Chapter 901: Take a sharp turn
Capital, Summer Palace, Qichun Garden, and Fuchun Hall.
There were some newspapers and memorials scattered on the desk. Ci'an leaned against the window and looked blankly at the verdant yard. After the establishment of the cabinet of the Military Removal Office, she rarely asked about government affairs. She did not take the Tianjin lesson plan at first. After the establishment of the Prime Minister's affairs office, especially after defeating the four-nation coalition forces of Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands, the Qing Dynasty did not need her to worry about foreign negotiations at all.
But she didn't expect that the diplomatic incident in Tianjin's lesson plan would have completely changed. Western countries remained silent after submitting the notes and protesting strongly. However, domestic newspapers were rushing to attack the imperial ministers and the cabinet assistant minister Wu Changqing, and then directly targeted Yuan Qi.
It is obvious that this is the royalists deliberately manipulating public opinion and public sentiment behind the scenes and attacking Yuan Qi. However, is Prince Gong Yi, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, also fueling the fire? The royalists are inciting foreign countries to prevent the court from implementing constitutionalism. What about Yi? Yi, who has no military power and financial power, is no different from a puppet. Will he also want to take this opportunity to suppress Yuan Qi?
After a while of silence, she turned around and ordered: "Come on, Prince Xuan Gong will meet you."
She couldn't sit idly by this matter. When it comes to manipulating public opinion and people's sentiments, the royalists and Lixian were not against Yuan Qi. Yuan Qi not only controlled the big newspapers in the southeastern provinces, but also had no comparisons in the way of manipulating and guiding public opinion. At the moment, it was obvious that Yuan Qi was deliberately indulging, and he was obviously not kind-hearted!
If he continues to sit idly and indulge in vain, Yuan Qi may take advantage of the situation and play new tricks. Yi Jingzu is not a good man and a believer. When it comes to killing, he is cruel and ruthless. There are not many civil and military officials in the court who can match him, which can be seen as the destruction of the country and the destruction of the country.
Although the establishment of the Xujun constitution led to the fall of imperial power, it could always last the Qing Dynasty and protect the royal family and the Manchus. This was the best result. If Yuan Qi really wanted to force him to rebel, he would only end up destroying the country and exterminate the clan! She had to stop the irrational provocation of the royal family!
After hearing Ci'an summoning, Prince Gong Yi did not dare to neglect and rushed over. As he got his wish, he became the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and was eager to repair his relationship with Empress Dowager Ci'an. Only in this way can he have the capital to compete with Yuan Qi and settle the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet.
When he entered the Fuchun Hall, he kowtowed to Sheng'an according to the rules, and then he heard Ci'an's voice as soon as he got up, "Sixth uncle doesn't have to be polite, so he will sit and enjoy tea."
"I thank the Queen Mother for the grace." Yi got up and sat down on the little monk outside the pearl curtain after thanking him. He knew very well that today's summoning must be for the Tianjin lesson plan, but he didn't know what the attitude of the Ci'an Council was.
"In the past two days, the government and the country are in arousing the invasion of Wu Changqing's handling of the Tianjin lesson plan. Many ministers impeached him for seeking Yuanqi's selfish interests and disregarding the country's justice. He has lost his ministers' way and his national constitution. I beg him to replace him. What does his sixth uncle think about this?"
Yi said cautiously: "I personally think that someone behind this matter is deliberately manipulating it to guide public opinion, trying to host public opinion and slander Yuan Qi, and boycott constitutionalism."
Didn’t Yi add fuel to the fire? Ci'an pondered for a moment before saying, “Yuan Qi lost the hearts of the people and would not affect the court’s implementation of constitutionalism?”
Yi's heart sank. Is he not giving up? Or is he tempted? He didn't dare to think too much and replied in a deep voice: "Returning to the Empress Dowager, Yuan Qi repeatedly fought against Western invasions, expelled the West and regained the northwest, Southeast Asia and Myanmar, and was deeply rooted in the southeastern provinces and the New Affiliated provinces. It is impossible to lose the people's hearts because of the Tianjin lesson plan."
Although he answered the question irrelevantly, he undoubtedly expressed his attitude. Ci'an continued: "When facing the attack, Yuan Qi did not respond at all, but why?"
After hearing this, Yi could not understand the other party's intentions. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. What he was most worried about was that Ci'an was manipulating behind this matter. Since it was not Ci'an, it would be much easier to deal with. He immediately said: "When I returned to the Empress Dowager, Yuan Qi was obviously intentional indulging. I begged me to pray that the Empress Dowager would immediately issue an order to face the hearing."
Ci'an seemed to hesitate and said: "Yuan Qi planned to expand northwest for many years. Now the northwest army is gathering in Anxi, and the Nanyang Navy fleet is also heading south in large numbers. It should be that the western expedition is about to be..."
"Return to the Empress Dowager." Yi said in a deep voice: "I personally think that Yuanqi is the most dangerous at this time. He is using a large number of troops in the northwest. Yuanqi will never tolerate domestic instability."
Ci'an nodded slightly. Yuan Qi planned to expand northwest for many years and would never allow anyone to destroy the plan for the Western Expedition. At this critical moment, he would definitely encounter a strong blow. He could not delay any further. "Print an order." He said slowly: "Tianjin's lesson plan corrupts the customs of the people, damages the prestige of the court, damages the prestige of the Qing Dynasty, and has a very bad influence. We must be strict, heavy, and quickly settled and handled. The imperial envoy Wu Changqing respects the holy intention and handles it impartially, and is rewarded with the title of Prince's Young Guard, and wears a yellow jacket..."
While this sage is promulgated, the Beijing News also published a timely publication of this sage and an article written by Yi, "On the Basic Principles of Constitutionalism". The article clearly pointed out that protecting property safety and personal safety is one of the most basic principles of constitutionalism. Any acts that damage other people's property and infringe on the personal safety of others in the Qing Dynasty must be subject to severe legal sanctions.
The Beijing News spread within half a day outside the Beijing government. Various accusations against Wu Changqing and Yuan Qi disappeared immediately, and no one dared to mention the Tianjin lesson plan for a while. A decree and an article clearly expressed the attitude of the Empress Dowager and Prince Gong towards the Tianjin lesson plan and supported Wu Changqing to handle the Tianjin lesson plan impartially. In this case, if you don’t know what’s wrong, you will definitely bring unexpected disasters.
The telegraph bureau in the capital suddenly became lively, and people who were eager to send telegraphs lined up outside the General Administration of the Capital and several telegraph branches.
Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Bookstore.
After reading the telegram sent from the capital, Yi Zhizu transferred it to Zhao Liewen and smiled and said, "Did we do it too much and react so quickly?"
After scanning the telegram a few quickly, Zhao Liewen couldn't help but smile, "Does the shopkeeper think this effect is not ideal?"
Yi Zhizu smiled unanimously and said, "It is hopeless to know that you can take the initiative to protect Yuanqi and control the situation to further expand. So, you can use the Tianjin lesson plan to promote constitutionalism and send a call to Wu Changqing. Don't be in a hurry and deter it for a few days before killing it! In addition, you also let him beat the diplomats from Western countries, so that they would have unreasonable thoughts."
Tianjin, Zizhulin, British Consulate.
Outside the gate, a group of diplomatic officials from Western countries, led by British Minister to China, were waiting for the arrival of Wu Changqing, the imperial envoy who was fully responsible for handling the Tianjin lesson plan, while whispering, everyone's faces were filled with cheerful smiles. In their opinion, Wu Changqing's arrival must have been discussing compensation.
There was no joy on Weituma's face. He stood quietly on the side with his chest and his chin in his hand. He knew very well that it would be no good for Wu Changqing to take the initiative to come to the door under such circumstances.
The French agent Luo Shuya, who had been dealing with Wu Changqing and was rejected once, was not happy either. He slowly approached Vitoma, and he whispered: "The other party shouldn't have come to negotiate compensation?"
"I don't think it's like that." Weitoma rubbed her chin's beard, "but she felt something was wrong."
"The Qing Dynasty is the one who is in the wrong. After all, so many people have died, and the losses are extremely heavy." Luo Shuya said in a deep voice: "No matter how strong Yuan Qi is, he must not fail to abide by international law."
Wittoma didn't say anything. Even if there were no babies in the church or killing them, the matter was caused by the provocation of the French Consul Fengdaye after all, and the losses of other countries may be compensated, France is probably a bit uneasy.
Wu Changqing did not come alone, but brought the three-way trade minister Chonghou, Tianjin magistrate Zhang Guangzao, county magistrate Liu Jie and others to form a full imperial envoy to serve as a ceremonial guard.
When he arrived, he fell into a sedan chair in front of the British consulate. When he saw a black foreigner outside the door, Wu Changqing couldn't help but frowned. After greeting Weituma, he said directly: "I'm here today to discuss important matters, so that the ministers and consuls of various countries can participate..."
Weituma nodded, then reached out to give in, "Please, Lord of the Imperial College."
After entering the large conference room, Xu Li sat down, Wu Changqing said directly: "I have a survey report here, so you can take a look." As he said that, he raised his hand and signaled his followers to distribute the information. The information was printed in English, French, Russian and Spanish.
As soon as the "Survey Report on the Survival Rate of Adoption of Infants in the Chinese Church" saw the title, Weituma couldn't help but jump. After reading it carefully, his face immediately pale.
The data and data collected in this report are extremely detailed, directly revealing that the purpose of Western churches to open nanny churches in China is not to do just good deeds, but to meet the number of "paying". A series of data is shocking. The many nanny churches opened by Western churches adopt babies is quite high, with an average of more than 70%. However, the infant mortality rate of the hostels opened in China is only about 15%, which is a huge difference.
Not only Vitoma's face was ugly, but the consuls of various countries looked a little ugly, and they whispered together. The French minister Roshua's face looked particularly ugly. France is a Catholic protector, and the headquarters of the Holy Infant Society is also in Paris. This investigation report is clearly listed by the Holy Infant Society's funds for the missionaries in China, and he does not even have the courage to distinguish.
The simple foreigners looked ugly and Chonghou, Zhang Guangzao and others couldn't help but look at each other, and they all felt puzzled. They didn't know what the investigation report was, because the information was all foreign and they couldn't understand it, and Wu Changqing didn't prepare Chinese information for them at all.
"Since the establishment of the Jesuits in the first half of the 16th century, missionaries have been frequently sent to our country, and while preaching, they also opened nurseries. In the past three hundred years, how many babies have died indirectly or directly from nurseries opened by the church?" Wu Changqing said slowly in fluent English: "I don't know whether the missionaries who come to China came to preach? Or come to hunt our country's infants and young children. Our country needs churches from Western countries and all missionaries in China to give us a reasonable explanation."
"Your Excellency," said Vitoma with some difficulty: "Can we question the authenticity of this investigation report?"
"Of course." Wu Changqing said without hesitation: "Each trading port has a nanny church run by a church. The adoption records and the mortality and survival rates of babies are archived, and they can be reviewed at any time."
After hearing this, Weituma said very simply: "Your country does not need to compensate the burned churches in Tianjin."
Seeing Vitoma, the consuls of the United States and Russia quickly argued that the Qing Dynasty did not need to compensate for the losses caused by the Tianjin lesson plan, but Luo Shuya hesitated and did not dare to speak. It was because France's losses in the Tianjin lesson plan were too great. The church was burned down and there were too many missionaries and nuns who died.
Wu Changqing glanced at everyone and said slowly: "In the Tianjin lesson plan, all the murderers who commit crimes, arson and robbery will be subject to the law. You can wait and see. Yuan Qi will fully compensate for the losses caused to various countries after further verification..."
After hearing this, Vitoma felt nervous. It would be impossible not to compensate. What would the other party want? Or should the church in China be banned or the child care church opened by the church?
"The main reasons for the Tianjin lesson plan are, first, the suspicion and misunderstanding caused by the frequent death of babies in the nursery hall opened by the church. Second, the missionaries are unconditional in their daily behavior, tempting to learn teaching, gather local scoundrels, rely on their power to dominate their debts, forcibly dominate property, bully the kind, insult the government, and have made deep grudges with the other officials, gentry and the people, which have caused public anger.
Third, the French consul was arrogant and domineering, despising our court and laws. Relying on diplomatic privileges and concessions privileges, he openly led the concession armed personnel to forcibly break into our government offices and fired provocations.
In order to prevent similar major diplomatic events in the future, our country has decided to strictly regulate and restrict all churches and missionaries in China and revise the Concession Charter to minimize the opposition and contradiction between churches and foreigners in China and local governments, gentry, merchants and people."
The translator who was waiting to send these words to the translation countries, and the ministers and consuls of all countries were stunned. No one expected that the other party would take the opportunity to make this request. This was obviously intended to limit the activities of the church and reduce the privileges of the concessions.
Chonghou, Zhang Guangzao and Liu Jie were very excited to hear it. In this way, the Tianjin lesson plan would have turned into a good thing!
After a while of silence, Vitoma spoke, "Sir, what if we disagree?"
Chapter completed!