In 1898, it seems that the world began to be in chaos from this time, but why was it chaotic?

This issue has become a topic of study for many people in later generations, but not for Chinese. Many Chinese people in later generations thought that there was nothing to study, because chaos and order were always staged periodically, and it was better to study how to make people's lives better at this time. Those who said these words actually knew that this was the idea of an emperor who was afraid that the world would not be chaotic. This is an emperor with a stubborn idea of Chinese supremacy, and in his opinion, as long as China is not chaotic, he will take care of others. And this kind of thinking has imperceptibly spread to the people over time.

And one summer in 1898, the emperor was furious in the secret meeting room of the State Department: "You don't take human life seriously, do you?"

"Your Majesty, you can't blame us for this, it's all those Japanese prisoners of war and Koreans who did it." Zhan Tianyou, the Minister of Communications, stood aside with an aggrieved face and said: "It was the Japanese prisoners of war and the Koreans who cut the supply of slaves and forced them to carry out high-level work, so the casualties were naturally high." They said that this is to show loyalty to the emperor, and ask the emperor to believe in their ability, and they will definitely be able to help the emperor save more expenses. ”

"We are human beings, not beasts, so we must have some compassion. Slaves are the same people, they do the hardest, most tiring and dangerous work, not to mention how much they are allowed to live, at least let them live normally. As soon as Guangxu's words fell, he saw that all the participants looked at him with rare eyes. This also includes Li Hongzhang, the prime minister of the current dynasty. As a result, Guangxu's anger that had calmed down went up again: "Look at it, it's not a monster that I haven't seen it." ”

The ministers lowered their heads instead, and everyone was thinking. At the beginning, the courtiers refused to use the inhumane way of slaves, and in the end, it was you, the emperor, who forcibly pushed it, and took Emperor Yang of Sui as an example. If it weren't for Emperor Yang of Sui's excessive oppression of the people when he was building the country, where would it lead to the death of the second. Now that everyone has seen the benefits of using slaves, you, the emperor who came up with the idea, are not happy. Today's emperor's heart is becoming more and more unpredictable.

Marx once said: As soon as capital comes to the world, from head to toe, every pore is left with blood and filth. The only purpose of capital is profit, and for this purpose it can drink human blood and kill people. Or even start a war. And the ministers who had just felt the benefits were reluctant to give up.

Seeing that all the ministers did not answer, Guangxu could only sigh: "It also costs money to buy slaves." Spend the money you spent on the slaves now, and let them live a little better. "As the emperor is saying this kind of thing, it can be said that he is already begging the ministers. There is no way, you can't force the order. Because without the support of these ministers, there would be no emperor like him.

"Slaves don't cost money now?" Lin Qizhao said something strangely, and looked at the emperor in surprise after speaking: "Luzon has been taken, plus Pontianak, Java and other places have our Chinese Autonomous Army, if you want slaves, send a telegram to let them go around Lin, the imperial court only needs to pay for the training fees of the troops in various places, as for this freight, it is nothing." Doesn't the emperor know? ”

I know, of course I know, the emperor doesn't even know this and still be a fart emperor. Because the expenses related to the slaves were all recorded in a separate account called the loss of the construction corps. The daily consumption of food and slave substitution are recorded in the books, and each must be signed by Guangxu to be implemented, which is a method that Guangxu came up with in order to prevent the ministers from smuggling slaves unscrupulously. Guangxu knew that the purchase price of slaves was much lower now. Guangxu took it for granted that the imperial court had invested so much in the early stage of Luzon, and now it will naturally get a return on Luzon. But what Guangxu didn't know was that the cost of slaves had been so low that he only needed freight, and he must be the emperor to grasp the overall situation, where would he look at every list.

The corners of Lin Qizhao's mouth twitched non-stop, md. If you are not careful, these people will make slavery an industry. Sitting here today are all Guangxu's team, since everyone has no objection. That means that these people are the beneficiaries of this matter. Guangxu needs the support of these people to stabilize the throne, and naturally he will not do a thing that is angry with the public.

"Your Majesty, the old minister thinks there's nothing wrong with it." Li Hongzhang stood up and spoke: "How many have my Nanyang Chinese been killed by those Nanyang barbarians over the years, and now it's time for them to pay the price." ”

"If it's only foreigners and captives who are being oppressed, you can do it if you think it's okay, as long as it doesn't cause a lot of coverage at home and abroad." After speaking, Guangxu lost his book and folded it in front of Li Hongzhang: "But how can this matter of squeezing the people be counted?" ”

Li Hongzhang's first impression when he opened the fold was that this fold was copied by the emperor himself, and it seemed that this was to protect the person who folded it. But after taking a closer look at the content, Li Hongzhang knelt down and kowtowed with a pale face in fright: "Your Majesty, Weichen really doesn't know about it." ”

Li Hongzhang's panicked behavior also frightened the ministers, and they didn't know what could make the prime minister of a country like this, so they asked the reason one after another. Guangxu did not speak, and Li Hongzhang handed over the recital to the ministers for circulation. What is written on the fold is that one of Li Hongzhang's nephews built a factory in his hometown under the name of Li Hongzhang, driving the villagers like cattle and horses, and the slightest resistance is a knife and axe, and many people have been killed and injured. The faces of all the people who read the fold changed, if this matter is true, even if Li Hongzhang can save his life, this official will definitely be lost. The last governor of Ganshan who did this, but he was slashed, and his head was hung on the Chaoyang Gate of the capital.

The entire conference room fell silent, except for the sound of rapid breathing. Guangxu knew that these ministers were waiting for the emperor to convict. Guangxu knocked lightly on the table: "I have already asked people to check, you really don't know about it, otherwise what you see when you get up in the morning is the officers and soldiers who went to copy your house." ”

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, Weichen will personally go and bring his head back."

After Li Hongzhang finished speaking, Guangxu slapped his palm on the table, and immediately shouted angrily: "Dare to discount me-"

"Wechen don't dare, Wechen don't dare. Weichen will personally go to raid the homes of everyone involved in this matter. Li Hongzhang knelt on the ground and banged his head. None of the other ministers dared to plead for mercy.

"Hmph, I thought that your Li Hongzhang's selfishness had reached the point of emboldenedness." Guangxu sat down leisurely: "Demote the knight to the first rank to see the after-effects." This time, you can go back and deal with it yourself. Now sit down and talk. ”

Li Hongzhang thanked him and didn't dare to wipe the blood on his head. Let the blood on his forehead flow down in a stream.

Guangxu seemed to ignore the blood on Li Hongzhang's face, but said with a smile: "Today, I will tell you what I mean from the bottom of my heart. Let's talk about this matter first, in the late Ming Dynasty, the Ming court faced the Manchu rebellion in the north and the rebellion in the south, and the treasury was nearly exhausted, and at this time the southern rebellion had reached Beijing. Emperor Chongzhen, who had no money and soldiers, recruited troops to resist the rebellion in order to raise wages. borrowed money from major high-ranking officials and wealthy families in the capital. As a result, everyone was crying poor and not borrowing, and finally when the city was broken. These high-ranking officials and wealthy families who refused to borrow money were all looted, and they lost their lives for the loss of their wealth. Everyone is clear about this matter, if these people are willing to spend some money to recruit troops for Chongzhen, maybe the capital will not be breached. These people will lose some of their wealth, but at least they will be able to keep most of it and save their lives. However, in order to keep their property, these high-ranking officials and wealthy families lost the capital and the imperial court, and as a result, their families were ruined. Why is this happening? Because they have forgotten what is with this, the root of all their wealth is because of the Ming court, and they are rich by relying on the Ming court. But they have forgotten the truth that if the skin does not exist, the hair will be attached. The court fell, and they lost everything. ”

"For us, our people are our own people, and all Chinese at home and abroad. You can no matter how much you oppress the foreigners, but these people are abusing their own people now. That's not going to work. The people are the foundation, and they are also the foundation for me to sit on the throne and for you to receive the title and become a high-ranking official. Without these people, who will be the emperor? Without these people, who will you be officials? Therefore, if we want to enjoy the glory and wealth steadily, we need to be kind to the people. ”

"What has been the greatest luxury of the Chinese nation for thousands of years? It is to be fed and clothed, and to live and work in peace and contentment. As long as they have meat to eat and clothes to wear. There is a house to live in, believe it or not. They will continue to support our shameless wealth without principle. Even if you marry eight wives, as long as you don't rob their wives and daughters, they will scold you at most and will not pick up a knife or gun to kill you. As long as you can do this, even if you are bullied by foreigners, they will the guys to help you out. ”

"The Chinese nation is kind and hardworking, as long as they are well fed and clothed, have a shelter from the wind and rain, and have this minimum requirement to survive. Such a desireless and wantless nation is also the best managed nation, and if you don't treat them well, you will be kicked by a donkey. ”

"But there are so many people who think that they have become emperors and high-ranking officials or have climbed to high-ranking officials, so they think that they can do their best and be lawless. But after doing so, how can I still be the emperor? I don't have the emperor anymore, do you think you can still live? As he spoke, Guangxu's tone became thicker and thicker, and in the last sentence, it was even more murderous.

"Please rest assured, the ministers will picket the world, and return the world to a bright day." All the ministers knelt down and answered in unison.

"That's what a relief I am." Guangxu turned his face and laughed: "But I just have these eyes, I can't see all the things in the world, if someone didn't go to the secret and I didn't know, I wouldn't know about the Li family." It's good that I'm here today to praise some of the Lin family's practices abroad, but Lin Qizhao, you should still tell your father. The imperial court advertised to the outside world that the Chinese were good-hearted people, and there were hidden points to do some things. The world image of the Chinese, as the family members of court officials, still have to be maintained. ”

"Yes." Lin Qizhao smiled, and the other ministers also smiled. The emperor's meaning is already very clear, as long as you can live abroad and care about you killing people and setting fires, isn't the emperor also engaged in smuggling. But be honest in the country, maybe you can play some tricks, but if you don't take your own people seriously, don't expect the emperor to take your family seriously. Look at the blood on Li Hongzhang's forehead dripping on the floor, but does the emperor react? The prime minister of a country is a foreigner who is respectful. But because of a bastard thing done by a nephew in his name, the duke was demoted to a marquis. If Li Hongzhang really did it, the emperor would have finished copying the house, and maybe the heads would have been hung up at Chaoyangmen. The ministers were laughing though. But my heart was cold, and I made up my mind to go home immediately after retreating.

"If you want to take the first place, everyone understands that we want the locals all over Nanyang to see that the Chinese are far more kind than the foreigners. Let these locals get closer to the Chinese. In this way, when the foreigners have no time to take care of the Far East, we can quickly attack and occupy these places with the support of the local natives. As long as there is our ** team stationed in these places, it will not be at our mercy at that time. So be prepared from now on. Remember, the Chinese are kind, and you should tell yourself one day at a time from now on. Speaking of which, Guangxu thinks that this topic can be over, and it's time to talk about court affairs. Guangxu turned his head and asked Ouyang Zhenhua: "According to the supplementary provisions of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Beijing, my country needs to repatriate all Japanese prisoners of war during the First Sino-Japanese War within one year. Today, most of these Japanese prisoners of war are in management positions in the construction corps. Care should be taken not to create a management mess at the time of repatriation. The Construction Corps is responsible for the construction of national infrastructure such as roads, and the whole country of the Qing Dynasty today is like a construction site. Once the Corps is in chaos, the entire national construction plan will be chaotic. How many Japanese prisoners of war are there now? ”

"There are more than 20,000 more." Ouyang Zhenhua, the secretary of the military department who directly commanded the construction corps, stood up and spoke. I sweated like many people when I spoke, and it was a little hot. But those who are not of my race will have different hearts. If we want to open up living space for the Chinese nation, we can only grieve other nations. By the way, when did the emperor say this? I don't remember.

"Why are there so many, I remember that more than 10,000 prisoners of war were captured in the first year of the first year."

"Yes, Your Majesty, but the Japanese don't want to go back." Euro Zhenhua came back to his senses: "The current Japanese island is full of hunger, and Britain and the United States have not done anything good on the island. Now the entire Japanese archipelago lives on Ezo Island, and since the expulsion of Japan, there are less than 50,000 Ezo people on Wakadai Ezo Island. Today's Ezo people are worried about the ubiquitous Japanese stowaways. If you think about it, these Japanese prisoners of war have no worries about food and clothing in our country. There is also a little wine to drink from time to time, and you can bully the slave if you have nothing to do. If I go back to Japan, I won't even be able to eat, so I won't want to go back. More than 10,000 people were repatriated this time. Or forcibly send away those who did not perform well before and had no merits. Don't you know, many Japanese prisoners of war went back crying. ”

"The Japanese are a cheap race, and if they don't fight, they won't be honest. However, there are still a lot of tech-savvy people in Japan, and these people need to be treated well. Let these people go first, and then recruit them back in the name of recruitment. In this way, they were freed from the status of prisoners of war. can openly bring in family members. China is a big country, and we must have the heart of a big country to be inclusive. Let the embassy in Japan cooperate with the recruitment work. Guangxu changed the question: "How is the Mongolian war?" ”

"Everything is going well. The main force has entered the territory of Inner Mongolia, and the striker is approaching Wendurhan beyond Uert. The tribes of Inner Mongolia are also heeding the rebuke and are attacking Outer Mongolia. The answer was Wang Shizhen, which is the work content of the General Staff Headquarters: "According to the intelligence, Utai has set out from Ulaanbaatar, and after its headquarters contacts our army, our army will shrink back to form a solid defense line, giving Utai a space to show." At this time, the Lianghua Palace, which was located in **, took the opportunity to go north. ”

"Inform all departments to pay attention to controlling casualties and not to cause big losses. What is happening on the Russian side? ”

According to confirmed information, in order to support Mongolia's independence, Russia sent a large number of weapons to Outer Mongolia. At the same time, military staff officers were sent to participate in the command, and even some units directly participated in the war in the name of mercenaries. ”

"Zhan Tianyou, immediately evaluate the construction of the Far Eastern Railway. I want to see a workable report within a month. ”

"Huh? But the emperor, the Far Eastern Railway is located in Russia, this ...... We don't need to help people repair iron, domestic iron hasn't been repaired yet. "Not only Zhan Tianyou, but even the other ministers are also fluted. The emperor's thinking jumped really big, so he said that the war in Outer Mongolia was going to the Far East Railway.

"Whoever said that they were going to help Russia repair it, it's not so bad to have a lot of money. In order to reduce the casualties of our troops, it is necessary to cut off Russian support for Outer Mongolia. If our country is willing to let the Far Eastern Railway transit through the northeast to Vladivostok via Harbin, and build another railway through Ulaanbaatar to ** as a condition, so that Russia will give up its support for foreign Mongolia, do you say Russia will be willing? ”

"Of course they are willing, as long as these two irons are repaired, they can follow these two irons straight down to our northeast and all parts of Inner Mongolia. Compared to the temporary loss of outer Mongolia is worth it. But Your Majesty, is it necessary to give Russia a chance for the sake of Outer Mongolia? It was Duan Qirui who spoke, and he was still signaling Wang Shizhen to stand up and speak.

Guangxu stared at Wang Shizhen for a long time, only to see that he frowned and did not speak. Guangxu thought to himself, it seems that Wang Shizhen doesn't understand what I mean, so let's make it clear: "Russia has long had ambitions for our northeast, and Nicholas II personally presided over the construction of this iron from time to time. After the war in Outer Mongolia is over, there will inevitably be a large number of prisoners of war, and these prisoners of war will be sent to the Far East to repair iron. At this time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should clearly tell the Russians that there are people in the Qing Dynasty who have resources but no money. So what will Russia do, they will take money out for the sake of ambition. In this way, our country will not only get money, but also make effective use of prisoners of war, and more importantly, we can control the progress of repair, so we can control the progress of repair, so when the Far Eastern Railway will be completed will be up to us. ”

Speaking of this, Wang Shizhen stood up suddenly: "What does the emperor mean, after the Far East Railway is repaired, we will attack Siberia along the iron?" ”

"That's right, take other people's money to repair it, and it's ours to grab it after it's repaired. By the way, I will fight along the iron and try to get back the whole of Siberia, which is a lot of land. Saying that, Guangxu swallowed his saliva fiercely.

"That's right, as soon as our army recovers Outer Mongolia, Outer Mongolia will be like a knife against the belly of the Russian Far Eastern Territory, and sooner or later there will be a big battle. Since it is inevitable, then create a start in favor of our army. Wang Shizhen quickly reacted: "China and Russia have different iron systems, then build a transit station in Irkutsk, as long as this transit war is an ultimatum, then in this case, Russia will have to delay for a period of time if it wants to transport troops to the Far East." Our army can take this opportunity to calculate whether it is intentional or unintentional. When the time comes, we will ask if our Royal Army will take it? ”

"Your Majesty, please believe in the combat effectiveness of the army. Give us five years to prepare, and we are sure to take all of Siberia. Feng Guozhang looked extremely excited. A general who doesn't like war is not a good general. If you don't take it, you won't know until you have fought it, so we will blow it out first and build the army well.

"Not only that, but now the whole Russian economy is in shambles, all thanks to the billion-franc loan from France. They also want to build 20 battleships and 20 heavy cruisers to retaliate against us in the Far East, and if they build the Far Eastern Railway at this time, they can at least share part of the pressure on the navy. When they build warships and sail to the Far East, our Far Eastern Railway will also be built at the same time, and then we will completely wipe out the sharp blade on Russia's head in the South China Sea and the North Continent. Guangxu's hand drew a large circle on the map: "At that time, I will circle a whole quarter of the earth." ”

The eyes of the ministers followed the emperor's fingers, isn't it? Most of Asia, most of the oceans are in the emperor's circle, and this circle also includes the entire Indochina Peninsula.

"The ministers swear allegiance to the emperor and China." A group of ministers and generals roared excitedly, this is the best opportunity to gain fame and fortune in the annals of history.

Many people were excited and didn't pay attention to a detail, but Li Hongzhang also found that the circle was drawn from Australia. (To be continued)