Indeed, as Du Yuesheng said, no matter how powerful their youth gang leaders are, it is impossible for them to enter the cultural and fashion circle. The salon of the French Consul General in Shanghai did not invite any gang members, and even if he came, he could only look at the gate from the outside.

Zhou Hexuan was startled when he walked into the living room, Nima's salon was too large, there were nearly thirty people, and even the spacious living room seemed crowded.

In addition to the wives of consuls and Western celebrities in Shanghai, Zhou Hexuan also saw several familiar faces. For example, Xu Zhimo, Lu Xiaoman and his wife, such as Liang Desuo, the editor-in-chief of the pictorial "Liangyou", as well as the painter Zhang Daqian, and Xu Beihong's wife Jiang Biwei (Xu Beihong did not come, he was studying wood carving in Jiangxi).

Another American female reporter, Smollett, attracted Zhou Hexuan's special attention. She came to China as a reporter for the German "Frankfurter Zeitung", but in fact she belonged to the International Communist Party, and later generations showed that she was very likely to be a Soviet spy.

There was also an ordinary-looking woman sitting on the sofa, named Zheng Yuxiu, whose husband had just become the mayor of Nanjing, and who was also a member of the Central Legislative Committee, the director of the Shanghai Trial Hall, and a member of the Shanghai Party Department of the Kuomintang. This is extremely rare in the Republic of China, where women are writers, poets, painters, and activists, but she has become a politician with her own skills.

Zheng Yuxiu's most famous story is the "Rose Branch Incident", when she was only a student in France, and because she was fluent in English and French, she was specially hired as an interpreter for the Chinese delegation at the Paris Peace Conference.

During the Paris Peace Conference, Foreign Minister Lu Zhengxiang received instructions from the Beiyang government to prepare to sign the traitorous contract. Zheng Yuxiu was in a hurry, broke off a rose branch in the garden, hid it in his sleeve to resist Lu Zhengxiang, and threatened: "If you want to sign, my gun will not let you go." Lu Zhengxiang was frightened and did not dare to go to Versailles, so he missed the signing time, and thus preserved China's right to take back Shandong in the future.

The most dazzling woman in the living room is probably Song Meiling. She has recently been in Shanghai to raise funds for Chang Kaishen, often attending various celebrity gatherings, and this time she was also invited by the wife of the French Consul General in Shanghai.

All the forces in the Central Plains War were short of money, and the Central Army was no exception.

Just last month, Chang Kaishen was short of money and asked Song Ziwen for military expenses many times. Song Ziwen spread his hands: no money.

Song Meiling begged her brother hard, but Song Ziwen still refused to pay military funds. In a hurry, Song Meiling handed over all the real estate under her name to her brother for sale, and Song Ziwen tried every means to raise money everywhere.

Sitting next to Song Meiling was Song Ziwen's girlfriend Tang Ying. Tang Ying's brother is Song Ziwen's friend and secretary, and the two have been eyebrow-raising for a long time, but Tang's father opposes his daughter to associate with Song Ziwen, so he has not been able to get married for a long time.

Yes, after Song Ziwen was snatched away by Zhou Hexuan, Zhang Leyi did not go back to find Miss Sheng Qi, who had been waiting for him for more than ten years, but married a new love-Tang Ying.

Historically, Song Ziwen and Tang Ying had an extramarital affair, and later Tang Ying's brother died (assassinated) because of Song Ziwen, and he cut off the idea of continuing to have a relationship with Tang Ying out of guilt, otherwise he might be another lover.

Tang Ying was just in her early 20s at this time, young and beautiful, and in a few years she would become a top celebrity in Shanghai, and she was as famous as Lu Xiaoman and was called "Southern Tang and Northern Continent".

As soon as Zhou Hexuan appeared in the living room, Mrs. Gan Gelin took the lead in applauding: "Welcome Mr. Zhou to our salon!" ”

After a burst of applause, Song Meiling smiled and stepped forward to shake hands and said, "Hello Mr. Zhou, I have admired my name for a long time." ”

"Hello Ms. Song, it's a pleasure to meet you." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, but he was thinking about the gossip of Zhang Xueliang and Song Meiling.

Everyone greeted each other, Zhou Hexuan sat on the couch on the right, and Lida, the daughter of the French consul, took the initiative to run to sit down with Zhou Hexuan.

In the beginning, everyone was talking about the novelties of Shanghai. Madame Gagelin began to lead the conversation to French literature, with Hugo, Flaubert, Balzac, Alexandre Dumas and Dumas in her mouth. Immediately afterwards, he talked about the Goncourt Literary Award, and discussed Zhou Hexuan's "The Goddess" by the way.

Zhang Daqian didn't know anything about this, and smiled and didn't speak the whole time. Xu Zhimo, Lu Xiaoman, Jiang Biwei and others gushed endlessly, which is an area they are familiar with, commenting on many French literary awards one by one.

Xu Zhimo made no secret of his reverence for Zhou Hexuan and praised: "Whether it is in terms of content or plot, Brother Ming Cheng's "The Goddess" is a masterpiece and can be on a par with Balzac. ”

Zhou Hexuan said modestly: "Shima praises it, I don't dare to compare it with Mr. Balzac." ”

A young man named Li Nianzu said with a smile: "Speaking of Mr. Zhou, I just came back from the United States last month, and the most popular thing in the United States today is "Titanic". Drama, Theatre, Musical...... There are all kinds of forms, and I heard that there are still people who want to adapt "Titanic" into an opera. ”

"Is "Titanic" a famous book by a great writer? How I haven't heard of it. Tang Ying suddenly interjected and asked.

"I know, I know," said Lida, the French consul, holding aloft the English version of "Titanic," "this is Mr. Zhou's latest work, which American critics have called the most classic love of the early 20th century." ”

Song Meiling said with a smile: "It turns out that Mr. Zhou's works are so popular in the United States, I must read this book when I go back." ”

"It's an honor." Zhou Hexuan said.

Song Meiling seemed to have heard her husband mention the relationship between Zhou Hexuan and Zhang Xueliang, and she suddenly asked: "Mr. Zhou is well-versed in the past and the present, and integrates China and the West, what do you think of the current war situation?" ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled and asked, "Does Madam Jiang want to hear the truth, or is it a lie?" ”

"Of course it's true." Song Meiling said.

"It's a mess." Zhou Hexuan said.

"What's the mess?" Song Meiling asked again.

Zhou Hexuan saw that everyone was looking at him, and smiled helplessly: "This war is undoubtedly provoked by Commander-in-Chief Jiang, and all forces are overdrawing China's national strength and fighting the largest civil war since the late Qing Dynasty. The Central Army was in a mess, and the local coalition forces were also in a mess. If it weren't for Feng Yuxiang's 'high merit and shocking the master', which aroused Yan Xishan's jealousy, the Central Army would have been driven out of Henan and Shandong long ago. Once the local coalition forces hit Jiangsu and Anhui, Commander-in-Chief Chiang had only the option of going to the field by power. Fortunately, Yan Xishan was short-sighted and had no bearing at all, and now the two sides have reached a stalemate. ”

Song Meiling asked, "Which side does Mr. Zhou think can win?" ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "I can only say that there are too many contradictions within the local coalition forces, and there is no hope of victory. ”

"Mr. Zhou thinks the Central Army will win?" Song Meiling said happily.

"That's all there is to it." Zhou Hexuan shrugged.

Mrs. Ganglin abruptly interrupted: "Today we are not talking about politics, but only about art and literature. ”

Xu Zhimo said: "I like Brother Mingcheng's recent song "Far and Near", you, look at me for a while, and look at the clouds for a while." I feel that when you look at me, you are far away, and when you look at the clouds, you are close. It's so beautifully written, intriguing. ”

"It's not as good as Brother Shima's "Farewell to Cambridge." Zhou Hexuan and Xu Zhimo touted each other.

Smollet suddenly said, "Mr. Zhou, Professor Toynbee has recently published two history papers in a row, and he said that he co-authored them with you. Can you tell us about that? ”

"Of course," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "Mr. Toynbee called this series of essays 'Historical Research', and I prefer to call it 'The History of Human Civilization.'" There are hundreds of large and small countries in the world, which we can divide according to different civilizations. For example, East Asia belongs to the Chinese civilization, and Korea, Japan, Vietnam and other countries are all branch civilizations of the Chinese civilization. Each civilization has the common laws of origin, growth, decline and disintegration, and the existing major countries can be summarized into three models, namely the Greek model, the Chinese model and the Jewish model......"

Zhou Hexuan talked a lot about human civilization, which is a relatively new concept to everyone. Since the audience is a novice in history, Zhou Hexuan tried his best to be simple and simple, not to talk about those awkward technical terms, but only to cite interesting examples of various civilizations, and to tell these as historical stories.

For example, the collapse of the Greek city-states and the Roman Empire made the foreigners here very interested, and they could immediately get a full house if they threw out a few more secret anecdotes about Plato and Socrates.

Salons, things that belong to the upper circles, are also the best way to make a name for yourself.

Zhou Hexuan completely became the protagonist of this salon, and as soon as the people who participated in the party went back to spread it, it immediately made Zhou Hexuan's reputation resounding in the circle of people and culture.

Smollet later wrote in "Oriental Observations": "He [Zhou Hexuan] was the darling of the salon, and he spoke loudly about the most cutting-edge historical scholarship, but he could make people who knew nothing about history listen to it with relish." There is an aura about him, as if the sun is shining brightly, and no one can ignore his presence......"