Chapter 310 Passing by

Chapter 310 Passing by

Chapter 310 Passing by
"Whoa!"

Two British teenagers, dressed in sportswear, riding bicycles and carrying backpacks on their backs.

The handle of a baseball bat appeared from the bag, and it passed by Shao Quanzhong and Rong Hui like the wind. There was joy in the whistle.

Rong Hui sighed, "Britain's industrialization was one step ahead, so the people can live such an easy life. Brother Shao, I understand your decision to sell out economic interests in exchange for rapid industrialization. I support you. When will ordinary children in China be able to do this..."

Zhang Siwen next to him shook his head, "Sister-in-law, you have always lived in a noble community. In the factories in the suburbs, the average life expectancy of British child workers is fifteen years old, pregnant women have to work sixteen hours a day in a polluted environment, most workers have only one set of clothes to go out at home, and ten to twelve people live in one room... The British have achieved such an achievement, and they are also quite cruel to their own people. In the future, I must prevent this kind of thing from happening in China."

Shao Quanzhong didn't care about this. In his opinion, poor people everywhere are the same. In short, the people of strong countries live better than those of weak countries. It's good enough that I can make my country strong... By the way, Shao Quanzhong was suddenly stunned, "Do people have bicycles now?"

Rong Hui and Zhang Siwen nodded in unison, "There's already one in London."

"There are also many in the US."

Two more middle school students rode past. Shao Quanzhong observed them carefully and said, "They have iron wheels. Maria, ask Jiang Chunlin's people to buy a few bicycles and hire the fastest clipper to send them back to Hailing Arsenal."

"Hehe, Brother Shao, are you going to install rubber tires on the bicycles and sell them back to Europe and America to make money? Don't be so anxious. The bicycles will probably be shipped to Shanghai in a few months. You've wasted thousands of taels of silver on the charter fee. Can't you wait a few months? If you wait a few months, you won't even be able to make back the charter fee."

"No, do it now. Maria, send a telegram to that Thompson. Hasn't he finished researching tracked vehicles? Tell him to install reliable rubber tires on bicycles as quickly as possible. Tell Xiu'er to make replica bicycles immediately. Don't sell them in a hurry. Send them to Fengyang military camp first. Let the soldiers learn to ride them. I need at least 10,000 bicycles."

"Can this thing be used in the military?"

"Of course. This thing is easier to handle than a horse, and is more flexible than a steam tractor. It can also go on narrow mountain roads. Remember, tell Thompson that our bicycles must be equipped with sturdy cargo racks on the back, which can at least carry dozens of kilograms of soldiers' personal military supplies."

"Are we going to have a war in some remote place?"

"Military secrets."

Zhang Siwen was too lazy to ask. When he was in the army, he had always been an incompetent bodyguard for Shao Quanzhong. Although he had a strong physique, he was not interested in studying warfare at all.

"By the way, my in-laws and their friends are very interested in you and would like to invite you to be their guest. Do you want to go?"

Shao Quanzhong was about to agree, but after thinking for a while, he said, "Forget it. I have to leave tomorrow morning, so I have to spend some time with Hui'er today. I'm just a rough guy, and there's nothing much to talk about with a scholar."

"I think you should meet them..."

Shao Quanzhong patted Zhang Siwen on the shoulder and said, "I only know that industrialization is important, but I don't understand economics. I'll leave the economic construction to you.

The scholars' words are just for reference. You are the one who makes the decisions. You cannot be led by them. The counselors will not care about the advice after giving it. If the lord's affairs are not handled well, you will lose your head. You have to consider the matter yourself. In the end, you, the lord, will be remembered in history.

You are my brother in life and death, and you will have a great say in the new dynasty in the future. I allow you to establish your own shogunate. They are your advisers, and I will not recruit them across the stove and the kang. "

"That's not what I meant. In fact, they are very famous. One of them is called——"

Shao Quanzhong shook his hands repeatedly, "Don't tell me foreign names. It gives me a headache. I can't even pronounce the names of my two foreign wives. Please don't torture me."

He turned around and said, "Maria, tell someone to allocate another 20,000 taels of silver to Sven, so that he can reward his advisers. Sven can have his own team, and just ask them to be loyal to him. This is my special permission, and no one is allowed to be jealous."

Zhang Siwen wanted to say something but stopped talking after thinking about it and realized that his in-laws were always short of money.

…………

The next morning, Rong Hui asked Elena to help take care of Ji Zeng, while she took Jiming to send Shao Quanzhong to the dock.

Jiming was granted a half-day off from school this morning, and he immediately became more lively. "Dad, the pier is a bit far, don't go there. I'll take you, an old-fashioned guy, to see some new things in London, you guys come with me."

Shao Quanzhong followed his son with a smile into a tall public building. There were many gentlemen wearing top hats and holding canes sitting on the benches inside. Most of them had umbrellas under their arms and held a copy of the Times in their hands.

Shao Quanzhong immediately realized that this was a train station, as there were railroad tracks on the ground. "The British are so extravagant, they take a train for such a short distance."

Ji Ming blinked and smiled mysteriously. After a while, "Dirty! Dirty!"

Sure enough, the train was coming.

Hey, this train is a little different. The carriage has no cover, just rows of seats. Do I have to hold an umbrella when it rains on the train?
Shao Quanzhong led the group on the train, which took up an entire carriage. The train started moving and immediately entered the tunnel.

Fortunately, there was a dim gas lamp not far away in the tunnel. The subway slowly accelerated. Jiming looked back at his father with pride, "Is it old-fashioned? This is our London subway, the only one in the world." Shao Quanzhong had never taken a subway, not even in his previous life. He sighed, "The train is good, but it's not safe."

"No, I've never seen an accident on the London Underground."

Shao Quanzhong was too lazy to explain to his son. His expression suddenly became serious. "Little guy, you are Chinese. Don't keep calling us Londoners. I sent you here to learn about other people's advanced places and broaden your horizons. Go back and build our family well, not to let you show off your foreign beard. If you become a fake foreigner, don't say I won't let you enter the Shao family!"

Ji Ming was not convinced, "Dad, don't you always have a foreign devil's beard?"

"asshole!"

Shao Quanzhong raised his hand to hit him, but Ji Ming had already cleverly hidden behind Zhang Siwen's tall body. He knew that his mother would not protect him in front of his father, so he hid behind Uncle Zhang.

"I'm telling you, kid. Your uncle Zhang and I have worked hard to curry favor with foreigners, all for the sake of not having to fawn over foreigners when you grow up, and letting them fawn over us. If you don't have this in mind, I won't let you rule the country in the future."

Zhang Siwen took off his sunglasses, turned around and stroked Jiming's head, "Your father is right. Although my second brother is a country bumpkin, for this reason, I am willing to protect him forever."

"Maria, record my order and have Jiang Chunlin collect the conditions needed to build the subway and send them to Hailing. Inform Shao Yigu, the governor of Jiangning, that Hailing needs to leave space for the subway to develop, so as to avoid unnecessary demolition."

With a large number of "general aid" entering Hailing, Hailing will soon become an international metropolis, and the construction of a subway must be considered in advance.

…………

October 11, the seventh year of the Tongzhi reign, Forbidden City, Grand Council.

"The Prussian ambassador has already picked out a location and applied to build an embassy in Dongjiaomin Lane. Should we approve it or not?"

Shao Quanzhong was the minister in charge of the Zongli Yamen. He was not at home, and the person in charge was Yihuan, who had just taken over the position of Prince Gong.

"Of course we can't approve it. If we approve it, wouldn't it be considered as our tacit recognition of the Berlin Treaty?"

Master Qiao glanced at Wenxiang with dismay. Now that the emperor was not in power, the Grand Council had the final say on everything.

But as a foreman, he does not have the same power as the British Prime Minister. In this regard, our Qing Dynasty is actually more "what" than Britain, and decision-making is collective.

"Didn't Shao Quanzhong say in his defense that industrialization is more important than temporary economic benefits? I think he has a point."

Shen Guifen supported Shao Quanzhong.

"What's his tone? Master Qiao didn't become Dong Zhuo, so Shao Quanzhong wanted to be one, right? How many medals, territories and titles did he win along the way? He pocketed them all. And then he sold out his country. What did he do to benefit the Qing Dynasty?"

Yihuan was new here and didn't dare to argue with Wenxiang, the old minister who was jealous. However, he was in charge of foreign affairs and was very anxious.

"But Prussia is demolishing the factory now. If we delay for another two months, their goods and people will be at sea. Can we still send them back? Their merchants who come to invest are on the way. Are we going to drive them back? Will Prussia declare war on us? Who will resist us then?"

"Let's speed up the training of the new army. When the time comes, even if we don't have Shao the Butcher, we won't eat hairy pigs. Anyway, if Shao Quanzhong doesn't fight for our interests and is just selling out the country, what's the point of his visit?"

"Your Excellency, the American Minister Anson Burlingame has delivered President Johnson's latest statement."

Yihuan took it and suddenly his eyes widened and his hands trembled.

"Your country's special envoy Shao Quanzhong is visiting the United States. In order to strengthen friendly relations with the Qing Dynasty and welcome the arrival of Special Envoy Shao, the Federation has made the following decisions:
Give up the American concession in Shanghai and return it to the Qing Dynasty. Give up the extraterritoriality of the citizens of the Federation in the Qing Dynasty. Grant the Chinese workers who have made great contributions to the construction of the Transoceanic Railway in the Federation formal federal citizenship. From now on, the Federation will regard the Qing Dynasty as an equal and friendly country and carry out mutually beneficial friendly cooperation. "

"Reporting to the Lord, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong, and Ding Baozhen jointly sent a telegram to support Shao Quanzhong's economic benefits in exchange for industrialization in the Berlin Treaty."

"The Empress Dowager issued an edict, 'Shao Weiting is very cunning and has never let our Qing Dynasty suffer any loss. I think this treaty can be signed.'"

Looking at Wen Xiang who was facing away in anger and not saying anything, Master Qiao smiled and said, "Then, let's approve the treaty. Is there no objection?"

…………

On November 1868, 11, Shao Quanzhong's delegation arrived in Washington, beginning an official friendly visit to the American foreigners.

(End of this chapter)