late Qing Dynasty arrest

Li Guolou was holding the famous yellow silk package in his hand, which contained two imperial decrees and four official seals. The two imperial decrees were two letters of appointment from the emperor, and they would be enshrined on the incense table on the [-]th day of the Lunar New Year.Seals are issued by the royal family, representing power, to distinguish official ranks and to show noble ranks.The official seal is larger than the private seal, strict and stable, square, with a nose button, and the size of a fist.It can be hung around the waist with a sash. Officials sometimes need to carry a seal with them when they are in office. All issued instructions, documents, and memorials need to be sealed to take effect. The official seal is like an official's identity certificate.

As Li Guolou walked away, he was worried, how would he live in the future?Could it be that he walked with four official seals hanging from his waist, until now he has never used a follower, and it seems that he will have a "palm seal officer" by his side in the future.

Two days ago, Li Lianying had already told him that he would establish Qingzhong University under Prince Qing Yikuang, and it was only this title that Li Guolou had prepared in advance.Being put in a bridle by Prince Qing, the great embezzler, Li Guolou also admitted that he was able to establish the first university in the Qing Dynasty. All willingly.

He was very happy to get the position of the chief book office of "Xin Wu Tang", and finally had the opportunity to touch the military power.Although the immediate boss is Weng Tonghe, the leader of the Qing school, his military philosophy will have a great conflict with him.But this kind of old pedant likes to sit in the classroom and doesn't like to go deep into the barracks to deal with officers and soldiers. This just gives him an opportunity to recruit mid- and low-level officers under his door.

What exactly is the supervision of the Longevity Hill project?Li Guolou only knew that the two empress dowagers' personal servants were employed as officials, so what exactly were they doing?He has no clue.Just now when he left the palace, the great eunuch Liu Deyin said, "Congratulations! Master Li." Are you going to give the dead eunuch another gift?He was already frightened by the eunuchs asking for bribes. Others came to give gifts, and the eunuchs who came to his house were all asking for money.The day before yesterday, the eunuch Li Lianying asked for a reward of 1 taels, saying that he saved his life. Who would believe the superstitious product of "Pi Ba Zi"?What does He Shen have to do with him!It's a joke, it's a big joke everywhere.

The money goes in with the left hand and goes out with the right hand, whether it is a profit or a loss, he dare not calculate the account.Li Guolou walked out of the palace in a daze, not knowing where to go?He wanted to go to Prince Gong Yixin to find out the reasons for everything.But just then Prince Gong walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation and walked away, even sneering at him.How smart he is, he already knows what Prince Gong thinks, and he has to avoid suspicion in the future. Once he leaves the palace, the officials can't get together, and he will be accused by villains.What's more, he will be the emperor's personal servant in the future, with only one master "the emperor".But with so many things, who should he ask for advice?Seventh Grandma Zhen Yuhuan doesn't know anything about the palace either.

It was already past lunch time, Li Guolou was so hungry that he didn't go directly to pick up his servant Battelle's carriage, but took Battelle with him, and the two of them walked to Chang'an Avenue, looking for a restaurant for dinner, he was Looking at the flag hanging on the restaurant in the distance.

"Master Li, do you know me?" Rong Lu, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, stood beside Li Guolou with a smile.

Ronglu's name is Zhonghua, his name is Lueyuan, he is from the Guerjia family, and he is from Zhengbai Banner in Manchuria.At the beginning, Yinsheng was used as the head of the Ministry of Industry. At the beginning of Tongzhi, Shenji Battalion was set up, serving as wing commander and minister of special operations, and then moved to the left wing commander. He performed outstandingly and was appreciated by Chunjun Wang Yizhen and Minister of Military Machinery Wen Xiang. , and in charge of the Minister of Internal Affairs.

Rong Lu is less than 40 years old. He has a mustache, phoenix eyes, and a square face. He is neither fat nor thin. He is five or six centimeters shorter than Li Guolou. He is very eye-catching in court, and he is a handsome man.He belongs to the centrist faction, and he has both sides, and the senior officials in the court appreciate Rong Lu very much.The Ministry of Industry is commonly known as the "Ministry of Metal Works", and the Minister of Internal Affairs is in charge of the expenses of the palace.

Li Guolou finally met an official of the same type as him. Judging from his appearance, he could not see the change in Rong Lu's heart. How could you not know him?"

Li Guolou guessed that Rong Lu's actions should be waiting for him specially.This is one of his rivals, and also a talented young man, who is already a third-rank high-ranking official before the age of 40.

Rong Lu said casually: "Master Li, are you going to eat? I just didn't have lunch, let's eat together. I know there is a restaurant in front of you that tastes good. Let's go, I will lead the way."

"Okay, I'm going to be promoted today, so let me treat guests." Li Guolou and Rong Lu exchanged a few words, and they entered a restaurant of "Juxian Tower" together. Their servants were eating downstairs. Li Guolou and Rong Lu Run upstairs and sit by the window.

The two toasted each other for three glasses of wine, and then they ate casually. Rong Lu smiled and said, "Guolou, do you know? Is the signboard of Juxianlou written by the sage Kangxi himself?"

"Oh;;;;;; Really? I don't know about that." Li Guolou lied as if he was telling the truth, his eyes widened, as if he was very excited.

Rong Lu said meaningfully: "You have made me a friend, you just know it."

The two smirked together, squinted their eyes, and smiled so genuinely.Li Guolou couldn't figure out why Ronglu wanted him?As the saying goes, one grade of high official crushes people to death, and he is four grades lower than Rong Lu, so Rong Lu can't afford to come to him to make friends.The person in front of him is the God of Wealth, and his current worth is at least a million taels.

"Oh, I haven't congratulated Guolou on raising the flag. It's a great event. Come on, let's have another drink." The two chanted the wind and the moon in a wild way. Li Guolou just left the Forbidden City. Rong Lu already knew that Li Guolou In the matter of the flag being raised in the national building, the eunuchs in the palace even flattered the minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Rong Lu.

Rong Lu was the most well-informed about the news in the palace. He had seen that Li Guolou was appreciated by the two empress dowagers, younger than him, taller and more handsome than him, and better born than him.Li Guolou is a new researcher, and he can get the support of literati.And he can only occupy the light of the people, which is better than Li Guolou.However, Prince Gong suddenly made a move to "raise the flag", which directly turned Li Guolou into the emperor's private servant.Rong Lu wanted to get close to Li Guolou, so regardless of his higher official position than Li Guolou, he wanted to make friends with Li Guolou immediately.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Li Guolou was not in a hurry. He drank chrysanthemum tea. He had countless doubts in his heart, but he would not ask Rong Lu for advice.People's hearts are separated from the belly, and too many words will fail.How about the taste of the dishes?He will talk endlessly, explaining the secret method of making delicious food in Juxian Building.Li Guolou just joked about other things, and didn't talk to Rong Lu in depth.

Rong Lu saw that it was almost done, waved his hand to let the young man who served beside him leave, and said with a slight smile: "Guolou is an exquisite person. No wonder Mr. Bao appreciates you, and Prince Gong also reminds you. Needless to say, Mr. Brother, I sincerely want to make friends with you." At this point, Rong Lu stopped talking, and looked up at the expression on Li Guolou's face, but he saw that Li Guolou was still nodding calmly, not expressing his opinion.He praised in his heart that he was worthy of being the grandson of Li Hongzhang, the little fox imitated Li Hongzhang's demeanor, and learned it well.

Rong Lu said slowly: "To be honest, my brother, sitting in the seat also has some value, and wants to make a contribution to the country. Let the people in the family learn from the people in Li Zhongtang's family and become national entrepreneurs. The establishment of a textile factory in Wuxi has improved the lives of the people in my hometown. I know that your "Yadong Textile Factory" has the most advanced production technology in the textile factory now, and I wonder if you are willing to help my brother."

Li Guolou thought for a while, and said sincerely: "Master Rong, to be honest, the textile factory is a bottomless pit, filled with tens of thousands of silver, there is a chance to grow bigger, but the possibility of losing money is even greater. Once you start making money, the market will expand immediately, and you will need to expand the factory and improve the machinery. You will not see the money you earn back, but you will see silver scattered like snowflakes. You think it through and tell me, I will I cheated my two wives and let them buy shares in Yadong Textile Factory. Now that I think about it, I regret it. If I put the money in other places, I would have been able to share dividends."

Rong Lu smiled and said: "Guolou, you didn't lie to me. I already knew this. But who told me to be rich? The revitalization of the nation starts with light industry. You said this truth. Right? I If you have a patriotic heart, don’t buy manors and land! Just do such thankless things.”

Li Guolou stared at Rong Lu. He was really like him. He thought the same as him. He thought about national revitalization and hoped that the Qing Dynasty would rise again. Based on this, it is worth a deep friendship.

Holding the wine glass, Li Guolou stood up, shook his head slightly drunk, and said, "Okay! Master Rong is a good man, and I am not a villain. My family has no problem with running a factory, as long as Yadong Textile Factory has it." All technology can be imported into your factory, skilled workers are fine, patent fees aside, let’s work together in the future.”

"Well, in order to revitalize the nation, we should unite together, come on, let's have a toast!" Rong Lu accepted the code word without showing any emotion.The idea in his heart is actually to learn from Li Hongzhang, and when he has money, he can use it in business.The combination of government and business is always beneficial.The deep friendship with Li Guolou was a dark move for him to join the Westernization Movement.The so-called being right and left, making the rudder according to the wind, every step Rong Lu took in his official career was carefully considered.Speaking of national rejuvenation, Li Guolou was really moved. On the scene, Li Guolou no longer pretended to be a noble literati and poet.

Next, Li Guolou was not polite anymore. With his ability to climb along the pole, he had already used his arms and fingers, and said without any shame: "Master Rong, you should know that my family has established a bank, please come in. We have such a good relationship." , Save some money for me."

Rong Lu also asked unceremoniously: "Well, what discount do you have?"

During this period in the Qing Dynasty, customers had to pay a handling fee to open an account in a bank, and the interest on deposits was very low, which was supervised by the "Bank of Trade Association".Banks, ticket offices, and even foreign banks all follow the principle of unity, and competition with each other cannot harm the interests of other banks.As for lending, it is much more lenient. There are also banks that provide usury with a one-month interest rate of three cents, which is equivalent to lending by the underworld.The Qing Dynasty was an agrarian society, inflation had not yet occurred, and the prices of many things remained unchanged for decades.

"This;;;;;;" Li Guolou met someone who is very budget-conscious, and friends also want to talk about benefits, so he said helplessly: "Master Rong, the rules of the industry cannot be broken, at most I will give a generous gift next year, everyone agrees .”

"Hehehehe, bro, I'm just kidding, don't take it seriously, tell me I'll go to Tianjin to stand for you in person, and deposit 50 taels of silver first, how about that? Enough friends." Rong Lu's red phoenix eyes narrowed into a slit, and he took a closer look Li Guolou, business and money are two prongs. An ordinary lunch made two strange courtiers become confidantes.

At this time Li Guolou let go, and asked: "Master Rong, can you tell my younger brother, I understand the other official titles that the emperor granted me an official position. What is the purpose of supervising the Longevity Mountain project?"

"Ah;;;;;;" Rong Lu shook his hands and dropped his chopsticks to the ground. He looked at Li Guolou in surprise, and saw that Li Guolou really didn't know why such a stupid person would even go to Longevity Hill. Don't know what the project supervisor does?

After the servant changed a pair of chopsticks, Rong Lu said, "Guolou, to tell you the truth, you got a vacancy in the palace. Longevity Hill is just a courtyard of Yuanmingyuan, which is actually the reconstruction project of Yuanmingyuan. The two empress dowagers are about to remove the curtain, They want to live in the Old Summer Palace, and usually don’t live in the Forbidden City, so that the emperor can take power alone. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has allocated special funds for the Longevity Hill project, and the Empress Dowager will also put her own money into it. The total income in a year, I don’t think it will be less At 250 million taels of silver, even if it is not rebuilt in the future, just minor repairs and maintenance costs will cost at least 100 million silver a year. Do you understand now?"

"Ah;;;;;;" Li Guolou yelled louder than Ronglu, there is such a thing as a pie in the sky, no wonder Ronglu will make friends with him, he is a blessed person.How can he not understand the truth of Yan Guo's hair picking, the rules of spending in the palace are three parts true and seven parts false.How much trickery is there?Tomorrow, his house will present a scene that has never been seen before. The dead eunuchs will line up to give gifts to his house. History can be reversed, and he actually climbed on top of the eunuch's head.

Li Guolou and Rong Lu bid farewell to each other. Rong Lu will visit Li Guolou tomorrow and give him a congratulatory gift to congratulate him on his promotion. The two bid farewell at the gate of Juxian Building.

Li Guolou sat on the carriage and clapped his hands and laughed alone. Who should he share this joy with?Hmm;;;;;; Prince Qing, Yikuang, cannot be offended, and will come to visit tonight.Give 5 taels of silver first, and ask Prince Qing for instructions on the allocation of project funds for "Qingzhong University", how much will Prince Qing need to be satisfied?Hey;;;;;; If the remaining project funds are not enough in the future, he has to find a way to raise them.Tsing Chung University is the cradle of the new national culture, and his name as the chief academician will go down in history.Hey;;;;;; For the sake of national rejuvenation, Prince Qing can only be written as a clean and patriotic intellectual.