Chapter 272 Sailing and Beauty

October 17th of the year of the lunar calendar 4602 (1904 of the Yale calendar).

Shanghai, Huangpu Jiangpu East Port.

In October, Shanghai is already in early autumn, and the fog permeating the river has gradually dissipated under the autumn sunshine. The warm sun shines on the earth, the gentle wind blows gently from the river, and the mist is like smoke in the morning, quiet and comfortable.

The huge hull of the cruise ship "Departure" with a displacement of 12,500 tons seems to be moored in the port. The "Departure" is a large fast cruise ship purchased by a shipping company from the Hamburg-American company in Germany. It is only five years old. This cruise ship is just like its name. For the Chinese, This ship carries the hope of a nation.

This giant cruise ship was initially purchased by the company on the one hand in order to open up the company's ocean-going passenger route, but on the other hand, it was the need of the ruling axe to send a delegation, including more than 2,700 people, including international students. However, to a certain extent, this delegation carries the hope of the Chinese people, especially the students who go to study abroad with the delegation.

Today is the day of the departure of the "Departure". On the dock, there are a lot of people and traffic. Mail trucks and freight cars shuttle back and forth. If you look from a distance, you can only see the huge hull of the "Departure". People are like ants squirming on the deck of this huge thing... More than a dozen of the latest "F03" high-end cars, which will be used as the car of the expedition, are hoisted into the ship, with the movement of the boom to the dense crowd. There are people who board the ship and people who see them off... It is spectacular for all kinds of people to gather a sea of sincerity on this dock.

Tens of thousands of people waved the national flag to send off, crowded the dock. Although it was crowded, there was a large team of more than 2,000 people standing on the dock. The team was all composed of young people who were less than eleven or twelve years old and the elders less than seventeen or eighteen years old.

There are teenagers in a square line, men and women. Men are wearing new black or navy blue clothes, while girls are wearing deep clothes or robes. The clothes on their bodies are customized to Han and Tangfang by the ruling axes. At the feet of the teenagers, there is a salute. Two,212 teenagers are strict. After the examination and selection, the second batch of Chinese official international students selected across the country may be the largest expatriate international students in the world.

Around the team, the parents and relatives of the teenagers looked tearfully at their sons or daughters who will go to the United States, Britain, France and Germany to study abroad, which means glory to some extent, but behind this glory is the children thousands of miles away from China.

Even from the beginning, the protagonists here are no longer those officials who go abroad to study, but these international students who "reopen the wind of young children studying abroad". In the words of governance, "They carry the hope of the re-emergence of our country!"

When the officials gave a speech to them to see them off, Yu Wanjie, who was standing in the team, looked up and said, "The boat is so big!"

Look at the biggest guy she has ever seen. Then she turned her head and told her brother next to her.

"Brother, is it the sailing? Are we going to take it to the United States?

"Hmm!"

Yu Guoliang nodded and replied. He used Yu Guang to look at his eleven-year-old sister and his younger brother in the front row. Among these expatriate students, many of them went to the sea together, including church schools and new schools. Everyone here was selected by thousands of people.

He did not look at the people who saw them off, because he knew that his parents who were far away in Sichuan would not come to see them off and could be selected as international students. Perhaps it was related to his parents sending them to the church. In the church, he and his younger brothers and sisters learned English.

The horn attracted the little girl's attention. She turned around and saw a car coming this way. The crowded crowd dodged a passage and let the car enter the dock.

The door opened, and a man with a must-character beard and a military helmet got out of the car. The slightly thin face was confident, and the slightly raised corners of his lips seemed to indicate that he was in a good mood. At the moment the door was opened, until Chen Moran got out of the car, the flash flashed on the dock, and the flashing light exploded. The sound echoed on the dock.

When he walked to the front team, Chen Moran nodded to the people who saw him off from time to time. At yesterday's farewell banquet, he had personally told these teenagers that he would come to see them off today.

"Good governance!"

When Chen Moran stepped on the stage and did not speak, the teenagers and the people around them bowed one after another, and the teenagers would become a little excited. They thought that the government would not come.

"Children!"

Looking around at the teenagers in the square team, Chen Moran said in a surprised and cordial tone.

"Today you are going to leave your family and go to a foreign country tens of thousands of places to start your study career..."

Looking at the teenagers, Chen Moran's voice became lower and lower.

"...Now in our country, after 260 years of slavery, we don't have a scientist or a professor. This is our country. Now that the nation is restored, although the Chinese people have risen up to enrich the people and strengthen the country, the lack of talents has become the most difficult in China's construction. Difficult problem... The country wants to be rich and strong, industry and commerce are not prosperous, how to talk about how to be rich and strong, and how to talk about the lack of talents to talk about the development of industry and commerce. Although the ruling axe has limited financial resources, it is still determined to send you out to study... In you, it carries not only the glory of individuals, but also the choice of a nation to seek knowledge in the world and this nation. Realize the hope of prosperity!"

The words in a low voice made the teenager on the dock understand the responsibility on his shoulders.

"Have a good trip! I will learn and return home early!"

In the last blessing, the military band played the national anthem. During the restoration period, "A Return to the Han and Tang Dynasties" sung throughout the country was selected as the national anthem without exception.

"The reeds are green, and the white dew is frost. The wide sleeves are fluttering, where are they now? After several vicissitudes of life, several times of mourning. The clothes are indiminate, and it finally becomes a final sound. I would like to return to the Han and Tang Dynasties and play a role in the palace. With the clothes of my Han family, I am a country of etiquette. I would like to return to the Han and Tang Dynasties and rise again. I'm not afraid of obstacles for a long time. Look at my Chinese son..."

When the three-color national flag slowly rose on the dock in the song, 2,200 students on the dock sang the national anthem in unison. Looking at the Chinese flag fluttering in the wind, everyone knew that this might be the last time they participated in the flag-raising ceremony on Chinese soil. When was the next time, no one would I know.

Maybe ten years, maybe fifteen years, or even longer. In each of their luggage, in addition to books and clothes issued by the Ministry of Education, there is also a flag and a bag of soil. The flag is the Chinese flag and the soil is the soil of their hometown.

Hanshang must not be made silent again, and the country must not be lost again. When the national flag is raised, everyone secretly swears in their hearts. They know their responsibility to go abroad.

"Du!"

When these students got on the ship in turn, the people who saw them off either waved their arms or cried. At the same time, the flashes of the spotlights came one after another. For the reporters on the dock, this is a grand event in Chinese history. It is the first time that China has sent international students to foreign countries on a large scale. This is China's quest for knowledge in the world. The biggest step on the way.

The "Departure" began to ignite.

The passengers accelerated the speed of boarding, and the crowd on the dock waved their arms again, and the crying on the dock became louder and louder... Seeing that the child was about to leave, the mothers wrapped in their little feet cried and hugged their children, unwilling to leave. Finally, with the help of their father, the mother let go of her hand and was When they let go, the children knelt on the ground respectfully and kowtowed to their parents before boarding the boat.

In the noise and crying, the steam seedlings are long, and the huge chimney on the ship emits thick smoke, mixed with snow-white steam, dancing a clear track in the air... This huge ship is about to anchor, carrying a nation's desire for wealth and strength to start its voyage to the world's quest for knowledge.

The propeller on the stern of the boat started at the same time. Due to the shallow water level of the dock, when the river was stirred, the mud at the bottom of the river was turned over, just like a bomb exploded underwater. In an hour, the river became turbid... "Goodbye! Please rest assured that we will learn useful knowledge.

Squeezing into the crowd around the side of the ship, Li Qipeng sighed affectionately to the dock that was gradually leaving. When he sighed, more teenagers knelt down in front of their relatives and kowtowed to their parents on the dock.

Sun Yat-sen, who waved to the people on the dock on the side of the ship, couldn't help sighing at the children who knelt on the deck and kowtowed at their elders.

"They, they are the hope of this country!"

"Brother Zhongshan, we have a great responsibility for this trip!"

Zhang Feng, who gave way out of the side, looked at Sun Yat-sen, who also gave way to the teenagers, and said with a smile.

He, who led a delegation as the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice, can be said to be full of ambition. The main purpose of this trip is to examine the laws of various countries. "Law first, education first" is the focus of this inspection formulated by the government, followed by the politices, military and economies of various countries.

"Yes!"

Sun Yat-sen nodded and looked at the young undersecretary of justice in front of him. He felt a little strange about this route arrangement. India, India was the first stop of the expedition, followed by Egypt, along the way to the Ottoman Empire, Italy, France, Germany, then from Germany to Britain, and then from Britain to Brazil. Argentina entered Chile, Peru and Colombia through the Strait of Magella, and then into Mexico. Finally, it entered the United States from San Francisco and was transferred by train to inspect the whole country of the United States.

"This route..."

After Sun Yat-sen finished speaking, Zhang Feng pointed to the teenagers who were crying on the side of theboard.

"On the one hand, this route is arranged for us and other delegations, but it is also arranged for them!"

"Why is this?"

"At least we are still a country. These teenagers will know that if they don't work hard, the status quo of India and other countries is the future of China!"

Zhang Feng's words stunned Sun Yat-sen, and then nodded thoughtfully.

The sharp bow of the "Departure" splits the river of the Huangpu River and drove forward, and the white spray of the bow was the powder brought by the broken gems. The sun pierced the originally gloomy sky, and the golden sun sprinkled on the huge ship of the "Departure". At this time, it seemed that everything in the world was blessing. I wish these teenagers a good journey... The colorful sunset formed half of the sky into glowing brocade, and the blood-red sunset slowly sank in the scattered clouds.

Night is coming. In the spacious banquet hall of Pudong Industrial Hotel, Shanghai's social celebrities gathered here. This is a banquet held by the Shanghai business community for the government. Shanghai, as the foundation of the government, for the Shanghai business community, every time, prepares a banquet for the government and subscribes for bonds at the banquet, it may be their table. A way to show support for the government.

The banquet began in the evening, and the preparations were staggered and crowds. The people in the banquet hall greeted each other and politely. This is an indispensable entertainment for social occasions. Wine is like a stimulant, which stimulates people's senses to the end of the nerves. This kind of banquet is not different from the traditional banquet, but a Western-style banquet. Compared with Europeans, when the banquet is **, the body under the cover of the evening dress heats up, and the language becomes presumptuous and bold. In order to become frivolous, the oriental elegance is still maintained here. Although the banquet is over, the band plays music and the dance begins, there are only a few dozen people on the dance floor.

At the banquet, when talking with these business gentry from time to time about the view of the ruling axe on the economy, Chen Moran occasionally turned his eyes to a corner. In that corner, there were some women sitting, which may be one of the changes after the restoration. Under the intentional or unintentional guidance of the political axe, women began to walk out of the family, but these merchants The gentry brought mostly their own concubines or daughters.

For them, the young and beautiful concubines are one of the capitals to show off, and when they come here with their daughters, there is another. Some of them are staring at the ruling government with only one wife. Of course, more people are staring at the young officials who came here with the ruling government. Those young people are It can be said that there is a bright future for an official or general.

And Chen Moran occasionally looked at the girl who sat alone at the table intentionally and unintentionally. Her indifferent expression was in sharp contrast to the lively banquet.

She is indeed beautiful. What reflects Chen Moran's eyes is an amazing face. A pair of big eyes make her slightly arrogant look charming. With the beauty of a lively wild surname, her sometimes warm and naive, and sometimes dazed black eyes flashed with unpredictable connotations... At this time, Li Yijing, who was sitting at the table, really realized what sadness was. She looked at those who was surrounded by the prominent ruler in beautiful military uniforms. People who meet him, echo him, and laugh with his words, laugh there, or sigh, feel sad for them. When they do their best to please him, they will not know how small they are in his eyes, like sand.

"... Not only will the gold be encouraged, but he said that after the national system is decided, the political axe will also introduce further measures to encourage the industry. At the time of the boundary, the tax exemption range of the new factory may be wider and the time will be longer. Similarly, for those who have achieved something, the political axe will be awarded, um! If the people choose the emperor system, I will never hesitate to give titles to all the successes of industrialists and financiers!"

Chen Moran's words only made the business gentry around him take a breath of cold air in shock. Everyone's eyes showed longing. Some older people even turned red because they were too excited. Taking this opportunity, Chen Moran once again turned his eyes to the one that made people feel amazing, and there was a kind of surprise. At this time, she had already stood up, and her slim and plump body was wrapped in a well-cut skirt, which aroused people's reverie. She stood up and walked to the balcony. When she shouted in her heart that it was a pity, a little girl in a Western-style lady's skirt and pink carved jade came to him. In front of him, there was a Western-style lady's ceremony skillfully and deftly.

"Dear Mr. Ruling, may I invite you to dance?"

The sudden appearance of a girl who seemed to be only seven or eight years old only stunned Chen Moran and didn't react for a while.

"Region, this is the youngest daughter of Song Jiashu, the manager of Fufeng Flour Company!"

"Song Jiashu?"

Chen Moran is not familiar with the name

, and he should not be among those who flatter him.

Looking at the pink little girl in front of him and thinking of his daughter at home, Chen Moran's face was piled up slightly, and he stretched out his right hand like a gentleman and made an invitation.

"Can I ask you to dance? My lady!"

I want to fulfill the little girl's wish.

The little girl laughed happily as soon as she heard this, and immediately accepted his invitation. Chen Moran took her hands and taught her to dance. Although she was very short, Chen Moran could also take her to dance.

With the little girl, the two danced to the music. She was happy and her cheeks were slightly red. At this time, people looked at the ruler who was teaching the little girl to dance with different looks, especially when Song Jiashu heard his daughter's happy laughter on the dance floor. He could hardly believe his eyes. Previously, Mei Ling said that he would invite the "Emperor" to dance. He thought it was Mei Ling who was joking, but he didn't expect... Although the daughter is young..."

Song Jiashu couldn't hear what the people next to him were saying at all. He just stared at the ruling party with his daughter dancing. In his imagination, no emperor in China would accept the invitation of a little girl.

Finally, the song ended and let go of the little girl who was still giggling. Chen Moran politely took the girl's hand and took her out of the dance floor. At this time, a middle-aged man came over with some apologies on his face.

"Children are sensible, please don't be in power!"

Song Jiashu apologized and looked at his daughter and said something harshly.

"Beautiful age, why don't you apologize to the ruling government!"

Beautiful age? Song Jiashu... She... She is Song Meiling!

(to be continued)