A group of soldiers in military uniforms sealed the port and prohibited the surrounding people from entering. Even all the merchant ships in the port had temporarily withdrawn and did not stay in the port. In the port, there were more than ten people standing, all of whom were wearing uniforms. Dress, raise your head and chest, open your eyes and look at the sea in the distance, looking at the blue sea with a hint of expectation.
The leader was tall and thin, with thin cheeks, about 190 centimeters tall.
His legs are straight, his body is upright, his hair is parted slightly, his eyebrows are thick, his eye sockets are sunken, his cheeks are fleshless, his nose is high, he has a thick beard on his lips, and the beard under his chin gives people a rough and bold look. It feels like there are already dense wrinkles on his face, and the gray hair adds a touch of vicissitudes to him.
This person is surprisingly the newly inaugurated President of the United States, Lincoln.
As early as last November, after the results of the U.S. election were announced, Lincoln was elected as the new president with an absolute advantage. He remembered that Li Zhen continued to encourage him and asked him to continue to run; he also remembered talking to Li Zhen in the past, The two agreed to have in-depth cooperation, so Lincoln invited Li Zhen to visit the United States.
Lincoln and a group of people stood by the port. He had received the news from Li Zhen and knew that Li Zhen would arrive in San Francisco by ship today, so he waited in the cold wind.
"Mr. President, we have been waiting in the cold wind for an hour, but China's President Li has still not arrived. Why not leave a team of soldiers waiting here while we go back to rest. Once Li Zhen arrives at the port by boat, the soldiers will immediately Come and inform us, and when the time comes, we will come to welcome Li Zhen, what do you think?"
Behind Lincoln stood an old man in his sixties.
He was wearing a black suit and tie, his hair was slightly disheveled, his eyes under his splayed eyebrows exuded a stern aura, and his solemn expression gave people a sense of great pressure.
This man was William Henry Seward, Lincoln's partner and the Secretary of State of the United States. Seward was obviously not used to such a long wait. After all, he was already sixty years old.
When people get old, they cannot stand for long periods of time.
Lincoln smiled and said: "Mr. Seward, when I met President Lee in China, President Lee was very respectful to me. In Chinese terms, people respect me a foot, and I respect others a foot. Now I am I have invited President Li to visit the United States. How could I not welcome him personally? If you are unable to stand for a long time, you can go back and rest first. You can attend again when I receive Li Zhen."
Seward shook his head and said: "Mr. President is still insisting, so can I."
There was another group of people behind Siward who also wanted to leave, but after hearing Siward's words, they still stayed.
"Coming, coming, a ship is coming."
When the atmosphere became a little depressing, someone shouted.
In an instant, everyone looked forward, looking into the distance, and saw a warship approaching. This warship was huge, far larger than the American warships, and everyone standing by the port was stunned. Everyone was surprised and frightened by the generosity shown by Li Zhen. Chinese warships are so powerful.
"Woo, woo,,."
The whistle sounded, and the warship gradually approached the port.
Five minutes later, the battleship stopped at the port.
At this time, the people on the ship began to disembark, led by two soldiers from the Sharp Knife Battalion who walked in front to clear the way, followed by Li Zhen. At this moment, Li Zhen had a short haircut, put on a black suit and a bow tie, Wearing black leather shoes, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a majestic appearance, it gives people a bright feeling.
As soon as he came out, the eyes of all the American officials below fell on Li Zhen. They praised Li Zhen for being so handsome. They did not expect that this iron-fisted president was such a handsome man.
Zuo Zongtang, Zeng Jize, Zeng Jihong, Zuo Xiaowei and others followed behind and stepped off the battleship one by one.
After everyone got off the boat, they walked forward slowly.
With a deep smile on Lincoln's face, he stepped forward and led a group of American officials towards Li Zhen. When he came to Li Zhen, before Li Zhen stretched out his hand, Lincoln took the initiative to extend his hand and Li Zhen shook hands and clasped his hands together. Lincoln smiled and said in awkward Chinese: "President Li, welcome, welcome, I have finally waited for you."
In order to meet Li Zhen, he specially learned Chinese.
For this reason, I can understand some Chinese.
With a smile on his face, Li Zhen replied in Chinese: "Mr. President, congratulations on becoming the new president of the United States as you wished. I believe that under the leadership of Mr. President, the United States will embark on a broader road." road, and Mr. President will also leave a mark in American history."
When he said this, Lincoln felt embarrassed.
This compliment is too heavy.
Seward couldn't understand what the two of them were talking about, but seeing the two of them being affectionate and hearing that Lincoln actually spoke Chinese, he felt very angry. He glanced at Li Zhen, looked at the people around him, and babbled in English. Said: "Mr. President is so shameful. He speaks Chinese in order to please Li Zhen. It is infuriating."
Siward thought that Li Zhen didn't understand English, so he dared to say this.
However, Lincoln knew that Li Zhen could understand.
Lincoln smiled awkwardly and said in English: "President Lee, this is Secretary of State Mr. Seward next to me. He is a patriotic man. He said these words because he does not understand the friendship between us. Please Please forgive me."
Seward's gray eyebrows raised, why did Lincoln use English?
Could it be...
In an instant, an embarrassed expression appeared on Siward's face, and he guessed that Li Zhen must know English.
Sure enough, Li Zhen said in fluent and standard English: "Mr. President, of course I will not take what the Secretary of State said just now to heart. I respect the patriotism of the Secretary of State because I have been involved in everything since I was a child. It can be seen from what happened that the Secretary of State is a real American and considers things from an American standpoint."
After hearing this, Siward felt secretly ashamed.
Their qualities are just different.
With a smile on his face, Li Zhen continued: "But from another perspective, from a personal quality point of view, I deeply despise the Secretary of State. There is an old saying in China: Sit quietly and think about your own mistakes. Don't talk about the faults of others. , think more about your own shortcomings and don’t discuss other people’s affairs.”
"The Secretary of State thought that I didn't understand English, so he casually insulted me. This is a sign of lack of quality."
"The Secretary of State is a subordinate of the President, but he rebukes the President in public. This is inappropriate. The older a person is, the older he is. It does not mean that he can rely on his old age. On the contrary, the older he is, the more moral and reasonable he should be. , this is what it means to be highly virtuous and respectable. In my opinion, Mr. Seward is still far behind in this aspect."
The corners of Siward's mouth twitched, and there was no longer a smile on his face.
The president of China has such a tricky mouth, which makes him annoying.