Despite being captive for a long time, Edward. Lieutenant General Seymour still strictly maintained the rigor of an English gentleman, his beard was neatly trimmed, and his gown was crisp and ironed without a single wrinkle. Dressed with ribbons, medals, and swords, and a towering triangular hat, the brass buttons on the cuffs of the placket glistened brightly, and he walked with his chest held high.

He and two of his entourage were transported by a car to the Lutai Battalion, which had belonged to the Qing army but had now been taken over and transformed into a temporary garrison for the revolutionary army.

Along the way, Lieutenant General Seymour tried to remain as quiet as possible, and sat in the back seemingly calmly, but his eyes skimmed out of the corners of his eyes from time to time, looking out through the half-hidden car window, and there was indescribable surprise in his heart.

This imitation Cadillac 75 sedan, which often appears in movies of the Republic of China, is luxurious, with chrome silver grille and wheels, a smooth body in classic black, wide tires, strong power, and exquisite interior decoration, which is full of the moving power of industrial and mechanical aesthetics from the inside out.

A supersedan that was luxurious enough in the mid-twentieth century, even if it was based on a Grand Cherokee, still has a huge appeal that makes the eyes can't move it.

And the senior general of the British Empire, who was born in the world of industrial science and technology, Lieutenant General Seymour has a very high vision, and he can see the amazing connotation contained in this guy at once.

However, out of his usual pride and reserve, he just made a simple comment - "nice toy", and refused to praise it a little more. From getting into the car until starting, he kept an eye on the driver's every move in front of him, listening intently to the surging and powerful low roar of the large-displacement engine. Then I was shocked by the rush of far more trains and warships, and my breath was not smooth.

Fast. Smooth. Comfortable and low noise.

For the first time in their lives, Lieutenant General Seymour and his entourage knew that humans could race on the highway at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour! As a successful admiral, he calculated only from the distance between the telephone poles and trees that kept passing outside the window.

The 50-kilometer journey from the prisoner of war camp to the Lutai camp took less than half an hour to arrive, and the entire road was newly widened asphalt-hardened ground. Ran all the way down without any bumps at all. There were no cattle and sheep running rampant in the middle, and civilians were walking indiscriminately, which made the British feel very incredible.

But he still wouldn't speak. It wasn't until the convoy drove into the camp that he and his entourage came down, and finally were able to calmly observe, only to find that the core buildings in front of him were still those in the previous intelligence. The old shape of the main town office, the courtyard of the gate hall arranged on the left and right, the offices of the warp system on the left and right, and the earthen castle as the inner defense are all the same.

What you see is in stark contrast to the luxury and grandeur of the American Concession.

Seymour always thought that Yang Hao was the same as the legend. He spent tens of millions of dollars to build a world-class private estate for himself, and enjoyed the best things in the world in the name of the American Concession. Today he has the strongest military power in the Far East. Sitting on a territory larger than that of Britain and with a population of more than 100 million for his use, he must live a luxurious life like an emperor like ordinary Chinese.

But today, it doesn't seem to be like that.

So is he really self-denying and dedicating himself to public affairs, and putting the work of handling military affairs in such a dilapidated and archaic place?

Seymour didn't believe it, because he knew very well how the swaggering aristocracy of the British Empire had fallen. The Chinese, who have a longer history and are more savage and ignorant than them, if not enjoy a super palace with thousands of houses like the current Qing Emperor, at least they have to catch up with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that rebelled decades ago, right?

He participated in the Anglo-French alliance attack on Dagukou, and then attacked the Taiping army, and this time he attacked China as the commander of the coalition army.

So Seymour only thought about it, turned his head and glanced at the world's only luxury car, and concluded that this qiē was nothing more than the nasty warlord playing a trick.

"Hmph, hypocritical Chinese, always spend their energy and money on show, incorrigible."

Lieutenant General Seymour immediately gathered in his heart the arrogance of the civilized world, pouted his well-trimmed chin high, and followed Zhou Jianhao, who came out to greet him politely, into the main hall of the yamen.

The light in front of him suddenly brightened, and a smoky heat blew away the cold air on his face. Lieutenant General Seymour's old eyes narrowed slightly, glanced at the white electric lamp above, and then seemed to casually sweep the cast iron radiator on the surrounding wall, becoming more and more sure of the guess in his heart.

Sure enough, it's a show for outsiders! In the cold season, the aristocrats of the West can only sit around the fireplace in thick woolen blankets to keep warm. There are few people in such a bright office area, but to ensure such a high temperature, how much coal has to be burned, and how much electricity is wasted!

That's all money!

Only with less than twentieth of China's territory, they can't wait to become corrupt and degenerate, these people, even if they temporarily have some strange abilities to win local wars, will definitely fail in the end!

I don't know if it was because the cold in his body was dispelled, Seymour felt a surging blood in his chest, the defeat and the more than a month of prisoner of war life, the dissipated confidence and the sense of superiority in the face of backward countries, flickered all of a sudden his head. The intention to lower his posture in order to save himself before the departure became less determined.

While Zhou Jianhao was advancing, he did not forget to observe the expressions of the British. Seeing the spirit of this old guy who has changed again and again in just a dozen meters, he couldn't help but sneer secretly, the so-called gentlemen of the British Empire are nothing more than that, and they can't catch up with the Chinese bureaucrats in terms of cultivating the city.

Without saying anything, he took them to the second hall and knocked on the door, then turned around and waved his hand: "Your Excellency General, our Commander-in-Chief Yang has been waiting for a long time, please come in." ”

Seymour confidently stepped over the threshold, and was greeted by another office of forty or fifty square meters, but the interior layout and furniture had been replaced by a style he did not recognize. Simple, simple and practical. It is full of the rough temperament of industrial processing. The combined value of all of them is estimated to be less than that of an official hat chair in its early four years.

Yang Hao sat at the back of the boss's desk. Half of his body was blocked by Wen Jiàn, who was more than a foot high, and there was a secretary next to him holding a Wen Jiàn clip that reached his chin, and kept putting down the book for him, and at the same time explaining the abridged introduction.

Seeing that Seymour and the others had already stood still, Yang Hao casually signed his name, closed the clip and handed it to the secretary, got up with a smile and said in English: "Your Excellency General, it's been a long time." Have a seat. ”

Seymour clearly saw that his face was businesslike and indifferent, and his heart was angry, he nodded stiffly, sat down in a high-legged European chair against the wall, straightened his waist, held his saber in his left hand, and assumed a stubborn posture.

Yang Hao has long been familiar with the stinky problems of the British, and of course he will not get used to their bad problems, and he is willing to stand up and greet him to respect his own etiquette, but he is not really polite to this group of robbers whose hands are stained with the blood of the Chinese.

He doesn't play politics and negotiation either. After sitting down, he leaned back and said coldly, "I heard that you have something to tell me." I don't think we need to waste time by either of us making unnecessary pleasantries, so please try to make it as clear as possible in a short and straightforward manner. ”

Seymour didn't expect Yang Hao to be so straightforward, especially not taking into account the fairness of social interaction at all, he hit his anger upward, his old face sank, and he said coldly: "Don't you think that Mr. Yang is so rude, and it is decent, as a leader of national civilization?" I think you should have a minimum of respect ....... ”

Before he could finish speaking, Yang Hao raised his hand and interrupted: "Stop, stop!" I don't think His Excellency the General has figured out the most basic question, you, now a prisoner of war! If you want to teach me a lesson in civility and politeness, you can win the battle before you speak. ”

Lieutenant General Seymour was choked on the boarding. He never thought that as the head of a powerful force, Yang Hao didn't care about the perception of others at all, what was going on with this barbarian style?

Yang Hao made a proper young and frivolous style, and sneered: "You have probably heard a song that we often play recently, and there is a lyric in it that I will translate for you, called 'When a friend comes, there is good wine, and when an enemy comes, there is a shotgun'!" Since the British Empire invaded Asia, it has burned, killed, looted and plundered everywhere it went, not only invaded our country many times, but also plundered hundreds of millions of wealth from our country with opium in the past few decades! Yan zhòng poisoned the bodies of countless compatriots, causing countless wives to be separated and their families to be destroyed! Let me ask, under such a sea of blood and hatred, you still expect me to drink and have fun with you? ”

Seymour retorted in shame: "You are slandering! All of our acts of war are punishments for your non-compliance with international conventions and rough treatment of our country's legitimate commercial practices! As for those who buy opium, it is your government that has mismanaged and educated them, and if they don't smoke or buy them, how can they have that kind of business? Why doesn't there exist such a thing as a person in a Western civilized country? ”

"Really? With this sentence to you, I want you to promise that within ten years, I will sell even more powerful drugs to every country in your West! ”

Yang Hao has seen countless similar arguments in this world, especially many yellow-skinned and white-hearted banana people, as well as the stupid people who have never been to a foreign country in their lives but desperately lick the eggs of Westerners on the Internet all day long, endless self-blackening and self-masochism, what "no demand, no sale", pure special fart!

He didn't have the time and energy to talk nonsense with that kind of person, but in the second plane, he had enough means to treat others in his own way.

Not long ago, Yang Hao had ordered someone to preemptively register the invention of No. 4 powder and aspirin, and manufactured a series of powders, tablets, embolics, syrup, synthetics, etc. here, according to the original practice of Bayer Pharmaceutical, advertised in various media publications and introduced to the market!

In this era when Western medicine was underdeveloped, a panacea that proved to be an excellent pain and cough reliever caused a market demand no less than sulfonamides and penicillin. He believes that it will not be long before a large number of invisible addicts will appear in Western countries. By the time they get to the point, it's probably too late to get away from this thing!

Seymour was clearly unimpressed by the threat on his lips. The British Empire itself did not approve of the opium trade in the Far East, and it was the greedy merchants led by the East India Company that benefited from it. In a country that is strictly regulated, how many people will suck that kind of bad money and harmful stuff?

Yang Hao knows very well the thinking logic of these Western bandits, if you don't completely convince them, don't expect them to trade fairly with you. In the early decades of the world's reopening, it was countless Western swindlers who taught the Chinese about deception in international trade. The "tuition" paid for this is hundreds of millions. In the 21st century, the Chinese are blue. Thousands can pop up in Putian alone. It has ruined the credibility of China's e-commerce.

So he didn't want to be verbose, stopped the old guy who tried to continue the debate, and said unceremoniously: "Okay, the argument is over, I have limited time, let's talk about your intentions." ”

Lieutenant General Seymour swallowed his sulk, and although he wanted to use irrefutable facts to gain the upper hand, Yang Hao's words woke him up. It's better to get down to business first! finally got the opportunity to negotiate face-to-face, and he couldn't delay it because of a momentary anger.

Before he knew it, the arrogance he had just mustered had vanished. He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Okay, I'll just say it." This time, I am a soldier representing the British Empire and several other countries, and I ask your military to provide a treatment that is appropriate to our status. Let the noble soldiers do those lowly strength work, which is detrimental to each other's decency. ”

Yang Hao said unceremoniously: "Your Excellency the General has you seen a more civilized victor than us?" All prisoners of war will be able to keep their basic finances, you and other officers will even have swords, and everyone will have food and clean clothes to wear. You can also enjoy the best medical care in the world. If you are not satisfied with this, do you still expect us to offer you like a noble lord? I think. Isn't it time to consider learning from the practices of your colonies around the world? ”

Shameless, this is Yang Hao's comment on foreign devils.

The various measures he took here were all to compare the tactics of the volunteers in the Korean War in this world, not to abuse or humiliate, and to treat them as human beings. Of course, it is impossible to expect to save their rations and good things for them for free, and it is only fair that they have to pay for labor and IOUs to get them.

But this is also an unprecedented civilized practice in the nineteenth century. Western countries are indeed allowed to redeem their respective prisoners of war in wars with each other, but the virtues of prisoner of war camps are definitely not as good as here.

Seymour told him that his face stiffened slightly, just out of the pride of the English gentleman, but more because of the shame of being captured and driven to work by the Chinese whom they despised. And Yang Hao's threat is undoubtedly more effective, if it really imitates the colonial practice, it will definitely behead them and show them to the public, which is a little miserable.

The old guy lowered his eyelids and was silent for a while, the previous words were just to gain the initiative to negotiate as much as possible, and the so-called sky-high asking price was paid back on the spot.

However, Yang Hao was not fooled, he decided to show his hole cards: "Okay, then we ask for a way that is more in line with naval soldiers, instead of wasting time digging stones." We know that your army has been expanding rapidly lately, that there is a shortage of good naval officers, and that the ships that fall into your hands cannot be unmaintained until the governments of the world make decisions. So we can work together and have our navy do the maintenance and teach some of the new people in your army, which is good for everyone. ”

Yang Hao was secretly happy in his heart: "Are you old boy finally willing to spit out?" Very good, Lao Tzu is asking for it. ”

If he said this first, he would definitely sit on the ground with the urine of foreign devils, and it would take a lot of effort from the boss. But now that they take the initiative to speak, things will be easy.

At that moment, Yang Hao applauded lightly: "What a genius idea!" I am personally interested in His Excellency General's remarks, but this matter must be approached with caution. You should be aware of the original officers of the Beiyang Navy, and if you and the officers of other countries cannot come up with a satisfactory standard, it will be difficult for me to convince everyone to accept such conditions. ”

Seymour immediately knew that what he said was too clear, and he was in the hands of this bad boy, and he couldn't help but be depressed. After all, he was not a qualified negotiator, so he had to try to get the best terms: "We will never do anything that will damage the reputation of the Imperial Royal Navy!" Of course, our quality work must also be rewarded accordingly, not the same kind of cheap remuneration as coolies. ”

Yang Hao waved his hand: "Those specific matters, you have organized a group to negotiate with the navy, I just want to see a result that both parties are satisfied with." If there are no other problems, so be it for today. ”

Seymour obviously had more to say at once, but the initiative was not with him, Zhou Jianhao immediately came over to ask Mr. Lieutenant General to get up, and had to leave without even holding a hand.

Turning his head, Zhou Jianhao reminded without worry: "Sir, foreigners have no faith, and we need to beware of them saying one thing and doing another, taking advantage of the opportunity to make trouble." ”

Yang Hao smiled indifferently: "It doesn't matter." It is important to get as many people as possible to get acquainted with the opponent from close quarters, and as long as you live together for a while, you will not be afraid of the next battle. Hmph, the foreign devils look down on the Orientals, but they don't know that our average IQ is much higher than theirs! As long as there are enough opportunities, our outstanding young people will grow up quickly. Cultivating a large number of young backbones who are familiar with English, French, German, and Russian foreign languages at one time, and not having to go all the way out, this business is too cost-effective! ”

With the victory of the naval battle, the self-confidence of young students across the country to serve the country has skyrocketed, and I don't know how many are looking for opportunities to join the army and serve the country. Even if Yang Hao opened more than a dozen universities at a time, he could not meet the needs of the rapidly increasing number of students, and hiring reliable teachers was far away. Even if he taught foreign languages for a long time through newspapers and radio, he would be a drop in the bucket.

Now it's okay, there are three or four thousand cheap foreign language sparring partners, and there are excellent teaching materials from my own side.

Zhou Jianho will be suspicious, he always feels that foreign devils will not do their best. In particular, all kinds of know-how of warship control and naval warfare are all their housekeeping skills, and with the lessons accumulated over four or five centuries, how can they show people lightly?

Yang Hao is full of confidence, with the outstanding officers of the Beiyang Navy who have been personally taught and strengthened by his father, I believe that he will be able to give a wonderful PK lesson to the foreign devils, ruthlessly dispel their arrogance, and obediently carry the work.

When the affairs of the navy are arranged, he can free up his hands to concentrate on the ground attack. (To be continued......)