Zhang Xiaowen staggered out of the military camp in the night, followed by the two eunuchs Big and Sixi who presented him. Two gold ingots weighing twelve pounds were stuffed into the hands of the eunuchs. Zhang Xiaowen finally heard some inside information.
It turns out that the little emperor wants to cultivate his own direct lineage. He is not the kind of loyal ministers who kowtow at the court and shout false slogans. The little emperor wants to form his own team. Only one person who is loyal to him will not even be loyal to the court and the Qing Dynasty.
Zhang Xiaowen's heart thumped loudly like a cowhide war drum. The mixture of fear and excitement made his eyes dizzy.
Businessmen are naturally fond of politics but are also afraid of politics. If they follow the right person, they will naturally achieve great success, but if they follow the wrong person, they will be doomed.
However, there is still a little bit of expectation in Zhang Xiaowen's eyes. Emperor Tongzhi is only 11 years old this year, but his mind is so deep that he can understand all the secrets in the court. Could it be that the holy king is really reincarnated, or that Prime Minister Xiao taught him that there is something wrong? square.
"No, I want to return home immediately. Even if I lose hundreds of thousands of taels of business, I still have to report the good news to the big shopkeeper in person." Zhang Xiaowen held in his arms a line of small words written by the emperor's imperial pen, which was a letter to Hu Xueyan. A valuable gift.
There is no stability without farmers, no wealth without industry, no life without business, no peace without soldiers, and no prosperity in the world.
This is a passage that Xiao Letian once told the little emperor. It contains Chunfeng's golden rule for governing. This passage has already given rise to the preliminary concept of equality among all people, and the brainwashing education for the little emperor has begun to bear fruit.
When Zhang Xiaowen saw the four words "No business, no living", his tears fell down like water. He cried like a child. He knew that with just these words, Hu Xueyan could devote the lives of the entire clan to emperor.
For thousands of years, one emperor said it was fair that merchants were finally waiting for their spring.
Zhang Xiaowen trotted all the way back to the semicolon, cleaned up briefly, boarded the ship under the cover of night and headed straight for Shanghai.
Nothing Zai Chun did could be hidden from Xiao Letian's eyes, and he didn't expect to be able to hide it. As soon as Zhang Xiaowen left, Emperor Tongzhi ordered Er Mao to report the cause and effect to his master.
When Xiao Letian heard this, the corner of his mouth curled up, "It's good to be young and not pedantic or stubborn. If it were an older emperor who was completely brainwashed by Confucianism, even if he gave me half of the country, I wouldn't teach him to..."
"Knowing how to analyze and judge the divisions of society, and knowing how to abandon false face and pursue real face means that he has become enlightened. It's good to leave him alone and let him do what he does. When Hu Xueyan comes to Ryukyu, I also want to see him. meet him……"
The night was already dark, but Xiao Letian had no intention of sleeping. The mountains of documents in the candlelight required his approval one by one. The cold and humid sea breeze blew in from the window, and the bitter coffee was already cold, but Xiao Letian had long forgotten it.
…
The winter in Ryukyu is as short as any other, except that there are few typhoons for a month or two, and there is a sense of autumn in the morning and evening. As soon as March enters, the warm and humid Pacific water vapor mass brings abundant rainfall.
During this period of time, all government affairs in Ryukyu were carried out step by step, and the training of new recruits was more in-depth. Even the little emperor participated in live-fire target training, and the four guards had long been sent to Snake Island to survive in the wild.
The laying of submarine cables was also very smooth. All the way north along the main island of Ryukyu, there were too many small islands. Every once in a while, an island would serve as a base station for the submarine cables, and Xiao Letian ordered it to be laid from the north and south together. The construction period has been further shortened, and it is estimated that the two cable-laying ships will be able to converge on Amami Oshima in June, and by then Japan's information will be available in an instant.
There is still a lot of pleasant news. In early March, news about Napoleon III finally came to France. France fully accepted the negotiation conditions proposed by Xiao Letian. The Tahiti Islands were exchanged for the lives of all French prisoners, while the outside world claimed that this Xiao Letian bought the island with money.
Several captured battleships were also left behind. It was said that Napoleon III was really shameless in letting these battleships return to Europe. He could not stand the cynicism among the European aristocracy.
In the sea breeze of Naha Port, Xiao Letian saw off the knight Molière. Countless New Army soldiers almost blew up the camp during the signing ceremony. When Molière, the executioner, and the French prisoners of war began to board the ship, the shore was filled with chaos. In the commotion, stones and rubbish were flying all over the sky. A pebble hit Molière's forehead, causing a big blood bag.
Under the desperate pressure of Xiao Hexin, Sima Yun, Luo Huo and other generals, the French finally boarded the ship safely, but everyone was in a bad mood.
But after the ceremony, Master Long revealed a top-secret news, which made the angry soldiers smile. It turned out that Xiao Letian and Master Long secretly transported a group of prostitutes from Southeast Asia, and unfortunately these women were all Caught with willow disease.
That's right, it's the disease that Europeans sent to the world. In Asia, the disease is actually an imported product. This germ that originated in Europe was brought to the world by sailors who went to sea.
In China, only the medical books of the Ming Dynasty recorded this disease. Before the Ming Dynasty, Chinese people were extremely sexually blessed. There was no need for any protective measures, and you don't have to be afraid at all.
Xiao Letian, who is evil today, has exchanged his own ways for others. The virus that you Europeans brought to the world will be sent back to you intact.
"Isn't there a rumor in Europe that Molière and the French Emperor broke up? It would be better for him to be infected with the disease. This is retribution."
Mr. Long now also controls part of the intelligence organization, especially those southern greenwood people who fled to Nanyang, and they need Mr. Long to organize and direct them personally.
Because of Xiao Letian's promise, Long Ye took the banner of the future Chinese Jingwu Association and began to desperately recruit wealthy people. When these overseas Chinese living in foreign lands heard that they could get official status in the future by following Long Ye, they all went crazy. .
Various gangs in Nanyang regard Lord Long as their leader, and they have become a force that cannot be underestimated in Xiao Letian's hands.
Lord Long ordered to recruit prostitutes suffering from Hualiu disease. Although this request was a little perverted, no one dared not listen. In just over half a month, more than 300 indigenous female monkeys were loaded onto a ship and headed north.
The French are world-famous for their lustfulness. Of course, they call themselves romantic, but there is no difference between being lustful and romantic when they take off their pants.
Three hundred Nanyang prostitutes met the physiological needs of thousands of captives, and also took away small gifts they sent to the world, including the knight Molière.
Of course, this disease still has an incubation period for a period of time. When they return to France and start to fall ill, Xiao Letian cannot be blamed.
After seeing off the unfortunate French Expeditionary Force, Xiao Letian welcomed the beaming Sakamoto Ryoma and Takasugi Shinsaku. Listening to the good news they brought, Xiao Letian frowned instead of smiling.
"What are you talking about? During this period, you have assassinated a large number of shogunate officials, samurai and ninjas. The Shinsengumi are now huddled in the city and do not dare to go to the countryside."
"Tokugawa Yingxi locked himself up in Edo Castle. He only knew how to drink and have fun every day, and he only knew how to play with women in Ooku."
Xiao Letian slammed the table, "I've fallen into the trap. You've already fallen into the trap. The shogunate is trying to paralyze you. What they're premeditating is to have a surprise victory. You've already fallen into the anesthetic."
"Nani." The two leaders of the rebel faction looked incredulous. "Please give me a clear explanation, Prime Minister."
Xiao Letian shook his head and sighed and simply repeated all the possibilities that the New Army had deduced before. By the end, Takasugi Shinsaku and Sakamoto Ryoma were covered in cold sweat.
"No, I have to go back to my country right away. I have to meet the feudal lord." Takasugi Shinsaku turned around and was about to leave, but Sakamoto Ryoma grabbed his clothes.
"It's useless. Now the heads of the Four Domains have become fanatical. They have been dazzled by the victory. If you throw cold water on it now, they will even remove your command... What else can the Qifeng team do without your command? Such fighting power.”
"Then what do you say?" Of course Takasugi Shinsaku will not give up the command. This is not because he is nostalgic for power, but because he does not trust those fanatical samurai to command the army. Japan's current situation is very special and it is completely following the Qing Dynasty. two extremes.
In the Qing Dynasty, there were too many calm people and too few passionate people. However, in Japan, there are countless passionate and fanatical people, but there are not many wise people who can think calmly.
Takasugi Shinsaku and Sakamoto Ryoma dare not claim to be wise men, but they are rare calm people in Japan. Without this group of people desperately trying to push Japan's national policy forward, I am afraid that Japan will become a warlord without waiting for the Russo-Japanese War. politics.
The same is true in real history. When Ito Hirobumi, the last civil servant who could intimidate the military trained by Japan during the Restoration period, was stabbed to death in Harbin, and when Yamagata Aritomo, the ancestor of the Japanese warlords who monopolized military affairs, came to power, Japan's national destiny changed. Already heading towards the abyss, there is no turning back.
Xiao Letian's point of view is very clear. The limited number of Japanese civilian officials trained during the reform movement, also known as strategists, must be protected one by one. If there is no civilian politics to suppress the military, then Japan will definitely choose militarism.
If Xiao Letian cannot protect these elite Japanese civil servants and let them fall one by one, then in the end Xiao Letian will really have no choice but to directly send troops to occupy Japan.
However, direct control of Japan by force is the last and last option, and should not be used lightly unless absolutely necessary.
"Calm down, have you forgotten the old Chinese proverb? Mount Tai collapses but his appearance remains unchanged. This is a real man. How can he achieve great things if he is so impatient and rough?"
"Even if the shogunate takes action, it won't be until the second half of the year. What's going on with you guys now? I'm so disappointed..."
Xiao Letian's scolding frightened the two of them and they quickly bowed deeply and apologized, "Hai... what the Prime Minister taught me is, please teach me."
"I don't have time now. Guests will come to visit in a while. You two go and talk to Noheita, Hyoutaro and Shimazu Dairo. They can also be regarded as the pioneers of your Japanese samurai. Go and listen to their opinions..."
Note: In the new month, Xinjing asks for a subscription to the main website. The great reader will give me a full subscription. Thank you.
Book friends who like to read "The Hidden Dragon of the Qing Dynasty", can you use your qq to send a message? Paste the address of the original version, write a few promotional words, and send a message, even if each message only contains: Seeing ten new friends, it can be regarded as helping Xinjing to do a publicity, and the little things make up the sand into a tower.
Friends who use WeChat and Weibo also hope to help spread the word, and I am extremely grateful for the effort.
