During the Spring Festival, religious leaders of the empire gathered in the capital, and in addition to attending the Privy Council meeting, several living Buddhas and imams also held a grand blessing ceremony for the royal family in the Forbidden City.

If there is no crisis of Sino-British conflict, last year the empire can be described as good news, to this year's Spring Festival, Lanzhou to Dihua railway officially opened to traffic, not only that, three years ago began the construction of the Dihua to Tianhu City railway at the end of last year opened to traffic.

Located in the east of Lake Balkhash and on the banks of the Ayaguz River, Tianhu City is a newly emerging immigrant city hundreds of miles northwest of Alashankou.

If Ye Zhao's estimation is correct, the immigrant city should be near the city of Akdouka in Kazakhstan in the future, because near the left of Tianhu City, a huge copper mine was discovered, but because the ore has a very low copper content, it cannot be mined with the current technical conditions, but this largest copper mine in Central Asia is undoubtedly placed under the rule of the empire, in this era, once the railway is opened, it means that the central government has absolute control over the place.

The trunk line from Alashankou to Central Asia was done by Ye Zhao a hundred years in advance, of course, in later generations, it is mainly whether the Central Asian countries are willing to connect with your railway network, not technical factors.

Tianhu City is located in the northern frontier of the western regions of the empire, adjacent to the East Kazakhstan region controlled by the Russians, and is still more than 2,000 miles away from Turkestan, an important town in the northwest frontier of the empire, and in a short period of time, the empire has no plans to build a railway to Turkestan, but in any case, the opening of the main railway line of Tianhu City has obvious positive significance to the empire's rule in the Western Regions.

Nowadays, Hucheng will not become a mining city, in the Ayaguz River Basin, a large number of farms have been built, and like all border immigration cities, Tianhu City implements the "soldier household" system, and there are more than 80,000 immigrants in Tianhu City, which are organized into Tianhu City Construction Militia Corps, and there are inspectors, auditors and other institutions, and implement semi-military management and semi-civilian governance.

In fact, the terrain of Central Asia is flat, it is relatively easy to build a railway, and the construction speed will be extremely fast, but it is not necessary, such as Dihua to Tianhu City, after the urban construction period, it is expected that one train a month will be enough to meet the needs of material circulation, and the construction of the railway is more from the strategic considerations.

The construction of the imperial railway, the rapid development, this year, the founding of the country has been the ninth year, from the construction of the first railway 15 years ago, to the end of last year, the national railway operation trunk line has exceeded 50,000 kilometers.

This year, it is expected that the construction of more than 8,000 kilometers of railways will be completed, and it is conceivable that the next ten years will maintain a very high-speed growth momentum.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, for various reasons, the railway construction was only about 1,300 kilometers per year on average, and even after the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, the average annual railway construction was less than 4,000 kilometers.

But what about the United States? In today's era, in the 70s and 80s of the 19th century, the construction of railways in the United States has reached an astonishing number, especially in the 80s, the average annual construction of 12,000 kilometers of railroads in the United States, and in 10 years, the main railway line has increased from 150,000 kilometers in 1880 to 270,000 kilometers in 1890. The land area of the two countries is about the same, and the population of the United States is far inferior to that of China, but more than 100 years ago, the railway construction developed more rapidly than China entered the 21st century.

The model of vigorously encouraging private capital to operate railroads under the rule of the Imperial Scholars, and the increasingly large low-cost railroad corps, will obviously be more efficient than the Americans.

Last year, the empire's coal output has exceeded 20 million tons, pig iron output has exceeded 1.3 million tons, steel output has been 900,000 tons, steel rails have been 160,000 tons, steam engines have exceeded 400,000 horsepower, fertilizers, threshers, harvesters, mowers, steam tractors, trucks in large farms are widely used.

Chinese people have a misunderstanding, often think that agricultural machinery, transport vehicles are the products of the era of internal combustion engines, in fact, in the second half of the 19th century, electric and steam-powered agricultural machinery, transport vehicles are widely used, at the end of the 19th century, the United States produced more than 10,000 electric vehicles a year, only with the improvement of internal combustion engine technology, the assembly line production of automobiles appeared, steam power system and electric power system vehicles, agricultural machinery was gradually eliminated.

For the empire, Ye Zhao's goal is to compress the transitional era of electric cars and steam cars as much as possible.

This is said to have listened to the first hearing of the Imperial House after the New Year, Ye Zhao went to take the electric bus with great interest, speaking of which, with the improvement of the imperial political system, Ye Zhao, who only needs to have big ideas, is much more leisurely than before.

There are five routes of the Jingshi bus, Ye Zhao is on the third bus, get off at the mouth of the sedan chair alley in Xicheng, not far away, there is a school with green tiles and green wood, "Huiwen Girls' Middle School", Misaki is studying here, enrolling in a fake class, two studies a week, mainly for everyone's beautiful or married but yearning for the new culture of the female surname.

Misaki is fourteen years old, she has been with Ye Zhao for three years, and the relationship between the two is also extremely deep, in Ye Zhao's eyes, she is like her own relatives, the Forbidden City Palace Girl Study Class, mainly cultural literacy, basically equivalent to primary school and part of the primary school coursework, if you want to further your studies, you still have to come to an outside school, in order to learn cultural knowledge systematically and comprehensively.

What's more, Ye Zhao also hopes that he will get in touch with the society, and every time Misaki comes back, he will tell Ye Zhao about the changes outside and interesting things about the school, which is equivalent to having a little detective.

Sitting in the private room on the second floor of a teahouse diagonally opposite the girls' school, Ye Zhao tasted tea slowly, in fact, it was not Misaki's son who went to the hall today, even if he studied, Ye Zhao would not come to pick up Misaki, no matter how the master and servant were different, it was okay to treat her as a relative in his heart, many things, but there was also a degree, the dignified emperor came to pick up the palace maid from school, and others didn't say anything, Misaki herself was scared to death.

Ye Zhao suddenly wanted to walk around the capital, got on the electric car, and saw that there happened to be a stop at Huiwen Girls' School, so he got off here, sipping tea, Ye Zhao sighed, "It's a pity, I can't go to every corner of the capital with all my life's work, let alone the whole country." ”

Zheng Aqiao, the deputy head of the internal guards standing beside Ye Zhao, smiled and said: "Where the servants have walked, the emperor has walked, and every inch of territory in the world will be clear and clear that the emperor will be able to govern." "Being by Ye Zhao's side all the year round, these internal guard leaders also know Ye Zhao very well, and the Great Emperor has extraordinary feelings for every inch of land in the entire country.

Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Qingming, how easy is it to talk about?" He suddenly asked, "Do you know the fourth prince of the capital?" ”

Zheng Aqiao was stunned, not knowing why the emperor suddenly asked, let alone what it meant, hesitated for a moment, and said, "The slave has heard a little." ”

Zheng Aqiao has naturally heard of the names of the four sons, the four sons in the capital, there are Li Gongzi, the nephew of Li Gelao Li Ge in Li Xiaocun, who is enjoying his old age, Han Sanye, the third son of Han Jinchun, the governor of Vladivostok, Wu Gongzi, the youngest son of Wu Chongyao, a financial tycoon, and Jin Qi, who was once the prince of Dorokeqin County, was named a viscount, and was called Lord Qi outside.

In fact, the so-called four sons are just outsiders making fun of each other, because of family relations, the four sons know each other, but I'm afraid they can't talk about any friendship, there are many sons and brothers in the capital, and these four people are the most active.

Ye Zhao asked lightly: "What is the reputation of these four people?" "The name of the fourth son, I still heard Misaki talk about it.

Zheng Aqiao hesitated and said, "The slave doesn't dare to say it." ”

"Say." Ye Zhao's face was a little unkind.

Zheng Aqiao was startled, and hurriedly said: "Yes, I heard that these four people are famous gentlemen in the capital, and they are all vassals and elegant, just like the nephew of Li Ge, there are many literati and guests, what kind of poetry club has been set up, and the professor of Jingcheng University who promotes vernacular literature has a lawsuit in the newspaper, which is very lively." ”

Ye Zhao was stunned and asked, "That's all?" ”

Zheng Aqiao said cautiously: "I don't know what the emperor wants to know?" ”

Ye Zhao waved his hand, in fact, the value system is different, these sons born with golden pacifiers mostly regard greed for money as the first evil, pay attention to the return of their daughters, and want fame and style, there are more people who disdain power and disdain to study and become officials, which is completely different from the pursuit of the second generation of rich second generations of officials in later generations.

After tasting the tea and groaning for a while, Ye Zhao got up and said, "Let's go." ”

…… After a few days, Rong'er will go to Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and other provinces to parade, in fact, it is a political gesture, such as going to Guangdong, in order to highlight Guangdong's political and economic status in the empire, to appease the hearts of Guangdong officials, businessmen and people, to Yunnan, is to promote the empire's local political axe to the border people and so on.

Ye Zhao hadn't been to Guangzhou for three years, which would inevitably make the governor of Guangdong worried. It is not ten years ago, the railways are developed, and the emperor likes to visit fortunate places, and this kind of patrol, many times, is to release political signals, three years without touring the land of Longxing, it is inevitable that people speculate that the governor of Guangdong may have a lack of governance. There are members of the royal family who go to Guangdong, from the heart of Guangdong officials in Hoi An, and the identity of Empress Rong'er is also enough.

If it weren't for the fear that Rong'er wouldn't be able to stand the plateau climate, Ye Zhao really thought that her trip to Lhasa would inevitably make the Tibetans grateful to Dade, but the journey was difficult and time-consuming, so she could only leave it for herself to go in person in the future.

and Rong'er went to Cining Palace to accompany the two queen mothers for dinner, Rong'er returned to Kunning Palace to prepare for the trip, and Ye Zhao went to Changyin Pavilion with Lan Guiren and Niu Colu to enjoy the latest "picture mirror".

The so-called picture mirror is the prototype of the film, which is shot with a continuous camera of moving negatives, and the continuous rotation of the film is used to cause the illusion of photo image activity during radiation, and only one person can watch it at a time in a specific machine box.

Lan Guiren and Niu Colu were naturally amazed, seeing Lan Guiren staring at the round hole curiously for a moment, Ye Zhaoxin said, You didn't reprimand this is a miracle Yinqiao, that's also good.

After returning to the Qianqing Palace, Ye Zhao walked a few laps, and then ordered the palace maid to summon the matchmaker, Sisi, and Weiyue Yiori.

took a bath comfortably, changed into yellow satin pajamas and pajamas, the finest silk material, it was very comfortable to wear, and the matchmaker, silk, and reed Yue Iori came one after another, and they were all surprised, and the three of them thought that Ye Zhao had called them to come to bed, and they all changed their pajamas and wore big clothes, who knew that Ye Zhao summoned the three of them in one breath.

Seeing their expressions, Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Isn't it good to be lively?" Except for a big family dinner, we haven't had a private reunion for a long time. ”

But no, the concubines have their own world, not to mention the matchmaker and Sisi, it is Wei Yue Iori, who is also studying in college, and there is very little contact between the concubines, although it is not the same thing as the previous dynasty, but objectively, it also makes their relationship relatively indifferent, and they also have their own intimacy. For example, the matchmaker has a good relationship with Rong'er and Zhu Sisi, and the relationship between Rong'er and Sisi is average, and she has a good relationship with the matchmaker, Jin Feng, and Shawa, which is also because Rong'er misses the old and is different from the people who followed Ye Zhao at the earliest.

As for Wei Yue Iori, the relationship with the rest of the concubines is very cold, only Jin Feng, who is exquisite on all sides, is her friend.

Hua Ji has the best popularity, and all the concubines like her very much.

Ye Zhao gestured as he spoke, "Okay, let's go to Dayu, and I'm not afraid of the heat." He pointed to the card table next to the splendid screen and said, "Let's roll the dice and play Monopoly and chat." ”

In the early spring, the earth dragon in the dormitory was hot, and not long after the three concubines came in, there were fine beads of sweat on their pretty faces, and they were delicate.

The matchmaker, Sisi and Iori looked at each other, obviously a little embarrassed, or the matchmaker is the most generous, the first to solve the big one, which is wearing red silk pajamas and pajamas, graceful body convex, classical style, noble surname.

Sisi secretly glared at Ye Zhao, and slowly untied the brocade belt, revealing a nightgown with a faint silver glow, coupled with the curved high-heeled slippers, which were very modern, the upper was decorated with sapphire flowers, and the flowers were beautifully painted with bright green soft toes, which had just been carefully modified.

Iori was even more exaggerated, wearing a lace creamy nightdress, and her face was as red as an apple.

Looking at the three of them, Ye Zhao smiled, and the matchmaker said, "You're proud, aren't you?" Ye Zhao coughed dryly and said, "Come, play games and play games." ”

The four of them sat down at the card table and began to roll the dice to play Monopoly, Ye Zhao smiled and said: "Whoever is the first to go bankrupt will stay, if the three of you go bankrupt before me, you will all stay." And he explained, "Save me from you." "The reason is high-sounding.

Playing games and enjoying the blessings of all people is naturally not Ye Zhao's purpose, sipping coffee, watching the slightest dice rolling, Ye Zhao said: "In a few days, I may go to Tianhu City." ”

The matchmaker said: "Your university laboratory project, right?" ”

Ye Zhao snorted and said: "The soil quality in the area of Tianhu City, I want to take a look, what kind of chemical fertilizer is better, the university arranged for professors to investigate, and I was also included in it, but it's okay, I also want to go to Tianhu City to have a look, about half a month." The military management is afraid that if he encounters the domineering of the chief military officer, he will become the emperor of the soil. ”

The matchmaker smiled: "You are a master of official science, fortunately, many outsiders don't know about your scientific achievements, otherwise you would have to be regarded as a monster." ”

Ye Zhao smiled: "Do you think I look like a monster?" ”

The matchmaker and Sisi nodded in unison, this husband, even in sexual affairs, is he like a monster?

Ye Zhao said: "I'm speechless. ”

The matchmaker and Sisi giggled, the unfathomable husband was extremely cute when she was deflated. Iori was quiet, bought a piece of land, and handed the dice to Ye Zhao.

Ye Zhao sighed lightly and said, "It's easy to govern the country, but it's hard to settle down!" Matchmaker, Sisi, who of you knows Iori's birth? ”

The matchmaker and Sisi said together: "May 16, isn't it? ”

Ye Zhao was surprised, and Iori also looked at them with some surprise.

The matchmaker smiled lightly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand what you mean." ”

Ye Zhao nodded and said, "You have different surnames, and you all have your own life circles, it is impossible to say that our family is intimate and affectionate every day, but don't fight back and forth." He turned to Iori and said, "Actually, your sisters are very good, if you have anything on your mind, just tell them." ”

Iori snorted.

With the red lady's rent in his hand, Ye Zhao said again: "The Russians have also built a railway to Novosibirsk, right?" ”

The matchmaker said: "Yes, I'm still repairing to the east." ”

Ye Zhao picked up the cup and slowly tasted the coffee.

Chatting and rolling the dice, in the first game, the three concubines all went bankrupt, the matchmaker and Sisi began to play tricks, Ye Zhao had no choice, and played the second game with them, but the result was that the three concubines went bankrupt.

Under the proposal of the matchmaker's "nothing more than three", the four of them began to play the third game, from the beginning of the third game, Ye Zhao had a feeling, these three people, discussed, sure enough, it was very targeted at the surname to build a house and buy land, every time there was an event such as a lawsuit, the three concubines all chose Ye Zhao, and then threw the dice to determine the lawsuit to win or lose, under the concerted efforts of the three people, although Iori and Sisi went bankrupt one after another, Ye Zhao finally couldn't support it, and the third went bankrupt.

Seeing Sisi and Iori sticking out their tongues, the matchmaker smiled, and Ye Zhao said helplessly: "You are sacrificing Iori, bullying honest people, it's not interesting enough." And he said, "Let's stay, let's chat." ”

The three matchmakers looked at each other a few times, and they all nodded slightly, obviously the game just now made each other feel much closer.

The dragon bed is big enough, but who sleeps next to Ye Zhao has become a problem, the three girls are all humble, and finally Ye Zhao Qiangang is arbitrary, and said domineeringly: "The matchmaker and I sleep on a futon, and Sisi and Yiori sleep on both sides." Sisi and Iori both smiled and said yes, the matchmaker thought about it, and it was not good to sweep Ye Zhao's interest, so she agreed.

However, lying in a quilt with Ye Zhao, there were Sisi and Yiori on both sides, the matchmaker was very alert, and her body did not touch Ye Zhao, and she said in Ye Zhao's ear very seriously: "Don't mess around." ”

Ye Zhao nodded and said yes, and sure enough, he didn't bother the matchmaker, but chatted with them, talking about Iori's hometown, talking about Sisi's political proposal, and talking about the acquaintance with the matchmaker back then.

Seeing that Ye Zhao has always behaved, the matchmaker couldn't help but feel slightly sorry in her heart, she seemed to have gone too far just now, no matter what Xiang Gong said, there are still these proportions.

When Ye Zhao secretly sandwiched the matchmaker's soft and snowy feet with his feet below to enjoy the soft and smooth taste, the matchmaker could not help him.

chatting, in the second half of the night, the four of them fell asleep, Ye Zhao enjoyed the warm taste, and the whole night was very well-behaved.

…… Ye Zhao's plan to go to Tianhu City was temporarily aborted, and a Filipino uprising suddenly broke out on Luzon, and the Spanish minister actually asked Yanjing for help.

The Spanish army had only 1,600 troops stationed in the Philippines, including 700 in Manila, 5,000 Filipino auxiliaries, and a fleet of nine warships. The Spanish army, although small in number, was well-equipped, well-trained, and combat-ready. Of course, it is a comparison with the quality of the Philippine rebel army.

In the Philippines, it is now the Filipinoization movement of the Church, which also represents the birth of Philippine nationalism.

After the introduction of Catholicism to the Philippines, the dioceses were long administered by Spanish priests, most of whom were religious monks. In the second half of the eighteenth century, there were sharp contradictions between the Spanish colonial authorities and the Order. In order to combat the power of the Order, the Spanish colonial authorities allowed Filipino clergy to administer a part of the diocese.

However, at the beginning of this century, the Spanish royal family decided to deprive the Filipino clergy of the right to administer the diocese, so the Filipino clergy rose up to carry out the Filipino movement of the church and launched a struggle against national oppression and racial discrimination.

At the end of last year, the new governor of the Philippines, Isqui Erdo, had just taken office, and he was so impressed that he forced the workers of the arsenal to perform hard labor and pay a poll tax. The workers of the arsenal, who were mostly veterans and had traditionally been exempt from these taxes, rebelled when they found that a portion of their wages had been deducted as a poll tax. Part of the soldiers of the local artillery regiment, under the leadership of Sergeant Lamadard, also took part in the uprising.

In this conflict, more or less the shadow of Chinese businessmen, so that the uprisings in various places, especially in the Cavite area, many Filipino mercenaries joined the ranks of the rebel army, defeated the Spanish army that went to suppress the uprising, the Spanish colonial authorities found that it was difficult to suppress the uprising only by relying on the garrison in the Philippines, so they had to ask for help from home.

The Spanish minister asked for the support of the [***] team, fearing interference from the Chinese.

You must know that although there are only more than 1,000 Spanish officers and soldiers in the Philippines, and they are scattered in several port cities, even if there are only hundreds of Spanish soldiers stationed in the city, the Philippine rebel army will not be able to attack it at all, but the Spanish army is too small to really extinguish the flames of uprisings scattered everywhere.

But from Spain to the Philippines, even though the Suez Canal is open, it will take three or four months for reinforcements to arrive, and in this time, if China intervenes under the pretext of protecting the interests of its merchants, it is feared that Luzon will change hands in the blink of an eye.

And now Spain's domestic political situation is extremely chaotic, last year just had the Glorious Revolution in Spain, Queen Isabel's rule was overthrown, the queen went into exile in Paris, and the struggle between the royalists and republicans supported by the French was fierce, such a chaotic political situation, I am afraid that I have no time to take care of Nanyang.

The Spanish minister asked Yanjing for help, which is an excuse for Yanjing to interfere less, if it really sent troops to suppress the indigenous monkeys, it is also unbelievable, even if its army does not leave in the Philippines, there is no benefit, unless it openly competes with Spain for the dominance of the Philippines, but the question is that if the Chinese want to do this, they have already done it, right? He would not have declared war on Spain at the same time as he had just made a bad deal with the British, and if he continued like this, he would no longer have any friends in Europe, and no one would ever believe in the credibility of this great eastern power, but would only regard it as an aggressive threat.

What the Spanish minister thought of, Ye Zhaozi also thought of.

Sitting in the Wenhua Palace, looking at the Spanish minister's earnest pleas, what "the civilized world's help", "the benevolence of the glorious country of the East", etc., I wore a bunch of high hats.

In fact, now Ye Zhao doesn't care about the war with Spain, he just wants to see if it's worth it.

While Yanjing and London were still in contact to negotiate the fate and future of the Akhandians, in fact, the two sides had reached a secret agreement to recognize each other's interests in the South Seas, and it was obvious that the British had begun to face up to the rise of China, which was on China's doorstep, and if it was necessary to contain China's influence on it, it would only cause the opposite effect.

China has also pledged not to build the China-Myanmar Railway, nor will it build a railway to southern Tibet, which is naturally a huge compromise.

In fact, Mo said that in southern Tibet, Ye Zhaoji has no intention of building a railway to Qinghai-Tibet at all, and due to the limitations of technical conditions, it will cost countless manpower and financial resources, and it is more cost-effective to invest these resources elsewhere, and the situation on the Tibetan border is not at all urgent enough to use the railway to maintain strategic intentions.

For the rise of a country, war is inevitable, and the reasons are just and above board.

Involving the Philippines, Ye Zhao thought of the United States, the Spanish-American War, which was also a war for the Spanish colonies by the Americans, when a national uprising also broke out in the Philippines, but after the expulsion of the Spaniards, the Americans began to suppress the Philippine uprising, and it took seven years to declare the end of the Philippine War, eliminate the Republic of the Philippines, and officially incorporate Luzon as the American Philippines.

In the seven-year Philippine War, the Americans sent more than 100,000 soldiers, fought 2,811 battles, killed 4,243 and wounded 2,818, cost $1 billion, and finally annexed the Philippines, but the Americans thought it was worth it.

Of course, the Philippines is now extremely weak, and China is even closer to it, and the cost of war is negligible.

Is it just the best option to declare war on Spain and turn the Philippines into a colony?

Looking at the Spanish minister's letter asking for help, Ye Zhao fell into deep thought.

…… Biarritz in southwestern France was originally a small fishing village, but Napoleon III and his wife were very fond of it, and Queen Isabel II of Spain was welcomed by Napoleon III to live in Biarritz's estate.

Isabel II, born in the most prominent Bourbon family in Europe, was declared the queen of Spain at the age of 3, and was forced to marry her cousin at the age of 16.

Many people believe that all of the Queen's children are not born to her husband, who is in the same family.

The queen is unrestrained, and her life is full of romances. Plagued by guilt, she often fell under the influence of religious fanatics.

This year, the queen is forty years old, and she is still glamorous, and when He Ruzhang, the Chinese minister in Paris, was received by the queen at the Biarritz estate, she had to sigh in her heart, she was really the queen of romance, graceful and stunner.

He Ruzhang was the champion of the imperial four-year Enke, the last parliamentary envoy, perhaps because of his often radical words, he was unfortunately defeated when the imperial parliament re-selected the envoy at the beginning of the previous year, and then the monitoring system sent people to investigate his relationship with the French merchants.

But in the end, the matter was settled, He Ruzhang was admitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a clerk, and it was rumored that this incident alarmed the emperor, if the emperor had not let him go, those officials who intended to punish him for his crimes would have ordered him to sit in prison.

The truth is true, He Ruzhang has offended too many people, several ministers have been questioned by him in person and cannot step down, and the political envoys of the House of Parliament also feel that he is too unkind, which makes the House of Parliament and the House of Government out of harmony and squeeze him out one after another.

Fortunately, Ye Zhao pinned his hopes on the first envoy in history, and knowing that he was studying French, he sent him to Paris, and at the beginning of this year, he was officially appointed as the imperial envoy in Paris.

Ye Zhao also thought that with He Ruzhang's surname, it would be better to be a diplomat, and everything could be fought on the basis of reason. Although the House of Parliament needs a heavy cannon like him, it is not now, the existence of the House of Representatives has made many people uncomfortable, and his ultimate goal is to make the universal suffrage of the parliamentary envoys, or at least to lay a legal foundation for the universal suffrage of future generations.

He Ruzhang is now far away from the whirlpool of imperial political struggle, but he is stunned to find that he may really be more comfortable dealing with foreigners.

Two days ago, after receiving secret telegrams from the foreign minister and the prime minister, and even a telegram from the emperor, He Ruzhang immediately lifted his spirits, and he took on important responsibilities as soon as he was appointed minister, so he naturally had to do his best to do things well.

In the face of Queen Isabel, He Ruzhang was even more cautious, and the etiquette was very ten, but he was a little fat man, although he was in good spirits in a white tunic, Queen Isabel obviously still couldn't raise any spirit to talk to him, his eyes were a little trance, and he may still be immersed in the beauty of yesterday's ball.

If the Chinese minister in front of him had been a young man with a good demeanor, the effect would have been different.

If it weren't for China's gradual emergence as a power that cannot be underestimated, Queen Isabel would have ended the conversation long ago, and as a member of the Bourbon family, the queen is fluent in French.

Sitting on the Western bench next to him, He Ruzhang expressed his admiration and comfort to Queen Isabel, but seeing that the queen seemed to be becoming more and more absent-minded, He Ruzhang thought about it and said: "Your Majesty, yesterday I received a telegram from China, and the emperor secretly brought it to Your Majesty. ”

Queen Isabel was stunned, her expression became focused, and her eyes also looked at He Ruzhang.

He Ruzhang said: "The Great Emperor greets Her Majesty the Queen and is deeply sympathetic to Her Majesty's experience. ”

Queen Isabel nodded slightly: "Please tell His Majesty the Emperor of China, I am very grateful for his concern." If it weren't for the distance of thousands of rivers and mountains, Isabel would really want to meet this mysterious emperor of the East, the legendary powerful East, extremely powerful to control the entire empire, for the European royal family, only envy.

He Ruzhang said: "The Great Emperor also fully supports Her Majesty's rule over Spain, and is willing to do everything in his power to help you, in addition to providing you with low-interest loans, if Her Majesty needs it, we will also support the arms and supplies of the army loyal to Her Majesty." ”

Isabel was stunned, she really didn't expect that the Chinese would suddenly come to support her declining queen.

He Ruzhang said: "Our country can also publish a statement that only recognizes Her Majesty's Kingdom of Spain, but your two countries are far away from thousands of rivers and mountains, and this kind of statement will not play a useful role. ”

Isabel thought for a moment and asked, "Loans from China?" Do you pay in silver dollars? Materiel and weapons, brought from China? ”

He Ruzhang said: "The loan will come from a British bank, and the guns and ammunition will be transported from our fleet to Istanbul, and then transferred to Barcelona by Ottoman merchant ships, so that it will not be noticeable." Of course, if Your Majesty can buy weapons from Europe, you don't need to travel thousands of miles to supplies from China. ”

Isabel nodded slightly.

He Ruzhang added: "The first amount of the low-interest loan is five million pounds, and the emperor instructed that it must help Her Majesty to achieve the final victory of the war. "Indeed, if you provide military funds to help her fight, you must ensure victory in the war, and if Isabel is not restored to power, will she lose all her money?

Isabel showed a shocked look on her face, she really couldn't imagine that the Chinese supported it so strongly, although Napoleon III also spared no effort to support it, but it was more just a lip service, and there was no actual action.

He Ruzhang said: "The Great Emperor also kindly believes that Her Majesty will be able to coordinate the various political factions of your country, share power, and disintegrate your political opponents. ”

Isabel nodded silently, and after a while, she looked at He Ruzhang and asked, "What does the Chinese emperor want?" ”

He Ruzhang said: "A promise." On the island of Luzon in the South Seas, your soldiers and merchants are in a difficult situation, and your envoy to the capital has requested assistance from our country. We also believe that the only way to restore order in Luzon is to send troops, and we intend to help the Filipino people to establish a self-governing government in the central region and give them partial autonomy. It was hoped that Her Majesty would agree that China would be willing to share trade rights in Luzon with Spain. ”

To put it mildly, the so-called sharing of trade rights, with the geographical advantages of the Chinese, industrial trade capacity, is actually equivalent to taking away Spain's colony in the South Seas. As for helping the Filipinos establish a Dominion, it is also in line with China's foreign policy.

Isabel pondered, "I will seriously consider your suggestion. ”

He Ruzhang got up, stroked his chest and saluted, and retired.

(To be continued)