Western countries are facing the dawn of the future, while Qianguo is always facing the dark night of the distant past!

What can we do to break this long night?

"Lord, Xu Guantai is invited." A guard reported at the door.

"Okay, I'll go over here." When Lin Yiqing heard that it was Xu Chuanlong, the pipe band of the "Weijing" gunboat where he was now, that he invited him over, he immediately got up and changed his clothes.

Lin Yiqing changed his clothes, and together with the guards, he left the cabin and came to the deck.

Seeing Lin Yiqing appear, Xu Chuanlong, the pipe band of the "Weijing" ship, immediately hurried over to greet him.

The forty-year-old Xu Chuanlong's thin appearance, not tall figure, and strong tone between his eyebrows are very different from the generals of the shipmaster and sailors that Lin Yiqing had seen before.

Xu Chuanlong is a native of Yin County, Ningbo Prefecture, Zhejiang, born as a martial arts boy, and learned driving, guns, English and other skills with foreigners very early. At the age of 16, he went from the Shanghai Capture and Pirate Bureau to the internal and external sailors as an errand boy, and his maritime experience was very rich. Tongzhi has been the first thousand presidents for 3 years; Tongzhi was the first to guard for 4 years; Tongzhi was appointed as a guerrilla general in 7 years; Tongzhi had the rank of general soldier in 13 years, but after he arrived at the Nanyang Naval Division, he was never promoted, but stopped there.

Maybe it's because he is not confused but his career is not smooth, Xu Chuanlong's eyes always have a hint of melancholy.

Xu Chuanlong stepped forward to greet Lin Yiqing, and was very respectful to Lin Yiqing, Lin Yiqing knew that this captain, who was more than ten years older than himself, was hindered by his status as a first-class baron, and he was not as open as the captains of the shipmaster and the Beiyang sailor, so he couldn't help but sigh secretly.

Although the Nanyang Naval Division is also equipped with steam-hardened warships, the appearance of officers and men. There is a world of difference between it and the shipmaster and the Beiyang sailor!

It stands to reason. After his uncle Shen Youdan served as the governor of Liangjiang. I think I will take the good experience of being in charge of Fujian, but why did the Nanyang Navy become like this?

"Brother Xu doesn't need to be polite, thanks to Brother Xu for taking a lot of photos these days, I just want to thank Brother Xu." Lin Yiqing wanted to get closer to the captain of the Nanyang Naval Division, so he said with a smile, took a brocade box that had been prepared from the guard, and sent it to Xu Chuanlong.

The living conditions on board the "Weijing" were much worse than those of the high-speed notification ship "Flying Tiger," but Xu Chuanlong still made arrangements as much as possible. Let Lin Yiqing and his entourage live comfortably on the boat, but they are limited by financial resources and cannot be better entertained, but Xu Chuanlong's dedication, Lin Yiqing still sees it. Today, he specially prepared to give Xu Chuanlong a gift to express his gratitude.

Seeing Lin Yiqing giving him a gift, Xu Chuanlong's eyes flashed with surprise, and his hand instinctively wanted to take the brocade box, but at the moment of reaching out, he suddenly became hesitant again.

Lin Yiqing smiled and opened the brocade box. Show the contents in front of Xu Chuanlong.

The brocade box contains a set of beautifully made study utensils, and the inkstone is a inkstone. The pen is a lake pen, the ink is a set of gold carved ink, and the inkstone is the Rui beast carved by Hetian Qingyu, each piece is exquisite and abnormal, Xu Chuanlong saw it, and a trace of joy flashed in his eyes, although it was only fleeting, but it was still seen by Lin Yiqing.

The reason why Lin Yiqing gave Xu Chuanlong's study utensils was because when he visited the captain's room, he found that the captain's calligraphy was very good, and the calligraphy of the shipmaster and the generals of the Beiyang Navy Division was also good, but the military atmosphere was very strong, not like this Captain Xu, it was Lin Yiqing's judgment, he had purchased a lot of gifts in the Ryukyus for the dots after returning to China.

"It's just a literary play, it's not a tribute, I bought it in Ryukyu Japan, and I asked Brother Xu to laugh." Lin Yiqing said with a smile.

Xu Chuanlong obviously likes these things very much, but he doesn't understand why Lin Yiqing wants to give such a heavy gift to his small pipe belt, he likes to play with the elegant room, and he has studied it very much, just now he recognized it at a glance, the inkstone in the box is a fine inkstone, and it is an ancient inkstone, it is very rare, it is very valuable, and it is rare to send such a thing between literati and scholars, he stared at the inkstone for a while, then took a deep breath, took the box, and knelt down on one knee to thank him.

"Lord Lin is so generous, how can he repay it!" Xu Chuanlong said gratefully.

"Brother Xu doesn't have to be polite, please get up quickly." Lin Yiqing hurriedly helped Xu Quanlong up.

"This Fang Shi inkstone, it seems to be an ancient inkstone, it is extremely rare, Lord Lin is afraid that it is not easy to come, right? How dare I take such a heavy gift? Xu Chuanlong said to himself.

"Brother Xu doesn't know, the Japanese people learn my Middle-earth culture, very experienced, its ability to know the inkstone, still in the middle of the famous family, after the Hongyang Rebellion, the famous ancient inkstone scattered among the people, ordinary people do not know, the Japanese people heard it, they came to Middle-earth to buy at a low price, it is to this ancient inkstone, more in Japan, I saw so many ancient inkstones in Japan, I was very surprised, asked the merchants, only to learn. Feeling that there were so many national treasures in circulation, he bought some of them so that he could give them to relatives and friends after returning to China. Lin Yiqing said, "I didn't expect Brother Xu to know the origin of this inkstone, and he really had a relationship with this inkstone, and this inkstone was given to Brother Xu, which is appropriate." ”

Hearing Lin Yiqing say that this ancient inkstone, which originally belonged to Middle-earth, was actually purchased in Japan, and the Japanese knew more about inkstones than Middle-earth, Xu Chuanlong was surprised.

In fact, Lin Yiqing's statement that the Japanese know more about ancient inkstones than the Qianguo people is not a lie.

Because of the relationship between the Shengping Heavenly Kingdom Rebellion, the excellent part of the traditional culture of Middle-earth was almost broken for the first time in thousands of years, and the value of a large number of precious antiques was completely unknown to ordinary people, and many things were therefore disposed of in a tattered way, or although the price was extremely cheap and no one cared about, and at that time, the Japanese inkstone collectors went straight to the Qianguo as if they were crazy, and bought a large number of precious inkstones overseas at incredibly low prices in various places, like wholesale soap and matches, so that to this day, When the culture of Middle-earth began to recover, and people began to realize the precious value of ancient inkstones, in addition to some unearthed products, many Duanxi famous pit stones and ancient Shezhou famous stones were out of stock, because most of the best texture of the Middle Earth stone inkstones have arrived in Japan.

Lin Yiqing saw very good inkstones in the Japanese cultural relics market, which were much better than those in the current Middle Earth market. But what made him feel even more heartache was that. The Japanese already know more about inkstones than the Middle-earthers. During his stay in Beijing, Lin Yiqing came into contact with many collectors and antique dealers, among whom there was no shortage of experts in various fields, but for inkstones, they were still at a very low stage compared to the Japanese calligraphers who collected inkstones. The form is unbearable, but as long as the block is large, the ornamentation is complicated, and then engraved with the style of a celebrity, it is often regarded as a treasure, as if calligraphy wants to "sell the name", the inkstone also has to "sell the name", Su Dongpo, Ji Xiaolan, such a name appears on the inkstone of various systems that are unbearable. It is really an insult to the ability of the ancient Tibetan inkstone to discriminate, in fact. The inkstone that the ancient literati liked, most of them are simple and natural in shape, rarely artificially carved, but the texture is good, easy to ink plain inkstone, in this regard, the cultural inheritance has been seriously broken in the Qianguo collection group is probably difficult to experience and understand, when it comes to texture, the ancients appreciated and evaluated the texture of the inkstone, and few collectors in the Qianguo can really understand, what "blue and white", "fish brain jelly", "banana leaf white" these end inkstone judgment methods, as well as "old pit", "pit rock", "pock" The method of judging the mouth of the pit, the collectors of Qianguo also rarely understand, most of them are according to the book, using the unclear words on the ancient books to exaggerate the collection in their hands, as long as it is an old inkstone, it is said to be an "old pit", you need to know that the "old pit" is also rare in ancient times, how can there be so many old pits? As for the stone products, the average collector does not understand it.

In fact, the Shengping Heavenly Kingdom was an unprecedented catastrophe in the history of the Middle-earth people, which lasted for 14 years and was the deadliest war in the history of the Qianguo and human beings. As many as 70 million people died in the five provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Fujian alone, and the population of Qianguo was sharply reduced from 400 million to more than 200 million, and the economy was dealt a very heavy blow. Everywhere the Shengping army went, the traditional culture of Middle-earth, which had lasted for thousands of years, was irreparably and completely damaged. Officials, monks, nuns, Taoists, merchants, Confucian scholars, and even doctors, shopkeepers, and entertainers were all killed as "demons".

At this time, of course, Xu Chuanlong would not have thought of these thoughts in Lin Yiqing's heart, and because of the relationship between the Yan in front of him, he had more respect for Lin Yiqing.

But when Xu Chuanlong thought of what Lin Yiqing might encounter on this trip, his mood couldn't help but become depressed.

"By the way, Brother Xu wants me to come over, is there anything wrong?" Lin Yiqing asked.

"That's right, Lord Lin, please take a step to speak." Seeing Lin Yiqing asking, Xu Chuanlong handed the brocade box to the guards beside him to put it away, and then stretched out his hand to the side.

Lin Yiqing followed Xu Chuanlong to the side of the ship, Xu Chuanlong looked at the riverbank in the distance, and said to Lin Yiqing: "Lord Lin, you first came here, there are some things here, how do you say it?" It's a little different from what you think, if you see something that doesn't look obvious, you'd better ...... It's better not to take it seriously. ”

Lin Yiqing didn't expect Xu Chuanlong to say such a thing, and he couldn't help but be very strange. But he didn't ask much, but nodded, indicating that he understood what he meant.

Lin Yiqing had a premonition that something unexpected would happen, but he knew that in this situation, his best way to deal with it was to wait and see what happened.

Seeing that Lin Yiqing agreed, Xu Chuanlong seemed to be relieved, and after the two chatted a few more words, Lin Yiqing said goodbye and returned to his cabin.

Soon after returning to the cabin, Lin Yiqing summoned Junichi Takagi and Iwaneyama to explain to the two of them, and after the two of them left, Lin Yiqing opened his weapon box, took out a sniper rifle, and checked it.

After inspecting the weapon, Lin Yiqing walked out of the cabin and came to Haruko Eto's cabin.

Seeing Lin Yiqing coming, Haruko Eto closed the notebook, looked at Lin Yiqing with clear big eyes, and showed a look of doubt.

"What is Haruko doing?" Lin Yiqing asked with a smile when she saw the notebook and quill on her desk.

"I'm putting together my diary and recording what I've seen and heard over the past few days." Haruko Eto said, picked up the notebook, and handed it to Lin Yiqing.

Lin Yiqing opened the notebook with great interest, and was immediately attracted by the words inside.

"Arrival in Beijing:"

"In this country, where we passed, the population was enormous, and everywhere there were: every mile of the countryside we walked through filled our largest towns in Japan. On both sides of the road, many villas and granges are scattered among the fields, which greatly enhances the color. It is also enough to prove its wealth. ”

"I saw many butcher shops. The appearance of the meat cut in the shop is similar to that of Japan. But I can't say that Tokyo's meat supply is better than Beijing's. ”

"In this big city, as I have seen in the big cities of Japan, there are thousands of people selling their goods, in addition to all kinds of shops without storefronts."

"There is no basis for the idea that women in Qianguo were locked up in their houses and were not allowed to meet outsiders. At least a quarter of the large crowd that gathered to watch our motorcade were women, a figure that far exceeded the number of women in the crowd I met in Japan who gathered to see something new. ”

"The women we saw during our travels in Beijing were generally extremely delicate and naturally beautiful."

"His Royal Highness the Regent:"

"This is the day when the prince has just turned 31 years old. His Royal Highness has been the regent for 20 years now. Although he had dark and piercing eyes, his appearance showed the kindness and kindness of his character, and the steady solemnity of his high position. This is the result of inner cultivation, not outward majesty. ”

"The diet of the Qianguo people:"

"The technique of making cakes and preserves is excellent, the taste is good, and the styles and colors are diverse. Their pastries are commendably made and taste more delicious than what I've tasted in Japan or other European countries. Their noodles are just as easy to eat as I was in Tokyo, and I believe that there are so many types of confectionery that I believe are difficult for a master chef who makes confectionery from all European countries. ”

"Places and garrisons:"

"On both sides of the canal lined up a large number of troops, heavily armed and wearing large helmets. The army is extremely strong, and flags of various colors are erected between the ranks. ”

"A big majestic city. There is a city wall, called 'Qingfeng', and its suburbs stretch to the water's edge, and its area is considerable. …… There are at least 8 miles around the city. Judging from its appearance and surroundings, there is no doubt that commerce flourished; Judging by the clothing and manners of its inhabitants, it can be equally said that the people were urbane and wealthy. ”

"At noon, we arrived on the outskirts of Tianjin. On the riverside a large army was heavily armed in helmets; There was a large group of artillerymen in it, in a whole line; The whole number, it seems, was in the thousands; Countless dazzling flags show the magnificence of the army. The artillery team wore blue clothes with the image of a cannon embroidered on them, which was distinctive; They were divided into several teams, stationed in the center and on both flanks of the formation. Their guns were much larger than anything we had ever seen in Japan. ”

"In Tianjin:"

"The inhabitants here are dressed in the same clothes as I have already described, but to my surprise is that although the city is close to the sea and far from Beijing, and the climate is still very cold in this winter, the inhabitants have to wear leather clothes; This kind of clothing is obviously not only a luxury, but also limited to the upper class, because we have seen many leather clothing stores, and the shops have a lot of leathers, such as leopard skins, fox skins, bear skins and sheepskins. The leathers are well packed and sewn into coats, and the fur is inward-facing. ”

"Governor Lee:"

"He was a first-class official in the Qianguo, and he also had a very high position in the army of the Qianguo, although he was not the highest, but he did not neglect his duty because of his noble position, or lose his benevolence in guiding the work. Not only that, but under the rule of a sincere and good spirit, he has gained a friendship by persevering and continuing to serve others; As he said his final goodbye to us, we were all moved to tears. ”

"Impressions of the people of Qianguo:"

"Usually on March 1, according to the ancient custom, street plays are held in cities across the country, so that the poor people gather for fun when they cannot afford to enjoy themselves; This good deed continued for several days, at the expense of the royal family, so that on these days, from morning till evening, the lower people could be entertained without spending a penny and blessed their benefactors. ”

"Generally speaking, the people of Qianguo have a healthy appearance: people who have suffered from smallpox are rarely seen, except in the coastal ports of Tongzhou and Tianjin. According to an English gentleman, there are several diseases that unfortunately occur frequently in Europe that are not visible in the country. ”

"Salute to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager Renxi:"

"Before I conclude this article, I cannot fail to pay high tribute to the mother of this great, illustrious, intelligent, and benevolent Emperor of the Qianguo. She has governed the Qianguo for nearly 20 years, and according to the general voice of her people, she has never forgotten their well-being and prosperity. In her administration of justice, she protects the lowliest of her people. ”

Seeing Eto Haruko's vivid and detailed account, Lin Yiqing nodded with satisfaction.

"Haruko writes so well." Lin Yiqing gently closed the notebook and said with a smile.

"Really? However, there should be a lot of shortcomings, right? Can the general give me some suggestions for improvement? Eto Haruko looked very happy to hear Lin Yiqing's words, but she didn't get carried away after listening to a few words of praise from adults like ordinary children, but tilted her head and said to Lin Yiqing seriously.

"There is a shortcoming, that is, Haruko only notices the good side of the country, but not the dark side hidden in it." Lin Yiqing said with a smile. (To be continued......)

PS: China should accelerate the process of legalizing gay marriage, so that no group of people in this society is exempt from forced marriage, and everyone is equal.

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