Rebirth of the Northern Giants

"The military government is expanding its military wildly, preparing for the violent unification of China in advance?"

"Using the two rivers to deter other local governments from submitting"

"China's civil strife is imminent, and war is not far away"

In the Imperial Study Room of the Forbidden City, Ye Zhikui read various telegrams in his hand with a tangled expression. This is a report on the situation of various provinces that was just sent this morning.

The provincial governors all asked the military government in a tentative tone whether it had anything to do with this matter, seemingly accusing the military government of expanding its military and preparing for war, and demanding that the military government stand up and give an explanation.

At first, he was shocked when he heard that Liu Kunyi was assassinated. The first thing he thought of was the shooting of Chen Shuibian in later generations. He almost suspected that this was a scene that Liu Kunyi had acted and directed. Later, as the information gradually became clear, he had already vetoed it. This possibility.

Who is it?The British, the Japanese, the remnants of the Qing Dynasty?It's possible for anyone.

Volume Two, The Wind and Cloud in the Capital, Chapter [-], The Solution

In the imperial study room, ministers from various ministries gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

Ye Zhikui put down the telegram, straightened his clothes, looked at the butcher and asked, "Why did the Intelligence Bureau make such a big mistake this time?"

The butcher sighed slightly, and said, "Because of the Sino-Russian war, the Intelligence Bureau tends to the three eastern provinces, and Nanjing is Liu Kunyi's base camp, so we are relatively weak, and we never considered that anyone would attack him."

Ye Zhikui waved his hand, and said seriously: "In any case, it's all due to the negligence of the intelligence department. Have you found any clues now?"

The butcher shook his head, and said with some headaches: "Liu Kun did not cooperate with the investigators of the military government, and the investigators were not allowed to enter Nanjing. We can only conduct unannounced visits, which have little effect, but according to the news of the day, Liu Kun is a secret. After meeting the British Zhu Erdian, he was assassinated on the second day, and the British are more or less suspected."

Ye Zhikui asked again: "Then Liu Kunyi himself found out that Zi Chou Yinmao came out?"

The butcher smiled wryly, and said, "Liu Kunyi caught the two murderers, but the two murderers committed suicide the next day. I don't know if Liu Kunyi pried out something."

Regarding Liu Kunyi's indifferent attitude, Ye Zhikui could only smile wryly, knocked on the table twice, looked at Wang Wenshao, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and Zhao Bingjun, Secretary of Police, standing aside, and said, "Old Wang, you will come forward to contact Zhang. Zhidong, Chen Baozhen and others, asked them to persuade Liu Kunyi to accept the military government to set up an investigation team to go to Nanjing and Liangjiang to investigate this matter together. Zhian, you should immediately deploy key personnel to form an investigation team, and cooperate with the Intelligence Bureau both openly and secretly. , Find out who is behind the scenes as soon as possible."

When Ye Zhikui wanted to say more, the attendant outside the door shouted: "Minister Li Hongzhang of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is here!"

Everyone in the imperial study turned their attention to the door, and Li Hongzhang strode in breathlessly and panting. He used to be very decent and elegant, but today he was sweating profusely, and his clothes were wrinkled and soaked.

Ye Zhikui stood up from his seat, stepped forward to personally support Li Hongzhang's arm, and said with concern: "Zhongtang has something to say slowly, what is the attitude of those foreigners in Dongjiaomin Lane? What did they say?"

Li Hongzhang breathed a sigh of relief, then took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead, sighed, and said very solemnly: "The situation is not optimistic. Originally, our country had enmity with other countries due to cultural incidents. After this shooting incident, they have nothing to do. It’s not gloating. Look at the jokes of our military government. The British have sarcasm in their words, mocking our military government for relying on some tricks to maintain its rule. The Americans and Germans asked us to bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible. Among them, the French ambassador reacted most violently. , calling our military government a rogue government. If the murderer is not handed over, France will consider uniting with other countries to condemn the military government. I'm afraid..."

He didn't finish his sentence, and Ye Zhikui didn't have the desire to listen any more. Ye Zhikui was not afraid of the threat of foreigners, but if it affected the image of the military government and the cooperation with countries such as Germany, the loss outweighed the gain.

"What does the old fox Ito Hirobumi say?" Wang Shizhen on the side interrupted and asked.

Li Hongzhang pouted, showing a strange smile, and replied: "Ito deeply sympathizes with the situation of our military government."

Ye Zhikui slapped the table and said in a hateful voice: "Two gunshots in the area have brought the military government into such an embarrassing situation. Who is setting the frame? If Liu Kun is shot and killed, our military government will bear these rumors. I can still swallow my breath, but now, not only Liu Kunyi is fine, but dirty water is splashed on my head, his grandmother's, and I am so mad."

As soon as Ye Zhikui finished speaking, he knew he had made a slip of the tongue, and all the ministers looked at him and the butcher suspiciously.

Li Hongzhang tentatively asked everyone's thoughts, and said, "Generalissimo, could it be..."

Ye Zhikui smiled sheepishly, withdrew his fist, and said angrily, "Everyone, don't look at me like this. I'm very stressed. The shooting case has nothing to do with the military government. Otherwise, I wouldn't investigate it with much fanfare."

Li Hongzhang comforted him: "Right now we can only arrest the murderer and bring him to justice as soon as possible to clarify the military government's suspicion."

"Generalissimo, should we make some thorough preparations?" Hu Dianjia, who had been thinking for a long time, said slowly.

"Comprehensive preparations? You mean the military government Chen Bing Jiangsu, Henan and other two river borders? This is unnecessary, I believe the situation is not so tense now, and the murderer has not been found, our military government has started to take precautions, isn't it not to fight? Self-inflicted, trying to cover up." Ye Zhikui denied it.

"But Generalissimo, if someone takes the opportunity to make trouble, we will be the ones who will suffer." Hu Dianjia persuaded earnestly.

Ye Zhikui waved his hand and said disapprovingly, "I'm still worried that they won't dare to jump out. If someone dares to make trouble at this juncture, it will definitely not be the military government who suffers. The most urgent thing to do is to find the murderer and find other things. There are bigger things to attract the attention of the whole country, so that the shootings will gradually fade away. Isn’t Mr. Nie not far from Vladivostok? Employer, you send a telegram to ask them to capture Vladivostok as soon as possible.”

"Generalissimo, the person who needs to tie the bell to untie it. If Liu Kun is willing to stand up and say a few words for the military government, I believe the pressure of public opinion will not be so great." Wang Shizhen sighed while writing down Ye Zhikui's order Said in one breath.

"The only thing to do is to persuade him to focus on the overall situation." Ye Zhikui rubbed his temples with a headache, and then said, "I'm afraid he will take the opportunity to blackmail the military government and propose some benefits."

Li Hongzhang said thoughtfully: "If Liu Kunyi bites and finds out that the military government did it, I'm afraid it won't do him any good."

Ye Zhikui nodded. He understood Li Hongzhang's meaning. If Liangjiang and the Central Committee had a stalemate, it would be Liu Kunyi who was injured in the end, and it would definitely not be Ye Zhikui.

"Okay, let He Zonglian talk to him again." Ye Zhikui said happily without hesitation.

Liu Kunyi was fine. After drinking a few doses of calming and tranquilizing medicine, he tried his best to arrest the real culprit. What upset him was that several days had passed, but he still hadn't made the slightest progress. Although the two murderers were caught , but unexpectedly, they were hard-spoken people who were not afraid of death. They both committed suicide after insisting that they were ordered by the military government.

Now he has not only strengthened the guards of the Governor's Mansion, anyone who enters and exits must go through strict inspections before being released, and he also tries to go out as little as possible. Even the mansion rarely goes back, and has been staying in the Governor's Office, with peace of mind Quite a few, but it's a pity that the plot of the shooting is still vivid in his memory, making him gnash his teeth, stamp his feet and beat his chest, secretly hating him.

In the past few days, people have come to visit and express condolences. As soon as Liu Kun didn't find out what's going on, he was naturally in a bad mood. If he could refuse, he would decline. There was no random speculation about who was behind the shooting.

The governors of various provinces kept testing his words, but he always replied that there was insufficient evidence and the real culprit was unknown.

When He Zonglian came to visit, he was angry with Liu Lisan.

"The city is full of disturbances outside, and you still haven't made any progress. How can I trust you?" Liu Kunyi said angrily.

Liu Lisan wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, and said timidly, "Governor, the whereabouts of the guns and explosives have been found out. The guns used by the murderer were purchased from a few green camp warriors, and the explosives were homemade. It is difficult to deduce who they are based on guns and ammunition.”

Liu Kun said in a cold voice: "The frontier army and the green camp have really become corrupt. No wonder the governors of the provinces were frightened when they heard the news of the military government's deployment of troops."

At this moment, Li Jifu, Liu Kunyi's aide, heard the announcement outside the door, and quickly walked up to Liu Kunyi to report: "Governor, He Zonglian from the military government has come to see you, and is waiting at the door now."

Since He Zonglian said last time that she was busy with official duties, she has been staying in the admiral's yamen, and the foreign affairs office ignored the shooting case and ignored it. She never thought that she would take the initiative to come to her today.

While guessing He Zonglian's intention, Liu Kunyi said in a leisurely manner, "Let's see what he has to say. The military government has found out something."

Li Jifu nodded in response, then turned around and returned to the living room outside, and welcomed He Zonglian in from the corridor.

When He Zonglian came to the governor's hall, she saw Liu Kunyi expressionless and Li Lisan kneeling on the ground, guessing that the case had not progressed.

Putting on a concerned expression, He Zonglian asked kindly: "How is Master Liu feeling better recently?"

"I can't die," Liu Kun replied angrily. He believed that if he really died, although this He Zonglian would not applaud him, he would be secretly happy, so why come here to pretend.

He Zonglian walked not far from Liu Kunyi, pulled up her clothes, and sat down.

"General He is here today not only to visit the old man, is it possible that the military government has arrested the real culprit?" Liu Kunyi glanced at him lightly and asked aloud.

He Zonglian raised her eyebrows, spread her hands, and said helplessly: "Master Liu doesn't allow our military government investigators to enter the city, so what murderer can we find?"

Li Lisan, who was kneeling below, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If the military government finds out something, he will lose a lot of face as a local snake.

"In that case, are you here to chat with the old man?" Liu Kun was angry with the military government, so naturally he had nothing good to say.

He Zonglian said indifferently: "Actually, I came here today to ask Mr. Liu for something."

"General He, tell me, I'm listening with my ears up."

He Zonglian talked openly: "I believe Mr. Liu has heard about the situation outside now. The whole country is very concerned about the shooting case. The generalissimo asked about the progress of the case three times a day, and some rumors outside became more and more intense. Finally, , It's really appalling, and I don't know who tried to harm the Lord, but planted it on the head of the Generalissimo, if this continues, before the murderer is caught, the world will be completely chaotic."