Chapter Fifty-six: Invitation

  However, the current Liulichang has not reached that level. Tan Yankei walked past many houses and encountered many counterfeit products, but there were more genuine goods, not only in quantity but also in high-quality goods. At a glance, many shops had things flowing out of the palace, and the specifications and styles could be seen to come from the palace.

  Tan Yanqun also received a lot of things, mostly cheap goods. He didn't go into the regular shops, where everything costs thousands or tens of thousands of silver coins just by opening your mouth. Although he had money, he would never spend it like that. Instead of competing with others to spend more silver, it's better to learn from those shopping experts in later generations and find some good deals at the stalls. As long as you have a keen eye, there are many examples of people getting rich overnight here, but the prerequisite is that you must have enough vision and courage.

  These past two or three days, he really did come across quite a few good things. Street stall goods have their advantages - they're cheap, and the vendors' eyes aren't sharp enough to spot many of the hidden gems. Although it can't be said that these are chaotic times, with years of natural disasters and heavy taxes, some ordinary people who used to work as farmers have turned to excavating ancient tombs in search of valuable artifacts - another important source of street stall goods. To say nothing of other things, Tan Yanqing estimated that if he were to put the things he's collected over the past two days into one of those regular antique shops, he could sell them for 60,000 or 70,000 silver coins without a problem, and his costs would only be around 1,000 or 2,000 silver coins.

  "If I can't make a living in the future, I can also rely on this skill to make a living..." Tan Yanqin muttered to himself while browsing Taobao, and what he mainly gained were jade and bronze wares.

  Actually, the greatest gain for Tan Yanqin in recent days was not buying antiques at Liulichang, but seeing something extremely valuable in a Chinese medicine shop. It was when he went to Tongrentang that he wanted to see how well their detoxification pills were selling. However, at the entrance, he bumped into an apprentice from Tongrentang unloading half a cart of bone fragments - "Oracle bones!" Tan Yanqin suddenly realized the value of these bone fragments in his mind. In this era, almost every literati with some spare money had collecting as their first hobby, and the trend of collecting books was extremely popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, even among the officials in the Guangdong Governor's office who loved to discuss antiques in their free time. However, Tan Yanqin had never heard them mention oracle bones, but rather talked more about the inscriptions on bronze vessels.

  Tan Yanqian did not know that the oracle bones, which would later become famous, had not yet been discovered in this era. In fact, Tan Yanqian could not confirm whether these fragments were indeed oracle bones, and the idea only flashed through his mind for a moment. However, this fleeting thought prompted him to walk over and take a closer look at these large bone fragments to see if they were indeed oracle bone fragments.

  After making contact, Tan Xiankun successfully obtained these bone pieces. Seeing the dirt on the bones, his heart couldn't help but beat wildly - from their appearance, it was clear that they had been buried underground for who knows how many years, and were likely to be the oracle bones he had been searching for. Just then, a voice whispered in his ear: "These were all purchased from Changde Prefecture; local farmers have dug up quite a few large bone pieces from underground, which are called 'dragon bones', and can cure rheumatism when used as medicine..."

  Tan Yanqin let out a sigh from the bottom of his heart: "Oh my god! Today I must have received blessings from some immortal, to actually run into something like this?! Zhang De Fu, damn it, isn't that the site of Yin Xu's tomb?!"

  In the Four Books and Five Classics, the first sentence of the three chapters of "Pan Geng" is "Pan Geng moved to Yin". This "Yin" refers to the area near Zhangde Prefecture. Tan Yankei can recite the Four Books and Five Classics fluently, and this allusion is clear enough. Without saying another word, he took out silver and bought down all the oracle bones, and after inquiring, it was found that this was the first time Tongrentang had purchased such bones. After returning, he asked some old bosses of ancient incense shops if they knew about oracle bones, but it turned out that there was no such saying in this era. As for the words carved on the bones, only a few classics mentioned them, but nobody had ever seen them!

  After getting such a result, Tan Yan felt that he had been blinded by happiness - this is a huge intangible wealth. To know that the school of evidential research is currently popular in this era, and this oracle bone script is only available in the Shang Dynasty, because it was unearthed in Changde Prefecture, he directly ignored the Shang Dynasty. As long as it's an oracle bone script, its age will not be less than three thousand years, this thing is a real "antique"!

  "Hehe, I didn't think that in this era, oracle bones had not been discovered yet. The credit for founding this new school of thought will fall to me!" Tan Yanqian thought about these things and was so excited that he couldn't even sleep without smiling.

  There was only one oracle bone that could not satisfy Tan Yankai, and he was the only one who knew what these bones meant at this time. He immediately went to the telegraph house and sent a telegram directly to his uncle in Hunan, asking him to send someone with silver to squat in Changde Prefecture, and as soon as any rare objects were unearthed, they would be purchased immediately, especially "dragon bones" could not be missed, no matter how many there were, the price could be relaxed.

  Not only that, but Tan Yanxian also continued to order "Zhang De Long Gu" from Tongrentang, as much as he wanted, leaving the owner of Tongrentang stunned. Only Tan Yanxian knew that this time he had picked up a treasure, and once the oracle bone inscriptions were made public, people like Weng Tonghe and Zhang Zhidong would be even more interested in them, which would allow him to quietly raise his status among scholars without having to exert himself writing "On Encouraging Learning". "Hmm, great gains in fame and wealth!"

  Never mind Weng Tonghe, this guy has a narrow heart and won't be jumping around for many more years anyway.

  Take these oracle bones to curry favor with Zhang Zhidong, this guy is more sour than a bookworm...

  After the fourth visit to Gong Wang was in vain, Tan Yanqing returned to his residence in Beijing with a sense of satisfaction and his "spoils" after slipping away from Liuli Factory. Just as he entered the door, the butler came to report that a Mr. Tang from Tianjin had come to visit. As a result, no one arrived after waiting for half a day, so he left first, leaving behind his own card, hoping that Tan Yanqing would hurry to find him after returning.

  "Mr. Tang from Tianjin?! Who else could it be besides Tang Baowen?!" Tan Yankai quickly thought to himself that it must be Tang Baowen who had arrived, and he felt a sense of unease that something was amiss, especially since the Jiyuan warship had set sail to reinforce Korea.

  Tan Yanqian didn't even have time to admire the spoils of war he had obtained from the Liulichang street stall, and after asking the butler to arrange things properly, he immediately took a horse-drawn carriage and followed the address on Tang Bowen's name card.

  "What? Korea really started fighting?! As soon as Tang Yanqi arrived, Tang Bowen didn't bother with formalities and immediately invited him to the study. He told him that the Sino-Japanese War had broken out."

  "What about the Jiyuan escort fleet? Did they return safely?" Tan Yankai didn't have high hopes for the fate of the Jiyuan. However, he did not expect that the Jiyuan would be a little strong that couldn't be killed, and even though it was heavily damaged, it still returned to Tianjin.

  "They've returned. However, they suffered heavy damage, the superstructure was almost completely destroyed, and both main gun turrets were damaged, it'll take at least three months to repair, and the rear main gun needs to be replaced... But the Jiyuan ship withstood the surprise attack by the Japanese fleet, Guangyi and Weiyuan ships returned safely. Moreover, Jiyuan even sank the Japanese Chishima ship and heavily damaged Yoshino!" Tan Bowen said.

  "Sinking the Jingyuan, injuring the Yoshino?!" Tan Yanqian was stunned by Tang Baowen's words. This change was really beyond his expectation. In his impression, it was the Sino-Japanese naval battle of Weihaiwei in the Yellow Sea during the First Sino-Japanese War, where the Beiyang Fleet had used all its strength and even sacrificed everything without sinking a single Japanese warship. He did not expect that before this decisive battle had even begun, Japan's main warships would already be one sunk and one damaged.

  "History has changed! But I don't know why such a change occurred. Is it because of Tang Bowen?!" Tan Yanqin thought to herself.

  History has too many choices, and anyone can change the original trajectory of history, but the difficulty coefficient is high, making it hard to imagine. Just like seeing Qin Shi Huang's tour, Liu Bang's answer was: "A great man should be like this." And Xiang Yu's response was: "I will take his place!" There were many more people who saw the scene of Qin Shi Huang's tour, but these two men made efforts for this reason.

  —

  However, this effort is the accumulation of decades, and Tan Yankai does not think that his few years of editing and writing can change the earth. Of course, he does not rule out the possibility that his own actions have had a profound impact on others. In his view, both his Mu You Tang and his guard troops may become forces that change the course of modern Chinese history, especially his guard troops, which, if developed according to his ideas, will undoubtedly become an unstoppable force in China within twenty years. But all this takes time!

  "What does Lord Zhong think about this war? Is there anything that needs to be done?" Tan Yanqian asked.

  "This time I came to the capital specifically to find you, Lord Zhong believes that your 'Strong Learning Digest' has a deep understanding of Japan and is also very clear about international affairs, so he wants to invite you to join his staff to help him get through this crisis... There's another issue, which is that your invention of the wireless telegraph machine needs to be accelerated. This technology, which can send telegrams without relying on wires, is much needed by the Beiyang Navy - during Lord Zhong's meeting with foreign envoys, the news of the Battle of Asan was brought back by Guangyi and Weiyuan, and everyone thought that the Jiyuan would either sink or surrender. However, the Jiyuan was actually towed back to Tianjin Port by a British cargo ship on the same night. If your wireless telegraph machine can be put into use, Lord Zhong will receive accurate news in the shortest time possible, and there won't be so much trouble!" Tang Bowen said.

  "Join the Shōgun's government?!" Tanaka asked in a low voice, actually he was mostly talking to himself.

  "Not bad, Lord Zhong thinks that talents are hard to come by, and you're the kind of talent Lord Zhong needs. Your judgment on Japanese issues has been very accurate, now that war is breaking out, Lord Zhong is still working hard, at this time he needs you even more!" Tang Bowei said.

  In Tan Yankai's past life memories, the name Li Hongzhang represented too many negative things, including the Treaty of Shimonoseki and the Boxer Protocol, both of which were signed by this unlucky guy. Of course, these two treaties cannot be blamed entirely on Li Hongzhang, but this notorious reputation is inescapable. Apart from his infamous historical reputation, Old Li's personnel policy was the most crucial - those who could get his trust and reuse were either fellow provincials or the sons of former colleagues, with Yuan Shikai being the most famous example. It was very difficult for outsiders to occupy a place in his heart. From Li Hongzhang's personnel policy, Tan Yankai could see his future after joining Li Hongzhang's group - undoubtedly it would be a futile effort, and he might even gain a notorious reputation.

  The resources of Beiyang are what Duan Qirui envies the most. With the resources of Beiyang, he can follow Yuan Shikai's footsteps in the shortest time.

  The temptation to compete for China's highest ruling power is one that no one can resist, and few people can see clearly. However, this is not a problem for Tan Yankai. On the other hand, joining the Beiyang Group undoubtedly means giving himself an identity label, and the background of Beiyang will be attached to his head for a long time. The issue of Zhang Zhidong's steel plant would require him to make a choice. He would have to start again from the same starting line as Sheng Xuanhuai, and who would ultimately succeed would depend on their respective skills and financial resources, neither of which he was very confident in.

  Li Hongzhang has too many enemies, and Weng Tonghe is one example. Old Weng can hold on for a few more years, which is enough to cause trouble for the Tan family. Moreover, he is the son of a governor-general and has the ability to use Tan Zhonglin's banner to do his own thing. Although his financial resources are not abundant, he can slowly build up his power, as long as the old man does not fall, he can develop according to his own ideas...

  "Was it just going to let Li Hongzhang ruin the advantageous start that Jiyuan had achieved? Was he still going to sign that damned Treaty of Shimonoseki?! Tan Yankai shook his head, weighing the pros and cons in his heart, making it difficult for him to make a decision. Just as Tang Bowen said, if considering the nation's interests, he was indeed a good candidate for advisor. With himself influencing Li Hongzhang, even if the First Sino-Japanese War really ended in defeat, at the negotiating table, the Treaty of Shimonoseki might not have been so disastrous."

  "Brother Ji Meng, I have decided to enter the mansion of Master Zhong. However, I have a few conditions that must be stated beforehand!" Tan Yanqian said.

  "Please speak freely, if it's something I can agree to, I won't decline!" Tang Bo Wen said.

  "Firstly, I need to send a telegram to my father, and Brother Ji Meng should know that the situation in the capital is unpredictable, and as the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, my father has many inconvenient circumstances. If he doesn't agree, then there's nothing I can do about it; Secondly, Brother Ji Meng also knows that I have to follow my father's decision to take the imperial examination, and next year's Enke exam is something I must participate in, so don't delay the big matter between me and Grand Secretary Tang...; Thirdly, helping Grand Secretary Tang is no problem, but after things are over, I still need to return to my father's side, and Grand Secretary Tang needs to make it clear..." Tan Yanxin stated his conditions and waited for Tang Bowen's response.

  "Haha, what conditions was I talking about? It turns out it's these! Don't worry, Brother An, I can vouch for you. As long as your respected father agrees, you'll become my sworn brother!" Tang Bo Wen said with a smile.

  "Brother Ji Meng, we must not delay. We will return to Tianjin tonight. The current situation in Korea is very favorable for us, but if we think that this advantage alone can make the Japanese surrender, it's far from enough. Although I've just received news of the naval battle, I have some ideas about this situation, which may be helpful to Lord Zhong Tang..." Tan Yankai said with a smile.

  Although it was a consecutive night return to Tianjin, Tang Bowen didn't mind because he concurrently held the position of General Manager of the Tianjin Machinery Bureau. Now that the war had begun, military supplies were indispensable. The ammunition supply for the Beiyang Fleet was almost entirely undertaken by the Tianjin Machinery Bureau, although Jinling and Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureaus also had to bear some responsibility, but in terms of distance, it was not economical. The military production tasks on the Tianjin side would be very heavy.

  Tan Yankai arrived in Tianjin and immediately sent a telegram to Guangzhou through the telegraph office. This was the domain of the Beiyang government, and the head of the telegraph bureau was none other than Li Hongzhang. Tan Yankai would not spare any expense on this matter for Li Hongzhang's sake. A long telegram was sent to Guangzhou at great cost, making it one of the first instances in China where a family letter was sent via telegram.

  The next morning, Yan Geng received a telegram from the old man, which was very simple compared to his: "Feasible!"

  Tan Zhonglin's attitude will directly affect Tan Yanqian's decision. Although he has a hundred reasons, his foundation is now too shallow and cannot leave the old man's protection. Moreover, in officialdom, the old man must be clear and distinct, and acting rashly seems reasonable but often leads to trouble. Generally, when the old man lets him make decisions on his own, he will not harm the foundation. The old man will only let Tan Yanqian act if it won't threaten the foundation. Once it does, when the old man takes action, it will be very unfavorable for Tan Yanqian.

  After several years of tempering, Tan Yankai had a relatively clear understanding of the officialdom of the late Qing dynasty. Although this era was not as fragmented as the Spring and Autumn period, these ministers were like those vassal states, with the top few people having their own territory and factions. Within the same large faction, there were also several smaller sub-factions. This distribution existed not only in the Westernization Group but also in the Qingliu, where Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong of the Westernization Group had a subtle opposition, just like Weng Tonghe and Sun Jiaojing of the Qingliu were sworn enemies. There was no faction that was completely united, otherwise, with concerted efforts, their opponents might not even have a chance to fight back.