicle, which is of considerable historical value. Apart from that, he had no other impression of him.

Nuoshu County 9-6679-02

Yuan Xiangcheng looked at Xu Shichang who was standing beside him. He was asking his companions to apply medicine to the injured person.

When the scholar in cotton robe who was beaten yesterday saw Yuan Xiangcheng coming, he hurriedly bowed and thanked him.

"Zu Yi thanks Lord Yuan for his assistance, but what happened last night was a grave mistake. I hope you will be prudent and protect yourself, preserve your body while serving your country, and not worry about us anymore."

Yuan Xiangcheng thought to himself, we are not familiar with each other, I am just helping you once because of Xu Shichang, it’s just a piece of cake.

But now you have killed someone, and he is a Bannerman. I can't help you even if I want to, even without you saying it. You can only wish for good luck.

Just as he turned around and was about to ask Xu Shichang how to deal with it, he felt that the man named Zu Yizhi looked quite familiar.

A full forehead, a round skull, long beard hanging down to the corners of his mouth, and a big mouth full of regional characteristics.

Lin turned around and asked, "I wonder where you are from and what your name is?"

When the scholar in the cotton robe heard Yuan Xiangcheng's question, he naturally told everything he knew: "In reply to Master Yuan, my ancestral home is Nanhai, Guangdong. My father's surname is Kang Dachu. He once participated in the military operations in Guanzhong and served as the magistrate of Jiangxi."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xiangcheng stared at the face of the scholar in the cotton robe, his heart pounding, and he almost made Kang Zuyi scared.

Liu Kang Youwei, yes, this guy is Kang Youwei. His surname is Kang, his ancestral home is Nanhai, Guangdong, and he looks so much like him, so it must be him.

Although I don't know why he is now called Kang Zuyi, it is just that he changed his name later. It was very common for people in ancient times to change their names.

Yi had to be rescued this time.

Kang Youwei was of great help to Yuan Xiangcheng in perfecting his future Marxist Confucianism, with Kang Youwei's advocacy and compilation assistance.

It was not difficult for san to compile a new Analects of Marx in the late 19th century. Kang Youwei was able to write A Study of Confucius' Reforms in the original time and space, so it is not difficult for him to write a New Confucian Manifesto in the current time and space.

liu Thinking of this, Yuan Xiangcheng became anxious again. He wanted to help Kang Youwei get rid of the crime, but he couldn't intervene at the moment.

The commander of the Infantry General's Office was Ronglu, the Nine-Gate Commander-in-Chief. He didn't even know which way other people's doors faced. If you went to their house to ask for help, there wouldn't be any nine doors, not even a single one.

What's more, Ronglu was a bannerman. Although the one who died was a member of the Han army banner, the life of a Han army bannerman is also a life. How could he protect a group of Han people?

4 He was not familiar with the Shuntian Prefecture Governor. Zhou Jiamei's family was wealthy in Jiangnan and had no shortage of money. He considered himself an upright official in the court and was so careful about his reputation that he could not even give money to them.

What's more, he is a third-rank civil official, which is much higher than him, a military officer. Even if he goes to his house to beg for help, it will be difficult to rescue him.

According to the Qing Dynasty's laws, anyone over fifteen years old who committed a crime up to exile could be redeemed. Anyone who committed murder punishable by death could be executed, but a petition to the Emperor was still required.

Kang Youwei was almost thirty years old. If he was convicted of murder, he would be dead.

: By the time Guangxu saw this case, it was too late. Guangxu was not in power at the time and was just a rubber stamp, a puppet that stamped documents.

If the death penalty was really to be commuted, it would probably have to be Cixi's decision. After much thought, Yuan Xiangcheng felt that the case could not be passed up any further.

After talking to Xu Shichang for a few words, he comforted Kang Youwei and his group, which moved Kang Youwei so much that he almost cried. He didn't expect that after traveling all the way to the capital, there would be people who helped him when he was in trouble. He felt that his life was worth it.

After comforting him, Yuan Shikai ran all the way to Li Hongzhang's residence.

The power is out, my friends.

When I got home from get off work, I found that there was a power outage in the house. I'll go eat something first. If the power still doesn't come back on, I'll go to the Internet cafe and try to print out a picture. Sorry.

I have a day off tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and I expect to present six chapters to you all. The plot has now progressed to the point where Yuan Pi returns to the court. I plan to find a legitimate reason to send him to Tianjin to train new soldiers, and then fight a battle with the French.

I sorted out the outline again today and made some changes. To be honest, there are many things I want to sew in, but some of the content I feel does not quite fit the characteristics of that era, so I didn't include it.

That’s all for now. I wish you all a happy weekend!

Chapter 28 The Failed Li Hongzao

After waiting outside the door for a long time and receiving the notification from the doorman, Yuan Xiangcheng went to Li Hongzhang's study under the guidance of his servants.

After a while, a distinctive Chinese-style courtyard came into view. Although it was not like the Suzhou gardens with alternating water and rocks, it used yellow glazed tiles as the roof, and under the eaves were exquisite wood carvings and stone carvings.

Old man 6073045^

The architectural style is relatively simple, with brick carvings and wood carvings on the walls embellishing the entire inner courtyard, and various flowers, plants and trees planted around it.

Yuan Xiangcheng had no intention of appreciating the beautiful scenery around him. After walking through the halls and rooms, he was finally brought to Li Hongzhang's study.

In addition to Li Hongzhang, there was also a middle-aged scholar in the study, whom Yuan Xiangcheng had never met before. Li Hongzhang saw Yuan Xiangcheng coming uninvited and laughed at the middle-aged scholar beside him.

"Hui Ruo, just as you expected, he can't sit still today and wants to come find me."

The middle-aged scholar was named Yu Shimei. He was noticed by Li Hongzhang in the seventh year of Guangxu and transferred to the Beiyang Minister for assignment. Now he is one of the few staff members still following Li Hongzhang.

Yu Shimei naturally didn't dare to take credit for what he heard. He leaned over to pour tea and said, "It's all thanks to Lord Li's brilliant performance in the palace that Yuan Xiangcheng's trip today happened. It has nothing to do with my plan."

Li Hongzhang drank a sip of the tea poured by Yu Shimei, closed the teacup and said, "Why should you be so modest? I am well aware of your contributions."

The two of them flattered each other, pretending that Yuan Xiangcheng didn't exist. However, they didn't wait too long. Seeing that Yuan Xiangcheng seemed to have something urgent to do, they asked:

"Yuan Xiangcheng, you came to me today because of my scolding you in the palace that day?"

"Xiangcheng has long known Lord Li's sincerity. This time I'm not here to discuss matters within the palace, but to ask Lord Li for a personal favor."

"Oh? What's the matter? Tell me." Upon hearing this, Li Hongzhang picked up the celadon bowl again, gently stirred the tea with the lid, and sipped it slowly.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xiangcheng told Li Hongzhang everything he had experienced last night, starting from the debate between archery and guns in the Liuli Pavilion, and then to the Infantry Commander's Office taking people away and detaining them. When he heard that Kang Youwei and his gang had beaten the bannermen to death, and that Shuntian Prefecture had also intervened in the matter, Li Hongzhang could not help but frown.

+1610109 monthly fee

Inside the room, Li Hongzhang fell silent for a while after listening to Yuan Xiangcheng's words. Even Yu Shimei beside him seemed to be thinking about something. After waving his hand for Yuan Xiangcheng to sit down, he fell into deep thought again.

Seeing this, Yuan Xiangcheng was anxious but did not dare to urge him any further. After about a quarter of an hour, Li Hongzhang finally spoke.

"Yuan Xiangcheng, do you know that the court has just gone through a period of turmoil? The five military ministers were all dismissed, Prince Gong was ordered to stay at home to recuperate, Bao] retired at his original rank, Li Hongzao and Jing Lian were demoted and transferred, and Weng Tong was dismissed but retained his position, still serving in the Yuqing Palace as the emperor's teacher." Putting down the teacup, Li Hongzhang spoke slowly.

As for the Jiashen Change of Government, I know that Cixi launched a small palace coup in order to gain sole control of power. After this coup, Cixi truly became the "Old Buddha" analogous to the Long Live Buddha.

As an empress dowager, after the Jiashen Change of Government, her power as the Empress Dowager was unlimited and almost unrestricted, and she could do whatever she wanted.

However, Yuan Xiangcheng did not know why Li Hongzhang told him this, so he could only bow and reply:

"Xiangcheng is far away in Korea, and he has also heard about the recent turmoil in the Central Government. Xiangcheng is dull and doesn't know what the Jiashen Yishu incident has to do with the matter I asked you to do."

Li Hongzhang picked up his covered bowl again, lifted the lid and drank tea without answering.

Yu Shimei then added, "Master Yuan, do you know who the Shuntian Prefecture Governor Zhou Jiamei belongs to?"

"Xiangcheng hasn't lived in the capital for a long time, so he's not very well informed. I only know that Lord Zhou Jiamei has frequent contacts with the most influential people in the court, and often drinks and writes poetry."

Before Yuan Xiangcheng came, he simply asked Xu Shichang briefly in front of the gate of the Infantry Commander-in-Chief's office about Zhou Jiamei's temper and personality.

Xu Shichang then told what he had learned about Zhou Jiamei's upright deeds. Zhou Jiamei was not only an orthodox Jinshi, but also had worked in the Zongli Yamen.

It can be said that he was a figure recognized by both the Qingliu faction and the Westernization faction in the court.

He had a close relationship with Li Hongzao, a leader of the Qingliu faction, and was brave enough to take on responsibilities in the Zongliu Yamen, which won him the recognition of Prince Gong Yi.

"Then do you know why Prince Gong was dismissed by the Empress Dowager?" Yu Shimei asked.

"I heard that after the defeat in the war against France, they attempted to negotiate peace, which was a disgrace to the dignity of the Qing Dynasty?" Yuan Xiangcheng asked tentatively.

This is the reason why Cixi dismissed Prince Gong YiD, as he later learned from books.

Yu Shimei nodded first, then raised her arm and waved a finger: "Yes, but also not right."

Li Hongzhang still didn't say anything, but just sipped tea silently beside him.

"The defeat in the war against France is a real fact. If he is defeated because of this, Prince Gong will have nothing to say." Yu Shimei took two steps in the room and turned back to Yuan Xiangcheng and said:

"But doesn't the current Queen Mother want to sue for peace? She's also afraid that if the war continues, she'll have to cede territory and pay indemnities, and be cursed by officials and the people. So, stop it."

"If we want to seek peace, wouldn't it be better to keep Prince Gong? Although Xiangcheng has lived in Korea for a long time, he knows that Prince Gong is focused on foreign affairs. Most foreigners also recognize him. He is also a famous minister of the royal family, and the Manchus and Han people are convinced of him."