Chapter 148 Betrayal of the Reformists
Chapter 148 Betrayal of the Reformists
"It's just because he was riding a horse that I felt the horse's face was round."
This is the lyrics of a Japanese poem that specifically describes the appearance of Takasugi Shinsaku.
People who are born with special visions usually have special abilities, and Takasugi Shinsaku boasts of this.
He felt very lucky that Lord Shao, who often led troops to battle, happened to be in Hailing, so he met him smoothly.
"Your Excellency, our delegation came to the Qing Dynasty this time. What we saw in Shanghai was that foreigners were rampant, thousands of foreign ships were sailing on the Huangpu River, the concessions were prosperous and unparalleled in the world, and the Qing Dynasty was dirty and messy. I deeply feel the decline of the Qing Dynasty. Only your territory, Lord Shao, is thriving and has the atmosphere of a prosperous era. Lord Shao will become a famous minister in the future. This is my humble work, please correct it."
Shao Quanzhong took the poem from Takasugi Shinsaku's hand with a smile on his face.
"The masts stand in a forest, endless, and so many ships come and go all day long. Look at the streets, full of people, the world of mortals is connected to the clouds. I remember the troubles in Dagu, when the market profited by catching old people and traitors. Don't say Shanghai is a prosperous place, so many foreign ships are carrying them back."
Takasugi Shinsaku's calligraphy is quite good, Shao Quanzhong nodded.
"Takasugi-kun's work shows his concern for the rampage of foreigners and his worry for the fate of the Qing Dynasty. He is a man of high vision and worthy of being an elite in Japan's 'respecting the king and expelling the barbarians'."
Takasugi Shinsaku slammed his fist into his palm. "I knew that a daimyo who could build such a prosperous territory must be a man of insight. I finally found a soulmate in Qing. Qing and Fuso are both facing invasions by foreigners. We should join hands to fight against the barbarians, coexist and prosper together, and jointly safeguard the prosperity of our Greater East Asia."
Hu Liuniang, who was standing behind Shao Quanzhong, curled her lips when she heard this. She said, "You little devil, you are so arrogant. You are just a Japanese pirate. What qualifications do you have to coexist and prosper with my great Qing Dynasty?"
Yu Ting actually didn't drive out this nonsense-talking Japanese pirate - well, I've seen Yu Ting's smiling face before. He had this expression when he was writing the telegram to his godfather and dealing with Li Xuyi. It looks like these devils are in trouble.
"I came back from Fengyang this time because the newly developed steamship of Hailing Arsenal is about to be launched, and the steam locomotive has also been made. Since Gao Shanjun is here, please accompany me to take a look."
Thick smoke billowed in the Lixiahe River as the "Huanghu", China's first small steamship jointly imitated by Hailing Arsenal experts Hua Hengfang and Xu Shou, was officially launched.
This boat is so small that it can sail on the Lixia River. It has no practical use and is just a laboratory product. However, this is a great beginning. It will become bigger and bigger in the future and finally become practical. It is only a matter of time before China's shipbuilding industry begins.
After watching the ship being launched, Shao Quanzhong went out of the north gate again, boarded a ship and headed east along the Tongyang Canal to the newly built Taizhou Railway Station.
The track laying in both directions of the Taizhou-Xuzhou railway has not yet been completed, but the Taizhou Station has been built.
Ding Gongchen welcomed Shao Quanzhong and his party here.
Yung Wing bought two steam locomotives from the United States. One has been dismantled in the Hailing Arsenal, and the other is parked here. Also on display here is a replica of the Hailing Arsenal's own product.
The first domestically produced steam locomotive had no carriages attached. A strong worker waved a shovel to load coal. The locomotive blew the whistle, white smoke billowed, and it drove out of the train station.
Rong Hui, who had almost recovered from childbirth and had started teaching at Hailing Middle School, followed Shao Quanzhong and watched the domestic locomotive start up, her heart pounding with excitement.
My father originally thought that he would never see the industrialization of China in his lifetime. Now his dream is being realized step by step, and it was all thanks to Brother Shao.
Encouraging me to take the initiative to win over Brother Shao and finally marry him was truly the wisest decision my father had ever made in his life.
Watching the Japanese delegation members sighing constantly, Rong Hui went up to observe carefully, pulled Shao Quanzhong's sleeve, and whispered.
"Brother Shao, do you really want to cooperate with these devils? I remember you said that the devils are your enemies, right?"
Shao Quanzhong sneered, "No matter who I cooperate with in this life, I will never cooperate with the devils. However, they came here to inspect with great fanfare, so I have to act like a friendly country and warmly welcome them. Now is not the time to attack Japan, if we have to fight, we have to kill them in one go, and we can't let them notice anything."
Rong Hui was a little uneasy. "If that's the case, why did you take them to see our most advanced things? If they learn from them, Japan will become stronger and it will be difficult to fight in the future?" "They can learn whatever they want. Hehe, these fifty people are all the elites of Japan. If they go back, they will all be Japan's reformists and talents who promote Japan's rise in the future, so--"
Shao Quanzhong's expression turned grim. "Now that they are here, I must prevent them from returning!"
Hu Liuniang next to him gave a thumbs up, saying that Yuting looked so handsome when he was about to kill someone.
"Yuting, are we going to mobilize the Detective Department's action team?"
Shao Quanzhong shook his head. "They can't die in Hailing. I can't take the blame for killing the Japanese reformists. At least I can't take it myself."
After inspecting the steamship and steam locomotive, the Japanese delegation visited the Hailing Telegraph Office and Wen's Arsenal. They were full of praise for the densely distributed electric poles in Taizhou and were drooling over Wen's advanced machine tools and steam-powered spindles.
Shao Quanzhong hosted a dinner at Mingyue Tower to entertain the Japanese guests, and the Japanese elites were all drunk.
Gao Shanjinsaku's mouth was full of alcohol. He pulled Shao Quanzhong and sang loudly, "Kill all the crows in the three thousand worlds, and sleep with you until dawn——"
The next day, the Japanese delegation left Hailing and returned home, and Shao Quanzhong accompanied them to the dock.
Gao Shanjin gave Shao Quanzhong a 90-degree bow, "Quanzhong, thank you for your trust in me and for teaching me everything you know. We hit it off right away. In the future, my special forces will overthrow the shogunate, respect the emperor and expel the barbarians, promote reform, and make the powerful Fuso join hands with the powerful Qing Dynasty led by you to dominate the world. I will follow your lead."
Shao Quanzhong and Takasugi Shinsaku formed an alliance by shaking hands, and the two sides said goodbye to each other reluctantly, showing the friendly relationship between Qing and Japan.
After sending off the Japanese delegation, Shao Quanzhong's face immediately turned cold. "Come here, take a speedboat to Kouanpu immediately. Tell You Sihai to send a steamer to Kouanpu to pick me up. We must reach Shanghai before the Japanese."
Two days later, Shao Quanzhong appeared at the Consulate in the American Concession.
"Mr. Seaward, this is a poem written by Takasugi Shinsaku, the leader of the Japanese delegation. This is the itinerary of their trip, and this is a record of our conversation."
Heward looked at it for a long time, his face full of anger. "The Japanese are still brooding over the visit of our black ships back then, right? They even said they wanted to counterattack America. Do they really have the guts to do that?"
Shao Quanzhong did not lie at all. The Japanese got drunk in Mingyue Tower and actually boasted that they would attack Hawaii, cross the Pacific Ocean, travel across America, and avenge the opening of the black ships.
Shao Quanzhong went to the Americans to inform on them, without any awareness of being a villain who framed the reformists. "The people on this 'Chitose Maru' are all the reformist elites of Japan. If they die in the shipwreck, all the elites of Japan will be lost, and Japan will certainly suffer a great loss..."
Xi Huade looked at Shao Quanzhong and rolled his eyes. "We can do this, but we can't bear the blame. I suggest that we form a joint fleet of Qing and the United States to intercept the Chitose Maru at sea."
"Mr. Consul, I only have one ship, and I don't even have a captain..."
"Your captain has arrived. Let me introduce him to you. Please bring the lieutenant over here."
Shao Quanzhong was very disappointed. "President Lincoln is too stingy. He only sent me a lieutenant?"
Seaward looked embarrassed. "Isn't it because the civil war is raging and we can't send high-level talents? Fortunately, you have only one ship, so there is enough lieutenant. He is an excellent student of the Annapolis Naval Academy."
A young lieutenant of the U.S. Navy walked in and saluted Shao Quanzhong when he saw him. He was not as carefree as usual Americans, but rather had a serious and rigorous demeanor.
"Alfred Thayer Mahan, Lieutenant of the United States Navy and Second Officer of the USS Congress, to His Excellency the Rear Admiral."
(End of this chapter)