Australian Storm 1876

   Chapter 842

   Duan Yangtze River's words aroused a lot of noble ladies to gossip. Even Princess 6 Ovelia couldn't avoid it, and even attracted Princess Anne, who had just returned from a dance. Beautiful eyes cast their attention.

  Facts have proved that no matter how good aristocratic etiquette education is, the gossip nature of a woman cannot be destroyed.

  This wave is stable!

  Li Xiaozu made a "I like you" gesture to Duan Changjiang across a group of aristocratic girls, then silently retired and left this small circle that attracted many eyes.

  He is now the first-class secretary of the Royal Secretariat. He already has a family. It is not suitable to be mixed with unmarried noble girls, especially if there are two princesses in the circle of noble girls, then you must pay more attention to avoid suspicion.

The atmosphere in the upper-class society of the Ocean Empire was much more open than that of the Qing Dynasty. Various Western-style cocktail parties and dances were often held. Gentlemen and ladies were regular guests. There were also dances held specifically for unmarried aristocrats and men. There was no such thing as the Oriental style. Everyone The old lady's habit of not going out of the gate and the second gate.

  From another perspective

  Due to the deep-rooted oriental cultural traditions and cognition, the upper-class social atmosphere of the Ocean Empire is much more conservative than that of the feudal kingdoms in Europe. The popular European "mistress culture" has no market here, but is a huge scandal.

  Similar situations are not uncommon. Unless the person involved is very secretive, once it is revealed, both officials and military generals will have to take the blame and resign, or retire sadly, and have lost the opportunity to develop in the official career or the military.

  If you are a businessman, your reputation will become inaudible.

   Not only was squeezed out by the major chambers of commerce, and they were ashamed and entangled, but they also couldn’t get government orders. No one wanted to cooperate with him, and the future of money was bleak.

  Why does this happen?

  I have to talk about the special immigration culture of the Ocean Empire. It started in 1876. Since the arrival of the St. Carmen on the Brisbane Pier, the wave of Chinese immigration to Australia has started. It has been 30 years since then.

  In the 30-year history of Chinese immigrants, most of the time has been in the social structural contradictions of more men and fewer women. It is a social normal problem that it is difficult to get a wife, it is expensive, and it is not easy to get a wife.

  In this way, a trend of cherishing family and respecting women has formed in the empire, which has greatly improved the traditional atmosphere of superiority to men and inferiority to women, and enabled many Western cultures to better integrate into society.

at the same time

  Due to the deep-rooted Chinese cultural traditions, the public generally hates the "mistress culture" that destroys other people's families, according to a civilian survey conducted by the "World Journal";

  The public’s tolerance for “derailment within marriage” is 0, which is higher than gambling, opium smoking, prostitution, murder, robbery, tax evasion and other crimes. This is due to the social atmosphere formed by the special immigration culture of the Ocean Empire.

  It’s hard to set up a family. When the wife cheats, the sky will fall. No one wants such a thing to happen to him.

  The empire does not prohibit marrying wives and concubines, nor does it prohibit brothel prostitutes, but hooking up with a mistress is considered to be a breakthrough in morality and is not tolerated in the world.

  It is precisely because of this social atmosphere that Li Xiaozu wisely stays away from the circle of unmarried girls, so as not to provoke a commotion without eating lamb. Appropriate conversation in public is okay, but you must pay attention to proportion.

  This is a noble girl in the upper-class society. It is impossible for aristocratic girls to be concubines. Even if these girls are willing, the family behind them will never tolerate such humiliating things.

  As far as he knows;

  A certain aristocratic lady in the south was obsessed with a married man who was also a nobleman, and even willing to be a concubine, but was caught by her furious family members, and both the man and the woman were caught.

  Speaking of the topic, who is the rich son of this wife and ten concubines?

Li Xiaozu took a glass of French sparkling champagne from the tray of the waiter passing by, expressed his gratitude reservedly, and then looked back and saw that Duan Yangtze River was still bragging, which occasionally caused a lot of aristocratic girls to cover their mouths and exclaim. He smiled

  Others don’t know, but he knows exactly.

This wealthy son is the son of a major tobacconist, and his wife is the only daughter of the influential Dongfanghong Machinery Company. The major tobacconist was awarded the hereditary baronial title because of his outstanding contributions in the development of the Jinshui River Basin. Implicated was taken the title of knight, seized the fief of the fief, and had a great influence at the top.

  Who's going to have such a prodigal son, the family glory will be destroyed.

  The big tobacco merchant begged His Majesty, hoping to save the last bit of face, and would rather donate 3.5 million gold oceans to build a Metropolis-class battleship for the empire as an atonement.

  To talk about it, Admiral He Fang, the Minister of the Admiralty at that time, scratched his head and happily, personally accompanied the big tobacco merchant into the palace, begged to come down, and gave the government and the media a word of seal.

  The upper-level action behind this is a secret that Duan Changjiang does not know.

  Li Xiaozu still knows;

  The huge wealth of this big tobacco merchant has attracted the attention of the Minister of Finance of the Empire and the Tax Administration, and it is brewing to introduce a heavy profits tax on the tobacco industry.

  For this matter, the two major government departments are coordinating with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, because the imperial tobacco industry is mainly produced in Shangri-La and Luzon Islands, both of which are directly under the royal family. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has already levied heavy taxes.

  So, this rich family is very harmful.

The huge profits of the tobacco industry are shown in front of everyone. In the future, they will be double taxed, part of which will be handed over to the internal affairs and part to the state finances. The tax rate will increase from the previous 55% to as high as 80%. Entailed.

  Since the day when he entered the Secretariat of the Royal Family, Li Xiaozu has been exposed to secret information that ordinary people can’t know every day. This level can only be regarded as pediatrics. But his status requires him to shut his mouth tightly. Don't divulge any secrets.

  If the mouth is not tight, not only does it not last long, but it also does not last long.

do not forget

Inside the Secretariat is the Internal Security Department responsible for screening and countering espionage. Over the years, what has been uncovered is not just the Fukushima Masanori spy case in 1886, but hundreds of various types of cases, large and small. A high-efficiency team that specializes in anti-espionage and internal security exercises strict monitoring of the Secretariat.

  Outside there are security agencies such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Political Intelligence Bureau. No one knows whether there are secret piles of them around them, and they are always watching every move.

  Today's public communication occasion, if it were not for Duan Changjiang, his brother, Li Xiaozu would never come.

   "Secretary Duan, are you interested in chatting?" It was Li Jianguo in a decent tuxedo, the second son of Humen Viscount.

   "Of course, Sir Lee is also unmarried?"

"Hehehe...Of course not. We got married early in Somalia. I got married when I was 16 years old. I have six wives and concubines. Now I have 4 children and three pregnant women. I will have my fifth child next month. ."

   "Oh, then congratulations."

  Li Xiaozu took a serious look at him with a little surprise. He didn't expect that a simple polite remark would make this guy report so clearly like an account check, which is quite interesting.

  He could see that Li Jianguo was tall, with sunken eye sockets, curly hair, well-defined face, and a handsome face. He was a typical Chinese and Western mixed race. Needless to say, he was a concubine among the nobles.

  Well, it's the same with two younger brothers.

  The old man is a square person and he doesn't just smile, but he is still not sure about the female sex. He just added a brother who is only full of the moon.

  Speaking of this, I must blame the Viscount Humen. What kind of Arab beauties are there to give away?

Li Jianguo gracefully took a sip from the champagne glass in his hand, looking at the gentlemen and ladies dancing on the dance floor in front, but saying irrelevant things in his mouth; "I admire Secretary Li's choice very much and resolutely abandon the post of Mayor of Zhonghai. In my opinion, it is a great honor to be able to enter the Secretariat of the Royal Family. This is far more promising than being a courtier of Duke Wright. One is a small pond and the other is the sea, which is nothing compared."

  "Thank you for your compliment. This choice is also helpless. I have the label of Duke Wright's courtier on my body, and it will not be possible to erase it in the future."

  "The curve-increasing method of this trick is perfect. I am afraid that the children of the nobles who have come to realize it afterwards have only reacted to it now."

  Li Jianguo has a mysterious smile on the corner of his mouth, and his words contain deep meaning.

  There are not many outlets for the children of the nobles. Either they enter the land and sea armies, or enter the imperial guards or the internal affairs office. If they directly enter politics, there will be more resistance, and they will be obstructed by the mainstream civilian administrative officials overtly and secretly, and promotion is not easy.

  This is because the nobility is dominated by the Wuxun family. Except for a few top founding fathers, it is extremely difficult for ordinary administrative officials to obtain the title of nobility, and most of them are controlled by civilian administrative officials.

In their long-term practice, these civilian administrative officials have gradually formed hills divided by young eagle school classmates, Royal Administrative University classmates, township parties and regions. The administrative official system is the traditional domain of civilian officials, and it is very exclusive that it contains a golden key. Son of the nobility.

  Especially in the empire of Australia, these hills are quite powerful, and it is not easy for the children of nobles to get out of politics.

Li Xiaozu took the smooth route from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Duke of Wright and the courtier to the Secretariat. He quickly improved his grades through a curve to save the country, bypassing the junior and middle-level stages that are most vulnerable to suppression, and presenting his official career in front of him. Brightness provides the possibility of another ascending channel for the children of the nobility.

Specifically

During his tenure in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Li Xiaozu raised his administrative rank to the deputy director level. If he was released, he could be the executive deputy mayor of a third-level city. This is the role of the administrative rank recorded in the archives.

  If it is released at this time, it will inevitably be suppressed by local political officials, and it will be difficult to make political achievements.

   But if you stay in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, when you arrive at the chief secretary-level officials, there is a carrot and a pit, and the ascent channel is sharply narrowed, and they are all high-ranking nobles. Who will give him the position?

  It’s not just a question of ability. You have to stay the leader until retirement. Otherwise, where does it come from?

  Promoting from deputy director level to full director level is a big hurdle, which means a leap from secretary to chief officer.

  It is a coup for Li Xiaozu to join the Duke of Wright. After being appointed as the mayor of Zhonghai, he has made dazzling results in his appointment and proved his outstanding ability.

  As Zhonghai Town is upgraded to Zhonghai City, he will naturally be promoted to a full-level official, and he has the **** performance support to build a new city from scratch. This is an extremely important resume evaluation for the promotion of senior officials.

  It’s not good to say something. A full-level official is more important than 10 deputy-level officials.

After passing this hurdle, you will be eligible to serve as the mayor of any third-tier city in the empire, to be the deputy mayor of any second-tier city in the empire, and to be the head of the ministries and commissions of the first-tier city. When you work in an overseas state, you can be promoted to one level in place. This is the role of the senior division.

  The level of the first-class secretary of the Royal Secretariat is Zhengsi. Jumping from Zhonghai City is equivalent to jumping from a small pond into the sea. The benefits are simply too many.

  Here, you can temper your overall vision and think about development issues from a higher perspective, which benefits a lot in both your ability and your own development.

  And this kind of upper-level relationship is precisely the advantage of the nobility.

After working in the Secretariat, no matter how long it takes for 5 years, 6 years or how long, as long as you can put up a vacant position as a deputy director, that is the deputy ministerial rank treatment. If you are released, you can control the development of first-level big cities. Take the lead, serve as the mayor, and truly enter the ranks of high-level bureaucrats.

   "Sir Lee, did you think of this yourself?"

  "Say not modestly, yes. I was in the same year as you but in the small month, if Secretary Li could call out Jianguo brother, I would be honored."

   "Hehehe...respect is worse than fate, it seems that Jianguo brother is also a very thoughtful person."

  Li Xiaozu smiled indifferently. The five sons of Viscount Humen are known as the "Five Tiger Generals of Humen". They are not well-known in the empire, but they are very famous in Somalia, West Asia and Africa. They are by no means groundless.

  His eldest son Li Jianyang graduated from the Royal Sandhurst Military University and served in the British Far East military delegation. He has been promoted to the rank of major and has a close relationship with Churchill, the new British Colonial Secretary, and his background is very deep.

  Li Xiaozu also knew that the Viscount Humen family was able to obtain a controlling stake in the South African Farmer’s Gold Mine, which was inseparable from Major Li Jianyang and Churchill, and there must be inside stories.

  He is the first-level secretary of the Royal Secretariat, and he can get in touch with many secrets that ordinary people can't imagine.

"Brother Xiaozu, knowing yourself and the enemy is common sense in military strategists. My eldest brother Jianyang followed his father’s armed smuggling team in West Asia when he was 12 years old. I stayed in the wind for six years, and a bullet on my chest almost killed me. Some things have been engraved into my bones."

   "Hehe, I am not your enemy!"

   "I want to recognize you as a big brother like Duan Changjiang. I can't help it, because of habit, uh... I can't help but investigate more."

   "This idea is very interesting, why not talk about it?"

  Li Xiaozu raised his brows and looked at Li Jianguo, who looked serious. Of course, he would not be confused by the other's appearance, but to know the real reason.

  Li Jianguo sighed slightly, and said with a sad expression;

   "Brother Xiao Zu, in fact, you can also tell that I am a concubine.

  After my father offered 40,000 square kilometers of land, he was highly commended by his majesty. He left a noble title of life-long baron in his hand, which was originally planned to be given to me, but after comprehensive consideration, he gave it to the fourth younger brother, because the fourth younger brother was a son.

these years

  My father’s eldest brother contributes the most to his career, and I am the one who ranks in the bottom line. Now I am solely responsible for the Somali company’s armed smuggling of supplies to northern Tsarist Russia. There has not been any discrepancy so far.

  So, I am really unwilling.

  Recalling the glorious journey of his father’s fortune along the way, it was the process that accompanied the empire to its heyday. His old man firmly grasped the opportunity and realized the transformation from a mercenary leader to an imperial nobleman.

  I saw the opportunity. Now it is much better than before. I believe that my father can do it. I can do it too.

  I have the resources, connections, ability, and ability to assemble a team of mercenaries with strong combat effectiveness. In order to achieve this goal, I have been accumulating funds and accumulating weapons and equipment.

The biggest problem facing    is... don’t know whom to target? "

  Li Jianguo’s candid attitude and Hepan revealed the biggest plan in his heart, which made Li Xiaozu have to treat him differently.

  The two can only say that they know each other before, and they have no deep friendship. Being able to be such a candid stud, you can see that Li Jianguo is a man of determination, decisiveness and courage, and a very unique vision.

  The "Five Tigers of Humen" is a bit more eloquent, not a false name.

  "I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint you. How do you know that I can help you? Don’t forget my current status as the royal secretary. It is impossible to talk about any secret-related issues, let alone answer you."

"Brother Xiaozu, I can wait. Whether it is 5 years, 10 years or 15 years, I can wait until you leave the status of royal secretary, and wait until you can help me calmly one day, and I can be slow in the meantime. To accumulate strength slowly, I can wait to achieve the goal 15 or 20 years from now."

   "I don't have such a naked relationship with Changjiang Duan. Why should I accept you?"

"Brother Xiaozu, in my opinion, there is more than just one kind of brothers. One kind is for the brothers who have both sides, including the brother who helped him pick up girls, and the other kind is the brother who promotes each other in his career and enables him to achieve dazzling political achievements. , I would like to be the second kind. I believe that you will not be a secretary for a lifetime. One day you will embark on an official career to realize your political ambitions. At that time, you will need me."

"Jianguo, you..." Li Xiaozu replied dubiously, but couldn't find the right wording for a while, so he took the champagne glass in his hand and touched him, drank it and said after drinking; "Is this age group too Far-reaching? Just believe that I can help you?"

"It may not be possible now, but when Brother Xiaozu will come out of the secretariat to take over the major tasks in the future, I believe it will be possible." Li Jianguo replied very confidently, then raised his eyes to look at the brilliant diamond crystal dragon lantern on top of his head. A fiery light appeared in his eyes and said: "The Empire has a complete assessment system, and the qualifications of external magnifiers will not be easily admitted. If you can pass, it means that you have a global perspective and can provide me with this valuable advice."

  Wow, Li Xiaozu really took it. What is the reason for the heads of the family of Humen Viscount?

   Could it be said that people are trained like this in the Gobi Desert of West Asia?

  The eldest brother Li Jianyang ran to hug the thigh of the British Churchill. The second brother Li Jianguo ran to hug my thigh. He was more confident than himself. How could this be reasonable?

   "Okay, then I will accept you, old man, you have to remember, but you can't sell me, otherwise I will make you look good in minutes."

   "Never, the eldest brother is here, please be respected by the younger brother."

   "Hahaha... OK, today's party did not come in vain, so much harvest!"

   "Hahahaha... Brother, I feel the same way."

  (End of this chapter)