Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 251: Xia Sebo striker rifle

Ganquan Palace
When he returned from his long voyage, King Zheng Guohui of Chu, in addition to handling government affairs, spent more time accompanying Queen Zheng Li and enjoying the happy home life.

In the harem

Twelve pretty and charming palace maids were playing the zither and the flute, producing melodious music. King Zheng Guohui of Chu was sitting on the couch, with Queen Zheng Li beside him, whose belly was slightly protruding.

Zheng Li is now 19 years old. She has lost her youthful innocence, and her delicate face with a rosy complexion has become rounder. She wears a lake green palace robe embroidered with phoenixes and a diamond-studded phoenix hairpin on her head, which makes her beautiful face look even more noble.

"Your Majesty, a letter arrived from home, stating that my father, having been transferred from his post as Governor of Jiangsu to Acting Governor-General of Huguang, will soon be appointed Governor of Zhejiang and awarded a first-rank official hat."

"Well, Lord Taishan's transfer this time should be due to the court's competition. It is rumored that the Zhejiang Governor Yang Changjun and Hangzhou General Deying are in a big quarrel, which is a disgrace to the court, so this arrangement was made."

"So, it's possible that father will live in Zhejiang permanently?"

"That shouldn't be the case, right? The court didn't take away Lord Taishan's position as the Governor of Huguang, and added a first-rank official hat. It's clear that Huguang will still be the main focus in the future."

King Zheng Guohui of Chu had a wider range of information channels. He had always been concerned about the affairs of the court and had a deep understanding of them. His words were meaningful.

My father-in-law Li Hanzhang has a very successful career. He is the acting governor-general of Huguang. His power is no less than that of Li Hongzhang. He is not affected at all by his son-in-law Zheng Guohui's trip to Southeast Asia to establish a country.

Invisibly, you will be more valued.

It is not surprising to think about it. Among the disciples of Prince Gong Yixin, the Li brothers, the Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu Zuo Zongtang, and the Sichuan Education Commissioner Zhang Zhidong were all the backbone of the Westernization Movement. How could they possibly abandon their own support?

In the current court, Yi Xin, the Minister of the Grand Council, and Gua Erjia-Wenxiang, the Minister of the Grand Council and the Minister of the Zongli Yamen, were both important officials of the court who were inclined towards Westernization.

The west wind overwhelmed the east wind, occupied the mainstream power in the court, and its influence grew stronger and stronger.

With the joint efforts of these important officials of the imperial court, the Hui Rebellion and the Nian Army in northern Shaanxi were severely encircled and suppressed, their ferocity was greatly reduced, and after repeated casualties, the scope of the war had been pushed to the northwest.

This gave the Central Plains a rare respite and a precious opportunity to recuperate, ushering in a better situation of the "Tongzhi Restoration".

The court rule, which was originally in a precarious situation, unexpectedly experienced a rare phenomenon of revival, which further consolidated the voice of the ministers of the Westernization Movement.

The King and Queen of Chu sat on the couch, enjoying the dance and music, chatting in private, looking very contented.

At this moment

Dongmei, the favorite concubine who was standing by and serving, suddenly frowned slightly, stretched out her tender white hands like spring onions to cover her mouth, and tried hard to suppress the nausea of ​​vomiting.

Such an abnormality cannot be hidden from the eyes of others.

More than a dozen eyes with different expressions were staring at Dongmei. Many people had guesses in their minds, which also attracted the attention of the King and Queen of Chu, and they turned their heads to look.

Queen Zheng Li was an experienced person and had also experienced such a difficult period. Considering that the King of Chu had been frequently favoring Dongmei recently, how could she not understand what was going on?
"Dongmei, go down first. Call the imperial physician to take a look. I'm afraid she might be pregnant," Queen Zheng Li said softly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take my leave now."

Dongmei's feeling of vomiting and nausea became more and more severe. She covered her mouth with her hands, suppressed the nausea, bowed, and hurried away.

Upon seeing this, Queen Zheng Li turned around and gave King Chu Zheng Guohui a fierce look, her meaning was self-evident.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu laughed awkwardly twice, but did not say much about the affairs in the palace.

He knew that the queen had a gentle personality and was born into a family of poetry and etiquette. She was influenced by her family and was very tolerant. She was not one of those narrow-minded and jealous women.

Moreover, knowing that her mother's family background is powerful and she is pregnant with the King of Chu's child, Queen Zheng Li is truly the epitome of virtue and kindness, quite like the legacy of ancient times!

It's rare to show a little temper, it's more interesting.

After listening to the banquet for a while, King Zheng Guohui of Chu found an excuse to leave and went to the East Pavilion to handle some government affairs.

After a while
Colonel Zheng Shan, the head of the royal guard, arrived to report, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Imperial Physician Tao Molin has come to the palace to examine your pulse, and it's a positive sign. The Chu royal family is flourishing, and we are experiencing a period of prosperity!"

"You little bastard! You know how to tell the truth. Go down and claim your reward."

"Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty."

Colonel Zheng Shan saluted with a smile on his face and left happily.

According to the recent military expansion plan, the expeditionary force will be expanded to 5 divisions. Colonel Zheng Fu, the former commander of the Imperial Guard, was selected by His Majesty to serve as the major general commander of the th Division and took office a week ago.

Zheng Shan was promoted one level and became the colonel commander of the Imperial Guard Corps. Huo Chongshan was promoted and Fang Shiwei was appointed as the lieutenant colonel deputy commander, while still serving as the battalion commander of the Imperial Guard.

After receiving the good news from his subordinates, King Zheng Guohui of Chu excitedly waved his fist and felt particularly happy.

In the harem, he especially favored Dongmei.

Queen Zheng Li was beautiful, but she was bound by the etiquette of a lady from a noble family. She was very restrained in her sexual life, and even now, she had to turn off the lights before having sex. This made Zheng Guohui feel deeply regretful. He only caught a glimpse of the queen's breathtaking white and delicate beauty, but he could not appreciate it in detail. What could he do?

Among all the concubines in the palace, Dongmei is truly as beautiful as her name, like a wintersweet blooming in the snow.

He is particularly knowledgeable and interesting, which naturally makes him very popular with Zheng Guohui.

Taking advantage of his high spirits, King Zheng Guohui of Chu did not want to stay bored in the palace, so he ordered carriages to be prepared and went to the Manila Arsenal for an inspection.

A moment later
The prince's royal cavalry escorted a group of seven carriages out of Ganquan Palace, turned at the entrance of the Zheng Family Ancestral Hall, and headed out along the Royal City Square.

Along the way, many passers-by stopped to salute with extremely respectful expressions.

The convoy came out of the east gate of Manila's Royal City and drove onto the extremely wide Avenue of Glory.

On the 128-meter-wide Glory Avenue, there is a 64-meter-wide street garden in the middle of the avenue. Tall transplanted coconut trees stretch straight into the distance, and there are also various fruit trees with fragrant fruits and blooming flower shrubs.

The street garden has a winding cobblestone road, leisure pavilions, teahouses and stage, which attract many people from early morning to dusk.

The wide carriage roads on both sides of the street garden only allow carriages to travel in one direction on the right, and horses can also pass by, but pedestrians are not allowed to enter.

There are 5-meter-wide sidewalks on the edges of both sides, which are exclusively for pedestrians.

The carriage road and the pedestrian path do not interfere with each other, which allows the carriages traveling on the carriage road to speed up and gallop forward.

Sitting in the fast-moving carriage, King Zheng Guohui of Chu felt a little ashamed.

I made the decision without even thinking about it, but now it seems a bit rash and presumptuous.

why?
How awkward is it to be one hundred and fifty years ahead of the times?

Although Manila is very prosperous today, its population has increased to more than 34. It is the second largest city in Southeast Asia after Batavia, and its traffic is quite busy.

But when driving on the Avenue of Glory, there are only twenty or thirty carriages at a glance.

It feels like sprinkling a few beans on an empty plate. Is the plate too big, or are there too few beans?
However, the sidewalks on both sides are bustling with pedestrians, and there is a constant stream of customers in front of the shops, bringing enough popularity to this main road in Manila.

The busy sidewalk and the empty carriage road form a sharp contrast.

On both sides of the Avenue of Glory, tall Chinese palace-style buildings stand one after another. There are office buildings of various government departments, the Legislative Yuan, the Prime Minister's Yamen, the General Police Administration, the General Penal Administration Building, as well as the Royal Library, the Royal Nanyang Bank, the Nanyang Heavy Industries and other corporate headquarters. Tall buildings appear in endlessly.

Most of these tall buildings are five to six stories high and are made of reinforced concrete. They are complemented by China's unique flying eaves, brackets, red pillars and golden tiles. They appear particularly dignified and majestic under the blue sky and white clouds.

The Chu State’s architecture admired the Tang style more, so in these towering high-rise buildings, the majestic and all-embracing style of Tang architecture can be seen everywhere.

This contrasts beautifully with the green trees and red flowers on Glory Avenue, invisibly establishing a grand urban pattern, which is in sharp contrast to the small and petty Intramuros of Manila. It is an unintentional gain.

The convoy sped along Glory Avenue for a while, then turned southwest at a roundabout ahead. After driving for more than 10 minutes, it turned onto Seaside Avenue.

The Seaside Boulevard is one of the two main arteries in Manila, the other being Glory Boulevard.

The width of Seaside Avenue is not as exaggerated as Glory Avenue. It is 64 meters wide with a 28-meter-wide green belt in the middle. Normally, no unauthorized persons are allowed to enter.

There are tall coconut trees in the middle and on both sides of the road, extending all the way along the seaside avenue.

Galloping along the seaside avenue, King Zheng Guohui of Chu could see the sails gathered in Manila Bay, the azure blue bay and the white sand beach through the carriage window. The scene was beautiful and tranquil.

There were obviously more carriages on the seaside avenue, many of which were cargo carriages. At a glance, there were no less than a hundred carriages driving along the carriage road on one side.

At the command of the Royal Guards Cavalry, both cargo and passenger carriages drove to the side lanes, making way for the central road.

The royal convoy sped along. Upon receiving the notification, the patrolman at the intersection ahead blew his whistle and stopped the carriages at the intersection, waiting for the royal convoy to pass.

20 minutes later
The royal motorcade turned into a narrower road, drove straight into a factory on the side, and stopped in the square in front of the building.

After receiving the message from Pegasus, the factory managers lined up in front of the building early to welcome the arrival of His Majesty the King of Chu.

The King of Chu's inspections were common, and he often came without prior notice. The Manila Arsenal had long been accustomed to it.

Zheng Guohui got off the carriage and greeted the factory manager, saying, "I heard you have some new things here. How are they? Please introduce them to me."

"I guarantee that Your Majesty will be satisfied. We have obtained some of the latest French 1866 Chassepeau striker rifles through the channels of European merchants. These are more rationally designed and more advanced than the Dresser striker rifles we had before. After a large number of test firings, the factory is ready to imitate them and has submitted an application for project imitation to the Ministry of War." Factory Director Wu Tingyu said happily.

"Oh, I'd like to see it." King Zheng Guohui of Chu said with great interest, his interest obviously piqued.

For any man, guns are an irresistible temptation.

(End of this chapter)