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Salute!

When the seventeen-gun salute sounded in Wuchang, they even had a sense of flattery for Wen Han and his party, who were accustomed to dealing with the Manchu government, although the 17-gun salute by the Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary was the norm in the world, and the last time in China, it was the first time they enjoyed such respect. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Everything that followed, as in European countries, was greeted by full-time officials, who spoke fluent English and did not arrogantly call them "tribute envoys", but greeted them according to European diplomatic etiquette. After a brief welcome, they boarded the carriage that had been waiting for a long time, obviously the people of Wuchang were used to foreigners, and no one even looked at these foreigners curiously.

In contrast, on the contrary, Wen Han He Bo and Hurd all stared at Wuchang with curious eyes, compared to Midile, who had already been to Wuchang, he seemed calmer, he looked calm, but the surprise on his face still revealed his true thoughts.

"Now the city is more prosperous than it used to be!"

Midil looked out the window at the street, when he came here last year, the walls were full of bullet holes and broken razors, the city was full of ruins, thousands of people were building houses, and now the streets here are more spacious than before, with three-story buildings on both sides.

"Their clothes are different from those worn by Chinese in Shanghai!"

"This is Hanfu! It is said that this is the real clothes that belong to the Chinese. ”

On the way to the hotel, they also saw soldiers patrolling the streets and alleys with Western-style firing rifles. On many walls, there are hair binding orders, citizens do not keep braids, almost all men tie their hair in a bun, tie their hair on the top of their heads with ribbons or strips of cloth, and of course many people have short hair.

After the carriage stopped in front of the hotel, he got out of the carriage and looked at the Western-style stone building in front of him, Wen Han's eyes were slightly surprised, and after entering the hotel, looking at the European-style decoration and crystal chandeliers, he even had a feeling of coming home.

"Your Excellency, you have been traveling all the way, and Han Du specially asked you to rest here for a night, and the meeting is scheduled for tomorrow!"

Li Shourong is fluent in English, so Wen Han said that as a protocol officer in the Foreign Affairs Department, this is the first time he has received a diplomat from a foreign country.

"I think here, we shouldn't suffer such humiliation as we did last time in Jiangning!"

After the Chinese protocol officer left, in a European-style room, he once again mentioned his trip to Jiangning last year.

"When I passed through Jiangning again, I looked at the gray Jiangning city wall from the telescope, and I couldn't wait to give the order to open fire, so that the so-called 'Heavenly King' could taste our cannonballs!" ”

The feeling of being humiliated when he was in Jiangning still makes He Bo indignant, and although a year has passed, he still forgets the humiliation he suffered at the beginning.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!"

"Every one of us is like that!"

Grab a glass of whisky and be able to drink authentic Scotch whisky here, although it surprises Wenhan, but it is expected.

"I'm very curious, what kind of person is that Han Du?"

Young!

Very young!

Although he had long known that this Han Du was only 20 years old, the moment he saw him, Wen Han was still surprised by his youth, in the eyes of Europeans, he was more like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, but this boy-like person ruled several times the size of the British mainland and 80 million Chinese.

"I've seen His Excellency Handu!"

Wen Han, Midile, and He Bo bowed respectfully.

Looking at the three Englishmen in front of them, the minister, the first secretary, well, and the admiral of the Far Eastern Fleet. Zhu Yifeng smiled, took the initiative to reach out his hand, and in Wen Han's surprise, he held him and said.

"Welcome, Mr. Minister!"

Although the handshake is the most common etiquette in the West, I have never used this etiquette in China, but the merchants of the old thirteen lines would use this etiquette, and now the outstretched right hand of this Han governor surprised the three of them.

The surprise of the three fell on Zhu Yifeng's eyes, which made him secretly proud in his heart, and many historical sources have mentioned that "from the day of the Macartney mission's visit to China, the British have always hoped to be treated as an equal by China", even after the outbreak of the First Opium War. However, the Manchu Qing still looked at the "Yingyi" with a kind of arrogant eyes, and in history, just a few years later, the Manchu Qing needed to face "how to obtain the equal treatment of foreign countries", and in the following nearly a century, it became the goal of Chinese efforts and sacrifices.

All the sacrifices and efforts are for the strength of the country, and also for the improvement of international status. Fortunately, it has not yet reached the moment when the international status has been completely reduced, and the "equality" that they have not deliberately shown may not have any impact on them!

The atmosphere of the next meeting seemed to be extremely harmonious, and the talks of several people were interrupted by laughter from time to time, and even together with the meticulous personality of Uncle He, he also let out happy laughter from time to time.

"Your Excellency, although London is the subject of Great Britain and must remain neutral, I believe that the Far East Fleet can cooperate more extensively with you in the joint elimination of piracy in the South China Sea."

He Bo, who was wearing a crisp blue twill navy uniform, looked at Zhu Yifeng with a smile on his face. The reason why he made this suggestion was not just to "help", but also to understand the strength of the Han fleet, after all, the level of artillery skills displayed in Jiujiang was far beyond his expectations.

"Cooperation with the British Navy is, of course, what we are looking forward to, and what the Han fleet needs, but now the strength of the Han fleet is too weak, it is simply not worth mentioning, there is nothing to hide in front of friends, and now my fleet is all warships transformed from merchant ships, so if possible, I hope to be able to purchase warships like the British, and send personnel to learn the navy like the British! Of course ......"

Looking at Uncle He, in the surprise of the other party, Zhu Yifeng continued.

"If I could, I would like my naval cadets to enter Your Excellency's fleet to study!"

For Wen Han's visit, Zhu Yifeng naturally hopes to get some rewards from them, for the purchase of warships from the United Kingdom, this is just the beginning, compared with the purchase of warships from the United Kingdom, he hopes that the students of the naval school can be sent to the United Kingdom to study and study the navy in the United Kingdom. Or be able to hire the best naval officers from England to assist in the establishment of a naval school.

As for wanting the Far Eastern Fleet to send trainees, it is because now that Britain and France have declared war on Russia, it is foreseeable that the Pacific Ocean will definitely be ablaze with gunpowder smoke in the future, and those trainees can be tested by the flames of war on the warships of the Far Eastern Fleet and gain experience in modern naval warfare. It's also an opportunity not to be missed.

Although he did not receive instructions from London, Wen Han, as minister to China, saw an opportunity that he had never seen before—the Chinese built up their navy and thus influenced them. This does not seem to violate London's rules of neutrality, and just when he hesitated, Zhu Yifeng emphasized it again.

"Your Excellency, we have procured four warships in the UK, and if all goes well, this is from the warships that will arrive in China this year."

The warship Zhu Yifeng mentioned was an unexpected gain from Guo Songtao's visit to Britain -- it was a warship purchased by Chile, and although it was not a large warship, it was just a sail steam cruiser, and although it was still a wooden hull, it was a real warship. For a variety of reasons, Chile chose to sell four warships that had already been built, and the price could be said to be very favorable.

And Guo Songtao was instructed before leaving China to try to buy warships if possible. Perhaps, Britain had already promised to remain neutral in China's civil war, but this did not mean that British merchants would give up their commercial interests. And in this era, even individuals can buy it, just like during the American Civil War, although the Southern Alliance did not receive foreign recognition, it did not prevent them from ordering warships and other weapons in Europe.

"What?"

looked at each other in surprise, for Wen Han, this was indeed very unexpected, they actually bought a warship in the UK.

"You've already bought warships in the UK?"

"By chance, I happened to buy four warships that were sold by Chile!"

Zhu Yifeng said with a smile, if it weren't for laying the foundation of the navy, he wouldn't have spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to buy a wooden-hulled warship that would be eliminated in a few years, compared to a wooden-hulled warship, he was more inclined to an ironclad ship, that was the future of the navy.

"That's why I hope that my naval students can be trained in the Far Eastern Fleet, Your Excellency, Colonel Hober, I don't know if you would like to help China build a modern navy!"

"Of course,"

After getting Wen Han's hint, He Bo replied directly.

"It will be my pleasure! His Excellency Hando. ”

Wen Han suggested that He Bo accept it because it was within his purview, and the Far East Fleet had even helped Siam train their navy a few years earlier. For He Bo, this was also an opportunity for him to learn about the strength of the Chinese fleet.

The atmosphere of the meeting was very relaxed from the beginning, for Wen Han and He Bo, this was the first time they were treated as real equals after coming to China.

Just when the atmosphere became more and more harmonious, Zhu Yifeng said with a smile.

"There is one thing that hangs between us and must be resolved, that is, you have connived at Hong Kong as a base to smuggle opium to China, I think no country has ever accepted smuggling, what do you think?" (To be continued.) )