King Shangtai looked at the emotional Zuo Zongtang and suddenly laughed. He stretched out his hand to hold the back of the chair and tried to stand up, but his face grimaced as soon as he moved his legs.
"Hiss...it hurts...it hurts..."
Fan Jin rushed over and stretched out his hand to help him, "Your Majesty, please sit down and rest for a while. The wound is not healed yet."
Zuo Zongtang was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect King Shangtai to be injured?
"Your Majesty? How did you do this? Are there any bandits who broke out on the road?"
From before Zuo Zongtang entered the room, King Shangtai had been sitting on the chair and never stood up, but no one would say anything.
After all, he was the king of the ancient Ryukyu Kingdom! Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty personally granted him a high status and never bowed to his ministers. When you, Zuo Zongtang, were about to kneel down, just extending your hand to support him would be enough to give him face.
King Shangtai had been sitting on the imperial chair drinking and chatting. Zuo Zongtang never expected that King Shangtai did not stand up not because of his arrogance, but because his leg was injured.
"Hiss...it doesn't matter...it doesn't matter...I have to move, otherwise the flesh and fabric will grow together..."
"Commander, don't worry. We haven't encountered bandits or thieves. The security in the places that Marshal has cleared is still very good... I have been riding horses for a long time, and my thighs are all worn out..."
Fan Jin's eyes were red and swollen. "Your Majesty is the king of Ryukyu on the sea. There are few opportunities to ride horses, but there are many opportunities to ride on boats... This is the longest time in His Majesty's life!"
"We went ashore from Shanghai, followed the Yangtze River and the canal to disembarked in Henan, and then rode horses to Lanzhou... This journey took a total of one and a half months!"
"Xiao Xing stays at night. Sometimes we set up tents in the mountains and live in broken temples...When His Majesty came to Jinzhou, we were the ones who carried him off his horse!"
"Both legs were soaked in blood..."
Zuo Zongtang's expression also changed. Even if he were killed, he would never have imagined that the majestic king of the ancient Ryukyu Kingdom would bring such great suffering to himself... None of the princes in the Qing Dynasty who had no real power would suffer such hardship!
"Your Majesty! You...why are you doing this? What urgent matters need to be rushed?" Zuo Zongtang stretched out his hand and asked King Shang Tai to walk slowly in the room.
King Shang Tai hissed as he took a step forward. He felt that his silk underwear was stuck to the blood scab, and a layer of flesh was torn apart with every movement.
"Time waits for no one! Marshal Zuo... There are only a few telegraph lines in the Qing Dynasty, and none of them reach Xi'an, let alone Lanzhou..."
"You don't know a lot of news, so I have to inform you in advance!"
"As for the question you just asked, I'm afraid no one in the Fourth Nine City of the Capital will ask it... I believe they haven't passed on the latest news to you, or they are still halfway there!"
"News? What news..."
"Hey...is that the question you just asked? In fact, if you received the latest European newspapers, you would not ask this question at all!"
King Shangtai grinned and said, "We just hope you know this news as soon as possible. To be honest, many people don't want you to know this new news..."
"Because the more information you have, the more you will be held hostage by the foreign banks in Shanghai, and they can ask for high prices!"
King Shangtai was in pain and had a murderous look on his face: "The head of state... the head of state has already won in Europe. It is a complete victory!"
Zuo Zongtang's face was stunned. "I know! It's not like I don't have any informants. The people in Shanghai sent me the news a month ago... I know this!"
"Oh, Marshal! You just know that the head of state won the battle, but do you know the result of the final negotiation? Do you know what the terms of the final agreement were?"
This time Zuo Zongtang was stunned and shook his head subconsciously!
"My great commander! You are at a disadvantage because of the lack of information! The head of state is victorious in Europe!"
King Shangtai gritted his teeth and said, "France ceded the two provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany, and ceded Vietnam and all islands in the Pacific to the Chinese..."
"Compensate Germany with 5 billion gold francs in war reparations, compensate the Chinese..."
"1.2 billion gold francs in compensation..."
With a bang, Zuo Zongtang felt like a thunder exploded in his mind, "More...more, more, more...how much?"
Fan Jin quickly said from the side, "One billion two hundred million gold francs, equivalent to 297.6 million taels of Kuping silver... equivalent to Ryukyu dragon pattern silver dollars... 432 million pieces..."
ah! With a scream, Zuo Zongtang's eyes darkened and he lay down. Fan Jin and Shang Taiwang were too late to catch him!
Zuo Zongtang also has many martial arts masters under his command, but when he saw that there was no one in the shadow of the corner, a figure emerged like a ghost, rushed to the commander's back like the wind, gently held his hands, and pulled Zuo Zongtang away. The commander put it on the chair.
He pinched the person and said, "Commander, take a sip of wine to calm down the shock!" With just this press, the confusion in Zuo Zongtang's heart was suddenly awakened.
"Ah... What's wrong with me? Why am I so flustered... What did you just say, Your Majesty? How could Xiao Letian make the French pay money?"
"Are you kidding, are you kidding? I can still believe in defeating the foreign devils, but the foreign devils actually lose money? This is impossible, how is this possible!"
"Do the British just ignore it? Do they just stare at so many countries in Europe? How many people does Xiao Letian lead in total? Even if he borrows the power of Prussia, he won't be able to force France to this point?"
"The French are not stupid. How can they lose money if they just admit defeat? This is impossible, this is impossible!"
Zuo Zongtang still has old ideas. In his eyes, defeating the French is already unbelievable. How can he still squeeze out money?
The sea is half a world away, and you, Xiao Letian, don't have a strong navy. France is just cheating and not paying you, and it will drag you to death!
In addition, European countries are all breaking bones and connecting tendons. How can we not let you, an Asian, take such a huge advantage?
I can't believe it, I just can't believe it!
The commotion in the room just now may have disturbed Liu Jintang. The general who was having a secret conversation next to the toilet on the left rushed in quickly.
"What's wrong, Commander? What don't you believe... I'll go! How much is it? Two hundred and ninety million? Silver... Impossible, let alone silver, there are so many copper blocks that it would be as big as a mountain... …”
"Impossible, impossible, just impossible..."
With a bang, a pile of European newspapers was thrown on the table. "Why are you lying to me? These are European newspapers. Look at what they say!"
"Of course we know that this news is shocking. It has indeed been a difficult journey! This European strategy is not only a military war, but also a brilliant victory for the head of state's diplomatic breakthrough!"
"Europe's diplomatic relations have opened huge holes!"
"Let me tell you another piece of good news! The Spaniards have obediently sold the entire Luzon to us Chinese!"
"From now on, the South China Sea has become the inner lake of the Chinese!"
"Haha, isn't it just 35 million taels of silver? For me, the Chinese, it's nothing!"
