Thanks to the blessing of that thin and ugly face, it has always been difficult for Wu Chaoyue to leave a good first impression, even Li Hongzhang, who has a good fight with the ancestors and grandchildren of the Wu family, if it weren't for Wu Chaoyue escorting his grandfather into Beijing and pulling out a gun to save the elders, Li Hongzhang probably wouldn't have bothered to say a word to Wu Chaoyue. But even so, Wu Chaoyue's first impression on Li Hongzhang was still not very good, and he felt that Wu Chaoyue was a stunned young man who loved to get into trouble, and he was also a gentleman who didn't know the height of the sky.

On the contrary, Wu Chaoyue's first impression of Li Hongzhang is very good, in addition to thanking Li Hongzhang for his righteous help, he also has a natural sense of intimacy with Li Hongzhang, who is also a member of the road, and on the way to the military department, he is constantly close to Li Hongzhang, even if Li Hongzhang obviously doesn't like to deal with Wu Chaoyue in his attitude, Wu Chaoyue doesn't mind, and he keeps saying that he is commensurate with Li Hongzhang as a brother, and he is so affectionate that he wants to burn yellow paper with Li Hongzhang on the spot as a brother, which makes Wu Jianzhang Wu Contest a little inexplicable. I don't understand why Wu Chaoyue is so stammered with Li Hongzhang, who met for the first time.

The Yamen of the Ministry of War directly opposite the Zongren Mansion soon arrived, and after thanking Li Hongzhang for his guidance, Wu Jianzhang personally took the official seal letter to the door to request to report inside, but I don't know if it was the door that deliberately made it difficult, or Wu Jianzhang's official language that was curled up with his tongue and sold was not standard enough, and the officers guarding the door did not understand what Wu Jianzhang's Cantonese Mandarin meant for a long time. Li Hongzhang, who was about to say goodbye to Wu Chaoyue, just wanted to go over to help, but Wu Chaoyue, who had never thought that he was despised, stepped forward first, and while using the Beijing dialect (that is, Mandarin) to help the comprador grandfather translate, he stuffed something into the manzi's hand.

Of course, the menzi knew that Wu Chaoyue's stuff must be silver, but after squinting and finding that it was a large piece of gold, the arrogance on the menzi's face immediately disappeared without a trace, replaced by a flattering smile on his face, and he could immediately fully understand Wu Jianzhang's Cantonese Mandarin. Seeing this scene, Li Hongzhang was inevitably a little curious, and asked Wu Chaoyue, who had retreated: "Wu Gongzi, have you been to the capital before?" ”

Wu Chaoyue shook his head and said that it was the first time he came to the capital, and Li Hongzhang was even more curious, so he hurriedly asked, "Then who are you talking to in this official language?" How can you be more authentic than I say? ”

Of course, Wu Chaoyue, who learned Mandarin in film and television, couldn't answer this question, but Wu Dada, the dog-legged man next to him, interjected and said proudly: "Master Li, what is this?" My young master Sun's foreign language is called a good one, my master has dealt with foreigners for decades, and he still admits that Young Master Sun's foreign language is better than his. And my young master Sun can not only speak foreign language, but also write foreign language! ”

"Wu Gongzi, can you read and write foreign Chinese?" Li Hongzhang's surprise was not trivial, and he immediately threw the idea of saying goodbye out of the clouds.

Wu Chaoyue was not modest, nodded with a smile, and added: "Only English can do it, other foreign languages can't." ”

"That's pretty remarkable." Li Hongzhang praised, and then asked: "Then what do you know about Western disciplines, Wu Gongzi?" ”

"This ......." Wu Chaoyue was a little embarrassed, and after thinking about it for a while, he replied: "Western physics, chemistry, geography, astronomy, law, politics, philosophy, biology, medicine, mathematics, calculus, evolution, relativity, and Hawking's paradox, I know a little bit about these, but I am not proficient in them. ”

After that, Wu Chaoyue, who loves face, also added, "But I am still a little confident in the subjects of chemistry, mechanics and astronomy and geography, even if I go to the Royal Academy of Sciences of foreigners, I will not have stage fright." Wu Chaoyue's words are really not bragging, just Wu Chaoyue has been hiding the bitter and sour secret in his heart, once it is thrown out, it is enough to make all Western countries crazy. In addition, there are safe explosives made of nitroglycerin and diatomaceous earth, which can definitely make Wu Chaoyue leave his name in the history of science.

The look of surprise on Li Hongzhang's face disappeared, and he also added a braggart comment to Wu Chaoyue in his heart, disappointed, Li Hongzhang gave his hand again and said: "I didn't expect Wu Gongzi to be so proficient in Western disciplines, I admire it, but it's not too early, and there are still some things in the next, so I will leave first, and I will have the opportunity to ask Wu Gongzi for advice another day." ”

I had long seen that Li Hongzhang was not very kind to him, and Wu Chaoyue was not reluctant, but just returned the salute and said: "Brother Shaoquan, please do it, thank you Brother Shaoquan for today's matter, and the younger brother will definitely come to Brother Shaoquan's house to thank him another day." ”

Li Hongzhang nodded with a smile, politely said goodbye to Wu Chaoyue, and after walking away, Li Hongzhang couldn't help but snort coldly in his heart: "Physical chemistry, astronomy and geography, medicine, mathematics and biology, do you know anything about these Western disciplines?" How old do you dare to brag about such a, if you really know a little bit about everything, then the teacher gave me the comment of the genius of Tianzhong, I should give you ......, and so on! ”

Talking to himself, Li Hongzhang suddenly shook his whole body, subconsciously turned back to look at Wu Chaoyue, and exclaimed in his heart: "Isn't it right? How does he know that I am Shaoquan? Didn't I say that just now? ”

Of course, Wu Chaoyue didn't know that his casual words had completely changed Li Hongzhang's impression of him, and he just waited patiently for Wu Jianzhang to report out at the entrance of the military department, but after waiting for more than half an hour, although Wu Jianzhang finally reappeared in front of Wu Chaoyue, he ordered: "Grandson, just leave a few people for me, you take the rest to the Guangdong Guild Hall, and I'll go there to find you when I'm done." ”

"Grandpa, you're not done yet?" Wu Chaoyue hurriedly asked.

Wu Jianzhang nodded, and said with a somewhat complicated expression: "Just now, Lord Zeng, the right attendant of the military department, met with me, saying that he wanted to take me to the military aircraft department to meet with the lords of the middle hall to discuss the matter of negotiating with foreigners. He also said that if my blessings are shared, maybe I can see the emperor again. ”

In this case, seeing Xianfeng may not be a good thing, Wu Chaoyue understands this very well, but Wu Chaoyue has no other way, so he can only whisper: "Grandpa, whether you can see the emperor or not, in the military aircraft department, you must not say death, you can only say do your best, otherwise, the trouble will only be greater." ”

"You don't need to teach this, grandpa has been an official for a few years, and he knows this truth." Wu Jianzhang sighed, and then also advised: "When you get to the Guangdong Guild Hall, stay here, don't run around, and don't turn your foreign guns on every turn." ”

Wu Chaoyue agreed, told Wu Jianzhang to let the servants prepare snacks and eat as a precaution, and then according to Wu Jianzhang's instructions, he left a few entourages for Wu Jianzhang to call, and asked the door that stuffed gold just now about the location of the Guangdong Guild Hall, Wu Chaoyue took the rest of the entourage out of Chongwen Gate again, all the way to the Guangdong Guild Hall next to the current Longtan Park, rented a few rooms in the guild hall to rest, and will also eat in the guild hall. However, just as they were eating, someone came to the door of the Guangdong Hall and asked to meet Wu Chaoyue by name.

As soon as he arrived in the capital, someone named him to see him, Wu Chaoyue once thought it was Li Hongzhang who he had just met, and happily greeted him out in person, but found that the person who came was a man in his thirties who had never seen before. ”

As soon as he heard that it was Li Hongzhang's colleague, Wu Chaoyue did not slack off, and hurriedly invited Song Jin to the hall to set up a wine and hospitality, and then carefully asked about Song Jin's intention, Song Jin was not polite, and said directly: "Wu Gongzi, I came to make amends to you for the same year." Today, when you entered Chongwenmen, you had a conflict with the tax collector, patrolling the street imperial history, that is, my Fan Hui of the same year, was unclear for a while, and he offended you a lot in his words, and he regretted it very much afterwards, and I hope you will forgive your sins. Brother Fan said that he would make amends to you in person another day, but he was afraid that you would not appreciate your face, so he asked me to come first to confess his guilt, and don't care about his negligence. ”

"How big is it?" Wu Chaoyue laughed when he heard this, and said: "Brother Song, please rest assured, I will never take that kind of trivial matter to heart, and your brother Fan Nian doesn't need to put any wine, make an appointment with a time and place, I will invite you to dinner, and everyone will make friends." ”

Song Jin was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly thanked Wu Chaoyue again and again, and very politely raised his glass to toast Wu Chaoyue repeatedly, just saying good things for the royal history of the street patrol, and constantly praised Wu Chaoyue's filial piety in escorting his grandfather into Beijing.

When the wine was nearly drunk, it was already dark, Wu Jianzhang never came back, and Song Jin did not have any intention of saying goodbye and leaving, out of politeness, Wu Chaoyue invited Song Jin to stay in the Guangdong Hall, Song Jin heartily agreed, but when Wu Chaoyue called someone to open a room for Song Jin, Song Jin waved his hand to stop, shook his head and said to Wu Chaoyue: "Wu Gongzi, you and I have fallen in love at first sight, and the wine has not yet been enjoyed, why don't we call some wine and food to your room to drink, and get drunk before resting." ”

If it was replaced by the previous Wu Chaoyue, he would definitely agree in one bite, but now Wu Chaoyue must always keep a clear head in order to give ideas to the comprador grandfather as a staff officer, so Wu Chaoyue wanted to refuse when he opened his mouth, but he thought that Song Jin would throw out a piece of broken silver to call wine and food, and also asked Xiao Er to send it directly to Wu Chaoyue's room. Wu Chaoyue had no choice but to agree, and at the same time, Wu Chaoyue's heart finally became a little suspicious, and he said secretly: "Isn't it right? This Song Jin, why does it seem like he wants to deliberately get me drunk? ”

After all, he had been mixed in a state-owned enterprise, and he was suspicious, so Wu Chaoyue was vigilant, and when he returned to the room with Song Jin to continue drinking, Wu Chaoyue not only left Wu Dada in the room to wait, but also shook his head and pretended to be drunk with no preface. The result was not as Wu Chaoyue expected, Song Jin, who was still talking about some gossip and anecdotes in the capital before, gradually changed the topic, and talked about Wu Jianzhang's entry into Beijing to negotiate with foreigners this time, so he said casually: "Brother Wu, I heard that Wu Daotai entered Beijing by order this time, and he came to help Lord Qincha negotiate with foreigners, is it true?" ”

"Sure enough, it came." Wu Chaoyue snorted coldly in his heart, but his head shook and said vaguely: "Of course it's true, otherwise what is my grandfather doing in the capital?" ”

"The court really chose the right person this time!" Song Jin sighed loudly, shook his head and said: "From Macao to Guangzhou, and then from Guangzhou to Shanghai, for decades, Wu Daotai has always dealt with foreigners, and I don't know how many foreigner friends I have met. ”

"Of course." In order to test Song Jin's true intentions, Wu Chaoyue deliberately followed his words, while pouring wine for Song Jin and deliberately filling the glass, pretending to be drunk, and said inarticulately: "I ......, my grandfather not only knows many foreigners, but also knows many big names among foreigners, such as the shareholder of the East India Company, the consul of England, the consul of Belgium, the consul of the United States, Qi Liyun, and my grandfather are good friends, and I live next door to his house in the concession ......." Oh, by the way, even the negotiator of the foreign fleet who came to Dagukou this time, cloth ......, cloth what, anyway, it is the French minister, he and my grandfather are also good friends, iron buddy, ....... ”

Speaking of this with tongues and teeth, Wu Chaoyue was already so drunk that he had already climbed on the table, and Wu Dadao, who was waiting in the room, hurriedly came over to help, but was scolded by Wu Chaoyue, "Get out, I'm not drunk, I hit it off with Lord Song, and I have to drink three more pots with him, and ten more pots ......." ”

Song Jin's city government was extremely deep, and his face was still a drunken expression, only some strange colors occasionally flashed in his eyes, and he also said to Wu Chaoyue with the same inarticulate speech: "Then ......, that Brother Wu, before Wu Daotai entered Beijing this time, he should have discussed with the foreigner consul in the Shanghai Concession how to talk about it, right?" ”

"Why do you ask this?" Wu Chaoyue no longer blindly pretended to be stupid, and asked vigilantly rhetorically, and probably guessed the true meaning of Song Jin.

"Just ask." Song Jinyi waved his hand, shook his head and said with a smile: "The relationship between Wu Daotai and foreigners is so good, and the departure place is Shanghai, where foreigners and consuls are gathered, I don't believe that the foreigners didn't discuss negotiations with Wu Daotai in advance." ”

"I see, I'm here to spy on intelligence, and I want to find evidence of my grandfather's private collusion with foreigners."

Came to a conclusion in his heart, Wu Chaoyue denied it with a smile on his face, and shook his head drunkenly and said that there was no such thing, Song Jin laughed and said: "Brother Wu, you and I are familiar at first sight, do you need to hide such a thing from me?" Say, is there any? Do you have? ”

"No, of course not." Wu Chaoyue continued to deny with a smile, first filled the wine glass to Song Jin and himself with trembling hands, and then said with a smile: "But Brother Song, don't worry, this errand is over, my grandfather has to be promoted to the first level and a half, when the time comes, I will invite you to go to the Shanghai Concession to drink, and then find you a few foreign women in the concession, let's play with foreign women, ...... at the same time, and drink ...... at the same time." ”

Speaking of this, Wu Chaoyue covered his mouth, bent over and rushed out of the room to find a place to vomit, Wu Dadao also hurriedly followed out to wait, leaving Song Jin alone in the room to calculate, and said secretly: "I can't imagine that this gentleman's mouth is still very tight, no, I have to continue to talk, if I want to help my teacher get rid of the crime, I can only get ironclad evidence of Wu Jianzhang's secret collusion with foreigners from this gentleman!" ”

It was a long time before Wu Chaoyue stumbled back with the support of Wu Da, shouting loudly to continue drinking with Song Jin, Song Jin couldn't ask for it, and Wu Chaoyue drank a lot of wine, during which Song Jin mentioned Wu Jianzhang's negotiation with foreigners several times, Wu Chaoyue was triumphant and boastful, and his words were full of hints that Wu Jianzhang had contact with foreigners beforehand and had deals, Song Jin listened to the secret joy and silently remembered, and finally Wu Chaoyue was overwhelmed with alcohol, and vomited on the spot in the room again, Song Jin stopped drinking, Sleep with Wu Chaoyue.

When the sky was slightly bright, Song Jin suddenly found that someone was calling Wu Chaoyue in a low voice, and hurriedly continued to pretend to be asleep, while carefully opening his eyes to observe the situation, and found that it was Wu Dadao who was shaking and calling Wu Chaoyue last night. But Wu Chaoyue was very drunk, and it took a long time before he woke up in a daze, and asked inarticulately, "What's the matter?" ”

"The French Minister, Monsieur Bourblon, sent a letter." Wu Dadao handed a letter to Wu Chaoyue, and said in a low voice: "Come and explain, let the master burn it immediately after reading it!" ”

"Got it." Wu Chaoyue took the letter, stuffed it into the quilt, and ordered in a vague voice: "Go out, don't call me for breakfast." ”

Wu Dacheng sang a promise, lightly exited the room, and closed the door smoothly, Song Jin was overjoyed, patiently waited for Wu Chaoyue's snoring to start again, and silently counted hundreds of snoring times to confirm that Wu Chaoyue had fallen asleep, Song Jin lightly lifted the quilt, got the letter just sent, took a cursory glance and found that the letter was sealed by fire paint, Song Jin thought for a while, immediately stuffed the letter into his arms, and then quietly slipped out of the room............