Chapter 496 The Difference Between Marshal Shao and Li Zhongtang
Chapter 496 The Difference Between Marshal Shao and Li Zhongtang
Dongmei followed Ronghui timidly, lowering her head and stealing glances at Shao Quanzhong.
This general, who became emperor at the age of 40, was probably one of the emperors with the fewest harems in the history of Daxia.
There are no eunuchs or palace maids in the harem, only six ladies, all of whom are old friends of the palace.
Now that I have won the Wimbledon Championship, will the Marshal value me highly? Will I have the honor to become the first concubine taken by His Majesty after he ascends the throne?
Shao Quanzhong came over with a smile and opened his arms.
Dongmei was so excited that she closed her eyes for a long time. Then she secretly opened her eyes and saw Shao Quanzhong and Rong Hui hugging each other.
Well, Shao Quanzhong was at least the Special Prince of Lucia, so he did learn some Lucia customs.
Just like Lao Maozi, he put his face close to Rong Hui, then pulled Rong Hui back with his hand, "Hui Er, are you tired? You've been on the airship for more than half a month, so you should have a good rest."
Alas, this emperor is usually quite majestic, but he loses his airs when he meets Empress Huier.
I heard from sister Huier that they were in a free love relationship and the emperor was a loyal person. It was not easy for him to remain passionate about his original wife after so many years.
A general who came from a grassroots background was able to unify the country at the age of forty, facing the south and back to the north. This is the same achievement as Zhu Yuanzhang, and the territory and population he ruled were far greater.
Such an emperor, with fame, wisdom, and bravery, is comparable to Genghis Khan. I wonder how many beautiful girls want to marry him and live in Qiao Garden.
Humph, I live in Qiao Garden now, close to the water and the location. Being young is an advantage, and I must not give up.
Why marry a young man? What young man can compare to a hero like the Marshal?
Looking at the emperor chatting and laughing with Rong Hui, Dongmei clenched her fists and encouraged herself, "Come on, you can do it, damn daddy!"
Um, the last sentence is the local dialect I learned from Li Hongzhang when I was in Japan...
……
"Brother Shao——"
"You don't have to worry about me all the time. The athletes we sent out this time have won glory for the country. The men's doubles runner-up and the women's singles champion. You have to encourage them."
Shao Quanzhong turned around and put his hands behind his back, "You guys had a great time. Sports are something you can just play for fun. It's good to win a championship, but it's okay if you don't. Don't feel any psychological burden."
"Now that you have won the championship and become a celebrity, you can endorse our diamonds and other things more often, saving the money from being taken away by foreigners. It's a good thing, keep up the good work!"
Uh, the Marshal's perspective on things is quite unique...
Rong Hui pulled Shao Quanzhong's sleeve and chuckled, "Brother Shao, why are you obsessed with money? Shouldn't you encourage them to work hard and win glory for the country?"
Shao Quanzhong shook his head indifferently, "We are a big country, we should have the bearing of a big country, and we don't need to compete for the first place in everything. As an emperor, my biggest task is to make the people's pockets fatter. It's not a bad thing to be obsessed with money."
"When Alexander II died, the peasants placed flowers on his heart, saying that was where he had placed the peasants when he was alive."
"When I heard Maria tell me about this, I was filled with admiration for my father-in-law."
"When I die one day, the people will say, 'The Marshal always kept us in his heart', and my life will be worth it."
The athletes were all young people, and they didn't react much to what he said. The officials following Shao Quanzhong suddenly bowed together and said, "We are willing to die for the Marshal. Long live His Majesty!"
Dongmei stared at Shao Quanzhong in a daze. Is this the difference between the Marshal and Li Zhongtang?
In terms of knowledge, the Marshal could not catch up with Li Zhongtang, and his starting conditions were also not as good as Li Zhongtang's.
But even though Li Zhongtang served in Japan, the Marshal was able to gain the sincere loyalty of his subordinates and unify the country. The reason was here.
Rong Hui looked at her husband with a dazed look in her eyes.
Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. It seems like it was just yesterday that the handsome twenty-year-old sixth-rank military officer of the Qing Dynasty went to Shanghai to deceive his father, saying that he wanted to dominate the area and realize industrialization for Daxia.
In order to buy those one hundred guns, he even worked as a tailor and designed clothes for himself to please his father.
I have always thought that when he said he wanted to benefit the people of the world, he was just fooling my father, and in fact he had his own personal ambitions.
But it was not easy for him to be so knowledgeable and handsome at such a young age, so I took the initiative to come to Hailing. When my father encouraged me to pursue him, he was actually very worried and asked me to try my best to influence him and use his power to do things for the people.
Now that I think about it, both my dad and I underestimated Brother Shao.
In fact, Rong Hong and his daughter Rong Hui were not wrong. Shao Quanzhong was mainly concerned about his personal ambition at the time.
However, he values loyalty and is a decent person. The people he makes friends with, such as Tian Xing, Rong Hong, and Zhang Siwen, are all people who serve the country and the people without any self-interest. Rong Hui, the queen, also cares about the people of the world.
As Shao Quanzhong walked along the road, his idea of "benefiting the people with virtue" was constantly reinforced by his wife and these noble companions, which led to him becoming what he is today.
In fact, the father and daughter of the Rong family played at least 40% role in Shao Quanzhong's continuous transformation.
"Brother Shao, if sports flourish, we can also make money and promote relations with powerful countries."
"Originally, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships was a niche event in the UK, not as big as football. As soon as our delegation arrived, it immediately caused a sensation, attracting reporters and more spectators."
"In the first three competitions, the number of spectators was less than 12, and the prize money for the champion was only pounds."
"This year, tens of thousands of people showed up to support us, and the prize money for the champion has increased to 5,000 pounds. It's expected to exceed 10,000 pounds next year."
"Australia, France, and the Federation have all announced that they will send people to participate in the Wimbledon Championships next year. The Federation also announced that it will host the North American Open Tennis Championships starting next year and invited us to send a team to participate."
"Our relationship with the Federation has recently reached a freezing point. I think sports can help reduce the gap, and through people-to-people exchanges we can understand each other and improve relations between the two countries."
"what?"
Shao Quanzhong nodded immediately, "That makes sense. The Federation must have a lot of good people, and the leaders of those societies and Hayes can't cover up everything."
"That's a good idea. Next year, we will hold the Hailing Tennis Open with a high prize money. We will invite athletes and journalists from the Federation..."
"Brother Shao, Hailing doesn't have the space to build so many competition venues. Why not build more venues in the East Suburb New City—"
"Honey, you have the final say. Let's call it the Jiangyan Tennis Open and stagger it with the Wimbledon and US Open."
"When the time comes, whoever wins the Wimbledon, US Open, or Chiang Mai Open championship, we will give him the honor of a 'Grand Slam' and hype up the event. A few bad guys can't stop the people from wanting to have fun. Hui'er, your Daxia Power will sponsor this event."
Athletes who can go to the UK to play basketball all come from wealthy families, and the East Suburb Airport is full of Mercedes-Benz cars.
Shao Quanzhong took Rong Hui to the back seat of the Maybach, and Dongmei was lucky enough to sit in the passenger seat.
Dongmei bit her lip and listened to Shao Quanzhong and Rong Hui talking about tennis diplomacy. She suddenly felt that her knowledge was expanding.
Now the Marshal still doesn't think highly of me. In the Marshal's world layout, what can I do to catch the Marshal's eye?
……
When I returned to Qiao Garden and entered the study, Le Sen was already waiting for Shao Quanzhong.
Le Xiucai stood in the shadows, exuding a sinister aura. "Marshal, the latest news is that Germany has developed a new type of weapon. It was created by a chemist named Meyer."
"He invented a process for the industrial-scale, low-cost synthesis of dichlorodiethyl sulfide in large quantities, produced the finished product, and sold it to Italy. It has already shown quite impressive results on the battlefield."
Shao Quanzhong was stunned. "Battlefield? Didn't the European war end? Where is the war still going on?"
"The war was fought in Ethiopia, a country that no one cared about. Italy took advantage of the fact that other countries were busy fighting the Great Depression and had no energy to care about them, and it insisted on attacking Ethiopia and grabbing colonies."
"This time they used a large number of bombers imported from Daxia to drop dichlorodiethyl sulfide imported from Germany on the Ethiopian army."
"In the Battle of Mecho, the main force of the Egyptian army was attacked by poison gas bombs, suffered heavy losses, and the entire army was defeated. Ethiopia was destroyed and Menelik II went into exile in London."
Shao Quanzhong really didn't care about the fate of Ethiopia. He shook his head and sighed, "Has the demon of poison gas finally been released? What is that 'fan' and what is its effect?"
"I'm still not sure about the details. We're investigating. Should we start researching this from the German import point? By the way, the common name for this stuff is mustard gas."
(End of this chapter)