The cold winter of 1915 came, as usual, and the normally calm atmosphere in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States of America, was shattered by a large crowd of people of all kinds.

By 1 December, the delegations to the International Naval Conference had not yet arrived, and there had been waves of security officials, journalists who believed that news was their life, elusive spies and intelligence agents, businessmen with a keen sense of smell, and tourists who liked to join in the fun. As a result, the streets and alleys of Washington can be seen at any time with different faces, skin colors, and people dressed in different colors, and business-minded Americans will naturally not let go of this great opportunity to make money.

"Boss, do you have any spare rooms?"

That's pretty much the phrase White has heard the most in recent times, and his response is invariable: "No, it was full a week ago!" ”

"We just need one room!"

"Not a single one!"

"I'll pay double the price!"

Only then did White raise his head and look at the comer, there were three people on the other side, wearing uniform gray trench coats, and each carrying a boxy suitcase in his hand. The middle-aged man at the front was not tall but looked strong, his eyes were slightly narrowed, and he looked shrewd and capable, and he was the one who spoke just now. The two people in the back were slightly taller, but neither of them was more than 1.8 meters, about twenty-seven or eight years old, they were both wearing sunglasses, their beards were obviously freshly shaved, and there was no expression on their faces.

"Triple as much!" White held out three fingers unequivocally.

"To be in the back room, preferably on the 3rd floor!"

"That's five times the price!"

"Deal!" Middle-aged people are equally unequivocal.

After accepting the deposit, White did not register, and immediately shouted to the back:

"Skinny. Take these three guests to 303! ”

"Roger!"

A tall, thin young man walked up to the three of them in front of the room behind the counter, and made a gesture of preparing to carry their luggage for them, but the middle-aged man immediately waved his hand and declined.

He was also happy to be called a "thin man", "This way, please!" ”

After "Skinny" left with three customers, White buried his head behind the counter and ticked off "303" on a piece of paper marked with a series of numbers. At this time, the occupancy of hotels in Washington, D.C., large and small, was quite good, and many hotels were even overcrowded early. But on White's piece of paper, there are still more than a dozen unticked numbers.

About two minutes later, the thin man came up the stairs with a clatter, and White heard him muttering "a bunch of countrymen."

"Hey, thin man, these aren't rednecks!" White said with a wicked smile, "You'd better stay away from them, and don't beat their minds!" ”

"Oh?" The thin man walked to the counter, looked in the direction of the stairs, and asked White in confusion, "Are they gangsters?" Killer? Or ......"

"Wrong! They are military men. Professional soldiers! If I'm not mistaken. Either they are Germans or Russians! ”

"Boss, how do you know the ground?" The thin man looked at White seriously. That is, the owner of this inn, looked puzzled and curious, "It can't be that they told you!" ”

"Lak Lak ......" White curled his tongue in a strange tone, "Germans and Russians are usually used to pronouncing it this way, and even if you speak English, it is difficult to avoid it completely!" Looking at the way they walk, the average person usually doesn't line up in such a straight line! ”

"Oh...... "Scratching his head," the thin man scratched, "but why don't they stay in the big hotel that the government has arranged for them like everyone else?" ”

"I don't know, but they're willing to pay five times the price, and it's in this place far from the city center, and I think only soldiers in the world would do such stupid things. Replace it with a gangster or a killer, hum ......" White made a neck wiping gesture.

"What the hell is logic!" The thin man muttered again, and then slipped back to the room behind the counter.

"Ghost logic? Look, maybe they've got weapons in their boxes! White shook his head self-deprecatingly, his hotel was not in the center of the city but it was easily accessible, and the Anacostia River was less than 300 meters behind the hotel, from which you could see Pennsylvania Avenue and the Capitol across the river. There was still a week left before the International Naval Conference, and in addition to the three suspected military guys in 303, there were several mysterious people living in the other rooms on the third and third floors in his small hotel. For this kind of guest, White didn't ask much, but silently charged them several times more money, which was also his own unique way of making money and preserving his life.

As for the three people who lived in a small room of less than 20 square meters at five times the price, they did not seem to be dissatisfied with the slightly humble environment, and they seemed quite satisfied since they were sure that they could see the US Capitol through the windows of this room. After carefully examining their room, they began to talk in a low voice in Russian:

"Major, it looks pretty good here, you can see the target through the window! It's just that I don't really like the greedy boss, he actually asked for 5 times the price without changing his face, do you think he will be alert and attract the police? The guy with the slab had been listening to the door for a while, making sure that no one was watching, before he complained angrily.

"Don't worry, I think the boss is a shrewd man, he asks for money, we ask for something, each takes what he needs, and each has nothing to do!" The middle-aged man, the "major" as the former said, it is not difficult to see in his words that he is old and sophisticated and not stingy with small money.

The third man, with a shaved face and hair longer than the shoehorn, had not spoken since he had entered, and after surveying all the corners, he very carefully placed the three boxes they had brought with him into the bedside table. The three chests were extremely ordinary in appearance, almost the same size, and as for the weight, it was not very difficult to hold them with a face.

After putting the box away, he sat down on the bed next to the cupboard, took out a black and shiny revolver from his clothes, and wiped it without saying a word.

Ban Cunyi sat down next to his face, lifted his right foot and left foot in turn, wiped the dust on his boots with his hands, and then said with a smile. "Sharpshooter, don't let your gun go off, or we'll be in big trouble!"

He didn't bother to cut his face, and with a click, he pulled out the bullets from the pistol, and then carefully wiped them one by one with a handkerchief.

"Second Lieutenant, your task is to stay in your room and look at the three boxes, and don't let anyone in while we're away, especially the owners and guys of this inn! Remember! The middle-aged man told him carefully. Then he picked up the hat that was resting next to him, "We'll be back in about three hours, and we'll be back with dinner by the way!" ”

Peeling his face and snapping upright, "Obey!" ”

The middle-aged man patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction, and Bancun had already gently walked to the door and pressed his right ear against the door, and nodded at the middle-aged man after a few seconds.

After the middle-aged man left with the board inch, the young man with a shaved face took out a dozen bullets from his pocket and wiped them seriously one by one. His life seems to be constantly wiping weapons and bullets, and he doesn't even bother to glance at the fancy world outside.

That same evening, the German and Austro-Hungarian delegations arrived in Washington, D.C. The U.S. government specially held a grand welcoming ceremony for them. The enthusiasm for the triumph of the heroes was faintly felt, and despite the unprecedented scale of the war waged by the two countries a year ago, their arrival nevertheless offered great hope for easing tensions in the Pacific.

Meanwhile. The much colder Norfolk military port also welcomed Russian and Japanese delegations. The Russian fleet was the first to enter the port, followed by the Japanese fleet, and it was noticed that the smiles on the faces of the American Navy officers and men had decreased slightly, and it was also found that the Tsar and the previous German Kaiser were also absent from the welcoming ceremony, but the Russian Empress was not inferior to the German Empress a day earlier.

"Your Majesty, the special envoy sent by the US Secretary of State asks for a meeting!" While the chamberlain was reporting, Aglini was flipping through the documents sent from home, still with a sullen expression on his face.

Seeing that the Tsar did not speak, Linda made a decision on her behalf: "Please let him in!" ”

"Yes!"

After the attendant went out, Aglini said angrily, "What do they want?" Do you want us to undergo a full body check-up? ”

The reason why Aglini complained so much. The most direct reason is that the US Navy sent so-called "navigators" to board all Russian ships before entering the port, and required all Russian ships to be in an unarmed state before entering the port. Although the Germans, Austrians, and Japanese were similarly bound when they entered the port, the Tsar had to regard this as discrimination against Russia. It is no wonder that the injustice suffered by Russian representatives on various international occasions is not only in recent years, and not only in Europe, but also in the minds of the people, Russia is synonymous with barbarism and backwardness.

Linda was very calm, "Your Majesty, I don't think they dare to do anything bad at this joint, and they will not favor the Japanese delegation with their relationship with the Japanese government." Listen calmly to what they have to say! If it's really hard to accept, we can protest by withdrawing from the meeting! ”

Aglini let out an "um", put down the papers in his hand, and sat down next to Linda. After a while, his attendant entered with a tall, blond man in a black dress, who spoke in fluent Russian:

"Your Majesty, Honorable Emperor and Empress, on behalf of Secretary of State William Jennings Brian, I would like to convey my Government's high respect for your country! Thank you to Your Majesty the Emperor and Empress for leading your delegation to the United States, and wish you two good health and happiness, and wish your country prosperity and prosperity! ”

"Oh, convey to me the goodwill of Mr. Brian and your government!" Aglini said a lazy polite word, while Linda on the side smiled kindly and elegantly.

"Willing to help!" The one who comes owes the body and waits for the other party to give him a seat.

Agliini didn't invite the other party to sit down, and Linda didn't speak.

After nearly half a minute of silence, the American envoy seemed to have given up his wish to sit down with the other party, and stood as he wished: "Your Majesty, according to the arrangements of my Government, your fleet will stay in Norfolk for one night and then go to Battilmore, and from there we will travel to Washington, D.C., all of which we have arranged. It's just that...... We want to conduct a routine inspection of this cruise ship without disturbing the rest of the two to ensure their safety in the United States! ”

"Does our security in the U.S. have anything to do with searches, crowns, and numbers?" Agrini asked dissatisfiedly.

The envoy hurriedly replied: "Back to Your Majesty, although there is no direct connection between these two matters, we want to make sure that there are no accidents!" ”

"Rest assured, we don't have any extra weapons on board, no smuggling supplies, no drugs or anything!" Linda was still smiling gently, but her words were very sharp.

The envoy was a little nervous, "Your Majesty, that's not what my government meant......"

"Oh, then don't bother your government, I'll let my soldiers check it out later!" Mr. Special Envoy, any questions? Aglini unceremoniously prepared to give the eviction order.

The envoy panicked, "Your Majesty, according to the arrangement of this international naval conference, the ships of all countries have been inspected, if you are the only exception, I am afraid that the representatives of other countries will have opinions!" ”

"They're on a warship, I'm on a cruise ship! Mr. Special Envoy, please do not confuse civilian ships with warships! Aglini's tone became more and more stiff, and Linda put away her smile at this time.

The envoy began to secretly wipe his sweat.

"By the way, Mr. Special Envoy, has the Japanese delegation accepted your request for an inspection?" Linda asked suddenly.

"This ......," the envoy did not know how to answer.

At this time, another American envoy also hit a nail in the coffin with the head of the Japanese delegation.

"Check? Joke! Allowing your navigators to board the ship is already an exception, and you want to scrutinize it? Mr. Special Envoy, do you know what a military secret is? Do you know what a state secret is? If this top-secret level is threatened, then we, the Japanese government, would rather withdraw from this naval conference! Foreign Minister Kato Takato, the deputy head of the Japanese delegation, was obviously particularly tough, backed by a strong Japanese navy, and the veteran diplomat naturally knew what kind of diplomatic rhetoric to adopt.

"But ......"

"No need, either cancel the inspection, or we will go home, you choose!" Minoru Saito, the other deputy head of the delegation, also spoke in a tough tone.

"Well, I will convey the opinion of your delegation to my superiors!" The envoy finished speaking and walked away.

"These bastards are actually trying to offend the military might of my Great Japanese Empire!" Saito scolded angrily.

"Saito-kun, you don't have to compete with these little characters!" Shigenobu Okuma, known as the "old man", comforted the angry Admiralty unhurriedly, "We should leave our strength at the negotiating table!" ”

After strong opposition from the Russian and Japanese delegations, the United States authorities reluctantly withdrew their request to board the ship, but when the two delegations disembarked at Battilmore, the American officials who came to receive them paid special attention to the luggage carried by the delegations and inspected them in the best possible secrecy. Fortunately, the final result was a relief to the US authorities, but this does not mean that the world is peaceful. In the corner of the last page of the Washington Daily that day was the following message:

"It is reported that at midnight yesterday, there was an exchange of fire between our border guard forces and a group of armed smugglers in the border area between Ashland City and Quebec City, Canada. The exchange of fire lasted for nearly an hour, with injuries on both sides, and finally the remnants of the smugglers fled back to the Canadian side of the border. ”