? "I thought that emperors had dragon scales on their bodies, or that their heads looked like that of a dragon.
"I thought that emperors had dragon scales on their bodies, or that their heads looked like that of a dragon. When an officer raised this question, the Liberation Army delegation immediately burst out in agreement. When an officer raised this question, the representatives of the Liberation Army immediately burst out in agreement.
"That's right. Didn't they say that the Son of Heaven is the son of a dragon? "
"Could it be that they can become the same as ordinary people?"
Shen Xin had never imagined that his comrades would have such an idea. He remembered that when he was young, he actually had such an absurd guess. But was this really absurd? If one had not read history books and only read about it from folk books and dramas, those who became emperors were all true dragons, and those who obtained scholarly honors and became ministers were naturally the reincarnation of the stars.
"Maybe the dragon scales are hidden under the clothes?"
"Didn't they say that dragons can change?"
The officers of the Liberation Army did not have the awareness of Shen Xin as a political commissar. Instead, everyone became more and more enthusiastic as they discussed. Their sense of respect became weaker and weaker, and their curiosity grew stronger and stronger. At the end of the discussion, the military doctor in the delegation snorted coldly and said, "You're all making a fuss. Get an emperor here and send him to the autopsy room to be dissected. What needs to be dissected, what needs to be dissected, and what needs to be cut into slices. Wouldn't it be fine to study it?"
This suggestion to study the secrets of the emperor's body caused the discussion to pause for a moment. But after a moment, someone shouted, "What's the big deal about killing a few emperors! Didn't we rebel to kill our way into Beijing and kill the Tatar emperor? "
"That's right! Enter Beijing and kill the emperor! "
Everyone immediately began to clamor.
Shen Xin was both angry and amused at the change in the direction of the discussion. The Liberation Army was indeed a rebel army. Everyone's lack of historical knowledge led to all kinds of misunderstandings about the relationship between the emperor and the gods. But when the topic of discussion turned to swords and guns, everyone immediately regained their confidence.
Since the mood had reached this point, Shen Xin finally opened his mouth. "I say! If the Emperor is really a so-called dragon, then why does the Manchu Qing always lose every battle against us? If people with scholarly honors and high-ranking officials are like constellations descending to the mortal world, why is it that we have killed so many high-ranking Manchu Qing officials, yet we have not seen anything special about them? "
The officers of the Liberation Army recalled that when the Liberation Army had swept across the world, they had killed hundreds and thousands of officials, but nothing unusual had happened. In his heart, he felt that it was strange where the Emperor had come from. Zheng Zhongming asked, "Political Commissar Shen, how did the emperor come about?"
This question made Shen Xin ponder for a moment. He suddenly remembered that Vézé had appointed his wife, Qi Hongyi, to compile a simple "General History of China", a large part of which was about the origins of the emperors of each dynasty. Including where the emperors were from and what their ancestors did.
Shen Xin now understood that it was indeed very difficult for even the officers of the Liberation Army to completely treat the Emperor as an ordinary person, let alone the common people. Shen Xin himself admired Vézé's ability, vision, knowledge, and attitude. If Vézé was a constellation descending to the mortal world, Shen Xin knew that he could not completely rule out this possibility. But this did not mean that Shen Xin believed that Vézé was invulnerable and had magical powers that could transform.
However, the political lessons of the Liberation Army had taught them about the social system, and the Emperor was nothing more than a political existence formed by this social system. If no one carried out "political enlightenment" and "political education" for the common people, their understanding of the world would be nothing more than a self-centered view of the world.
Thinking of this, Shen Xin said, "All the Emperors in this world are ordinary people. None of them are transformed from a real dragon."
After the discussion about killing the Emperor just now, the comrades could accept this conclusion. Zheng Zhongming said, "Could it be that the Emperors are lying when they say they are the Son of Heaven?"
This conclusion was both absurd and arbitrary. Shen Xin had wanted to clarify for the Emperors that the people who described them as the sons of dragons were actually the literati who fawned on the rich and powerful. But on second thought, Shen Xin did not say that. In the political training of the Restoration Society, there was content about the literary inquisition carried out by the Manchu Qing. Without the approval of the Emperors, the literati would not have the guts to say such things. Were they not afraid of being beheaded?
So after thinking for a moment, Shen Xin said resolutely, "Those Emperors are the best at lying. When we take over Beijing, we can drag out the Manchu Qing Emperor and personally pinch and kick him a few times. Then everyone will know that this so-called Emperor is nothing more than an ordinary person. "
After personally seeing the Emperor of Vietnam and hearing the assurance of their regimental commander, Shen Xin, the Emperors gradually began to believe that the Emperor was also an ordinary person. Everyone gradually began to believe that the Emperor was also an ordinary person, and an ordinary person who could boast.
But these were all off-topic gossip. The rebels talked for a while about how they fought their way into Beijing, how they beat up the Emperor, who was like a rare beast, and then dragged him out to parade him naked through the streets. Then, how they skinned him, dissected his bones, and made him into a specimen. As the nonsense became closer and closer to science, the cheerful discussion became dull. At this point, everyone quickly turned the topic back to the meeting with the Nguyen Emperor during the day.
The Nguyen Imperial Court's attitude was clearly one of conciliation. After displaying a strong military advantage, the Liberation Army also had to give some benefits to the local commanders. Of course, Shen Xin knew that the Liberation Army had given the officials of Guangning Town the "ice and charcoal fee" on time. The bureaucrats of each country were like this, and they had to be forced to submit through violence. But after submitting, if they were forced too much, those Vietnamese officials would not dare to use force in public, but they would do something in private to give people a headache. At this time, there had to be some "lubricant" fees. It was actually a small amount of money, but it would have an immediate effect.
But this immediate effect was too good. Even though the Vietnamese did not understand the strategic significance of the coal produced by the Hongji Coal Mine, the slow reaction of the Vietnamese made Shen Xin feel that there was a problem here.
The officers did not think so much. Everyone's point of view was, "The French fleet has already left Hong Kong, and should be beating up the Vietnamese right now."
Shen Xin also knew that the French must be beating up the Vietnamese. If not, the Vietnamese would not be in such a hurry to buy weapons. But in Shen Xin's position, he was more interested to know where the French were beating up the Vietnamese, and how they were beating up the Vietnamese. The more accurate the information, the more relaxed the discussion.
In the end, the delegation once again clarified the discipline and tasks. When the following groups contacted the Vietnamese officials, they could talk about the general situation of the Liberation Army, such as the occupation of Guangdong and half of Guangxi. But the content related to the industry was vague, and the specific details were rejected with the reason that the Liberation Army soldiers did not participate in the production. According to politeness, the Vietnamese would not get to the bottom of things. If the Vietnamese insisted on asking, and not answering to the point of shedding all pretense of cordiality, then they would all use the Liberation Army strengthened the traditional craftsmen, forming a craftsman battalion, and if they did not do well, they would not be given food.
During the communication with the Vietnamese, the delegation had to ask how the war between the Vietnamese and the French had progressed. When they introduced the battle of the Liberation Army against the French, they had to say that the Liberation Army had used a large number of artillery and rifles to overwhelm the French.
From the second day onwards, the Liberation Army delegation split up, and went in groups of three to visit the Vietnamese officials. Yin Xiaofeng was also assigned a task, to visit the minister of the Secret Council.
Many years later, Yin Xiaofeng's personal memoirs described this meeting like this: "This Vietnamese official with the surname Ruan had a stern face. If the Manchu Qing official felt that he was a cut above others, then the Vietnamese official wanted others to know that he was very clear that he was a cut above others. Regarding the French invasion, the Vietnamese official expressed that the Vietnamese army would definitely be able to drive the French out. Because at that time, the Liberation Army gradually stopped discussing the need to win the battle. The content of the discussion was the evaluation of the various combat qualities of the troops, such as how many bullets could be fired in a minute, how much time it would take for the soldiers to cross a distance of 100 meters, 500 meters, two kilometers. What kind of methods should be used to deal with the terrain. Other than the need to win, no one talked about anything else. At that time, I was even moved by his passionate attitude and serious tone. Now, when I think back to my childishness at that time, I feel very ashamed … "
After a round of visits, when the delegation summarized the information they had gathered, Yin Xiaofeng's evaluation was that "the Vietnamese are full of confidence and courage." Other than this fellow with no military experience, the Liberation Army officers had a very low evaluation of the Vietnamese military standards.
"They only know how to brag!" This was the unanimous opinion of the officers.
Of course, there was also a further point of view. Zheng Zhongming said: "I am very worried, if the French were to seize the weapons we sold to the Vietnamese, would it increase their strength?"
This question received the unanimous approval of the officers. The goal of the delegation was not just to sell 3,000 rifles. The overall plan was to sell 30,000 rifles, as well as a large number of cannons. If the Vietnamese were to lose the battle, these weapons would most likely fall into the hands of the French. If the French were to use these weapons, it would definitely increase their strength.
Shen Xin did not immediately comment on such a pessimistic view, and instead asked a question: "We have seen the seized French rifles. Are the French rifles better or worse than the ones we sold to the Vietnamese?"
"At least the French are using steel pipes. Naturally, they are much better than cast iron." The officers immediately gave their evaluation.
Shen Xin laughed: "If we are afraid of the French conquering the whole of Vietnam, then there is no need for that. The French are not our match. If the French had not conquered the whole of Vietnam, our rifles would be a match for the French rifles. It would not be much worse. As long as the Vietnamese do not feel that the weapons we are selling are inferior to the French, that is enough. "
Since Shen Xin had put it this way, everyone was able to accept it. It was just that the side they were supporting was unable to rely on these superior weapons to obtain victory, and the officers were obviously very uncomfortable.
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