Compared with any empire in the world, the Imperial Palace of China, whose predecessor was just a mere governor's palace, is undoubtedly the least "imperial", but even so, no one in Nanjing dared to suggest that the capital be moved to Beiping, with the magnificent Forbidden City as the imperial palace. On the one hand, there is opposition from the people, and on the other hand, no one wants to see the continued existence of foreign garrisons in the capital of a country and Dongjiaomin Lane, which is like a concession.

As for the Forbidden City, which is known as the largest palace in the world, it will also be opened to the outside world in the next few years, not as a royal industry, but as a national museum.

After all, now is the time when "the empire is decided, and all kinds of waste are waiting to be rebuilt", although the undignified palace really worries some people who care about the "prestige of the empire", but the corresponding emperor himself's ambition to "lie down and taste the guts" makes them feel emotional.

Indeed, not to mention the "old witch" who spent 40,000 taels of silver a day and ate more than 100 dishes at a time, the emperor of the Chinese Empire only spent a few hundred yuan a day, and only had one meat, one vegetable, two dishes and one soup for the "poor", but he has always been happy for the people, and even since he was elected emperor in power, there are tabloids that publish the "royal recipe" every day, and the recipe is shabby and makes people feel undignified, and it is precisely because of this that people will be full of expectations for such a person who has the ambition of "lying on the salary and tasting the guts" and is bent on strengthening the emperor.

At this time, in the palace, on the stone path of the remnant snow garden, the emperor himself, Chen Moran, who had the expectation of all the people, was pacing slowly in a distraught mood, at this time he was not wearing a military uniform, but wearing a black Hanfu, the only difference from the past was that this black Hanfu was embroidered with a dark five-clawed dragon.

As an emperor who "took office in front of the whole people", he has his own troubles, and he knows better than anyone that for the current Chinese, their dependence on the emperor is more traditional, and as an emperor, he must use his own actions to prove that he is the "holy monarch" expected by all peoples.

On the one hand, the "Yuan Hunt Plan" has already reached the point where it must be implemented, and the mobilization of troops, the mobilization of materials, the support of logistics, and the raising of funds have all made the plan difficult to collect.

On the other hand, the Surabaya overseas Chinese case has pushed the empire, which had just been established for only three days, to the forefront, and the reason why the fleet was dispatched at the first time was to show the determination to protect the overseas Chinese in front of the people and take the opportunity to win over the people's hearts, but on the other hand, it was to cover the "Yuan Hunt Plan." Compared with Surabaya, the Yuan Hunt Plan will really determine the foundation of China.

"Being an emperor is really not a good job."

Chen Moran muttered to himself.

A soft sound of footsteps came from behind him. He turned to look, and a military attache bowed to him.

"Your Majesty, Minister Guan is here."

Chen Moran waved his hand and muttered in a low voice.

"I'll come."

When he reappeared, he was already dressed in military uniform, sitting on a mahogany circle chair, and in front of him, Finance Minister Guan Mingtang sat on his knees with his hands and played a report on the issuance of bonds by the Ministry of Finance. Since the implementation of the "Yuan Hunt Plan", except for military and infrastructure matters, Chen Moran has to inquire about the issuance of bonds every day, after all, in the final analysis, war is still money.

“…… Yesterday, the political axe announced that after sending a fleet to protect overseas Chinese, the amount of bonds subscribed by various parts of Nanyang on the same day reached 18.765 million yuan, and as of at least 3 o'clock at noon today, the bond sales in Nanyang today exceeded 21 million yuan, and today it exceeded 30 million yuan, and there is no problem at all! ……”

Guan Mingtang was still reporting, and Chen Moran's gaze was fixed on the angular and resolute-looking middle-aged face in front of him. Chen Moran has always held an attitude of appreciation for Guan Mingtang, who constantly surprises himself in front of him, on the one hand, he appreciates his ability to do things, and on the other hand, he appreciates his ability to control the general trend, and he is also quite far-sighted on many issues.

In the past, as soon as he arrived at the industrial company, he carried out drastic reforms of the industrial company, and then began to train and select senior executives for the company, and it was thanks to the fact that after his departure, more than a dozen companies under the name of the industrial company could continue to operate in a steady and orderly manner and further expand. After he took up his post in the Ministry of Finance, what impressed Chen Moran the most was that he was afraid that he would set up training courses to send tax officials to various provinces, and in the name of "reducing or reducing harsh taxes," he achieved the goal of returning taxes to the central government, cut off the financial power and financial resources of the localities, and ensured that the ruling axe would not collapse due to financial problems.

In the words of some foreigners, Guan Mingtang's finance minister is the foundation for the ruling axe to maintain stability, and there is no stability without money, and it is impossible to maintain the operation of the country by relying only on his own money.

His excellent work as Minister of Finance has made his influence more and more influential in China, and there are many people at home and abroad who believe that he is more suitable than Zhang Zhidong to be the prime minister of the empire, and his experience of staying in the United States for more than 20 years has made people believe that he is more suitable than Zhang Zhidong to dominate the country's changes.

But Chen Moran knows that compared to him, Zhang Zhidong is the pillar of maintaining "political stability" in the next few years, and his activities and influence can maintain the stability of the country, and this stability is exactly what the country needs in the next few years, but Zhang Zhidong's conservatism makes Chen Moran feel contradictory in his heart, he hopes to use these influential figures to achieve his goal of stabilizing the people's class, on the other hand, he is full of dissatisfaction and prejudice against these figures, they are too conservative.

Just like Zhang Zhidong, after yesterday's meeting, the conversation between the two once again surfaced in Chen Moran's mind.

"Your Majesty, please think twice for the sake of the country!"

"I think that war should never be talked about lightly now!"

"I think that state affairs are not easy to take any rash moves!"

"I think it's ......"

"Zhang Xiang, you answer me, why do people take risks!"

"Your Majesty, China is not the original!"

"I think that the people are eager for the revival of national dignity! If it is not worth the risk of defending the dignity and rights of the country, then what is worth trying? ”

At the end of the conversation between the two, although it ended with Zhang Zhidong's compromise, thinking of their kind of conservatism and their dependence on Zhang Zhidong in the next few years, this kind of contradiction often disturbed his inner peace.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty......"

After the report, Guan Mingtang noticed that His Majesty seemed to be a little distracted.

"Ah......h

Coming back to his senses, Chen Moran smiled awkwardly, and then spoke.

"Zheqin,"

In private, Chen Moran prefers to call them directly, rather than by titles such as Qing, just like "I", most of the time, he still calls "I", a person can't even call me, what else does it mean, I am too lonely to call this title.

"Do you think they'll believe our actions in the South Seas?"

Chen Moran asked a little unconfidently, the "Yuan Hunt Plan" is full of "opportunism", all along, the biggest uncertainty factor in this plan is whether the transfer of hundreds of thousands of troops will arouse their vigilance, and now the only thing that can be regarded as cover is to use Surabaya as a cover.

"Your Majesty, they all understand that it is already a risky move for us to challenge one enemy, but if we set up two enemies at the same time, then it is undoubtedly suicide, and no sane person will make this choice, I believe that the incident of Surabaya is enough to confuse them!"

"So, what do you think our chances are?"

Hearing this question, Guan Mingtang finally raised his head. But he didn't answer immediately, but rubbed his hands on his knees, looking at His Majesty in front of him, his brain racing. He wanted to find out the emperor's intentions and consider the words.

"Your Majesty, this victory, if properly used, should have ninety percent hope. However, the minister thought that there was no military victory in this victory, only a strategic victory, and in strategy, we could win the respect and face of the great powers, and at the same time boost morale, but in the end, ...... Your Majesty, the minister thought that the final decision on victory was not on the battlefield, but at the negotiating table. ”

Seeing that His Majesty didn't react much, Guan Mingtangshuang, who was in charge of the matter, continued.

"I think that for our country, although a brilliant military victory can change many things, but our strength makes it impossible for us to win a brilliant victory, and it can even be said that a brilliant victory is also not what we need, we must take into account what our goal is, if we resolutely concentrate heavy forces and crush one of the armies, then we have to take into account other factors, that is, the fleet factor......"

As he spoke, he took another deep breath.

"It is true that Britain will intervene in it for the sake of its interests in China, but if it hurts the other side, such as defeating or annihilating the enemy army, it is difficult to ensure the effectiveness of British intervention, and it may even lead to the other side's desperate betting! This is exactly what we do not want to see, but if the campaign is controlled to a certain scale, we can rely on the intervention of Britain and coastal coastal defense fortifications, on the one hand, British intervention and mediation, on the other hand, the possible loss of the fleet attack, which will make the other side hesitate, so as to get the opportunity for a diplomatic breakthrough, of course, if our navy now has even a few warships, a dozen cruisers, we do not need to be as careful as now, but the problem is that limited strength, So we can only set a limited goal! ”

Guan Mingtang became more cautious at this time.

"Your Majesty, we must be clear about our own strength and needs, so that we can strive for the greatest rights and interests within our ability, which is what we must consider. Our aim is not to defeat one or the other, but to win the respect of the great powers, to restore the dignity of the country, and to fight an appropriate war is of inestimable significance for the improvement of the internal and external situation of our country. ”

"Sigh!"

Guan Mingtang's words made Chen Moran sigh, and he glanced at a map on the wall.

"Zheqin, you must know that if a war breaks out, sometimes, it will be difficult for us to decide how to control the scale of the war!"

"Your Majesty! Then do everything possible to control it, and if we can't control the scale of the war, then we will have to face a long war, and even a brutal all-out defense of the homeland, as we plan for the worst! ”

Guan Mingtang once again warned His Majesty that soldiers are eager to obtain immortal military merits on the battlefield, especially after the current empire, in the face of future knighthoods, soldiers want to prove themselves with military merits, and His Majesty also hopes to rely on a gorgeous and dazzling victory to gain the worship of the people, but in his opinion, this is definitely very dangerous.

"Your Majesty, taking risks does not mean taking into account your own strength, any military adventure is based on your own strength and the external environment, if you say that either of the two does not have, the adventure will become "crazy", and madness will destroy the whole country, just like the scourge of Gengzi, please Your Majesty strictly restrain the generals in front, you must strictly follow the orders of the General Staff, carry out operations in the theater, fight hard in the theater of operations, and strive for the advantage of the theater! ”

Guan Mingtang's expression was solemn, and his voice changed.

"It must be tolerated for any unit to build complete fortifications on the edge of the theater of operations, and it will never be tolerated for any unit to move beyond the theater of operations, for officers to be shot and soldiers to perform hard labor, and for the sake of personal glory, no officer will be caught in the country's disregard!"

Staring at Guan Mingtang with a serious expression in front of him, Chen Moran understood that his words were not so much to persuade him to impose strict orders on the troops, but actually hoped that he could think twice in front of glory and strength.

Limited war, limited purpose, and long-term benefits in the end, this is Guan Mingtang's goal to fight this battle by himself, Guan Mingtang is a person who always gives himself too many surprises many times, whether it is in the Ministry of Finance, or suggests fighting this war, and the most commendable thing is that he can stay sober.

With the implementation of the plan, in the face of the smooth implementation of the plan, from the staff to himself, there is a desire in his heart, the desire to settle the battle in one battle, but only Guan Mingtang still adheres to the limited goal, and what he considers is to win the greatest possible return at the lowest cost.

"Zheqin!"

Looking at Guan Mingtang in front of him with a smile, Chen Moran was silent for a while, staring at him seriously.

"I'll give this order, but, Tetsuqin, if it unfolds, I want to ...... when I can't control myself."

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that as long as you have the country in mind, you will be able to calm down! A military man can think only about military issues, but Your Majesty you have to think about the whole country! This is your empire after all! ”

(To be continued)