"Many people said before that the airship force formed by His Majesty was a waste of people and money. Some even said that the Chinese were deceived. However, this battle in Zhuozhou proved just how powerful the new weapons are!"
"His Majesty's airship is currently a completely unmatched weapon. Like the train cannon, it is a crushing artifact. However, the train cannon does not belong to our Qing Dynasty, but the airship is our trump card!"
"Starting from today, the airships will take off in rotation and maintain combat readiness for twelve hours. One will take off, another will prepare, and one will be repaired..."
"The airship loaded with ammunition is the sharp sword hanging over the head of the Japanese army. We will look for his headquarters anytime and anywhere. If we see it, we will blow it up or set it on fire..."
"When encountering the grain, grass and ammunition depots of Guiziliu's army, they were all blown up and burned..."
"As a result, the rebels will definitely fall into hiding. They have to hide their valuable weapons and ammunition and dare not show their faces. The key is that Guiziliu doesn't even dare to show his face to boost morale..."
"Wherever our airship goes, he has to hide out, just like a lost dog. Even he has no morale. Your Majesty, do you think the army still has morale?"
"Even if we can't find the enemy generals, the printing press of our Qing Dynasty Times is not just for nothing, printing a large number of leaflets, isn't there someone who can draw European copper engravings? Draw some pictures that the common people can understand, with less text..."
"Just drop it from mid-air to disintegrate the morale of the rebels..."
"Okay, okay...that's good, go on..." Zai Chun excitedly slapped the armrest, ignoring the old man's livid face.
Li Tuo knew that he couldn't hide his clumsiness today. He had to accept the looks of the court ministers like ice knives and snow swords. He couldn't care less about fighting.
"Your Majesty...I know what your Majesty is worried about. Isn't it that Nastu's rebellion makes your Majesty worried about the public sentiment in the capital? Guizi Liuyi has been running the business all his life, but he still doesn't have a few confidants and a few deeply buried chess pieces?"
"Don't worry, in this era, whoever has a newspaper in hand has the initiative in the public opinion war!"
"Who said that our imperial army lost? Who said that!" Li Tuo's voice rose an octave higher. "Our imperial army did not lose at all. We made a strategic shift. We suffered a small setback due to rebellion after victory!"
"All things considered, we are tied!" Li Tuo said excitedly, "Long live the Lord! The fifth division surrendered, but Bai Zhan's third division fought extremely hard. How many rebels did Bai Zhan's department kill in the first half of the night? ?”
"There are mountains of corpses, and Bai Min's troops also fought hard. The enemy's losses were ten times as much as ours... Anyway, our newspaper said it was as many times as many times!"
"There are reporters accompanying the imperial army, and a large number of photos are taken. We quickly select the photos that are beneficial to the imperial court's publicity, publish them and distribute them throughout the city to stabilize people's hearts!"
"Especially the airships and train guns... Hurry up and take close-ups to make the powerful look deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. This is the battle of public opinion. This is the most critical!"
"Actually, we should have started this kind of work yesterday. The minister was really inseparable outside the city, and the two commanders were still unconscious, which wasted time!"
"Actually, I can guess that Guiziliu must also be taking pictures, and he will definitely start printing propaganda to engage in a public opinion war... He may even use these propaganda materials to spread to the south!"
"Your Majesty! The most dangerous place now is not the Yongding River defense line. As long as Chinese engineers get started and you provide enough money, food and supplies, especially enough steel and concrete, it will be difficult for the rebels to attack the permanent fortifications!"
"The most dangerous thing is the governor of the world! I'm afraid that Guiziliu will take these whitewashed photos and battle reports, and then deceive the governor of the world and say that the imperial court has been defeated!"
"It's okay in the coastal areas and Jiangnan. With advanced information, it's not easy to be deceived... What about the west?"
"Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu... even Sichuan, Yunnan-Guizhou, and the northwest Mongolian tribes... If these places encounter the special envoys of Guiziliu, encounter their coaxing, and our propaganda evidence is not in place in advance..."
"What's going on! What if the governors were deceived by him and took refuge in this so-called Guangxu pseudo-emperor? We must have evidence to convince the local governors!"
ah! Everyone in the Ancestral Temple exclaimed. Everything was really messed up. How could such an important thing be forgotten?
"Damn it, damn it... I am really confused, I am so confused!" King Dun cried anxiously, "You are harming the country! You are harming the country..."
In fact, we cannot blame these ministers for being incompetent and ignorant. It is really that the war of public opinion is too new and far away for people of this era!
Zai Chun took a deep breath to suppress the anger in his heart, "That's it! Don't say anything about guilt or innocence. What we want now is to solve the current crisis!"
"Li Tuo, this is the time when the imperial court is employing people. If you have anything to say, I will not be stingy with rewards!"
"I thank Your Majesty for your kindness. I dare not mention any rewards. I only wish for peace in the world and for the people to live in peace and contentment... I ask Your Majesty to immediately put the family members of the rebel officers in the capital to trial, so that the people can see the consequences of betraying the imperial court!"
"Whether it's beheading or exile, the people must see the power of the imperial court! Then the Capital Police Headquarters will immediately impose martial law throughout the city and hire people with loud voices to publicize the details of the Battle of Zhuozhou. We cannot say we have lost!"
"All the storytellers, opera singers, allegro players, and cross talk talkers over the overpass were all arrested, and they were given three melons and two dates to help the court publicize, and they were taken to the streets and alleys!"
"While these things are being done, the printing press of Mr. Fuqing's newspaper is showing its power. Please write more articles in vernacular that the common people can understand, and use photos and pictures for publicity..."
"To stabilize people's hearts, we must stabilize people's hearts..."
"Let's do it! I've got it all right, you can make arrangements...then tell me, is there anything else you can do?"
"Yes! Your Majesty, hurry up and contact the Chinese, especially General Luo Huo... Even if you can't get through to the Chinese Council for the time being, you still have to convince General Luo Huo!"
"We have to admit that now even the military strength of King Luo Huo is a decisive force for our Qing Dynasty, and King Luo Huo is the least contradictory to our court among the four kings, and he has some favors!"
"After all, King Luo Huo was originally a citizen of Zhili. Later, because of poverty, he joined the Fan family's caravan as a guard. Only then did he have the opportunity to soar into the sky and follow Xiao Letian..."
"The other heavenly kings are all remnants of the old days. We can't even ask for help!"
Weng Tonghe snorted coldly, "Does Luo Huo dare to act privately to support the imperial court? Isn't he afraid that people from the Chinese ethnic group will cause trouble for him?"
"What Master Weng is saying is, then please ask King Luo Huo not to withdraw the armored trains, and use the excuse of protecting the Beijing-Tianjin Railway to protect our grain roads!"
"Your Majesty, hurry up and raise gold! Use gold to buy food from the Chinese... This is the only way now!"
"Gold?" Everyone asked in confusion.
Li Tuo frowned, "There must be many forces within the Chinese that hate the Qing Dynasty. These people are definitely not willing to sell us food. If they have money, they won't make it!"
"At this juncture, we can only rely on gold! The head of state has formulated a very strict financial policy. Chinese gold can only enter but not exit..."
"You can use silver or European foreign exchange reserves for foreign trade, or even barter, but gold must become the precious metal held by the Chinese central bank!"
"The more gold there is, the more stable the Chinese people's finances will be, like Mount Tai!"
"It's urgent now! Let's buy it with money, because we're afraid that the Chinese anti-Qing forces won't sell it!"
"You can only use gold as a temptation. When they see gold, they have to sell food!"
"Bold...with ulterior motives!" Weng Tonghe yelled, "What nonsense are you talking about, Li Tuo? The golden Chinese love, isn't my Qing Dynasty useless?"
"Draining the gold has enriched the Chinese people. Are you a spy?"
