Bodhisattva, please help me in my spiritual practice!

As autumn fades and winter arrives, the situation in Tianjin continues to fluctuate.

Newsboys loudly hawked the latest newspapers.

"Shocking news! Wu Peifu has led his remaining troops south by boat. Tianjin has changed hands, and Marshal Zhang's rise to power is a foregone conclusion!"

This is a major event concerning the "blue sky" above the heads of the people of Tianjin, so even those who don't care about politics find the newspaper sales to be extremely high today.

Everyone was also curious about who this newcomer Zhang Shuai was and what his character was.

The teahouse was bustling with noise.

"Give me a newspaper."

"Okay."

The newsboy responded and quickly handed over the newspaper.

When the newspapers at this teahouse were almost sold out, the newsboy went to the next teahouse, but this time he didn't call out to sell newspapers anymore; instead, he sang.

"Water overcomes fire. A phoenix came to Tianjin and has been grieving here every day."

This folk song sounds off; it has a prophetic feel to it.

Those who had just bought newspapers were all extremely politically conscious people, and they quickly stopped the newsboy, asking, "What song is that? Who taught you that?"

The one asking the question was an old scholar with a queue (braid).

Although the newsboy stopped, his eyes were still fixed on the bag from which the scholar had just taken out his money.

The old scholar immediately understood, took out his money bag, and laid out the copper coins one by one. He first arranged ten coins, and seeing that the newsboy did not speak, he arranged five more.

The newsboy, having received instructions from his superiors, said with a grin, "Thank you for your kindness, sir. This ballad is about a new courtesan at Chunfeng Tower. I've heard she's incredibly beautiful, has an exceptionally noble destiny, and is even more beautiful than a phoenix. She can perform the Rainbow Feather Dance! If you have time, sir, you can go to Chunfeng Tower to see her in two days."

This Rainbow Feather Dance was a dance from the height of the Tang Dynasty, imbued with imperial aura. In the past, only the emperor in the palace could enjoy it. Unexpectedly, the world has fallen into such a state of decline that even such a beauty has ended up in a brothel like the Spring Breeze Pavilion.

It seems that Chunfenglou is trying to promote its top courtesan to get a better price, rather than relying on any prophecy.

The old scholar waved his hand; he wasn't interested in the matter.

However, a shout suddenly rang out from inside the teahouse, "Outrageous! Such imperial pleasures are not for courtesans to perform!"

The sound was sharp and thin, like a person scratching glass with their fingernail, but it was powerful and penetrating, even silencing the originally bustling teahouse.

Everyone looked back and saw an old man with fair skin and no beard, dressed in brocade clothes, with several martial arts practitioners beside him, sitting alone at a table.

Immediately, everyone present understood that this person came from the palace, which explained their anger.

The senior eunuch from the palace knew he had been noticed, but he had managed to gather some information this morning and complete his master's task. So he got up, picked up a few newspapers, and hurriedly left with his guards.

However, this scene was witnessed by the thugs scattered throughout the various teahouses.

……

The Xu family mansion in the French Concession.

Ao Peng finished his boxing practice early in the morning and listened to Yi Yuanbing report on the latest situation while drinking tea.

He took advantage of the power vacuum in Tianjin, and seized the opportunity to wipe out 80% of the gangs in Tianjin, effectively becoming the sole dominant force!

The only one who could still hold some ground was Bai Yunsheng, who had sided with the Japanese invaders. He was also a member of the Green Gang and had been taking advantage of the power vacuum to win over various gangs.

Although the Japanese invaders had been operating in Tianjin for a long time, they did not become the dominant force. Therefore, Bai Yunsheng, who only knew how to use underhanded methods, was a step behind and was far less powerful than Ao Peng.

Ao Peng kept Bai Yunsheng around to avoid alerting the enemy and to refrain from taking action against him for the time being, so as to avoid causing unnecessary and huge changes.

He had only recently gained power, and his informants were still limited to Tianjin, so he needed some original historical context to support his plans.

"General, the song you ordered has been secretly distributed by newsboys, falsely claiming to be from Chunfenglou. Chunfenglou is also spreading it widely, and it will be known throughout Tianjin in less than two days!"

"Um."

Ao Peng nodded slightly.

The last emperor of the Qing Dynasty was a man who couldn't let go of his dream of becoming emperor, so he would definitely be attracted by this ballad.

Although he is now colluding with the Japanese invaders, he is actually under house arrest by them in a de facto way. It would be strange if he didn't have all sorts of thoughts after hearing this song!

This tactic is called "willing to take the bait"!

Just as Ao Peng was drinking tea, someone came from outside to report. Chen Xiaodao, as Ao Peng's confidant, came in personally to deliver the message: "Brother, the brothers spotted several unfamiliar faces from the palace. When they were hanging around the Qinghe Tea House, they heard the newsboy singing a ballad and became furious."

Qinghe Teahouse is located right next to the Japanese Concession and not far from the French Concession.

Ao Peng laughed, "The fish has taken the bait!"

……

The words are divided into two parts.

Zhang Garden in the Japanese Concession.

Thanks to the schemes of Koizumi Yuichiro and Tagawa, the last emperor of the Qing dynasty has already moved into this place.

This garden has everything from artificial hills to pavilions, making it one of the finest gardens in Tianjin.

However, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty was not satisfied. The reason was simple: he was taken from the Forbidden City to live in a prince's mansion, and then he came to this garden after leaving the prince's mansion.

As the last emperor of the Qing dynasty was gazing blankly at the flowers and plants in the garden, the chief eunuch beside him respectfully said, "Your Majesty, Fu Chang'an and the others have returned with the information they gathered."

As the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty gazed upon this seemingly endless garden, he suddenly asked, almost as if possessed, "Living in this corner of the land, am I still His Majesty?"

Upon hearing this, the chief eunuch of the Hall of Mental Cultivation was so frightened that he immediately knelt down, his voice trembling with tears, "Your Majesty, you are the Emperor of the Great Qing Dynasty, and this vast land is your residence."

Before the head eunuch of the Hall of Mental Cultivation could finish speaking, two Japanese men appeared from around the corner of the garden. They were none other than Koizumi Yuichiro and his companion, who had secretly brought the last Qing emperor from the Forbidden City.

Koizumi laughed and said, "What Steward Zhang said is absolutely right. There is an old Chinese saying that Your Majesty is just a dragon swimming in shallow waters and being teased by shrimp. With the protection of Amaterasu, you will surely rule the world again in the future."

His main mission is simple: to protect the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty and help him successfully establish the puppet state of Manchukuo.

The last emperor of the Qing dynasty looked at Xiaoquan, his hand tucked into his sleeve gripping the jade pendant at his waist tightly, suppressing the anger in his heart.

He is the supreme ruler, the son of the Heavenly Emperor, how could he possibly worship evil gods from beyond the realm!

Although he didn't believe in Amaterasu's protection at all, he had no choice but to bow his head when he was under someone else's roof. In the end, he let go of the jade pendant and nodded, saying, "I was able to escape from the Forbidden City this time thanks to the efforts of the two gentlemen and the protection of Amaterasu. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will definitely go and pay my respects in person."

The most important matters of state are sacrifice and war.

Upon hearing that the last emperor of the Qing dynasty would personally pay homage, Koizumi and Tagawa had received a satisfactory answer. Completing the ritual was the first step in establishing the puppet state of Manchukuo.

The chief eunuch of the Hall of Mental Cultivation felt uneasy and gritted his teeth as he interjected, "Your Majesty, Fu Chang'an and the others are waiting outside to receive you."

These two barbarians from beyond the borders are so unruly, entering the emperor's residence as they please!

Koizumi realized that the other party was telling him to leave, and in his heart he had already sentenced the head eunuch to death, but he still smiled and said, "It seems that His Majesty has other important matters to attend to, so I will take my leave."

Having said that, he bowed slightly with Tian Chuan and left Zhang Garden.

When Fu Chang'an entered, he first kowtowed to the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty to pay his respects, and then carefully presented the newspaper and told him everything he had learned from the teahouse.

The last emperor of the Qing Dynasty listened listlessly while looking at the newspaper.

However, when Fu Chang'an mentioned Chunfeng Tower, he paused.

Servility was ingrained in the eunuchs' bones. They dared not hide anything from the emperor, but if they felt that speaking out was too treasonous, they would stop and wait for the emperor's instructions on whether or not to speak.

The last emperor of the Qing dynasty looked up from the newspaper at Fu Chang'an and said calmly, "Can't I even listen to the truth now?"

Fu Chang'an kowtowed repeatedly, hurriedly recounting the story of someone at Chunfeng Tower who knew the Rainbow Feather Dance, along with the nursery rhyme.

"Water overcomes fire. A phoenix came to Tianjin, and now it grieves every day..."

The last emperor of the Qing dynasty muttered this nursery rhyme, which resembled a prophecy, and remained silent for a long time.

Suddenly, all the grievances he had accumulated along the way came to his lips. He sighed, "We are all fellow sufferers in this world. Why should we need to have known each other before? I never even got to see the Rainbow Feather Dance back in the palace. I never expected to see it in Tianjin... Fu Chang'an, make the arrangements. I'm going to Chunfeng Tower in two days."

Fu Chang'an instinctively tried to stop him, "Your Majesty is new to this place..."

However, before he could finish speaking, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who had been holding back his anger, suddenly erupted. All the forbearance he had endured along the way, and the insults he had just suffered at the hands of the Japanese, turned into a fire that burned over his head!

If I can't deal with those rebel parties, and I can't deal with foreigners, then surely I can deal with you!

So he grabbed the teacup beside him and smashed it across Fu Chang'an's face with a loud slap. "You dog of a servant! I am the ruler of the world! Can't I even listen to music or watch dance now?!"

The teacup bounced open, and Fu Chang'an couldn't catch it. It smashed to the ground, shattering into pieces, just like the world.