C3843 (1/2)
”That was seven years ago. When I left Qing Kingdom, before I left the capital and prepared to return home, I climbed up the front gate and looked into the distant Forbidden City in the north!”
”Flags are fluttering on the walls one by one, and the soldiers with the spears and armors of the eight flags are moving at a speed of ten steps, one step, one step, one step!”
”Under strict protection, the Imperial City for hundreds of years has shut its doors on me … I once asked to pay my respects to the empress dowager and His Majesty, but Head Office used the excuse of not being well-mannered to stop my request! ”
”However, the Head Office fulfilled a small wish of mine. He ascended to the highest point of the city's front gate and looked at the Imperial Palace from afar!”
”Where is it? I will pay my respects to His Majesty the emperor!”
”Memories replayed themselves in front of my eyes, but I didn't expect that I would be able to enter the Imperial City after seven years. What surprised me even more was that the soldiers guarding the Imperial City had all changed.”
Hairy # 2 laughed as he heard the story of the past from Gordon. ”Does that mean that no one has ever told you about the situation in the capital after you traveled through so many provinces in the Central Plains?”
”This way please. There is still a little time left, I will take up half an hour!”
Tongzhi's Royal Brush was hanging on the roof of the shed. With the might of the Emperor, even if it was the Great Master of the Eight Flag, he would still have to be polite if he comes here to eat! This was the Donganmen outside the Donghua Gate, and only after walking a few steps did he arrive at the Hu family's small restaurant.
Inside the shed were many of the Eight Banners Grandmaster as well as the New Imperial Army's soldiers that took turns eating. When they saw that the Dichrome had arrived, they even brought a foreign devil with them!
There was no one in Dichrome who did not know each other. The group of people politely exchanged a few words of greeting, and then let the two nobles come out from the north corner for them to chat in private.
It was not a meal time, and neither of them were hungry. They each ordered a large bowl of tea and then made a plate of crispy cat ears for a snack.
”Lord Gordon …” This Donghua Gate is not some reformation rule from the Great Qing, this Donghua Gate was personally brought here by the His Majesty himself to rob us! ”
Hairy # 2 lowered his voice and told Tongzhi everything that had happened on the way back to the capital. When he got to the most soul-stirring part of the story, Hairy # 2 sighed regretfully.
”His Majesty has said this more than once, I really regret splitting up my forces in India! ”If you had stayed by His Majesty's side all this time, you would not have suffered so much in the imperial court!”
Gordon's news had really been cut off. On the way back to the capital, there was not a single person who shared information with him!
Speaking of which, it was really sad. The route Gordon took to return to the capital was to go from Gansu Province into Xi'an, then leave Tongguan to Henan. Then, he would head north along the direct road that led to Beijing.
This route was the most powerful sealed region in Great Qing!
The foreign devils did not infiltrate here, nor did Xiao Letian's power extend to this place. These provinces have always been completely under the control of traditional Chinese forces!
What was even more interesting was that since Tongzhi did not have his own authority, he was not able to personally command these provinces!
In other words, even the imperial power couldn't be transferred here temporarily! So who controls this place? In fact, it was simply controlled by the power of tradition!
The towns and villages under the county level were completely under the control of the local gentry and landowner class. Apart from collecting taxes and food, the imperial government would also exterminate the rebel bandits to take care of them. As for the rest of the time, they simply did not have the time to pay attention to the people below.
From top to bottom, all of this conservative local time seemed to have stopped, Gordon's journey here was really like walking through a history museum where time had frozen!