Chapter 38 Shout out and dismissed

After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Li Hongzhang was relieved of his position as Governor of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang for 25 years.In August 1895, the Qing government ordered him to stay in Beijing and join the cabinet.Since then, although Li Hongzhang's power has been weakened, he is still the central figure that the Qing government relies on to negotiate with the foreign powers. The defeat of the Sino-Japanese War and the signing of the "Treaty of Shimonoseki" caused Li Hongzhang to be strongly criticized and hurt by the whole country.Although the Empress Dowager Cixi, who was in power at the time, knew his difficulties well, she had no choice but to let him fall from the pinnacle of her official career due to the pressure of public opinion from all sides: she lost the important positions of Governor of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang successively, and only retained for him The title of the Bachelor of Wenhuadian University.

Li Hongzhang had no real estate in Beijing, and he lived in Xianliang Temple in Bingzhan Hutong outside Donganmen, Beijing.Xianliang Temple was rebuilt from the house of Prince Yixian during the Yongzheng period. The environment here is elegant, quiet and pleasant. At this time, Li Hongzhang suddenly left the busy and hectic political life of decades. Although he was not used to it, his mentality was still very good.Li Hongzhang felt that he was at ease all of a sudden, although there was a flood of infamy behind him, so what?so what? Li Hongzhang's daily life is very regular, maintaining the habits he had in the military camp.Get up at six or seven in the morning, read documents and write after breakfast.You know, for a long time, he has no time to calm down and practice calligraphy. Writing requires peace of mind.His favorite is Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. During this period, Li Hongzhang mainly wrote the inscriptions collected by Huairen.After lunch, Li Hongzhang took a walk in the corridor.He always wears a short jacket when he takes a walk, and only wears a long jacket when it is particularly cold.Take a nap for an hour or two after your walk, then hold a staff meeting.After dinner, let the staff do whatever they want, read and write by themselves, and then go to bed.Li Hongzhang's life is so regular, thanks to his teacher Zeng Guofan.This point has already been stated in the previous chapter, so I won't repeat it here.

During this leisurely time, Li Hongzhang thought about many problems.Once, he said to Wu Yong, a grandson-in-law of Zeng Guofan: I have been doing things all my life, including military training and the navy. They are all paper tigers. How can I really let go of them?However, it is barely painted, and it is superficial, and it can be perfunctory if it is not exposed. It is like a dilapidated house, patched up and pasted by a paper craftsman, and it turns out to be a quiet room. The wind and rain break into several holes, which can be repaired at any time, and can also be dealt with hesitantly.It is still necessary to tear it apart, and what kind of repair materials and transformation methods have not been prepared. Naturally, the truth is revealed and it is out of control, but how can the papermaker be responsible?

Li Hongzhang's meaningful words made Wu Yong feel a lot of emotion after hearing them.