Time is just like the ancient poem said, the morning wind blows the horse's mane, the evening wind blows the horse's tail, blowing away the days day by day.
After Zhao Xin sent Zhang Jingxuan away, he returned to Beihai Town. Poor Chen Jishan and the guards, they couldn't keep up with Zhao Xin's pace anyway, so they had to stay in Irkutsk this winter.
After mid-October, the weather in the outer Northeast became increasingly cold, with the howling north wind accompanied by heavy snow falling for several days before stopping.
It was just getting dark on this day, and hundreds of people came out of their houses and stood on the cold streets, waiting eagerly, as if there was some important event. Among the crowd were new residents of Beihai Town, and some who came from Whale Town.
The Frenchmen who came to watch the excitement, the envoys from the Li Dynasty, and the envoys from the Changzhou domain who wanted to see Zhao Xin but were not able to see Zhao Xin were also mixed in the crowd.
"Have you heard? Today the Seris people want to turn on electric lights throughout the city!"
"What is an electric light? I know about whale oil lamps."
"I can't say for sure. I heard Captain Deng explain it two days ago, but it's hard to understand. In fact, the many things the Seris people do here are really dazzling."
Of course the French cannot understand it. The great British physicist Faraday will not be born until three years later. At present, Europeans’ understanding of electricity is only the lightning and thunder in natural phenomena. People who like science are still stuck on the Leyden jar.
.
The businessman from Li Dynasty pointed to the tall street lamp pole not far away, bowed to Cai Jigong and said: "Sir, I heard that those lamps can be lit without fire!
Cai Jigong said with disdain: "That's ridiculous! If you don't use fire, are you just waiting to be struck by lightning?"
This Confucian scholar from the Li Dynasty has been in Beihai Town for more than a month. He feels that there are things he cannot understand everywhere in such a large town. Only Wang Zhong, who is the deputy priest, and Lin Ziping, a native of the island, can still do it.
Communication, other people are really not enough to discuss the truth. What makes him most unacceptable in Beihai Town is that there are women as teachers in the school!
Don’t you even care about the defense of men and women? This is simply deviant!
A few island warriors with Tsukiyo hair and furs were not conspicuous in the crowd. One of them, a leader-looking guy, asked the people around him: "Matajiro, have you counted them? They have erected such tall poles together."
How many?"
The attendant next to the leader quickly replied: "234. Murata-kun and I counted them one by one. I heard that we were going to order them two days ago, but we changed it to today because of the snow."
At 7 o'clock in the evening, when the power port's crossing officers and a group of apprentices from the technical school checked the transmission lines one by one, and after confirming that everything was correct, as Wu Ping An issued the "start" order on the phone, a person in charge
The power plant operators operating the low-voltage substation immediately pressed the switch.
In an instant, from the Xila River to the westernmost tip of Beihai, all 234 street lamps in Beihai Town were lit up. The whole town was like daylight, dazzling the eyes. Foreigners and newly arrived refugees were attracted by the light emitted by the street lamps above their heads.
, couldn’t help but whisper to each other again:
"Come on, fuck me! It's so bright!"
"Oh God! It's just like the moon, no, brighter than the moon!"
"Wow! すばらしい!"
In fact, Beihai Town has been using electricity since its establishment. Whether it is schools, hospitals, military camps or even workshops on the east bank of the Xila River, electricity has long been an indispensable energy source for the development of Beihai Town. But until today, electric lights
Lighting has finally entered residential communities.
Cai Jigong and other members of the Li Dynasty delegation looked around in astonishment as if it were daytime. They couldn't help but feel dizzy and dazzled. After a while, Mr. Cai let his men help him back to the hotel.
Count Laperouse looked up at the street lamps emitting bright white light in the night sky, admiring and excited at the same time, thinking that this trip to Beihai Town was really worth it!
Presumably, as the records of his expeditions are transmitted back to the European continent, people will be fascinated by China not only in silk fabrics, porcelain, decorations and tea, but also in the novels, dramas and rituals spoken by Jesuit priests, and the shining in the night sky.
The "Chinese Moon" is probably the most talked about, right?
Just based on what he has heard and seen this month, if anyone says that science is still in the foundation stage in China, the Count of La Perouse will definitely use the big iron ship on the wharf of Whale Bay and the chimney on the east bank of the Sira River.
Lin Lin's factories refuted it.
Perhaps ancient China, which was still ruled by the Tatars in the south, was indeed in an ignorant era of autocratic dynasty rule, but the northern regime, composed of Han Chinese and other ethnic groups, was an extremely wealthy and advanced region.
The food here is unimaginably rich, and every newcomer can be fed and clothed; perhaps this is why the rulers here prohibit people from abandoning babies. The state machine here is powerful, but no one will because
Those who disrespected the "King" with their words were arrested.
However, according to Count Laperouse's observation, few people would be disrespectful to Zhao Xin with their words. Those who complained would almost be despised and reprimanded by their neighbors, and would soon be isolated.
What many old residents talk about the most is how Zhao Xin brought them across the sea and how they went from nothing to the vast hectares of fertile land they have now.
What has surprised Count Laperouse the most so far is that there are no agricultural taxes and poll taxes in Beihai Town. This is simply unbelievable to him! How can a regime that never taxes farmers maintain its huge military and police system and
Running an effective bureaucracy? Count Laperouse really wants to ask Zhao Xin for advice.
Two days later, under the leadership of Deng Fei, a group of French expedition team finally met the ruler who "only heard his name but never saw his person". However, the other party's office space of only more than 100 square meters did not allow La Perrou
I and several scientists were shocked.
"Your Highness, I am Commodore Conte de La Pérouse of the Kingdom of France. It is an honor to meet you! On behalf of the entire expedition team and myself, I would like to express my gratitude to you for your brilliant achievements in the war with the Russians.
Congratulations on the victory.”
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The feathered three-cornered hat turned like a flower with Count La Perouse's wrist, and finally raised high to the right rear, while La Perouse
Zi's right foot took half a step back at the same time, leaning over to greet Zhao Xin.
"(⊙o⊙)..." Zhao Xinxin said that this posture was too fancy, and he would definitely not be able to do it if he changed it. After listening to Deng Fei's translation, he smiled and said: "Nice to meet you
, Brigadier-General. Gentlemen, without being polite, please take a seat."
In fact, Zhao Xin knows quite a few foreign languages, including English, Japanese, Russian, and a little bit of German, but he doesn't know French.
You must know that in Europe today, French is the common language of the nobility. As an upper-class person, if you don't say a few words in French in social circles, you will definitely be looked down upon. As for speaking German, it is called vulgar, and speaking Russian is simply a country bumpkin. Even with others
When Suvorov was chatting, he would often say one or two French sentences, which would make Zhao Xin roll his eyes.
The problem is that French is so difficult to learn! If nothing else, the numbers alone can confuse beginners. There are fixed words for 1 to 16, which is easy to say. Starting from 17, the French start to let themselves go. 17
It's 10 7, 18 is 10 8... That's it. When it reaches 70, it becomes 60 10, and 80 is 4 times 20! Can we still talk about this?!
As for English...it was difficult to understand whether people in the 18th century could understand the English that passed through the congregation, so Zhao Xin decided to only use Chinese.
During the conversation, when Zhao Xin learned that this group of French people had also been to Hawaii, he accidentally said "Hello ha", which made more than a dozen French people look surprised and said to themselves that we didn't do it when we were in Maui.
I heard that some Chinese people have been here!
The two sides chatted for a while and exchanged gifts. Laperouse and others prepared a gold-plated clock from the captain's cabin of the Astrolabe, and some sea otter skins they bought in Okhotsk; Representative Zhao Xin
Beihai Town gave each of them a pack of matches, an electronic calculator, a pair of binoculars, a navigation sextant made of brass, and a Han Dynasty-style sword produced by the Beihai Town Arsenal.
The nautical sextant and matches were just that. The calculator, high-power binoculars and the imitation Han sword made the French full of praise.
How clear it is! Everyone who has seen the Han eight-sided sword shape with more than 32,000 layers of hand-folded and forged, steel-laminated composite, and earth-burning blades agrees. This thing can only be made in Beihai Town in this time and space.
"Your Excellency Brigadier General, I wonder what you think of the third estate in your country?"
"Eh? Your Highness, you actually know the third level?"
"Oh, I learned a little bit about it while chatting with General Suvorov."
In front of several civilians in the expedition team or scientists of bourgeois origin, Laperouse, who was born in a hereditary noble family, could not use harsh words. He thought for a while before saying: "Your Highness, I personally think that appropriate changes should be made."
. You know, I personally agree that royal power must be limited and cannot be unbridled. However, in my personal opinion, privileges can never be eliminated. Regardless of the nobility or the third estate, what everyone pursues is permanent wealth.
"
Zhao Xin nodded, thinking that you are both unfortunate and lucky. Without this expedition, you might have been beheaded by the Girondins.
After all, this was a courtesy meeting between the two parties, and many topics were difficult to discuss in depth. At the end of the conversation, Count Laperouse sincerely invited the large iron ship from Beihai Town to visit Paris, and he himself was willing to be the guide on board. Zhao Xin said he would do it
Consider and invite the other party to his wedding next month.
By the way, whether they are the French, the Li Dynasty, or the Changzhou Domain, Zhao Xin has to meet these people one by one. It’s not okay to not meet them, especially the Li Dynasty and the Changzhou Domain, they are just hanging around, looking like they are waiting to eat dumplings during the New Year
Rhythm.
Zhao Xin really had nothing to talk about with Li Chao's group. He didn't know Cai Jigong at all, and just wanted to express his attitude and get it over with. With this idea in mind, when he met Li Chao and his group of five people, they were unexpectedly surprised.
His actions made Zhao Xin dumbfounded.
"Your Majesty, the official envoy of North Korea, Cai Bogui of Pingkang Cai clan, is here to see His Royal Highness King Zhao." Cai Jigong and his men unexpectedly bowed down to Zhao Xin three times and kowtowed nine times.
"Mr. Cai, please wake up. I'm not the emperor, so you don't need to be like this."
"Your Highness, since you are the empress of Emperor Zhao of the Ming Dynasty, you deserve to receive this great gift." Cai Jigong raised his sleeves and stood up, cupping his hands and saying: "Huang Ming, we are the superior country of China! The superior country treats its subordinate states, and its Xilai (same pronunciation as lai) is a reward.
(meaning) is as small as the slightest thing, but if it falls from the sky, it will move a region with great glory and will be celebrated for eternity. In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, Emperor Yi Zonglie died in Sheji, and the Ming Dynasty died in this hundred and forty-fourth year. Although our country is powerful
It is not enough to get rid of the Rong and Di, purge the Central Plains, and restore the old kings, but it can still respect the Ming Dynasty and preserve China."
Zhao Xin smiled lightly and said: "But as far as I know, the Manchu Emperor treats you well."
"No!" Cai Jigong said sternly: "The kindness of the Ming Dynasty must not be forgotten. In the past, when the Japanese invaded our territory, I, the Emperor Shenzong, sent all the teachers from the world to the east to help them, spent all his money to support the teachers, restored our three capitals, and returned them to me.
Eight Roads, my ancestors had a country without a country, and my people were exempted from the custom of carving flowers with inscriptions on them and wearing colorful clothes. The favor is in their very bones, and they will always depend on the grace of the country.
Today, the old ministers of the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty have benefited our country from all over the world, and they have also lost their leaves. When my envoys visited the capital, although I sent ministers to welcome them, they were among the ministers. They were pleased to be compared with the court officials and gave them banquets, and they never
I will do my best to pay tribute and don’t use things from the side. Although there is grace, it is definitely not in the era of Emperor Ming. However, I use adversity instead of kindness, and I use worry instead of glory. Without him, it is not China! Our country is weak.
To submit to him is a big country. A big country can subjugate it with force. This is not the emperor who was first appointed to me.
The favors and edicts given by the Tartars are nothing more than sympathy for the distant political affairs of a small country in a big country. They are benefits, not what I call kindness!"
Good guy! After Cai Jigong said this, Zhao Xin rolled his eyes, but he still understood. What he meant was that the Ming Dynasty had a favor for the rebirth of the Li Dynasty, so it had to rely on the country forever. Although the Manchu Qing Dynasty had a favor for Li Dynasty,
A good dynasty is nothing more than a favor, and cannot be compared with the "favor" of the Ming dynasty, so it is "worry but not honor".
As the leader of the Southern People's Party, it is not surprising that Cai Jigong has such an argument. Let alone him, even those ministers of the Li Dynasty who supported cooperation with the Qing Dynasty felt the same way.
In their view, the Qing Dynasty's moralization and kindness to the Li Dynasty was just for the "needs of dogs, horses, jewels and jade" in the future. Sooner or later, the Yi, Di and Tartars would be overthrown by the Han people. The reason why the Manchu Qing Dynasty was good to the Li Dynasty was not
It was just to prepare in advance for returning to the Northeast in the future. Therefore, the scholar-bureaucrats of the Li Dynasty were always wary of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The so-called "respect Zhou Siming" was to remind the government and the public not to be blinded by the "benevolence" of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
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Until now, the scholar-bureaucrats of the North Korean Northern Expedition still believe in the creed of "sincerely win 100,000 people, drive into the pass, clear Hanxia, and then it will be spectacular." There are still some people in the scholar-officials who suggest selecting the children of the country.
He shaved his head and wore Hu clothes, made friends with the literati in the south of the Yangtze River as a scholar, and went to the south of the Yangtze River as a commoner to explore the reality of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and make friends with the world's heroes, in order to seek the world and avenge the country's humiliation.
This can also be seen from the names of the records of the Li Dynasty's mission to China. Those who went to pay homage to the Ming Dynasty were called "Chaotian Lu", and those who went to the Manchu and Qing dynasties to pay homage were called "Yan Xing Ji". This is evident from the different mentality.
From Shunzhi to Qianlong, they never imagined that what the Qing court did to North Korea was completely flattering for the blind! Perhaps the happiest people were the families of North Korean businessmen and officials who were involved in the "eight packages trade".
However, Cai Jigong also had something in his words. What kind of big country has surrendered with force? The meaning of holding a gun and a stick is that Beihai Town is now tyrannical with force. If you, King Zhao, really use force to make us surrender, we will give in even though we can't fight, but we
I won’t treat you, “King Zhao”, as Zhengshuo.
If these words were to scare other time-travelers, they might be successful, but when Zhao Xin thought about the "Bangzi Country" in later generations where everything was invented by them, he couldn't be enthusiastic about Cai Jigong!
Although the Li Dynasty tried to curry favor with the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was not enthusiastic about the Li Dynasty envoys. When the North Korean envoys came to pay tribute, they initially placed them under the monks, which shows how much they looked down on them! Wait for the North Korean envoys
After protesting, the Ming court placed him in the seventh class at the east end of the court, which was the last seat among the officials.
During the Jiajing period, the Ministry of Rites discovered that North Korean envoys had purchased books such as "Unification of the Ming Dynasty" and believed that foreigners could not buy these books, so they closed the door of the North Korean library and prohibited North Koreans from entering or exiting.
After King Zhongzong sent someone to ask the Ministry of Rites to open the door, the Ming Dynasty agreed to open the door once every five days. Only envoys and petitioners could go out for a walk, and others could not go out. Even after that, there was no big change, no
Ticket stickers from the etiquette department cannot go out.
At this time, Cai Jigong felt proud and felt that what he said was sincere. I almost burst into tears when I said it. Why are you still not moved?
"Mr. Cai, let me tell you my opinion."
Zhao Xin finally spoke, and Cai Jigong quickly said: "Your Highness, please speak clearly."
"Since you think of yourself as a small China, you have said that three hundred years of bloody sincerity are a big deal, and you have been deeply favored. On behalf of all the Han people, I would like to express my gratitude. However, you should first return the land that you have taken cleverly, and everything else will be easy to talk about."
Cai Jigong almost spat out blood from his mouthful. He couldn't help but wasted a long time spitting, this guy couldn't get enough of it!