Chapter 3 State Judgment

  State v.

  Upon entering the back hall, Yao Fan saw that this square room was quite spacious, with several wooden chairs placed inside. The overall feeling was somewhat dark and simple.

  Yao Feng, who had been somewhat fearful and on guard in his heart, saw the official sit down and then gesture to him to take a seat, and with joy and increased courage sat down in the chair beside the official.

  "Have some tea." Governor Zhou surprisingly ordered his servant to serve Yao Fan tea, this attitude was quite gentle, Yao Fan was no longer as tense as he was at the beginning.

  Yao Fan was a man with a keen sense of propriety, at the very least having watched enough palace dramas on TV to know that in today's world, it was essential to bring some small gift when meeting someone for the first time. He hastily rummaged through his pockets, searching for something suitable to use as a bribe.

  Yao Feng took out his mobile phone, feeling a bit awkward, and instead pulled out the signature pen he always carried with him. With both hands, he presented it to the official with a flattering expression, like those often seen on TV. He said: "Thanks to your hospitality, I didn't bring any gifts this time. This pen is one of my treasured possessions, brought back from the West. It's just a small token, not enough to show my respect. Please accept it, and next time, I'll make sure to bring something more substantial."

  This governor was quite familiar with this trick, and he smiled knowingly when he heard it. He took the pen in his hand, but as soon as he felt its weight, he thought it was unusual. Looking closely at the pen cap, he saw that the two characters "hero" were engraved on it, small like millet grains, but carved very clearly. Such exquisite craftsmanship was enough to prove its value.

  The pen holder has gold plating on both ends, and the middle is made of plastic with a wood grain pattern. To the governor's eyes, it must be gold-plated and some kind of precious rare wood, otherwise how could it feel so good to the touch.

  As soon as Yao Wenyi saw the look in Zhou's eyes, he knew he was satisfied, but he was also afraid that he would underestimate this gift. He hurriedly boasted: "The small characters on this pen are carefully engraved by the best watchmaker in Europe, and they are the two words 'hero'. I think these two words are most suitable for a parent official like Governor Zhou who has brought blessings to his people. Today, the precious sword is given to the hero, and this Western-style pen has also found its best owner."

  Yao Fan's words made his own face slightly hot, but unexpectedly made the state judge's face bloom with joy. The judge smiled and said to Yao Fan: "You're quite eloquent, this gift may not be expensive, but it's rare to have your kind intentions, I'll accept it then."

  Yao Fan saw that Zhou was happy and seemed like a good talker, so he simply instructed him to use the steel pen.

  Under Yao Fang's guidance, Zhou Pan opened the pen cap and first drew a few strokes on his palm. Seeing that the ink marks were fine and even, it was indeed a Western-style pen, and it was also extremely well-made, which made him even more delighted.

  After putting on the pen cap, it looks extraordinary. The two words "hero" are clearly engraved on the gold-plated pen clip of the metal pen cap, as if with magic power, making Zhou Pan's mood both elegant and floating, and after feeling happy, he feels that Yao Fan is a bit closer.

  "You see, sir, those ordinary Western fountain pens are such a nuisance - you have to press down all the time just to write a line or two. But this pen of mine is a genuine Western palace imperial use, it flows ink automatically without needing to be pressed."

  What Yao said is not wrong, in the true sense of the word, a modern fountain pen that is convenient and easy to use did not appear until after 1910. Before that, fountain pens were indeed troublesome things that had to be pressed while writing, if they weren't portable, they wouldn't be as convenient as goose quill pens.

  The governor nodded silently, thinking to himself that the ordinary steel pen in the hands of foreign merchants was worth at least five taels of silver. Although he had seen foreigners bring them before, he had never used one personally and heard that they were not very reliable.

  Yao Fan gave him this shiny golden pen, which he had never seen before, and it was indeed a novelty. Probably as he said, it was a royal object from the Western palace, worth about 180 taels of silver. Even if he didn't use pens to write normally, it was worth taking out to show off to Tongji and enjoy the envy of others.

  The governor of Qingdao Prefecture's face turned pleasant, and he said to Yao Wenyuan with a warm smile: "You don't have to be polite, I'm not a big official, just the governor of Jiaozhou Prefecture. This place belongs to Jiaozhou Prefecture, but it is temporarily under the jurisdiction of Jinan County."

  After the two men had a good exchange, Yao Fan learned from this official that at that time Qingdao Port was just a small fishing village under the jurisdiction of Jimo County, Shandong Province. Due to the convenience of water transportation, the port became increasingly prosperous, and the Qing government set up the Qingdao Customs. This official was the highest-ranking official in Qingdao, known as the Governor of Jiaozhou Prefecture, but actually had no relation with Jiaxi County on the west side of Jimo County, only governing Jiaozhou from the seventh rank, with his office located in Qingdao.

  "My humble name is Sun, and my style name is Maowen. No need to mention it, but looking at your appearance, brother, I can tell you're still young. I'm several years older than you, so from now on, Brother Yao can just call me Big Brother Sun."

  Sun Zhong's sudden change in attitude left Yao Feng somewhat stunned. He hastily replied, "Brother Sun is too kind, Yao Feng is also willing to surrender."

  Sun Maowen did not have any prejudice against merchants, for although they were fat sheep, they were also divided into different levels. Someone like Yao Feng was considered a high-end merchant, just like the red-hatted official merchants, and both belonged to the category of having powerful backers. The only difference was that the red-hatted merchants relied on the support of high-ranking officials in the imperial court, while the foreign merchants relied on foreigners. Otherwise, they were no different, and it was not that ordinary officials could not afford to offend these merchants, but rather that they could not afford to offend their powerful backers, fearing that it would bring about big trouble.

  Sun Maowen saw Yao Fengling and said with a smile, "I was too impulsive when I was in Qingdao, please don't mind, Yao. Those fools have always been like that, making a big fuss over nothing."

  Yao Fan saw Sun Mao's attitude was very good and he spoke humbly, so he hastily said: "The ignorant are not to blame, the ignorant are not to blame."

  Sun Maowen casually rolled up the cuff of his horse-hoof sleeve, put the pen into his sleeve pocket, and stared at Yao Fang with both eyes, asking: "Brother Yao, do you know which foreign shipping company's cargo ship came to Jiaozhou?"

  Yao Fangxin said this was a thorough investigation, and he had no choice but to steel himself and continue lying.

  "Brother replied to big brother, I took the American flag steamship company's cargo ship to Yantai, got off at Qingdao port, and that flag steamship company's cargo ship went to Yantai on its own. When the ship returns, it will take me back to Shanghai."

  Sun Maowen asked a few more questions, but didn't ask about the details of how Yao Feng got off the boat by the sea and didn't enter the city, instead going out of town. He only asked how many generations of Yao's family there were, how many people, and what business they did in Europe.

  It's normal to ask this way, after all, in a feudal society, the standard for judging one's strength is not just looking at individuals, but also at whether their family is prosperous or not.

  Yao Fan tried to win over Sun Mao Wen, so he started bragging and exaggerating, describing the European scene in detail according to his own impression. He talked about how the Franco-Prussian War had just ended with a complete reversal of fortunes, how Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck secretly manipulated Spain into choosing King Wilhelm I's cousin as their king in order to destroy France's alliance relationship, how Napoleon III flew into a rage and decided to declare war, and then how Prussia used Krupp's newly-made steel cannons that could fire 3500 meters to defeat Napoleon III's army. He talked about how the French army of 100,000 soldiers collapsed and surrendered at Sedan, leading to a revolution breaking out in France, and how the Second Empire came to an end and the Third Republic was established.

  Yao Fan embellished history a bit, and also talked about the customs of Europe, and boasted that the Yao family was a multinational business group providing goods to various countries, which sounds like a fascinating story.

  These historical allusions were probably nothing more than trivial textbook knowledge to a modern person, but they immediately stunned Sun Maowen!

  "Westernized!" Sun Maowen immediately defined Yao Fang.

  Sun Maowen was completely ignorant of Europe. It can be said that in this era, the Qing Empire as a whole had only a handful of people who truly understood foreign affairs. Even the Hai Guo Tu Zhi written by Wei Yuan in 1842, which was used by the Qing court to understand the West, was limited by the cognitive abilities of the time and full of errors.

  Sun Maowen saw Yao Feng and talked about the overseas, like a family treasure, with a tone of ups and downs, telling the story of Prussia's William I and France's Napoleon III, this group of Western emperors and kings, in a vivid and authentic way. In between, he inserted various anecdotes about Napoleon III and his mistress, as well as stories about how William I built industry and worked hard to govern, all of which were described as if they had been witnessed firsthand.

  After eliminating the fear brought by unfamiliarity, Sun Maowen relaxed all over, and he sighed in his heart: "Fortunately, I didn't make a mistake earlier. Otherwise, listening to his tone and insight, it seems that his family is on good terms with the European emperors, who knows what kind of trouble will be stirred up."

  Sun Maowen still found it strange that a Japanese devil like him would come to Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao Port, such a small harbor. However, for a seventh-rank official at this time, being able to hear about these fresh world events, especially Western military and royal affairs, was worth treating Yao Fang as an equal guest.

  Sun Maowen sat in the chair, thinking to himself. As the saying goes, "A man relies on his clothes and a horse relies on its saddle." This person was spotless and dressed impeccably, looking dignified and respectable. If you were to say he was a bandit, it would be unreasonable and wouldn't make sense.

  Those bandits and remnants of the Nian Rebellion, Sun Maowen is not someone I haven't seen before, they are all some rough and unrefined farmers, where do they have the clean and neat Western-style suits and fine white leather shoes like Yao Feng?

  When Yao Fang was unconscious, the soldiers also turned out his pockets. Sun Maowen checked and found that there were no weapons or letters in his pockets, not even any silver money! Instead, they were filled with a pile of incomprehensible Western trinkets. Sun Maowen thought these things were strange and feared they might be tainted with the sorcery of foreigners, so he ordered the soldiers not to touch them, but just leave them in Yao Fang's pockets.

  Moreover, before Yao Weng woke up, Sun Maowen went forward and carefully examined his scalp. Under the hair on his forehead, he saw that the skin was as white as snow, even whiter than his forehead, which made it impossible for him to have just grown a new beard.

  To know that these Qing people are all money-loving and have darkened skin on their foreheads after a long time, it is absolutely impossible to grow such fair skin. Sun Maowen, although fearful and disgusted with foreigners, has some admiration and respect for those who have been abroad, let alone Yao Feng, an extreme example of a foreign devil living overseas, which cannot be compared to the fake foreign devils in the Qing ports who have converted to Christianity.

  Sun Maowen said sincerely: "Brother Yao, it's not wise for you to come to Shandong alone to find your ancestors. Although the Nian rebels have been pacified in Shandong in recent years, the countryside is still not peaceful, and there are often bandits and mountain thieves coming and going. These thieves come and go like the wind, robbing merchants and killing people like hemp. Whenever you go out, you should bring some family members with you, and hire some escorts who know martial arts to accompany you. Only then can you travel safely."

  Yao Feng saw Sun Mao Wen actually cared about himself, and hurriedly climbed up the pole: "Brother Sun is right, I really didn't think it through."

  Sun Maowen saw Yao Fanyi's humble and modest attitude, without any of the pretentiousness of those church people, and his heart became increasingly delighted, with a desire to make friends.

  In today's world, being able to recognize someone who has been abroad and experienced the big world is a great topic of conversation, whether in official or private circles. Just with Yao Feng's previous boasting, Sun Maowen believed that if he took it out as a topic of conversation, he would be able to show off his "understanding of foreign affairs" halo on his head.

  As soon as he thought of Governor of Shandong holding a machinery bureau in Jinan, Sun Maowen's political sensitivity was suddenly awakened.

  Sun Maowen said warmly: "Since that's the case, Brother Yao might as well stay at Qingdao Port and wait for the Qi Chang company's ship to return. I'll send you back to Shanghai on board. If you plan to continue searching for your ancestors, go live in the county town of Jiaozhou to the west, hire some attendants and set off again."

  Besides, since Brother Yao has returned to the Qing Dynasty, this outfit is too shocking and unconventional, harming social morals. Not far from my mansion is Xiangye Street, you should change your attire and buy a queue hat to wear, only then will it be proper."

  Yao Feng hastily stood up and bowed his fist in gratitude: "Thank you, Lord Sun, for your guidance."

  After the conversation, they agreed to have dinner and drinks together that evening with Sun Maowen. Yao Fangmeng managed to get through this ordeal and bid farewell, leaving the Qingdao government office.

  In the yamen, only Sun Maowen was left in the back hall, playing with a pen in his hand and muttering to himself: "This man's conversation is extraordinary, his knowledge is profound, but his gestures and movements are all awkward, it seems he really is from the West. But since he has been to Shanghai, he doesn't even have any silver on him, what's going on? Tonight I must thoroughly interrogate him, see what kind of tricks he has up his sleeve. Even if he's just an ordinary foreign firm's clerk, come to Qingdao to make a living, he will still be useful in the future..."