Volume 2: The crown and the hat are all over the capital, and the spirit is full of energy and enter the foggy city Chapter 60 The British
Chapter Subtitle: Spymaster and Escape Expert
"Mr. Yuan, nice to meet you. My wife and I are both your fans."
"Yes, Mr. Yuan. I really like your "Chocolat" very much."
Kijuro Shidehara (1872-1951) was indeed a professional diplomat, speaking fluent English without the jargony Japanese English. Mrs. Shidehara, dressed in a traditional kimono, was also from an extraordinary family. She was the fourth daughter of Iwasaki Yataro, the founder of the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu, and her accent was understandable.
Therefore, Shigekiro Shidehara is a brother-in-law of former Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Kato Takaaki.
Master Yuan, who had 17 points of charm, bowed slightly and said in an even more authentic American English than theirs: "Mrs. Shidehara, Minister Shidehara. It's my honor."
The Japanese ambassador to the United States suddenly switched to Chinese and said, "Mr. Yuan, Mr. Nomura praised you highly and said that Mr. Hongjian is the pride of our Greater East Asia. Seeing you today, I can see that you are indeed a man of great talent and a peerless national talent!"
This gentleman is a professional diplomat, so it is normal for him to know several foreign languages.
After graduating from Imperial University, he joined the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as a foreign affairs secretary, minister to the Netherlands, and counselor to the US Embassy. From 1915, he served as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs in the second Okuma Shigenobu Cabinet, the Terauchi Masayoshi Cabinet, and the Hara Takashi Cabinet. He is not only the current minister to the United States, but will soon become the Japanese plenipotentiary representative at the Washington Conference.
So Minister Kujira not only spoke fluent English, his Chinese was also good, and he was also ... Well, anyway, our Master Yuan felt that the eight words "heroic and heroic, unparalleled in the country" were very suitable for himself.
Being so polite, Yuan Yanshu naturally said modestly in Chinese: "Minister Fudehara's words really make me feel ashamed. I am ashamed that I have only done a little work and written a few books. How can I deserve such praise as the Light of Greater East Asia?"
Kijuro Shidehara took the initiative to extend his hand and said, "You deserve it, you totally deserve it. Mr. Yuan, as an East Asian, can join the English literary world, which is a glory for the yellow race."
To be honest, as a non-native English writer, it is not bad to be able to reach the level of our Master Yuan. However, entering the English literary world is just a small goal, and dominating the world literary world is his real goal.
After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the vast majority of Japanese people certainly discriminated against Chinese people. However, when it comes to Greater East Asia and the yellow race, the Japanese are much more persistent than the Chinese. For example, when Liu Xiang broke the world record in the future, the Japanese media was also very excited.
Just when Yuan Yan was about to be polite again, a few stylish white men came over.
I saw that the middle-aged man who was leading the group spoke with a standard London accent... How is that possible? The so-called London accent is the accent of the lower class in East London.
They use the most sophisticated Oxford accent, also known as King's/Queen's English, which is the most standard British English accent.
"Minister Shidehara, it's nice to see you here as expected."
Kijuro Shidehara was delighted, and he and his entourage bowed respectfully and said, "Lady Hoare, Sir Hoare, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Sir and Lady Gurney Hoare... Yuan Yan suddenly thought, then this person should be the current British Minister to the United States, Baronet Samuel John Gurney Hoare.
The Conservative Party is in power in the UK now, so there is no need to ask, the officials there are all from wealthy or noble families. For example, Minister Hall inherited his father's baronetcy.
Baronet and Baronetess are unique titles in England, which, as the name implies, are below Baron and above Knight. There is no equivalent title to Baronet in continental Europe, except for the "hereditary knights" in Prussia and the Netherlands, which are similar in nature.
A person who holds this title can be officially called Sir, and his wife can be called Lady.
Following the training of British aristocrats, Baron Hall attended Harrow School, which is second only to Eton College, and then went to Oxford University. After graduation, he entered politics and was elected as a Conservative MP for Chelsea in 1910. He held the seat until 1944.
During World War I he became an intelligence officer for the British Army and was a member of military missions stationed in Russia (1916-1917) and Italy (1917-1918).
When he was in Italy, he was the head of MI5 in Rome, leading 100 British agents there. Mussolini, the "Hanged Man", was one of his agents at the time, and it was said that he could receive 100 pounds of activity funds a week.
The Anglo-Japanese Alliance had not yet been dissolved, and the relationship between the two countries was still pretty good. Naturally, the two were old friends, so they exchanged pleasantries warmly.
After chatting for a while, Minister Bihara thought of Yuan Yanshu beside him and pointed at him, saying, "Allow me to introduce him to you. This is the writer who has become famous recently, Mr. Neo Yuan from China."
"Hello, Mr. Yuan." Minister Hall said somewhat coldly.
"Hello, Sir Hall." Yuan Yan responded even colder.
Mrs. Hall's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Mr. Neo Yuan, are you the author of Chocolate and A Song of Ice and Fire?"
As she spoke, she took the initiative to extend her "hand ". Seeing this, Yuan Yanshu had no choice but to purse her lips and kiss her hand perfunctorily, saying, "My dear madam, these two novels were written by me."
"Oh..." Sir Hall also remembered who this Chinese was, but he was not interested in the novels written by Master Yuan, but in the political commentaries written by Master Yuan.
He shook his head and said, "Mr. Yuan, I have read your novels, they are indeed good. But what about your political articles..."
"I have to say, your point of view is too biased!"
Yuan Yan suddenly chuckled and said, "Sir Hall, do you think my political comments are biased? Aren't you the British Empire that colonized the world, or didn't you shoot innocent people in Ireland?"
"I have to say, your country is too...barbaric!"
He is the diplomatic envoy of the world's largest country. Sir Hall simply disdains to talk nonsense with a small person like Neo Yuan. He simply pretended not to hear what he said.
However, the military attaché behind him was not so well-mannered. He just snorted and said, "Mr. Yuan, are we in Britain more barbaric than you in China?"
Yuan Yanshu had just heard this man's name, so he looked at his shoulder straps and asked to confirm, "Excuse me, are you Lieutenant Colonel Harold Alexander?"
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander said in an Oxford accent: "Yes, I am."
You are such a show-off! How dare an escape expert show off in front of me?
Yes, this gentleman is the Harold Alexander who “calmly and calmly” commanded the Dunkirk evacuation and the Burma evacuation.
