Chapter 186: Beijing (Part 2)

What Li Hongzhang regarded as a humiliation and could not forget to this day was the ownership of Shandong Province.
Under the late Qing system, the governor-general was the most powerful figure, akin to a provincial party secretary in another era. Normally, holding the position of governor-general meant controlling an entire province.
The Huai Army’s foundation was laid in Jiangsu and Shanghai, and even today, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, Shanghai Customs, and all of Jiangsu remained under Li Hongzhang’s control.
Although nominally, Li Hongzhang had been away from Jiangsu for over a decade, last year the imperial court intended to assign him to oversee the defense of Guangdong and Guangxi. At that time, while complaining that such assignments were like using pearls to shoot sparrows, he still ordered the deployment of twenty to thirty elite battalions from Jiangnan to Guangxi. This was within the authority of the governor of Jiangsu, yet the latter dared not utter a word.
Li Hongzhang’s official role was Minister of Beiyang and Governor of Zhili, which he tightly controlled. However, between Jiangsu and Zhili lay Shandong Province, a source of constant annoyance for him.
He had tried for over a decade to seize control of Shandong and Henan, but throughout his life—ranging from Ding Baozhen, who suppressed the Nian rebels, to Li Bingheng during the Sino-Japanese War—Shandong had always been aligned against the Huai Army faction.
Although Li Hongzhang could control some military forces and the navy, the position of governor of Shandong remained firmly in the hands of the Huai Army.
To gain control of that position, Li Hongzhang had invested heavily. When Pan Dingxin was transferred to Shandong as an inspector, just a few steps away from becoming governor, Li Hongzhang specifically ordered him to bring seven battalions of the Ding Army, the core force of the Huai Army. After arriving in Shandong, Pan expanded these seven battalions into seventeen and took the opportunity to become the provincial administrator—essentially the governor of Shandong.
Yet this attempt to seize power failed utterly. The governor at the time was Ding Baozhen, who entered Shandong with three battalions of trained troops and managed to restore control over the entire province. A highly influential figure in the late Qing era, Ding was so powerful that even the famous Kung Pao chicken couldn’t outshine him. Pan Dingxin was utterly outmatched and was forced to return home under the pretense of illness.
Later, Ding Baozhen colluded with Zuo Zongtang—one asking for the dissolution of the Ding Army, the other eagerly approving it—resulting in the complete elimination of those seventeen battalions, leaving no trace.
Poor Pan Dingxin’s Ding Army, once one of the largest forces in the Huai Army, now had no remaining strength, which limited his influence even as governor of Hunan.
Now, Li Hongzhang brought up the old matter again: “As for Qinxuan, as long as he doesn’t act impulsively like Mingchuan, I think it shouldn’t be a problem for him to become governor of Shandong. As long as he achieves great feats, no one will allow this talented man to be overshadowed!”
Zhang Peilun interjected, “Your Excellency, Qinxuan can indeed achieve something great this time. But if he goes alone to the south, facing the numerous and well-organized Black Flag bandits, who pose a threat comparable to the Taiping rebels of old, he must not be underestimated!”
Li Hongzhang, however, already had a plan: “This time, Qinxuan has resolved to recruit five old battalions to rebuild the Ding Army. He’s also bringing several battalions from Hunan led by Su Yuanchun. Additionally, he’s requested reinforcements from the imperial court—ten battalions from Wang Debang’s Chu Army. With these, along with troops from defeated factions, he’ll be invincible.”

Zhang Peilun, on the other hand, opposed Pan Dingxin. On this issue, he disagreed with Li Hongzhang. He, along with a group of censors, were all against Pan Dingxin’s return: “But Qinxuan is not merely a capable individual; it’s better to be cautious!” It was precisely because he wasn’t solely a capable leader that Li Hongzhang trusted Pan Dingxin so much. In recent years, as Liu Mingchuan showed signs of rising to prominence, Li Hongzhang made every effort to suppress this once-favored veteran of the Huai Army: “Although Dingxin will need to achieve extraordinary feats this time, in my opinion, he has a 90% chance of success.” Xue Fucheng interjected, “But what about Zhang Shusheng? He is very close to Qinxuan. With his help, Qinxuan will be even stronger. However, the Black Flag Army are remnants of the Taiping rebels, resilient and skilled in battle, having defeated French troops several times. Even with Zhang Xiantai’s support, Qinxuan may not have a 90% chance of winning.” Pan Dingxin and Zhang Shusheng had been close friends for years, sharing similar hardships—both having lost their core troops—so they grew even closer. When Pan Dingxin went to Vietnam, he indeed received full support from Zhang Shusheng, but that alone wasn’t enough. Before Pan Dingxin headed south, Li Hongzhang had already made arrangements to fully support him, providing him with 700,000 taels of salary, thousands of rifles, and urging him to seek reinforcements from various sources—making him far more confident than Xu Yanzhu. Moreover, to deal with the Black Flag Army, these resources alone were not sufficient to ensure victory. Li Hongzhang still had a trump card: “In our dynasty, military success hinges solely on funding. As long as there’s sufficient pay, excellent weapons, and brave troops fighting at the front, nothing is impossible.” This was an old tactic from the Taiping Rebellion era. Aside from the Huai Army faction, no other military force could claim to have both adequate funding and weapons. Moreover, since Pan Dingxin was stationed at Nan’guan to fight, he faced even greater shortages in these areas. Yet Li Hongzhang was confident: “Since the French have agreed to help in suppressing the Black Flag Army, as long as Qinxuan’s troops advance from Langshan, they are willing to lend 3 million French francs through the HSBC Bank, interest-free, with only the principal to be repaid in three years…” But Li Hongzhang’s real trump card was even better: “The French have already promised that as long as Qinxuan’s troops enter Beining, they will voluntarily withdraw from Beining and provide another 3 million French francs in military funds…” Hearing this, Xue Fucheng shook his head and said, “Though this is good, it will inevitably spark criticism in the court.” Zhang Peilun, however, said, “The Black Flag Army are like tigers kept as threats—it’s better to prepare in advance. As for the censors in the court, after the defeat at Beining, who would dare to say anything?” In late Qing history, there were those from the pre-Qing reformist faction and those from the post-Qing reformist faction. People like Zhang Peilun and Zhang Zhidong belonged to the former group. These reformists dominated public discourse for a time, but after the defeat at Beining, they were completely sidelined. It should be noted that these incompetent generals at Beining, from Xu Yanzhu to Huang Guilan, were all promoted by these reformists. Since Beining had failed, even the Grand Councilor and the entire Grand Council had to step down, let alone these reformists who were primarily responsible. Yet Zhang Peilun was an outlier among the reformists. Although he was primarily responsible, he was instead sent to Guangxi. Now, he naturally had to plan for Pan Dingxin: “But just having funding and weapons isn’t enough to ensure victory; we still need to ally with the French…” “Though there’s much criticism in the court, if we can unite with the French and form an alliance, it would indeed be a good thing…”

For Zhang Peilun, this was a statement against his conscience, but in his position, which words could truly come from the heart? “The current matter hinges on whether Qinxuan can recapture Beining. If we can defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, it will be a great fortune for our dynasty and for the Prime Minister…”
Li Hongzhang, however, said with narrowed eyes, “A great fortune for our dynasty? It’s just enough to save face!”