The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 316: Minister of Nanyang, Monopoly on Japan (Request for Order, Request for Tickets)
"Yes, of course."

How could Prince Gong dare to say "inappropriate"? He also couldn't tell Emperor Xianfeng about the relationship between Wanzhen and the 36-year reign of the Qing Dynasty that was calculated by Hong Daquan!
Moreover, when Prince Gong left Shanghai last time, Hong Daquan did not board the ship with him, but stayed at the dock. After Prince Gong boarded the ship, he wanted to ask someone to go down and pull him up, but he found that Hong Daquan had already approached Luo Xueyan and was talking and laughing with the woman who was in charge of Yu Garden beside Luo Xueyan. They were very intimate, and it was obvious that he had already taken refuge with Luo.
A good person who should have been beaten to death in the market has now escaped and is living a carefree life in Shanghai. This is all his fault! How dare he tell Emperor Xianfeng about what this so-called expert had calculated? If he really told him, Emperor Xianfeng would definitely treat him as a stupid brother.

Gong Laoliu has been regarded as the emperor's child prodigy since he was a child.
"Since you think it's okay, then it's settled. Kneel down and pay your respects!"

Xianfeng waved his hand and sent Prince Gong away.

As soon as Prince Gong left, Imperial Concubine Yi came out from a side door and bowed to Emperor Xianfeng with a smile: "Your Majesty, I wish you the best."

Xianfeng glanced at her. Hmm, she was still as plump and moist as ever. She had a good confinement period after giving birth last time. Her figure was much more graceful than before she became pregnant with the eldest prince. She was plump where necessary and fat where necessary. It looked like she would be able to get pregnant again in a while.

"sit."

Xianfeng pointed to the empty space on the sofa beside him and asked Concubine Yi to sit there. Then he stretched out his right hand and grasped Concubine Yi's waist, which had become thinner after giving birth. He smiled and asked, "You and your sister Wanzhen haven't seen each other for a while, right? Why not call her into the garden to accompany you for a month or two and teach her a lesson?"

"After the training, will he be sent to Shanghai to Luo Xueshuai?" Concubine Yi asked with a smile.

Xianfeng said with a smile, "We have to spend the New Year in Beijing. Next year, she will be thirteen, which is almost the same. Oh, when she comes to the garden, remember to bring her to me for a look. If she is not a beauty, don't send her to her."

Concubine Yi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry, my sister is very pretty, with round and smooth breasts, much better than me."

"Really?" Xianfeng's eyes lit up.

Imperial Concubine Yi looked at Emperor Xianfeng with a smile: "Why? Does the Emperor want to marry his own daughter?"

Xianfeng shook his head and said, "It was agreed that it would be given to Luo Xueyan. I don't want Luo Xueyan to follow Wu Sangui's example and risk his life for his beloved!"

As he spoke, he sighed softly, and a feeling of powerlessness suddenly surged in his heart.

Today, the Qing Empire really can't afford to offend these Han military leaders who have thousands or tens of thousands of new troops under their command!

Luo Xueyan, Zuo Zongtang, Zeng Guofan, Jiang Zhongyuan, Huang Shijie, Hu Linyi, Liu Rong, Yuan Jiasan and Li Wenxuan are all too easy to deal with. You have to coax them all!

Fortunately, the Qing Dynasty still had generals in the banners such as Senggelinqin, Guanwen, Shengbao, Tuomin'a, Tazibu, Duolong'a, and Dexing'a. As long as they could train a new army, the Qing Dynasty would be saved.

Thinking of this, Xianfeng finally managed to force out a smile and said to Concubine Yi: "Tell Wanzhen that when she arrives in Shanghai, she must serve Luo Xueyan well and never act like a bannerwoman."

"No, no," Imperial Concubine Yi said with a smile, "My sister is not a fierce person, she is gentle and kind. I am afraid that she will be bullied by Luo Xueyan!"

"That's good." Xianfeng nodded gently, and did not discuss Wanzhen's marriage with Concubine Yi. His brows were getting tighter and tighter, and his thoughts turned to the group of Han people who were armed with heavy weapons!
Luo Xueyan was two-timing, and not only was the imperial court powerless to deal with him, but the court also wanted to marry him to Concubine Yi's sister as a token of favor. This set a very bad precedent!

Luo Xueyan can do it, but others can’t?

Having two masters as a minister will only make one look bad in the history books in the future, as he will be labeled a traitor. But who wouldn't like the real benefit of still being a noble?

Emperor Xianfeng appointed Prince Gong as the Minister of Beiyang, Luo Xueyan as the Minister of Nanyang, and the imperial edict in charge of the "traitorous" affairs in the north and south, and the imperial edict that Xianfeng arranged for Luo Xueyan to marry Concubine Yi's sister Wanzhen, of course, were first obtained by Luo Yaoguo, the King of Wu of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. After all, the land transportation from Beijing to Shanghai had been cut off, and the two imperial edicts had to be sent south by sea from Tianjin. The steamship route between Shanghai and Tianjin had not yet been officially opened, so they had to be sent south by sailing ships of the Tianjin Navy.

It’s hard to say whether the Qing Navy’s small broken ship will capsize halfway!

Fortunately, Zeng Guofan in Huai'an and his brother Zeng Guohua had correspondence through the channels of the Huang family, a salt merchant in Jiangbei, passing through Yang Xiuqing's territory.

Therefore, Luo Yaoguo received these two copies of the "Mingfa" only two days later than Zeng Guofan.

"Your Majesty, King of Wu, Your Majesty, King of Wu"

An official from the Kingdom of Heaven with high cheekbones, drooping eyebrows, triangular eyes, and a yellow robe and red hat walked into Luo Yaoguo's study in the Wu Wang Mansion in Suzhou. After making sure that there was no one else in the room except him and Luo Yaoguo, he lowered his voice and reported:
"Beijing has issued an imperial decree ordering the emperor to confer the title of Minister of Commerce on you, no, the title of Minister of Commerce on Luo Xueyan, in charge of trade affairs in various ports in Nanyang, and to allow Ryukyu to open its port!" Luo Yaoguo put down a report in his hand on the statistics of the number of mulberry gardens in Suzhou, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou and Taicang, and looked up at Zeng Guohua with a puzzled look on his face.

Is it necessary to do this secretly?

"Also, Emperor Xianfeng wants to arrange a marriage for you," Zeng Guohua added, "It's Concubine Yi's sister Wanzhen!"

"Oh"

Luo Yaoguo understood that there were now two pregnant queens in Prince Wu's mansion!

Although it is impossible for King Luo Wu to be henpecked, it is not a good thing to disturb the miscarriages of the two queens.

We have to wait until Su Sanniang gives birth to the child before making this matter public. After all, Zhou Xiuying came into the family by selling her body and performing arts, so she shouldn't be so angry.

Zeng Guohua is quite thoughtful!
Thinking of this, Luo Yaoguo took Zeng Guofan's letter and unfolded it to read it. In addition to the two imperial edicts, it also stated that Wei Yuan, the governor of Gaoyou, would be sent to Shanghai to negotiate this matter with the foreign official.

Luo Yaoguo thought for a moment and said to Zeng Guohua, "Wenfu, write back to your brother and thank him for informing him of the imperial edict. Tell him that Lord Wei can come to Shanghai at any time. If it is not safe to go through Yang Dongwang's territory, he can also go out to sea from Haizhou. I can ask Qichang Foreign Company to send a ship over."

"Yes."

Zeng Guohua bowed and turned to leave Luo Yaoguo's study.

When Luo Yaoguo saw him leave, he immediately got up and left the study, then walked along a corridor towards the back house.

The Wuwang Mansion was the former Jiangsu Governor's Office, which had hardly been renovated. They just changed the signboard and moved in. As the saying goes, officials don't repair their offices. Although it was the Governor's Office, it had been used for a long time and had not been renovated much, so when it was Luo Yaoguo's turn to move in, it was already very dilapidated.

However, King Luo Wu was different from Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing. He believed that "there is no point in building a house as long as the Qing Dynasty is not destroyed", so he just made do with it.

The servants in the Prince Wu's mansion were quite complete. Maids and servants bowed to him along the way. These were not the original Taiping Army, but the "tributes" given by the Dongting Mountain people and Nanxun Lake merchants after Luo Yaoguo entered Suzhou. In order to show his closeness to these southern Jiangsu merchants, Luo Yaoguo asked Su Sanniang to select some of them with clean backgrounds to work in the mansion.

Luo Yaoguo also brought two guards with him. One was the smiling Zeng Jiumei, who was from Zeng Tianyang's clan and had always been with Luo Yaoguo as a female guard. The other was Chen Picheng and Chen Siyan. Luo Yaoguo's female guards were rarely replaced, but his male guards were often replaced. Many young talents in the Taiping Army would be rotated to Luo Yaoguo's side as guards for a while, and then promoted.

The three of them walked through the corridor, passed through several small courtyards, and soon arrived at the backyard of the palace, then each of them went up to a small building.

The space inside the small building was not big and was very quiet. There was a knife rack by the window, and on the rack was Su Sanniang's Taiping sword.

As soon as Luo Yaoguo came in, Su Sanniang stood up from the couch with her big belly and bowed to him.

The weather was already cold, but the room was warm as spring with a heater. Su Sanniang was wearing a white dress with a red belt around her waist. Her beautiful face was not made up, but she still looked charming. Her breasts were bulging because of her pregnancy, which was very attractive.

"Sanniang," Luo Yaoguo smiled apologetically at his wife, "I have to go to Shanghai after the Chinese New Year. I may not be able to wait for our child to be born in the Suzhou Palace."

"What's going on? In Shanghai." Su Sanniang frowned slightly.

Luo Yaoguo laughed and said, "The emperor in Beijing agreed to the establishment of the Ryukyu Kingdom, so I have to help the Japanese sell out their country!"

"Helping the Japanese sell out their country?" Su Sanniang was stunned. "Can't they sell it out themselves? Do they need your help?"

Luo Yaoguo laughed and said, "How can their sales be as good as mine? Besides, Japan is a competitor of our Jiangnan Silk Industry!"

(End of this chapter)