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Text Chapter 419 New appointment, new errand

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    "Coastal defense is an important task for the country. This naval yamen drama cannot be sung by just the old and the young, but several more talents are needed." Empress Dowager Cixi added, "Sixth Master, I think who else is more suitable?"  "Prince Gong thought for a while and replied: "Returning to the Empress Dowager, I believe that the coastal defense of Beiyang is the top priority, and the direct governor Li Hongzhang can also be the Assistant Minister of the Navy. In addition, the Minister of Shipping Shen Baozhen founded the Shipping Administration and was in charge of the Navy.  If you have more ideas, you can also join the Maritime Bureau to help with the navy. " "What Liu Ye said is that Beiyang is the gateway to Beijing and Tianjin, and all coastal defense matters must be prepared as soon as possible. Li Hongzhang must get the Maritime Bureau." Empress Dowager Cixi nodded, "  Shen Baozhen has been in charge of the Shipping Administration for a long time, and the Nanyang Coast Guard also needs someone. Li Zongxi is telling me that it would be better if Shen Baozhen acts as the governor of Liangjiang and the Maritime Administration. In this way, the Beiyang and Nanyang can be unified.  In the same year, he was Lin Yizhe's uncle, so everything went smoothly. "Hearing what the Empress Dowager Cixi said, Prince Gong knew that she already had an opinion. This time, he told himself that it was actually more "  "Notice" nature, Cixi asked her own opinion, which was tantamount to testing herself, but she couldn't help but feel fear in her heart.  ??From the last time he was removed from the title of King of Government due to impeachment, to the time when he was rewarded with the title of King of Government because of Yunxing garden work, the ups and downs during this period have given Prince Gong a deeper understanding of Cixi.  "The Empress Dowager is wise!" Prince Gong said repeatedly, "I admire you very much!" Seeing that Prince Gong had no objections, the Empress Dowager Cixi was very satisfied. After talking for a while, Prince Gong resigned and left.  After Prince Gong leaves.  The Empress Dowager Cixi thought for a while and said to Liu Chengyin: "Liu Chengyin. Send a message to summon the Seventh Master to see him." Liu Chengyin responded and walked out quickly.  Empress Dowager Cixi sat on the throne and looked towards the entrance of the hall.  Outside the palace, it was snowing heavily and the sun was red in the sky.  "Master Lin, please come this way." Liu Chengyin said to Lin Yizhe with a smile, leading the way.  "Thank you, Manager Liu." Lin Yizhe looked at the slender-faced old man in front of him and saluted with a smile.  Followed closely behind him.  "It has been snowing heavily for days, and it is finally sunny today. There is a saying that 'Auspicious snow heralds a good harvest', and the Empress Dowager's mood has improved a lot." Liu Chengyin said as he walked, as if chatting with Lin Yizhe about home affairs.  But Lin Yizhe knew in his heart that Liu Chengyin was using his method.  Sending important messages to yourself.  "It has been snowing for days, and suddenly it turns sunny, and the weather is getting cold again. The so-called 'snow is not cold, but snow is cold'. The weather is very cold, and General Manager Liu works hard every day. He must pay attention to keeping warm." Lin Yizhe looked at it.  Liu Chengyin, who had an old face and a somewhat rickety figure, said with concern, "I have learned Western medicine and health care methods. If Manager Liu is willing, I will copy them and show them to Manager Liu." After listening to Lin Yizhe's words.  Liu Chengyin smiled and nodded, "Yes. It's freezing cold today. I'm getting older, and my hands and feet are not flexible anymore. I feel more and more useless. If Mr. Lin has a way, then I can  You're welcome." After hearing Liu Chengyin's words, the eyes of several young eunuchs around him showed surprise.  Liu Chengyin never talked much with foreign officials, let alone accepted any gifts from foreign officials, but this time he actually chatted with Lin Yizhe and was willing to accept Lin Yizhe's "Western medicine health care method" (actually it must be more than just a method  So simple), so different from usual, it really surprised them.  Lin Yizhe heard the hint in Liu Chengyin's words and felt relieved knowing that he had sincerely accepted him.  Being familiar with history and the anecdotes of the Qing palace, he knew quite clearly what disease Liu Chengyin died of in history.  So he had the idea of ????helping Liu Chengyin treat his illness and extend his life.  Now Liu Chengyin can be said to be one of the strong helpers in his palace.  And from his previous performance, we can know that he is a very smart and kind person.  Such people, if they live longer, can become stronger with their own help!  Not long after, Liu Chengyin brought Lin Yizhe to the entrance of the hall. Lin Yizhe noticed that today's summons was a little different from the past.  Today in the main hall, Empress Dowager Ci'an was not present, and neither Prince Gong nor Wen Xiang was present.  Sitting in the palace, apart from the Empress Dowager Cixi, was Prince Chun Yichuang!  Seeing Prince Chun, Lin Yizhe understood something in his heart, and couldn't help but secretly admire Empress Dowager Cixi's skill.  "Master Lin, please go in alone." Liu Chengyin's voice brought Lin Yizhe back from his thoughts, "I still have some things to do that Lafayette told me, so I won't go in." Lin Yizhe noticed that Liu Chengyin said just now  When he said these words, a look of sadness seemed to flash through his eyes, as if he was about to do something very difficult.?, he couldn't help but be surprised, but at this moment, it was inconvenient for him to ask more questions.  "Mr. Liu, please excuse me." Lin Yizhe saluted.  Liu Chengyin bowed in return, and then hurriedly led the people away.  At this time, Li Lianying came out from the main hall, nodded to Lin Yizhe with a smile, and led him into the main hall.  After Lin Yizhe saluted the Empress Dowager Cixi, he noticed that Prince Chun kept looking at him with a smile, and he roughly guessed the reason for today's summons.  Sure enough, after a few words of comfort to him, the Empress Dowager Cixi directly announced to him the personnel appointments for the future naval yamen.  Hearing that he had become the "Minister of Naval Affairs", Lin Yizhe knew that the Empress Dowager Cixi was fulfilling the promise she had made a few days ago, and he breathed a long sigh of relief.  I finally have a chance to let go and do something big!  "Lin Yizhe, Master Qi and I have discussed the money for the navy. I will give you a piece of the Japanese compensation. But now the money has not arrived, and the national treasury can't get much money for a while.  "Now the war in the northwest is in urgent need of money, and money is everywhere in Haiphong. Do you have any good ideas?" asked the Empress Dowager Cixi.  "When I came back to the Queen Mother, I thought that to use silver for coastal defense, we had to borrow foreign debt." Lin Yizhe said.  "Oh? Borrowing foreign debt?" Prince Chun looked at Lin Yizhe, looking a little surprised.  "Lin Yizhe, can it be said that when you were in charge of shipping management, you had to borrow all the money for shipbuilding?" Lin Yizhe couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart after hearing Prince Chun's question.  "Reply to the prince, the silver used for shipping administration, excluding the silver that goes to the Western Expedition, is only enough for daily operating expenses. Shipbuilding is simply not enough." Lin Yizhe replied, "However, shipping administration is an important task for the country.  The use of ships for coastal defense cannot be abandoned here. My uncle Shen Baozhen raised funds from various sources and asked all provinces to use ships to help. He also collected money from foreign medicine taxes in Fujian Province and raised money from various Yin merchants at home and abroad.  This was the reason why we were able to build such a rare ship. When the turnover was difficult, we borrowed some foreign debts and paid them back afterwards. This was a temporary solution, and this was done only after careful consideration."  , the biological father of Emperor Guangxu, I heard that he has quite a "clean" aura. I heard him speak for the first time today, and I knew it!  "That's it. I said, there is no money for this. You can't conjure up so many warships out of thin air!" Prince Chun chuckled, "You borrowed foreign debt, you just borrowed it, and you always built the ships.  It has been put to great use. Now think about it, if this ship had not been built, Taiwan would have been lost!" Hearing Prince Chun's words, Lin Yizhe couldn't help but sigh in his heart.  If this person wants to change, he will change very quickly!  In the late Qing Dynasty, among the four princes (Prince Gong, Prince Dun, Prince Chun, and Prince Qing) who participated in the Central Committee, Prince Gong was the most upright and rigorous person. This also stems from the fact that he took charge of the Central Committee since he was 28 years old.  The burden of daily work.  Prince Gong treats others generously, which is greatly recognized by even Westerners.  This allowed a group of elites to gather around him, which supported the operation of the government amid internal and external troubles.  Prince Gong himself was a high-ranking, clean and self-sufficient man. He was neither "scandalous" like his fourth brother, Emperor Xianfeng, nor was he "scandalous" like the later Prince Qing, Yikuang.  "Compared with the smart, resolute and resolute sixth brother Prince Gong, the seventh eldest Prince Chun seems to be more "old-fashioned", acting more low-key, more hidden, and more wise and foolish.  In the "Qixiang Coup" that overthrew Sushun and other ministers of the "Gang of Eight", Prince Chun's achievements were often concealed behind the halo of Cixi and Prince Gong: it was he who led the troops to remove Sushun and Duanhua from  Caught in the hot bed, he completed the most difficult, risky and critical task in the coup.  In the subsequent "Uncle-Sister-in-law Republic" system, he was in charge of the "Shenji Battalion", the main force of the capital's garrison, for more than 30 years. In fact, a basic pattern was formed in which Prince Gong controlled diplomacy and Prince Chun controlled military affairs.  The current "republic of uncles and sisters-in-law" in the Qing Empire is characterized by the coexistence of "listening to government behind the curtain" and "prince assisting government". "Prince assisting government" is the condition and prerequisite for the Manchu nobles to accept "listening to government behind the curtain".  Prince Chun is not only the emperor's uncle, but also the brother-in-law of the Empress Dowager Cixi, which is destined to be accepted by the most people.  In Cixi's eyes, this was undoubtedly a check and balance on Prince Gong, even though he stood up and spoke for the sixth brother indignantly when Prince Gong was repaired by Cixi twice in his early days.  Before Prince Chun¡¯s ¡°debut¡±, the world felt that he was quite left-wing, conservative and xenophobic.  He always scorned Prince Gong's reforms, especially the foreign policy of "external relations, trust, and implicit restraint." He suggested that the Queen Mother "remove all fancy techniques and foreigners' use." He even secretly wrote twice, suggesting that Prince Gong be weakened.  power.  It is said in unofficial history that he "disciplined his brother's expertise""Power has always been covetous." There is no doubt that this kind of mutual supervision is what Cixi wants to see most. Prince Chun, who previously appeared with a high-profile "ultra-left" appearance, once took power, it was shocking  In terms of foreign strategy, he almost completely inherited the "surrender line" criticized by Prince Gong before, and even went further, shocking observers at home and abroad.  Prince Chun, who shouldered the burden of "ultra-leftist" remarks, admitted that he "took a biased view" and did not know how expensive food and rice were when he was not an official. But in fact, judging from the rapid and thorough change of Prince Chun's face, his previous "ultra-left" appearance,  It is most likely just a way to win the support of the "fundamentalists". When he is in the opposition, he can stand and speak without pain. He can point out the country and criticize others. But once he is in power, he will do it for the sake of his son's country and the country.  Lin Yizhe knew that the first round of "reform and opening up" in the Qing Empire lasted for more than thirty years, with "Jiashen Yishu" as the boundary, and the last ten years of Prince Chun's rule.  Compared with the first two decades of Prince Gong's administration, almost all reform measures have not been suspended, and greater progress has been made in infrastructure construction such as naval, railway, and telecommunications, especially in the establishment of provinces in Xinjiang and Taiwan.  Greatly strengthened his control over border provinces. In terms of diplomacy, Prince Chun also showed a flexible figure like Prince Gong, so that later mainstream historians criticized this "patriotic prince" for how he could not handle the task of managing the country.  Brother He Nai is generally weak and "traitorous". This is similar to Prince Gong who launched a coup and executed Sushun and others, but inherited almost all of Sushun's policies, especially the policy of reusing Han officials such as Zeng Guofan.  The power struggle is effectively separated from the policy continuity, and neither the affairs nor the system will be abolished based on people. What is even more paradoxical is that the unofficial history makes it clear that the two brothers, Prince Gong and Prince Chun, are fighting for power. In fact, these brothers are not.  The two often meet together and lament that it is even more tiring to bear the burden of the Qing Dynasty, which has so many spectators. Perhaps, the "disputes" left on paper are just "the past people spread the blame and the later generations are confused."  "But this foreign debt is probably not that easy to borrow, right?  Empress Dowager Cixi frowned and said, "Foreigners are not willing to borrow money in vain. There must be something pledged, right?"  " "Return to the Queen Mother's words.  Borrowing foreign debt does not necessarily require a pledge," Lin Yizhe replied, "¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù On Raising Payments for Coastal Defense (May 11)  Yesterday, I received an official letter from Jun to discuss the coastal defense regulations and all the requirements for military pay.  We want to share the difficulties, but what are the conditions?  Shi Hongzhang and Youdan discussed the establishment and other reasons.  Yang Meng presided over the plan.  Guangyi gathers his thoughts and accepts his duties!  Hongzhang's knowledge is mediocre, and ridicule is enough to bear such hardship?  Naihe Sheng'en sent an order to supervise Beiyang's coastal defense affairs. He had little power and heavy responsibilities, and was inexplicable.  "The cause of this matter is huge and there are many clues. At present, raising wages must be the first priority and the most difficult task."  Purchasing ships and equipment requires huge sums of money. No matter how much money a fine armored ship has, it costs around one million taels each. Even a military ship, if it is custom-made in the West, costs about three to four hundred thousand for a large one, and tens of thousands for a small one.  If China makes its own products, the materials will need to be purchased and shipped from overseas, and the number will be doubled.  In addition, the number of breech-loading guns required is huge, and China has not yet been able to imitate it.  When going abroad to purchase a gun, you need about a few taels of silver. Each cannon can be a few thousand taels for a small one or tens of thousands taels for a large one. You can buy medicines and other miscellaneous items or make them. Everything is spent without any expense. It has been five years since Hongzhang arrived in Tianjin.  , the forts in Haikou and Jin County were gradually built with troops, and more than fifty breech-loading cannons of various sizes were successively purchased, but they were all exhausted by Luo.  However, there are still many vacancies in various fortresses, and hundreds or dozens of additional statues must be purchased, which costs about 700,000 to 800,000 silver, but can be used for distribution.  The Huai and Lian armies still use front-door foreign guns. If they were all equipped with rear-door guns, it would require about 30,000 guns and cost 30,000 to 400,000 silver.  The annual bill purchase and miscellaneous expenses cost hundreds of thousands.  What is true in one place is known elsewhere.  This is just for the army.  At the end of the day, Dashu planned to establish a naval force in Beiyang, and regarded shielding the gateway to Gyeonggi as the most important entrance.  There is only one steamer in Zhenhai from Fujian Factory. Yesterday, we were sent to the provincial Dadonggou to assist in the suppression.  He also operated a river steamer. He returned to Shanghai for repairs last year and has not yet come to Tianjin.  The two ships are all built like shells, and they are the smallest warships.  Now we want to build a new one. In addition to the four ships purchased by Hart, which will be sacrificed when they arrive, we will decide whether they can be used. There will be about 20 ships for the army, and there should be one or two iron-clad ships in them, which will be slightly stronger.  The ships in Fujian and Shanghai have been divided into important defense areas. It seems difficult to add more. They will need to be purchased and built again. All the expenses for recruiting soldiers will cost tens of millions.  Although this number is not necessary at present, in the future it may not be too small.  It is a creation, so we have to be lenient in our calculations and use narrowly.  As for mosquito boats, mines and other items, they are powerful weapons for keeping silent.  The cost of water and electricity was relatively low, so the Minister of Jindan ordered his telegraph company to purchase and deliver more than ten types of mines, including miscellaneous parts for use, at a price of more than 5,000 taels.  There is a machine bureau inside that can be copied.  However, each mouth must be stocked with hundreds of utensils, and a little will become a lot.  In short, if you don¡¯t have money, you can¡¯t do anything, and if you want to do something, you need money everywhere.  This is the first important thing to raise wages.  Today's salary source is very difficult.?, there are so many branches like that, and after comprehensive planning, there is no way to allocate a large amount of coastal defense.  After considering the opinions of the public, I have decided on a two-tiered approach of first addressing urgent matters and verifying the facts. If you can follow it with the strength, it may be of some benefit.  Jun proposed that coastal defense be the most urgent thing, and that others should be put to use later.  However, if various funds are allocated for the capital's rate project, military supplies on the West Road and beyond the Great Wall are increased, and various provinces reserve land and water brave camps in the hinterland for defense, as well as miscellaneous expenses for the aftermath, these are all related to the overall situation and cannot be slowed down.  In addition, he was ordered to organize military training in the three eastern provinces to prevent disasters, and it was also clear that there would be no money to be spent. If we could not rush one thing and delay another, the reduction we could make was very limited.  As of Yu Shengzhong, the provinces referred to the provinces, salt, and landing taxes, and the rectification was sturdy.  Zhihuang Zhongcheng said that the audit was full of details and omitted every section, which means to verify within the regulations.  The Chali tax is relatively high in provinces such as Liangjiang, Hu, and Guangzhou.  Hongzhang has been in charge of his affairs successively and has personally examined and revised the tax rates. Although there are differences, they are all based on local conditions. After more than ten years of operation, businessmen and people are in peace and cannot be changed lightly. If the change is reduced, there will be a loss in the salary. If  Increasing income will lead to resentment and trouble.  I have recently heard that the collection is carried out as usual, and leakage is unavoidable, and it seems that medium-sized abalone is also rare.  Zhejiang and Fujian are roughly the same.  In addition to taxes and levies on foreign medicines, taxes on general merchandise, salt, and tea also seemed to be inconvenient and suffocating for all provinces.  Since the rise of the army, every possible way to make money has been searched and exhausted. The merchants are poor and the people are poor, and the situation is already in jeopardy.  If the person who takes charge of a task is too demanding for the core, or is harsh and trivial, the work will be multiplied by tens of thousands, and the vitality will be damaged.  If it is pointed out that there is not much profit left from rectification, it is probably useless to propose coastal defense.  For the provinces under the jurisdiction of Beiyang, there are vacancies in the Zhili department and there is no way to make up for them.  (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile phone users please go to m. to read.)
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