Chapter 501 Where are the loyal ministers? (First update, please subscribe)
Since the day it set out to conquer France, Nanhua has stepped onto the world stage.
When Zhu Xianhai appeared at the ball in the Louvre and danced with Queen Eugenie, there was one more dancer on the stage of the strong.
Although Europeans were not used to this, they accepted it quickly. After all, this world is ruled by strength, and Nanhua has demonstrated his strength!
But for some people, their inner emotions cannot adapt to this change for a while.
Even Guo Songtao, the rather open-minded Chinese ambassador to the UK, found the rise of Nanhua a little unacceptable and even puzzled.
"Why is Nanhua suddenly so powerful?"
It was with such doubts in mind that Guo Songtao quietly sailed across the English Channel and came to Le Havre. As soon as he arrived in this city, he saw the South China Army.
"It is indeed an elite division!"
Yan Fu stared at the Nanhua soldiers on duty at the port and couldn't help but praise them.
Without Yan Fu's reminder, Guo Songtao could see that the difference between the Nanhua soldiers and the imperial army was not in their dress, but in their spirit.
The soldiers guarding the port were all wearing neat and beautiful uniforms. These young soldiers stood there, looking straight ahead. Their posture was standard, and their solemn aura gave people a strong sense of oppression even from a distance.
"No wonder some people say that Nanhua is a major threat to the imperial court!"
Needless to say, it must be Liu Xihong, the Chinese ambassador to North Germany. However, Guo Songtao, who was born as a staff member of the Hunan Army, had a more direct feeling when he saw the Nanhua Army. Although the people of Nanhua and the Qing Dynasty were the same people, they just felt different and the difference between them could be seen at a glance.
"Sir, Nanhua has a strong army. If they attack the Qing Dynasty someday, I'm afraid... it will be very dangerous!"
Yan Fu's words made Guo Songtao feel a little depressed, and he spoke after a moment.
"Let's not talk about this for now. To be honest, I am very curious about the emperor."
Curious, how can I not be curious?
It was not just because Nanhua had strong military power, there was a more direct reason - Zuo Zongtang, Wang Youling and others actually defected to Nanhua.
What is so different about Nanhua that attracts them to come here?
"What is the difference? Throughout history, our nation has always been a nation that is open to all and loves to learn. We have never rejected foreign cultures, nor have we ever been conservative. Let's not talk about the pre-Qin period, when people wore Hu clothing and rode and shot arrows, let's take the Ming Dynasty as an example. What was the attitude of the Ming Dynasty scholars in their exchanges with the West? Matteo Ricci once wrote in his book that the Chinese had a strong "curiosity" and "seemed to be crazy". Visitors came in an endless stream just to learn about Western things. Those who could not meet him communicated through letters. He received many letters from people he did not know at all, but who were happy to discuss various topics such as Catholicism and technology with him in their letters. It is rare for a nation to have such a strong curiosity and be full of passion."
Although Zhu Xianhai was a little curious about Guo Songtao's visit, he still told him the answers to his questions directly.
"Let's look at China today. When faced with foreigners, trains, telegraphs and other new things, the Chinese people were panicked, hostile and ignorantly rejected. It makes people wonder why they came to this point. This detail can tell us how much the quality of the Chinese people has declined under the rule of the Qing Dynasty for hundreds of years. How did a nation that was once full of curiosity and loved learning fall to such a conservative and self-contained state?"
Faced with such a question, Guo Songtao's heart was immediately stirred up by an unprecedented wave. He himself was a victim of conservatism. Even when he was ordered to go to Europe, he was criticized by the deputy envoy Liu Xihou and the conservatives in the court. Not to mention him, even when Li Hefei was running foreign affairs in Xuzhou, Haizhou and other places, the conservatives never stopped making things difficult and accusing him.
How can we make our country rich and strong with so many constraints?
Looking at the harbor outside the window, Zhu Xianhai ignored Guo Songtao's extremely unnatural expression. He just took a glass of red wine and sipped it leisurely, then said lightly.
"I think if you really want the answer, you should go to Nanhua and see it for yourself, then make your own judgment. You and Zuo Zongtang are friends, and I think you will know the answer from him."
Guo Songtao is also a talented person!
However, as the first person to be sent to Europe as an envoy, he did not have a good ending. Under the attack of conservatives, he not only returned home in disgrace soon, but even when he returned to his hometown in Hunan on the pretext of illness, he was scolded by his fellow villagers for "colluding with foreigners" and such slogans were posted on the streets.
keep!
After hundreds of years of suppression by literary inquisition, being conservative is not conservative, it is life-saving! What is the most developed academic discipline in "our Tartar Qing"? Of course, it is "epigraphy" and "textual research". Why? No other reason, it is just self-protection. If you make a mistake in textual research of ancient texts, you will lose your head.
Holding a wine glass, Zhu Xianhai's gaze extended through the window into the distance, as if he wanted to see the ocean and the mainland all the way to China. What did that land look like?
The wars continued and the people were starving everywhere. For them, Nanhua was a paradise. Of course, they were also the foundation of Nanhua's development.
"Go to Nanhua..."
His suggestion made Guo Songtao's heart tremble.
"How is this possible? Guo, as an imperial envoy of the Qing Dynasty, how can I abandon my master..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw a strong sense of sarcasm on Zhu Xianhai's face. The sarcastic smile made him feel extremely uncomfortable. Guo Songtao fell silent. After all, he was a Han Chinese.
It took him a while to change the subject.
"Your Majesty, since you are a descendant of the Ming Dynasty, why did you not call your country Ming after you founded it in a foreign land? Instead, you called it Nanhua?"
Descendants of the Ming Dynasty!
Who gave this character?
Zhu Xianhai himself couldn't figure it out. To put it bluntly, his Xianhai was inspired by the Taiwan Strait crisis that his father experienced when he was in college.
It’s not the generation name of “Xian”, nor is it the element of water, but... giving priority to the development of the navy.
That’s right, it means giving priority to the navy.
"Nanhua... Huaxia in South America."
Zhu Xianhai smiled, looked at Guo Songtao, and said.
"Well, it seems that it is not appropriate to say this now. After all, there are large tracts of land in North America that belong to us. When we named it Nanhua, we also meant to keep a low profile. After all, things like Nanhuayi cannot be kept secret forever."
"In fact, Your Majesty, if you use the words of the Ming Dynasty, perhaps it will be more helpful for you to recruit talents from China and attract immigrants. After all, your home country is the Ming Dynasty!"
When saying this, Guo Songtao himself was stunned. What was he talking about?
He didn't even know what was wrong with him, he actually said this sentence. After figuring out what was going on, he even wanted to slap himself hard.
He is a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, how could he do such a thing?
"The motherland is bright!"
Guo Songtao's words made Zhu Xianhai stunned for a moment, then he nodded in agreement.
"What you said makes sense! Your heart is still with us!"
I regret it so much.
A loyal minister should not serve two masters! Unfortunately, it's too late to say anything now...
(End of this chapter)
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