The Red Chamber: The Rise of the Lin Mansion

The foreigners on the opposite side were all stunned when they heard the words. Immediately, the foreigner with an old face and gray temples walking in front walked two steps quickly, and said to Lin Yun in surprise: "You can speak English?"

Lin Yun nodded and said, "Yes."

"Great, I am George Macartney."

Lin Yun smiled and said: "Mr. Earl, welcome to our Great Chu as a guest. Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Zhoufang Zhou, the Shaoqing of Honglu Temple in our Great Chu Kingdom."

George Macartney cupped his hands at Zhou Fang and said in blunt Chinese: "Master Zhou, hello!"

Zhou Fang hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Your Earl, can you speak Chinese?"

George Macartney turned his head to look at Lin Yun, he couldn't understand what Zhou Fang was saying.

Lin Yun translated it for him with a smile, and Macartney quickly replied in English: "I only know this sentence in Chinese, and I'm still learning it now."

Next, George Macartney introduced Zhou Fang to the group of foreigners following him.Lin Yun was shocked when he heard this. According to Macartney, except for one deputy envoy, all of these people are the best in all walks of life in the UK.

After the chatter, Zhou Fang took out the imperial edict and said to George Macartney, "Earl George, please kneel down to receive the edict."

When Lin Yun heard this, he was immediately in a dilemma. If an English earl knelt down to accept the imperial edict, even if he was killed, he would not agree.

Macartney and the foreigners behind him all looked at Lin Yun, waiting for his translation.

Seeing Lin Yun's embarrassed expression, Zhou Fang asked him, "Lin Daizhao, what's the matter?"

Lin Yun whispered authentically: "The foreigners don't kneel down, they regard kneeling as humiliation."

Zhou Fang said dissatisfiedly: "Do as the Romans do, since they want to see our emperor, they must respect our etiquette."

Seeing that the two were muttering non-stop, George Macartney asked his interpreter, "What are they talking about?"

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The translator said embarrassingly: "Master Zhou, please kneel down to accept our emperor's imperial edict."

As soon as these words came out, all the foreigners following George Macartney exploded, accusing Zhou Fang of being too deceitful.

Seeing this, Zhou Fang asked with a guilty conscience: "Lin Daizhao, what do they want?"

Lin Yun said speechlessly: "Of course I don't agree to kneel."

Zhou Fang's head suddenly became dizzy. So many foreigners objected, which made him feel more pressured.

George Macartney knew Da Chu quite well, and he knew that it was the etiquette of Da Chu officials to kneel down to accept the imperial edict.But he is an aristocrat of Great Britain, so he naturally refused to accept such a humiliating etiquette.

He asked Lin Yun, "Master Lin, can you cancel this ceremony?"

Lin Yun said embarrassingly: "If it is cancelled, you will not see our emperor."

When Macartney heard this, he also fell into a dilemma. He came to China after going through untold hardships, so he was naturally unwilling to go back home like this.

Zhou Fang: "Lin Daizhao, how about we go back and ask the emperor for instructions before making a decision?"

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Lin Yun thought for a while, and said, "Lord Zhou, why don't we read the imperial decree first, let's go to Tongzhou with the foreigners first, and when we get to Tongzhou, His Majesty should have a reply."

Zhou Fang nodded and said, "Alright, I'll send someone to ask His Majesty for orders."

"Ok."

Lin Yun told Macartney the result of the discussion between him and Zhou Fang, and the other party naturally agreed wholeheartedly. In order to express his gratitude, he also invited Zhou Fang and Lin Yun to board the boat for a banquet.

Zhou Fang naturally refused to agree. He had a natural fear of foreigners, and he would hide whenever he could, so he wouldn't dare to move forward.

Chapter 275: Visit

Zhou Fang refused George Macartney's invitation and left with several of his officials in the name of going to see Tianjin Wei officials.

Lin Yun did not leave with Zhou Fang. He smiled at Macartney and asked, "Mr. Macartney, may I go on board for a visit?"

Macartney stretched out his hand to invite: "Of course, no problem, sir."

The main purpose of Lin Yun's trip was to understand the reality of British warships.Now that he has the opportunity to go on a boat to visit, he will naturally seize it.

Accompanied by Macartney, Lin Yun boarded the warship on which the British mission was traveling.

While accompanying Lin Yun on the tour, Macartney briefed him on the situation of the members of the mission.

Contrary to Lin Yun's expectations, there are more than 100 British missions visiting China this time, including politicians, bankers, missionaries, writers, artists, astronomers, mathematicians, doctors, businessmen and so on.

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There were a hundred guards accompanying him, plus sailors and handymen, for a total of more than 600 people.

The British Mission except for the warship Lion.There are also three armed merchant ships, which are used to load gifts for the Great Chu Emperor and supplies needed by the mission.

...

George Macartney took the opportunity of communicating with Lin Yun to ask him about the attitude of the Great Chu Emperor and the ministers of the court and China towards foreign trade.

Lin Yun tactfully excused himself because his official position was low and he didn't know the inside story.

George Macartney thought he was just an interpreter brought by Zhou Fang, so he didn't ask any more questions, but patiently accompanied Lin Yun to look around the equipment on the ship.

Seeing that Lin Yun didn't know what to ask, the entourage left one after another, leaving only one officer to introduce the situation of the warship to Lin Yun.

Through the introduction of the British military officer, Lin Yun learned that the Lion was a wooden sailing warship without armor, with a total length of 48 meters and a beam of [-] meters.

装备的武器全部是前膛火炮，计有26门24磅炮；26门18磅炮；10门4磅炮；2门9磅炮。

Among them, the 24-pound "long gun", that is, the front-loading cannon, weighed about 2 kilograms.

While Lin Yun was looking around, he saw a little boy with blond hair running out of the cabin and quickly came to him.

Panting heavily, the little boy asked Lin Yun in English, "They all said you can speak English, is that true?"

Lin Yun smiled and said, "I know a thing or two."

The little boy was pleasantly surprised: "My God! You are the most fluent English-speaking Chinese I have ever seen."

Lin Yun: "Kid, you haven't told me your name yet?"

"I'm sorry! I was so happy just now that I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Thomas Staunton."

Lin Yun stretched out his hand and smiled, "My name is Lin Yun. Nice to meet you, Mr. Staunton."

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Lin."

After shaking hands with Lin Yun, Thomas Staunton took out a gold pocket watch from his coat pocket, handed it to Lin Yun and said, "This pocket watch is a birthday present from my father. I will pass it on to you. Please accept it. Down."

Lin Yun declined and said, "I am an official of Dachu now, and I cannot accept the gift from the mission. I accept your wish, and please take back the gift."

Thomas Staunton said awkwardly: "I'm sorry! I forgot your identity."

George Macartney watched the interaction between the two, and was pleasantly surprised. Lin Yun could speak English, but his communication with Thomas Jr. did not feel out of place, which really puzzled him. .

Thomas Staunton put away his pocket watch and asked Lin Yun, "Mr. Lin, I like Chinese very much. Can you teach me?"

"Of course. When the mission goes to the capital, I will invite you to my house as a guest."

Thomas Staunton said happily: "I am really honored, thank you, Mr. Lin."

George Macartney asked with a smile: "Mr. Lin, may I visit your house?"

Lin Yun smiled and said, "That depends on whether the trip goes well, sir."

George Macartney laughed and said: "I am full of confidence in this visit."

Lin Yunxin said: "When you go to the capital, you will know how wrong you are."

...

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When the few people were chatting happily, they saw a British soldier leading a big Chu official onto the boat, and the man reported to Lin Yun: "Lin Daizhao, Mr. Zhou, please go back to discuss matters."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yun hurriedly bid farewell to Macartney and Staunton Jr., and followed the official off the boat.

As soon as he left, Macartney smiled at Staunton and said, "Thomas, I've given you a task. During your stay in the capital, you must establish a good relationship with this Mr. Lin."

Thomas Staunton said disgustedly: "Mr. Earl, I am here to learn Chinese, not to help you be a spy."

Macartney: "I just want you to have a good relationship with him, and I have no other intentions."

"Mr. Earl, if you want to buy Mr. Lin for your use, I advise you to give up your mind, I won't help you."

After finishing speaking, little Thomas Staunton turned and ran into the cabin.His father was the deputy envoy of the British Mission, so he was not afraid that Macartney would make things difficult for him.

...

Lin Yun returned to the boat and saw Zhou Fang chatting with two men in official uniforms.

Seeing Lin Yun coming in from outside the cabin, Zhou Fang quickly stood up, pointed to an old man in his fifties and introduced Lin Yun: "Lin Daizhao, this is Mr. Lu Xiaozhang, the governor of Baoding Prefecture."

Lin Yun hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Lin Yun has seen Mr. Lu."

Lu Xiaozhang smiled and said, "There is no need to be too polite,"

Zhou Fang pointed to another person and introduced: "This is the deputy general of Tianjin Wei, General He Chang."

"Lin Yun met General He."

He Chang hurriedly clasped his fists in return, "I will meet Lin Daizhao at the end."

After the chatter was over, the four of them sat down.

Zhou Fang first said: "I saw that the foreigner's warship has a lot of artillery on it. Shall we let them transfer to a small boat and then go to the capital?"

Lu Xiaozhang smiled at Lin Yun: "Since Lin Daizhao was sent by His Majesty, you must have the most say in this matter."

Lin Yun said modestly: "The lower officials are here to help. For specific matters, I would like to ask a few adults to make up their minds."

He Chang said from the side: "The general thinks Master Zhou is right. The artillery of foreigners has always been sharp. Although there is only one warship, they cannot be allowed to go to Tongzhou."

Lu Xiaozhang: "Since the two adults both advocate letting foreigners change ships, let them be informed to change."

Zhou Fang: "I have to trouble Lin Daizhao to discuss this matter with foreigners."

Lin Yun nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go and discuss with Mr. Macartney when you get the boat ready."

Lu Xiaozhang: "We also need to send someone to prepare a batch of grain and vegetables for the foreigners, lest they complain behind our backs that we didn't entertain them well."

Zhou Fang: "Lord Lu is right, I have to trouble General He to prepare for this matter."

He Chang hurriedly said: "The general has already prepared all the food and vegetables, and when they transfer to the boat, he will send someone to deliver them to them."