While speaking, Basiri walked towards Chang Zhenbang with a smile, opened his hands and gave him a bear hug, and said, "Your Excellency Chang welcomes you to the afternoon tea below." ”

Very polite words, but when he said this, it was really as funny as it was, Chen Die couldn't help laughing, Lu Xiaozhu glared at her, but she couldn't help but smile and her face was really uncomfortable.

Chang Zhenbang smiled and said in Brazil's ear: "These two are my wives, they are not used to European etiquette. ”

Basiri nodded, coming to China for so long, in addition to not speaking Chinese well, he still knows very well about the etiquette of the Chinese, these beautiful Oriental women are conservative and do not even want to leak their hands, how can they accept the kisses and hugs of Europeans, especially the female relatives of these Oriental officials. Thinking of this, he smiled slightly at Chang Zhenbang's wives, bent down and stretched out his hand to give an extremely standard gentlemanly courtesy.

Lu Xiaozhu and Chen Die, although they don't understand Western etiquette, they still know the actions of this invitation, and after glancing at each other, they proudly followed the gesture of Basili and walked over.

In the green area of the garden, near the flowing water, a white flower shelf stands very naturally, and under it are laid with ironwork tables and chairs with very ingenious shapes, and the beautiful and generous consul's wife has filled them with rich pastries and special teas.

After they sat down, the consul's wife gently poured a cup of bright and sweet black tea for them, Lu Xiaozhu and Chen Die were afraid of embarrassment for the first time participating in this kind of occasion, so they all hoped that the other party would drip water and benefit themselves, naturally no one would do anything, Chang Zhenbang was a smart person, naturally knew what they were thinking, and immediately took out a piece of Western pastry from the plate and said: "Xiaozhu, Xiaodie, you're welcome, you can eat whatever you want, you can drink whatever you want, the taste of afternoon tea is freedom." As he spoke, he threw the pastry in his hand into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and put the cup

Chang Zhenbang took a sip of black tea lightly and said with great enjoyment: "What a wonderful Assam black tea." ”

The consul's wife was very happy to hear this, and said, "I am glad that Your Excellency can like it. Saying that, he poured another cup for Chang Zhenbang, with Chang Zhenbang's exemplary role, Lu Xiaozhu and Chen Die also knew how to do it, Chen Die looked like Chang Zhenbang, and picked up the pastry in his photo unceremoniously and ate and drank, Lu Xiaozhu couldn't help but be a little embarrassed when she saw it, she smiled lightly at the consul's wife and nodded, picked up a chocolate cake in front of her and gently put it in her mouth, took a bite slightly, the sweet taste was instantly filled, Lu Xiaozhu was very surprised that she didn't expect this Western pastry to be so delicious, I took a bite very unkindly, this pastry was not big, Chen Die took one bite, but she had to eat four or five bites to solve one, but obviously she had a more oriental demeanor.

Seeing that the ladies were eating well, Basiri gently took out two wine glasses, poured a little brandy each, and handed Chang Zhenbang a glass, Chang Zhenbang stood up and took it, and then left the table with a smile, and when they came to a suitable place for conversation not far away, Basiri said: "The empire is not very approving of the fact that the president of your country will ascend the throne and become emperor now. However, this does not mean that the empire is against Lord Yuan becoming emperor, but it just feels that it is not the right time now. ”

Chang Zhenbang said lightly: "When the Qing court collapsed, only Yuan Shikai and Lord Yuan could turn the tide and give countries a stable investment environment in China, so Lord Yuan got your friendship and help, and now Lord Yuan has defeated the rebellion in the south, and the situation in our country is unprecedentedly good, why does the British Empire feel that it is not appropriate to give President Yuan a crown now?" ”

Basiri smiled and said: "Now your country is ostensibly unified between the north and the south, but in essence, the central government of your country is simply unable to integrate local forces, relying on the powerful force of the Beiyang Army to deter the Quartet. ”

Chang Zhenbang didn't expect that the vision of this foreign devil in Brazil would be so monopolistic, and he could see through the shortcomings of today's China at a glance, and he couldn't help but admire it in his heart, people have grown from a small country to an empire where the sun never sets in three hundred years, and it is really not in vain, since the other party is an old Chinese medicine doctor, he will not play home remedies, he simply told the truth, and said: "The consul's views coincide with those of Chang someone, and Lord Yuan's military and political ability is obvious to all at home and abroad, but in today's strange situation, I don't think it's necessary to be emperor, at least for now it's much more secure to be Cromwell than to be Napoleon. ”

"Your Excellency's opinion is very wise." Basiri said: "Now that the president of your country has become Cromwell, our minister in the process of communicating with him, President Yuan does not seem to have the idea of ascending the throne and becoming emperor, but your country has a long history of emperor culture and history, in the situation of the country's new unification, it is natural for someone to move the imperial system, although the president of your country is wise, but after all, he is also a person who has gone through most of his life from the imperial era, to be honest, he is more suitable for the empire than the Republic of China, if the national people are available, Lord Yuan may really agree to ascend the throne as the emperor." ”

Chang Zhenbang heard the words of the people's hearts of the whole country, and he suddenly remembered the Fengtian Daily in the official document that was burned after reading, and couldn't help laughing, and said: "If President Yuan has the intention of becoming the emperor from the beginning, it is not bad, after all, with the means of Lord Yuan, he can still rule the river if he can't be Qin Shi Huang, if Lord Yuan is tricked and decides to be the emperor halfway, it will be a disaster!" What the subordinates can do is to maintain local stability and law and order. If one day Chang is unable to maintain the stability of Jiujiang, he hopes to extend a hand of friendship with the help of the empire. ”

Basiri said: "Your Excellency, rest assured, when necessary, the empire will give you appropriate help, after all, maintaining the stability of the concession area The empire has its own unshirkable responsibility." ”

Chang Zhenbang said lightly: "Thank you consul for your understanding, the British Empire's views are very appreciative, but Dongying seems to be intent on disrupting the form of peace in the Far East, on the one hand, they mobilized a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources to create momentum to help President Yuan become emperor, and on the other hand, they actively qualified Sun Monkey to rebel in the south and coastal provinces, I don't know what the consul thinks of your allies' behavior of sowing discord!" ”

"Stability is the pursuit of the Empire, and no matter who the allies are, the attitude of the Empire will not change!" Basili said proudly, after all, Dongying is an emerging empire, neither the background nor the martial arts are not as strong as the British Empire, but in order to contain the power of Lao Maozi in the Far East, Japan was chosen, if the First Sino-Japanese War, China won, today's Anglo-Japanese alliance will be changed to the Anglo-Qing Alliance. Therefore, in terms of occupying the Chinese market, the British Empire will never let the Dongying people be too presumptuous, and this is the truth that Brazil said.

"There are no eternal friends, no eternal enemies, only eternal interests!" Chang Zhenbang said lightly.

Basili was stunned for a moment, smiled, and said, "Politics is a game that mature people can afford, and you are welcome, my friend." Saying that a bear hugged him, Le's Chang Zhenbang almost ran out of breath.

Chang Zhenbang said lightly: "Thank you for your praise and recognition, Zhenbang is willing to become a friend of the empire, and in the next imperial campaign, he will ensure the stability and prosperity of the British Empire within the Jiujiang range, and at the right time, he will stand up to ensure the stability of the empire in the entire Jiangxi range, and in return I hope to get the support of the empire." ”

"This is the happiest news I've heard today." Basiri said with satisfaction: "But there is an invading enemy, and the empire will definitely blockade Poyang Lake and give the other side a military and political deterrent!" ”

These sounds beautiful, but Chang Zhenbang knows that all this is very empty in Basili, and it is impossible for the British Empire to directly interfere in China's internal affairs, at most it is just to set aside a protective land for his family within the Jiujiang lease, but it is better to have a promise than no promise. Thinking of this, Chang Zhenbang smiled slightly: "I hope that your country can provide me with two precision machine tools that can be used to manufacture guns and ammunition." ”

"The empire is not rich, but it can help adults find cheap merchants to order. ”

"The Jiujiang army is more than trained, the ammunition is insufficient, but the Sun Monkey rebels have the help of Dongying, once the rebellion is successful, these rebels are except for the Dongying people, no one's account is bought, even if the empire and Dongying are allies, those people will not take care of it, Dongying's heart to dominate China is still the same, if you borrow a knife to kill, and instruct Sun Monkey's rebels to expel foreigners, then the empire's power in Jiujiang will be greatly damaged, and I hope that adults will think twice, but two machine tools can ensure the stability of the empire in Jiujiang, This account is still worth it, and I hope that the adults will not shirk it. Chang Zhenbang said lightly.

The smile on Basili's face slowly froze, and he said coldly, "Lord Guardian, are you intimidating the Empire? ”

Chang Zhenbang said: "Zhenbang is just showing his value in front of the empire, as for whether Zhenbang is worth it, it depends on the Pinggu of the empire." ”

Basiri said: "A person's value depends on his actions to show, maybe the adult is worth these two machine tools, or maybe it is not worth it, it is not for you and me to judge, but you can rest assured that I will consider this matter and write to His Excellency the Consul General." ”

Chang Zhenbang raised the wine glass in his hand and said, "I wish you a happy cooperation, and I wish you and me a long friendship!" ”

Basili also raised his glass, and then the two men looked at each other and smiled.

After the official talks, the two people talked about some private matters, the anecdotes they each encountered in Jiangxi, and in the midst of laughter, the personal friendship between the two people popped up a small spark, Chang Zhenbang couldn't help but praise: "The consul's Chinese is very good, since the empire is not rich, why should it be equipped with a translator?" Wouldn't it be nice to be born? ”

"My Chinese is very British, and although daily communication does not hinder it, it cannot show the dignity and demeanor of the British Empire, so it is necessary to have a good interpreter officer." Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary, I will not be embarrassed to come out with a strange Dongying Chinese like the Japanese consul. ”

"It's all damn bureaucracy." Chang Zhenbang couldn't help but smile when he heard it.

Just when the two of them were talking and laughing, and talking happily, suddenly a riot broke out on the side of afternoon tea, only to see Lu Xiaozhu and Chen Die angry one by one, and rushed out of the consulate with a blue face, and then the consul's wife rushed over with a guilty face, and said something English and Chinese to Chang Zhenbang, Chang Zhenbang's ears straightened goosebumps, but he finally understood what the consul's wife meant.

It turned out that the consul's wife was in the courteous reception of Chen Die and Lu Xiaozhu, and the three of them gradually became one, talking and laughing, in general, it seemed to be a great thing, but there was no essential difference between this foreign girl and the Chinese girl, they all liked to gossip around, or jealously or excitedly talked about the shortcomings of the Li family of the Zhang family.

It's nothing about these vulgar things, the three of them talked and laughed and didn't know how to talk about how each other's husband and wife met, which was a topic full of disgust and embarrassment for Chen Die, when Lu Xiaozhu was elated, her eyebrows fluttered and she said how she saved Chang Zhenbang in the battle, how the two people met, how they fell in love and finally married themselves, which provoked the consul's wife to applaud and practice, full of envy, Lu Xiaozhu couldn't help but be very proud, but Chen Die said: " Do you know the Miss Lu of the Lu family's sealed wine? One sentence extended everyone's topic to Lu Xiaozhu, and the self-proclaimed consul's wife of Jiujiangtong naturally talked about Miss Lu's mother very happily. Lu Xiaozhu turned his face on the spot, almost took the case, and pointed out that Sang scolded Huaidi and told how Chen Die used his sister's identity to seduce Chang Zhenbang, so angry that Chen Die's face was almost on the ground, and after the consul's wife noticed that something was wrong with the two people, the two of them snorted coldly and rushed out of the consulate.

Chang Zhenbang listened and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Dear Your Excellency and Mrs. Basiri, thank you for providing such a rich afternoon tea for the elderly, although the two of you have been in Jiujiang for a long time, many things about the polygamy system of the Chinese are not as good as European gentlemen imagine, please allow me to retire and comfort the two ladies." He bowed slightly and walked away.

Chang Zhenbang went out of the consulate and found that the Buick car and the driver were still there, but the two ladies were missing, grabbed Ma Ben, and asked where the lady was, Ma Ben said: "The two ladies have already left in a rickshaw." However, the subordinates have already let people follow, and the two ladies will not be in any danger. Chang Zhenbang breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, although the rickshaw is convenient, but there are hidden bandits, there are many people who abduct and sell women and children, Lu Xiaozhu and Chen Die are his beloved, and Chen Die is pregnant with his child, which is absolutely not allowed to be missed, and he was relieved when he heard that Ma Ben was following. After hesitating for a long time, he figured out that the two people had already returned at the speed of the rickshaw before letting Ma Ben drive back to the yamen of the town guard.

He let out a long sigh, these two people were ugly in front of the consul's wife today, and it would be a gut battle after they returned. However, there are some things that must be faced when they are done, and some mistakes that must be borne when they are done. This is a man's responsibility, thinking of this, Chang Zhenbang couldn't help but be a little frightened, he folded his hands, and prayed to the gods and Buddhas to let him satisfactorily solve the contradiction between Lu Xiaozhu and Chen Die, let Lu Xiaozhu recognize Chen Die, let Chen Die respect Lu Xiaozhu, and let his child be born safely. However, after looking at the dull atmosphere in front of the yamen, Chang Zhenbang had a premonition that he was in a catastrophe.

This article is from Reading Book King Novels