Zai Chun did not wear a dragon robe today, but wore a solemn black suit and a black top hat. He looked very depressed despite his young age.
Before he entered the ward, the British doctors had given Sir Gordon, the injured Qing guards, and the British military police each an injection of morphine to refresh themselves. So when Zai Chun entered the ward, he took a look at the wounded. They are still in good spirits.
"Thank you for your bravery. Does the wound hurt?"
"What's your name? Do you serve in that army? Thank you for your bravery in fighting the assassin!"
Zai Chun walked past the hospital beds one by one, first greeting the British military police. These people never expected that the Chinese emperor would come to visit him in person, and they all burst into tears of excitement.
This is the emperor. The emperor personally visited me and shook hands with me. Such a glorious thing can last a lifetime.
Zai Chun greeted each of the wounded and shook hands warmly. Behind him was a group of reporters clicking their shutters. Such a people-friendly emperor's image was just right to make the headlines of newspapers.
Today, the Duke of Newcastle is accompanying the young emperor on his trip. There are more than 500 fully armed Royal Guards outside the military camp protecting Emperor Tongzhi. The British are trying their best to avoid any accidents.
"Reward!" Every time after patiently comforting the wounded, Emperor Tongzhi would say the word "reward" confidently, but Manshun had already been prepared, and a small gold ingot weighing fifty taels was directly stuffed into the hand of the wounded. .
"Oh God! What is this? Gold!"
Gold ingots are not ordinary market products. They are refined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They are usually used as rewards and lucky money gifts during the New Year and the birthdays of princes and princesses.
The casting is extremely exquisite, and the purity of the gold is also very high. It is not a circulating currency at all and is a typical collection. The bottom of the gold ingot has the name of the master caster and the time of casting. On the top of the ingot, there is the imitation of Emperor Kangxi's "福".
A golden ingot was placed heavily in his hand. The Duke of Newcastle next to him was a man who knew the goods. Such a gold ingot was marked by the royal family of the Qing Dynasty. If it were put on the market for auction, it could fetch five to six thousand pounds. high price.
The total annual income of ordinary military and police officers is only four to five hundred pounds. After receiving such a generous reward all of a sudden, the wounded were all a little overwhelmed.
"Take it, no reward can express our gratitude, nor can it represent your loyalty and bravery. This is what you have earned!"
"Thank you, thank you, Your Majesty!" These British military policemen were all excited with treasures that could be passed down to their families.
After visiting all the British wounded, it was time for the guards and eunuchs of Emperor Tongzhi. These were all the emperor's own servants, so naturally there was no need to make superficial remarks.
Emperor Tongzhi nodded, and Xiao Sixi ran forward to convey the emperor's oral instructions: "I am very relieved that all the ministers have worked hard to protect the face of our Qing Dynasty. Naturally, I will not treat you badly!"
"Anyone who dies in battle will be promoted to one rank, three ranks, and rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver. His family will select a descendant of a nearby bloodline to inherit the title and official position..."
"Anyone who is injured will be promoted to one rank, rewarded with six thousand taels of silver, and a yellow mandarin jacket! After returning home, he will be given priority to join the army and lead troops..."
The drama lies in the last sentence. The silver reward and the yellow mantle are all empty. Leading the troops first is the real reward. Several guards' eyes are blue. With this rescue, If you use your merits and get some qualifications in the new army, your future will be limitless.
At that time, Lian Jiu and Hu Xiaoxin wanted to get up and kowtow to express gratitude. Of course, Zai Chun would not let them really kowtow if he had to do a full performance, so he quickly reached out and held them down.
"You are here to protect me from my injuries, so there is no need to be too polite! Work hard from now on, and I will naturally share weal and woe with you!"
After walking past the beds of these guards, Zai Chun came to Sir Gordon, the most noble among the wounded. Gordon had just received a transfusion of 1800cc of plasma and an injection of morphine, and his energy and energy were obviously much better.
When he saw Zai Chun approaching, he struggled to sit up. Zai Chun quickly took two steps and held him down, "Don't move, don't touch the wound, be careful, be careful..."
"Long live..." Gordon's eyes became hot and he almost cried.
Zai Chun looked at Gordon with mixed feelings in his heart. If Gordon hadn't come out to block the knife for him at the most critical moment, his life would have been lost.
In fact, not only did the assassins underestimate the unexpected variable of Gordon, but Serial Chun himself did not expect that Gordon would actually jump out and use his life to protect himself from the knife.
Although Gordon had fought in the Qing Dynasty, and although he was considered a high-ranking member of the Qing military attache system, no one from the top to bottom of the Qing empire, including the royal family, truly trusted him.
Anyone who is not of my race must have a different heart. After all, Gordon is an Englishman, and Emperor Tongzhi used him as a mercenary before.
During their stay in London, Gordon and Zai Chun seemed to have a very close relationship, but they were just using each other. Gordon was a lobbyist sent by the British government, and Zai Chun only used Gordon to bargain with the British government. That’s all.
However, this assassination changed the relationship between Zai Chun and Gordon. At the critical moment of life and death, no one expected that Gordon would actually rush forward and use his life to block Emperor Tongzhi's knife.
After the assassination, when Gordon's injuries had recovered, his friends in London once asked him after drinking, why he could rush out to block Emperor Tongzhi's knife at that time? Are you really not afraid of death?
Gordon thought for a long time, and under the influence of alcohol, he said the truth, "To be honest, in that flash of life and death, there is no time to think too much!"
"I was confused at the time. The moment I rushed up to him, I really didn't think he was the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. I also didn't consider the pros and cons of this action!"
"At that time... I knew that he was a thirteen-year-old child and his life was about to be in danger, and then... then I subconsciously pounced on him!"
This was the truth, and Gordon spoke the truth from his heart, but he never expected that this subconscious move would bring huge changes to his destiny.
Zai Chun and Gordon were speechless for three minutes. Finally, Emperor Tongzhi said, "My admiral general, what reward do you want?"
At this moment, the strength of the morphine in Gordon's body was almost gone, and blood was oozing out from the sticky wound on his back. He endured the pain and forced himself to speak.
"Your Majesty, if I can choose... I hope to get the technology of blood transfusion, and I hope more wounded people can be treated!"
"To use Chinese words to describe it, isn't this a great thing to do good deeds? I hope your majesty will approve it!"
