Codex of the Old Gods: I Have a World

Among the "Xinchou Treaty" signed that year, one item was to increase the number of guards in the embassy area of ​​​​Dongjiaominxiang.

Since then, a mini Eight-Power Allied Force has been stationed in the capital all year round, with more than 2000 troops.

Strictly speaking, this is not a concession, but it is better than a concession.

Public security is handled by the police composed of the mini-Eight-Nation Allied Forces, and the Qing court military police are not allowed to intervene.

There are walls and bunkers built around it, with a total of eight entrances and exits, all guarded by foreign military police.

Standing guard in the embassy area is a routine task. In addition, there is a small playground for military and police daily training.

Every time they train, many people from the capital gather to watch and praise loudly: They are indeed a foreign army, their spirit is different.

At this time, the foreign military and police officers in training were proud of themselves, with their chests and belly raised, their guns and bayonets raised, showing off their power.

It can be said that that pride comes from their centuries of accumulation of aggression and exploitation, and also from the awe-inspiring eyes of the people in the capital.

Wherever there are people, there are business opportunities.

Some foreigners, seeing so many military and police officers with nowhere to vent their energy except standing guard and training, rented a house and opened a bar next to Dongjiaomin Lane to serve the foreign military and police officers.

In a few years, a red-light district-like commercial street has been formed here, with bars, casinos, brothels, hotels, etc.

The foreign police didn't care, but the Qing police didn't dare to. Over time, it naturally harbored filth and evil, creating a lawless and lawless place.

The mixed-race place next to the embassy district stretches from Suzhou Hutong in the north, to the Tatar City Wall in the south, and to Harde Gate in the west. It is filled with people who were forced to flee their homeland to make a living in foreign lands, as well as adventurers, many of whom were engaged in the flesh trade.

This area is called bad land by the people in the capital.

Many years later, even the daughter of the future British minister was killed here. The bad land was caused by them, and they also had to suffer the consequences.

This was the bar that Backus spoke of to Rebecca Levy.

Foreigners are open-minded, but they also have a certain degree of openness.

Even if it’s a foreign girl, who from a good family would go to a bar in a bad land to hang out?

Rebecca Levi shook her head, and at the same time took out the silver and handed it to Bacchus: "Mr. Bacchus, thank you for your help. This is the reward you deserve."

Bacchus is as bold as Zhao Chuanxin, but the difference is that Zhao Chuanxin is vicious and Bacchus is a wretched villain.

His favorite thing to do is to fool politicians. The more powerful he is, the more excited he is.

He is well-known in foreign circles. Everyone calls him China Hand and believe that the news coming from him is usually reliable.

If given a suitable springboard, he would even dare to fool the British Empire's court.

How could such a person be interested in Rebecca Levi's small reward?

He refused with a straight face: "Rebecca, what do you mean? Are you looking down on me? Take it back quickly."

Rebecca Levi seems to have a gentle and gentle temperament, but she is actually from Shandong County. She is as stubborn as a stone: "Mr. Bacchus, you must accept it, otherwise I will have trouble sleeping and eating."

"I won't accept this money."

"You must accept it."

"..."

Bacchus had no choice but to accept it.

He tried his best to say some wisecracks, but found that Rebecca Levi was not in her mind, her eyes were wandering, as if she didn't even hear a word, and the smile on her face didn't bloom because of him, she seemed to be thinking about something.

So San San resigned.

He went to the bar street by himself.

Even the air here is filled with the smell of drunkenness, and the smell of drunken belches fills the neighborhood.

When I walked into the bar and ordered a glass of whiskey, someone sat down next to me.

"How audacious of you, Mr. Backus."

Bacchus felt nervous and turned around to see a short middle-aged Asian who looked to be in his forties, looking at him with a smile.

"Who is your Excellency?"

"It doesn't matter who it is, what's important is that I admire Mr. Backus' courage."

"What do you mean?" Bacchus said with a serious expression.

"You fooled the special envoy and Zhao Chuanxin's lover. If you are not afraid of Zhu Erdian, are you not afraid of Zhao Chuanxin?"

It is false to say that I am not afraid.

But walking on a tightrope is very exciting, and Bacchus, who is a little twisted because of his childhood experience, prefers this feeling.

He pretended to be calm: "I don't know what you are talking about, so don't disturb me."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Okay, I'll talk to them later. Maybe I can prevent them from being fooled."

Bacchus' hand shook and the drink spilled.

He gave an awkward smile: "Are you Japanese?"

"It has nothing to do with who I am, just a reminder to Mr. Backus that you can't fool everyone."

"Everything I said is true. Do you have proof that I lied?" A hint of cunning flashed in Bacchus's eyes.

"I don't know much about you, but my understanding of Zhao Chuanxin must be beyond your expectations."

Bacchus turned around and looked at the man steadily: "Sir, tell me, what exactly do you want to do?"

"I can tell you responsibly that Zhu Erdian will definitely die if he offends Zhao Chuanxin. Before he dies, he is still valuable, and we can cooperate..."

……

Zhu Erdian is not stupid at all to be the Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to China.

But he also has shortcomings - he can't be distracted when doing things, he can only grasp one line.

For example, he first thought that Tianjin Wei was not as safe as the capital, so he came to the capital.

Someone recommended Backus and he met with him.

Instead of thinking about all the escape routes in Tianjin Wei, we can only grasp one line and keep moving forward.

When Bacchus, in order to emphasize the reliability of his words, mentioned that he knew Zhao Chuanxin's lover and lived in the capital, Zhu Erdian continued to dig deeper along this line.

When Bacchus left, he immediately sent someone to follow him and found the hotel where Rebecca Levi was staying.

Once Bacchus leaves, the place will be monitored secretly.

Zhu Erdian was still worried, but now that he had a life-saving straw, he had no time to worry about anything else.

……

Forbidden City.

Since the weather was hot, Cixi went to Chengde Mountain Resort to escape the summer heat. She contracted dysentery and never recovered after returning.

She always felt weak all over, with ringing in her ears and dizziness.

I get diarrhea from time to time.

Cixi knew to some extent that she had half her foot stuck in the loess and her time was running out.

Today, she summoned Zhang Zhidong.

The old Zhang Zhidong has long lost the courage he once had.

His beard is all white, reaching to his chest, he is short, his face is pale, his eyes are cloudy, and his speech is weak and hollow.

He himself refused to accept old age, but the fact was that he was already in his old age.

Cixi was indeed domineering and would not allow Zhang Zhidong to rise again, but she would still come to him for political consultation when something happened.

"Xiaoda, do you still have many cats?"

"I like cats by nature, and I always have dozens of cats in my bedroom. I have never lost a little bit. I have benefited a lot from practicing the method of keeping cats in good health..."

"Hey..." Cixi looked helpless. She learned health-preserving techniques from cats. Except for the one in front of her, she had never heard of it. It was really strange. After the greetings, she didn't want to talk about the cat anymore and changed the subject: "I called you here because I wanted to discuss what to do with the traitor Zhao Chuanxin and how to deal with him?"