Emperor Tongzhi summoned up energy to convene a meeting of the Military Aircraft Department. In fact, after all, it was still the several response plans that had been arranged yesterday. Zai Chun forced himself like this, of course, he was afraid that rumors would spread all over the capital.
The civil war between the Manchus and the Qing Dynasty continues to this day, and people feel it is less and less like a war. It is completely different from the wars in the past, including the Taiping War a few years ago.
What the two sides are fighting for is nothing more than population, money, food, land, and weapons. It's enough for both sides to fight for thousands of miles to determine the winner.
But in just a few years, the war suddenly became more complicated. This complexity was not only due to the emergence of new weapons such as foreign guns, cannons, airships, armored trains, and ocean battleships.
What’s more, the war of public opinion is rampant!
Telegraphs and railways greatly improved the speed of human news transmission, and the emergence of newspapers gave ordinary people more channels to receive information.
People's hearts and minds can no longer be controlled by the imperial court issuing a few proclamations and the government officials banging gongs. Today's era has completely become an era of 'reasoning'.
Guiziliu was the first person in the Qing Dynasty to engage in foreign affairs diplomacy, hence the nickname Guiziliu!
Emperor Tongzhi was also the emperor who had studied abroad and was brought abroad by Xiao Letian himself to broaden his horizons. The power of the two devils should not be underestimated!
When these two confront each other, it is a thrilling life-and-death battle for public opinion!
At six-thirty in the morning, the little emperor was bracing himself for a meeting with the military ministers in the Forbidden City. The news of his serious illness last night had already spread all over the sky.
The money Yang Zhi spent in the palace had an effect at this moment. Liu Peiqi woke up his door at six o'clock in the morning, and Yang Zhi, who was sleeping with Qin Erye's daughter in his arms, was awakened.
Through the window, Liu Peiqi whispered, "My lord... top-secret news came from the palace. His Majesty had a high fever and fell into a coma last night. He had to be rescued by Chinese military doctors for a whole night before he woke up..."
"I'm just working hard for a meeting now, but the news has been blocked at the moment!"
Yang Zhi wiped his face with a cold towel, "What are you afraid of? I'm just afraid that all the Aixinjueluo family are short-lived ghosts! The little emperor wants to imitate his father when he sees this body!"
"We need to hurry up with our plan. No one can be relied on these days, but gold is still reliable... Draft the terms of exchange for gold immediately, and we must publish a newspaper tomorrow to inform the people of the capital..."
"Believe me, I'm right. I always feel that the chaos has just begun, and there are still many big things to come..."
Yang Zhi, who had only defected here for a few years, was already able to bribe the palace so deeply. One can only imagine how deeply the other Eight Banners noble families had penetrated.
As soon as it got dark and the curfew came into effect in the capital, rumors began to fly all over the sky.
"My brothers...brothers...are all fine...have you heard? Long live my master. He was seriously ill last night. He seemed to have typhoid fever and a high fever that wouldn't go away..."
"Really? But wasn't there a royal meeting held this morning?"
"Haha, don't believe this. It's just the emperor trying to stabilize people's minds. Just wait and see. God knows how many troubles will come later..."
"Shhh... keep your voice down, that bitch named Huang is here, and he has been letting these people ride on our bannermen's heads every year!"
The idle men of the Eight Banners chatting at the entrance of the alley shut their mouths when they saw the soldiers from the Capital Police Headquarters patrolling over.
The head of the alley was the most senior among the crowd, and he quickly said to the side, "Why are you still gossiping at this time...the teahouses and restaurants are also closed. If you want to gossip, go home and don't get me into trouble!"
"Let me tell you clearly, we have been friends for many lifetimes. If I don't cheat you, don't cheat me either... Whatever you want to talk about, go home now!"
Since the capital city began to tighten the curfew and implement the neighborhood system, the good old days of the Eight Banners, which used to be lazy and idle, are gone!
There was a chaos of war outside the city, and supplies in the city were so tight that rationing had already begun. It was hard to buy food, and those doing business were even closed.
Teahouses and taverns are basically closed. Only a few shops near the front door that provide services to the officials who go to court every day are still operating. Even these can only be opened under the supervision of the police who are on duty around the clock.
Ordinary people can no longer think about teahouses and restaurants. All the eight major alleys are closed!
The idle men of the Eight Banners have been accustomed to this kind of leisurely and lazy life for more than two hundred years. How can they bear this military control now? They feel uncomfortable in their bones if they don't chew their tongues for a day.
With no choice but to walk through alleys, private forums were spontaneously formed at the entrances of various alleys. These Eight Banners idlers were really a bit crooked, and they could talk about any topic from all over the world.
But this also suffers from the on-duty district chiefs and police officers, who are all responsible for this. These people who don't keep their mouth shut sometimes say something prohibited, and they have to follow suit.
They tried to persuade them to restrain themselves, but within half an hour, they couldn't help it anymore, and they got together and started sharing all kinds of rumors they had heard from nowhere.
"Do you know...the imperial court is about to confiscate the warehouses of all the grain merchants in the capital. As long as it is grain in the capital, all the confiscated grains will be turned into military rations..."
"I have collected all the Good Citizen Certificates at home. From now on, when buying food, we will have to buy according to the number of Good Citizen Certificates per person. Even one more grain of food will not do!"
"Ouch... Didn't Mr. Fu Qing bring the food here yesterday? He said that the Chinese want to give us enough food to sell. We can sell as much as we have. Why are we still ransacking our homes?"
"You know nothing... We need to build fortifications on the front line of the Yongding River. Cement is in short supply. We have to use the train's transportation capacity. What should we do if we can't transport food?"
"Oh... that's right. The fleets on the Grand Canal and the Haihe River have all stopped. The large fleets between Beijing and Tianjin are also afraid of the war and dare not run away. The only way to save life is the railway..."
"Hey... when the emperor built the railway, so many people were opposed to it. Now I see that this railway is life-saving!"
While people were whispering to each other, suddenly the shouts of newsboys came from the street, and the newsboys who delivered and sold newspapers began their work for another day.
"Excuse me... Yesterday King Dun took an airship to inspect the front line, went 20 miles behind enemy lines, and opened fire to kill dozens of rebels..."
"No. No. No.... Prime Minister Fu Qing returned to Beijing yesterday and brought back a grain purchase contract with the Chinese. The Chinese are open to supplying grain. There is no need to worry about the price of grain in the capital..."
"Number of positions... All the criminals who escaped from the crime scene yesterday have been arrested. Fu Yuchuan was shot dead by the New Army on the way to escape..."
The Qing Times is the largest-selling newspaper in the capital at the moment, and it is also an important window for people to get news during the war. Anyone with a little money will buy a copy.
Those wealthy families all ordered their own newspapers, and a newspaper boy would deliver them to their homes.
And those who are a little cash-strapped cannot order a newspaper, so they can only buy one or two copies occasionally when they have a lot of money. This is the business of newspaper boys along the street.
Finally, even if there is no money, the imperial court will give these people a chance to learn about national affairs. When the newspaper delivery and retail sales are almost finished in the morning, the remaining newspapers will be posted for free on the special walls at the entrance of each alley.
These newspaper reading areas have become another place for people to discuss government affairs.
Among the crowd, some of those reading newspapers secretly spit on the ground, "Bah... don't believe the nonsense of the imperial court, they are all deceiving us people!"
