At the pier on the south bank of the Elbe River, a small clipper ship belonging to Portugal was quietly waiting for their guests. The sailors and captain were dumbfounded now, even though they had done a lot of homework before and read a lot about these things. Special reports on the Chinese, but no one expected that the prestige of these Chinese in Prussia would be so high.
The whole city was empty of people to see him off, and police and soldiers throughout the city were maintaining order. The Prussians, who are famous for their strictness and calmness, were so uncontrollable today that they cried bitterly.
In the end, even the churches in the city began to ring bells to see him off. Such a big honor was enough to see off the king.
The captain and the sailors quietly glanced at the ladies standing on the bow of the ship, with admiration in their eyes.
Huniu, Heping'er and several maids brought from China did not follow the large army through the streets of Hamburg. They had secretly boarded the merchant ship in the early morning.
At this time, Huniu was already crying. On the one hand, she was deeply moved by her man, but on the other hand, she couldn't bear to leave her sister Fangguan beside her.
"Fang Guan, are you really not going back with me? You can really get used to this place where foreign devils stay. Don't forget that the Frenchman named Pierre is also going back to China with us..."
Fangguan was still nodding her head and wiping away tears at first. After she heard Pierre's name, a blush flashed across her cheeks, "Oh, where he goes has nothing to do with me. I stay in Europe just to study hard." Opera, I really love singing..."
Fangguan was right. Now she is a well-known newcomer in the Prussian opera world. In order to train her, Xiao Letian paid a high price to find the best vocal teacher in Prussia, and used his personal connections to get her countless Opportunity to perform on stage.
When Xiao Letian said that he would give Fangguan freedom, he definitely did not say it casually. He sincerely hoped that this talented girl could find her own way.
In a sense, women like Xiao Letian and Fangguan should be grateful to Viscount Alan of Austria. If he hadn't revealed this problem that everyone ignored in front of everyone, I am afraid that even Xiao Letian would not have thought that he had ignored it. Feminism, an emerging force in the future world.
In the middle of the 19th century, the feminist movement was just a concept, and even the European world was still under the control of a patriarchal society. The era when feminism truly flourished was during World War II.
Of course, Xiao Letian does not expect to please the feminists and bring any benefits to himself, but he will not deliberately avoid this issue. Since his attitude towards women has been noticed by European senior officials, he will just go along with the flow and do it as a favor. .
At various public and private diplomatic gatherings that Xiao Letian attended, his wife Huniu, soprano Fangguan, and maid Pinger and others became the stars around him.
Xiao Letian has made it clear more than once that although he is unable to change the backward views on marriage in Asia, he will set an example and firmly support monogamy, and will also give the women around him the best future. He, Xiao Letian, supports feminism of.
Xiao Letian kept his word. Didn't Fang Guan hope to have her own independent career? Didn't she want to have a life of her own choice? OK, Xiao Letian could give it to her. Not only did she not give any fetters, but she even gave Fang Guan money behind her back. A great assistant.
What Xiao Letian did not only impressed European elite women, but his name was even linked to the rise of feminism.
This is an amazing invisible force. If a man is loved by women throughout the civilized world, although these women have no political power, their hidden power is too powerful.
It is foreseeable that when mothers all over the world tell their children, "Xiao Letian is a good person and a respectable prime minister," this scene is repeated over and over again, how high Xiao Letian's global reputation will be in the rest of his life.
In a sense, when Fangguan accepted the freedom given by Xiao Letian, she was no longer able to return to her country. Her career would eventually take root in Europe, and she would forever become a voluntary propagandist for Xiao Letian's noble morality.
The separation was painful. The women gathered together to hug each other and cry. His Royal Highness King Yi shed tears at the end.
"Okay Huniu, don't cry anymore... Fangguan will not suffer any loss if I take care of him. The entire Sino-German Fund is under my control. Coupled with the close relationship between the senior officials of the Kingdom of Prussia and us, I think we can stay here This is where you come to enjoy happiness..."
"On the contrary, you are the ones who worry me..." Wing King sighed, "Sigh... the situation in Ryukyu is very bad. You will have to face many more difficulties when you go back than I will. All I can do is to defend the center for you. With the family fortune of De Fund, even if there is an eventuality in the future... we will have a way out."
King Yi really can't speak. The girls are crying like that. Why don't you open the pot and pick up the pot? When Fang Guan heard this, he suddenly burst into tears, "Madam, I won't stay here anymore. I want to follow you." When you return home, I know that the French are attacking our home. If I want to die, I will die with my sisters..."
This time the conversation suddenly changed. Ping'er, who had just advised Fang Guan to return to China, suddenly changed his tune, "No, good sister, you can stay. Just listen to your words. It's so rare for us women to have an opportunity like you. Don’t let me down.”
"Yes, yes, Fang Guan please stay... wu wu wu." A group of women hugged each other and started crying again.
At this time, Xiao Letian's army was not far from the trestle, and the wave of farewell from the crowd was reaching its peak. The church bells were ringing louder and louder. The sailors on the clipper ship quickly strengthened the pedals to prepare for Xiao Letian and others to board the ship.
On a small building closest to the trestle, behind the curtains, a pair of eyes were staring at Xiao Letian and his team.
"Damn barbarian, you want to go home safely, just dream, you insulted the civilized world, you think you can escape, don't think we will only send a fleet to retaliate against your hometown, if you can leave Beihai safely today , I will jump down from this building..."
The ruthless man was Pierre's old acquaintance, French intelligence officer Chérif. This lieutenant colonel who had taken the blame for countless big shots was sent to the front line precisely because of Pierre's jailbreak. From a comfortable life in Paris, One can imagine how he felt when he was suddenly transferred to the front line of dangerous intelligence.
Behind Sharif, several men were waiting for his orders. When Xiao Letian was several hundred meters away from the clipper ship, Sharif suddenly turned back and said to his spies, "Okay, send the signal immediately. This is the last intelligence." It has been delivered. After it is delivered, you are free to disperse and retreat back to your country..."
After a while, behind the attic window, a delicate glass mirror began to reflect sunlight rhythmically, and soon another attic hundreds of meters away also began to send daylight signals.
Sharif's latest information was transmitted to the open sea at the speed of light, one rooftop tower after another, and then one inconspicuous cargo ship mast after another on the sea. The French spies used such a simple method to Passed on the news that Xiao Letian was about to leave.
Xiao Letian had no idea that he had been targeted by a pair of thieves. At this time, he had just boarded the merchant ship with his brothers. The atmosphere of the farewell crowd had already become extremely solemn. Countless women and children even fainted crying on both sides of the road.
It was impossible not to leave at this time. The mood of the crowd had reached the edge of control. The Hamburg recruits from the special mixed battalion joined hands and formed a human wall near the pedals. However, there were always soldiers who were pushed into the water by the careless crowd.
"Goodbye, goodbye to my relatives in Hamburg... I, Xiao Letian, will be back." Well, that's okay. At least he didn't shout out the words that Hu Sanhan would be back.
"Untie the cables immediately, take off the pedals, and prepare to set sail." The captain did not dare to neglect and quickly ordered the clipper boat to set sail. In front of him, dozens of citizens who were seeing off the boat were already squeezed into the water. If it were delayed any longer, someone might really die.
At the moment when the merchant ship was about to set sail, in the Prime Minister's Office in Bismarck in distant Berlin, the iron-blooded Prime Minister put down the thick documents and subconsciously looked out the window.
"It's time to go. At this time, I'm afraid he is already on the sea... It's rare to find a good friend in life. You and I are the same kind of people, shouldering the future of a nation. Only we can understand the feeling... "
Just as the Prime Minister was sighing in a low voice, there was a sudden bang and the study door was slammed open with a strong force. Before the angry Prime Minister could speak, the secretary waved a page of documents and shouted in horror.
"Your Majesty Prime Minister, France has sent the latest top-secret telegram... French army intelligence officer Cherif has lurked in Hamburg seven days ago. All clues point to one point, and that is Xiao Letian."
"What." Bismarck snatched the telegram from the secretary's hand and was shocked after reading it.
"Crazy, Napoleon III has gone completely crazy. The British, American, and our diplomats have tried so hard to persuade him, but they can't change his new mind. Now even Austria has sent people to be peacemakers. Why is he still letting go?" No less.”
"Send a telegram to Hamburg immediately to ask Xiao Letian to come back and never go to sea. The French fleet must be ready. They are determined to fight to the death."
But everything was already too late. At this time in Hamburg, not to mention that the merchant ship Xiao Letian was on had already gone to sea, even Sharif and his gang had secretly fled the city.
After the war, the Prussian intelligence department focused too much energy on Austria. This was the most critical reason for the omissions.
After all, the telegram from Bismarck was too late. When the officials of the Hamburg City Council rushed to the trestle in a carriage, the citizens seeing them off on the street had gradually dispersed. There were countless shadows of sailing ships on the sea level in the distance. It turns out that the boat Xiao Letian was on was the one on which he was riding.
