Later, Fu Caiyun was able to win the favor of Queen Victoria, and her relationship with the Queen became very close. She could often freely enter and leave the palace, attend palace dances, etc.

During this period, she got acquainted with the young and handsome aristocratic Waldersey, a valet in the palace.

Waldersee also fell in love with this oriental beauty at first sight, and the two soon developed into a secret lover's relationship.

Later, Fu Caiyun returned to China with Hong Jun and settled in Beijing, and she and Wadesi had to separate.

Soon after Hong Jun died of illness, Fu Caiyun decided that she could not be accepted by the Hong family, so she voluntarily left the Hong family, changed her name to Sai Jinhua, and became the leading courtesan in the eight major alleys in Beijing.

This time the Eight-Nation Allied Forces invaded Beijing. By some mistake, the commander of the coalition forces turned out to be the German General Waldersee.

The reunion of an old lover after a long separation is naturally like paint and glue.

This time Li Hongzhang personally visited the Bada Hutong and paid a huge sum of money to ask Sai Jinhua to mediate. The condition was that the German royal family would give up its demand to execute Cixi and withdraw her execution.

Taking advantage of Sai Jinhua's personal relationship with Waldersey and her friendship with Queen Victoria, this mediation was finally successful.

In this way, the Eight-Nation Allied Forces captured Beijing. Due to Li Hongzhang's abandonment of self-reliance and his full mediation, the Eight-Nation Allied Forces finally ceased the war and Beijing's Purple City successfully welcomed Cixi and Guangxu into Beijing.

The broken ship of the Qing Dynasty continues to sail.

After Liu Kun's death, Zhang Zhidong acted as the governor of Liangjiang as the governor of Huguang. The provinces south of the Yangtze River were all under Zhang's power. Therefore, the Japanese people were more optimistic and tried their best to win over him.

In August last year, Zhang Zhidong hoped to inspect the governance system and management mechanism of the Japanese island country, especially the police and security system, and senior Japanese officials expressed strong support.

To this end, Zhang Zhidong sent a general inspection group of more than 60 civil and military officials, which was divided into several small inspection groups, and went to the Oriental island countries.

The Japanese side received me ceremoniously and treated me like a distinguished guest.

When the delegation inspected the Japanese police force, they explained the benefits and advantages of police security management to government rule.

When inspecting education, the Japanese attributed the educational methods and experiences since the Meiji Restoration, as well as the rapid development of the island country, entirely to the popularization of new education, and encouraged Zhang Zhidong to popularize new education.

During the inspection of military industry and military affairs, Japan promoted militaristic education methods and allowed them to visit new warships, various weapons and equipment, military training, etc.

In short, the Japanese side was very serious in their reception and tried their best to introduce us.

Therefore, after the inspection team returned to China, they praised Zhang Zhidong greatly, and Zhang Zhidong's favorable impression of Japan doubled, and he became friendly across the board.

Now that Japan and Russia are at war in the Northeast, and war is about to break out, Zhang Zhidong petitions the court to not only maintain neutrality in the military, but also to provide convenience for other logistical support and human, animal and migrant workers.

Objectively speaking, this provided considerable help for the Japanese victory in the later Russo-Japanese War.

In Chen Tianhua's opinion, this is called driving the tiger to welcome the wolf.

Although Japan kept saying that it did not occupy the Qing Dynasty's territory and that it was a joint development, the 'September 18th' and 'July 7th Incident' more than twenty years later clearly demonstrated that the Japanese were like Chinese wolves.

His wolfish ambitions are deeply hidden, and he is more cunning, cruel, and hateful than other great powers.

Also, Hanyang Yeping Iron Works was the largest ironworks in Asia at the time, equipped with dedicated iron ore and coal mines.

In order to please the Japanese, Zhang Zhidong excluded HSBC, which he had cooperated with for many years, and allowed Zhengjin Bank to obtain the exclusive loan settlement rights of Hanyang Yeping Iron Works.

After Zhang Zhidong's death, the Japanese revealed their true colors and took over the Yeping Iron Works.

Based on Li Jingfang's large number of detailed descriptions and the memory of historical records of later generations, Chen Tianhua believes that the historical figure Zhang Zhidong has certain historical limitations.

He should be a feudal bureaucrat who alternates between old and new ideas. In his heart, he still has the same set of heroic ideas of striving for hegemony.

His feelings about his family and country are still different from the national rejuvenation and national feelings that later generations talked about.

Of course, Zhang Zhidong, who lives in a weak country, especially among the great powers, may not necessarily agree in his heart that the Japanese are good birds.

As a shrewd bureaucrat like him, he would not be able to see through the greedy nature of the top leaders of the Japanese island country.

It's just that he may want to play a trick of using the enemy to defeat the enemy and use the strength to fight. When he becomes stronger, it will not be too late to leave.

Moreover, he had been a feudal official in Huguang and Liangjiang for a long time, and his unparalleled prestige in these places made him transform from a Qing official to a Jiangnan native emperor.

Accepting Western education and technology does not mean that he does not have imperial thoughts. In the eyes of their generation, the imperial thoughts of striving for world supremacy are deeply ingrained.

Think about it, in the later period, Yuan Shikai succeeded in the Revolution of 1911 and became the president. He suddenly had an idea and wanted to be the emperor again.

President Yuan, the great thief of the country, will eventually be infamy for thousands of years.

Zhang Zhidong is far from reaching this point, and the people in power in Zijin City are not just doing it for free. Why haven't they discovered his ambition?

Soon, an imperial edict transferred him to the capital to serve as the Minister of Military and Aircraft. On the surface, he was in the position, but it was an unlimited glory, but in reality, it rose and fell. He was imprisoned in the capital and took the opportunity to eliminate his foundation.

When he waited for an opportunity to counterattack, he fell ill.

He did not live as long as he imagined, which frustrated his heroic plan.

After listening to Li Jingfang's analysis of Zhang Zhidong's past and present life, combined with his own understanding of this period of history, Chen Tianhua believed that now is the time to find an opportunity to expose the conspiracy of the Japanese island country, so that Zhang Zhidong and the people of the country can wake up and not be fooled by their hypocritical illusions.

Blinded by daydreaming.

"In this situation, father-in-law and uncle, what do you think my son-in-law should do? Should I go or not go to Zhang Xiangshuai's invitation?" After careful consideration and due to etiquette, Chen Tianhua asked for instructions in a low-key manner.

"Hey... Xiangshuai sincerely invites you. There is no reason not to go. Besides, he is now the leader of the Han people in the south of the Yangtze River and an important minister of the Qing Dynasty. It is a great honor to win his appreciation. No one can get it for you no matter how much money they spend. You want it?"

You have to go as an envoy in a grand manner." Li Cunzhi spoke first.

"What your father-in-law said is right. Zhang Zhidong is the most important person in Jiangnan. If you don't go, you will lose his face. It will be tantamount to offending him. Is that okay? You still have to go. What I just said is to remind you to pay attention.

, are there any traces of Japanese people behind this?"

After all, Li Jingfang had a broader mind. He thought of the Japanese. Chen Tianhua couldn't help but nodded in agreement, "Thank you uncle for your advice. My son-in-law will keep it in mind and handle it properly when the time comes."

"..."

The three of them chatted for a while, and then Chen Tianhua said goodbye and returned to the island in the middle of the lake.

Regarding Zhang Zhidong's invitation, Chen Tianhua believed that since he had to go, it would be better to go sooner rather than later.

After returning from his father-in-law's mansion on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Chen Tianhua told his wife Li Shuzhen about the incident that night.

"Husband, you have to leave again just a few days after we got married. Qian'er is reluctant to let you go. Can't you postpone it for a few days?"
Chapter completed!