The Dragon Slumbers Still
"The Japanese Devils have invaded China! The Imperial Army was brushed aside by those semi-barbarians! If the Army has become so outdated that even the Japanese can defeat her, is China as great as we truly believe? We must Modernize or Perish!" Canton Daily (Guangzhou Ri Bao) 1817
How had it come to this? The glory of His Fathers Reign ended now with humiliation at the hands of the Japanese. What had he done wrong? Could the Empire still be preserved in the face of this disaster? He looked at his sons and trusted officials standing beyond, respectfully waiting for a decision. With great power comes great responsibility as the ancient Chinese said how right they were. All of them looked to him for guidance. Was he not after all, the Emperor Jiaqing, son of Qianlong?
He remembered his lessons. Doing something right is not the epitome of what an Emperor should do. Doing something right while appearing to be supremely confident of the decision was what was important. It was the ability to give off an aura of confidence and to inspire confidence in the hearts of his ministers. That was the legacy of his forefathers, of the Qing Emperors of China.
He knew that his face and body held no hesitation on them, that his ministers and sons would see nothing but an Emperor considering his options. A much more cooperative bunch of ministers and generals to boot, the ones who had held more conservative opinions and whom had been responsible for the wall and the disaster had resigned in shame. Heh, conservative had been a word his third son had taught him. Prince Mianfang was not Emperor material as he simply followed and loved his passions too much. But he would be a great asset to his brother.
He gathered his resolve and issued orders praying all the while he was doing the same thing. The Preservation of the Chinese Imperial State and of The Chinese People was of the utmost importance.
May the Heavens strike down the Heinous Japanese Shogun
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I understand completely Your Highness, are there any other problems I should expect to meet in Guangzhou?
Ah yes, I almost forgot to mention. You are now the Emperors direct representative in charge of overseeing the war effort in Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian provinces. You have orders to raise two hundred thousand men for military purposes in addition to fortifying the coastal and inland defenses with aid from the provincial governments. You should not expect any problems from them as after all the Japanese are very bad for business.
Just two hundred thousand? It would not be a problem raising four times that number. And I do not believe the Japanese would attack Guangzhou, the dangers of attacking the foreign compounds lining the shore line along with the many Western ships will most likely discourage them.
Do as you will, but you have your orders. And as your old friend, Prince Mianfang, not as His Majestys Representative, I would like to point out you have quite liberal orders, easily open to interpretation.
And as Lin Zexu, not as an official of the Government, I would like to thank my dear friend.
As your dear friend I wish you the best of luck. To a stronger China!
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Intriguing, most intriguing of how a years results had changed the atmosphere in the Academy. He was easily the youngest of the group and had always been scorned for beliefs before, but now it was all different. Very different it was. Even the most ardent Neo-Confucianists and the supporters of Dai Zhen had been defeated not in the circles of literary, but by cold hard facts. The Facts that showed China had fallen behind the world.
He was Wei Yuan, born in Shaoyang in Hunan province that had attained the juren late in his teens. He had been appointed to the Academy at the unprecedented age of 20 to bolster the support of the New Text and Statecraft Schools of Thought. There were none that dared to oppose the Emperors programs or protest since the latest strings of incidents. They were scholars after all, not rebels or revolutionaries. Their loyalty in the end was to China.
What interesting times China is entering
And just because a ruler was new or so to speak to ruling, let's say Maria of Austria in the War of Succession, the fates were hardly kind to them even if it is a sad thing. Life sucks
Except it's about China of course....
