Chapter 26

"Shenwen, Shenwen! Such a prodigy appears in our Great Qing, this is a blessing for the state, a blessing for the people... Heaven and ancestors protect us, it turns out the foreigners have gone through so many hardships to conquer the sea?"

"Damn, damn! Why didn't this book come out earlier? If we had known the details of the foreigners earlier, we wouldn't have been so clueless and let them bully us... But why was it printed before it was finished? What about the rest of the articles?"

"Shameless, shameless! This guy named Xiaole Tian is so shameless, why did he print the book before it was finished? And look at the printing quality, is he just trying to save money? What happened in the end, what happened to the Inca Empire after they encountered the Spaniards... Eunuch, you damn eunuch!"

On the second day of the second month of the fourth year of the Tongzhi era, which is the day when the dragon lifts its head, the men and women of Beijing would eat spring pancakes, and the children who were about to start school would shout the saying, "On the second day of the second month, the dragon lifts its head, if the dragon doesn't lift its head, I will." to bring good luck to their studies.

However, this year's second day of the second month saw a small but strange event. Suddenly, a book called "Journey to the West" appeared on the bookstalls in Beijing. The author was completely unknown and the name was so common. Xiaole Tian? Look, which Qing scholar didn't use their pen name or at least their courtesy name? No one had ever heard of using their real name, and such a rustic one at that.

But this Xiaole Tian had an incredibly grandiose attitude. He placed a wooden board in front of every bookstore in the capital, with a line of large characters that almost drove the scholars of the time crazy.

"Twenty years in Europe, I am the strongest in Western learning. Who can point out any errors, and I will give them five thousand taels of silver."

What a grandiose attitude! How could this shoddy book dare to claim it was the strongest in Western learning? Even Wei Yuan's "Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms" didn't boast so much. Of course, at that time, few Qing scholars were willing to read such books introducing Western knowledge. The imperial exams didn't test it, and it wasn't useful at wine parties or poetry gatherings, so very few people in the Qing dynasty were willing to study Western learning.

But there are always exceptions. In the inland provinces, where people had no direct experience with Western influence, they wouldn't care about Western learning. But in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin, which had been forced to open up, the scholars deeply felt the power of the foreigners and were very eager to learn about Western learning.

For example, in Beijing, the tragic scene of the burning of the Summer Palace four years ago was still fresh in people's minds. They desperately wanted to know the secrets of the foreigners' strength. Unfortunately, at that time, there was no book in the Qing dynasty that systematically introduced Western politics, economy, culture, history, and even customs.

The Western missionaries weren't unwilling to communicate with the Qing scholars, but the Eastern and Western cultural systems were completely different, each with its own roots. Without digging deep, trying to learn halfway would only result in a superficial understanding. The reason why Wei Yuan's "Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms" wasn't taken seriously was because of this.

Using Eastern values to explain thousands of years of Western development history always felt forced. This made the Qing scholars, who only knew the words of the sages, completely confused.

Xiaole Tian had long considered this problem. Why did he use the form of a storytelling novel to describe the entire modern history of the West? His goal was to fill in the most critical foundational part, at least to make it understandable for the people of the Qing dynasty.

Understanding it was a standard so low that in that era, scholars didn't even want to use punctuation marks. Their goal was to keep knowledge in a high place, concentrated in their small circles. Understanding it became a luxury.

Xiaole Tian was extremely confident. He believed that the Qing ruling class, which had been defeated by the foreigners twice, would not ignore this book. Any scholar with a bit of foresight could not afford to miss it. So Xiaole Tian used an extremely arrogant tone for his promotional slogan, using the five thousand taels as a gimmick to stir up the literary atmosphere in Beijing.

Xiaole Tian shamelessly plagiarized the copyright of the famous American journalist Edgar Snow, preemptively using the title "Journey to the West." In this book, Xiaole Tian portrayed himself as a Chinese person born and raised overseas, who, after a long and arduous journey, finally returned to his homeland as a hero.

Five thousand taels, a full five thousand taels of silver, could buy a courtyard house with a garden in Beijing. Despite the scholars' high-mindedness, most of them were as poor as church mice. When they heard that pointing out errors could earn them money, they all went crazy. The book was extremely cheap, costing only ten large coins.

But these scholars fell into Xiaole Tian's carefully crafted trap and couldn't extricate themselves. Once they opened the first page and started reading, they were forever influenced by this master of Western learning.

In Xiaole Tian's writing, a Europe that Chinese people had never seen before was presented, complete with maps. The story began with the great adventure of Prince Henry, from the primitive African tribes on the west coast to the distant Native Americans in North America and the ancient Inca Empire in South America. The grand tapestry of the Westerners' conquest of the world was laid out before the readers.

It cannot be denied that Xiaole Tian's writing was straightforward, crude, and heavily oralized, and not at all concise. But it was precisely this childlike language that gave everyone a vivid sense of the scenes.

Since the second day of the second month, the scholars of Beijing collectively fell silent. Even the brothels in the Eight Great Alleys saw a decline in business. The courtesans were puzzled, but after asking around, they found out that a strange book had appeared in Beijing, driving all the scholars mad.

All the scholars were secretly networking, discussing only one thing: "Have you read it today?" Within three days, the question on everyone's lips became, "Where does this dead eunuch live? Let's go to his house and urge him to write more..."

The entire literary community in Beijing was thoroughly shaken. Everyone was talking about "Journey to the West," and Xiaole Tian's name was on everyone's lips. The number of people chatting in teahouses noticeably decreased, and a few Manchu nobles would gather to discuss whether the Earth was round.

Even the officials in the Eight Great Alleys couldn't enjoy their opium, lying in the arms of the courtesans and thinking about how Western women tied their waists so tightly and how their breasts were so high, and even envying their casual attitude towards infidelity.

Of course, some conservative scholars were so angry after reading the book that they jumped around, frantically flipping through the classics to find a way to refute Xiaole Tian. Who knew if they were truly trying to defend the words of the sages or were just after the five thousand taels.

In just ten days, Beijing was thoroughly shaken, and even Tianjin was stirred up. Along the Grand Canal and the Qing dynasty's postal network, this divine book began to spread in all directions.

Only then did people collectively realize a problem: "Who is this Xiaole Tian? Where does he live? Why is there no one in the entire Qing literary community who knows him?"

After much inquiry, people only learned from the booksellers that the book was published by Mr. Fan Lian, the manager of the Guangde Trading Company. To find out who Xiaole Tian was, they had to find Mr. Fan Lian. But when they rushed to the Guangde Trading Company, they found out that Fan Lian had separated from his brother before the New Year and had already left the business.

"Let's go, I've found out where Mr. Fan Lian lives, in Daliu Tree Alley. Let's all go together, go together, to urge him to write more..." A group of scholars gathered at the Guangde Trading Company, not riding horses or taking carriages, but walking in a large group straight to the Fan family.

At the Fan family residence in Daliu Tree Alley, Xiaole Tian was just meeting a guest, not a stranger but Reverend Lewis, whom he had parted ways with in the mountains.

"Reverend Lewis, how are you? Is the house I gave you big enough? I think building a small church should be no problem..."

"Thank you for your generosity, the Lord will bless you. But what I want to talk about today is not that. Where did you get the information about the 'divine revelation' you gave me?" Lewis stared intently at Xiaole Tian.

Xiaole Tian smiled, "That's a difficult question to answer. I can only tell you it's a divine revelation. Just know that this information is not a prank."

The two were discussing an important piece of intelligence. Xiaole Tian vividly remembered an event that happened in 1865, the assassination of Lincoln.

If Xiaole Tian's memory was correct and American history hadn't been altered by his butterfly effect, Lincoln would be re-elected as President in November 1864, but his abolitionist cause and reform plans had offended too many people. On April 14, 1865, in the Ford Theatre in Washington, a madman would end his life.

Xiaole Tian didn't want this tragedy to happen again. On one hand, it was out of respect for Lincoln, and on the other, it was for his own interests. To establish a true cooperative relationship with foreign powers, he needed a stepping stone, and the Lincoln assassination might be his opportunity.

Reverend Lewis could be trusted, not only because he was a clergyman but also because of his equal treatment of the young black boy Simon. It was clear that Lewis was a supporter of the abolitionist cause and a comrade in arms with Lincoln. Giving him the intelligence should be reliable.

Lewis pondered for a moment, "There is already a small amount of telegraph communication between the eastern and western parts of the United States, and the fastest clipper ships are used to cross the Pacific. I think it's possible to send the information to the time you mentioned. But, Xiao... is it really a good idea to gamble like this?"

Lewis seemed conflicted, thinking for a long time before speaking, "If this is false information, then I and Envoy Hua Ruohan will become a laughingstock in American politics. To be frank, the Envoy is not a kind person. I think he will definitely seek revenge on you. I hope you are prepared..."

Xiaole Tian smiled bitterly, thinking that Lewis was indeed a good man, warning him in advance. But he didn't know Xiaole Tian's predicament. He had long seen through the true nature of the Qing dynasty. In the early stages of his career, he wasn't noticeable, but once he became powerful, the Qing would not show him any mercy and would eliminate him immediately.

"You don't understand my predicament. The crisis I face is much greater than you think. Compared to the threat from Hua Ruohan, it's nothing. Forget it, just help me think. If this is true, what conditions do I hope to get, and will the U.S. government agree?"

Xiaole Tian's question put Liu Yi in a difficult position. As he furrowed his brow in thought, a commotion suddenly came from the direction of the front gate.

"We want to see Mr. Xiao, you little gatekeeper, how dare you block me, move aside..."

"You can't fool me, I just came from the Guangde Trading Company. Fan Lian only has this one house, where else could he go?"

"Mr. Xiao, come out, we want to see Mr. Xiao..."

The Fan family's courtyard was small, and the noise at the front gate was clearly heard in the study. The scholars, initially buzzing like flies, soon united in a deafening roar.

"Update... Update... Update..." At that moment, they shouted the heart's cry of all the scholars in Beijing.