Republic of China: My great warlord, many children, many blessings.

Shen Hao ignored him, looked around the mansion and was quite satisfied. It had more than 80 rooms and the price of 20,000 silver dollars was considered cheap.

It can't be too expensive either, because these days are chaotic and many people are selling their houses and running away.

Shen Hao said, "Let's proceed with the transfer."

Zhongquan then looked at Shen Hao with newfound respect.

These days, someone who can come up with 20,000 silver dollars at once is no ordinary person.

After the transfer of ownership was completed, the real estate agent explained to Shen Hao why Zhongquan wanted to sell the house.

With the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the titles of Qing princes had become meaningless.

The Prince Rui's estates in Northeast China and other places were forcibly disposed of by the Republic of China government and distributed to some tenant farmers and estate managers in the local area.

The annual income of tens of thousands of taels of silver has disappeared.

However, the fall of the Qing Dynasty did not seem to cause this young Prince Rui any sense of crisis.

Born with a silver spoon in their mouths, Zhongquan and his younger brother Zhongming have long been accustomed to a life of extravagance and refinement.

Chung Chuan, in his early twenties, completely "let loose".

Because a prince must maintain his dignity; even if the Qing Dynasty is gone, the prince's imposing presence cannot be lost.

A villa and a car are a must.

So they built villas and gardens in the western suburbs, and installed telephones in every room, whether or not they needed them.

But the family's stable income has been cut off, so where will they get the money to build a villa and buy a car?

Chung Chuan didn't care about any of that. He sold off his valuables to build a villa. How stylish!

Seeing that eating Western food was both novel and fashionable, Chung Chuan spent a lot of money to hire European and American chefs to cook Western food for themselves.

Upon seeing foreigners riding in cars or horse-drawn carriages, he stopped riding in his sedan chair carried by sixteen men and instead bought two cars and acquired eight more carriages and horses.

In one fell swoop, over 100,000 silver dollars were squandered.

The Qing Dynasty has fallen, but the grandeur and pomp of the Qing princes must not be lost!

In Zhongquan's mind, the prince's face and enjoyment are always the most important.

And so, the young prince, who was neither good at managing money nor at housework, enjoyed and was happy in his extravagance.

There is no income but huge expenses.

If you're out of money, sell! Sell! Sell!

Now they're selling their old house to continue living a carefree life, not caring about what happens to them in the future.

Going to restaurants, visiting brothels, and smoking opium—these were the daily routines of the princes.

Shen Hao used to think these people were spendthrifts.

But after experiencing it, Shen Hao realized that these princes were truly clever.

As times change, those who were once nobles of the previous dynasty, without the protection of power, could not preserve their wealth.

Rather than losing it, it's better to spend lavishly.

Otherwise, they'll all be confiscated.

Some people saved up their entire lives, only to have their property divided up after liberation, becoming landlords themselves.

It's ironic that those spendthrift sons who squandered their family fortunes, because they were so poor, became the proletariat.

Shen Hao kept all the furniture from the Prince's mansion.

These are all made of Phoebe zhennan wood.

As for antiques and calligraphy, Shen Hao didn't understand them, and he didn't have the extra money to buy them.

With guns and cannons, one's words carry weight.

Antiques and calligraphy are not something you can just acquire whenever you want.

Even the servants of the Prince's mansion were dismissed, and Shen Hao's 100 elite warriors were put to use, all stationed in the Prince's mansion.

At this moment, Fang Yanyun's head was buzzing, and she couldn't believe it.

Shen Hao really spent 20,000 silver dollars to buy her a mansion, and the house was still registered in Fang Yanyun's name.

My heart was filled with a sense of surprise and emotion.

If there was some resistance yesterday, it's completely gone now.

Shen Hao was so good to her that she didn't know how to refuse him.

My emotions were overflowing.

That's way too much.

Moved, she took the initiative to kiss Shen Hao.

Seeing this, Shen Hao smiled with satisfaction.

However, Shen Hao did not stay in the palace; he only arranged for his assassins to stay there.

After all, it was too conspicuous, so Shen Hao moved into Hu Xueli's courtyard house instead.

That evening, Fang Yanyun went back to take care of her mother.

Tao Yingying was as well-behaved as ever, helping Shen Hao wash his feet.

All of this seemed to have become her daily routine.

Seeing that Tao Yingying's complexion had improved somewhat, Shen Hao said, "I'll marry you tomorrow."

A blush crept onto Tao Yingying's fair cheeks, and she nodded, saying, "Whatever you say, Master."

Shen Hao chuckled, quite satisfied with his current life.

That night, Shen Hao slept in Bao Shuang's main room as usual.

Just like last night, Hu Xueli made up an excuse that she was afraid of ghosts and wanted to sleep in the main room.

Playing Dou Dizhu with three people is fun, but it's summer, and Shen Hao is really hot.

In this day and age, without air conditioning, you'd be drenched in sweat with the slightest movement—it was awful!

38. A weak nation has no diplomacy!

The next day, there were many more soldiers on the streets.

These are turbulent times.

Shen Hao was summoned to headquarters for a meeting to study President Yuan Shikai's latest instructions.

Because these past few days, Yuan Shikai has been busy eliminating dissidents, dissolving the National Assembly, and changing the cabinet system to a presidential system.

While consolidating his power by unsealing the silver dollar, Yuan Shikai also systematically defeated the National Assembly and the Cabinet.

The Senate and Congress, on the other hand, had already succumbed to gunfire.

Yuan Shikai's position was now completely secure.

He excitedly assembled another "cabinet" and personally drafted the list.

Three days after Tang Shaoyi's departure, Yuan Shikai appointed Lu Zhengxiang as acting prime minister to fill the vacancy left by Tang Shaoyi.

They even amended the Presidential Election Law to stipulate a ten-year term for the president and allow for re-election.

Upon arriving at the headquarters, Shen Hao found Cao Yuanzheng extremely excited, clearly having good news to share.

In officialdom, happiness only comes from promotion.

Is this guy about to get a promotion?

Thinking of this, Shen Hao was also happy. He had made this connection, and this guy's promotion would also benefit him.

After everyone had gathered, Cao Yuanzheng said in front of them, "From now on, your main task is to cut off your queues."

Second, the President has just changed the election law. From now on, anyone who dares to discuss this in public will be arrested.

Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free. Do you understand?

"It's the bureau chief."

"Hmm, not bad. Keep up the good work. You all need to read and study the documents that are issued more often. Don't embarrass our police station."

"It's the bureau chief."

After giving some minor instructions to everyone, Cao Yuanzheng said to Shen Hao, "Meeting adjourned. Shen Hao, stay behind."

Upon hearing this, the other branch directors looked at Shen Hao with envy, but still obediently left.

Even Shen Hao was a little puzzled as to why Cao Yuanzheng wanted to see him.

Is he really going to get promoted?

After Shen Hao entered the office, Cao Yuanzheng poured him a glass of water with a smile, which surprised Shen Hao.

"Director, how can this be allowed?" Shen Hao said hurriedly.

Cao Yuanzheng said, "No, that's not necessary. Please sit down. I have something to tell you."