golden scales

Even Otto Braun himself did not expect that he finally arrived in Beijing smoothly.

Otto was deeply shocked by the towering city walls of Beijing, which could not be seen at a glance.

In Europe, castles are both administrative centers and military purposes, and there will not be so many residents in the castle.Otto, an ignorant and uneducated hukou, only understood the residents of Beijing as the emperor's private property, similar to servants and handymen, so he inevitably felt more awe of the ruler of this empire.

"Can I see His Majesty the Emperor?" Braun asked in a low voice the captain of Jinyiwei who escorted him.He once tried to seduce the captain, but the captain didn't like masculinity, the result was just the opposite, and he was very rude to him along the way.

Of course the general manager of the Spanish Department who was in charge of the translation knew about this, but with the mentality that the matter had nothing to do with himself, he didn't have any extra problems.

"It's just you?" The captain spat: "Pigs and dogs want to meet the Holy One? Ah bah!"

The captain spoke so vulgarly that the young Tong was too embarrassed to translate it directly.

"You won't be able to see the Holy Majesty, but it would be nice if you can meet the governor." This student was recently assigned to Jinyiwei, so he knew a little about Jinyiwei.

At the beginning, Jinyiwei's scope of activities was only in the capital, so under the Commander, Commander Tongzhi, and Commander Shi, there were two Zhenfu envoys from the fourth rank.Now Jinyiwei is quietly spread all over the country and abroad, so basically every province has a town governor, and every prefecture has a thousand households.This is also the stage where official positions and official titles will not be divided.

There are two Zhenfu envoys sitting in Beijing, with greater authority.The Fushi of Beizhen is not only in charge of the collection and arrangement of intelligence in the capital, but also has the title of Commander.

Jin Yiwei has always been the emperor and the courtiers. Except for some special circumstances in the Yingzong Dynasty, the new emperor has to be cleaned at other times.Moreover, this kind of cleaning is mainly concentrated on high-ranking officials above the township envoy, and the thousands and hundreds of households who actually work are not eligible to enjoy the cleaning treatment.

Until the Chongzhen Dynasty, the situation was somewhat special.Because after the crown prince took over Jinyiwei.The emperor's army actually served the crown prince.At that time, Luo Yangxing, the commander of the official brand, had already served Donglu, and other high-ranking officials either followed the country or lived in seclusion. It was easy for Donggong's subordinates to quickly grasp the core strength of Jinyiwei.Take advantage of it.

Now that the crown prince has become the emperor, the previous thousands and hundreds of households have naturally risen, and they have been promoted and added titles. Moreover, judging from the increase in transactional work, even if there is another emperor, they don't have to worry about being purged.The only bad thing is that it cannot be passed on to his son...but Jinyiwei is also considered half of the military system, and it is also an excellent way out for his son to go to the Armed Forces University to become an officer.

What's more, the Military Information Department welcomes Jin Yiwei's children to join.

Qian Datong, the appeasement envoy in charge of Otto Braun's case, was such an upstart.Before the national change, he was just a trial hundred household, and he had more than a dozen Jinyiwei school lieutenants and warriors who were generally settled in shabby households.He fled Beijing during the national change, but was taken to Shandong in a daze because he went along with the emperor.Immediately he was appointed as Qianhu.

Qian Datong didn't think he had any special talents, but he was in a daze to get excellent grades year after year. In Fuzhou, he was in charge of reconnaissance of Zheng's family and made great contributions. Finally, in the third year of Longjing, he was transferred from Fujian Town Fushi to Beijing to lead Beizhen Fushi. .

This time the guard envoy Xu Dun assigned him the Aoshi project.He didn't say anything in particular, as if he had great confidence in his ability.

Qian Datong didn't know what to do, anyway, he had to meet someone.

As soon as he saw Otto Braun, Qian Datong felt that this person was neither like a civil servant who had been serving copybooks for many years, nor like the noble manservant that the missionaries said.In his opinion, even a servant has dignity.However, this man can be said to have no dignity at all.

He is more like a humble and helpless little husband.

It's just that the Thai-Western figure makes him not "small" at all.

After staring directly at it for about a quarter of an hour, Otto Braun showed signs of being on the verge of collapse.

——There is absolutely no willpower to resist.

Qian Datong leaned back in his chair and continued to stare at Otto Braun.In his opinion, the decision to use the Taisi was a waste of time, since he couldn't even steal information as a valet.

Otto Braun dared not look at Qian Datong at all.He put his eyes on his hands, but found that his legs were trembling unconsciously.It's like a spasm.In this small black room with no windows, there were only him and this forty-something Ming official. The two of them could not speak the same language, so no matter what he said, it would be useless.

"Your Excellency, say something!" Otto finally couldn't help but shouted.

—he has collapsed.

Qian Datong couldn't understand Otto's language.Just glanced at the hourglass on the table.He shook his head, pulled the rope on the side, and soon a general was ordered to come.

"Ask him what he can do." Qian Datong said to him.

"What skills do you have?" Tong Shi asked.

Otto Braun seemed to hear the sounds of nature, and quickly said: "I can speak three languages, German, Spanish, and English...I can read some German. I am also familiar with the etiquette of nobles...I would like to Do everything you tell me to do, please don't kill me!"

Tong Shi was about to translate, but Qian Datong waved his hand and said, "Let him live in Ziming Building for two days." After saying that, Qian Datong got up and left without any delay.

Tong Shi was stunned on the spot, and thought to himself: How do I know where Ziming Building is?Besides, I don't have the power and responsibility to lead prisoners!

Fortunately, after Qian Datong left, two captains came in soon.Tong Shi put on an attitude of conveying his wishes, and did not delay the matter.

Although Otto Braun cannot understand Chinese, it cannot be denied that he has a good language talent.In the conversations between several people, "Zi Ming Building" appeared most frequently, and it was probably a certain place or some kind of punishment.As I was brought into a Chinese-style courtyard, a three-storey small brick and wood building was hidden in the depths of the courtyard, with only a section of the roof exposed.

He guessed that this was the "Ziming Building".

"Sir, please go this way." The Chinese who came out of the Ziming Building spoke German with a Bavarian accent.

"Where is this?" Otto Braun seemed to have grasped at straws, and almost rushed to hug the Chinese dressed as a servant.

"Ziminglou, sir." The man is like a well-educated noble manservant, gentle, dignified, generous, and decent.

Otto Braun was a little ashamed in front of him, stepping on the clean and smooth stone path, it was almost difficult to move his legs.After he came out of the small dark room, he enjoyed the sunshine very much. Now walking in this small garden full of mysterious atmosphere, he is even more attracted by the magical effect of changing scenery with steps.

"This is a pond." The servant said solemnly.

——Everyone knows that this is a pond, and I also know that the fish swimming in it.

Otto sneered in his heart.

"You have to learn to stand by the pond and feel the movement and stillness brought by the fish swimming." The manservant continued: "This can make your impetuous breath deep, and you don't look like a person who can sell your body for a piece of bread." cheap stuff."

Otto Braun felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart, but when he thought of the small dark room and the man from Ming who seemed to be hiding a sharp knife in his eyes, he couldn't help but shudder, not daring to have the slightest thought. defy.

The servant took Otto Braun from the fish pond to a bamboo forest.

It is said to be a bamboo forest, but in fact it is just more than ten stalks of moso bamboo planted on both sides of the path.In this season, the bamboo leaves are no longer tender, but slightly browned.Only when the wind blows, the rustling leaves are willing to play the sounds of nature.

"This is the bamboo forest." The male servant said: "You should come here every day to listen to the sound of the wind, it is the concerto of nature, so that the rotten smell on your body can be blown away."

"What do you want me to do?" Otto Braun couldn't help asking.

He did like the position of his face on the pillow, but he didn't like being abused like this.

"Let you be a poet." The servant said calmly.

After being stunned, Otto Braun finally laughed: "Poet? Well, I've already admitted that I'm not really a poet. I just read two collections of poetry."

"No, you must become a poet." The servant said seriously: "This is an order."

"But..." Otto was a little tongue-tied, a poet is an identity rather than a profession.No one can become a poet by studying.

"I'm in charge of training you and educating you," said the male servant.

"Are you a poet?" Otto was even more surprised.

"I'm a secret agent." The servant smiled and said, "Congratulations, you have the opportunity to become a member of the great institution of our great empire. If you can pass the examination, you can honorably join the Jinyiwei."

"What if I fail the test..."

"Please don't bother about things after death." The servant laughed.

Otto smiled, but very reluctantly.

"Go ahead. Get to know this place, and get to know Daming." The male servant walked in front, with the attitude of the master here.

Passing through the bamboo forest, there are also bamboo pavilions surrounded by vines, and huge stone water tanks covered with moss... Otto was amazed that the Chinese can dissolve so many scenery in one place, making this other place with a size of only two or three mu The courtyard seems to have endless scenery.Moreover, every scene in the mouth of Mr. Servant is a spiritual bath to cleanse vulgarity, and at the same time, he does not forget to stimulate Otto Braun's little self-esteem.

"No matter what civilization it is, you will always be favored if you wash it clean." The valet took Otto downstairs and pointed to the small door faintly exposed behind the screen: "Entering here is the bathroom and toilet. You can Find out how to use it yourself first.”

Otto walked slowly on the polished floor, only hearing his heavy breathing and the faint groan from the floor.He doubted what the spy instructor said, it was a spy!Could it be that the toilet and bathroom he mentioned were real toilets and bathrooms!

The secret door behind the screen seemed to him to lead to another world, and it was so treacherous that it made him feel timid.