The people of Tongzhou were basically awakened by a thunderous sound of horse hooves. A little after five o'clock in the morning, the noise of intensive cavalry mobilization came from the direction of the dock!
The war horses neighed, the bugles sounded loudly, and the passwords rang out one after another. If you knew something about the military system, you would know that among these noisy orders, there were those from the old camp leaders of the Qing army, the new Yulin army, and even the Chinese who made the Eight Banners frightened. Bugle!
The people near the dock felt that the ground was shaking. Horses and cavalry were flowing continuously on the street outside the door, and they did not stop for an hour!
The people in Tongzhou all knew that the head of state was coming today. The dock had been mostly emptied yesterday to make room for some kind of steam warship, but these ordinary people who were watching the excitement did not see the shadow of the warship until they turned on the lights!
On the contrary, news of riots came from the generation in Qinghe, the northern suburb of the capital!
The people who didn't see the fun didn't regret it for long, but they didn't expect the battleship to come in the middle of the night! The people who were lying on the crack of the door and peeking out were all shocked. On the other side of the pier, a warship that was taller than the house was standing on the water!
The streets were full of cavalry protecting the head of state. Emperor Tongzhi assembled a total of 5,000 cavalry from various departments in the capital and the new Yulin army. In addition to Xiao Letian's personal 1,000 guards, a total of 6,000 cavalry were crowded in the narrow Tongzhou. !
I haven’t seen such a scene in many years. The common people are as excited as the Chinese New Year. Although they dare not go out on the streets, those who are brave enough can go up to their houses or walls. If they can take a look at Donghai Xiao Letian from a distance, that is a blessing!
"The notice... look at the notice..." The people riding on the wall looked at the Chinese soldiers posting notices at the intersection. Some of them were bold and asked, "This military master from the East China Sea... …What is posted?”
The women at home were also watching the fun with their eyes exposed on the wall. When they saw that their man was dying and dared to harass Xiao Letian's guards, the woman's face turned pale with fright!
He kept tugging on the man's clothes, "Stop talking, come down quickly, be careful of the gun..."
The soldier on the street looked up and saw the person asking the question. He was not angry but smiled. His white teeth were clean and bright!
"This fellow, this is a good thing! Have you seen the warships parked on the pier? The head of state will always be parked here until he leaves the capital!"
"The head of state has shown mercy and allowed local scholars, peasants, industrialists and merchants to board the ship to see and broaden their horizons!"
"Three battleships can only receive 900 people every day! If you want to go, you must register and make an appointment in advance, otherwise you will not be able to be queued!"
"The head of state also said that if everyone is enthusiastic about visiting, live-fire exercises will be allowed! Then the cannons will be fired at the target, so everyone will be excited!"
"Oh... is there such a good thing? I have never seen the sea in my life, and I never thought I could see it on a boat..."
The people in Tongzhou couldn't believe the kindness of the soldiers. People were lying on the walls and roofs asking questions, and the soldiers would answer them one by one as long as they had time!
This approach reassured the people. Before all the more than 6,000 cavalrymen left Tongzhou, some bold people had already rushed to the dock to register for a visit!
They are just three small gunboats for offshore defense. The Chinese people jokingly call them mosquito boats, but in the eyes of these people, they are already as majestic and tall as mountains!
The warship made purely of steel exudes a permeating sense of strength from the inside out. The people beat the steel plate on the hull with their fists, feeling the heavy sound of "My aunt! It's really iron!" From inside Everything is made of iron! It actually floats on the water!"
"No wonder the imperial court can't defeat the foreign devils, nor can it defeat the Chinese second devils! How can we defeat this steel ship? Not to mention bows and arrows, even blunderbuss can't penetrate it!"
"Looking at this thick and powerful one, the red cannon on the capital city wall is also hanging!"
Xiao Letian was unaware of the sensation caused by Tongzhou Pier. At this moment, the Chinese envoys he led were rushing towards the capital under the protection of six thousand cavalry!
Someone had already blocked the post road in advance. The officers of Shuntian Prefecture and the soldiers of the Nine Admirals blasted down the caravans and people on the post road. The broad road allowed the cavalry regiment to advance rapidly!
Xiao Letian glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that the farmland on both sides of the post road was full of people kneeling down and not daring to raise their heads. Looking at these slaves, he sighed helplessly in his heart!
Qing Sanye and Xiao Letian were riding side by side on the road and said, "I just got the news... The time of your visit to Beijing this time is really too sensitive!"
"It's very possible that some people will throw dirty water on you! You'd better be mentally prepared. Those shameless people will definitely say that the riots in Qinghe were instigated by your people..."
"Haha, be prepared mentally! What are you preparing for? Are you ready to escape? I have come all this way, why should I be afraid of dirty water? I won't be itchy if I have too many lice, and I won't have to worry if I have too many tents!"
"Just deduct it as you like, just wait until I take the blame for my apprentice and relieve him of some pressure..."
At 8:30 in the morning, Xiao Letian and the others finally saw the tall arrow tower and urn city of Chaoyang Gate!
Urbanization is still a non-existent term in this era. Outside the city walls are vast farmland and low warehouses and military barracks buildings!
In such an unobstructed plain, a four-story city wall suddenly pops up. This visual conflict is absolutely shocking!
What made everyone even more unexpected was that outside the Chaoyang Gate, there was actually a bright yellow flag and umbrella cover, and two rows of new soldiers from the Royal Forest Army who looked like javelins!
"Long live! Long live the head of state in person...Long live is here!" Fu Qing said excitedly.
Xiao Letian came to the capital in person to witness the wedding of Emperor Tongzhi. This was the face given to his apprentice by his master. Zai Chun could show off in front of anyone, but in front of his master he would always be that worthless primary school student!
Weng Tong and all the etiquette they had been taught before were thrown aside. Zai Chun stepped down from the chariot and walked forward with three steps at a time and two steps at a time!
"Hey... Your Majesty, please don't lose your composure. There are envoys from various countries here!" Li Hongzao and Weng Tonghe hurriedly caught up and tried to persuade him. The representatives of the embassies of various countries on the south side of the city gate also looked at Emperor Tongzhi's actions with dumbfounded eyes!
Zai Chun shook off the entanglement of the two civil servants and strode towards Xiao Letian. The soldiers protecting Xiao Letian in front of the military formation immediately separated into two rows and made way for them!
Xiao Letian was sitting on the tall, snow-white Arabian horse, watching the master he had taught walk up step by step!
"Disciple Aixinjueluo Zaichun, I would like to congratulate my master on his victory in popularizing the Dharma and making him famous in Europa! Please let this disciple lead the horse for my master..." Zai Chun stood in front of Xiao Letian's horse head, and after speaking loudly, he actually knelt on one knee on the ground!
This move shocked all the Manchu Qing officials present. Li Hongzao shouted desperately, "Your Majesty, what are you doing? Is the Qing Dynasty a Chinese vassal state? No... Your Majesty cannot kneel!"
"Master of Heaven and Earth, why should I kneel down and say "Master"! Please sit still, my master, and my apprentice will lead the master's horse into the city..."
Zai Chun jumped up and reached out to hold the reins of the horse, leading the horse towards the city with head held high. At this moment, the faces of the Manchu and Qing court officials were ashen, and some old officials were in tears!
"Greetings to...the Führer!"
Some of the courtiers knelt down, some knelt down on one knee, and there were also stubborn Qingliu elements like Weng Tonghe who looked at Xiao Letian with hatred and stood in the crowd without kneeling!
Xiao Letian let go of the reins and let Zai Chun lead the horse. He whispered to his apprentice, "You... you are putting me on the fire! What benefits do you want to get from me?"
