The autumn rain finally started to fall. In the autumn of 1871, which was the tenth year of Tongzhi, a grand farewell ceremony was held at Mawei Shipyard. One hundred thousand soldiers and civilians of Fujian knelt to see Emperor Tongzhi and the new imperial army march north.
Emperor Tongzhi only stayed in Fujian for a week, but the entire pattern of Fujian changed. First, he comforted the new army when there was a dispute over pay. After learning from the pain, Emperor Tongzhi issued an order to Shen Baozhen, asking him to immediately introduce advanced banks to Fuzhou and improve the situation. The entire financial system in Fujian.
At the same time, Emperor Tongzhi also exempted all the families of the Yulin New Army from taxes for ten years, as well as the taxes of ordinary people for one year. As soon as such good governance was introduced, the entire public opinion was in an uproar, and the shouts of praise spread throughout Fujian, and even Even the southern half of the Yangtze River was shocked.
Mawei Shipyard quickly reached a preliminary agreement with the Asia head of Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong, who came after hearing the news. The British invested one million pounds in advance to help Mawei introduce the latest shipbuilding equipment, dig deep and widen the dry dock, and raise Mawei Shipyard production capacity.
Not only British bankers, but also many foreign businessmen who heard the news came here to try their luck. Although they were not qualified to meet Emperor Tongzhi, they could still get some high-quality orders from Shen Baozhen.
Under the secret instruction of Emperor Tongzhi, a small industrial zone belonging to Emperor Tongzhi with Mawei Shipyard as the core has appeared on the design drawings.
After suffering losses from the cashier's check exchange scandal, the little emperor finally understood that governing the country is not something that can be done as one wishes. The higher your status, the more step-by-step you have to do.
It's not possible to launch a surprise attack on a whim, because your identity is too big and your influence is too wide, and the slightest carelessness will disturb people's hearts.
So before he set off from Mawei, he had already sent a detailed time plan to Shanghai and Beijing. This time he would not conduct a surprise attack investigation.
During this week, Hong Kong and Shanghai dispatched almost all their steamships and sailed towards Mawei at high speed. Thirty thousand imperial troops were going north by sea. With the technology and scale of steamships at that time, this would be a very large ship. Team.
Even if one ship could hold a thousand people, it would still require thirty steamships, not to mention that many small-tonnage steamships could only carry six to seven hundred people.
Zai Chun simply could not take away all the soldiers at once. He could only select the ten most reliable steamships and selected eight thousand tigers to accompany him all the way north.
When the emperor left the mouth of the Minjiang River, hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the strait knelt down to bid farewell to the Holy Emperor. Just a one-year tax exemption moved the people of Fujian to howl and cry.
"Congratulations on sending me back to Beijing...Long live! Long live! Long live! Long live!"
Thousands of sails gathered at the mouth of the Minjiang River, and all the European shipping companies blew their whistles to send the emperor of the Qing Dynasty northward!
After returning to his own country, Emperor Tongzhi's influence suddenly expanded. Officials along the coastline prepared fast boats early, knowing that the emperor would not stop in their own counties, but they could not miss this opportunity. A good opportunity to suck up.
Officials of all sizes brought tributes from the sea to pay homage to Emperor Tongzhi. In order to say hello to these local officials, the speed of the entire fleet was reduced to the lowest.
On the way from Fujian to Shanghai, the British experienced the Chinese people's deep admiration for imperial power!
How many officials vomited and had diarrhea on the bumpy sea, and stayed for three days just to kowtow to the emperor from a distance!
Once the warships flying the dragon flag appeared in the sight of Qing officials, soldiers and civilians, no one could bow down and the whole sea was filled with shouts of long live.
There are also countless local wealthy businessmen who, knowing full well that there is no benefit, bring countless local specialties and even real gold, silver, antique calligraphy and paintings to the emperor.
Many times, when these treasures were delivered to Emperor Tongzhi, the little emperor didn't even know who sent them!
Imperial power is like a huge magnet, attracting the attention of the entire empire!
Gradually, Zai Chun felt something. He slowly returned to his status as the Nine-Fifth Master. He stood on the bow of the ship and watched the people kneeling in obeisance. He was not so moved anymore. Only when he saw the people accompanying him Only when there were eight thousand new soldiers in the imperial forest, Er Mao could see the burning emotion in his eyes.
"How long until we get to Shanghai?" Zai Chun waved his hand at the merchant ships on the sea. Countless fishermen were piously offering the freshest seafood to the emperor.
"It's too slow. I asked the British. At this rate, we won't be able to get to Shanghai until the end of the month..." Er Mao said with a smile, "Shanghai has already called back. Almost all senior officials above the fourth rank in Jiangnan are gathering in Shanghai!"
"Prince Chun from Beijing and Lord Weng's welcoming team also set off from Dagukou, taking the fastest steamship..."
"Let's keep working hard until the end of the year! If we can eat dumplings from the Forbidden City during the Spring Festival, it will be considered a blessing!"
"I don't know when the master will be able to return to the country... Will the master come to the ceremony where I will take office in the future?"
"The head of state left late...but we encountered continuous storms on the road and wasted too much time in the Indian Ocean...I guess it will be good to enter the South China Sea during the Spring Festival!"
"When we get to the South China Sea, the head of state will definitely go to Luzon, Borneo and even Annan... It's hard to say whether he can return to Beijing next year!"
Zai Chun's face turned bitter all of a sudden. Deep down in his heart, he really hoped that Xiao Letian could come to attend his wedding and pro-incorporation ceremony. There were very complicated emotions in this.
In recent years, Xiao Letian has completely filled the vacancy of the father's position in Emperor Tongzhi's heart. He said he was a teacher, but Zai Chun really regarded Xiao Letian as half a father.
It would be unreasonable for me to miss Xiao Letian during my wedding and pro-government celebrations!
On the other hand, it was also the panic in his heart. He knew that his road to power would never be smooth sailing. He was no longer the unmarketable son-emperor raised in the palace in the past.
He was the Tongzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty who had truly seen strong winds and waves, experienced snow, rain, wind and frost, and had a very clear understanding of the cruelty of political struggle!
No one will give up their rights willingly. If you take charge of the government, you may have many accidents. If you have a master behind you, you have nothing to worry about!
"Er Mao...how many soldiers do you think there are in Xishan Camp? Will my uncle really hand over his power to me?"
There was really no way to talk about this topic, and Er Mao had no way to answer. The two of them were silent while blowing the sea breeze, but at this moment, suddenly the British watchman on the watchtower shouted loudly.
This confusion caught Zai Chun's attention and he successfully changed the topic.
"A rapidly approaching fleet was discovered in the south...visual inspection of sail warships...with a speed between twelve and fourteen knots..."
When the British army heard that it was a sailing battleship, they did not panic. Instead, they made various preparations step by step. Only at this moment can we see the eliteness of the British Royal Navy.
All departments raised the alert level in an orderly manner, and all soldiers knew what they were going to do. There was no nonsense, only action.
Because Emperor Tongzhi's fleet was extremely slow, it only took half an hour for the later warships to catch up. When the lookouts saw the Chinese military flag flying fiercely, they were relieved.
"It's the navy of Ryukyu...two sail cruisers escorting three clipper ships...a total of five ships with a speed of thirteen knots!"
"Look...they sent a flag...long live the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty!"
"Alarm cleared...it's the Ryukyu Navy...alarm cleared..."
