When Concubine Tian heard that Emperor Chongzhen had arrived, a hint of joy appeared on her face as she came out to greet the Emperor. Concubine Tian was the most favored concubine of Emperor Chongzhen. Even Empress Zhou was not as favored as her. When Emperor Chongzhen was unhappy, he would usually come to Concubine Tian. Seeing Emperor Chongzhen's unhappy face, Concubine Tian knew that Emperor Chongzhen must have encountered something unpleasant today. She spoke softly and gently to Emperor Chongzhen and entered the palace.
Whenever Emperor Chongzhen had something on his mind, he would share it with Concubine Tian. When she heard about Emperor Chongzhen's troubles, Concubine Tian couldn't help but sigh inwardly. When that young man from the Tang family, with his reckless courage, came to serve as a captain in Changzhou, Concubine Tian never dreamed that he would one day become such a powerful figure, posing a direct threat to the emperor and even to the throne. Over time, Concubine Tian felt many regrets. Life is full of unforeseen events, but none more bizarre than that young man from the Tang family.
Concubine Tian's quarters weren't as empty as the Chongzhen Emperor's palace, nor were they as gloomy and cold. Whenever he arrived there, he always felt his mood strangely brighten. The gentle words of this beautiful woman always soothed his gloom. As he embraced Concubine Tian, his mind gradually relaxed. While the passion of their youth was gone, the joy of the swirling red quilt made him forget everything.
The little guy got hurt
After the attack, he finally managed to survive. But his tragic fate did not end there. Due to the severe shortage of medicine in the palace, not to mention healing materials, he could not even eat. Without anyone to care for him and without medicine, Xiao Xingzi started running a fever that night and could never get out of bed again. A few days later, his wound finally became infected. Filled with resentment and resentment, he passed away, wrapped in a straw mat and dragged out of the palace.
A feeling of grief surged through the other palace maids and eunuchs. These people didn't know what their future would hold. But even more dire were the soldiers of the Imperial Army. They didn't have much food to begin with, and the officers were cutting into their provisions. They'd been able to keep themselves fed earlier, but now they couldn't even feed themselves. As for the families of these soldiers, it was even more difficult for them to even get enough to eat. During these times, many of the Tang clan's spies would report what they gathered. This ordinary intelligence would never reach Tang Tong. Only the essential intelligence would be compiled by Yagyu Saburo, the intelligence manager, and handed over to Tang Tong.
Therefore, Tang Tong was unaware of the current situation of the people in the capital. At this time, Tang Tong took Emperor Go-Mizunoo, Emperor Okishi, and Empress Yoshiko all the way to Southeast Asia. Tang Tong did this to ease the emotions of these people. Secondly, it was also to let his subordinates see that the Japanese and Koreans knew that they were all one family.
Li Zong, Emperor Go-Mizunoo, and Okiko felt much better after their travels. They also gained a clearer understanding of the situation. After Tang Tong led the tour group to the Nanyang city of Dacheng, Gao Fu from Yuanzhou also arrived in Dacheng. This time, Gao Fu was traveling to Europe not only for overseas business, but also to assassinate Cromwell. Upon hearing of Gao Fu's arrival, Tang Tong immediately summoned him for questioning.
When Gao Fu arrived in Europe, he used deception and fraud to bring in some talented people from Europe. He also brought with him a woman who was said to be a French princess. When Gao Fu met Tang Tong, he also brought the French princess to Tang Tong.
Tang Tong glanced at the Western-looking girl next to Gao Fu. She looked about fourteen. Her skin was as white as cream. She was indeed very beautiful. However, Tang Tong was surrounded by so many beautiful women that he didn't pay much attention. He gestured for Gao Fu to sit down and asked, "How was it? Was this operation a success?"
"Your Highness, rest assured. That British MP named Cromwell has already gone to see his God. Your Highness, during this trip to Europe, I discovered that Britain is indeed as you said. There are signs of an industrial revolution. There is already some instability within the country. However, the war has basically stopped throughout Europe." Gao Fu knew what Tang Tong was asking about. This matter did not occupy his attention. At that time, Cromwell was not yet a big shot. Assassinating him would be easy. However, the great war in Europe had stopped. All countries were concentrating on recuperation. This was not a good thing for Tang Tong's goal.
Tang Tong listened to Gao Fu's words and uttered a soft sigh. He glanced at Matsushita Keiko, who had come forward to pour him tea. This Japanese girl had been brought up by a woman from the Tang family team. Originally, Tang Tong hadn't asked for her. However, the secretariat established by Li Xiangjun and her colleagues was expanding, so she was retained as a tea and water serving staff member.
Tang Tong paused for a moment, then reiterated the situation in Europe to Gao. Europe was experiencing a period of rapid development. Its production and military capabilities were increasing exponentially. For example, the musket had evolved from a muzzle-loading matchlock to a flintlock during several decades of war. This forced Tang Tong to upgrade the weapons of his allied forces, significantly increasing his military expenditures. Now that the European war was over, European countries were about to enter a period of rapid colonial development. This was not a good thing for Tang Tong.
After Tang Tong and Gao Fu discussed the situation in Europe, Tang Tong recalled the long detour Gao Fu had to take each time he went there. This led him to think of the Suez Canal. He thought that if it were dug, both merchant ships and warships would have to travel much less distance. So he sent for Hu Meng. Holding a map, he instructed Hu Mengfei, "There's a body of water here called the Red Sea. It's the dividing line between Asia and Africa. On this side, it connects with the Mediterranean Sea on the European side. You can bring some slaves and build a canal there. That way, our journey to Europe will be much shorter, and it will also be much more convenient for us to fight European troops in the future."
"Okay, Your Highness. I've heard of this before, but I didn't think of digging a canal. Your Highness, this is a really good idea. It's a bit of a project, but we have plenty of slaves. It probably won't take too long to get a few million of them up there. It will also be much safer for merchant ships and fleets to use this waterway in the future." Hu Mengfei's eyes lit up after hearing Tang Tong's instructions. He wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. These days, the market is full of powerful people. Capturing a few million slaves nearby would be no problem.
They also didn't know how to dig the canal. However, Tang Tong now had a lot of talented people under him, so he wasn't worried about digging the canal. Hu Mengfei received Tang Tong's order and went down. Gao Fu reported everything he knew to Tang Tong and then said goodbye to him. When he left, he left the French owner behind.
Tang Tong didn't care much about this French princess, handing her over to Li Xiangjun and her colleagues in the secretariat. With his position and influence, Tang Tong could get any woman he wanted. However, Gao Fu's bringing him a princess from Europe was also a good intention. Tang Tong certainly couldn't let Gao Fu's kindness go unnoticed.
After receiving Tang Tong's order, Hu Mengfei began mobilizing personnel to gather in the Suez area. Upon hearing that the excavation of the Suez Canal would require a large number of slaves, the wealthy merchants from various colonial territories gathered there, bringing their slaves with them. Recently, due to the wealthy merchants' frenzied plundering of the colonial population, a slave supply exceeded demand, causing the slave industry to decline for a period of time. The large number of slaves required for the excavation of the Suez Canal, to a certain extent, consumed some of the slave supply accumulated by the wealthy merchants.
Tang Tong certainly would not spend a lot of money to buy slaves from those big businessmen.
The method employed was to acquire a stake in the Suez Canal. After the subordinates entered their budget, they would determine the amount of slaves they contributed to determine their power. Level 1 offered preferential treatment for transiting the Suez Canal. This level required contributing 100 slaves. Level 2 granted the merchant free passage through the Suez Canal. This level required contributing 1,000 slaves. Level 3 not only granted free passage through the Suez Canal but also entitles them to dividends. For every 1% of their equity, they required contributing 100,000 slaves.
Although this venture wasn't profitable at the moment, some foresighted merchants saw the enormous profits that would be generated by the opening of the Suez Canal. Furthermore, the slave market was currently oversupplied, and the accumulated slaves on hand were a burden for these merchants. Therefore, many merchants continued to ship their slaves here, especially Zheng Zhilong, who had become a major slave trader.
Zheng Zhilong's subordinates were even more powerful than his predecessors. With the power at his disposal, Zheng Zhilong occupied a large area of Africa and became king. At the same time, because of the large area he occupied, he had a large number of black slaves. Zheng Zhilong was worried about the large backlog of slaves. After learning that a large number of slaves were needed for the construction of the Suez Canal, Zheng Zhilong was very active in transporting 600,000 slaves to the Suez Canal. In fact, China has a large population, so when it began to colonize, it was not like those European countries that had only a few people. Those big businessmen would often organize teams of thousands of people to capture slaves in those colonies. Zheng Zhilong had nearly 10,000 people under his command. Such a large team was enough to make those Europeans ashamed. So Zheng Zhilong, who ran to Africa to become a local emperor, lived a very comfortable life.
Zheng Zhilong's son served as a soldier under Tang Tong. Zheng Zhilong also benefited greatly from this relationship. Whenever there was a major military action, Zheng Zhilong would receive news quickly. Because of this, Zheng Zhilong's slaves were the first to arrive in Suez. For this, Hu Mengfei rewarded Zheng Zhilong with a piece of land along the Suez Canal. Although only one square hectare, its future value was enormous. Since the canal was being dug, a city would inevitably be built there. At the same time, troops would be stationed to guard the area. Furthermore, merchants traveling back and forth would also resupply from there. The benefits were immense. Zheng Zhilong was well aware of this, as were some far-sighted merchants.
For this reason, after the construction of the Suez Canal, the soil in this area became valuable. Many major merchants purchased soil here to use as a base for their trading companies in Suez. This gave these merchants with trading companies in this area a base for supply, making it easier to travel to and from these European destinations.
The sale of goods also significantly reduced the cost of digging the canal, preventing Tang Tong from being overburdened by undertaking such a massive project. Tang Tong's efforts to dig the Suez Canal also attracted the attention of Westerners. Anyone with even a modicum of military acumen understood the strategic significance of the canal's construction. Some nations, self-conscious of their own strength, even considered seizing the canal by force once it was successfully constructed. Consequently, spies from various countries flocked to the area to gather intelligence and prepare for a future military takeover.
Tang Tong also knew that once this canal was dug, the enormous economic benefits would undoubtedly arouse the greed of Western powers. Therefore, from the moment the canal was dug, defensive military facilities were built here, intended to serve as a forward base for future attacks on Europe and a transit point for supplies.
Li Zong, Emperor Gomizu, and Xingzi were deeply moved after Tang Tong led them through Southeast Asia. Seeing the happy lives of the immigrants and the vast plantations, they understood why Tang Tong had risen so quickly. Such a wealthy country had enough money to support the wars launched by the Tang King. Moreover, the Tang King did not spend money on these wars, but instead profited from them. Naturally, he grew stronger and more fond of war.
As Emperor Go-Mizunoo and his men left Nanyang for their own land, they sighed with admiration. After learning of the immense power and vast territory of Tang Tong's subordinates, they put aside their ulterior motives, knowing their fate would be to live a peaceful and comfortable life. During this time, because there were no combat missions, Li Dingguo led an army to protect Tang Tong and his men. With Tang Tong's help, Li Dingguo married Empress Kokoro.
Li Dingguo was a military maniac. His entire life was focused on battle. He wasn't particularly interested in women, and he had no particular liking or disliking for Emperor Nisho. He married whoever Tang Tong told him to marry, treating it as a complete mission. In fact, it was Zheng Chenggong who fell in love with Xing Zi. Zheng Chenggong's mother was Japanese, of low social status. As a child, Zheng Chenggong lived in Japan, sharing many of the same living habits as the Japanese. Xing Zi's status was enough to pique Zheng Chenggong's interest in such a high-ranking Japanese empress.
However, Tang Tong did not want to marry a sensitive figure like the Empress Dowager to Zheng Chenggong. The Zheng family's influence was too great, a constant source of instability. If the Zheng family colluded with the Japanese royal family, who knew what kind of trouble it would cause Tang Tong. Therefore, Tang Tong ultimately assigned Xingzi to Li Dingguo, thus putting an end to Zheng Chenggong's ambitions.
Currently, Li Dingguo and Zheng Chenggong were both important generals under Tang Tong. As a balance of power, Tang Tong could not allow Li Dingguo and Zheng Chenggong to develop a close personal relationship. As a leader, he could not rely on the loyalty of his subordinates for his own safety. This would be a foolish move. Although Tang Tong did not have much political acumen, his close associates Liu Rushi, Dayu'er, and Hai Lanzhu were all born political talents. Although they would interfere with Tang Tong's decisions, they also often gave him reminders.
After seeing off Li Zong, Emperor Mizuoio, and the others, Tang Tong decided to go to Europe with Gao Fu and the others. However, before the decision was made, a group of people suddenly arrived in the capital of Dashi. They arrived on a ship belonging to the Tang family merchant caravan. Their arrival forced Tang Tong to cancel his plan to go to Europe.
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