late Qing Dynasty arrest

The stars were faintly shining in the sky, Li Guolou had already arrived at Xihua Gate, several official sedan chairs had already parked outside the palace gate, Prince Gong and Weng Tonghe both came in sedan chairs.Li Guolou didn't bother them, he stood alone on the steps, looking at the distant west of Haizi, with the breeze blowing on his face, Li Guolou's clear eyes looked up at the darkness before dawn.

The sergeant of the Shanpu camp opened the palace gate, and three ministers who went to the study filed into the Forbidden City. Li Guolou was the last in line.The sergeant guarding the gate inspected Li Guolou's official seal, and said with an unchanged expression: "Master Li, please come in!"

Li Guolou lifted his front clothes and stepped over the first threshold, like a carp jumping over a dragon gate, finally able to soar into the sky.In front of the majestic Qionglou Pavilion, the yellow walls undulate continuously, the red pillars seem to have no end, and the glazed tiles are shining in the morning light.

Under the guidance of the eunuch, Prince Gong Yixin, Weng Tonghe, and Li Guolou came to the upper study room. Li Guolou didn't know whether to sit or stand, and a little eunuch brought him a stool.Li Guolou glanced at this short stool, it turned out that ministers could only sit on this kind of small stool when meeting the emperor.

"Thank you, father-in-law. I'll stand for a while." Li Guolou stood in the room and looked at the desk in the next room. This is where the emperor Weng Tonghe gave lessons to Emperor Tongzhi Zaichun. From his seat, you can see that there are two rows of desks. , There are six desks in total, the emperor still has classmates.

"Guolou, come here." Prince Gong Yixin sat on a porcelain stool, drinking hot tea, and said, "Let me tell you something, the Tongwen Library run by the Yamen of the Prime Minister's Mansion is always understaffed, what can you do?" Solve this problem?"

Tongwen Hall is a translation hall founded by Prince Gong. It is the first foreign affairs school since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, "Tongwen Hall of the Capital". Tongwen Hall has three classes in English, French, and Russian. .It is a pity that there are very few hard-working and good scholars in Manchuria. Due to the differences between Eastern and Western cultures, there are many Qing people who are hostile to Western languages. .

At this time, Li Hongzhang also opened the official name "Guangfang Dialect Museum" or Shanghai Tongwen Museum in Shanghai, where Han students could be recruited.Of course, in the capital, this amazing skill is to be kept in the hands of the Manchus. The meaning of Prince Gong’s questioning of Li Guolou is to ask him to find a way, how to make the Manchu students in the capital to actively learn foreign languages?

The Manchus in the capital are not even willing to learn their mother tongue, Manchu, and the streets are full of Manchus who cannot speak Manchu. The Manchus have a hereditary system, and good jobs can replace Lao Tzu. The fourth child, unfortunately, has no replacement seat, and carries the birdcage to play with the birds every day.

"Well;;;;;;Prince Gong, I think the status of the interpreter is too low. You only have the status of an official, and you have no hope of being admitted to the Jinshi. Smart children, their parents do not allow them to learn foreign languages. Those who are not talented enough , I can’t learn it. According to the officials, it’s better to subsidize those families who study heavily, give a date first, and recruit outstanding students. The country needs a large number of people who can speak foreign languages. To be honest, those tribute students , and those who failed the scientific examinations are all masters of rote memorization, let them learn foreign languages, and get twice the result with half the effort. As long as they are given corresponding official positions and status, these people are willing to go to the prime minister's office to learn foreign languages." Li Guo Lou looked at Prince Gong, there were thousands of Gong students who failed the rankings, these students were all masters of rote memorization, and belonged to people with high IQ.The evil intention contained in it is self-evident, that is, to break the imperial examination system that has been passed down for thousands of years.But it's hard to say clearly, in the name of the students who failed the exam, give those students another chance to be an official, as long as they are willing to learn foreign languages.

Prince Gong glanced at Li Guolou, and immediately understood, he was unsure, thinking about how to draft this memorial?Just taking advantage of the end of the scientific examination, a group of failed students with both ability and political integrity were recruited.

"I don't agree! It's unreasonable. How can students study Confucianism with peace of mind? Absolutely no! It's important for a gentleman to recuperate his body and mind, and the basis for employing people in administration. Learning the Four Books and Five Classics is the right way." Weng Tonghe had a big beard fluttering, his chest heaving with anger Ups and downs, a pair of eyes glared at Li Guolou fiercely, hissing and panting heavily.

Prince Gong secretly admired Li Guolou's scheming, he would use devious strategies, change a major event that changed the rules of the ancestors, and change the rhetoric in a different way, making people unable to grasp it.Gege smiled and said: "Master Weng, we are just chatting casually. However, those who failed the examination should give them another choice. This king thinks that those who failed the examination should be given a chance in life, so as not to make them poor I've been down and out for a lifetime. It took six years to pick the "Eight Immortals" and only a dozen or so people are too few. Mmm;;;;;; this matter can be discussed in the court, it's not a big deal."

Prince Gong practiced to become a Buddha a long time ago, he didn't care about the opposing opinions, and expressed his ideas in a lukewarm manner. Only after trying it will he know if it will succeed?

Weng Tonghe also had nothing to say, not to argue with Prince Gong.Disagreements can only form cliques and confront each other several times in the court, with a draft written in their stomachs, to expose Li Guolou's sinister intentions to the world, and let students all over the world condemn this betrayal of Neo Confucianism.

Li Guolou stretched the muscles on his face, trying to force a smile, but he couldn't. He accidentally exposed his thinking as a fake foreign devil, and in his bones he agreed with the views of the Westernization School.

The great eunuch Liu Deyin yelled loudly: "The emperor is here!"

Emperor Tongzhi was wearing a moon-white solid gauze robe, a rose-colored satin Baturu vest, and yellow thousand-layer soft-soled boots.With a slick braid thrown behind the black-shaven head, a pair of slender eyes, clear and shiny, with blue eye bags under the eyelids, spent a romantic and happy night.

After kowtowing and seeing the ceremony, only Li Guolou stood up and answered, no matter who said that he has low qualifications, he is not even given the gift of sitting on a stool at a young age.

The eunuch Liu Deyin took the memorials from Prince Gong, Weng Tonghe, and Li Guolou, and put them on the desk next to Emperor Tongzhi. Emperor Tongzhi first took Prince Gong's memorials to look through, and started his day's work.Emperor Tongzhi, who was about to take charge of the government, had already started to read the scriptures alone, and no longer asked others to explain to him. If there was something he didn't understand, he would ask questions.

The title of Prince Gong's excerpt is: "Exhibition of Selected Students Going Abroad to Study Art".

The memorial was drafted by Li Hongzhang, titled by Ding Richang, and discussed by Li Guolou, and finally reported to the emperor in the name of the Yamen of the Prime Minister's Office.

Together, Chen Tiao explained to the court three benefits of sending public students to developed countries:

One is to know the situation overseas and be able to grasp the thoughts of Western powers.

The second is to be able to learn in depth the methods of maps, algorithms, step-by-step, sea surveying, shipbuilding, and hair manufacturing.

The third is that the Qing Dynasty can master the skills that European countries are good at, and then they can learn for their own use, and then achieve the goal of using barbarians to control barbarians.

Finally wrote: In recent years, setting up bureaus, manufacturing, opening museums, and teaching are all skills that foreigners are good at, and the Qing Dynasty knows them well.All necessary funds are approved by the decree, and it is also determined that it will be accomplished.Although it is difficult and costly, over time, the results are gradually becoming considerable.I hereby plan to take my bright children to foreign countries to do business. Although I disagree slightly, they are actually the same.

What follows is Prince Gong and Li Guolou's defense to Emperor Tongzhi, telling the benefits of the country sending public students to study abroad, and pouring enough honey is very good.Li Guolou's mouth is much smoother than that of Prince Gong. He has the experience of studying abroad and the practical experience of buying foreigners. Although he didn't talk about coaxing foreign girls, what he said was that the Qing Dynasty defeated foreigners .It also brought up the fact that he won the boxing match in the French Concession. The pressure, the pain, the life hanging by a thread, all broke out at the last moment.

The last time Emperor Tongzhi had learned Li Guolou's eloquent kung fu, this time he listened with gusto again.

Weng Tonghe disagreed with sending bright students to Western countries, and originally resisted.But seeing that Li Guolou had achieved something in his studies, and he needed Li Guolou's cooperation to organize "Xinwutang", he didn't argue with Prince Gong to the death as usual.It is rare not to quarrel with "Ghost Six", sit on the stool and listen to Li Guolou's speech.

Prince Gong felt at ease, and finally had another capable ally.One of his right-hand men is Li Hongzhang and the other is Wen Xiang.But Wen Xiang is in poor health and old, and he may not be able to stay in the military plane for a long time. He already has a sense of danger. Li Guolou's sudden arrival is beyond his original conception.It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to keep Weng Tonghe, the master of Neo-Confucianism, silent.

Emperor Tongzhi originally wanted to show his face when he went to the study room, so he took the booklet of the minister who went to the study room, said a few perfunctory words, and went to play after finishing as soon as possible.Unexpectedly, Li Guolou took over the topic, and then he was attracted, explained to him one by one, and clearly understood the content of "Proposed Schoolchildren Going Abroad to Study Arts".

"Well, enjoy a bowl of mare's milk." Emperor Tongzhi sat cross-legged on the couch, drank tea and continued to read the booklets. He had already collected his playfulness, and after a while, he said, "Prince Gong, your The memorial is very timely. From my point of view, we should first recruit and cultivate bright students in China. How much time do you think you need to train in China before you can go abroad?"

Prince Gong said: "My Majesty, there are already a group of schoolchildren who can be sent abroad in the Beijing Normal University, but there are too few of them. Only a few of the schoolchildren have the ability to study abroad. The rest of the schoolchildren will have to spend at least two years. The basic foreign language should also teach the children to take care of themselves. In addition, the consulates in the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States should be well received and find boarding schools that can accept these students. Make sure that these students can learn knowledge well without any hesitation. Can contribute to the Qing Dynasty."

Emperor Tongzhi frowned and said, "France and Russia are now in a period of freezing relations with the Qing Dynasty. What if they refuse to accept those overseas students?"

Li Guolou replied: "Master, probably not. The nature of this kind of government-sent foreign students is to send each other. The French and Russians also want to know more about our Qing Dynasty, and they also hope to let foreign students come to study in our country. It is the so-called knowing yourself and your enemy." If you want to understand the enemy, you have to get into the heart of the enemy. Both sides have the same idea. In the event that students from our country are not accepted, it will be temporary. It won’t be long before foreigners will communicate with our country again for their own interests. Be like the British and become one of our best friends in the Qing Dynasty. There is no permanent enemy or permanent friend in front of interests. The master does not need to worry, the slave will definitely do the job beautifully. "

Emperor Tongzhi glanced at the silent Weng Tonghe, knowing that Weng Tonghe had no objection and said that it was rare, and he didn't ask Weng Tonghe's opinion, and said: "Well; Go do it. When I am in charge next month, I will give you an approval document."

Smart people have smart ways. Emperor Tongzhi agreed with the "Proposed Schoolchildren Going Abroad to Study Arts", but he didn't publish it, and he didn't want to have a big discussion in the court. The sage broke the law, and he had the courage to die .

"Your majesty is wise!" Prince Gong and Li Guolou stood up and worshiped, and the benefits of going to the study were highlighted. The two cooperated without shoulders and attacked from left to right. After more than an hour of defense, Emperor Tongzhi stood on the side of the Westernization School, and a Qing Dynasty beside him The head of the genre didn't say a word.

Emperor Tongzhi began to look at Weng Tonghe's excerpts, and was very satisfied with Li Guolou's performance today. A newcomer joined the upper study, and the lifeless atmosphere was renewed.After reading the beginning, there was another burst of surprise. Weng Tonghe's note said that the defense of the Sixth Army in the Gyeonggi area was reorganized.The minister of the shoulders really understands my heart, let the Eight Banners become elite soldiers first, this is the awareness that a slave should have.

The Emperor Tongzhi picked up the pen, wrote Zhu Ping, praised Weng Tonghe a few words, and then said: "Weng Tonghe, your script, I approve it, first transfer it to the Prime Minister's Office for discussion, there is a charter, the day after tomorrow, let the empress dowager rule .”

Seizing the military power was taught by Eniang. The defense of the six armies in the Gyeonggi area is the most important thing for Emperor Tongzhi. He is very happy today. The papers written by the three ministers in the study room are all great joys. Continue to review the papers patiently.