The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 349 Please take me to see the man-eating devil! (Please subscribe, please vote)
"Hello, His Majesty the Emperor!"

Li Hongzhang bowed deeply to the French Emperor and greeted him in the French he had just learned. Mathilde, who came with him, also knelt to Napoleon III.

The French emperor looked at the tall and burly Chinese man, and then looked at his cousin who was a little too graceful - that woman was not easy to deal with! But looking at the physique of this Chinese man, Mathilde should be satisfied.
"Please take a seat," Napoleon III invited Mathilde and Li Hongzhang to take a seat, and then pointed to the cardinal and the beautiful woman in white sitting next to him: "This is Cardinal Paul de Doria of the Roman Catholic Church, and this is his niece, Countess Maria de Clementina.

Bishop Doria has just been appointed by the Holy See as the bishop of Nanjing and will soon be leaving for Shanghai, China to take up his post.

Napoleon III spoke in French, which Li Hongzhang certainly could not understand. Fortunately, his spoken English was now quite good, and Mathilde could act as an interpreter.

Mathilde had just translated Napoleon III's words into English. Before Li Hongzhang could think of how to respond, Maria began to speak in awkward Chinese: "Sir Li, my uncle was originally the minister of the heresy department of the Church and once served as the chief exorcist of the Church. You should know the purpose of our trip to China, right?"

"Are you going to catch that Bull Demon King?"

Li Hongzhang took a look at the foreign girl who could speak Chinese and found that the woman had beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and a gorgeous appearance. Her figure was even better than Mathilde's. He couldn't help but look at her twice more.

"Catch the Bull Demon King?" Maria chuckled when she heard Li Hongzhang's words, "I don't know magic, how can I catch that Bull Demon King?"

Li Hongzhang glanced at Cardinal Doria again. This archbishop looked somewhat sacred and solemn, and seemed to have some spiritual experience.

"My uncle doesn't know magic either," Maria said with a smile, "Our mission is not to capture the demon, let alone to harm him."

"That you"

Maria blinked her bright eyes and said, "Find him, have a good talk with him, and politely ask him to leave this world."

"What? That's a demon!" Li Hongzhang said in surprise, "Countess, aren't you afraid of being harmed by that demon?"

Maria laughed, seeming to be expecting something: "Master Li, tell me, how will that devil harm me?"

"He will." Li Hongzhang thought for a moment and said seriously, "The demon may eat people!"

That’s what Journey to the West says!
"Eat?" Maria looked at Li Hongzhang and smiled until he was a little distracted. Then she continued, "Then let him eat me! If he really is a man-eating monster, I don't mind becoming his delicious meal."

"what?"

Li Hongzhang didn't know what to say.

Maria then put away her charming smile and continued to ask Li Hongzhang: "Sir Li, can you take me to see the man-eating monster?"

Li Hongzhang saw that Maria didn't seem to be joking, and thought, "She must have some ability to exorcise demons, but she just didn't tell me! But Confucius once said, we should respect ghosts and gods but keep them at a distance."

Li Hongzhang quickly pushed this "foreign mission" to another place: "Countess, I have never seen a demon, but I know that there is a person in the delegation living in the Elysee Palace who has witnessed the arrival of a demon with his own eyes!"

"Really?" Maria de Clementine's eyes suddenly became sharp.

"It should be true," Li Hongzhang said, "Many people have witnessed the demon descending from the sky!"

"What's that man's name?" Maria asked again.

"His name is Guaerjia Yuanbao!" Li Hongzhang immediately "sold" Yuanbao.

"Thank you." Maria thanked him, then stood up and bowed to the French Emperor. "Your Majesty, I have already said hello."

Bishop Doria, who came with her, also stood up and bowed to the French emperor.

They are specifically responsible for finding the devil. Now that they have a clue, of course they have to follow the clues to find him.

Moreover, the topic that Li Hongzhang and Mathilde were going to discuss with Napoleon III was not something they could participate in.

Napoleon III nodded to them, then gestured for them to leave, and Maria and Bishop Doria left together.

"dong dong dong"

Guarjia Yuanbao suddenly heard a knock on the door of his guest room and thought it was time for afternoon snack - the Elysee Palace in this era was the state guesthouse of France, so the hospitality was of course very good.

Although Yuan Bao was not very hungry, he still called out in the French he had just learned: "Come in."

Then the door opened, and a graceful nun and an older monk in a black robe walked in.

"Who are you?" Yuan Bao, who was sitting on the sofa and preparing to enjoy French afternoon tea, stood up and stared at the people who came.

The nun spoke first, speaking in awkward Chinese: "I am Maria de Clementina, head nun of the Roman Catholic Exorcist Department, and this is Bishop Paul, the chief exorcist! Are you Mr. Guarja Yuanbao?"

Yuan Bao finally understood. Finally someone came to take care of that damn monster!

Yuan Bao nodded: "I am Yuan Bao. You, are you here for that Bull Demon King?"

"Yes!" Maria said, "His Holiness the Pope has sent Bishop Paul and me to take charge of this matter!"

"Come on, please take a seat." Yuan Bao hurriedly asked the two people in front of him to sit down, and then personally poured a cup of tea for each of them.

Maria and Paul both sat down. This time, it was Bishop Paul who asked the question. His Chinese was much better than Maria's, very fluent: "Master Guarjia, according to the report received by the Holy See, the demon really has a bull's head and a human body, and it has wings? I hope you can tell the truth, which is very important for our exorcism work!"

Yuan Bao thought for a while and finally told the truth: "No, no. He is not a human with a bull's head."

"So what is he like?" Bishop Paul asked.

"He is in human form," Yuan Bao said truthfully, "not much different from an ordinary person, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and looks to be only in his twenties. He rides a two-wheeled vehicle, wears a yellow coat, and a yellow helmet with rabbit ears."

"Rabbit ears?" Maria blinked.

"Yes! It's this strange outfit!" Yuan Bao said.

"Did he perform any magic?" Paul asked.

"Is riding on the purple ball and falling from the sky considered magic?" Yuan Bao asked.

"Let's just count it for now. Are there any others?"

Bishop Paul continued to ask questions.

Yuan Bao shook his head: "No, that's all. Oh, and there is also the prophecy. Is the "Great Book of Prophecy" considered magic?"

Maria and Paul looked at each other and did not answer Yuan Bao's question.

The devil and the prophet are not the same thing!
"But the Holy See has also received reports of demons eating people and phantom bull demons. What's going on?" Bishop Paul raised another question.

Yuan Bao smiled bitterly: "That was all made up by the generals who lost the battle. But they were indeed defeated by the demon that fell from the sky!"

"Are you sure he became a general of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?" Bishop Paul asked.

"Of course!" Yuan Bao said, "Because the demon was rescued by the long-haired female general Su Sanniang after it fell from the sky!"

"Rescued?" Maria stared, "What happened?"

"That demon hit me with his bike!" Yuan Bao gritted his teeth and said, "When he knocked me down, I kicked him and knocked him over with his bike. He seemed to be unconscious. If Su Sanniang and the Changmao hadn't come to kill us, my people and I would have had to flee. He would have been chopped into pieces long ago!"

"What happened next?" Maria asked.

"Later, he became a high-ranking official in the Taiping Rebellion," Yuan Bao said. "It seems that he first became a holy angel, then a chief lecturer, and then a commander of the upper army! Now he is even more powerful, becoming the 5,000-year-old King of Wu, the military advisor of Westernization, and the Minister of Nanyang and the Shanghai Governor of our Qing Dynasty!"

"what?"

"Mr. Guarja, what are you talking about?"

Guaerjia Yuanbao gritted his teeth and said, "For some unknown purpose, this demon sneaked into Shanghai under the name of Luo Xueyan and swindled a large sum of money from Wu Jianzhang, the supervisor of the Jianghai Customs. He used the money to purchase foreign guns and cannons in Shanghai and trained a new army. The imperial court was also deceived by him, thinking that he was from the Hunan Army. Seeing that he could lead troops, they promoted him greatly. He is really abominable!"

Maria and Paul both looked surprised.

Now we have finally found the real culprit. All we have to do next is figure out whether he is a devil or a prophet.

Demons only want human souls, but prophets are even more dangerous! Because the last "prophet" founded an empire!

(End of this chapter)