Chapter Eighteen: Sprout

  As Ye Zhaode had expected, on the third day after the Tianjin Massacre, British Consul Alston, French Acting Consul Henri étienne, and American Consul William Woodville Rockhill came to the Imperial Commissioner's Yamen, strongly demanding that the Qing Special Envoy restrain the soldiers, or else they would not rest.

  Two consecutive days of Qing army soldiers and braves attacking foreign merchants, apparently the killing of the Punyin Village Brave has triggered a chain reaction. The village braves are mostly from the same place, with the same breath and branches, and when their fellow villagers are brutally killed by foreigners, it will naturally provoke their hatred. Moreover, the village braves' military discipline is not good to begin with.

  Ye Zhaowen sat steadily on the fishing platform, only repeatedly expressing regret. After sending away the three foreign gentlemen, Ye Zhaowen immediately wrote a letter to Jiangsu Governor Xu Naiji and Provincial Judge Ji'erhang'a, asking them to be vigilant and prevent the foreigners from launching a surprise attack.

  Worrying that the two would not take it seriously, Ye Zhao's words were extremely severe, saying that the warning had been passed on, and if they did not conscientiously fulfill their duties, resulting in a loss of military affairs, they would definitely be punished for their dereliction of duty.

  After ordering his trusted soldiers to secretly send the letter to the Qing army's camp, Ye Zhao came to the second floor and knocked on Su Hongniang's door.

  Su Hongniang changed into a rose-red cheongsam with plum blossom patterns, looking slender and alluring, captivating people's souls. Ye Zhao smiled: "Why wear Tartar clothes too? Do you think Tartars have good people too?"

  Su Hongniang also ignored him and said sideways: "Come in and talk."

  Under the red candlelight, the fragrance of the boudoir overflows with colorful splendor, a silver screen and elegant pavilion, with flowing tassels adorning the curtains, while the beautifully decorated Western-style dressing table by the window brings another kind of charm.

  Sat down on a soft cushion, took over the fragrant tea handed by Su Hongniang, sipped a mouthful, and savored the lingering fragrance.

  Ye Zhao's expression turned extremely serious as he said, "Write a letter to Liu Lichuan of the Small Sword Society. I estimate that within half a month, the foreigners will attack the Qing army's main camp. They may also ask the Small Sword Society for assistance at that time. Tell Liu Lichuan not to agree." After a pause, he continued, "If not, then agree to it, but when the foreigner's offensive begins, have him lead his troops in a surprise breakout. This is the only chance for the survival of the Small Sword Society. If they do not seize this opportunity, they will surely be annihilated."

  I thought I still had to explain to Su Hongniang why Xiao Dao couldn't unite with the foreigners to attack the Qing army, but unexpectedly Su Hongniang furrowed her brow and said: "Is this news true? I'm also worried about it. Although the foreign merchants sell weapons to Liu Dage and his men, in the eyes of the foreign government, we are still a rebel army. Sooner or later, the foreigners and the Tartars will join forces to deal with Liu Dage, and at that time, Liu Dage won't even have a way out."

  Ye Zhao raised his thumb and smiled: "My wife is getting smarter and smarter."

  Su Hongniang couldn't help but feel frustrated, and just as she had composed herself for a little while, she began to reveal her true nature again.

  "Don't worry, this letter will definitely not go wrong. However, wife, you need to find a brother who can talk and persuade Liu Lichuan. If he really doesn't listen, then there's nothing we can do. We've just done our part as humans, now it's up to fate."

  Su Hongniang nodded silently, and unknowingly, the term "wife" was gradually confirmed by Xiao Huatou in their serious conversations.

  "Just call Ah Jiu then." Su Hongniang thought for a moment and had someone in mind.

  Ye Zhao nodded: "Tomorrow morning, ask Big Brother to take A Jiu to find Huo Er, he will help A Jiu arrange things in Shanghai County." As for himself and the Tiandihui interacting with the Xiaodao Society, it's enough if Su Hongniang and Su Lao Da know about it. People like Luo A Jiu are absolutely not allowed to know the inside details.

  Su Hongniang nodded, but then looked at Ye Zhao and said seriously: "I really don't understand, you are the king's brother, why do you help us rebel against your own people?"

  Ye Zhaoye smiled mysteriously: "Helping one's wife is a matter of course, but to say that the rebels are untrustworthy, well, that's not necessarily so."

  In today's world, the distinction between Manchu and Han is far less pronounced than it was decades ago, and certainly not as life-and-death as described online. More than 200 years have passed since the Qing dynasty entered China proper, and the idea of loyalty to the emperor has long been deeply ingrained in people's minds. Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army fought a desperate battle against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with the creed of "loyalty to the emperor and respect for authority", while the scholar-official class had an even more widespread psychology of loyalty to the emperor, and had long since become content with being subjects under Manchu rule.

  The Taiping Army and the Tiandihui were no exception, with most of those who joined being peasants who could not make a living or vagrants, or those who hoped to gain wealth and glory from it. Although they raised anti-Qing slogans when they started their uprising, in fact, they had nothing to do with the conflict between Manchu and Han.

  Even after the Xinhai Revolution, how many so-called Han Chinese scholars became royalists and refused to cut off their queues?

  The fall of the Qing dynasty was not actually due to the conflict between Manchu and Han, but rather because decades later it suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War, the failure of the Westernization Movement, followed by the invasion of Beijing by the Eight-Nation Alliance, the chaos caused by the Boxer Rebellion, the death of Empress Dowager Cixi, and the power struggle that ensued. The half-hearted attempt at constitutional monarchy was merely a change in name only, as the imperial family had no intention of relinquishing its hold on power. This led to strong discontent among the scholar-official class, and the Qing dynasty's foundation for governance ceased to exist.

  But Ye Zhaowu knew that, no matter from which angle, he would eventually have to restore his Han Chinese name. The change brought about by himself could not be the iron-clad guarantee of the Qing dynasty's eternal prosperity. Only, that might be a matter of ten or even several decades later. For now, he just focused on accumulating strength. If he had an exceptionally powerful armed force in his hands, and could guard the borders in Jiangnan, Guangdong, and other coastal areas, then he could carry out a real Westernization movement, unite the gentry, improve people's livelihoods, and have equal exchanges with the West, making the region he guarded rich, strong and prosperous.

  If it were truly possible to reach this point, then even if I had the title of Manchu nobility, no one would be troubled by my bloodline, and who knows, maybe they would even support me as the first monarch under a constitutional monarchy. It's just that I am not willing to spend my whole life with the name of a Manchu noble.

  Of course, now it seems that these are just pipe dreams, and the reality is too far away. The world will not develop in an orderly fashion because of my arrival, and I can only take things one step at a time, striving for my dream goal.

  As for the children of the Eight Banners, if this country is truly changed by themselves, it can be said that they are fortunate. At least they will live a self-sufficient life in peace and stability, betraying their own people is absolutely out of the question.

  These words Ye Zhao would never say to Su Hongniang, he just smiled and bid farewell, completely in line with the mysterious image he had in Su Hongniang's mind.

  ……

  A typical 19th-century Western-style mansion, with colorful luxurious glass, a church-like spire structure, and a lush green garden, just like a miniature palace. In the front hall, the pure white marble statue of a maiden is lifelike, as if it might come to life at any moment.

  This was the residence of Mr. Holle, where in a large hall with red carpeting, Ye Zha saw ten boys selected by Mr. Holle from schools in Shanghai and Hong Kong to be sent to England for further study, all were young boys with queues, their bright eyes curiously looking at Ye Zha.

  They were all orphans adopted by the church orphanage. Although the Qing Dynasty folk descriptions of these orphanages are extremely frightening, some say that they kidnap children and dig out their hearts to make medicine, while others claim that they gouge out both eyes for foreign witches to practice witchcraft. However, regardless of how absurd the rumors are, these young children all seem spirited, and there is no sign of the pale complexion commonly seen in rural children on their faces.

  "Pigtails, once you're in England, if you don't want to stay, then just leave!" After Mr. Holl introduced him as the sponsor who would be supporting their studies abroad, Ye Zhaos opening remarks left the children bewildered.

  Ye Zha asked them one by one for their names, and then smiled slightly, saying: "Studying abroad, separated from your hometown by vast oceans and mountains, you will encounter many challenges in your future lives. I only have one sentence to tell everyone, that is, read books for the rise of China!" Plagiarizing a famous quote from someone, but at this moment it feels especially suitable.

  "Everyone recite with me, come on, raise your hands like this." Ye Zhaol made a fist with his right hand and took an oath in front of his chest, and also asked the children to learn from his posture, shouting: "Read for the rise of China!"

  "Read for the rise of China!" The children echoed Ye Zhaos' slogan in a scattered manner.

  "Louder!" Ye Zhao shouted.

  "Study for the rise of China!" The children shouted in unison, their young and innocent voices ringing out, although there was a hint of confusion on their faces. Ye Zhaowu's nose suddenly felt sour.

  "Alright, it's like this. One day you'll understand the meaning of these words." Ye Zhaosheng smiled and gently patted the shoulder of the tallest boy closest to him, who had just reported his name as Shen Chenglong, courtesy name Wansheng.

  "Sir, I will study hard and not disappoint your expectations. After returning to my country, I will serve you!" This young man was the oldest and most sensible, knowing that Mr. Ye Zhaowei had actually changed his fate.

  Ye Zhaosheng smiled slightly and said: "It's not for me to serve, this principle you will understand later."

  "Yes, everything will be done as you wish, sir!" The young man didn't dare look at Ye Zhao and humbly lowered his head.

  Looking at these young men, Ye Zhaos mood suddenly became cheerful for some reason.

  …………………………….

  Let's update it to 8 o'clock in the morning now, I just saw a few comments and said a few words.

  I saw that some friends were confused, and they were entangled in the protagonist's identity, so I couldn't help but mention a little bit about Pigsy's possible development direction in this chapter. Actually, it wasn't supposed to be written now, but I temporarily added a few sentences.

  The protagonist would not shout anti-Qing slogans, haha, I guess some friends are also confused about this point, how is that possible? The protagonist ran out to rebel and shouted "Drive out the Tartars"? It's too ridiculous. Moreover, in that era, this slogan had no appeal at all.

  Not rebelling against the Qing but rebelling against the Qing is the highest state, this book, even if it really reaches the day of turning the sky and earth upside down, there won't be many Manchu people who think the protagonist is rebelling against the Qing, in the end most Manchu and Han people will regard the protagonist as a hero or even a great lord, being able to write something reasonable is the fun of this book. Hehe.

  In the end, this book wants to write about some changes that cannot be touched in the official path, and Manchu and Han are not the focus.

  If said more clearly, the protagonist's ultimate goal is to establish a constitutional monarchy similar to some European countries, with the first king being Ye Zhao. In fact, it can't be said that this is the protagonist's goal, but rather the book's goal, which relies on the development of history and various people and events to drive it forward. What Ye Zhao wants is a democratic system where the country is rich and strong, even if he becomes a constitutional monarch, it would be against his will. Of course, he may also become president, or fail and go into exile... Hehe, let's see how history develops step by step with the addition of Ye Zhao.

  Finally today Monday, new book list, need votes, comfort my wounded heart...