In addition to Admiral Ding Ruchang and Commander of the Sino-American Combined Fleet, Du Lide, who had already met, there were also several guests from England:

Qiao Bailun, the "chief instructor" of the Navy.

Ke Liefu, the "director" of the naval base, has jurisdiction over the Lushun base and the Weihai base.

Hemanch, "General Office" of Fuzhou Naval Academy.

The above three are all generals.

The following are the ranks of the school officers:

Dictor Brown, "Assistant Chief Instructor" of the Navy.

Great Edward, the "King Umberto" pipe belt - is the captain.

Edward Jr., "Durio" pipe band.

Mavida, Marine Corps "Teach".

There is also a civilian, Bi Sharp, the "general office" of the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau, which is equivalent to the general manager.

For this visit, Ke Liefu rushed over from Lushun; Hymanch and Bishop went north from Fuzhou to Tianjin.

Some of the characters we are familiar with, such as Lang Weili, whose Chinese name is now translated as "Lang Weili", at this time in the huge British advisory team, but a small ensign, of course, is not qualified to meet the Queen Mother.

The three generals, Qiao Brilun, Clifford, and Hymanch, as well as Bishop, all four of them were seen alone; Dictor the Great, Edward the Great, Edward the Younger, and Mavida were present together.

Like their Chinese and American counterparts in uniform, the British all kneeled on one knee – the same etiquette as the one for an audience with Queen Victoria, and there was no problem for the British.

Cixi, who was mentally undergoing a huge shock, was when she met Yangqing. I strive to maintain a peaceful and noble demeanor. Through the veil. There are also some nervous foreign devils. I didn't notice anything unusual about the Queen Mother of China.

On behalf of all the British soldiers serving in China, Brian Joelun, the highest-ranking and oldest member of the British advisory group, "respectfully respectfully asks the Queen Mother of the Queen Mother's Jin'an." In addition, although the guest secretary was not an official diplomat, Qiao Bailun still conveyed the "high respect" of the "Queen Majesty" to the "Queen Mother"; Cixi also sent a message to Guan Zhuofan and asked Qiao Bailun to convey her "best wishes" to the "Queen Majesty".

The whole process of the audience was generally smooth and smooth, except for the time when Bishop was presented. Something went wrong.

This guy made the same mistake as Doolittle. One is because of nervousness, the other is what I see in my eyes, rich and beautiful, and thousands of decorates, I can't help but be stunned, fascinated, and even out of condition. First, when he got up, he was at a loss and pinned his own leg. A big stumble and almost fell. The bowler hat in his hand also fell to the ground, and after provoking the yellow mantle, he chuckled.

With a coquettish groan, Bishop became more and more depressed, and forgot to pick up the hat on the ground. When he left the big tent in a panic, he didn't know the direction, and he bumped into Dictor who was waiting outside the tent.

Every Yangqing who meets the Queen Mother has a reward.

Three generals, each of whom gave a jade Ruyi handle, a jade wrench, and a gold-plated short knife with a jade handle; Bishop was not a soldier, and the golden knife was replaced by a beeswax Buddha's hand.

The four school officials, each of whom gave a jade Ruyi handle and a gold-plated short knife with a jade handle.

Bishop's "loss of honor" played a role in diluting the tense atmosphere and reducing psychological pressure for Cixi. However, she didn't come out of that semi-trance state very quickly.

There was no outside scene to see from inside the tent, but the shadow of the giant ship still hung over her heart like the top of Mount Tai.

It's completely different from the feeling of the previous parade.

During the military parade, the majestic and strict queue and the overwhelming "Ula" seemed to be expressing support and loyalty to her alone, and this feeling quickly lifted her to the peak of the passionate waves, making her have the feeling that she looks down on the world and all the mountains are small.

However, the "King Umberto", a steel giant, in her consciousness, is really beyond the power of man, suddenly confronted, the first thing she felt was a deep sense of insignificance - she thought that she had mastered a great power, but there is a sky outside the sky, it turns out that there is a powerful force far beyond her imagination in the world!

At the same time, there is a sense of powerlessness that cannot be resisted; For the power to create such a steel giant, deep in her heart, she also developed an indescribable deep awe.

In fact, if we follow Cixi's logic for military parades and artillery exercises, like those well-groomed soldiers and cannons that open mountains and gravel cannons, this giant ship has actually been "used by me" -- it has already been bought. But under the huge shock and shock, for a while, Cixi was unable to establish a solid psychological connection between herself and the giant ship, that is, she had not yet clearly realized that the ship was "mine".

What's more, Cixi has been vaguely aware of a problem that she had never really thought about before: the same sharp weapon in her hand, but whether this sharp weapon was bought from someone else or made by herself is actually very different. It's like this huge ship, we have already got it, but this is bought from the British, we built it ourselves, where did we build it?!

If nothing else, just the iron used to build ships - where can you find so much iron?

Although this matter is far from being thought through, Cixi has already felt it: these are two forces that cannot be said to be the same.

After the audience, the Navy guard of honour was reviewed.

This "honor guard" is not comparable to the famous "honor guard of the three services" in later generations, so it can only be regarded as the "salute team" of the Xuan Army Navy. Of course, in this era, it is also dazzling: snow-white uniforms, shiny leather boots, fluttering hat belts, golden tassels, richly decorated naval daggers, and faces tanned by the sea breeze, angular and proudly raised high.

However, the attention of the Queen Mother could not be all focused on this divine "honor guard", because behind them was the black giant ship like a small mountain.

is still riding the "parade carriage", or Guan Zhuofan is serving as a "horseman".

When the leader of the honor guard let out a roar of "salute", Cixi did not forget to raise her hand, but Guan Zhuofan on the right could clearly feel the woman's slight restlessness and uneasiness.

Of course, it is not because of the honor guard, but because of the closer and closer to the giant ship, the sense of oppression is getting stronger and stronger.

Of course, no matter how much the royal sister is concerned, she will not lose her temper, and except for the personal Guan Jue Shuai, there has never been a second person who has noticed the strangeness of the Queen Mother.

After reviewing the Naval Honor Guard, it was time for the King Umberto to be renamed the Champion and the Durio to the Shot.

Guan Zhuofan recited aloud the holy decree of "giving names" to the two ships. As soon as the word "Chin this" fell, all the naval officers and men present shouted in unison: "Ula-! Ulla! Ulla! ”

There was a tsunami on the pier.

Cixi was slightly shocked, and this cheer, like a gust of wind, whistled in, swept over her heart, and blew away most of the shadow on it.

She looked up, looked at the two black giants, and took a deep breath.

When the military music was played, Kwan Zhuofan respectfully asked the Queen Mother to move to the stage and preside over the "bottle throwing ceremony" -- that is, throwing a bottle of champagne into the bow of the ship and crashing it into pieces.

The podium was set up on the shore next to the bow, one next to the "King Umberto" and one next to the "Durio".

A long pole protrudes from the side of the ship, and at the head of the pole hangs a red silk champagne with a neck, hanging above the ceremonial platform. As long as the bottle is pushed out forcefully, it will hit the anchor claw of the spare anchor hanging on the outside of the gunwale.

The original meaning of this "bottle throwing ceremony" is actually not the "broken peace" that Cixi understood.

Western countries have a habit of sailing at sea, if the ship is shipwrecked and there is no way to save themselves, the crew will write down their last words, put them in wine bottles, and throw them into the sea, hoping to be found and passed on to their families. Therefore, the meaning of "smashing the bottle" is to hope that there will never be such a drifting bottle at sea, which represents bad news, that is, to pray for the safety of the boat. At the same time, champagne is sprinkled all over the bow of the ship, which also has the meaning of warding off evil spirits and eliminating disasters.

However, according to the homonym of Chinese, it is understood as "broken peace", which is also a good intention, and it is also a prayer for the safety of the boat. Therefore, since the "King Umberto" was renamed "Champion" and "Durio" was renamed "Shooting Sound", the "authoritative expression" of the meaning of "bottle throwing" has become "broken peace" since the launch and naming of China's new ships.

The initiator, the Tongzhi pilgrimage to the Queen Mother Yehnara. Xingzhen is also.

*(To be continued......)