Chapter 47: The Emperor's Death

  The sky was just dark, in the main house of the yard, Chen Xin was holding a bowl of noodles at the table, with a dim yellow oil lamp on the table, Liu Minyou sat opposite him also holding a bowl of noodles.

  "When the people have, etc. Dai Zhenggang and Song Wenxian returned in September, I will go to Beijing, Lu Chuanzong, Dai Zhenggang, Zhu Guobin, and Haigouzzi, I will take them all away."

  Liu Min was slightly surprised: "You've already sent Qin Lüfang to the capital, and you're still bringing so many people. Are you going to fight or what?"

  Chen Xin chewed the noodles in his mouth twice and said, "It's almost like going to war. Tianqi is going to die this year, I don't remember which month, anyway, I'll go take a look if there's any opportunity."

  "Aren't you just going to pay the tax? Tianqi is dead, what can be done about it? Can you capture and kill Wei Zhongxian? Moreover, there are people in the shop who need to be taken care of, you've taken them all away, how am I supposed to manage here?"

  Chen Xinduan took a sip of the wonton soup and let out a comfortable sigh before saying, "It's that simple. Don't you have Zhou Laifu's wife and Pan Jinlian in your store? Alright, I promised Old Cai and Lu You, from now on, let them come to the clothing store to work. With so many people, it should be enough, right?"

  At that moment, Liu Min's bowl fell on the table. "You, who told you to hire so many people? The clothing store only had less than 100 pieces of business this month, mostly cotton, and earned only three or four taels of silver. You also guaranteed Deng Keshan three taels a few days ago, now adding two more people, what silver can we still earn?"

  Chen Xin calmly put down Liu Min's bowl: "Two taels for Old Cai, one tael for Lu You, what's the relationship? Deng Keshan can handle things in Tianjin, that's also something that should be given."

  "It's not about a few taels of silver, but there are so many things to do in the shop. You've brought so many people here, yet there's nothing for them to do. What's the point of idling away the whole day?"

  "Brother Liu, don't worry, we won't be running a clothing store for the rest of our lives. There are many other businesses to do in the future. For now, let's focus on cultivating our team, so when the time comes, we won't lack talent."

  Liu Min stared at him for a while, then suddenly stood up and went to the door, slamming it shut before coming back to sit down: "You have to make things clear tonight, what are your plans? Don't treat me like a fool."

  Chen Xinyi had a sly look on his face and reached out to take the soup bowl, but Liu Min was one step ahead and took it away.

  Chen Xin spread his hands and smiled: "Alright, but don't laugh at me after you hear it."

  "That's all."

  Chen Xinqing cleared his throat and said: "I want to contend for hegemony over the world!"

  With a loud crash, Liu Minyu fell from his seat and quickly scrambled to his feet, panting and saying: "You still want to contend for the world? You're just over 10,000 taels of silver, what makes you think you can contend for the world? In this Tianjin city, which merchant doing business on the Grand Canal isn't worth tens of thousands? None of them have gone to contend, what makes you go and contend?"

  Chen Xin hastily pulled him down to sit: "Liu brother don't be impatient, I'm just asking you not to laugh at me, you must let me speak."

  "Brother Chen, can't we just live a peaceful life now? We have a boat, silver and business. Can't we just be honest and live a simple life? I think it's time for you to settle down and get married. The aunties from Second Street have already come to propose marriage, why don't I arrange for you to get married first?"

  Chen Xin shrugged and said: "Are you all right? The Tartars have arrived."

  "Aren't you having a private port in Weihai? Let's run to Weihai first, then to Taiwan. If all else fails, we can go to Ryukyu. What are we afraid of when we're by the sea? But with your antics, vying for dominance, who knows, maybe the Tartars haven't even arrived yet and you'll have already gotten us all killed."

  Chen Xin smiled wryly and said: "Boss Liu, this fight for dominance is now just a dream, there's no roadmap to achieve it."

  Liu Min angrily said: "You've had a roadmap all along, you're just deceiving us. From the day you entered the pawnshop, you already had a roadmap. You just didn't expect to make so much this time. Now that you have both silver and land, you can't wait any longer. Dreams also come with a price, didn't Martin Luther King say 'I have a dream' before he was killed?"

  "Brother Liu, don't get angry first, listen to my reasons."

  "So you say."

  "If I said it was to save Chinese civilization and prevent it from being interrupted by barbarism, would you believe me?"

  Liu Min was unhesitant: "I don't believe it!"

  "Well, actually, I'm saving civilization while achieving some personal values, such as getting a bigger stage..."

  "Alright, you're just having a power craving, just like in the company, marrying the director's daughter or cooperating with Director Pan, it's all for power."

  Chen Xin nodded repeatedly and said: "Brother Liu is indeed my bosom friend, what he said is not wrong at all. Once you've tasted the flavor of power, it's addictive."

  Liu Min's eyes widened, and Chen Xin hastily changed his tone: "Alright, let's be real. The great chaos is just ahead, Tianjin and Weihai are not utopias either. Since we can't escape, why not make a desperate bid to change the fate of people like Dairen Haigouzi, and even China's fate? With me in charge, it's better than that half-slave, half-feudal, half-colonial monstrosity of the Qing dynasty."

  Liu Min looked at him suspiciously, "What's this 'half-slave, half-feudal, half-colonial' business?"

  "The Manchu Eight Banners were nothing more than a semi-slave structure under military tribal command, and after entering the Central Plains, they established a colonial society with ethnic segregation through military superiority. After a makeover, its appearance was no different from that of China's traditional centralized authoritarian regime, which is what is known as feudal society. It was like a parasitic tree, entwining itself around the great tree of Huaxia, plundering its nutrients, and after more than 200 years, China had become a weak and ignorant freak."

  Liu Min fell silent for a moment. Chen Xin might have said all the right things, but that didn't necessarily mean they were his real reasons. Although he was his good friend, he was also easily deceived by him. "What else?"

  "Secondly, I think we have an opportunity to succeed."

  Liu Minyou finally grasped his weakness: "You have the opportunity to succeed, and you also have the opportunity to die a heroic death. You can't even smelt steel, iron or glass, nor can you fight a war. How can you compete with Jian Nu?"

  "We can't, but we can learn. These are things that they won't know, but I've learned several hundred years' worth of knowledge more than them. All these are products after the Industrial Revolution."

  Liu Min interrupted again, "We two are just a bit more knowledgeable about math, physics and chemistry, but now we've given it all back to the teacher. I don't even remember what the cosine of 60 degrees is, do you remember the parabola formula? Do you remember calculus? Do you remember the periodic table of elements? You play with that gun every day, do you know the gunpowder formula? Not to mention steelmaking and ironmaking, I've only seen molten steel, everything else I don't know."

  Chen Xin opened his mouth wide and hesitated for a moment before saying: "I really don't remember, but Huang Taiji and Li Zicheng wouldn't know either."

  "They are not ordinary people, they can leave a name in history, whether it's a good or bad name, it's not something that ordinary people like us can compare to. Huang Taiji has been following the old slave to fight since he was young, after so many years, even with average talent, he became a qualified general. As for me and you who have been reading books all along, how many lives would be needed to exchange for this level? The sea dog children are following us, not sacrificing their lives for us."

  "Think about it, Boss Liu. If we hadn't come, what would have become of them? They would still be tossed about in the great waves of history, possibly joining bandits or government troops, possibly dying in massacres. Who can escape the bloodshed that comes with the fall of a dynasty?"

  Liu Minyou's firm words were: "But to me, they are not just numbers in history books. I would rather take them into exile overseas than have them die for this cause. I also don't like the Qing dynasty, but I am powerless to change the course of events, and neither are you."

  Chen Xin glanced at Liu Min with a serious expression under the dim light of the oil lamp. He shook his head and said, "Brother Liu's words have awakened me from my dreams. I've decided to abandon this unrealistic idea. From now on, I'll just be an honest official and do some maritime trade to make money. However, since we're going overseas, we should gather more people together. Otherwise, how can we survive on those deserted islands? I plan to recruit more refugees in Weihaiwei and take them with us when the Tartars come, so we can flee together."

  Liu Minyou didn't entirely believe him and had dispelled the idea, but at least he had made his stance clear, so he let him off: "Alright then, just remember what you said yourself."

  "Remember, remember, Liu brother's bitter words, how could I be heartless and unfeeling? However, the capital is still worth a visit, first to pay homage to the imperial court. At present, it's still over ten years before the Tartars enter the pass. We should make these more than ten years comfortable, so that when we go abroad as vagrants, we'll have something to think about. After all, in this life, I've been an official."

  "Good grief!" Liu Min sighed and asked him, "Since you're planning to settle down, do you want those aunts to be matchmakers for you and get married soon?"

  "No need, I have my own plans. Wait until I'm promoted and then find a pretty one."

  Liu Min knew a lot about him and Miss Zhao, and sneered: "Is it settled on Miss Zhao's side?"

  Chen Xind nodded: "His mother told me a few days ago that she hoped I would be the son-in-law of their family, to leave an heir for the Zhao family."

  Liu Min nodded and said with a happy face: "Then let's set a date soon..."

  "When it was decided that there would be no more sons in the family, only daughters would observe the ritual. Considering Zhao Xiang's age, her mother said she would only observe for one year."

  "Then you'll have to wait another year. Zhao Miss is beautiful, she has been to our store, your luck is not shallow. It's just a pity that you will become a live-in son-in-law."

  "What are you thinking? I didn't agree to be a live-in son-in-law, I only agreed that the first son would have the surname Zhao."

  Liu Min rubbed his hands together and said: "That's even better than your previous life. From now on, you won't have to carry the water for washing feet."

  Chen Xin smiled and lay back in his chair, a warm expression on his face: "Zhao Xiang is still pretty good, chatting with her every day, seeing her smile makes me feel great. Now that the trend of having a savage girlfriend isn't popular anymore, even if I wanted to serve her washbasin water, she wouldn't dare agree."

  Liu Min was delighted to see his good friend's name on the list, and he had already started planning in his heart how to hold a wedding for Chen Xin, even though it was still a year away.

  The gate suddenly creaked open, and when Chen Xin walked into the yard, Hai Gouzi had already opened the gate. Deng Keshan rushed in hastily and saw the two of them, then hurriedly said:

  "Brother Chen, Brother Liu, I heard the emperor is dead."

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  Volume One Complete