When the National People's Congress of the Min dynasty was held, there was a small group of "observers". They were not citizens of the Min dynasty. The reason they could attend such a meeting was not because of the political power enjoyed by citizens of the Min dynasty, but because their country worshipped Vézé as the emperor in theory. Korea, Siam, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Nepal. It was not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that welcomed the representatives of these small countries, but the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
In China, the magnificent cities and buildings, developed transportation, powerful industries, and large population made these small countries that paid tribute to His Majesty Vézé feel great awe. After they visited a group of cities with Nanjing as the core, this awe began to seep into the hearts of these people.
Nanjing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Wuhu, Anqing, and Wuhan along the Yangtze River had a population that exceeded the total population of any small country. Of course, the water supply was more or less problematic, and the power supply was not particularly stable. There were many traffic problems, air pollution, and urban garbage disposal. These problems could not be ignored. These cities were too new, and they pursued too much efficiency in construction. There were many green spaces in the cities, but not many artistic embellishments. Everyone was busy, and under the pressure of life, they had a lot of anger.
The current situation of the Min dynasty was still some distance away from the powerful China in Vézé's mind. For the vassal states of China, these were not problems at all. Countries without the concept of urban garbage disposal could not understand the importance of garbage disposal to cities. The grandeur of industrialized cities was a novel beauty in the eyes of agricultural countries.
Myanmar had not paid tribute on time for hundreds of years, and the tribute of the other three countries had been fixed and habitual. Even so, after a few years, the Myanmar emissaries were used to trains and ships. Now they were wearing winter clothes provided by China. Inside the coat was a detachable beaver rabbit fur lining sewn with satin. This fabric and design made the Myanmar emissaries greatly appreciate.
The content of the National People's Congress of the Min dynasty was really difficult for these foreigners to understand. The state provided basic living security for the people, but the representatives of the National People's Congress did not seem to appreciate it. The internal discussion of the Min dynasty was confusing to these foreigners, and they could not understand it. They always felt that China was very powerful.
After the meeting, these people made an appointment to go shopping. The streets were crowded with people of both genders. The Burmese emissary suddenly stared blankly as he saw three girls walking towards him. They were wearing dark blue cotton long skirts on the inside, a small collar woolen windbreaker on the outside, and an octagonal woolen hat on their heads. Beneath their long skirts were small dark blue leather boots. There was no lack of gentleness in the free and easy, and there was no lack of classicality in the trendy. She was beautiful. This style, which was completely different from that of Myanmar, made the emissary stare blankly.
Three young ladies who were shopping passed by a few foreign envoys. The smell of their perfume made their hearts flutter. Turning his head to look, he saw that the girl had waist-length hair, which was smooth and soft. It was just a simple hair tie tied at the back of her head with a silk ribbon, but it also had its own style.
Emissaries naturally had the responsibility of gathering intelligence, and so did emissaries from small countries. In the past, China had more restrictions on these people. Now, no one cared about these people roaming around in China. The envoys from the small countries had also tried their best to gather information, but they soon discovered that they had no idea what was important in the face of such a vast amount of information.
Just like the three young ladies who had just passed by. If they were in other countries, they would naturally be rich or respectable. In China, however, they were just ordinary middle-class families. Some of the emissaries were permanent staff of the office. They accompanied their wives to participate in the Nanjing Autumn and Winter Fashion Show. This kind of matching style was introduced in last year's fashion show. It was once very popular on the streets of Nanjing, but now other new styles had replaced it.
"This kind of clothing is not suitable for our country," the Burmese emissary said thoughtfully in broken Mandarin.
The representative of Korea just chuckled. Myanmar, Siam, and Vietnam were not cold. This kind of winter clothing was naturally not suitable for them. Although Korea could wear this kind of clothing, with Korea's conservative culture, if a woman wore such clothing and walked on the street as if there was no one else around, it could only be described as sensational. Ordinary people might be able to afford it, but how could ordinary people in Goryeo afford to wear clothes of this price?
In China, this kind of clothing could be sold for more than 900 yuan. According to the current market price of three yuan per gram of silver, it was about 300 grams. The decimal system, "2", was 6 taels. 6 taels was the annual living expenses of an ordinary family in Korea. It was too extravagant for an ordinary family in Korea to be casually worn by a girl.
After strolling for a while and feeling the style of the capital of the Min dynasty, the emissaries rushed back to eat the working meal provided by the people. The Korean emissary took a lot of meat from the buffet and began to eat. Vietnam, Siam, and Myanmar did not have the habit of eating large pieces of meat. The Korean emissary looked at their surprised expression and couldn't help but laugh. "Being able to eat large pieces of meat at will is the style of the Celestial Dynasty. Every time I come to the Celestial Dynasty, I naturally want to experience the style of the Celestial Dynasty. "
After the meal, they went to the tea room attached to the restaurant and asked for a room to talk. Korea had always been a vassal country of China and had never stopped. Siam, Vietnam, and Myanmar did not have such a long history. Moreover, these three countries used to be connected. Later, when China attacked France, in addition to swallowing the southern part of Vietnam that was taken by France, it also swallowed Laotian Cambodia. Vietnam and Siam were separated by China's territory.
When China attacked Britain, in addition to taking a large area of southern Tibet, most of Myanmar also fell into China's hands. Myanmar and Siam were no longer neighboring countries. In addition to Myanmar and Nepal, Korea had already built a railway network built by China. Vietnam and Siam had to accept China's request to build a railway in their territory. China's construction of the railway from Nanning to Singapore was very smooth. China's involvement in these countries was deeper than the military invasion of Britain and France.
Even if the emissaries of these countries participated in the discussion about what the future would become, they could not come to a conclusion. Just like when they were in their own country, they were so close to the land. Even in the capital, there was a large amount of bare soil. In Nanjing, almost every inch of land was designed. A large amount of fine gravel and a mixture of asphalt formed a flat road, cement hardened sidewalks. Lawns, flower beds, and trees formed a green belt, and stone embankments on both sides of the river. It was too difficult to understand China. For example, these small countries could not understand why China wanted to build such a great city, and they could not understand how China designed and built this great city.
After the discussion, they could not come to a conclusion. Although the several subordinate countries had a consensus on studying the suzerain of China, when it was their turn to make their own plans, there was no basis for this kind of cooperation. When the discussion about social security in China's National People's Congress had to stop, the representative of Korea put forward his own proposal. When standing on the podium, it could be seen that the representative of Korea was very excited, and his voice revealed the uneasiness of the representative. With a trembling voice, the representative of Korea said, "In view of the relationship between Korea and China, we, Korea, ask the central government of China to help Korea build a new city."
The representative of Korea only felt that the trembling voice of the representative of Korea was funny, and those who had spoken also felt the same. Speaking out one's own ideas in front of thousands of people really required a strong mental strength. Under the gaze of thousands of pairs of eyes, people could not help but be excited, excited, and even tremble.
Apart from feeling that this kind of reaction was funny, the representative of China did not have any special feelings about the proposal of the representative of Korea. As for helping Korea build a new city, this was completely beyond the imagination of the representative of the National People's Congress. The representative of the National People's Congress thought that this was a problem that the senior officials should consider, why would they bring it to the National People's Congress?
What the Chinese people thought was the problem of the Chinese people. The other messengers of the small countries who "listened" to the National People's Congress were shocked. For these messengers, they thought that such a request to China should be made directly to the government of China. Why would they come to the National People's Congress to talk about it? Although His Majesty Vézé was also a representative of the National People's Congress, according to their understanding, the National People's Congress had never been the place to decide China's policies.
This matter seemed to have ended easily, at least the government and the National People's Congress did not say anything. Most people thought that this was just an interesting episode. Li Hongzhang was not a representative of the National People's Congress, so he did not know about this at all. However, he received an order to meet Vézé.
Li Hongzhang was very excited to be personally received by Vézé. If he wanted to be demoted, it would not have been ordered by Vézé in person. Since it was Vézé's turn, there must be a great opportunity for him to do so. As soon as he saw Vézé, Li Hongzhang no longer trembled with fear and trepidation like he did in the old era. Instead, he sat calmly on the sofa and listened to Vézé attentively.
"Old Li, what do you think of Korea's economic problems?" Vézé asked a very general question.
Li Hongzhang first drank a mouthful of water to moisten his throat, then calmly described his thoughts on Korea. "After the turmoil in Korea, it seems that everyone wants to return to the old ways, but in fact, people have changed their minds. As long as our country can push in this direction, we don't even need Her Majesty to order us to send troops. As long as Her Majesty allows me to be more deeply involved in the situation in Korea, with our previous accumulation in Korea, it will not be difficult for us to gain real power in Korea … "
After talking with the retired Zuo Zongtang some time ago, Li Hongzhang calmed down and reflected on his work over the past few years. He completely admitted that Zuo Zongtang could see the situation more clearly than Li Hongzhang. Vézé wanted his subordinates to be professional, not the traditional emperor who needed to use people and guard against people at the same time. The Min dynasty had strict laws and clear systems. As long as one was a professional, he would naturally be under the system. That kind of self-righteous feudal mentality was easily recognized by others. What Li Hongzhang wanted to show was ability and professionalism, as well as obedience and respect for the system. The mentality of "I belong to XX" cultivated from the previous dynasty was the biggest obstacle to Li Hongzhang's meteoric rise.
Was it because Zuo Zongtang was good at licking Vézé's boots that Zuo Zongtang could retire from such a prominent position? What Vézé valued was Zuo Zongtang's ability and achievements. What Zuo Zongtang was most proud of was his ability, and what he wanted the most was to have the space to display his ability. Therefore, Zuo Zongtang was loyal to the more powerful Vézé, and Vézé gave Zuo Zongtang the space to fully display his ability. This was undoubtedly the model of "knowing each other" that scholars most looked forward to.
Li Hongzhang realized that his problem was that his understanding of "the relationship between the ruler and the minister" was too low. It was undoubtedly a misinterpretation of Vézé to think that he could know each other just by confirming the relationship between the "king and his minister". Vézé left Li Hongzhang in Goryeo because he had seen through Li Hongzhang's strengths.
This time, Li Hongzhang did not act foolishly. Li Hongzhang explained the characteristics of Goryeo and how to take advantage of the current situation in Goryeo. After giving a short speech, Li Hongzhang concluded, "Your Majesty, although the Goryeo incident is logical, I can't predict what will happen when it's carried out. However, if we continue with this method, our country's control over Goryeo's economy, finance, politics, and military will be enhanced. Moreover, Yuan Weiting, Wang Shizhen, and the other young comrades are all very capable and practical. I think we can trust them. "
With Li Hongzhang's intelligence, he could tell that Vézé was very satisfied after he finished speaking. This wasn't the feeling of a shallow person being seen through. Instead, it was the feeling of a person with rich work experience meeting someone with the same attitude and naturally showing a sense of recognition.
Li Hongzhang could not help but regret. If he had understood this earlier, he would not have become a mere bureau chief.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
