Time has entered September, when Dong Shuheng returned to the Summer Palace in New Beijing. Wei Yuzhen had already given birth to a son, and the other two also gave birth to babies a few days later.
The speed of the transportation boat has reached its fastest speed. Dong Shuheng still regretfully missed the birth of his second child.
According to the time of birth, the eldest is Dong Hua.
The second child was born to Wei Yuzhen, a boy. According to current Chinese rules, he is Dong Shuheng's eldest son.
According to the rules Dong Shuheng had set before, he named the second child Dong Xia.
The third child was born to Hui'er, a daughter. Dong Shuheng also decided on a naming order for his daughters. The first four were "smart".
The eldest daughter born to Hui'er was named Dong Cong.
The fourth child is also a boy, born to Yang Ximei, and his name is Dong Fu.
Dong Shuheng only needs to name the child, and he basically doesn't need to worry about other things.
Now that she has three grandchildren and one granddaughter, Mother Dong is very happy from ear to ear. She is busy every day, arranging the inner residence of the summer palace in an orderly manner.
Three of the four daughters-in-law are in confinement, and one is pregnant with a second child.
Of course, the mother-in-law must take care of things in this household.
Dong Shuheng was enjoying the rare family happiness in this life while handling the government affairs of Xinjing.
He must pay attention to everything in China. A huge amount of information is collected into his hands every day.
He must always have a map of the world in his mind to place all kinds of information in the right place.
It will soon be time for the inauguration ceremony.
Now many envoys from vassal countries have arrived in Xinjing.
The Lifan Yuan is responsible for receiving these people.
During this period, some new countries also established embassies in China and established diplomatic relations with China.
At the same time, these envoys will also come to attend Dong Shuheng's inauguration ceremony.
Among them are Persia and Ottoman Turkey, as well as many European countries, such as Austria, Hungary, and the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Their maritime power is relatively weak, and they have basically not had much dealings with China in the past.
But now through Wang Tao's activities, these countries have established diplomatic relations with China.
The past policy of the Qing Dynasty's isolation from the country was gone forever.
Of course, this does not mean that foreigners can move freely in China.
Currently, foreigners in China can only move around at the first few open ports and the newly established Tianjin Embassy District.
Foreigners are still not allowed to enter the vast inland areas of China.
It’s not that Dong Shuheng kept it secret, but there were actually too many secrets in China now, and Dong Shuheng didn’t want to reveal them to others.
In a hall in the summer palace that was specially designed to receive court visits from vassal countries, Dong Shuheng, dressed in military uniform, was receiving the audience from envoys from vassal countries.
The ceremony was grand, but not as complicated as before.
Beiqi's situation has been very bad recently.
Although they bought a lot of firearms from China, they are not regular troops after all.
Under the attack of the Nguyen Dynasty's army, Beiqi's army struggled to hold on.
Thanh Hoa City, which was handed over by Chen Yucheng before, finally failed after holding on for more than a month.
However, the Nguyen Dynasty's army also suffered heavy losses. However, the Nguyen Dynasty's total military strength was still hundreds of thousands, and the losses were high.
Beiqi's army retreated to Yule and Ninh Binh.
Dong Shuheng also received a report from the Intelligence Department that the Ruan Dynasty was in contact with the French.
The reason why Thanh Hoa was captured this time was because the Nguyen Dynasty received a batch of artillery from the French.
Although Dong Shuheng had asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to warn the British and French ministers not to interfere in the affairs of the Chinese vassal states, the other parties obviously did not take this warning to heart.
The French did not directly provide weapons to the Nguyen Dynasty, which was a step forward for China. They did this through the Spanish.
Spain, like France, is a Catholic country.
And Catholicism began to preach in Vietnam a long time ago.
Therefore, Spain had reason to join the French in interfering with the Nguyen Dynasty.
Spain has been operating in Luzon for centuries. They have a variety of factories in Manila and have the ability to produce weapons and equipment.
These cannons sold to the Nguyen Dynasty came from the arsenal in Manila.
Dong Shuheng was very unhappy about this matter. The Ruan Dynasty had been playing tricks on the Qing Dynasty before, claiming that it was a vassal state, but instead proclaimed itself emperor.
It even continued to annex other vassal states in the Indochina Peninsula.
Dong Shuheng naturally didn't like such a younger brother.
"Your Majesty the President, we Beiqi are willing to annex China, but we only hope that the President will allow us to retain the title of king." Beiqi's envoy requested. They have not yet understood the difference between the President and the Emperor.
I thought it was just a different way of saying it in Chinese.
Beiqi is preparing to become a part of China. The Lifanyuan has reported this matter to Dong Shuheng before.
Saying it now in such a formal occasion is just equivalent to an oath.
In fact, Beiqi's Xinyi dynasty doesn't want to be included. But now they really have no choice.
You can only choose a biological father between Hua Xia and Ruan Dynasty.
The Nguyen Dynasty brutally suppressed the peasant uprisings in Beiqi every time.
Obviously surrendering to the Nguyen Dynasty is a dead end.
So Beiqi simply threw himself into the arms of Huaxia.
At least the top leaders of the rebel army can still receive rewards and live a life of fine clothing and fine food.
According to what was previously discussed, Dong Shuheng accepted Beiqi's offer and was granted the title of a prince, a duke, and several marquises.
China sent officials to take over the government affairs of Beiqi.
Then the Southern Military District took over the defense of Beiqi.
Niu Jie led the 8th Division to Hanoi.
As for the princes of Beiqi, they all got a piece of land in the new capital. They can take the wealth they collected to build houses in the new capital and live and work in peace and contentment.
There is no longer a title system in China, but Dong Shuheng specially established this system for vassal states.
Although it is a bit strange, the vassal countries recognize this.
Of course, who cares whether Dong Shuheng has such power?
As mentioned before, these vassal states only regard the president as China's new title for the emperor.
Regarding the matter of the annexation of Beiqi, the envoys of the Ruan Dynasty who were also in Xinjing expressed strong dissatisfaction and even stated that they would withdraw their visit to China and no longer be a vassal state of West China.
Dong Shuheng didn't care. If you don't become a vassal state of China, then I will cede Vietnam to others.
This is really feasible. Now if the Ruan Dynasty publicly stated that it would not become a vassal state of China.
Then Dong Shuheng immediately selected another powerful person in Vietnam to send out, and made a king of Zhongqi, and then made a king of Nanqi.
The Kingdom of Vietnam was directly divided.
There will definitely be ambitious people who will take over. Especially now that the Nguyen Dynasty is in a precarious state.
And now Peng Yulin is in Nanzhang, separated from the Ruan Dynasty by a low Changshan mountain range.
If Ruan Chao really jumps up, the army can directly pass through.
Of course, Dong Shuheng did not want to start a war with the Ruan Dynasty now.
First of all, this is a burden to China. For a period of time, China is still focusing on recuperation.
Secondly, we must consider the feelings of other vassal states. Will it lead to a situation where the rabbit dies and the fox becomes sad? If these vassal states all turn to Britain and France, it will be a big trouble for China.
These are all things that need to be considered comprehensively.
This time Beiqi's inner possession was different. It was Beiqi's own choice. China did not force it.
When the political power of a vassal country has changed, it does not violate convention for the suzerain country to ratify it.
Just like the Ruan Dynasty came to power after overthrowing the previous dynasty, didn't the Qing Dynasty at that time happily enfeoff him?
Dong Shuheng's current attitude towards vassal states is neither overbearing nor conniving.
The matter of Beiqi was settled in this way. A few years later, the local people collectively petitioned to become a province of China.
The Chinese government began to set up the province of Jiaozhi to manage the Beiqi area. Of course, this is a story later.
Another thing that Dong Shuheng is most concerned about recently is Shi Dakai's Taiping Holy Army.
Almost every day, war reports from the Assam region reached Dong Shuheng's desk.
"This Chen Yucheng is really a strong man." Dong Shuheng praised in front of Wei Yuxiang in the study.
"Yes, although their weapons are similar to those of the British, they can directly defeat the British and Indian troops. This Chen Yucheng deserves to be called a warrior."
In early September, Chen Yucheng, the pioneer of the Taiping Holy Army, finally crossed the Hugang Valley and entered the Assam region.
In fact, the Assam region is a plain valley in the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra River.
When the Brahmaputra River passed through the gap between the easternmost Himalayas and the Hengduan Mountains, it turned a huge bend. Then it entered a low-altitude valley plain.
This plain is sandwiched between the Himalayas and the Shillong Mountains. In the middle is a spacious river.
This large river crosses the southwest plateau area, but it is a plateau area. Except for some valleys, it really does not contribute much to China.
But in the middle and lower reaches, she has nourished a large area of land.
Together with the Ganges, it forms the fertile Bengal delta.
In the embassy district of Tianjin City, Foreign Minister Liu Qingbei personally found Bao Ling, the British Minister to China.
There is now a relatively independent area outside Tianjin near the Haihe River. A large number of West China military police are stationed here to maintain public security.
Western-style buildings are rising one after another. Most countries like to build their embassies in their own country's style.
Therefore, you can see various styles of buildings here, among which the British Embassy is undoubtedly the tallest and most gorgeous.
Dong Shuheng wished that they would build the embassy as taller and more gorgeous as possible, because they all used Chinese workers and materials from China.
This is equivalent to consumption in China.
In the words of later generations, it can boost local GDP.
There are many foreigners living in the embassy area. There is a street next to it with various shops, some opened by foreigners and some Chinese. They mainly provide daily services for the embassy area.
Of course, except for Britain and France, which have strong financial resources, the legations of other countries have not yet been completely built, but many have built temporary buildings.
There is a management committee on the edge of the embassy area, which is responsible for the management of the embassy area.
At this time, in a luxurious reception room of the Management Committee, Liu Qing met with the British Minister Bao Ling.
Bao Ling was very happy that China could take the initiative to open the embassy district in Tianjin City.
He believed that it was Britain and France's strengthening of ties with the Renaissance Army that prompted Dong Shuheng to make such a change.
Of course, it is also possible that Dong Shuheng overturned the compensation made by the Qing court to Britain and France because of his violation of the agreement.
In any case, being able to have an embassy in the capital of China is indeed a diplomatic improvement.
At least he can write in his report to the country that we have established our own embassy in the capital of China.
In previous interactions with the Qing court, they could not even enter the capital.
Let alone meet the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Most local governors are not willing to meet them.
This is an extremely shameful act in diplomacy.
But now they can finally communicate normally with China in accordance with international diplomatic practices.
Of course, the only drawback is that diplomacy with China is no longer the prerogative of Britain and France.
This China seems to have had relations with the major countries in the world overnight.
Even envoys from newly independent countries in South America such as Brazil, Chile, and Argentina appeared in the embassy district.
What is China trying to do? Want to increase its influence?
Shouldn't the influence be improved by the fleet?
Although Bao Ling is a diplomat, he still feels that what determines a country's influence in the world is its strong military power, not the words of diplomats.
Diplomats are merely the lips and tongue of a country's military.
"What! You said the Taiping Army has arrived in the Assam area." After hearing Liu Qingbei's announcement, Bao Ling simply couldn't believe it.
If the person sitting opposite him was not the Foreign Minister of China, Bao Ling would have thought that the person sitting opposite him was joking on him.
"Although this news is terrible, I still have to inform you that this matter is true."
"Mr. Bao Ling, you should know that the Taiping Army existed during the Qing Dynasty. After their failure in Jiangning, one of their troops fled to western Guangdong."
"Later, when our Renaissance Army regained the area, the rebels fled to Vietnam. Then they have been running around in Indochina. Just now, our southern army reported that this group of troops entered the Naga Hills."
"Out of respect for Britain, our troops did not pursue them."
"But Minister Bao Ling, we in China do not recognize the unilateral treaty signed by the British Empire and the vassal state of Burma. In our eyes, the Assam region should still be the territory of the Kingdom of Burma." Liu Qingbei added that in diplomatic situations, diplomacy
Every word an official says must be held accountable.
Therefore, although what Liu Qingbei said was very complicated, it was not unnecessary.
"I know about this, and I believe our army will destroy this rebel army," Bao Ling said.
He had confidence in the armies of the British Empire.
The former minister had contact with the Taiping Army. Therefore, Bao Ling knew the approximate combat strength of the Taiping Army.
Therefore, he was not too worried about what trouble these rebels would cause in the British Indian colonies.
In Bengal, the colonial authorities could mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops at any time.
Although these local Indians don't have much fighting power, they are more than enough to deal with the Taiping Army with backward equipment.
"Then I wish you good luck!" Liu Qingbei said, but he was sneering in his heart.
If you don't care now, you will soon feel confused.
It feels good to be able to dust off the brightest bead on Her Majesty the Queen's head.
Liu Qingbei didn't say much, he just came to fulfill a reporting process.
After all, they are rebels from China.
Now that the notification has been made, the British will not be able to use this army to make trouble against China.
Because Liu Qingbei's fulfillment of his obligation to inform now means that China has dissociated itself from the Taiping Holy Army, and no matter what happens in the future, please do not come to me.
After Bao Ling returned to the embassy, he immediately sent a telegram to the Xiang Island area and informed the Governor of Xiang Island of the matter, who then sent a clipper to convey the matter to Calcutta.
But with such a long distance, the news waiting for them has not yet reached Calcutta. The news coming from Assam has long been received there.
The most important stronghold of the British-Indian authorities in Assam is Guwahati.
This city was built on the edge of the Brahmaputra River (hereinafter referred to as the Yajiang River).
After reaching here, the Yajiang River becomes wide and gentle, so that it can be connected with the lower reaches through water transportation.
However, Guwahati is still in the west of Assam region.
Chen Yucheng led people to enter from the east. There was definitely no need to consider this big city at the beginning.
But Chen Yucheng knew that if his speed was not fast enough and the enemy would recruit the fleet from downstream, it would be difficult for him to capture the city.
He knew that the British warships were powerful, and with the support of the enemy's fleet, it would be difficult to capture this city.
Likewise, if the city was not captured, the Taiping Army would not be able to stop the fleet coming up from the lower reaches.
This is really a simple proposition. In short, there is a solution, and that is a quick fix.
Chen Yucheng had already thought up the battle plan in the Hugang Valley.
ps: When I suddenly looked at the calendar on my phone, I realized that this year is the Year of Xin Chou. Don’t forget the national humiliation and let us strive for self-improvement. Two decades have passed in the blink of an eye.