Xiao Letian looked at the scene in front of him quietly, and couldn't help but think of a very famous proverb in his mind: "If God wants you to perish, he will make you crazy first."
"The Qing Dynasty is already extremely ill, but it suddenly shows such a burning scene. It's not a good thing!"
"Führer...what did you say?" Xiang Ying asked in a low voice without hearing the master's words clearly.
Xiao Letian sneered and said, "I am reminded of a book, Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin. The story in it is very similar to today's!"
"The Jia family was already very ill, but they came here to visit relatives and squeezed out the last bit of energy! In the end, it was almost impossible to open the pot. How similar is it to everything in front of you?"
"Flowers are blooming, and fire is cooking oil! Everyone likes lively scenes, but you have to understand whether you have the strength to enjoy it all at this moment!"
"Hunchun has brought out all the old people from outside the Pass, which is actually not bad. Once civil strife breaks out in the Qing Dynasty in the future, these people will definitely be the vanguard!"
"The intensity of the civil war will greatly intensify, and now even the population outside the customs will not be spared! Hunchun, please help us draw out the last bit of blood outside the customs!"
"Let's just watch the show!"
Xiang Ying tilted his head, thought for a while and smiled, "It's true... when I first arrived at the city tower, I felt very uncomfortable when I saw the arrogance of the 20,000 kidnapper horses!"
"Now look at the problem from the perspective of a master, it's a whole other level of landscape!"
"Then what does master think should be done?" Xiang Ying asked.
Xiao Letian smiled, "Since it's already such a grand occasion, we have to add more firewood! Let's go back and check how many second-hand or third-hand Spencer rifles we have in our inventory!"
"Collect thousands of them and give them to these savages! At this juncture, we have to express our stance! Otherwise, Zaichun might not be sure how to think about me as a master!"
Xiang Ying thought for a moment and clapped his hands, "Wonderful! Let's hurry up and give them good guns, which shows our intention to cooperate with the Qing Dynasty. By then, Zai Chun's wariness will be reduced by three points..."
"I can give you this rifle, but you have to buy the bullets for future use from us! I can make a lot of money out of it..."
"The third point, and the most critical point, is to increase the lethality of these kidnapping horses in order to prevent them from having a civil war..."
"Shh... keep your voice down, this is the street!" Xiao Letian suddenly said something in German. Xiang Ying quickly changed it to German with a smile and said, "Yes, this is the capital, not our Naha!"
"Sooner or later, the Manchus will not be able to escape this civil war. Wouldn't it be a good thing if we give them something good to make them kill more happily?"
In fact, the worries of these two people were unnecessary. The head of state was surrounded by layers of guards to protect his safety. In addition, the streets were so noisy that no one could hear what they were saying!
Xiao Letian rode on horseback and had secret conversations with the senior Chinese officials around him, and arranged a lot of work in a short time!
By this time, the team had arrived at the Dongdan Archway. Zai Chun, Hunchun and others at the front had already turned the corner. Xiao Letian and the others were about to turn the corner onto East Chang'an Street and go straight to the Forbidden City to watch the ceremony!
Then there will be a grand banquet in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Put aside whether it is delicious or not, at least it will be a lively event!
When passing by the entrance of the Chinese embassy, Xiang Ying rode on his horse and prepared to leave the team. "Head of State, I will go in first to arrange the tasks you just assigned, and then I will go to the palace to find you..."
"By the way...master, what book did you just read? What about Dream of Red Mansions? Why haven't you heard of it? Where can I buy it?"
As soon as he heard that he had never read the books that the head of state had read, Xiangying immediately became interested. If he wanted to learn the essence of his master, he had to start from scratch!
Xiao Letian waved his hand, "Maybe this book is also called The Story of the Stone now? It was written by a man named Cao Xueqin who was an official in the late Yongzheng and early Qianlong years!"
"During the Qianlong period, this book was once classified as a banned book and was not allowed to be read by the common people. However, in the late Qianlong period, for some unknown reason, the ban was lifted again!"
"But all the last forty chapters of this book have been lost. They were continued by Gao E... What a pity. I really want to see the original of the last forty chapters..."
Xiao Letian said it unintentionally but the listener did. He never expected that this casual remark would actually set off a grand treasure hunting operation in the Qing Dynasty!
Originally, Dream of Red Mansions was not well-known during the Qing Dynasty. It was only circulated by a small number of scholars. It was not until the Republic of China that it gradually became famous!
Therefore, it is normal for Xiang Ying and others not to know the existence of this book. In fact, if you ask carefully among the scholars in the Qing Dynasty, not one person in a hundred people may know the existence of this book!
This book is actually only circulated among a small circle of scholars in Gyeonggi Province, and it is only somewhat famous!
The Story of the Stone, written by Gao E, has never been a hot-selling item in major bookstores. Many bookstores don’t even have this set of books for sale!
Xiang Ying heard the regret in the master's tone, and couldn't help but secretly determined, "I must help the master find the original story of the last forty chapters, otherwise it will be unfilial on the part of my disciple!" '
Xiang Ying got off his horse and strode toward the embassy. As soon as he entered the second gate, he met King Shangtai in full dragon robes. He didn't dare to neglect Xiang Ying and quickly stood at attention and saluted!
"Your Majesty has timed very well. The head of state has just passed through the door. You can catch up if you go now... I have some telegrams to send, and I will enter the palace later!"
King Shangtai wore a Ming-style four-clawed python robe and walked out surrounded by Ryukyu officials. When he saw Xiang Ying, the future leader of the navy, even the king had to be a little polite!
"Xiang Ying! You are so busy during this period that you don't even know to come and see me... I brought a batch of ancient scrolls from Dunhuang and selected a few scriptures from the Northern Wei Dynasty to give to you..."
"Remember to get it later!"
"Oh... thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. This is a family heirloom. I have to cherish it and collect it. Please give it first!"
With a few polite words, King Shangtai led his people past Xiang Ying. As a result, in the group of courtiers behind him, Xiang Ying saw at a glance the ghost eye of the imperial court in Liulichang, the capital, to his left!
Now there is a Chinese official on the left side of the ghost eye. Xiao Letian hired him as the director of a private museum and will also be the future vice president of the Dunhuang Research Institute!
Who are the chief curator and the chief dean? Of course, it was Xiao Letian's shameless responsibility. Regardless of whether he worked or not, this position must be his!
"Hi... Zuo Zuo, thank you for the walnuts and grasshoppers you sent me! You don't know, after sailing on the sea for several months, there is a grasshopper that can scream, how rare it is for everyone!"
"Are you going into the palace too?"
Looking at the left and right, no one secretly whispered in Xiang Ying's ear, "Don't tell anyone else... The head of state personally ordered me to enter the palace. In fact, he just stepped on it!"
"I want to screen out all the truly valuable treasures and register them... No matter if we steal or rob them later, we have to help the head of state get his house!"
"Didn't you see that I still have a pen and notebook in my pocket? This is where I get rich..."
"Haha... By the way, don't leave yet. I have something to ask you... Have you ever heard of a book called The Story of Stones?"
Note: Confused! What exactly did I do after letting them find it forty times? Still not found?
If by any chance I find the last forty chapters of A Dream of Red Mansions in this book, will you force me to update these forty chapters?
I go! I still have to make up a set of Dream of Red Mansions for you?
It’s not a good deal, this deal isn’t a good deal!
