Chapter 33: Political Issues

  The gun emplacements faced the bay, the forts faced the bay. Whether it was a 15 cm Krupp gun or a 30 cm Armstrong gun, the firing position was fixed and could not be turned around.

  When the Blue Army appeared behind the artillery, all the firepower in the Red Army's fort and fortress became ineffective. They not only failed to stop the Blue Army's attack but also fell into a trap, becoming turtles in a jar for the Blue Army!

  The Red Army warships hidden in the military port could originally rely on the artillery to confront the Blue Army, but once the artillery fell, the warships became live targets for their own cannons!

  To verify Zhou Xuanzhang's answer, Ai De found the map of Weihaiwei and indeed, to the north of Weihaiwei, there was a small fishing port called Rongcheng Bay!

  Zhou Xuanzhang was in a hurry and forgot the rare confused old saying, giving out a correct answer.

  This was the only correct answer among all the students of the Imperial Academy, and this answer put Li Hongzhang, the Governor-General of Zhili, in a very embarrassing situation.

  Weihaiwei cost tens of millions, claiming to be the first fortress in the Far East, but in the end, it was a project with poor quality!

  With this alone, those upright officials in the imperial court could drown Li Hongzhang with their saliva.

  All the examination papers of the students were sent to the Wumeng Hall, and the leaders of the Westernization Group, Li Hongzhang, and the Qingliu Group, Weng Tonghe, sat side by side under the dragon flag. The instructors handed over the examination papers to the desks of the two dignitaries.

  When Li Hongzhang saw Zhou Xuanzhang's examination paper, his face turned pale. However, Li Hongzhang was a man of breeding after all, and he merely silently stuffed the paper into his sleeve.

  However, his actions were seen clearly by Weng Tonghe. Weng Tonghe smiled slightly: "Lord Li, I don't know whose answer sheet it is, but the Grand Minister values it so much that he wants to take it back and read it carefully?"

  Li Hongzhang had no choice but to hand over the scroll to Weng Tonghe.

  Weng Tonghe glanced at Zhou Xuanzhang's answer sheet, and the corner of his mouth slightly smiled: "There is actually such a strange theory!" Weng Tonghe did not understand tactics, but he could see the conclusion on the paper.

  Weng Tonghe passed the volume around for all the officials present to see, letting everyone take a look at Zhou Xuan's strange and absurd theories.

  Everyone knows that he is not here to let everyone appreciate his strange theories, but to make fun of Li Hongzhang.

  The Qing officials who followed Weng Tonghe were delighted, while the officers of the Tianjin Military Academy and the Beiyang Navy were furious.

  Everyone knows that the Qingliu faction and the Yangwu faction are at odds. In the imperial court, they mutually undermine each other, and in private, they openly struggle and secretly fight.

  The Tianjin Military Academy is Li Hongzhang's backyard, and it should stand firmly on the side of Li Zhongtang! However, the students of the academy did something that made Li Hongzhang lose face!

  And this student is actually a disciple of Xue Tang Hui who founded the Jin school!

  Jin was so frightened that his legs turned soft and he fell to the ground with a thud.

  Li Hongzhang waved his hand and said, "I've heard that Zhou Xiang is clueless about military affairs, but can recite the Four Books and Five Classics fluently. How did someone like him get into the Military Academy?"

  "Li Li Li Zhong Tang..." That Jin language is illogical. It's very clear that Li Zhong Tang's spearhead directly points to Jin.

  Li Hongzhang said calmly, "Alright then, the benevolent see benevolence and the wise see wisdom. I think we should invite Zhou Xianzhang to the Martial Arts Hall to demonstrate his lofty views. Let everyone judge what is right or wrong! If what he says makes sense, I will be open-minded. But if it's just alarmist talk, then perhaps Lord Jin should reconsider your problems!"

  Li Hongzhang is indeed the most capable minister of the Qing dynasty. These words are spoken with a hidden sharpness, and his thinking is extremely meticulous. The officials present were all impressed to the point of admiration.

  In this case, if the crime of Zhou Xiang is directly punished, the Qingliu faction will inevitably be dissatisfied. Weng Tonghe and his Qingliu faction are all civil officials who do not understand military affairs at all. Zhou Xiang's answer gave him a handle to impeach Li Hongzhang in court, as for whether Zhou Xiang's views are correct or conform to common sense of military affairs, these are not important.

  To shut the mouths of the Qingliu faction, it is necessary to refute Zhou Xuanzhang in front of them and let everyone see that Zhou Xuanzhang's argument about Weihaiwei is just a mediocre student's nonsense.

  As for this, whether it is Li Hongzhang or the officers of the Beiyang Navy and Tianjin Military Academy, they all have enough confidence. Because they all know that Zhou Xianzhang is an inferior student, with only empty words in his belly, no military common sense, he mixed into the academy relying on his identity as a Jinmen student, and Zhou Xianzhang's argument is completely nonsense, not worth refuting.

  Up until now, in the entire school, only Eddie agreed with Zhou Xuanzhang's view! Even other German teachers shook their heads at Zhou Xuanzhang's answer sheet.

  Then, on the martial arts hall, a sand table of Weihaiwei was set up.

  All students gathered urgently outside the Wenwu Hall and passed on Zhou Xuan's entry into the hall.

  However, Zhou Xianzhang had vanished.

  Li Hongzhang, who had always been calm and composed, finally lost his temper and burst into a rage.

  In his view, Zhou Xianzhang disappeared after making some strange remarks, and there must be a conspiracy hidden in this!

  It must be that there is someone behind the scenes instructing Zhou Xuan Zhang, in front of this group of upright officials, to slander Weihaiwei! These people see Li Hongzhang wanting to confront Zhou Xuan Zhang face-to-face, and are afraid that Zhou's words will not be worth refuting, so they simply let Zhou play hide-and-seek, and make him disappear without a trace. Li Hongzhang is unable to refute Zhou Xuan Zhang in person, and the upright officials can then formally impeach Li Hongzhang!

  What infuriated Li Hongzhang even more was that the Zhou Xuanzhang incident proved that there were people in the Tianjin Military Academy who secretly colluded with the Qing loyalists and had ulterior motives! This was something he absolutely could not tolerate!

  The Tianjin Military Academy and the Beiyang Navy were both created by Li Hongzhang himself, using his trusted followers. This was his capital and backyard, absolutely cannot have any problems!

  Li Hongzhang then ordered that they dig three feet underground to find Zhou Xuanzhang.

  Before finding Zhou Xuan Zhang, everyone, officials, instructors and students, all stood in the martial arts hall!

  Li Hongzhang was convinced that until the matter was clarified, everyone present could be a potential plotter.

  Thus, the original question was to refute Zhou Zongliang's absurd views. Now, the problem has become complicated, and Li Hongzhang wants to dig deeper into the traitors hidden in the Tianjin Military Academy!

  Of course, this is purely a misunderstanding. The officials of the Tianjin Military Academy are loyal to you, Your Excellency, and have no second thoughts.

  However, being in Li Hongzhang's position, he cannot help but think this way!

  Li Hongzhang appeared to be prestigious, but in fact, his position was extremely embarrassing.

  On the surface, Li Hongzhang had gained the trust of Empress Dowager Cixi and was renowned for his prestige and power, with a single word from him being enough to decide the fate of others in the imperial court. However, Li Hongzhang, who was at the pinnacle of power, was subject to suspicion from all sides.

  On the one hand, Li Hongzhang held the Huai Army, which was the strongest fighting force of the Qing Dynasty, and the Beiyang Fleet was the elite of the Qing. This made the Manchu nobles wary of him. In the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu-Han problem had always been the biggest political issue, and what the Manchu nobles feared most was that the Han people would take up arms and become powerful on their own.

  On the other hand, among Han officials, the Qingliu faction led by Weng Tonghe was extremely dissatisfied with Li Hongzhang. They looked down on the Yangwu faction and their dealings with foreigners, which in their eyes had a flavor of humiliation and loss of national dignity. Moreover, they suspected that these Yangwu faction members would take large sums of silver to buy arms everywhere without guaranteeing that they wouldn't embezzle funds!

  Even within the Westernization Group, Li Hongzhang was isolated. Zhang Zhidong and Zuo Zongtang, these Westernization ministers, on the surface called him "Li Zhongtang", but in secret, they also had a bellyful of complaints about him. With Li Hongzhang alone getting all the credit, others were squeezed out and had no room to maneuver.

  So, on the surface, Li Hongzhang was full of grandeur, but in reality, he was envied and hated by many. These people did not dare to openly oppose Li Hongzhang, but secretly, there were many who were waiting for him to make a mistake, and some even could not help but secretly set traps and play tricks on him.

  Li Hongzhang was very clear about his own situation. So, he set two principles for himself: first, in dealing with the officials of the imperial court, he would be worldly-wise and tactful, taking care to avoid offending anyone; second, under his rule, that is, within the Huai Army, Beiyang Fleet, Tianjin Military Academy and other core systems, he would adopt a high-pressure policy, requiring these people to maintain absolute loyalty to him personally, not allowing any rebellion in his own backyard. Fortresses are often breached from within, this point Li Hongzhang deeply understood.

  Now, a student from Tianjin Wubei Academy actually embarrassed him in front of Weng Tonghe. Li Hongzhang naturally thought that Zhou Xianzhang was not alone and there must be someone behind him!

  Military issues can be discussed, but political issues are irreconcilable!