Before leaving for the United States, Zhou Hongxiang met with Mu Yang and explained some things, but also told Mu Yang that his main job was normal diplomatic work, and if there was something important, he would be activated, and in the entire US Embassy, except for the ambassador and chief military attaché, no one else would know Mu Yang's other identity at all.

Ambassador Yang Chenglin, Ambassador Extraordinary Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the United States of America, delivered a speech at the Embassy in Washington, D.C., welcoming all colleagues who come to work at the Embassy in the United States, and hoping that in the future work, they will enter into a role change as soon as possible and adapt to work and life abroad.

This welcome party is also a farewell party, Muyang and their group of newcomers came over, the old people are ready to return to China, looking at the expressions on their faces, they feel a relaxed look, it seems that even if they live in the United States, it is difficult to give up their thoughts about their hometown and relatives.

At the reception, Ambassador Yang and the counselors toasted to welcome the new colleagues, and brought people to each table to shake hands and talk with everyone cordially. ”

The crowd laughed along.

Muyang also noticed that among the several counselors who followed Ambassador Yang, there was a middle-aged man wearing a military uniform and a neat military appearance, without a hat, with neat short hair and two eyes that were very energetic.

Mu Yang even noticed that on the shoulders of this soldier, there was a shining gold star. Mu Yang thought to himself. This should be Major General Zhu Lie, the chief military attache of the embassy in the United States.

Military attache (English name MilitaryAttache), military attache is a special type of diplomat. He is a diplomatic representative of the country's armed forces and a military assistant to the ambassador to various countries. Permanent mission in embassies abroad.

Military attachés in embassies and consulates generally have the same diplomatic rank as the counsellors of embassies, and enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities.

China's chief military attache in the United States is the highest-ranking of all military attaches stationed abroad, with the rank of regular army and major general, and the rank of deputy military in other major countries, but most of the military attaches of small and medium-sized countries abroad are at the rank of full division, that is, the rank of colonel.

Here's a special word. The military attachés of our embassies in various countries are subordinate to the Second Department of the General Staff and are not sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of National Defence. Most military attachés graduated from the People's Liberation Army Institute of International Relations or were selected to study at the Institute of Relations.

The peculiarity and sensitivity of the work of military attachés are easily reminiscent of military "espionage", but military attachés are different from spies in that military attachés are diplomats who are engaged in military diplomacy in accordance with the law, and their activities in conducting international exchanges and gathering intelligence and information are all open.

If the military attaché engages in activities incompatible with his status as a diplomat, in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Can be declared "persona non grata". Stealing intelligence is discovered, listed as "persona non grata", and then recalled by the home country, in fact, there are not a few such things. This has happened almost everywhere between the great powers.

But the real confrontations are often hidden at the bottom.

Mu Yang was here in Washington for two days, during which he participated in a training meeting and a personnel allocation meeting. Muyang stepped on the plane again and headed for Houston.

Muyang did not stay at the Chinese Embassy in Washington. Instead, he was assigned to the Consulate General in Houston.

China has an embassy in the United States, in Washington. Five Consulates General. They are the Consulates General in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Houston, and the states of the United States are divided, and different consulates are responsible for affairs in the region.

You must know that the Chinese Embassy in the United States is the largest and largest of all Chinese embassies in the world, with a total number of about 200 people, and this is only the official number of diplomatic personnel, including diplomats and military attachés.

There are more employees, doing the usual work, such as drivers, cooks, reception, passport renewal, visas, certificates, etc., this part of the number is about 1,000 people, so the U.S. Embassy is a huge embassy, unlike some countries, the entire country's embassy has only five or six people, many people wear multiple hats, such as the consulate in Barranquilla, is China's smallest foreign agency, only 1 diplomat, all the work has to be done by him alone.

You have to ask where Barranquilla is, to be honest, Muyang also found out after checking the information that it is the largest seaport in the Republic of Colombia and the capital of the Atlantic Province.

With Muyang to Houston, is a third secretary named Guo Zeyu, the two of them chatted a lot on the plane, there are longing and apprehension for the new job, and there is also a prospect for the future, Guo Zeyu used to work in the Department of Information, three years later mentioned the deputy section, and worked for another three years, he was sent out this year, he was lucky, he was sent to a developed area, and he was a little fortunate about this.

Everyone knows that if you are assigned to a war-torn area, or an extremely poor and backward area such as Africa, not to mention work, even life is a difficulty, and you have to ensure that you survive the tribal conflict, and you have to be careful not to be hit by disease, and you have to work hard to carry out diplomatic work.

Plane in Houston George. Bush Intercontinental Airport landed, Muyang and Guo Zeyu walked out of the passage, and saw someone holding a sign with the names of Muyang and Guo Zeyu written on it, Muyang and the two stepped forward and said: "I am Muyang, is it a comrade from the Consulate General in Houston?" ”

"Yes, yes, I am Liu Xingjun, an attaché in the office of the Consulate General, this is the driver Zhou Qiang, I have finally waited for you, let's go, let's go back to the embassy." Liu Xingjun said and pointed to a man in his twenties next to him.

Liu Xingjun is about 27 or 8 years old, his eyes are not big, but he is very energetic, and as he spoke, he beckoned the driver Zhou Qiang to step forward to take the luggage for Muyang and Guo Zeyu.

Liu Xingjun told Muyang and Guo Zeyu about the traffic and the buildings and scenery along the way in the car, and seemed to be a relatively talkative and outgoing person.

"Drive on Highway 45, take exit 47A and take AllenPkwy, turn left at Montrose Blvd., then go straight for about a mile, and you will find the Consulate General office building on the east side of the road."

The scenery of Houston is good, the sky is blue, the farm can be seen in the distance from the highway, it is already autumn, the grass has been harvested, rolled into tall egg rolls, and placed on the grass at will, and you can see the grazing cattle from time to time. (To be continued.) )