In the Zhennan Palace, the fire trees and silver flowers, a dazzling array of electric lights compete for beauty, the Chinese and foreign guests who came to the banquet were all amazed, and the easy contentment of seeing the host came out, and a group of guests came forward to greet or praise or praise, and there were more and more people around them, and Guan Desheng, who was in charge of security, was afraid of an accident and hurriedly arranged two guards to come forward to guard.

Yi Zhizu greeted the guests with a smile on his face, and a young man squeezed in front of him and said: "I am a reporter from Shanghai, the lantern festival in Zhennan Wangfu tonight will definitely go down in history, can the prince say a few ......?" ”

Yi Zhizhi held this banquet in order to promote electric lighting and the application of electricity, so he naturally did not refuse, and immediately said loudly: "Tonight will definitely go down in history, but it is not this lantern festival that will go down in history, but electric lighting!"

The completion of the Shanghai thermal power plant and the provision of a stable power supply for lighting is a big step for mankind, an epoch-making and milestone step, which means that mankind has entered a new era - the electric age! This indicates that human civilization has entered the electric age from the age of steam!

Here, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all Chinese and foreign researchers who are committed to electrical research. It is you who have promoted the progress of human civilization! It should be your ...... who will go down in history. ”

Before he finished speaking, Yi Zhishu was knocked down by the personal guard beside him, and then he heard a dull gunshot, and the scene was chaotic, Yan Shikuan's face turned pale for a moment, and he actually let the assassin blend into the palace! How many people are on the other side?

"Bang" was another gunshot, the assassin was obviously a dead soldier and didn't plan to run away at all, taking advantage of the panic of the crowd to shoot at Yi Zhicontent, who fell to the ground, but this shot was missed because he was hit by someone, and before he could raise his gun to aim again, Guan Desheng had already shot him in the right shoulder, and the two guards immediately stepped forward and subdued him skillfully.

Yan Shikuan reacted at this time and shouted: "Quick, protect the big shopkeeper and retreat into the bookstore!" ”

A few gunshots in quick succession plunged the entire palace into a huge chaos, and Yi Zhishu was secretly relieved that he was surrounded by all the guards and entered the Changle Book House, this was the first time he had been assassinated!

"Don't let up!" Yan Shikuan, who was next to Yi Zhishan, ordered in a deep voice, "Search the courtyard first, and don't let go of any corner." ”

The guards who were waiting scattered around, and Yi Zhizhi said: "Control the situation first, don't cause more casualties, many of the guests who come are technical research talents, and they can't afford to lose!" After a pause, he continued: "Send someone to the backyard to inform me, I'm fine!" ”

Changle Book House is very safe, after a careful search and no suspicious characters were found, Yi Zhizhi entered the study, Yan Shikuan followed up with some trepidation: "It's the negligence of subordinates...... ”

"It's none of your business." Yi Zhishu said and lit a cigarette, thinking about Fang Cai's situation, he was also a little afraid in his heart, "Interrogate and see which force wants my life!" ”

After a short time, Guan Desheng hurriedly walked in and reported: "There should be only one assassin, and his mouth is very tight. ”

"Are there any casualties?"

Guan Desheng said softly: "One dead and one injured." ”

"The deceased are merciful, and the injured are treated as best they can." Yi Zhifen turned his head as he spoke, "How did the assassin's pistol come in?" ”

"Tracking!" Guan Desheng hesitated and said: "My subordinates think that there should be an internal response!" ”

Is there an internal response? Yi Zhizu frowned, not to mention the maids who can enter the Zhennan Palace, even the miscellaneous servants have been strictly examined, and they are basically from the disaster victims, so it can be said that they have all received his great kindness, and he groaned slightly, and then he said: "Check!" Thorough investigation! ”

"Subordinates obey!" Guan Desheng said in a deep voice.

"Tell the people who are out there to inquire about the news, just say I'm okay, let them go back first."

Guan Desheng just went out, Zhao Liewen walked in quickly, looked up and down, and made sure that the other party was not injured before he said: "There are too many people tonight, I'm afraid this matter can't be hidden." ”

"There's no need to hide it." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Let the newspaper report it publicly, and plant it on the heads of the Japanese people!" ”

Planting the charge of assassination on the heads of the Japanese people? Zhao Liewen immediately reacted, this was to find an excuse for the massacre of the Japanese Kingdom, nodded before he tentatively said: "The assassin was sent by the Queen Mother?" ”

"I don't know yet, the assassin's mouth is tight." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Don't you also say it, there are many people who want to assassinate me, not just the Queen Mother." ”

Before the words fell, Guan Desheng went and returned, and said with a gloomy expression: "The big shopkeeper, his subordinates are incompetent, and the assassin chews his tongue .......and kills himself." ”

"Even if you are bent on seeking death, you can't stop it." Yi Zhishu didn't care too much about this, he didn't expect to pry open the assassin's mouth, and those who dared to assassinate him should have a will to die and a determination to die.

Zhao Liewen said: "Handing over the corpse to an experienced servant may be able to find out a little clue." ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said, "Do what Huifu said, don't stir up the people." ”

The news of the brilliant lantern festival of the Zhennan Wangfu and the assassination of the Zhennan King quickly spread throughout Shanghai, but the most talked about was not the electric light but the assassination of Yi Zhicontent, and the next day the newspapers of the northern and southern provinces of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese and foreign newspapers published these two news.

Because it was assassinated in public, many people witnessed it with their own eyes, and the versions of various newspaper reports are different, but one thing is true, Yi Zhixiang was indeed assassinated and almost died.

For a time, the government and the opposition were shocked, there were many discussions, Yi Zhishu was assassinated, the biggest suspect was the Emperor Ci'an, although no one said it explicitly, but there are not a few people who have this idea, many people are nervously concerned about Shanghai, pay attention to Yuanqi, and worry about triggering a large-scale war!

At eight o'clock in the morning, Yi Zhishu walked to the door of the Changle Book House, Zhao Liewen and Cao Gensheng greeted them, and after the ceremony, Cao Gensheng, who was holding a stack of telegrams, reported: "The big treasurer, the Empress Dowager Ci'an, the Military Aircraft Department called to condole, and there ......were many condolence messages from officials and businessmen from various provinces. ”

Yi Zhizu looked at Zhao Liewen and said, "Outside the additional issue, the identity of the assassin is ...... disclosed." ”

"Yes." Zhao Liewen responded, and then said: "The students didn't expect such a big response. ”

As several major newspapers in the southeastern provinces published the identity of the assassin, the government and the opposition all breathed a sigh of relief, and the spearhead unanimously turned to the Japanese state, and the government and the opposition were all calling for extermination!

Forbidden City, Nourishing Heart Palace, East Warm Pavilion.

Su Shun knelt in front of the bead curtain and reported loudly: "Empress Dowager, I just received a telegram that Yuan Qi has divided his troops into three ways and launched a full-scale war against the Japanese. ”

Ci'an asked softly, "What about the Wa King and the shogun?" ”

"Back to the Queen Mother." He said solemnly: "The whereabouts of the Wa King are unknown, and the shogun, the lord, and their families have been forced to board the ship a few days ago, and it is said that they have moved to Beijing. ”

Ci'an sighed secretly, this is really a good method! In this way, the dragons of the Wa Kingdom have no leader, and the local daimyo are scattered, fighting on their own, how can they be the opponents of the new army of Yuanqi! The battle will be much smoother and easier!

"The Queen Mother." Su Shun said cautiously: "Yi Guocheng called, the war in the Japanese Kingdom is tight, and the troops are seriously insufficient, so I implore you to recruit 10,000 ........" ”

Ci'an knew what was going on as soon as he heard it, and immediately said expressionlessly: "Let him go." ”

She didn't expect to be able to recover the 10,000 troops of King Gong Yixun at all, and she was already satisfied if she didn't let the court pay for her, and Yi Zhi's content to recall Yixun and the troops back to the Wa Kingdom was also considered to be her intention, out of sight was clean, and when the war against the Wa was over, the British arms should also arrive, and at that time, even if it could not compete with Yuan Qi, at least King Gong's 20,000 troops could not pose a threat to the Beijing Division.

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Yinghui Building.

“....... In order for electricity to be popularized and widely used, three problems must be solved...... Yi Zhishu said and glanced at several senior managers of the electrical research institute, and paused deliberately, so that they could have a record time, "The first letter to be solved is the problem of long-distance transmission of electricity. The second is hydroelectric power, damming rivers and replacing thermal power with hydroelectric power. The third is to improve the efficiency of the motor. ”

After a few people stopped writing, he continued: "Not to mention the serious pollution of thermal power generation, the consumption of coal is also huge, the most direct result is that the price of electricity is too high, affecting the popularization and promotion of electricity, businessmen are profit-seeking, and factories are the same, if the cost of the motor is higher than the steam engine, it is impossible to get popularization!" ”

"Your Highness." One person hesitated and said, "May I ask about the transmission of electricity over long distances....... ”

Yi Zhizu stretched out his hand and pressed it, and said with a smile: "Remember, I am not a physicist, I am only responsible for asking questions, putting forward ideas, how to solve it is your business, professional problems should be solved by professionals." ”

"Your Highness." The man laughed, "No one in the entire electrical research institute can come up with such an idea. ”

"That's just right, we can complement each other." Yi Zhizhi said and stood up, he knew that he had a few pounds and a few taels, all he could do was to point out the direction of their research, as for the specific professional and technical things, he didn't dare to touch them at all, after all, there was no goods in his stomach, and he could only occasionally enlighten and guide him.

Even so, he believes that under his correct guidance, the Qing Dynasty is enough to lead the electric era! For the Qing Dynasty, for Yuanqi, what is lacking now is only time and environment! In addition to the need for sufficient time for development, it also needs a relatively peaceful environment, at least there can be no large-scale war in the country!

Changle Book House, in the outer living room, Zhao Liewen slowly spread out a large map of the Wa Kingdom, and then looked down at the telegram, Yan Yangtian smiled, pointed to the map and said: "According to the original plan, from Nagoya to Tsuruga line, the Wa Kingdom will be cut into two sections, south and east.

Now the war on the Western Front has entered the final stage, but the war on the Eastern Front has just begun, Yang Xiuqing's army defeated the main force of the Japanese army to capture Edo, and the next thing is to sweep the Kanto Plain, and Tang Wang's department is to land from the Sendai Domain, interspersed with ...... to the north, the current situation is also to divide the entire Japanese country into four sections, divide and encircle and annihilate!

At present, the Wa Kingdom has neither a king nor a general, and the main force of the shogunate army has been defeated, and it is completely anarchic, so it can be said that it is scattered sand, and there can be no large-scale resistance, and there is only a sporadic resistance ...... the daimyo in various places. ”

Before he finished speaking, Yi Zhizu stepped into the room, glanced at the map on the table, and said, "Xiao Mingliang has sent a telegram?" ”

"Yes." Yan Yangtian hurriedly responded: "Yang Xiuqing is a great victory in Edo. Zhao Liewen hurriedly handed over the telegram, glanced at the telegram, and said contentmently: "Call back, steady and steady, don't go deep alone, follow General Sherman's sweep - remove and destroy all obstacles, ruthlessly destroy everything you see!" ”

"Yes!" Yan Yangtian replied in a deep voice.

"Also, tell Xiao Mingming." Yi Zhishu said slowly: "The war against the Japanese must end before the Bohai Sea thaws in the spring of next year at the latest. ”

So urgent? Yan Yangtian hesitated for a moment before saying, "Principal, most of the Japanese countries are mountainous ........ ”

"I know." Yi Zhishu nodded, glanced at the two of them, and then said: "Reliable information has been received, and the large number of arms ordered by the imperial court from England will be delivered in the spring of next year at the latest. ”

Zhao Liewen poured a cup of herbal tea and sent it over, only then did he hesitate: "Can you conduct a temporary inspection at sea and detain the British fleet transporting arms?" ”

"The British are very sensitive to maritime inspections." Yi Zhizu took the tea and drank a few sips before continuing: "The flashpoint of the Anglo-American war in 1812 was the naval inspection, the Civil War, and the British did not recognize the right of American warships to exercise the right to exercise the right to exercise the right ..... wartime. ”

Speaking of this, he sighed lightly, "Our navy is not yet the opponent of the British navy, and we must try to avoid conflicts with Western countries at the moment, and we must not affect the situation in Europe because of the tense situation in the east." ”

Yan Yangtian said: "You can't watch the British provide a large number of arms to the imperial court, right?" ”

lit a cigarette, Yi Zhizhi said slowly: "We really don't have a legitimate reason to stop this huge amount of arms trade, arms is not opium, it is not among the prohibited trade commodities, the arms trade itself is legal trade, not to mention that it is ordered by the imperial court, we have no reason to seize it." ”

Zhao Liewen said unwillingly: "Can you sabotage this arms deal?" ”

"Difficult!" Yi Zhishu shook his head slowly, "The imperial court is financially constrained, and such a large amount of arms purchase must be a loan, and it is very likely that additional benefits have been promised, most of which are for the British to build railways."

Just as we long for war in Europe, the British, who are anxious to get out of the economic crisis, now want to see a large-scale civil war break out in our Qing Dynasty, and the arms trade is a huge profit, which is a well-known thing.

For the British, there are huge interests hidden behind this arms trade, and it is basically impossible to destroy this arms trade! ”

After pondering for a moment, Yan Yang said genius: "Since this is the case, it is better to destroy the ...... of the Eight Banners New Army in advance." ”

"There's no need." Yi Zhi said disapprerovingly: "The initiative has always been in our hands, even if the imperial court is equipped with a large number of new rifles, they dare not take the initiative to provoke, so why should we worry?" ”