Chapter 47: Fooling the British Minister
On the morning of October 9, Zhang Yunfei received 5 suits and full sets of equipment from foreign tailors on time. Zhang Yunfei tried it on and thought it was very good. Although the workmanship was not as precise as the machinery of later generations, it was already good in this era. So Zhang Yunfei gave the reward to the tailor and informed them to make another 50 sets to deliver.
Wang Meng and Zhao Gang watched Zhang Yunfei change into a suit, their eyes suddenly shone and said:
"The commander is so good-looking that he looks like a foreigner when he wears this outfit!"
Ignoring everyone's talkative words, Zhang Yunfei looked at himself in the mirror and thought to himself: "Is this the real me?"
"Wang Meng, you should change your clothes quickly, and then look for three people with a figure similar to yours, change the rest of the clothes, and then go out with me to visit the British guys later.
Since Wang Meng cut his braid yesterday, after a night of psychological struggle, he has now recovered his spirit. Zhang Yunfei saw Zhao Gang beside him looking at Wang Meng changing clothes with envy, so he smiled:
"Why, you want to change it too?"
"No! No! Commander, please don't! I'm a rough man, and I can't become a phoenix even if I wear this!" Zhao Gang said hurriedly.
"Don't worry, I don't have time now. After a few days, I will replace you guys. I will be sure to look better than Wang Meng!" Zhang Yunfei said.
"What, we can change it too? We can cut the braids too?" Zhao Gang asked.
"Yes, don't you feel that your head is not hot all day long? Do you know Pablo's and the others' military uniforms? Does it look good?" Zhang Yunfei asked.
"It's a bit hot, especially in Hawaii! But Pablo's military uniform looks pretty good. Should the commander change our military uniform?" Zhao Gang asked with his eyes lit up.
"That's right, but I don't like their Chilean Navy uniforms. I will make a majestic military uniform for everyone!" Zhang Yunfei said with a lip silence.
"Really!" Zhao Gang and others were surprised.
At this time, Wang Meng and three guards also changed into straight suits and stood in front of Zhang Yunfei.
Zhang Yunfei walked around the people for a few times and finally said:
"Okay! They are all so handsome, they are more energetic than me!"
Wang Meng and others just smiled foolishly.
"Okay! You four will go to the British Embassy with me! Do you remember the few English words you taught you yesterday?" Zhang Yunfei asked.
"Don't worry, commander! The other party greets him, hello, sameoyou, so he said hello and hello to us, so he said he was thirsty! (thanks)" Wang Meng said with a smile.
"Okay, it's not bad. Anyway, foreigners may not ask, just learn a few words! Zhao Gang is waiting for me to come back at home!" said Zhang Yunfei.
"Sir, it's too dangerous for you to go out! I'm sending a few more brothers to protect you!" Zhao Gang said worriedly.
"No need, Hawaii is not that dangerous! Just take me back here honestly!" Zhang Yunfei waved his hand, interrupted Zhao Gang, and ordered Wang Meng to set off for a carriage.
Outside the gate of the British Embassy in Hawaii, Zhang Yunfei and his five people got off the carriage, and asked the servant Chen Fang who was leading the way to go forward and send a message to the two British guards at the door, informing the British Embassy, the Minister of the South China Sea of the Qing Empire, and the Commander of the South China Sea Fleet, Zhang Yunfei, to come to visit His Excellency William Miller, the British Empire's Minister to Hawaii.
"Mr., there are guests outside!" The guards came to report.
"Oh!" William put down the newspaper in his hand and asked, "Who did you ask Shi?"
"The person who came said it was Zhang Yunfei, the minister of the South China Sea of the Qing Empire and the commander of the South China Sea Fleet!" the guard replied.
"What? Zhang Yunfei? It's the rich man from the Qing Dynasty who was quarreling in the newspaper?" William said, thinking to himself: "Why did he come here? What's the matter with him?"
"It should be true. Yesterday, a lot of Qing soldiers appeared on the streets, and a Qing fleet came to Pearl Harbor! Your Majesty!" said the guard.
"Go and invite them in!" William ordered.
"Okay! Your Excellency Minister!" The guard turned and went out.
After a while, under the leadership of the guards, Zhang Yunfei and others came to the living room of British Minister William.
As soon as Zhang Yunfei and others entered the door, William was observing Zhang Yunfei in front of him. He saw Zhang Yunfei wearing a very comfortable new suit, straight and tangible, and the black tone showed more noble and elegant. When Zhang Yunfei took off his hat and handed it to the servant who came over, William grew up in surprise and thought: "Don't have braids? Is this a Qing Dynasty? Zhang Yunfei's series of performances have nothing to do with William's impression of the Qing Dynasty. Because the Qing people would no longer nod and bow whenever they saw foreigners except Li Hongzhang, and that pair of slaves seemed to be disgusting as soon as they saw it! And Zhang Yunfei's performance was completely neither humble nor arrogant as a superior.'
After seeing William, Zhang Yunfei immediately walked up to say hello:
"Hi! Dear Lord William, today is a pleasant and good weather, isn't it?"
"Uh...yes! Today is indeed a pleasant and good weather!" William was shocked by Zhang Yunfei's performance again, because Zhang Yunfei spoke authentic British Manchester dialect and William's hometown dialect.
"Oh! My God! Is it April Fool's Day? You surprised me so much! If you hadn't been with an Asian face, I would have thought you were my fellow countryman?" William was a long-standing official, so he quickly adjusted his mentality and asked:
"Can you tell me why this is? Are you sure you are from the Qing Dynasty?"
Seeing that the first impression he gave William was very good, Zhang Yunfei's confidence increased a lot. So he said happily:
"As 100% pure as the Qing Dynasty, the respected Minister William, you should be confident in your wise judgment!"
"Oh! My God! Today you have allowed me to witness a historical miracle. If you don't mind, I think you will be on the front page of the newspaper tomorrow, and the whole world will be shocked by you!" William said excitedly.
"I don't mind at all. On the contrary, I'm very honored that you can be my witness!" Zhang Yunfei said with a smile.
"Very honored, thank you! Please sit down!"
"Thank you!" Zhang Yunfei said.
After William asked Zhang Yunfei to sit down, he then said to Zhang Yunfei's entourage Wang Meng and others: "Several gentlemen, please sit down!"
Wang Meng and his friends quickly said, "The mountain is thirsty! (thanks)"
Then he breathed a sigh of relief and sat down one by one next to Zhang Yunfei. Several people were able to get close to foreigners for the first time and even said something to foreigners, and were all very excited.
Of course, this small detail could not escape the eyes of William and Zhang Yunfei. Zhang Yunfei thought to himself: "A few boys who have never seen the world! I didn't embarrass me!" But William thought: "The etiquette of several people shows that their superiors are more respectful to Zhang Yunfei."
Wang Meng and others really admired Zhang Yunfei's skill in sharpening his guns in the face of battle, and he was really lucky.
Next, William asked Zhang Yunfei why he dressed up, how he learned the fluent Manchester dialect, and Zhang Yunfei's personal deeds, etc. Zhang Yunfei also opened up the conversation, and the two of them communicated cordially, and did not mention any official business in the embassy.
William did not ask because his years of political experience prevented him from showing concern for the people he came to, and Zhang Yunfei did not mention it because he did not think it was the best time. What he wanted to do now is to establish a mutual trust relationship with William and gain William's friendship.
Since William is overseas for many years and it is difficult to hear his hometown dialect and has a very good impression of Zhang Yunfei, the two of them have a very speculative conversation, as if they were old friends who had not seen each other for many years. The content of the conversation from ancient times to the present seems that any topic can resonate with them.
For Zhang Yunfei in later generations, these contents were simply too popular. But for people in William's era, Zhang Yunfei's erudition had already made William admire him from the bottom of his heart, and the civilizations of the East and the West seemed to have finally had a point of integration.
Wang Meng and others on the side were excited at first for William to say something to them. At this time, they were so happy that they were chatting, but unfortunately they couldn't understand it. He was so surprised by Zhang Yunfei's changes that he was immune. Now what he wanted to do the most was to sleep, because Zhang Yunfei and William's English were as sleepy as lullaby.
The two of them chatted for more than two hours without realizing it, and would laugh from time to time, as if they were chatting about family matters. Several times the guards came in and said that someone asked for a meeting, but they were all answered by William. Finally, William said directly, "I won't pick up customers today," which made Zhang Yunfei, who was drinking tea, almost spit it out.
"Okay! Yunfei, my friend, I am very happy today. I have been the minister overseas for more than ten years and have never been so happy today. No matter what purpose you come, I will do my best to help you! Haha, tell me! What's the matter with you!" William was finally moved by Zhang Yunfei's "sincere" expression and decided to hear what this little guy had to do to him.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Zhang Yunfei said:
"Mr. William! Actually, I came to visit you today to discuss business with you!"
"Business?" William knew it was not an ordinary business, so he did not answer and continued to listen to Zhang Yunfei.
"Yes! Business. I want to order warships from your shipyard through your minister." Zhang Yunfei said.
"Order warships? Really? I thought it was something. It turned out to be this. Don't worry, I'll put it on me. Tell me how much money you are going to spend and what kind of warships you are going to buy!" William let go of his guard after hearing that Zhang Yunfei was just buying warships.
But what he didn't know was that this was just the beginning of Zhang Yunfei's trap. William was walking forward according to the trap designed by Zhang Yunfei.
Chapter completed!