Rebirth of the Qing Empire

Because He Shuikuan is in charge of the Tianjin base, Kang Fan and Mei Xiang feel as comfortable as visiting relatives. As the eldest of the He family, He Shuikuan is like a kind father, open-minded and gentle, and treats Kang Fan and Mei Xiang like children. During the period of waiting for Donovan, the two lived happily in Tianjin.

In early March, Donovan returned to Tianjin alone from abroad. His three partners did not come back together and stayed abroad to continue the unfinished work. Donovan told Kang Fan in detail about the bidding of industrial engineering. After knowing that Kang Fan was in a hurry to go to the UK, he entrusted a friend of his captain to arrange Kang Fan and Mei Xiang on a cargo ship to the UK on the same day. Kang Fan did not tell Donovan the purpose of the trip until he got on board, which made Donovan so anxious.

"Father Donovan, this trip takes a long time, so I'll be more troublesome to the work here." Kang Fan said.

Donovan nodded and agreed and met He Shuikuan on the shore.

The cargo ship is called "Helen". At this time, the whistle roars, rides the wind and waves, and quickly leaves the shore. The sea water turns from yellow to green and turns from green to blue, and the wind and waves gradually grow bigger. On the long chair on the side of the ship, Mei Xiang snuggles in Kang Fan's arms, looking at the sea quietly, and is fascinated.

In that era, Mei Xiang was born in a city at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Her father was a senior engineer at the shipyard and her mother was a famous local doctor with a superior family. Mei Xiang grew up in the sound of the waves of the sea since she was a child and had a special affection for the sea. At this moment, in Kang Fan's warm arms, facing the sea and missing her relatives at home.

When a girl is not at home, her mother always says so at home. Although her mother is reluctant to leave her home, she rarely goes home since she went to college. She just hasn't found the boy she likes. Her mother is very anxious and asks people to introduce her to her. But she is calm and can't find the feeling of falling in love, so she can only give up again and again. She finally angered her parents. After a serious conversation, her parents no longer care about her finding a partner.

After this incident, I even felt that I had some autism or sexual perverts, and I was frightened for a long time. After meeting Kang Fan, for some reason, without any mental preparation, the calm love pond suddenly burst into a strong wind and waves, which made me deeply addicted to it.

"But you, a soldier, are so dull that it's really annoying!" Mei Xiang lit up Kang Fan's forehead and scolded him.

Kang Fan's eyes were full of tenderness and smiled and said, "If you want me to know that you are so magical and wonderful, I'll have already started. Do you have to wait until now?"

"You ignored me, you still blame me?" Mei Xiang pinched him and Kang Fan screamed exaggeratedly.

Because the captain and Donovan have a deep friendship, and Kang Fan and Mei Xiang are both proficient in English, there are no obstacles in communication. Along the way, the two did not feel any discomfort. Although the voyage was boring and long, Kang Fan and Mei Xiang were in love and cherished this rare opportunity to live together, caring for each other, and enjoying it. Therefore, they were not as bored as the crew members who were traveling with them. The only thing they could not bear was the bad food on the ship.

"My only demand now is to have a meal you cook, Kang Fan." Mei Xiang said.

Kang Fan smiled and said, "When I arrive in the UK, I will do it for you every day."

"You don't want to tell Father Donovan the purpose of this trip, don't you want to tell me?" Mei Xiang asked.

Kang Fan laughed mysteriously and said, "Let's go and investigate."

"What a genius believes!" Mei Xiang curled her lips.

In mid-April 1896, more than a month after leaving Tianjin, the Helen ship sailed into the Thames Pier in London, England. At this time, London had a population of more than 5 million, making it the largest city in Europe, and the urban area was extremely prosperous.

Kang Fan mixed his and Mei Xiang's luggage into the captain's belongings and passed the customs inspection and brought it into the city. After parting with the captain and crew, Mei Xiang pulled Kang Fan and started running around London with excitement.

Mei Xiang changed into a gorgeous silk jacket, flowing trousers and embroidered shoes. It was obvious that she came from China, which attracted the attention of pedestrians on the road. Kang Fan was so itchy that she was so irritated by her graceful figure that she wanted to find a hotel immediately and swallow the beauty in front of her into her stomach. But Mei Xiang was just unhappy and was always very devoted to shopping. Seeing that it was approaching dusk, her interest was not reduced, but she became higher and higher. Kang Fan really didn't want to leave, so she sat in a coffee shop by the river to rest, and no matter how Mei Xiang pulled it, she wouldn't move. Mei Xiang laughed at him, spread her fingers, and made a mess of his hair.

"Make you disobedient!" Mei Xiang said dissatisfied.

Kang Fan let her make a fuss, calmed down for a moment, and began to think about her plans.

According to historical records, on May 8, 1896, two weeks later, the Qing government delivered the second Sino-Japanese War reparation of 25 million taels of silver to the representative of the Japanese Embassy in London, which was equivalent to more than 4 million pounds in London.

In this case, 4 million pounds of banknotes should be easier to carry than 25 million taels of silver. It should be enough to have yourself and Mei Xiang. It would be relatively safer to not need outsiders to participate in the money. However, when I got ashore, I left my pistol and saber on the ship to cope with customs inspections, and only a few hand-dropped poison gas bombs, gas masks and bulletproof vests were brought in. If the poison gas bombs cannot perform the expected effect, then I will not have any weapons to face the Japanese embassy staff.

The Japanese are famous in the world. It is estimated that the security personnel of the Japanese Embassy are all extraordinary, and the number of people will definitely not be small. If they use weapons again, their actions will become extremely dangerous!

Although he specially brought a bulletproof vest this time, the danger of death still exists when he protected the pistol bullets shot from close range in the embassy's small indoor space. Thinking of this, he looked at Mei Xiang who was focusing on combing his hair, and suddenly a sense of sorrow surged in his heart. If something really happened to him, can Mei Xiang take good care of herself?

In the following time, Mei Xiang suddenly realized that Kang Fan was considerate to him: he rented the best house near the dock, bought a complete cooking utensil, and made delicious food for himself in a variety of ways. After eating, he accompanied him to wander around and play. After coming back, he cooked himself in the bath water, washed and washed clothes, and forced himself to go to bed early. The next day, when he was still sleeping soundly in bed, he got up early and bought vegetables and cooked. Moreover, as long as he had free time, Kang Fan would be tired of himself and could not go down, doing his best, as if he was afraid that he would fly away.

Actually, I don’t want Kang Fan to take care of him like this. He is a person who does big things and cannot lose his fighting spirit because of such trivial matters in life. These trivial matters should be done by himself and are willing to do them, but Kang Fan didn’t agree to anything. After a few quarrels, Kang Fan’s attitude was extremely firm and had no room for compatibility, so he had to let him go.

This cycle repeats itself, and suddenly one morning when I woke up, I found Kang Fan left without saying goodbye and disappeared without a trace! This made Mei Xiang so anxious that she ran all over the streets and alleys of London alone, and in a few days, almost all the vast city of London! But there was no trace of Kang Fan? Late at night on the fifth day, Mei Xiang was tired from walking and cried, and fell asleep with the pillow that Kang Fan had slept.

In the early morning, Mei Xiang suddenly heard Kang Fan calling herself. She sat up like a spring and opened her swollen eyes. Kang Fan was really like that. But he was not standing, but slumped on the floor, with blood on his face. Mei Xiang was dizzy and rolled down from the bed to the ground. Kang Fan stretched out his hand to her, as if he wanted to help her, but his arms quickly hanged down weakly...

A few days later, newspapers of all sizes in London published a brief message: On the night of May 8, the Japanese Embassy in London was attacked by unidentified personnel. The attack killed four Japanese embassy staff and lost the embassy items, but the embassy has not disclosed the specific losses. According to witnesses at the scene, the attacker was one person wearing a weird mask and fled with a large bag. At present, London police are investigating the case.

"What about you?" Mei Xiang lies on the bed, and Kang Fan, who was covered in bandages, shook the newspaper in his hand.

Kang Fan smiled satisfied, "We will take a boat back to China tonight, and we can't stay here anymore."

Mei Xiang asked, “Is the 'Helen' going to set sail?”

Kang Fan nodded, "According to the captain's plan, the batch of textile machinery we ordered in the UK can be loaded with the ship today. You should prepare early."

"Then you are so seriously injured, can you leave?" Mei Xiang looked worried.

Kang Fan laughed casually, "It's okay."

Mei Xiang checked Kang Fan's injuries, changed the medicine, bandaged it again, packed her luggage, and sat by the bed waiting for the captain to come.

Captain Li, the captain of the Helen, is the grandson of Robert Lee, a famous American general. However, he failed to inherit the grandfather's military career, but became an excellent sailor. Donovan was a classmate and had a deep friendship. Donovan commented on him like this: extraordinary courage, rebellious, and typical pirate temperament.

With his super personal ability and outstanding family background, Captain Li, the young, has his own considerable ocean transport fleet. But he loves sailing and is unwilling to waste his time in the office, so he chose the "Helen" as the captain and continues his life as a sailor. "Helen" is the name of his wife, and the steam-powered ocean-going cargo ship named after his wife was one of the fastest-speed transport ships in the world at that time: a displacement of 5,000 tons, a load of 1,000 tons of coal, a two-axis propulsion, and a speed of 23 knots.

Thanks to Captain Li, if he hadn't tried every means to get the medical equipment, items and medicines that were urgently needed to rescue Kang Fan, even if Mei Xiang was superb medical skills, she would have been helpless. After Captain Li saw that Kang Fan was only half his life left, he thought of the newspaper reports and Kang Fan and the Qing identities of Mei Xiang, and naturally he would have thought that Kang Fan was the murderer who robbed the Japanese embassy, ​​but he still chose to help, which was really gratifying!

"Mr. Kang, you can rest assured that as long as you get on my ship, the British Navy will not be able to catch up with you." Captain Li comforted.

Kang Fan was lying on the bed and fighting the severe pain. When he saw Captain Li come in, he tried hard to squeeze out some smiles.

"I want to remind you Mr. Kang: The war between your country and Japan has ended. You alone cannot change the fate of the losers of your country. Although I don't understand your behavior, I still appreciate it because you are more bloody than most government officials in your country." Captain Li said, "I want to express my own opinion: the government officials in your country's fragile will to war may be because there are too many eunuchs in your country. Eunuchs cannot be called men, they are a monster. What's more, the person in your country who holds the highest power is still an old lady who is not beautiful. How can you advocate the spirit of martial arts in a government agency full of women and eunuchs? It is true that your country is very large and there are many people. The overall national strength is not comparable to Japan, but you are greedy for life and death, compromise, and passively beating, and failure is destined."

Kang Fan remained silent.

"Since Father Donovan met you, he has been impressed by your personality charm and is willing to help you. I have turned down many more rewarding businesses to help him do things for you, and it is because you are a noble person who wants to do something for your country and people, so you don't have to doubt my sincerity. Before you start this action, you should tell me your plan, at least I can help you bring your weapons into the city of London." Captain Li said excitedly, "Of course, it is best to be careful when such a huge and dangerous action. Although you and I have been in business for a long time, it is only the first time to meet, so it is normal to avoid it. But Father Donovan, an Irish bastard, would not understand the purpose of your trip."

Kang Fan quickly explained: "Father Donovan doesn't know the purpose of my trip at all, don't blame him. I want to explain, Captain Li, I only do what I think is right. If the Japanese rob our country's things, I will snatch them back, even if it's only a small part."

Captain Lee smiled, "I think this is reasonable."

Mei Xiang walked into the cabin with the newly stewed fish soup and a plate of fried bean sprouts. Captain Li was as surprised as if he discovered a new continent when he saw the plate of bean sprouts.

"This is what you gave me beans," Mei Xiang explained. "The vegetables and fruits on the boat have been eaten. We are going to be sick without vegetables. These bean sprouts are just right for emergency treatment."

Captain Li opened his eyes wide, "Miss Mei, how did you become?"

Mei Xiang smiled, "Only a small amount of fresh water is needed." After saying that, when Captain Li saw his salivating look, he asked Captain Li to eat it first, and then he went back to serve a plate again.

Captain Li praised his food and said while walking, "I still have some canned fruits in my cabin. I will take them for you and Mr. Kang to eat them. When we dock at the next stop, I will find a way to get more vegetables and fruits, don't worry."

After Captain Li left, Mei Xiang sat down beside the bed and fed Kang Fan a bite by bit with a spoon. Kang Fan was very obedient and drank intently. Mei Xiang's mind kept appearing Kang Fan's heroic appearance as he had been riding a horse and holding a gun. When he looked at the weak Kang Fan in front of him, tears flowed down disobediently. A few tears fell into the soup bowl and disappeared in an instant.

Kang Fan smiled, "The fish soup with tears added tastes very good."

Mei Xiang ignored his jokes and fed him silently, ignoring the tears that kept falling.

Kang Fan was silent.

He understood Mei Xiang's feelings, but this could not be a reason for not doing things. The money is from China and is urgently needed by Ningwufu Industrial Development Plan. Even if he really dies, he has to snatch it back, not to mention that he still has hope of survival, so why not do it?

The relaxed defense of the Japanese embassy was really helpful! This was caused by the extremely inflated arrogance of the Japanese embassy officials. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the whole country of Japan was immersed in the atmosphere of victory, and the sense of national superiority was unprecedentedly high. These embassy officials were of course no exception.

Despite this, if you don’t have the protection of a bulletproof vest, you will have to lose even if you have 8 lives!

On the night of the incident, Kang Fan, who had been closely following and monitoring the Japanese embassy and embassy staff for five days, sneaked into the Japanese embassy, ​​threw 5 poison gas bombs and turned around and locked the embassy gate. While waiting for the poison gas to produce results, he happened to meet with four Japanese embassy staff who returned from outside.

Perhaps because of the excitement after receiving a large war reparation, the four Japanese were all excited, and perhaps they even drank wine during supper and were unsuspecting.

Kang Fan decisively attacked, and used the sharp table knife stolen from the restaurant to cut one of the people's neck, stabbed it into the chest of the person next to him. The remaining two people quickly took out their pistols to shoot at Kang Fan, but Kang Fan's movements were faster than them. The table knife in his hand was thrown out like lightning and inserted it into one of the people's eyes. At the same time, he jumped up, grabbed his pistol, and shot him dead.

The last person took this opportunity to shoot Kang Fan three times. With the help of the bulletproof vest, Kang Fan was hit, but he did not fall down. Because the distance was too close, the two immediately started a close fight to the death.

This Japanese seemed to be the security guard of the embassy, ​​and his fist skills were quite good. But he might have been so shocked that he was still full of energy after being shot by Kang Fan. In the subsequent fight, Kang Fan picked up the opportunity to shoot and was shot and killed. Otherwise, it would not be so easy for Kang Fan to subdue him with bare hands when he was injured!

Kang Fan took a breath, put on a gas mask, sneaked into the embassy, ​​and robbed all the compensation. After leaving the embassy, ​​he met a couple walking on the street. He wanted to kill them together, but hesitated for a moment and let them go. Under the stunned gaze of the couple, he quickly escaped from the scene.

Although two of the pistol bullets fired from close range were blocked by the rigid bulletproof insertion plate of the bulletproof vest, one bullet hit the flexible bulletproof material interface between the two front and rear insertions. The huge impact force still caused a strong shock to Kang Fan's internal organs. When he found the house he and Mei Xiang rented, he no longer had the strength to stand up again.

Captain Li pushed the door and saw that the two of them were still eating, so he put down a bag of canned fruits and went out quietly.

"Plum Xiang." Kang Fan called gently.

Mei Xiang raised her head, her eyes blurred with tears.

"Do you know how much money I got this time? It is one quarter of the annual income of the Qing government!" Kang Fan said excitedly, "With this money, we can use the rich resources of Shanxi. Do you know what this means? It means that we can bring a Chinese province with an area of ​​half of the British local area into the ranks of modern industrial countries; it means a complete change in the lives of 30 million Chinese people! Thinking of this, what is the injury I suffered? I am still alive, and I can do more. Isn't this worth our happiness?"

Mei Xiang kept nodding, touching Kang Fan's swollen face due to the injury, and smiled and said, "Kang Fan, look how ugly you are now, I don't want you anymore."