Chapter 1001: Under the Dragon's Banner

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Text Size:

Appearance:

"The general office of the Naval Division Academy of the Ordnance Bureau wants to meet me and asks me if I would like to go right away? I agreed. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info it's about five miles from there to the Ordnance Bureau. We (and a friend who is good at horseback riding) started the trek. We crossed the White River in a flat-bottomed boat, followed by a long horseback ride. There was only one path, but Pritchard kept chatting as he walked through the potholes, and my horse could only jump forward like a cat. I felt very uncomfortable at first, and I didn't complain after all, but I was swayed in the saddle. I think there must be a horse here. The monthly rent for hiring a horse and a groom is 7 taels of silver, which is equivalent to $5.60 we have there. ”

"Alright, finally arrived at the Ordnance Bureau. It was a four-mile radius where all kinds of weapons were made - cartridges, bullets and shells, engines, and other things. Inside, the Sailor School is surrounded by moats and walls. I don't think I'd be admitted as a cadet here with what I did at the U.S. Naval Academy. I was guided by a servant through several courtyards to a room decorated with ebony furniture, where I was warmly received by the General Office. We sat in Chinese chairs drinking tea and talking, with a professor who had studied abroad acting as an interpreter. The Governor said that I had done well and that the Governor would appoint me as an instructor in the subjects of ship piloting and the use of firearms. I was also in charge of courses in navigation and nautical astronomy, or training army and artillery cadets, and teaching how to build fortifications. The annual salary is equivalent to our $1,800, which is paid separately in gold coins each month. However, I want to rent my own house, that's what they mean. But as soon as I showed my hands at work, my salary immediately increased. They asked the governor to give me 130 taels of silver a month and to arrange a house, but the governor said I was still a child. In his eyes, I'm still very young, I've only been here for a week, and I don't have any guarantors, maybe I'm a liar. But after all, he was willing to pay me 100 taels a month's salary, and promised that if I did a good job in the Sailor Academy, I would be promoted to a contract of three years. A few months later, I was assigned to take command of an armoured training ship - now she was repairing it in dockyard - until a captain hired from the British Navy took over. ”

"I, only twenty-four years old, became a captain in such a short period of time, much faster than in our navy. Of course, I'm going to be here for a while before I go back home and become the captain of our navy. I accepted the appointment and was in office within a week. My house is also arranged, with a very long and wide balcony, with a garden, planted with apricots, which are blooming; The front half of the house is a hall, measuring 18 feet by 15 feet, with a roof 13 feet high; The other room was bigger, with a domed skylight in the middle of the roof that let in sunlight and I could put a shelf here to plant flowers. The government of Qianguo equipped my house with beds, tables, chairs, sideboards, sofas, stoves. There was also an American-style fireplace, but I didn't really need it. In winter, it freezes and snows here, but the thermometer never drops below freezing. The pots and pots used in daily life should be bought by themselves. They equipped me with two servants and a cook. And I only left the chef. Their monthly salary is only $4 to $5.50, which is just too little. I'm going to stay here, what do you think? I would like to ask Jim to send me all my books on the use of guns, geodesy, ship steering, mathematics, astronomy, algebra, geometry, spherical trigonometry, quadratic curves, integralism, mechanics, and all the other books with the spine written 'Published by the Naval Institute' in a box. And of course a few pictures, you know I'm going to love it, and now I don't even have a picture of you, or your father, or any other family member, including Carrie. ”

"I replied on time, didn't I? Next week's reply may be a little later. I don't have a lot of money on hand right now, so I can't do anything for the time being. The American consul, General Bromley was delighted. The translators said he was happy with my performance in the interview. ”

"In a few days I will go to Beijing and I want to go tiger hunting in Mongolia. But for now I have to study, work and learn to speak the Chinese language. I'm the only instructor here who has to teach both ship driving and gun use, so I need to understand everything in theory and practice. But it's also good for me, the only question is whether it will be possible for me to return to serve in our Navy in the future. I think this worry of mine has affected me a lot. If the U.S. Secretary of the Navy understands that the skills I have gained here far exceed the gains I might have gained in the service at sea, then he might have given me two years of leave with half pay or 1/4 of my salary, or even no pay, but kept me on the officer roster of the U.S. Navy. ”

"I'll talk about it later, I love you."

In many of his letters, he revealed his desire to one day return to serve in the navy of his homeland. He never gave up on the idea. This is the sincere love of an American serviceman for his homeland. By this time, a bill to reconvene the demobilized naval cadets had been submitted to Congress. When Majifen heard the news, he called it "my bill". "It's going to pass," he said, "I'm tired of waiting, but it's definitely going to have time for us to come back or we're going to lose the chance." You should let me know as soon as you have any news. "Unfortunately, the bill was rejected by the Congress, and Majifen will continue to live in a foreign land to teach his Qianguo students. Like this time, many of the young officers of the Qianguo who participated in the Qian-Japanese War were his students. With the expansion of the Beiyang Fleet, his position was also raised, and his salary increased. He obtained more Mexican silver coins (Mexican silver coins that flowed into China at that time were allowed to circulate in the Qianguo Kingdom, and were commonly known as "Eagle Ocean"), more servants, larger houses, and more colored buttons on military uniforms (the officers of the Beiyang Naval Division distinguished their ranks by the pattern of buttons on their uniforms). In return, he brought the experience of the U.S. Naval Academy to the Qianguo Naval Academy. At that time, there were many foreign employees in the navy of Qianguo and Japan. Now there is also an American employee in the Japanese Navy, American officer Horn W.H. Denison. But Majifen is undoubtedly the most conscientious of the foreign employees. At that time, almost every officer regarded the exploitation of money from the people and the government and dereliction of duty as commonplace. Majifen was very incorruptible, and did not receive kickbacks for the orders of shells or materials used to make rifles. On Thanksgiving Day one year, he arranged a grand dinner party to which all the naval officers of the Qianguo Navy, who had been trained in Tianjin, were invited. It was an unforgettable moment, and the officers of the Qianguo Navy who attended the banquet had all come from Lushun, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

During these two years, Magiffen served as an instructor in ship driving and gun use, commanded the training ships of the Sailors School, and trained newly ordered torpedo boats.

In his letter to his family, Majifen proudly described his situation in Qianguo, and tried not to worry his family, he teased their worries, talked about some ridiculous things he saw through the window, a child asked him for a Qianguo stamp, he also revealed that he would travel with everyone as soon as his health improved, he thought that his time in Qianguo was incomparably beautiful, "My money-sparing motherland deprived me of the opportunity to serve, but I had the opportunity to dedicate my loyalty, skills and courage to the people under the other flag, I'm incredibly proud of that. ”

Soon after, Ma Jifen received a special task -- to take the opportunity of the long-distance training to send Lin Yiqing's wife Li Sizhu to the United States to meet him.

Koukou

Koukou )

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Back to Book