When the train arrived at Federal Station in Washington, there were already horse-drawn carriages waiting outside the platform. This time, without too much red tape, Guan Zhuofan and Cameron were guided by the escort of the last two carriages carrying guards, and a total of four carriages galloped along Massachusetts Street to the northwest.

Turn onto New York Street at Mount Vernon Square and head southwest. And at the intersection of New York Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue is the White House.

At this time, it is not called the White House, but in Guan Zhuofan's mind, he has unconsciously called it the White House, otherwise he has to roll in his head every time he thinks of it, which is really annoying.

In Washington, the capital of the United States, Guan Zhuofan has the impression of a huge barracks. Tents were set up on every meadow along the way, and there were people with guns everywhere, including Union soldiers in blue uniforms, and many militiamen in various costumes who had been transferred from the states to "King Qin".

The other impression is not very good - it is not a clean city. Animal waste is everywhere, dead animals are not uncommon, garbage is piled up on street corners, and a strange smell of rotting food, sweat and gunpowder smoke floats in the air.

Kwan reminded himself that it was the middle of the nineteenth century; Also, when marching and camping, the health problem is not harmful, but life and death.

The sanitary regulations that have been promulgated in the Songjiang Army have also begun to be implemented, but the intensity must be strengthened, the expected level of this era is not high enough, and the importance of hygiene is combat effectiveness, and the importance is not under the cannons and bullets; If you don't pay attention to hygiene, you will send guns and cannons to the enemy, and you will send people to your head.

Arrived at the destination. Guan Zhuofan got out of the carriage. Cameron stretched out his hand. to show the way. The guards in charge of the guard raised their hands and saluted them. Guan Zhuofan smiled and greeted, but-

This...... Is it the White House?

Guan Zhuofan had been mentally prepared enough in advance, before the crossing, he had not been to the United States, but he had heard a lot of saying that the White House meeting was not as famous as it was famous, and he was prepared to be "smaller" than he imagined or in his impression.

However, this "White House" is not only "small", but also "small". And also. The shape is not right.

In front is a white two-storey rectangular building.

Guan Zhuofan has the impression that the White House should be a building complex, why is it such a lonely building?

Also, the middle part of the White House should be protruding and arc-shaped, while this "White House" is completely square-headed.

Also, he remembered that the White House was three-storey, and this "White House" was clearly two-storey.

Also, is this the South Lawn? Will it be ...... A little smaller?

A sense of time and space confusion caught Guan Zhuofan, and he was confused. A ridiculous idea came up uncomfortably: this time and space I traveled through couldn't be different from the original one, right?

It was getting late. The sun is slanting to the west, and the white buildings are shrouded in a faint golden glow. At the opening of the gate, four huge portico columns stand silently in the setting sun.

Guan Zhuofan's heart moved: The sun is on my right hand......

A bright light flashed through my mind.

I now face south, and the doors of this building open to the north......

This is the South Lawn, this is the North Lawn!

It dawned on him that his memory was quickly mobilized:

The White House is a building that sits south and faces north, and the image that appears in the media is basically its south-facing side, including the south lawn, the front of the building is convex into an arc, and so on, while its door is open to the north.

The lawn is low in the south and high in the north, and the White House is actually three floors, but because of the topography, the floor directly entered from the north gate is actually the second floor, although it is called the "first floor" in English.

From the south, you can clearly see the first floor of the White House, the so-called "ground floor".

As for the complex...... Guan Zhuofan also remembered: The east and west wings of the White House were added later, and at this time, ...... That's all.

I've been in a Chinese house for too long, and I instinctively think of all the buildings as if I were sitting north and facing south.

Thinking about this, I couldn't help but laugh dumbly, and then my heart was relieved, and when I looked at the White House, this sense of disobedience became interesting.

Guan Zhuofan's profession has nothing to do with aesthetics, but even in his eyes, this building looks nondescript, it is ...... Weird.

The base is in the style of an English country house, but with a huge portico to the north and a huge verandah to the south; The north portico has eight columns, four on the front, two on each side, and six columns on the south verandah, and the fourteen huge stone pillars are blocked before and after, and the White House becomes a Greek temple.

Guan Zhuofan thought that this should be very much to the appetite of the founding fathers of the United States -- the destiny of heaven.

An almost undisguised aura of deity.

Of course, he also knew that the house was not white, but gray and red. Forty years ago, the British set a fire to the shelf, and rebuilt it after the war, painting it white to cover up the traces of the fire. After that, it will be wrong, and the exterior will be decorated with white building materials.

Walk into the White House.

It's not bad, not to mention the gold pile, it can also be called elegant.

It's just that in this era, there are no electric lights, only gas lamps, and the light inevitably dims a little.

Passing through the large entrance hall and hallway, he and Cameron were led straight to an oval house that was far north and south from the gate.

The ceiling and walls of this house are white, but the carpets, curtains, tables and chairs are all blue, decorated with gold lace, which should be roughly in the style of the French royal family of the same era, and it looks magnificent.

The sunset spilled in obliquely through the window, and Guan Zhuofan looked at it, and the green grass outside the window was the South Lawn, which had the highest exposure rate in later generations.

His heart moved, this floor is the "first floor", that is, the so-called "national floor", this oval house is located in the middle of the southern half of the floor, which should be the famous "Blue Hall". The "Blue Room" has always been used to receive more important guests, and in history, Chen Lanbin, China's first envoy to the United States, was in the "Blue Room" by the then U.S. President Rutherford? It was 1878 when Hayes met him.

Now, advance to 1863.

Footsteps sounded, and the waiters shouted a roll call: "The President of the United States of America has arrived!" ”

Guan Zhuofan's heart pounded.

A tall man walked in briskly.

A broad forehead, a long, thin face, deep-sunken eye sockets, a clean-shaven upper lip, and a signature beard on the chin. Guan Zhuofan suppressed his excitement and couldn't admit his mistake again: the 16th president of the United States, Abraham? Lincoln.

Guan Zhuofan and Cameron took off their top hats and bowed slightly.

Lincoln stretched out his hand to Guan Zhuofan: "Yixuan, it's a pleasure to meet you." ”

Guan Zhuofan was stunned, the pronunciation of the two words Lincoln said was a little awkward, but he heard it right, it was not "Your Excellency the Marquis", it was "Yixuan".

It's so informative, and it's an interesting start.

He then turned around on a thought: Americans have really done their homework.

Guan Zhuofan shook Lincoln's hand: "Your Excellency, Xiexie, your invitation." ”

Shaking hands with this historical figure more than 100 years ago made him feel a strange feeling in his heart.

"This is a rare meeting, and I am very grateful to your government for the decision made, and I thank you and your 27,000 soldiers for coming to the United States from thousands of miles away." Lincoln smiled and said, "Before we get down to business, I wonder if I have the privilege of giving you a small gift." ”

With that, Lincoln let go of his hand and turned his head. An attaché standing behind him walked up, holding a small box in his hand, and after he was settled, he opened the lid to the president.

Lincoln picked up a pentagonal metal object with a blue ribbon tied to it from the box, turned to Kwan Zhuofan, and changed his name.

"Your Excellency, Marquis, in recognition of your unparalleled courage and remarkable dedication, I, Abraham? Lincoln, in the name of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America, I hereby award you the Congressional Medal of Honor. ”

Yes?

Guan Zhuofan was taken aback at first, maintained a polite smile on his face, looked at Lin Dabeard, and secretly glanced at the bronze badge in the box from the corner of his eye.

To or not to?

It was as if there was a kitten's paw scratching and tickling in his heart.

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