Eunuchs who traveled through the Qing Dynasty

"Give it to me?" Xiao Ran said obediently in his heart, just listen to this confidant, there is no one million taels for such a garden, at least it takes seven or eight million taels of silver to build it!But after thinking about it, I remember that there is a folk saying that "the prime minister is thin in Hefei". Isn't it Li Hongzhang who said it?In history, this guy is famous for corruption, and he doesn't even shy away from it, let alone a garden of 100 million taels, no matter how much money he can afford!Anyway, it's all people's fat and people's anointing, so the buddy will not be polite to you.At that moment, Xiao Ran spread his hands in a rather embarrassing situation, and said: "Master Li, what you said, didn't you trap me into injustice! I would never dare to accept such a luxurious garden, but if I shirk up

Have you lost face?This, this is what should I do? "

Li Hongzhang laughed loudly, patted Xiao Ran's arm, and said, "My brother can tell at a glance that he is a man of temperament. You love dealing with upright people the most, so make yourself happy! In this garden, you can't refuse at all, I I must send you off!" Turning around, he said, "Liu Er, get the land deed!"

The confidant agreed and hurried away.Xiao Ran couldn't help but make refusals again and again, with a firm tone, Lin Qing'er listened to it and suppressed it so as not to laugh out loud.When I came to the pavilion, the banquet was very simple, with a few special dishes and a beautiful view of drinking and eating, but there were no crabs.Li Hongzhang saw that Lin Qing'er was as beautiful as a flower, and thought she was Xiao Ran's concubine, so he didn't dare to make decisions when he was seated, so he asked Xiao Ran to arrange it.Xiao Ran wanted to explore him underground to see what tricks he had prepared today, so he called her just his maid and asked her to stand behind him.

Since he was just a girl, Li Hongzhang didn't have any scruples. After he sat down, he slapped his chin, and the women standing there stepped forward to serve him attentively.Nanjing September night, the weather is already quite cold, but these MMs are obviously well-trained, the clothes are very thin, cuddling around, fleshy: elastic.

There are many beauties in the south of the Yangtze River, and these women were obviously specially selected by Li Hongzhang.Not only the appearance is top-notch, but the most important thing is that he has a hot body, which makes Xiao Ran feel a little distracted.

Li Hongzhang said with a smile: "These are all maids from the Autumn Garden. The other three gardens each have about a dozen names. Although these women are of folk color, they are reasonable, and they are specially picked from Suzhou and Hangzhou. They are in this garden. I'm used to serving you, but if you get lost, you'll have nowhere to go, so why don't you take some pity on me and accept them together." Looking at the girls, he said, "Haven't you paid homage to the master?"

Several women prostrated themselves prostratingly, calling them "Master", whispering softly, it really is a piece of verdant greenery.Xiao Ran didn't refuse this time, and said with a smile: "Very good, very good!" Even though Lin Qing'er was naturally stable, she wished she could pounce on him and bite him.

Li Hongzhang clapped his hands lightly again, and three women came up gracefully from the pavilion, one qin and one Xiao, and began to play the gurgling and gurgling water, just like the sound of heaven.Two more women, carrying a small bronze oven and cage, started a fire at the corner of the pavilion.Li Hongzhang explained: "Crabs are cold in nature and easy to hurt the spleen and stomach, so they are steamed and eaten now, accompanied by old ginger wine, which not only nourishes the body, but also has an excellent flavor."

The fire is booming, and the crabs are put into the drawer, and after a while, there is a delicious smell.When the crabs came to the table, two beauties waited on Xiao Ran's left and right sides. They laid out eight pieces of crabs, but they were hammers, tongs, shovels, spoons, forks, scrapers, and needles, which were small and delicate.The second daughter was extremely skilled, she picked out the crab meat bit by bit, dipped it in ginger vinegar sauce, and fed it into Xiao Ran's mouth mouthful.But seeing this Director Xiao looking around and smiling, Lin Qing'er stood behind, knowing that he was acting, she couldn't help itching her teeth with hatred, afraid of losing her composure, and hurriedly put those uncommon knife formulas and boxing manuals in her mind After reading it silently several times, I suppressed the anger.

But Li Hongzhang was always smiling, eating and drinking, while looking at Xiao Ran intentionally or unintentionally, his eyes showed more and more joy that could not be concealed.

After half a crab was eaten, Li Hongzhang raised his glass and said, "There are many disasters and chaos in the north, and it is not a place to live for a long time. This time the holy car moved the capital, it is all thanks to my brother, and it is the blessing of thousands of people. And the capital is in Jiangning, that is my brother." I am so grateful for Li Hongzhang's trust in me! Serve me a glass of wine, and talk about your intentions!" He drank it with his neck up.Xiao Ran said a few words politely, and accompanied him for half a cup.

Li Hongzhang took a silk cloth and wiped his mouth, and said: "However, setting the capital in Jiangning is a good thing, but it is also a bad thing. The situation in the south of the Yangtze River is peaceful, and the people's hearts are not yet stable. I'm afraid it will cause trouble. Thinking of this, I feel in my heart. Not practical. I am ashamed to say that although I have grown up a lot, I am short-sighted in the end; and brother Xiao is young and promising, with a lot of ambition in his chest, and he is beyond the reach of others. Therefore, I dare to ask my brother for some advice, I wonder if it is okay?"

These words sounded tactful, but the words like "a mountain in the chest, a high house" clearly meant that Xiao Ran had some schemes, which meant showing his sharpness.Xiao Ran chuckled, and said in his heart, Mr. Li, you still can't wait, can you?But he said in a neither yin nor yang way: "Then what does Master Li think should be done?"

Seeing that he refused to speak, Li Hongzhang rolled his eyes, and said to the maids: "Stand down." The maids retreated from the pavilion one by one, Xiao Ran waved his hand, and Lin Qing'er also went out.Li Hongzhang looked around, then stared at Xiao Ran suddenly, and said: "Actually, I heard that my brother is coming to Jiangning, so at least I specially prepared a big gift. I wonder if my brother will like it."

"Great gift?" Xiao Ran was slightly startled, but saw Li Hongzhang lifted the table curtain, took out a carved brocade box from under it, put it on the table, and said, "Brother, please have a look!"

Xiao Ran looked at Li Hongzhang, reached out and opened the brocade box.Just looking at it, I was taken aback, and cried out. "Dragon Robe!!!..."

The yellow brocade robe, embroidered with multicolored silk, has a straight and fixed crown on it, and the inlay is the dragon robe that symbolizes supreme power!

Xiao Ran only glanced at it, then snapped the brocade box shut, stared straight at Li Hongzhang, and said, "Master Li, what does this mean?"

When ordinary people saw this dragon robe, they would not only scream and vomit blood, but they would also get out of their bodies.Li Hongzhang saw that Xiao Ran's face changed a little, but he didn't lose his composure like ordinary people, so he couldn't help being slightly taken aback.It must be known that in the past three years, Xiao Ran has experienced too many ups and downs. Although he has not cultivated to the point where Mount Tai collapses before his color remains unchanged, his psychological endurance is not bad.

Li Hongzhang's ecstasy was only fleeting, and then he took half a step forward, lifted his robe and knelt down on his knees, and said: "My minister Li Hongzhang, I swear here today: I wish to serve Xiao Ran as the Lord, and swear allegiance to the death!"

A short sentence in his mouth seemed extraordinarily powerful.Xiao Ran's mind turned away at an unprecedented speed. This Li Hongzhang, what song is he singing today?The capital was moved to Jiangning, and he has already risen to be the leader of the border ministers. He is so powerful that even I have to be on guard. Why did he play this game with me?Is it true?Is it a test?still……

Before he had time to think too much, Xiao Ran stared at Li Hongzhang for a moment, and said, "Master Li, do you know what you are doing? Hiding the dragon robe privately will cost you your head! Xiao Ran has always admired you, Master Li. Today's matter, I'll just pretend I didn't see it. Farewell!"

Huo Ran turned around and left as soon as he said.Li Hongzhang became anxious immediately, and hurriedly stepped forward to hold Xiao Ran back, saying: "Brother, what are you doing? Today, only you and I are here, and there are no six ears. At least it's a heart-to-heart, I'm telling you everything Seriously!"

Xiao Ran glanced at Li Hongzhang, and said, "I didn't hear a single word you said. Master Li, I, Xiao Ran, have a small family and business, so I can't take this kind of joke!"

He deliberately only said whether he had heard or seen, but he didn't mention anything about dragon robes and conspiracy. What Li Hongzhang was thinking, he immediately understood.Said: "Yes, yes, nothing happened today. Be less abrupt, come on, brother. Let's continue drinking!"

Of course, Xiao Ran didn't really want to leave. Hearing what he said, he snorted and went back to the table.Li Hongzhang put away the brocade box.Still put it under the table, filled the wine glass, and said: "You are less straightforward, and you are bold for a while. I hope you don't take offense, brother. But you can see clearly the current situation of the world without me needing to say more. The north is in chaos. The imperial court moved to the south. The local governors support their own self-respect. In this way, we are only afraid that the vast China will be torn apart. The country will no longer be unified! Such a situation, we can't just sit idly by, right?"

Xiao Ran took a sip and said, "Oh? In that case, what is Master Li's opinion?"

Li Hongzhang said with a smile: "Short-sighted, you can't say that you have a high opinion. You are making fun of me!" Suddenly his expression tightened, and he said seriously: "In times of great chaos, great things can be achieved. Now the local governor is like a group of heroes. Just need a You are the number one celebrity in front of the Queen Mother, my brother, who disrespects you? Who does not respect you for your achievements in the battlefield? With great power in your hands, who is not afraid of you? It is inevitable that the yellow robe will be added to the body at that time!"

Hearing this, Xiao Ran's heart suddenly moved: It stands to reason that the matter of moving the capital has just been settled. At this time, Li Hongzhang should be concerned about how to appease the government and the court's attitude towards the local governors; but Li Hongzhang's posture today seems to only care about Do you want to be emperor? I really want to get an answer!Why?

The fall of the Manchu Qing regime was imminent, and people like Li Hongzhang must be well aware of this.However, no one knows who the country will fall into in the end. Presumably this is also the issue that Li Hongzhang is most concerned about.

However, I remember that Zeng Guofan once said to himself that, as the head of the inner court, even if the Qing Dynasty really fell, this dragon robe would not be his turn.And with Li Hongzhang's scheming and insight, he should not be inferior to Zeng Guofan. The same result must have been completely expected by him.

So that is to say... What he really cares about today is not what will happen in the future, but whether he wants to be the emperor? !

With a flash of thought in his mind, Xiao Ran immediately understood what Li Hongzhang's intentions were for making these tricks today!Where does he really want to support himself, it's clearly just a temptation!Now he urgently wants to know whether Xiao Ran has the ambition to win the imperial power!

The reason why I can't be sure is because Xiao Ran's actions are always somewhat ambiguous.In fact, if he really wanted to take the throne, there should be a more direct and effective way, which was the main reason why Li Hongzhang was uncertain.If Xiao Ran intends to become emperor, then for Li Hongzhang, there are only two paths: the first is to act first and wait for the opportunity to kill Xiao Ran; Then kick him away!With Li Hongzhang's ambition, would he sincerely worship at Xiao Ran's feet?joke!

If Xiao Ran didn't

What do you mean by going down to the ground?Then Li Hongzhang's actions today have become the best candidate to sit on this dragon chair and wear this dragon robe!This person, of course, is Li Hongzhang!

What a kill two birds with one stone, you won't suffer from both inside and outside of your relationship!Xiao Ran couldn't help squinting his eyes, and looked at Li Hongzhang again.Seeing that he had not spoken for a long time, Li Hongzhang couldn't help but felt a little uneasy, and said, "Brother, I may have talked a little too much today, but every sentence came from the bottom of my heart. Now that the capital has been moved, the imperial court is waiting for the answer. What should I do next?" What to do, brother, you need to make up your mind!"

Xiao Ran raised his head and laughed, and after a while he said: "Thinking about the changes in Xinyou back then, Shengjia returned from Chengde to Luan, just like today, people's hearts are in danger. If I, Xiao Ran, really want to take this idea, why wait until today ?”

"This..." Li Hongzhang was speechless, but a look of light flashed in his eyes.Xiao Ran raised his head and drank a glass, wiped his mouth, played with the wine glass in his hand and said: "In times of great chaos, great things can be accomplished, this is true. No matter how much I make trouble, Xiao Ran is still just an eunuch, and I will never get rid of it for the rest of my life. Why should my lord try with words?"

Li Hongzhang looked embarrassed, thinking about how to answer.Xiao Ran snorted, and said again: "Just now Master Li also said that the local governor is like a group of heroes, and there must be someone to take the lead. But there is a sentence that needs to be said in the head, no matter who this person is, the last Don’t let me get along with you brother. Zeng Guofan is awesome, hehe, he’s just like him, I don’t want Jiangnan to come out with a second one!”

Li Hongzhang's expression changed drastically, he held up his wine glass in embarrassment, neither drinking nor putting it down.Xiao Ran laughed loudly and said: "Okay, I drank the wine and ate the crabs today, so it's time for Xiao Ran to say goodbye. The master of this garden is going to give it to me, but my brother is disrespectful, so thank you!" then go.Li Hongzhang was at a loss, stood up in shock, Xiao Ran said with a pun, "Don't give it away! The garden belongs to me, it's not certain who is the host and who is the guest!"

After finishing speaking, he went down to the pavilion proudly, took Lin Qing'er with him, and walked away.Even though Li Hongzhang was full of wit, he could only be dumbfounded at this moment, watching the two walk away.His confidant Liu Er came up to the pavilion and said, "My lord, look... shall we 'keep' him?"

"No, don't mess around!" Li Hongzhang waved his hand without hesitation.Liu Erqi said: "Why? Even if Xiao Ran is superhuman, our Huai army is not a vegetarian, so we are afraid of him?"

Li Hongzhang was silent for a long time, shook his head and sighed: "I have never made a mistake in looking at people all my life, but this Manager Xiao, I really can't understand him!... What exactly does he want?"

Just talking about Xiao Ran, led Lin Qing'er out of the garden by the maid, and returned to the palace in a carriage.Mei and Lan'er stayed up all night, and they were very happy to see Xiao Ran came back safe and sound.Lan'er said: "How? What did Li Hongzhang tell you?"

At this time, the sky was about to dawn, and it was estimated that they were about to go to court. Xiao Ran couldn't explain a few words to them clearly, so he said, "Don't worry, Li Hongzhang won't do anything wrong this time. The two of you sisters It’s up to the court, it’s time to manage the government, everything is up to me.”

Everything has me, these simple four words, but it makes the eyebrows feel at ease.Lan'er pondered for a while, and said: "Little Sanzi, you once told me that if one day the dragon throne falls, China will no longer have an emperor, but will elect a president like the United States. In your heart, Is there a suitable candidate already?"

Xiao Ran smiled slightly, and said: "Almost. I know you want to ask, is this person Li Hongzhang, right?" At this point, he purposely kept things a secret, and said: "I reckon, this person should also appear Yes. This matter is very important, and I just want you two to help make up your mind, when you come back from court, let's discuss it together, how about it?"

Mei said: "Today is the first day of court, don't you go and listen to the movement?"

Xiao Ran yawned, and said: "It's nothing to listen to. As long as Li Hongzhang stops, there will be no major incidents today."

Hearing what he said, Mei and Lan'er went to court in peace.Xiao Ran pulled Lin Qing'er and went to Yan Lin's bedroom. Just as he was thinking about Hu Fu, he hurried to find him, and immediately said: "Yesterday, in the middle of the night, an assassin came to the palace and was captured by the guards. In Beihuayuan."

Xiao Ran was startled, and said: "It's only the first day of moving the capital, who is so courageous? How many assassins are there in total?"

Mei Liangfu said: "Just one, and he didn't have any weapons on him. I saw something weird here, so I didn't alarm the two palaces, so I told you first." After a pause, he moved closer to Xiao Ran's ear, and said in a low voice : "A letter was found on the assassin's body, it's for you!"

♂ Volume 8 in the harem ♀

→Chapter 180 - Zuo Zongtang←

letter?for me? Xiao Ran was taken aback, and said, "Where is the letter?" "

Mei Liangfu looked left and right, and then took out a plain white letter paper from his bosom, which looked ordinary, and it read: From Fu Xiaodong's family.Thanks to Mei Liangfu's participation in Tongrantang, so when he saw the words "Xiao Dong's family", he guessed that this letter was for Xiao Ran.If others saw it, they probably wouldn't understand it.Looking at the handwriting again, Xiao Ran was even more surprised, but it was written by Yulai.Yulai is a character that I learned later, and it is always written stroke by stroke, and there is always a little awkwardness in the neatness, Xiao Ran can recognize it at a glance.

When I opened the mouth sealed with wax wax and took out the letter paper to read, there were only a few words, saying that I had hired a shopkeeper who was very talented and was going to be entrusted with reuse.Xiao Ran was very puzzled, the handwriting on the letter was definitely written by Yu Lai himself, but in matters of business, Yu Lai has always been in charge, so what should I do?Besides, if this kid writes a letter to himself, it should be in the tone of a letter from home, why is it so sloppy?

Turning it over and looking it over carefully, Xiao Ran said: "Who knows about this?"