Shanghai Railway Station.

A passenger bus slowly drove into the platform. The train stopped, but the door of the carriage was not opened for a long time. All the conductors were waiting for orders at the door of the carriage. The bus had distinguished guests. I heard that the identity was extremely noble and had to wait for the distinguished guests to leave first.

In a special carriage, Prince Hui Mianyu looked out through the window. Seeing that there were few people on the platform, she couldn't help but frown. What does Yi Zhizu mean? He didn't even do superficial skills. Although he came here in a condom this time, he also sent a telegram to Shanghai. Not to mention the grand welcoming ceremony, at least Yi Zhizu should come to welcome him in person, right?

It seems unpopular, Mianyu stood up and ordered: "Everyone is low-key, don't be so arrogant. This time I am visiting privately on a private tour."

After getting off the train and stepped onto the platform, three four-wheeled carriages slowly stopped in front of him. A middle-aged man dressed in Western style and wearing a polite manner got out of the car to meet him, took off his hat and bowed, "To avoid being too arrogant, the shopkeeper specially sent him to welcome Prince Hui, and the prince invited him to get on the car."

Mian Yu glanced at him, but recognized him, with a smile on her face, "It turned out to be Manager Yan."

When Prince Hui Mianyu was the General of the Conquest South, Yan Shikuan received him once. He didn't expect him to remember it, so he immediately smiled, "The prince still remembers it. It's a great honor. Please."

Mian happily smiled. He also did his homework when he came to Shanghai. Knowing that Yan Shikuan was Yishishi's right-hand man, he felt relieved and happily got on the bus.

The carriage left the train station and drove on the smooth and flat asphalt road without any bumps. Mianyou lifted the curtain and looked at the scenery outside the car. It took only a few years. Shanghai has changed a lot. Looking at the buildings outside the window, the carriages and bicycles coming and going on the street, and the pedestrians passing by on both sides, he felt very moved. However, after discovering that many young people had no braids but had short hair and Western style outfits, his expression became a little dim.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of a garden near Zhenhai Gong Mansion. Yan Shikuan got out of the car and came forward and said, "The prince is exhausted all the way, so let's take a rest for a while. The shopkeeper will come to visit later."

Yi Zhizu did not stay in the public residence, but accompanied Zaitong to relax in the old county town. Zaitong disguised himself as a man, while he was wearing a long robe, jacket and sunglasses. Because he changed his appearance slightly, he didn't have to worry about being recognized unless he was a very familiar person. Even so, there were several groups of plainclothes guards in front and behind the two.

The autumn is clear and the sun is shining brightly. Yi Zhizu is also in a very good mood. He leisurely accompanied Zaitong all the way. The old county town has changed a lot in recent years. The streets and alleys in the city are paved with neat bluestone slabs, and all river embankments are also built with bluestone. Yuan Qi paid for the dilapidated houses in the city to be renovated. Because of the large number of cleaners, the streets and alleys and rivers are extremely clean, attracting many Western crew members, sailors, merchants, diplomats and officials to come to hunt for the curiosity.

It is a woman's nature to love buying things. After wandering all the way, the two servants following Zaitong were carrying large and small bags. Yi Shizu glanced at the two servants and smiled and said, "I finally came out to relax, why did I care about buying things?"

Zaitong gave him a blank look, "A whole family can't go back empty-handed?"

There are many women and children in the family, which is not a topic. Yi Zhizu smiled and quickly changed his mind, "Are you tired? Why don't you find a teahouse to take a rest."

Zaitong said unexpectedly: "I'm very idle today?"

"Take a break from your busy schedule." Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "Since you've come out, you don't have to pay attention."

Zaitong knew that there were many guests in the mansion every day, and it was very rare for Yi Zhizu to take half a day to stroll with him. He immediately smiled and said, "I'm tired after half a day of walking, so I'd better go back in a sedan chair."

"Okay, I will follow you." Yi Zhizuji said first: "On spring outings and autumn outings. The weather is good these days. I will take you on an outing together another day."

After hearing this, Zaitong looked at him suspiciously. Yi Zhizu was busy talking about things every day, so how could he have so much leisure time? He was shopping with her and outings. She reacted very quickly, "But you have to go far again?"

"It's not far." Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "I'm planning to go to Guangzhou, Fujian, but it's a bit long."

No wonder this was the case. Zai Tong felt relieved, but he didn't say much. Yi Zhizu always had to travel a few far away throughout the year, and she had long been accustomed to it.

When he returned to the Duke's Mansion, Yi Zhizu entered the library gate. Yan Shikuan quickly chased after him and said, "Prince Hui has arrived."

"Call a good table to send it over to Prince Hui to welcome Prince Hui." Yi Zhizu said as he entered the study room. Yan Shikuan followed in and said with a smile: "These small things do not have to be worried about by the shopkeeper. They have been arranged." As he said, he said carefully: "Prince Hui is here this time because the visitor is not good. Is it too obvious to quell the chaos?"

"It is necessary to be so obvious that it can serve as a deterrent effect." Yi Zhizu said slowly and lit a cigarette. The Nanyang Navy was ordered to send troops to the Southeast provinces to quell the rebellion of the Communist Party. Except for Taiwan, almost all the soldiers were not bloody. Once the army arrived, all the rebellious conspirators in various places surrendered. This was the case in one place, and it was too strange to say that it was like this everywhere.

It has a deterrent effect? ​​Yan Shikuan's eyes turned and hesitated: "Are you not worried that the court will turn against you?"

"Openly turning against each other?" Yi Zhizu sneered: "The court dared not!" As he said that, he changed his mind, "No news has come from the Persian Gulf?"

"No." Yan Shikuan said quickly: "Don't worry, the big shopkeeper, several fly-scissors are in the Persian Gulf, and they will report as quickly as possible whenever there is any movement."

Yi Zhizu smoked and said nothing. Will the Crimean War break out this year? He had no idea at all, but there should be no suspense in the outbreak of the war. The negotiations between Prince Myschkov, the plenipotentiary of Tsarist Russia, and the Ottoman Turkish Empire in Constantinople, had broken down, and the British-French joint fleet had already sailed into the Bay of Besciga in June. As long as nothing unexpected happens, the war will definitely break out, just sooner or later.

Yan Shikuan didn't understand why Yi Zhizu attached so much importance to whether war would break out in the Persian Gulf thousands of miles away. However, he knew that there were not many things worth Yi Zhizu's attention to. After pondering for a moment, he said: "Telecommunication is really a good thing. It would be great if Nanyang could open the telegram. It was not only fast, but also saved a lot of manpower and material resources."

"Nanyang can open a telegram." Yi Zhizu said: "People have been arranged to explore the route."

Yan Shikuan just said casually, and couldn't help but feel stunned when he heard this, "Doesn't the telegram need to be built? Can it still cross the sea?"

"Of course, you can cross the sea and lay lines from the bottom of the sea." Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "There is only one you dare not think about, there is nothing you can't do. Now the world is completely different. Now Citigroup is preparing to connect all continents with telegrams. It is not uncommon to lay cables across the ocean."

Connecting the continents with telegrams? Yan Shikuan was so shocked that he didn't close his mouth for a long time. "Can you contact Western countries in the future?"

"No," Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "Does it feel like the world is getting smaller and smaller? People can still fly in the sky in the future, and it will be within an hour from Shanghai to Manila."

"The boss talked more and more bizarrely." Yan Shikuan obviously didn't believe it, so he took out his pocket watch and looked at it, and then said, "It's almost done, let's go over."

"What's the hurry?" Yi Zhizu said carelessly: "Have him away, and go when it's dark."

In fact, he is not unfamiliar with Prince Hui Mianyu. He has dealt with him in Guangzhou in the capital. Among the princes and princes in the court, he may have the deepest relationship with Prince Hui. Moreover, Prince Hui left him with him. Although he is a little greedy, he is a smart person. Otherwise, he would not have been left for half a day.

Going when it's dark? Yan Shikuan was immediately disappointed. He also planned to take advantage of the opportunity to welcome Mianyu to have a drink with him. After all, he was the prince and the emperor of the dynasty, and it was difficult for him to have a chance on weekdays. He would not have the share of going to talk when it's dark. However, Yi Zhizu said that he wanted to let the other party go, and he did not dare to talk too much.

After the sky was dark, Yi Zhizu walked out of the Duke's Mansion in plain clothes and a servant walked out of the palace. When he arrived at the garden where Mianyu was staying, he handed over the post. After a while, Mianyu greeted him in person. Yi Zhizu bowed and smiled and said, "I'm late to come back if I have something to do. I hope the prince will forgive me if I am negligent."

"National City is not polite." Mian bowed back with a happy spring breeze, then reached out to give in and said familiarly: "Get into the house and say."

The two of them reminisced about the past, sat in the room, and served tea. Mian Yuping left and said, "In Lushun, the emperor has already agreed to build a large naval base in Qingniwa, but Guocheng really plans to incorporate North Korea directly into the territory of the Qing Dynasty?"

Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "Do you know why the Qing Dynasty has always allowed the existence of a vassal state of North Korea?"

After hearing this, Mian Yu couldn't help but be stunned. Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, North Korea has been a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty. No one has ever asked this question. He never thought about this question. After all, at the beginning of the founding of the country and when the Central Plains were established, it was not difficult to annex Korea, but why did not destroy North Korea?

"Because of Japan." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Since the previous dynasty, Japan was a major hidden danger in China. Toyotomi Hideyoshi once invaded Korea in large numbers, and Japanese pirates frequently rioted the southeast coast. Given the lessons of the three expeditions of Japan during the Yuan and Mongolian period, this dynasty did not conquer Japan at the beginning of its establishment, and retained the vassal state of Korea, in order to leave a buffer zone between the Qing Dynasty and the Japanese state. This is actually a concrete manifestation of defending the middle and governing the border and defending the four barbarians.

Now that Japan has surrendered, North Korea has naturally lost its due value. Why do we still have to let North Korea exist in the form of a vassal state? There is no need to say anything about the geographical location of the Korean Peninsula. Such a piece of fat is on the mouth. It is really itchy to not eat it. Moreover, annexation of North Korea will also help the annexation of Japan in the future."

From this perspective, the vassal state of North Korea is indeed no longer necessary. Mian Yu nodded slightly. As for the annexation of Japan, he was really not interested. After all, Nanyang was a lesson from the past. After a little pondering, he bowed and said, "I also want to congratulate Guocheng for quickly quelling the rebellion of the southeastern provinces."

Yi Zhizu said indifferently: "A group of clowns jumping in the beam, and it is really not worth mentioning."

After hesitating, Mian Yu said: "I heard that the South China Sea Navy recruited new recruits in the southeastern provinces?"

Yi Zhizu nodded and said, "The Navy cannot be stationed in the mainland for a long time. Recruiting some new recruits to prevent the association from causing trouble again. The Southeast is the important place for the court's financial resources and the fundamental place of Yuanqi. There is no need for chaos, and the court will not have any objections?"

Mianyu smiled bitterly and said, "Without outsiders, we don't have to hide it. What is the idea of ​​Guocheng when the Nanyang Navy expands again and again?"

"It seems that the court has an objection?" Yi Zhizu lit a cigarette and slowly exhaled a smoke. Then he said calmly: "The Russian Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire are about to go to war, and the troops in Henan and Shanxi will soon be transferred to the northwest."

Mianyu was delighted, "Is the Russian-Turkish war predicted by Guocheng really going to break out?"

"Either the end of this year or the beginning of next year, it will not be far away." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "In addition, once a war breaks out in the northwest, it will be a big war. We must do our best and the country must be stable!"

What does this mean? Mian Yu said in disbelief: "Guocheng means that the Nanyang Navy is going to send troops to encircle and suppress the Taiping Army?"

"Not bad." Yi Zhizu said in a deep voice: "The Nanyang Navy will fully encircle and suppress the Taiping Army and Nian Army, so that we can focus on the war in the northwest! This is also the reason for the large-scale recruitment of troops in the southeast. Does the court have any opinions?"

"How come Guocheng doesn't report such a good thing?" Mian Yu's face shone with excitement. He knew very well that Yi Jingzu had no need to lie to him like this, because there was no need for the Nanyang Navy to expand its troops in several southeastern provinces, and the court had no choice at all.

Mianyou felt very happy for a moment and relaxed. He was originally worried about Yuan Qi's expansion of the army in Henan, Anhui, the army in the southeastern provinces, and the Japanese fleet occupied Qingniwa Lushun. He looked like he was preparing for war and raising troops to cause chaos. All the civil and military officials in the court, including Xianfeng, were worried, but he didn't expect that this was the reason behind Yuan Qi's expansion of the army. It was really surprising!

Northwest, Northwest! Once Yi Zhizu really launches troops to the northwest and sends troops to wipe out the Taiping Army and Nian Army, it means that Yi Zhizu will never have the intention to rebel! This news is sent back to the capital, and all the civil and military officials in the court may be celebrating each other!

After a while, Mian You suppressed the joy in his heart, got up and walked out the door and ordered: "Come on, hurry up and prepare a banquet." Turning back, he smiled and said: "After leaving for several years, I will never return until I am drunk!"

"Prince, don't be in a hurry to be happy." Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "The Taiping Army is not easy to destroy the Nian Army, and the court must delegate power."

After hearing this, Mian Yu couldn't help but be stunned. How large is the scope of activities of the Taiping Army and the Nian Army? He knew that if he wanted to take overall charge of the overall situation, he would probably have to control the military and political power in more than ten provinces. This is equivalent to the military and political power of most of the Qing Dynasty. Will Xianfeng agree?
Chapter completed!