Chapter 42: Li Er's Deep-Laid Scheme

  After the movie ended, it was followed by some opera performances and acrobatic shows, but with the movie being so exquisite beforehand, these performances seemed dull in comparison. Even Cixi, who used to be very fond of watching plays, lost interest and soon left for Ning Shou Palace in her eight-man sedan chair.

  The officials knelt to see off the master, and also began to disperse slowly, chatting in groups of three or five about today's strange events while secretly thinking about whether they had been rude or made connections with any powerful figures.

  Ye Zhi Kui saw that the scene was about to disperse, so under the astonished gaze of the surrounding crowd, he took out a small hemp bag from his bosom and poured all the exquisite and delicious pastries and dried fruits that were just placed around him into the bag. This guy wanted to take away what he couldn't finish eating and bring some back for Little Linglong to eat, it would be a waste if they weren't eaten. Some people who had intended to go up and chat with him saw this and hastily avoided him, indicating that they didn't know this person. Ye Zhi Kui felt no pressure at all, because he was now the foolish Ye Zhi Kui.

  When Ye Zhiyu walked into the Ye Manor with a big bag of food on his back, he heard bursts of laughter coming from the main hall from afar.

  Ye Zhiwei couldn't help but feel curious, because Hu Yongjun's army had not yet withdrawn from Korea, he could only bring a handful of people back from Korea. These few people were all busy with their respective tasks over the past few days. Feng Guozhang and Wen Baishan were left in Tianjin to recruit old friends and students for Ye Zhiwei. Tu Fu was busy in Beijing establishing the Thirteen Hawks Branch, gathering intelligence, etc. The remaining people, Jian Ren Shiwo and Bao Butong, were active in Beijing, waving silver coins everywhere to conduct public relations activities.

  So the courtyard was left with only Xiaoling, and as soon as she entered the main hall, she saw Xiaoling sitting with several servants and maids, watching a thin man speak. The thin man was speaking so much that the sky was darkening, the sun and moon were losing their light, and his saliva was flying everywhere.

  Xiao Linglong's eyes always saw Ye Zhiwei first, and before Ye Zhiwei could ask, Xiao Linglong ran up to him, chattering away.

  "Hey, Ye Dage, you don't know, this fortune teller is a magician! Yesterday he was an old man, today he's become a young man. And he's really good at telling stories too!" Xiaoling was clearly delighted by the young man.

  Is he fortune-telling? Ye Zhi Kui shifted his gaze to the thin man, who was probably around twenty years old, and found that he bore some resemblance to the fortune teller who had been following him since Tianjin. This was too ridiculous, he had actually been deceived by an ancient person, fortunately, he didn't have any malicious intentions, it seemed that in the future, he couldn't be too careless, Ye Zhi Kui secretly warned himself.

  Ye Zhihui put down the sack, somewhat angrily asking: "Who are you, anyway? Why are you playing tricks on me? Don't you fear that I will send you to the yamen for punishment?"

  The young man smiled awkwardly, and it was only later that he knew he had run into Ye Zhiwei. He twisted and turned in his words, saying: "I am Yang Du, Yang Shizong from Hunan, and I didn't intentionally pretend to be a ghost or a devil. It's just that after coming to the capital for the Jia Wu Ke examination, I failed and was ashamed, so I had no choice but to make a living like this in preparation for returning home."

  Yang Du? Ye Zhi Kui was taken aback, could it be that Yang Du, the eccentric who said "I am not worthy of being a teacher to emperors and kings, but when a king rises, he will surely come to take my teachings", who was infatuated with the imperial arts of the Wang clan, and finally advocated for constitutional monarchy, and was the one who cheered on Yuan Shikai's ascension to the throne?

  Unexpectedly, it was indeed this person. It turned out that Yang Du had been fond of opium since he was young and after the exam, he accidentally spent all his travel expenses on opium. The young man was too proud to borrow money from others and thought he could rely on his own abilities to get back home, so he set out alone into the world. However, he didn't know that the world was a difficult place and it wasn't easy for newcomers, especially young people like him, where it was a place that "eats people without spitting out bones". Yang Du had no choice but to disguise himself as an old fortune teller, which slightly improved his situation. However, his opium addiction would often relapse, so he could never gather enough money. The miserable Yang Du, if not for meeting the kind-hearted little girl Xiao Linglong, who knows where he would have ended up, singing about wanting to go home, a homeless child without even a penny to buy opium or shake off his addiction.

  Yang Du finished telling his miserable life, and with tears in his eyes, he looked at Ye Zhi Kui and said: "Lord Ye, thank you for taking me in. Otherwise, I would have starved to death on the streets of Tianjin that day."

  Ye Zhi's brow furrowed for a moment, then he asked: "So what do you plan to do now? If you want to return home, I can lend you some traveling expenses."

  Yang Du replied resolutely: "There is a saying that one returns home in glory after becoming rich and noble. Although I didn't pass the imperial examination this year, there will be another chance next year with the yiwei imperial examination. As for myself, I think I know a few characters and understand some arithmetic. If General Ye doesn't despise me, I am willing to serve as a clerk under your command."

  Ye Zhiqi was astonished, never expecting that Yang Deyi would voluntarily surrender to him. In fact, this was Ye Zhiqi being overly modest, as he had also gradually gained fame through the twists and turns of the Sino-Japanese War in Korea, becoming a rising star in the Beiyang government.

  As for Yang Du's active submission, Ye Zhi Kui also seemed very happy, and seeing Xiao Ling Tong pleading for him. He agreed to it, Yang Du is still young now, but he has already become a jinshi, his talent will not be bad, let alone he can be slowly cultivated!

  Yang Du saw Ye Zhi Kui nodding in agreement to take him in, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, secretly thinking that he finally had a long-term meal ticket. He wisely retreated with the maidservants, leaving only Xiao Ling Long and Ye Zhi Kui in the grand hall. Xiao Ling Long was rummaging through Ye Zhi Kui's hemp bag, stuffing pastries into her mouth, when she saw Ye Zhi Kui approaching with a sly smile. She quickly ran away, and the two of them began playing a game of "hawk catching little chicken" in the small courtyard.

  One day, in the Xianliang Temple in Beijing, Zhang Peilun walked into Li Hongzhang's room with a copy of the Jing Bao, and saw Li Hongzhang reading his mentor Zeng Guofan's "The Way of Learning" by the window light.

  It was not a cough that caught Li Hongzhang's attention, but rather someone saying: "Your Excellency, this is today's Jing Bao (Capital Report), there are some important news inside." The Jing Bao was a semi-official newspaper, also known as the "Yi Bao" (Imperial Report), and the importance of its contents goes without saying.

  Li Hongzhang slowly picked up the newspaper and took a look. The most eye-catching headline was: "The Country's Blessing, Ye Zhiqi's Pride". It said that Ye Zhiqi had told the Japanese that China would not tolerate any insult, and it wrote about some of Ye Zhiqi's words during an interview at Dagu Port, as well as his experiences in various battles on the Korean battlefield. The entire article portrayed Ye Zhiqi as a heroic figure who loved the Qing dynasty and the people, was brave and wise. It was like a report on a progressive personality, written vividly and movingly, making one's blood boil with excitement and admiration for the journalist's writing skills. But strangely, the entire article did not mention Li Hongzhang at all, as if he had never appeared.

  Li Hongzhang and Ye Zhiqi landed at Dagu together, but there was no report of Li Hongzhang, while Ye Zhiqi was widely reported, which is a bit strange. Later, Zhang Peilun pointed out a news article to Li Hongzhang in a corner of the newspaper, and Li Hongzhang's nose turned crooked after reading it. It turned out that the article was about how he, Li Hongzhang, had "made his fortune" and brought wealth to his whole family. The prime minister is from Anhui, but Li Hongzhang's family has made a huge fortune, and they even deposited their silver into a Japanese bank.

  Li Hongzhang initially cursed in anger, but gradually calmed down, put the newspaper aside and asked Zhang Peilun: "Youxiao, what do you think of this matter?"

  Zhang Peilun didn't even think about it and replied: "This is probably the imperial court fearing that you, Duke Zhong, have achieved great merit and are a threat to the emperor, so they want to guard against you."

  Li Hongzhang sighed and said, "The death of a cunning rabbit brings good fortune to the running dog. This has always been the case since ancient times. I never thought that after a lifetime of serving the imperial court with loyalty and dedication, in my old age I would be suspected by the imperial court. It's really hard for me to swallow this."

  Zhang Peilun gritted his teeth and said expressionlessly: "Zhong Tang, now that you hold military power, dominate a region, and your prestige is at its peak, who in the entire Qing dynasty can rival you? Why not..." Zhang Peilun didn't finish speaking, but Li Hongzhang already understood what he meant.

  Li Hongzhang's heart skipped a beat, but then he thought of his old and frail body, coughing every night, phlegm blocking his throat, and his declining health. He couldn't help but think that this was not the right time to get involved in such matters.

  Li Hongzhang's thoughts turned several times, and he was silent for a while before responding: "The imperial court is unjust, I, Li Hongzhang, cannot be disloyal, let's wait and see."

  Li Er ultimately did not have that momentum and courage, the blood had long since ceased to boil again. Moreover, the imperial court recently sent news that Li Hongzhang was transferred to the Military Machinery Office, serving as a military minister and concurrently as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, becoming a central heavyweight minister.

  Cixi played this trick extremely beautifully, and Li Hongzhang was not demoted but promoted, appointed as a high-ranking official in the capital, placed under her own eyes. And Li Hongzhang could also be said to have entered and exited the government freely. For this powerful minister who only wanted to do his job and did not dare to rebel, it was not necessarily a bad thing. However, he was transferred away from Beiyang, and thus lost his foundation. Beiyang began to enter a state of leaderlessness.

  …………

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