The mage in the late Qing Dynasty

Nowadays, all important cities have telephone connections.

It’s also easy to get in touch.

Cixi received news of what happened last night early in the morning.

There have been two major events in the Qing court recently.

First, the Qing court issued an order to let women in the private sector relax.

Yes, that's right. At first, the Qing government only encouraged foot-relaxation, but now it has almost become a law, requiring women not to bind their feet.

It's just that there are good strategies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom, and the trend of foot binding is constantly suppressed.

Even in Manchu families, there are many disobedient people who secretly bind their feet.

Who makes Bigfoot not popular?

Second, the Qing court granted Prince Chun Zaifeng the title of Minister of Military and Aircraft.

This is equivalent to a silent announcement that the next emperor's successor will be Puyi, because Aisin Gioro Zaifeng is Puyi's father!

As the New Year approached, Cixi was very happy. The torturous year has finally passed. I hope that the coming year will be smooth and all the chaotic parties will be dead.

But as soon as he heard the news that Zhao Chuanxin was causing trouble in the Japanese and British concessions in Hankou and stealing money from the Japanese, he suddenly became upset.

Is this bad guy going to let people have a good year?

Aixinjueluo Zaifeng said: "Old Buddha, the news just arrived is that the Japanese Consul General in Han Yukichi Mizuno was killed outside the Japanese Concession by Zhao Chuanxin. In addition, a total of 86 people died in the British Concession and 39 were injured. . 125 people were killed and 48 injured in the Japanese Concession. Yokohama Shokin Bank suffered a total loss of 3.95 million yen. The total losses of houses in the Japanese Concession, British Concession and French Concession were 180,000 yen..."

Cixi gritted her teeth: "What did they say?"

Aixinjueluo Zaifeng said cautiously: "The French side requires the court to severely punish the murderers. The British claim that gunboats will arrive at our coast in the near future and do not rule out the possibility of firing. The Japanese side, together with Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and other countries, intends to launch an attack in Shanghai , Hankou, Tianjin Wei and other places increased their troops to prepare for the establishment of self-defense forces to protect the safety of the people's personal and property..."

"What?" Cixi suddenly became confused.

The great powers were already eyeing it, and now they want to increase their troops. Is the trend of the Eight-Nation Alliance going to happen again?

In the past, the great powers shamelessly made trouble out of nothing and made various excuses to pursue their own interests.

But this time it was different. This time Duo Duo was passive, and Zhao Chuanxin made them angry.

Zhao Chuanxin robbed a bank blatantly. There was a first time, but there was no guarantee that he would not do it a second time.

If things go on like this, who can bear it?

Aixinjueluo Zaifeng hadn't finished his words yet: "The Japanese Consul General in Beijing sent a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking the court to recover the money they lost, otherwise they will not let it go! Lafayette, the court has no money..."

Do we need to cede territory again to pay compensation?

Cixi slumped on the chair helplessly: "Go and contact Sheng Xuanhuai. He is in Hankou. Try to find a way to communicate with Zhao Chuanxin. It would be best to get him to pay back the money..."

Aixinjueluo Zaifeng was a little confused: You really dare to think!

…

When Zhao Chuanxin arrived at Sheng Xuanhuai's mansion, he happened to run into Sheng Enyi and Benjamin Goldberg who were returning from Hanyang Iron Works.

At the same time that Zhao Chuanxin arrived at the gate of the mansion, they also got off the rickshaw.

The guard was about to step forward to greet the Fourth Young Master when he saw Sheng Enyi and Hu Gentang get off the rickshaw and kneel to Zhao Chuanxin: "Mr. Zhao, accept me two as your disciples..."

On the way, Benjamin Goldberg learned from the people that Zhao Chuanxin had revealed his true identity.

Sheng Enyi took him to visit the iron factory and checked the accounts using the identity of Sheng Xuanhuai's first heir (the first three sons died in infancy). Benjamin Goldberg reciprocated the favor and falsely revealed Zhao Chuanxin's identity.

The surprise of the two of them was really extraordinary.

Master Cheng Kun was already powerful enough, and with the aura of the God of War, the admiration between the two of them was like a surging river.

Zhao Chuanxin is a great hero, majestic, proficient in martial arts, and knows how to make a fortune in business. It is said that he also has a group of die-hard subordinates with various skills.

Even the dog next to him is smarter than a human!

Therefore, when he saw Zhao Chuanxin, he immediately wanted to become his disciple.

There is no reason why this little foreign devil can become Zhao Chuanxin's apprentice, but they can't.

Zhao Chuanxin didn't expect them to come like this. He looked at Sheng Enyi quietly, shook his head and said, "Sheng Laosi, you are too ugly. It is not appropriate to become a disciple."

"..." Sheng Enyixin said that everyone praised me for being handsome, but you were the only one who said I was ugly. You really have no sense of aesthetics. He gritted his teeth and said, "I can put a bag on my head!"

I'll blanch...you're cruel!

Immediately looking at Hu Li, Zhao Chuanxin shook his head: "As for you Hu Li, you can be depressed even if you are a woman. Follow your father. You are really hopeless. Our school does not produce nymphos, so it is not appropriate to become a disciple." "

"Master, my disciple is just a pink skeleton!"

Zhao Chuanxin blew out two puffs of smoke from his nostrils, dusted off the ashes and said, "Let's talk about it later."

The guards who were already dumbfounded did not dare to let him go at will, and stretched out their hands to stop Zhao Chuanxin.

Zhao Chuanxin glanced at him: "Go and tell Sheng Xuanhuai to come out."

Even if Zhao Chuanxin spoke rudely, the guard did not dare to get angry: "May I also ask for your name?"

"Zhao Chuanxin!"

The guard's mouth was a little twitchy: "Zhao Zhaozhao..."

As he spoke, he ran back, trying not to lose his boots.

Sheng Enyi and Hu Gentang hurriedly followed.

The group of people was led into the mansion.

Coming to the living room, Zhao Yixian saw a jade Buddha on the shelf. The reason why I say display, rather than worship, is because there are no incense candles except the Jade Buddha.

More like a decoration.

Zhao Yixian, however, clasped his hands and bent down very piously, muttering something in his mouth.

Zhao Chuanxin saw a red note next to the jade Buddha, which read: Believers are full of virtue, they have made meritorious deeds, and their virtues are spread in the mouths of the people; they are benevolent and righteous, and they praise Purple Majesty's heart. When the great work is completed, it is a blessing to have the light to burn the incense. It is a waste of time and money, and the source of poverty is so bright.

This should be a donation that Sheng Xuanhuai made to some temple and was given as a gift. But it is obvious that Sheng Xuanhuai is not really a good man and a believer, so he will not worship at all, but only uses it as a decoration.

Seeing Zhao Yixian sticking his butt out and worshiping Buddha at someone else's house, Zhao Chuanxin sneered: "Are you fucking praying to Buddha? You are praying for whatever you lack."

Chinese people have been doing this for thousands of years. They must worship at every temple. Even on Zhao Gongming's birthday, he set off firecrackers, creating a smoky atmosphere all day long. If Zhao Chuanxin were the God of Wealth, he would be bored to death that day, and he would be so numb that he would go bankrupt.

Are they worshiping gods and Buddhas all over the sky? What you pray for is good clothes and fine food, what you pray for is to turn bad luck into good luck, what you pray for is to give birth to a child early, and gods and Buddhas have no fucking free time to care about your nonsense.

Zhao Yixian's face turned red when his thoughts were revealed: "It's right to pay homage to him. It's not strange to pay homage to Buddha."

Ganfan: "Woof woof woof..."

Zhao Yixian: "What does it say?"

Benjamin Goldberg: “It’s better that you don’t know, be calm, stick to your beliefs in diversity, and encourage each other!”

Zhao Yixian: "..."

As the entourage arrived at the reception room, Sheng Xuanhuai didn't know what he was thinking. He sat on the chair as if he wanted to take Qiao.

But when she saw Zhao Chuanxin, Sheng Xuanhuai's eyes widened: "Is it you?"

Wouldn't this be like meeting that evil monk on the riverboat?

Zhao Chuanxin took off his fishtail windbreaker, threw it away, and hung it on the clothes hanger accurately: "Come, come, sit down. Don't be formal when you come here, just like your own home."

What do you think of your own home?

Sheng Xuanhuai was displeased.

Benjamin Goldberg's eyes lit up: "Master, if you say that, I won't be polite."

He glanced at the books on the bookshelf, took one out without ceremony, and stuffed it into his cotton-padded jacket.

Sheng Xuanhuai's mouth twitched in distress: "That's the "Book of Ancient Illustrations" from the Wanli Period..."

He likes to collect ancient books and enjoys doing so all year round.

Zhao Chuanxin waved his hand: "I am not a stingy person as a teacher. Just take it away and feel sorry for me. It will be considered as a teacher without any structure!"

Sheng Xuanhuai: "..."

You really don't feel bad. What does this book have to do with you?

When Zhao Yixian saw this, his eyes rolled around and he walked towards a Shoushan stone.

However, Zhao Chuanxin scolded: "You bitch, this is Shanda's mansion. Why do you think it's your own home? Why don't you put it back quickly?"

Zhao Yixian was stunned. He knew that Zhao Chuanxin was moody, but this was too much of a double standard.

The apprentice can take whatever he wants, but I can’t? It's not your thing.

Zhao Chuanxin added: "Why don't you meet Sheng Zuotang quickly and build a good relationship? Why don't you give Sheng Zuotang a kiss and ask Sheng Zuotang to help him more?"

Before Zhao Yixian could figure out what was going on, Sheng Xuanhuai threw up his sleeves angrily: "No need."

No one knows what kind of medicine Zhao Chuanxin sells in his gourd.

Zhao Chuanxin sat down, lit a cigarette, and crossed his legs: "Sheng Laosi, please make some good tea. It's really cold. Wuyishan Dahongpao will do."

Sheng Enyi left without saying a word.

Sheng Xuanhuai was even more angry. After all, you are my damn son, Sheng Xuanhuai, and you are being treated like a servant. Where can I put my old face if the news spreads?

Sheng Xuanhuai remembered the telegram from the imperial court and said bravely: "Mr. Zhao traveled across Hankou with great momentum. The Japanese Consul Mizuno Yukichi took Chen Jin's body, but the coffin was not closed. It was so impressive."

Zhao Chuanxin heard the teasing in his tone and thought to himself that Sheng Xuanhuai was a bit brave and was not afraid of falling out with him.

He said with a smile: "It's all thanks to the support of Sheng Zuotang and you, the imperial officials, that Zhao seems to have so much backbone. He's not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning..."

"You..." Sheng Zuotang's lungs were filled with anger. He hypnotized himself and his small unbearable efforts disrupted his big plans: "Mr. Zhao is so happy, but do you think about the imperial court and the people? The great powers have strong ships and cannons. If the whole country comes, Criminal, can you bear the responsibility for your crime?"

"Ah? Is it so serious? It's really scary!" Zhao Chuanxin slapped his chest and pressed back the frightened deer: "Then I run away?"

"..." Sheng Xuanhuai said angrily: "You can run away, but what about the people? What about the court?"

Zhao Chuanxin bared his teeth and said, "Sheng Zuotang, please stop acting. What do you want to say? Please go straight to the point."

The anger on Sheng Xuanhuai's face subsided and he said calmly: "The court wants you to hand over three million yen and return it to the Japanese. There may be a chance that the matter will be resolved."

Zhao Chuanxin's question was not answered: "Some people are afraid of me, and some are respectful and fearful. Even Yi Kuang and Zai Zhen and his son are like a mouse seeing a cat when they see me. Zhao is very curious, why is Sheng Zuotang not afraid?"

Sheng Xuanhuai was also a little embarrassed when others saw through his acting skills.

He adjusted his mentality and said calmly: "I make money by relying on my ability, but others only see my red cap. You Zhao Chuanxin makes money by relying on your quick intelligence, but others only see your talent." Hands full of blood. I don’t believe you can make fifty million dollars in the United States just by being a butcher.

So you and I can see right through each other. "

Sheng Xuanhuai didn't mean to compliment him, he really felt that way.

In 1899, Cixi and Guangxu summoned Sheng Xuanhuai for the first time. At that time, Sheng Xuanhuai was still the Minister of Railway Supervision and the Shaoqing of Dali Temple.

Cixi expressed concerns about the British plotting in Sichuan and Tibet. The three eastern provinces were also surrounded by tigers and wolves, and military training seemed to be ineffective. What should we do?

Sheng Xuanhuai said at the time that the great powers used warships to bluff people at every turn. The guns of warships could only be fired towards coastal areas. The number of soldiers carried by warships was ultimately limited. In fact, the court was still able to deal with the situation in Britain, just like it had fought back not long ago. Went to France once. However, the land is different. Tsarist Russia borrowed a huge sum of money to build railways into the three provinces outside the customs. It was obviously with sinister intentions. And Japan will definitely not sit back and watch Tsarist Russia dominate, and will join forces with Germany, France and Britain to cause trouble. They can transport troops directly from land, which will be even more convenient after the railway is laid.

Obviously, as early as 1899, Sheng Xuanhuai had somewhat foreseen the future Russo-Japanese War.

So he's definitely a smart guy.

Looking at Zhao Chuanxin's fortune from outside the customs, he drove away the gangsters around Lugang Town, so that Japan and Tsarist Russia did not dare to take a step further. Just when things were about to get out of hand, Zhao Chuanxin broke his wrist, pretended to break up with Lugang Town, and then played a trick to keep the enemy at bay. Not only did Lugang Town be saved, but the Japanese and Tsarist Russians never dared to touch the land within a radius of 150 miles.

Even for the Lugang Town Charity Association, Sheng Xuanhuai felt that Zhao Chuanxin was deliberately trying to win people's hearts and had already prepared in advance for plotting against Hong Kong and Macao Islands. Sure enough, when Zhao Chuanxin took back Ao Island, the people's will was decided in one battle. In just a few days, the situation was stabilized and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

Then Zhao Chuanxin went to the United States, where he first became famous as the "Butcher of the Far East", breaking the Westerners' inherent impression of the Chinese as honest people who could be slaughtered by others - so they are so terrible when they are ruthless?

Then he started doing business, pretending to take a step back and have a brighter future, and then he could make 50 million US dollars and get out of the business. However, no one dared to touch the industry in the United States, because those capitalists would worry that he would come back at any time.

These things are definitely not something that a reckless man can do.

He believes that there is a very clear purpose behind Zhao Chuanxin's brutal methods.

So he was not afraid, because killing himself would mean nothing to Zhao Chuanxin.

"..." Zhao Chuanxin asked me, am I really that good? But why didn’t I know?

Therefore, he waved his hand hurriedly: "Sheng Zuotang's words are wrong."

Sheng Xuanhuai was stunned, what do you mean?

Zhao Chuanxin said happily: "You only saw my quick intelligence, but you didn't see that my appearance, figure, knowledge, and social etiquette are all first-rate, let alone my beautiful character, gentle temperament, and even said Noble soul, you haven't noticed anything, so don't show off your knowledge of others."

Sheng Xuanhuai was stunned...