Chapter 282: Prime Minister's Choice

"Return to the Emperor's Painting-" Facing my inquiry, Kou Liankang down with a worried look on his face and said, "Zhang... Old Master Zhang can't do it..."

"What?" I suddenly woke up suddenly. Zhang Zhidong was no longer able to do it. There was no sign of sign before. I discussed with me the layout of the chemical industry and the initial infrastructure construction issues two days ago. He even had a plan to find a suitable base from Xi'an to Datong as an industrial base for China's large-scale chemical industry. However, I considered that the First World War was about to begin soon and chemical weapons would also show their power in this war. So the first thing I asked was speed. At that time, he faced the requirement of me to build a medium-sized application production factory group near Xi'an and quickly communicated with the Germans to introduce all products that could be introduced. He even argued with me a few words. Although my face changed his attitude and his position retreated, I could still see that he was not so convinced by my instructions.

Who would have expected that he would not be able to do it within a few days? Although he was already 73 years old, he had always been quite strong. His physique was not as thin as a traditional Chinese old man. However, he didn't expect that he would be exhausted within a few days?

I sighed, originally I planned to let him finish this term of Prime Minister of the Cabinet, retired at the age of 74 and nearly 75, and left a cabinet prime minister for future generations with an age limit. Now...

As I thought about it, I noticed that Kou Lian was still kneeling and waiting for me to give me a message. He sighed and said, "Prepare casual clothes for me, go see him, let's take a look at him first."

"Zhe——" Kou Lian received the order and went there. I sat down heavily. Once this cave was gone, Yuan Shikai was dead again. Who will do the next cabinet prime minister?

I thought about this along the way. The few candidates were either lacking in demand or lacking in talent. In such a large China, I couldn't find a suitable person. I originally planned to allow Yuan Shikai to accumulate enough overseas experience and combine his superb understanding of Chinese society to let him become a prime minister for one or two. Moreover, his tough style is also the suitable candidate for China in the future. However, after he was assassinated, he heard that he would sleep for seven days in ten days, and he was also confused during the rest of the time. Only I visited him in person and later gave him the second-class earl on the day he heard that he was a little more energetic. With his current state, it was inappropriate to let him take Zhang Zhidong's position.

Wang Wenshao was already terminally ill and almost ignored the matter in the first half of the year. At present, the affairs of the logistics department were controlled by several comrades Dai Zongqian and others promoted by him. However, the other officials, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao were still lacking in qualifications, and I did not have a high evaluation of Kang's character and overall ability. Several relatives and nobles of the royal family were good at being leaders. First, they were not so nice to be the prime minister. Second, except for the army, King Chun was not capable of other abilities. King Gong was still as a lie and had no temperament. King Su was a Beria role. When he was the prime minister, the country was no longer in power.

After thinking about it, I am afraid that only the ministers of various departments and ministers and several outstanding leaders in local borders were selected.

"How is Mr. Xiang Yan?" Looking at the Zhang family who came up to him and the imperial physician who arrived in advance, I looked at their expressions with a little nervousness. It was inevitable that the sadness on the Zhang family's faces were common. I saw his eldest son, Zhang Bozhen, but when he saw him, he responded, "I have already seen the imperial physician, and said it was only these two days. I am still in good spirits now. I just served rice porridge." As he said that, the middle-aged man's tears flowed down. The woman in Gongren's costume next to him should be his main wife, and he lowered his head to support his husband.

I sighed and said, "Go in and take a look, you all rest too. I have a few words to say to the old prime minister. The imperial physician is waiting outside."

With the promises from everyone, I entered the room. Zhang Zhidong's body moved a little and looked at me. He burst into tears and said, "I'm going to go, I can't get up..."

"The old prime minister should not say that... I feel uncomfortable." I sat in front of the bed and looked at his forehead. I was so cold that I was not angry anymore. A large piece of my face, which seemed quite full on weekdays, fell into a large area. After watching it for a long time, I really felt unbearable.

"Relax your heart. The old prime minister wants to help me manage the past two years. Without you, what will the country do? Don't worry, I asked the Imperial Hospital to prescribe another prescription. If it really doesn't work, there are Western medicine. Yuan Shikai was shot in the chest and saved it. Don't think too much about the old prime minister." I comforted him and sighed in my heart. Such words may not only deceive him, but also deceive myself.

Zhang Zhidong struggled and smiled, and sighed, "Your Majesty, don't comfort the old ministers. The ancients said that life is rare in seventy years. I am content with this age. I am a Jinshi. I was a Tanhualang when I was young. When I was young, I was in trouble in the country. When I was young, I was summoned to the capital. I was summoned by the emperor to calm down and worry about the country for more than ten years. I am so lucky. I am going to go, and I may have no thoughts on my words. I am sorry for my crime."

I smiled faintly. He probably meant the tone of those three words that boasted about the things that I was proud of in my life. He said the truth, so I would not care about it. He waved his hand gently and said, "The old prime minister has thought too much. The old prime minister is not just a little worry about peace. If the industry does not prosper, our country cannot be strong within and the country cannot be controlled outside. Since the Xinyou Incident, the Westernization faction headed by Prince Gongzhong has started the development of industry and the country, and you have to go to the next level. I have you, and China has you, how lucky. The old prime minister must not be humble."

"The emperor praised me. I was lucky to be the master of the emperor in my old age and I have only made me a little contribution. I always think about it. If my China does not have His Majesty, the country will not know what it is." Zhang Zhidong put on a high hat on me and continued to pantly, "The only thing I am worried about when I am gone... is this... Although my China is industrial this year..."

"Okay, there's no need to say about the old prime minister." I stopped him and said, "This is what I am worried about. After all, industry is still a Western matter, talent, material discussion, and all the troubles are all. So I still have to help me for a few more years. The old prime minister is safe in recuperating, resting for a few days, and coming to help me..."

Zhang Zhidong closed his eyes and smiled bitterly before opening his eyes to me, "The old minister knows that he is afraid it will be the past two days. The emperor should not comfort the old minister again. Is the emperor worried that he is the candidate for the prime minister behind me?"

"The old prime minister really knows me. I originally wanted to give Yuan Shikai a slack, but he couldn't afford to be ill. The others are either lacking qualifications or lacking talent. So I say that China cannot live without you. "

Zhang Zhidong sighed and said nothing for a long time. It was not until I noticed something strange to look at him that I opened my mouth and said, "I don't want to say too much, I'm going to go now. I'm afraid I have no worries. I can't go there anymore, and I'm still hiding it from the emperor."

"Oh?" I became suspicious and looked at him and said, "What's wrong with Yuan Shikai?"

"Yuan has talent. To be honest, some old ministers believe that they are not as good as him. After all, I am still a civil servant. But in terms of moral integrity, Yuan is still a gangster. If you want to be a prime minister, please think twice..." After a break, he continued: "In addition, Yuan is too scheming and too scheming, so the emperor must not be careless. I think that Yuan should still be a ban on his territory. The current position is probably a bit too much for him."

I coughed lightly and nodded slowly and said, "Since it's the old prime minister, I know this. According to the old prime minister, who will be the prime minister in two years?"

"I recommend my deputy, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Revenue Dai Hongci. He was a Jinshi in the second year of the imperial examination. He had a talent and had a broad vision. I thought it would be better for him to come up with it." As he said, I thought that Dai Hongci had enough internal affairs from the Minister of Revenue to the Deputy Prime Minister. He was 57 years old this year, and his age was good. The only disadvantage was that he was relatively low-key and did not have the convincing dignity. To be honest, he was the kind of second son who had been the second son all his life, and had full talent and ability, but he did not have the temperament of the eldest son.

He nodded slightly and said, "What's the second?"

Zhang Zhidong looked at me and sighed, "Young lover, he suffered a loss of bad temper. He is too good. It is justified that the emperor doesn't like it. If I want to recommend it, it is inevitable that there is some suspicion. It is my wife's uncle Lu Chuanlin." Perhaps because of avoiding suspicion, he no longer talks about Lu Chuanlin's resume, but is waiting for my statement.

I smiled and said, "You don't avoid being a kiss in your heart. There is no suspicion. I can trust you to serve the country wholeheartedly." I didn't express my opinion, and asked him, "There are other candidates?"

Zhang Zhidong's face was normal and he sighed: "The rest of Rongqing, those Tongzi, have good ethics, but unfortunately they all owe something. Zhang Jian is good at learning, but he is still a businessman after all. I don't think he is devoted to political affairs and has insufficient qualifications. He is the last recommended person."

I have made other arrangements for Rong Qing. He is from the Mongolian Zhenghuang Banner. He has excellent ethics and is an absolute loyal minister to the royal family. His talent is as lacking. Such a person is not enough to take on the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet. He still has to wait for the right time to use it in the north. Now let him stay in two offices, which are the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice and the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Education.

And then Tong, his background is better. He was a man of the Manchu Yellow Banner. He was familiar with diplomatic affairs. He was just right to give him the position of Left Minister of Foreign Affairs. Although he was a little dissatisfied with the younger generation Wu Tingfang as the Minister of the Secretariat, he still had no problem with his ethics. He was worthy of his talent, but he lacked his talent. He was too tough in character and had a strong murderous aura. In the future, he would still use the Lifan Academy. When some people were finished, he would take care of him.

As for Zhang Jian, I never thought of using him. He is too young, and if he becomes the prime minister and colludes with officials and businessmen, it would be a great thing. And as the prime minister, how could he convince those military generals who have been through life and death? These three people were rejected by me all at once.

It seems that it was just a choice between Dai Hongci and Lu Chuanlin.

He sighed in his heart and said, "I have a clear idea, so let's consider it again. There is no hurry. I still have you, the old prime minister now. Okay, rest assured and don't think too much about it. I will come to see you in two days." After that, he got up and was about to leave.

"My...My--" Zhang Zhidong forced himself to sit up, his face filled with sweat, and he spoke with a sob: "I respectfully send you to Your Majesty... I'll ask Your Majesty... I'll make a choice soon, and don't drag down the country for me!"

"Xiangyan Gong..." I stopped and looked back at the old man who was about to go. I couldn't help but shed tears. After a while, I rolled my eyes and rolled my tears down. I wiped my eyes and said, "Stop. I'll come back to see you..."

After taking a breath, he went out and looked at the Zhang family and the imperial physician guards who were serving in the yard, his face was as calm as usual. He walked around the gate of the Taoist yard and listened to the sound of kneeling down and giving respect to him in the back, he turned around and said, "Please calmly, I will send an order to Prince Xiangyan, the Grandpa of the Prince of Prince, the second-class Zhongqin Bo, and the second-class Zhongqin Bo, and the third-class descendants will choose one of the Yinqi Duke."

Amid the thanks, I gave Zhang Zhidong, the founder of China's comprehensive industrialization, a special kindness second only to Li Hongzhang among the civil servants. The one who met Li Hongzhang's favor was his pursuit of his death. Although Zhang Zhidong had lived well in less than two days, this kind of reward was given by him personally when he was alive, so his family's joy was naturally unique.

As an important official in stabilizing the country and creating a foundation for prosperity since I took power, Zhang Zhidong was the first minister in the development period of the empire. Both of these were important figures that needed special commendation. It can be said that in the Li Hongzhang era, without Li Hongzhang's cooperation, there would be no stable and unified Chinese government orders that could be issued upward. In Zhang Zhidong's era, if there were no Zhang Zhidong's world-renowned scholars, masters of Chinese studies, and officials, and the prestige of the prime minister who was enthusiastic about working hard on government affairs and creating the foundation for industrialization, China would not be able to face the upcoming World War I with an independent attitude today.

And what next? Who will create a new era for me that belongs to himself and China? Will this new prime minister be a transitional figure, or a super talent who looks like I deserve such praise in retrospect? All of this is unknown.

After thinking about it, I also returned to the hall, China, the world's largest country, the fifth largest country in 1908, with industrial output value in the world after the United States, Germany, Britain and France, and the heart of the top three countries in the world's top three countries in the world's navy and army strength.

Why can't such a country become a single pole? Why can't we do whatever we want on our own territory? Why should we look forward to everything and worry about the feelings of others? From now on, such days will be over.

There are several daily reports submitted by secret departments every day according to customary practice on the desk. Among them are the activities of relatives, nobles, relatives, and important ministers in Beijing that day, important normal and abnormal changes in important military units in the southeast, northwest and north, progress reports of some important industrial departments, and of course, some overseas international relations information.

The most eye-catching of me is of course the news that President Roosevelt's special envoy arrived in the UK and began a meeting with the British Foreign Office. There is no channel to know the specific negotiation content. In this report sent back by the European Bureau and sent by the General Staff, I picked up a red pen and reviewed a line of orders: The European Bureau will make sure to clarify the whole story in the near future.

Due to my sensitivity, I attach extraordinary importance to this information. The Americans expressed their kindness to China and Germany, hoping that China and Germany would help him resolve their conflict of interest with the British in South America. On the other hand, they secretly contacted the British. What is the purpose? Including the abnormal behavior of President Roosevelt in the previous stage that was different from history. What is his plan?

Originally, I doubted that he hoped to use the power of China and Germany to tie Britain's strength and attention so that they could achieve their unilateral voice and supreme position in South America. But now it seems that the United States is secretly contacting Britain, is it reaching a secret deal with Britain, or is it deliberately giving Britain a fake support and provoking them to start a war as soon as possible to achieve their goals?

Or are there any other reasons? I can't figure it out for the time being.

There seems to be a lot of information on international relations today. The second one is that Italy and Russia, two countries that did not appear in the two Balkan wars and later negotiations, but were closely related to the Balkans. Italians were not a small number in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The reason why they formed an alliance with Germany and Austria before and still retained this alliance treaty today is already in name only. This is also a very important reason. The country between Italy and the Balkans is far from the end of the world. They have reason to be particularly sensitive to all abnormal movements in the Balkans.

Needless to say, Russia is said to say that if Russia is erased from the map today, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's army will probably face the Serbian border tomorrow. Serbia has a vague trend of becoming the leader in the Balkans in recent years, which is inseparable from Russia's support. Russia also has reason to pay attention to the Balkan situation after the Second Balkan War.

So after Russia and Britain exchanged views on the Balkan War, which was dominated by Germany behind the scenes, Russia and Italy also communicated during this period and reached the "Ragonnikki Agreement" today. The two sides agreed to jointly support the existing situation in the Balkans and jointly oppose any new changes in the Balkans in the future. This is the result of mutual compromise between the two sides, because although these two countries still bear the reputation of a big country, if they really want them to fight a large war, perhaps the only trace of vitality will be dispersed. Italy does not want Serbia to have any plans for the vested interests of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Russia certainly will not allow the Austro-Hungarian Empire to continue to covet the land that belongs to Serbia now.

Another part is the news that the Roman Catholic Church canonized Joan of Arc as a saint. Although this news seems simple, it is now sensitive to the verge of being unable to withstand any disturbances. It is unknown whether the Roman Catholic Church's offensive against the Protestantism of Britain was the Roman Catholic Church. Of course, I have reason to doubt whether there is any special meaning behind this, because as we all know, Germany is a Catholic country. Although religion has already existed in this world beyond the secular world, no action in the religious world can be completely drawn from the secular world.

Of course, there is another thing, a representative and phenomenal thing. After struggling for five years, the Greater Colombia finally officially recognized Panama's division from his territory and became an independent country. This marked that the United States had successfully pushed its power southward and successfully completely controlled the Greater Colombia, an important country between the two Americas in any way.

Combining this and the first one, there is a lot of room for in-depth exploration. After forwarding it to the General Staff for consideration, I yawned and looked at the wall-mounted Western clock, which was almost zero.

Once people think about it, they often forget the passage of time. My thoughts also spread with the arrival of night.

Since the first women's parade in Chicago, USA on March 8 this year, the news that men and women demanded equal rights were reported by domestic newspapers, there have been a considerable number of calls for women to be liberated in China. Although it is not very loud, it is really a headache for me. Princess Huiyi, who was born to the deposed concubine of Ning, often relied on my love to ask for free leaving the palace to study and play. Although it was a bit fun occasionally, no one could bear it after the long days.

Besides, she is also an 18 or 19 years old. If I hadn't been willing to let it go, I might have been married long ago, and it would have been a solution for me to be bored in the palace.

As I thought about it, I couldn't help but smile. When did I actually have a dilemma of being a father for my children?

So I made up my mind that since this is the case, I would let her go out of the palace freely tomorrow. Although worrying is inevitable, my children and grandchildren have their own blessings, so I can only send two more guards to follow me. I think there are many little tigresses in the family of the princes and nobles in Beijing, so I let them make a fuss first. It is time to run a girls' school, and it is always good to learn something. The school that was run by the concubine Caizi in the palace can also be seen to expand. In recent years, as there are fewer eunuchs recently, many things are just for the maids to do. Let Caizi give these things a headache.
Chapter completed!