New Shun 1730

It was midsummer when I hurried back to the capital.

The people of the capital knew that the Whale Marquis had returned from the West, but they only knew it, and they had no other feelings. It was even far less exciting than the people of the capital who had been bored for a winter and saw the green willows sprouting new buds.

The West was too far away and had little to do with them. Even though some concepts such as maps and the earth have begun to spread in a small range in recent years, in the eyes of the public, the difference from before was not too big.

The Celestial Empire is still the Celestial Empire, but the world has become bigger. Everything in the distance is barbaric, backward and ignorant. This is not a problem for China, but a disease that all Celestial Empires will get - I am strong because only I am civilized, correct, and the only truth - it is not a good thing not to have this disease, it only proves that I have never been a Celestial Empire. It is just like not using an iron kidney for thirty years, and mocking those who hurt their waists because of excessive sex everywhere.

Riding on the streets of the capital, just like when Liu Yu left. People are busy with their own things and in a hurry.

The quiet changes are nothing more than a little more glass windows, more "seafood stores" that distribute goods from Tianjin, and no swords or spears can be seen on the patrolling soldiers on the streets, only muskets and bayonets.

As for the so-called temperament of the people, if there is such a thing, then now it is just life, just life. Eating, shitting, sleeping, talking to people you know, making a living in your own small circle, vegetable sellers want to raise prices, and vegetable buyers are willing to pay on the spot - if they are not gathered together to discuss politics all day, and are not numb like the streets of Paris in 1793 and Europe in 1848, they can also be said to be numb.

Live, obey the rules of the time, and make a living.

The streets of the capital are the same as always. Amid the noisy shouting, Liu Yu slowly moved forward and finally saw the walls and rivers of the Forbidden City.

After going through the rules, he was summoned by the emperor and went to the palace to meet him.

Before he really arrived in the capital and entered the Forbidden City, Liu Yu thought about one thing more than once.

That is, after he kowtowed to the emperor and finished talking about those nonsense topics, what would be the first sentence the emperor said to him?

He imagined many scenarios.

But unexpectedly, after kowtow, the emperor actually laughed and said: "What a great thing the Whale Marquis did in Europe. He abolished one king and established another."

"The story of Tong Palace and Weiyang. Just raise your hand to do it."

It is hard to tell whether this is a compliment or sarcasm, or a joke, or a warning.

Because it is possible.

Some things, even in foreign countries, are better not to touch. But of course, it depends on how you understand it.

In fact, everyone in the palace is an actor, and the emperor is both an actor and an audience, and also a referee.

Any sentence of the emperor can be interpreted in many completely different ways, which requires the "actors" to make corresponding actions.

But this, even if it is a joke, is not funny at all.

On the contrary, it is quite scary.

Liu Yu didn't know what kind of performance to put on. He thought that if the emperor was just joking, then the emperor's brain was really a bit problematic. If he really didn't look like a monarch joking with his subjects, he couldn't talk about this kind of thing.

Just as he was about to pretend to sweat, the emperor said, "Okay, you stand up and talk. I'm just joking. But I really can't figure it out. Is the coup in Luosha so simple? Peter's daughter, can she contact the guards at will? And as long as three or five hundred people attack the Luosha Palace, it will be done?"

The emperor seemed to be joking casually, and naturally shifted the topic to another place. But Tonggong Weiyang's remarks were made before, and now it was just a light joke.

Liu Yu didn't mention these two metaphors again, but talked about the situation of the coup in full.

After finishing speaking, he flattered and praised: "Thanks to your Majesty's great fortune, the prosperity of the Celestial Empire, and the strong military power. This is one reason. Second, Europe is full of barbarians, who are not very familiar with the affairs of the court... Therefore, what I have done in Europe is no more than what Ban Dingyuan did in the Western Regions."

"The great sage said: A weak barbarian thousands of miles away, who pretends to be a king, can't really surpass a Chinese pavilion chief. Ban Chao's achievements do not require courage or wisdom, and anyone can do it. People praised Ban Chao's wisdom and courage, It's like someone digging a pit and crushing crickets to death, or someone catching fish in a swamp, and then others praise him and say: Wow, you are so brave and wise! It's really ridiculous. "

"So, the wise man said so, in fact, I am almost the same, that is, people digging pits and crushing crickets to death, catching fish in a swamp, it's really not a big deal, it doesn't require courage or wisdom, any pavilion chief can do it. Your Majesty, thank you for your praise, I am really ashamed. "

He was being modest, just saying that anyone can do this kind of thing.

The emperor laughed and said: "You should keep these words of Wang Chuanshan to yourself. He also said that the reason why Qin Hui wanted to negotiate peace was because he was worried that Yue Fei would usurp the Song Dynasty. He also said that Yue Wumu's level was about the same as Li Guang, and he made up by making friends with scholars and officials. His words are really ridiculous. I am trying to deal with some people's false words recently..."

The emperor laughed like this, and Liu Yu's heart skipped a beat, and suddenly he keenly smelled a different smell... It felt weird.

Did the emperor feel that some Western knowledge was anti-feudal and therefore worried about the integration of Chinese and Western cultures? Or did the emperor realize that the weakness of Western monarchy had led to various ideas that posed a great threat to imperial power?

Although the emperor just said casually that "his words are really ridiculous", Liu Yu was still very worried, because this was what he was most worried about.

The emperor must have read the original text written by Wang Fuzhi. As for the sentence about Yue Fei, the emperor obviously took it out of context deliberately, and also deliberately cut off the beginning and the end, misinterpreting the original meaning.

The original text said: Qin Hui negotiated peace because he was worried that Yue Fei would usurp the Song Dynasty. But the question is, what would happen if Yue Fei usurped the Song Dynasty? Yue Fei defeated the Jin Kingdom and then usurped the Song Dynasty. Isn't this better than the two emperors being captured in the Jingkang Shame? Isn't this better than the battle of Yashan where 100,000 people jumped into the sea and died?

Usurping the Song Dynasty is not a crime, and resisting the Jin Dynasty is reasonable.

As a result, the emperor cut off the beginning and the end, and the taste was completely changed.

Wang Fuzhi's reputation in Dashun was quite high. Because Dashun fought back desperately, and the debate between Huayi won the world.

Just like the text about Yue Fei and Qin Hui just now, if we put it into the late Ming Dynasty, what it actually means is very clear: the Southern Ming negotiated peace, and even allied with the barbarians to suppress the bandits, because they were worried that the Dashun would "usurp" the Ming Dynasty. But what can Dashun do if it usurps the Ming Dynasty? At least it is better than shaving the head and changing clothes, right? At least it is better than destroying the Chinese clothing, right?

It is about Yue Fei at that time, but it is actually about the Ming Shun and the Later Jin at that time.

These words were quite touching when Dashun was in the most difficult time. This is equivalent to the scholar-official class building momentum for Dashun.

However, times have changed.

Now it is no longer as fierce as that time in the contradiction between Huayi, because the surrounding four barbarians are all weak, the northeast has been swept away, the northwest has been decided in one battle, and there is an advantage in firearms.

Therefore, the emperor does not like to hear the same words.

Because the contradictions at that time no longer exist, then the word "usurp" in Yue Fei's "usurpation" of the Song Dynasty must make the emperor feel quite disgusted: as a minister, usurpation is wrong. How can we think that in some special cases, usurpation is reasonable and innocent? It cannot be innocent under any circumstances.

Because this is feudal etiquette, it is sacred. Sacred things cannot be loosened. Once a sacred thing is loosened a little, it is likely to become a dam collapse, and it will be all over in an instant.

Since in order to fight against foreign races, even the head of the three cardinal guides, the monarch and the minister, can be ignored. Then, what is the meaning of loose and no longer perfect sacred things? Today, it can be used to prove the Chinese and barbarians, and tomorrow it can be used to prove the living standards of the people? The day after tomorrow, can it be used to prove the suppression of merchants?

Once a sacred thing is slightly damaged, other directions can always find reasons to destroy the sacredness.

At the beginning, Dashun was a "thief", but now it is the court. The chair under the butt is different, and some words are not accustomed to listening.

Moreover, there is a serious problem of communication between the East and the West now-the Dutch incident can be understood as a slightly modified version of Yue Fei's metaphor.

If the speaker cannot be beaten, then don't occupy the toilet without shitting. Orange "usurped", so what? As long as the Netherlands is not humiliated, usurpation is not a crime.

This is not the original words in Liu Yu's report to the emperor, but once this matter is viewed with such tinted glasses, it will definitely be thought in this direction.

Liu Yu estimated that the emperor was inspired after reading the briefing on this matter. He was in the crosshairs again, so he was humble and ended up saying this.

But did the emperor do it deliberately?

Did he really say something at random?

Or did the emperor always think about this matter in his heart, so when it happened, he blurted it out subconsciously?

Liu Yu was beating his own drum in his heart. After years of struggling in the court, his sensitivity to some issues has increased a lot compared to before.

It is really ridiculous that the emperor cut off the beginning and end of the original text when he knew it was intended, and then criticized it himself. I am afraid that the ridiculous thing is not the part left after cutting off the beginning and end, but the part that was cut off.

Thinking of this, Liu Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that fortunately the masters of the academician level he recruited in Europe were all those who did not like to get involved in politics, such as Euler.

Fortunately, he did not recruit people in France. If he had recruited people in France, the French salons and the "stinky" problems of talking about national politics would have destroyed the Dashun Academy of Sciences.

However, the emperor did not say it clearly after all, nor did he continue to talk about this issue, and he did not even talk about the Luosha Dutch coup.

Instead, he said, "My dear, you have worked hard, don't be too modest. I was just joking before. If Tonggong and Weiyang are at this level, then they really don't have the qualifications to leave a place in the history books."

"But, my dear, you are too modest and say that you are not as good as Ban Dingyuan, but I don't think so."

"I still want you to be my Dou Mengsun, and someone else will have to do Ban Dingyuan in the future. Since Nanyang is more than the Western Regions, if you are Dou Mengsun and return after one battle, the rest of the things will have to be handled by Ban Dingyuan. Do you have any suitable candidates to recommend?"