Jiangnan is an area that Xiao Letian must control very carefully. It is impossible to lose Jiangnan, but it is even more impossible to interfere too deeply. The incident of the New Army's attack on the Shanghai Daotai Mansion last year has already caused dissatisfaction from the British side. The British Commissioner of the Shanghai Concession Zeng Mi Xinxiao Lotte hopes that the British Empire will be notified in advance next time there is such an action.
The Yangtze River Basin is the sphere of influence of the British. They have been operating their own forces in this area since the Daoguang period. During the two Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion, the chaotic British in the south of the Yangtze River reaped countless benefits.
Jiangnan is now ruled by the imperial court, the Hunan Army, and the British. Xiao Letian's influence in this region is roughly the same as that of the French, and he should be ranked tied for fourth.
However, Xiao Letian is Chinese after all, and he and Zeng Guofan have very similar political ideas, so the two sides are now in a semi-alliance state.
The reason why the bonds issued by Xiao Letian did not receive full counterattack from British bankers is because until now, Westerners thought that this source of wealth was jointly owned by the Hunan Army and Ryukyu. At this moment, the huge Hunan Army Group was not even known by Westerners. Dare to provoke directly.
But no one knows that there is no secret agreement between Xiao Letian and Zeng Guofan. The relationship between the two parties is far from being as close as the outside world thinks. In order to make up for this, Xiao Letian plans to secretly visit Jiangnan after the first month.
It must be secret, because Xiao Letian's identity is too sensitive now. If the Qing Dynasty and Europe know that he has a secret meeting with Zeng Guofan, the situation in East Asia will change dramatically.
The Hunan Army Group is now at its peak. Although it is a bit exaggerated to claim that 500,000 elites are available to the outside world, seeing that Zuo Zongtang easily took away 70,000 to 80,000 people, it can be seen that the elites of the Hunan Army only need 200,000 to 300,000.
This is already a huge military group in Asia. If it joins forces with Xiao Letian again, it will become the number one military group in East Asia, and even the British will have a headache.
It's not that they can't defeat it, but they can't send so many troops. Who among the European powers would dare to send an army to conquer Asia? His hometown doesn't want it anymore.
The Manchu and Qing court were even more afraid of such a scene. They still didn't know that Zeng Guofan had secretly visited Tanggu. The two hidden dragons, one old and one small, had already met.
If they knew, I am afraid that the mountains and rivers of Wanli would be blood-red at this moment.
Therefore, Xiao Letian had to go secretly. After quickly finishing his own affairs, he would continue to go south. On the one hand, Xiao Letian had promised to take Zai Chun on a study tour abroad. On the other hand, he had to go to Europe again. Face-to-face negotiations with Bismarck.
The Spanish Revolution of 1868 is about to break out. Now Prussia is secretly plotting against France. The iron-blooded Prime Minister is ready to use Spain as a thorn to provoke the anger of Napoleon III until France takes the initiative to declare war.
The Franco-Prussian War was the most important drama in Europe in the 19th century. How could Xiao Letian miss it?
Inside the CIA's secret base on Amami Island, Zai Chun discovered something incredible. In a house, he actually saw himself.
That's right, through the small window, he saw himself standing next to Xiao Letian, listening to the reports of his men. In front of him were Wang Huaiyuan, Sima Yun, Xiao Hexin, Luo Huo... and even the four eunuchs and four guards. .
Zai Chun turned around and looked behind him, only to find that these people were around him and had not disappeared. Could it be that he had seen a ghost? Not only was Zai Chun frightened, Da Sixi, a worthless eunuch, rolled his eyes and fainted from fright.
Xiao Letian opened the door and said with a smile, "They are our stand-ins. The CIA spent several years secretly searching for them..." As expected, there were a group of stand-ins in the room. When he turned around and saw the real master coming, they all stood up and bowed in salute.
Xiao Letian pointed to a man with a honest smile next to him and said, "His name is Xiao Xiulian. He is a senior intelligence officer of the CIA. He is best at disguise and make-up. He will accompany us throughout this trip, and we must rely on him for confidentiality..."
Xiao Xiulian smiled and said, "Your Majesty, these substitutes are actually just similar in appearance and can only deceive some outsiders. Real relatives can still find the differences after seeing them. And the most terrible thing is that their voices cannot be changed, so when we leave, Substitutes can only appear in newspapers from time to time..."
"The Qing Min Newspaper can now be published regularly. We send photos of the stand-ins from time to time. I think there will be no problem in deceiving the court and the ambassadors..."
Xiao Letian patted him on the shoulder, "Thank you for your hard work. This secret trip to Europe also requires your disguise skills. It's up to you whether you can avoid the eyes of French spies."
"I must live up to the Prime Minister's expectations..."
Zai Chun was so childlike at this time that he ran up to his stand-in and stared at him, even pinching his face, "You put on makeup, there's powder on your face... What's your name, where are you from..."
The child opposite could not pretend to be a noble person at all. When Zai Chun pinched him, his knees softened and he fell to the ground, mumbling a string of bird songs.
Wang Huaiyuan laughed at the side and said, "He is a Korean, his name is Jin Liufu, and he cannot speak Chinese... Just now he was begging Your Majesty not to be angry and not to drive him home. He couldn't bear to part with the braised pork here every day..."
"Jin Liufu, okay, as long as you do your duty, I will ensure that you have braised pork every day, it's a deal." After saying that, Zai Chun extended his hand.
Jin Liufu couldn't believe that the emperor of the Qing Dynasty would take the initiative to shake hands with him. At that moment, his whole body was filled with a sense of mission. He vowed to work as a stand-in, a glorious profession, until his death.
Wang Huaiyuan began to give orders to the heads of various departments of the CIA. These stand-ins showed up once every few days, for how many minutes each time, how many photos were taken, when to take a boat trip on the sea, and when to review the military and civilians at Shuri Castle. This incident All dramas must be performed.
It is expected that Xiao Letian will stay in Jiangnan for about two months and set off for Nanyang in early summer. By then, the stand-ins will have to perform a farewell ceremony at the dock.
Intelligence work is a meticulous job, and people who are not as meticulous as hair cannot do this work. Even a layman cannot lead an expert. Xiao Letian quickly left the secret base with Zai Chun.
Amami Oshima is now very rich. There are sugar cane fields and orchards everywhere. The master and the apprentice each held a large glass of coconut juice and drank while walking. They were soon attracted by the sound of killing behind a bush. .
The two of them were just about to walk in from the fork in the road when suddenly several black shadows flew through the air. Mr. Long shouted and cautiously dodged over and caught the shurikens with his bare hands.
The ghostly ninjas flashed and danced in the bushes, and Lord Long quickly fought with them. At this time, the Kirigakure kid and Haruna came out and said to Xiao Letian with a smile.
"The first kunoichi training camp is undergoing its first training... I didn't expect that Mr. Long would come over and train with me personally. This is really an honor for us."
Note: Readers, please search '' on the Internet and watch The Hidden Dragon of the Qing Dynasty on this website. This will help Xinjing. Thank you.
