In June, Britain has shed its silvery coating and officially entered summer.
There was no wind flowing in the slightly hot air, and the scorching sun above our heads was like a furnace, making the ground hot and sticky.
Another direct change brought about by rising temperature is...
The smell throughout London is getting worse and worse.
The smell of industrial waste gas, sweat odor, spoiled food, and all kinds of excrement permeates every corner of London, making it sour and smelly.
Although I have seen descriptions of similar situations in "Oliver Twist".
But after seeing this kind of environment with his own eyes... or experiencing it personally, Xu Yun couldn't help but feel a puzzling feeling in his heart:
Why can these British people always make London such a mess?
To know.
As a time traveler, Xu Yun has never seen an ancient city with millions of people - he just spent a year in Bianjing in 1100 in his last dungeon.
In its heyday, Bianjing had about 130,000 households in the city, and its total population steadily exceeded one million. It was undoubtedly a huge city.
Not to mention how clean Bianjing was at that time, at least within the Zhuquemen area, the sanitary conditions were definitely up to standard.
In the mansion of an official like Lao Su, even the servants' courtyard has no peculiar smell.
However, London is more than 700 years later than Bianjing, and its productivity and technological level are more than one level better. Why does it still stink like this?
At the same time, mixed with this smell, there is also a very strange painting style:
For example, right now.
To the right of Xu Yun is a slum area filled with garbage. It is dirty and smelly.
There is a cat food store on his left, and a lady is buying cat food at this time.
That's right.
Cat food stores are the kind that provide hair cutting and bathing services.
In other words, since 1850, the British have begun to pay attention to the diet and hygiene of pets.
But they care about cats but not people. Do you think this is strange?
London was able to develop from a wasteland to the center of the world in 1850. To say that the British lacked wisdom may be a bit arrogant and biased. This mentality is unacceptable.
But the environment in London has always been a problem that has been criticized for a long time.
Think of this.
Xu Yun couldn't help but shook his head.
I don't understand, I don't understand...
Then he brought his mind back to reality, looked at the pergola where he was, turned to someone and asked:
"Mr. Ace, what time is it now?"
The full name of Ace in Xu Yun's mouth is Big Ace. He is a middle-aged man with a kind face. His hair is slightly sparse, but his eyes are big and bright.
Hear Xu Yun's question.
Big Ace shook his collar to dissipate heat, then picked up his pocket watch and took a look:
"It's seven ten in the morning."
Xu Yun nodded slightly.
More than a month ago, Xu Yun's "long-awaited" Crimean War officially started.
Just like in history.
The British and French fleets still entered the battlefield from the Black Sea and landed at Gallipoli.
In order to ensure victory, Britain sent a full 60,000 soldiers and a large number of warships in this first battle, which was an all-out attack.
The initial results were quite gratifying, and the Sricha Fortress was captured in less than two weeks.
At that time, Xu Yun had just met Big Ace from the reception team. This middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and big eyes also said:
"Oh my god, the coalition forces will definitely win a crushing victory. If I were a Russian, I would raise the white flag right now."
Then......
Starting from the next day, the British, French and Turkish coalition forces encountered difficulties.
First came syphilis and cholera.
Wine and women in Crimea are very cheap. In terms of purchasing power, it would cost as much as a meal of braised chicken in later generations.
Coupled with the logistical and sanitation constraints of the coalition forces, syphilis and cholera suddenly began to spread in the military camps.
These two rounds of disease directly caused more than 500 soldiers to become ill, and a pair of boots and 150 tons of biscuits were burned. At the same time, they also greatly damaged the morale of the soldiers - think about it, if you live in the same dormitory with you
If your roommate gets sick, you'll probably be frightened and frightened.
Secondly.
It was the coalition forces that encountered strong resistance at the Sevastopol Fortress.
According to the news from Laotang.
At present, more than 2,300 British soldiers and more than 40 officers have been killed in the battle, and the situation is quite anxious.
in this case.
The atmosphere in London can't help but be a little delicate, and even the World Expo has been postponed:
Originally, Prince Albert wanted to have a double blessing. He opened the exposition with the good news of the capture of the Sevastopol Fortress, which was a double blessing.
As a result, it dragged on and on, and the war fell into a quagmire.
Seeing that there was no hope of victory in a short period of time, Prince Albert decisively gave up the idea of having his cake and eat it too, and announced last week that the World Exposition would officially open on June 13th.
Of course.
The opening date of the expo has little impact on Xu Yun, because the University of Cambridge is scheduled to debut at the end of October or even early November.
What really caused him to appear here today was another thing:
The Qing Dynasty's exhibition delegation arrived in Portsmouth four days ago and is expected to arrive in London this morning.
Although Britain is currently planning to invade the East, the war has not started yet, so the outward etiquette must still be observed.
Therefore, the British still sent a reception team of fifteen people to welcome these guests.
The general leader of the reception team was a member of the House of Commons named Radho Kaplan, and he was accompanied by several political officers - Big Ace, who had previously answered Xu Yun's question, was one of them.
The other thing is...
I saw Xu Yun glance slightly to the right and lock his eyes on a table not far away.
Sitting at this table were four Asians with black hair and yellow skin. Three of them were about the same age as Xu Yun, and they were all arranged to act as translators.
William Whewell had said this before, so Xu Yun didn't pay much attention to it. He simply stated his name and didn't say much.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Among the four people, the one that really concerns Xu Yun is the middle-aged man sitting in the innermost seat.
This man is of medium height, wearing British gentleman's clothes, wearing a pair of glasses with extremely small lenses on the bridge of his nose, and has extremely high cheekbones on his face.
His face looks mean but with a hint of refinement.
More importantly...
The other person doesn't have braids.
According to Big Ace.
This man's name is Tian Caiming, whose courtesy name is Bo Lun. His parents are both businessmen doing business in Europe.
He grew up in Rochester and later entered the University of Strathclyde, the seventh oldest university in the UK, with excellent results.
After graduation, Tian Caiming entered the British political arena and became a rising star among the advanced Chinese circles in the UK.
Although he is not yet qualified to enter the House of Commons, he became a member of the Rochester City Council last year and has a promising future.
City councils are part of the British regional council system. The highest one is the Greater London City Council, followed by single city councils, city councils, county councils, etc.
Even in the later generations when Xu Yun traveled through time, there were not many examples of Chinese people being able to enter British city councils.
There are only a few scattered people here.
So it's obvious.
Tian Caiming's ability to enter the Rochester City Council must be because he has embraced a certain faction.
Either be a white glove, or be a spokesperson or a sounding board.
This time Tian Caiming's position in the reception team is that of a consultant, which is much more formal than an outsourcer like Xu Yun.
Not only can he communicate directly with the general manager Radho Kaplan, he can even make some suggestions.
Another thing that impressed Xu Yun deeply was that when all the members met, they seemed to look at him in a somewhat unkind way.
Of course.
The 'unkindness' here naturally does not mean recognizing one's own identity, but means a sense of scrutiny and oppression.
It can be seen that the other party does not seem to welcome his appearance.
Maybe you are worried that you will use the excuse of being an Oriental to build relationships with you?
After all, his current popularity is limited to the scientific research circle of Cambridge University. In the eyes of people who follow political lines like Tian Caiming, he is basically the same as wearing a whiteboard.
And just when Xu Yun was thinking about it.
Do not know why.
Some whispers suddenly appeared in the originally quiet pergola, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.
Then very quickly.
Big Ace pointed in a certain direction and said to him:
"Mr. Luo Feng, look, your fellow villagers are here."
Xu Yun was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then quickly looked in that direction after regaining his composure.
The reception team's pergola is located near the later Tower Bridge in London, adjacent to the Thames River, with a width of 229 meters.
I only see this moment.
At the entrance to the south of the river, a three-masted wooden sailboat with a somewhat different appearance from a European ship was slowly approaching.
The ship is nearly 50 meters long, about 15 meters wide, and has a draft of about five or six meters.
A yellow flag hangs at the front of the ship with one word:
clear.
Students who served in the Beiyang Navy in their previous lives should know this.
The first "military flag" of the Qing Dynasty Navy was called the blue dragon playing with red beads on a yellow background, but it would not be selected as the military flag of the Beiyang Navy until 1888.
Internationally these days, the way the Qing Dynasty appears is generally a bit ordinary.
This is what Xu Yun saw, a yellow flag with the word "Qing" engraved on it, hanging on the bow of the ship and swaying in the wind.
It's simple and has no attractive features.
Of course.
No matter how ordinary the logo is, it still represents the political power of a country.
Therefore, after seeing the Qing delegation's motorcade appear, everyone including Radho Kaplan stood up.
Those who should wear a hat wear a hat, and those who should wear a coat wear a coat, waiting for the other party's arrival.
About twenty minutes passed.
The three-masted wooden sailing ship docked smoothly, and nine middle-aged men wearing Qing Dynasty official uniforms and with long braids walked out of the cabin under the guidance of three British crew members.
As the pinnacle representative of the feudal dynasty, the palaces and capitals of the Qing Dynasty were undoubtedly prosperous, but that kind of prosperity belonged to the standard Chinese classical beauty.
Compared with the architectural style of the Qing Dynasty and that of London in 1850, the two are quite different in style.
Therefore, when they suddenly saw such an unusual scene in London, these Qing officials with low official rank were naturally shocked.
But at the same time, they still uphold the unique "pride" of the Qing Dynasty.
Everyone's face was tense, but their eyes kept looking out, which made them look a little funny.
Not far from them.
Xu Yun's eyes stayed on the braids behind these people for a while, and his mood was a little complicated.
This was the first time that Xu Yun saw officials of the Qing Dynasty in person since activating the halo to travel.
It was these people and the regime behind them who personally 'wrote' China's extremely humiliating chapter in modern history.
It's a pity that I couldn't see that Li Fuxiang, otherwise Xu Yun really wanted to have a good chat with him for a while - chat here is not a derogatory term, and I really wanted to know what was going on in his mind.
Unfortunately, due to some will, such an opportunity is obviously not possible.
After the nine Qing officials disembarked.
Radho Kaplan walked up to them with Tian Caiming, and bowed his hands in a slightly unfamiliar manner:
"Dear guests from the East, welcome to London. I am Radjo Kaplan, member of the House of Commons of the British Parliament."
The leading Qing official was a thin old man. He still had a straight face and looked a little pedantic.
Xu Yun had seen his photo on the list given to him by William Whewell. This person's name was Ran Hongfu. His official rank was unknown but not too high.
slkslk.
Tian Caiming translated these words into Chinese and introduced his name and nickname.
Ran Hongfu pondered for a moment after hearing the words and did not reply directly. Instead, he asked Tian Caiming:
"Brother Bo Lun, may I ask what rank this person holds in the British Empire?"
Tian Caiming was stunned for a moment. After coming back to his senses, he quickly glanced at Radho Kaplan and thought:
"About...from the seventh grade."
The House of Lords in the UK belongs to the aristocratic parliament, and the Speaker of the House of Commons probably has today's ministerial status, which is equivalent to the ancient minister.
In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Shangshu was the third rank of Zheng, in the Ming Dynasty it was the second rank, and in the Qing Dynasty it was the first rank of Cong.
Below the Speaker are the Deputy Speaker and Members, who will be assigned different political tasks based on their status.
Radho Kaplan only entered the House of Commons this year. He is a new member of the House of Commons, equivalent to someone who has just been assigned an official position after becoming a Jinshi.
Either become a seventh-grade Hanlin, or become a seventh-grade county magistrate.
Therefore, what Tian Caiming said is basically reasonable.
As for Ran Hongfu’s official position...
It is the seventh grade.
"From the seventh grade?"
After learning that Radho Kaplan's official position was lower than his own, Ran Hongfu's face turned serious again and he nodded calmly:
"Chief Ran Hongfu of the Dian Ke Office of Honglu Temple in the Qing Dynasty, thank you for your welcome." (The diplomatic department of the Qing Dynasty was the Zong Na Ha Yamen, which would trigger the blocking of the entire chapter, so here it is replaced by the Dian Ke Office. In fact, after the Song Dynasty, it was
There is no discount office)
Seeing Ran Hongfu's demeanor, Radho Kaplan couldn't help but frown, feeling dissatisfied and at the same time having doubts:
Isn't this person sick?
In country-to-country diplomacy, if one of the countries is powerful, the representatives of that country may appear cold and arrogant when meeting.
But the United Kingdom does not look like a low-status party from any angle at the moment, so who does this person show his confidence to?
However, no matter how dissatisfied he was, Radho Kaplan was still just a new member of parliament, and he did not yet have the qualifications and confidence to take action on diplomatic matters.
Therefore, he could only force himself to ignore Ran Hongfu's arrogance and continue according to the prepared process:
"Mr. Ran, according to our prior agreement, all the items you brought this time, including the 'Qiying', will be exhibited.
"Next, please unload the goods for the exhibition. I will arrange a carriage to take them to the Crystal Palace where the expo opens for placement."
"According to prior planning, the Eastern exhibition area is located in the west of the Crystal Palace, adjacent to the Belgium and Asan exhibition areas."
"Mr. Ran, what do you think?"
Ran Hongfu quietly listened to Tian Caiming's translation, frowned, and was about to say something when he heard Tian Caiming cough heavily.
Then his expression froze, and after a few seconds of silence he nodded:
"You have made arrangements, and I have no objections."
Seeing that the most critical handover matter had passed, Radho Kaplan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
As long as he has completed his task, it is none of his business as to how this Oriental will cause headaches to the congressman in charge of the exhibition.
Then he waved to Big Ace and told him:
"Ace, go and call the young Eastern people who are responsible for translating. Now we can start loading and unloading the goods."
Big Ace said yes, turned around and came to where Xu Yun was, and said to Xu Yun and the other three young people from the East:
"Students, it's your turn as translation consultants next."
Xu Yun and the other three people had already understood their mission, and they all nodded after hearing this:
"clear."
The expressions of the other three were a little excited, probably because their school had promised certain rewards.
Then Big Ace led the four people to Ran Hongfu, and not long after, other officials came forward to pick up the goods.
The first person to come forward was the fat little old man ranked second on the list. Xu Yun remembered that this person was called Qu Zhongxing, and he should be the deputy of the delegation.
He glanced at Xu Yun and the four of them, then casually nodded at the boy next to Xu Yun:
"It's just you."
Then, before Xu Yun could look away from Qu Zhongxing, another voice came to his ears:
"The little brother on the second right hand side, can you come to me and be a translator?"
There were only four "interpreters" present, so everyone knew their own position clearly - the person ranked second on the right was none other than Xu Yun himself.
Xu Yun took advantage of the situation and looked around.
The person who made the noise was found to be an old man in his fifties with a dark complexion, a Liuhe hat on his head, and extremely obvious nasolabial folds.
Mentioned earlier.
Xu Yun's understanding of the World Exposition is not in-depth. He only knows some relatively basic information, such as Dongfang indeed sending people to participate in the exhibition.
And that's a coincidence.
This person who spoke out was one of the few people Xu Yun knew and whose face had been seen on the commemorative coins specially issued for him by the UK...
