China under the Empress Dowager

by J. O. P. Bland; Sir E. Backhouse

Tzŭ Hsi. You appear to kneel, and to rise from that posture quite briskly and freely, as if your physique were still pretty good?

Tseng. No; it is not what it used to be.

Tzŭ Hsi. That was a strange thing, the assassination of Ma Hsin-yi (the late Viceroy of Nanking), was it not?

Tseng. Extraordinary.

Tzŭ Hsi. He was a first-rate administrator.

Tseng. Yes, he took great pains, and was honest and impartial.

Tzŭ Hsi. How many regular troops have you raised in Chihli?

Tseng. Three thousand. The former Viceroy had four thousand men trained under the old system. I had intended to raise three thousand more, making a total force of ten thousand. I have arranged with Li Hung-chang to carry out this programme.

Tzŭ Hsi. It is of vital importance that we should have a force of properly trained troops in the south. You must see to this.