I want to ruin the country

At the Tianjin Port terminal, flags were waving, streamers were flying, gongs and drums were beating, and there were crowds of people.

In addition to the military under martial law, there were many people watching outside.

Du Han led the Tianjin prefect, the leaders of Tianjin Port and Tianjin Shipyard to welcome the emperor and his entourage at the dock.

Of course there are also people from the Lu and Qiao families!

Now with telegraphs and telephones, messaging is so convenient.

Prince Gong's fleet was expected to arrive around noon. Yining and his men set out from the capital at seven o'clock and arrived at ten o'clock.

If nothing unexpected happens, we will probably see their fleet soon!

Sure enough, before Yining could say a few words to Du Han, someone reported that a fleet was spotted through the telescope.

Yining took the telescope and saw that there was indeed a large group of ships approaching.

In the front were five steam ironclad ships emitting billowing black smoke, followed by a large group of sailing ships.

It took an hour from the time the fleet could be seen to the time it docked.

At Du Han's command, gongs and drums sounded, firecrackers blasted, and people cheered like thunder and waves.

As soon as the warship stopped, Yining saw Prince Gong stumbling down.

Following closely behind was a large group of officials of all ranks, and behind the officials were a group of gorgeously dressed women.

Yining also strode forward.

After stepping down the seesaw, Prince Gong ran towards Yining, shouting,

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I miss my brother so much!"

His eyes were filled with tears and he actually cried!

When he came closer, Prince Gong knelt down and kowtowed.

Yining's eyes were also wet, he went over and pulled him up, and the brothers hugged each other.

"Good brother, you are back!"

Prince Gong burst into tears. He sobbed and could not speak.

"emperor……"

Yining patted his shoulder to comfort him.

“Brother, you’ve suffered!”

Prince Gong sobbed and said,

"It's nothing to suffer, it's just that I miss you so much!"

Yining Road,

"I just left home. Don't cry, everyone is waiting to greet you!"

A group of people knelt behind Prince Gong, including Dou Zhenbiao, Lu Yaxuan, Qiao Sanxing, Yi Fengshou, Yi Pingmei and others, all of whom kowtowed to the emperor.

Yining Road,

"Everyone stand up and talk!"

Prince Gong wiped his eyes and looked. Wow, Lin Zexu, Du Shoutian and others were here. It was amazing! They came to welcome him with such a grand ceremony!

After everyone came over and exchanged greetings, a temporary reed shed was set up on the dock.

There were tables, chairs and benches placed in the reed shed. According to the rules, a welcoming banquet would be held here.

After entering the reed shed and sitting down, Yining asked,

"Li Hongzhang stayed?"

Prince Gong said,

"I have asked him to supervise the work and recruit talented people there, and I have also left Igei and Ipin'o there to protect him!"

Yining asked,

“How are they doing?”

Prince Gong said,

"Your Majesty, this is of great use. They have performed a great service!"

Yining Road,

"Are you in danger?"

Prince Gong said with lingering fear,

"The danger is great. Without them, I would have been fed to the fish in the Indian Ocean!"

Yining heard this and said,

"Now that you're back, it means you've turned a bad situation into a good one. As for the unhappy things, you can slowly tell me about them after you return to the capital. Let's have a welcoming drink first!"

Everyone drank three cups of welcoming wine, and that was it.

There are so many people waiting here. Otherwise, if we just eat and drink here with the sea breeze blowing and a belly full of cold air, we will get stomach upset!

Prince Gong said,

"Your Majesty, I have bought five ironclad ships and brought back a large sum of gold and silver. Would you like to take a look?"

Yining Road,

“I won’t watch it now, it’s getting late, I’ll watch it carefully in the afternoon.

Don't worry about anything else. I've prepared a welcoming banquet for you at the Royal Hotel in Tianjin. Let's get in the car!"

When Prince Gong and his companions came closer to the four-wheeled carriage and took a look, they asked in confusion,

"What kind of monster is this?"

Peng Yunzhang said with a smile,

"Your Highness, this is called a four-wheeled gasoline vehicle, and it runs very fast!"

Prince Gong looked at Yining,

"Your Majesty, where did you buy this? No Westerner has ever seen it anywhere."

Man Hing Road,

"Your Majesty, we made this ourselves!"

Prince Gong and his group were shocked.

"Your Majesty, I was quite surprised when I saw a telephone and electric light in Fujian. You have given me another surprise!"

Lin Zexu said,

"Your Highness, in the eight months since you left, we've experienced a tremendous transformation. There are plenty of interesting things to discover. You'll soon discover them!"

Prince Gong said,

"When I arrived in the West, I saw that they were indeed more developed than us, and I was really anxious. But when I came back, I found that we were much more advanced than them!"

Yining Road,

"Stop sighing and get in the car!"

When Prince Gong got on the car, he saw that it was luxurious and comfortable, and gave a thumbs up.

"very nice!"

When the car sped up, he exclaimed,

"Your Majesty, I thought the Western ironclad ships were fast enough, but I didn't expect this four-wheeled vehicle to be much faster than that!"

Yining Road,

"Your ironclad ship can only travel 50 to 60 miles an hour at most at 15 knots. Our current speed is 120 miles an hour, and the fastest speed can reach 180 miles an hour!"

Prince Gong was even more surprised.

"Oh my god, it's going to fly! But the big battleship I brought back this time can run at 22 knots!"

Yining Road,

"That's nothing. Cars will get faster and faster in the future!"

Lu Yaxuan, who was sitting comfortably in the back car, said,

"Manager Qiao, how much do you think this car could be sold for if it were taken to the West?"

Qiao San Provincial Road,

"At least ten thousand taels!"

Lu Yaxuan shook his head.

"Ten thousand taels, that's a bargain for them. It should be at least one hundred thousand taels!"

Qiao San Provincial Road,

"Is it too expensive?"

Lu Yaxuan gritted his teeth and said,

"Is it more expensive than their box of opium, which costs 2500 taels of silver?"

When opium was at its most expensive, it cost 2500 taels of silver per box. A box weighed 125 jin, which was a total of 20 taels of silver per jin.

One tael of silver is equivalent to about eight oceans, so it is equivalent to about three taels per catty of silver, which is indeed a sky-high price.

Qiao San Provincial Road,

"I just don't know how much it will cost, but it's probably not cheap!"

Lu Yaxuan said,

"I just wonder if the Emperor will sell it to the West?"

As we were talking, we unknowingly arrived at the Royal Hotel in Tianjin.

Looking at the magnificent hotel, Prince Gong and his companions were filled with admiration.

"Your Majesty, there's no such luxurious hotel in the West!"

Yining Yile,

“We have to be ahead of them!”

Prince Gong said,

"Your Majesty, when I got home, I felt that the smell of this hotel was better than that of the Westerners. They had a strong smell!"

Yining said happily,

"There are many people suffering from body odor, and most of them don't like to take a bath, so they definitely have a body odor. Over time, this strange smell is everywhere.

Otherwise, people of status would wear a wig on their heads just to cover up the smell!"

Prince Gong suddenly understood when he heard this.

"Your Majesty, it seems that what you said is true. I was wondering why you put that thing on your head. Feelings are a mask!"

While drinking, Prince Gong said,

"The goods we brought were snapped up by Westerners. We made a fortune!"