Early on the morning of July 7, Lin Youde had to face Ba's questioning.
In Lin Youde's memory, Ba had never lost her temper - or she had been angry, but she had used strong self-control to cover up the past.
But this time, Lin Youde could definitely feel the suppressed anger in Ba's body.
"How can we really issue an official document proposing marriage? If the other party agrees, wouldn't we, as the party proposing the marriage, be unable to step down?" Ba asked Lin Youde and his deputy Du Qifeng, "As it is now, doesn't it mean that France is in trouble?
Is a spy among us?"
"Well, I don't think Josephine is that kind of girl..."
"You have the virtue to shut up."
Lin Youde raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
So Ba continued to say in a sullen voice: "You don't know, A Feng, that sometimes a virtuous person can be foolish. At this time, he should temporarily suspend his orders and wait until everyone can discuss it before making a decision. When the master makes a mistake,
Isn’t this the most important task of ministers since ancient times when it comes to giving advice?”
Du Qifeng nodded repeatedly and did not dare to speak.
Nie Xueqiu quietly approached Lin Youde's ear and whispered to him: "Brother, why do I think the eldest sister is angry because you didn't tell her about the marriage proposal?"
Lin Youde also replied in a low voice: "I didn't tell her because neither Afeng nor I thought we would be accepted at all. How could we have known that something like this would happen."
As Lin Youde was talking, Sophie also came over, and the three of them squeezed their heads together. Ba, who was so close, naturally noticed.
No, it's a miracle that such blatant gossiping went unnoticed.
Ba stared at Lin Youde's seemingly innocent face. After a few seconds of silence, he finally sighed and showed a tired look: "Don't you have any intention of introspecting at all?"
"Yes, absolutely yes." Lin Youde quickly answered loudly.
Du Qifeng lowered his head and was obviously suppressing a smile. Although Nie Xueqiu turned away, the distinct "air leakage sound" still betrayed her. Only Sophie looked back and forth at the group of people in the room without knowing the truth. The little girl
Although I have worked very hard to learn Chinese, it is still difficult to fully understand it.
Finally, Ba's expression completely relaxed.
"Oh, forget it. Do you have any ideas on how to deal with it?" Ba said, picking up the tea cup on the desk, and drank several sips. Ba rarely made such a big move, so it seems that this
The news really shook her.
Thinking of this, Lin Youde couldn't help but feel pity.
If the situation allows Lin Youde to really want to push this matter away, Josephine's character will definitely understand, and Lin Youde is very sure that most French girls are also unhappy about this matter. Unfortunately, under the current situation, Lin Youde cannot refuse this matter.
, First of all, Lin Youde couldn't live with the situation because he proposed the marriage first and the other person agreed and then regretted it. Secondly, although the political marriage with Josephine now has disadvantages, the advantages are also great.
Josephine's ancestral lineage is considered to be quite good in the world. After becoming Mrs. Yazhai, Lin Youde can predict that if there is a war in the Nanyang Army, Josephine will go to the front line as long as she is not fighting France. Normally, she will go to the front line.
By her side, she can act as a bodyguard. At this moment, Ba Yin is regarded by the Japanese immigrants in the Philippines as a direct communication channel with Lin Youde. In fact, she has become the representative of the Japanese in Lin Ji. In addition, she has a lot of internal security related knowledge.
She has to be busy with other things, and now Ba is also a busy person, so asking her to take care of Lin Youde's guard will indeed put a heavy burden on her.
As for Josephine's literary, Taoist and military strategies, Lin Youde had already seen it. Even if she was not allowed to hold specific positions, having her by his side as a consultant would definitely be of great benefit.
As for the benefits of a political marriage with France, Lin Youde felt that he would at least be sure to get Lin Ji's "pass" to enter the French colonies, which would effectively prevent the colonial authorities from stepping on his own feet and give him more confidence when competing with French businessmen in business.
Finally, as a normal man, marrying a beautiful girl like Josephine home and using it to warm the bed every night is a good thing that makes you laugh out loud just thinking about it.
Ba stared at Lin Youde, seeming to know what he was thinking.
So she said: "It seems that the matter of Miss Xiafei becoming Mrs. Lin has basically been determined."
"Now we can only go with the flow, right?" Lin Youde didn't hide it. He firmly believed that Ba could clearly grasp the current situation. This is the most lovable thing about an outstanding girl...
Ba looked at Lin Youde and sighed. She seemed to have finally figured something out, and smiled at Lin Youde again. That smile that contained countless tender feelings made Lin Youde stunned for a moment.
This should be a kind of cunningness of women, but Lin Youde doesn't hate it.
**
"I refuse!" Josephine slammed the table.
The special envoy who came from France frowned. Obviously, he was not very good at dealing with this upright knight.
"Miss Xiafei, haven't you already spied on a lot of information about the Nanyang Army and Lin Ji?"
"This and that are two different things. Mr. Lin Youde and I are rivals who respect each other. I go to spy on intelligence, and he defends himself. In turn, I constantly prevent him from using me to inquire about the situation of the French army. In this process, we
I never concealed the possibility of becoming an enemy in the future, and I never tried to deceive the other party's trust, so this was a fair and just confrontation. But asking me to marry Lin Youde and then obtain information as his wife was a typical betrayal.
With fraud, it would bring disgrace to my honor."
"Is your honor more important than the interests of the Republic?"
"This cannot be compared at all, so I must reject this engagement." Josephine said categorically, with her hands on her hips and her chest held high, like a high-spirited knight in a duel.
"That would embarrass France."
"No." Josephine took a step forward and stared at the special envoy of the Republic. "As long as I disappear. I can remain anonymous and continue to fight for the Republic in the Knights of Roland as an ordinary knight, and the Republic will declare it to the outside world.
I ran away from my marriage and put all the blame on myself."
The special envoy looked very unhappy. He was silent for a while, considered his words, and then said word by word: "Have you ever thought about the benefits that this political marriage can bring to the Republic?"
"These benefits can be exchanged for other benefits. Marrying me to Lin Youde is not the only way."
For the next few minutes, silence enveloped the office rented by Josephine in Holland. The envoy of France and the former leader of the Expeditionary Knights looked at each other calmly, without giving in to each other.
As a result, Josephine was the first to be shaken.
"Okay, as long as I'm not asked to spy on the Nanyang Army, I have no problem with it."
"No problem, we will place professionals around you to take care of this."
Josephine's lips twitched violently, and it was obvious that she was very dissatisfied with the special envoy's statement. After a few seconds of silence, she compromised: "It's up to you, but don't let me know who it is. I'm not sure which night
Will you spill the beans when you feel comfortable?"
The implication is "I will definitely warn Lin Youde that there are spies in my entourage, you'd better hide".
After speaking, Josephine deliberately tugged on the front of her dress to make the whiteness on her chest more open and shameless. This blatant provocation made the special envoy's temples tremble.
The former paladin gave a contemptuous "hum", grabbed the military discharge order on the table, and left the office she had used for several months with her head held high.
**
The marriage between Lin Youde and Josephine Xiafei was just decided.
After the joint military exercise, representatives from various countries gathered in Langgabo for the last time to witness the engagement ceremony of the newlyweds. On the day of the engagement, France and Lam Kee reached an agreement. The Nanyang Army will transfer to the French army within a few years, including radios.
A series of military technologies including rocket launchers and flower mechanisms, and the design of high-performance power stations for France.
Accordingly, France gave Lin Kee the right to conduct commercial activities throughout France and all French colonies, and Lin Kee's goods will receive preferential tariffs. At the same time, the French government allowed the Lin Kee headquarters in each French colony to retain a certain degree of armed force.
, to "respond to local independence movements and armed riots."
Furthermore, Lin Kee and the French bypassed the British and signed a mutual defense treaty. Together with the separate defense treaty signed by the Americans and Lin Kee, the Southeast Asian Association Treaty negotiated by the British was nullified. John Bull
The Gallic Chicken naturally laughed when he was depressed. This made Lin Youde deeply understand what "imperialism is never monolithic."
In short, taking Josephine's marriage as an opportunity, Lin Ji and the French signed a win-win treaty. The French were happy to get the technology, while Lin Youde firmly believed that Lin Ji could completely occupy most of the French colonies in the next few years.
The market continuously transports industrial raw materials and silver into the bloodline of the future Eastern Empire.
In this way, by the end of July 1899, the situation in Southeast Asia gradually stabilized. The civil war in the Nanyang Army, which was already on the verge of breaking out, disappeared. The Kingdom of Germany and the Netherlands also turned its expansionary attention to China because it was temporarily wary of the military alliance between Britain, France, and the United States in Nanyang.
mainland.
Lin Youde successfully obtained time for Lin Ji and the Nanyang Army to further recuperate and increase their strength through nearly three months of diplomatic activities.
Under such circumstances, Lin Youde turned his energy to other things.
The first is the formulation of the first five-year plan.
Secondly, there is the domestic situation. The abnormal stability in the country since 1898 gave Lin Youde a feeling of "the calm before the storm".
Finally, there is peace in your own backyard.
Whether in the East or in the West, there are a lot of red tape when getting married. The more status a person has, the more troubles they have when getting married. For example, the marriage between Lin Youde and Josephine still has a long preparation period after the engagement. This kind of transnational political marriage, with the age of
It’s completely normal to plan your wedding for your workplace.
So the Xiafei family bought a mansion near Lin Youde's new mansion. Starting in August, a large number of servants came from France to take charge of wedding preparations. Josephine herself also lived in this mansion and met Lin Youde every day.