Training the Heavens

Chapter 327 Big Green Fruit Pill

The year before A Zhang came back, the old witch finally died. Before she died, she took Guangxu with her and replaced him with a two-year-old little emperor. Many people secretly murmured that this big green fruit might be a pill.

Zhang Xingjiu analyzed it carefully and found that this move actually helped the Qing Dynasty to prolong its life for a few years. The reason was very simple. The young emperor came to power and the empress dowager was in charge of government affairs. One was young and the other was a woman who knew nothing, so they would not cause trouble.

If Guangxu had been in power, how much anger had he held back in the past few years? Once he took power, he would definitely have retaliated violently. The Qing Dynasty was already in turmoil, so how could it withstand such a torment?
Others dare not say that Yuan Xiangcheng must have rebelled and committed a major crime, otherwise, based on the things he did during the Hundred Days' Reform, it would be strange for Guangxu to let him go? If he was lucky, he would have been chopped off with a knife, but if he was a little unlucky, he would have been sliced ​​into pieces like Yuan Chonghuan. Not to mention that the Qing court had abolished lingchi now, and since it could be abolished, it could naturally be changed back.

Without Guangxu, the Qing Dynasty could only survive for two more years. The fortune of the Qing Dynasty continued to dissipate uncontrollably. The newly-elected Empress Dowager did not have the old witch's methods at all and could only do things in a muddled way.

After assuming power, she ordered Prince Su Shanqi, Duke Zhenguo Zai Ze, Minister Tieliang, and Admiral Sa Zhenbing to plan the reorganization of the navy. She also ordered Prince Qing Yixin to oversee matters. She also dismissed Tieliang, the minister in charge of training the Imperial Guard, and issued an edict ordering the preparations for constitutionalism.
It may seem lively, but it is actually useless, because any discerning person can see that the court is just continuing to maintain the rule of the Manchus under the banner of the New Deal, and has no intention of making any improvements.

Those Manchus thought they were smart and thought that even the most powerful Yuan Xiangcheng had been sent back to his hometown by an imperial decree. However, they did not know that even if Yuan Xiangcheng went back to his hometown to fish, those new troops would still listen to him. After all, these were trained by Yuan Xiangcheng himself. Which soldier had not received the military salary issued by Yuan Xiangcheng himself?
Above the small station, the voice of "eat Marshal Yuan's food, wear Marshal Yuan's clothes, receive Marshal Yuan's salary, and only listen to Marshal Yuan's words" still lingered, and the military ministers sent by the court were useless.

Those local officials had completely lost faith in the imperial court. When the old witch was in power, everyone was afraid of her tactics and dared not make any moves. Now, a pair of orphans and a widow came to power, and they still wanted to control them like the old witch? It was impossible. So the local officials pretended to obey the emperor, but secretly disobeyed him, and turned a blind eye to the revolutionaries.

Not to mention them, even most of the Manchu officials in the court understood that it was impossible to do anything now. Da Qingguo's life was only a few years away. It was useless to work for the court sincerely. It would be better for him to learn from Prince Qing and Grand Secretary Na Tong and make money quickly!
Make more money, so that if something happens in the future, you can quickly take the money and run away to the Tianjin Concession, and perhaps you can enjoy it for a few more years. As a result, the business of the banks run by foreigners in the capital suddenly became prosperous.

The revolutionaries were unwilling to miss such a good opportunity. They immediately ran around Guangdong and planned an uprising. This time they finally realized that the secret societies were not enough to accomplish anything, and the new armies in various places that had received education in new ideas were the best revolutionary force.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of strict organization, the news of the uprising was leaked before it started, so it had to be launched hastily and ended in failure.
Although the uprising failed, its impact was extremely far-reaching. First, it made revolutionary parties across the country take notice of the New Army. The New Army's organization and combat effectiveness were far superior to those of the secret societies. Moreover, its thinking was more open and it was more easily attracted to revolutionary ideas. It was a natural revolutionary force.

Secondly, the imperial court also realized this situation, and they subconsciously strengthened their defenses against the new army. However, this instead aroused the dissatisfaction of the new army, and more new army members leaned towards the revolutionary party.

Mr. Yixian also felt that the revolution had reached a critical moment, so he quickly set off from London to the United States to raise funds. This time he did not forget Zhang Xingjiu and sent him several telegrams in a row, each of which had a striking letter E on it.

Zhang Xingjiu did not hesitate at all and directly transferred him funds worth 50,000 silver dollars in accordance with the previous agreement to support the revolution.

At the local level, provinces began establishing advisory councils to prepare for local self-government in prefectures and counties. Gentry reacted with varying degrees of enthusiasm. The bolder ones saw this as a crucial way to elevate their families' status, and they jumped in and out, eager to secure prominent positions within the councils. The less timid ones, initially fearing accountability from the court, strictly forbade their families from interfering. However, as the councils neared completion and the court showed no sign of repercussions, family members who had previously clashed with them already held prominent positions within them. They became anxious and rushed to join in, but by then, it was too late, and they hadn't even caught up to the hot shit.

An advisory council was also established in Shanghai, and Ma Xiangbo and Zhang Xingjiu were both invited. One of them was the most famous education expert in Shanghai and even in the whole country, and the other was a world-renowned scientist. Both were celebrities and fully qualified to be selected.

Ma Xiangbo still had hope for the Advisory Council, and after joining it, he began to strongly call for attention to education. Zhang Xingjiu knew that the Advisory Council was unreliable, so he was too lazy to talk to it and rarely went there. He only said a few words when encountering issues related to education and scientific development.

Zhang Xingjiu was more concerned about the development of his students. That day, he took his car to the dock to pick someone up. After waiting for a while, a passenger ship from Europe docked at the dock, and Fan Yuanrang, dressed in a suit and tie, got off the ship.

"Haha, you finally got your doctorate degree. You finally didn't have to work so hard for so many years. You are now the first Chinese doctoral student in chemistry who studied abroad." Zhang Xingjiu patted him on the shoulder and praised him.

"Germany is indeed strong in chemistry. This strength is not only reflected in scientific research, but also in industry. Companies like Bayer, BASF and Henkel are truly amazing." Fan Yuanrang enthusiastically talked about his experiences in Germany.

Zhang Xingjiu understood the meaning of his words and asked, "So you want to start a business after returning to China?"

Fan Yuanrang knew that Ma Xiangbo and others had always hoped that he would return to his alma mater to teach after returning to China, so he felt a little ashamed. "Students are not as focused on technology as Hou Debang, so I think it's better for them to work in the industry. However, whenever students have time, they will come to Aurora University to give lectures."

"Don't be ashamed. Doing business is also for the strength of the country. Have you decided what you want to do? As long as there is a suitable project, the school will help you, whether it requires money or people, we can solve it!"

"I've found a suitable project. The soda ash produced by the Belgian company Solvay is selling very well, and I want to set up a soda ash factory!"

"Oh? That's a coincidence!"

　Just came back from the countryside, more will come later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)