Chapter 10 of Volume 2: Foreign Teacher

  Zhenyuelou is the first-class place in Guangzhou, with a three-story building that is luxurious and majestic. The golden signboard was said to be written by the Grand Secretary during the Qianlong Emperor's reign. The dragon and phoenix dance added a few more touches of elegance. The guests who come and go are all high-ranking officials and nobles.

  The three-story building had the character for "dry" or "sky" on it, and outside the first room, several tall attendants stood at the door with their chests out and their bellies in, each one with a proud look on his face. From the way they looked down on others, you could tell that the guest inside was no ordinary person.

  A table full of delicacies and fine wines, Ye Zhao and Han Jun's deputy commander Song Yu together entertained the newly appointed Guangzhou general Fuliang. Fuliang was white and chubby, with a smiling face all the time, speaking politely, having a great conversation with Ye Zhao and Song Yu.

  "This Guangzhou is indeed a place of outstanding people and scenery, it's hard to express just how much I like it." Fuliang sighed with emotion as he savored his wine.

  Song Yu hastily smiled and said, "Your Excellency will have to stay in Guangzhou for a few more years, so that we subordinates can also hear your teachings." He was a red sash, but this branch had long since fallen, and it wasn't until his generation that he coincidentally rose through the ranks, grabbing a second-class hat, quick-witted and eloquent.

  Fu Liang smiled and seemed to be listening with great interest, his eyes glanced at Ye Shao and said: "Brother Jing, from now on, we should get closer and handle things beautifully for the emperor." From the moment they met, he used the term "Brother Jing", it really seemed like Ye Shao was an old friend of his in the capital.

  Ye Zhao's face was humble and he said: "I don't dare, everything will be done according to General Jing Xiang's orders."

  Fu Liang took a sip of wine, his smile still on his face, and said: "As for the matter of handling firearms, don't worry, I'll take care of it. Just be bold and do what you need to do. But don't blame me for speaking out of turn - if we can avoid dealing with foreigners, let's not provoke them. Otherwise, when the Emperor finds out, we'll all be in trouble." He belched, then added casually: "Let's just forget about tomorrow's banquet, shall we?"

  Song Yu felt that something was off, having just heard General and Ye Zhao address each other as brothers. He thought to himself that even if they wanted to curry favor with the Prince, they didn't have to be so obvious, especially since he was their superior and the powerful General of Guangzhou at the time. Upon hearing this conversation, he couldn't help but feel shocked in his heart. However, he only smiled and poured wine for the two of them, without interrupting.

  Ye Zhao gently swirled the wine cup, pondered for a moment, and then said: "The general has come from afar and is tired. Tomorrow's banquet, I will attend alone on behalf of my lord. These external affairs are complicated and tedious, and speaking without keeping one's word would make the English barbarians laugh at our great Qing dynasty for not knowing etiquette."

  Fu Liang narrowed his eyes and looked at Ye Zhao for a while, then burst out laughing: "Alright, Jing Ge is used to dealing with foreigners, I'm just worrying unnecessarily, no need to blame me."

  Ye Zhaoben already knew that if Fuliang followed him to the appointment with the foreigner, it would be a strange thing. Now he had just arrived, and who knows what kind of trouble he might cause for himself in the future.

  Mutern was transferred to Fuzhou General, and the opportunity to ease relations with him during his term was also missed. The two most important generals of the Eight Banners stationed in Jiangnan seem to be at odds with each other, which is quite a headache.

  However, Ye Zhao just smiled and picked up his wine glass to toast Fuliang. In his heart, he was speculating about Fuliang's attitude towards him. With Fuliang around, even if the new army was trained, it would eventually become someone else's spoil of war. It was likely that as soon as the new army took shape, Fuliang would think of a way to directly take over his jurisdiction, and this possibility was almost 100%.

  How can I fight against this old fox?

  ……

  As for being able to meet with the Governor of Guangdong and the Deputy Governor at the Viceroy's Office in Guangzhou, British Consul in Guangzhou and Governor of Hong Kong Sir Henry Blake was undoubtedly excited, because just recently, the request of the new US Minister, George MacLean, to pay his respects to the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ye Mingchen, had been refused again.

  It's no wonder that Bao Ling called this meeting "epoch-making" when he met with the British merchant, as they had been holding their breath for two years. Our fleet was fighting against the Russian Tsar in the Black Sea, but couldn't support the British in China, so when Ye Zhao's letter arrived, it felt like a relief after a long period of frustration.

  To show his sincerity, Bao brought with him two British majors, one of whom had just returned from a tour of duty in the Indian subcontinent and the other was a garrison officer stationed in Hong Kong, both of whom were young and promising, and among the best of those serving in the Far Eastern colonies.

  When entering Guangzhou City, although to avoid causing public outrage, Bao Ling and two military officers, as well as interpreters and followers, all took sedan chairs, but from the gap in the sedan curtain, looking at the red-tasseled hats of the Qing officials and soldiers opening the way ahead, and then looking at the incredibly deep gate of Guangzhou City, Bao Ling had an even stronger sense of creating history.

  In the past, foreign businessmen were mostly active in the Xiguan area, and those who sneaked into Guangzhou City or went to Foshan and other commercial areas were almost all beaten by the crowd. Entering the city was indeed a luxury and dream for merchants from various countries.

  The sedan chair passed through several gates and entered the Banner City, then majestically entered the Grand Commandant's Mansion. Looking at the armored soldiers in front of the commander's tent, the majestic signboard with Manchu and Han characters, Bao Ling suddenly felt a sense of being in a different world.

  When a young and handsome official, wearing a nine-dragon four-claw official robe, with a ruby top hat, dignified and majestic, came to greet him in front of the sedan chair, Bao Ling's feeling became even better.

  "Consul, hello." Ye Zhao smiled and cupped his hands, which left Bao Ling stunned for a moment. He vaguely recalled hearing about a young official from the Qing Dynasty who was fluent in English, the special envoy of the Shanghai Tariff Dispute several months ago, but ultimately didn't get any benefits for the various countries. Could it be that this Vice Commander had come to Guangzhou again?

  Bao's expression changed slightly, and he suppressed his earlier triumphant emotions. He placed his hand on his chest and bowed slightly: "General, hello."

  Ye Zhaoming smiled and made a welcoming gesture: "Ladies and gentlemen, please come in. You have traveled thousands of miles to my China, and you are all the most honored guests of our dynasty."

  Bao Ling and his entourage followed Ye Zhao into a cozy side hall, where attendants served tea.

  "The Governor-General is well-versed in our country's language, impressive!" Bao Ling's face broke into a smile, and the two curved mustaches at the corners of his mouth also quivered with the movement.

  Ye Zhaoye smiled: "This official's long-cherished wish is to promote the friendship between our dynasty and the Western countries, and also hopes that more people in our dynasty will learn your country's language, blend East and West, and no longer create trouble."

  Bao Ling was not so easily swayed by Ye Zhao's words, after all in Shanghai, Ye Zhao couldn't take advantage of the foreigners who were addicted to taking advantage of others. So although Ye Zhao spoke nicely, Bao Ling became even more vigilant and smiled: "General is the most enlightened official I've met from your country." He also said: "The matter of exchanging the contract and entering the city seems like it will require General's mediation."

  It has been ten years since the treaty was signed to make Guangzhou a commercial port, but foreign businessmen still cannot enter the city of Guangzhou. Bao Ling naturally had to bring up this topic.

  Ye Zhaoduan picked up the teacup, took a sip, and sighed: "This is not something that this official can decide on, but Consul, rest assured, I will definitely discuss with General Ye to make arrangements, hoping to open the city gate as soon as possible."

  Bao Ling sneered inwardly, it seemed that this Commander-in-Chief was no different from other Qing officials.

  "Mr. Consul, I hope you can understand my difficulties and believe me, I absolutely do not want to wait until your country has put out the flames of war in Crimea before meeting with our dynasty's military again."

  Bao Ling was taken aback, as the domestic demand for a tough stance and declaration of war against the Qing dynasty grew louder. It seemed that after the end of the war with Russia, a second war with this corrupt empire would be unavoidable. The young officer in front of him had a good understanding of the external situation.

  Bao Ling looked at Ye Zhaohua, this person, and had to re-examine him again.

  "Since Governor-General doesn't want the two of us to go to war again, I'll wait with bated breath, hoping that Governor-General can bring me good news, and it won't take too long."

  Ye Zhao nodded: "Definitely."

  Bao Ling made a gesture to the officers and attendants sitting below, then turned to Ye Zhao and said: "The instructor that Generalissimo needs, I have found two candidates for you. You can consider them and decide who is suitable." He then turned his head and said: "Don't you still need to meet Generalissimo?"

  Both officers sprang to their feet, saluted Ye Zhaoying, and reported their ranks and names. One was called Peter Jackson, the other Andrew Johnson.

  Andrew is more handsome than Peter, although he bows, his face is extremely arrogant.

  After the two sat down, Bao Ling simply introduced Ye Zhao to their resumes. Andrew was indeed arrogant, with some brilliant experiences, and had recently made military achievements in the battle against a group of pirates in Malacca.

  Ye Zhaoyi nodded repeatedly, asking the two men a few questions each. Andrew was brief and to the point, while Peter had more to say. Ye Zhaoyi turned to Peter, intending to speak again, when suddenly he saw Peter pull out a white piece of paper from somewhere, smiling as he said: "Sir, military strategy involves a lot of knowledge, intelligence is also crucial in determining victory or defeat in war, and transmitting secret intelligence is an art form. Can you see what's special about this piece of paper?"

  Ye Zhao looked at him and smiled without saying a word.

  Then Peter took out a small bottle of yellow liquid from his body, which was already prepared in advance. He dipped his finger into the yellow medicine and applied it to the white paper, bit by bit. Gradually, several lines of purple text appeared.

  "General, how is it?" Peter smiled and handed over the white paper with both hands, thinking that General Andrew would definitely take it with surprise. A hint of disdain flashed in Andrew's eyes, but he didn't say a word.

  Ye Zhaoyu smiled: "Your invisible ink, if you look closely, can actually be seen. If you want to send a secret message, using cobalt chloride solution is the best way. After drying, use the fire roasting method and the text will appear." Not to mention those who study chemistry professionally, even middle school students or primary school students in later generations would understand this little trick. However, iodine was only truly extracted just a few decades ago.

  "Cobalt chloride?" Peter looked puzzled.

  Ye Zhaoyu smiled and said, "As for the millet porridge and iodine water, in fact, my method is faster and more energy-efficient." He then ordered the soldier beside him, "Bring white vinegar, and use red radish skin to chop it up and boil some water."

  Without much ado, Rui Si hurriedly brought in the white vinegar, Ye Zhao ordered someone to fetch paper and brush, dipped the vinegar on the paper and wrote a few words, then put it aside.

  And just as the red radish water was brought up, the white vinegar had already dried completely, and it was basically impossible to see any traces. Ye Zhaoming smiled at Rui Si and said: "Spray water!"

  Rui Si naturally listened to the master's orders, and although the radish water didn't taste good, it was full of a big mouthful, which she then sprayed onto the paper. At present, there is no spray bottle, but Rui Si's spraying technique is actually quite good. Soon, red characters appeared on the paper.

  Rui picked up a white paper and held it in front of his chest, showing it to the crowd of foreigners. He thought to himself, "Who can surpass my master's skill in creating beautiful designs?"

  Peter's face suddenly turned red, and his previous show-off was indeed childish and ridiculous. Who would have thought that this backward country still had such talent?

  Andrew's eyes also showed a look of surprise, and as for Bao Ling, seeing this scene picked up the teacup, but didn't know what to think.

  Ye Zhao waved his hand, and Rui Si finally retreated with a proud smile. The white paper with red characters was tightly grasped in his hand, as if it were a treasure.

  Ye Zhao turned to Bao Ling and smiled: "Fire Brigade's Gu Wen, I plan to hire Mr. Peter Jackson."

  Peter was stunned, and Andrew was even more shocked, his face looking rather unsightly.

  Bao Ling smiled and said: "Okay, but forgive me for being presumptuous. May I ask the Grand Master to explain why he hired Peter as a consultant?"

  Peter also looked at Ye Zhaowei with a puzzled face.

  Ye Zhaoshao smiled and said: "If we talk about military knowledge, I really don't know who is better between the two of you, but I do know that Mr. Jackson is more suitable to stay behind. Because he has enthusiasm for this job, that's why he made so many preparations, I believe if we leave him here, he will definitely work hard to train the new army and won't disappoint my expectations." As he said that, he smiled at Peter and said: "Peter, you won't disappoint me, right?"

  Peter didn't know why, but he felt a thrill in his heart, as if he had met a great opportunity. To say the least, at first, he wanted this job for the salary, one thousand two silver coins per year, which was a considerable income for Peter who came from a poor family, so he thought of ways to get it.

  Who would have thought that his own performance had become a clown, and at the moment of despair, this young oriental official actually named himself to stay behind. The surprise was not mentioned.

  "Yes, I certainly won't disappoint Mr. Du Tong!" Peter stood up and gave a standard royal military salute, this time with much more sincerity.

  Bao Ling stared at Ye Zhao, her eyes gradually narrowing.

  …………………………

  Vote Vote