Moltke stared at the two young Russians, who had finished the ceremony of offering bouquets and offerings together, and then began to look around and talk in whispers from time to time.

After the Russian delegation entered the memorial service, the US delegation headed by Secretary of State Fish entered the church to pay respects, and Secretary of State Fish brought President Grant's handwritten speech, which reviewed Lin Yizhe's exploits and contributions to the friendship between the two countries.

The Japanese Government sent Foreign Secretary Tanetomi and Secretary of the Ministry of Industry Ito Hirobumi, and Japanese Minister to Beijing Yanagihara Maemitsu also accompanied them; unlike the delegations of Western countries, the members of the Japanese delegation went up to the shrine, bowed, and burned paper money in full accordance with the customs of the Qianguo, and looked extremely solemn, while Yanagihara Maemitsu had a sad face, as if it was his own relatives who had died, and many Qianguo officials were greatly moved.

After the public sacrifice ceremony of the nations, it was the initiation ceremony, and as the officials of the Ministry of Rites sang loudly, Moltke saw the young Lin Guanchen suddenly step forward quickly, lifted the clay basin that burned the paper money, and smashed it to the ground.

Seeing that the young boy returned to his mother after breaking the pot, and took the hand of his sad mother, his eyes were full of determination, as if he had grown up all at once, Moltke couldn't help but nod secretly.

"Spirit!" The officiating priest chanted, and several strong men stepped forward to lift Lin Yizhe's coffin, and the funeral ceremony officially began.

"Sergey, what do you mean by asking a child to break that brazier?"

In the ranks of the Russian delegation, the young Prince Alexander turned his head slightly and asked his attendant, the young Sergei Witt, in a very low voice.

"Your Royal Highness, this is an ancient custom of the Qianguo people, this ritual is very important, the person who throws the pot is generally the eldest son or grandson of the deceased, and is a very close person, if the deceased has no son or grandson, and has to be broken by someone else, this ritual will make the relationship between the person who falls the pot and the deceased closer, and even establish the relationship of property inheritance." Sergei Witt replied in a low voice but respectfully, "When you drop that brazier, you must break it all at once, and the more it is broken, the better, because according to the superstitious concept of the Qianguo people, this pot is the pot of the deceased, and the more it is broken, the more convenient it is for the deceased to carry to another world." ”

Hearing Werther's answer, the corners of Prince Alexander's mouth showed a subtle sneering smile. Another of his attendants, Admiral Alekseev, showed the same expression.

"We had traveled all the way from St. Petersburg to attend the funeral of an infidel in the hope that a merciful God would forgive us." Alekseev muttered in Russian in a low voice.

"Although he was a heretic, there was no doubt that he was a respectable man, a great warrior." A young naval officer about twenty-five or sixteen years old at Prince Alexander's side said, "He has brought about many beneficial changes in this ancient country, made this country communicate more with the world, and built a strong navy for this country, and his deeds will not be forgotten by the world." Such a man will not die, but will live forever, and he is worthy of our funeral. ”

"Your thoughts are always incomprehensible, Stepan Ospovich." Alekseev pursed his lips disapprovingly, and said to the young naval officer, Major Makarov, "You know, this man is now dead, what do we have to worry about?" ”

"Although this man is dead, his legacy is still there, and if there is a suitable successor, Qianguo will still be a strong opponent of the Russian Empire." Makarov looked at the coffin of the deceased slowly moving forward and whispered.

"Yes! His death, for the Russian Empire, does not know whether it was lucky or unfortunate. Young Werther sighed and whispered, "The death of this man may have left us with one less rival, but perhaps his departure will make a more terrible rival than him appear in front of us, somehow, I always feel that way." ”

His gaze swept over the heroic officer in a blue navy uniform who walked in front of the team and the loaded marines under him, and said softly: "I can feel that they are waiting, waiting for Lin Yizhe's successor to appear. ”

That officer was Deng Zhengqing, who was ordered to come to protect the spirit.

"I feel that way, too." Makarov's gaze left Deng Zhengqing, swept among the civilian ranks of the Qianguo, and just met Zhang Peilun's gaze.

"Hehe, dear Sergey, Stepan Ospovich, I think you two are nervous when you two attend this infidel funeral." Alekseev looked at Witt and Makarov with mocking eyes.

"The send-off ceremony has begun, let's stop talking, otherwise it will be disrespectful to the deceased." Prince Alexander did not join in the discussion, but duly reminded his attendants of the occasion for the "discussion".

After listening to the prince's words, the three attendants stopped talking, but focused on the spiritual initiation ceremony in front of them.

With the departure of the coffin, the delegations of various countries that came to pay their respects also joined the queue to see off the coffin under the guidance of officials of the Ministry of Rites and Rites. They will be escorted on foot to the Huangchenggen railway station, where the coffin will be loaded onto a train and transported along the recently opened Beijing-Tianjin Railway to Tianjin, where it will be transferred to Fuzhou.

When the procession carrying the coffin reached the gate of Xianliang Temple, a four-wheeled carriage with six horses had been prepared and was waiting there.

It is said to be a carriage, but in fact, it is a Krupp two-wheeled artillery carriage and a two-wheeled ammunition cart modified and joined together to form a hearse.

Seeing that Lin Yizhe's hearse turned out to be a modified gun carriage from Krupp, Friedrich Krupp in the German delegation was excited for a while.

This is the best advertisement for Krupp products!

As the officiating priest of the Ministry of Rites officials chanted, "Stop! The barmen then slowly lowered the heavy coffin.

"Get in the car!" The Ministry of Rites official shouted.

The coffin was carried onto the hearse and laid down, and the officiating official of the Ministry of Ceremonies sang: "Shoot the gun!" ”

According to the funeral rites of the Great Qian Dynasty, this piece was originally supposed to set off firecrackers, but because a foreign delegation entered the ceremony, in order to show that it was "in line" with the international community, and also to show the military might of the Great Qian Dynasty to other countries, it was changed to firing guns after consultation between the Prime Minister's Yamen and the Ministry of Rites.

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