Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Liu Ye suddenly put himself in the spotlight. This was no ordinary matter. Facing foreigners who were as cunning as foxes and as ferocious as wolves, he actually dared to make such big statements. Could he do it?

Everyone fell silent and looked at Liu Ye in horror, even Prince Gong Yixin was no exception. My goodness, this guy is so arrogant. You know, several people in the Zongli Yamen have spent several days talking and still haven't been able to persuade Li Taiguo!

Prince Chun took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Liu Ye, if you can really do this, from today on, I, Yihuan, will never oppose you again. No matter what opinions you put forward in the court, I will fully support you and be willing to be your vanguard!"

The ministers in the court were even more shocked. This was the dignified Prince Chun? In the entire court, this young prince could be said to have no one he could respect except Prince Gong. And he actually said such words!

Liu Ye laughed heartily and shouted, "Okay, Prince Chun, keep your word!"

"Wait!"

Prince Chun sneered, "What if you can't do it?"

Liu Ye laughed and said, "That's easy. If I lose, I'll be Prince Chun's vanguard, willing to be at his beck and call. If you tell me to go east, I won't go west. If you tell me to catch a dog, I won't chase a chicken!"

"Okay, a gentleman's word!"

"Hurry up and whip your horse!"

Before everyone could fully react, these two people had already made a shocking bet, a bet that involved their entire lives!

Ci'an said in a deep voice: "Liu Ye, how did you plan this? Can you tell us about it?"

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have just said that we only need a piece of paper to invite Western countries to apply. We will use whichever one offers the cheapest and most favorable conditions. Let them set the price for us. If it's too expensive, we can just leave it alone. If it's cheap, we will use it. These foreigners are only interested in profit. Who wouldn't want to monopolize this opportunity? If so, they will inevitably undercut each other to gain our trust. All we need to do is sit back and watch the fight, and let them fight each other!"

Upon hearing this, the emperor and his ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. Is this even possible?

Prince Gong asked, "Liu Ye, how should I write this letter? How should I phrase it?"

Prince Gong asked the right question. This word "Cambodia" not only involves diplomatic etiquette, but also business etiquette. Moreover, one must clearly state one's needs. Who among ordinary people can handle it?

Liu Ye smiled and replied, "Your Majesty, please grant me the Four Treasures of the Wenfang Office. I will write it now."

Cixi pursed her lips and said, "Xiao Anzi, send over the brushes, inkstone, paper, and inkstone, and bring up a set of tables and chairs."

Liu Ye was not polite either. He sat down on the chair, picked up the pen, and wrote quickly. In a short time, a modern invitation letter was written.

"To Minister XXX, the Qing Empire intends to open tenders for a naval fleet project. We require four medium-sized warships and eight small warships. The medium warships will be equipped with twelve guns, and the small warships will be equipped with six guns. The supply of standard artillery shells is tentatively set at 12,000 rounds. We will also train a number of naval technicians. If you are interested in cooperation, please submit a bid by April 25th and participate in the bidding. Our dynasty will select the best bidder... Signed: Liu Ye, Acting Prime Minister and Governor of Shandong, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Qing Empire."

The width of the calligraphy was three fingers wide which was an exaggeration. Liu Ye was not used to using a brush. However, this small booklet was not filled up, with only a few hundred words.

Liu Ye handed the memorial to Prince Gong for review. After all, Yi was the Prince Regent of the dynasty, and all memorials and decrees had to go through him.

Prince Gong took the memorial, glanced at it briefly, glared at Liu Ye, and said angrily, "Liu Ye, let's not talk about our plans for now. If you dare to write a memorial like this again and let the emperor see it, I will break your legs and drive you out of the court!"

Not only was the handwriting on the memorial illegible, the font was also unreadable. The most hateful thing was that the words were missing some parts. If Prince Gong had not been so knowledgeable, he would have been unable to read it!

Woren, who was standing nearby, came over. He was now the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and served as the teacher of Emperor Tongzhi. This was also confirmed by Emperor Xianfeng during his lifetime. Seeing Prince Gong fuming, he couldn't help but walk over curiously. He took a quick look. The old man's beard was sticking up high as he said angrily, "How disgraceful, how disgraceful! Liu Ye, Liu Ye, you are so disgraceful that I am ashamed to be associated with you! Is this even a handwriting? A spider could write better than you!"

Almost all the ministers in the court burst into laughter. It seems that Liu Ye’s calligraphy is really unbearable, otherwise Prince Gong and Weiren would not be so angry!

Liu Ye was embarrassed. There was nothing he could do. Regardless of his calligraphy, he could only read simplified Chinese characters. He could not recognize the traditional Chinese characters even though they recognized him. He was speechless.

Liu Ye said helplessly: "Your Majesty, Lord Wo, this kid's handwriting is indeed not to your liking, but this plan is absolutely fine..."

Prince Gong, fuming with rage, came to the table, picked up a pen, and patiently copied it again. He angrily said, "How dare you show your handwriting to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager? Aren't you afraid of polluting their eyes? This is truly shameful! Get out of the way!"

Liu Ye's face turned red. Damn, today was really embarrassing. He was actually laughed at by a bunch of country bumpkins!

Prince Gong handed the memorial to An Dehai and said, "Empress Dowager, Liu Ye's handwriting is truly terrible. I have no choice but to copy it for your perusal."

The two Empress Dowagers suppressed their laughter and read the memorial over. Cixi nodded and said, "Well, that's right. Sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight is a good strategy. Then let's do it. Zongli Yamen, during this period, cooperate with Liu Ye to complete this matter. It must be done well. If we have a fleet, then the vast sea and river will be safe. I decree that Liu Ye is unlearned and unskilled. The Hanlin Academy shall select an official to teach Liu Ye calligraphy. Don't be lazy. This will not happen again!"

It was the first time in the Qing Dynasty that a dignified governor and prime minister had to go back to school for retraining and to attend classes.

Liu Ye stood aside, feeling extremely depressed. He was determined to get back at the place he was in.

The order was quickly conveyed, and several invitations were quickly delivered to the envoys of various countries. There was also such good news: twelve warships of varying sizes, plus a number of artillery and shells. This was definitely a big deal! They couldn't let this path to wealth be cut off, no matter what!

The ministers of various countries took action almost at the same time, and they had to submit the plan before April 25th no matter what!