The arrival of a major general was no small matter. There were only a thousand active and retired generals in the country. With the arrival of an active lieutenant general, the restaurant's European head waiter was completely alert. The only thing that disappointed him was the Chinese restaurant's waiters. They looked at the young lieutenant general as if they were looking at a rare animal. This was not allowed in Europe and America.
Although the head waiter didn't remember that Lieutenant Colonel Qi Rui had been here before, he had an impression of Major General Qi Rui who came to the restaurant half a year ago. Such a young major general was promoted from major general to lieutenant general in such a short period of time. This young man had already begun his glorious life. However, the head waiter keenly sensed that the lieutenant general's mood wasn't high. That kind of calmness that came from experience hid more of a kind of sorrow. This made the head waiter swallow a lot of words back into his stomach. People in high positions had their own emotions like ordinary people, but the result of angering them was much more terrible than angering ordinary people.
Qi Rui knew of the head waiter's existence, but he didn't feel the pressure that the head waiter brought him. Sitting in a private room by the window, Qi Rui ordered cake, ice cream, and black tea. These things were quickly served. The waiter also brought a fruit platter under the head waiter's instructions. For this kind of semi-buffet restaurant with a high price, fruit was always a must.
Because he didn't know where to start, Qi Rui silently picked up a small fork and stabbed the fruit. He dipped it in the sweet sauce that came with the fruit platter and slowly ate it. Chu Xue also didn't speak and ate slowly. After a long silence, Chu Xue asked, "Are you leaving?"
Qi Rui's heart ached. He remembered that Chu Xue said that every time Qi Rui came to see Chu Xue, he would tell her that he was leaving. If it was before, Qi Rui felt that what he said was the truth. What was wrong with that? But now, Qi Rui realized that he had never really put Chu Xue in his heart. If every time Chu Xue saw Qi Rui, she would tell Qi Rui that she was leaving. What would Qi Rui think?
"You … do you have any plans for the future?" Qi Rui asked.
"Plan? Hmph! You used to like to laugh at me. If you laugh at me again, I will scold you. "Chu Xue laughed.
"Have I ever laughed at you?" Qi Rui really didn't have the slightest impression of that.
"Humph! You asked me this question in high school, and you kept saying that you wanted to go to university. I wasn't as good as you in academics, and you mocked me for not being able to go to university. "Chu Xue recounted Qi Rui's evil deeds.
Qi Rui smiled bitterly. Of course, he felt that he was really stupid when he was young, but he didn't think that what he said at that time was out of malice. If the current Qi Rui encountered such a problem, he would probably say, "Don't be afraid. When we are of age, we will get married, and I will do my best to take care of you." However, Qi Rui still thought that it was a good thing to go to university. Not only did they learn knowledge in school, but they also had that kind of atmosphere that allowed the students to have a sense of self-identity. Studying day and night was all for the sake of making the great leap. And the country would also give those who had the ability to make the great leap a chance.
Qi Rui smiled and said, "Chu Xue, I used to think about what I would do when I was 30. Now, I also think about what I would do when I was 40. Have you never thought about what you would be like at that time? "
Chu Xue leisurely replied, "I … I read a short story written by a French person. It said that there was a French woman during the French Revolution, whether it was the French Revolution, the French Revolution, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Revolution, or the Louis Revolution. Every afternoon, she would sit by the window, make a cup of tea, and eat a small cake. It hasn't changed for decades. I think that kind of woman is very elegant, and I also want to be that kind of person. "
"That is a madeleine cake." Qi Rui replied.
"What?" Chu Xue didn't understand.
"The kind of cake you are talking about is called a madeleine cake." Qi Rui smiled. After saying that, he waved at the waiter, and the waiter quickly came over. Qi Rui flipped open the menu, pointed at the top column and said, "Give us two madeleine cakes."
Not long after, a fragrant black tea and a cake that emitted the fragrance of butter and milk were served, and there was also a portion of jam. Qi Rui didn't dip the cake in the jam, but broke the cake apart, and dipped a small portion of the black tea into the cut. When the black tea was absorbed by the bread, he picked it up and put it in his mouth to chew. The taste was very good.
After Chu Xue tried it, she said in surprise, "I didn't expect you to know this."
"I also like to read, okay?" Qi Rui smiled and said, "Although I haven't read the story you told me, I quite like the description of all kinds of food. Sometimes, reading a book that describes food while eating is more enjoyable. "
It could be seen that Qi Rui's honest words left a very happy feeling in Chu Xue, and she smiled very happily. Qi Rui didn't expect that he could actually tease Chu Xue like this, and an inexplicable kind of courage spontaneously arose. "Chu Xue, come with me. I used to think that only by reaching a certain level and having a certain ability would you feel that following me was not wrong. I only know now that I was wrong. You liked me first, and then you felt that meeting me was not a bad thing. And I have always felt that meeting you was very happy. "
"… I can't go with you." Qi Rui's words made Chu Xue's face look very painful.
If it was in the past, Qi Rui would probably have given up. But this time, he didn't. "Chu Xue. North America is a land as vast as our Asian part, more than ten million square kilometers. It is thousands of miles away from Asia. Bring your beloved and go with me, you can avoid all the people who laugh at you. You can avoid all the existence that annoys you. On that land, we can start our new life. There, North America, is a place to start a new life. Believe me, I will go with you to North America, thousands of miles away. Then every day will be a new day for us together. I have the ability to protect you. I want to protect you, I really want to be with you. "
This was the first time Qi Rui saw Chu Xue reveal such an expression. With his level, he couldn't understand what that expression meant, but Chu Xue's emotions from the bottom of her heart exploded in an instant, which really surprised Qi Rui. But not long after, Chu Xue suppressed her emotions, and what was left were the tears in her eyes.
Wiping her tears with a tissue, Chu Xue said calmly, "Qi Rui, you should marry someone else. I believe that you will definitely be able to find a better girl than me, and then we can be happy together … "
"Because of your child?" Qi Rui asked helplessly.
"… Yes. I can endure pain, but I definitely won't let my child be hurt. Qi Rui, even if there is a trace of my child hating me, I will feel like the end of the world. You can't imagine it. "
Qi Rui didn't care about the content of Chu Xue's words, he was shocked by Chu Xue's expression and tone. That was a heartfelt emotion that Qi Rui had never seen from Chu Xue before. If it was because of Chu Xue herself, she wouldn't be like this.
The injured were often calmer than the people who looked at the wound. Qi Rui had seen too many such examples on the battlefield. The terrible wounds that moved bystanders, the injured often treated themselves, and even forced a smile and joke with everyone. In a sense, humans had a high tolerance for pain in reality. At the very least, the pain they endured was much higher than what they could imagine.
In such a helpless and even desperate moment, Qi Rui suddenly remembered his father Vézé's words. "Unsolvable difficulties really do exist. But most of the unsolvable difficulties are imagined and not real. "Qi Rui really wanted to say this to Chu Xue, but he didn't know why he resisted.
"Chu Xue. I will be in North America for the next five years. If you are willing to come to North America, I will definitely be there. " Qi Rui finally said this. Even if it was to give himself the last bit of hope, Qi Rui didn't want to say it out. But he knew that in this life, he might never see Chu Xue again. At least he didn't want to see Chu Xue again.
When they parted, the two said goodbye to each other, and then Qi Rui naturally shook hands with Chu Xue. If it was in the past, Qi Rui wouldn't have done such a simple action.
"Have a safe journey." Chu Xue said with a smile.
"Take care of yourself." Qi Rui said with a bitter smile.
Then the two parted at the intersection. In the past, Qi Rui would always turn his head to look at Chu Xue's back. But this time, no matter how much melancholy and regret in his heart, Qi Rui walked in his own direction. Other than walking forward, he couldn't find any other choice.
The journey back to Beijing was very fast. Qi Rui made preparations before departure and went to see his father again. Vézé said with a smile, "You are also on a journey when you say you want to go."
"What do you mean?" Qi Rui was puzzled.
"Wherever I want to go, I jump on the transportation and set off. I call it a journey when I say I want to go." Vézé was in a good mood. For people in the 21st century, a journey when they say they want to go represented personal freedom and straightforwardness. It represented financial abundance and a clear destination. In the Min dynasty in 1892, Vézé was probably ranked at the top in terms of freedom and freedom.
"Father, I was thinking that if I could have the current understanding, maybe I would have fewer regrets." Qi Rui told his thoughts. Chu Xue's matter was a very painful experience for him, but it was also a very profound experience. When thinking back, Qi Rui seemed to understand a lot.
For this kind of question, Vézé had thought about it many times. He said with a smile, "Qi Rui. From the perspective of dialectical materialism, the world is irreversible. That is to say, even if you go back to the past, not only will the parameters related to you change, but all the parameters will become different. The reason why you think that some things are related to you, and some things are not related to you. This is completely your personal opinion, and has nothing to do with the truth. So, if you think that changing in the past can change the ending of you and Chu Xue, I think it is impossible. If you changed, in your state at that time, it is very likely that you like someone else. If you changed, that child Chu Xue probably won't be interested in you at all. "
"The world is unknown?" Qi Rui murmured.
Vézé said to his son seriously, "It is not that the world is unknown. One of the views I object to is that I know everything now. Another view is that the world is determined step by step. I believe that the world will come true, but I don't know when it will come true, and I don't know what it will look like when it comes true. Can you understand what I'm saying? "
"I know that I don't know everything. The reason we make such comprehensive preparations during the war is to eliminate as many accidents as possible. Even with such thorough preparation, every battle was still made up of accidents. I have experienced it, I know. "Qi Rui's voice was very tired.
"Qi Rui, I think there is a flaw. It is to think that your life is the only standard life. Get rid of this idea. The world is so big, and everyone has their own life. Everyone is making their own choices. This is something that exists objectively, and you can't stop other people's choices. You need to acknowledge the existence of these inevitable things. "Vézé was trying hard to instill in his son what Vézé thought was correct.
When saying this, Vézé laughed at himself in his heart. One of the main culprits who shaped Qi Rui into such an inflexible guy was probably his father, Vézé, because Vézé could not find a black and white education method at that time. After graduating from high school, Qi Rui went to the military school, which was a black and white place, and then joined the army, which was far purer than the society. Cultivating Qi Rui into such a personality, from his experience, could even be said to be a great success. But now, Vézé did not expect Qi Rui to be a successful soldier, but a politician. The degree of uncontrollability made Vézé feel helpless.
"Father, do you have any other instructions for my work in North America?" Qi Rui came out of the emotional entanglement earlier than his father, although Qi Rui's method was to completely put it at the back of his mind, instead of analyzing and sorting it out like his father.
Vézé also quickly changed his mind. He said, "North America needs to enter the production stage as soon as possible. So, in addition to retaining the troops, most of the energy should be transferred to the allocation of land and the construction of infrastructure. So after you go to North America, you should first reorganize the party, then retire and transfer to the government. And one of the few things that need to be done recently is to build a Great Wall on the border between us and the new Canadian Federation. "
"Great Wall …" Qi Rui never expected his father, Vézé, to put forward such an order. The strategy of building the Great Wall and the Liberation Army's offensive ideas were very contradictory, but miraculously, they did not completely negate each other. If only a simple patrol team was placed on the Great Wall, it could provide a very good early warning for the rapid response forces deployed in the rear.
"I will discuss this with the military when I get there," Qi Rui replied.
The route from the Min dynasty to North America was very busy. Qi Rui could see ships all the way along the route. It was quite surprising to him that he was not lonely after traveling thousands of nautical miles. After arriving in North America, Qi Rui went straight to Tokyo, the current capital of North America. That was St. Paul and Minneapolis, which Qi Rui had captured. It was a railway and shipping center with convenient transportation. It was also located in the central part of the North American territory. It was also very close to the Great Lakes, so it was quite suitable as an administrative center.
As for the name Tokyo, it was not unusual in China. Tokyo Bianliang existed in the Song Dynasty. The Min dynasty had Beijing and Nanjing. Now the addition of Tokyo did not confuse the people at all, and the comrades in North America were even very satisfied with the name. The name Tokyo confirmed the status of the whole of North America. It was not a remote frontier area of the Min dynasty, but a real and important core territory of the Min dynasty.
After arriving in Tokyo, Qi Rui took over his new job as the Political Commissar of the North American Military Region. The first issue that Political Commissar Qi discussed with everyone was the handling of the Nihonese servant army. Millions of Nihonese servant army made great contributions to the war, and the Min dynasty also gave them generous rewards. At least with the income level of Nihonese, each servant army, regardless of men or women, earned at least 60,000 yuan. This amount of money in Nihonese was equivalent to at least 20 years of income of ordinary Nihonese.
In the original plan, after the war ended, the Nihonese servant army would take the last generous bonus and pack up and go home. From then on, everyone went their separate ways. However, many Nihonese servant army requested to stay and farm after seeing the vastness of North America. Moreover, the obedience and compliance of the Nihonese made the Liberation Army, which lacked coolies, feel that this agreement was very desirable.
"Send them back first. If we are short of people, we can recruit people from Nihonese. "Qi Rui immediately made a judgment.
"How much will it cost to go back and forth? We should save as much as we can. "The cadres who supported the recruitment of Nihonese immediately put forward their opinions.
"This is not a matter of whether we can save money or not. This is a matter of attitude. Or, this is a matter of politics. "Qi Rui did not give in at all.
"Political Commissar Qi, how did this become a political problem?" The comrades of the Party Committee of the Military Region felt that Qi Rui was being too alarmist.
"Who is the master of North America?" Qi Rui asked calmly.
"Of course it's us." No one had a wrong view on this issue.
"Then, let the Nihonese go back first. It is to let the Nihonese understand that they can only come when we need them. If we don't want them to go, they must go. They can't stay by finding some reasons to be labourers. This is not a matter of money, but a matter of people's hearts. I can clearly say that now many Nihonese servant army probably think that China is the master of North America, and the Nihonese servant army is half a resident. Only by sending these Nihonese back to Nihonese will they understand that we can be completely sure of their existence in North America. "Qi Rui tried to explain.
The group of committee members did not understand such an explanation. Many committee members felt that Qi Rui was taking off his pants to fart, and it was unnecessary. But Qi Rui's reason was not so easy to refute, not to mention that Qi Rui used the ownership of North America as his argument. And everyone knew that Qi Rui was the son of the Military Governor Vaize. His opinion was likely to be supported by the Military Governor Vaize. Finally, after a long discussion, it was decided to let all the Nihonese servant army leave first.
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