When Ye Zhao returned to Beijing, the national election had already ended, because of the limitations of communications, transportation, and other conditions, the election of imperial legislators was only close to the unified vote for the time being, and was not forced for the time being, and the entire general election lasted for more than a month from the earliest voting in Fujian, Guangdong, and the border special administrative regions to the final counting of votes in the three provinces outside the Guanwai.

At the end of July 1880, the final election results were announced, and a total of 2,139 seats were elected in each constituency of the empire, of which the Minsheng Party led by Li Hongzhang and Shen Bingying won 825 seats, becoming the largest party in the empire.

Outside commentaries, including European public opinion, generally believe that the "People's Governance Association" led by Du Boqi, the former chief minister of the Imperial Parliament, or the "Grand Ducal Party" led by conservative leader Zhou Jingshan, will become the second largest party in the empire, and who knows that the "Loyal and Righteous Patriotic Society" will come out of the spur and gain 524 seats to become the second largest party in the empire.

Obviously, the "Loyal and Righteous Patriotic Society" led by Zhang Youcun, a hard-line political tycoon and supported by retired officers, has a very cohesive charm in today's empire, respects imperial power, believes in expansionism, and its program is also quite appealing among voters.

Zhou Jingshan's "Ta Gong Party" was second to the "Loyal and Righteous Patriotic Society" with 412 votes, while Du Boqi's "People's Governance Union" won 112 seats.

In this election, the result of failing to win more than half of the seats of the big party has long been expected by Ye Zhao, after all, the party ban has just been opened, there are too many small parties and reading candidates, and the victory of the Minsheng Party in more than 800 constituencies has already shown the energy of the troika of Li Hongzhang, Shen Bingying, and Zou Kaizhi.

The "People's Livelihood Party" mainly came from Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and other places, and won more than half of the constituencies in big cities, while the "Dagong Party" had an advantage in the constituencies of counties and townships in the north and south, while the votes of the "Zhongyi Protectorate Society" and the "People's Governance Association" were relatively scattered, and there was no obvious regional and urban color.

After a short period of mediation, the Minsheng Party soon announced the formation of a joint political axe with the Loyal and Righteous National Protection Society.

……

Taihe Hall is magnificent, as the symbol of imperial power of the Eastern Empire, it is also the center of power that the whole world is concerned about, the main hall is heavy on the top of the palace, sits down three layers of white marble steps, the golden dragon and the seal color painting is solemn and solemn, the roof immortal gods and beasts linger in the ethereal, the huge square in front of the hall can accommodate tens of thousands of people to worship and celebrate.

The gold bricks in the Jinluan Treasure Hall are paved with gold, the dragon pillar is imposing and swallows the clouds, the throne with the golden lacquer cloud dragon pattern is high on the high platform of the seven steps in the center of the main hall, and there are seven large screens with the golden lacquer carved with the cloud dragon pattern behind the arrange. The throne has a total of thirteen golden dragons entwined.

The Sumeru base of the throne is carved with double dragons playing with pearls, full of gold lacquer. The surrounding area is furnished with an elephant vase that symbolizes peace and elephants, a symbol of the monarch's wisdom and the sage's end, a crane that symbolizes longevity, and an incense burner and incense tube for burning incense. The dragon title bead caisson above the throne is also covered with gold lacquer, which shows the luxurious atmosphere of the "Jinluan Treasure Palace", which is enough to see how noble the person sitting on this throne is.

At this moment, Ye Zhao sat high on the throne, and under the stage, all the members of the Privy Council, political bigwigs, and military commanders gathered together, except for the [***] who was stranded in India, the religious leaders in the Privy Council rushed thousands of miles to Yanjing to participate in this grand meeting on the Jinluan Palace, the most important ceremony in the history of the empire - the authorization ceremony of the premier of the imperial State Council.

Li Hongzhang was wearing a super first-class marquis official uniform, a purple unicorn supplement, and a long gauze winged hat.

Kneeling on one knee in front of the throne, Li Hongzhang pressed the bronze tripod with his hand, and said loudly: "Minister Li Hongzhang hereby swears!" Loyal to the Emperor; loyalty to the country; rooted in the rule of law; Compliance with the law is a priority. Abide by the Constitution, according to the wishes of the people, to achieve the country in the realm of security and integrity! ”

When Li Hongzhang took the oath, Ye Zhao had already stood up, and at this time, he slowly walked down the throne, came to Li Hongzhang, and handed the ceramic Ruyi, which symbolizes the territory of the empire, made of water and soil in the provinces of the empire, to Li Hongzhang, and said: "I have entrusted you with the responsibility of governing the mountains and rivers of the world!" ”

Li Hongzhang was slightly stunned, originally the emperor did not give power on behalf of the people, the monarch's power is granted, although the power of the prime minister is an election, now, since it is also granted by the emperor, it also comes from heaven, the emperor's words, since it will not be a whim, but it is following the teaching.

Li Hongzhang's heart was full of solemnity, and he slowly took Ruyi with both hands, kowtowed and bowed.

On August 1, 1880, Li Hongzhang was sworn in as the premier of the Imperial State Council, and Zhang Youcun was appointed vice premier.

A few days later, the Imperial Assembly elected Shen Bingying, the leader of the Minsheng Party, as the president of the House of Representatives, and at the same time approved the cabinet prepared by Li Hongzhang, and the cabinet members came according to the seats of each political party. Almost all of them are occupied by the Minsheng Party and members of the Loyal and Righteous Guardian Society, but as the individual consciousness of the legislators gradually emerges, rather than just following the party's opinion, it is expected that the House of Representatives will gradually become a dragon and a tiger in the house.

Although Li Hongzhang is now well-known, the People's Livelihood Party, which is in power for the first time, will inevitably have high hopes, and it is a completely new political system that will face them, and if Li Hongzhang wants to be re-elected, he will have to pay a thousand times more hardships.

In the small screening room of Changyin Pavilion, watching the scene of Li Hongzhang's oath-taking, Ye Zhao slowly sat up, and a solemn and quiet emotion rose from his heart, and the transfer of power will have a far-reaching impact on the present and future of the empire.

The spacious soft couch, the charming woman in the red dress reclining on the left side is the imperial concubine Su Hongniang, the light cyan skirt on the right side, the beautiful Zhu Sisi is sipping fragrant coffee, if it is said that four years ago, although it was just to listen to the opera and watch the music, Sisi and the red lady will not lie in the same bed with him, so that he can enjoy this kind of warm Qini, but now the concubines are obedient to him, and they are also harmonious with each other, Jin Feng died of illness, even if they know their status in Ye Zhao's mind, but also make them worry that one day they will part with Ye Zhao, is even more worried about touching Ye Zhao's wound again, because they are afraid that no matter how ridiculous Ye Zhao's request is, they will agree, but Ye Zhao is not so cheeky.

Ye Zhao stretched out his hand and pinched the snow-white Luo socks exposed on the instep of the gorgeous and sultry red embroidered slippers on the side, the tentacles were slippery, and the soft ankles were lovely.

The matchmaker sat up suddenly, her face flushed, she bit her lip and said, "What are you doing?" Sisi was on the other side, but she was afraid that she would hear it.

Ye Zhao smiled, pointed to Zhu Sisi's slender waist, and said, "What boxing techniques did you teach her?" The waist is thin again. The matchmaker turned her head helplessly and ignored him.

Zhu Sisi was still drinking coffee, so naturally she pretended not to hear it, she knew the movement behind her, wouldn't it be embarrassing to turn her head?

She is now the chairman of the Congressional Advisory Committee, responsible for presenting to Congress the views of the people on the work of Congress or the controversial surname bill.

But Christina, who was elected as a member of the Dongcheng District Council of Tianjin, entered the National Assembly with a grand appearance, and is now a member of the Reading Congress, but the Minsheng Party, the Dagong Party, etc. are actively fighting for her.

Ye Zhao went to Tianjin and reunited with Christina for a few days, and Gul Shail came to the capital to visit Ye Zhao before going to Seoul, Gul Shail's business is getting bigger and bigger, from the entertainment industry to the entertainment industry, and now there are several singers signed by his record company, and the records have even been sold to Seoul and Edo. Having said that, the record industry is inseparable from the glitz and glamour, after all, records are only an auxiliary promotion of their fame, and if they want to make money, these popular singers naturally have to perform in various dance halls and nightclubs.

"With this machine, the historian will be more relaxed." Ye Zhao pointed to the wooden box on the side of the camera that can generally shoot moving objects, in fact, its technology is not perfect, if it is said that it will take a long time to enter the film era, but in the form of a silent documentary to record this Jinluan Palace ceremony, it will inevitably be a precious historical material in the future, but the materials used to make film today are not easy to preserve, and it is more likely to catch fire, but we have to find a way to wait for better film to appear and transcribe it in the past.

"Your Majesty, how long will you leave Beijing?" The matchmaker asked with concern.

Ye Zhao nodded slightly and said, "If I don't leave Beijing, what's the difference between me and the past?" ”

After Li Hongzhang became prime minister, the State Council did everything in detail, and every day stacks of documents were sent to the imperial study room for instructions, and Li Hongzhang even said that he came to see the emperor for guidance, and it was he who was too cautious and cautious, for fear of being discussed behind his back, so that the new dynasty had no new atmosphere.

"When I leave Jingshi, Li Hongzhang can let go of some things to do." Ye Zhao stroked the shiny fur of the dancing monkey that had just jumped into his arms, and said thoughtfully.

The matchmaker asked, "Then where is the emperor going?" ”

Ye Zhao smiled: "Can I really call the shots?" If I can call the shots, I'll go to Europe. ”

The matchmaker said with a smile: "Why can't the emperor make his own decisions, it's just that Europe is beyond the reach of the soldiers of this dynasty, and it is too dangerous; Second, if there is a militaristic matter, how can Li Hongzhang make a decision? Please also ask the emperor to think twice. ”

Ye Zhao stretched out his hand and pointed at her, and said, "You, this mouth is getting better and better, then if you don't go to Europe, I'll go to Turkey, Egypt, and by the way, see when the canal will be recovered." ”

At that time, the governor of Egypt was going to sell the shares of the Suez Canal, who knew that it would not take long for his financial problems to be solved, during which the Taihe Bank secretly gave financial support, and now the Pasha is the second generation, called Tawfik, and the shares of the Suez Canal have been mortgaged in the Taihe Bank.

However, as the number of steamers passing through the Suez Canal continued to increase, and tax revenues exploded, Tawfik Pasha's annual income was at least able to pay the high interest owed to the bank, but the idea of selling the canal shares gradually faded, and it seemed that it would be difficult for the bank to buy its shares in the short term.

When Taihe Bank intervened, it could not compete to buy shares with the British, not to mention that the international environment at that time would make the whole world feel that China was aggressively expanding, and even to expand its sphere of influence to the Mediterranean, even if it did not care about this, the former Egyptian Pasha could not sell the shares to the Chinese, if it was to sell, it was in its political interests to sell to the British.

The loan of 40 million silver dollars, that is, 400 million yuan, that is, 400 million yuan provided by Taihe Bank to the former Pasha of Egypt, the interest rate is not low, but the conditions are also favorable, the first 10 years only need to pay interest, and the principal and interest are repaid in the last 20 years, a total of 30 years, and Pasha mortgaged all the canal shares he held to Taihe Bank, such conditions, Pasha naturally turned to cooperate with banks from China, so that Britain's intention to buy shares in the Suez Canal was frustrated.

The Egyptian Pasha is hereditary, but it is actually an autonomous political system adopted by Egypt after the Turkish Ottoman Empire conquers, similar to the vassal states in the East, but Egypt is nominally a Turkish Ottoman province, and the power enjoyed is not comparable to that of the Eastern vassal states, and the influence of the Turkish Empire on it penetrates into all aspects.

Now that the empire's influence in the Persian Gulf region and the southern part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire continues to ferment, Ye Zhao believes that it may be time to solve the Suez Canal problem, and if the imperial political axe can own half of the Suez Canal, it will play an immeasurable role in the competition with the British.

Hearing Ye Zhao say that he was going to the Red Sea, the matchmaker naturally objected, and said gently: "The British have wanted to do something to Egypt for a long time, if the emperor goes to Egypt is known to the British, it will not be good, and the canal matter is only afraid of backfire."

Ye Zhao said: "Then I'll go to Maputo." ”

The matchmaker said categorically: "This will never work." ”

She did not say the reason, Ye Zhao also knew that the area around Maputo has almost become a powder keg, and over the years, the empire has acquired a large area of land in Maputo, including northern South Africa, Eswatini, northern Mozambique and other vast areas, all of which are managed by the governor of Maputo.

Although the climate difference made the Central Plains immigrants not interested in coming to explore, over the years, in Maputo and the surrounding areas, the size of the Central Plains immigrants also reached nearly 100,000, and the empire stationed an integrated infantry regiment in Maputo, which made the empire the country with the largest number of troops in Africa.

And naturally, in Maputo, the empire also recruited a large number of black mercenaries, about 20,000 black mercenaries to serve the empire, and it is not the practice of European countries to use black mercenaries as black cannon fodder, but to be formally trained, in the private words of Zhao Sanbao, the chief of the empire: "It is to be cannon fodder, and they should be cannon fodder who can fight evil battles!" ”

Although the Empire's standing army in Maputo maintained a great deterrent, the danger of war had befallen the southern African land since the discovery of gold in Dewaziland, which had become a powder keg prone to war.

Thinking of all kinds of South Africa, Ye Zhao said helplessly: "What about Edo?" Then he shook his head, "You must have said that the times are turbulent, and Edo has changed hands." "The civil war in the country has gradually subsided, but it has entered the era of warlord secession, and Edo has been occupied by various forces several times, although the war has gradually subsided since last year, but I am afraid that a larger war is still brewing.

At present, the gap between the rich and the poor in the country is serious, the concessions are bright and green on the port city, and the poor and homeless are starving to death on the streets, and the policy of coexistence and co-prosperity of the Central Plains Empire can be said to have failed in the country, and the Southeastern Group of Nations still only retains the qualification of its own observer, and does not sign any substantive treaties with it, and only when it establishes a real central political axe will it be admitted as a full member.

The group of south-eastern countries has signed a treaty prohibiting armed interference in its own internal affairs, and it is still more forbidden for any country to sell arms to its military blocs.

In fact, the move was only a warning to France, which is home to many weapons from China, North Korea and Europe on the black market.

The matchmaker smiled and said, "Since the emperor knows that Edo has changed hands three times, what else can he say?" ”

Ye Zhao sighed and said, "Could it be that you mean that I can only walk around the country?" ”

The matchmaker chuckled and said, "That's not it, Seoul, Urals, and the emperor can go to see it." ”

Ye Zhao turned his head to Zhu Sisi and said, "Sisi, how can you say it?" ”

Zhu Sisi said: "Sister Hongniang is right, the emperor's body is ten thousand gold, and you can't get into danger." ”

Ye Zhao said: "You didn't say that when you beat me. ”

Zhu Sisi couldn't help but be embarrassed when she thought about it, she really had the heart to beat him to death at the beginning.

Ye Zhao waved his hand at this time, as if sweeping away the bad luck in front of him, and said, "You don't have to worry about it, I'll go to Yuben first, and then I'll take the Red Sea and Maputo away." ”

The matchmaker and Zhu Sisi wanted to speak, but Ye Zhao waved his hand and said, "Needless to say, don't worry, I won't take risks in person, don't you know me?" ”

At this time, the matchmaker and Sisi knew that Ye Zhao had made up her mind, and the matchmaker immediately said: "Then who will accompany the emperor?" "With the concubine by his side, Ye Zhao must be more cautious.

Ye Zhao said: "No need. "It may take a few months to go out this time, and I will sleep in the open air, and my physique will be fine, and the concubines are only afraid of damage to their health.

The matchmaker said: "Then go to your own country, why don't Iori and Misaki go and see?" ”

Ye Zhao shook his head, Misaki didn't have any feelings for her country, and now her parents have also brought her to the capital; Iori, seeing the current situation in my country, my mood will only be low, so it's better not to bring it with me.

The matchmaker said: "That's as good as a baby, she has become a little doctor in the past two years, staying by the emperor's side, and we can rest assured that although the imperial doctor is good, he can't always say that he will accompany the emperor." ”

Ye Zhao bowed his head slightly and said, "I'll think about it again." He immediately said to the matchmaker and Zhu Sisi: "Let's go, let's call Hua Ji and Iori to watch the play again." "Rong'er and Sava went to the Qinxue Garden to supervise the prince and princess to study, and they were not in the Forbidden Palace.

The matchmaker and Sisi said yes happily.

(To be continued)