Chapter 313 Friends of the Queen (please order, please vote)
Wang Libin had just signed the contract with Moore and Friedrich, and before he could send them away, a solemn attendant found them and said anxiously: "My lords, hurry up and go to Mr. Su's place."
Assemble, the Queen of Great Britain has sent someone to announce the decree!"
Long live the Queen? Is she Queen Victoria? This title sounds very "girly"!
Li Hongzhang and Wang Libin hurriedly said goodbye to Moore and Friedrich, and then followed the solemn attendant up the stairs to the suite where Sushun lived. Several officials from the British Foreign Office in suits and ties were guarding the living room.
One person is Humphrey,
Seeing Li Hongzhang and Wang Libin coming in, he was about to speak, but Siwen Bai beat him to it: "Here you are, the Queen of England has announced that we are going to the Windsor Palace for an audience...:... We have to hurry over,
Don’t keep the Long Live Empress waiting.”
Sushun had already changed into the robes of the first-class imperial envoy, and asked his subordinates Bai Siwen and Yuan Bao to lead two attendants to hold the credentials and the national gift, which was waiting for Li Hongzhang and Wang Libin. At that moment, he frowned slightly: "Windsor
The palace is not in London, we have to get on the road quickly, otherwise we won’t be able to get there even after dark!”
Wang Libin cupped his hands towards Sushun and said: "Mr. Su, Mr. Luo has prepared a gift for the Queen of England. He also wrote a personal letter and asked Mr. Li and me to bring it to the UK. Wait for me, I will get it right away.
Come and take us to Windsor Palace together."
After saying that, without waiting for Sushun to agree, he turned around and left the suite and ran to his room.
Although Sushun was a little annoyed, this Wang Libin was a member of the family of Luo Xuese, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, and he was the most fluent English speaker among the envoys. If he hadn't taken him with him, he would have had to rely on English when he arrived at Windsor Palace.
The talks were held using the information provided by someone else. What if a treasonous treaty was to be signed after the talks, and they couldn’t understand the foreign language on the treaty. How were they supposed to sign it?
Fortunately, Wang Libin didn't let Sushun and the others wait too long, and came back with an extremely exquisite carved wooden box and an envelope.
Seeing Wang Libin, Sushun didn't wait too long. He straightened his clothes, waved to several British Foreign Office officials in the room, said "I'm sorry" in the English he had just learned, and strode out.
.
A large group of people cheered and cheered out of the Brown Hotel. There were already four carriages sent by the British Foreign Office waiting outside the hotel.
Sushun, Yuanbao, Bai Siwen were in one carriage, Li Hongzhang, Wang Libin and two other attachés were in one carriage. The accompanying British officials got into the other two carriages and headed out of London together.
Although the environment in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, is not very good, after leaving the crowded and noisy city, the surrounding scenery is pretty good. There are woods and pastures everywhere, and the towns passing along the way look very nice, with beautifully renovated houses.
, the residents seem to be quite wealthy, and there are indeed some scenes of peace and prosperity.
When the Sushun delegation arrived at the Windsor Palace, it was already the afternoon of the same day. On the way to the Windsor Palace, their group also had a meal in a pleasant town. It looked very rich, but the taste was really not that good.
English lunch.
At first glance, Windsor Palace looks like an old castle. The outer walls are made of stone, which makes it easy to defend and difficult to attack. But once you enter, you will see high-profile luxury and full nouveau riche style. There are decorations everywhere in the palace.
There are gold, oil paintings, sculptures, and other kinds of works of art. They are so dazzling and splendid that they are so numerous that they can give people trypophobia.
Sushun and others followed an old man wearing a woolen tuxedo embroidered with patterns, walking through the palace that exuded the aura of sudden wealth, passing through long corridors filled with oil paintings or walls decorated with gold sculptures.
, and finally arrived at two doors that were as high as two people. When the Wang family guards guarding the door opened the door, Sushun and others saw an extremely grand hall.
The space inside the hall is very large, with a ceiling height of two feet. The walls are covered with oil paintings, and the roof is covered with murals. There are also huge shining crystal lanterns, murals, and various paintings among them.
Carved, the wall is almost invisible.
A lady wearing a strapless white dress, a crown studded with diamonds on her head, and a ruby ​​necklace hanging on her snow-white neck faced the door of the hall and sat on a blue chair.
On a chair with cushions wrapped in velvet, there was a thin middle-aged man wearing a woolen military uniform sitting next to her.
Suddenly someone shouted in English: "Prince Aisin Gioro Sushun of the Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang, secretary to the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty...,
Weitoma, now wearing a tuxedo, was standing next to Sushun, reminding him in a low voice: "Master Su, you can go in to see Her Majesty the Queen!"
oh.::
Sushun responded, straightened his robe, and then walked into the Queen's Audience Hall in Windsor Castle.
Officials from the British Foreign Office had already told Sushun and the others about the etiquette for meeting the Queen. There is no need to bow and bow, just bow.
If Her Majesty the Queen extends her beautiful hand to someone, then that person has to go up and take Her Majesty's beautiful hand and kiss it...\n.\n.\n.\n. It seems a bit like taking advantage of Her Majesty the Queen!
But do as the Romans do, that's the rule here in England!
Officials from the British Foreign Office also told Sushun and others that the "kissing ceremony" is also popular in France and Russia - but the emperors of France and Russia are not women, but old men with unshaven beards!
In comparison, the back of the queen's hand is quite beautiful!
Sushun looked at Victoria from a distance. She was a little chubby, but she was quite delicate.
Seeing the queen's appearance, he no longer resisted the kiss on the hand, and followed the royal butler who led the way into the hall. He stopped about five steps away from the queen, clasped his fists and bent over, making a bow.
He also said in Chinese: "Foreign Minister Aixinjueluo, the First Imperial Envoy of the Qing Dynasty, respectfully wishes His Majesty the Queen of Great Britain to greet you."
The Queen of England glanced at him and did not extend her jade hand. She just nodded and said: "Welcome, Prince Sushun."
Sushun is the son of Prince Zheng, so of course he is a "prince"!
The person who bowed after Sushun was Li Hongzhang - he was the secretary of the Qing emperor! In the eyes of the British, his official rank was higher than that of the bodyguard, so he was the number two person in the mission in the eyes of the British.
When the queen saw the young, tall and handsome Li Hongzhang, her eyes lit up, and her face that had been stern just now also showed a smile. When Li Hongzhang finished bowing, she smiled and stretched out her chubby hands.
Li Hongzhang also knew the rules. If the "Emperor" asked him to recite it with his own hands, he had to recite it with his own hands! After a while, when he went to France, he might even have to kiss Napoleon III!
So he was not polite, he just took a sneak look at Prince Albert, and after making sure that the latter would not rush up and beat him up, he took a few steps forward, took the Queen's jade hand and kissed it gently...
After Victoria took back her fat hand, before Li Hongzhang could step back, she asked with a smile: "Your name is Li Hongzhang?"
"Yes," Li Hongzhang replied in English: "My name is Li Hongzhang."
"Do you know English?" The Queen of England looked at Li Hongzhang and asked with a smile.
"I know a little bit," Li Hongzhang said, "I learned a little English from Mr. Wang Libin, secretary to the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Luo Xueyan, on the way to England."
"Oh?" the queen smiled, "you learn quickly!"
"Thanks."
The Queen asked again: "Is Mr. Wang Libin here?"
"Here he is." Li Hongzhang held a tray with one finger, and Wang Libin also placed gifts on the tray.
"Come here." The queen waved to Wang Libin, who was neither tall nor handsome, and asked him to pass Bai Siwen and Yuanbao and step forward to salute.
After Wang Libin finished his salute, he said to the Queen: "Your Majesty, this is a gift and a personal letter from Your Excellency Luo Xueyan, Minister of Commerce of the Five Counties of the Qing Dynasty."
"Oh," Queen Victoria nodded slightly, a little curious, "Bring it over and have a look."
Victoria remembered that a Chinese minister named Lin Zexu had written to her before, and his words were very rude. I wonder if this Luo Xueyan will improve?
Soon, a piece of letter paper was handed to the queen. The queen took one look at it and said: "It's a beautiful cursive calligraphy...\n. Is this the handwriting of Mr. Luo Xueyan?"
"Yes, Mr. Luo grew up in the Straits Settlements and his English is very good." Wang Libin said.
Victoria smiled and said: "He also called me your respected Majesty Queen Victoria...:...At the end of the letter, he also called himself 'your friend Luo Xueyan." It seems that the Qing Dynasty has really made great progress in the past few years!
Chapter completed!