A Romantic Detective in the Qing Dynasty [Complete] - 3

Chapter Seventeen: Empress Dowager Cixi Sends a Beauty.

I was startled upon hearing this: "Damn it, has the old woman woken up from her dream?"

I hurriedly told Yan'er and Fei'er, "You two take them out through the back gate and wait for me at the military academy!"

The two of them quickly left with Weng Tonghe and Zhang Zhidong.

Just as they left, the old woman arrived with a large group of people.

I hurriedly knelt on the ground and said, "Your subject was unaware of the Empress Dowager's arrival and is late in welcoming her. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness!"

The old woman chuckled: "This child, where did you learn such empty talk? Your mother didn't even want you to know who you were welcoming! Come, look, who did your aunt bring you today?" Saying this, she pulled a girl out from behind her. Upon seeing her radiant face, I blurted out, "Tatara!"

Tatara squatted slightly, blushing, and said, "Tatara greets Your Majesty! May Your Majesty live ten thousand years!"

Empress Dowager Cixi then... She said, "Don't call her Tatara anymore. Since you cherish her so much, I'll make her Consort Zhen! Serve the Emperor well, and if you do, I'll promote you!"

Tatara hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to the old woman, "Consort Zhen thanks Your Majesty!"

Cixi pulled my hand and said, "Don't you like my little maids too? Look, I've brought them all for you, but don't be too greedy, you need to take care of your health!"

I looked, and sure enough, the three girls who had helped me change clothes that day were all there, along with a prettier girl.

Cixi said to the four girls, "Go and kowtow to your new masters. From now on, the Emperor and Consort Zhen are your masters! Here, this is Chuntao, this is Xialian, this is Qiuju, and this is Dongmei! If you have a son or daughter with the Emperor, I'll decide, and I'll make you all concubines for the Emperor!"

This made me and the four girls blush, and the four girls busily kowtowed to Tatara and me. I waved my hand and said, "Xiao Fuzi, lead Consort Zhen and the others inside. Make sure Consort Zhen is settled in properly. They're all there to serve her, no special arrangements are needed!"

Several women followed Xiao Fuzi into the palace. But that girl named Dongmei, with her bright eyes, kept turning back to smile at me after every few steps. Damn, this little rascal isn't behaving herself! Consort Zhen needs to keep a close eye on her!

Empress Dowager Cixi grabbed my hand and said, "I heard you have a car here, quite big and beautiful. Where did it come from?"

I quickly replied, "It was given to me by my friend Huang Fei! It's a gasoline truck!"

Cixi clapped her hands: "Hey, why didn't you get us a small car?"

I said, "I got this car so that I could get a small car for Mother Empress in the future, otherwise... " "What if Empress Dowager Cixi's car runs out of gas?"

As we approached the car, Cixi kicked the tire and said, "Isn't this thing too noisy when it's moving? I saw the German minister's car making a racket, and the back was practically belching smoke!"

I laughed and said, "That's because his car is bad. This one is fine, not too noisy! You see, I'll drive it for you to see!" With that, I got in and started the car. After a few steps, Cixi became very interested: "Come, let your mother sit in it and see!"

I hurriedly said, "That won't do, Your Majesty is of the highest quality and cannot be tested lightly! This car has just come into my possession, I need to take it out for a spin to see if there are any problems before Your Majesty can sit in it!"

Cixi hurriedly said, "Then you can take it out for a spin, your aunt will wait for you!" With that, she ordered the gate to be opened for me.

I saw this as a good opportunity to deliver the guns to the military academy, and I immediately said, "Then Your Majesty, please come inside and wait a while, I'll go test drive it right away!"

I drove all the way out of the Forbidden City and arrived at the military academy.

Yan'er, Zhang Zhidong, Weng Tonghe, and the soldiers were learning martial arts from Fei'er when they saw me arrive in my car. They all excitedly gathered around.

I immediately jumped out of the car and said, "Quickly find some large barrels to collect the oil, and then quickly take out the weapons inside. Mother is still waiting for me over there!"

The oil was gone after collecting several large barrels. I opened the lids and took out three hundred American M4 assault rifles, four M2HB heavy machine guns, thirty boxes of ammunition, six boxes of hand grenades, ten Chinese Type 64 pistols, and two boxes of pistol ammunition.

Zhang Zhidong stared at the gun, his eyes wide with astonishment. After a long pause, he exclaimed, "This gun is incredible! It's far superior to our muskets!"

Yan'er explained, "It was specially made by an American arsenal based on my design. Right after production began, a massive explosion occurred at the factory, destroying the entire production line. These guns are now a collector's item!"

Zhang Zhidong understood. He immediately asked, "If we had a factory, could you produce more of these guns?"

Yan'er replied, "Theoretically, yes, but unfortunately, I don't have a factory!"

Zhang Zhidong immediately retorted, "Why doesn't His Majesty grant him an arsenal? There's an armory in Beijing, with all the necessary equipment!"

I sighed and said, "Didn't you see how I acted today? We don't have that power yet, so I'm having you train these soldiers here first. When the time is right, we'll establish a Ministry of National Defense and a Ministry of Military Industry! We'll equip our own troops with our own weapons and fight those invaders!" I

had the oil poured back into the oil tank and then said, "I have to go back immediately. You guys keep practicing. I'll come over as soon as she leaves!"

The carriage made several turns before I drove back to the palace. As soon as Xiao Fuzi saw me, she ran over immediately: "Your Majesty is getting impatient. You have to be careful!"

I smiled, took out the silk cushions I had just bought, spread them out on the carriage seats, got out of the carriage, and went into the house.

Sure enough, the old woman saw me and sternly said, "Did you go somewhere to build a carriage? Why have you been gone for so long?"

I smiled and said, "Your Majesty wants to ride in a carriage, so I have to decorate it properly for you. You never go to the market, so you don't know what's sold there. Come, son, carry your mother to the carriage!"

As I said this, I picked her up and started walking out. The old woman hugged my neck and chuckled, saying, "Your son has really grown up. You can carry your mother now!"

Li Lianying followed and ran out, saying, "Your Majesty, this servant will also go with you to try out the carriage!"

I was just worried about not having a chance to discipline this lapdog, so I happily said, "Perfect, you can take care of Your Majesty in the carriage!"

Cixi sat in the carriage, looked at the silk cushion, and laughed, "You put so much effort into such a piece of silk. You really don't know the outside world if you don't leave the palace!"

I sat in the driver's seat, started the car, and the car started moving smoothly.

As the carriage drove out of the palace gates, Empress Dowager Cixi exclaimed happily, "This carriage is quite stable, it didn't make any noise!"

I said, "This is the newest product in the world! It only takes two stops to get from here to Tianjin!"

Cixi became excited: "My son, can this carriage be modified?"

I was taken aback: "How?"

"Convert the back into a carriage, with a table and a bed, so you can eat and sleep in it. There's even a place for those who serve Mother! Auntie wants to use it to go out of the palace for inspections!" Cixi said wistfully.

I laughed: "Then let's build Mother another traveling carriage!"

Cixi immediately said: "Then why don't you build one right away?"

I said, "I have a friend who came back from Germany who can build not only cars, but also warships, steamships, and sedans! Germany was afraid of his return and wanted to appoint him Minister of the Armaments Department, but he said, 'I am a subject of the Qing Dynasty, I must return to the Qing Dynasty.' So the German government placed him under house arrest. Later, he impersonated someone else and escaped back. I let him stay with the child for now, and he's staying! But building cars isn't easy; he needs a factory! Besides, it's not something one factory can do; it requires..." "More than a dozen factories have to cooperate and obey his orders. How could he possibly manage that in the Qing Dynasty? If he could, our gunboats, automobiles, and cannons would have overwhelmed the Western devils. We wouldn't even need to buy steamships from abroad; we could sell them to them and make money off them! We'd make them kowtow to you before we sold to him!"

Empress Dowager Cixi chuckled excitedly, "That would be wonderful! We have so many factories; we can give him whichever factory he wants, and if he wants an official position, we'll give him the Minister of Military Industry! Hmm, what does the Ministry of Military Industry manage?"

"If we were to gather all those factories—the Suzhou Arsenal, the Jiangnan Arsenal, the Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau, the Tianjin Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, the Sichuan Machinery Bureau, the Anqing Arsenal, the Beijing Army Arsenal, the Guangzhou Arsenal, the Hangzhou Arsenal, the Hanyang Arsenal, the Hunan Arsenal, the Jilin Arsenal, the Jinling Arsenal, the Lanzhou Arsenal, the Lushun Naval Station, the Shandong Arsenal, the Taiwan Arsenal, the Weihaiwei Shipyard, the Yunnan Arsenal, and the Xi'an Arsenal—into one place and put them under his unified management, he would surely be able to build gunboats, fine automobiles, steamships, and even trains and airplanes! Those Western devils would have to kowtow to you! Empress Dowager, sell us a Chinese car! Empress Dowager, sell us a Chinese airplane! Then you can glare at him and say, 'Get out! You haven't paid your tribute yet! Go back and bring some more good stuff!'"

Cixi laughed so hard she could hardly breathe: "Then we'll give him the position of Minister of Military Industry, along with that Huang guy again?" "Oh, Huang Fei, just listen to that name! Anyone who didn't know better would think she's one of the Emperor's concubines! Like Huang Fei, he'll be a first-rank official. All those bureaus and departments you mentioned will be given to him. Let him build me a beautiful car, and then a flying machine! Oh, an airplane! I want to go up in the sky and show off! Right, Little Li!"

Li Lianying hurriedly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

"You'll be driving and flying the airplane for me! I can't let any other brat be on equal footing with me!" Cixi commanded.

Li Lianying was taken aback, and said with difficulty, "This thing is much harder to handle than a horse. I'm afraid if it gets angry, I won't be able to hold the reins!"

I quickly said, "It's alright, I'll teach you. I guarantee you'll be able to drive in a month!" "

You little brat, just wait till I get my hands on you!"

Chapter Eighteen: Blood Oath.

I drove around the streets for a long time. Although cars were still a rarity back then, people already knew they weren't some terrifying monster. The common people stood by the roadside watching the spectacle. The street vendors and shoppers continued as usual, creating a lively atmosphere. Usually,

the old lady was always surrounded by a large entourage when she went out, and the streets would quiet down from afar. She had never seen such a lively scene before, and this made her so happy that she bounced around. She waved her arms and legs excitedly, asking Li Lianying this and that, pointing to the street vendors and asking, "What are they doing?"

After driving around for a while, I said, "Let's go back. We'll have to go around the whole of Beijing. Even if we go tomorrow, we won't have seen half of it! Let's come back another day when Mother is in a good mood!"

The old lady was still excited, but she said, "Alright, Auntie is tired today. Let's do it another day!" "

The carriage turned back, but I couldn't let Chief Eunuch Li, who was riding in the carriage, get away with it. When the carriage reached a small ditch near the imperial city wall, I looked around to make sure no one was watching, lest he use his power to find someone. I turned the wheel so one of the rear wheels went into the ditch, and then stopped the carriage there.

I said dejectedly, 'What a terrible road! How did a stinking ditch end up here? Oh well, Chief Eunuch Li, let's get out and take a look!'

I opened the carriage door and jumped out. I went to Li Lianying's side and saw him frantically trying to open the door, his face flushed with anxiety. He couldn't even open the door, so I helped him open it and got out of the carriage.

We went around to the back of the carriage and looked around. I said easily, 'It's alright, Chief Eunuch Li, just give it a push, and I'll accelerate a bit and we'll be out of there!'

Li Lianying didn't want to help. He looked at the city wall and said, 'There's a side gate not far ahead. I'll go and get two people to push!' "

I waved my hand and said, "Forget it, don't let the old lady starve here. Just give it a push, come on, push here, put some effort into it!" I had him stand behind the waterlogged wheel, leaning over, and push the back of the tanker truck with both hands. I

got on the truck, revved the engine hard, and the truck lurched forward, rushing out of the puddle. I jumped off and said, "Manager Li is really strong, you pushed the truck right away—hey, why are you lying in the water?" "

Li Lianying is now sprawled on all fours in the black, green, foul-smelling muddy water, struggling desperately!

Damn it, this is the effect I wanted, let you taste the stench of the ditch first!

I pretended to be surprised and hurriedly went forward to pull him out, but halfway up, I pretended to lose my grip and let him fall back into the stinking water, and then I pulled him out. I looked at Li Lianying, who was covered in stinking mud, and said, 'How could you be so stupid? I just stepped on the gas, you could have just given me a push, why did you keep pushing? You'll just end up swaying into the ditch! Alright, hurry up and go through the side door to change your clothes, how can you sit next to the Empress Dowager like this? You'll suffocate her with the stench!'

The whimpering Li Lianying shivered in the cold wind, looking at his two muddy paws, and could only say, 'Then this servant will go back to change my clothes!'" "After saying that, he somersaulted towards the small side gate.

Watching him run away, I thought to myself, 'You little punk, just you wait, the real trouble is yet to come! I'll make you pay!'

I got into the car, and just as I started the engine, Cixi said, 'Wait, Little Li hasn't gotten in yet!'

Damn it, she's even developed feelings for you!

I sighed and said, 'That idiot, I made him push the car, and he ended up pushing himself into a stinking ditch, getting all smelly! I sent him back to the palace to change his clothes!' Cixi

looked at me, and after a long while, she said, 'You didn't deliberately make him suffer, did you?'

I quickly said, 'How could I? Although I can't stand his stinky appearance, I can't help but take care of him for Mother's sake. How could I possibly make him suffer?'" "

As the carriage drove back to the palace, Empress Dowager Cixi said with lingering reluctance, 'I'll ride in it again someday. It's much better than sitting in a sedan chair; I can see in all directions. You should quickly teach Little Li to drive for me!'

I readily agreed, 'I will obey Your Majesty's command!'

After seeing Cixi off, I hurriedly led the ten guards and slipped out through the back gate to the military academy.

It was already noon, and everyone was having lunch on the parade ground. Yan'er, Fei'er, Weng Tonghe, and Zhang Zhidong were also squatting there eating. Among those eating with me were five middle-aged men in their thirties whom I had never seen before.

The food was quite substantial—rice and pork stew with vermicelli. Everyone ate with relish. When I arrived, Zhang Zhidong quickly brought the unfamiliar men over to introduce me, saying, 'Your Majesty, these are some of my friends. They all said they wanted to attend the military academy when they knew I was here! Come, greet Your Majesty. This is General Zuo Baogui and Wei Rugui, the Commander-in-Chief of Zhili.'" "Looking at these two men, both are burly and imposing, truly like fierce generals. I know Zuo Baogui died in the Korean War, and now that I'm here, I can't let him die in vain.

This is Zuo Zhongyun Xijun, Zuo Shuzi Shengyu, and this is Fuzhou General Anpingjun. They have all practiced martial arts since childhood, aspiring to serve their country and wishing to serve His Majesty. They asked me to introduce them; please forgive my intrusion in bringing them here!"

I was delighted to meet them all and said, "Minister Zhang truly deserves to be called my trusted advisor; he truly understands my heart! The rejuvenation of China cannot be achieved by a few individuals, even a few hundred; it requires the united efforts of thousands of brave warriors. I am overjoyed that you have come, and I hope you will all stay and fight together for the rise of China!"

All five were overjoyed, but I worried that they couldn't leave their posts. Zhang Zhidong said, "Your Majesty need not worry. These three generals are on leave; a month is fine. These two have nothing to do except attend court every day, so they can come with me!"

I happily said, "That's wonderful! Stay and discuss the important matters of the state with me!"

Yan'er came over and served me a bowl of rice and a bowl of vegetables. Long'an hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, is it—"

I waved my hand and said, "My teacher and Zhang..." " Everyone here is eating, what's so special about me? In any army, only when officers and soldiers eat, live, and train together can they share hardships and be willing to shed blood in wartime! Lord Zhang, don't you agree?"

Zhang Zhidong immediately replied, "Your Majesty is absolutely right! Officers and soldiers alike are all soldiers protecting the country. Only when our hearts are united can we be invincible!"

I nodded, "A general's ability to command troops lies in understanding and loving them. Understanding them allows you to mobilize their maximum fighting power; loving them inspires them to fight to the death! This is crucial for a general!"

Zhang Zhidong hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I will remember this and will never fail in my duty!"

As I ate and walked, I saw the soldiers discussing the fighting techniques taught by Fei'er. They excitedly said, "No wonder our teacher could take on over three hundred of us by herself! It's all about skillful techniques! This martial arts is amazing!"

"Why are there Shaolin, Wudang, and Huashan techniques here? Which school of martial arts is this? I'm getting more and more confused!"

"You're so silly! This is something our teacher created himself, combining the strengths of many schools and bringing together the best of martial arts. If you're talking about which school it belongs to, I think it's the Huang school! We are all inheritors of the Huang school of martial arts! We are inheritors of the number one martial art in the world!"

Hearing this, I thought to myself, "Fei'er has already established her authority; I need to find some time to let Yan'er establish hers too!"

After dinner, I gave everyone a lesson in the main hall: We are the sons and daughters of China.

I drew a map on a large board and said, “Here, I am just like you, a son or daughter of China. Our great nation of China has dozens of ethnic groups, including Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, and many others. We are all members of this big family, without distinction of rank or status; we are all equal. Therefore, our students must not discriminate against anyone, nor should they have any feelings of inferiority! We are all Chinese! Beyond China, there are many other countries, such as Japan, the United States, France, Germany, and England, all of which are like us. In recent years, due to the presence of corrupt officials, our country has neglected to improve people's lives, failed to develop production effectively, and failed to seriously promote science and technology.” We focused on technological advancements but neglected building a strong military, causing us to fall behind Britain, the US, France, Germany, and even Japan. These countries then resorted to every means to attack us, seize our land, plunder our wealth, and rape our wives and daughters! Backwardness invites aggression; backwardness means being bullied! Tell me, can we still tolerate foreign aggression?”

The crowd immediately roared, “No!”

I said, “Right, no! What to do? We must strive to strengthen ourselves and manage our own affairs well! Let our nation become strong, our people prosperous, and our army invincible! Let those foreign barbarians who occupy our land get out! Let them spit out everything they've taken!” "Come out! Those who offend the majesty of China, though far away, shall be punished!"

Zhang Zhidong stood up, tears welling in his eyes, and raised his hand, shouting, "Those who offend the majesty of China, though far away, shall be punished!"

All the soldiers stood up, raised their hands, and shouted, "Those who offend the majesty of China, though far away, shall be punished!"

I continued, "My East Point Military Academy is not for training ordinary soldiers, but for training officers of the Chinese army—high-ranking officers who will lead a mighty army across the battlefield tomorrow. I hope that every one of you soldiers will not disappoint my expectations! We must make our country strong and our army invincible, but those corrupt officials, those powerful princes and ministers, they want to plunder the people's wealth to enrich themselves, and embezzle the national treasury to line their own pockets..." If they don't allow us to implement strategies to strengthen the country and enrich the people, we must confront them tit for tat. To take the power back from their hands and put it in our hands, we have to have a life-and-death contest with them. I am prepared to come to this contest to put the power of the country and the army into the hands of patriotic generals like us, and take the step of making China strong and prosperous! Are you willing to work with me? If you don't want to, you can leave now, and I will never embarrass you; if you are willing, we will become an alliance with blood and swear here that we will not hesitate to shed blood and sacrifice for the revitalization of the Chinese nation! "As

soon as I finished speaking, Zhang Zhidong knelt on the ground: "I, Zhang Zhidong, would like to work with you long live for the revitalization of China, and I will not hesitate to do anything to my heart's content! "My dearest minister, Tonghe,

is willing!"

"My lord, Lin Yan, is willing!"

"My lord Huang Fei is willing!" "

"I, Zuo Guogui, am willing!"

"-"

More than three hundred people knelt on the ground. I waved my hand and Long An immediately ordered someone to bring a big wine jar and a knife. I was the first to pick up Dai and cut my middle finger and dripped blood into the wine jar. Zhang Zhidong, Weng Tonghe—all three hundred and twenty-one people dripped blood into the wine jar.

I said, "From now on, I am not an emperor here, but a member of the school, your principal! To be like everyone else, I will give myself a new name. In the military academy, I will be called Long Xiangyu! You will call me Principal Long. Our East Point Military Academy's flag is a golden star and a soaring golden dragon! Alright, now I will lead everyone in swearing an oath: We are the sons and daughters of China, willing to fight for the revitalization of China and the prosperity of our nation, to drive out foreign invaders and eliminate traitors, unafraid of bloodshed and sacrifice, and willing to give our lives, to ensure that the dragon flag of China flies high all over the world! Oath taker: Long Xiangyu!"

"Oath taker: Weng Tonghe!"

"Oath taker: Zhang Zhidong!"

"Oath taker—"

Then everyone raised their bowls and drank the blood wine.

Chapter Nineteen: Divine Sharpshooter Yan'er.

A mouthful of blood wine made everyone's blood boil. To practice martial arts for the revitalization of China, to practice for defeating foreign devils, a fire ignited in everyone's heart! Now, with Fei'er leading the training in martial arts, everyone was filled with a fierce spirit, a sense of national self-reliance, so their training was truly impressive.

Yan'er and I, along with Zhang Zhidong, Weng Tonghe, and others, went to the warehouse to re-inspect the guns and decided to equip everyone with firearms. Two hundred and eighty-eight assault rifles and three heavy machine guns were issued to the military academy. The heavy machine guns were operated by four men each, totaling twelve men. Each man received one rifle, bringing the total to exactly three hundred men, who were then organized into the First Battalion, First Regiment of the First Army of China.

Weng Tonghe, Zhang Zhidong, Long An, Zuo Baogui, Wei Rugui, Sheng Yu, Xi Jun, and An Pingjun each received a pistol, and the rest were given to the two newly selected regimental commanders. Ten guards each received a rifle, and the remaining two rifles and one heavy machine gun were given to Yan'er!

All the hand grenades were given to the ten guards.

Zhang Zhidong, Weng Tonghe, Long An, Zuo Baogui, Wei Rugui, Sheng Yu, and Xi Jun, along with Anping Jun, immediately found Yan'er upon receiving their pistols: "Instructor Lin, quickly teach us how to use these guns! They're just decorations if we can't use them!"

Yan'er then proceeded to disassemble the guns on the table, explaining each part and reassembling them one by one. After a few rounds, the eight men were able to disassemble and reassemble them with ease. The men, armed with their guns and ammunition, eagerly went out to practice aiming.

Long An, however, followed me around asking, "What about the weapons for the newly recruited soldiers?"

I laughed and said, "Then we'll have to find your 800,000 Imperial Guards' Instructor Lin! I'll transfer it to you whenever he finishes it!" Long An said to Yan'er, "Instructor Lin, we're waiting for you!" Then he ran out to practice.

Yan'er, who was checking the rifle and heavy machine gun in her hands, saw that no one was around and came over and kicked me: "I said, why are you being so generous today? After all this time, you just gave me a few samples and asked me to copy them for you! Don't you know that this thing is a cutting-edge product even in that world? Can the current technology, equipment, and materials produce it? Aren't you forcing us?"

"What, is there a problem?" I asked worriedly.

"From a technical point of view, it is indeed quite difficult, but as long as I have the equipment, I'll modify it a bit, and your wife will get it for you. It just depends on when you hand over the factory to me!" Yan'er is a weapons expert after all. I know that there is no problem that can be solved by her.

Yan'er tugged at me and said, "Let's go, we need to teach these guys how to shoot!"

I said, "Don't teach them now, let's hand out the rifles first, you can teach them all at once!"

Hearing that rifles were being handed out, cheers erupted on the parade ground. After the soldiers assembled, I announced the military academy's leadership: Principal Long Xiangyu, First Vice Principal Zhang Zhidong, Second Vice Principal Lin Yan, Third Vice Principal Huang Fei, Executive Vice Principal Long An, Commander of the First Regiment of the Chinese Dragon Army Li Gang, and Deputy Commander Hai Bo.

Li Gang was a Han Chinese from Baodi, Hebei. He was very delicate-looking, like a young woman, but extremely hardworking when it came to martial arts. His greatest strength was his exceptional intelligence; he had a thorough understanding of various military tactics. He was a rare talent. Moreover, he was very steady and not easily angered.

Hai Bo was a Manchu from Buding Village on the north bank of the Heilongjiang River. He had fished on the Heilongjiang River since childhood, able to stay underwater for half a day without showing his face. Catching fish in the river was his specialty. He joined the army because he had suffered constant harassment from the Russians there; he was Long'an's younger cousin. I wanted to train him to be a naval commander, and after chatting with him a few times, I found him to be quite intelligent.

Then, I said a few words about cherishing weapons, and then the distribution of rifles began.

First came the ten warriors, ten men holding rifles and bullets, their hands trembling with joy. After receiving their rifles, Yan'er showed them how to carry them. The ten men, rifles slung over their shoulders, stood proudly behind me, looking incredibly spirited!

Yan'er had already organized the three hundred trainees into three companies, nine platoons, and twenty-seven squads, and selected squad, platoon, and company commanders. The soldiers received their rifles in squads. The soldiers in the heavy machine gun squad were jumping for joy; they carried their machine guns like drunkards, their steps unsteady.

Yan'er had Long'an give each person a piece of cloth that had been prepared beforehand, then spread the cloth on the ground and began teaching the soldiers how to disassemble their weapons. This time, it wasn't as fast as before. After an hour of instruction, there were still a few who couldn't install it. Yan'er gave them individual guidance a few more times, and they all passed smoothly. Yan'er then went to teach the machine gun squad.

It was time to teach them how to fire the gun. I said, "Don't teach yet, demonstrate for everyone first!"

Yan'er immediately said, "Yes, Principal Long!" As she spoke, she stood at attention and gave me a perfect military salute!

The whole room was immediately stunned. Although I had just said that I was Principal Long in the military academy, they had only taken it as a joke. Now, after hearing their instructor say it, they all turned to look at me, watching my reaction.

I immediately stood at attention, returned a standard salute, and said, "Vice Principal Lin, carry out the order!"

Lin Yan replied "Yes" and walked to the middle of the drill ground. She instructed Long An to hang five copper coins on a large tree 100 meters away with thin thread, insert five incense sticks at 200 meters away, and set up five bamboo poles at 300 meters away. Then, standing at attention, she asked, "Comrade Principal, is it a single burst or three bursts?"

I blurted out, "Let's make it more difficult, a single continuous burst!"

Yan'er immediately said, "Yes, sir!"

With a graceful turn, she raised her gun in one hand, and without even aiming, fired a series of crisp, continuous shots.

After finishing, I said to Long An, "Vice Principal Long, check the targets!"

Long An imitated Yan'er's posture and gave a military salute: "Yes, Comrade Principal!"

He then waved his hand and led the soldiers who had set up the targets over.

A few moments later, several people ran back, completely abandoning their manners, shouting and yelling as they ran, "Amazing! Amazing! They hit the target every time!"

Long An, holding two thin strings tied with copper coins, said, "They were all cut half a foot away from the large coins. I can't even see the large coins clearly, let alone the strings!"

Thunderous applause immediately erupted throughout the room.

Next, I had Long An set up three pre-made, dressed scarecrows 500 meters away.

I said, "Vice Principal Lin, let's try the heavy machine gun. Vice Principal Huang, would you like to lend a hand?"

After Fei'er agreed, the two of them checked the machine gun and then reported, "Lin Yan and Huang Fei are ready. Please give the order, Principal Long!"

I waved my hand and said, "Immediately eliminate the three invading enemies ahead. Only six shots are allowed. Each enemy must be hit twice, once in the heart and once between the eyebrows. Execute!"

The two of them immediately lay down on the ground, and six crisp gunshots rang out. The three scarecrows fell down.

I commanded, "Vice Principal Long, check the targets."

Long An and three men ran off, and the four of them returned listlessly carrying three scarecrows.

I was startled: "What? Did they miss?"

Everyone looked at Lin Yan in surprise, but she remained standing there with a smile.

Long An had three soldiers place the three targets there, then whispered, "Principal, check the targets!"

As soon as I stepped forward, the four of them couldn't help but burst out laughing.

I looked, and wow, all three scarecrows had bullet holes in their foreheads and hearts in the exact same spot—the location was astonishingly identical.

People immediately erupted in thunderous applause.

I said again, "Vice Principal Lin, try the pistol. Can you hit a living creature this time?"

Yan'er immediately saluted and said, "Yes, Lin Yan, execute the order!"

After checking her Type 64 pistol, a flock of sparrows flew overhead. She fired three shots, and four sparrows fell to the ground. Three sparrows were headless, and one was hit in the stomach.

Yan'er laughed and said, "What a coincidence! Two of them just happened to overlap, but it's a pity their heads didn't overlap! A bit of a shame!"

Applause broke out again. Vice Principal Lin Yan's authority had been established amidst the gunfire, and I felt relieved.

After everyone quieted down, I smiled and said, "Alright, let Vice Principal Lin give you a lecture now!"

While Yan'er was lecturing, I called Zhang Zhidong aside and asked him to temporarily oversee the military academy for me. Zhang Zhidong readily agreed, but then he said, "Three hundred men are too few. I have a group of friends, mostly serving in the governor-general's offices in Fujian, Zhejiang, Zhili, and Liangjiang. I want to visit them, firstly to connect them with His Majesty and get them to submit to His Majesty, so that if necessary, I can control the armies of the three governor-general's offices and have them under His Majesty's command; secondly..." "I'd like to select some people from them to strengthen the military academy. What does Your Majesty think?"

I was delighted and said, "Excellent! I was just thinking about this. I've been appointed acting head of the naval office, and I'm worried they might not hand over the navy. I'd like to visit these three governor-general's offices to integrate the three naval forces as soon as possible and form a fighting force. As for the military academy cadets, it would be best if you could recruit more. As for personnel, I think the more the better, but for now, 10,000 is appropriate. I wonder if Xiaoda can recruit enough?"

Zhang Zhidong said, "When I was in Shanxi, I knew a man named Zhang Decai. He opened a martial arts school in Taiyuan, and there are more than twenty branches in various counties. He has more than a thousand disciples and a large number of followers. He has always wanted those disciples to get a better social standing. These people are very skilled in martial arts and have a good level of education. Their teacher also teaches them Western learning. If the principal needs them, I can send a letter and they can all come over!"

I happily said, "Good, call them over immediately. We are just starting out now, and it will be good for them to learn together and put them to use later!"

I was still thinking about my third wife, Consort Zhen. After making some arrangements, I hurriedly returned to my palace with ten armed guards. As soon as I entered my courtyard, Xiao Fuzi ran over and said, "Oh no! Four princes with iron caps have arrived! There's His Majesty's biological father, the Seventh Prince Chun, the Fifth Prince Dun, the Prince Qing, and the Eighth Prince. They're all furious! Looks like they've come looking for trouble! They're all waiting for His Majesty in the Hall of Mental Cultivation!"

I knew immediately that I had offended them by dismissing Prince Qing today, and they were here to settle scores.

I smiled and said, "Those who are meant to come will come eventually. It's better that they're here than if they're plotting in the shadows!"

Entering the house, I saw three old men in their fifties and a middle-aged man in his forties, all with long, sullen faces, sitting there, puffing out their sleeves. When they saw me enter, they pretended not to see me and ignored me completely.

I stepped forward and bowed to the four of them: "Father and three uncles, what brings you here? Zaitian greets Father and uncles!"

The four men hurriedly tried to kneel, but I stopped them, and they all stood still. "Your Majesty is back?" I

said with a smile, "I accompanied the Empress Dowager on a ride to the horse market. I want to buy a few good horses so I can practice my horsemanship and not lose all of my ancestors' skills!"

Prince Chun, his face ashen, snorted angrily, "You still remember your ancestors? I thought you had long forgotten them!"

I quickly said, "How could I forget them? If I had, would I have been able to remove Prince Bao from the Naval Office? Do you know how much effort that took?"

At this, the three princes snorted simultaneously and looked at me sideways.

I said sternly, "Do you think being an official in the Naval Office is easy?" After the Fujian Navy was wiped out by the French, the Japanese realized that to attack the Qing Dynasty, they had to attack the Qing navy first. They had their sights set on the Beiyang Fleet. At this time, Li Lianying proposed to use the Navy Ministry's savings to build a garden. It was clearly a case of using someone else to do the dirty work. When the Qing navy went to fight, if they won, it would be Li Hongzhang's achievement; if they lost, it would be Prince Bao's fault for diverting naval funds and affecting naval construction. At that time, it would probably be Li Hongzhang who was executed, right?

Prince Bao snorted heavily and said angrily, "Do you think we're all three-year-olds? You think you're the only one who can talk so much? You saved me, but why did you go in yourself?"

I laughed, "If I didn't go in, would the Empress Dowager let you off? If she didn't find a scapegoat and take this opportunity to bring down you iron-hat princes, would she be satisfied?"

Prince Dun glared at me, "You talk a good game, but if you went in, wouldn't she still deal with you?" "

I said, 'Then she won't be able to deal with me. I won't embezzle that money at all. I'm going to use it immediately to equip and train the Qing navy, preparing to fight those little devils in the sea and wipe out their navy. Then what can she arrest me for? Can she still arrest us few iron-hat princes?'

The Eighth Prince nodded: 'Tian'er's words are not without reason. If the Fujian Navy is defeated, we will have seized on Prince Gong's weakness and removed him from power. If the Beiyang Navy is defeated, they will definitely find fault with us too. At that time, it will indeed be difficult for us to explain ourselves!'

Hearing him say this, Prince Chun's expression improved a bit: 'Then what do you plan to do with your Uncle Bao? You have to let him make some money, right?'

Damn it, you dogs, all you know is how to make money. You even dare to sell your ancestral tablets. You are a bunch of bastards!

I smiled and said: 'A gentleman loves money, but he earns it in a proper way. How can I sell myself for money?'" "Actually, there are plenty of ways to make money. My American friend, Huang Fei, can help you get rich right away!"

Prince Bao immediately chimed in, "What way?"

"Set up a factory!"

"What? Are you kidding us? What factory? Li Hongzhang set up factories, how much silver did the Qing Dynasty spend? And which one of them made money? Besides, how much silver does that even cost? Li Hongzhang spent the Qing Dynasty's money, but I have to use my own. Where am I going to get that much money? If I had that much money, I could just sit around and eat, why would I put in all that effort?" Prince Bao shouted.

I smiled and asked him, "What are you using to start a fire now?"

"A flint and steel, of course. Can you conjure up a fire starter?" Prince Bao said angrily.

I pulled a box of matches from my pocket and lit one with a snap: "How about this? Will it sell well?"

All three of them were stunned, staring wide-eyed. Only Prince Gong looked on coldly, saying nothing.

Prince Bao snatched the matches from my hand, examining them for a long time: "You're just going to put them in your pocket like that? Aren't you afraid of burning your pocket?" I

said, "Of course not. This thing has two parts. You have to strike the match head on this side to make it light. You see, if you strike it on other places, it won't light at all!"

Prince Gong took the matches and said, "I think Westerners have these. We call them 'foreign matches.' They light when struck on a hard surface." As he spoke, he took one out and struck it on the stone slab on the ground, but the match didn't light. He struck it on the sole of his shoe for a long time, but it still didn't light. He even broke the match, but it still didn't light. He complained, "Hey, this isn't even as good as those foreigners' matches!"

I said, "You're blind to the value of a gem! These are safety matches, while those foreigners' matches are unsafe. In the summer heat, their matches will spontaneously combust in your pocket, but these don't have that problem! This was just invented by a friend of a friend!"

Prince Bao hurriedly asked, "How much does it cost to set up this factory?"

I said, "Five hundred thousand!"

Prince Bao said, "That expensive?"

I said, "But you'll earn a lot too. Think about it, one box of matches lasts only ten days for one person, so you'll need three boxes a month. And you collect... " "Two taels of silver, and you can make a pure profit of one tael of silver each. One person can earn three taels of silver a month. With over 300 million people in the Qing Dynasty, how many taels of silver could you earn in a month? How much in a year?"

Prince Bao immediately said, "Isn't it just 500,000? I'll do it! But this cash—can I use my estate and land as collateral?"

I thought about it, and damn it, carrying out land reform here is too difficult, and there aren't the conditions. Currently, land is basically concentrated in the hands of 5% of the population. I might as well do what Chiang Kai-shek did in Taiwan: the state buys back the land and then distributes it to farmers for rent, with the state collecting land taxes. But where will the money to buy the land come from? Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck me: "Sell patents, use patents to exchange for land! I'll start selling from here today! Damn, anything from the 21st century can be exchanged for some silver here! Set up a patent office, speculate and sell like hotcakes, sell for cash, exchange for land, and gather all the land and silver of those nouveau riche into the state!" Thinking this, I said, "Uncle, listen carefully, this 500,000 is for buying someone else's patent, that is, buying the technology, buying your right to produce it. You'll need another 100,000 or 200,000 to set up a factory! But don't worry, I'll find a way to get you land to offset it!"

Prince Bao said, "Don't tease me, you have to help me set up the factory and produce the matches!"

I said, "Of course, not only will you produce them, but you'll also help me open up sales channels so you can sit at home counting money every day!"

Prince Bao said, "Alright then, let's call it even for today. But if you don't help me get this sorted out, I'll have to come back to you and make sure you don't get a good night's sleep!"

Prince Dun said, "You want to take the entire fleet to the Naval Office? Do you think those governors-general will listen to you?"

I smiled and said, "Aren't they all our servants? If the Empress Dowager speaks, do they dare disobey? Aren't they afraid of losing their official hats?"

The Eighth Prince said, "Then it depends on how you handle Li Hongzhang. The Beiyang Fleet is the head of the three major fleets. If you can..." " If you don't touch them, your show will fall apart!"

Prince Chun also said, "Li Hongzhang relies on his Huai Army to support the Beiyang Army, and the Qing Dynasty relies on his Beiyang Army to support the defense of the capital region. If he doesn't give you a fleet, what can you do to him?"

Prince Chun said, "The development and utilization of resources in the capital region are almost entirely controlled by Li Hongzhang. No matter who invests, he has to be a partner and take a stake. The munitions industries he runs in Suzhou, Nanjing, and Shanghai, the mining industries in Shanghai and Shandong, the coal and steel industries in Zhili, the cotton mills in Shanghai, and the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company in Shanghai all rely on large..." "Qing's money was all put into his pocket, at most a little to equip his private army! Even the salt transport in Zhili was directly controlled by him, the money went straight into his pocket, do you think he'd let you control him so easily?"

I laughed: "Then what are my uncles doing, why don't they bring him down?"

Prince Chun sighed: "When we were taking down your sixth uncle, Prince Gong, we intended to take him down too, but who knew he changed sides faster than anyone else, even foreigners said he had the ability to shift the blame, he kicked your sixth uncle to the ground." "He surrendered to us! We softened and spared his life! Now he's back on his word and is lending money to us! Now almost all of us owe him money!"

I laughed: "That's great! One day I'll take care of him, and all your debts will be gone!"

The Eighth Prince happily said: "That's good, go ahead and do it, we promise not to interfere!"

Part One Five Years of Gathering, Volume Two,

Chapter Twenty-One: The Trap of Sexual Bliss

I was secretly pleased. I knew that these princes wanted to use me to kill people and eliminate Li Hongzhang, this dissident! But what I wanted was to get rid of treacherous officials so that I could carry out my revenge to revitalize China! Although the goals were different, they could lead to the same goal, so why not?

I didn't show anything and happily saw them off.

Back in the palace, my two young wives had already returned. The three of us ate together, and we reviewed the day's events. We felt that the progress was pretty good, but we also realized that if we wanted to truly seize power, we really had to get past Li Hongzhang.

I said, "The reason we were able to take over the Naval Office so easily yesterday was because Li Hongzhang went to the Jiangnan Arsenal in Shanghai. If he had been at home, it wouldn't have been so easy! To catch a thief, you must first catch the kingpin. I think we should find a way to arrest him first, and then do our thing!"

Yan'er shook her head: "Precisely because he is the kingpin, we can't touch him now. He has a whole bunch of cronies under him. If you take him down, his men will start fighting amongst themselves. We can't afford to be in chaos or fight now! I think Zhang Zhidong's method is feasible. We should cultivate our power under his command. Once we take him down, our people can seize the opportunity to control his army. Only then can we..." "It's practically within our grasp! I think you shouldn't rush things with the three fleets. Even if you get them, without your own people, it's all for nothing. I think we should keep them calm for now. If they won't give them up, we can take over the Beijing Arsenal first. I know from the documents that it's a branch of the Tianjin Manufacturing Bureau, but the equipment is quite complete, just lacking boring machines, milling machines, lathes, planers, and the steelmaking furnaces are a bit outdated. Aren't we going to procure them? Let's just buy them first! Right now, we should focus on training our troops and preparing our weapons. When the conditions are right, we'll wipe out their stronghold in one fell swoop!"

Fei'er also agreed with Yan'er's plan, so I had no choice but to follow my wife's advice!

It was late at night, and the three of them practiced their "One Qi, Three Cultivations" again. Then, the two young wives each pulled one of my ears. Yan'er said, "Stop pretending to be so virtuous. Go see your Consort Zhen! That girl looks lively and cute, but she's quite composed and a sensible young lady. Those four maids Cixi sent are no pushovers, especially that one named Dongmei. She's even more arrogant than Consort Zhen, ordering the other three around while she does nothing. Even at dusk, she was still criticizing Consort Zhen, saying she doesn't know how to keep men in check, and that the Emperor hasn't come to see them yet! Strangely, Consort Zhen kept her head down and didn't say a word, as if she had become the mistress. Fei'er was so angry that she gave her a good scolding." "Speak!"

I sighed and said, "You think that old hag really sent me women? She's afraid I won't listen to her, so she planted a few spies around me. If I really touch them, who knows what will happen next? I'll probably be in big trouble!"

Fei'er pulled me out of bed: "Alright, don't bother with your clothes. Here, put on this cloak and hurry over! Today, she and her maid didn't go to her residence. She's waiting for you in the west wing. Don't leave her alone again!" As I was leaving, Yan'er

told me, "It's right across the street, don't go to the wrong place!"

I secretly laughed. Going to the wrong place to find a wife? That's ridiculous! I thought to myself, stop bragging. I lost my virginity by going to the wrong place, and although the result wasn't bad, I still went to the wrong place. No wonder Yan'er wanted to give me a warning. I'm in her hands, aren't I?

Ah, I've arrived. I looked carefully, and there's only one door across the hall. This is the west wing, Yanxi Hall, the room where the concubines slept. It's opposite the east wing, Tishun Hall, where Yan'er and Fei'er live and where the Empress is summoned to sleep. It's only a few dozen steps away. How could I possibly go the wrong way? What a joke! I opened the door and went inside.

The room was very dark, with only a little moonlight filtering through the paper window. By this faint light, I could see clearly: there was a bed with a gauze curtain hanging in the front, and a small stool in front of the bed. It looked like Consort Zhen's clothes were on it, and there seemed to be a pair of women's shoes under the bed. Consort Zhen must be asleep, so I didn't want to disturb her. I quietly crept to the bedside, took off my cloak and put it on the stool, lifted the gauze curtain, and slipped inside.

Ha, the little beauty was wrapped in a thick quilt, curled up as if no one was under it, her head turned inwards, her beautiful hair spread out on the pillow. She must have been warm; one of her jade-like arms stretched out, so white and lovely in the darkness. Ah, my Zhenfei, you are so lovable!

I threw off the quilt and slipped into bed, reaching out to embrace her: "Ah, my Qing Dynasty beauty, whom I've longed for day and night, today I finally hold you in my arms!"

I immediately felt a surge of softness and warmth in my arms! She wasn't wearing any clothes, only a small undergarment. My large member immediately found its place, slipping between Zhenfei's jade-like legs, pressing against that soft, furry spot.

My large hand also began to wander, lifting the undergarment and reaching for my little wife's delicate breasts.

What? How was I supposed to know it was her breasts? Are you stupid? I'm hugging, embracing, and looking all over; why wouldn't I notice that blessed land? I'd already seen it. Her breasts, though firm, were small, clearly untouched by men—the kind men adored!

My hand reached out, and I froze. Those breasts were so big and soft! The nipples weren't small either, about the size of the first joint of my index finger. I'd been bragging; I was wrong after all.

Wait, those nipples wouldn't be that big without a man's touch, and those breasts wouldn't be this big without being kneaded. So loose and saggy—could my Consort Zhen not be as composed as I imagined? Did she have another man?

No, it's February 1887. Consort Zhen was only fifteen, just coming of age. She couldn't possibly have such large breasts and nipples! Had I gone to the wrong room again?

Yes, this is the west wing! There are only a few rooms in this garden; how could I have gone to the wrong one?

Oh no! Did I wander into the inner chambers in my dazed state? That's probably where Cixi gave those four little maids to stay today! Wow, that's completely wrong! Ignoring the concubines and going straight for four little maids—if word gets out, I, the emperor, will be utterly embarrassed!

"Damn it, I've come to the wrong place! Get up!" I thought, trying to pull my hand back, but oh no, someone grabbed it. Then the woman flipped over and straddled me, grabbing my penis and trying to sit on me.

I quickly flipped her onto the bed, jumped out of the curtains, and threw on my cloak.

Just as I was about to leave, the woman jumped down and grabbed my thighs: "Your Majesty, since you're here, why not favor Dongmei?"

Dongmei? Isn't that the crazy girl? How did I end up in her room?

I hurriedly said, "Get into bed quickly, don't get cold! You were given to me by the Empress Dowager, and I'll have my way with you sooner or later, but not now. I have to go to your mistress's place first, or she'll be angry!" I didn't want the old woman to know I was annoyed by her gifts, so I just said it perfunctorily.

The girl pouted, "She wouldn't dare! If it weren't for letting me be with you, the Empress Dowager wouldn't have agreed to let her come at all. This is her room. I just said I had to give her the first night, and she obediently moved out! Hurry up and get into bed, a moment of passion is worth a thousand pieces of gold, don't waste our good time!"

As she spoke, she lifted my cloak and reached for my penis.

I quickly turned away from her hand and said, "Who are you? Why do you dare to control my imperial concubine?"

She stopped hugging me and got up and crawled into the quilt. "Your Majesty is asking me? If Your Majesty is willing, I could be your imperial concubine, or I could be your empress. What I become depends on how Your Majesty treats me! If you treat me well, I will immediately put you on the real throne and make you the emperor who reigns over the world! If you don't treat me well, you might be replaced by someone else, or you might be banished to the cold palace forever and become a real 'yellow'! Listen carefully, that 'yellow' doesn't mean the emperor of the palace, it means everything is yellowed, a yellowed mess!"

I raised my voice: "I'm asking you who you are? How can you control the emperor?"

The woman giggled for a while before saying, "I am Li Lianying's half-sister, the Empress Dowager's goddaughter, and Your Majesty's favorite concubine tomorrow, Li Liyan!"

"How do you know I will favor you?" I asked angrily.

"Because you have no other choice. They're about to change emperors. Yesterday, you caused a scene in court and touched the Empress Dowager's sore spot. If it weren't for my brother and I pleading for you, you would be imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court by now! Today, she's giving you one last chance to be manipulated and return to her wing! I volunteered to come and persuade you not to oppose the Empress Dowager and to be a good son!" As she spoke, she patted the bed: "Come here, sit down, and wrap my breasts first! I've been feeling itchy these past few days, have a couple of bites!"

Chapter Twenty-Two: Raping Consort Zhen

I turned around angrily and walked out, then turned back and shouted: "Guards! Drag this woman to the solitary confinement room and don't let her have any contact with anyone!"

Immediately, several warriors ran over and dragged the naked Li Liyan out of the room towards the woodshed outside.

Fearing someone might die, I stopped them again: "Tell her to get dressed, give her some luggage, and lock her in the outer room on the east side!"

Li Liyan cried out, "Your Majesty, think it over carefully! Liyan can make you feel ecstatic in bed, Liyan can give you the throne, Liyan can also make you die without a burial place! Don't miss this opportunity!"

I said loudly, "My throne is bestowed by Heaven and Earth, how can anyone give it to me or not give it to me? Don't rely on the power of your Li Lianying, he's just a lapdog I don't like! If he offends me one day, I'll beat him to death with a beating! If you don't believe me, just open your eyes and wait and see!"

She cried out again, "Your Majesty, Liyan truly loves you!"

I waved my hand: "Quickly drag her to that room, I don't want to see her again!"

Hearing her cries in the courtyard, Consort Zhen's face turned pale with fright as she emerged from an outer room. She ran out, knelt before me, and clung to my leg, pleading, "Your Majesty, please release Sister Liyan! This lowly concubine is willing to give up her position as Consort Zhen to Liyan! I am willing to shave my head and become a nun, never to marry again!"

I was furious and kicked Consort Zhen aside, saying, "Nonsense! Am I just a clay figure for you to play with? You can take me when you want me, and change hands when you don't?"

Consort Zhen got up and kept kowtowing, saying, "Your Majesty, please release Sister Liyan! Please make her a concubine! Tatara doesn't want to marry Your Majesty; Tatara already has someone she loves!"

I ignored her and turned to walk towards my palace. She rushed up and hugged my leg again, saying, "Your Majesty, please release Tatara! Tatara doesn't want to marry Your Majesty, so please take Sister Liyan!"

Consort Zhen was already crying her eyes out; she had kowtowed so hard that her head was bleeding, and blood was streaming down her face, dripping onto the ground. But she ignored me completely, still crying, "Your Majesty, Tatara really doesn't like you! Tatara already has a husband! Please accept Sister Liyan!"

I was furious and grabbed her, "Tell me, who is the person you love?"

Tatara was stunned for a moment, then cried again, "He—his name is Li Dezhi!"

I said sternly, "Say it again, who is he?"

This time Tatara didn't hesitate: "The poor scholar Li Dezhi!"

I was furious, and dragged her to the west wing room, Yanxi Hall, where Li Liyan had just stayed, threw her on the bed and said, "Tell me, why did you give this bed to her?"

Tatara wiped the blood from her face: "Because she loves you, I don't love you!"

"Nonsense, what did you say when I saved you that day?" I asked angrily.

"You didn't save me, it was Eagle King who saved me!" Tatara said stubbornly.

"You really don't love me?" I stepped forward and grabbed her collar.

"Of course it's true, Liyan loves you, why are you bothering me?" Tatara still wouldn't change her mind, tears streaming down her face.

"Say it again!" I asked again.

"Don't bother me anymore, Liyan is waiting for you!"

I was furious, I ripped her clothes open with a snap, pinned her down and tore at her clothes, she struggled desperately, kicking her legs and pushing me away.

I had lost my mind, I straddled her, tearing at her relentlessly, soon tearing her into a white lamb. Looking at her jade-like body, her high but small and beautiful breasts, her flat stomach, her pubic hair, her jade-like legs without an ounce of fat, my penis throbbed so hard that I couldn't help but shudder, I threw my cloak back and pounced on Tatara.

Tatara struggled and twisted, pounding my back with her little fists while shouting, "No! No! Go find Sister Liyan! Tatara doesn't belong to you!"

Hearing this, I became enraged. I grabbed her and thrust forward, and with a soft "plop," my penis entered her body. Immediately, a thin line of blood trickled down our point of union.

She froze, then tightly embraced me, bursting into tears, "Your Majesty, Tatara doesn't want to lose you! Tatara is finally your wife! Tatara is so happy! Is Tatara dreaming?! Tatara finally belongs entirely to the one I love!"

I was bewildered. Why was this woman going back and forth like this?

But now I couldn't care less about what she thought. I was already at the point of no return, thrusting wildly. Tatara clung tightly to me, moaning and wriggling her little bottom—I don't know how long we went on like this, but we both screamed almost simultaneously, reaching the peak of pleasure together—everything calmed down, and we were still tightly embracing each other, neither of us willing to let go.

"Tatara, are you still thinking about that guy surnamed Li?" I asked her, lying on top of her, licking the wound on her head.

"There's no such person in the world. Your little Zhenzhen lied to you! Little Zhenzhen's heart and body will always belong to Wansui. Tatara can't hold any other man in her heart!" Zhenfei cried.

"Why? Why did you do this?" I asked, puzzled.

“Empress Dowager Cixi was about to depose you. It was Liyan who knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately to plead for you, which finally moved Cixi. I always felt that she truly loved you, and she could also speak with Cixi and protect you. Tatala didn’t want to see my lover imprisoned and killed. Tatala would rather spend her days alone with a lamp before the Buddha than let my beloved suffer even the slightest pain! But now, Tatala can no longer save my lover! Tatala now belongs entirely to my beloved, and there’s no way to give her the position of concubine!” As Tatala spoke, tears streamed down her face again.

I asked her, "Did you see that woman surnamed Li kneeling and begging Empress Dowager Cixi?"

"How could I know? She told me. She said she saved you, and if I loved you, I should give you to her first! Help her become your concubine! Then she can help you ascend the real throne! She said that before the Emperor's wedding, he can only give you one concubine. She told me to give her my position so she could save you! I had no other way to save my beloved, so I could only painfully give her my position!" Consort Zhen said.

“My dear Consort Zhen, my little Zhenzhen! You’ve been fooled! She was sent by Empress Dowager Cixi to monitor me. Your sister was supposed to come along, but she detained her. But that’s fine, I don’t want to marry your sister; let her marry someone else! Cixi detained your sister so that she, surnamed Li, would have more opportunities to get close to me. If I touch her, she’ll do everything in her power to keep me tied to Cixi’s belt, and I’ll never have a chance to rise again! Little Zhenzhen, do you know how much I love you? I’d rather give up this emperor, give up all this luxury, than be with my little Zhenzhen! As long as we can be together, I feel even hardship is sweet!” I said.

“Isn’t that a bit much? What about your two older sisters?” Consort Zhen looked at me with a smile.

My heart skipped a beat: "Which two sisters?"

"The sister who came with you to save me that day, and the sister who talked about Liyan today! Don't be fooled by their eunuch clothes. You can fool others, but you can't fool me. They both have your scent on them, and it's the scent after you've been intimate with them. It's a sweet and fragrant scent!" Consort Zhen said with a smile.

I knew I couldn't hide it anymore, and I really shouldn't have kept it from her, so I said, "Those two are my wives, my friends who have shared life and death with me, and my most beloved wives. In this world, the three of you are my closest relatives now. If you really can't accept them, you can leave, I won't stop you! Similarly, if they can't accept you, they can leave too. But I hope that the four of us can live together heart to heart, and that you can help me cope with the external pressures and challenges!"

She smiled, "That's right, my husband shouldn't deceive Zhenzhen. He should believe that Zhenzhen will always be of one heart with him! Don't worry, I like these two sisters very much. Since you can live with them, why can't the three of us live with you? Besides, I might really not be able to handle you on my own. Look, your thing is about to flare up here again. Why don't you carry me over and let the three of us sisters serve you together!"

I was stunned by her words!

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Warrior's Uselessness.

I knew she had received a very orthodox Confucian and Mencian education, the teachings of "do not look at what is improper, do not listen to what is improper" had bound her quite severely. If she didn't love me, and didn't respect my two wives, she wouldn't have said such a thing!

What could I say? I picked up her clothes and looked at them; I had already torn them to shreds. So I simply wrapped her in a large quilt, carried her back to my palace.

That night, the four of us made love, sharing the same quilt, enjoying all the pleasures of life. This also allowed Consort Zhen to quickly integrate into our lives, becoming our lovely little sister!

As expected, Empress Dowager Cixi issued an imperial edict, appointing Lin Yan as Minister of Military Industry, ordering that all military factories be placed under the direct leadership of the Ministry of Military Industry.

But this order, like the three major fleets, was ignored.

However, there was an exception. Under my urging, on the very day the order was issued, Empress Dowager Cixi sent someone with Yan'er to bring over the Beijing Arsenal. Yan'er now had her own factory.

That very day, she inspected all the equipment in the factory, then reshuffled the factory's management team and re-established various management systems.

To expedite the production of the M4 assault rifle and M2HB heavy machine gun, she sent an urgent telegram to Changxu through the telegraph office that Fei'er had taken over, ordering a batch of equipment and materials. Changxu delivered the goods to Beijing in less than a month. Yan'er immediately began the imitation experiment. Just a month later, she excitedly told me, "I've decided to temporarily abandon M4 production. I've compared the M4 with the AK series used in our country for a long time, and I think the AKM7.62mm automatic rifle is reliable, easy to maintain, sturdy, durable, and has a low failure rate, especially reliable in sandy, muddy, and wet conditions. Moreover, its structure is simple and easy to disassemble. The gun has few parts, and many are stamped components. We happen to have four German hydraulic presses now, so we can mass-produce it! The workmanship is simple, making it easier to imitate, and the cost is half that of producing the M4. We can now produce thirty rifles a day, and I plan to further modify..." "Let's go through the production process and try to get you fifty rounds a day! We've also trial-produced four RPK 7.62mm light machine guns. The tests were pretty good, but the output is a bit low, about one every three days! This way, all the ammunition will be standardized to 7.62mm, making management easier! We've already produced 10,000 rounds of M4 ammunition, but because we rushed to produce 7.62mm ammunition, we haven't continued production. If needed, we can continue!"

I happily rewarded her with a passionate kiss, which energized both Phil and Jane. Phil said she had successfully secured a wireless telephone exchange and would soon be able to install wireless telephones on the naval fleet!

I excitedly said, "On May 18, 1897, wireless communication across the Bristol Channel was successfully tested. The Italian Marconi established the world's first wireless equipment company—the British Marconi Company—in England. You're ten years ahead of him! Immediately apply for a patent with the British and American governments and control this technology!" Of course, I also received a passionate kiss in return!

When it was Zhen'er's turn, she said, "I don't have the abilities of my two older sisters. All I've learned these days is a little math! And I haven't really mastered anything yet!"

Yan'er immediately said, "Honey, don't listen to Zhen'er! She's a genius in financial management! Her money-making skills are practically computer-like! She's also good at analysis and comparison, knowing how to save and make money. Let her be your head housekeeper; Zhen'er is a real money-maker, guaranteed to make your wealth flow in!"

I happily said, "Okay, our head housekeeper will be Zhen'er!" Of course, I showered her with kisses again!

Time flew by, and before I knew it, the New Year was over, and the first month of the lunar calendar was almost over. Every morning after court, I would sneak off to the military academy to train with the soldiers.

The training plan I devised initially shocked everyone, but surprisingly, they all stuck to it! Seeing even the principal training alongside them, they didn't dare complain anymore and trained quite diligently.

Having recruited new members from several places, our student body has reached over ten thousand, organized into thirty-six regiments and three divisions, forming the First Army of China. Zhang Zhidong serves as the army commander, with Sheng Yu and Xi Jun as deputy commanders. The three division commanders are Sheng Bao (First Division), Li Gang (Second Division), and Hai Bo (Third Division). As for Zhang Decai and his disciples introduced by Zhang Zhidong, I didn't bring them into the military academy. Instead, I provided them with funds to establish the Longxiang Trading Company, setting up branches in major cities across the country, establishing Longxiang stores and banks. This served both to raise funds for us and to become my secret intelligence and spy organization. The company's boss, of course, is me, directly commanded by Zhang Decai. With so many

people, I feared a mix of good and bad, and worried that leaks might attract the attention of the Party. Therefore, I stipulated that ordinary students were not allowed to leave the school during their studies. Although this could only control the situation temporarily, as long as we could quickly seize power, we wouldn't have to worry about informants anymore!

However, the day after the regulation was established, an incident occurred where a platoon leader deserted with a gun.

I rushed to the military academy after receiving the report. Long An, looking ashen-faced, told me that the escaped platoon leader, named Bai Da, was from Baodi County, Tianjin. His parents and brother had been murdered by a local tyrant. He went to the Baodi County government office to file a complaint but was thrown into a death row cell. He escaped on his own and had been following Long An ever since. He shouldn't have gone to join the Communist Party; he was more likely seeking revenge .

I thought for a moment and said, "He might come back. Don't make things difficult for him when he returns. Tell me, and I'll talk to him!"

I was worried that something might happen in Tianjin, so I secretly sent

someone to investigate. Sure enough, a few days later, shocking news spread from Baodi, Tianjin: the wealthiest local tycoon in Baodi had been murdered in his bed, and his entire fortune of over 1.8 million taels of silver and various jewels and jade artifacts had been looted. Less than two days later, a masked man carrying a strange gun stormed into the main hall of the Baodi County government office, unleashing a hail of bullets that killed twenty-one people, from the county magistrate to his constables. He then calmly slipped away.

The case alarmed Empress Dowager Cixi, who immediately ordered Li Hongzhang to solve it swiftly.

Li Hongzhang sent men to investigate for half a day, arresting and killing many people. Finally, he concluded, "It's probably the work of a foreigner. The county magistrate slept with a British girl, and although he gave her 100,000 taels of silver afterward, the British consul in Tianjin repeatedly demanded Li Hongzhang dismiss him."

Upon hearing that it was the work of a foreigner, and that he had slept with someone else's daughter, Cixi stopped pursuing the matter, simply ordering the appointment of a new official.

But I knew that man was Bai Da. On the fourth day after everything had calmed down, Long'an brought Bai Da into my office at the military academy.

I scrutinized him for a long time and found that he was extremely handsome, and at first glance he looked like a girl. He was not tall and was very thin. I could hardly believe that he was the perpetrator of that big case.

He placed the gun on my desk and whispered, "Principal, I've violated school rules. Please kill me!" Then he took a package from his pocket and placed it on the desk, saying, "This is money I raised for the school. Please accept it, Principal! I hope our military academy will continue to improve and become an iron army to revitalize China!"

I looked at him and asked, "Since you knew you were committing a capital offense, why did you take the gun

and run away?" "That bully, to seize my sister, insisted that Father owed him one hundred taels of silver, and imprisoned Father, Mother, and Brother. I went to the county government to file a complaint, but that corrupt official accused me of wrongly accusing an innocent person and threw me into jail. Then he handed me over to that bully. I escaped on the way and later worked under Vice Principal Long. The principal gave me such a good gun, and I thought of taking revenge, but I didn't have enough bullets. I told my brothers, and they helped me hide the bullets, so I finally collected thirty rounds and went."

"Since you knew you would be executed if you came back, why did you come back?" I asked again.

“The principal founded this military academy for the rejuvenation of China. I violated discipline, but I can’t set a bad example for everyone and corrupt the academy. I’ll come back and have the principal enforce the law, which will help to rectify the situation! Secondly, this gun is for fighting the Japanese. I can’t take it away; I have to return it so it can be used to fight the Japanese! I was afraid of exposing the gun, so when I fired it in the main hall, I disguised it, making it look like a monster. And I fired it one shot at a time, not in bursts, so they wouldn’t have guessed it was our gun!”

Hearing him say this, I was filled with emotion. How could the discipline of the military academy be maintained if he wasn’t punished? But dealing with him was also unbearable; I couldn’t bear to lose such a good soldier, and it would be against all reason!

I opened the package and saw over 1.8 million taels of silver notes in addition to gold and silver jewelry. I said, "Keep this for yourself. You risked your life for this. The military academy can't keep you. Change your name and live off this!"

The girl shook her head: "No, I won't keep a single coin. I didn't go for the money; I went for revenge!"

I looked at the gun: "How many bullets did you use?"

"Sixteen. I didn't dare use the gun at that bastard's house. I fired sixteen shots in the main hall. There were six people standing in a row there, so I threaded them with candied hawthorns to save a few bullets!"

Just then, Yan'er came in. She happily patted her shoulder: "Little sister, you're good! A sharpshooter! Come with me. You've broken the military academy's discipline. You can't stay here anymore!"

Little sister? I looked closely and couldn't help but laugh. Her sweet, high-pitched voice, her flat Adam's apple, her figure—didn't they all tell us she was a woman? I was so stupid!

"Yes, elder sister! No, Vice Principal Lin!" Bai Da happily bowed to Yan'er.

"Hey, why are you called Bai Da?" I asked curiously.

"My family is poor, we can't afford a name. Dad said I'm a girl, so everything I do is useless, that's why he called me Bai Da!" the girl said, blushing.

Yan'er chuckled: "Why do you say my sister is useless? Turning Baodi County upside down is useless? Come on, come with me, you go and grab the production gun, let them see if my sister is useless! By the way, when is your birthday?"

The girl lowered her head and said shyly: "I don't know, I only heard my mother say that the snow was so heavy the day I was born, we couldn't even open the door! I washed my body with snow water for the first time!"

Yan'er said happily: "Alright, you have a name, Bai Xue! It's generous and nice-sounding, it sounds like a pretty girl's name!" Saying that, she pulled her out.

I stopped them and said, "Don't go, I need to borrow some of BaiDa's heads!"

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