Chapter 560: Asking for help from local governance
Li Qiucheng saw Xu Dayong's expression and knew that the other party had misunderstood, so he sighed deeply and said: "Mr. Xu, as the saying goes, don't slap someone in the face, and don't expose someone's shortcomings when you criticize them. Our ancestors said that there are three types of unfilial piety, and there is no filial piety.
Later, if someone from inside or outside exposes our eunuch's shortcomings, we will scold him for not being a cannibal. For people like us, just being stabbed once is already very miserable, and other difficulties are even greater."
"Mr. Xu, since the Ming Dynasty, most of the eunuchs in the palace came from the Gyeonggi region of Zhili. Do you know why?"
Xu Dayong shook his head and said to himself: How could I know this?
Li Qiucheng took a sip of tea and continued: "Like my hometown, which is close to the Ziya River. The terrain is low-lying and suffers from waterlogging nine times out of ten years. When there is a lot of rain in summer, there is no harvest. To use our local dialect,
Toads will produce water when they urinate. Those who have the strength will go out to find Qiu'er. Oh, they even go out to do part-time work. Those who are older can only hang themselves. In addition, the village is full of saline-alkali land, and nothing can be grown.
,Country people are miserable..."
Xu Dayong traveled all over the country over the years, and saw many kinds of poor people, and he had already developed a hard-hearted heart. Selling children and daughters was not a bad thing, but you must know that there was a severe drought in Henan in the 50th year of Qianlong's reign.
He has encountered people who cannibalize others.
The reason why he has worked tirelessly for Beihai Town in these years is to remember what Zhao Xin said to him: "Da Yong, after overthrowing the Manchu Qing Dynasty, there will no longer be people who sell children, sell women, and eat people."
matter."
However, Li Qiucheng poured bitter water for a long time, and Xu Dayong understood what he meant. It's just that eunuchs are all hard-working people. People outside the palace look at the scenery, but in fact they don't earn much money. When they get old, the masters will
If you abandon your old shoes, you will be given one or two cents of pension money. Everyone strives to climb up for no other reason than to avoid being oppressed and make a fortune.
Of course, the eunuchs also sought spiritual sustenance by believing in Buddhism. Li Qiucheng meant a two-pronged approach, both spiritual and material, so that the effect would be better.
Regarding this phenomenon, Zhao Xin once specifically talked about this phenomenon in a training class of the Northern Navy Intelligence Bureau, which is called the "over-compensation mechanism." It is nothing more than a person's own physical defects and inferiority complex, as well as the shadow brought about by family poverty since childhood.
People often use material things to satisfy their psychological needs to make up for their shortcomings.
In the end, Xu Dayong gritted his teeth and decided to agree to the other party's request. He got up and went out to find Guisheng to get 20,000 taels of silver notes. These banknotes were issued by Chang's bank in Yuci and could be redeemed on sight.
The Chang family has a great business. In the past few years, they have been secretly doing leather goods and ginseng business with Beihai Town, and their banknotes have a good reputation.
Xu Dayong told Li Qiucheng that the remaining 30,000 taels of silver notes would be taken out of the palace in one month from Shopkeeper Dong. As for the land deed, there was no rush. We had to wait for Beihai Town to complete the procedures, which would take two or three months anyway.
Only then can we see it.
Li Qiucheng solemnly put away the banknote, and before leaving, he asked again: "Mr. Xu, can you give me an accurate answer as to when King Zhao will send troops to enter the pass?"
"It hasn't been a few years." Xu Dayong smiled and patted the other party's shoulder. This feeling was very helpful to Li Qiucheng, confirming once again that the other party really did not despise him.
After meeting two of the three people, Xu Dayong felt a lot more relaxed, but he still warned himself not to be careless, because the last person was really important.
Two days later in the early morning, three mule carts were parked by the moat between Chaoyangmen and Chongwenmen. One of them was an ordinary mule cart on the street, while the other two were painted with chestnut shell paint and clear tung oil.
From the appearance of the noodles, you can tell that they are not from ordinary people. Because it started raining heavily in Beijing in the middle of the night and never stopped, there were very few pedestrians on the road. The only ones coming and going were trucks carrying water, soy milk, and charcoal.
Coal trucks, earth-burning trucks, and turnip trucks are all needed to enter the city from Chongwenmen early in the morning.
In this way, the sound of rain covered up the conversation in the car.
"Master Xu really knows how to choose the day." Liu Quan, who was sitting cross-legged, picked up the tea cup and made a gesture of invitation to Xu Dayong opposite. Although he had a smile on his face, he was beating drums in his heart.
.
Xu Dayong, who had just gotten on the car, wiped the rain off his body with a towel and took the opportunity to look around at the furnishings in the car. He thought to himself that he would really enjoy it.
This mule carriage looks spacious from the outside, but it is unique inside. The paulownia wood paneling, painted with varnished tung oil, is as crystal clear as amber, with large glass sedan windows embedded on both sides, hung with blue tassels and velvet curtains.
There was a small mahogany kang table between Liu Quan and him. Sitting under his buttocks was a silk quilt, as soft and loose as a thick mattress. There was a bright lantern on the table, a pot of tea and four
Some snacks.
He wiped off the rainwater on his body, put the towel on the table, picked up the teacup and took a sip and said: "Thank you, Mr. Liu, it's just a coincidence. We adults often say that when you go out, safety comes first."
Liu Quan chuckled, thinking, "Safety first." Who was the one who pretended to be a guard and went to Chaoyin Temple? If my master hadn't let him go, the grass on the grave would be three feet high now.
He gradually lost his smile, put the tea cup back on the Kang table, and said straight to the point: "Mr. Xu, I wonder why you are so anxious to see Liu? In order to see you, Master Zhongtang asked me to rush back from Rehe overnight.
Old Bones can't help but go to such lengths. Besides, you guys actually posted a letter to my house in the middle of the night, you are really brave!"
Seven days ago, when Liu Quan's eldest son Liu Yin suddenly appeared in Rehe, he reported anxiously that a letter had been dropped into his home on Xinghua Temple Street in the middle of the night. When he opened it, he found that it was from Beihai Town.
He asked to see Liu Quan by name, saying that he had something very important, and agreed on a time.
This news shocked both Liu Quan and He Shen. At the beginning of June, He Shen clearly asked his younger brother He Lin to send someone to Jeju Island to contact Beihai Town. Why did the person named Zhao bypass the contact person and come directly to the door?
Coming?
The master and servant thought about it for a long time, but they were still at a loss. However, out of fear of Beihai Town and Zhao Xin, He Shen still asked Liu Quan to return to the capital in a hurry on the grounds that there was something at home.
Xu Dayong said with a smile: "Who does the Beihai Navy need to worry about when doing things?"
Liu Quan almost got angry and yelled, "Xinghua Temple Street is right on the shore of Shichahai. It's right under the Imperial City. How many eyes are staring at it!"
"Aren't you afraid that I will have you taken away and sent to the infantry commander's yamen?"
"Come on. Mr. Liu, you have made a lot of money from Beihai Town in these years. Is this considered treason? Do you dare to take me? Do you believe that the Beihai Navy can enter Beijing in less than ten days?"
!Stop playing tricks!"
Liu Quanxin said why this guy is like a piece of meat, even more stupid than me. He then heard Xu Dayong say again: "Xu is just an errand boy. You are not guilty of getting angry with me. King Zhao has a life, don't talk about it."
I have to break into the city of Beijing, even if it’s a dragon’s pond or a tiger’s den!”
"Okay, okay," Liu Quan lost his temper. He was an old man in his seventies and couldn't afford to compete with a young man. "What do you want to see me for?"
Xu Dayong smiled and took out a letter from his arms. Different from the previous letters to Ruan Yuan and Li Qiucheng, the envelope was sealed with wax and had a seal with a five-pointed star in a circle.
Liu Quan looked at Xu Dayong with confusion and said: "This..."
"Your Excellency just asked me to forward the letter to you. As for what is said in it, Xu has no idea."
Liu Quan had no choice but to take the letter, break the wax seal, take out the letter paper and look at it. There were three pages in total, with dense writing on them. He lowered his head and took out a pair of trousers from a small bag on his belt, put them on, and then read by the lantern.
However, when he looked at it for less than a minute under the light of the lantern, his expression suddenly changed, and the hand holding the letter began to tremble involuntarily. After reading the three-page letter, Liu Quan's expression
It has turned pale.
When Xu Dayong saw the other party's expression, he couldn't help but be very curious. He wanted to know what was written in the letter, so that he could actually scare the chief manager of the Hefu to this extent.
After reading it, Liu Quan was stunned for a while, then he put the letter away and carefully put it into his arms as if it were a treasure.
"Mr. Xu, that's it for today. It's raining outside, and Liu, with his old arms and legs, won't give it to you."
Xu Dayong nodded, then bowed his hands to say goodbye and got out of the car. Without holding an umbrella, he boarded his mule cart in a few steps and headed east. All his tasks had been completed, and there was no need to stay in the capital any longer.
Yong, so he had already said goodbye to shopkeeper Dong before seeing Liu Quan. In addition, Guisheng and one of his subordinates had also gone to Tongzhou first, and the two agreed to meet at the Tongzhou Canal Wharf.
Liu Quan opened the glass window and watched Xu Dayong's mule cart disappear into the heavy rain. The cool breeze blew in through the window with raindrops, blowing the open curtains, like a deep sigh.
.Although it was already past Chenzheng (eight o'clock), the sky became increasingly gloomy, with bright flashes in the sky one after another, followed by a series of rolling thunder across the sky.
Liu Yin got out of his car with an umbrella, walked to the window and asked, "Dad, let's go back?"
"No! Go back to Rehe immediately!"
"But today, we have to wait until the rain stops before leaving, right?"
"What? My words are useless!"
Liu Quan said categorically and looked at his son with cold eyes. Liu Yin shrank his head in fear and quickly sent his men back to Xinghua Temple Street to give instructions to his family. After burning incense, two mule carts drove along the city.
The road outside was speeding toward Rehe, and the big mushroom-headed iron-nailed wheels rolled up streaks of muddy water on the muddy road.
In fact, Xu Dayong was not the only one who was curious about the contents of the letter. Chen Qingsong was also full of curiosity about the reaction of the Manchus after hearing about it from Zhao Xin.
The two of them met in Heilongjiang City. Chen Qingsong brought his men to inspect the resettlement situation of the immigrant villages around Heilongjiang City and the construction of farmland water conservancy facilities. Zhao Xin, on the other hand, came from Khabarovsk after returning from Outer Mongolia.
We set off by boat and walked all the way, inspecting one by one from towns to villages. Not only the immigrants, but also the border people of all ethnic groups wanted to chat with them when they met him, so he walked very slowly.
"Do you think He Shen will listen to you?"
"Let them decide what to do! The three directions of east, north and south are basically blocked by us. If the Manchus and Qing Dynasties want to escape, they can only go to Qinghai or Sichuan. For such a big thing as the Gorkha invasion, Qinghai and Tibet are
Bian actually dared to negotiate peace in private. In addition, the relationship between the lamas, nobles and the like is very chaotic. Qianlong has always wanted to take action to rectify it. Isn't this a chance?"
Chen Qingsong nodded and said: "According to this, you plan to let Qianlong live for a few more years?"
"Is he just a dying emperor? Is that important? After the Battle of Outer Mongolia, I plan to retire the first four regiments. This will solve a lot of the shortage of cadres and workers." Zhao Xin began to point his fingers at the question.
Chen Qingsong muttered one after another.
"Should Urumqi and Yili be resolved? We need to open up a base in Jiaodong and introduce a large number of people, right? Although Deng Fei and the others have made some progress, there are still too few Chinese in Batavia, and there are not enough people in Cam Ranh Bay.
We have to recruit people from the coast of Guangdong."
When Zhao Xin said this, his frown suddenly showed, and he smiled at Chen Qingsong and said: "By the way, there is one more thing. Deng Fei sent me a telegram yesterday. Guess what? The Governor-General of French India sent
I sent a special envoy to Batavia to see him and want to ask us for a favor."
"what?"
"Who is the name of their local governor? Camille Charles Leclerc. Leclerc came up with a sum of money to hire the Thor and our people to go to France to rescue Louis XVI and the Queen."
"Pfft!" Chen Qingsong didn't hold a mouthful of water in his mouth and immediately spurted it out. Fortunately, Zhao Xin was prepared in advance and quickly dodged it without touching a drop.
"Why are you looking for us? Can't they fight back on their own?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Our ship is fast. I guess the French who govern the local area got the news from Ruan Phuc Anh." After Zhao Xin explained, he continued: "I haven't finished yet.
Well, the wife of the governor-general is also a noble, and she has also been arrested. It is estimated that when Robespierre comes to power, they will all be beheaded."
More than a month ago, members of the Bourbon royal family who had been under house arrest in the Tuileries Palace escaped collectively late at night. Unexpectedly, Louis XVI not only did not hide his whereabouts along the way, but actually got out of the car many times to chat with farmers.
, this guy thought he was deeply loved by his subjects, so he acted like a king going to the countryside to inspect.
Originally, Louis XVI escaped two hours later than his younger brother, the Count of Provence, but he still procrastinated and dilly-dallyed. When he arrived at Chalon in northern France, he was already three hours later than originally planned.
The cavalry who greeted the king outside the city were even more bizarre. They suspected that the king had failed to escape from Paris, so most of them evacuated. If it were Qianlong's place, they would all be beheaded.
Later, when Louis XVI and his family arrived in Varennes, the local city council sent out the National Guard to intercept them. The king's family failed to escape and were escorted back to Paris.
In addition, Louis XVI also did a very nonsense thing before escaping. He left a statement condemning the Constitutional Convention for depriving the royal family of diplomatic, military and local administrative powers, and announced that in June 1789
All decrees approved after the 23rd are invalid.
You said that even if you were to issue a statement, you wouldn't wait until you fled to Brussels before doing so? The result of what he did was to provide European countries with an excuse to send troops to intervene.
The French people, especially the citizens of Paris, felt "deeply troubled" by the king's escape. The king would betray them. People such as George Danton and Marat began to think about establishing a social system without a king. At the same time,
This incident also became the trigger for the king's family to lose their heads two years later.
Chen Qingsong stared at Zhao Xin for a while and said meaningfully: "You are ready to make a move again, aren't you? Don't go!"
"Go, why not go? I'm still thinking of getting Louisiana. I need to establish a good relationship with Napoleon in advance."
Damn it! Chen Qingsong's eyes suddenly widened. He didn't expect that Zhao Xin was still thinking about the American continent. With his limited knowledge of world history, he remembered that Louisiana seemed to be purchased by the Americans from Napoleon.
In the past, he asked: "What is Napoleon doing now?"
Zhao Xindao: "Probably, he was a colonel in Corsica. It's still early for him to make his debut!"
“How much did the Americans pay for the Louisiana Purchase?”
"$12 million."
"Are you going to cut off your beard?"
"Yeah, I have this idea."
"You are planning to trick the Americans to death!" Chen Qingsong pursed his lips, but when he thought that the United States would only be able to stick to the Atlantic Ocean in the future, he suddenly felt comfortable that "you will have this day too". He thought
He thought again: "Are you really planning to rescue Louis XVI's family?"
"His son was only ten years old when he died," Zhao Xin shook his head, then nodded and said, "It depends on the situation, I haven't thought about it yet."
Chen Qingsong put away his smile and said to Zhao Xin with a serious face: "I advise you to think carefully before making a decision. If you interfere in France's affairs, the entire European history may be messed up."
After hearing this, Zhao Xin didn't say anything for a long time. He wandered around the room for a while, squinted his eyes and said: "The whole of East Asia has been changed beyond recognition by us. We don't care about one more Europe."