At noon, in the palace.
The conditions on the island were limited. Although it was called the Imperial Palace, it was actually a courtyard house.
Zhu Weichu led three warships to return from the robbery and announced the plan to restore the country in ten days. He returned to Asia to destroy the Mien Qing. The soldiers and residents on the island rejoiced and began to get busy preparing food, ammunition, and fuel for the army's expedition.
Due to the long journey back to Asia and the limited number of ships, the expedition would not bring civilians. The navy left a destroyer to defend Zhonghua Island, and the remaining five warships, one fuel supply ship and two supply ships carried 8000 naval officers and 5000 army officers.
All the military forces were deployed. It might not seem like there were many soldiers, but don't forget that this was the 18th century, when the first industrial revolution had just started in Great Britain. Western armies were equipped with flintlocks on a large scale, and the tactic of queuing up to shoot was still the mainstream.
Mie Qing Army?
They insisted on archery, riding horses, and shooting. The development of firearms was lagging behind. The brave and fearless cavalry of the Eight Banners were already immersed in peace and prosperity, unable to extricate themselves. Their combat strength was terrible.
What about the Ming army?
The three infantry regiments were equipped with Leenfield rifles, Sten submachine guns, Bren light machine guns, Maxim heavy machine guns, 80 120mm heavy mortars, 110 60mm mortars, and 18 105mm towed howitzers.
With so many hot weapons from the 20th century and the support of five warships, the Qing army could not withstand a single blow.
They would first occupy the south, quickly recruit new soldiers, and distribute the weapons that had been sealed in the warehouse for more than ten years, enough to arm 15,000 people. Then, they would go north to wipe out the enemy.
Zhu Weichu thought about the plan to restore the country and returned to the Siheyuan in a happy mood.
The soldiers standing guard at the gate saluted.
"Your Majesty!"
"Thank you for your hard work."
Zhu Weichu nodded with a smile and walked into the courtyard house with his hands behind his back.
The layout of the courtyard was very simple. There was an open front hall between the left and right wing rooms and the main house.
A portrait of a handsome middle-aged man hung on the wall in the middle of the hall.
" Your Majesty, you're finally back."
Two girls with bright eyes and white teeth, with ponytails and wearing white dresses, who looked almost identical, saw Zhu Weichu come in and ran over to greet him.
They were the Empress Dowager's personal handmaidens and also playmates who grew up with Zhu Weichu. They had a very good relationship.
Zhu Weichu pinched Da Shuang's face and rubbed Xiao Shuang's head.
"Dashuang, Xiaoshuang, is mother feeling better?”
Hearing this, the calm Da Shuang's expression changed and she shook her head."" Your Majesty, after you left a month ago, the Empress Dowager's illness relapsed again and became increasingly serious. She was unconscious most of the time, and when she woke up, she didn't even recognize us. Imperial Physician Wang said that the Empress Dowager probably wouldn't make it through this year…"
At this point, Da Shuang's face was already covered in tears.
Xiao Shuang, who was lively and active, also wiped her tears and tried hard not to cry.
Because the Empress Dowager was critically ill, the one suffering the most was the Emperor.
Zhu Weichu was expressionless because he had no feelings for his mother.
Ever since she was young, her mother had been instigated by her two uncles to try to control the army left behind by her father.
Fourteen years ago, in order to seize power, his two uncles were so deranged that they set fire to the palace, attempting to burn him to death when he was four years old. Without the Emperor, the Empress Dowager would be in power.
If the Army Chief of Staff had not rushed into the sea of fire to save him, he would probably have died in the sea of fire.
Unfortunately, the old Imperial Palace was burned down, and the library that his father had left behind was burned down. What was lost was not the information and books, but the future of the Ming Empire.
Seeing that the plot had failed, the two uncles were desperate and prepared to set fire to Flower Planting Island. They took advantage of the chaos to kidnap the captain of Flower Planting, Deng Shichang, and wanted to escape.
In the end, the two of them were killed by snipers. Although Flower Island suffered heavy losses, it did not suffer any damage.
Did the Empress Dowager not know?
Zhu Weichu knew very well that it was Chief Assistant Yang Shiqi who considered that he was only four years old. For the sake of the overall situation, he used the " mountain fire " to cover up the truth. Otherwise, the angry soldiers and civilians would probably kill the Empress Dowager.
However, after the coup 14 years ago, two of her younger brothers were killed, and thirteen of her family members died in a mountain fire. The empress dowager, who had suffered a huge blow, fell ill and her health was very bad.
"Is my son back?"
A weak voice was heard. Zhu Weichu sighed and turned to look at the middle-aged woman standing by the door frame of the room on the left.
The woman's facial features were exquisite, but her face was sickly pale. Her body was thin and weak, and she could only stand firmly by holding the door frame. It was obvious that she was sick.
Zhu Weichu strode over to support her.
"Mother, your son has returned."
Empress Dowager Li looked at the heroic Zhu Weichu and a trace of regret and love flashed in her eyes. She said softly,""Dashuang, Xiaoshuang, you guys go down first."
Seeing that the Empress Dowager wanted to be alone with the Emperor, Dashuang and Xiaoshuang quickly left.
After the two of them left, Empress Dowager Li pulled Zhu Weichu into the house.
The room was filled with the smell of Chinese medicine. The decoration was simple, and the furniture was old. The most eye-catching thing was a record player.
"Mother, you should lie down!"
No matter how much Zhu Weichu resisted this mother who had done so much evil when she was young, he could not be cold-blooded and heartless.
"Good!"
Empress Dowager Li lay down and Zhu Weichu carefully covered her with the blanket.
"Mother, the imperial physician said that as long as you rest peacefully, you will recover in no time.”
"I know my body well," Empress Dowager Li said with a bitter smile."There's nothing I can do about it."”
"Weichu, do you hate me?"
Zhu Weichu shook his head." Let bygones be bygones. It's meaningless."”
After growing up, Zhu Weichu finally understood why his mother and uncle wanted to seize power at all costs. It was because no one could resist the supreme power.
"Go over?"
Empress Dowager Li recalled the events of more than ten years ago and gradually became agitated.
"Your Imperial Father is too vicious. Even if he ordered me to be buried with him before he died, my Li family would not be destroyed.”
"Weichu, do you know what the Great Ming Royal Navy and Royal Army represent?”
Zhu Weichu said,[Invincible martial strength is enough to defeat all powerful enemies!]”
"You went to Great Britain to fulfill your father's last wish, to use force to intimidate and humiliate the people of the continent, right?”
Empress Dowager Li knew Zhu Zhenglong too well. When she was alive, she had already planned how to deal with and enslave the westerners.
Unfortunately, he fell ill too suddenly and died too early. He had not had the time to realize his grand goals.
"Invincible martial strength represents the power to decide the life and death of billions of people.”
"I can't! Your uncle and the others can't either."
" But what we never expected was that none of the civil officials and generals were willing to submit to me. They even refused to give me the title of king and were loyal to your father…"
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