"Yi'er will obey my father's orders." Jin Chengyi stopped and clasped his fists and whispered.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Tianlong followed Xiao Xuan to the threshold of the west study room and disappeared behind the screen.

As the adopted son and the young leader of the Taihu Gang, he can usually be present when the adopted father meets with the most important guests, even the secret envoys of the Oriental Consulate.

Tonight, he was the only one accompanying his adoptive father to the island to meet the guests. Without Jin Tianlong's oral instructions, he would have to stay with him day and night.

But since Ling Wan was having a secret meeting with a high-ranking official of the imperial court and a governor of a province, it might not be appropriate for him to follow him.

In this kind of situation, even Zhang Zheng, the bodyguard officer, would stay away.

"Brother Cheng Yi, please come with me..."

"Okay, Brother Zheng, please..."

The two of them left the cordon of the west study and walked towards the west courtyard of the mansion, where there was a part of the spare room used to entertain distinguished guests.

Just entering the west courtyard gate, it was a little dark. Jin Chengyi stumbled and leaned on Zhang Zheng's shoulder. Zhang Zheng stopped and turned around to help, "Brother Cheng Yi, be careful where you step..."

"Oh, it's nothing, I was agitated by the threshold..." As he spoke, Jin Chengyi quietly stuffed a wax-sealed pill into the pocket of Zhang Zheng's leather robe.

When he walked into the door of a wing, guards and maids came out to greet him, "Please tell me, Guard Zhang, that the wing has been tidied up."

"Immediately prepare some food and wine for this strong man to go away from the cold." After Zhang Zheng ordered the guards, he turned to Jin Chengyi and cupped his fists:

"Brother, please help yourself. The guards and maids here will serve you well. After drinking, please rest peacefully for a while. Brother has to go on patrol at night and cannot accompany you. If anything happens, I will come and tell you in person."

After saying that, he bowed goodbye to Jin Chengyi, turned around and disappeared into the moonlit night.

Jin Chengyi knew in his heart that Zhang Zheng asked him to rest in peace for a while, which was nothing more than a hint to him to rest assured that Zhang Zheng would take care of the chief helmsman.

…

In the thirty-first year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, it was the fifth day of the first lunar month.

On the south bank of West Lake in Hangzhou, the official residence of the Zhejiang envoy.

The area around the official residence was heavily guarded, but the inside was bustling with activity. It was common for officials to welcome and drop off at their homes during the first month of the year, and everyone was extremely busy.

Today is a special day. For the first time, Mr. Tang Jixun, the chief envoy of Zhejiang Province, went to visit relatives at the official residence of the envoy.

Li Cunzhi and Tang Jixun have been in-laws for a long time. In the past, it was the Li family who went to the Tang family to visit relatives and celebrate the New Year.

This year is different. For the first time, Tang Jixun and his family came to visit him in person.

The reason is very simple. In terms of official title and official value, the chief envoy is a bit higher than the official envoy. Under normal circumstances, of course, the lower one goes higher, which is in line with the rules of the officialdom.

But today is different from the past. The official position of the press officer has not changed. He is still the same press officer.

But just because the outer shell hasn’t changed, that doesn’t mean the core hasn’t changed either.

Last year, Li Cunzhi's status in the military circle changed a lot. He is now the commander-in-chief of the Zhejiang New Army, a general, and the first town commander.

Everyone in the officialdom understands that nothing is more important than mastering the barrel of a gun at the moment. Moreover, the source of military expenditures for the Zhejiang New Army is still handled by Li Cunzhi himself, which is even more terrifying.

This is equivalent to his private army, covering an entire town. Who is stronger than him in the entire Zhejiang Province and even Jiangnan?

In the past few years, the imperial court has been implementing the New Deal, also known as the Gengzi New Deal, a so-called comprehensive reform movement in the economic and political system. Its purpose is of course to maintain the rule of the Qing Dynasty and save the nation from peril.

Starting from the New Year, the Qing Dynasty began to explore a constitutional monarchy, mainly trying to use Japan as a model and gradually implement it.

Tang Jixun knew in his heart that if the implementation of the constitutional monarchy was not carried out well, the Qing Dynasty would be torn into pieces and the princes would rule independently.

At that time, those who have the most say will be the bureaucrats with military power.

Tang Jixun used the first month of the year to visit his in-laws, in fact, to discuss with Li Cunzhi what kind of situation would happen under the so-called constitutional monarchy in the Qing Dynasty, and how to deal with it?

After all, the two families are parents-in-law. In the current unpredictable situation, it is best to work together as a team to deal with it.

The Li family condescended to pay a visit to the Chief Envoy and showed great enthusiasm. After the two families exchanged greetings and had snacks, the female family members continued to chat about home affairs, while the two male protagonists moved to the Dongyuan Study Room to talk secretly.

"My father-in-law, your son-in-law Hua Zhizhi is a famous figure in the south of the Yangtze River. Even people in Zijin City in Beijing know his name. He has established the Meiguang Autonomous Region on the border of Zhejiang and Anhui. It is very beautiful.

Oh."

"Haha, it's really been a three-day separation, so I'm going to look at you with admiration! When you set up an entity in Meiguang area, you are actually going to be a guest, but suddenly you become the host, the overlord of the party, haha..."

Unexpectedly, as soon as Tang Jixun opened his mouth, he would burst into cynicism.

Li Cunzhi had already expected this similar question and was mentally prepared. He said slowly and tepidly:

"Oh, my father-in-law made fun of him. I understand this kid Hua Zhi. He had no choice but to be forced to go to Liangshan by the surrounding environment."

"First of all, I am also an advocate of banning opium. If we want to make the country strong and the people rich, we cannot allow all the people of the Qing Dynasty to be sick and skinny. We are not saviors, but we cannot turn a blind eye."

"besides…"

"No more, I don't have time to listen to your explanation. As a son-in-law, there are a few things I must say."

Tang Jixun roughly interrupted Li Cunzhi's words, coughed a few times and continued:

"First of all, Hua Zhi's wild ambitions are getting bigger and bigger, so big that even the political circles and yamen can't have peace. I wonder if you are secretly instigating them. Even my in-laws are suspected of being complicit with you!"

"Who are they referring to? Are they Governor Nie and his like?" Li Cunzhi is very sensitive. He has heard some rumors for a long time.

"Of course, this is not only Governor Nie, but also Governor Duanfang of Fujian and Zhejiang. They are very interested in eradicating the behavior of you and Hua Zhi in the past two years."

Tang Jixun still told the truth directly, "Although Zhang Zhidong and Zhang Xiangshuai implemented the so-called autonomy in Jiangnan, the imperial court had no choice but to delay the war, and how many governors of Jiangnan provinces were completely obedient to Zhang Xiangshuai?"

"Besides, Zhang Xiangshuai is nearly seventy years old, and his physical condition is said to be getting worse every year. How many years can he rule Jiangnan?"

"Looking back at Duan Fang, people like Nie Jiugui are all around fifty years old and in the prime of life. They are five or six years younger than you and me. They are also ambitious and try every means to expand their sphere of influence and occupy a place in the future constitutional monarchy.

."

After hearing this, Li Cunzhi secretly felt that there were many crises. He said to Tang Jixun:

"My father-in-law, please explain to Governor Nie and the others when you have time. I am just a messenger, not a careerist, let alone a conspirator. I asked my son-in-law Huazhi to mine in that unproductive place.

Industry is purely for the purpose of making money for military expenses, and has no intention of expanding territory and separatist rule."
Chapter completed!