Master Yuan, start!

The rise of Neo-Confucianism heralds the beginning of a new era.

Today, in the ancient city of Beijing, the old era has come to an end.

: So many things have happened in the past year, and every single thing has been full of ups and downs.

However, these major events that affected the emotions of people all over the world had nothing to do with the capital, Beijing.

This is the first time that the city has been so desolate since Zhu Di moved the capital to Beiping.

The new government's intention to move the capital has become very clear.

There may still be debate among the people about who to choose as the new capital, but abandoning the old capital is already a consensus among everyone.

After initially working temporarily in Beijing, the new government agencies have gradually moved to Tianjin, where transportation is more convenient.

Because Tianjin is not only closer to the sea, but also the intersection of the already built customs railway and the Grand Canal Railway under construction, Tianjin-Zhen Railway.

When the Jinzhen Railway is successfully built, people outside the Great Wall will be able to travel south from Qiqihar, Longjiang Prefecture, Heilongjiang Province, the northernmost city, all the way to Yangzhou, the thousand-year-old city on the banks of the Yangtze River.

...

Today is the Winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice used to be, if not the busiest day in Beijing, it would at least be among the top three.

But now, there are very few pedestrians on the streets, and it doesn’t look like a festival at all.

"Let's go, it's time to go to the palace and pay our respects to the Emperor!"

Early in the morning, Yiktang Ajiu, the former Heilongjiang general who was temporarily staying in the former Prince Chun's mansion, called a few bannermen around him, opened the door, and prepared to walk into the palace.

After being rescued from the Russians, Yiktang'a was initially settled in Shenyang. He did not return to the capital until Yuan Shikai's army entered the capital and killed or relocated the bannermen who needed to be killed.

Yiktang'a had very complicated feelings towards Yuan Shikai. He was grateful for his achievements in fighting against Russia, but he could never get over his act of cutting off the Qing Dynasty's destiny.

He knew that after the news of Regent Yi D inviting the Russian army to march south was exposed, the situation of the Bannermen and the Qing Dynasty was doomed.

However, he was unwilling to abandon the motherland in his heart, so after the war, he tactfully rejected Yuan Shikai's proposal to let him continue to lead the troops, and turned his back on the capital, becoming an ordinary citizen who was indifferent to worldly affairs.

Yiktang'a cut off his braid, but every time he entered the palace, he would wear a fake braid. It was not known whether he was deceiving himself or Guangxu who was on his sickbed.

Now, only the Imperial Hospital in the palace belongs to the "royal territory", and the rest of the places have been transformed into museums, so there are not so many rules.

Soon, Yiktang'a arrived at the south gate of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

"Master Yi, you are finally here!" As soon as he reached the door, Guangxu's eunuch Kou Liancai ran out in a hurry.

"Eunuch Kou"

Yiktanga just replied, but before he could continue, Kou Liancai grabbed his right hand and said, "Master Yi, the emperor, the emperor is awake!"

"Ah, the emperor is awake?"

"That's right, the emperor just asked who was near zero. I was just about to go out and call for help when I saw you coming..."

"Quick, take me to see the Emperor!" Yiktang'a took two steps at a time and walked directly into Guangxu's ward: "Emperor...Emperor!"

"Is it Iktanga?"

Guangxu was lying on the bed, his eye sockets sunken, his entire face seemed to be nothing but bones, he looked like a living dead, only his eyes were still bright.

"I...where is my father?" Guangxu struggled to move his neck and found that there was no one else behind Yiktang'a.

Just as Yiktang'a hesitated about whether to explain the situation, Guangxu did not wait for him to speak and continued to ask: "Yiktang'a... cough... I... I... cough... How long have you been unconscious?"

"In reply to the Emperor, it has been three years."

"3...3 years...ah..." Guangxu ignored the "ho-ho" breathing in his throat and asked, "What happened outside?"

After being unconscious for such a long time, the emperor asked about what was happening outside as soon as he woke up. His breathing became more and more labored and his complexion became worse and worse, which made Yiktang'a feel uneasy.

He understood in his heart that the emperor's awakening this time was probably a last gasp of vitality and his time would not be long!

But since the emperor wanted to listen, it was also his last wish. Yiktang'a's heart trembled, and he quickly recounted in detail what happened after Guangxu fell into a coma.

From the Russian invasion of the Northeast to Yuan Xiangcheng's march north to drive out the Russians;

From the rise of the Huai Army in Lingnan to resist unification, to Yuan Shikai's march south to pacify the Huai River;

From the death of Li Hongzhang to the French taking advantage of the chaos to attack Guangxi;

From Yuan Xiangcheng's conquest of Annan to the annihilation of the French fleet in the South China Sea and the recovery of Xiamen and Taiwan

Seeing that Guangxu looked unhappy, Yiktang'a selectively picked out some of the "good news" and told them to Guangxu separately.

Guangxu listened silently. When he heard that the British had suffered successive defeats in South Africa and that the French had also fallen to Yuan Shao's men, his face, which had originally been pale, quickly flushed.

Guangxu lay on the bed, his chest heaving, as if he was overwhelmed with emotion for Yuan Shikai's achievements.

In a trance, he remembered the time when he first learned about Yuan Xiangcheng.

That was more than ten years ago, when Guangxu learned from the eunuchs in the palace that the Qing Dynasty had a capable general in Korea.

All the past experiences with Yuan Xiangcheng flashed before my eyes like a kaleidoscope of thoughts.

At first, I only heard rumors about Yuan Xiangcheng from the eunuchs and palace maids;

Then, there was the training of new soldiers by Korea and Yuan Shikai’s thousand-mile rescue when the French invaded Beijing;

Next, there was the first sighting of the Five Horse Parade at the Nanyuan Parade Ground;

After that, there was the disagreement between the emperor and the empress, the sleeping together when Yuan Xiangcheng helped him escape from the capital, the unity of the emperor and his ministers when he took refuge in Incheon, the unstoppable force when he led his troops into the pass and advanced westward, and the reward for his merits after returning to the capital.

How many pairs of kings and ministers like this can you find even if you search through all the history books?

"Cough... cough..." A burst of coughing pulled Guangxu away from his memories. At the same time, a huge pain quickly spread from his chest to his limbs.

After realizing his physical condition, Guangxu took several quick breaths and finally said:

"Yuan Xiangcheng, Yuan Weiting is an extraordinary figure after all."

When this was said, even Yiktang'a standing beside him nodded in agreement. Yuan Shikai was indeed living in a good era.

Taking advantage of the turmoil in Seoul, he drove out the Korean rebels and dominated Seoul. He also took advantage of the beginning of the training of new soldiers when several generals in the towns were helpless and trained a team of elite soldiers who had experienced many battles. He ambushed the French on the edge of the capital and captured the French commander alive. With this achievement, the court sent him to completely control Korea.

After that, he began to manage Korea, monopolize the Haedong Peninsula, and take advantage of the opportunity of opening up to spy on the skills of countries such as Britain, the United States, and Russia, and to carry out foreign affairs and enrich the treasury.

The battle between the Japanese and Koreans on the Korean Peninsula was extremely dangerous, but unfortunately the Koreans all helped Yuan Shikai's Jiashen Fourth Right Army, so that the Japanese lost their supplies on the Korean Peninsula and had to retreat in frustration.

The Yuan family's luck is so good that no one in the world can compare to them.

"Yiktang'a" sighed several times from the bedside. Guangxu seemed to have no strength left. His voice was extremely weak:

"I... I am no longer able to live... cough... a foreign gun pierced my head. I am lucky to be alive today... cough... and to be able to wake up and ask you a few questions... cough... cough... I am lucky to be alive today.

Today... ahem... is probably the day I die, but there's still one thing that worries me.

During these years of coma... cough... how is my father... cough... how is my mother?"

Yiktang'a originally wanted to persuade Guangxu to rest, but when Guangxu asked about the situation of the deceased Prince Chun Yixun, some truths came to his lips, but he could not say them.

Guangxu was not aware of Yiktang'a's silence. He held his breath, as if to suppress his cough, and said with all his strength:

"After I pass away, a simple burial is sufficient. Do not take all the antiques and treasures in the palace with you to the grave; they will be of no use.

As for the Crown Prince, since I have no heirs, I will let my father choose from among the clan members.

As for Yuan Shao and Xiang Yu, we must never demote them. The situation is changing rapidly, a situation that has not happened in a thousand years. The old emperor has passed away, and the method of exiling old ministers of the previous dynasty to the frontier and waiting for the new emperor to ascend the throne before recalling them is no longer feasible.

If the Qing Dynasty wants to win over Europe and America, the monarch and his subjects must be united. Yiktang'a, make this clear to my father. As long as Yuan Xiangcheng doesn't want the throne of the Aisin Gioro family, everything can be discussed.

cough! ! ! "

Guangxu spoke these words quickly and urgently, but the faster he spoke, the stronger the backlash became.

Before he could finish his words, after the last word "talk" came out, he couldn't stop coughing.

After coughing for more than eighty seconds, he grabbed the edge of the bed with his withered hands, his whole body trembling so violently that even the quilt was stirred.

However, after a few breaths, the movement suddenly stopped.

Seeing this scene, Yiktang'a, who was still listening, was suddenly shocked, and then slowly knelt on the ground.

On the night of the winter solstice in 1898, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty ended his short yet extremely wonderful life.

The old era has come to an end.

Chapter 484: The Ten Thousand-ton Ship and the Closure

“Pull, pull, pull!”

"Harder, harder!"

"Okay, stop!"

At a dock somewhere in Incheon, a huge ship is slowly being launched into the water.

This is a 10,000-ton "domestic cargo ship" built by the Incheon Shipyard. From the hull design to the hull structure, except for the core steam turbine, all other parts are completely built by Chinese people.

"I think you all need to step back to avoid being splashed by the sea water."

Yuan Xiangcheng stood on the dock, watching this huge ship independently built by the Chinese people about to be launched, his eyes filled with an uncontrollable smile.

After the establishment of the Beiyang Fleet, due to the policy of "buy first and build later", domestic naval warships have always been mainly purchased from abroad, and very few have been built internally.

Therefore, the Incheon Shipyard has only been able to build some civilian ships to maintain its technical level.

The "standard 2000-ton steamer" of the Sihai Shipping Company is a product of this period.

After selling hundreds of small steamships, in order to meet greater transportation needs, the Incheon Shipyard began to embark on the path of continuously developing larger tonnage ships.

In this issue, they also brought out some 5000-ton and 7000-ton ships, but they did not attract much attention.

Because at this time the mainstream of international shipping has reached the 10,000-ton level.

For 5000-ton and 7000-ton vessels, they cannot compete with the 2000-ton cargo ships in ocean-going operations, and for offshore loading and unloading, they cannot be flexibly loaded by -ton boats that can cross rivers and enter lakes.

Therefore, after building only a few ships to gain experience, they stopped building 2 and started to want to build a bigger one in one go.

Finally, before the end of 1898, the Incheon Shipyard successfully launched a -ton civilian ship.

It is said to be a civilian ship, but in fact it is also a preparation for the construction of future 10,000-ton warships.

The ship is about 155 meters long, 18 meters wide, and has a draft of 7.5 meters. It is equipped with two triple-expansion reciprocating steam engines that can generate 6500 horsepower, drive two propellers, and reach a speed of 2 knots.

Except for the core steam engine which was purchased from the British, the rest were purchased domestically.

"If we have a 10,000-ton cargo ship, we can split up the Sihai Shipping Company."

Yuan Xiangcheng looked at the "Fuxing" cargo ship that was successfully launched and nodded with satisfaction.