Zhenyue Lou is the first class place to go in Guangzhou, the building is three floors high, magnificent, the gold lacquer signboard is said to be the book of the Qianlong Lord, the dragon flying phoenix dance adds a bit of elegance, the guests who go in and out are all dignitaries.

The third floor is a dry character, outside the first room, several long people stand at the door with their chests folded, one by one full of arrogance, looking at the look of the people, you know that the guests in the room must be very human.

The table was full of delicacies and wine, Ye Zhao and Songyu, the deputy commander of the Han army, feasted together with the newly arrived Guangzhou general Fu Liang, who was white and chubby, always with a smile on his face, and spoke politely, and had a very happy conversation with Ye Zhao and Songyu.

"This Guangzhou, outstanding people, people like it indescribably." Fu Liang tasted the wine and sighed continuously.

Song Yu hurriedly smiled and said: "Adults always have to stay in Guangzhou for a few more years, and the lowly ranks have to listen to the teachings of adults." "He is a red belt, but this branch has long declined, and it was only in his lifetime that he coincidentally rose all the way, and he got a second-grade top, he was clever and clever.

Fu Liang smiled, as if he was very happy to hear it, his eyes glanced at Ye Zhao, and said with a smile: "Brother Jing, in the future, our brothers will be more close, and we will always do our errands beautifully for the emperor to share the worries." From the first time they met, he used the title of "Brother Jing", as if he was an old friend of Ye Zhaojing.

Ye Zhao looked humble and said, "Don't dare, Jingxiang listens to the general's orders." ”

Fu Liang took a sip of wine, the smile on his face did not decrease, and said: "Do the errand of the firearms soldiers, I will carry everything for you, you can rest assured and bold, but well, don't blame the old brother for my mouth, we can not deal with foreigners, or don't provoke them, otherwise the emperor will blame it, and we can't afford to bear it." He burped and said casually: "Ming's banquet will be exempted." ”

Songyu is clever, just after hearing the general and Ye Zhao call him brothers, he felt that there was an article in it, even if he wanted to tie up with the prince and brother, it didn't have to be so obvious, after all, it was you Shangguan, and he was the general of Guangzhou who was powerful for a while. When I heard this again, I couldn't help but be surprised. But he just smiled and poured wine for the two of them, and didn't intervene.

Ye Zhao gently turned the wine glass in his hand, pondered for a while, and said: "The general is tired from afar, the wine banquet of the Ming Dynasty, the lower official goes to the appointment alone, this foreign negotiation is also very complicated, and there is no faith in words, but it makes Yingyi laugh at my dignified Heavenly Empire ignorance of etiquette." ”

Fu Liang squinted at Ye Zhao for a while, and then laughed: "It's okay, Brother Jing is used to dealing with foreigners, but my brother is blind, don't blame me." ”

Ye Zhao knew that it would be strange for Fu Liang to go to the foreigner's appointment with him, and now that he had just come, he might not be able to make any stumbling blocks for himself in the future.

Mu Teen was transferred to the post of general of Fuzhou, and the opportunity to ease relations with him during his tenure was also missed, and the two most important generals of the Eight Banners stationed in Jiangnan seemed to be not very good with him, which was also quite a headache.

However, Ye Zhao just smiled and picked up the wine glass to toast Fu Liang, in his heart, he speculated about Fu Liang's attitude towards himself, with Fu Liang here, he was afraid that the new army would be trained and make wedding dresses for others sooner or later, maybe the new army had just taken shape, and he would think of a way to directly take over his own jurisdiction, which was almost 100 percent.

How can you fight this old fox?

……

The British consul of Guangzhou, and the Governor of Hong Kong, Bao Ling, was undoubtedly very excited about the meeting between the Governor of Guangzhou and the Vice-Governor of Guangzhou, because not long ago, the request of the new US Minister Mai Lian to meet with Ye Mingchen, the Governor of Liangguang, was again denied.

It is no wonder that when Bao Ling met with the British businessmen, he called this meeting "of epoch-making significance"; in the past two years, he has suffered a lot of anger, but "our fleet" has been fighting a fierce battle with the Russian tsar in the Black Sea, but there is no way to support the British in China, and it is because the moment he receives Ye Zhaoxin, he really has a feeling of bitterness and happiness.

In order to show his sincerity, Bao Ling resolutely brought with him two British major officers, one of whom had just been on duty from the Indian subcontinent, and the other was an officer stationed in Hong Kong, both of whom were young and promising and outstanding in the Far Eastern colonies.

When entering the city of Guangzhou, although in order not to arouse public anger, Bao Ling, two officers and the interpreter's entourage all sat in a sedan chair, but looking at the red tasseled hats of the officers and soldiers of the Qing Dynasty who opened the road in front of him through the gap in the sedan curtain, and then looking at the deep doorway of Guangzhou City, Bao Ling had a more sense of creating history.

In the past, foreign merchants were at most active in the Xiguan area, and those who sneaked into Guangzhou City, or went to Foshan and other trading places, were almost all beaten by the people, and entering the city was really the luxury and dream of merchants from all countries.

When the sedan chair passed several fences and entered the flag city, and entered the courtyard of the Dutong Yamen in a grand manner, looking at the armored soldiers in front of the gate, and the majestic plaque of the Manchu and Han languages, Bao Ling actually felt like a world apart.

When a young and handsome official, wearing a nine-python four-clawed official robe, wearing a ruby top, and greeting him in front of the sedan chair with a dignified appearance, Bao Ling's feeling was even better.

"Hello, Mr. Consul." Ye Zhao smiled and gave up his hand, but Bao Ling was stunned, and faintly remembered, I heard that there was a young official who was proficient in English in the Great Qing Dynasty, and the minister of the Qin Mission who was in the battle for tariff rights in Shanghai a few months ago, but in the end, the countries did not get any benefits at all, could it be this deputy capital lord, he, he came to Guangzhou again.

Bao Ling's heart was cold, and his previous pride was reined in, and he put his hand on his chest and saluted slightly: "Lord Dutong, hello." ”

Ye Zhao smiled and made a gesture of invitation: "Everyone, please come in, come to my China from thousands of miles away, you are all the most honored guests of my court." ”

Bao Ling and his entourage entered the elegant side hall under the guidance of Ye Zhao, and their own soldiers served tea.

"Lord Tutong knows the Chinese language, admire!" Bao Ling smiled, and the two corners of his mouth were bent into a wavy beard.

Ye Zhao also smiled: "This official's long-cherished wish is to enhance the friendship between our dynasty and Western countries, and I also hope that more and more people will learn your Chinese language in my dynasty, and things will be harmonious, and there will be no more troubles." ”

Bao Ling was not so easy to be fooled by Ye Zhao, after all, in Shanghai, Ye Zhao didn't let the foreign adults who were addicted to taking advantage of it succeed again, although Ye Zhao said it well, Bao Ling was more vigilant, and said with a smile: "Lord Dutong is the most enlightened official in your country that people have ever seen. He added: "It seems that the matter of entering the city in exchange for an appointment will be mediated by the adults." ”

It has been ten years since the treaty was signed to turn Guangzhou into a treaty port, but merchants from all countries just can't enter the city of Guangzhou, so of course Bao Ling wants to stir up this topic.

Ye Zhao picked up the teacup, took a sip, and sighed: "This is not something that this official can call the shots, but the consul can rest assured, I will definitely plan more with Ye Zhijun, and hope to open the forbidden city lintel as soon as possible." ”

Bao Ling sneered in his heart, it seems that this Lord Dutong is no different from other Qing officials.

Ye Zhao said sincerely: "Mr. Consul, I hope you can understand my hardships, believe me, I never want to wait for your country to calm down the war in Crimea, and then meet with my Korean army." ”

Bao Ling was stunned, and now in China, the call for a tough war with the Qing Dynasty is getting louder and louder, and he is afraid that after the war with Russia, a second war with this decadent empire is inevitable. The young official in front of him has a very good understanding of the situation in the outside world.

Bao Ling looked at Ye Zhao, this person, but he was going to re-examine it.

"Since Lord Tutong doesn't want the two sides to go to war again, then I'll wait and see, I hope Lord Tutong can bring me good news, and it won't be too long."

Ye Zhao nodded: "Definitely." ”

Bao Ling then made a gesture to the officers and entourage who were sitting down in turn, and said to Ye Zhao: "The instructor that Lord Dutong needs, the contemptible people have helped you find two people, and they can all consider it and decide who can be competent." As he spoke, he turned his head and said, "You haven't seen Lord Dutong yet?" ”

The two officers stood up snapped, saluted Ye Zhao, and announced the names of their ranks, one named Peter Jackson and the other named Andrew Johnson.

Andrew was a little more handsome than Peter, and although he saluted, his face was extremely arrogant.

Waiting for the two to sit down, Bao Ling briefly introduced the resumes of the two to Ye Zhao, Andrew is arrogant, he really has his arrogant capital, and he has some brilliant experience, not long ago, he also made military achievements in the battle to exterminate a group of pirates in Malacca.

Ye Zhao nodded again and again, and asked the two of them a few words, Andrew was concise and to the point, Peter talked more, Ye Zhao looked at Peter, and was about to speak again, when he suddenly saw Peter didn't know where to find a blank piece of paper, and said with a smile: "My lord, there is a lot of knowledge involved in the military journey, and intelligence is also the key to determining the outcome of the war, and passing on secret information is even more of a science, and adults can see what is the difference between this piece of paper?" ”

Ye Zhao looked at him and smiled without saying a word.

Then Peter pulled out a small vial of yellow liquid from his body, but he was ready for it. He stretched out his finger and dipped it in the yellow potion, smearing it on the white paper little by little, and gradually, a few lines of purple writing appeared.

Peter laughed and said, "Lord Tutong, how is it?" Picking up the blank paper with both hands, I thought that Lord Totong would definitely take it and look at it in amazement. A hint of disdain flashed in Andrew's eyes, but he didn't speak.

Ye Zhao smiled: "Your starch character, if you look carefully, you can really see the traces, if you want to say secret letter, it is best to write with cobalt chloride solution, and after drying, use the method of roasting with fire, and the handwriting will be revealed." "Not to mention the study of chemistry, this little trick is understood by junior high school students or elementary school students in later generations, but nowadays, iodine has only been really refined for decades.

"Cobalt chloride?" Peter was dazed.

Ye Zhao smiled again: "If you want to talk about rice soup iodine water, it is actually not as fast and labor-saving as my native method. As he spoke, he instructed the soldiers next to him: "Take white vinegar, and then chop the carrot skin and boil the water." ”

It didn't take much effort, Rui Si came in with white vinegar, Ye Zhao ordered someone to take a pen and paper, dipped it in white vinegar and wrote a few words on the paper, and put it aside.

And when the carrot water was delivered, the white vinegar word had dried out, and there were basically no traces, Ye Zhao smiled and said to Rui Si: "Squirt water!" ”

Rui Si naturally listened to the master's orders, although the carrot water did not taste good, but it was full of a large mouthful, and then sprayed on the paper, there is no spray water bottle at present, but Rui Si's spray technology is also really good, and soon, the paper showed red letters.

Rui Siqi picked up the white paper and held it up to his chest to show it to the people, and said in his heart that if he wants to say that this is a flower, who can compare to my master?

Peter's face turned red for a moment, and the trick just now really looked childish and ridiculous, but who would have thought that there would be such talents in this backward country?

Andrew also had a look of surprise in his eyes, and as for Bao Ling, he didn't know what he was thinking when he saw this scene and picked up the teacup.

Ye Zhao waved his hand, and the triumphant Rui Si retreated, but the white paper and red letters were firmly grasped by him, as if they were some kind of treasure.

Ye Zhao turned to Bao Ling and said with a smile: "Firearms Battalion Consultant, I am ready to hire Mr. Peter Jackson. ”

As soon as Peter was stunned, Andrew was even more surprised, and his face was quite unsightly.

Bao Ling smiled and said: "Yes, just forgive me for being presumptuous, can you please tell Master Dutong why he hired Peter as a consultant?" ”

Peter also looked at Ye Zhao with a puzzled face.

Ye Zhao said with a smile: "If you talk about military knowledge, I really don't know which of the two is superior and which is inferior, but I know that Mr. Jackson is more suitable to stay." Because he is enthusiastic about this job, he is a lot of preparations, and I believe that if I keep him, I will definitely do my best to help train the new army, and will not disappoint my expectations. As he spoke, he smiled at Peter and said, "Peter, you won't disappoint me, will you?" ”

Peter didn't know how, his heart was excited, quite a feeling of meeting Bole, to say why he wanted this job at the beginning, naturally for the salary, a thousand taels of silver a year, for Peter, who was poor, it was quite an income, and it was he who thought of a way to fight for it.

Who knew that in the end, his performance seemed to have become a clown, and when he was depressed, this young Oriental official actually asked him to stay, so don't mention this surprise.

"Yes, I will not disappoint Mr. Totong!" Peter stood up and gave a standard royal salute, but this time, it was much more sincere.

Bao Ling stared at Ye Zhao, his eyes gradually narrowed.

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