Political skill and political wisdom are not things that can be grown by growth, although there are many things that you have experienced, you will experience it into energy and replenish your brain. But Chen Ming may be one of those people with relatively low innate political ability.

Such a person is more cautious about his own governance, and Chen Ming also pays attention to the evaluation of the outside world.

"Your Majesty, that manor in Qixia Mountain has become a platform for Europeans in China to speak their minds freely. Everyone can tell their own novel knowledge of China. For example, Ambassador Muravyov of Russia, and Mr. Perrière before him, they all saw the supreme power of Your Majesty and the majesty of ruling over all the country; And what Messrs. Robert, Brontë and Messrs. Watson see is your respect and seriousness for the law...... "Rotony, who had faded out of the palace two years earlier, bought an abandoned grange at the foot of Mount Qixia and built Roche's estate on the basis of the grange. Soon it became a place for private meetings for Europeans in China.

In the Imperial Garden, the emerald green in front of you looks so pleasant. Chen Ming walked on the path, and Newton behind him followed suit. As a patriot, Newton continued to belittle France and Russia, the two most important enemies of the Kingdom of Great Britain at the moment.

France had been a symbol of the centralization of European monarchies until the Revolution, and Russia after France was the stronghold of European feudal monarchies.

"So, what do they think of the bill that has just been announced?"

In February, the law, which had been more than a month in the making, was finally released. In the past few days, the whole of China has been spreading that the punishment regulations related to the violations of law and discipline by the relatives and children of officials and the officials themselves are finally a law to restrain them in a serious manner.

And this law of the imperial court was so fast from formulation to promulgation, and the case had just been filed in the Ministry of Justice, and the specific regulations had been released in the blink of an eye. It felt too sudden, and I felt shocked and inexplicable. Although the shock and inexplicability faded, countless people smiled.

Because the formulation of these regulations is really too from the standpoint of the common people.

If the children and relatives of officials have misbehaved, the circumstances are serious, and if the circumstances are relatively minor, such as fighting and bullying people, as long as the matter is conclusive, then one point must be recorded, and after ten points, the official himself does not have to think about any future, because if there are ten more points, his official hat can be erased.

The evaluation and promotion of officials should also refer to this aspect, and those with high scores, hehe, of course, will be hindered in promotion. And a term of office of three years/five years can be eliminated.

Chen Ming was originally not going to eliminate it, but considering the mood of the vast number of civil and military officials, he felt that it would be good to come a little bit. Start by making a 'loose' framework and tighten it up a little bit.

After the promulgation of this law, as far as Chen Ming knew, the Chinese people were very happy. Since ancient times, the government and the people have been antagonistic, and what is uncomfortable as an official is comfortable for the common people. But he would like to know what Westerners think about it.

In this era, the Western world is much more corrupt than China. There is no country that is not dark, and there is no official who is not corrupt. Chen Ming wondered what Westerners thought of this set of laws.

"Your Majesty, we cannot agree with your thinking. The new set of laws was too dampening for aristocrats and officials. We can be sure that you are enacting this set of legislation from the point of view of the common people. Just like the Labor Protection Act you made earlier......"

"Isn't that right? Protecting the interests of vulnerable groups can better promote the development of river crabs in society and maintain social stability. This is Chen Ming's understanding, and it is also the purpose of the governance of many Chinese native products 'Qingtian Lord'.

But Newton said, "Shouldn't the law be in the service of the ruling class ruling the country?" It is the means by which the ruler rules the ruled. "So for some of the laws formulated by Chen Ming, Newton and they can't accept it." So, Your Majesty, some of the laws you have enacted are simply not possible in Europe. Your benevolence envelops all strata of society as a whole. Newton believed that the brilliance of the emperor only had to shroud the middle and upper classes, and that the vast lower classes were too far away from the emperor. That is, the emperor of China has the supreme power of the whole country, so that he can launch such a plan again and again. If it were put in Europe, the monarch would be a betrayal of the aristocratic officials and the wealthy merchant class, and even France, where the monarch had the greatest power, would not be able to really do it.

"Your Majesty, your thinking has been deeply influenced by traditional Chinese Datongism."

In the current era when capitalism has not been fully developed, Chen Ming to formulate some laws to protect the proletariat is too advanced in Newton's eyes.

The true meaning of capital is to earn all profits. At a time when the proletariat has not yet shown intolerable momentum, it is the pursuit of capital to extract as much profit as possible. Only when the contradictions are irreconcilable and irresolvable, will they be forced to give up a little profit in their hands, so as to continue to make profits in this mode of production in society.

And Chen Ming's approach is obviously contrary to the essence of capital. He voluntarily ceded his profits before the exploited classes showed their anger, which of course Newton could not understand.

Therefore, Newton, who had a certain understanding of Chinese culture, believed that Chen Ming was still deeply influenced by Datongism, and he also felt that in the brains of many Chinese scholars, the most ideal world was that everyone in the world had food, clothing, and a house to live in.

A thousand years ago, Du Fu's status in Chinese literature was very lofty, and his poem "Song of the Thatched House Broken by the Autumn Wind": There are tens of thousands of mansions, sheltering the cold people in the world, and the wind and rain do not move like a mountain. Alack! When I suddenly see this house in front of me, it is enough for me to freeze to death! It fully contains this kind of thoughts and feelings.

It seems that for one or two thousand years, the Chinese have always had this feeling of pity for the weak and weak classes.

It was difficult for Newton to understand this idea that had been passed down from ancient times, but he felt that this was what attracted him to Eastern civilization.

"No poet can be great by himself and by describing himself, whether of his own suffering, or of his own happiness. The great poet is great because the roots of their suffering and happiness go deep into the soil of society and history, because he is the organ and representative of society, of the times, of humanity. ”

—Chinese Culture, Chapter 6, Chapter 3, by Stephen Newton

……

Rotony is already old, and since the third year of Chengtian, he has stayed more in his manor outside Nanjing, rather than following Chen Hui to wander around the north and south. He also resigned from his job as a compiler of the General History of Europe, and the experience of his youth shuttling between thousands of miles of sea waves with ships left an irreparable wound on his body, even though he is now only fifty-six years old.

And Ji Xiaolan, who is the same age, is not only in high spirits, but also successfully entered the Ministry of Culture and Education as the deputy minister of real power in the recently announced adjustment of important officials in ministries and commissions.

Rotony, however, doesn't have much energy left to continue dancing on China's political scene.

Rotony's estate is located at the foot of Qixia Mountain, and with Rotony's retirement, it has become an important place for Westerners in Nanjing to gather for leisure. No, not only the Westerners in Nanjing, but also the Westerners in the entire Jiangnan also like to gather here, and at the same time, there are some wealthy and powerful eunuchs in Jiangnan who are attracted to it. There is always a group of people who are curious about imported products, right?

The Pierres, who had left France, also came here often, and not many Westerners expressed contempt for Pierre's choice, and there was no too fierce concept of loyalty in Western civilization, especially if Pierre was going to China, a powerful country, so there was nothing to laugh at and despise.

Newton was one of the most distinguished guests here. Each time he arrived, he brought a lot of fresh news to the manor, not necessarily court secrets, but also many anecdotes of China's top political class.

But the crowds of people who came and went did not disrupt Rotony's strict personal life. He personally trained his daughter Lovier and his fourteen-year-old son Roanne Lo, teaching them natural, algebra, geometry and painting.

Although his health is not very good, he still makes proper arrangements for the lives of his two minor children, asking them to constantly complete their homework and enrich themselves. Although he himself is not very busy, Rotony is writing a memoir, and he also likes making purple clay pots. Rotony, who barely drank tea when he was young, now not only likes to drink tea, but also Chinese tea, whether it is black tea or green tea.

In his spare time, he returned to supervise the work of the workers and slaves of the estate, driving them to do this and that, building one building after another.

Because this manor is the best dowry for his daughter, the property left to his younger son is the shares of the family company, and now the company is run by his eldest son, and his second son is a teacher at the Foreign Affairs College in Nanjing, and now he has been promoted to associate professor, and then his only daughter and youngest son.

Rotony is retired and no longer seems to be able to play a role in China's affairs, but whoever thinks so is an absolute fool. Rotony has been in and out of the Chen Han Power Center for so many years, and there is a trace of hypocrisy between him and many nobles in China. At least during the New Year's holidays, the rewards in the palace never less than his, which can already explain some problems.

Therefore, when the clouds were strange in the sky above Nanjing City, the Westerners in the embassy area gathered at the Rotoni Manor in Qixia Mountain.

Rotony, the former tall and tough chief civil affairs officer of Macau, has now become thin and old, his face is full of wrinkles, and he walks a little. His hair was completely gray, his eyebrows were gray, and when he frowned, he was deep enough to kill mosquitoes, but his eyes were sharp.

Rotony's study was piled up with all sorts of things, apparently some of the usual things. A large table—with books and diagrams, several tall glass bookcases—keys inserted directly into the doors—a high platform for standing and writing—an open notebook, a billet cart—and a few tools around it, a miraculous tool, out of which Rotony pulled out the blanks, which resembled a rotating wheel.

Rotony obviously cherishes this artifact, there is not a single mud sprinkling around it, and Rotony always cleans it with his own hands after using it.

Rotony, who always showed a serious expression when he was working, was very gentle when facing his daughter, he looked at Luo Weier with concern and said, "Except for what?" Why do you look frightened? ”

"Dear father, Catherine has sent me a letter, which I have just received."

"So there must be terrible news in the letter?" Rotony said with a smile.

"Yes Father. Catherine's brother Piro was dragged into the army by the colonial army in Batavia, and Catherine's fiancé Jose ......" Lovier looked horrified.

War can be laughed at when you are still some distance away from you, but when it really involves your own people, it is terrible.

Catherine was a childhood playmate of Roviel, whose father was a senior in Guangzhou for the Dutch East India Company, and his family was in Macau, where he was a neighbor of Roviel. Her brother Piro also wrote letters to Roville. And José, who is three years older than Catherine, has also seen it. But at that time they were not engaged.

Rotony frowned, he reached out and took Roviel's letter, he wanted to read it carefully, he smelled a lot of information in his daughter's words. If he remembered correctly, José, who was engaged to Catherine, was only seventeen years old.

In her letter, Catherine wrote:

My dear friend, what a terrible and painful parting it is!

The whole of Batavia is talking about war, they are talking only about war. My brother and my fiancé received a call from the company, one of them was in the navy, and the other was a member of the battery guards. ……………… God played a huge joke that in Europe we [the Netherlands] fell out with the Anglo-Saxons. Our former allies have abandoned the United Provinces, and there is speculation that London intends to attack the United Provinces against the increasingly arrogant Armed Neutral Alliance......

May God willing, Almighty God be merciful, appoint an angel to be our commander-in-chief, and may he be able to suppress the mad Anglo-Saxons.

God bless my brother and fiancé, I don't want to lose either of them.

Dear Mary [Lovier's original name], I confess to you that their presence in the army has caused me great pain and sorrow.

The whole of Batavia is filled with the mood of defeat, and our threat comes not only from the British in India, but also from the Chinese...... in the north"

"Haha, that's funny. Will Batavia resist the coming war by force? ”

Rotony shook his head and said to his daughter, "Go and write back to your friend." Invite their family to Nanjing to play. Got both her brother and fiancé out of the army. Although Rotony did not know when China would attack Batavia, he believed that the Dutch in Batavia would not be China's opponent at all. How many of them are there?

And how many Chinese troops are there? And the deadly secret weapon of the dragon bullet has not been stolen.

The Dutch should not resist Nanking by force, they should immediately negotiate with Nanking and teach the land to China in a peaceful way, in exchange for their greatest rights and decency.