The Empire will continue to win

Shen Moqing's eyes kept changing, from resistance and anger to helplessness, and finally to compromise.

"Alright, Brother Li, this is a very important matter. Would you please come closer and listen to me?"

"Playing tricks."

"This is a matter of great importance."

"You all get out."

"Yes."

Once the military order was given, the guard captain, Wang Shizhen, led several guards and quickly left the office, closing the door behind them.

.........

Shen Moqing sighed deeply, his face contorted with pain, and then recounted in detail the entire process of how he came up with this ingenious idea—to expropriate all the related households in the factory but was worried that the imperial court would not approve it.

"I see."

This time, Li Shaoquan believed it.

The logic was clear, the motivation was reasonable, and more importantly, a well-managed military factory would be beneficial to the First Division of the Army.

"You must stand up for me."

"Of course I support them! Yanshan Heavy Industry has been absolutely outrageous these past few years, producing nothing but firewood. Before, when the four borders were at peace, and out of respect for the Imperial Tutor Wo Ren, I couldn't very well fire a cannon in front of the Emperor. Now—what are you laughing at?"

"This humble servant truly did not expect that a scholar of your caliber would swear."

"Thanks to the Empress Dowager's trust, I, Li, have abandoned my literary pursuits for military service for ten years now, spending my days mingling with a bunch of soldiers, and I've gotten used to cursing people."

"I have one more request!"

"Are you fucking done yet?"

"Please don't rush, let me finish. I can guarantee that every gun is up to standard, but I can't guarantee the quality of the bullets."

"What do you mean?"

"For the sake of the brothers in the First Town, could you please advise the Empress Dowager to place the gunpowder factory under my jurisdiction?"

After a moment of silence.

"Understood, I will do my best to make it happen."

Li Shaoquan's reaction was exactly what Shen Moqing had planned. Now that they were in the same trench, Li Shaoquan had no reason not to stand by his side.

A brilliant move to leverage the momentum!

"I'm busy with military affairs, so I'll be going now." With that, Li Shaoquan turned and walked towards the door.

"Brother Hezhang~"

His back froze.

Two seconds later~

"Do not laugh at me, drunk and lying on the battlefield; how many have returned from ancient battles?" He has already sacrificed his life for his country.

Shen Moqing's expression was solemn. He put his legs together and saluted.

.........

Li Shaoquan came from a prominent family in Luzhou, northern Anhui. He loved books from a young age, passed the county-level imperial examination at the age of 12, the provincial-level imperial examination at the age of 16, and the imperial examination at the age of 19, ranking first in the examination.

During the Xianning era, they gradually moved closer to the Empress Dowager Cixi.

He later abandoned his literary pursuits for a military career, serving successively as the Director of Education at the Baoding Army Sergeant School, Assistant Battalion Commander of the First Division, and Battalion Commander of the First Division. He played a significant role in the coup d'état three years prior.

After assuming power behind the curtain, he was appointed as the commander of the First Garrison of the Capital Region, in charge of the Imperial Guard and protecting the capital.

The reason for such generous imperial favor is also a mystery.

Because Li Shaoquan's mentor was Zeng Guofan, the governor of Jiangsu, who was the initiator of the Southeast Mutual Protection Pact and a thorn in the side of the imperial court.

"With such a tight schedule, can Shen Moqing manufacture a repeating rifle for us? Should I go to the site and keep an eye on it?" Captain Wang Shizhen asked in a low voice.

"The fact that he dared to accept the offer means he was confident."

"What if it gets smashed?"

"Hmph, court-martial!"

Li Shaoquan mounted his horse: "Let's go, to the Forbidden City."

.........

The Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"This humble servant, Li Shaoquan, pays his respects to the Empress Dowager."

"sit."

"Thank you, Empress Dowager."

Empress Dowager Cixi sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), holding two imperial cats in her arms, trying to create an image of peaceful tranquility.

Li Shaoquan was impeccably dressed in military uniform, lean and lean, with bright and piercing eyes, and his riding boots were polished to a gleaming shine—a typical military bearing.

"What brings you to the palace so suddenly?"

"The gun factory supervisor, Shen Moqing, has pledged to me that he will finalize the design of the repeating rifle within half a month, produce the first batch of finished products within a month, and guarantee an output of no less than 2000 rifles before the end of the year. I hope the court will merge the gunpowder factory and the gun factory and hand them over to Supervisor Shen."

Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager Cixi did not say anything.

Ten seconds later~

"Is the Empress Dowager facing some difficulty?"

"It's not that there's any difficulty, but the imperial court has just appointed a new assistant minister to Yanshan Heavy Industry, so I can't just overstep my bounds and interfere."

"Who?"

"Ding Baozhen. He was recommended by the Sixth Prince, and my sister also agrees. What can I say?" The Empress Dowager lowered her head and stroked the cat, her tone sour.

In terms of power, the Crown Prince was above the Crown Prince, while Prince Gong was below him, thus forming a relatively stable power triangle.

.........

"Governor Ding is far away in Jinan Prefecture. How can he possibly manage the affairs of Yanshan Heavy Industry?" Li Shaoquan was slightly taken aback. Ding Baozhen was the governor of Shandong and was known as a capable and incorruptible official.

"Let's set up a telegraph line."

"I see."

The Imperial Telegraph Office had been expanding its scale. The main line was already in place. To put it bluntly, to achieve communication between Jinan and Nanyuan, all that was needed was to connect a branch line several dozen miles long to the main line.

The hall suddenly fell silent.

Both the emperor and his minister were pondering their own thoughts.

Ding Baozhen was a man of Prince Gong, not a man of the Western Palace.

Politics is about personnel matters, and we must be wary of it.

Li Shaoquan looked up and met the Empress Dowager Cixi's complex and difficult-to-judge gaze.

What do you think of Shen Moqing?

"I don't like him."

"Oh?"

"I have never liked the arrogant attitude of the sons of the noble family. I am not on the same level as them at all."

"So that's how it is," Empress Dowager Cixi thought with delight.

Last time, at Yanxi Hall, during a one-on-one conversation with Shen Moqing, Shen Moqing strongly suggested that he send the First Division of the Army out of the pass to fight.

Could there be some connection between Shen and Li?

Have to prevent!

Now that I asked, it didn't seem to be the case, so my suspicions were greatly reduced.

.........

Empress Dowager Cixi pinched the cat's cheek and, following Li Shaoquan's words, continued to ask, "If that's the case, why did you so strongly recommend him to concurrently serve as the head of the gunpowder factory?"

"Although I don't like him personally, I acknowledge his competence. Compared to other noble sons, Shen Moqing is decisive, willing to take responsibility, and has even fought in Korea. Letting him oversee the arms factory will ensure the quality of the weapons, which will allow me to win battles on the front lines."

Thinking that things had already come to this point, Li Shaoquan couldn't help but say a few more words:

"Your Majesty, please forgive my boldness, but other government departments can be led by laymen to lead experts, but the military industry and the army are absolutely not allowed to be like that."

The deeper meaning is self-evident.

"Yes, such talent is rare~" Empress Dowager Cixi made this nonsensical remark, and Wang changed the subject!

Li Shaoquan didn't respond, but she knew perfectly well what was going on.

Talented people are hard to find?

It's just official jargon and platitudes.

Those who truly believe that talent is rare and are eager to seek out capable individuals can now be considered honest people.

The truth is:

Talented people are in excess, but loyalty is extremely scarce. When those in power appoint people, they value loyalty more than talent.

Those who are talented but lack loyalty are called traitors.

A person who is loyal but lacks talent is called a lackey.

A person who is both loyal and capable is called a confidant.

While lackeys are useful, they are useless in crucial moments. With the current political situation fraught with crisis, it is precisely when people are in need that trusted confidants are especially valuable.

The saying goes, "Poverty reveals filial piety, and national crisis reveals loyalty." But it's just that when people can't make ends meet, they think of finding a few handy tools.