Chapter 395: Loyalty is Unspeakable
Chapter 395: Loyalty is Unspeakable
Shao Quanzhong was granted all the privileges, including wearing a sword and shoes when entering the palace, not having to bow when entering the court, not having to use his name when praising or worshipping, being crowned a king, commanding the military forces at home and abroad, and controlling all the troops in the world, which was a standard feature of a powerful official.
The emperor personally ruled the country and received congratulations from all officials at the grand court meeting. Second-rank officials stood outside the palace, third-rank officials stood further away, and those below the third rank were not eligible to attend the court meeting.
All the officials wore peacock feathers, court robes, and court beads, and kowtowed to the emperor.
Shao Quanzhong drove into the palace rudely. A platoon of guards turned around and stood on both sides of the Hall of Supreme Harmony with Mauser bolt-action rifles in their arms, with their chins raised, not taking the officials of the court seriously at all.
And they don’t have braids, this - is this still the world of my Qing Dynasty?
Shao Quanzhong entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony with a command knife slung over his shoulder, followed by Grand Duchess Maria of Maomei, who was dressed in military uniform, a boat-shaped hat on her head, and a revolver on her waist.
Shao Quanzhong's arrival was out of tune with the atmosphere of the Qing Emperor's personal rule ceremony. The officials outside the hall looked at each other in bewilderment. Was Shao Quanzhong finally going to change the dynasty?
Well, since Shao Quanzhong hasn’t mobilized any troops, it means the dynasty won’t change.
If Shao Quanzhong wanted to restore Han Chinese clothing, even though the Nine Gates Commander Jin Shun and the Fengtai Camp Commander Dong Jun were die-hard supporters of Shao's faction, as Manchus, they would not agree.
Most likely, the emperor was ruling the country himself, and Shao Quanzhong felt that it was difficult to control him, so he wanted to replace him with his son.
It’s okay, it’s okay. Your Majesty is also half Manchu, and as of now, his surname must be Aisin-Gioro, right?
Moreover, your younger brother is engaged to a princess from Prince Su's family, so his descendants will have royal blood, and the royal family has made preparations.
The royal brother cannot change his surname to Shao when he succeeds to the throne, and the prince born must continue to have the surname Aisin-Gioro. This is the bottom line of the royal family.
The Manchu and Han officials outside looked at each other and whispered, wondering if they should pay homage to the new emperor again today.
The emperor in the palace thought the same thing, and his legs began to tremble. How about I talk to my mother about not ruling the country? I don't know if it's too late.
The people standing in the hall were all princes, nobles, and high-ranking officials, all of whom were in a stable state of mind. If Shao Quanzhong really had something to do, he wouldn't have waited until the ceremony was held before rushing over.
But they were all very curious, what was Shao Quanzhong doing here? Did he bring important foreign ministers from 17 countries to show off his power?
He is already a prince, there is no way he can be promoted any further? Is he planning to let the emperor appoint him as prime minister? This - it seems possible.
Shao Quanzhong came to the emperor's throne and adjusted his command sword. The emperor stood up with a pale face and said, "My ministers, please protect me."
Shao Quanzhong suddenly bowed and said, "Your Majesty is in power. I am late in congratulating you. I hope you will forgive me."
Ah, you are not here to drive me off the throne, you are here to congratulate me. Your congratulations are really scary.
The emperor sat down and wiped the sweat off his face with the sleeve of his dragon robe without paying any attention to etiquette, his heart still pounding. Could it be that Shao Quanzhong brought the foreign ministers of 17 countries to congratulate me? This is a great honor for me.
Taking power does not mean ascending the throne, so I don't need foreigners to come and congratulate me. However, their coming will indeed increase the prestige of the Qing Dynasty.
Shao Quanzhong waved his hand and said, "Bring up the gift I brought to congratulate His Majesty."
Maria took out an exquisite velvet box from her backpack, and the chief eunuch Meng Zhongji took it. He opened it carefully first, and after seeing that there was no explosion and no hidden arrows shot out, he presented it to the emperor.
Don't laugh at Eunuch Meng. Be careful, because this concerns the throne, anything can happen.
The emperor took the box and took out a beautifully minted silver dollar and a stack of colorful banknotes.
The emperor was stunned when he saw that his own portrait was printed on the silver dollar.
Look at the banknotes again, they are printed on Germany's Heidelberg printing press, using special banknote paper.
The portrait of Ci'an is printed on the 100-yuan note, the portrait of Cixi is printed on the 50-yuan note, the portrait of the emperor himself is printed on the 10-yuan note, the portrait of Grand Tutor Qiao is printed on the 5-yuan note, the portrait of Zeng Guofan who passed away last year is printed on the 2-yuan note, and the portrait of Yung Wing is printed on the 1-yuan note.
The emperor searched everywhere but could not find the portrait of Yin Shao Quanzhong.
The young emperor knew about the opening of the Bank of Qing, the minting of silver dollars, and the issuance of banknotes. It was Yung Wing who submitted a memorial to the emperor for approval, and Shao Quanzhong recommended a man named Kong Muyu to be in charge of the Ministry of Personnel.
I didn’t expect it to come out so soon, and, it has my portrait printed on it.
Shao Quanzhong was able to do this, so he was a very loyal minister.
"Your Majesty, Britain has contacted 17 countries and jointly petitioned to ban opium in the Qing Dynasty. Please grant your approval." What? Did I hear that correctly? In the past, the Qing Dynasty fought two wars with Britain in order to ban opium, and lost both wars. It had to lift the ban on opium. How could Prince Rui actually persuade Britain to take the initiative to petition to ban opium?
In this matter, it was actually Britain that took the initiative to propose it, but it was not wrong for the emperor to attribute the credit to Shao Quanzhong.
Historically, Britain did not hold an anti-smoking conference until 1911. Now, first of all, the Qing Dynasty has used chemical fertilizers, which has greatly increased the fertility of the soil. Secondly, Shao Quanzhong has refunded tens of millions of silver in taxes for Ruyi Cream exported to Britain through the old channels of the Thirteen Hongs.
Both of these things are related to Shao Quanzhong, and Shao Quanzhong is not at all ashamed to bear this honor.
The dumping of Ruyi Cream by the Qing Dynasty to Britain increased by more than several times, and Britain could not bear it all of a sudden.
Although the emperor himself secretly smokes Ruyi Paste, if I could ban smoking in my Qing Dynasty, I would surpass the previous emperor and leave my name in history.
I am in power now and need a great political achievement, and Shao Quanzhong has brought it to me.
Normally, envoys from various countries should contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but the British big brother doesn't care about that.
They looked at the problem from their own perspective, believing that the Qing Dynasty was now dumping Ruyi Cream on Britain and had a huge trade surplus, so it was definitely unwilling to ban smoking.
If they had gone through the regular diplomatic channels, they would have run into a wall and gotten into a lot of trouble. Only with the help of Shao Quanzhong, the lackey of Britain, could they have quietly settled the matter.
So the foreigners had been in contact with Hailing, and after it was finalized, they sent people directly, but the court didn't know about it yet.
The emperor straightened his back immediately and said, we had all blamed Shao Quanzhong wrongly. Shao Quanzhong was a loyal minister - at most he was a little domineering.
"Xiao Meng, pass around the silver dollars and banknotes of our Great Qing Dynasty for everyone to read."
After the princes and ministers in the hall circulated it, they all raised their thumbs and said, "Prince Rui is a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty. His loyalty is beyond words!"
"Yong Wing!"
"The minister is here."
"You are responsible for signing a smoking ban agreement with the foreigners."
"According to the order."
"Zhang Zhidong!"
"The minister is here."
"The Grand Council has drafted a charter to convey my will and ban smoking in the Qing Dynasty."
"As ordered, Your Majesty is wise."
All the ministers kowtowed together, "Your Majesty is wise!"
Uh, Shao Quanzhong and Maria didn’t kowtow, and the atmosphere was a bit disharmonious.
"Shao Aiqing is loyal to our Qing Dynasty and has worked hard for the country. I commend you for your hard work. Go to the harem and rest."
Shao Quanzhong obeyed the order, turned around and went to Changchun Palace, and the guards followed him without a trace.
After the Empress Dowager drew the curtain, she no longer lived in the West Warm Pavilion and moved to Changchun Palace.
Shao Quanzhong came to the Forbidden City today. The five concubines gathered in Changchun Palace to wait. After a while, Ci'an also came from Zhongcui Palace...
As soon as Shao Quanzhong left, the atmosphere in the Hall of Supreme Harmony suddenly became harmonious.
A large number of second- and third-rank officials outside knelt down together after hearing the emperor's order, "Long live the emperor, long live the emperor!"
The little emperor put his hands on his hips, looked up to the sky and laughed, full of vigor and vitality. I am now a real emperor!
(End of this chapter)