Super Dictator

On May 8, newspapers in Tianjin published two things. One was that China and Japan exchanged treaties in Yantai, declaring that the Treaty of Shimonoseki had officially come into effect, and Taiwan, the Liaodong Peninsula and other territories would be separated from China.

Another incident is that the famous anti-Japanese general Wei Jichen was refused entry to a British restaurant. These two incidents were published on the same page in some newspapers at the same time.

Countless people with lofty ideals felt extremely sad and angry when they saw this news. They lamented the misfortune of the country, lamented the weakness of the nation, and lamented the hardship of the current situation.

The relationship between China and Japan has undergone fundamental changes since history. Japan dominated the East for the first time, and the Chinese gradually became the sick man of Asia.

In the capital, Kang Youwei learned the news that the contract had finally been changed, and he united many scholars to write to Guangxu, saying that China had reached a stage of life and death and that it was time to change to become stronger. He also put forward his own ideas, criticized the old ways, and proposed changes. The absolute monarchy is a constitutional monarchy, learning from Japan, and carrying out top-down reforms.

Kang Youwei's several petitions moved Guangxu greatly, and the court's memorials against the treaty were like snow-capped mountains.

Guangxu issued an imperial edict in time, claiming that he would train troops to strengthen the country. Since the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, because Guangxu took the lead in the battle, some forces in the DPRK gathered around him. Guangxu also became more and more assertive, and his relationship with Cixi was inevitable. There was a rift, something that had never happened before.

Due to the ceding of land and compensation, the entire court was forced by public opinion to introduce Li Hongzhang as the scapegoat, but also had to make some changes.

In this way, the training of a new type of army began to be implemented amid increasing calls.

Yuan Shikai's new army was just one of them, and this army was just recruited and did not have much combat effectiveness.

In addition, the Supervisory Military Affairs Office decided to train three more recruits to be stationed in Tianjin, Shanhaiguan, and Liaodong respectively.

At the request of the imperial court, Li Hongzhang, together with Wang Wenshao, petitioned to disband the more than 400 battalions of the Hunan and Huai army that had gathered inside and outside Shanhaiguan, and to select and train the best among them into several Western-style armies.

The candidates for military training were initially determined to be Nie Shicheng and Song Qing. The last spot has not yet been determined. In fact, Guangxu was very fond of Wei Jichen.

But when he went to the Summer Palace to pay his respects, he discussed the matter with Cixi. Cixi neither agreed nor objected. She just asked Guangxu to order Wei Jichen to come to Beijing immediately and make a decision later.

At this time, Wei Jichen was holding a banquet at home.

On that day, guests gathered together, and it was a lively scene.

The banquet was laid out from the courtyard to the road outside the door. There were about forty or fifty people at the banquet. Everyone in the village was invited.

After a burst of music and cannon fire, the banquet officially started.

Wei Jichen and Su Zhiniang stood in the center of the banquet. Su Zhiniang was so shy that she lowered her head and said nothing. That was because Wei Jichen had invited all the villagers to the banquet on the pretext of an engagement banquet.

It was originally supposed to be a very complicated engagement banquet, but due to the death of Wei Jichen and Su Zhiniang's parents, the process became much simpler. It was hosted by a highly respected person in the village, with many villagers coming to help, and Wang Huaiqing and other soldiers were also on hand to assist. , so that the whole scene would not be chaotic.

Even so, Wei Jichen was busy to death.

At this time, seeing that the banquet had officially begun and things were halfway over, Wei Jichen couldn't help but secretly let out a sigh of relief.

"My uncles and fellow villagers, I would like to thank you for coming to Wei Jichen's engagement banquet today. I hope that all of you will come here and come back to your heart's content." Wei Jichen said loudly, clasping his fists gratefully and bowing to the people around him.

"It's our honor for the general to say what he said."

"That's right, that's right! Zhiniang finally got through it, and we are happy to see it."

…

Everyone was from the village, and Su Zhiniang was kind and easy to get along with. At this time, everyone was happy for her and made fun of the two of them.

The old man also stood up and said with a smile: "It is said that a wife of wretched men should not leave the court. Zijie, now you and Zhiniang are engaged. Zhiniang and all of us have watched her grow up together, but she is the daughter of the whole village." , you need to officially get married as soon as possible so that you can give birth to a big, fat baby to continue the legacy of your Wei family."

Someone next to me yelled, "Sir, what are you talking about? The fat and white baby can be conceived first, and the marriage can be put at a later stage."

Su Zhiniang suddenly blushed with embarrassment after hearing this.

The old gentleman looked around for a week, trying to find out who was making the noise, but his eyesight was too dim to find it, so he couldn't help scolding him: "That little brat said such disrespectful things, I will find him and scold him severely."

He turned to Wei Jichen and said, "Zijie, don't believe their nonsense. There's no rush to have a baby. You have to take care of things first."

When Wei Jichen saw the old gentleman's serious look, he immediately didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he could only reply seriously: "Sir, what you said is absolutely true."

"Come, let's toast General Wei together." The leader stood up, raised the glass in his hand, and shouted.

Everyone immediately stood up, raised their wine glasses, and faced Wei Jichen.

Wei Jichen also took the large bowl of wine handed over by Wang Huaiqing, bowed to the surroundings, and drank it all in one gulp. Wei Jichen was so generous that he immediately won unanimous applause from everyone.

After drinking the opening drink, Wei Jichen came over to pay homage to a table full of people. Sitting on the chairman's seat was a respected old man from the village.

A soldier was personally waiting on the side. Wei Jichen and Su Zhiniang walked over together. Naturally, these old men would not embarrass Wei Jichen too much. After drinking a glass of wine and saying something promising, they let Wei Jichen go.

Wei Jichen knew that the ones who made the fuss should be at the seats of the younger generation. There is a saying that there is no big or small wedding in three days. Wei Jichen's engagement party was a bit big, just like a wedding banquet.

Wei Jichen winked slightly, and Wang Huaiqing secretly brought a jar of special 'water wine', which was wine mixed with a large amount of water, and then began to serve them table by table.

My dear, there will be more after this chapter^.^,

The martial arts style in Xiaohenan Village is quite popular, and the men in the village know a few martial arts, and they are a bit too generous. Even though Wei Jichen used fake wine to toast him all the way, he was still half drunk.

Wei Jichen looked up and saw that he had only drank a third of the drink, and he couldn't help but scream for his life.

After visiting another table, Wei Jichen saw three men who looked similar to each other at the table. He couldn't help but look through the memory of the young scholar. However, the young scholar used to be a bachelor and a typical otaku, and he only had a vague impression of them.

They seem to be three brothers, named Huo Yuandong, Huo Yuanjia, and Huo Yuanqing.

Wait, who? Fearless.

Wei Jichen's slightly dizzy head suddenly became clear, "Huo Yuanjia, right?" Is it such a coincidence? Think about it, Huo Yuanjia, the hero of Jinmen, needless to say is from Tianjin. As for Tianjin, how can I remember it in such detail?

Could it be that Huo Yuanjia is really from the same hometown as him?

Wei Jichen secretly looked at him, and at first glance he knew it was a trainee. After a closer look, he saw that the other person was staring at his child bride Su Zhiniang intentionally or unintentionally.

Su Zhiniang next to her seemed to be aware of his gaze, holding the corners of her clothes with her little hands, feeling a little nervous.

This scene fell in Wei Jichen's eyes, and he couldn't help but feel suspicious. There was something wrong, something was not normal!

Huo Yuandong, who was beside Huo Yuanjia, kicked him hard and said in a low voice: "Second brother!"

Huo Yuanjia suddenly woke up and quickly lowered his head to cover up his gaffe.

"Fellow folks, Zijie is polite here. Thank you all folks for coming to the banquet. I would like to toast you all." Wei Jichen said with a smile and repeated the words dozens of times.

Everyone sitting at the table stood up, smiled and said some nice words in return. Wei Jichen secretly watched Huo Yuanjia and saw that the boy's expression was indescribably complicated.

After Wei Jichen paid his respects, he walked to the next table calmly. Su Zhiniang beside him suddenly said in a low voice: "Ms. sir, there was a time when everyone thought you were killed in battle. Brother Huo came to ask for your hand in marriage."

"And why didn't I know about this?" Wei Jichen nodded slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable for some reason.

"Zhiniang just thinks that there is nothing to say about this matter. Zhiniang has long regarded herself as a member of the Wei family and has never thought otherwise. Therefore, Zhiniang doesn't think it is a big deal." Su Zhiniang was a little nervous. Looking at Wei Jichen, he was afraid that the man would be angry.

Seeing Su Zhiniang like this, Wei Jichen secretly blamed himself for being too stingy, and gently squeezed Su Zhiniang's tender little hand. Wei Jichen said softly: "This is not a big deal. Someone likes Zhiniang. It shows that our Zhiniang is very charming." ”

Being held by Wei Jichen's hand in front of everyone, Su Zhiniang couldn't help but feel ashamed and wanted to break away, but she never thought that Wei Jichen's hold was so tight, she could only blush and let him do whatever he wanted.

Wei Jichen loosened his belt and was about to continue when he saw a dozen carriages suddenly approaching on the road, obviously heading for him.

He couldn't help but stop and secretly guessed who it could be. You must know that Wei Jichen had never sent an invitation at all.

As expected, more than a dozen carriages stopped in front of Wei Jichen's house. The sudden movement made the villagers sitting at the banquet look over curiously.

Seeing this, Wei Jichen had no choice but to greet him personally.

After the carriage stopped, the curtains were respectfully opened, and an old man slowly walked out of the first carriage.

Wei Jichen took a closer look and saw that the old man holding a cane was Li Hongzhang and Li Zhongtang, wasn't he?

After Li Hongzhang got out of the car, he first paused with his cane, and then two servants stepped forward to help him.

"A distinguished guest has come to the door, and I am in full glory. I didn't expect you to come to Zhongtang. I hope Zhongtang will forgive me for being rude." Wei Jichen hurriedly walked forward with a joyful look on his face.

Li Hongzhang first looked around and saw the bustle here, and couldn't help stroking his beard and smiling.

"You're such a good guy, you didn't send me an invitation when you got engaged. Could it be that you don't take me seriously?" Li Hongzhang joked as he walked.

Wei Jichen secretly wiped a handful of cold sweat, stepped forward to hold Li Hongzhang's hands, and begged for mercy: "Zhongtang's words make me panic. I don't dare to disturb you. It's just an engagement party. How dare I ask you to come to Zhongtang?" ”

Wei Jichen led Li Hongzhang into the room. Because the room was too small, there was no banquet, but it had been decorated long ago and was no longer as simple as before.

At least the chairs and tables are brand new.

Li Hongzhang calmly sat at the front seat, glanced at Su Zhiniang who was following suit next to him, and asked softly: "Is this your little wife?"

Wei Jichen originally thought that Su Zhiniang would be a little panicked, and was about to reply on his behalf, but he never thought that Su Zhiniang would generously step forward and salute: "Little girl Zhiniang has met Li Zhongtang."

Her voice was clear and her movements were graceful, which amazed Wei Jichen for a moment. He never expected that Zhiniang, who looked shy in front of others, had such a side.