Chapter 376 Princess Sissi came to see Shao Quanzhong?

Chapter 376 Princess Sissi came to see Shao Quanzhong?

Chapter 376 Princess Sissi came to see Shao Quanzhong?

"Tong! Tong! Tong!"

Sukezaemon was a smart guy, so he was assigned to use the newly acquired Williams rapid-fire cannon.

He had just easily killed a machine gun fire point of the anti-shogunate rebels of the reformist faction on the opposite side, and turned back to tell his assistant, "Reload!"

The opposite side shouted "Get on board" and rushed forward again. Sukezaemon curled his lips, aimed at the rushing enemy and continued to shoot, watching his majesty's loyal soldiers fall down without mercy.

In fact, Sukezaemon was initially inspired by their slogans and wanted to defect to the battlefield and pledge his loyalty to the emperor.

But now I don’t think about it at all. The general is the great man we should be loyal to.

That’s because the general has awakened his divinity and, in accordance with the will of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother, has allowed us to live a good life.

When those red-haired Irish instructors arrived, they not only brought a large number of French-style weapons, but also helped the general to reduce the power of the feudal lords.

The general was ruthless and all the daimyo from various fiefs who had betrayed him and pledged allegiance to His Majesty were dealt with by the general.

Those red-haired instructors, with the Nanyang Christian army, captured countless feudal remnants such as daimyo and family elders, as well as powerful samurai, overnight, and distributed the land and precious food to us poor foot soldiers and ordinary people.

The nobles, who usually held high positions, were paraded through the streets wearing tall cone-shaped hats similar to those worn by court officials. The poor common people accused them of oppressing the common people, and in the end, all the nobles were executed.

If Amakusa Shiro knew what the general did today, he would die with regrets - it was not a good time.

The general distributed land to us, and my old father and elder brother took the initiative to send their second son to join the shogunate army and serve the general.

We must protect our own land. Once your Majesty's army attacks us and the general falls, our good days will be over.

The comrades around him obviously had the same idea as him, and there were two words written on their faces - loyalty! The general's kindness is endless.

How pitiful are the compatriots on the other side. I understand their loyalty to Your Majesty. However, we must defend the general to the death!
The three new armored vehicles rushed forward, and the foot soldiers brothers followed the armored vehicles and launched a counterattack. Grenades were being thrown into the enemy's trenches. We are going to take back a trench!

Come on, brothers, I'll give you fire support!
"Boom! Boom!"

The Qing army's artillery on the opposite side supported the charging Fuso vassal army. Oh no, why did the number of Krupp cannons on the opposite side increase greatly?

Moreover, Liu Mingchuan is too cruel. There is hand-to-hand combat going on in the trenches, and there are still a few of your people!

The Krupp heavy artillery group of the Shanghai Army launched a fierce bombardment, and the armored vehicles that rushed forward were blown up and all the infantry were killed under the bombardment. Then there was an extended carpet bombardment, and Zuoemon hurriedly hid in the trench.

"boom!"

A shrapnel shell exploded next to Sukezaemon, blowing the precious rapid-fire gun into pieces and a piece of shrapnel pierced the young soldier's chest.

After the Shanghai Army's indiscriminate bombardment and carpet-style extended bombardment of the trenches that were about to be lost, the central battlefield was dead silent.

Before Sukezaemon's eyes, there appeared the cherry blossoms in his hometown of Ueno, the clusters of Deutzia trees in the morning mist, and the waterwheel by the stream...

With food and land, and after finishing farm work, the eldest brother, who looks very much like his old father, should have time to drink a glass of sake with his old father, right?
In order to protect the good life of my family, my soul will die at Kudanzaka. I believe that there will be children like me who will continue to fight to protect the good life that they have never had...

Zuzaemon, who died peacefully, was not wrong. Soon, another group of comrades entered the position and continued to hold the position. Each of them was like Zuzaemon, with simple faces and firm eyes.

……

On the hill in the distance, there were colorful flags of various countries. That was the military observation group of the great powers that no one dared to mess with. Both warring parties avoided that hill.

After the Franco-Prussian War, the world enjoyed a brief period of peace, and only here was a fierce trench warfare going on.

In this battle in the distant Eastern country, both sides used relatively new weapons and new tactics, and each country sent observers to observe.

Looking at the battlefield which had temporarily calmed down and resumed confrontation, Colonel Chernyaev sent by Lucia smiled.

The Qing Dynasty's artillery used shrapnel shells and black powder, which were completely different from the high explosives we were exposed to in Central Asia.

It seems that it was the core secret of the Huai Army. Even the Qing people themselves did not give it to us, so it is understandable that they did not give it to us, Lucia.

But, hehe, do you know which country's scientists compiled the periodic table of chemical elements? We in Lucia are not short of great chemists. Wait, we will definitely find the secret of high explosives ourselves.

The French observer and the Russian colonel have the same idea. Only we French know the secret of the Huai Army's high explosives. You don't know it because you haven't been bombed. This must not be leaked! Our scientists are intensively testing different formulas and will definitely find the secret!
On the 14th day of the sixth month of the tenth year of the Tongzhi reign, the beginning of autumn, Hailing, Qiao Garden.

Shao Quanzhong received a telegram from Madrid. After taking a lot of pregnancy-preserving medicines and decoctions such as motherwort, Prince Rui's concubine, Queen Maria Isabel of Spain, finally gave birth to a son successfully.

Shao Quanzhong was overjoyed and gave him the very old-fashioned name "Shao Jishuan".

However, Isabel gave her son a Spanish name, the same as his uncle, Alfonso, so he was called Alfonso XIII.

When little Alfonso Shao was born, he was conferred the title Prince of Asturias and became the heir to the Spanish throne.

Shao Quanzhong's plan to usurp the throne first succeeded in Spain, and Spain became known as Shao.

She didn't wait until her son succeeded her to the throne and took the surname Shao. She took the surname Shao now. After Isabel married Shao Quanzhong, she took her husband's surname. She is now Maria Isabel Shao.

Spain is a member of the Franco-Spanish Alliance Empire. Administratively, it is under the jurisdiction of King Alfonso of France, but not under the jurisdiction of France. It is a territory of the Bourbon Dynasty, not France. This is the rule in Europe...

Shao Quanzhong's life in seclusion is not idle at all. He has been inspecting various places for the past month. He has only inspected a small part of the 70 or 80 major wholly-owned and joint venture enterprises related to the Wen family in Hailing. Today, he was happy to hear the news of his son's birth. He did not go out, but received Song Lao Da, a fellow villager from Jiangyan, in Qiaoyuan.

Song Lao Da was an honest farmer, but could the elder brother of Song Lao San, a loyal subordinate of Shao Quanzhong, still be a farmer? Yes, but he was no longer an ordinary farmer.

Now Mr. Song has opened a fertilizer factory, which supplies all the fertilizers for the Qing Dynasty and also exports them to the Federation and Europe. The factory's technical consultant is the old German expert Liebig.

"Quanzhong, according to experts, our fertilizers have basically met the needs of increasing soil fertility, but we are still unable to produce nitrogen fertilizers. They say there is no technology to synthesize ammonia, so we still need to plant soybeans at intervals."

"Our fertilizer plant has been built for two and a half years, and I am afraid of the speed of its expansion - our Qing land is in great need of fertilizer."

"Currently, grain production in Jiangsu and Anhui has increased by almost 30%, but in other provinces it has only increased by 10%."

Shao Quanzhong was very surprised. "Isn't the land in other places different from ours?"

"Same, but other provinces all grow tobacco. With fertilizers and restored soil fertility, they grow even more. Including Guangdong, Guangxi, and southern Jiangsu, which our Huai Army has just taken control of, they haven't banned tobacco either."

Ahem, Shao Quanzhong is embarrassed.

He hated opium the most and had secretly banned its cultivation in Anhui and Jiangning Provincial Governments long ago, but he did not dare to do it openly because his big brother Britain would not allow it.

Alas, we can’t afford to offend the British big brother. I’m afraid I’ll have to suffer this poison for a long time...

"But even if we Chinese grow this stuff, we are better than the Indians. Now our Fushou Ruyi Paste is exported to Europe and the United States. It has the best quality and the gentlemen in Europe and the United States like it. The British are helpless and impose very high tariffs to stop it, but they can't stop it either."

Huh? There is such an effect? ​​Shao Quanzhong's eyes lit up.

The British big brother is really going to swallow his anger! He fought two Opium Wars and banned the Qing Dynasty from banning opium, but now he is the victim - hey, let you foreigners see what the world's first agricultural country is!

No, I have to push it a little bit so that your British big brother can't bear it and beg me.

"Someone, call Wu Yanliu to me!"

A handsome middle-aged man entered Qiao Garden and knelt before Shao Quanzhong, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Shao Quanzhong stepped forward and helped him up himself. "Get up, get up. Do you know why I called you here from Panyu?"

"I don't know."

Shao Quanzhong took out a badge, um, a compass and ruler, which he got from a club in Washington City and never wore before, "Do you recognize this?"

Wu Yanliu was stunned, and suddenly knelt down again, "Greetings, Your Excellency."

"Don't kneel down all the time. Your ancestors were also the Far East Lords of the Society. We are from the same society. Just shake hands when we meet."

"I dare not. The Thirteen Hongs have long been wiped out. I am now relying on the influence of my ancestors to indulge in calligraphy and painting. I dare not touch business anymore."

Shao Quanzhong sneered, "I dare not touch business again. Where does the money come from for your indulgence in calligraphy and painting? How come your Wansong Garden is so big, but it hasn't turned yellow?"

Wu Yanliu broke out in a cold sweat. "I will hand over all of my ancestors' investment in Qichang Foreign Company to Your Majesty. Please let the Wu family go."

Shao Quanzhong's tone became gentle, "Originally, I asked you to come here because I wanted to know who the society is in China and what the situation is like. I am disappointed."

"The descendants of the Thirteen Hongs are living on interest, which is a waste of their careers. Don't worry, I don't care about your property. However, your property was obtained by your ancestors from selling opium, which is not clean. Do you want to revive the Thirteen Hongs and become a rich man in the future?"

"Your Excellency, your Excellency is so kind to the Wu family. The Wu family is willing to sacrifice their lives for you!"

"Okay, okay, I don't need you to die for me. I just want you to do something for me. It's about your ancestral business."

"Do you want to make a lot of money from this business?"

Shao Quanzhong waved his hand, "I would rather die than do such an unethical business. I'm not asking you to do business, here, this is for you."

"Ah? Twenty million taels of silver? I don't dare to take it."

"It's not for you. As a descendant of the Thirteen Hongs, you should contact the exporter of this thing. If it is exported to the UK, they will get a tax rebate. The more they sell, the more they will get back. But if the British know about this——"

"I still have a secret channel left by the Thirteenth Lines, and I will never let the British find you."

"Smart man, if you can get this done, I will allow you to revive the Thirteen Hongs."

"Thank you, Lord!"

After Wu Yanliu left, Boss Song, who was listening, smiled mysteriously, "Quanzhong, this trick of yours is really amazing."

Shao Quanzhong laughed loudly, "This is called 'give and take'. It's the British who did such immoral things. In this way, Lord Lin Zexu's last wish will be realized soon, and our Qing Dynasty will not have to suffer from this thing."

"Report! An urgent message from the Military Affairs Office."

Shao Quanzhong was very troubled. "I have already retired, why does the Military Affairs Council still want me? Can't they decide on their own?"

"Franz Joseph I, Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife, Princess Sissi, are visiting the Qing Dynasty. They specifically asked to see you and said they have something important to discuss with you. They are waiting for you in the capital."

(End of this chapter)