Zhou Changfeng's original interest quickly dissipated due to the situation that was almost the same as the inherent impression. Even though the two women had pretty good figures, their pale facial makeup was really uncomfortable to look at.
But he quickly figured it out. He didn't plan on doing anything anyway. Dressing like this could just dispel the interest and help him control it better.
Ahem, look at the performers with appreciation!
One person played the strings and the other danced leisurely. The two of them cooperated perfectly. It was obvious that they had practiced hard for many years.
It is not easy to become a qualified geisha. The selected girl must be sent to special training when she is about ten years old. From then on, she begins five years of practice, including poetry, painting, dancing, playing, and tea ceremony. There are so many things to learn, even the gait when walking has special rules.
At this time, as the music sounds, the quiet tone of the shamisen is very Japanese-style. This situation and scene are completely different from China.
Zhu Lizhuo has a lot of research in this area. He once served in the military band and was good at music. In the past, when he visited relatively elegant brothels in the Ming Dynasty, he could often chat happily with the girls.
"The shamisen is similar to our shamisen. It can be regarded as having evolved after being introduced to Ryukyu and Japan. However, the single note of this thing is short, the range is narrow, and the performance is relatively poor. Listen, its sound is always falling and sinking. , so when playing, there is often a string of notes."
"So, this instrument has quite a disadvantage?"
"That's not necessarily the case. Different musical instruments have their own unique expressiveness. But in our country, they generally don't play it alone. Female performers still mainly play the pipa. It can be clear or bright, soft or moist. Very expressive.”
"Really? How do you say it?"
With a look of disdain on his face, Zhu Lizhuo looked at Zhou Changfeng across from him and said with a bit of hatred: "My brother Zhou, uncle Zhou, when you went to the (brothel) before, did you just go there just for fun?"
He thought for a while and said: "Bai Letian's "Pipa Xing" is not nonsense. The big strings are noisy like the torrential rain, the Youyanquan is flowing under the ice, the cavalry is protruding and the swords and guns are roaring... any sound can be played."
Zhou Changfeng nodded, glanced at the two women who were performing passionately a few steps away, and then mused: "The characteristics of the instrument are indeed the same, but it is precisely the shortcomings of the shamisen that are more suitable for Japan."
"That's true. It's quite suitable for playing to express feelings of depression, sadness, and desolation. It just matches the folk customs of the Japanese island country..."
After Zhu Lizhuo finished speaking, he muttered again, "However, I think it's not good to listen to this stuff all the time. It's really too depressing."
The song ends and the dance stops.
Compared to his cool and calm attitude, Zhou Changfeng felt a little uncomfortable - it always felt weird to be approached by others to serve tea and water.
Especially the makeup of these two geishas...it's a bit off-putting to say the least.
So Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but be a little curious, "What do you think? Just like this, will you really be able to do it later?"
"What does this have to do with it? When the lights are turned off, aren't they all the same?" Zhu Lizhuo replied nonchalantly: "Besides, wouldn't it be nice to let them wash off the makeup on their faces later?"
"Both of them?" Zhou Changfeng said in surprise with a puzzled look on his face.
"Who told you not to want it? My brother, of course I can't waste it." Zhu Lizhuo stretched out and said meaningfully: "This night is still long."
"I advise you to take it easy."
"I'm so powerful, Brother Zhou, you look down on people so much."
"Are you serious about it?" Zhou Changfeng chuckled, then stood up, "Staying outside? You really don't take the rules seriously, right?"
He raised his hand and looked at his watch, "You must return to camp before nine o'clock!"
The 1st Marine Brigade, which is temporarily stationed in Sapporo for training preparations, can be said to be well treated. Although it is not as good as the big fish and meat that they received during the training in Gyeonggi, it is far better than the "hard life" that the officers and soldiers initially thought.
The Ming army garrison units stationed on Kuye Island acted as imaginary enemies this time. They deployed a considerable number of obstacles on the beach and in depth.
Because there are oil fields and coal mines in the central and northern parts of Kuye Island, the Ming army has long built permanent and semi-permanent fortifications on the traffic arteries and steep terrain in this area.
On the east and north shores of the island, some beaches suitable for landing are also equipped with deer villages that delay landing operations, making it difficult for ships with larger tonnage to dock and seize the beach.
The preliminary aerial reconnaissance, hydrological survey, and plan formulation took only more than four days in total, which was very fast, but actually a bit rushed.
There is nothing we can do about this, because it will be frozen soon, so time waits for no one.
Beginning on the eighth day of November, a fleet consisting of dozens of destroyers, minesweepers, landing ships, and barges "approached" the northeastern part of Kuye Island and began to implement a hasty but already very close to future landing exercise.
Compared with the Ming Dynasty, which could carry out all aspects of war preparations more leisurely, the situation in Europe has completely fallen into chaos.
In other words, it evolves rapidly every day.
The situation changes so fast that it often exceeds expectations, so countries have to adapt to the situation - and this is precisely what tests their quality and is most likely to go wrong.
November 11th, a day regarded as a shopping spree in later generations, is now the National Day of Deshe.
After assessing that the civil unrest in Tsarist Russia could not be quelled in a short period of time, a large number of German troops gathered west of the Demilitarized Zone boundary in just a few days.
As if to celebrate their birth, they chose to formally cross the line on such a joyous day, completely ignoring the restrictions of the Treaty of Rotterdam.
At the port of Kiel, the fleet set sail carrying two infantry divisions to Königsberg in East Prussia.
Even though the Treaty of Versailles was not recognized and implemented, as the product of compromise under the difficult circumstances of that year, the Treaty of Rotterdam also placed many restrictions on the German society.
Although German Poland, or the Posen area, is still the territory of the German Society, it is designated as a demilitarized zone - only police units exist in these two places, and organized troops and heavy weapons are not allowed to appear.
The same is true in East Prussia.
This time, the civil strife in Tsarist Russia gave the Germans an excellent reason to trample on and ignore the previous treaty restrictions.
In the morning, on the road leading to Poznan, motorcycles and trucks full of soldiers passed by at high speed, one after another.
Although they stand high and can see far, the workers repairing the telephone poles still cannot see the end of the long queue even if they stand on the telephone poles several meters high.
Civilian cars, trucks, and tractors all hurriedly stopped at the roadside. People with complex eyes looked at the troops passing by with mixed emotions.
More than ten years have passed, and nearly a generation has passed, and this land has finally welcomed its own country’s army.
The reconnaissance battalion headed by the 6th Motorized Infantry Division quickly passed through, followed closely by the subordinate 37th Motorized Infantry Regiment, the 18th Motorized Infantry Regiment, and the 7th Motorized Artillery Regiment...
The sturdy SE.FH34 150mm howitzer looked extremely powerful, and it drove slowly past under the drag of a Hannomag SS-55 diesel tractor.
These kings of war stirred up clouds of flying dust as they rumbled past, and people only felt that the earth was shaking slightly.
Later, when the baggage unit passed by, the officers and soldiers sitting under the hood of the truck threw chocolates and candies to the people watching on the roadside and waved.
However, the movements of the Motorized Infantry Division were still relatively slow. At this moment, the two battalions of the 11th Infantry Division, which were transported by the Air Force, were already approaching Poznan Airport.
The sky was clear and cloudy, and dozens of Ju-52 transport planes, escorted by Bf-109 fighter jets, flew to the outskirts of Poznań.
Looking up from the ground, such a fleet size can actually be said to block out the sky, because for more than ten years, citizens have usually only seen one or two passenger planes flying by occasionally.
Slower than the troops flown over by air were the armored units, which were transported by rail to Poznan.
The BR50 steam locomotive has red wheels, and its shiny paint is extremely shiny under the sunlight. Under the traction of its strong power, dozens of flatbed cars behind it pass by quickly.
As a direct manifestation of the new era technology, the BR50 locomotive, which uses newly designed water pipes and ventilation systems, is definitely world-class. Its boiler efficiency is 20% higher than that of the old German-made locomotives, and it is full of power.
On the platform of Poznań Railway Station, citizens wearing black and gray jackets or fur coats are waiting for the train.
It's already a bit cold in Poznan in November. The daytime temperature is only about 8℃, so people who are afraid of the cold gather next to the stove.
Compared to the fashionable French, Germans are often criticized for their daily attire. They often wear one piece at a time, short-sleeved shirts, sweaters, and jackets. This is true for both men and women. The colors are often only black, white, gray and green. , which sounds low-key and calm at best, and dull and boring at worst.
This feature is even more distinctive in Deshe, which advocates frugality and simplicity and opposes extravagance and waste.
However, at this time, the train station broadcast an unexpected announcement:
"All citizens, the decadent Russian Empire has spontaneously reached the brink of collapse. It is disintegrating, but while we encourage the local people to resist tyranny, we must not lose vigilance..."
"Today, citizens in Posen, please note that in order to protect your safety and avoid any unexpected situations, the People's Army has crossed the line of the demilitarized zone. Please don't be surprised..."
What? The army is coming?
People on the platform looked at each other.
Consistent with what the radio news said, the scheduled train did not arrive. Amidst the sound of the whistle, what the citizens were waiting for was a long military column.
The No. 1 and No. 2 tanks were fixed with calipers and steel cables on the light flatbed. As the train came to a stop, the officers and soldiers it carried jumped off the car one by one and began to prepare to unload the truck in an orderly manner.
I don’t know who took the lead. When the first applause sounded, warm applause immediately filled the Poznań Railway Station.
From the first three-wheeled motorcycle crossing the border at 7:08 in the morning, to 24:00 that night, an infantry regiment and an armored division had arrived in Poznan, as well as four infantry divisions and a motorized infantry division. Entered the Posen area.
In addition, an infantry battalion also arrived at Königsberg by air; the 9th Infantry Division transported by sea was much slower, still a day and a half late.
After stating the facts, the Times commented, "The Germans have entered their front yard and there is nothing we can do."
If the British side is more shocked and worried, then the French side can be said to be furious.
The main telephone numbers of the German Press Embassy in Paris never went off, one after another.
Soon, the summoned ambassador was also questioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"What do you want to do? This is a disregard for the Treaty of Rotterdam. You have trampled on honor and integrity!"
"No, the current situation in Russia does not allow us to maintain the original status. West Prussia-Posen and East Prussia may be attacked at any time. In order to protect the local people from harm, we think it is necessary to temporarily not implement the terms of the treaty. When Russia's situation After stabilization, we will consider re-implementing the treaty." The ambassador replied calmly and disapprovingly.
Isn't this pure nonsense? Tsarist Russia is in such a horrible state now... God knows when they will get better.
Besides, will you really evacuate obediently when the time comes?
Officials from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs couldn't help but said angrily: "You liars! Do you want war?"
"Our people certainly do not want war, but they are not afraid of war being forced upon us."
"There is a limit to our patience."
"Same for us."
As expected, the two parties broke up unhappy.
It can be said that the current situation is about to reach its peak. Today, Britain and France have no realistic need for appeasement and condonation. On the contrary, this is already trampling on their bottom line.
The pressure on the French increased sharply. They tried every means to find ways to prevent the recurrence of the trench warfare stalemate on the Western Front during the European War. The proposal to start war mobilization was also proposed for the first time.
A few days later, France proposed to Britain that it send an expeditionary force to Sweden in the name of "protecting Sweden" and "supporting Tsarist Russia's maintenance of stability at any time."
This can take the opportunity to directly control Sweden's iron ore producing areas, as well as the important ports of Narvik and Luleå.
The French believed that if they could deprive Germany of iron ore, the most basic source of steel for the war, there would be the possibility of a quick victory.
On the contrary, if such action is not taken in time due to indecision, the war may return to the stalemate of the European War, which will last for several years.
In the UK, some hawks are also excited by the dramatic changes in the situation in the past few days and can hardly contain their excitement.
They took advantage of this opportunity to submit several memoranda to the cabinet, strongly echoing the French ideas and plans.
"It is an important strategic action to cut off Norway and Sweden's iron ore shipments to Germany as early as possible. We can believe that if they are unable to obtain Swedish iron ore for six to nine months, the blow to their war potential will be equivalent to A great victory on land or sea..."
"Moreover, it is very reasonable and cost-effective to take timely action now, which can significantly reduce the cost of a large number of lives that may be paid in the future. For the British Empire, controlling the coastline of Scandinavia is of paramount importance..."
With the fragile balance being broken, everyone has now embarked on a path of no return.
(End of chapter)
