Chapter 38: Li Hongzhang's Great Achievements Shocked the Emperor

  First of all, thank you to 'Pure Sword' and 'Flying Dragon King' for the rewards, Xiao Chong bows down! Once again, I celebrate with my brothers who helped me rush to the top of the new book chart. Unfortunately, Xiao Chong types slowly, so it's hard to burst out, but two chapters a day is guaranteed, thank you again to all my brothers!

  ……………

  On October 9, the weather was fine, and the Beiyang Fleet sailed into the Dagu Estuary in Tianjin, where Li Hongzhang, Ye Zhikuan and other returning personnel would disembark, then rest briefly at the estuary before heading straight to Beijing, without entering Tianjin City.

  At noon, Ye Zhiwei followed Li Hongzhang and Ye Zhichao down from the "Dingyuan" warship, and was startled by the surging crowds of people, it's true that Chinese people love to gather and watch.

  Before Li Hongzhang returned to China, the Jingbao, Shenbao and Wan Guo Gong Bao newspapers had already revealed the contents of the Treaty of Pyongyang and the news that the Chinese delegation would return home soon. The contents of the treaty finally allowed these Qing officials to regain their former glory as a heavenly kingdom, coinciding with Empress Dowager Cixi's 60th birthday celebrations. The officials were all in high spirits, beaming with pride, as if China had become the center of the world overnight and invincible again.

  Later, after confirmation by telegram, Li Hongzhang's specific return time was approximately on the 9th in the morning. At that time, Li Hongzhang held the position of Governor of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang, with control over the military, leading a region, stationed in Beiyang, remotely controlling the imperial court, returning to his own base, could he not have received cheers?

  The officials and wealthy gentry of Tianjin, upon hearing the news, would no longer be able to calm down. If there were elementary schools at that time, they would definitely organize a large group of students wearing red scarves and waving all sorts of colorful flags to go to Dagukou Port to welcome them.

  Fortunately, there was no elementary school at that time, and those children did not have to suffer this sin. As a result, these officials had to mobilize the masses to go to the port, so Tianjin City was empty.

  The common people in Tianjin, with nothing to do during the day and night, even if they hadn't eaten enough and were hungry, didn't have anything to worry about. Under the encouragement of the government officials, they swarmed here like a hive of bees. They weren't concerned about the Pyongyang Treaty; they just wanted to catch a glimpse of the majestic appearance of the high-ranking official, so that they could have something good to talk about when they returned home.

  Nie Shicheng, as the Zhili Tidu from the first-class Wujiao official, could only lead a group of civilian soldiers who had just been recruited in Tianjin Lutai to assist the government in maintaining order at the scene, isolating the crowd on both sides of the road and preventing accidents, while also coming to pay respects to this superior officer.

  Li Zhongtang, with his vast experience and knowledge, was not surprised by the enthusiastic scene of thousands of people cheering, but instead had a calm and serene expression. However, Ye Zhiwei noticed that Li's hands were slightly trembling, revealing his excitement. Most people in the world are driven by fame and wealth, and now Li Zhongtang has both, with his reputation reaching the highest among Han officials in the Qing dynasty. What more could he possibly desire?

  Li Hongzhang was in high spirits, and even his walking pace quickened. As soon as he boarded the ship, officials from Zhili Province came forward to support him on either side. The previously robust Li Zhongtang had transformed into an elderly Gong Longtai, enjoying the assistance of the crowd.

  The officials were holding umbrellas, fanning the wind, and serving tea, all at incredible speed. Ye Zhi Kui was stunned by the scene, which resembled a series of caricatures of corrupt Qing dynasty officials. It's no wonder the Qing dynasty collapsed, with fewer people diligently working hard and more trying to curry favor through flattery, all while openly displaying their shamelessness without even a hint of modesty.

  Ye Zhihui watched with a cold eye, listening to the cheers not far away, and saw this group of flattering people nodding and bowing like a swarm of flies discovering a piece of rotten meat, scrambling in a ridiculous manner. Only then did Ye Zhihui feel that the cheering was so ear-piercing. Those officials who couldn't get Li Hongzhang's attention went to flatter Li Jingfang, Ye Zhichao and others, really making one admire their ability to break through. If this group of people were sent to the Sino-Japanese battlefield, I'm afraid the Japanese army would also be flattered into surrendering.

  At the time when Ye Zhiyu was secretly despising these people, Nie Shicheng saw him and walked over to say: "Xianzhong, after I left you achieved great merit in Pingyang again, how? Did my soldiers not bring shame to me?"

  Nie Shicheng returned to his hometown to recruit soldiers, but before he could finish recruiting, the war had already ended, and he had no choice but to stay in Lutai. Ye Zhikui showed great respect for Nie Shicheng, this venerable old man, and smiled as he replied: "My young nephew's great achievement is inseparable from Uncle's troops, when Uncle has time, I will definitely visit your mansion to express my gratitude."

  Nie Shi-cheng had to leave after exchanging a few words with Ye Zhi-kui, as he had to attend to the deployment of his troops. Ye Zhi-kui, not knowing anyone else, could only follow Li Hong-zhang silently.

  Among the cheering crowd, two young men looked worried. The younger one said to the older one: "Brother Zai, isn't this not quite right?"

  The older one's face was filled with worry, and he replied: "Xiaobai, I also have no choice. Since I sent a letter to Master Zhong in April this year, I've been waiting day and night for a response, but it's all been in vain. I think it must be because Master Zhong is too busy to read my heartfelt work, so I had no choice but to resort to this inferior plan." The younger one stopped trying to persuade him.

  The two men looked at Li Hongzhang simultaneously, and the older one saw Ye Zhiwei standing very close to Li Hongzhang. He couldn't help but point at Ye Zhiwei with an envious tone and said: "Who is that young man? At such a young age, he already wears a second-class peony hat and has lions embroidered on his official uniform."

  The young man looked and said, "Judging from his age, it should be that Guo Zifu Ye Kui. This person's background is not comparable to you and me. He was born with a good face and followed Li Hongzhang, standing out from the crowd."

  Ye Zhi Kui followed a group of old men with impatience, this group of officials walked at a moderate pace, seemingly enjoying the attention of the crowd, and also showing off their uniqueness, but he just felt that the sky was very hot!

  Just then, a group of reporters finally broke through the Qing army's blockade and ran to Li Hongzhang's side, which really startled Niu Cheng, fearing that they would stir up some trouble. Fortunately, Li Hongzhang was in high spirits and did not order the reporters to be driven away, but instead accepted their interviews. This excited both Chinese and foreign media, who were eager to ask Li Hongzhang various questions, with the Treaty of Pyongyang being the most frequently asked about. For a moment, everyone stopped.

  Yeh Kung-chiao, who was in the back, did not expect that Li Hung-chang would be standing in front of him, and there were also reporters coming to interview him. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be foreign reporters, including English, German, and most surprisingly, Japanese reporters.

  "Mr. Yip, I'd like to ask if you will feel guilty after ordering the massacre of Japanese residents in Korea?" a Japanese reporter asked first. In fact, the Japanese government has been slandering Yip Kieu by attributing many unrelated things to him, and the Pyongyang riot was also portrayed as Yip Kieu's indiscriminate killing of innocent Japanese civilians.

  Ye Zhiwei looked at the many foreign journalists looking at him seriously, and did not ask any more questions. He just held a pen in his hand, ready to take notes at any time. Knowing that he had to answer, and the answer could not be too weak or too arrogant, otherwise tomorrow's newspaper would not know how to write it!

  "After some thought, he replied: 'This journalist friend, I don't know where you got the news from. As everyone knows, the overseas Chinese you mentioned are actually a group of violent mobs who attempted to seize Pyongyang at that time, and our army was forced to counterattack. Moreover, even if the order for this counterattack wasn't given by me, even if it were, I wouldn't regret it. There's an ancient Chinese saying: repay kindness with kindness, and repay malice with malice. I just want you to convey one message to the world - China will not tolerate humiliation, Chinese people are not sheep that can be slaughtered at will.'"

  The surrounding journalists quickly took down what Ye Zhiqi said, and some journalists wanted to ask more questions. Suddenly, a commotion occurred on Li Hongzhang's side, attracting everyone's attention.

  Yeh's leader took a look and saw two young men posing as reporters approaching Li Hongzhang. When Li was being interviewed by the press, one of the young men suddenly stepped forward, threw a book at him and said: "Sir, I am Sun Wen, a humble villager. I heard that you are passing through this place, so I brought my book to present to you. I hope you can take some time to read it."

  The reporters were shocked, the Qing officials were shocked, what's going on here? Nie Shicheng hastily ordered people to carry out the two young men and drive them into the crowd.

  Ye Zhiwei was surprised to hear the young man claim to be Sun Wen, and quickly walked over to pick up the book on the ground. It turned out to be "A Letter to Li Hongzhang". Ye Zhiwei secretly shook his head, thinking that this Sun Wen must be crazy to want to be an official.

  Li Hongzhang reacted, somewhat angrily, saying: "Nowadays young people are all so unruly and lacking in discipline! Take this book away, no matter how talented you are, you can't be reused."

  Ye Zhiqi smiled awkwardly and replied: "Old Zhongtang, I'm also a young man." Li Hongzhang was stunned.

  After this little accident, Li Hongzhang also lost interest in continuing the interview and led the officials to hurry away to their resting place.