Although Shichang did not say a word, this expression fully outlined what he thought. Lin Guangyu had been in charge of power for nearly a year and a half, and had already known this implicit meaning for a long time. He immediately stated: "Zhou Xuexi took the final order last time and did his job well. I heard that the key is to introduce a large set of advanced machines from Germany?"

"That's right." Seeing that the emperor had already understood it, Xu Shichang certainly agreed.

"Han Yeping's machine is worried about Li Weige and others, which saved Zhou Xuexi a lot of thought. However, Tieliang wrote a statement to me a few important machinery manufacturing sites such as Hanyang Arsenal, Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, Jiangnan Shipyard, and Dezhou Arsenal were aging, equipment was incomplete, and it was not effective in national defense construction. It has been requested to expand. Since national defense has been rectified, this section must be paid attention to."

"Yes. However, I think that there were too many military-industrial enterprises in each province that were originally divided into too many and too overeat, so there was no need to be so many. Now that we have to rectify the law, it is best to support the superiors and eliminate the inferiors, and to help the strong and lay off the weak, so as to avoid excessive capital loss."

"Your words are reasonable, so you let Zhou Xuexi go abroad and inspect military machinery. You must achieve something. The shipyards and other ships are related to the navy and require specialization. The navy will still select specialists."

"The emperor is wise." The king and his minister smiled at each other. Zhou Xuexi was rare and must be valued, but he had no influence on the salt administration reform.

Just when Lin Guangyu and Xu Shichang were in secret, a large number of people gathered at Zhou Xuexi's mansion. Most of these people were fat and big-eared, and their words and expressions were stinking, but their tone was extremely humble.

"Mr. Zhou, I heard that the court intends to abolish the shore system? How can this be done?"

"Salt Management does need to be improved, but is it abolished the shore system? I am not aware of it and I am not in charge. I am sorry." According to the rules, all officials in the information have the obligation to keep confidential about the unparalleled issues that have been established but have not been announced. Zhou Xuexi is cautious. Although he has a clear reservation about the improvement of salt management, he is unwilling to reveal his or her to the outside world, which has broken the rules.

"Mr. Zhou, don't hide it from us. We all know the emperor's will and the reform. We originally asked each of our families to serve tens of thousands of taels of silver. Only each of these invoices is hundreds of thousands of taels of real gold and silver. It is the lifeline of our families. We must not just say it is abolished..."

Care is chaos. Zhou Xuexi's family has several quotations. How can he not be anxious? But at this moment, he never dared to reveal his words when facing many Changlu salt merchants, otherwise Zai Ze would be caught and impeached. No matter how good Cen Chun had to have a relationship with him, he would not be able to protect him.

While thinking about how to get out, a loud voice suddenly came from outside: "Under the imperial edict, Zhou Xuexi received the edict."

Seeing Wang Shang coming quickly, Zhou Xuexi was a little at a loss. He quickly ordered the butler to prepare the incense table.

"In accordance with the heavens, the emperor ordered: National defense is a national barrier, and equipment is the overall situation. In the past forty years of the Westernization Affairs, many measures have been taken to achieve today's overall situation... However, the scale of each factory is relatively small, the equipment is incomplete, and it is extremely old. The Minister of Defense Tie Liang and Minister of Industry and Commerce Zhou Xuexi went abroad for inspection and made plans from multiple sources... I admire this."

"Mr. Zhou, the emperor told me that it would be best to leave on the first day of next month."

"What?" Zhou Xuexi calculated roughly and had only more than half a month left to prepare, so he was really nervous.

"Eunuch Wang, Holy Will..."

"The emperor said that the equipment update of the arsenals is important. Lord Tie has been on the verdict several times and has plans. However, he has no choice but to go abroad to purchase. After thinking about it, he thought that Lord Zhou was the most suitable." Wang Shang said with a smile, "This time, Lord I'm afraid he'll have to stay outside for more time."

Listening to Wang Shang's expression of accentuated tone on the word "Do", Zhou Xuexi understood very well when he thought of today's events. The Ministry of National Defense had already sorted out improvement plans in the arsenals everywhere, leaving only the task of purchasing foreign countries. The reason why the emperor sent himself abroad was to protect himself, so as not to be embarrassed by the salt administration reform.

Thinking of this, Zhou Xuexi immediately understood and said, "Please report to the emperor, and the minister immediately set out to prepare and set off on time."

When the decree was issued, the salt merchants escaped cleanly. As soon as the king left, they suddenly surrounded him again, and they were all anxious. Originally, the salt merchants were extremely energetic in the court. Yi Li, Na Tong, Yuan Shikai, Sheng Xuanhuai and others were closely related to them. After years of operation, they formed an unbreakable network of interest relations. However, since the first year of the Reform Movement, these big men died and the only thing they could do was Zhou Xuexi. But now Zhou Xuexi is going to go abroad, and the situation is getting more and more difficult.

Looking at the anxious look on the faces of these people and their greed for money, Zhou Xuexi suddenly felt disgusted and had a deeper understanding of their nature of being inclined to the point of being invincible. He had originally had a little resistance to the task of going abroad, but now he felt unspeakable and relaxed, and he wanted to go faster as soon as possible - he was clean without seeing it.

On the first day of May, a huge delegation from the Ministry of National Defense went abroad to inspect the military industry set off at the Tianjin Wharf. In addition to the two imperial ministers, Tieliang and Zhou Xuexi, there were also a large number of general offices, committee offices, chief engineers and other personnel from major arsenals across the country. Before leaving, a big episode happened. Zhang Shi, the general office of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, was dismissed from office and investigated by the Ministry of National Defense on four charges of "corruption, corruption, fraud, and nepotism". Although the official verdict has not yet been released, all insiders believe that Zhang's life will last for more than a month at most, and the vacant position he was returned from his former position as the governor.

Zhang Shi's fall was completely unexpected to public opinion. Because the crime was relatively general, there were several speculations on this.

The first inference is that when Cen Chunxuan went to Shanghai to investigate Cai Naihuang the last time, he had already known Zhang Di's illegal behavior. The reason why it was announced now is entirely because it was necessary to investigate and collect evidence;

The second inference is that Zhang Shi was in charge of the manufacturing bureau and had close relationships with Sheng Xuanhuai and others. After Sheng Xuanhuai fell, he naturally had to accept the same treatment. The reason why it was announced now is completely

The court was busy with the liquidation of the celebration at that time - that party, and had no time to ask about Sheng Xuan Xiaoxiami;

The third inference is that the Ministry of National Defense has made adjustments to various places based on the national military layout strategy. Zhang Shi relied on his qualifications and did not take the requirements of the Ministry of National Defense seriously, which angered Tieliang.

These three views cannot be wrong, because they all involve part of the reason for Zhang Shi's fall. But the most important and fundamental reason is that except for Lin Guangyu, Tie Liang, Shanqi and Zhao Bingjun, a few people who know about it, the outside world will never be able to guess.

Because what determines Zhang Shi's fate is actually the war 16 years ago—

Zhang Shi was in his early 50s and from Hefei, Anhui, but his origin was famous - Li Nie. With this relationship, this person who was famous for his literary talent and poetry and actually knew nothing about industrial manufacturing became a staff member by Li Hongzhang. In the following years, he relied on Li Hongzhang's recommendation and the literati's reputation soared. In a few years, he became the general office of the Tianjin Arsenal Bureau and the military preparatory school.

Zhang Shi was aloof on the surface, but in fact he was extremely greedy. Because his life style was imitating his uncle Li Hongzhang everywhere, he spent a lot of money, and his monthly salary and public money were not enough. Li Hongzhang knew a little about his nephew's nature and was extremely strict with public funds. Zhang Shi could not find a way to embezzle and misappropriately. In order to fill the huge expense hole, he tampered with other tricks without Li Hongzhang.

Before the Sino-Japanese War, all the shells required by the Beiyang Navy were purchased from overseas, especially Germany. The quality was good and the price was high. Because Li Hongzhang suffered from insufficient funds, he followed his nephew's advice and instead imported substitutes from Japan. The quality was slightly worse and the price was much lower. If Zhang Shi was serious and serious, the quality of the shells imported from Japan could still play a role even if they were not as good as German goods. At most, it was a difference of 8 and 1 jin. However, Zhang Shili was so stupid that he actually bought a large number of unqualified shells from Japan at an extremely low price, claiming to be authentic Japanese products. These unqualified shells had either been greatly reduced due to production time and moisture or other reasons; either because of insufficient processing accuracy and size problems; or because of metallurgical technology and fuse technology, they were dud and stinky bombs that could not explode at all.

This batch of ammunition, whether in accordance with German or Japanese standards, should be repaid or destroyed or scrapped. However, Zhang Shi was unconscientious and greedy for the huge price difference, and distributed it to the Beiyang Navy for use. During the Battle of Dadonggou, the Beiyang Navy was at a disadvantage in ammunition throwing, in addition to the chaotic logistics system, Zhang Shi also "makes indestructible". After the war, after inventorying the warehouse, Li Hongzhang immediately discovered the problem and slapped his nephew several times on the spot. It was just because Li Hongzhang was impeached by the land when he was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, so he did not expose the matter, and only a very small number of people were informed of it.

In addition to purchasing inferior artillery shells, Zhang Shi also committed unforgivable crimes in other aspects. After reaching an agreement with Japan on purchasing inferior artillery shells, Zhang Shi met a Japanese man named Ishikawa Wuichi. On the surface, this Japanese man seemed to be a businessman who was respectful to Zhang Shi, but in fact he was an absolute spy and obeyed the command of the Japanese Hankou Leshantang. The reason why he sold inferior artillery shells to Zhang Shi was not only for certain economic benefits, but also seriously damaged the combat power of the Beiyang Navy.

After meeting Zhang Shi, Ishikawa successfully carried out espionage activities and succeeded in several places in succession. He first met the scum of the Tianjin Telegraph Bureau through Zhang Shi's relationship, and used beauty and money to pull them into the water to provide confidential information. At that time, Li Hongzhang's telegrams about internal affairs and diplomacy were forwarded through the Tianjin Bureau, and the Qing court's every move was in the control of the Japanese side. Sometimes, before Li Hongzhang's telegram was sent to the Military Affairs Office, the Japanese side had already learned about it in advance. Li Hongzhang ordered Ding Ruchang to send the "Gaosheng" to transport troops to North Korea, and instructed Jiyuan. The information escorted by Guangyi was also cracked in advance by the Japanese side through this channel.

—

In addition to receiving relevant information from the Telegraph Office, Zhang Shi himself also acted as providing intelligence for Japan. Although he did not disclose information directly to Ishikawa, he often enjoyed the Japanese prostitutes sent by Ishikawa. These Japanese prostitutes appeared to be prostitutes, but they were actually female spies trained by Japanese Kanyoshi. They first flattered them in the bed, which made Zhang Shi exhausted and began to steal information after sleeping. After Zhang Shi obtained a secret letter from Li Hongzhang, he often put them randomly in his mansion, which happened to help these female spies. Therefore, through Zhang Shi's colander, the Japanese side knew the dynamics of the Beiyang Navy and Li Hongzhang.

In the blink of an eye, Li Hongzhang and most of the people who knew about the secret relationship in the inner world were clearly revealed. Lin Guangyu remembered clearly that he was heartbroken by the failure of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Although Zhang Shi was not entirely responsible for the defeat of the Beiyang Navy, Lin Guangyu was never willing to forgive Zhang Shi. Due to the great situation of Japan, Zhang's crime of affair with the Japanese side was inconvenient to announce the evidence, and Lin Guangyu instructed the Ministry of Defense to arrange the rest of the charges - nothing else, he must kill Zhang!

The investigation and prosecution of Zhang Shi also brought an additional benefit. The general managers who were originally confused and always characterized by being a waste of time and had no real knowledge. The technicians and leaders began to be stunned. They knew clearly that after this rectification, the Ministry of National Defense must take real action. If they want to hang out again, Zhang Shi is their lesson. Therefore, the news that Zhang Shi was strictly prosecution had just been heard, and before the inspection team set off, several officials submitted their resignation letters, begging to save their lives.
Chapter completed!