As Adolf’s words fell, the exchange students in the room grew excited.
One exchange student from England suddenly spoke, “Adolf is right. Those kings and nobles only care about their own interests and face, and they don’t consider how hard our lives as ordinary people are.”
“Since they don’t consider us, we have no need to consider them. Just as the Ming country’s books say – when a ruler treats his subjects as enemies and robbers, the subjects will treat the king in the manner of enemies and robbers.”
Having said this, the exchange student from England took a deep breath and solemnly said to Adolf von Schitt, “Adolf, I am willing to join you. I am willing to work with you to change the chaotic situation in Europa!”
Adolf nodded solemnly and then turned his gaze to the other exchange students in the room, “What about you? What do you say?”
The exchange student Xiao Dai from France, however, shook his head slightly and said, “Adolf, I will work with you to change the current situation in Europa, but I will not betray His Majesty Louis XVI. You know, France is now called the little Ming country of Europa, and everything is moving in a good direction.”
Adolf nodded, not forcing classmate Xiao Dai at all.
After all, classmate Xiao Dai was right. Everything in France was now emulating the Great Ming. Although many of the Ming systems that were copied back made the French feel a bit unaccustomed, it was just as the old saying from the Central Plains hall put it: Others ride horses, I ride a donkey; there are still cripples behind.
Although the French had many unaccustomed aspects, as time passed, the French clearly felt that the overall environment in France was already much better than in other European countries.
Even this small improvement made the French feel very satisfied.
However, just as Adolf did not make things difficult for classmate Xiao Dai, an exchange student from the Habsburg family, like Adolf, let out a laugh and mockingly said, “You French are always like this, always raising your arms to let your armpits catch the sun.”
Classmate Xiao Dai’s face immediately darkened, and he glared at the fat man named Gepeier, “Gepeier, if you can’t speak, please shut your stinking mouth, lest you get yourself into trouble.”
Adolf also stared fiercely at Gepeier and reprimanded, “Apologize to classmate Xiao Dai! Gepeier, classmate Xiao Dai is our friend, not our enemy! In fact, our enemy should be George III, who started the war, and those kings and nobles who dragged Europa into the flames of war, not the common people of England, and certainly not France!”
Gepeier’s mouth moved, and he finally bowed slightly to classmate Xiao Dai as Adolf instructed and said, “I’m sorry, I was rude.”
Classmate Xiao Dai snorted and said nothing, but Adolf then said to the exchange students, “Classmates, we come to the Great Ming to study, all in order to make Europa better, but now…”
“Those European kings and nobles, and those damned landlord lords of Yicèlüeyè, for their own interests and face, have chosen to drag the whole of Europa into the war!”
“I am going to find a teacher from the Great Ming and apply for a temporary leave of absence – I will return to Austria to defeat these damned maggots! Trash!”
“At the same time, I also need your help.”
“I hope you can also return to your respective countries, stop the wars in your countries, let Europa regain peace, let Europa unite closely around the Great Ming Empire, and make the whole little broken ball better, more harmonious, and friendlier!”
“…”
It had to be admitted that Adolf’s ability to incite was extremely strong. Especially after undergoing the reinforced training from Jiang Xinlong, Adolf quickly gathered a group of like-minded exchange students in the exchange student branch of the Great Ming Royal Academy.
Some of these exchange students, like Adolf, were from Austria, some were from England, and some were from France or the Ottoman Empire, Russia, or the United States of America, and so on.
Moreover, these exchange students from various countries were all of noble birth and their families were quite influential, it was no exaggeration to say that they could influence the situation in Europa.
In normal times, these exchange students, unable to gather, were like scattered sand.
Until Adolf appeared.
Adolf quickly attracted these exchange students from various noble families with the theory of “distribution according to labor,” and then attracted a large number of exchange students from commoner backgrounds with the theory of “distribution according to need.”
…
The discussions of these exchange students were soon heard by Jiang Xinlong, the Libationer of the Exchange Student Branch of the Great Ming Royal Academy.
Jiang Xinlong first put on an expression of surprise and persuaded Adolf, “Your theories are not yet perfect, at least there are many places that are not perfect, and Europa is now at war. If you choose to go back now, I’m afraid…”
Adolf said firmly, “I should go back, and I must go back – although my theories are not perfect, I cannot stand by and watch those damned trash and maggots drag the whole of Europa into war!”
Seeing Adolf’s determination, Jiang Xinlong could only sigh helplessly, “Since you are so determined to go back, I will not stop you any longer.”
“Don’t worry, as long as I am the dean of the exchange student branch, your student status will be retained – I hope that when I see you again, your grades will have improved, and I hope you will have completely resolved the problem of Europa.”
Saying this, Jiang Xinlong put on a hesitant expression and sighed, “Take care – our Great Ming Emperor once said, ‘If you preserve people and lose land, people and land are preserved; if you preserve land and lose people, people and land are lost.’ No matter what method you use to solve the problem of Europa, do not be impatient. You must ensure your safety.”
Adolf looked at Jiang Xinlong gratefully and bowed slightly, “Teacher, please rest assured, I will not fail your expectations.”
Jiang Xinlong smiled and shook his head, saying, “Whether you fail my expectations is not important – what you should not fail is your own learning process, as well as your parents, your countrymen, your friends, and the country behind you.”
After a moment of thought, Jiang Xinlong gritted his teeth and said to Adolf, “Teacher, I was previously the Governor of Kyushu Island in the Great Ming Empire, and I had a very good relationship with General Tokugawa Ienari of the Edo Shogunate of Japan.”
“He gave me a few ronin samurai from Japan.”
“Although these ronin samurai from Japan are inferior to the Brocade Guard in terms of escort, investigation, and assassination, they are considered first-class experts in Europa.”
“Now, I have arranged for a few of them to be by your side to protect your safety – no matter when, you must ensure your safety!”
“You must remember, no matter how desperate it is, only by living can you see hope!”
Facing Jiang Xinlong’s earnest advice, Adolf’s eyes immediately turned red.
Look, look, Teacher Jiang only taught me, Adolf, some theories, and the time we spent together was less than two years, yet now he is so open with me, even giving me the ronin samurai that General Tokugawa Ienari of the Japanese Shogunate gave him!
Such great kindness, and then looking back at those nobles of the Habsburg family who didn’t care about the lives of the common people of Austria, and those landlords of Yicèlüeyè who only knew how to stuff money into their own pockets!
Adolf’s heart warmed, and he solemnly said to Jiang Xinlong, “Teacher, please rest assured, I will take good care of myself!”
Jiang Xinlong then nodded with a look of relief, waved his hand at Adolf, and ordered, “Go, gather your like-minded companions, and take them back with you. I will retain your student status, and the Exchange Student Academy will always welcome your return.”
Saying this, Jiang Xinlong’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he added, “Oh, and if you are truly in a life-or-death situation, remember to find a way to escape to a Great Ming military base – you have your student ID from the Exchange Student Branch of the Great Ming Royal Academy, and the Great Ming’s overseas military bases are your backing!”
Hearing Jiang Xinlong say this, Adolf’s heart became even warmer, and he once again solemnly bowed to Jiang Xinlong and bid farewell.
After returning to the exchange student dormitory, Adolf directly picked up a broom and meticulously cleaned the entire exchange student dormitory inside and out. Before leaving, he specifically left a small booklet, and also tucked a note inside the booklet.
“Dear future junior student: I don’t know if I will be able to return alive to continue my studies. If I don’t return, and you happen to see this book, I hope you will study the content of this book well and spread its content so that more people can learn it. I wish you: May I be born in the Great Ming in my next life.”
After doing all this, Adolf, along with a few Austrian exchange students from his dormitory, solemnly bowed and bid farewell to the dormitory.
The same scene also occurred with the other exchange students who were preparing to return to Europa.
As Adolf said, “When we return to our respective countries, we may meet on the battlefield. At that time, there is no need to worry about our classmate friendship. If we survive, I hope we can still sit down as old classmates and have a drink.”
…
After Adolf and the others embarked on their journey home, Jiang Xinlong reported the news to Zhu Jinsong.
Zhu Jinsong, who had already received a report from the Brocade Guard, couldn’t help but sigh with emotion, “They are all good seedlings, and they are all good children – if it weren’t for that scoundrel George III suddenly going mad, they could have enjoyed two more years of studying abroad.”
Zeng Cheng looked at Emperor Zhu, who was full of emotion, and had a thousand and one complaints he wanted to spew out: Look, this Emperor Zhu, who calls others good children, is only in his thirties at most, having just passed thirty not long ago, and has not even had a few sons yet!
Also, even if George III didn’t go mad, could you, Your Majesty, allow those exchange students to have two more years of peaceful study abroad life?
It’s likely that Your Majesty would come up with some bizarre tricks to harm them again!
However, Zeng Cheng dared not directly spew out his inner complaints, as the person perched on the dragon throne was not a magnanimous emperor at all – the last person who provoked this lord was named Hongli, and now even his ashes cannot be found…
After complaining inwardly, Zeng Cheng bowed slightly and said, “Your Majesty, the exchange students led by Adolf have now left the Great Ming, and our Great Ming must begin this year’s inventory.”
As soon as he heard the word “inventory,” Zhu Jinsong’s spirits immediately perked up: “Tell me, start with the Ministry of Revenue.”
Liu Huaiwen, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, immediately stepped forward and said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, in the eighteenth year of Saint Emperor, the taxes and levies of the past year totaled five billion Great Ming Dragon Yuan, equivalent to about five hundred million taels of silver.”
“Among them, commercial tax was four billion five hundred million Dragon Yuan, equivalent to four hundred and fifty million taels of silver, and land tax totaled five hundred million Dragon Yuan, equivalent to fifty million taels of silver.”
“Among the commercial taxes, overseas trade accounted for the most, about three billion Dragon Yuan, equivalent to three hundred million taels of silver, and the rest was domestic commercial tax.”
After Liu Huaiwen finished speaking, the high officials in the court, even though they had psychological preparation, couldn’t help but gasp – five billion Dragon Yuan, equivalent to five hundred million taels of silver, which dynasty in history had a national treasury as rich as the Great Ming’s?
This was not referring to the reserves in the national treasury, but only the tax revenue of the past year!
Even Qian Long, who treated the mud-legged people of the Central Plains Hall as less than human and searched desperately, could not collect five hundred million taels of silver in a year!
However, just as the high officials were calculating how to get more budget from Liu Huaiwen next year, Liu Huaiwen’s expression turned grim again: “Although our Great Ming’s revenue last year was indeed substantial, the expenditure last year was also substantial!”
Glancing at the heads of the Ministry of the Poor, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Railways, and the Ministry of Electricity, Liu Huaiwen said hatefully, “Last year, the Ministry of the Poor was still relatively good, and there were no serious overspending. However, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Railways, and the Ministry of Electricity, which one of you did not seriously overspend?”
“Ministry of Works, the budget for river dredging was originally eight million taels, but as they dredged, it became ten million taels.”
“Ministry of Railways, the original budget was twelve million taels, but it had already seriously overspent last month, reaching eighteen million taels.”
“Your Ministry of Electricity is even worse, isn’t it?”
Liu Huaiwen looked at the head of the Ministry of Electricity and asked with a cold smile, “The budget was five million taels, but you managed to overspend to thirteen million taels. You are truly something!”