"King Qing stays," Li Hongzhang stopped Yi Kuang, who was about to leave with Long Qian, and waited for Long Qian's figure to leave, "What is King Qing's impression of this person?" He's been with you all the way. ”

"It's a lot of fun." Yi Kuang smiled, "He is now a celebrity in front of Lafayette." It's no wonder that the merit is higher than the rescue. However, this son was very bold, and even asked the Queen Mother to change politics when his majesty left__"

"Oh?" Li Hongzhang was also taken aback, and then understood that Wu Yong had already introduced it in detail, and this person had not long returned from the United States, and he probably didn't know the harm caused to Cixi by the Wuxu Change, "Was he reprimanded?" ”

"No," Yi Kuang waved his hand, "Lafayette is not angry. I see, Lafayette is afraid that he has moved the mind of the Restoration again__Restoration, Restoration, the Qing Dynasty should really change. As if thinking of something, Yi Kuang stroked his white beard and shook his head vigorously.

"I'll wait for the old age, let's see the younger generations." Li Hongzhang sighed.

"Shaoquan, do you see what Long Qian said, is it reliable?"

"He's right about one thing." Li Hongzhang smiled bitterly, "I don't have anything in my hand, how can I talk to foreigners?" Just punish the culprit, and we will offend the dead. ”

"It doesn't matter." Yi Kuang can see more than Li Hongzhang, "Although Long Qian is young, he has vision, no wonder Lafayette is more important than him." As long as the Queen Mother is not involved, we can't take care of it much. Although Lafayette did not say anything, she was looking forward to returning to Luan as soon as possible. ”

"Easier said than done! At this point, how can foreigners withdraw from Beijing if they don't get what they want? King Qing. We are destined to be called traitors. ”

Yi Kuang is not Han, and he can only be a traitor if he wants to say it. However, although Yi Kuang was also appointed as the plenipotentiary by Cixi, he made up his mind not to come out, "Shaoquan, when it comes to negotiating with foreigners, looking at the government and the opposition, there is no more suitable than you." Foreigners always want to sell you a little face. ”

"Difficult! When she came to Beijing this time, didn't the Queen Mother give Long Qian a title? ”

"Nope. When His Majesty resigned, he opened his mouth to ask the Queen Mother for a place. He said that innovation should be based on accumulating wealth, and it should be done from the bottom up. Gain experience. Slow rollout. There must be no castles in the air. The reform of Kang Liang is a chaotic law, not a change of law. ”

"No wonder the Queen Mother is not angry." Li Hongzhang smiled, "It's easy to say!" Easier said than done, there are many people in the world who talk big words. But. Capture Seymour's exploits alive. He should be rewarded with a prefect. ”

"That's right. Will foreigners really hold a grudge against him? In the first battle of Xigu, the Shandong army led by him killed nearly a thousand foreign soldiers. ”

This son can see clearly. If Seymour had been killed, he would have been unable to get out of that list. But now Seymour and hundreds of his men are safe and sound. It's too late for foreigners to be grateful. What he's saying is that Seymour is the only card we have in our hands. I want the two of us to jointly play the Queen Mother, and ask the Queen Mother to grant Long Qian an official position, standard? Take a lower-level military attache to do diplomacy, will the Qing Dynasty really be laughed to death? ”

"Is Shaoquan going to take it under his account?"

"King Qing, I'm old, I've been coughing up blood a lot lately, and my memory has deteriorated so much, it's a blessing to be able to finish this for the court. Whether it's the Restoration, or the whole army, Hongzhang is afraid that he won't be able to see it. Although Li Hongzhang's tone was relaxed, his attitude was gloomy.

"Shaoquan __"

"That's it, King Qing is kind, Hongzhang understands it. The hour is not early, and the prince should rest in peace. ”

Long Qian didn't sleep at this time, and was still chatting with Wu Yong, Situ Jun and David. Because of Wu Yong's presence, some things could not be said. Just chatting in the sky, but from Wu Yong's mouth, he learned about Li Hongzhang's diplomatic "achievements" these days, and when Wu Yong and Situ Jun were sent away, he left David.

"David, what do you think of this war?" Long Qian asked.

"Commander, do you doubt my identity?"

"David, you're an American citizen, and that never changes. There is no need to change. Even if you renounce your U.S. citizenship, you are still a foreigner in the eyes of the vast majority of Chinese. See what I mean? ”

"But I'm already a soldier of the Mengshan Army."

"Yes. You're still my brother. David, do I want Jiang Yun to bring you to Beijing? ”

"Is the commander asking me to inquire about the U.S. government's attitude toward ending the war?"

"David, you're smart. That's what it means. But you can't do it. You are nothing more than an ordinary American, a young American who came to China to visit relatives and went missing unexpectedly. The U.S. Legation will be glad at your presence, but the U.S. Minister will not tell you about the attitude of the U.S. government. I'm well aware of this. ”

"I can give it a try."

"I'm glad you say that. David, you tell me from the heart, you have been in China for more than two years, what do you think of my motherland? ”

David obviously didn't think about this question, and Long Qian's expression was so serious that he didn't allow him not to answer, and thought for a while, "I think China is very poor, the standard of living is very low, and the Chinese are stupid, oh, I mean the Chinese are too poorly educated, and most of them are illiterate." Chinese people have a lot of bad habits, such as not bathing, smoking opium, women wrapping their little feet, including braids__Commander, I love China, really, I think you can change China, in the base areas, opium smokers are almost extinct, and literacy classes are also set up to make children literate and promote hygiene__"

Long Qian interrupted David's words, "David, what you said is the truth. Actually, the situation is more serious than this, and you haven't seen more ugly phenomena yet. For example, the corruption of the government, almost no officials are not greedy, such as concubinage, prostitution, superstition, human trafficking, and the extreme backwardness of medical facilities. Because of the weakness of the agricultural foundation, a large number of people often starve to death in a disaster year, and the number can reach several million. In the year of the catastrophe, there was even a tragedy of 'changing children and eating'. Do you know what 'easy children and eat'? ”

David shook his head.

"It's because of hunger that the two families will exchange children for food."

"Ahh David covered his mouth in surprise.

"Shandong is not the poorest area, and what you see is not the worst. There are still many more backward and impoverished places than Shandong, and the degree of poverty, backwardness and ignorance. You can't even think of it. Especially from the United States, which has basically completed the industrial revolution, I will feel it even more deeply. But, my brother David, China has not always been so backward. When the United States was still a paradise for the primitive tribes of the Indians, China had already established a splendid civilization, not to mention the cultural achievements such as writing, philosophy, and poetry, that is, the use of gunpowder and firearms, which had reached a very high level three hundred years ago. Where was America three hundred years ago? The Renaissance in Europe has just begun, right? You may not think that Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Empire 1,300 years ago, was the center of the Eastern world. Today's arrogant Japan. It was a humble student of the Tang Dynasty who greedily and systematically studied Chinese civilization in its entirety, and you must have noticed that the Chinese script is still used in Japan today. The Northern Song Dynasty a thousand years ago. Megacities with a population of more than one million and a developed commodity economy have emerged. Four hundred years ago, the Ming Dynasty. A large ocean-going fleet has been organized, carrying 30,000 soldiers on board to explore the oceans. Korea, now a Japanese colony, has long served as a vassal state of China. Their capital is called Seoul, what is Seoul for? It is because the main ethnic group in China is the Han nationality. ”

The previous paragraph was said in Long Qian's daily Chinese language similar to the Jingshi accent, and then Long Qian changed to English, and David, who was listening attentively, immediately understood that Long Qian changed to English because he was worried that others would hear it.

"China's backwardness has been a matter of the last 200 years, not for a long time. In the long history of our country, its civilization has always been ahead of the world. The characteristics of Chinese civilization are very different from those of the predatory Western civilization. Chinese will not rely on their own strength to conquer other countries and establish colonies, and it is the nature of Chinese to love peace. Although we have countless opportunities to expand our territory. Known as the 'Whip of God', the Mongol cavalry that crisscrossed Europe and Asia was not the mainstream of Chinese civilization. When the West began industrial civilization, our once great country did not keep up with the pace of the world, and the fundamental reason was the ignorant rule of the Manchu court, who only cared about the stability of their imperial power, and could not see the changes in the world at all. They think that the bow and arrow are the most powerful weapons in the world, and they do not understand the role of firearms, they only care about the loyalty of ministers and officials, and do not care about their ability and quality, they are superstitious about power, they do not understand who the power belongs to, and whether they should be responsible for the group that grants power__Dear David, you must believe that China, which has a splendid civilization history of 5,000 years, will not sink forever, and there will be a day when she will be reborn from the ashes, and the Chinese nation will usher in the day of her great rejuvenation! For this goal, I will fight for it all my life! David, as an American, you have to make real choices, are you willing to fight with me? ”

"Yes, I do. I thought about this question when I decided to join your army. ”

"Who?" Long Qian sensed that someone was snooping and eavesdropping outside the door.

"Very well spoken. Even I was impressed. "A middle-aged man pushed the door in," introduced himself, his surname was Gu, Gu Tangsheng. From Wuchang, it is now the translator of Lord Li Hongzhang. I've long heard of the name of the Shandong Army that shocked Tianjin, but I didn't expect to know English, although your English is full of flaws. ”

"Mr. Koo? Mr. Koo Hung Ming? Long Qian stood up, "Fortunately, fortunately." Of course, compared to Mr. Gu, who is a language genius, Long is also a doll who can just speak. ”

"Oh, you're General Long Qian? Have you ever heard of Gu's name? Gu Hongming was a little surprised.

"Mr. Gu's name, who has studied both Chinese and Western, has been admired by Long for a long time!"

"I don't dare to learn from China and the West," Gu Hongming shook his head, "However, Gu Mou deeply agrees with General Long's lofty remarks just now. Chinese nation? The word is good. The great rejuvenation of the nation is very good, very good. ”

Gu Hongming's intrusion interrupted Long Qian's secret conversation with David, originally Long Qian wanted to reveal a personal secret to David, because of Gu Hongming's joining, the conversation turned to the evaluation of Europe and the United States, and after talking for an hour, Gu Hongming said goodbye unfinished, and Long Qian continued the topic just now.

"David, there's one thing, I need your help."

"I follow the commandant's orders." David stood up.

"For some special reason, I need you to make up a resume of me in the United States. Including the city where you live, the school you attend, please note that it cannot be a prestigious school. Preferably your neighbors. This resume is important, at least, we will need it tomorrow when we meet with the American minister. ”

"For what?" David was a little confused.

"If I say I committed a crime in the United States and escaped, would you believe it?"

"No, I don't believe it. Oh, perhaps, the American justice system will also wronged the good guys. David had always considered Long Qian to be a perfect leader, wise, brave, omnipotent, moral, and almost flawless. For this reason, David made Long Qian his idol.

"You'll understand later. My dear David. I need your help, and your help is extremely important to me in the current situation. Because I don't have perfect details, you know? It's called being prepared. ”

"Understood. You can be my neighbor. ”

"No, not your neighbors. Dear David. New York is a big city, but it should be well-registered. And, I have a hunch that I'll meet your family, and that will expose our little lie. I can live in the same city with you and go to a school that is not so obscure, like a vocational school. But not a prestigious school. Got it? ”

"Got it." In fact, David didn't understand the true meaning of Long Qian, but what Long Qian said would meet his parents still made him excited, "You said that you would meet my family, are you going back to the United States?" ”

"David, you have been missing for the past two years, and it is conceivable that your family will probably be worried about death. I'm sorry for that. Before, we fought continuously and had no chance of restoring contact with the United States. Now it's okay, I have decided to accompany you to the U.S. Legation tomorrow and go to register. The news will soon reach the United States. But you don't have to say that you have joined the Mengshan Army, it's not that I don't want you, an excellent American brother, but that I need you to take on more important tasks. ”

David didn't want his family, hesitation has been enveloping him, he wants to leave the army and return to China, but he is reluctant to live a hot, new and legendary life, "Then, commander, what do you need me to do?" ”

"I am determined to rejuvenate the nation, but the road must be taken step by step, and the food must be eaten in one bite. You know that the army and people's livelihood are inseparable from money. The next step is to set up a company with the aim of raising funds. It's better for the company to be based in the United States, and the funding has almost been implemented, so I still need to seriously consider what to operate. No one can help me in this matter except you. In the future, you will be able to run on both sides. Do you think it's good? ”

"Of course that's fine. But I don't know how to run a business. David grinned.

"No one is born to know, is there? Okay, it's not early, you go and rest. Tomorrow, let's go to the American minister. (To be continued......)