Alchemy Greater China

Secondly, the Empress Dowager Cixi made a decree to designate Long Hao as the prince, and he would be the king of iron hats standing side by side.

The bestowment of this hereditary King of Invasion can be particular. One is that non-banner people are not granted, and the other is that once granted, the recipient must go to the tomb of the late emperor to perform sacrifices.

Long Hao is in a coma, but if he wants to be the iron hat king, even if he is unconscious, he has to go back to Beijing, to the Forbidden City, and put it in front of the emperor's tomb!

Cixi was not afraid that Long Hao's subordinates would not submit, because along with this decree to confer the king, there were a total of [-] official titles and titles, which were prepared to be given to Long Bo and others as sweet bait.

Cixi believes that it is the Chinese who do not want to honor their ancestors. Hey, no matter how beautiful you are overseas, no matter how rich you are, how can you go back to your hometown and show off your official position in front of relatives, friends, and clan elders? tempting?

What's more, Cixi also prepared the ultimate trump card. Didn't Long Bo want the imperial doctor to treat Long Hao's brain?

That's just right, as long as you bring Long Hao over here, all the imperial doctors in the Qing Palace will serve you for free, take your pulse and treat you, and do everything for you.

Because, if only imperial doctors are sent to the United States, then the number of imperial doctors will definitely not be many, and the coverage and cure rate will be greatly reduced.

Moreover, there must be an imperial doctor in the huge imperial city, otherwise the empress dowager, emperor, empress and concubines will have headaches, stomach pains and anal itching, and no one will take care of them...

Finally, there was another move. The Empress Dowager Cixi secretly ordered Li Hongzhang to order his Beiyang navy to take out some warships, go south to the East China Sea, and lie in ambush with the Nanyang navy, and surround them when Long Hao's ships came to transport the refugees.

Cixi still believes in the fighting power of the Beiyang Navy, and privately thinks that if the people under Long Hao are disobedient.Then kill a few of his ships, not only killing their vigor, but also taking the opportunity to find out their background.

Find out why the powerful foreign warships are always under the command of Long Hao...

It has to be said that the old ladies of Cixi are quite smart when they play tricks that harm people.This is a three-pronged approach, if the people under Long Hao are not monolithic, they will be provoked by her to create a rift in their hearts, giving her an opportunity to split up and separate.

However, the old ladies of Cixi are in action, and the little emperor Guangxu and the old fried dough sticks of Li Hongzhang are also plotting and planning.

You must know that Baba Scorpion is not the only one with information about Sun Jianer, not only did he sell the information to many others.In addition, several young eunuchs who went with him were also bribed by Guangxu and Li Hongzhang's people.

Let me talk about our Li Zhongtang first.

His impression of Long Hao was mixed. At the beginning, Long Hao's people took away a Hanyang Iron Works. Although Zhang Zhidong was so angry that he almost returned to the west, the subsequent lawsuit made Li Zhongtang slapped on the head and was arrested. Zhang Xiangshuai harassed so non-stop that even the braids on the back of his head were several percent gray.

But later.The boats from Long Hao's side were more well-mannered, more filial, and more organized.

Say something.How could Li Hongzhang not know about the fact that they kidnapped people abroad?

It's just because of the golden ticket in his hand and the large amount of European-style ordnance, Master Zhongtang turned his eyes and closed his eyes.

Anyway, I have a large population in Qing Dynasty, so instead of keeping these muddy legs to cause trouble in the country, it is better to let Long Hao go to the United States to mine mines, and make the best use of it.

There is a lot of digging over there, and the benefits in my hands have also increased.Beiyang's expenses have been getting tighter and tighter recently by Weng Tong and that old guy.

Fortunately, there is no war around, the world is peaceful, and the great powers have Britain as a barrier.Barbarians such as Japan and North Korea were also intimidated by our navy and did not dare to move.

At this moment, as long as Long Hao doesn't cause trouble, it's the best way for me to live in peace with him!

It was with this idea that Li Hongzhang turned a blind eye to Ouyang Geng's repeated suggestions: Zhao Ting was young after all, and he didn't know that the affairs of court were trade-offs and trade-offs.

I have an exchange with Long Hao, we each get what we need, and besides, there are many oceans between me and him, why should I touch him if it's okay?

As for the overseas American team, even if they can fight and be used by the emperor, without a ship, they can come to the Yellow Sea?

Even if you take [-] steps back and come to the Yellow Sea, can you beat me in the Great Beiyang?

Hey, all over the East, apart from the few ships of the British, who else would I be afraid of, Mr. Li?

After learning about Sun Jian'er's information, Li Hongzhang planned to stand still and carry forward the trick of pretending to be a fool in the officialdom and reaping profits.

So, when he received the Queen Mother's order to secretly dispatch troops to the Yellow Sea, he thought for a while before laughing: Want me to ambush Long Hao's fleet?You really think highly of me, Mr. Li... What is Long Hao's identity now?He is the lord of a country supported by the Queen of Britain. If there is an exchange of fire, it may cause a national war. At that time, isn't Li the scapegoat?

Queen Mother, Queen Mother, your information is too backward, do you think Long Hao is a small person who you can pinch as you like?

Look at Citigroup, the president has been resigned, and the navy officials have also rebelled. They are suspected of separatist control of the west coast of the United States. Hmph, today's president of other countries may be tomorrow for me, Mr. Li!

I won't take this evil trick!

However, after Li Hongzhang invited his staff to discuss, he changed his mind.

The reason is roughly this.

The Beiyang Navy and the Nanyang Navy have always been on the wrong track. Although the Nanyang Navy was raised by a stepmother, and its equipment is no different from that of a fisherman, by taking this opportunity, the Beiyang Navy can justifiably cross the border with the Queen Mother's will. Fish over the line.

If you don't take advantage of this opportunity to expand Beiyang's influence, then Li Zhongtang and his think tanks don't have to do anything. It's better to go home and sell sweet potatoes.

After talking about Li Zhongtang, let's talk about the little emperor Guangxu.

When Guangxu learned that Sun Jianer was back, he learned the general content of his conversation with Cixi through the inside line the next day.

Originally, he was dissatisfied with Cixi's meddling in rewarding Long Hao, and he was so angry that he was so angry. Now that he thought about it, the idle energy accumulated a month ago surged up, forming thick phlegm, and he couldn't spit it out!

So Emperor Guangxu called Weng Tonghe and other confidants, and closed the door to discuss, one is to speculate on the next move of Cixi's old ladies, and the other is to plan his own response.

Weng Tonghe is good at teaching, but he is really not talented in resourcefulness, so he pushed back and thought about it.After a few perfunctory words from the little emperor, he left.

At this time, in Weng Tonghe's mansion, there was a candidate for the examination. Although this person was a candidate, he already had a great reputation, and he was the object of wooing by the Qingliu in the court.

His surname is Zhang Mingjian.A native of Jiangsu, he used to be Nanyuan, but he failed four times in the test. This time, he was forced by his father to come to Beijing ahead of time to prepare for the fifth test.

Zhang Jian was very appreciated by Weng Tonghe, and in history, that is, in the extra meeting held in the Sino-Japanese War of the next year.Weng Tonghe changed his names from eleven to ten, and finally after the palace examination, he urged the examiner to choose Zhang Jian as the first name.

Of course, at this time, Zhang Jian was still just a scholar without any official position, living in Weng Tonghe's mansion, studying every day, so as to establish a good relationship with Weng's faction.

today.Seeing that Weng Tonghe couldn't taste the food, Zhang Jian was at a loss.I asked curiously.

Weng Tonghe hesitated for a while, closed the door, and still told about Emperor Guangxu summoning him, and finally said clearly that he was worried about the emperor thinking of a perfect solution.

After Zhang Jian heard this, he laughed loudly and said, "Why bother the emperor? Jian has a plan. It can make the queen mother's plan come to naught!"

Weng Tonghe was overjoyed when he heard the words: "Ji Zhi is talented, teach me quickly!"

Zhang Jian smiled faintly, with a proud face, and his ear canals...

This strategy is quite clear.

Zhang Jian suggested that Weng Tonghe should write to Emperor Guangxu.It is said that the Westernization Movement has been in operation for more than [-] years, but the national treasury is still empty and the military equipment is not strong. Seeing the great powers is like seeing a relative. It can be seen that even if this method is not a bad method, it is definitely not a good way to enrich the country and strengthen the people. There are thirteen lines, and later there are wealthy merchants in sea trade, all of whom have made countless silvers.

It's a pity that although the business is huge, the taxation power is not in the hands of the court, so it can only watch the money slip away.

I heard that the Earl of Beihai was a citizen of the Qing Dynasty, and was named the Earl of England by the Queen of England.

Now there are rumors that the Earl of Beihai has been treated unfairly in the United States, and the situation is not good. The emperor can say that he feels pity for him as a native of his country, and he will give him a commercial license and some preferential treatment. Sell ​​it domestically.

And this tax money will be exempted directly!

In this way, Long Hao will be grateful, and when they come to the south to sell goods, they will definitely have conflicts with the big powers. For example, Mr. Hurd, who cares about Long Hao who has harmed the interests of the United Kingdom The title will inevitably have a huge rebound.

In this way, a piece of trade license can attract them to bark and bite each other, and we can have both sides and benefit from each other.

Zhang Jian's strategy was carefully made based on the righteousness of Emperor Guangxu who was weak in the three-party game, but possessed the status.

After thinking about it carefully, Weng Tonghe felt very satisfied and it was very feasible. He spent three days polishing it up before going to the little emperor to discuss it.

At this time, Emperor Guangxu was obedient and dependent on Emperor Weng's words. In addition, Weng Tonghe's performance was really good, which made Guangxu so happy that he was overjoyed. He immediately issued a secret decree to Long Hao. The status of special imperial merchants in [-] southern provinces including Guanghu, Fujian and Jiangxi!

In this capacity, there is no need to pay taxes on the purchase and import of goods. Only when the turnover of the year exceeds 3000 million taels, do you need to pay a symbolic one percent of the "Xiqian" to the emperor.

The meaning of happy money is naturally used to express the mighty kindness of the emperor and to be overjoyed...

This is literally tax-free, because a one percent tax is nothing at all!Moreover, it was clearly stated that there is no need to pay the turnover under 3000 million taels of silver. It has to be said that Emperor Guangxu worked hard to win over Long Hao.

Moreover, there is another point of this decree, which is that even if Long Hao does not come back, as long as it is an overseas firm with his name, it can enjoy this tax-free treatment.

It is easy to imagine that if this secret decree is leaked out, how many stalking businessmen will salivate and seek refuge with Long Hao.

It's like those small landlords who depended on the squires in the late Ming Dynasty and didn't have to pay rent.

It's not that Emperor Guangxu and Weng Tonghe didn't know how big a "flood beast" this secret order would unleash. This simply handed over half of the Qing Empire's commercial power to Long Hao.

But being clear is clear, Guangxu felt it was worth it.

Now he is like a child living in a mansion, imprisoned in a hut that is just a few meters away, and he is obviously the owner of the mansion, but he cannot control the swimming pool, home theater, and four-door refrigerator in the kitchen of the mansion.

Alone and hungry.

Because, the whole mansion was occupied by his stepmother and her concubine, so, naturally, he wouldn't mind throwing the key of the mansion through the window.Even if he knew that what followed was a group of gangsters with AKs and ulterior motives.

Anyway, the situation is so bad that it can't get any worse. It's better to let the wicked concubine and the gun-wielding gangster fight each other. Even if the end result is that the mansion collapses, at least he still has the real estate certificate, so he can spend money to hire people in the ruins Then rebuild a warm nest that really belongs to you.

To put it bluntly, it was also because of Long Hao's strength.Demonstrated the powerful strength of confronting foreigners head-on but not falling down!

Otherwise, Emperor Guangxu's 'key' would not be thrown out easily.

Otherwise, if the villain and his concubine find out, I will have to be 'beaten'...

The thoughts of the three parties have been introduced here. They all feel that they are making a very good move. However, their movements are still half a beat too slow, and they cannot cope with emergencies!

In November, a cargo ship flying the flag of the North Island.Swaggeringly entered the Yellow Sea, and then under the leadership of the Beiyang Navy, sailed into the Bohai Sea, and finally landed in Tianjin.

Why did the Beiyang Navy come to lead it?Because, this is a cargo ship paying tribute.

And it is a tribute specially for Lafayette to repair the garden.

Empress Dowager Cixi will celebrate her [-]th birthday in the next year, and everyone in the court will know that she will hold a grand birthday banquet.

Among them, rebuilding the garden is the top priority!

but.The Qing court was short of money, wouldn't the tribute ship sent by Long Hao solve the urgent need?

To this.Li Hongzhang wept with joy when he heard the news: Long Hao, after you fell into a coma, your subordinates did a good deed!In this way, there is no reason for our military expenses to be deducted!From this point of view, your subordinates are better than you, and I, Li, am fully responsible for the safety of this tribute ship!Before showing it to the Queen Mother.Whoever dares to touch it, all my Beiyang troops will fight with him to the end!

The Empress Dowager Cixi also heard it in the Forbidden City, and she laughed from ear to ear: Tribute?Have money?Hoho, this Long Hao is really filial, huh?Was it sent by his men?That's the same.Hurry up and find out, how much is this batch of tributes worth?Is it enough for me to fine-tune Aijia's bedroom after finishing the garden?

Emperor Guangxu was dumbfounded: What does this mean?Long Hao, why don't you let someone secretly entrust you with my beauty, and pay tribute to the old woman?This is to look up to her, not to look up to me?Well, Emperor Master, you mean that Long Hao hasn't woken up yet, and that this is his subordinates' self-assertion?hateful!

In short, the tribute incident at the end of November caused a huge shock in Zhili Province, Kyoto, and even the official circles of the Qing Dynasty.

All parties have their own interpretations of this.

For example, the main members of the three factions, the Queen Mother, the Emperor, and Li Hongzhang, even sent people to contact the heads of the tribute missions frequently, hoping to find out the latest situation of Long Hao's forces in the United States.

The person in charge of the mission was Long Ganruo. When he first entered the capital, he was apprehensive and apprehensive at first.

But after he got used to the visits from all parties, he gradually became more confident.

Hey, this time I brought Jinshou Tao worth 660 million US dollars according to what Long Bo and the princess wanted. If you are rich, you are a grandpa. What else should I worry about?

Therefore, when Long Ganruo met Cixi, he had become comfortable and natural.

Leaving aside how much shock the super golden longevity peach brought to the Forbidden City, under the temptation of all parties and Long Ganruo's intentional release of the message, they finally 'found out' that Long Ganruo is not far away. , the intention to come across the ocean to pay tribute.

The Earl of Beihai's health is failing, and he is about to die. His old housekeeper wants to help him find an heir! !

The news revealed by Long Ganruo is very shocking: Long Hao, who was seriously injured and comatose, not only shows no signs of waking up, but also is in danger of dying!

In order for the Long family to continue to pass on, and for the emerging forces created by Long Hao not to be wiped out... the earl desperately needs an heir!

But the problem is that Long Hao is too young to leave any blood, so the butler of Uncle Long has to choose an heir from among Long Hao's relatives.

According to Long Ganruo, in the United States, several such heirs have already been selected. When he returned to China this time, he was ordered to pick another one in Long Zhengxing's hometown to see if there was one who was closer to Long Hao's blood. Secondly, it is an important task of his trip: he hopes that the imperial court can cash in the first-class reward for Long Hao, and he will fund the purchase of land to open government buildings in China, or in Beijing. government.

This request is reasonable. Isn't it the right thing for a first-class public to enclose a land in the capital, build a public mansion, and recruit helpers?

From this point of view, since Long Hao and the others are foreign forces, the purpose of presenting the Jinshou Tao is to please Cixi and finalize the establishment of the government office.

In the conversations with various forces, Long Ganruo revealed that he felt that this matter was not difficult: it is not that we do not spend money, money is not a problem, we spend money to buy those free government offices that have been convicted and resigned. good!In the future, the foundation of the Long family will be to slowly return to the motherland. Only when we can have a place to stay in the imperial capital where every inch of land is expensive, can we return with peace of mind and do our best to contribute 100% to the Qing Dynasty...

After the forces of all parties inquired and found out, they were all secretly happy.

Opening a yamen and building a mansion is a matter of ball game, as long as it is approved, there are not many other things in the capital, and there are many big houses left after the house raids. The cycle of changing hands of these big houses is generally less than five years, which is not serious Bannerman, it is basically impossible for you to have 70 years of residency in the capital.

Lord Zhongtang doesn’t want you, the emperor doesn’t want you, the queen mother doesn’t want you, and some foreigners call in and copy you by the way... (to be continued...)

ps: Let me tell you, I will not write about the official fights in the Qing Dynasty.

The reason is that the first one is difficult, and the second one is thankless. In short, you don’t have to be serious.

In addition, the editor also said that this book cannot be written before 1911, so it is expected to be completed within three months.