Chapter 113: Ganwang Palace

The gunshots were like rain, and the eastern sky gradually turned white. The battles in the east and south of Penang Port Town were still in full swing. Late at night, the Dutch and their mercenaries suddenly launched an attack on Penang Port, and a defensive battle that the Southern Navy Infantry Regiment was extremely familiar with suddenly started.

During the Civil War in China, the Pingyuan Naval Division Infantry Regiment once attacked the Dinghai Hall, cut off the supply and retreat routes of the Huai Army deployed in Zhejiang, and held on to the sea for a year.

Today's Navy Infantry Regiment is not comparable to a year ago.

I think that Dutch commander Brigadier General Horst has a deep understanding of this. Brigadier General Horst is the commander of the Dutch armed stronghold in Sumatra. Penang Port was occupied by the Chinese. He was arrogant and immediately mobilized 4,000 Dutch infantrymen and nearly 10,000 Ganbaru mercenaries from Sumatra to recruit merchant ships to land in Dupoli and march in secret. At midnight, at the roar of Brigadier General Horst's "For the Glory of the Kingdom", nearly 14,000 soldiers began to attack the Chinese from the flat areas in the eastern and southern Penang Port.

At this time, Brigadier General Horst stood on a jungle hill, looking at the nearby Penang Port.

He was born in a military family, his grandfather died in the Napoleonic War, and his father was brutally killed by fierce pirates on the Cape of Good Hope, because from when, the pirates active in the Mediterranean and the west coast of Africa began to follow the Dutch merchant ships. Once upon a time, the sacred and inviolable sea coachman even encountered unprecedented setbacks on the European waterways.

Commodore Horst also had the unyielding blood of the family. When he heard the Chinese declare war on the Netherlands, his first feeling was humiliation, deep humiliation.

Although many affairs in the Far East were inevitable to deal with that huge empire, deep down, Comrade General Horst, like most Europeans, only maintained superficial respect for this declining empire and never regarded it as an equal object.

However, even the primitive kingdoms like the East have begun to challenge the Dutch status. He was sad and angry, and even vowed to teach the Chinese a lesson.

But now, he knew that he was wrong. In the Qianli Mile Mile, the layers of barbed cylindrical wire mesh, and the huge stone bunkers made from local materials were sprayed with violent rain of bullets. After nearly six hours of attack, his troops were pressed tightly into the river ditch two hundred meters away, and even a millimeter could not penetrate. Within two hundred meters, it was like a death zone, with blood pools everywhere.

The mercenaries holding sticks and a small number of firearms did not play any role at all. Instead, they reduced their personnel and screamed, fled, and shook their morale.

Brigadier General Horst had no choice but to withdraw his mercenaries. When his soldiers faced the fierce attacks of the Chinese, he watched the soldiers fall into a pool of blood, his heart was as if he was twisted.

It was just that the Chinese had just occupied Penang for a few days, and even if the indigenous people in the city helped, they would not have been able to build such solid fortifications.

"General, I asked, the Chinese have a small crane and a special engineering team. Their fortifications seem to be built in less than twenty-four hours." A Dutch officer came to the side of the country panting and just caught the local indigenous people and asked.

Twenty-four hours? Horst sucked in air conditioning and didn't speak for a long time. The crane? I guess it was a small horsepower steam crane modified by the Chinese, and it was used for military purposes.

This country seemed to have gained new life overnight, enterprising, incredible, and filled with a powerful atmosphere that challenged the old order.

"Retreat." After standing stiffly for a while, Horst burst out these two words from his teeth weakly, and his face felt even more lonely.

I don’t know what it feels like, it’s extremely bitter. Will the glory that was once forged by blood and fire be burned out by the fanaticism of the Chinese in Southeast Asia?

How can this powerful challenger defeat him?

...

The news of the victory of the Penang-Hong Kong defense war did not cause much sensation when it reached Jinling, but it was considered to add a festive start to the regent's move to the mansion.

On the third day of the seventh lunar month, it was the auspicious day of moving to the palace. Ye Zhao and his princesses officially entered the Gan Palace, worshiping gods from all directions, making fires and water, and rewarding the guards of the palace. The servants were happy about money. All day long, Ye Zhao was busy facing the sky.

The repaired Ganwang Palace is majestic and magnificent, with dazzling light. The palace is lateral from north to south, with a palace wall several meters high around it, winding around it, and divided into two levels inside and outside. Outside the palace wall, a moat that is several meters wide and deep is carved.

The huge square covering an area of ​​one mile in front of the Ganwang Palace is paved with granite bricks, which makes it even more magnificent. The huge yellow screen wall, which is ninety feet wide, is painted with dragons, tigers, lions and elephants, is exquisite and majestic.

The outer city of Ganwang Palace, the east and west side hall outside the Tianmen Gate is the office location of the deputy prime ministers and ministers of the Political Consultative Office, and the office location outside the East and West is the office location of the subordinates of the Political Consultative Office.

Between Chaotianmen and Jingsimen, there are the East-West Cooking Guard Pavilion, the Royal Mansion Guard Camp, the Political Consultative Office, the Prince’s Office’s Sleeping Room, etc. The Secretary-General Ma Deng did not set up a house outside, and the family lived here.

After passing the towering Jingsi Gate, there is a magnificent palace, the Political Consultation Hall, which is where Ye Zhao handles political affairs. The court rooms on the east and west sides are the offices of the royal palace.

There were about a thousand guards in the entire outer city, and some senior guards brought their families to live there, as well as opera troupes, singing and dancing troupes, servants, electric and boilers, etc., and they were afraid that more than 2,000 people would live there.

It goes without saying that the inner city is in Ping'an Gate where female guards patrol day and night, there is the inner palace of Ganwang Palace, Ye Zhao and a group of princesses, three hundred sword-wielding guards take turns, hundreds or thousands of maids, and nanny lives among them.

Ye Zhao was also a little ashamed. His life was becoming more and more like an emperor and was extravagant. But firstly, the royal palace had rules for employing people, and secondly, such a large palace, if there were only a few people living in his family, and there was no small maid to clean it, it would feel like a haunted house.

It can also be considered to solve the employment problem. In fact, most maids in the mansion are employed. When they are old, they terminate the contract. Some are recruited from the public, and some are bought from human traffickers to rescue them. During their maids in the royal palace, they also have special courses such as female red, and even have cultural knowledge classes. However, few people who automatically learn culture. Most of them like to learn from female red, and they can get married when they are old. To be honest, they are really doing good deeds, but Ye Zhao himself occasionally feels awkward.

When he moved to the Ganwang Mansion, Ye Zhao began to write a memorial for most half a year ago to invite the two palaces and the emperor to come to Jinling and build the Ganwang Palace into a palace courtyard.

However, the two palaces refused to reply, and even gave the Gan Palace to Ye Zhao. They also said that there were important military territories in Jinling. The Regent guarded the country's gate alone and was in charge of the old Heavenly Palace, which was able to cleanse the demonic spirit and cheer up the Qing Dynasty. They also said that the present is different from the past and there is no need to follow the old system, etc. Indeed, there are too many codes in the Southern Dynasty that do not follow the old rules of the Qing Dynasty. There are only a few people in the royal family, and there is no way to talk about the rule of the king.

Both palaces said this, even if Yuan Jiasan and others muttered in their hearts, it would be hard to say anything else.

Ye Zhao was transformed into a soul. Is Concubine Lan worried that she would be harmed by herself after coming to Jinling? Think about it, it would be normal for her to worry about this now.

After bribing Xiao Anzi, of course, it is impossible to say that he has bribed it. He gave him 10,000 taels of silver notes. No matter what he thought, he dared not to accept it. Seeing that he had useful information, he could not send a few pieces of information. He was not really committed to himself. When it comes to the two palaces refusing to come to Jinling, Xiao Anzi was even more strict with the words and said he didn't know.

However, Ye Zhao had no time to take care of the matter in Guangzhou. Now everything in the southern country is pending, political affairs and military are at a crucial turning point. If you take a wrong step, you will be afraid that you will be doomed.

After moving to the Ganwang Palace, Ye Zhao rarely relaxed for a day. After a complicated ceremony, he led the princesses to tour the harem in the evening. Not to mention that the princesses set foot in the new mansion for the first time, even Ye Zhao himself had never been there several times.

The red sun sets in the west, and in the east garden, the butterflies dance with flowers, the green grass is shaded, the blue waves shine, the stone boats in the lake are exquisitely carved, and there is also a long corridor to reach the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

Ye Zhao looked at the beauties who were either gorgeous, charming, or pure, and had a lot of emotion in his heart. The higher he stood, the more worried they would accompany them to the tragic fate they suffered when they fell heavily, and he was already fighting for the entire family.

Rong'er and Jinfeng were there, and even the matchmaker rushed over. In addition, Hua Ji and Sharaba, who were already in Jinling, are rare today when they have a wife and concubines in the five-bedroom house. However, Zhu Sisi is obviously not used to it. She said that she would move to the palace in a few days, and she would not be present, so Ye Zhao did not force it.

"Hey, my husband, what is this?" Rong'er pointed curiously at a flat green and fuzzy grass in the shade of the lakeside. The grass was extremely short and thin. A rope net was hung in the middle of the grass, and white lines were drawn on the grass.

Ye Zhao laughed and said, "Tennis court, it's very interesting to play with it." He looked at Jin Feng, shook his head and said, "Forget it, you'll be tired after running two steps. If you run two more steps, your small waist will be broken." Jin Feng is an authentic classical beauty body, extremely delicate and soft, and it makes men ecstasy on the bed, but naturally it can't be turned on on the sports field.

Jin Feng nodded obediently, the matchmaker is here, she is so honest.

Ye Zhao looked at the matchmaker again, thinking that she couldn't do it, and she couldn't beat her if she was exhausted? This beloved wife is a demon. She can make people who want to die of ecstasy and torture go crazy.

Looking at Rong'er again, Rong'er's physique should be better than Jinfeng, but with that little effort, she felt bullying her.

Looking at Hua Ji again, she was a little girl, she was extremely timid and tender, but before she grew up, she was like Rong'er, and she was too late to hurt. She couldn't bear to bother her on the tennis court.

I smiled bitterly in my heart. It seemed that I could still play two games with Sharapova. Otherwise, I would have to play in pairs of melee, or I would have to fight against them one by one.

Tennis is now a palace game in Britain and France, and even France was strictly prohibited by the people. Of course, the tennis produced by Ye Zhao is closer to modern tennis, but there are some differences between the rackets and the rubber balls.

"Look, it's almost here, our dormitory is ahead." Ye Zhao said, pointing to the palace pavilion that was faintly exposed behind the green wood stone.

The Ganwang Palace covers a very wide area, but Ye Zhao didn't want to meet the other people for half an hour. Therefore, the Princess's bedroom complex is concentrated near the East Garden. Even so, more than 200 houses and lofts can be said to be an extremely large complex.

Ye Zhao was really helpless with more than 200 houses, but the original layout of the Heavenly King Palace was so unblocked and rebuilt. It was just renovated on the original basis, and the walls were either opened or newly built, and it was divided into more than 30 large and small bedding gardens. Two of the larger bedding gardens are each in Rong'er and Matchmaker each live in one, Qingxin Garden by Jinfengju Lake, Sharaba and Hua Ji live in Wan'an Garden on the east side, which is just a small courtyard structure.

Although the four bedrooms are very close, Ye Zhao has to sigh that the walls are psychologically estranged. The original atmosphere of the big family is gone, and it is not a complaint about the ancient concubines fighting over and over.

But if a concrete tower is formed in this harem is inappropriate, the ancient building is not a serious place to live, and it seems that this can only be done for the time being.

The name of the bedroom, whether it is Feng Shui master or the supervisor, has been found out, but Ye Zhao finally chose the most ordinary and average name. This is already eye-catching and is more likely to be found by those who are interested in finding faults. It is better to be low-key.

If it weren't for the name of flowers, Ye Zhao would really want to use Guangzhou's "begonia", "daisy" and other names.

Duanning Garden is Rong'er's residence. It has two courtyards and a palace in the front yard. It is also vaguely treated, and Ye Zhao did not name it.

The East Side Hall has become a temporary restaurant today. Ye Zhao ordered that the maids were busy like butterflies. In a moment, the dining table, wooden chairs and flowers were decorated neatly. Even a careful second-class manager hanged a food picture. She was an old man who came to the Guangzhou Prince's Mansion. She knew that the Prince's Restaurant also paid attention to artistic conception and food pictures increased appetite. According to the Prince's words, it would also set off the atmosphere of food and give people psychological hints.

There are only five first-class maids in the royal family. Jixiang Ruyi attracts wealth and treasures, and Jinfeng's personal maid Du Juan, but Ruyi is not in good health and does not come with the matchmaker and stays in Yuezhou. There are more than ten second-class maids in the management of Xiaofujin, who assists Xiaofujin in the management of the maids in the house and outside the house. Of course, they all have Jixiang's messages when they reported their love. Most of the time, Jixiang is more like the general manager of the maids in the house.

Exquisite dishes were served one by one, and the sky was getting darker, and the octagonal palace lanterns were lit in the restaurant, as bright as day.

Although the royal palace is powered up, the inner and outer cities are filled with ancient lamp posts and hand-polished exquisite chandeliers in various rooms. However, many times Ye Zhao still likes the soft light of the red wax lantern. Nowadays, the southern country has introduced Western technology, and has mastered the techniques of refining paraffin and making wax. Three cotton threads were used earlier. The candles are no longer as black smoke as before, and they also have to cut off the charred cotton threads from time to time. Nowadays, under the candlelight, it is also a kind of enjoyment.

Ye Zhao raised his wine glass and said, "Come on, let's have a drink."

Before he finished speaking, a female guard with a knife appeared at the entrance of the restaurant. It was seventeen. She and another female guard with a knife, Mingzhu, were the chief and deputy lieutenant of Ping'anmen. They took turns to work at Ping'anmen. When they encountered an urgent decision from the Political Consultative Office, they could report directly to the prince.

"Master, Lord Li Hongzhang and Lord Li asked for a meeting." Shiqi smiled and showed two tiger teeth. She was extremely cruel. She was really a wolf in sheep's clothing. She looked so cute and stupid that she had deceived many people.

Ye Zhao sighed, put down his wine glass, and said, "You guys eat, don't have to wait for me. I'll use some snacks with Li Hongzhang outside." In fact, he may not be able to use snacks, but he just doesn't want them to wait for him.

I thought it would be good to go out for a walk, but it seems that I have a lot of conversations when I meet in this palace.

No, Rong'er remembers the matchmaker's warm arms and has been talking to the matchmaker secretly.

After leaving the restaurant, Ye Zhao got into the green sedan chair and headed straight to Ping'anmen Square. A team of heroic blue-armored female guards followed him, but Ye Zhao felt slightly ashamed. The big man, who was so powerful that he always felt strange when he ordered these women.

The eastern side hall of the Political Affairs Hall actually has a lot of meaning in the lounge meeting room, with bright chandeliers. When Li Hongzhang saw Ye Zhao entering the hall, he hurriedly walked up two steps to kowtow.

Ye Zhao sat on the throne and said, "Has the Dutch produced another demon moth?"

Li Hongzhang bowed and said, "That's not the case, the prince, the envoy has just arrived in Jinling, and he brought you a handwritten letter written by the emperor of the *** Kingdom. The envoy called the Erzhao Qingxin, who is the son of the Wugui family."

Ye Zhao took the letter presented by Li Hongzhang, and it turned out to be a Han book. Emperor Xiaoming spoke in the letter with a very friendly tone, and the general meaning was to look forward to the Regent's visit to Japan as soon as possible.

Ye Zhao laughed: "Which one is singing this again?"

Li Hongzhang smiled and said, "I want to come to our country's great victory in Nanyang. I defeated the Dutch sea armies several times, and the people were panicked."

Ye Zhao nodded slightly. Indeed, the *** people actually started learning from the Netherlands, so their Western learning is also called "Lan Xue", and their navy even invited Dutch teachers. Who knew that the teacher was beaten to the ground and the shock to the *** people can be imagined.

It seems that in China, more and more knowledgeable people are beginning to calm down and observe southern China. After all, it is impossible to drive the Chinese away with a burst of anger. If you want to defeat your opponent, you must truly understand him.

Li Hongzhang said again: "I heard that the shogunate signed an agreement with the Russians and handed over most of Sakhalin Island to the Russians. This emperor is not sure that he wants to use our country to check and balance Russia and the shogunate."

Ye Zhao snorted: "Sakhalin Island, both of them think very well."

In fact, the map of the northernmost region of the Far East has gradually become clear in the past two years, and the three Chinese, Russian and Japanese companies that have made territorial claims on Sakhalin Island are purely nonsense. Just a few decades ago, they did not know the existence of Sakhalin Island. As for the people, there were indeed northern residents who had moved to Sakhalin Island, but the indigenous tribes of Sakhalin Island have been paying marten to the Qingxiangchengdusi in the lower reaches of Heilongjiang.

Speaking of which, Sakhalin Island does mean a bit of a homeless land, but if anyone is most qualified to make territorial claims on it, it is naturally Chinese.

Li Hongzhang bowed and said, "I am foolish in my opinion. In fact, the Netherlands is far away from the ocean. This Rakshasa is a major concern for China. Their ethnic group is greedy, cruel and aggressive, and it is difficult for us to prosper together in Asia and East."

Ye Zhao smiled slightly and said, "It's good that you have such insight."

Li Hongzhang bowed again and said, "Your Highness, I have a stupid plan. Let me tell you, your Highness will listen to it."

Ye Zhao said: "You said."

Li Hongzhang said: "I have been discussing the affairs of the country. Nowadays, people's desire to reject China is getting stronger and stronger. Rakshasa people take the opportunity to make trouble. How to calm down the people's desire to suppress China? I have once planned that there is such an idea that seems absurd, but it may have a miraculous effect."

Ye Zhao waited for a while, but he didn't see Li Hongzhang continuing, saying strangely: "What's the point?"

"Please forgive me for your crime." Li Hongzhang suddenly lifted his robe and knelt down.
To be continued...