Pei Yuanqiao walked out from behind the bunker, the decent suit he was wearing was already covered with dust, and his glasses were lost somewhere.

But putting everything else aside, judging from this outfit alone, Pei Yuanqiao can already be regarded as proficient in foreign affairs.

"I'm fine."

He straightened his clothes, dusted his cuffs, and asked, "But Mr. Conrad of your country's Lockmartin Group sent you?" ”

Jones nodded, "It was indeed Mr. Conrad who hired me." ”

"Mr. Conrad reminds you that it is imperative to return to the Embassy at once, lest you be harassed again by the British."

"Okay, thank you."

"The commission only asks me to help you stop this attack, and the rest is not my responsibility."

Jones looked at Zhang Huaisheng and said with some regret: "Mr. Zhang, although you have a lot of prejudices against us, I still feel honored to fight side by side with a strong man like you. ”

Zhang Huaisheng raised his finger: "In short, thank you for the cigarettes." ”

He had a very bad impression of Americans, and it was impossible for him to be friends with any American who was "proud to be American" when the Chinese Exclusion Act was still in effect.

Of course, if there are interests involved, and there are requests for others, it is naturally a different matter.

"Farewell."

Jones, dressed in a heavy mech, gradually disappeared from the sight of the two.

Pei Yuanqiao looked at Zhang Huaisheng and took a deep look: "This time, I have to thank Jinyu for rescuing me, it's just the Xiyi Demon Law, you need to be vigilant against animal sexual infestation, and you still have to read and write more books of sages for self-cultivation." ”

Zhang Huaisheng glanced at him and threw the cigarette butt in his hand beside the road: "You don't have to worry about it." ”

"If you really want to thank me, be less greedy, or rather... Let them be less greedy, and try to make the purchased armaments available to the front-line soldiers. ”

The officialdom of Donghua pays attention to its own hands, and its degree of corruption is comparable to that of Tsarist Russia and the Ottomans among the warring countries.

This is a common problem of bureaucracy, and it has nothing to do with whether it is feudal or not, and in later generations of Russia, the problem of corruption is still serious.

Pei Yuanqiao smiled bitterly: "The old man went to Boston this time, but Her Majesty the Queen Mother appointed me as an envoy, even if the arms purchase agreement is signed, it is impossible to influence the whereabouts of this batch of arms." Where can you control the hands of others? ”

"It's simple, you directly agree with the Yankees to send the arms to the front line and then distribute them, even if you can't eradicate them, at least it can make it more difficult for those old men to get started."

To embezzle this batch of arms is nothing more than to sell them.

Delivering directly to the front line will greatly increase the cost and expense of their resale.

Pei Yuanqiao was stunned, his brows tightened, and he nodded: "This is a good idea." ”

He was the head of the diplomatic service this time, and although a telegram had been set up in some parts of the country, it was absolutely impossible to contact Boston, and everything on this trip was up to him.

But in doing so, it will undoubtedly greatly offend those powerful people.

He was able to accept it without hesitation, which made Zhang Huaisheng feel a little good, but it was only a little.

Zhang Huaisheng said: "Let's just say that this is a decision made by the Yankees in order to shorten the voyage and reduce the cost. ”

"How to report, the old man naturally understands."

"Although the old man disdains these flies and dogs in this officialdom, he has seen it really well for decades."

"Hmm."

Zhang Huaisheng nodded: "Let's go, Master Pei, if you delay any longer, I'm afraid that the patrol police won't wait, but will wait for the doglegs of MI6." ”

"Okay."

Walking out of New Orleans Street, the road becomes more and more bustling.

The traffic is busy, even at night, it is still bustling.

Pei Yuanqiao couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"The people of Citi America live much better than the people of Donghua, you see that in this night market, the cloth and the laborers can eat a little meat. And I, the people of Donghua, who are in slightly better condition, may not be able to eat meat once a month. ”

"In addition, even if it is one of the two capitals, Shuntian Mansion, when it comes to curfew, it is also pitch black, only the Qinglou Gefang is bright all night, how can there be such a prosperous night market?"

"These gas street lamps and steam cars are also rare things that are only available in the palace, where can the common people use them."

"There are no high-rise buildings, in our north Zhili, the houses are made of clay bricks, covered with some straw and plaster, even if it is the roof."

"This innovation really has to be carried out, otherwise the country will never be rich and strong."

Pei Yuanqiao has been in Boston these days, and he has been quite dizzying, he has previously communicated with some missionaries of the Steam Church in Donghua.

Can you hear it like a hundred things?

"The old man originally only said that this was the praise of those Xiyi missionaries, and he was quite disdainful of it, who would have thought that looking at this scene, it was not a boast, but more like modesty."

Zhang Huaisheng frowned and interrupted: "Boston is the capital of Massachusetts, and the entire Citigroup America can be more prosperous than this city, but there are only a few, but there is no need to over-hype." ”

"Jin Yu, you have been wandering around all these years, but you are quite familiar with this Xiyi foreign affairs, but the old man is short-sighted."

Along the way, Pei Yuanqiao chatted with Zhang Huaisheng, and he was annoyed.

It seems that they have really become some kind of close relationship between the elders and juniors,

But Pei Yuanqiao seemed to have opened the chatterbox and kept talking.

"Alas, it's no wonder that when your father went to Taixi, he insisted on innovation, and I am in Donghua, and I am indeed lagging behind the countries of Taixi."

"It's just that the old man still thinks that this Taixi people are incorruptible and shameful, and they don't understand etiquette and righteousness, so they are not as good as my Donghua Confucianism and cultural education."

"The so-called learning from the East as the body and learning from the West as the use is the best policy, and there is no need to attract too much criticism from the ministers of the DPRK and China."

"Jinyu, don't think the old man talks too much, I also feel it in the past few days, but I can't vent."

Zhang Huaisheng said helplessly: "What you say is yours." ”

All the way back to the embassy, there was no more attack.

...

The Donghua Embassy in Boston uses an old villa, and there is no concession, embassy or anything like that.

In the villa, the lights are bright.

When the sergeants got the news, they immediately put all their staff on alert.

Zhang Huaisheng stayed up all night and sat down at the table in the living room.

He originally wanted to talk to the sergeants about some problems in martial arts, but after they learned Zhang Huaisheng's identity, none of them dared to talk to him.

After all, he is still carrying the identity of a court prisoner, and it is normal for him not to be welcomed.

Zhang Huaisheng didn't feel much loss, although they looked like compatriots on the surface, they just looked like each other on the surface.

In this era, people who can understand Zhang Huaisheng are just a sub-personality.

Really removed his wanted notice and let him return to Donghua, where there was nothing to be missed.

Zhang Huaisheng casually opened a book on the table, titled: "Atlas of the Sea Kingdom", the author is Wei Yuan.

There are still some notes on it, which shows that Pei Yuanqiao should have read this book a lot during this time.

As soon as he saw the preface, Zhang Huaisheng couldn't help laughing.

The preface to the book reads: "What is the purpose of a book?" Said: It is made for the razing of the raze, for the sake of the Yi, and for the master's long-term skills to control the razing. “

Pei Yuanqiao seems to have been deeply influenced by this book, and it is no wonder that there is often a saying on his lips: "Western learning is the body, and Eastern learning is for use".

At this time, Pei Yuanqiao changed his clothes and came in.

I happened to see Zhang Huaisheng smiling on his face, and he was a little puzzled: "Why is Jinyu laughing?" ”

"Nothing."

Zhang Huaisheng shook his head.

Pei Yuanqiao took a deep look and said sincerely:

"Jinyu, you are more proficient in foreign affairs than me, I have seen you many times on this trip, and you are deeply disdainful of what I said, can you teach me?"

"Not really."

Zhang Huaisheng still shook his head, he felt that Pei Yuanqiao, an old antique, was just a waste of saliva if he told him.

Pei Yuanqiao made another gesture: "Jinyu, the old man is sincerely seeking advice this time, the way of Western learning, the master is the first, the old man will not deceive you when you are weak and refuse to be taught." ”

Zhang Huaisheng frowned, slightly moved by his sincere tone: "It's not that it doesn't work, it's just that you definitely can't do it." ”

This is the current situation of Donghua.

Slow improvement is acceptable, but if the movement is a little bigger, it will attract a counterattack like his father.

In this life, Donghua, which had not yet been invaded by the British and French forces, although capitalism had flourished because of its colonization of Malay, the strength of the diehards was even stronger.

"Jinyu, what you say is, if there is hope, the old man has no regrets even though he dies!"

Zhang Huaisheng saw that his words were sincere, so he had no choice but to say: "In my Donghua Restoration, I haven't come up with any practical ways at present. After all, I have been away from Donghua for a long time, and I don't know the situation above the court. ”

"You can study the reforms of Tsar Alexander II and see why they failed and what results they achieved."

"The Ottomans and Tsarist Russia are very similar to the current situation of Donghua, but Tsarist Russia finally has a certain industrial base, and Donghua is indeed too backward in the process of industrialization."

"Reading history can tell you about the rise and fall, and taking history as a mirror is far more able to make you understand it than I say a few words."

Zhang Huaisheng didn't dare to rashly put forward any advanced ideas, for Clifford, he was talking nonsense, just talking on paper, and there was no pressure at all.

But this is not the case with Donghua.

No matter how you say that you are not compatriots, it has nothing to do with me, but Zhang Huaisheng has always been a hard-mouthed and soft-hearted person.

If he really didn't take Donghua seriously, he wouldn't have accepted McCartney's commission to protect Pei Yuanqiao.

Pei Yuanqiao is not a leader like Clifford, but a courtier of the Donghua Emperor, and Donghua is not the emperor's final say.

The top-down feudal reform movement is often difficult to complete.

Because the ruling class may be able to produce one or two wise people who realize the importance of innovation, but it can never really take the initiative to change its own lives.

"Speaking of which, how did the imperial court be fooled by the German envoys and declare war on Britain and France?"

Zhang Huaisheng also gave birth to a talk about sex: "The aggressiveness of Confucian civilization has never been high. ”

"Since the former Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Jiaozhi has been the inherent territory of my Donghua, and it is our duty to recover this place, how can it be said to be an invasion?"

Pei Yuanqiao corrected: "The same is true on Lanfang Island, as the governor's palace directly under the royal family, but it was forcibly occupied by the Yingyi, and the royal family actually wanted to take it back for a long time. ”

There are a large number of Donghua immigrants living in Jiaozhi and Lanfang, among which Jiaozhi used to be a province of Donghua, but it was temporarily divided due to rebellion and was forcibly occupied by the French.

Lanfang Island actually refers to the island of Kalimantan, or Borneo.

In this world, it was occupied by the Great Shun Dynasty a long time ago, and as the private property of the royal family, the spices and rubber produced brought a huge amount of income to the imperial treasury every year.

It is normal for the royal family to want to take it back, but it has been suffering from the backwardness of the navy before and does not dare to compete with the two countries.

Now that there is Germany and Austria to attract firepower, it is normal for the Dashun royal family to be moved.