or?~9.?!? ?^=???? 2? W?? >?? >@,t?a? Fn9?1?? [??,z??? When the officials of the division were talking about the envoy to the West tens of thousands of miles away, news spread among the officials one after another about the voyage to England, which had to sail on the sea for four months, the sea was stormy, the seasickness was particularly severe, the hammock was dangling and it was difficult to sleep, the sea voyage was long, the diet and water were not as good as the prisoners, it was easy to induce the infection of various epidemics, the language barrier, the diet was not accustomed, and it took two or three or even three or five years to travel around the Western countries, and it took two or three or even .......three or five years to travel around the Western countries. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Originally, a group of officials were afraid of the Western countries that were tens of thousands of miles away, and one after another, it was reported that it was from the Beiyang Naval Division, which made the vast majority of officials retreat, and the heads of various ministries and young clan nobles expressed their opposition to the Western mission.

Of course, it was not without those who were in favor, and a small group of clan members led by Prince Gong Yixun, Prince Yi Zaiyuan, Prince Zheng Duanhua, Peng Yunzhang, the secretary of the Ministry of Works, and Bai Ye, the secretary of the Ministry of Households, actively favored the mission to the West. There is no need for the two sides to go to the Western countries to fight each other!

Yi Zhixiang, the initiator of the mission to Western countries, did not care at all about the controversy of the officials of Beijing, and he knew very well that Xianfeng would definitely agree to send a mission to visit the Western Ocean, and it can be seen from the fact that Xianfeng and the United States had privately signed an agreement to lease the port of Kaohsiung, and Xianfeng was eager to contact Western countries in order to win the strong support of Western countries for the imperial court.

However, he was also worried, the national flag and national anthem visited by the Qing Dynasty mission did not have a whereabouts, and it was indeed cold to say, the dignified Qing Empire has never had its own national flag and national anthem, only the navy's military flag and military song.

In fact, there is not much difference between the golden dragon flag of the navy and the flag of the emperor, but it is the military song of the navy, which has dragged on for a few years, and he really can't drag it on, so he hastily changed a song "Men as Self-improvement" to be a naval song.

He also knows a few modern military songs, but they are all inappropriate, and there are no military songs in ancient times, such as "No Clothes", "National Mourning", "Wei Drum Song", "Triumphant Song", etc., he has tried to listen to them, but none of them are satisfactory.

This time it's the turn of the national anthem, and he has even more headaches, can't he just copy it? Of course, the lyrics can be changed...... But he was not very willing and wanted to take this opportunity to introduce Western elements.

"Sir——。 Wei Yuan and Zhao Wenlie walked into the study slowly, and at a glance they caught a glimpse of Yi Zhishu holding two dragon pictures and comparing them, and they were all surprised, the dragon has always been a symbol of the Son of Heaven, is it not the right time to come? Both hesitated and stopped.

"You two came just in time ......" Yi Zhizu got up and paced over with two patterns, "The Chinese Rui Beast has a unicorn, a phoenix, and a dragon, which one is suitable as a national flag pattern?" ”

It turned out to be the selection of the national flag pattern, Wei Yuan and the two secretly breathed a sigh of relief, during this time Yi Zhicontent was clear about the matter of soliciting the national flag and national anthem of the Qing Dynasty, and sighed slightly, Wei Yuan said: "The unicorn is a benevolent beast, does not hurt people and animals, does not trample on flowers and plants, has feet but does not kick, has forehead but does not resist, and has horns but does not touch." The head of the sacred beast representing the way of heaven, the most benevolent, the most benevolent, the great good, and the great love, is the symbol of Confucianism.

The phoenix is a righteous bird, which does not eat bamboo, does not drink from Liquan, and does not inhabit without sycamore, representing a sign of prosperity and prosperity. It is the noblest and most holy god of heaven. The unicorn phoenix is the royal road and the connotation of China, which is not suitable, especially at this stage, it is not suitable as the national flag pattern of the Qing Dynasty. ”

Speaking of this, he paused, and continued: "Since ancient times, the dragon is the totem of China, the dragon travels for nine days, it is the sea and sky divine beast that swallows clouds and spits out fog, calls for wind and rain, and makes waves, and is generous to friends and benevolent, and fierce and cruel to the enemy. ”

Even the inner king and the outer saint have been pulled out! Yi Zhishu originally intended to use the dragon as the national flag pattern, and immediately smiled and said, "Is it better to use the pattern of the dragon, or the pattern of the dragon?" ”

Hearing this, Wei Yuan couldn't help but smile, "According to what the lord said, the national flag is not only a symbol of the country, but it is better to use the dragon pattern, and the dragon robe of the Son of Heaven is mainly based on the dragon." ”

"Then let's focus on the dragon, and the background color is bright yellow, the same as the dragon robe." Yi Zhi Ashikaga said: "Mr. is going to make a fold, and ask the imperial court to formulate a national flag, which will be used by the embassy to visit Western countries." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to give up his seat, and Lin Meilian also came in with a tea tray to serve tea to the two.

As soon as he sat down, Zhao Wenlie said: "Sir, the imperial court sent an envoy to Western countries, for Yuan Qi, it may not be a good thing, although the lord is not called the king, not divided, but the disagreement with the imperial court is well known, the imperial court regards Yuan Qi must be a thorn in the flesh, and he must want to deal with it quickly."

Western countries must also be extremely dissatisfied with Yuanqi's monopoly of foreign trade, control of customs tax rates, and frequent foreign expansion, and do not rule out the possibility that the imperial court and Western countries will collude to deal with Yuanqi. ”

"The imperial court is not the same as the Wa Kingdom. The Wa Kingdom was an enemy, but the imperial court was not. Yi Zhishu said as he took a jade cigarette holder from the coffee table, and slowly stuffed a cigarette into the cigarette holder, "If the imperial court can follow the trend and carry out top-down reforms, and it can be carried out thoroughly enough, it may not be able to give the imperial court or the Manchus a chance to ......." ”

Zhao Wenlie was stunned when he heard it, "The lord is willing to make wedding dresses for others?" ”

Yi Zhicontent struck a match and lit the cigarette, took a puff, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, and then said slowly: "If Yuan Qi raises troops to attack the Qing Dynasty, how long will it take to overthrow the Qing court?" ”

Hearing his question so direct, Wei Yuan and Zhao Wenlie were all stunned, and after hesitating, Zhao Wenlie said: "With Yuan Qi's strength, with the scale and combat power of the new army, two or three years is enough." ”

"Two or three years impossible!" Wei Yuan said in a deep voice: "Manchu and Mongolia are one, they are closely related, they must advance and retreat together, if the Qing court retreats to the northeast, let alone two or three years, it will be difficult to destroy it in three or five years!" ”

"Three or five years is said to be less, and it may be difficult to destroy the Qing court in more than ten years." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Russia and Britain are vying for hegemony in Asia, and they have always been eyeing the Qing Dynasty, once Yuan Qi raises troops and the Qing court retreats to Shengjing, Russia and Britain will strongly support the Qing court!" ”

Zhao Wenlie was puzzled and said: "Russia covets the Northeast and supports the Qing court in the past, why does Britain also support it?" ”

"I just said that Russia and Britain are vying for hegemony in Asia." Yi Zhizhi said patiently: "In order to curb Russia's expansion to the northeast and expand to the Pacific Ocean to establish ports, the British will inevitably support the Qing court to avoid Russia controlling the Qing court, and in addition, by supporting the Qing court, the British may steal the whole of Tibet."

To put it simply, once Yuanqi raises troops, Britain, France, Russia, and the United States are likely to be involved in order to seek greater benefits in Asia, and Northeast China, Mongolia, and even Tibet, Xinjiang, the two provinces of Nanyang, and Taiwan and the Ryukyus may all be split or occupied! If this is the case, we will lose most of the territory, have you ever thought about this situation? ”

Wei Yuan and Zhao Wenlie were speechless for a long time, and after a long time, Zhao Wenlie hesitated and said: "This is the worst possibility, although the Northeast, Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang are vast, they are all barren and bitter cold lands...... ”

"Wrong!" Yi Zhizu interrupted him and said: "Northeast China, Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang is not a bitter cold place, but contains unimaginably rich resources!" Don't lose it! ”

His tone was rarely harsh, Wei Yuan and Zhao Wenlie couldn't help but look at each other, the two really couldn't understand, the northeast and northwest have always been bitter cold places for exiled prisoners, what resources can be extremely rich? Is it coal and steel? Or gold, silver, copper? However, the two were interested and didn't ask much.

Yi Zhishu also realized that his tone was a little harsh, and said in a slow tone: "What is preached in the army is an inch of mountains and rivers and an inch of blood!" Although our country is big, every inch of land will be contested! Northeast China, Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang, all vast lands, anointed lands, how dare you give up lightly?

Now the Qing Dynasty is surrounded by foreign powers, and there can be no civil strife, which is the reason why Yuan Qi wants to pacify the Twist Rebellion and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and why Yuan Qi does not take advantage of the chaos to raise troops.

China's 5,000-year-old history, 2,000-year-old feudal dynasties, systems, ideas, laws, and so on are all deeply rooted, and the transition to modern capitalism is not an overnight thing, but must be gradual and gradual, and even if the reform of the law cannot be successful, it can also greatly promote the change of thinking...... The slow penetration of the Northeast, Mongolia, and Tibet cut off the back road of the Manchu and Mongol peoples, and only by a steady transition will the Western countries not be given an opportunity to rise up and compete with Russia and Britain for hegemony in Asia. ”

This is the reason why Yuan Qi has always refused to raise troops to rebel? Wei Yuan and Zhao Wenlie glanced at each other, and both of them were shocked in their hearts, this is not only a wide vision and a long-term vision, but this patience is also unmatched.

After pondering for a while, Wei Yuancai said: "People don't hurt the tiger, but the tiger harms people's hearts." In order to consolidate the imperial power and extend the Qing Dynasty, it is very likely that the imperial court will join forces with Western countries to deal with Yuanqi at any cost. ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled and said: "The imperial court envoy to the West, we must make sufficient preparations, it should not be until next summer or early autumn, it is estimated that the Crimean War should end next year, if Britain and France have plans to send troops to the Qing Dynasty, it will also be delayed because of the visit of the imperial court."

In the next two years of the Ming Dynasty, it is very crucial for Yuan Qi, as long as it can be delayed until the next year, the war in Tibet and Heilongjiang should end, and the northwest can also send troops back to help...... As for the alliance between the imperial court and Western countries, the Qing court did not dare to go too far without sufficient self-protection ability, and there was no need to worry. ”

Wei Yuan said in surprise: "Is it possible that Britain and France will continue to provoke a war against the Qing Dynasty after the end of the Crimean War?" ”

"Possibly!" Yi Zhi said with a full jaw: "And it may be very large, sending troops to Tibet and the Taiping army entering Burma will pose a great threat to British forces in India and Burma...... Originally, the expulsion of the Taiping army into Burma was intended to divert the attention of Britain and France to Southeast Asia, but the Taiping army did not seem to be obedient. ”

Southeast Asia, Yunnan Cheli Tusi to Chiang Mai tea horse trade road, a large scale of tea horse caravan slowly walking on the dense and rugged road, although there are caravans back and forth all year round, but this trade road is really difficult, Yin Youcai listlessly rode on the horse listening to the monotonous sound of bells.

The sound of the bell is made by the bell hanging on the neck of the horse, and all the horses of the horse team have bells around their necks, and on the silent winding mountain road, even if you don't see anyone, you can hear the bell sound, but after listening to it for a long time, you will feel monotonous.

The car is not close to Chiang Mai, there are more than a thousand miles along the tea and horse trade road, and it will take more than half a month to walk fast, Yin Youcai personally went to Chiang Mai this time, naturally because the Taiping army was disobedient, intending to divide Chiang Mai and not disturb Southeast Asia.

The Taiping army gathered troops to divide Chiang Mai, and Burma, Siam and the two countries of peace coexistence, is the most in line with the long-term interests of the Taiping army, in this way, can also completely get rid of the dependence on Yuan Qi, at the beginning, the reason why the big shopkeeper let the Taiping army into Burma in two ways, should be to take this into account, at present, it seems that the effect is not much, the Taiping army kings are really not idle.

At noon, the sun was poisonous, and the horse team entered an unknown town and began to rest, and got off the horse, Yin Youcai stomped his feet and strode into the inn lobby, opened the cool white he carried with him and poured it into the sky in one breath, and the battalion commander Dong Dachun greeted him and said, "Young master, the shopkeeper said that it has not been peaceful recently, and he plans to stay here for one night, and he will hurry up early tomorrow morning." ”

It's only noon, so I'm resting, when will I arrive in Chiang Mai? Yin Youcai said angrily: "It's not been peaceful recently? What's going on? ”

"It is said that the Taiping army captured Chiang Mai, and the soldiers and horses that originally occupied Chiang Mai were scattered, and the stragglers robbed everywhere in groups, and I heard that there was a team of two or three hundred people nearby." Dong Dachun said and lowered his voice: "Our horse team is large, and it is eye-catching..... ”

"Two or three hundred stragglers are scared?" Yin Youcai gave him a blank look, there were not many people he brought to Chiang Mai this time, but there were also two companies, the horse team was just a guide and a disguise, two or three hundred stragglers, he didn't pay attention to it at all.

Dong Dachun smiled bitterly and said, "Young Master, there are still seven or eight days to go to Chiang Mai, besides, we have to go back, and the ammunition consumption is too large." ”

"Afraid of what?" Yin Youcai said disapprerovingly: "The ammunition consumption is large, and it is replenished in Chiang Mai, can there be two companies of ammunition less?" Besides, if we're targeted, it's useless for us to rest here for the night. ”

Hearing him say this, Dong Dachun couldn't insist anymore, and hurriedly said: "That little general will tell the young master's words." ”

"Wait." Yin Youcai said softly: "Learn about the details of the other party and the nearby terrain, send someone to step on the point in advance, it's best not to come, let's catch some prisoners to understand the situation in Chiang Mai." ”