"What's going on?" Not long after Li Ming left Yingtai, Qimuge, who had regained familiarity with defense, returned. As soon as she entered the door, Yang Zao'er saw the palm prints on her face at a glance. This can only be beaten by the emperor, Yang Zao'er was startled and immediately stood up, the emperor never lost his temper in front of their sisters. Miko on the side also realized that something was wrong, and her face turned white with fright.

"Sister...... Qimuge said before he could stop the tears falling again. I fought for my country in the ice and snow, but when I came back, I was treated like this, and I didn't feel comfortable thinking about it.

"What the hell is going on?" Yang Zao'er is in a hurry, today is the New Year and the big day of the founding ceremony, even if Qi Muge makes a big mistake, it won't be like this.

Yang Zao'er was anxious to find out the reason. But when Qi Muge told Fang Cai about picking up the car at the noon gate, Yang Zao'er laughed.

"It's not my sister who said you, you deserve to be slapped. You are also the imperial concubine of Great China, and you can command in the rear, so what's the matter with going forward to fight in person. Those who know will forget it, and those who don't know will think that the dynasty has reached the point where it needs to send women to war. ”

"Okay, even if I'm wrong. But it was the noon gate, how many court officials were watching, and there were foreign ministers......" Qi Muge spoke, and the grievances in his stomach were suddenly vented again.

"That's because it's noon." Yang Zao'er took Qi Muge's hand and sat down: "The emperor can only get angry in front of the civil and military faces of the Manchu Dynasty, even if there is another war, you still want to go, and the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty will not agree." So you can't go to the front. ”

"Even if the emperor is unhappy on the front line in private, how can I say that I am a meritorious service to the country. As for hitting me? And in front of so many people......"

"You have served the country meritoriously. But for the emperor, he made a big mistake. Do you know that when the news of your arrival on the front line came, the emperor sent a telegram calling you back. Countless telegrams have been sent to call you back. You're good, not only don't you come back, but you rush ahead and more. It is said that the king will have everything to receive in the foreign king's order. Anyway, if you can't come back from the war, the emperor can't do anything about you. In order to stabilize the morale of the army, the emperor cannot forcibly recall you. The emperor endured until the war on the front line was stable, and it happened to be the founding ceremony, but you left a surprise and there was no follow-up. Do you know what the emperor said? He is a big man who stays at home but sends his wife to the battlefield, you are slapping him in the face. So in order to prevent you from going out again, you can only beat you in front of hundreds of civil and military officials, so that even if you sneak out again, those generals on the front line can stop you. Every place you go to the front line and every action is sent back by a special telegram, and the emperor has not slept all night when he receives the news that you have infiltrated the city of Novosibirsk. Went on fire all night. ”

"Yes, sister." Meizi also helped on the side and said: "The emperor has warned my sister, saying that if you dare to learn, you will discount your sister's leg." ”

"Pss But she was still very unhappy and said: "I said that the two telegraph operators who followed me always kept sending telegrams, and it turned out that they had leaked my whereabouts, and next time I went back and beat them." ”

"Okay, the dignified concubine will automatically beat people, you don't care, the royal family still has face. In the future, I honestly stay at home and can't go anywhere. Yang Zao'er touched her stomach and said, "There are still fewer children in our family, and there is only the fifth one in my belly." From now on, you will all be honest at home. Give birth to a few, so that the Queen Mother will not let the emperor take a concubine every day, obviously the emperor himself does not want to be good! ”

Before Yang Zao'er could speak, Qimuge and Miko chuckled. After a while, the imperial doctor also came over to show the concubine the face injury. The three sisters sat together and chatted about their homes, and before they knew it, the night had come. With the cheers of the children outside the courtyard gate, the children who had gone out to play for a day all returned. Qi Muge hugged his son Li Chun, whom he hadn't seen for half a year, and spoke. Yang Zao'er said that the children knew to play crazy all day long, and Miko smiled and went to arrange dinner. In the past, everyone in the palace had to wait for the emperor to eat before eating. Ever since I had a child, this rule has come to an end. Children are always hungry easily. So eating at the end of the day has become the new rule. It's not that there is no royal history to participate in the emperor's move, but Li Ming is all in the middle and does not send it, and the palace still watches the children's meals.

After all the children had eaten, they went outside to set off fireworks and play, and all their meals were withdrawn. At this time, Li Ming came back with a head of snow.

"Finished eating? Don't leave me any either. Li Ming patted the snowflakes on his body and asked, "What about Huang Ling?" ”

"Sister Ling entertains all the businessmen who come to Beijing on behalf of the emperor in the front hall." Meizi got up and changed into court clothes for Li Ming and asked on the side: "Your Majesty, why did you gather so many businessmen this year, and why did you invite them to the dining place in the front hall?" ”

"Hehe, you don't understand. If the businessman uses it well, it is also a big killer of the country. ”

Yang Zao'er looked at the emperor who left with a wicked smile on his face and said: "Since ancient times, merchants have pursued profit and forgotten their righteousness, and all dynasties have restricted them. Now it has become a weapon of national killing, which is really unheard of. However, this involves the strategy of the court, so it is better for me and other women not to ask. Just looking at the emperor like this, someone must be going to bad luck. ”

"Judging from the emperor's temperament, it will definitely not be our China that is unlucky. Anyway, it's all a matter of benefiting the country, and our sisters don't care about him. ”

"We women can't take care of the affairs of the country, but these children have to be managed. Let's go out and see, it's not good for the children to get hurt by fireworks. Yang Zao'er smiled and asked Qi Muge to bring his coat and put it on, pushed open the door and walked out. The fireworks outside the house are shining brightly in the sky.

In the Purple Light Pavilion, there are many water and land. The businessmen enthusiastically discussed the more prosperous market in the coming year, and the connivance of the imminent sea and land war between China and the DPRK did not affect the pace of China's business going global. Not to mention the South Seas, which has actually fallen under the control of the Chinese, even if it is a little farther away in Australia, the influence of the Chinese cannot be ignored. Even the commercial share of Chinese in Europe and the United States is increasing year by year, and even the barren Africa has begun to have Chinese merchants' shops and factories. They provided more and more taxes for the dynasty, raised army after army, and built road after road. Today they can sit in the inner courtyard of the palace and feast. It is because of these exploits that they have made. You must know that such a banquet is the first time in the founding of the country, even in the pre-Qing Dynasty. Except for a few important ministers and foreign vassals of the dynasty, no commoner has ever been able to enter here for a banquet. It's a great honor. After eating such a feast, I will have to blow it in front of the neighbors when I go home in the future.

87-year-old Qiao Zhiyong's health is already very poor, and he usually has no energy to take charge of family affairs at home. Now, in order to be able to enter Beijing and eat a palace banquet, Lao Qiao burst out with unprecedented energy, beat away the sons and nephews who persuaded him to enter with a cane, and traveled thousands of miles to Beijing in a small car. Qiao Zhiyong adheres to the tradition of Confucian businessmen and puts faith first. In recent years, with the great increase in the power of the national dynasty, the merchants were no longer excluded from overseas operations like the former Qing Dynasty. Seeing the ups and downs of the imperial court, he knew very well whether the trade routes were open or not. In fact, it depends on the strength of the imperial court.

The army of the dynasty changed its long-term stubborn posture and entered Siberia with a thunderous force, and controlled the whole of Siberia under the cover of a cold winter without a major war, and regained Siberia in a big way when spring came. On the southern seas, a powerful fleet is also ready for a big war. However, the situation now does not seem to be as rosy as it was at the beginning of the war. In Omsk, in the north, Russia is massing a large army, which is said to have amassed as many as 400,000 troops and counting. In Africa, the Russian Far East Fleet, with a total displacement of more than 400,000 tons, is already waiting for it. And Russia is still drawing a group of old-fashioned fleets to form the Second Pacific Fleet, which is heading towards the Pacific Ocean. Russia has already announced to the world that it will attack China by sea and land in the north and south at the beginning of spring, not only in Beijing but also in Xi'an. Utter annihilation of China.

However, the total number of troops in the north was only more than 300,000, and it was necessary not only to block the Russian army of 500,000, but also to capture the cities and towns heavily defended by the Russians in Siberia. Maritime. The navy of the DPRK now has a displacement of just over 200,000 tons. Judging from the data alone, it seems that the dynasty is doomed. So much so that there have been rumors in the country. It is said that the country and the dynasty have fought several times, and now foreigners do not dare to bully China. At this time, China can be said to be insulting from the outside and reviving the industry from the inside. It was the time when the dynasty was prosperous, and it was more important to focus on developing the economy of the dynasty, but it was unwise for the emperor to raise troops to conquer and attract strong retaliation from Russia.

After all, it must be 500,000 Russian land forces, and it must be a Russian fleet with a displacement of more than 400,000 tons. Coupled with the various analyses and arguments of the foreign newspapers in China, it seems that China does not have much chance of winning. The only thing that can add points to the Chinese army is rich combat experience, and this is something that cannot be clearly determined. The people are wailing, and it is good that the land is far away, but there is already a trend of moving inland by the seaside. A trend has already formed in the Nanyang area, and families with conditions in Java, Pontianak, and other places are moving their families to China, and those who do not have the conditions are also sending their own children back to China, and they also call it a beautiful name -- returning to China to serve the country. Naturally, there are officials in the popular trend who give advice to the imperial court, and then ask the imperial court to either forcibly suppress such speech or show the reason for victory, in short, to calm the people's hearts.

Not to be convicted for words has been the basic requirement of flaunting the monarch and virtuous ministers since ancient times, and if the army is used to suppress it because of some remarks among the people, it is clear that it is to lose the hearts of the people, and this law is naturally not advisable. And the confidence of both the emperor and the ministers that the final victory will belong to China comes from the advanced weapons and equipment system and advanced strategy and tactics, and this kind of thing obviously cannot be exposed before the war. Therefore, on various occasions, the imperial court showed an attitude of indifference to the upcoming war, in the hope that the people could read from such behavior that the imperial court was confident about the war. Of course, although there was confidence in the upper echelons of the imperial court, there were doubts about whether they could win completely. The results of countless exercises conducted by the General Staff Headquarters were all disastrous victories, and as a result, civilian and military officials disagreed on the question of how to balance the contradiction between economic development and military reconstruction after the war.

But there is such a group of people who unconditionally believe that the imperial court can return victorious, they are not the emperor's courtiers, not the people, and even the army is ready to lose more than half. And it is precisely this group of merchants who have incomparable confidence in the army of the imperial court.

Qiao Zhiyong stood up tremblingly, and arched his hand to Huang Ling: "Eldest Princess Qiyu, after the war against Japan, the emperor encouraged the grass people to invest in South America, and the grass people also complied with the emperor's call to establish manors and factories in South America. Whether it is Chile, Argentina or Brazil, the local court and people are welcome. In the early years, Ecuador also welcomed it, but in recent years, the Ecuadorian president has obstructed us Chinese in every possible way. His Highness also has investments in Ecuador. There is no need for Lao Yu Ming to say how big the loss is over the years, and His Highness is also clear. The old man waited for this time to face the saint, one to witness the face of heaven with his own eyes and thank the grace of heaven. Second, I hope that I will ask the emperor to support the overseas investment of grass people and others after the war. ”

"It's the pole, it's the pole. At that time, please ask Your Highness to say a few more kind words in front of the emperor. The other merchants also stood up in response.

"Seniors, please take a seat." As a junior, Huang Ling got up early, stood up early, motioned for everyone to sit down, and said, "Thanks to the emperor's refusal." I think the little girl is my sister, but I can't afford the word His Royal Highness. As we all know, my husband's family and my mother's family do not have too many assets in China, on the contrary, most of the investments are abroad, and Ecuador has a lot of investment, once it loses the support of the imperial court, the loss is also very large. The little lady on the emperor's side will naturally say a few more words, and the little woman is the same as the elders in this regard, so you can rest assured. It's just that Ecuador is far away from the Pacific Ocean. If the Imperial Court wants to support us, it must send a powerful fleet over. But according to what the emperor said, although the imperial court is determined to win the war against Russia this time, the battle damage may be too large. Especially at sea, the emperor once revealed that he might lose more than half of the capital ships after the war, and the imperial court would be powerless at that time. As she spoke, Huang Ling looked worried. Because Huang Ling's husband's family, the Yang family and the Huang family's main investments are all in Ecuador.

As soon as Huang Ling's words came out, Qiao Zhiyong looked at each other and smiled: "Your Highness has less assets in China, and some things are not very well understood. Although Lao Yu and the others did not know how the imperial court would respond to the enemy, Lao Yu and the others learned statistics from the emperor's Dasheng Garment Factory and the Pacific Freight Company. In addition, the imperial court opened the ban on commerce. As long as you pay a little attention to the changes in the country, you can naturally estimate it. You say yes, right? ”

"What Elder Qiao said is extremely true...... a group of businessmen chuckled lowly, with a confident expression.

Huang Ling said with a look of disbelief: "Although the imperial court has opened up some military products to private procurement, most of them are accessories or low-end products. Precision national military manufacturing is still in the hands of the imperial court. The most that your predecessors can count is only civilian products, so you can rely on these statistics to show such confidence? ”

"Yes. I was also very curious about how Qiao Lao counted it. I didn't have the confidence to speak of a big victory, and I actually let Qiao Lao and the others count the big victory. Li Ming, who was listening outside the door, was also full of doubts, so he pushed the door in.

See the emperor arrive. Everyone stood up and saluted: "Long live the grass people to see my emperor, long live, long live......"

"Excuse me. Let's sit down and talk. Li Ming, who was still hungry, turned his head and ordered Kou Liancai to take another pair of dishes and chopsticks, regardless of the mess of cups and plates. Under the surprised eyes of everyone, he sat down and ate open, and said while eating: "I haven't had dinner yet, and Old Qiao said that I will eat at the same time." ”

"Your Majesty, slow down, these are all grass people waiting for the ......food that has been used," a group of businessmen all stood up and said in horror.

Li Ming looked up and sighed, "It's okay." Since I became a father, I have been cleaning dishes at home. Let's get down to business first, Old Qiao's words of victory are the best dishes to accompany the meal. ”

"The emperor praised it falsely." Since the emperor said so, Qiao Zhiyong got up and arched his hand: "Caomin and the others have also deduced from the newly launched warships in these years. Although the battleship Basic, which was only tested two years ago, had only four twin 305-mm naval guns, and the upcoming naval war with Russia was a matter of the rise and fall of the country, it was natural to give full play to all its advantages. From the 10,000-ton Dinghai-class light cruiser to the 13,000-ton super-sea-class heavy cruiser, which is not a triple naval gun. Since we are the only ones in the world who have triple assembly technology, it is natural to use it. Thanks to the ban on trade by the imperial court, some simple patrol boats were handed over to private factories such as grass people for production, so grass people and others also knew more about shipbuilding. If you want to mount four triple guns, it is estimated that the hull of the ship will need at least 20,000 tons or more, and this is probably the largest warship in the world. Although the grass people and others didn't know how to drive such a huge ship, judging from the performance of the Basic Ship, the imperial court must have already had a way. Moreover, Cao Min and others estimated that the cost of this new ship would not be less than 100 million dragon yuan, and the price of the latest Russian Borodino-class battleship was less than 50 million dragon yuan in China. The cost alone is comparable to the two Russian ships, and the officers and men of our navy are all famous generals who have experienced a hundred battles, so it is not a problem for such warships to hit three or three. After this construction, the main warships of the DPRK Navy will have a total of eight battleships, eight heavy cruisers, and six light cruisers, and if you include the warships of the vassal countries, there will be as many as 30. Not to mention one dozen or three, it is sixty Russian warships on top of one dozen and two. In this battle, the Russian army came from afar, and the army went on an expedition, and our DPRK was waiting for work in the coastal waters, so it was really impossible to say that it was not a big victory. ”

"It turns out that you can still know this." Huang Ling sighed deeply.

The imperial court assessed this battle as a tragic victory, and now when I heard Qiao Lao's words, I suddenly realized. It seems that the imperial court overestimated the enemy and underestimated itself. Sure enough, there is an old man in the family, if there is a treasure. Li Ming said with a happy face: "What Elder Qiao said is true, the cost of a new-style battleship is indeed 110 million dragon yuan, and the super sea-class heavy patrol is also as high as 60 million yuan. The navy is indeed a gold-eating beast, and a lot of money has been embezzled over the years because of the construction of ships, and the maintenance of other fleets is also a huge investment. Coupled with the competition with Russia for Siberia, the expansion of the army also took up a large part of the funds. The reason why the imperial court has slowed down the construction of roads and other infrastructure in recent years is actually because there is no money. ”

"The grass people and others had long thought that they were going to sacrifice some expenses for the war between the two dynasties, but they didn't dare to say that the cost of one or two new warships could barely be made. In the early years of the conquest of Japan, the imperial court also issued government bonds. Why did this war affect the rise and fall of the dynasty, and the imperial court did not issue treasury bonds? The grass people and others are puzzled. ”

"In that case, I seem to feel like I've lost a lot." Li Ming laughed: "If the issuance of treasury bonds is for construction, it doesn't matter, take it for the people and for the people." However, the military is a place where it is difficult to produce output only with input, and once too much money is invested in military construction, then civilian funds will inevitably decrease, and then your profits will also decrease, and it will inevitably lead to a tightening of capital and investment, and a reduction in taxes. This is beneficial for a short time, but in the long run, it seems to be really a thirst quenched. In the early years of the expedition to Japan, the government issued government bonds because it was a time when the country was vigorously developing infrastructure for the people, and the sudden interruption would pose a major threat to the country's economy. Now that the infrastructure construction of the country has passed the climax period, it is now the time to digest and adjust, so as to avoid the waste of duplicate construction. Besides, the annual revenue of the national dynasty in these years is enough to support this war, and of course no more government bonds will be issued. I can only give you a rough idea, if you want to know more about it, you have to ask the household department in detail. ”

"The emperor's words are also wrong." An old man who had never seen it stood up: "If we and other businessmen want to do business all over the world, we are indispensable for the protection of the army of the country. Therefore, it is also the duty of our businessmen to strengthen the army. If the imperial court has a need, we and other businessmen will definitely do our best to help. ”

"As long as you pay taxes according to the laws and regulations of the imperial court and do not evade taxes, you have already done your duty. The imperial court has its own arrangements for the construction of this army, and when it really comes to the time when you need your full support, you should not drive me out as a villain. Li Ming and everyone laughed, and then Li Ming suddenly said with a straight face: "If you have something to say, you might as well speak up." ”

The scene suddenly fell silent. After the businessmen looked at each other, they still pushed Qiao Zhiyong out: "Lao Yu and others hope that after the great victory, the dynasty can send a fleet to Ecuador." Of course, we can afford this cost. ”

"It's not a small ambition." Li Ming smiled, turned his head to Kou Liancai and said, "Immediately summon Yan Fu, Tang Shaoyi, Wang Shizhen, Lin Qizhao, and Cheng Cheng to the palace for discussion." As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ming continued: "Wait, let's just say that I invite all the ministers to have a banquet together." Then invite Zhou Qin and Leng Jun together. (To be continued......)