Japan's millions of taels of silver were wasted, and it was humiliated all over the world and went to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The Japanese, who have always been proud of scheming others, suffered greatly this time and even shocked the Prime Minister.

Regarding the whole matter, the Japanese side, as well as Zhang Zhidong and his staff, all suspected that there must be an expert behind Chen Tianhua.

At first, we were suspicious of Sheng Xuanhuai, Li Jingfang and others.

But then I thought about it carefully and realized it shouldn't be these two people.

Because Sheng Yihuai and Li Jingfang are both government officials and businessmen, and government officials and businessmen often only try to pull off the tiger's skin and engage in conspiracy. If we really want them to use deceit and conspiracy, these two people are really not good at it.

Since it's not Sheng Yihuai and Li Jingfang, there must be someone else.

Who could it be?

They were all looking forward to it, so they brought up some abstruse topics to test.

Chen Tianhua was forced to tell the truth, and he was rapidly drafting the plan in his mind.

I saw him raising his hand and slowly taking a sip of wine, swallowing his saliva, calming himself down slightly, adjusting his thoughts appropriately, and then said in a deep voice:

"The common people believe that the Westernization Movement carried out by the Qing Dynasty in recent years is necessary and has positive significance. Because the scientific and technological development of foreigners abroad has already caught up with ours for several decades, while our country has been closed to the outside world, and has even become self-proclaimed and arrogant.

The result is ignorance and backwardness, and as we all know, those who fall behind will be beaten."

"I must think that the governor-general and your seniors have a better understanding of the dilemma of falling behind and being beaten than they did in their later years. Let's not talk about the Sino-Japanese War of 1898 and the Eight-Power Allied Forces entering Beijing. Let's just take a look at our foreign concessions across the country, as well as the docks at the mouth of the Huangpu River and Port Arthur.

If you use foreign warships, you know what it means to lose power and humiliate the country. This is something that the Chinese people with backbone cannot tolerate."

"The Westernization Movement and the real economy are both a means to strengthen the country and enrich the people, but they are not the foundation for saving the country. They are just the economic foundation. It is like the foundation on which we build a house. The foundation determines the superstructure."

"But to build a complete house, especially a multi-story building, it is not enough to have a foundation alone, but also to rely on the building structure, such as the beams. The building structure that the grassroots talk about is the national structure, which is backward and outdated.

Even rotten beams cannot be used to build a house, and the best foundation is in vain."

"As for Western learning or Eastern learning, ordinary people believe that both Western and Eastern learning have their own strong advantages and reasons. The key lies in whether we can adapt to local conditions and learn and apply them, just like the policy of 'Chinese learning as the body and Western learning as the application' advocated by the Governor-General.

"

"The so-called adapting to local conditions and learning and applying means to study Eastern and Western culture and technology in a targeted manner based on the characteristics of the country's national conditions. As far as I know, after the Meiji Restoration, Japan worked hard to learn Western culture, systems, and science and technology.

They first imitated it, then improved it, and finally digested it and turned it into their own thing. In just a few decades, they rose to prominence and the country surpassed the Qing Dynasty."

Chen Tianhua calmly stated his point of view.

Most of these views are popular science knowledge in later generations, and they have been explained very well and familiarly in many books. These have been proven by history and have become conclusive things beyond doubt.

But for Chen Tianhua's views in the late Qing Dynasty more than a hundred years ago, including many new terms, such as economic base, superstructure, etc., they were absolutely novel and unheard of.

The six gentlemen here are not ordinary people. Not to mention their official titles, in terms of knowledge, they probably represent the highest level of the Qing Dynasty. They are all academic masters here.

Let's take Zhang Zhidong. He was a test taker in the imperial examinations of the previous dynasty and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. The others were all Jinshi.

Gu Hongming alone was the first person in the Manchu Qing Dynasty who was proficient in Western science and did not speak Eastern Confucianism.

His doctorates in literature, history, theology, etc. were obtained from the University of Edinburgh in the UK, while his doctorates in natural sciences, science, philosophy, etc. were obtained from the University of Leipzig in Germany, which is definitely not a pheasant university.

Some of his works later became required reading books designated by the University of Leipzig in Germany.

But even this kind of super academic master, after listening to Chen Tianhua's discussion of several hundred words, answered all Zhang Xiangshuai's huge propositions, and he was very incisive.

These six academic masters also knew that the other party still had reservations about specific things, because they couldn't reveal too much, and the ink would be worthless once it was poured out.

But a man with such a high degree of knowledge is only twenty-one years old, and he is a young country man who has never studied abroad.

If this is the case, then he is a genius that is rare to see in the Qing Dynasty for a century, and he has been given a great job by heaven.

"Your courage is indeed extraordinary." Zhang Zhidong commented first.

He did not comment on Chen Tianhua's concluding remarks, only referring to the bold metaphor of the state body.

...a backward, old and even rotten roof beam...

If Chen Tianhua's description of the superstructure reached the ears of the old Buddha in Purple City, the capital, it would be a grave sin.

Zhang Zhidong frowned and hummed.

"The common people are just a metaphor and the terminology is not very appropriate. Please don't pursue it, Governor-General." Chen Tianhua was also shocked when he heard this and hurriedly stood up to review, but he did not panic because of it.

"It doesn't matter, we are discussing politics and economics here. I have already said that no matter what you say, I will never punish you." Zhang Zhidong waved his hand. In fact, he was secretly testing the courage of the young master.

.

"Thank you for your tolerance, sir." Chen Tianhua expressed his gratitude.

Looking at the calm Chen Tianhua, Zhao Fengchang, who specializes in intelligence espionage, suddenly thought of the recent news that Emperor Guangxu wanted to establish a constitutional monarchy, and it was said that Cixi also acquiesced.

Whether it was real or just a formality, neither Zhao Fengchang nor Zhang Zhidong could figure out when they reported it.

But one thing is certain, whether it is real or just a formality, the imperial court will eventually issue an order and invite officials to discuss it. Is it applying or imitating the constitutional monarchy of a certain country?

Zhao Fengchang is a representative figure of the constitutionalists, and he admires Japan's constitutional system very much.

"Young Master, I have a question about my duties. Please tell me. If the Qing Dynasty also established a constitutional monarchy, do you think it would be better to adopt the Western style or the Eastern style?"

As soon as these words came out, not only Chen Tianhua was shocked, but also several staff members nearby were stunned.

Everyone knows the meaning of this statement. It is a national secret. Saying it here is just a waste of state affairs, and spreading it to Zijin City is also a heinous crime.

Zhang Zhidong, on the other hand, was calm and composed. He knew in his heart that nothing he said on this unknown mountain would be spread.

Needless to say, the five major staff here, the personal bodyguards and maids are all the children or clan members of his confidants. If you dare to betray him, it means that a large number of family members and relatives will be affected.
Chapter completed!