Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 260 Bulbulon: Napoleon of the East!

Chapter 260 Bulbulon: Napoleon of the East!
The red sun rises in the east, and the sky is filled with morning glow.

After entering winter, although the temperature in Guangzhou is not low, the air is filled with a damp and cold feeling.

In front of the teahouse on the street, there is a row of small stoves neatly arranged. Charcoal is burning in the stoves, and the teapots on the stoves are bubbling with steam.

Weng Tong sat in a teahouse on the street drinking morning tea and eating cakes.

While enjoying the food, he observed the street scene outside, looking leisurely and contented.

Looking at the spacious and clean cobblestone roads in Guangzhou city, Weng Tong couldn't help but be amazed.

"Guangzhou is indeed the capital of the emperor. It is truly extraordinary."

"It's amazing that the streets can be so clean!"

Weng Tong couldn't help but admire.

The streets in his hometown are mostly dirt roads, and human and animal feces, garbage and fruit peels can be seen everywhere on the road.

When it rains, the entire street will be soaked in mud and water, and there is almost no place to step.

The waiter who came up to refill Weng Tong's tea heard this and spoke.

"Is this gentleman from out of town?"

Weng Tong nodded.

"That's true. I'm from Hunan and came to Guangzhou to do business."

The waiter smiled and said when he heard this.

"I can tell at a glance that you are from another place, otherwise I wouldn't be curious about why the streets are so clean."

“The streets in Guangzhou are clean, but they are also very troublesome.”

"The court not only hired cleaners to sweep the streets every day, but also assigned responsibility areas to shops along the street, requiring us to clean every ten feet in front of our doors."

"If there is garbage, the first time you get a warning, the second time you get a fine, and the third time you get an order to shut down and rectify the situation."

Weng Tong heard this and said with some surprise.

"The imperial court has such wide-ranging jurisdiction?"

The waiter nodded and continued to complain.

"Not only that, the imperial court not only stipulates that there can't be garbage in front of the door, but also has regulations on where to dump garbage."

“If you don’t put your rubbish in the designated place, it’s considered littering and you’ll still be fined.”

"If you ask me, the Tang Dynasty is good in every way, except that it is obsessed with money."

When Weng Tong heard this, he burst into laughter.

"If you ask me, the court is doing a good job."

"The last time I came to Guangzhou, the city was not so clean. I even stepped on dog poop when walking on the road. This time, it's very different."

"If the city is cleaner and more merchants from outside come here, you can naturally make more money, right?"

Upon hearing this, the waiter smiled awkwardly, didn't say much, and turned away.

But I was complaining in my heart, since you don't have to clean, of course you think it's better to keep it cleaner.

But we are the ones who will suffer!

Weng Tong continued to drink tea and eat cakes, looking out the window.

The morning glow shines on the roofs of the densely packed buildings, dyeing the blue-grey tiles golden, which is extremely beautiful.

Just then, a shout came from the end of the street.

"Sell newspapers! Sell newspapers!"

"Tang Daily!"

"The foreigners are attacking again with their powerful ships and cannons. Your Majesty has issued an imperial decree offering a reward for their heads."

"Extra number! Extra number!"

"Why did the foreign warships commit crimes again?"

"The foreigners are invading again, and the harm of opium may return! How should the court respond?!"

"..."

A newsboy in patched clothes was walking on the street carrying a backpack full of newspapers.

As he walked, he shouted "selling newspapers" and sold them to passers-by on the street.

"Sir, please give me a newspaper. The latest issue of the Tang Daily."

"Sir, would you like a newspaper? It's not expensive, only five cents a copy..."

"..."

Most of these newsboys were orphans with no one to rely on. After the Tang Dynasty occupied Guangzhou, they gave them food and asked them to sell newspapers by carrying them on their backs.

Although they were not rich, the money they earned from selling newspapers was enough for them to feed themselves.

Wang Gou'er is one of them.

His father died of opium addiction and sold almost everything in the house before he died.

Even Wang Gou'er's mother was sold to a brothel by his father.

Wang Gou'er became a beggar on the streets and almost starved to death.

Fortunately, the Tang Dynasty needed some newsboys selling newspapers, which gave Wang Gou'er a chance to make a living.

Therefore, Wang Gou'er was very diligent in selling newspapers and kept shouting along the street.

I was thinking about selling a few more newspapers so that I could buy myself a big, delicious meat bun later.

Hearing the newsboy's shouting outside, Weng Tong stuck his head out of the teahouse window and spoke.

"Then little brother, I want a newspaper."

"Send it upstairs!"

Wang Gou'er, the newspaper seller, responded and ran towards the teahouse with a happy face.

After entering the teahouse and going up to the second floor, Wang Gou'er came in front of Weng Tong, took out a newspaper from his arms and began to speak.

"Sir, here's the newspaper you requested."

"Sincerely five cents."

Weng Tong smiled and looked at Wang Gou'er's clothes full of patches and his red face from the cold. He couldn't help feeling a little pity. He took out a silver coin from the purse in his arms and handed it to Wang Gou'er.

"No need to look for it. The extra ones are your reward."

"It's not easy to run outside in this cold weather."

Upon hearing this, Wang Gou'er said with ecstasy on his face.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. You are such a good man."

"I wish you all the best and prosperity every day."

When Weng Tong heard this, the joy on his face grew even brighter and he laughed out loud.

"Haha, you have a clever mouth."

As he spoke, Weng Tong took another piece of cake in front of him, handed it to Wang Gou'er, and began to speak.

"Take it and eat it."

Wang Gou'er thanked him profusely again before going downstairs and leaving.

Weng Tong also started flipping through the newspaper in his hand.

The newspaper begins with a line of bold, black characters.

[Breaking News! The foreigners are attacking again with their powerful ships and cannons. The king has issued an imperial decree, offering a reward for their heads! ]

Next is the main content of this issue of the newspaper.

[In the past, foreigners lost all conscience and used opium to poison the bodies and minds of the Chinese people, and made money from the Chinese people. They were shameless.]

[Fortunately, there are people of insight who promote the ban on opium, but foreigners are profiting from opium and will never give up...]

The content of this report is very simple. It says that the foreigners were defeated by the Tang Dynasty and were not satisfied with the ban on opium. So they went back to gather their accomplices and prepared to provoke another border conflict to force the Tang Dynasty to allow their opium trade.

Furthermore, they continued to use opium to harm the health of the Chinese people and to make money from our gold and silver.

The Tang Dynasty would never agree to this.

King Li Yi was prepared to personally stay in Guangzhou and fight a decisive battle with the invading foreigners.

For this purpose, a reward was specially offered for the head of any foreigner who landed.

I hope the people of the Tang Dynasty can respond positively and fight against the foreigners together!

After reading the newspaper, Weng Tong felt his blood boiling.

After having morning tea, Weng Tong left the teahouse and prepared to go to Foshan to pick up the goods.

Well, after learning that the imperial court was planning to open an industrial park in Changsha, Mr. Weng decisively chose to increase investment in industry and commerce.

Ming Wengtong brought funds to Guangzhou to purchase a batch of new equipment.

Well, what Weng Tong was going to buy this time was not a rice huller or a dry food compression machine, but a batch of canning machines. It was obvious that the Weng family was going to go all the way in food processing.

Leaving the teahouse and walking on the street, Weng Tong saw crowds gathering on both sides of the street everywhere.

"The foreign devil who was holding the thunder mother in his mouth actually wanted to sell opium to harm us. He is defeated!"

"Damn it, my father died from smoking opium. If these foreigners come to sell opium again, I will never allow it. If the foreigners dare to come, I will cut off a few heads and ask the court for the reward."

"You are such a wicked barbarian! You have pus on your feet! Even the King of Hell won't protect you after you die!"

"Aren't they just foreign devils? It's not like the Tang Dynasty hasn't fought them before! Kill them! We'll try to chop off a few of their heads and offer them as sacrifices to the Dragon King!"

"Damn it, go back to the village and gather the tribesmen. Killing foreigners will exempt us from taxes. We must not miss such a good opportunity. As long as the foreigners dare to land, we will kill them all even if we have to rely on the crowds of people."

"..."

Faced with the news that foreigners were going to invade again, most Guangdong people were filled with indignation.

When the Qing Dynasty was extremely weak in the face of foreigners, our cousins dared to resist the British.

Not to mention now!
The Tang Dynasty court made it clear that it was determined to fight the foreigners to the end.

How could the people of Guangdong not support it?
Hearing the indignation of the Guangdong people, Weng Tong's blood also boiled.

He turned and said to the attendant beside him.

"By the way, didn't the imperial court call on the gentry and merchants to donate money to fight against the foreigners?"

"My Weng family cannot be left behind either."

"Let's go to the government office and donate money!"

Upon seeing this, the attendant opened his mouth and wanted to stop him, but seeing that Weng Tong had a serious expression, he could not say anything and could only quickly follow.

The few of them walked all the way to the outside of the government office, only to see a long queue forming outside.

After reading the content in the newspaper, many gentry, businessmen, and ordinary people rushed to line up to donate.

An official stood on the steps in front of the government office, holding a copper trumpet and shouting at the top of his voice.

"Dear elders and fellow villagers, please line up to donate!"

“Queue in order!”

"All the money raised from this donation will be used to fight against foreign aggression. The source of the money, the purpose of the money, and the account details will all be made public on the bulletin board outside the government office."

"Please help supervise, if you find any unclear expenditure of funds or corruption of donations, please report it to the authorities immediately."

"Your Majesty has made a solemn promise. Anyone who embezzles charity funds, no matter how much or how high their official rank, will be executed immediately without mercy!"

In order to stimulate people's enthusiasm for donating, Li Yi directly made the accounts public.

He wants to ensure that all the money donated by the people to fight against foreign aggression is put to good use!
Of course, the current Tang Dynasty court does not lack such donations.

The reason why Li Yi called on everyone to donate was more to make the people feel a sense of participation in the fight against invasion.

This will be used to unite people and stimulate the awakening of nationalist thought.

War is really the most unifying thing in this world!

As soon as the official in charge of fundraising said this, cheers broke out in the crowd.

"Long live the Tang Dynasty! Long live the king, your majesty is wise!!"

"Resisting the foreign invaders and defending our land is everyone's responsibility!"

"Kill the foreigners, protect the Tang Dynasty, and defend our hometown!"

"Long live! Long live!"

"..."

When the Qing Dynasty was dealing with foreigners before, it also called for donations, and the gentry and wealthy families in Guangzhou city all donated some amount.

But once the money is donated, it has nothing to do with you anymore.

No one knows where the money is spent, who gets it, or whether it is put to good use.

However, what the Tang Dynasty did this time was completely different from what the Qing Dynasty did.

There is nothing wrong with making donations, but the source and expenditure of the funds are fully disclosed.

Everyone can see where the money is spent.

This makes many people feel respected.

At least, the Tang Dynasty did not treat them as fools!

Weng Tong was standing in the crowd and also shouted.

Although his family is not from Guangdong, his brother is now an official in Guangdong.

Rounding it off, Guangdong can be considered half of his hometown.

The donation line was very long, with people coming to the front to report their bills from time to time.

"Mr. Fang Qingfa of Shunde donated 500 silver dollars."

"Mr. Zhang Shou of Dongguan donated 700 silver dollars."

"Master Sanshui Niu Dequanniu donated 750 silver dollars!"

"..."

……

In a hurry, a newspaper was delivered to the desk of French Minister to China Bourboulon.

Squire Victor spoke up.

"Your Excellency, this is the latest issue of the Tang newspaper you requested."

"I found it for you!"

Although the Tang Dynasty restricted Bulbulon's personal freedom, it only restricted him.

If his servants wanted to go out, they could still do so.

Bulblom nodded, put down the coffee cup in his hand, picked up the newspaper and started reading.

Looking at the contents of the newspaper, Bulbrunn's face looked a little ugly.

"This young king is really amazing. Not only is he a great military commander, he is also very skillful in politics. He is simply the Napoleon of the East."

"It will be much more difficult to deal with him than to deal with the corrupt Qing Dynasty..."

Napoleon's position in France is self-evident.

The reason why Napoleon III was able to become emperor through a coup was largely because his last name was Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte's Bonaparte.

So, the French people are willing to believe him!
The fact that Bourboulen compared Li Yi to the Napoleon of the East shows how highly he thinks of Li Yi.

During the previous Opium War, facing the British invasion, the corrupt Qing Dynasty did not dare to mobilize the power of the people and arm the people to fight against the British army.

However, before the coalition forces arrived, the King of Tang began to call on the people to prepare to fight the enemy.

Victor, the attendant at the side, spoke up.

"Your Excellency, when I went out to buy newspapers just now, I saw a lot of people gathered at the government office of the Tang Kingdom, vying to donate money."

"Along the way, many people looked at me in a way that made me feel creepy, as if I was being stared at by the devil."

Bulbulon heard this and said with a wry smile.

"From now on, the servants in the embassy should try to go out less."

"We are staying in the embassy. Although our freedom is restricted, at least we are safe."

"But if you leave the embassy, I can't guarantee your safety."

"One hundred silver dollars for a human head, this price is too crazy."

Victor heard this and finally nodded.

But he couldn't help asking.

"Mr. Minister, are our allied forces really going to come and spread the glory of the Lord to these barbaric Orientals?"

Bulbron nodded, his tone clearly relieved.

"Well, of course."

"I have received news that the coalition forces have now arrived in Batavia and are resting."