1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

"Your Highness, my family, young and old, has no interest in officialdom or politics, so we will not participate."

As an old fox in the political arena who had quite a bit of experience in officialdom and had survived under the old woman Cixi, he could see at a glance that Fujiwara no Kanezane definitely had other plans.

Although he didn't know what the other party was planning, he knew that the wisest choice was to never get involved!

However, Zaifeng overlooked two things.

1. He himself had a relatively clear mind, but that didn't mean his sons and relatives did. Just because he didn't want to get involved in Manchukuo and become a fake official or a fake noble, didn't mean others didn't want to either!

Therefore, when Zaifeng said this, not only did others secretly express their dissatisfaction with the expression of "this old guy is taking advantage of his age again", but even his own sons Pu Jie and Pu Ren openly expressed their dissatisfaction:

"Dad! Why? His Highness has given us such a good opportunity, we must seize it!"

"That's right! Dad! You've been a prince, but I haven't!" "Me! You!"

Zaifeng was almost mad at his two stupid sons!

Idiot! Ass!

Are Japanese people so easy to get along with?

Just as stupid as your big brother!

Why didn’t I shoot you all to the ground back then! Here comes the second thing Zaifeng overlooked.

That is, since you know that no one can defy Fujiwara Kanezane's will regarding the question of "who is the emperor of Manchukuo," you should know that the same is true for other matters as well!

I made a decision and asked for your opinion just to be polite, but you took it seriously!

Seeing that Zaifeng not only refused to obey his orders but also dared to go against his will, Fujiwara no Kanezane chuckled twice and immediately ordered:

"Someone, come here! Prince Chun is not feeling well. Please go to the side room to rest!" A prince of the Qing Dynasty?

Dogfoot King!

Instantly, several soldiers from the 386th Brigade rushed into the room. One of them lifted Prince Chun up by one of his arms and legs, and dragged him out the door!

"I am Prince Chun! What are you doing? What are you doing? Wuuwuwu..."

The voice gradually faded away. Fujiwara Kanezane looked at the others who were either dumbfounded or trembling, and smiled the kind smile the Big Bad Wolf gave Little Red Riding Hood.

"Okay, Prince Chun has left for now. We can continue discussing the matter of conferring titles on the kingship."

Oh, so that's why. I thought...

Everyone immediately relaxed and began to rush to express their determination and loyalty to Fujiwara no Kanezane.

Those cheesy words, if they were published in the newspapers, would undoubtedly make him a traitor. He even said things like "The Empire of Japan will completely conquer China!"

Think about it too.

From the first day of the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, they did not regard China as their own country, but as a "colony" that could be exploited at will.

Selling out one's own country might seem shameful, but selling colonies was no big deal. "You all truly are worthy of being old bannermen. Your words are truly flattering." Hearing these compliments, Fujiwara no Kanezane suddenly revealed a distressed expression. "I believe you all deserve to be crowned princes, but we can't grant everyone the title, right? According to our domestic planning, Manchukuo will only have a maximum of two princes."

Only two?

There are more than a dozen of us! And there are only two!

Not to mention the 12 iron-hat kings like our Qing Dynasty, everyone can accept it if it's not an iron hat!

The competition is getting intense now!

The insects suddenly became anxious, and someone suddenly shouted:

"Your Highness, please tell me what it takes to become a prince!" "Your Highness, please tell me what we should do to serve our country!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Serve your country! Serve your country!"

The scene was filled with noise, resembling a market. Fujiwara Kanezane, however, was beaming with joy.

"Well, it's a good idea, everyone. However, there are only two one-character princes, four two-character county princes, and the rest of the beile and beizi will not exceed twenty in total. This is the fixed number for now..."

Some "smart people" listened carefully and kept the word "temporarily" firmly in mind.

"But, there are too many people and too little food, and I don't know who to choose. So after much deliberation, I decided to follow the old Qing dynasty's method and pay a donation!"

Ignoring the strange feeling of "our Qing Dynasty" coming from a Japanese, everyone suddenly understood after hearing this.

Oh, the donation!

You should have said it earlier!

It's just money!

Sure, sure!

Any Qing Dynasty official would be familiar with the issue of "paying donations".

To put it bluntly, it is the official approval of "selling official positions and titles."

In the five thousand years of Chinese history, although the practice of selling official positions and titles has never disappeared, it was only during the Qing Dynasty that this shameful practice was unified, institutionalized, and standardized.

In order to make more money by selling official positions, the Qing court also set up a special "Donation Bureau" under the management of the Ministry of Revenue, with clear prices and no deception.

At the beginning, the situation was quite restrained. Not many people paid bribes to become officials. Officials who had taken the imperial examinations looked down on those who paid bribes to become officials and were unwilling to stand with them during court sessions.

However, starting from Emperor Qianlong, in order to make money, the loophole for accepting donations was completely opened. Gradually, the court was basically filled with "donation officials", and the regular officials of the imperial examination were squeezed into the corner.

So, when Fujiwara no Kanezane said this, these Manchus weren't surprised at all.

"But even if we're paying the donation, we still have too many people. So, I've come up with a foolproof plan: an open auction! No one should be cheated!"

Auction...

Ah! It’s just bidding!

How can you still play like this?

"Prince Wen's title, starting price 20000 taels of silver, each bid must not be less than 2000 taels of silver!"

"The title of Prince Wu, starting price 30000 taels of silver, each bid must not be less than 2000 taels of silver!"

"The starting price for the title of Prince is 10000 taels of silver. Each bid must not be less than 1000 taels of silver!"

"Lord Baylor, starting price 5000 taels of silver, each bid must not be less than 500 taels of silver!"

"The starting price for this title is 3000 taels of silver. Each bid must be no less than 300 taels of silver!"

"In addition, some important positions in Manchuria, such as the Deputy Director of the National Highway Bureau and other departmental positions, can also participate in the donation auction!"

"Please prepare yourselves, interested customers. I will be holding a grand auction in Shenyang at the end of August. Please stay tuned!"

Is the price high?

To be honest, not high.

During the Daoguang Emperor's reign, the donation for a fourth-rank Guizhou prefect was 10,000 taels of silver!

Although the price dropped a little later because there were too many people, it never fell below 7000 taels.

Important positions like county magistrate generally maintain a market price of around 4000 taels.

What are they buying now?

It's a prince, duke, beile, or beizi title that was impossible to buy before! Is it too expensive?

Where is it expensive?

It's been this price for so many years. Don't talk nonsense with your eyes open. It's also difficult for His Highness Kanezane.

Sometimes I have to look for my own reasons. Have my assets increased over the years? Have I seriously exploited them?

Moreover, this amount of money was nothing to the Qing nobles. They were not the "poor devils" that some people in later generations thought they were.

After some discussion, everyone dispersed and prepared to start raising money to attend the meeting.

As expected, that night or the next day, these people came one after another to secretly ask for a private visit to Fujiwara Kanezane.

"Well...Okay, I admire you too...Oh, I'm so sorry...Okay, okay, don't worry, I will definitely support you..."

"...Yeah, yeah, yeah, that guy's definitely not good enough. I'm still leaning towards you. When the time comes... wow, this gentleman is quite generous!"

"Really? I think neither of them is suitable. Only you are the one that I favor the most! It's just... well, you are worthy of being a pillar of the country!"

"Add a few more princes? Well... well, to be honest, our emperor is also hesitant... He just needs to convince the ministers... Well, if you say these things, it should be able to convince them..."

In short, after making a few blind promises, Mr. Teng easily earned more than 5 yuan (silver notes and passbooks) and more than a dozen antiques such as jade bracelets.

As for promises?

What promises?

Oh, you promised to let so-and-so take the top spot? Promises are meant to be broken, understand?

Not to mention the alchemist who was known for his "brilliance even when cleaning up shit," even the agent had gradually grown accustomed to someone's misdeeds and turned a blind eye to them, simply bowing and asking for instructions:

"Commander, Zaifeng..."

"Oh, I almost forgot about this unlucky guy." Fujiwara Kanezane slapped his head and gave an order:

"Tell Prince Chun that I'm very dissatisfied with his performance today. I plan to keep him in the Northeast as a guest for a while. I'll wait until he's figured it out and then he can go back."

"It just so happens that I'm in need of a Manchukuo Regent. It's not expensive, only 500,000 dollars. I don't care if it's him or who else, but this position can't be left vacant. Do you understand?"

"I see. What about Pu Jie and Pu Ren?"

"Let them go back to Peking and raise money! Didn't Pu Jie's wife sell Prince Chun's Mansion with her lover and make a lot of money? If his wife can do it, why can't he?"

"...I see. Then, we'll release him once we get the money?"

"Huh? The one who promised them was Mark today. What does that have to do with Fujiwara Kanezane tomorrow?"

"...I understand..."

253 I only want to marry the emperor, no matter who the emperor is!

"A-choo!"

Just as Fujiwara no Kanezane was negotiating the price with a group of people, Wanrong in the "Inner Palace" sneezed loudly. UMP40, who was dressing her, immediately said with concern:

"Zhilian, what's wrong?"

"It's okay, I just feel like someone is talking about me."

"Haha, you're about to become Her Majesty the Queen, ruling the world. Of course, a lot of people will talk about you!"

"Shi Ling, you're teasing me again!" "No way... no way... hehe..."

The two of them were chatting, laughing, joking, and seemed extremely close and relaxed, which made the other beautiful woman in the room look out of place.

She was about 28 years old, with an oval face, delicate eyebrows and eyes, regular features, a slender figure, delicate and fair skin, and a youthful and charming aura...

In short, this is a woman who, even without makeup, can be called a "great beauty" even in later generations. She is much more beautiful than Wanrong with normal makeup.

A young girl with more youthful charm.

The only problem is that she doesn't smile at all, she just sits there like a doll.

Sitting on the chair, hands folded, letter low, not caring about anything in the world.

After a while, Wanrong cast her eyes over and sighed slightly: "Mintong, don't sit there, come and chat with me for a while!" "Cousin."

The two thin lips parted slightly, and a voice like a silver bell sounded softly: "I will just sit here, you don't need to pay attention to me."

Wanrong's cousin Wang Mintong, whose original name was Wanyan Tongji, was a member of the Bordered Yellow Banner of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty. She was born in 1913 and is now 19 years old. This time she came to attend the funeral with her mother Aisin Gioro Henghui.

Of course, like the men in their family, attending the funeral was only a secondary purpose. The real purpose was actually Pu Jie who came back from Japan to attend the funeral.

Wang's mother hoped that Wanrong could help mediate and persuade Wang Mintong to marry Pu Jie, who was currently divorcing because his wife Tang Yiying and her lover Lu Xiaojia stole property from Prince Chun's mansion, so that the two sides would be closer.

(By the way, Tang Yiying’s last lover was Zhang Xueliang. By the way, Lu Xiaojia offended Huang Jinrong by showing off in Shanghai. By the way, Du Yuesheng’s later wife was Wang Mintong’s best friend Meng Xiaodong.)

In the past, Wanrong might have agreed;

But after seeing the real world, she had long since despised Pu Jie and naturally did not want this cousin who was much more beautiful than her to marry him, but she just had not yet thought of the words to refuse;

Moreover, although Wang Mintong appears to be obedient and well-behaved on the surface, strictly following the etiquette of an aristocratic lady, in fact, this little girl has a very fierce temper;

Otherwise, would an ordinary noblewoman smile and say to her mother who was trying to persuade her to get married, "Mother, everyone in the capital knows about this (referring to her fiancé being an actor and loving to walk on the road). If you don't break off the engagement, I'll hang myself"?

This happened in 1930 and became known to everyone in the capital.

Through this, everyone knew about Miss Wang's strong temper, especially her family members. No one dared to force her to do anything she didn't want to do.

Advising Wang Mintong to be the third party and marry a second-married man who is still not divorced?