late Qing Dynasty arrest

Li Hongzhang rushed to Jinan and was discussing in court how to properly resolve the hostage issue. Li Hongzhang was most concerned about the lives of foreigners. t

The pressure from the ministers of various countries made the governor of Shandong, Zhang Renjun, frown. He blamed all kinds of tactical arrangements and refused to encircle and suppress the Sun's armed forces. He was afraid that the kidnapping case would turn into a flag-raising rebellion. The imperial court has no intention of rebelling. If it is not handled properly, the consequences will be to make Shandong a thousand miles away, and the Nian army to poison Shandong. The evil deeds are obvious to all, and people will still remember it. Entering the army, Zhang Renjun's Chinese face turned into a shoehorn, as if he wanted to eat people.

He Fengyu, the commander-in-chief of Yanzhou, was heartbroken when his subordinates rebelled. Unfortunately, he was guilty of a crime and lacked breath in his words. Zhang Renjun asked for instructions.

Zhang Renjun took the opinion letter of the Sun brothers and asked Li Hongzhang to study what could satisfy the Sun brothers, and did not mention the matter of entering the army.

At this time, the army of the Qing Dynasty learned from the Prussian army. The army was composed of regiments and divisions. [

Zhang Renjun, the governor of Shandong, could not be cruel, and made several military meetings come to an end. Now that Li Hongzhang came, he did not expect that Li Hongzhang was even more afraid of foreigners, and he did not dare to mention the matter of entering the army. Looking at the conditions offered by the Sun brothers, he carefully reviewed them one by one. Research.

Sun Meifang offered five conditions:

One: The government forces lifted the siege and withdrew to the original defense;

Two: Incorporate the Lincheng garrison into four wings, with Sun Meifang as the general and Sun Meijing as the deputy general;

Three: Sun's armed forces stationed in Lincheng County, Weishan County;

Four: Replenish the arms and issue the four wings' one-year military salary;

Five: Zaozhuang Coal Mine does not allow foreign investment.

Sun Meifang also had a verbal condition, to punish He Fengyu, the general of Yanzhou who committed suicide. The Lincheng garrison couldn't stand He Fengyu's oppression, so they took the risk and had to kidnap foreign businessmen.

The blame is always to be blamed, the Sun brothers dare not point the finger at Zhang Renjun, the governor of Shandong, and He Fengyu, the general of Yanzhou, became the culprit in the kidnapping case.

Li Hongzhang looked at the statement of opinion and Zhang Renjun's comments on each condition, and couldn't help being annoyed. He scolded angrily, "Zhang Futai, do you know the consequences of using money to support bandits?"

"Master Fu Xiang, I just want to rescue the hostages. As long as the hostages come back safely, I will immediately surround Sun's armed forces and never let the bandit leader escape the severe punishment of the national law." Zhang Renjun has a shameless face, and he is a man of faith. For this reason, he didn't care how many good gentry and dignitaries signed and pledged paintings as guarantee.

"Extremely absurd, Zhang Futai, you have to know that the Sun's armed forces have 4000 soldiers and can capture Jinan at any time. The consequences are even more serious. The bandit armed forces must not be allowed to expand. In the stationed area, the imperial court guarantees the supply of military salaries for one wing, and the coal mines in Zaozhuang can be assigned to their jurisdiction, so if you want to negotiate, you must show sincerity, and the consequences of deceiving others will harm others and yourself.” Li Hongzhang is good at negotiating, and put forward pertinent opinions.

Zhang Renjun hurriedly said yes, and took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Li Hongzhang's majesty made him tremble with fear, but Sun's armed forces had hostages in their hands and refused to agree to Li Hongzhang's conditions. What should we do? Zhang Renjun was in a state of confusion. The kidnapping case made him famous all over the world. If he handles it properly, his official fortune will be prosperous, and he will be promoted to the post of governor. If he handles it improperly, his career in life will be over. Zhang Renjun, listening to Li Hongzhang's nonsense, hoped that the Sun brothers would give Li Hongzhang face and agree to the conditions set by the court.

Li Hongzhang was so eccentric that he didn't want to talk too much, but let the people speak enthusiastically. As long as he listened patiently, he could find a bosom friend. He relied on the obedient Westernization School to do things. He only used one kind of person to run errands, and the others were all beaten Into the limbo.

Since Li Hongzhang said that he wanted to negotiate, few people sang against him, and several general soldiers said that they could not enter the army. Even He Fengyu, the general soldier of Yanzhou, supported the idea of ​​holding back the troops for the first time.

Chen Shiqi, a subordinate of He Fengyu, the commander-in-chief of Yanzhou, was unknown. He looked at Li Hongzhang strangely. After hearing the long speeches of the officers, he couldn't help but said, "Master Fu Xiang, I heard that the Xinwu Army and the Changsheng Army They have already stationed in Yong'an Township and Wangzhuang Township, and they say they want to attack Lincheng, but Li Guolou marched alone, so what should we do?"

Li Hongzhang froze and almost forgot about Li Guolou. This kid sees things thoroughly, does things extremely quickly, dares to take action, and is incompatible with the social atmosphere, but Li Guolou is invulnerable. No one dares to pour sewage on Li Guolou. The structure of the church is that he is the leader of the Westernization School, thinking about problems with his head, and planning the next five years. Li Guolou is the whip of the Westernization School, just like the whip of God, which wipes out all the evils of the Qing Dynasty. It's too late, and he needs to cover Li Guolou's butt.

Li Hongzhang pretended to be as good as a god, stroked his beard and said: "Chen Shiqi, you don't need to worry about this, I have my own opinion, Zhang Liangmiao plans to secure the world, Lincheng is in my hands."

Li Hongzhang thought that Li Guolou would attack Lincheng without heeding the military order of Shandong governor Zhang Renjun, and he had a draft in his belly, ready to tamper with Shicai's proposition at any time, and wanted to know how Li Guolou arranged his troops. [

The streets of Jinan were full of people, even in the secluded lobby, cheers could be heard outside. Zhang Renjun was a little upset and shouted angrily: "Go and check what's going on outside."

"Yes." Two Goshhas walked out of the lobby, wanting to find out what was going on outside. Before they got out of the courtyard, a sergeant on a fast horse rushed straight into the courtyard, turned over and dismounted, and his movements were neat and clean. No one dared to stop him, because the sergeant had three red flags on his back, and it was the [-]-mile red flag that marked the victory.

"Report, the victory of the red flag, the great victory of the Xinwu Army, the leader of the bandit, Sun Meifang." From far to near, a sergeant with three red flags on his back had entered the hall, and the people in the lobby stood up in surprise.

"What, say it again." Zhang Renjun couldn't believe his ears, and stared at the sergeant who delivered the news.

"Report to Zhang Futai, here is Li Guolou's victory report." The sergeant blushed, waiting for the reward.

"Report the victory of the ever-victorious army, conquer Lincheng two days ago, and wipe out the stubborn enemy in one fell swoop." With the effort of front and rear feet, another sergeant entered the room, turned over and knelt in front of all the adults. Good show, this is called Double Happiness.

Li Hongzhang is like Kong Ming with a feather fan and a scarf. Only he sat still and said calmly and sophisticatedly: "Okay, you two have worked hard. I will reward you with two silver dollars. There will be rewards at the stations along the way. Go down and have a rest."

A letter of silver dollars, that is, ten silver dollars sealed together with kraft paper, and two sergeants left the hall beaming with two silver dollars, still shouting: "Great victory for the Xinwu Army" and "Great victory for the Ever-Victorious Army"

This is to let the people in the whole city know the great victory of Shenfengling and the award of the bandit leader Sun Meifang.

In the lobby, Li Hongzhang and Zhang Renjun were reading a document each. Li Hongzhang saw that Li Guolou had written at the end of the letter, "Promoting peace through war is the best strategy." The subordinates read it.

Zhang Renjun was in a hurry, and he didn't talk about official etiquette. He snatched the letter and saw the general content at first glance. What's the big deal? It makes sense that Lou was killed. Li Guolou only had 1000 troops, and with the Ever Victory Army, there were only 3000 troops in total. Sun Meifang still had thousands of militiamen in his hands. No matter how you look at it, Sun Meifang shouldn’t be like this To die, the terrain of Shandong should be more familiar to the bandits, how could they be successfully attacked by the Xinwu Army.

Zhang Renjun had countless mysteries that he couldn't solve, and he muttered: "Well, Li Guolou is worthy of being a Jinshi, a talent for governing the world, and he is as fierce as a tiger, as fierce as a tiger!"

The officials in the lobby circulated the two victory reports and chattered in low voices.

"Grandma's Xiong, now that the Ever Victorious Army has launched, the brothel and brothel in Lincheng must be taken over by foreigners. We have worked so hard, what is the matter?"

"Li Guolou can buy people's hearts. Chang Shengjun is willing to listen to Li Guolou. The money must be at fault. We are too far away from Li Guolou. We have lost a lot this time."

"We need a navy to attack Weishan Lake. This time it will be my turn. If you go out once, someone must reimburse the travel expenses."

The commander-in-chief, deputy general, and wing commander of the four groups of troops were outraged. It was their troops who surrounded the Sun's armed forces, which allowed the Xinwu Army and Changsheng Army to win a big victory. In fact, the biggest heroes were all sitting in the Jinan court.

"I've said a long time ago that there is going to be a war, and you don't listen. Now it's all right. The pockets of the foreign gun team have bulged up. The outflow of silver is your fault." Pointing at Sang and scolding Huai, alluding to the actions of Zhang Renjun, the governor of Shandong, although he is the one who has committed the crime, but thinking of Li Guolou's help, he has full confidence.

He Fengyu was about to attack alone, but the three wing chiefs didn't listen to his orders, so he took his own wing and marched out. Li Guolou's 1000 men could accomplish a great feat, and he mastered a thousand elite soldiers, not much worse than the Xinwu Army If you can't attack Baodugu, you still have confidence in the bandit den in Weishan Lake.

Zhang Renjun is not a person who is jealous of the virtuous and capable. Of course, he hopes that the kidnapping case will be resolved as soon as possible. Seeing the officers under him arguing endlessly, thinking of making meritorious deeds, he has forgotten how important the lives of foreigners are. Your Excellency ordered you to make sure that the 35 foreigners are still in the hands of Sun Meijing, and we are still playing the game of rats, so we can’t beat them at will.”

Li Hongzhang coughed, stopped smoking, put down the long bong in his hand, and said slowly: "Zhang Futai said carefully, in the future, we will mention 45 hostages. The merchants of the Qing Dynasty are also the objects of our care. We must not treat one more than another, and make the world cold." human heart."

Zhang Renjun got up and saluted, "Thank you, Mr. Fu Xiang, for your teaching. I will keep it in my heart. The merchants in the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce are all patriotic compatriots. I will try my best to rescue 45 hostages from the tiger's den." [

When Li Hongzhang opened his mouth, the hall became quiet, and his position and authority made people awe-inspiring. Li Hongzhang took it for granted, and said in a deep voice: "It is my official decision to transfer Li Guolou's Xinwu Army and Bai Langning's Changsheng Army to Shandong. The two of them are united in spirit, and they will destroy the main force of the enemy in one battle. You have to learn from the two of them."

"Yes, learn from Li Guolou and pay tribute to Browning." The officers in the lobby let out a loud roar, all of them standing still with their chests and bellies raised, since Sun Meifang was dead, as if they were going to the battlefield. The main force of the city's garrison is finished, and the remaining bandit armies are nothing to worry about. Every officer has the determination to die.

The lives of 35 foreigners are very important, and it is related to the face of the Qing Dynasty. Li Hongzhang was in Jinan to rescue 35 foreigners, and at any cost, he was willing to spend a lot of money to buy bandits. Can't make too many concessions to the kidnappers. Li Hongzhang wants to negotiate with the kidnappers and is willing to give the kidnappers a way out, but Li Hongzhang has a bottom line, that is, the bandit armed forces cannot threaten the state power, and let the bandit armed forces become a town. He absolutely did not allow it, the consequences were too dire, and a hero like Zhang Xianzhong must not be allowed to appear in the Qing Empire.

Li Hongzhang adjusted his strategy, made two-handed preparations, decided to take a two-pronged approach to suppress and appease, and issued a military order for the four-way army to march towards Weishan Lake. Only under his planning could Li Guolou rise to a higher level. The mountain lake made it difficult for the bandits in Baodugu to stand alone and wait for death. At that time, they would exchange for 45 hostages at the smallest price.

Li Hongzhang is very scheming, he does not believe that bandits dare to kill foreigners, dead people are valuable, and under heavy siege, bandits will surely disintegrate and disintegrate. Zhang Renjun was the governor, and Li Hongzhang was a man of faith, known as the "Iron Prime Minister of the East".

Listening to the sound of firecrackers in the city, the sound of gongs and drums, and the voices of people celebrating, Li Hongzhang was pacing happily, as if dancing on green bricks. The official movement was perfectly coordinated, as the saying goes, one is prosperous and the other is damaged. Li Hongzhang sang military songs with his golden and stone voice, like the beating of a broken gong.