Chapter 314 The British Lackey Luo Xueyan (please order, please vote)
"Your Majesty, Mr. Luo has carefully prepared a gift for you."
Wang Libin raised the tray in his hand again, and at the same time said to Li Hongzhang: "Master Li, please help me."
Li Hongzhang immediately walked to Wang Libin and opened the beautifully carved wooden box. Inside was a small figure carved from suet-fat white jade—a bust of Queen Victoria!
Li Hongzhang carefully picked up the jade statue with both hands and brought it to Queen Victoria. The queen recognized it as her own jade statue at a glance.
At that time, I praised it: "It's so beautiful...:...This was carved based on my portrait ten years ago, right?"
Portraits of the Queen of England are hung in the governor's houses of the British overseas colonies and in British embassies abroad. However, the statue Luo Xueyan gave to Victoria was collected in his "Babel Mirror"
A picture of a fine brushwork painting,
We hired the best carvers in Shanghai to carve it.
Wang Libin quickly continued what Victoria said: "I don't know about this. I only know that your portrait has been hanging in Mr. Luo's office. It is a Chinese meticulous painting. It is said to be based on your portrait in the Governor's Palace of the Straits Settlements.
This white jade statue should have been carved according to that painting."
"Oh? He still has my portrait hanging in his office?"
Queen Victoria seemed very happy. While asking questions, she took over her jade statue from Li Hongzhang.
Wang Libin smiled and said: "Mr. Luo grew up in the Straits Settlements. Strictly speaking, he is a subject of Her Majesty the Queen!"
"Really?" Queen Victoria smiled and glanced at a tall old man standing aside wearing a tuxedo, with a serious expression and white hair and beard.
This old man is Henry John Temple Palmerston, the number one pusher of the Opium War and forever the number one hardliner in the House of Commons and the British government. Although he is now the Home Secretary in Gordon's coalition cabinet, he is not the most powerful person because he advocated the Opium War more than ten years ago.
He launched the Opium War and won it, and became a recognized "expert on the Qing Dynasty" in the British political arena. Therefore, he was invited to Windsor Castle today to accompany the Queen to meet the Sushun delegation and act as an advisor.
Of course, this "expert on the Qing Dynasty" has neither been to China nor understands Chinese. He has never even met a Chinese before today! He also knows about the "Qing Dynasty" through the same channels as other ministers in the cabinet.
It was through Wenxian, Aliguo, and Weituma, the diplomats who helped the Qing Dynasty.
Seeing the Queen's eyes, Palmerston, the "expert on the Qing Dynasty", took a step forward, then turned around and bowed slightly to the Queen: "Your Majesty, according to the report of Minister Bonham, Mr. Luo Xueyan was born in the Straits Settlements and he belongs to Kalimantan.
A ruling family of the Lanfang Republic on the island, this small republic was founded by his ancestors more than seventy years ago."
"The Republic of Lanfang?" Queen Victoria thought for a while, "I haven't heard of it very often...\n...\n. If I remember correctly, the Dutch East India Company has been operating in Kalimantan, right? That Asian
Does the republic still exist?"
Palmerston replied: "Your Majesty, this small republic still exists, but it is very depressed. There is only a small area left and not much population left. Maybe in a few years, it will be occupied by the Dutch East Indies.
Company annexation...\n.\n.\n..Unless this country can receive strong foreign aid!
Luo Xueyan was actually a warlord with some European-style thinking. He relied on successful speculation in China's chaotic situation, and controlled a European-style army of thousands of people with the support of the consuls of Britain, the United States, France and other countries stationed in Shanghai.
The Army has achieved its current status."
"Oh...:" The Queen of England seemed to understand something.
Minister Luo Xueyan, who has her portrait hanging in his office, is not a stubborn traditional Chinese official, but a vassal of the Chinese emperor who wants to hug her thick legs.
Moreover, his own family also has a small republic on the island of Kalimantan in Southeast Asia that is in urgent need of support from the British Empire.
Obviously, this is a lackey that the British Empire can win over and use!
Thinking of this, the Queen of England smiled and said to Wang Libin: "Mr. Wang, I will personally write a reply letter to Minister Luo Xueyan and give him a gift in return."
Wang Libin immediately followed the Queen's words and made a request for Luo Xueyan: "Your Majesty the Queen, Your Excellency Luo Xueyan told me that if Your Majesty wants to give him a gift, he hopes to get a portrait of Your Majesty...::...This portrait will be
Become an heirloom of the Lanfang Luo family!"
When the Queen of England heard this, her eyes widened with a smile: "Okay, I agree."
Wang Libin made another ninety-degree bow: "On behalf of Minister Luo Xueyan, I would like to thank Her Majesty the Queen for her support!"
Queen Victoria smiled and nodded, apparently accepting Wang Libin's statement - she supported Luo Xueyan!
With the support of Queen Victoria, Luo Xueyan can secure his position as the British lackey. After all, there seems to be no more suitable candidate to be the lackey than Luo Xueyan in the British Empire in the Far East.
And being a lackey for the British Empire in the 19th century would naturally bring you some benefits. Didn’t Japan, a small country in history, make its fortune by working as a lackey for the British?
Therefore, before the Sushun mission left Shanghai, Luo Xueyan discussed with Wang Libin the plans for three sets of British Empire wool - the upper, middle and lower sets. Which set of plans to use depends on Queen Victoria's attitude towards Luo Xueyan.
While Luo Xueyan's staff and representative Wang Libin were thinking about what plan to take next, the Queen of England smiled and said to Li Hongzhang: "Mr. Li, I will invite you...::.\n.
We also had Prince Sushun and Mr. Wang for dinner together. I really want to know some anecdotes about the Qing emperor and his court. I heard that he had three thousand beautiful wives. Is this true?"
That night, the place where Sushun, Li Hongzhang and Wang Libin dined with Britain's Long Live Empress and Prince Chitose was a restaurant decorated in a nouveau riche style that was hung with portraits of successive British prime ministers.
The restaurant is not particularly large. There is a long table that can seat many people. The table is filled with flowers and candles. The Queen and Prince Albert each sit at the head of the long table - because of the
There were so many flowers and candles that they probably couldn't even see each other while eating.
Seated on the two long sides of the long table were the accompanying British officials and Sushun, Li Hongzhang, and Wang Libin. They were sitting on equal footing with the British Long Live Empress. They were chatting and laughing, quite happily!
Of course, it was mainly talking and laughing between Her Majesty the Queen and Mr. Li Hongzhang...\n
"My slave really doesn't know that foreigners have hot air balloons that can carry people to the sky! It's all because of my shallow knowledge and ignorance of Western affairs. I thought that Changmao really has some magical powers, so I thought of saving my strength for the future. Who knows?
After a collapse of hundreds of miles, we lost the territory of Yangzhou, Tongzhou, and Haimen Hall. I beg Long Live the Lord to punish me...\n.
In the quiet Haiyan Hall of the Old Summer Palace, a young man in his twenties was heard crying so hard. Emperor Xianfeng, who was rumored to have three thousand beautiful wives, was sitting on a Western-style sofa, leaning forward and not saying anything.
He knew what he was thinking, and his pockmarked face had a look of helplessness.
The person kneeling in front of him was none other than Prince Gong. The ruby ​​​​top of his hat was gone, and the flower feathers on the back of the hat were also removed.
He talked and cried with a dejected look on his face, and when he got to the emotional point, he kept bumping his head on the ground.
After finally waiting for Prince Gong's cry to come to an end, Xianfeng slowly said: "With this defeat, the passage for Changmao's Northern Expedition will be opened. What should we do next? Our Emperor Ama has always praised you for your ability.
There are many ways, please tell me now, how should we brothers deal with this situation? The Qing Dynasty... won't really fall in our hands, right?"
"No, the Qing Dynasty will not fall!" Prince Gong put his forehead on the ground and sobbed, "The long-haired Catholic Church had a fight with the foreign Catholic Church and the London Missionary Society in Shanghai a few days ago and was beaten to death.
The Bishop of the Catholic Church, Zhao Fangji, provoked the teaching plan and offended the foreigners. So the foreigners are willing to support the Qing Dynasty...\n:...As long as there is the support of the foreigners, the Qing Dynasty will not fall! It can only perish.
It’s the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! Xiu"
Xianfeng raised his eyelids: "Just because a foreign bishop was beaten to death by Changmao, all foreigners support our Qing Dynasty? Is it possible?"
"Your Majesty...\n.\n" Prince Gong gritted his teeth and said, "I, the Qing Dynasty, can sell...\n...\n.\nI can sell my country! Sell China! The slaves made an agreement with the British in Shanghai
Chapter completed!