the world is at stake

Drinking tea, reading a book, and waiting for visitors, this is the life that every British gentleman desires.Even if it cannot be realized in a lifetime, this dream has been passed down from generation to generation and spread to the world.

The British Empire, where the sun never sets, is a word that once made the world tremble.As a remnant of the empire, Charles never forgets to go back to the Victorian era when he sailed all over the world and controlled the world.

It's a pity... 1910, a bit late.

The entourage walked to Charles and whispered: "Sir, the No. 13 history seminar is over."

"What did those experts discuss?" Charles asked.

The entourage recalled one or two, and replied: "In 1910, there were 4000 million people in Britain, but there were more than [-] million people in Great Britain, and most of them were in India.

At that time, the British Empire was still the undisputed number one power in the world. We had millions of engineers and technicians, and we had the most advanced technology at that time, which no one could shake.

However, at that time, the technical strength of European and American countries was not low. The United States, France and Germany all had tens of millions of industrial workers, and other regional powers were also on the order of millions.

Experts said that if the current technology was sent to 1910, a new technological revolution would definitely erupt.

For example, the gears at that time were not tough enough, and they were easily deformed and broken due to excessive force during rotation.

Without a qualified reduction gear, a high-speed and high-power power system cannot be used.Pre-World War I battleships used steam turbines directly connected to propellers, resulting in low rpm and high fuel consumption.

But to solve this problem is very simple, high frequency quenching.

It is a simple and effective metal heat treatment method to use an induction furnace to generate an induced current on the surface of the workpiece, rapidly heat the surface of the part and quench it rapidly.

The good news is that there are many similar technologies, which will rapidly increase the national power of the British Empire; the bad news is that our opponents also master these technologies, and there is no generational difference.Everyone will eventually fight for the industrial population. "

When it comes to industrial population, Charles has a big head.Because the major industrial country in 1910 was the United States, the technical level may be lower, but the number is absolutely crushing.

This is a bit like the United States looking at China in 2021. The latter's size advantage is too obvious.

"Is there any solution?" asked Charles, who was equivalent to a political officer and knew nothing about specific matters.

The entourage pondered for a long time, then said dejectedly: "Unless we can integrate Europe, including bringing in the Russians, there is nothing we can do. Maybe..."

Charles had expected this conclusion, and interrupted: "Don't expect to integrate Europe, it is better to think about how to make Indians bleed for Great Britain. In addition, the Russians can also think about it. Putin definitely needs our help."

Mentioning Putin, the entourage said by the way: "Putin's envoy has already arrived at our side. In addition, the French, Japanese, Indians, Turks, and several scattered forces also hope to get our help."

Charles knew what those little powers wanted, and they all had ambitions.They knew the future of the British Empire very well, and wanted to pounce on the colonies of the British.

After World War I, due to the strengthening of national consciousness, independence movements in various countries surged.The imperial powers can no longer easily occupy wild places such as Africa, North America and South America by virtue of their equipment advantages.

But the ambitions of the great powers will not disappear, the French want North Africa, and the Japanese want East Asia.Even the Turks want Central Asia, and the Indians want the entire Indian Ocean coast.

Even Brazil and Argentina want to be honored.

"His Excellency Rahul Gandhi from India asked us one thing, how can we obtain the highest law of time and space?" the follower said.

India has a large number of candidates, and has always had little sense of presence, and generally relies on existing forces in Europe and the United States.But the changes in the situation after the chaos made them feel that their chance had come.

These words are quite "aspiring to the top", Charles was amused, and the answer was simple, "Either your country is strong enough, so you are naturally entitled to it; or you can grab it and defeat a big force, and you can get it."

The battle in St. Petersburg did not determine the final outcome, and the highest law of time and space sacrificed by Martha did not belong.That thing was taken back by the distorted time and space, and there were many coveters.

The entourage continued: "The Japanese side told us that without enough support, it will be difficult for them to fight against the 'Holy Light'. Once China rises, it will definitely overturn the world's geopolitical structure."

China?

Another headache for Charles.

For Britain in 1910, the United States was the present threat, and China was the threat 30 years later—maybe not.The chosen ones in Japan must be trembling, for fear that the Chinese will retaliate.

"What do the Japanese want?" Charles asked.

The entourage said: "They seem to want to be the first to launch a war against China as soon as possible after the restart of time and space, and hope to gain support from Europe and the United States.

Steel, machine tools, oil, the Japanese want a lot. The 'Brotherhood' has agreed to let the dog out and bite, and maybe we can give it a shot too. "

Charles thought for a while and nodded, "China in 1910 was very weak, and only tens of thousands of people could occupy their capital. But Japan alone may not be enough to defeat China, and the French should be brought in too.

Doesn't India want our support?Let them also send troops.Russians, ask them if they are willing to do it?I guess Pu Dadi will make some trade-offs. "

The entourage responded and will use the skill of 'stirring shit' passed down by the British.After all, Britain can only profit if it messes up the whole world.

At the same time, the preparations for the 'Holy Light' are advancing steadily.

During the chaos in St. Petersburg, Time Distortion announced the number of all selected candidates, and Xiao Jinlang counted the specific numbers of all parties.

The number of surviving candidates is just over 2000.Among the group forces, the 'Holy Light' has the smallest number of people, and it is only in the early [-]s that a group of vagrants are gathered.The others are all over three or four hundred.

"The number of selected candidates is still second. The dilemma we face is that China in 1910 had no industry. Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Japan and Russia have a good family background. Once they take the initiative to attack China, we will be very difficult. .”

Before World War I, the tonnage of the British Navy exceeded 270 million tons, and Japan also had 70 tons.What about China?Basically zero eggs.Nowhere on the southeast coast is safe.

"So our foothold can't be in Shanghai, it must be inland. We need a place with rich mineral resources, convenient coal and iron, and relatively developed transportation."

Xiao Jinlang pointed to Wuhan on the map, and said to the core staff of 'Holy Light' who attended the meeting: "Originally the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan area was the best. But for safety reasons, the base can only be here.

We need at least 20 to [-] years of construction to complete the initial industrialization of the entire country.This is still an optimistic estimate.If there is a war, it will be postponed. "

"Can't you speed up?" Zhou Qingfeng is a layman, "The entire 'Holy Light' group will go with us."

Lao Xiao smiled, "Based on the current size of the 'Shengguang' Group, the steel production capacity under its control alone exceeds 5000 million tons, and the profile processing and processing capabilities cover every industrial category.

The group is desperately trying to acquire the so-called "eliminated" and "outdated" production capacity with loans, making the market think that the group's management has lost its head.

If the entire group completely traversed, it would be enough to beat the world without any technology beyond the times.But according to past experience, the group will shrink significantly in the distorted time and space.

If the steel plant controlled by 'Shengguang' had a production capacity of 1910 tons in 50, the whole group would have [-] technicians and [-] industrial workers, we would be thankful. "

In short, the 'Holy Light' team judged internally that once they reached the time and space of 1910, they would face war.After all, China at that time looked like a fish belly, and anyone could bully it.

Especially Japan.

"But don't be afraid." Lao Xiao is still optimistic, "We have enough experience to deal with internal and external troubles. History has given the right choice, we just copy the homework."

Hahaha... Although everyone's heart was still a little heavy, they all laughed.Sacrifice and suffering will always be necessary, but China's future is bright.

A month of preparation time passed in a blink of an eye, and Zhou Qingfeng had nothing to solve other than being a 'human flesh pharmaceutical factory' on weekdays.The day before the restart of time and space, he crossed the border between China and Russia under a false identity and arrived in Ufa, a city in central Russia.

Zhou Qingfeng was guided by an address in Russian written on a piece of cigarette paper. He found a certain street in the old part of the city and looked around, hesitating.

The streets are very narrow, and the houses on the side of the road are also very old, which haven't changed much for decades.Occasionally some residents pass by, and they will be surprised by the wait-and-see of outsiders.

A burly Russian aunt passed by with a vegetable basket. Zhou Qingfeng stepped forward and asked, "Hi, excuse me. I'm looking for Ivanovich Valennikov Valentin. He should live near here , do you know this person?"

The Russian aunt glanced at Zhou Qingfeng, looked him up and down carefully, and asked with a strange face: "Who are you looking for?"

Zhou Qingfeng said the name again, and showed the address on the cigarette package to the aunt, "This man should be very old, he lived here about 30 years ago."

The aunt glanced at the address, and yelled carelessly: "Old Valentin died a long time ago, more than 20 years ago. Young man, why would you want to find a dead person?"

"I don't actually know Valentin. I'm looking for his niece Polina." Zhou Qingfeng said, "But I couldn't find the house at the address."

Hearing the name Polina, the aunt looked at Zhou Qingfeng again.This time she didn't say anything, just pointed in the other direction of the street, and reported another address, "Valentin's house has been demolished, as for Polina... you can go find it again."

So Zhou Qingfeng walked for a while and stopped in front of an old house.He pushed aside the iron fence in the yard in front of the house, walked up a few steps, and knocked on the door.

After a while, the door opened and a middle-aged woman came out.The other party looked at Zhou Qingfeng for a while, and asked suspiciously: "Who are you looking for?"

Zhou Qingfeng carefully identified the middle-aged woman's face, and said with a smile, "Are you... Lilia?"

Middle-aged women no longer have the cuteness and spookiness they had when they were young.She has been smoothed by the years, grown up, fat, stout, and mediocre.

"It's me." The middle-aged woman was even more strange, "Are you...?"

"I... I'm a postman. I have a package for you." Zhou Qingfeng took out a gift box from his backpack.

The gift box was beautifully packaged. Although the middle-aged woman didn't know why, she happily took the gift box and opened it on the spot.It's just that when she saw the faded bear toy in the box, she first frowned suspiciously, but quickly shook her head and whispered: "This is impossible."

"Who are you? Where did this teddy bear come from? It has long since disappeared, and I forgot about it too. But..." The middle-aged woman carefully rubbed the gift from Zhou Qingfeng, and countless memory fragments surged in her mind .

Zhou Qingfeng asked again: "Is your mother Polina okay?"

The middle-aged woman looked up again, "My mother died of illness 20 years ago. At that time, our family was poor and we couldn't treat her."

"And what about your little Aunt Weina?"

"She said more than 20 years ago that she found a way to go to France. But she never came back, and I never heard from her again. She should be dead too, otherwise she would not have called or written letters."

They were all dead, Zhou Qingfeng showed bitterness.

The middle-aged woman looked directly at Zhou Qingfeng, "Young man, do we know each other? What's your name? Why do you know my mother and aunt? Why is there this little bear toy?

Look at the bear's eyes, I took them off once and my mother sewed them back on with her own hands.Because I couldn't find a suitable silk thread, the left and right were different.I will never forget. "

Zhou Qingfeng just smiled, unable to explain, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I can't save you, and I couldn't make the half-year agreement.

As for this little bear, you gave it to me, and now I give it back to you.Once again, I apologize to you and your loved ones, there is nothing I can do. "

The middle-aged woman suddenly covered her face and asked in tears, "Young man, why did you tell me this all of a sudden? You seem to be a very important person in my family, but I don't know you at all."

Hearing the crying, a middle-aged man and two children came out from behind the door, and asked with concern what happened.

The middle-aged woman turned her head and hugged her husband, crying, "I don't know what happened? That young man seems very important. It seems that something happened, but I just can't remember."

The family members were also very confused and wanted to ask what happened.

Unfortunately, Zhou Qingfeng had already turned around and walked away slowly.He came to say goodbye, to say goodbye to the whole world.

Volume [-] The Age of Light

Chapter 01 This Big Mess

This distorted time and space does not play cards according to common sense.

The last time 'Holy Light' went to the end of the Ming Dynasty, it also allowed Zhou Qingfeng to choose where to stay.But this time and space is restarted, it directly goes back in time, and makes the vicissitudes of life, life, old age, sickness and death flow backwards.

Apart from the Chosen and the Followers, other things flicker like shifting lights and shadows. 110 A year of time seems to have entered a one-way tunnel, constantly regressing at high speed.

The entire 'Shengguang' group's industries spread all over the country. Back in 1910, all factories and personnel were all in place.

The coal mines in Datong are still in Datong, the iron mines in Anshan are still in Anshan, the Piansheng coal mining machinery factory is in Zhengzhou, the railway machinery factory is in Zhuzhou, the electronics companies are crowded in Shanghai, and the shipbuilding is in Wuhan.

The good news is that although the group's entire industrial system has degenerated to the level of 1910, it has been preserved.

The bad news is that the railways and roads have almost all disappeared, and the transportation network is gone.Thousands of factories and scientific research institutes have become dots scattered on the map, and the furthest cotton textile enterprises are even in Xinjiang.

More than 2000 people from 'Holy Light' crowded into the headquarters of the group, expecting that everyone would appear somewhere in Wuhan, but it turned out that they didn't—the headquarters building degenerated into a four-story building in the shape of a zigzag.

Because there are too many people, more than 100 offices in the building are packed like sardine cans.

The core team expanded to more than forty people, all sitting in a small auditorium, each with a memo in front of them in charge of their affairs.

Zhou Qingfeng sat at the top of the auditorium, and the time-distorted memo prepared for him was particularly thick.After flipping through a few pages, he smiled wryly at Xiao Jinlang next to him.

"The Manchu Qing Dynasty is gone, we are the Chinese government. But the mess of the Manchu Qing Dynasty has not changed. The whole country is weak and poor, with internal and external troubles. It belongs to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.

Northeast China and Xinjiang were controlled by Russia, the area along the Yangtze River was controlled by Britain, Korea and Taiwan were in the hands of Japan, and France controlled Yunnan and Guangxi.In addition, Germany occupied Qingdao.

This situation exceeded our expectations. "

Xiao Jinlang was very serious, carefully flipping through the memo at hand while wearing glasses.Everyone else was also very nervous. In the small auditorium, there was only the rustling sound of flipping through papers, and occasionally there were two coughs.

The rough reading took more than an hour, and everyone in the team tried to understand the current national situation as much as possible.After reading it, Xiao Jinlang covered his scrolls and sighed, heaved a sigh of relief and said, "It's not too bad, at least the country is still complete and there is no civil strife."

Qin Qing is not optimistic, "On the contrary, I am very worried. The 'Holy Light' obviously replaced the Manchu Qing that was about to be overthrown. From the information I have, there are a large number of 'disruptive parties' within the government, military, and education system.

There is a lot of corruption in the government, old-style bureaucrats flood the civil service, and local forces are entangled.Foreign forces have fully infiltrated China and cultivated a large number of supporters. "

Hiss... Xiao Jinlang heard a dull pain in his teeth.He flipped through the memo at hand again, carefully paying attention to the part of the current social situation, glanced at it a few times and blurted out: "We have really replaced the decadent Manchu Qing."

Zhou Qingfeng continued, "The other chosen forces should be the same as ours, directly taking over their respective governments. I think that except for the Germans who may be able to talk, the others all want us to die."

Old Xiao couldn't sit still, glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall of the auditorium, and mobilized the core members of the team: "The situation is very critical, if it is true, it is not who we are going to overthrow, but to prevent us from being overthrown.

Now the heads of the various ministries and commissions must take their positions and find out the situation across the country.We probably only have one year to eliminate hidden dangers, otherwise we will have to change the dynasty. "

Seven people, including Xiao Jinlang and Qin Qing, formed the Standing Committee, and the rest of the core members of the team took office as ministers of various government departments. More than 2000 followers were first filled to serve as real-time officials in various departments.

The time at this moment is January 1910, 1, and the cold wind is blowing.

Everyone left the four-story building and found themselves in Zhongnanhai, the imperial capital.All the ministries and commissions are located around Zhongnanhai, and everyone can take up their posts immediately when they go out. The government affairs system is fairly complete.

Although the mess is bad, at least the imperial capital has established cable telegraph communication with the local provinces.In addition, there are a large number of affairs officers in the ministries and commissions. Although their abilities and ethics are not good, they can provide initial information.

On the night of arriving in 1910, the Standing Committee obtained a fortune that he could control.

There are more than 200 million troops in the country, but most of them are old-fashioned weapons that look like waste. Both weapons and training are equal to zero, and they don't even know if they are eating empty pay.

Beiyang now has 36 towns, and 10,000+ new troops are in the hands of Yuan Shikai.Cao Kun, Duan Qirui, Wu Peifu, Zhang Zuolin, Sun Chuanfang, and a lot of historical celebrities also emerged.

When Zhou Qingfeng saw these names, he cursed, 'Fuck, they're all gangsters! '

The army is unstable, and the country's economy has collapsed.The whole country cannot collect taxes, the Customs and Taxation Department is in the hands of the British, and the goods from the Western powers are pouring in like a tide, which has smashed the domestic industry and commerce.

The central government has to ask the British for money.