Qi Hongyi was slowly combing her hair in her pajamas. She frowned deeply in the mirror. Qi Hongyi sensed danger in Vézé's decision to cut off the Wei family's contact with the outside world and was rather unhappy. It was extremely rare to force Vézé to this extent. Of course, this could also be because Vézé and Wei Changrong were the only ones on the front lines in the Wei family for the past twenty to thirty years. As Vézé's children grew up, they had no choice but to come out and face the storm of politics.
As the founding monarch, it was inevitable that they would be unhappy. Vézé's behavior seemed too weak in Qi Hongyi's eyes. An emperor shouldn't be such a weak person. Moreover, according to Qi Hongyi's judgment of Vézé, Vézé should have no problem dealing with the central government. What kind of storm would cause the absolute power Vézé to treat it so cautiously? Since Wei Zhen and Wei Kun couldn't come into contact with the outside world, what kind of difficulties would Wei Rui face when he was alone?
As a mother, she couldn't sit still when she thought of her child's safety. Qi Hongyi got up and went to Vézé's bedroom. Vézé wasn't in the bedroom, but in the study as usual. He wasn't reading through the documents either. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and smoked with the windows open. It was already winter, and the cold wind rushed into the heated room. The temperature in the room was several degrees lower than in other rooms, causing Qi Hongyi to shiver.
"My coat is on the hanger. Wrap it up first." Vézé glanced at his wife and said gently.
Qi Hongyi didn't wrap the coat around herself. Instead, she leaned into Vézé's embrace. Hugging Vézé's sturdy arm, she asked, "Wei Rui won't be used, will he?"
"I've talked to Shen Xin. Don't worry about them," Vézé said slowly as he put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
"Vézé, what could have caused such a commotion? Even you can't control the situation? "Qi Hongyi asked the question that she was most concerned about.
"Are both sides going to fight?" Vézé finally revealed a tired expression.
"Can't we just take down whoever's making a fuss?" Qi Hongyi asked.
Vézé shook his head. "If only it were that simple. It's not about the interests of one or two people, but the fundamental economic interests of the two major parties. No one would give in. Also, I used to think that since we were brothers, we should be brothers to the end. That's why I've always wanted to protect the comrades in the province and not let them do too many things. But from the looks of it, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on much longer. "
"If they can do it, then let them do it." Qi Hongyi was puzzled.
"Haha." Vézé laughed dryly. "We've reorganized the ministries and commissions several times. Those people can be said to be directly under the control of the central government, so it's easy to deal with them. Also, it'll be considered a personal problem, so the backlash won't be big. But once the province starts to deal with them, it'll be like catching a nest of people. If things go wrong, it'll be a mountain. My old brothers are also approaching the age of retirement. I always want to drag it out for a few years. When the two factions retire, I can make a big move. But I won't do whatever I say. There are many people who don't want to do that. "
Retire together? Qi Hongyi's eyes lit up. Qi Hongyi had read a lot of history books. Naturally, she knew that killing meritorious ministers was almost inevitable in the founding of a dynasty. It couldn't be helped. Those meritorious ministers had huge wings and were intertwined with each other. If they weren't dealt with, the dynasty wouldn't be able to reclaim the feudal privileges of the meritorious ministers. If the two factions that were fighting each other could retire together, then Vézé, who wasn't considered old, could still plan a new system.
Qi Hongyi used to think that Vézé was too lenient with meritorious ministers. But now, it seemed that Vézé's plan was very deep. He had been setting this up since more than ten years ago. She hurriedly asked, "Then why do you agree now?"
Vézé sighed. "Some things can't be stopped. If they must do it, then let them do it. If there's a problem, then they have to bear the responsibility. If there's no bloody truth, nothing will work. Of course, from a personal point of view, I really hope that these people will abide by the law and be able to end well. But human nature is hard to say. When benefits are placed in front of them, do they think that benefits are the supreme value, or do they finally realize that they themselves are the priceless treasure? The result of this choice is often regrettable. "
"Will they be corrupted?" Qi Hongyi was very curious about this.
Vézé shook his head. But with his wife in his arms, the shaking of his head was strange and exaggerated. "I'm not worried about this. Although there are people who will do this, it's fine to deal with them. But the economic operation of the provinces is the most troublesome. When the time comes, the local governments will be entangled and dirty, and it will be very difficult to clean up. There are too many things involved in this. I really didn't dare to delegate power like this in the past. But now, it seems that I have no choice but to delegate power. In some places, there are still holes in the financial budget because of my messing around. So, I came up with all sorts of excuses to collect the poll tax. After these things were investigated, although the provincial government dealt with it on the surface, it was more of a grievance, saying that the local government had no money. I originally thought that these people wouldn't work in front of me, but in fact, after a struggle, I found out that I was the one who couldn't deal with them. Either I slack off, or I resist. The person who was replaced wanted to keep his position, so he did worse than the previous one. Hehe, interesting. "
This kind of thing didn't interest Qi Hongyi too much. After listening to Vézé, she smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself."
In November 1885, the Tripartite Conference was finally held as scheduled. All the big shots unanimously arrived in Nanjing. Foreign Minister Li Xin, who had been abroad for almost a year, returned to Nanjing. He was greeted by Prime Minister Levis. Levis wanted to report the situation in Europe to the prime minister. He didn't expect that Levis would simply listen to the complicated situation in Europe and didn't continue to listen to the content in this area.
"Will Europe's financial sector be open to China?" Levis went straight to the point and asked about the economy.
Although Li Xin came from the Ministry of Commerce, he had left the Ministry of Commerce for a long time, and he didn't really understand the financial industry. Seeing that Levis cared so much about the financial industry, Li Xin felt a burst of disappointment. "Comrade Wang Mingshan will be back from Europe soon. He is in charge of this work. It is more appropriate to ask him."
Levis sighed, "I am just anxious. This matter involves a lot of funds, and it is impossible not to be anxious. Tell me the key points, so I have a plan in mind. "
Seeing that Levis was so excited, Li Xin could only reply, "It seems that this matter will only be effective in the next two or three years. I can't see what kind of amount it will reach now."
The content of Wang Mingshan's telegram was the same as what Li Xin said, so Levis could only be satisfied with this answer for the time being. He said, "Minister Li, you have to work harder next year. Go to Europe more often to deal with this matter. Many problems still need the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to come forward. If others mention this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will have to bear the responsibility. "
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