At the end of November 1883, Chulalongkorn arrived in Singapore on his way home from India. When he learned the result of the battle of Vientiane, he immediately smashed the teacup to the ground in anger: "In one day, 50,000 people were captured!" Even if 50,000 pigs are caught by the Chi Na people, they can't catch them all in one day! It was only at this time that he understood how huge the gap between the two countries was, and he really regretted his rash challenge to China.

Now that the situation in South Asia is completely clear, Siam has completely lost its ability to fight, and on the north bank of the Mekong River, the army that Siam has spent years cultivating is now a confused herd of sheep, falling into the abyss like an avalanche of chaos.

On the southern bank of the Mekong, rumors spread like legs and legs: the Chinese army was about to cross the river and attack, leaving nothing to be left behind.

The frightened Siamese people were frightened overnight, and they helped the old and the young, carrying large bags and small bags, and left their hometowns and became fleeing refugees. In particular, several states close to the Mekong River are empty, and the large number of refugees has blocked the road to Bangkok. The whole of northern Siam has completely spiraled out of control.

In the capital, Bangkok, the situation is not much better, the entire government apparatus is in chaos, and all kinds of false rumors about the front line are surging, causing panic among the people in the government and the opposition. Not long ago, there were still frequent reports of good news on the battlefield, and the Siamese officials and people in the rear climaxed again and again, so cool that they couldn't do it, dreaming of establishing the Siamese Empire. Unexpectedly, the dream did not last for a few days, and it became a broken bubble, who has experienced such ups and downs, which makes the Siamese government extremely frustrated.

Now that the main forces of the army and navy are finished, all that remains is to sue for peace. On November 26, two days after the Battle of Vientiane, Siam formally transmitted a request for an armistice to China through the British Minister to China.

But China's response was simple and straightforward: the Guards crossed the Mekong River on November 27 and occupied Nong Khai on the other side of Vientiane. Due to the casualties of nearly half of Ma Jinxu's troops, Zuo Gui ordered him to garrison Vientiane, repair it, and guard the rear road at the same time. He himself led a brigade, as well as a battalion of heavy artillery, to carry out the offensive mission against Siam.

When it was learned that the Chinese had crossed the river, Siam became even more alarmed and stepped up to demand that Britain and France and other countries intervene. France showed little interest in this, because France had given up the competition for South Asia, and only wanted to maintain the Cochins and was satisfied, and did not want to cause any unhappiness in China.

But Britain was different, establishing hegemony in South Asia was Britain's unswerving goal, and China's victorious march and the control of the Mekong by China's powerful river fleet made Britain feel some danger. If Siam collapses completely, this is not in the interests of the British Empire.

As a result, on November 29, British Minister Pasha Li formally submitted a diplomatic note to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hoping to mediate the Sino-Siamese War.

After receiving the report, Ding Yuntong was really disgusted like eating a fly, some time ago the situation in Siam was very good, and Britain did not come out to mediate, but now the victory and defeat are reversed, China has the upper hand, but Britain has come out to mediate, which is clearly biased in favor of Siam.

But what is the big picture now, the big picture is a duel between China and Japan. China needed Britain's neutrality so that it would not side with Japan, and that required appropriate compromises on other fronts.

Ding Yuntong thought about it and felt that in principle, he should accept the mediation of the British, and it was not appropriate to make too much trouble with the British at this time. But in terms of concrete implementation, it can be consumed again, and it must cost Siam a lot.

Thinking like this, he asked Zeng Jize not to rashly reject the British proposal and leave some leeway, and at the same time ordered Zuo Guigui to continue to move forward, as close to Bangkok as possible, and to grasp more bargaining chips for future negotiations.

Ding Yuntong believes that the next Siam battlefield will be dominated by diplomatic warfare, supplemented by military warfare.

At this time, he has to care not only about external affairs, but also about the internal Blackstone Society. A few days ago, Zhao Bingjun sent a secret report that "Wu Gou" had already made a move.

Previously, according to Ding Yuntong's order, the Ministry of Internal Affairs designed a secret jihua to "lure the snake out of the hole", codenamed "China Dream", and now it seems that this jihua has begun to take effect. The reason why Jihua took this name is that Ding Yuntong's new special train is named "China Dream".

A long, long time ago, Ding Yuntong hoped to be free to travel through the entire empire, and even to inspect the newly conquered lands in the future, although he commanded the entire empire, he could only stay in the Forbidden City, and became a prisoner in the palace.

But in order to leave the palace, the problem of privacy must first be solved, and sometimes the emperor cannot be made to go out on patrol and the city is full of wind and rain. Secondly, it is necessary to solve the problem of back and forth time, and when you need to come back, you can quickly return to the palace.

With the development and construction of the railway system, many branches have been extended on the original north-south artery, and as long as a special train for the emperor is built, it can quickly inspect various places, and if necessary, it can also be done without knowing the ghosts.

Therefore, since last year, the Ministry of the Interior has been supervising the construction of the emperor's special train, and the name of the special train is called China Dream. Ding Yuntong understood that the Black Stone Society would look for every opportunity to assassinate him, hiding in the deep palace on weekdays, heavily guarded, and these conspirators were helpless. But if you leave Beijing by special train, and if you know the travel time of the special train in advance, there will be many opportunities for assassination.

More importantly, Ding Yuntong already knew who the "Wu Dog" of the Black Stone Society was, and the "Wu Dog" was often in contact with financial expenditures due to his work, so he asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to deliberately let the "Wu Dog" know about the secret budget for the construction of the special train, so that the other party would probably want to contact other members of the Black Stone Society, so as to formulate a corresponding assassination of Jihua. Then, this contact process can be a great opportunity to fight the Blackstone Society.

Ding Yuntong believes that an organization like the Blackstone Society, plotting rebellion and killing the monarch, is a great rebellion, and its members will never easily tell their identities to ordinary subordinates, so their contact with each other, even if they are not in person, must be the closest people.

According to the surveillance report of the Ministry of the Interior, the son of "Wu Gou" had secretly left Beijing by train a few days ago. According to the investigation, the name of the document used to buy the ticket is "Bo Yuangen", and the destination is Wuxi.

That night, in the Qianqiu Pavilion on the west side of Shufang Garden, the red candle was burning and the sandalwood was curling. Although the electric light has been installed a long time ago, unless the official document is corrected, Ding Yuntong still likes to use candles for lighting, he likes the hazy candlelight, especially tonight, which is even more charming and ambiguous.

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Wang Xuehui and him sat side by side, the two of them held their fingers together, their ears and temples grinded, and they couldn't see the difference between the emperor and the courtiers, but they looked like an ordinary couple.

Outside the window is a pool, a misty pool of water, reflecting the stars of the late autumn night, like a mysterious shijie that appears in a fairy tale, quietly and quietly placed there, waiting for the brave to dabble. The water of the pond ripples with the wind, like Ding Yuntong's heartstrings.

Ding Yuntong looked at the beautiful woman next to him gently, her round face radiating a ruddy glow in the candlelight, like a ripe apple. Her eyes, like black gems, sparkled with a bright, witty, dexterous, lively, and resolute light; The eyelashes are long, like a mysterious forest, and the hair is jet-black, soft and slender, gently fluttering with the breeze.

Ding Yuntong gently rubbed the back of her white hand and gently kissed her ear, which made Wang Xuehui blush, and said: "Pay attention to your appearance, let your subordinates see that the dignity is gone." ”

Ding Yuntong smiled: "You will be my queen in the future, the emperor and the queen, how can you be undignified?" ”

After laughing for a while, Ding Yuntong asked again: "Do you think I am a good emperor?" ”

Wang Xuehui was unexpectedly silent, and said half-loudly: "I don't know either." ”

"How could you not know?"

"Bixia can develop national strength, strengthen the country, drive away external troubles, and promote national prestige, and should be a good emperor. But Bixia's policy is too strict, and the people's livelihood is too hard. ”

Ding Yuntong sighed: "To be honest, I don't know if I am a good emperor." Whether it is to evaluate a person or an emperor, it is necessary to put it in a specific historical environment, and a person has to look at his life's deeds. The emperor also has to be observed in the long river of history. I am on both sides, and now I am bold and aggressive, and I have established the authority of a great power, but it is true that many people have died. Or I do nothing, I stick to the old ways in everything, I don't kill anyone, Zuihou is a good person, everyone is in a mess, and lives a leisurely life, but the country is poor and weak, and is bullied. Comparing the two, how can I be considered a good emperor? What would people say about it now? What will people say in a hundred years? Will the evaluation be the same? ”

Wang Xuehui thought for a long time and sighed: "I really don't know." ”