After returning to Beijing, this was the first time that Zai Cheng confided that he was not kissing his mother-in-law, but the Empress Dowager Ci'an!
"I am really scared, very scared. I am not worried about who will usurp power. To be honest, I am not worried about this..."
"The enemy in my heart is not Prince Gong, Prince Chun, or Prince Qing, nor are they the governors of the Han Dynasty who are increasingly powerful..."
"Even the foreign ministers felt that it was not a big threat..."
"Oh? No one in this world is a threat, so what are you afraid of?" Ci'an became interested.
"There is actually only one enemy in my heart... and that is this era! Mother, this is the era..."
Not many people at the scene could understand these words. The eunuchs and maids all had dumbfounded expressions. Er Mao sighed and turned around and retreated, calling away the eunuchs and maids who were serving him.
Ci'an and Zai Chun no longer had anyone eavesdropping around them, and what Zai Chun said became even more sensational!
"Mother, how long do you think the Qing Dynasty can live? Is it still alive in fifty years?"
Ci'an's expression suddenly changed, "Who told you this? Xiao Letian?"
"No, no, no... don't be impatient, mother. In fact, these topics are taboo in our Qing Dynasty, but overseas, this is really just science being studied by a group of scholars!"
"It was only when I arrived in Europe that I really realized what the era was. The huge gap made me completely confused!"
"I'm afraid... I'm really afraid. I find that the things we learn around us can no longer explain the world. This is what I fear the most!"
"The benevolent are invincible? The order of monarch, minister, father and son? Can etiquette, justice, integrity and morality conquer everything? Can the court defeat the enemy by playing tricks and balancing?"
"That era no longer exists. Everything we have is outdated. This is the most terrifying thing!"
"Right now, the people of the Qing Dynasty are still full of fear when they look at foreign guns, but the caliber of European main battle artillery exceeds 200, and one shot of it will really destroy the world!"
"Everyone who practices martial arts knows a saying, one force can defeat ten! Europeans have mastered this kind of power, and this kind of power belongs to this era!"
"Times are about to abandon our Qing Dynasty. Queen Mother, how many more years do you think we can survive?"
Ci'an's face turned pale, "What... what nonsense is this! Those foreign devils are indeed very powerful, but how can a powerful warship sail to land?"
"Their foreign guns and artillery are powerful, but they also rely heavily on logistics. After capturing Beijing, can they still attack Chengde?"
"If it doesn't work, we can still move the capital to Xi'an. It's thousands of miles away. How much ammunition and supplies will the foreigners in the mountains and rivers have to endure?"
“I can’t walk even halfway before I use it all up!”
Zai Chun shook his head desperately, "No, Queen Mother is really not... I understand what you are saying, Master Weng has said it, and even the head of state has said it!"
"The Chinese call this theory strategic depth. This is indeed a very big advantage of China. It is difficult for an enemy to completely penetrate China..."
"The head of state has said that one day the enemy may penetrate China from north to south, but they cannot penetrate from east to west under any circumstances. This is a geographical advantage!"
"But Queen Mother, you don't know that the development of science and technology has reached an unimaginable level... The future is a dream world, people can fly in the sky, swim in the sea... There will even be miracles where a cannon can be fired hundreds of miles away!"
"Nonsense!" Ci'an's face changed greatly: "My child, you must have let Xiao Letian brainwash you into confusion! How can someone who flies in the sky and swims in the water invite gods out?"
"Oh, Queen Mother, have you forgotten about the hot air balloon flying in the sky over the capital five years ago? I have actually been to the sky myself!"
"Stop talking nonsense. The Aijia have seen that hot air balloon. It only has three or four people on it. It can't be moved when it's windy and rainy... it's impossible to fight at all. It's a big toy of the foreign devils!"
Zai Chun shook his head, "Wrong, Queen Mother, you are wrong... In fact, during the Franco-Prussian War, the Chinese had already tried to fight in the air. The head of state has now formed an air force, and they really flew in the sky to fight. Air Force!"
Ci'an was so shocked that he couldn't speak. Zai Chun talked about the "power of the times" he saw in Europe, with red molten steel flowing like a river.
Hundreds of thousands of tons of water forging machines knead steel like dough!
Millions of people were strangled together, and the artillery shells were pounding down like hailstones. After a salvo, thousands of lives were lost in the mud!
Countries are desperately researching steel battleships, and the navy's funding is in the millions. In that place, money is no longer money, it is consumed like running water!
All countries are being slapped on the back by the whip of the times. If you don’t make progress, you will be beaten. If you fall behind, you will fall behind step by step!
Ci'an had never seen such an era of great changes, and neither had the people in the Manchu Qing court. They didn't even have this awareness!
Zai Chun sighed and said, "There will come a day when none of what we rely on now can protect us anymore... What should we do? Can the Qing Dynasty be unable to escape the fate of destruction?"
"Mother! I saw with my own eyes how the Second French Empire fell! The emperor was forced into exile, and the whole family fled to England for refuge!"
"The French Emperor has even defeated our capital. Such a powerful empire will die even if it is dead!"
"Why should our Qing Dynasty be an exception?"
Ci'an's head was spinning as he heard this, "Stop it... Stop it... Is it because of this that you want to fall out with your Sixth Uncle? If you defeat your Sixth Uncle and they can change everything?"
"No...Mother, you are wrong to blame me. I don't want to defeat anyone. I just hope that there will be no resistance to the reforms after taking office!"
"You always talk about reform. How are you going to change it? You won't even change the country's name, right?"
Zai Chun shook his head and said, "I will not change my false name. I want to build industry, develop science and technology, and build a university...I want to bring the power of industrialization with me like the Qing Dynasty!"
"No matter how much resistance there is, it will not shake my determination, never!"
Ci'an's face turned pale, "My son! If you do this, you will make the government and the public uneasy! You are overthrowing all the ancestral systems!"
"Don't be impatient. Let the queen think carefully and make plans for you... This matter is too big and cannot be completed in a year or two. You have to get married first!"
"My queen mother! Time waits for no one. Changes outside are happening rapidly. We must seize every minute and every second to catch up with time!"
"It's already several steps too late. If we don't make a decision, we won't be able to catch up in the future!"
