Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 372 If you don’t make money, you’re a bastard

Zhang Zhidong heard this and said with gritted teeth.

"I can ask for Minister Nicholas's instructions on this matter."

"But I cannot guarantee whether His Majesty will agree to it."

Nicholas couldn't help but look a little disappointed when he heard this, but he still said.

"In that case, I'll leave it to Master Zhang."

Zhang Zhidong nodded and continued to ask.

"Besides that, is there anything else?"

Nicholas thought for a moment and then spoke.

"In addition, His Majesty the Tsar also wants to form a military alliance between land powers with His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to jointly fight against sea powers such as Britain and France and compete for control of the world."

Tsarist Russia was stabbed in the back by Austria and Prussia one after another, and now it is desperate to try any possible means.

He actually wanted to form an alliance with the Tang Dynasty to share the pressure from Britain and France.

From the perspective of Tsarist Russia, both the Tang Dynasty and Tsarist Russia were typical countries where land power was greater than sea power, and both were at odds with Britain and France.

In that case, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Then, Tsarist Russia and the Tang Dynasty could naturally form an alliance to jointly deal with the pressure from maritime powers such as Britain and France.

When Zhang Zhidong heard this, he was stunned at first.

He immediately fell into deep thought, and after a long time, he continued speaking.

“This matter is even more serious.”

"I am even less able to decide, but I can pass on the message for Minister Nicholas. However, it is hard to say what His Majesty's attitude is."

Nicholas was obviously relieved when he heard this.

"In that case, I'll have to trouble you, Master Zhang."

"If Lord Zhang can make this happen, we will reward you handsomely."

As he spoke, Nicholas placed a deposit check from the Tang Royal Bank on the table and pushed it towards Zhang Zhidong.

When Zhang Zhidong saw this, there was obvious surprise on his face.

But he still picked up the deposit slip and took a look at it.

Looking at the line of numbers on the deposit slip, Zhang Zhidong couldn't help but be amazed.

It seems that Tsarist Russia is really being pushed into a corner now.

Otherwise, one thousand silver dollars wouldn’t be given just like that!

You should know that the deposit notes of the Tang Royal Bank are not paper money, but real physical currency made of precious metals.

With the deposit slip, you can go to the bank and exchange it directly for high-quality silver coins.

One thousand silver dollars, this is really not a small number.

Not to mention, these one thousand silver dollars are just the first step.

I believe that the reward that Nicholas mentioned must be much more than this number.

Zhang Zhidong took a look at the deposit ticket but did not accept it.

Instead, he pushed it back to Nicholas and spoke.

"No need to thank you."

"Passing on messages is what I, as a secretary, should do."

"How can I accept thank-you gifts? There is no such rule."

When Nicholas saw this, his heart instantly began to beat faster.

"But it's too little?"

"Don't worry, Master Zhang. This is just a small token of our sincerity."

"If Lord Zhang can successfully promote the alliance, we will have more gifts to thank you later..."

Nicholas suspected that Zhang Zhidong did not want to take the money because he thought it was too little, and fearing that Zhang Zhidong did not understand what he meant, he repeated it again.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhidong just shook his head and said.

"Your Excellency the Minister has misunderstood."

"It's not that I think it's too little, but I can't accept it."

"If His Majesty knew that I accepted the ambassador's gift, it would be detrimental to the ambassador's request."

The reason why Zhang Zhidong didn't take the money.

On the one hand, it’s because the Zhang family is rich and doesn’t care about this.

On the other hand, Zhang Zhidong did not want to leave Li Yi with the impression that he was greedy for money, so as not to affect his official career.

As for the fact that he took money, could Li Yi find out?
Let’s put it this way, Zhang Zhidong had some understanding of the intelligence gathering capabilities of the Tang Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Department.

He didn't think that the Military Intelligence Department would not send people to keep an eye on such a big thing as his meeting with the Russian envoy.

Upon hearing this, Nicholas could only thank him again and put the deposit slip away.

I feel a little bit awkward in my heart!

Oh my God, this was the first time he encountered a situation where he couldn't give bribes or gifts...

……

Day two.

Forbidden City, Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Zhang Zhidong came to report to Li Yi about his meeting with Tsarist Russian envoy Nicholas yesterday, and repeated to Li Yi the purpose of Nicholas' visit.

"Your Majesty, this is what happened!"

There was obvious amusement on Li Yi's face, and he said with a smile.

"interesting!"

"It seems that the Tsarist Russia has been pushed to the limit."

Zhang Zhidong heard this and asked.

"Your Majesty, should the Tang Dynasty agree to the Russian Empire's request to deliver arms and weapons ahead of schedule, as well as its request for an alliance?"

After hearing this, Li Yi thought for a while and said.

"If the Russian side offers a high enough price and is willing to accept second-hand goods, we can discuss the early delivery of arms and weapons."

"But as for an alliance, that's not necessary."

"The Tang Dynasty will not form an alliance with any country unless Russia is willing to be a vassal of the Tang Dynasty."

When it came to the early delivery of the arms, Li Yi was indeed blinded by the money.

But as the saying goes, if you don't make money, you're a bastard.

But Li Yi would never agree to the alliance. The reason is very simple.

If he remains neutral, he can sell arms to both sides and make money on both sides, so why should he choose sides?
Unless Tsarist Russia is willing to be a vassal of the Tang Dynasty and offer enough benefits.

For example, giving up all of Siberia to the Tang Dynasty...

Otherwise, Li Yi would not let the Tang Dynasty end.

Crimea is too far away. With the current navigation capabilities of the Tang Dynasty, it has no power to intervene in the situation in Crimea.

Under such circumstances, even if the Tang Dynasty won the war, it would not be able to benefit from Crimea.

In this case, Li Yi must have had nothing better to do than end up like this.

Well, if Britain, France and Tsarist Russia were to go to war in India, then Li Yi might be willing to get involved.

Because, with great efforts, the great Tanzania can now reach India.

As long as the Tang Dynasty can take over Southeast Asia, it can use it as a springboard to project power to India.

And what about Crimea?

No matter how hard they try, they will never be able to reach the Tang Dynasty in a short period of time.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhidong understood what Li Yi meant and spoke immediately.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I understand. I will reply to Minister Nicholas of Tsarist Russia."

After saying this, Zhang Zhidong turned and left.

Afterwards, Li Yi called his new chief of the attendant room, Tang Rui, and prepared to instruct him on some things.

When Zhang Tai was the chief of the attendant's office, Tang Rui was his deputy.

After Zhang Tai made a mistake and was exiled to Tianjin by Li Yi to serve as the prefect, Tang Rui was promoted to the position of director of the attendant's office.

Soon, Tang Rui came in after being notified and saluted in front of Li Yi.

"Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty!"

Hearing this, Li Yi just waved his hand and said.

"Get up!"

After Tang Rui stood up from the ground, Li Yi asked.

"How are you doing with what I told you to do?"

Tang Rui heard this and spoke.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have made all the arrangements."

"The fleet that is recruiting eunuchs for the Imperial Palace has already departed from Tianjin and is heading to Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Siam and other countries to recruit eunuchs for the Imperial Palace."

"I think the fleet will be back soon!"

After hearing this, Li Yi nodded slightly and then spoke.

"When the fleet goes to the vassal states this time, don't just recruit eunuchs, but also palace maids to fill the palace confinement."

"Ever since the Qing dynasty's former palace maids and eunuchs were sent out, the Forbidden City has become a little empty."

Although Li Yi was determined to abolish the inhumane eunuch system, from then on only palace maids and female officials would serve in the inner court.

However, since Western countries adopted the system of female officials, the green hats on the heads of kings of various countries...

Li Yi decisively gave up this option.

Then, Li Yi had an idea and thought of a solution.

Since it is inhumane to use our own people as eunuchs.

What about using foreigners as eunuchs?
Countries such as Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Siam also had eunuchs.

The Tang Dynasty just needs to spend money to buy a batch of them.

What about the issue of loyalty?
Haha, at worst, we can just arrest eunuchs and castrate them from childhood to carry out brainwashing education!

There is always a way!

No matter what, Li Yi will never wear a green hat.

He will kill the entire family of anyone who dares to cuckold him!
It’s inhumane, so what? He’s already the emperor, why the hell does he care about this?
Hearing this, Tang Rui continued to nod in agreement.

Afterwards, Li Yi continued to instruct him on a few more things before letting Tang Rui leave.

……

Shandong, Caozhou Prefecture!

Li Hongzhang, the prefect of Caozhou, rode out of the city on his horse and came to the official road outside the city to personally welcome the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom envoys who had come from afar.

From afar, I saw a trail of dust coming from the end of the official road.

Li Hongzhang rode his horse forward a few steps and greeted him.

"This must be Lord Zhang Suimou who is beside the King of Yi, right?"

"I am Li Hongzhang, the prefect of Caozhou."

"I am sorry for not welcoming you. I really am sorry for not welcoming you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Suimou on the opposite side simply clasped his fists and returned the greeting.

"Thank you, Lord Li, for coming to greet us."

"I am ashamed!"

The two men bowed to each other and exchanged greetings for a while, and then Li Hongzhang welcomed Zhang Suimou and others into Caozhou Prefecture.

In Caozhou Prefecture, Li Hongzhang had prepared a banquet in advance to welcome Zhang Suimou and others.

At the banquet, the two groups toasted each other and the atmosphere was lively.

After the banquet, Li Hongzhang met with Zhang Suimou alone, preparing to mention Li Yi to test the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's attitude.

"This time, the King of Wings sent Lord Zhang to the Tang Dynasty to discuss the matter of surrender. This is truly a sign of great justice."

"With your majesty's generosity, you will definitely not treat King Yi unfairly."

"But I wonder what King Yi wants from this surrender?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Suimou realized that the person in front of him wanted to test his opinion, so he spoke immediately.

"The reason why King Yi chose to submit to the Tang Dynasty this time."

"First, it's because King Yi is kind-hearted and can't bear to see the world go to war again, causing the people to suffer."

"Secondly, the Tang Dynasty and the Heavenly Kingdom are allies. King Yi believes that after he leads his troops to surrender, the Tang Dynasty will not treat him or the Heavenly Kingdom's soldiers unfairly."

"Third, Prince Yi believes that the Emperor of Tang is kind and will treat the people of the world well."

"So, regarding this surrender, King Yi has the following conditions, and I hope the Tang Dynasty can consider them as appropriate."

Upon hearing this, Li Hongzhang immediately raised his hand to signal.

"Master Zhang, please speak!"

(End of this chapter)