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In the British Legation in Hankow, Indian waiters spread out hand-embroidered lace tablecloths, arranged exquisite porcelain teapots, strainers and small plates for screening programs, took out sugar jars, milk cups and bottles, and placed three layers of dim sum trays in the middle (). It may have been a rigorous process for him, but in Traun's eyes, it was just a way for the British to flaunt the affluent Victorian life.

No one can deny that the Victorian era was the heyday of the British Empire, but if they cling to the past and do not face the reality, then what awaits them may be abandonment.

When the waiters were done, Graham immediately invited Traun to take a seat. The purpose of his invitation today is to find out what Germany is going to do! He had had enough of this time, and the daily arrival of batches of machinery and equipment by German steamers from Shanghai to Hanyang was worth enough for several large factories, as well as huge quantities of scrap steel, and the recent discovery of Germans at the construction site of the Hanchuan Railway, all of which made him worry about losing control of the upper reaches of the Yangjiang River.

This is not right, Yangjiang is British, and this momentum must be contained.

"Your Excellency Traun, congratulations to your Commercial Counsellor, he seems to have made a big deal." Grafort asked tentatively, he didn't want to tear up with Traun, and in fact Britain didn't want to completely push Germany down against itself.

The aroma of Ceylon Highland black tea echoed in the room, and Traun didn't like the British's ostentation, but he couldn't deny that they enjoyed it, so he took a sip from his teacup and smiled, "Yes, I'm proud of his outstanding work." The size of the three Hanyang plants, more than 1,000 machines and equipment, as well as hydropower plants, steel, machine tools and chemical equipment worth millions of pounds, Your Excellency the Minister, did you know? I was so happy with the news that it almost gave me a shock. ”

Traun said as he quietly looked at Grafford. Seeing that his face was getting darker and darker, a hint of pleasure rose in his heart. Being able to poach such a big business on the Yangjiang River may make His Majesty's cousin have no appetite for afternoon tea these days, but he is not too offended by the other party, and he sighed again: "It's a pity, compared with your country, this is just a small profit, compared to your country's annual profits of hundreds of millions of pounds, I think we still need to work hard." ”

Ge Fu took a deep breath to suppress the anger in his heart, and asked lightly: "Your Excellency Traun, some changes have taken place in this country. Its future is becoming elusive, don't you think that now we should continue with the common principle? His Excellency Yuan Shikai had already returned Wusheng Pass to Yang Qiu yesterday, and he had already shown great kindness, would it cause a misunderstanding in your country? ”

"Misunderstanding? No. Traun shrugged his shoulders, made an American gesture, and said with a smile: "I don't think we have violated the principle of unanimity, because the principle of unanimity among countries is only in diplomatic and military supplies, and normal commercial trade is not subject to this clause, are you right?" Your Excellency. ”

"But what about the railroad? Our businessmen saw the staff of your country on the Hanchuan Railway. ”

In the face of Graford's constantly stirring eyebrows, Traun was confident. Because the operating rights agreement is a secret agreement, and it will be announced in two years when the railway is halfway built, he is not afraid of what the British will find out: "I know about this, those are just Chinese engineers hired by the West China Railway Company, is there anything wrong with this?" By the way, I heard that His Excellency Zhan Tianyou is a member of your country's engineering association, could it be that Your Excellency Ge Fu, I think it is necessary for me to remind you that the Hanchuan Railway must abide by the principle of unanimity (). If your country wants to buy, please let me know in advance. ”

Ge Fu, who was bitten back, was very angry, and aggressively asked, "What about the loan?" As far as I know, it seems that your country has reached a huge loan with Yang Qiu. ”

"Yes, but that's also business, and we've done the deal. And. At this point, Traun did not have to hide the loan, and said: "I have always thought that the banking syndicate has seriously caused the normal exchange of commerce between countries, has your Excellency not found out?" Because of the restrictions of the banking syndicate. During this time, Japan has taken advantage of its close neighbors to issue tens of millions of loans to various forces in this country, so I have suggested to Japan that we adopt a more flexible way of operating the banking syndicate. ”

Graffer did not expect that Germany had been so deeply involved, and said: "Your Excellency Traun, as civilized people, we should be in line with the principle of helping all suffering people, and this loan of your country is very likely to be used in the military field, so I am very worried." ”

"Your Excellency can rest assured that Yang Qiu has assured our government that this loan will not be used for military purposes. His aim was to build more factories and help the three provinces to build. As far as I know, he has used loans to purchase tens of millions of dollars worth of industrial equipment from the United States, including a complete steel plant, a tractor factory, and some other equipment, which you see for commercial purposes only. ”

"The United States?" Traun's words made Grafford's brow furrow deeper. Before Germany could solve the problem, the United States intervened again. Does this mean that the upper reaches of the Yangjiang River will divide the world into three parts in the future? He knew very well how rich this land was, and as Guizhou was about to fall into the hands of Yang Qiu, his power was becoming bigger and bigger, maybe the whole of Southwest China would soon fall into his hands, was it wrong for His Excellency Zhu Erdian to fully support Yuan Shikai? Maybe we should adjust our strategy and re-establish a good relationship with Yang Qiu?

"Thank you, Your Excellency, for letting me have a wonderful afternoon." Traun had finished speaking, got up and said a few polite words, and was just about to leave the corner of his eye when he suddenly saw a cargo ship flying the American flag outside the window slowly sailing along the Yangjiang River towards Hanyang, in order to cause a little trouble for Ge Fu, he pointed and said: "Look, I am right, the United States is coming." ”

Following his fingers, Gaffe saw the American steamer approaching the berth, and his eyebrows deepened, not even noticing when Traun was leaving.

The steamer slowly approached the berth under the command of the dock workers, and there were too many ships flying various flags during this time, so everyone didn't pay much attention to the American freighter, until everyone's eyes lit up after lowering the gangway. I saw a beautiful woman wearing a foreigner's coat who was the first to walk down the gangway, and she was graceful

The appearance is extremely beautiful, and the black long coat is even more beautiful than the snow.

Behind her, there were dozens of young people of twenty-three or fourteen, all dressed in Western clothes, as if they had just returned from studying in Europe and the United States. But many of them have been looking around and pointing around, as if they haven't been back for hundreds of years.

"Miss Miao Miao?!" Chang Si has been directing on the docks of the two places during this time, and when he saw the woman, he didn't pay attention to it, and he felt that his temperament was extraordinary and very beautiful, but after looking at it twice, he suddenly opened his mouth This woman dressed in a foreign style, who is not Miao Luo?

"Fourth uncle."

Hearing this title, Chang Si was even more determined, because only Miao Luo called him that. hurriedly walked over and rubbed his eyes, looking like he had seen a ghost: "Miss Miao, is it really you?" Why aren't you dressed in Nanjing? Miao Luo smiled slightly. made her look more and more beautiful, and said, "Fourth uncle, grandpa promised me that I don't have to protect Mr. Song anymore, so this time I came to see Sister Rui." ”

"Don't you need to protect Mr. Song? But I heard that Nanjing is quite chaotic? ”

"Grandpa said that after the abdication of the Manchu Dynasty, the task of our American court is completed, so Mr. Song can be protected by my brother alone in the future." Miao Luo seems to have changed as a person, smiling smartly, and her sex has become a lot more active. Chang Si understands that in the past, she was forced to walk the rivers and lakes because of important tasks, and she was sexually suppressed a lot, but now she has recovered her temperament after removing the burden from her shoulders. To be honest, she can be regarded as a brother of the world. I grew up in the United States since I was a child, if it weren't for Master Miao's dedication to the country, how would he be willing to let her come out ().

So Chang Si was also happy for her, pointing to the boat and the men and asking, "Why are you here on an American ship?" These things? ”

Miao Luo raised his neck, like a proud little swan: "This ship was hired by us from the United States, and it is full of Yang." As soon as she said this, she stopped for fear of being seen by others, and quickly changed her words: "It was Commander Yang who asked me to send a telegram to my grandfather to purchase medicines and urgently needed supplies." Oh. By the way, there are also five Curtiss planes and ten pieces inside. ”

"Airplanes? What's that? ”

"Giggles." Seeing that even an old Jianghu like Chang Si didn't know the plane, Miao Luo smiled and bent over, and hurriedly asked everyone to unload the cargo. In less than a moment, a Curtis biplane wrapped in an oilcloth was hoisted out of the cabin, and when the young people who came with it untied the oilcloth, there was a burst of surprise on the dock. A wooden biplane appeared in its entirety.

Chang Si looked left and right in surprise, his hand touched the nose propeller and found that it moved, and he thought that he had broken it, so he quickly retracted and said nervously: "Miss Miao, can this thing really fly in the sky?" After speaking, he pointed to the young man: "They can all fly in the sky?" ”

"Of course they can fly, but they're not all pilots, most of them come back to build planes." Miao Luo introduced Chang Si: "This Mr. Feng Ru, he is very famous in the United States. Four years ago, he wanted to build an airplane, and Mr. Tam Yiu-neng, who told the court, sponsored him. It took a few months to build our own Chinese plane in the United States, and we returned to Guangzhou from the United States last year. Not long ago, when my grandfather heard that Commander Yang was going to build an air force, he sent a telegram to him, and when he arrived in Guangzhou, he stopped by the way, Zhu Zhuquan, Zhu Zhaohuai, and Situ Biru, all of whom were his assistants, and these were all students sponsored by our Zhi Gong Tang. All of them studied mechanical design in the United States, but there were only two people who could fly. ”

If Yang Qiu was present, these words would definitely surprise the energy of the American Zhigong Court, even a person like Feng Ru could drive it. But Chang Si didn't know how to understand airplanes, but he only heard that they were all learning machinery, and he applauded: "Okay, it's good to learn machines." This time, Commander Yang bought a few machines from the Hanyang factory, and we really need you to return to China. ”

After introducing everyone, Miao Luo saw that he hadn't mentioned Rui Yao, and asked, "By the way, what about Sister Rui?" Is she okay? Speaking of Rui Yao, Chang Si sighed: "Hey, Rui Gang Master is hospitalized." ”

"Hospitalized?" Miao Luo was so frightened that he hurriedly grabbed his hand and asked, "What's wrong with Senior Sister?" What disease do you have? There were a lot of western medicines on board. ”

"It's not a disease, it's a shot, but fortunately it didn't hurt my muscles and bones, and the doctor said that I would be able to rest for a few months." Chang Si hurriedly told the events of that day, Miao Luo's little face changed suddenly after hearing this, when Yang Qiu was assassinated, she happened to go south to Guangzhou to invite Feng Ru, and she was half frightened to death when she learned about it, but she didn't expect that her senior sister was involved, and she didn't care about settling Feng Ru and the others, so she immediately wanted to pull Chang Si to the hospital.

Chang Si had no choice but to send someone to find Zhang Wenjing to settle Feng Ru and the others, and then took Miao Luo to visit Rui Yao in the hospital.

When she arrived at the hospital, her eyes turned red suddenly, and she saw Rui Yao half-lying on the bed, her waist wrapped tightly, and she was obviously thinner, her long hair was scattered and her expression was haggard, where was there still the posture of the previous gang leader, and she hurriedly asked: "Senior sister, Luoer is late, are you better?" After being shot in the waist that day, Rui Yao was immediately sent to the hospital, fortunately, the part was not fatal and she had been practicing martial arts for a long time and her body was good, so she finally survived, and she was also very happy to see Miao Luo, and hurriedly said that she was fine.

The two women sat in the ward muttering, and Chang Si was worried that he would break the plane he bought from the United States when unloading the cargo, and rushed back to supervise it personally. Miao Luo was finally relieved to see that Rui Yao was fine, and asked, "Senior sister, what's going on?" Has he come to see you? ”

Speaking of Yang Qiu, Rui Yao blushed for some reason: "It's all to blame for that golden dysentery!" On the same day, I saw that he was sneaking to kill Yang Qiu, and I stepped forward to stop him from being shot. Yang Qiu has come to see it a few times, and I wanted to tell him about your sister, but I left without saying a few words, and I was so angry. ”

Miao Luo was grateful in his heart, but he didn't expect Rui Yao to think about herself when she was injured, but she could see that her face was red when she spoke, but she always felt that something was wrong, and asked, "Senior sister, where is he now?" ”

"It seems that I went to Sichuan, and I want to be back at the end of the month." The eyes of the two of them touched, and suddenly they twisted away again.

(To be continued......) Your Excellency