Chapter Thirty-Seven Return and Come Back, Do Not Grieve

  If someone asks what the biggest thing is between 1884 and 1895, you'd say it's the Sino-Japanese War, they'll despise you as a good citizen of the Qing dynasty! You're too naive, how could it be the Sino-Japanese War? The biggest thing is our Empress Dowager's birthday banquet! All over the country, "birthday celebrations" are being held with great fanfare. Want to build railways? No way, first we need to hold a birthday banquet for the Empress Dowager! Want to buy warships? Even more impossible! Didn't we just win a war not long ago? What's the point of having more ships?!

  Moreover, the reason why the Sino-Japanese negotiations could proceed so smoothly is that the Japanese must say to Cixi: "Your conscience is very good! You are a friend of great Japan."

  The Old Buddha ordered Li Hongzhang to "not force the Japanese, and end it early" as a gift for his 60th birthday. Finally, Li Hongzhang did not disappoint, signing the Pyongyang Treaty two days before the celebration (Cixi's birthday was on October 10 of the lunar calendar, which is November 7 in the solar calendar). The Old Buddha saw the content of the treaty and was very satisfied, thinking: "Look, you guys who have been nagging me, under my leadership, our great Qing dynasty has won against Japan. Can you say that I don't deserve a birthday banquet? Can you say that I shouldn't celebrate with the people? Can you say that I shouldn't be happy?"

  This old lady has been preparing for her 60th birthday since two years ago, and in the meantime, there was the Sino-Japanese War. It wasn't easy to get through that, but as a woman who lost her father in childhood, her husband in youth, and her son in middle age, it's not easy to have made it this far. Can't say being a woman is great, but now that she's finally made it through the tough times, can't she be good to herself? With a wave of her hand, she designed "Longevity Scenic Painting Draft", and 6 million taels of silver were spent just like that.

  In the city of Beijing, officials big and small have been like mad dogs, biting anyone they catch, thinking of ways to make money, just to present a thick gift to Cixi, and beautifying it as: I am boosting domestic demand, making my own contribution to the sales of luxury goods for the Qing Dynasty.

  Good people naturally understand what's going on, and they all shouted that this is not consumption, you are squandering us, wasting our taxpayers' money. The big and small officials don't care about the lives of good people, those who should eat, drink and have fun continue to eat, drink and have fun, and those who should keep a second wife start keeping a third wife.

  As early as October 23rd, the provincial officials and officials from other provinces have already started presenting longevity tribute goods. All the officials of the Qing Dynasty have only one purpose, that is to make the old Buddha happy, to measure the material resources of China, and to win the favor of the old Buddha. In these days, as long as you stand at the city gate and throw two bricks into the big capital city, you can guarantee that you will hit several people wearing dragon robes and embroidered jackets.

  Under the circumstances of the entire country being in a state of emergency, Ye Ziku had no choice but to return to Beijing ahead of schedule with Li Hongzhang to celebrate the birthday of the Empress Dowager and present the original copy of the Treaty of Pyongtaek. Ye Ziku, who did not dare to defy the heavens, had also prepared gifts early on, transforming himself into a normal Qing official.

  On November 7, Ye Zhiwei stood on the deck of "Dingyuan", looking at the distant blue sky. Around "Dingyuan" were several other warships of the Beiyang Fleet. Even though Ye Zhiwei had been shocked before, every time he saw these giant cannons, he couldn't help but feel excited again. But thinking of what he said to Min Fei before boarding the ship, he felt a little melancholy.

  The night before boarding the ship.

  "I'm going back to the Qing Empire, do you want to come with me?" Ye Zhi Kui looked into Empress Min's eyes and said seriously. If she answered yes, he had dozens of ways to make her leave.

  Min Fei smoothed her hair and avoided Ye Zhi Kui's gaze, responding: "I wish you all the best in your future endeavors!"

  Ye Zhi Kui turned around, she ultimately did not belong to one person alone, she belonged to the entire Korea.

  Ye Zhiwei returned the Korean army to Queen Min, but the mid-to-low level officers in the army were still his men. As long as he was willing, he could regain control of the troops at any time. Wang Shizhen was temporarily left in Korea to oversee everything. The butcher left behind a branch of the Thirteen Hawks in Korea, continuing to recruit and expand, and with money, they developed even faster. Meanwhile, the domestic headquarters also began to secretly develop. Everything was going smoothly.

  "What are you looking at here?" a low, magnetic voice sounded from behind.

  Just by the sound, Ye Zhi Kui knew who it was, and it must be Deng Shichang, the new Navy Admiral he had been trying to get close to in recent days. Deng Shichang was intelligent since childhood, with a strong personality, and was extremely strict with his subordinates. Ye Zhi Kui's temperament was not much different from his, only that he was more tactful, so the two actually had some mutual appreciation for each other.

  Ye Zhi Kui turned around and saw Deng Shi Chang holding a bottle of red wine, carrying two high-footed glass cups, walking towards him.

  Ye Zhiwei smiled slightly and let go of his melancholy, jokingly saying: "I was thinking, why is this vast ocean all water?"

  Deng Shichang handed a cup to Ye Zhiwei, with a hint of a smile and said: "This is French wine, today is the birthday of that person in the palace, you and I can drink a cup courtesy of Buddha." As the Navy Admiral, Deng Shichang naturally had some complaints about the old empress's misappropriation of naval funds.

  Ye Zhi Kui let out a wry smile and replied, "Yes, Zheng Qing brother, the rich feast at the noble gate stinks, while on the road there are frozen corpses. Alas, this great Qing dynasty!" After finishing speaking, he secretly observed Deng Shi Chang's expression.

  Deng Shichang's face changed slightly, but he showed no displeasure, and only replied cautiously: "From Yun, brother, be careful what you say! Lest rumors get out."

  Ye Zhi Kui's face was filled with surprise, and he said: "Can't you still trust Zheng Qing brother? By the way, I heard that brother has a very human-like lovely dog named Tai Yang." As for the world-renowned Tai Yang of later generations, Ye Zhi Kui was somewhat curious.

  Speak of the devil and he will appear.

  Deng Shichang pointed at a dog not far away and said, "That's not it!"

  All he saw was the yellow hunting dog chasing after a beautiful figure, Ye Zhi Kui smiled wryly and from afar heard the girl shouting: "Big Brother Ye, this dog is chasing me, quickly come and save Little Ling Long!" It was indeed Little Ling Long, but there wasn't a hint of fear in her voice, she must have been the one to provoke the dog first.

  Xiao Linglong was originally timid and afraid of seasickness when she boarded the ship, but after getting familiar with it, not only did she have no fear, but even Ye Zhikui, who loved warships, wasn't as excited as her. She spent her days touching this and that on the warship, playing happily.

  Deng Shichang whistled, and the yellow-haired hunting dog abandoned Xiaoling and ran over to him, wagging its tail excitedly and sticking out its tongue. This hunting dog was the lucky charm of this ship, bringing joy to the sailors during the long and dull voyage. Ye Ziku heard that the pet on the Japanese flagship "Matsushima" was an old yellow cow, and he couldn't help but despise the Japanese worldview.

  Xiao Ling saw this and slowly approached, but as soon as Xiao Ling walked in, the sun ran towards her again. This time Xiao Ling was really scared, let out a sharp cry, and pounced on Ye Zhi Kui's body.

  Deng Shichang revealed a smile that any man would understand, and quietly led his dog away, leaving the two young men and women alone in their own space.

  Ye Zhi Kui noticed at a glance why the sun was chasing after Little Linglong, it turned out that her shoe soles and trouser legs were stained with some pastry food. Today, Little Linglong wore a blue-purple dress with a low neckline and a hem below the knee, with sixteen fluttering ribbons on the skirt, each ribbon tail tied with a silver bell, which made her look good and set off her slender figure.

  Xiao Ling was afraid and hugged Ye Zhi Kui, burying her head in his chest. Ye Zhi Kui felt the soft and delicate top of Xiao Ling's chest pressing against his abdomen, and when he lowered his head, he saw her clean and smooth nape, as well as the enticing clavicle exposed at the neckline, causing him to feel a sudden dryness in his mouth and throat. He couldn't help but think that normally unassuming Xiao Ling was actually quite alluring.

  A gust of sea breeze blew over, causing a faint tinkling sound, and Xiaoling also woke up from her fright, finding herself in this posture, feeling a wave of shyness, and hurriedly escaped from Ye Zhikui's chest.

  Ye Zhi Kui's actions made her feel at ease, gently embracing her, his eyes gleaming with an invasive light. He lowered his head and slowly kissed her. Xiao Linglong was completely unaware of what to do, standing stupidly still, allowing Ye Zhi Kui to skillfully use his tongue to pry open her lips, sucking in the fresh scent of her youth. Human instinct made Xiao Linglong react, starting to respond stiffly.

  After a long time, the two finally parted their lips, facing the sea breeze. Xiaoling hid in front of Ye Zhikui's chest, not daring to look up at him. Ye Zhikui, however, gazed into the distance, in the direction of the Great Qing Dynasty!

  For a moment, Xiaoling moved her body slightly to make herself more comfortable. She asked: "Ye Dage, what kind of person is Lao Foye?" Xiaoling had lived in Korea since she was a child, and Lao Foye was a strange yet familiar name to her. The strangeness came from never having seen her before, while the familiarity came from the people around her occasionally mentioning her, which is why she asked.

  "Her?" Ye Zhiyuan was slightly dazed and after a moment, continued: "A pitiful, yet despicable old man."

  "Oh!" Although Xiaoling didn't understand, she was very well-behaved and stopped talking. The two of them hugged each other tightly and headed towards the Great Qing Dynasty.