The Christian era was dated September 25, 1792, in the 57th year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. With the financial support of the British East India Company, a fleet of ships of the third class with the battleship "Lion" as the flagship sailed out of the British military port Portsmouth, and the destination was China, thousands of miles away. The ship was loaded with 600 boxes of birthday gifts prepared by King George III for Emperor Qianlong, including two state-of-the-art howitzers, a steam engine that was the culmination of British industry, and countless cultural classics. This fleet was the mission to China led by Lord Magalny. At the initiative of Britain, the two superpowers of East and West at that time began the first official collision in history.

The eighteenth century was a century of great change, when England was entering an era of wealth and change at an unprecedented rate thanks to the improvement of textile technology and the steam engine. The ancient agricultural empire of the Far East is still immersed in the phantom of the prosperous Kangqian era. This was a failed diplomatic move, and the Qianlong Emperor did not accede to the British trade demands, and the Magalny mission had to return home a year later. And it was this diplomatic contact that made the British realize that the outwardly strong Oriental Dragon was just a frail old man. Upon his return, almost all of the members of the mission became staunch hawks, and tried to persuade the parliament to take military action against the Qing state. Forty-eight years later, the British fleet returned to the coast of China again, but this time, the British brought not goodwill, but artillery! What was not obtained forty-eight years ago, the British got by force.

Just as Lin Zihan was thinking back to the harrowing history of China's modern history, Mrs. Bernard took General Bernard in her arms and walked over with elegant steps: "Mr. Wickham, it is a pleasure for you to attend the ball that Bernard and I are organizing. Well, did you invite any beautiful lady to dance with you?"

Lin Zihan and Nelson hurriedly stood up and saluted: "Madame, you are polite, it is my honor to be able to attend the evening party at Viscount Bernard's mansion." "Now that you know the identity of other people, you can't get along as casually as before. Mr. Bernard noticed Lin Zihan's politeness, and secretly thought that this young man already knew his identity: "Wickham, you are a friend of our Berner family, do friends need this?" Lin Zihan smiled and said, "Your Excellency, of course I regard you as a friend." Lin Zihan secretly complained in his heart, this is a formal occasion, if he treats the Berner family with a casual attitude, then his reputation in the upper circle will not stink.

Nelson was excited, this was a good opportunity, if he could get a different look from General Bernard, then there was hope for the opening of the Admiralty. Nelson nervously gave a military salute: "General Bernard, I'm Horatio Nelson!" Nice to see you. ”

General Bernard nodded at the officer, who was already in his thirties, how could he not know that Nelson, that his subordinates had reported the lawsuit to him. As a powerful faction in the military, how could he not know what those hypocritical and greedy members of the parliament are doing in the Caribbean, what those guys are doing is simply chilling to the king. Wang ** people are fighting fiercely with the turtles of the Continental Army on the front line, but the group of pig teammates in China are digging into the corners, and they instantly feel betrayed.

Berner felt guilty about Nelson, after all, Nelson was just acting on orders at that time, but he was unjustly punished for harming the interests of the moths, and the Admiralty did not save his own people, which is simply a shame for the military.

"I know your affairs, don't worry, the Admiralty will not forget you, an excellent naval officer." When he said this, Berner was already thinking in his heart that Nelson had been idle for almost five years, and no one should remember the turmoil of that year, so should he reactivate this nice young man next?

Nelson said with some excitement: "General Bernard, as long as I can return to the warship, I am willing to let me become a sailor again."

General Bernard nodded and turned his gaze to Lin Zihan again: "Wickham, you should know something about Eastern culture, or I will introduce a new friend to you, I believe you will have a lot to talk about." Seeing this, Nelson took his own acquaintance and walked away.

Lin Zihan replied with a smile: "Thank you very much Mr. Berner for your introduction." With that, he picked up his glass and walked with Mr. and Mrs. Bernard to the other end of the hall.

On this side of the hall, a middle-aged man in a black dress adorned with various large and small medals was surrounded by a group of noble ladies talking. The ladies made no secret of their affection for the old gentleman, and from time to time they covered half of their faces with small Spanish fans and smiled reservedly. Damn, in front of him, Wickham's original technique of hooking up with a girl is simply a trivial thing, Lin Zihan looked at this benevolent brother who was comfortable among all kinds of flowers, and couldn't help but complain in his heart.

General Bernard greeted the middle-aged man, "Lord Magalny, it seems that you are still so popular with ladies, no different from twenty years ago." Magalnilu shrugged his shoulders indifferently: "Viscount Bernard, what's the use of being popular with the ladies, I was the one who lost back then."

If there is a situation, there must be an inside story! It seems that something must have happened between General Bernard and Magalny! Lin Zihan swept back and forth on the faces of the two of them a few times, and the fire of gossip in his heart was blazing. For this kind of thing that has never been recorded in the official history, it has always been the thing that history lovers are most interested in, which is why so many people like to watch wild history.

General Bernard could not deny it, but the posture of holding Mrs. Bernard was even more ambiguous: "You are right, Lord Magalny, this is indeed a thing to be proud of. Viscount Bernard slightly sideways revealed Lin Zihan behind him: "Old friend, the past has become history." Now, let me very solemnly introduce you to a friend of mine, George Wickham. He has a certain understanding of the Qing Kingdom, and I am sure that Mr. Wickham will be of some help to you on your future journey to the East. ”

Lin Zihan saluted Magalny: "Good day, Lord Magalny."

Magalny looked at Lin Zihan curiously, and there were not many people who could make Bernard introduce him ceremoniously: "Good day, Mr. Wickham." Lin Zihan was stunned, he didn't expect Magalny to speak Chinese. That's right, the phrase "Good Day" Magalny was spoken in Mandarin, but instead of Mandarin, he used Cantonese. In fact, Margarny was skeptical of Bernard's statement that Lin Zihan understood Chinese culture, so he said a word in Chinese, which was also a kind of temptation and school examination.

Lin Zihan didn't know what the middle-aged man on the other side was paying attention to, so he said in standard Chinese: "Hello, Lord Magalny." Magalny frowned, he really didn't understand what Lin Zihan meant, he had only learned some Cantonese from the staff of the East India Company. Looking at Magalny's confused expression, Lin Zihan explained: "Lord Magalny, I am speaking the official dialect of the Qing Kingdom, that is, the Beijing dialect, and what you just said is only the local dialect of Guangdong Province of the Qing Kingdom." Sample, what to pretend in front of Lao Tzu, brother is like a fake Chinese, can you be stumped by the Chinese of your three-legged cat?

Magalny is really a figure who can leave a mark in history, and he did not show any embarrassed expression on his face, but said eagerly: "I didn't expect Mr. Wickham to know so much about the Qing Dynasty, which made Mr. Wickham smile." It is a pity that the membership of the mission has been fixed, otherwise I would have recommended to His Majesty the King that Mr. Wickham join this greatest diplomatic operation in history. ”

Lin Zihan's heart shook violently, this is a good opportunity to return to his hometown! To be honest, Lin Zihan has never regarded Britain as his motherland, in the end he is just a Chinese in white skin. When he first came to this world, Lin Zihan didn't think about returning to China, but the transportation in this era was not developed, and the sea route to China was very dangerous in this era, and he didn't have enough money to pay for this kind of long-distance trip, so he gave up. Now that Magalny casually mentioned it, the idea of going home immediately surfaced in Lin Zihan's mind. Damn, if you can become a member of the mission, it won't be a public trip, where can you find such a good thing! But this guy Magalny is too good at teasing people, so he can stir up his brother's interest, and he can be dismissed with a pity!

Lin Zihan wanted to test and see if there was a chance: "That's a pity, Lord Magalny, you know, it has always been my lifelong wish to go to the great empire in the East to see it." Is there really no chance to enter the Qing mission? I think my knowledge of the Qing Kingdom will remove a lot of unnecessary trouble from your visit, Lord Magalny. ”

Margarny didn't know why the young man across from him wanted to go to the East so much, but said in a regretful tone: "I'm sorry, Mr. Wickham. The list of envoys this time was drawn up by Prime Minister Pitt Jr. himself, and then submitted to His Majesty the King for approval, and I am afraid that it is no longer possible to change it. As you know, we're leaving next month, and it's a bit too late to change appointments. ”

Lin Zihan's expression was a little gloomy, the most painful thing about a person is that after giving him hope, he completely destroyed this hope!

General Bernard patted Lin Zihan on the shoulder and comforted: "Young man, there is no need to be so disappointed. Your life has just begun, and there will be opportunities to marry China in the future, so you don't need to rush it. ”

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little awkward, Magalny took the initiative to say to Berner: "Viscount Bernard, may I ask if I have a chance to meet the captain of the Lion, after all, I will take the Lion to China this time." Bernard hurriedly said, "Lord Magalny, I have this intention." After speaking, the two said sorry to Lin Zihan and walked towards the naval officer.

As soon as the two of them left, Nelson appeared in front of Lin Zihan with a wine glass: "Wickham, you don't seem to be very happy when you look like you, is it because of that lord?" Lin Zihan quickly adjusted his mentality and said freely: "It's nothing, it's just that I can't enter the Qing mission this time, and I feel a little lost."

This dance lasted until about three o'clock in the morning, which made Lin Zihan sigh, I didn't expect that the Europeans of this era already had such a rich nightlife, which was just a fight with the night owls of later generations. Nelson and Lin Zihan left each other's mailing addresses before leaving the Berner house.