After entering Tianjing, the group got into the sedan chair. Because they were not sure about the identities of Yung Wing's three Hong Kong visitors, they should not be given a sedan chair, but every time Stukis came, there were sedan chairs. The officer who came to pick up the arms ships were old friends with Stukis. After listening to Stukis' advice, they also carried the sedan chairs carried by the four people called by Yung Wing and the three of them. Several people walked tremblingly towards the center of Tianjing.

However, unlike Stukis's sedan chair, Yung Wing and the other two had never pulled the curtain from the beginning to the end. They looked at the magnificent city in the sedan chair thirsty.

This kind of city is thriving. At least from the perspective of the buildings in the city, a gray feeling envelopes the city and cannot be removed.

Tianjing and Haijing feel completely different. Haijing is crazy and chaos. A small British-style building will pop out from the declining bungalow group. The old Qing-style houses are equipped with brand new Western-style gates. The roads that are being built to build are connected to the left and right, but the twisted stone lanes like centipedes. The whole city is like a peeling snake. The old skin and new skin are twisted and welded together, growing wildly together. However, the color of Tianjing is harmonious and gray, as if a heavy rain has extinguished the war fires ignited by the Taiping Army three years ago. Then, this state has been preserved intact until now, like a piece of cold wood ashes.

Most of the civilian houses in Tianjin are old, retaining the scene of Taiping Army killing, and there is absolutely no trace of repair. Even if the sedan chair walks on the most prosperous and important streets in Tianjin, the roofs are smashed by shells everywhere, and the black war relics burned on half of the wall have been preserved there for three years. There are even many fields where the sedan chair passes, and the farmland in the city of Tianjing! This piece of green in the dead ash cannot give people the joy of seeing in the wild, but instead it is like a layer of green ringworm on the healthy skin.

In addition to being gray, there is also an uneasy silence, because the route of the sedan was once the most prosperous part of the city. There were shops here, and almost every house on the street had a door that opened to the street. But at this moment, most of these doors were closed, and dust was attached to these wooden doors that had not been moved for a long time. Both sides of the street turned gray, giving people the feeling that they were in a dry pond. The springs that should have spewed out clear water were staring at you with a layer of gray, making you uncontrollable uneasiness.

Only when you are close to the magnificent palace walls can there be shops open. By asking the sedan chair owner loudly, these are the residences of this king and that marquis. The golden glazed tiles on the walls that are so long that they are surrounded by grays, which inevitably make people feel like they are both inside and outside the wealthy family.

However, there are many pedestrians on the streets of this gray city, most of them are wearing dazzling red turbans, as if a red current is surging. People without turbans are often wearing simple hair, carrying heavy objects or pushing small carts, knowing that it is labor at a glance;

In addition, women can be seen everywhere on the street, which is different from any city in the Far East.

There are two kinds of women, one is wearing traditional silk clothes from Jiangnan. The graceful and happy Jiangnan beauties, their faces are dull and their eyes are unconscious. As a spoil, they are helplessly integrated with the fate of the city of the Son of God; the other is the landed women who carry wooden strips and rice bags on the street. In terms of labor, they are completely equal to men.

Rather than saying that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom improved the status of women, it is better to say that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom raised the obligations of women. Here, women also have to do cool labors other than housework.

Yung Wing and his party finally arrived at a mansion. This was the residence of Yang Xiuqing's wife and uncle. After a careful search, several people entered proudly. The owner was very enthusiastic. He took out all kinds of fine wine to entertain guests from afar. He proudly called out a few foreigners to accompany him. He claimed that he liked foreigners. They all lived in their own homes and made good friends for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. And the British pastor excited that this powerful family also had an English translator--a former Guangdong carpenter. His poor translation did not play any role in foreign missionaries in Chinese. But this was a signal. It showed that Tianjing had communication channels and desires for European and American countries.

At the summit banquet, Yung Wing and his party couldn't wait to ask for meeting the Heavenly King, Dong Wang, Hong Ren, Luo Xiaoquan and other people. The first two were the major figures who decided to go to Tianjing. The last two were not only two foreign friends but also religious friends.

Yang Xiuqing's wife's uncle looked embarrassed. Although he is now wearing exquisite and luxurious ground robes and living in a mansion, he is still the same farmer in Guangxi who has not been deeply in the deep city. He feels difficult to deal with it. He looks on his face. He said, "If you want to offer something, I can hand it over; if you want to meet the King of the East, I will submit a request to you. It depends on your luck. He is very busy; but the King of Heaven. Well, except for a few people who are summoned, no one can see him; Prime Minister Luo, although he is the Prime Minister, there are many Prime Ministers in Tianjing. The King of Heaven did not allow Prime Minister Luo to meet foreigners; as for the brother of the King of Heaven, I can hand it over the meeting request immediately. He has come to my place for dinner several times. I heard it is quite idle."

The words of the king's wife and uncle made Yung Wing and others look at each other. The king of heaven did not see anyone; Luo Xiaoquan was actually prohibited from talking to foreigners; the king of eastern was very busy. He knew it even though he thought about it. It seemed that only Hong Ren had the best chance to meet.

"Then I'll give you my blessing." Yung Wing raised his glass to the host to express his gratitude.

But they were not unwilling to be seen. The next day, when they received the report, Hong Ren couldn't wait to see them.

When they heard this good news, the two missionaries were happy because they knew Hong Ren when they were in Hong Kong. At that time, he was a cute little fat man with a Bible under his arm and smiled at everyone, and everyone liked him very much.

In another mansion near the Heavenly King's Mansion, they met Hong Ren, the military advisor of the Taiping Army. The location is easy to find. The magnificent mansion shining in the gray city is the home of the big man, the Heavenly King's Mansion, the East King's Mansion, and the Yiwang's Mansion. You can guess who the owner of this family is based on the size of the mansion. However, although Hong Ren's home is also very beautiful, it cannot be called a magnificent mansion, which is only one-tenth of his cousin's mansion, even though he is his cousin's favorite little brother.

Following the four little boys, Yung Wing and the other two walked into the mansion. In a hall, a young fat man sat on the sofa immediately stood up. He smiled and said loudly, "hello" to welcome the three of them.

The sound of hello shocked the three of them, but no one moved at the door. Although the English word "Hello" made all the three of them feel good about it, the owner is now wearing a satin robe embroidered with exquisite patterns and a gem-inlaid hoop. Behind his sofa were a group of boys wearing screen fans for him. In front were rows of green and yellow robes, hair drifting and tying around the ground with silk squids. This was the show of the Qing Dynasty officials.

"Smith! Tom Eyer Joseph!" Hong Ren walked over and shook hands with a Western tribute in surprise. Then he looked at Yung Wing and smiled, "Hello, Mr. Yale."

What surprised Yung Wing was that the conversation with Hong Ren was more pleasant than the conversation with Hai Song and Zhao Kuo and Li Yuan of the Qing Dynasty.

After a while, Hong Ren called another young man to chat with the three of them. The man named Li Xiucheng is said to be a brave general, but he can't tell at all. He has a fair face, a quiet face, and a pair of elegant glasses. He is probably the only general with glasses in this city and even the entire Far East. He sits on the sofa, his legs are together, his hands are placed on his knees, and listens quietly to Hong Ren, Yung Wing and others chatting and laughing.

There was constant laughter at the banquet, and Hong Ren poured red wine glass after glass, explaining with a smile that although Tianjing strictly prohibited all kinds of drinks containing alcohol, he could not enjoy alcohol, which was a special drink from the king. Then he talked to two Hong Kong missionaries about his interesting stories and history in Hong Kong, and asked Yung Wing about the interesting stories he saw when he was studying at Yale.

During the meal, Hong Ren was excited and told a secret that he was one of the few people who could meet the Heavenly King. In addition to the largest princes, these people were the relatives trusted by the Heavenly King, and Hong Ren was naturally among them.

Joseph Ai took out the magic weapon he prepared for this trip and asked Hong Ren to pass it to the King of Heaven. The latter patted his chest and agreed. This made the two missionaries very happy.

This magic weapon is actually an explanation document about some biblical issues, but it is a slight difference from the similar things given to Hong Xiuquan by consuls from various countries and priests from all over the world. All the files are printed in large fonts.

They heard that Hong Xiuquan had bad eyesight and he could not see all the normal fonts of all the documents, so he didn't read them at all. In response, the missionaries specially prepared large-sized fonts for the King of Heaven. They had an ambition to use the Chinese Bible of their church to replace Guo Shili's Chinese translation. At this moment, the whole country took Guo Shili's translation as the standard. Even the Bible in Hong Xiuquan's rebellion back then was the version of Guo Shili. If they succeeded, this would be the great success of their church.

Of course they also promoted it to Zhao Kuo, but Zhao Kuo rejected them on the grounds of casual seals. At this moment, only the king of heaven could promote this kind of Bible to the 30 million Chinese people in the six provinces they claimed to be.

Although Hong Ren and Yung Wing met for the first time, they felt that they met too late. Hong Ren drank wine and kept talking about his opinions and plans: "... We should learn Western technology and military knowledge to form a foreign gun army; we should form a postal system within the country, and letters are delivered by bright ships or steam ships; the houses in cities should also be repaired, and the old houses should be forgotten, but the new houses should be learned from the West, relying on the streets and neatly built; we must set up banks and print silver paper. The court will charge 3 handling fees, so we can protect merchants. For example, we merchants carry silver for business, and the British can carry pound paper. How great! We also have to give exquisite products 50 years of patent rights, and implement the personal and property insurance system of foreigners......"

"Yes, the foreign army is "bright" but sharp. We cannot lack it now. When the two armies face each other, it seems that the "bright" weapon can overwhelm the Qing Yao." Li Xiucheng smiled and agreed, and then asked: "Mr. Rong, have you seen Hai Song's crab formation? Why does it seem that Qing Yao is even more irresistible when the cold and hot weapons are separated and arranged? To be honest, the proportion of firearms in our elite troops is higher than that of Hai Song's crab formation, but it feels that they are not as powerful as their fighting alone."

I don’t understand what the bright gun is, but I guess it is a nickname for musket. Although Yung Wing is not a military expert, he has never eaten pork. He still understands the pig walking. He explained: “It’s probably that they also use the Western Formation War.”

"Then buy more foreign guns. Anyway, the silver warehouse is worth more than the silver treasures!" Hong Ren said with a smile.

Yung Wing became happier the more he listened. The two of them were so excited that they were basically introducing the effective Western measures into China.

"Come on. Mr. Rong, I wish you a glass. I really admire your knowledge." Hong Ren raised his glass.

Yung Wing was convinced that Hong Ren was the most speculative Chinese he had ever met, which made him wonder why such a confidant did not exist in the free port, Haijing, nor was he beaten to death by foreigners. Instead, he appeared in the gray city of Tianjing?

He just didn't know Hong Ren's history. Hong Ren inherited the excellent genes of his family and was as outstanding as his cousin Hong Xiuquan: he failed the imperial examination five consecutive times.

These two brothers who were destined to fail to pass the imperial examination once went to Guangzhou and Hong Kong to study Bible knowledge together. Before and after Hong Xiuquan's rebellion, Hong Ren escorted Hong Xiuquan's relatives to flee to Hong Kong first and found an errand in the Han Association where the Bible was studied in Hong Kong. The friends were all foreigners, and Westernization might not be serious. But a Chinese who knew the power of the West.

"Mr. Hong, I heard that the Heavenly King claimed to be Jesus' younger brother. What did you think?" Yung Wing asked.

Hong Ren was stunned when he heard this question and laughed. He heard this question countless times in various Western people. He said, "The King of Heaven can be said to be the most trusting person in the world. Then he is the first disciple. It is also appropriate to say that Jesus' younger brother is, and Jesus also trusts God with devout faith."

He avoided the question of whether the king was a god or not, but replaced it with the degree of faith. Now this former believer has defended his cousin's behavior and his life out of the Chinese habits.

I talked about a few heresy behaviors similar to why the Taiping Army used rice, wine and meat to sacrifice to God (which is prohibited by formal doctrines). Hong Ren talked and laughed and resolved it, and Yung Wing and the other two stopped asking. Although they were familiar with the doctrine, no one was satisfied with the sophistry of a monk who became a monk and a halfway through the journey, the officer could drive them out of Tianjing at any time, and it was also a bridge for communication with the king of heaven, and they didn't want to take this risk.

"I heard that your Tianjing defeated the Qing Dynasty Jiangnan and Jiangbei Camp, congratulations first." Yung Wing said: "Can we arrange for us to meet the Eastern King?"

"Oriental King?" Hong Ren's face twitched, and his smile seemed to turn into lead gray. He sneered: "You are willing to see him. He may not value you! He only likes to cut, kill, kill, and kill! He does not understand Western learning and the Bible at all! You will also be the pearl of darkness when you go!"

Even foreigners could hear that the military advisor was dissatisfied with the King of the East. Several of them put the wine glasses in their hands together, not knowing what to say.

Li Xiucheng restlessly held the glasses, coughing as if reminding Hong Ren.

Hong Ren seemed to have been suppressed for a long time and needed someone to vent his anger. He knocked on the table and said, "Look at Zhao Ziwei! He turned out to be just a young general. He now holds Guangdong, establishes diplomatic relations with foreigners, and introduces Western learning! But don't we need it? The first thing the foreigners come to look for is us. The most powerful thing that resists the Qing Dynasty is us. The Eastern King just wants to kill the Qing demons as soon as possible, but he does not know that foreigners can help. There are not many people in the Heavenly Kingdom who understand Western learning. The Heavenly King once wanted to make me king, but the Eastern King said that I had no contribution and the people below were not convinced. Look at his relatives, what is the head on the ground where pigs and trees were raised? The crown!"

The next day, no big shot met Yung Wing and the others. The request for summoning King Dong Wang was to sink to the sea. However, Luo Xiaoquan's request was rejected. Luo Xiaoquan was not allowed to see that the foreigners were issued by the emperor's edict, which was the heavenly note.

Seeing the three guys pacing back and forth in the living room fidgetingly, Yang Xiuqing's wife and uncle smiled and said, "Anyway, there is nothing to do today, so you might as well go to Tianjing to relax and enjoy the scenery. Our Tianjing is the most prosperous place in the world."

As he said that, he shouted to the yard, "Big Bull! Come here!"

However, a foreigner with a tiger-backed and bear-beared waist came and a thin Chinese man. Without saying a word, they knelt on the ground to his uncle-in-law. Yang Xiuqing's uncle smiled and said, "Big Niu, please accompany the three guests to the city to stroll around. They all understand English, and it seems that they understand Chinese very well. You don't have to go to the translator Lao Li."

After saying that, he introduced to Yung Wing and others: "This big bull is a powerful general under my command. He is brave in war and is familiar with Tianjing. Let them accompany you for a walk."

The Chinese next to him immediately chattered and told the foreigner. The foreigner stood up and looked at Yung Wing and the other two, and smiled in English: "hello, I am John Joe. I am from Ireland."

After walking out of the Taiping Army Officer's Mansion, Smith asked John in surprise: "Sir. You don't seem to be able to speak or understand Chinese. How can you gain a foothold in the Taiping Army?"

"Simple! I will worship God and kowtow when they see people! That's right!" John laughed.

After chatting for a while, Yung Wing and others realized that this guy was just a foreign illiterate and could not even write his own name, but he was very good at doing it in the Taiping Army. He often followed the Taiping Army to fight or collect food and grass. In addition to paying money, the Taiping Army also bought wine and opium for these mercenaries.

"Do you know the most proud move on the battlefield?" John patted the huge Western-handed giant sword in his waist and said proudly: "Pretend to death! When the braided soldiers came, we would lie on the battlefield to pretend to be dead. Once they were about to check the spoils, I would jump up and cut them to death. Ha. The East King had also received me."

Yung Wing expressed his respect, but he felt uncomfortable. The people they came here could be said to be elites. Without talking about knowledge, just speaking languages, he could tell that he knew two foreign languages ​​and three Chinese dialects, and the two of them knew more about local languages ​​than him. Don’t say anything about Cantonese and Hakka experts. Joseph Ai was also an expert in fluid mechanics, but there were obviously no elites like them in Tianjing. Whether Chinese or foreigners, although they were all brave soldiers, they were all at the bottom of the knowledge, with Hong Ren being the exception. This was a world of difference from the level of mixed Chinese and Western in the Haijing court.

Several people chatted while walking and chatting to the door of the Heavenly King's Mansion. Yung Wing and the other two gasped. The door of the magnificent Heavenly King's Mansion was not a stone lion, but two mighty 12-pound cannon-mounted flat-fire cannons. When they approached, they saw that the two cannons were intact, and there were also Guta glue cushioning pads underneath, and the cannon plugs were tied to the muzzle with ropes. The American oak cannon stand below was also engraved with the words "Made in Massachusetts in 1855" on the American oak cannon stand below.

"What's going on? This is the latest artillery. How do you put it at the door?" Yung Wing asked John in amazement.

"Ah, this is what they snatched from the Qing army camp. It seems that the Qing army was snatched by us not long after they bought it. Let's put it here to boast." John smiled.

"Look, this is their Noah's Ark, and their king comes to this city." John said, pointing to a large ship outside the palace gate of the Heavenly King's Palace.

Yung Wing and the others looked over and saw that the boat was always fixed on the shore. It was a big gilded dragon boat. There were huge red silk hanging around the dragon's neck. Two Taiping troops stood guard on the shore to prevent anyone from approaching. The king sat on it and sailed into Tianjing. Now it is a miracle that makes people worship it.

"Is this blasphemy? Or is it stupid?" Yung Wing shook his head and drove out of his mind that disrespectful thoughts to the king. As an American, he actually scoffed at the idea that these emperors used mats and was very disdainful. Smith and Tom looked at it but were not interested. After all, this was just a big boat that was paddled with manpower. Apart from the gorgeous decoration, there was nothing special.

"I'll take you to buy some goods nearby." John said when the three of them were not interested in the boat, but immediately laughed again: "But you certainly won't be interested."

"Commodities? I see that most stores are closed. Don't you prohibit trading of goods?" As a scientist and theologian, Esse has a very strong ability to summarize the essence of phenomena, although he just looked at it with his eyes.

"That's what the Chinese use cannot be traded casually. Everything that the princes and adults like is sold here. Almost every street is available." John enthusiastically led them through the corner of the Heavenly King's Mansion. Sure enough, there were many shops and stalls on this street, but there were few people who were interested and few people to see. They were all patronized by the Taiping Army with soldiers with weapons.

Yung Wing and the others walked over and looked at it, stunned, and whispered to their two friends: "It seems that the Taiping Army likes Western items very much."

All these stores sell Western goods--clockwind music boxes, British white gloves, French umbrellas, clocks, and other weapons, but there are no spears, swords and revolvers.

The transaction currency is silver, or detonator.

Seeing foreigners coming, the yellow-skinned shop owner was very enthusiastic and greeted the guests in a weirdly accented English: "Come on, gentlemen, I have a new revolver and umbrella here, you need them here."

Yung Wing and the others walked up to see the dazzling array of goods. They didn't want to buy them, but asked the store owner some questions and wanted to learn more about this strange city through him.

The owner is from Manila, thin but has a hot temper. Seeing Yung Wing hold a pocket watch in his hand, he will ask questions and answer questions. Even when he was a mercenary, he specifically executed female criminals for the Taiping Army.

Just then, a loud quarrel came from the shop next to it.

Yung Wing turned his head and looked at it, but was stunned. There were two guys in a well-inspired suit standing in front of the store stall, but they were Chinese people in absolute terms because they spoke Cantonese well.

In this city where either Western smugglers in dresses or Chinese and Western soldiers and people wearing red headscarves, it is too rare for two Chinese people to wear expensive and integrated dresses, and they stand out from the crowd. Not only Yung Wing and other tourists, but also the shopkeepers and pedestrians on the streets, not only pay attention to them.

The two were arguing with each other, and the owner got involved.

One of them was a young man. He rolled up the lace sleeves of his shirt and swung the drum of a commodity revolver in his hand, shouting, "Boss, how much does your gun cost? Which country and which company did it produce? Do you have other muskets?"

There was no one next to him who was not as young as him, but he was not as old as he was. He was just under the summer sun in Nanjing, and his face was covered in sweat under his hat looked a little vulgar. When he heard the young man talking, he was stunned and shouted: "Abao, how many times have I told you! This place cannot be said to be bright, and it must be bright.

The musket is a bright gun”

"Brother Qin, didn't you say it's too hot?" The young man said, skillfully "dismembering" the musket on his hand, and said disrespectfully: "Have you not seen Hong Xiuquan yet?"

"Hong Xiuquan? When you see him say Huo, you will die! His nickname is Huoquan

Fire is a forbidden speech in Tianjing!" Brother Qin seemed to have said the young man next to him countless times, and was obviously angry: "In Tianjing, putting out the fire is to save Liang! I am doing business! Can you be more careful?"

Then the man saw the people all over the street throwing a terrified look at himself who dared to yell at Hong Xiuquan's name. He shivered for a moment, shrank his neck, pulled out the handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his head full of sweat.

"I'm business too, why are you nervous? You're so excited." The young man smiled indifferently.

But the Manila shop owner behind the stall was furious. He pointed to the opened gun and shouted: "What are you doing? Do you buy it? Where did you come from? You must not be a local or a Shanghainese! Those who come to buy things are either rich or princes and generals, and there is no bargaining! Where are you guys like you who are whining and not buying?! Install it quickly, why don't I believe you or not?"

"Brother Zheng? Why are you here?" Seeing the boy's face clearly, Yung Wing strode over in shock. The boy opposite had already installed the new pistol, but there was an extra screw in his fingers. He didn't know where to install it, but he saw that the owner was not paying attention and was about to throw it behind him. Suddenly, someone called him a name. He was startled and the screw fell in front of the owner of Manila.

"Ahh, isn't this Mr. Yung Wing? Why are you here too?" Zheng Abao has been at the Western Learning Promotion Association, so he naturally knows this chief consultant--the American shaped circle and the guest of opium.

"I'm here to travel, who is this?" Yung Wing asked the one next to Zheng Abao with a smile. The Western outfits made them sweat in this hot summer. Zheng Abao was open, but the one next to him was dressed neatly. From the bow tie, you can see that the shirt ironed inside was tied upright and even the wind buckle was tied upright, which made Yung Wing feel good.
Chapter completed!