In late May of the fifth year of the Republic of China (1916), at the mouth of Tieshi Hutong in Beijing, a large courtyard composed of two groups of Western-style brick and wood structure buildings in the east and west looked majestic in the early summer morning light. The main building of the east courtyard is a Western classical form, a castle-shaped four-storey bell tower protrudes in the middle, there are east and west auxiliary buildings and back buildings behind the main building, the decoration is simple, and the verandah is combined with white plaster wall and arch coupons; The main building of the west courtyard is also in the classical form of the West, the south façade is decorated with a baroque mountain flower composition, and the brick arch coupon verandah. The main building, side building and back building are connected into a quadrangle layout, and one side of the inner courtyard is a long wooden verandah.

Naturally, these courtyards were not inhabitable for idlers, and the political center in the early years of the Republic of China fell in two courtyards, one east and one west. President Yuan Da's presidential palace was in the west courtyard, and the premier's State Council was in the east courtyard, and soon President Yuan Da moved the presidential palace to Zhongnanhai, and the two large courtyards in the east and west became the office buildings of the State Council.

"Tolistan Attaché welcomes you to the War Department!" Before the Mercedes of the German embassy had stopped, a young lieutenant in military uniform greeted him.

"Adjutant Gong!" Tang Zhidao jumped out of the car first, opened the door of the front compartment, and the officer who greeted him on the other side and Gong Weijiang, who was also an old acquaintance, was Colonel Gong of the War Department.

"Tang, Tang ......" Gong Weijiang of course also recognized Tang Zhidao, but for a while he didn't know how to call the former colleague in front of him.

"I am now Colonel Tolistan's Chinese translator!" Tang Zhidao understood Gong Weijiang's embarrassment and shock, and hurriedly explained.

"You work as a translator at the German embassy?" Obviously, this was even more shocking than seeing this unruly colleague from the car of the German embassy, who actually went to work as an interpreter for the Germans.

Seeing Tolistan get out of the car, Gong Weijiang hurriedly led the way in front. Tolistan frowned slightly, and his heart was very unhappy, not to mention the deputy minister before, that is, the ministers were not standing at the gate to greet them, but now there is only a small adjutant, but thinking about the current situation of the German Empire, he secretly suppressed the unhappiness in his heart.

Passing through the majestic main building, a group of several people came to the front of the back building.

"Military Attache Tolistan, you wait in the hall for a while, and I'll go up and see if Vice Chief Xu is free!" Gong Weijiang left Tolistan and Tang Zhidao in the hall downstairs and walked straight upstairs. At this moment, Tolistan's face was unusually ugly, this visit was not temporary, the time and place set a few days ago, the hateful Chinese actually did not put themselves in their eyes.

"Colonel, Vice Minister Xu has just been reinstated, and it is inevitable that he will be a little negligent!" Tang Zhidao stepped forward in real time and comforted, Xiao Xu is the first domineering man in the Republic of China, so domineering that President Yuan, who has always been known for his magnificence, can't stand it, and it is not the same as playing with you as an isolated German military attaché, and agreeing to see you is already giving face.

"It's okay, it's okay, you can just enjoy and appreciate your country's landscape paintings!" Tolistan waved his hand as he feigned disappointment, his eyes casually scanning the few landscape paintings in the hall. As soon as the war broke out, although Germany was still unstoppable in Europe, its overseas rights and interests were basically lost, and Qingdao, the most important lease place in China, and the Jiaoji Railway fell into the hands of the rising star Japan.

"Brother Zhen stays, Brother Zhen is now the deputy commander of the army, don't waste your efforts here!" After a while, I saw a burly middle-aged soldier in a senior general's dress and a small Japanese soldier walking down the stairs, and adjutant Gong Weijiang and another Japanese attaché followed from a distance.

"This person is Xu Shuzheng, deputy minister of the War Department!" Tang Zhidao recognized the tall soldier at a glance, after all, he had been Tang Zhidao's boss for a few days (Tang Zhidao had only been in the War Department for a month or two, and Xu Shuzheng was dismissed by Lao Yuan because of his opposition to the imperial system), and he had seen him several times from afar. …,

"After a long time with Shiro, I should have had a long talk, but a German guy has to come to visit today!" Xu Shuzheng insisted on sending the little Japanese soldier downstairs, not because he was flattering (at least there is no obvious sign at the moment, last year a group of senior officers asked for war to oppose the signing of the 21st Article, and Xiao Xu was also an important participant), but the visiting little Japanese was his friend and classmate of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, Sasaki Shiro Nakasa, who had just been sent to China by the Japanese General Staff Headquarters to engage in intelligence work.

"What are the Germans doing at this time?" Shiro Sasaki asked casually with a roll of his small eyes.

"I guess it's not a big deal, it's just a routine!" When it comes to business, Xu Shuzheng is just making a big fuss, so as not to get any big information for himself, a shrewd classmate.

Tolistan on the side was very embarrassed, and wanted to go up directly to say hello, but when he saw that there were Japanese people present, he was stunned. Germany and Japan were belligerents, and Germans at home and abroad were very angry at Japan's shameful act of taking advantage of fire and robbery.

Fortunately, Xu Shuzheng still remembered that the military attache of the German Embassy was waiting for him, and after sending Sasaki Shiro to the gate of the back building, he came back with a few words of greeting.

"I'm very sorry, but a Japanese friend just came, and in order to prevent mutual embarrassment, your Excellency waited for a long time!" When he saw Tolistan, Xu Shuzheng stretched out his hand and said slightly apologetically: "Mr. Military Attaché, please upstairs!" ”

"It's okay, the deputy chief is also thinking about me!" Tolistan said in the Chinese he had just learned from Tang Daodao a few days ago.

"Who is this?" When the corner of his eye swept to Tang Zhidao, Xu Shuzheng was also stunned for a moment before asking.

"Xu is good, below is the Chinese translator of Colonel Tolistan!" Tang Zhidao puffed up his chest and said lightly, after all, his current status is quite detached, and no matter how good you are Xiao Xu, you can't control me as a translator.

"The Tolistan military attache doesn't know Chinese?" Xu Shuzheng asked casually, his eyes continued to stay on Tang Zhidao as if he was looking for something.

"It's only a little bit, it's still Don who taught me!" Tolistan pointed at Tang Daodao and said with a smile.

As he spoke, several people had already entered Deputy Chief Xu's office. Xu Shuzheng is above everyone in the Ministry of the Army, and it can even be said that he is the first person in the Ministry of War (the minister is concurrently served by Premier Duan Qirui), and the office is naturally the best in the entire department, the whole office is divided into two rooms, inside and outside, and the adjutant's office is slightly smaller. In the middle is the living room of Xu Cichang, the decoration is magnificent, the lighting, carpet, sofa and even the lattice glass of the window are imported from the West, the wall is hung with simple calligraphy and painting, and the eight big characters of "Mingzhi Tranquility and Zhiyuan" are vigorous and powerful, but they come from the hand of the owner of the room himself. Xiao Xu has been brilliant and talented since he was a child. Literate at the age of 3, able to poetry at the age of 7, Xiucai at the age of 13, and a student at the age of 17, known as a prodigy, gave up literature and martial arts at the age of 21, and then went east to study at the Japanese non-commissioned officer school, which can be described as a civil and military all-rounder.

"I don't know what His Excellency the Military Attache has to say here!" After a brief greeting, Xu Shuzheng said straight to the point: "Xu has been busy with everything since his reinstatement, and he has not found time to visit Minister Xin Ci and His Excellency at the embassy for a while!" ”

"I don't dare to be a teacher, I just want to come to visit Vice Chief Xu, and by the way, ask for your views on the current situation!" Tolistan hurriedly and modestly said that the most important task of the German Foreign Office to the embassy in China was to persuade the Chinese government to remain neutral. Although China is a weak country, it has an inexhaustible supply of human resources, which could provide millions of soldiers and labor for the Entente once it is in the arms of the Entente.

"The current situation? Does Your Excellency the Military Attaché mean domestic or international? Xu Shuzheng took a sip of the Longjing tea in front of him and said slowly: "I have been idle for most of the year, and the information is relatively closed, I'm afraid it will be difficult to say what satisfies Your Excellency!" "Xiao Xu is not completely playing Tai Chi, after all, Lao Yuan has not yet ascended to heaven, and he is still not very at ease with Lao Duan and him. …,

"Vice Chief Xu doesn't have to worry, it's just idle chat!" Tolistan smiled and said, "The situation facing your government is not good! ”

"Nothing, everything!" Xu Shuzheng hurriedly defended, and then talked about how Lao Duan and his Xiao Xu had turned the tide since they came to power, how the Southern Protector Army had not become a climate, etc., and Tolistan picked and stabbed them from time to time.

"What is Vice Minister Xu's view on the situation in Europe, and has there been any change in your country's policy?" That's what Tolistan wants to know most.

"The situation in your country is not good!" This time, it was Xiao Xu's turn to take eye medicine.

"How could Vice Minister Xu have such an opinion!" Tolistan stood up excitedly and said: "The situation in my country is not a small good but a big good!" Then he talked about how Germany fought on the Western Front, the French army lost its armor, occupied Verdun and approached Paris; how the Eastern Front crushed the Russians' advance into Western Ukraine; The southern front has largely occupied all of Serbia, and the fighting can end at any time.

Unlike Xiao Xu, what he said was basically true, but he picked up what was beneficial to Germany. On the Western Front, for example, Verdun still had three fortresses in French hands; Although the Russians on the Eastern Front were defeated by the Germans, they recovered from the Austro-Hungarians, the allies of the Germans; The Serbs on the southern front, although they lost most of their territory, kept the main force of the army.

In this way, such an unnutritious conversation between you and me actually lasted for nearly two hours, but Tang Zhidao did not interject a sentence from beginning to end, and faithfully performed the duties of a translator, while Gong Weijiang has been silently recording the content of the conversation between the two on the side.

"It's not early, let's stop here today!" Tolistan glanced at his watch, stood up and said politely: "Thank you again for the reception!" ”

Xu Shuzheng has long been tired of this kind of conversation, after all, he is not a professional diplomat, and his kung fu is still not as good as Colonel Tolistan.

"Translator Tang, can you stay for a while?" Just as Tang Zhidao was about to get into the car, Gong Weijiang pulled him aside and whispered, "Vice Chief Xu wants to talk to you alone!" ”