There was a sound of water, and Maria. Clementina's pretty face came out of the bottom of the water, gently wiped the water on her face with both hands, swam to the edge of the pool, and leaned comfortably by Zhu Jishi's side.

This sink is located in the bathroom on the ground floor of Fort Maria, with a special passage connecting Zhu Jishi and Maria. Clementina's bedroom. The pool is surrounded by clouds and white gas, and the pool is ten zhang square, and the edges and interiors are pasted with milky white polished very smooth stones, and it is not known whether the road is granite or marble. The lighting in the bathroom is not very good, there is no electric light in this era, only whale oil wall lamps can be installed on the walls, and the hazy light and water vapor are mixed together, showing a bit of fairyland taste.

Zhu Jishi leaned on the edge of the pool, with a white towel on his head, his face tilted, squinting in front of him, as if he was taking a nap. He had just returned from riding a great horse, not Maria, a living horse, but an Arabian horse. He also had a horse race with Maria, not only lost the race, but also turned his bones apart. Clementina was still tired, but now she felt a lot more comfortable in the bathhouse.

There are other beauties in this pool, all of them are naked young girls, one of them knelt behind Zhu Jishi, gently pinching his shoulders, and her appearance is also delicate and moving, it is Zhou Lichun's daughter Zhou Xiuying, who has now been accepted by Zhu Jishi. There are also two who are also kneeling behind Zhou Xiuying with bare butts, both of them are fourteen or fifteen-year-old Lori, but they were not accepted by Zhu Jishi, but the daughters of Zhu Jishi's Japanese retainers. Although the Tokugawa shogunate was still in seclusion, it allowed Zhu to recruit ronin to serve as retainers in the country—in the name of the Yokohama domain, of course—and those retainers would leave Japan with their families to serve Zhu Jishi in China. An unmarried daughter of a decent family in their family. In accordance with the custom in Japan, she served as a maid in the lord's palace.

One of the two Japanese maids saw Maria emerge from the water. Leaned over to Zhu Jishi's side. He smiled and went up to pinch her shoulder, but Maria waved her hand to stop her, so she had to hand over a towel and return to her place.

Maria looked at Zhu Jishi, who was "half-dead", and chuckled: "Jason, your equestrian skills still need to be improved." ”

Zhu Jishi suddenly pressed her into his arms, and slapped her pink buttocks hard, causing Maria to giggle again. Zhu Jishi asked her to sit on the edge of the bath again. He simply pillowed his head on Maria's slender jade legs, squinted his eyes and said, "Maria, do you know the truth, because of you, I have already smelled gunpowder in the harem." ”

Maria gently stroked Zhu Jishi's forehead and said with a smile: "Jason, what, don't you welcome me?" ”

"You still don't know what my mind is? But what are the rules of the game in the politics of the Eastern court, do you know the way? I'm now the monarch of a great Eastern Empire......"

Maria leaned over to Zhu Jishi's ear and said softly, "I know the truth...... But I still want to play. Let me into your harem. ”

Zhu Jishi suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Maria: "Do you really want to be the Empress of Daming." Let your son inherit the throne? ”

Maria blinked wide-eyed and smiled noncommittally. Zhu Jishi looked at her for a while, and suddenly smiled: "You won't have this kind of thought, because you are a smart person, and you won't let your children take this responsibility and risk, so tell me your truth." ”

"Jason, I've always been a Frenchman, a French woman, and I'm with you first, of course, because of love, and secondly, for French ......"

Maria showed a serious expression and whispered: "The seizure of power in China is only the beginning of your career. Similarly, the ascension to the throne of France was also Louis. The beginning of Bonaparte's career. What you want to build is a China that dominates the East, and Louis. Bonaparte wants to give the French people a hegemon on the European continent! Therefore, China and France have a common enemy, Russia, and Britain! ”

Her gaze suddenly deepened: "Jason, you may have the strength to deal with Russia...... Russia is nothing more than a paper tiger, as well as people of insight throughout Europe. But Britain, by all, is definitely not so easy to deal with! You and Louie. Bonaparte had to forge the most reliable alliance. The combination of French capital and technology with China's resources, labor and markets was the only way to break the containment of the British Empire. ”

"British Empire...... What will they do? Zhu Jishi asked with interest, and he knew that Maria. Clementina is an expert on European politics, and Europe is the center of power and wealth in the world today, and if the Ming wants to rise, he must have solid and reliable allies in Europe. This ally...... It could also be the UK!

"Now it's against Russia!" Maria sneered, "Nicholas I is a reckless fool, and Russia is a giant in the mire...... But Russia is too big, and the British Empire is not willing to shed too much blood, so the British will turn a blind eye to the rise of the Napoleonic family, and at the same time turn to support you to unify China. You must know that the Calcutta Arsenal owned by the British East India Company is the largest single arsenal in the world! If the British wished, they could supply the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with 1,000,000 brown bass flintlock pistols with a double line. As far as I know, the inventory of brown bass rifles in the Calcutta Arsenal alone is well over 1 million. But now that they have cut off the supply of weapons to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, this can already be regarded as helping you. ”

Zhu Jishi already knew about the decision of the British, and the new British ambassador to China, Qiu Fatzi, arrived two weeks earlier than Maria.

Maria said in a deep voice: "But your Ming can't be too strong and aggressive, otherwise the British will consider containing the Ming, and Russia will turn more attention to the East, and the friendship between Ming and France will cause the British to be vigilant...... To quote an ancient Chinese saying, the Ming Dynasty must accumulate thick and thin, and make a blockbuster. So, you should give in a little to the Russian crown prince who is going to visit China. ”

"On the issue of the Northeast and Mongolia?" Zhu Jishi frowned.

Maria shook Zhu Jishi's hand: "Temporary concessions are very necessary...... And you also need time to prepare for a large-scale war, don't you? ”

……

"Zhu Jishi issued an edict strictly prohibiting worship of God? Well, give the order to the brothers in the south, and let them wait patiently for a while while and wait for the order to start up. In addition, let Zeng Tianyang strengthen the offensive, and he must take Qufu before the end of October (Tianli), but he is not allowed to kill indiscriminately, it is best to capture Kong Fanhao alive, and this king wants him to surrender to my Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! Hey, what's the big news in the newspapers in the South lately? ”

Tai'an City, the camp of the Taiping Army. While explaining the matter to his subordinates, Yang Xiuqing asked about the news from Zhu Jishi. There were more and more newspapers on Zhu Ming's territory, and all kinds of news were flying all over the sky, so it became a tool for Yang Xiuqing to understand the internal affairs of the Southern Dynasties.

"It doesn't matter, it's that there are a few tabloids in the south that are talking about a royal family law called "Royal Family Model", saying that it is necessary to distinguish between inside and outside, control the harem, strictly prohibit the inner palace from interfering in politics, and not let the concubines hold official positions in the foreign courts, etc., and also said that Zhu Ming's family law is not as good as the former Ming and Song dynasties, and it is more relaxed than Li Tang, and sooner or later there will be changes......"

The name of the person who spoke was Du Han, the word Hongju, was a Jinshi in the 24th year of Daoguang, and his father's name was Du Shoutian, who was the master of Yisu and the secretary of the Ministry of Industry of the Manchu Dynasty. When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom broke through the city of Beijing, the father and son were captured at the same time, the old man became a loyal minister on a hunger strike, and the son wanted to live without dying.

"How many tabloids dare to say that about Zhu Ming? There are really no rules at all in this Southern Dynasty! Yang Xiuqing didn't take it seriously, just listened to it as an anecdote. However, Du Han followed his father, the emperor's master, and heard and witnessed many stories of palace fights, so he could naturally see through the appearance and see the essence.

"His Royal Highness the East King, I'm afraid there is someone behind these newspapers who is directing." (To be continued......)