Chapter 96

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After returning from Windsor Castle, he sat half-reclined on his bed in his bedroom at Villa Maria, quietly beginning to calculate his next steps.

He had traveled back to this time in September 1842, and it was now October 1844, meaning that nearly two years and two months had passed in the blink of an eye. With the medical and chemical knowledge he possessed, along with a bit of good fortune, he had managed to establish a fairly impressive estate in this world dominated by whites. Although his current personal net worth was at most 200,000 to 300,000 pounds, the actual value of his estate was likely worth over two million pounds. In this life, he truly had no worries about food and clothing, and even if he indulged in a life of debauchery, he wouldn't be able to squander it all.

However, he could not afford to stop! Zhu Jishi silently told himself that his success was just the beginning of a difficult journey. The forces that had been pushing him from behind and the will of heaven would not allow him to lie down and live a carefree life.

In this sense, he had already become a pawn without free will! Although he possessed substantial wealth and a certain degree of fame, he was still a pawn. The path his pawn must take in the future had already moved from the familiar scientific field into the unfamiliar political arena, especially the extremely treacherous Eastern politics. One wrong move in the future could lead to irreparable disaster!

Of course, Prince Albert of Britain was still a reliable ally for now. He had invested a great deal, even helping to set up a base for rebellion, indicating that his ambitions were not small. Emperor Daoguang would find it difficult to obtain his head, but given the European nation-states' rulers' priority of national interests, his head was not an irreplaceable asset. It all depended on how much Emperor Daoguang was willing to pay...

Therefore, after arriving in the East, he needed to quickly develop his strength. He must have the corresponding power to navigate the future storms with ease.

So far, he was still just a merchant and a scientist, lacking the military power to enforce his authority—history has shown that the revolutionary experience of the Chinese Communist Party was quite reasonable!

The only ones capable of wielding weapons under his command were Han Si and Liu Jiong. One was a cripple, and the other had just been recommended by Prince Albert to attend the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst to learn advanced combat techniques.

Relying solely on these two for rebellion was clearly insufficient, and he lacked the ability of Hong Xiuquan to incite a group of illiterate followers to rebel against the Qing Dynasty. Although he did not know how to rebel, he understood that he needed like-minded comrades. He did not expect the entire rebel group to be united, but at least a core of like-minded cadres was necessary. Otherwise, he would be isolated, and even if he were seen as a symbol of rebellion, he would not truly hold power, and his life would be even more at risk. It seemed that what Napoleon III had told him before was indeed the truth!

To accomplish great things, one must have a core team of one's own! He needed to learn from... President Jiang. Although he was reactionary, he still achieved great things. Using his students as the core of the rebel army! The path of establishing academies and universities seemed to be the right one, especially the military academy, which might become the foundation of his future survival!

Besides the team, there was propaganda. The rebels in Europe, whether the Chartists, Carbonari, League of the Just, Decembrists, or Bonapartists, all placed propaganda and agitation at the forefront. They published numerous newspapers and had many theorists and ideologists pondering various ideologies. In Europe, one would not dare to claim they were rebelling without an ideology.

Therefore, after arriving in Hong Kong, he would not only establish schools but also newspapers and publishing houses. He would also start a newspaper like the "Polar Star" and invent a "Zhu Jishi-ism"—this ideology would need careful consideration, or rather, careful copying, from Mazzini, Marx, Engels, and Bonaparte...

Then there was the organization or party. Rebellion required a tightly organized group, whether a society, a party, or even a religion. There was only one such organization at present, the Heaven and Earth Society. However, the disciples of Chen Jinan and Wei Xiaobao seemed too scattered.

According to Liu Peng and Han Si, the Heaven and Earth Society, or the Hong Gate, had brothers all over the world, numbering at least several million! However, there was no unified leadership, and the legendary headquarters of the Heaven and Earth Society did not exist. The various branches of the Heaven and Earth Society and the Hong Gate disciples operated independently, and the idea of one region rebelling and others responding did not exist.

Therefore, the Heaven and Earth Society was only the mass base for his rebellion, not a reliable party. He needed to establish a... vanguard of the Heaven and Earth Society rebels! Like the vanguard of a certain workers' class in history. As for the specifics, he would need to consult Han Si and Liu Peng.

...

"Your Grace is wise!"

This had become Han Si's catchphrase, not flattery but a heartfelt exclamation. He, Han Si, had truly met a wise master! To cultivate cadres before rebelling, to engage in propaganda, to invent an ideology to deceive people, and to establish a vanguard of the Heaven and Earth Society brothers to lead millions of Heaven and Earth Society members...

The Heaven and Earth Society had been around for nearly 200 years, yet no one had thought of this?

"Your Grace, the other parts are manageable, but establishing the headquarters of the Heaven and Earth Society might be difficult. After all, the Heaven and Earth Society has countless brothers and numerous leaders, none of whom will submit to each other!" Liu Peng pointed out with some concern.

"Whoever they don't submit to, they can't not submit to Your Grace!" Han Si glared and shouted, "Your Grace is a noble of the Great Ming, the Lord of Duck Tongue Island, a British baronet, and has boundless wealth, as well as the status of a scholar in both England and France. The leaders of the founding halls are nothing compared to Your Grace!"

"Though that's true, but..."

"Mu Wen, I am not trying to establish the headquarters of the Heaven and Earth Society," Zhu Jishi waved his hand, interrupting, "The disciples of the Heaven and Earth Society number in the millions, but the organization is loose, and the struggle is scattered. It is not a strong and united group; otherwise, the great cause of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming would have been successful long ago. After all, the Qing army numbers only over a million, and their combat strength is visibly weak."

"Uh, Your Grace, the Heaven and Earth Society is indeed loose, but the goal of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming is very clear," Han Si defended softly.

"I know that, to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming, we must rely on the masses of the Heaven and Earth Society." Zhu Jishi looked at him and said, "My idea is to organize the most progressive, revolutionary, and determined anti-Qing members of the Heaven and Earth Society to form a core mountain hall."

Uh, calling it a party might be too confusing for the vast majority of the Heaven and Earth Society members, so let's use the name "mountain hall."

"Your Grace is right, there should indeed be a core mountain hall," Liu Peng deliberated, "Given Your Grace's status and reputation, some might not be convinced if you were the grandmaster, but establishing a mountain hall should be no problem. How about naming it 'Great Ming Mountain'?"

Great Ming Mountain! This clearly declared the intention to rebel against the Qing Dynasty! Zhu Jishi thought, this name is quite impressive; surely many rebels will come to join?

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