Volume 1 Teacher Chapter 5: The Way
The two Japanese cultural spies got off the car in Mingguang. One can imagine how furious Major Maeda would be in the future. However, this was not something Dai Jiliang considered.
After this little episode, the train continued to shake forward. One day, two days later, it was getting closer and closer to its final destination, and Dai Jiliang's mood became more and more anxious.
“Don’t, don’t.”
Although Li Yuan tried her best to hide on the bed, the small space of the box left her with nowhere to escape.
Dai Jiliang was very satisfied with his earlier decision, otherwise how could he have carried out such embarrassing training on his newlywed wife during these tormenting days.
"Don't be afraid, Yuan'er. The door is locked and the curtains are drawn. No one outside can see it. Besides, the noise from the train is so loud that no one can hear it."
Dai Jiliang said this in a way that was intended to cover up his mistake. Taking advantage of his wife's distraction, he half-dragged and half-carried her to the car window facing outwards and opened the curtain a little.
" Look at how beautiful the land of Zhili is!"
Dai Jiliang sighed as he picked and grabbed things from his wife's half-naked body.
Of course, this kind of strange stimulation was something that Li Yuan, a lady from a noble family, could never have imagined. Unable to bear the whipping, she was quickly sent to orgasm several times. Slowly, she could no longer hold on and fell asleep.
"We have arrived in Bazhou."
Dai Jiliang settled his wife down and lay down.
"I really hope that everything will go well when I wake up!"
In the early 20th century, the dozens of kilometers of road from Tianjin Terminal on the Jinpu Road to Beijing had to be transported by horse-drawn carriages and mule carts. Fortunately, there were foreign troops stationed along the way and the public security was good. Secondly, the so-called Beijing oil and Wei Zuizi, and the Tianjin strongman who drove the carriage for Dai Jiliang, talked and sang all the way, which made the long journey interesting.
"Brother, what are you doing up front?"
The carriage stopped outside Sijiu City. Dai Jiliang got off and stretched, then looked at the long line of people in the distance and asked his coachman.
"You said it was your first time in the capital, but you still didn't admit it. You didn't even know the Chongwenmen tax card."
A strong Tianjin dialect hits you in the face.
"People from all over the country have to go through Chongwenmen to enter Beijing. This tax has been passed down since the reign of Emperor Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty. If you don't pay it, you can't enter Shuntian Prefecture."
Wow, it seems that Chongwenmen has been collecting road and bridge tolls for three or four hundred years. It is much more powerful than those black-hearted road administration companies in Dai Jiliang's previous life. It seems that he was ungrateful for what he had in his previous life.
"Then how much will it cost for three people in one car?"
"There were accurate numbers before, but now."
The car owner hesitated to speak, "From your accent, you are not from the north, and you brought a new wife with you. Not long ago, the Beiyang Army in Beijing made trouble for pay, and all the merchants suffered heavy losses. These bastards also lost their income, so they have been very cruel recently. This money cannot be counted."
"It doesn't matter."
Dai Jiliang thought about it and thought that this probably referred to Yuan Shikai's use of the Third Division's mutiny to scare the southern representatives. However, it was none of his business. This chaos could not be solved by personal heroism. As for dealing with these city gate officials, he still had some ways. At worst, he could just use the old idea of pretending to be Japanese again.
In fact, as long as Chinese people follow the rules and queue up, the queue speed is quite fast. Look, it’s Dai Jiliang’s turn soon.
The two armed tax collectors looked at someone standing upright and frowned. This group of people deal with all kinds of people all day long and have long developed a keen eye.
At first glance, you can tell that Dai Jiliang comes from a military background.
These days, people from the Southern Provisional Government kept going north, but these low-class people did not dare to be arrogant. They did not even lift the curtain of the carriage. They just whispered a few words with the clerk and quoted a price.
"One dollar, and you're gone."
Dai Jiliang nodded, took out a dragon dollar from his pocket and stuffed it into the tax collector's hand, then led the way in calmly under the surprised gaze of the car owner.
A few tax collectors hesitated to speak and finally took their anger out on the coach owner.
"You little monkey, why don't you leave? Wait for your uncle to take you to see the prince."
The car owner came to his senses and hurriedly drove to catch up with Dai Jiliang.
"Master, I never realized you were a master."
"What did you say?"
Dai Jiliang looked back at the car owner in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"Master, you don't know, in the past, with only three of us in this car, we couldn't enter the city without three or five dollars, but today you gave us one dollar and we went in. One dollar!"
The car owner is still very surprised. You know, although the Dragon Dollar is the national currency designated by the Ministry of Revenue of the Qing Dynasty, it is still a little less valuable than the popular Mexican Eagle Dollar. So generally speaking, one Eagle Dollar can be exchanged for about one ten-cent Dragon Dollar.
The car owner found it unbelievable that those idiots who could not tolerate any wrongdoing actually accepted the loss.
"Okay, okay, stop talking nonsense. Jiangsu Guild Hall, do you know where it is? If you don't know, I'll ask you to go back."
Dai Jiliang shook his head indifferently. He even lost a dollar. If he followed his previous idea, he would probably have to pay back the change after giving two slaps.
"I know, I know. Please sit down. I, Cui Er, have met an honorable person today."
With the wheels of the cart rolling and the coachman's introduction along the way, Dai Jiliang finally arrived in Beijing in the early twentieth century.
However, the smooth entry into the city does not mean that Dai Jiliang's road to seeking favors will be smooth. You have to know that the Nanjing Provisional Government ended, most of the officials went north to the capital, and the various departments were busy accepting the integration. Even if there were some vacancies in the Ministry of the Army, there were too many people and too few porridge. How could Dai Jiliang have a smooth journey? Besides, Dai Jiliang was seeking real military power, and it was not his original intention to let him wait until his death in the Ministry of the Army.
"Brother, don't be discouraged."
Fortunately, Dai Jiliang found his sworn brother Zeng Zhisheng. Because he made the right choice, this guy is now a big shot in the Ministry of Transport. "How about I go find Premier Tang?"
Although the key departments of Tang's cabinet were controlled by Yuan Shikai, such as Minister of Foreign Affairs Lu Zhengxiang, Minister of the Interior Zhao Bingjun, Chief of the Army Duan Qirui, and Chief of the Navy Liu Guanxiong were all Yuan's confidants, Minister of Finance Xiong Xiling was a Republican, and the position of Minister of Communications was concurrently held by Tang Shaoyi himself, so Zeng Zhisheng made such a statement.
"Prime Minister Tang?"
Dai Jiliang shook his head. Tang Shaoyi was a bourgeois liberal, and certainly not Yuan Shikai's ideal candidate for prime minister. It seemed that Tang's cabinet would not last long, and to have anything to do with him would be like hanging himself. He didn't want to sit in the cold palace all his life.
"Forget it. Soldiers shouldn't get involved with politicians."
Dai Jiliang tactfully rejected Zeng Zhisheng's kindness.
"I'll try to find some connections. If that doesn't work, I still have a trump card."
Of course, Dai Jiliang was not bragging. He contacted several of his classmates from the Army Academy and thought that although it was impossible for him to be a sergeant, he would always have a role as a staff officer.
In addition, he can also contact his senior Jiang Baili. Although this big man is ostracized in the north, as the principal of Baoding Military Academy, he definitely has a good network of contacts.
But this is the last step. Dai Jiliang will never take this step unless there is really no other way out .
"Stop! This is Dongjiaomin Lane, Chinese are not allowed to enter."
Fortunately, the soldiers on duty today were American Marines. If they were rude Russian soldiers or sinister Japanese soldiers, Dai Jiliang would be in even greater trouble.
"I am a Japanese citizen. I wonder if I can go in and meet our minister?"
Dai Jiliang straightened up and spoke twice in Japanese and English, which made the American soldiers put down their Springfield rifles.
"Japanese?"
In this era, passports were only issued by the enemy government when war broke out, so there was no such thing as a visa. Dai Jiliang's military style was clearly revealed when he stood like this, which gave the tired American soldiers an illusion.
"It may be a Japanese officer. Let him in."
After a discussion, several soldiers removed the roadblock and let Dai in.
Even if he entered the diplomatic quarter, Dai Jiliang could not go directly to the German Embassy to ask for an audience with the minister's military attaché, so he could only go to one place first: the Six Nations Hotel.
The Six Nations Hotel was built by the British in 1900 and is a four-story building.
The Six Nations Hotel was mainly a gathering place for ministers, officials and upper-class people from various countries to stay, dine and entertain themselves, forming a gathering place for dignitaries.
In addition, some Chinese political leaders who stepped down in the future often came here to seek refuge.
Many major historical events in old Beijing are related to this place in one way or another.
"Thank you, sir."
The waiter who opened the door took the one shilling tip from Dai Jiliang and bowed to him respectfully.
"Has the German military attaché arrived today?"
Dai Jiliang looked around, but he couldn't find a person with Germanic features among the bustling crowd of white people. Therefore, he could only raise the tip, his invincible weapon.
"Help me point it out. Wait a minute, this gold pound will be yours."
"Lieutenant Colonel Manhain usually sits in the bar downstairs. He's the tall, fat, white guy with red hair."
Soon, Dai Jiliang got the information he wanted and walked quickly to a corner of the bar.
"Two glasses of stout."
Dai Jiliang did not ask the host's opinion. He sat down in front of the lieutenant colonel, snapped his fingers, and called the waiter.
"The other cup is for the lieutenant colonel."
"Chinese? Japanese?"
The big guy with the rosacea reacted instinctively.
"Thank you for the beer, please move aside, I don't deal with rude yellow monkeys."
"Oh, sir, is this how you talk to a lieutenant of the Imperial Army, a graduate of the Berlin Military Academy, and a recipient of the Second Class Iron Cross awarded by His Majesty William II?"
Dai Jiliang pushed all his honors and certificates in front of Manhain.
"Although you are in China, you must not forget the honor of an imperial soldier!"
"What?"
The big guy sat up straight as if stretched by a spring, put on a monocle, took the thing on the table and read it carefully.
"The item is correct, and the person and the photo match, Lieutenant Steinberg, what does this mean?"
Manhain lazily slumped down on the table again, calling Dai Jiliang's German name.
"Does the lieutenant mean to serve in the German Embassy in China? But that's almost impossible."
"No, no, I just want to ask the lieutenant colonel to introduce General Duan Qirui, the chief of the Chinese Army. He is also a senior who graduated from the Berlin Military Academy and a well-known pro-German element in China. If you recommend him, I'm sure he will not refuse."
"Lieutenant Steinberg is quite calculating!"
If a big guy can become a military officer, he will definitely not be politically dull.
"Why should I recommend you if I can enter your country's military in a roundabout way?"
The big guy almost asked directly, how much benefit can you give me.
"Sir, you should know that the Japanese influence in China's military circles has surpassed that of the German Empire."
Dai Jiliang smiled.
"Would the situation be better if there was one more German-trained officer?"
Dai Jiliang is somewhat unfathomable.
"The Morocco issue has put Europe on the brink of a war. Germany is powerful, but isn't it a good thing to have one less rival and one more China that can draw the attention of the Anglo-Japanese alliance?"
"There's a saying in China: big talk is shameless. How can a soldier who hasn't even been integrated into the core of the officer corps influence Yuan's diplomacy?"
Manhain was not a person who would be dazzled by a few nice words. He and the Governor of Qingdao were both responsible for exerting the empire's influence in China. Just two words were not enough to convince him.
"How can we know if we don't try? Do you want to watch Mauser, Krupp, and Vulcan's businesses fall into the hands of the Japanese?"
Dai Jiliang smiled, but as the nouns were announced one by one, Manhain's face became solemn.
"Lieutenant, I hope you remember what I said today."
The big guy finally nodded.
"Then, shouldn't you be the one to treat us today?"
"We are happy to help."
Dai Jiliang agreed modestly. The door of hope had been opened, and the subsequent progress was no longer under his control.
