Chapter 389: Changes in Xi'an (VII)
"You are so bold to marry such a person." Gong Yu said as he toasted Luo Yiren.
Luo Yiren sneered and said, "You are jealous." After that, he clinked glasses with Gong Yu and drank the half glass of beer in one gulp.
The bitter taste of hops once made Luo Yiren very uncomfortable, but after a while, the sweet fragrance after the bitterness made Luo Yiren like the taste of this crop from Europe. It was a bit like the feeling of Luo Yiren getting married this time.
Gong Yu snorted. If they were not old acquaintances, he would not have said this. Luo Yiren's relatives had fled back to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and took refuge with this "rebellious son" who was once the most rebellious and almost kicked out of the family.
However, the Luo family arranged a "good marriage" for Luo Yiren. The other party was another wealthy family in Jiangnan, a wealthy family that the Luo family had never dared to ask for marriage before.
As they were talking, Mrs. Luo came over with a slightly limping hand and brought out the freshly cooked dishes. Gong Yu hurriedly thanked her, and Luo Yiren said, "Let's eat together."
Mrs. Luo didn't seem to be interested, but she still sat down at the table. Gong Yu didn't know what Luo Yiren was trying to do. He had originally wanted to talk to Luo Yiren about something, but doing this didn't seem very convenient.
At this moment, Luo Yiren asked, "I heard that you want to speak for someone?"
Gong Yu had no choice but to answer: "Is it wrong to attack the northwest?"
"Tsk!" Luo Yiren also used this slightly contemptuous attitude to retaliate against Gong Yu's previous statement, "May I ask, if our army was in the northwest, would that incident not have happened?"
Gong Yu was stunned. After a little thought, he could not help but admire him. According to the intelligence he had seen, the Northwest rioters suddenly rebelled after the Qing army in Gansu suffered heavy losses. Their initial target was not the government troops, but ordinary Han people. If it was said that the local Han people were all staunch supporters of the Qing Dynasty, Gong Yu would not believe it anyway.
Slowly savoring the flavor, he saw Luo Yiren pouring a glass of anise wine for Mrs. Luo. Gong Yu was a little surprised, "Sister-in-law has a good alcohol tolerance."
Mrs. Luo smiled and said, "I just like the taste. I can't say I can drink a lot."
Gong Yu was really a little surprised, and asked tentatively: "Does your sister-in-law also drink when she is at her parents' house?"
Mrs. Luo replied calmly, "In the winter, when I dine with my father, I also have a few drinks."
Gong Yu was stunned. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart that the food, clothing and expenses of wealthy families are indeed different. The Ministry of Rites has recently done a lot of research, including the analysis of social phenomena. The so-called conservative atmosphere, especially the two seemingly extreme attitudes towards drinking, is derived from the current situation of a large population and a small amount of food.
Even alcoholics know that excessive drinking is wrong, they just can't control themselves. But the current situation in China is not to the extent of discussing whether drinking is good or bad, because drinking is actually a huge economic pressure for ordinary families. Originally, it was just a simple question of whether you want to drink or not, but it was distorted by poor life and high expenses into all kinds of seemingly reasonable excuses, which are actually made up by poverty.
People who cannot afford alcohol are unwilling to admit that they cannot afford it, so they use various moral or other arguments to label drinking as dishonorable, thereby gaining self-comfort and group recognition.
Huo Chong once said that there may be only one disease in the world, and that is poverty.
Mrs. Luo is a beautiful girl from the south of the Yangtze River. Just because she comes from a wealthy family, she can use whether she likes the taste as the criterion for whether to drink. Such an attitude is incomprehensible to people from ordinary families, not to mention poor families.
At that moment, Gong Yu had already decided to write another article based on the viewpoints that the Ministry of Rites had already put forward. As for the title of the article, what should it be? Could it be "When the granaries are full, people will know etiquette; when they have enough food and clothing, they will know honor and disgrace"? Thinking of this, Gong Yu couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"What did you think of?" Luo Yiren asked.
Gong Yu shook his head helplessly, "The articles in the world are mostly plagiarized. It's not that I want to plagiarize, but my country has been in China for thousands of years, especially in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, when there were hundreds of schools of thought. The heroes and wise men at that time just didn't have the science and so many tools introduced by Your Majesty. However, our ancestors looked at problems no worse than us."
"It's not easy to copy well. The Qing Dynasty wanted to copy Zhuge Liang's Qishan military farming. I think they might have taken it for granted. When Nurhaci established the Eight Banners, it was a unity of soldiers and civilians. Can the current Eight Banners really endure the hardship of farming?" At this point, Luo Yiren couldn't help but sneered, "Haha, Brother Gong, we have all practiced in the fields. It may be an exaggeration to say that we wanted to die. However, you and I both know what it feels like to be exhausted."
Gong Yu didn't want to recall that feeling. Yes, there was a fierce sun overhead, not to mention the people wearing bamboo hats were sweating all over, emitting a strong and unpleasant sweat smell. Even the animals pulling the plows were sweating constantly, and the sweat evaporated under the hot sun and condensed into tiny salt grains between their hair.
So when Gong Yu heard that the imperial court was trying to create a machine that could replace human labor in plowing the land on the plains, he was extremely in favor of it.
Not to mention the machinery that God knows when it will be built, when Gong Yu had never worked in the fields, he felt that the court had spent a lot of effort to test the steel plow, which was inevitably a waste of resources. The so-called good steel should be used on the blade!
After Gong Yu started farming himself, his mentality changed. In such a hard farming environment, a mere steel plow was of no use!
With a feeling in his heart, he drank beer faster unconsciously. Mrs. Luo next to him looked gentle and elegant, but not pretentious. As he drank, Gong Yu felt that there was a reason why Luo Yiren dared to marry someone with such a poor background. It was even quite valuable.
Being drunk, Gong Yu suddenly asked, "Xiao Luo, what do you think His Majesty's origin is?"
"He must be very rich and powerful. At least I've seen him." Xiao Luo seemed to be a little drunk in his answer.
Gong Yu took another sip, "That's strange. Your Majesty, even if you met a master when you were young, could you have traveled like this?"
Before Luo Yiren could answer, Mrs. Luo chuckled and said, "Haha, Minister Gong must have drunk too much."
Gong Yu was stunned for a moment before he understood what Mrs. Luo meant. He quickly laughed and tried to smooth things over, "I've definitely drunk too much. Let's go, let's go."
When he returned home, Gong Yu felt a heavy stomach and a little confused. However, Mrs. Luo's words made Gong Yu somewhat alert. It was indeed inappropriate to discuss the background of His Majesty the Emperor Huo Chong in this way.
If he couldn't figure out the reason, Gong Yu might not even think about it. However, after learning the ability to analyze the world from Huo Chong, he couldn't help but think about it. Huo Chong knew the suffering of the people and what they wanted. This could be explained by Huo Chong's low birth.
The concept of the "ruling class" in the Qing Dynasty can also be explained by the fact that Huo Chong became a gentry after donating money to become an official and gained more experience.
However, a careful analysis of Huo Chong's food, clothing, housing, transportation, and various other details of his life is somewhat horrifying.
There are so many wonderful ways to preserve and process meat, as well as the use of various spices and crops from overseas. There are also many methods for the details of life. They are all the ways that only people who have seen the world can have.
Some people suspected that Huo Chong had worked as a waiter. Gong Yu sneered at this. Huo Chong had suffered hardships and never complained about coarse food. He was never happy about fine food. This indifferent attitude was definitely not the mentality of a person who served others. It was the reaction of a guy who lived a superior life.
It seems that I am really following an extraordinary lord!
Of course, Gong Yu didn't know that if he said this to Huo Chong in person, Huo Chong would probably explain it by saying, "You just hope to gain self-awareness by gilding your surroundings, probably because you are not confident."
Huo Chong was currently studying the latest report from the Ministry of Rites, from which he clearly felt the change in mentality of the entire Chinese court after he became emperor.
In terms of self-confidence, the Chinese court has gained a huge boost. In the past, Huo Chong called himself the governor, but the governor was still a long way from the emperor. In the army, everyone was used to the military rank and used it more. The intellectuals who defected to him either used "Lord" or directly called him Your Majesty.
Now that Huo Chong had really become the emperor, no one had deliberately adjusted it, and the title of "Your Majesty" quickly became the standard term. Those who called Huo Chong "Sir" were all genuine insiders. For example, Qian Qing. If someone said something a little bit ridiculous, Qian Qing would scold him, "You are worthy of calling His Majesty Sir?"
We don't need to mention hierarchy, but humans have an instinct to strive for a higher status in the group. Of course, we have to have more advantages over other groups. Except for a few people in the current Chinese court , most people no longer regard the Qing Dynasty as the court. The term "thief Qing" has also become a common term. Although there is nothing to brag about, at least it has established real group confidence.
So what's next? Although destroying the Qing Dynasty is a very important matter, Huo Chong feels that he is not particularly anxious.
As the Ministry of Rites is gradually completing its work, the Qing Dynasty will never be able to turn things around. Now there are more things that can be done, such as taking the southeast as the direction instead of the northwest as the priority.
However, Huo Chong felt something was wrong when he touched his chin. Just as he was thinking, he saw his two wives coming in one after the other. So Huo Chong immediately perked up. This was not a good sign.
"Your Majesty, don't panic. I'm not asking Your Majesty to do it for me." Miss Luo chuckled.
Qian Qing was not so gentle, and she teased, "Your Majesty, are you still afraid of us sisters?"
Huo Chong sighed, "I just don't want to make you unhappy, but I know that I am not capable of doing so and may not be able to make you happy."
Qian Qing couldn't help but shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Don't say these frivolous words at home. You are not capable enough, and no one can understand you, but you have to pretend that they can understand you. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at if you say this to others?"
Hearing this, Huo Chong also felt that it was right. He also felt that there was indeed such a problem now. Although such usage of words was nothing to a 21st century person like Huo Chong, it was far from the people in 1733.
"This time I want to ask you to find a job for my sister. Staying at home all the time doesn't fit in with your principle that women can hold up half the sky."
Huo Chong was a little embarrassed when Qian Qing said this. Just as he was thinking, he heard Miss Luo say, "It would be fine if I could go to school."
"Good! This is good!" Huo Chong immediately expressed great agreement. But he had to go to school.
After this matter was finalized, Qian Qing asked Huo Chong what was troubling him. Huo Chong did not hide it and told Qian Qing about his current state of mind. Qian Qing obviously had no feelings about the earth and the world, but he still tried his best to listen to Huo Chong's urgency to spend some effort on external expansion.
As Huo Chong expected, Qian Qing asked after listening: "Are you going to fight foreigners instead of fighting the Qing Dynasty?"
"How can I put it? I just can't let go of this thought in my mind."
"That's because your Majesty wants too much. Your Majesty once said that if you can't make a decision, it's either because you want too much or you're not aware enough. Now your Majesty wants too much."
Huo Chong nodded repeatedly as if he had been enlightened by these words. However, even though he nodded, he still felt that although these words were powerful, there was still a feeling that was hard to describe and that they did not hit the point completely.
Just as he was reflecting on himself, he heard Qian Qing continue, "If your majesty wants to sail overseas, why not find someone to teach them how to do it."
Huo Chong suddenly felt that the doubts in his heart were connected. This was the key. What he needed at this time was to cultivate the next generation, or even to design the cultivation of the next generation of national backbones.
No matter what the future holds, Huo Chong will definitely die. This is a reality that will never change. Instead of thinking about how to do things the best in a short period of time, it is better to cultivate the future in a solid way. In this way, even if Huo Chong dies, there will be someone to entrust his life to.
Before Huo Chong could praise him, Qian Qing asked another question, "Sir, do you really not want to take advantage of the Qing Dynasty's advance to Gansu to outflank them from behind?"
Huo Chong shook his head almost reflexively, "No. I don't want to. The so-called Wang Qianqi, no. Let's not talk about Wang Qianqi for now, let's talk about the facts. I will never support the rioters. Because what they uphold is not to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, the core of their hearts is something else."
"Other places? Where?" Qian Qing was very surprised.
"The Spanish captain once asked if it was possible to build a church in China and allow them to preach. I rejected it. The reason is very simple. Organizations like the church are originally business gangs. I will never allow anyone other than the country to legally collect taxes. This is absolutely not possible! In addition, religion is a spiritual sustenance. When the soul is placed on gods and ghosts, there is a center outside the court. If you believe in a sect outside of China, you have a center outside of China. The reason why I think that group of rioters is worse than the Qing Dynasty is not because of who is right or wrong, good or bad between them and the Qing Dynasty. This is not within my consideration. Taking China as the core standard, the Qing Dynasty can still be said to be inclined towards China to some extent, but the rioters completely take foreign countries as their center. This is the relationship between China and foreign countries among many relationships."
Qian Qing's beautiful eyebrows slightly wrinkled, and after thinking for a moment, they relaxed. "If that's the case, I can also explain it to those old brothers. But are you really going to lock them up for a few years? They really can't stand it. Since they have all written applications to join the Ministry of Rites, why not let them go."
Huo Chong also knew that if he continued to suppress his old brothers at this time, they would really become disunited, so he agreed.
Hong Zhou didn't know at this time that the possibility of being attacked from behind by Huo Chong, which he feared the most, actually didn't exist. Hong Zhou was enjoying himself in bed with two concubines. He was about to go to Gansu to lead the army in person, and Hong Zhou wanted to vent all his anxiety and excitement.
However, there was no light in the room, so Hong Zhou was more relaxed. After all, the appearance of Manchu concubines was generally not aesthetically pleasing. Hong Zhou even thought of his father's concubine Nian in his mind. Concubine Nian was not Manchu, but a Han Chinese. Her smiles, her elegance and gentleness were what Hong Zhou thought was the perfect woman.
In the past, Hong Zhou simply felt close to Concubine Nian. But now, when he thought of Concubine Nian, he had a different feeling.
After completely indulging himself, Hong Zhou fell on the bed, panting. He fell into a deep sleep soon after. When he woke up the next day, he took a shower and went to court. At this time, even the civil officials in the court wore military uniforms. The court that was once full of wide blue robes a few years ago now had a heroic air.
Although he was somewhat disappointed, Hong Zhou put on a stern face and said loudly, "I will definitely return victorious from this expedition. Even the ministers who stayed in Xi'an must prepare food and grass supplies. If we win this time, Xi'an will have a better life in the future. Don't be lazy."
After hearing this, all the officials knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor". At the same time, they assured Hong Zhou, who was about to go on an expedition, that they would not let him down.
Hong Zhou did not delay and arrived outside Xi'an under the escort of civil and military officials. Outside the city, the Qing army was lined up neatly. Hong Zhou rode past the army and saw that the morale was still good. He returned to the front and ordered his men to shout, "The emperor promised to give everyone 30 acres of land. Have you heard about it?"
The spirits of the troops participating in the expedition were greatly boosted, and they all responded, "I heard about it!"
"The Emperor promised to split the spoils 30% to 70% of the total spoils, with the court taking 30% and the armies taking 70%. Did you all hear that?"
Being questioned so openly, the troops became even more excited, and they all shouted, "I heard it!"
The loudmouths who were spreading the news shouted almost hoarsely: "Whatever the emperor says to us, we will do it. Our prosperity is all due to our hard work. Those rioters look fierce, but they are actually very weak. As long as the government troops fight them, they will definitely not be able to stop them. Don't be afraid, we can win by killing the enemies in the battlefield!"
All the armies cheered, and the sound reached the sky.
Liu Tongxun wanted to follow Hong Zhou to the battle, but Hong Zhou arranged for Liu Tongxun to stay in Xi'an with a reliable old official to raise food and grass for the front. Seeing the army boiling, Liu Tongxun was also a little happy.
At this time, the troops were led by the generals and cheered in unison, "Xining! Xining! Xining!"
It should be directed at the rioters who were besieging Xining, vowing to lift the siege of Xining and wipe out the rioters. So many people cheered in unison, as if ripples were spreading, making Liu Tongxun, who was on the edge, feel as if he was being pushed away. Feeling something in his heart, Liu Tongxun could not help but sigh: "The power of the royal army is so great!"
After the oath of allegiance, the Qing army moved their camp and headed west. A few days after the army left, Liu Tongxun felt that the city suddenly became deserted.
In the past, Liu Tongxun would have felt relieved to not see the listless and dispirited Qing troops all over the streets. But now he felt a little empty inside.
In this state of mind, Liu Tongxun received a report that a local person came to offer food and grass to the court. This was good news, and Liu Tongxun was delighted and condescended to meet the person who came.
The three men looked very humble, and it seemed that they knew the relationship between them and the rioters. Their words were sincere, and they just wanted to offer some food and grass so that the court would not be implicated in their affairs.
Liu Tongxun was unhappy and couldn't help but threaten them a little.
The smiles on the three people's faces seemed to freeze, and they seemed to be frightened. Then the three people suddenly pulled down their caps, took out small daggers from their white caps, and rushed over.
The guard was caught off guard and screamed as he was stabbed. At this time, the house was in chaos, and the guard's screams were intertwined with the roars of the three assassins.
Amidst the shouts of "Hu" and "Aba", an assassin rushed towards Liu Tongxun with a small dagger. Liu Tongxun was shocked, as it turned out that these people were here to assassinate him.
