My Italy

As the outer port of Rome, the Port of Antium has always been extremely lively. On March 28th, the Antium Port side was cleared. Anyone who is familiar with this scene will immediately know that a big shot is preparing to visit.

As expected, it didn't take long for the decorations to begin, and the Qing Dynasty Dragon Flag and the words friendship between China and Italy were also hoisted. Needless to say, the big shot from the Qing Kingdom in the Far East just didn’t know who this big shot was.

More than 20 nautical miles away from the Port of Antium, the French cruise ship Inestre Simon is sailing towards the Port of Antium. Everyone on the cruise ship knew that there was a big shot on board.

That's right, Li Zhongtang, the long-lasting leader of Westernization in the Qing Dynasty and the former governor of Beiyang, is on this ship. Li Zhongtang's visit this time sounds simple, but in reality it is very complicated.

To put it simply, the main purpose of Li Zhongtang's visit was to attend the coronation ceremony of Tsar Nicholas II and to visit other great powers.

What's complicated is that Li Zhongtang was forced to drag his 74-year-old age across the ocean for a state visit. For this reason, Zhongtang's family was afraid of any mishaps. In addition to Li Zhongtang's two sons, Li Jingfang and Li Jingshu, they also prepared a nanmu coffin to accompany him.

Speaking of which, Li Zhongtang's situation was the result of the combined efforts of the emperor and the empress. It is true that the increasingly fierce dispute between the emperor and the empress in the Qing Dynasty was able to exclude Li Zhongtang abroad with such a tacit understanding, which is enough to show that both sides were afraid of him.

But in the final analysis, Li Zhongtang's strength was insufficient. The Huai army he relied on for support was beaten to pieces in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894. If he hadn't invited foreign soldiers, he would have fallen.

However, although Li Zhongtang used Italian reinforcements to avoid being killed on the spot, some things are unavoidable. The Huai Army, which had lost its prestige, was left on the Yalu River line outside the Pass by the imperial court. It was said that the Huai Army was the most familiar with the Japanese, so the Huai Army needed to be more tolerant.

And Li Zhongtang, who lost the Huai army, had only one reason left to wait.

This happened for no reason. Russia took the opportunity of the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II on May 26, 1896 to send an invitation to the Qing government, hoping that it could send important officials to attend, and more importantly, discuss how to restrict Japan. .

With North Korea as a springboard, Japan began to arm itself to protect North Koreans who crossed the border for reclamation. Its sinister intentions can be seen at a glance.

Yes, even when it was still a vassal state, the Korean people had a tendency to cross the border to cultivate land. On one side is the vast and sparsely populated land outside the customs, and on the other is the Korean Peninsula with less land and more people. North Korean people close to the border have long been engaged in cross-border reclamation. Every year after the beginning of spring, we would choose a remote location across the river boundary to open up wasteland and plant the land, and wait until autumn to harvest again.

Of course, if you encounter officers and soldiers, you will consider yourself unlucky, but at that time, the Qing army had few troops outside the customs and often only patrolled the border once a year. Under such circumstances, it was really bad luck to encounter them.

Now the Japanese's intention is obviously to encroach on the Longxing land outside the customs. How can they not make the Qing Dynasty fearful and take more precautions. So this time Li Zhongtang went abroad with a different purpose. This visit to Russia did not go to the Black Sea via the Suez Canal but to Italy. This was also Li Zhongtang’s own deep intention.

"Bo Xing, where is this ship?"

In the first-class box, Li Zhongtang, who was not in good spirits, asked his eldest son Li Jingfang.

"Father, this ship is approaching the outer port of the Italian capital. It will arrive in another hour."

After hearing what his son said, Li Zhongtang struggled to stand up.

"Hurry and get my official uniform and hat. This visit must be taken seriously."

Seeing that the old father was about to get up, his two sons came to comfort him. "Father, please don't move for a moment. I'll get it for you right now."

The second son, Li Jingshu, hurried to get his father's official uniform.

The two of them helped Li Zhongtang put on his official uniform tremblingly, while Li Jingshu helped his father hold his official hat and waited aside.

"Do you know why I attach so much importance to Italy?"

Seeing that the ship would arrive in a while, Li Zhongtang decided to do some on-the-spot testing.

Facing Li Zhongtang's inquiry, the eldest son Li Jingfang replied, "Father, can you continue to pay goodwill to the country for his use?"

"Yes and no."

"Father, do you want to show goodwill to the country and show it to the Russians?"

"No."

Neither of them answered correctly, leaving the two of them waiting respectfully for their father's answer.

Although he already knew that his two sons could not inherit his legacy, who didn't want his children and grandchildren to be better than others? He just didn't give up yet.

Li Zhongtang explained to the two of them after concealing his inner disappointment. "The purpose of this visit is for the reasons you mentioned, but the main reason is to leave some way out for Gongting (Nie Shicheng) and Dasan (Wei Rugui)."

Li Zhongtang's answer made the two of them even more confused. Of course they knew what their father was talking about. Currently, most of the Huai army was deployed on the front line of the Yalu River to watch the Japanese. This time the Italians and Huai army generals such as Wei Rugui and Nie Shicheng were visiting. What does it matter?

Seeing that his two sons still didn't understand, Li Zhongtang had no choice but to explain it to them in detail. "This time I went on a trip. After resigning from the post of Governor of Zhili and Minister of Commerce of Beiyang, it was impossible for me to return. The Queen Mother and the Emperor gave me instructions before my trip that your uncle would be there when I returned. Later, he resigned as the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and returned to his hometown. After all, Dasan and Gongting had been with me for many years. After I left, he was afraid that his troops would have a hard time, so I visited Italy this time with the intention of borrowing the help of the Italian people to help him. Zhang Muyier, at least wait until I return to the country."

Okay, Li Zhongtang has said it in detail enough. Because he was afraid that when he was away, the imperial court would take the Huai army to his plate.

Don't think that this is Li Zhongtang's unfounded worry. His family knows his own affairs. The Huai Army used to be established based on the past histories of his disciples, but now it is also linked by interests.

And facing the high-ranking officials in the imperial court and their generous salaries, how many people can't be won over?

Li Zhongtang was unwilling to surrender the Huai army to others, so he hoped to borrow the help of the Chinese people to give himself a little buffer time.

Li Zhongtang's words made the two Mr. Li taste it carefully.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and a voice was heard outside the door. "My lord, the outer port of Rome has arrived."

When Li Zhongtang and his party walked out, they discovered that the port was crowded with people, all waving the flags of China and Italy. If you observe carefully, you will find that there are very few yellow people among the people greeted at the port, and most of them are Italians. From their cheerful expressions, we can see that they sincerely welcome Li Zhongtang who is visiting.

What's going on, Italians welcome Li Zhongtang so much.

Speaking of which, Italians are definitely the most fond of the Qing Dynasty in Europe. Because Italy made a lot of profits from the Qing Dynasty and had many profit-making people, it spared no effort to promote the goodness of the Qing Dynasty. Of course, the Italian government is also one of them, so there are basically no reports criticizing the Qing Dynasty in Italy. They are all praises. In this case, there should not be too many people who have a good impression of the Qing Dynasty.

According to statistics, the number of people who came to Antium Port to greet Li Zhongtang today reached 30,000. This is the largest number of foreign guests welcomed by the port in the past ten years, which is enough to explain many problems.

Therefore, if the people of the two countries want to like each other, the most important thing is to have interests as the bond.

After the Inasto Simon came to a stop, Li Zhongtang was greeted with cheers as soon as he appeared. With a smile on his face, Li Zhongtang waved and walked off the ship.

This time the Italian government welcomed Li Zhongtang with the highest standards, and Foreign Minister Bacona walked over to greet him.

"Hello, Prime Minister Lee, welcome to Rome."

Amidst the sound of cameras taking pictures, Bacona held Li Zhongtang's hand with a smile.