In 1875, the reform winds in East Asia became more and more fierce. The conservatives in the Qing Empire either defected or responded with depression. The last few remaining die-hards actually gathered in the circle of Hanchen Qingliu. .
As shown in history, Weng Tonghe firmly stood on the side of the Confucian landlord class. Of course, this cannot be blamed on him. It is true that he cannot keep up with the new era, and all changes exceed his imagination.
In the first month of the first month, all government affairs in the Qing Empire basically came to a halt. Except for important military and state matters, the six departments of the imperial court stopped reading any other economic memorials.
But the apparent tranquility cannot conceal the undercurrents surging privately!
In the first month of the year in the capital, the New Year greetings of the powerful and powerful became more and more fierce. Banquets were held in the houses of all royal nobles and Manchu and Han ministers, and theaters were erected. The really wealthy even invited Chinese and Western orchestras.
A performance costs two thousand silver dollars, and only a few top dignitaries dare to enjoy such a sky-high price!
It's all a cover-up. All the lively family banquet scenes are just covering up the secret transactions in private!
Daqing Ocean and Beijing-Hankow Railway, these two stocks have become Tang Monk's meat, and everyone in the capital with some spare money is eyeing them.
"Third Master, drink this cup to the full! You must drink this cup to the full! If you don't drink it, you will not give me face... Don't do what your subordinates do. You are of the upright Fukang'an lineage and the Qing Dynasty." After the hero!"
"What about the Fucha family? Emperor Qianlong's queen! You share weal and woe with us, so let's call them cousins!"
Prince Zheng is also shameless. He is a dignified iron hat king. He insists on having a relationship with Fu Qing, saying that he is a cousin!
Isn't this fart? Fu Qing should be related to a direct descendant of Emperor Qianlong. Fu Heng, Fu Kangan's father, was Qianlong's brother-in-law!
This is the real relationship between cousins. Where do you, Prince Zheng, have the bloodline of Emperor Qianlong? The first one was Jierharang, and you inherited the throne of the dead Prince Zheng Duanhua!
This bloodline has been different since the founding of the Qing Dynasty. You are so shameless!
There are many shameless things. Have you ever heard of the prince paying New Year greetings to his ministers during the first month of the Qing Dynasty? It’s still so evil this year.
The Fuqing family held a banquet and invited some colleagues to have wine together. Unexpectedly, Prince Dun, Prince Li, Prince Zheng, Prince Yu... and a series of other princes sent butlers to deliver gifts!
Before the gifts were given, Prince Yipei of Dun suddenly turned to the door of his house. Suddenly he was thirsty and insisted on coming in for a cup of tea. Then he suddenly met the third master serving wine, and he Suddenly I felt hungry, so I sat in the main seat and started eating.
This wasn’t the end of the story, King Yu soon said that he had some urgent business and wanted to see Prince Dun. He ended up at the Third Master’s house, and caught up with the meal by the way, so let’s have a meal as a reward!
Immediately afterwards, Prince Li's son, Prince Zheng Chengzhi himself, also came over with various excuses. Anyway, if he didn't say it was New Year's greetings, you can't force me to admit it!
The prince paid New Year's greetings to his slave. It was really unpleasant to talk about it, but by chance he passed by and asked his slave to have a "filial piety" meal. This was still the right thing to do, and no one could say anything.
Can the third master still know their thoughts? Good wine and good food were prepared. Halfway through the drink, Prince Zheng started to show off!
"A good drinker! Third Master has a good drinker... It seems that this fine Huadiao from Shaoxing can't get you drunk! Let's switch to foreign wine, red wine from Bordeaux, France. I know that Third Master has a good cellar here!"
This is not wrong at all. The servants used hemp ropes to carry an oak barrel up from the wine cellar. The red wine in it was more than fifteen years old!
"Good wine, really good wine... I heard that the wine collected by the head of state is better. How can it be better?" Prince Zheng asked knowingly.
The Third Master got off the road and said, "Of course it's good. Many of the wines were left over from when Napoleon the Great was in power. Unfortunately, the 1804 vintage was not transported over the sea that day, so the head of state gave me a few bottles of the 1821 vintage... …”
"This 1821 vintage is no good. It smells like decay when you drink it. Where is the prosperity of the 1804 vintage? It makes you feel good when you drink it!"
King Yu asked in confusion, "Can you drink this taste in a different year?"
"Haha, you don't understand, Prince Yu. These fine wines were stolen from his mother, the French court. They are the royal wines of the Napoleon family and are related to the royal spirit!"
“Why is the 1804 vintage so good? That’s because it was the year Napoleon ascended the throne!”
"Why doesn't the 1821 vintage taste good? Because it was the year Napoleon died. This year, all the vegetation in France must pay tribute to the emperor!"
"The grape fruit will not grow properly, so the taste will not be good... This is all a matter of luck, and it makes sense!"
"Ah! Congratulations to the Third Master! You are awesome!"
Prince Zheng said with envy on his face, "There is such a good wine, but I am not lucky enough to taste it. It is really a pity... I would like to ask the third master, do you have the means to buy it?"
"No... really not!" The third master spread his hands, "Many of the wineries in Europe have been privatized, and some good grape varieties are produced in just one field!"
"It has to use grapes from that field, and it has to be brewed through a special process... This kind of good wine from a private winery has been bought before it even leaves the winery!"
“Many wineries are even owned by the royal family and nobles, and their families drink and collect the wine they produce!”
"There is no good wine on the market, and it is even said that it was shipped to our Qing Dynasty! How difficult..."
Prince Zheng became angry when he heard this, and slapped the table, "There are good things, but our royal family can't enjoy them? What's the point of this?"
"Third Master...please calculate it for me. How much money does it cost to buy a sailing ship? How much money does it cost to recruit a captain and sailors to run European trade routes?"
"I sent someone to Europe to buy it myself. I don't believe that I can't buy good wine!"
The third master understood as soon as he heard this. He wanted to reach into the vast ocean of Qing Dynasty. He was not afraid that you would come, but he was afraid that you would not come. "Prince Zheng really wants to do this? In fact, the money is not very much!"
"In terms of safety, steamships are better. Steam-powered ones are best with iron armor... One hundred thousand taels per ship, the captain and sailors are recruited to prepare a starting capital of one hundred thousand taels!"
"Two hundred thousand, a cargo ship traveling to Europe will be no problem! If it is a sailing merchant ship, it can be cheaper by another thirty to forty thousand taels, but I don't recommend this to the prince!"
"Our porcelain, silk, tea, rhubarb, bristles... Anyway, as long as all kinds of goods can be safely transported to Europe, the profit will be three to four times on average!"
"Two hundred thousand taels, the capital will be repaid in two years, and it will be a pure profit from now on... But you have to think about it, Your Majesty. If you personally build this ocean-going freighter, I'm afraid you will be criticized!"
Prince Zheng's eyes lit up when he heard that he would pay back his money in two years and make money for nothing in the next few decades. "I'm afraid of them? I'm not here to get rich!"
"I just want to have a sip of good European wine. Can I go and buy it myself?"
"I, I, I... I didn't drink it myself. I bought it for His Majesty. This is a fine wine reserved for the royal family. Let me see who dares to sue me!"
"Anchor! My ship will anchor in your Great Qingyang Ocean... What's wrong? The Third Master looks ugly. Is this because he doesn't want to?"
Note: Let’s update first! The body is still recovering.
The air is cold in autumn and winter, so everyone should keep warm. I had a slight infarction caused by a stomach flu. The pain was unbearable and I rested for several days!
Don't be greedy!
