Emperor Tongzhi's journey back home was getting slower and slower, perhaps because he was timid about his hometown or because Zaichun was not ready to face the undercurrent of the imperial court. Anyway, the British escort fleet began to work hard after arriving in Malacca.
Zai Chun's journey back home was really not smooth. Europe was basically expelled from Europe by his master. When all kinds of contradictions came together, when all kinds of secret and sinister thoughts began to collide in a substantial way.
There has been a huge crack in the previously close master-disciple relationship!
Maybe there was the British interference, the conspiracy of Xiang Ying's stormtroopers, and the Qing Dynasty's behind-the-scenes instigation... But these are not the main reasons, these are all side effects.
The root cause of the conflict between master and apprentice is actually just a symptom of the irreconcilable contradiction between the Chinese and the Manchus!
No matter how deep the relationship is, even if they are as close as father and son, they cannot resist the struggle between the two regimes. These are two huge and incomparable forces that can tear countless lives apart.
If the British didn't disrupt the situation, there would be France and Russia. Without Xiang Ying's stormtroopers, there might be Tietutuo's chopper team, Noheita's ronin team... Anyway, there will definitely be some people who will jump out to cause trouble.
Because two huge forces are inherently contradictory, and these two forces are composed of countless people!
Zaichun left Europe after the Franco-Prussian War. He did not see how the Paris Commune fell, nor did he experience the signing of the Frankfurt Treaty. This can be said to be a huge shortcoming in his entire European study tour.
I’m afraid the missing loopholes cannot be filled, because the knowledge you get from telegrams, newspapers, various files, and other people’s mouths is far less profound than what you can get from taking a look in person.
It's a pity. Zai Chun feels extremely sorry, but there is no way. The rift with his master is getting deeper and deeper. Maybe Xiao Letian can still tolerate him, but other senior Chinese people have become increasingly pessimistic.
After all, he is also the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. If he wants to be shameless and skinny, why not leave?
Maybe Zai Chun wanted to stay in the UK for a while longer, but he suddenly discovered that the Queen was always willing to let her little daughter have more contact with Zai Chun, intentionally or unintentionally.
Is this a big deal? If Zai Chun returns to China with a British princess, what will happen? Just leave, since many secret contracts have been signed.
The British couldn't detain Zaichun. Once they saw that the Qing Emperor was determined to leave, they could only arrange for a fleet to escort him!
There was nothing wrong with taking the Atlantic Ocean, and there were no surprises when taking the Mediterranean. However, after entering the Indian Ocean, we encountered continuous big storms, which delayed us for a while.
When Zai Chun returned to Southeast Asia and entered the Lion City of Singapore, the news of the signing of the Frankfurt Treaty spread to Asia, and the little emperor was shocked at that time.
The master won, which was expected, but what I didn't expect was that the master would actually get so many practical benefits in the end.
Although Zai Chun is young, he has received imperial education since childhood. What the senior officials in the court told him were secrets that were not passed down to him!
Winning a war is one thing, but fighting a war that makes money is another thing, and winning a war that can change the fate of the country and make money is even more incredible.
The difficulty is completely different, okay? It's almost like rolling up the square root, and the difficulty increases exponentially!
"Master! Why don't you let me stay in Europe until the end...You let me see all the details of the final finishing!"
"I know how to fight. I have seen with my own eyes how you win a battle, but I don't know how you fight a fateful battle that changes the fate of the country!"
"How is this done? How is this done?"
The little emperor was in a very bad mood and stayed in the Lion City for half a month. He was actually angry. He and his master were angry with the court and himself.
In the end, Er Mao saw Zai Chun's thoughts and went to see the little emperor alone. "Instead of regretting the past mistakes, it is better to try every means to move forward!"
"It is already very difficult for His Majesty to study abroad and leave the palace. It can be expected that after His Majesty returns to the Forbidden City, it will be extremely difficult for him to leave the imperial court like this!"
"Why don't you use this last precious time to study more? If you have a head of state, you can ask for advice. If there is no head of state, wouldn't you be able to do your own analysis?"
"A thousand words can be said, but sooner or later you will be independent? No one can be His Majesty's crutch for the rest of his life!"
"Entering Malacca, after passing Singapore, this is the Chinese sphere of influence that the head of state has worked hard to manage. Take a look, listen, and ask... put down your body and think about it, these millions of Chinese What are you doing? How are you doing it..."
With Ermao's words to wake up the dreamer, Zai Chun put away all his negative emotions and finally cheered up to start an in-depth investigation on the front line.
In Singapore, he carefully observed the maritime trade circles between Westerners and Chinese. He even went to the port in person to count which country had the most ships that day, their approximate tonnage, and their performance.
In the customs files, Zai Chun carefully studied which international commodities are currently the most popular, and which ones are the most profitable?
He really didn't know it until he saw it, and he was shocked when he saw it. After reviewing historical documents, he suddenly discovered that the Dutch colonized Indonesia, and the spice business alone amounted to an astronomical treasury every year.
A shipload of spices from Southeast Asia was shipped to Europe, and the profit was twenty times as much!
Seeing the surprised look in the little emperor's eyes, the Dutch businessmen all said proudly that this was already the 19th century, and the supply of spices had expanded too much.
If in the seventeenth century, a shipload of Southeast Asian spices shipped to Europe had not made sixty times the profit, those investors would probably have to change the captain!
All the eunuchs thought he was bragging, but only Er Mao and Emperor Tongzhi remained silent!
Because they heard from the mouth of the head of state that when the European colonists were operating in Asia in the early days, there was indeed so much profit from Eastern and Western treasures.
Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, pepper... In medieval Europe, they were luxuries worth more than gold. These spices could be paid directly to subjects as salaries.
The little emperor became more and more frightened as he looked at them, let alone those expensive porcelains. Although Europeans have now cracked the secret of porcelain, Chinese porcelain is still a high-end product in the international market.
Ship after ship of porcelain is classified according to its condition, and the profit of a ship with the highest quality is twenty-five times as huge!
Not to mention the trade in tea, silk, medicine, etc., countless maritime merchants made as much money as they could from trade!
The scene where Singapore Customs' hands cramped while counting money every day has always been imprinted in Emperor Tongzhi's heart. His heart felt as uncomfortable as a frying pan.
To what extent is the imperial court short of money now? Zuo Zongtang couldn't escape the money even when he invaded the Western Regions, so he asked his ministers to raise funds themselves!
It would be a joke if this kind of thing spread to Europe. If you let your ministers raise funds to fight the war, then the liberated territory should actually be rewarded to that minister.
But of course the court would not do this, they just pretended to be deaf and dumb!
"All my money in the Central Plains has been made away by these businessmen... Damn it, if only all this money was in my hands!"
