British writer

Dirty dirty——

The cruise ship's progress slowed down to a snail's pace.

We are about to dock.

Riku Toki and Natsume Soseki stood on the deck, looking in the direction of Tokyo Pier.

People come and go, people of different skin colors are busy together,

Tradition and modernity, West and East, cultures blend here, showing unique charm.

Natsume Soseki stared at the dock.

"Huh~"

He closed his eyes and meditated, then opened them again after three seconds, and whispered: "Tokyo is a place full of vitality and cultural diversity. It is witnessing the changes of this era and the development of Japan."

Lu Shi nodded,

In terms of throughput, Tokyo may not be as good as Foshan and Guangzhou.

But for cultural exchange, this place is indeed number one in East Asia.

Natsume Soseki asked curiously: "Lu, didn't you say you wouldn't return to China before? Why did you get off the ship once in Foshan?"

Lu Shi said: "I took a few telegrams."

He just made the necessary preparations before arriving in Japan.

Natsume Soseki was not stupid and said clearly: "That's right."

Lu Shi looked around and saw no sign of Juchi Dalu.

I don’t know where that old man went.

At this moment, the sailors' chants suddenly sounded behind them,

A very thick rope was thrown down.

Then, with the sound of metal friction, the lowered gangway was set up on the stone floor of the pier.

Warm cheers followed,

"Got home!"

The Japanese are very excited.

After this voyage, there were fewer and fewer white people on the ship, especially at the stops in China, where almost all of them left.

Lu Shi stretched himself.

"Let's go."

As a result, Natsume Soseki stopped him and raised his eyebrows in the direction of the gangway.

Follow his gaze and look over,

I saw a few Japanese customs officers nodding and bowing, taking the lead in welcoming the white people off the ship, their manners overflowing with reverence.

"Tsk..."

Lu Shi couldn't help but be speechless.

Natsume Soseki also had a wry smile on his face, but there was nothing he could do.

He looked at it for a while and muttered: "It's strange. Although foreigners were given priority before, it doesn't feel like it's so excessive."

Lu Shi was puzzled.

"What's too much?"

Natsume Soseki whispered: "Look there. The customs are actually helping white people carry boxes. Isn't that outrageous? They couldn't do this before."

Lu Shi couldn't help but ponder,

After much deliberation, the only reasonable explanation is probably that Britain contained Japan.

The Japanese officials had to crawl even lower to try to make others feel comfortable by licking them.

However, can being a licker bring back the "true love" of the past?

This idea of ​​​​solving the problem is very Japanese.

Lu Shi didn't care either.

"Then wait."

Natsume Soseki touched his mustache awkwardly and said, "Lu, I made you laugh."

They chatted for a while,

Finally, all the white people on the boat left, and the rest began to disembark.

Faintly, there were vague comments coming from around,

"What does that look like? It's so embarrassing!"

"Hush! What are you talking about? We have been able to develop and have received great favors from the UK. Shouldn't we be a little nicer to other people's citizens?"

"Hmph...one day sooner or later..."

"No nonsense!"

…

Such inconsistency made Lu Shi almost laugh out loud.

Natsume Soseki became even more embarrassed and sighed silently,

In "The Nature of Japanese Civilization", Lu Shi once gave an analysis,

In Asia, Japan is developing the fastest;

In the world, Japan is not enough.

This status puts many people in an inexplicable state——

Arrogant and inferior.

It is not difficult to see from the order of disembarkation and the Japanese people’s complaints about this order that the evaluation in the book is spot-on.

The two disembarked from the gangway.

When passing through customs, faced with East Asian faces, the clerk started to get down to business and asked everyone to open the boxes and check them in turn.

Soon Riku Toki and Natsume Soseki arrived,

Customs frowned;

"Where are your suitcases?"

Natsume Soseki quickly stepped forward and whispered: "We took the first-class cabin of the cruise ship, and the crew was responsible for carrying the luggage, so the boxes were not in hand."

He explained, holding out his identification.

The customs only took a cursory glance.

"Looking at you, you should be an international student who went abroad a few years ago, right? You went to Great Britain?"

Natsume Soseki replied: "Yes."

The customs officer snorted from his nose and said: "No wonder. The one you used is the 'Japanese Empire Overseas Travel Voucher', a thing from two years ago. The customs no longer issues this kind of thing. We learn from the British and change it." Use your passport."

After saying that, he threw back the overseas travel coupon.

The overseas travel voucher is stamped on the suitcase.

Snapped--

There was a soft sound.

The customs education said: "The emperor sent you to study abroad, not for you to enjoy. It's better for you to fly first class. It is really an insult to our country's education."

Natsume Soseki blushed.

"Yes Yes……"

In fact, if he had bought the ticket himself, he would not have bought first class.

But the boat ticket was given to Lu Shi by Edward VII, and his ticket was just a gift. The situation is another story.

Customs turned to Lu Shi again,

For a moment, doubt flashed in his eyes, and he looked Lu Shi up and down.

To be precise, because Lu Shi was tall, when he stared at the area above Lu Shi's shoulders, he "looked up" instead of "looked up and down."

Customs seems to be very dissatisfied with this situation.

Forget it about white people;

Why should a "fellow countryman" be looked up to?

Today’s young people really don’t know etiquette!

The customs officer said: "Don't think that what I just taught him is not talking about you! International students, you should focus on your studies! Enjoy less! Do you know?"

Lu Shi: "..."

grass!

In my heart, ten thousand horses of grass and mud were galloping past.

He turned to Natsume Soseki and complained: "I've known you for such a long time, but I've never seen you take things so seriously."

Natsume Soseki was speechless;

I don’t know since when, Japan has become the current atmosphere.

The "Emperor" does whatever he wants at every turn...

It's painful to hear.

Customs frowned;

"You...take out your ultimatum."

He had already discovered from listening to the conversation between the two that Lu Shi was not Japanese, but Chinese or Korean.

That's why he said the word "文牒".

Lu Shi shook his head,

"I have no ultimatum."

With that said, he reached into his inner pocket and prepared to take out the special identity passport issued by the UK corresponding to the KBE.

Customs has become more stringent,

"Don't move! Which luggage is yours?"

In an instant, the eyes of everyone around were attracted.

Discussions arose everywhere,

"Hmph, he is pretending to be our Yamato clan."

"It's not similar at all."

"Hahaha! Of course it doesn't look like that, it's different in the core."

…

Lu Shi:? ? ?

I don’t know how the brain circuits of these people are developed.

So weird!

He barely managed to hold back his laughter and said, "Sir, I don't have a document. However, I do have a passport."

After saying that, he handed over the passport folder.

The customs was a little confused.

Most people wear their passports naked, but the passport of the Asian in front of me actually comes with a leather clip.

The leather is very good,

Moreover, the stitching and tanning techniques are also very high-end.

It's not a bargain at first glance.

"This stuff is very expensive," the customs officer said.

Lu Shi didn't reply.

The passport holder is indeed not cheap, because it is a complete set of small leather goods donated by Burberry, and each one is unique.

The customs opened the passport folder and was even more confused.

He really couldn't understand why a big fat cat was painted with paint on the inside of such a good leather product.

What a waste!

Seeing the other person in a daze, Lu Shi urged, "Sir, please hurry up."

The customs officer then came to his senses and looked at the passport itself.

English original,

The place of issue is in London, and the issuing agency is not an ordinary embassy or consulate.

But...

"Buckingham Palace?"

The customs officer looked a little confused. It was the first time he encountered this situation.

He signaled for help to his colleagues nearby.

A colleague came over,

"how?"

The customs officer handed the passport to the other party, and then used his right index finger to mark the string of small characters lightly.

My colleagues were also confused.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Silence fell.

The two looked at each other.

The value of this passport is higher than that of ordinary British white people.

It's impossible for them not to worry that it's fake.

But thinking about it on the other hand, what kind of mental illness would make such a fake thing?

It’s outrageous!

Lu Shi was also a little helpless,

In principle, he did not like to use a British passport, but the Qing court's documents could not be reused and did not have the authority recognized by other countries.

Therefore, he always uses a British passport to travel, which is considered smooth.

I didn't expect to encounter this kind of thing in Japan.

He whispered: "Had I known this, I would not have allowed King Edward to renew my passport after the investiture ceremony."

Natsume Soseki shook his head,

"It's not about the passport. Didn't you successfully enter France?"

Lu Shi said: "You can't say that. I have been to France three times and I am familiar with the roads. Moreover, my books are very popular there. Many people at the customs have seen the photo on the book cover and can recognize me."

While the two were talking, someone suddenly ran over.

"Sir Lu! Natsume-kun!"

The person coming is Juchi Dalu.

He walked up to the staff, took out the identity certificate of his cabinet minister, and then reprimanded in a low voice: "Are you all pig-minded!? Why don't you let them go quickly!?"

The customs officials immediately began to apologize.

"A sensation in your private Marseille!"

Another wave of traditional arts.

Then, the surrounding discussions started again,

"Did you see that? I just said that person is very dignified, right?"

"I think he looks like a scholar."

"Or a great revolutionary? Well, that's possible too."

…

Lu Shi didn't even have the desire to complain.

He said no more, turned around and left, first went to get his luggage, and then prepared to call the rickshaw driver.

Juchi Dalu followed,

"Sir Lu, I'm extremely sorry. As you know, our nation has always been strict, so we must conduct thorough investigations when dealing with foreigners. It was their fault that they bumped into you just now. I sincerely apologize to you again on their behalf."

After saying that, he bowed deeply,

"A sensation in your private Marseille!"

Lu Shi was already immune to this and didn't say anything.

Moreover, he didn't know how to evaluate the sentence "Our nation has always been rigorous."

Seeing that he was silent, Kikuchi Dalu asked again: "Sir Lu, can you contact us about where you live? I heard that when you were on exchange in France and the United States, you always lived in the Institute of Literature or university dormitories. Tokyo Imperial University also Welcoming each other on the couch."

Lu Shi waved his hand,

Just when he was about to say something, a few more people came running quickly.

They are all wearing traditional Japanese clothes——

Haori.

There are even two samurai swords on his waist, one long and one short.

You can tell he is a ronin or a samurai just by looking at his attire.

The leader is less than fifty years old, wearing glasses and a long beard.

He came slowly,

"Which Chinese caused a commotion when passing through customs just now?"

The tone was very aggressive, as if he was raising an army to accuse him.

Moreover, his eyes were fixed on Lu Shi, and he had obviously recognized this alien.

Juchi Dalu frowned and leaned over to chatter.

The man wearing a feather fabric was slightly surprised,

When he looked at Lu Shi again, his eyes changed from scrutiny to consideration, and at the same time he said: "Kikuchi-kun, do you know who I am?"

These words sounded somewhat familiar.

Kikuchi Dalu did not expect that the boomerang would hit the back of his head twice.

He said angrily: "I don't care if you are..."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by the other party.

"Mr. Kikuchi, you'd better think carefully before speaking. You know, even Mr. Ito and Mr. Katsura respect me and won't speak nonsense."

Kikuchi Dalu's expression looked like he had eaten a fly.

The man glanced at him sideways, then walked slowly towards Lu Shi, stretched out his hand,

"Sir Lu, I am Shanman, the head of Xuanyang Society."

Xuanyangshe...

Lu Shi's eyes shrank.

He already remembered who the other party was,

The instant change in expression seemed to lower the surrounding temperature by 10°C.

Tou Shanman also noticed it, but did not take it seriously. He continued: "Xuanyang Society has some personal relationships with many people with lofty ideals in your country."

Lu Shi nodded,

"I have heard that Xuanyangshe has supported many revolutionaries. From North Korea to China."

Tou Shanman showed a satisfied smile,

His beard was trembling, and he looked a bit like Tolstoy, but he lacked Tolstoy's kindness and kindness.

He continued: "Sir Lu, I know that the articles you wrote, "The Nature of Japanese Civilization" and "The Rise of a Great Power: Japan," have quite original views. I just feel that there are contradictions in the two books in some aspects."

This seemed to sound like a backhanded accusation.

Lu Shi did not accept the move.

"It's just a family thing."

Tou Shanman smiled and said: "Lu Jun is indeed humble, I..."

Lu Shi interrupted directly,

"Mr. Toushan, I have a title."

What is "Lu Jun" and not "Lu Jun"? He doesn't want to be tricked.

A trace of anger flashed in Toushan's eyes, and then he changed to his previous smile.

"Sir Lu, I'm sorry, I overstepped my bounds just now. It's an honor for us that a knowledgeable writer like you can visit Japan. I wonder if you would be willing to write a few articles for the Xuanyang Society's magazine to analyze Japan and Russia. situation?"

Natsume Soseki and Kikuchi Oru's expressions were a bit wrong.

Lu Shi was so exhausted from traveling all the way, how could he be so busy with requests for manuscripts?

But Tou Shanman thought that Lu Shi would not refuse.

First, because as mentioned just now, Xuanyang Society did support many revolutionary patriots.

In 1905, Xuanyang Society even brought together the Xingzhong Society, the Central China Society, the Guangfu Society, etc. to plan and establish the Tongmenghui, and provided funds, weapons, technology, etc. to actively support the revolution.

There is no reason not to like progressive people like Lu Shi.

As for another reason,

"We hope your country can drive away the Russian ghosts entrenched in the Northeast."

Toushan had a serious expression on his face.

He believed that this was an irresistible reason to refuse.

Who doesn’t want to drive away the invaders?

Lu Shi glanced at the other party and said, "Mr. Toushan, I'm a little curious, what is the name of your company's magazine?"

"Ah this..."

Toushan Man was stunned.

That look seemed to be a bit unspeakable.

Lu Shi added: "I can submit articles, but I don't even know the name of the magazine where my article is published, right? That's too confusing."

This is truly irrefutable.

Tou Shanman whispered: "The name of the magazine is "Black Dragon"."

Lu Shi couldn't help but sneer in his heart,

As expected, I remembered correctly.

He said: "Is it the 'Black Dragon' I understand? It seems to be somewhat similar to the name of a river in Northeast China."

Tou Shanman no longer hides anything,

"Yes. Sir Lu, I have just said that the primary goal of our Xuanyang Society is to help your country repel the Russian forces that invaded the Northeast during the Gengzi Rebellion in 1900. There is the famous Heilongjiang in that area, so we decided to The name of the association is 'Black Dragon Association'."

This is not complete,

What about after driving out the Russian forces?

You can tell by thinking about it on your knees.

The name "Black Dragon" may seem like a perfect name, but in fact it reveals extremely huge ambitions.

It is precisely because of the characteristics of the Black Dragon Society that Toushan Man rushed to the scene as soon as he learned that the customs had been compromised by the Chinese.

The Black Dragon Club is an expert on North Korea and China~

Lu Shi tapped his chin with his finger and asked, "So, according to you, the 'Black Dragon Society' is the real name, and the 'Xuanyang Society' is the alias, right?"

Tou Shan never expected that it would turn out like this.

Faintly, he had an idea——

The Chinese man in front of him cannot be used by the Black Dragon Club in any way.

But the thought only occurred for a moment.

Tou Shan felt ridiculous.

Because he has met a large number of Chinese revolutionaries, who would not be surrendered by the goodwill released by the Black Dragon Society?

He continued: "Sir Lu, the whole of Asia is now in..."

I haven’t finished speaking yet,

Not far away, there was a sound of horse hooves and wheels rolling over the gravel road.

A carriage stopped in front of several people.

A somewhat bald white man came down from above,

His eyes swept through the crowd and he immediately recognized Lu Shi. He stepped forward and said enthusiastically: "Dear Sir Lu, I saw you at the investiture ceremony. It's just that you were too busy and I couldn't find the opportunity. Say hello to you.”

This man's name is Alexander Buchanan, the British Ambassador to Japan.

The telegram Lu Shi had sent to Buckingham Palace in Foshan was forwarded to him by Edward VII.

Buchanan looked left and right,

"What problem...is this?"

Lu Shi glanced at Tou Shanman, and then said: "No, it's just that the passport is a bit new."

With that said, he handed over his passport.

Buchanan glanced at the issuing agency above, and his head was filled with black lines.

￣□￣｜｜

His Majesty the King is still so unreliable.

He said: "It doesn't matter, just sign a new one now. I will solve it soon."

After saying that, he returned to the carriage,

Not long after, he came down with a new passport from the embassy in Japan.

It's so efficient,

The Japanese people present were stunned for a moment.

Lu Shi said: "It's no problem now."

Buchanan said: "In that case, let's go back to the embassy now. The minister's residence is next to the embassy, ​​and you can stay there temporarily. I have reserved a room for you."

He didn't take the other Japanese seriously at all and got straight into the car when he landed.

Lu Shi opened the car curtain and said to Natsume Soseki: "Natsume, let's go on a trip together as planned tomorrow."

Then the coachman urged the horse.

Under the attention of others, the carriage gradually moved away.

Juchi Dalu couldn't help but look at Touyama Man, and let out a soft "hum" from his mouth,

"Black Dragon Club?"

The first mountain is full of stubble,

Very serious, I don’t know what I am thinking.

Juchi Dalu continued: "Toushan-kun, do you still want to continue to make manuscript requests?"

Toushan nodded,

"Yes."

The higher Lu Shi's status in the UK was, the more he felt the need to invite manuscripts.

If he could be roped in to endorse the Black Dragon Society, its symbolic meaning would be extremely huge.

However, he didn't know that the manuscript invitation was destined to fail.

Juchi Dalu sneered,

"Forget it."

The head of the mountain is full of frowns,

"how?"

Kikuchi Dalu replied: "Do you know where the British Embassy in Japan is?"

Tou Shanman said: "I know."

"Tsk..."

Kikuchi Dalu was speechless and said: "Hasn't your Black Dragon Society always aimed at 'glorying the imperial family', 'respecting the empire', and 'defending the rights of the people'? The tranquility of the Imperial Palace cannot be broken easily."

After finishing speaking, he added: "Sir Lu lives next to the Imperial Palace."