African Nationhood

Chapter 71 The Sleeping Lion Theory

Office of Overseas Chinese Studies, Crean Street, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

More than a dozen students, including Ouyang Geng, Tang Guoan, and Zhan Tianyou, came out of the Secretariat with serious faces.

They had just finished their training, and then they dispersed and went to their respective schools.

"Wait a minute, I have something to say."

Everyone looked at Ouyang Geng, and a young man with a long face said angrily.

"Ouyang, what kind of monster are you doing? I just got punished and I'm not in a good mood."

During every major lunar festival, foreign students from the Qing Dynasty had to return to the Secretariat to receive instructions from the chief and deputy chiefs, and listen to the "Holy Edict and Guangxun".

The purpose is to teach students not to forget their roots and to respect their king.

These measures are good for young children who have just arrived in the United States, but they are basically useless for college students who have already entered colleges and universities.

People's outlook on life is formed between the ages of 12 or 3 to 20 years old. They have been enjoying Western education for so many years, how can they still go back?
  And just two months ago, Rong Xuezheng's younger brother Rong Kui publicly joined the Christian organization South Congregational Church and cut off his pigtails.

Another, Yaoxun Tan, a sophomore at Yale, also disclosed that he believed in Christianity and cut off his braids.

Therefore, the two men were angrily rebuked by the new Zhengxuezheng Wu Jiashan, who ordered them to drop out of school and return to China.

These two students openly violated the regulations of the Secretariat, and several other students secretly formed the "Chinese Converters Association," which is a secret organization of "Converters to the Chinese Empire."

Ouyang Geng looked at Cai Shaoji who was speaking, pursed his lips and took a deep breath before continuing to speak.

"I want to hold a party to commemorate Shi Wenyuan."

When Ouyang Geng mentioned Shi Jintang, everyone fell silent.

The sudden disappearance of this star classmate made everyone very uncomfortable, and by the way, they were also very concerned about where he had gone.

But being in a foreign country, the two academics from the Secretariat had no way to rely on them, and gradually this matter was forgotten by everyone.

Suddenly it was mentioned again, and everyone began to recall every detail of this star classmate in their minds.

"Okay, where and when, I will participate." Tang Guoan said happily.

"I'm also participating. It's time to commemorate him. He has disappeared for almost a year."

Zhan Tianyou also expressed his position.

Someone took the lead, everyone's opinions were unified, and everyone decided to participate.

"I've booked a place. The address is at a restaurant not far from here. Come on, I'll take you there."

……

Ouyang Gengding's place is indeed not far away. It's in the next block, and its name is Turner Hotel.

This restaurant is one of the top restaurants in Hadford City, and everyone is hesitant.

"Ouyang, why did you choose such a high-end place? Do you have money?"

Ouyang Geng smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you pay."

When the latter heard this, he smiled awkwardly.

As soon as I walked into the hotel door, I saw a young and beautiful blonde walking towards me.

Everyone was a little curious and looked at this beauty.

But Ouyang Geng raised his hand and waved to the blonde beauty.

Do they know each other?

Before she could ask, the blonde beauty spoke first: "Ouyang, is everyone here?"

"Well, we're all here, how are you preparing?"

"We're ready, Rong and Tan are up there."

Hearing this, everyone became more curious.

When Zhan Tianyou heard the beauty talk about Rong He Tan, he had basically guessed it.

But he remained silent and climbed the stairs to the second floor with everyone. Arriving at a large private room, the students were extremely surprised to see Rong Kui and Tan Yaoxun sitting upright in the private room.

"Weren't you two ordered to drop out of school?"

Rong Kui and Tan Yaoxun did not drop out of school. On the contrary, they continued to attend school.

It's just that Rong Kui didn't go to Harvard, which he was admitted to. Instead, he transferred to Yale.

"It was this Miss Smith who sponsored us, so we did not return to China and continued to go to school."

Rong Kui's answer surprised everyone, and Cai Shaoji looked at Ouyang Geng.

"What's going on with Ouyang? Who is this lady?"

"She is the daughter of Shi Wenyuan's host family in Nuozhou, and she is also Shi Wenyuan's sister."

When Kelly Smith heard the Chinese characters Shi Wenyuan, she looked directly at Ouyang Geng, "Are you talking about me?"

"Yes, Miss Smith. I'm telling them about your relationship with Henry."

Kelly Smith nodded and said with a smile: "Hello everyone, I am Henry's sister. He asked me to initiate this party. Please sit wherever you like."

After listening to Kelly Smith's words, everyone immediately became restless.

Tang Guoan said directly: "What, he is still alive, where is he?"

"He is in Africa and is competing with the black indigenous people for territory. He has already occupied a large piece of land."

Ouyang Geng's words stunned the Qing students present.

"I, this is not a dream, is it? Shi Jintang went to Africa to conquer the country?"

The speaker was Cai Shaoji. He didn't usually communicate with Shi Jintang much, but he didn't expect that his classmate would be so fierce!
  "Well, this is true. My father sends large quantities of Johnson & Johnson medical kits and quinine medicines to Africa every month. These are what he urgently needs."

After hearing this, everyone realized that Johnson & Johnson is a well-known pharmaceutical company in the United States, and Shi Jintang is a shareholder of Johnson & Johnson.

Only shareholders have the right to reduce domestic production in the United States and squeeze it out to Africa.

"He is already a rich man, why would he go to Africa to suffer?
  I really can’t figure it out. Are the minds of rich people different from ours? "

The person who said this is called Liu Jiazhao. Like Shi Jintang, he was one of the first batch of people to come to the United States. He is now a sophomore at a business school in Massachusetts.

"This is what I'm curious about. After I read the letter he wrote to me, I began to understand him."

Ouyang Geng said calmly, then took out a letter from his arms and placed it on the table.

"This is a letter he wrote to everyone, an open letter. Everyone can read it and make a decision after reading it."

The content of the letter was similar to what was written to Ouyang Geng before, but new content was added to the picture cake.

Let's unite the efforts of all brothers to create a new great nation. After the founding of the country, we will never forget the achievements of your concerted efforts today, and so on...

After more than half an hour, everyone watched it again, and Zhan Tianyou and Tang Guoan were the most deeply touched.

Both of them have a heart to serve the country, but the current situation of the Qing Dynasty is indeed worrying.

Take the civil engineering studied by Zhan Tianyou as an example. The Qing Dynasty currently only has 15 kilometers of railways.

It was also used to open the eyes of Cixi and Lafayette to the Western scenery.

However, the ruler of the Qing Dynasty banned the construction of railways in the Qing Dynasty on the grounds that building railways would destroy Feng Shui.

After he returned to China, he had no use at all.

Most of the other students recalled the wise words in their hearts: "You can never wake up a person who is pretending to sleep."

Napoleon once said: "China is a sleeping lion. Once awakened, it will be unimaginable. It is best if the lion stays asleep, and that will be great."

What the European and American powers did in the Qing Dynasty in recent years seems to be very consistent with Napoleon's judgment.

The great powers helped the Qing Dynasty suppress the rebellion and sent their citizens to serve in the Qing government. They were really trying to appease the Qing Dynasty and prevent it from waking up.

What can these college students do if they go back? Can they really wake up the sleeping lion of the Qing Dynasty?

　I am looking for further reading, investment, collection, and recommendation votes. Thank you to my lonely, nostalgic and awkward book friends, Poul, and Di Zhe for their monthly support!

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)