Buckingham Palace in London, England, is the residence of the British royal family and the office of the Queen. During the Queen Victoria period, this palace officially became the national symbol of the United Kingdom. At this time, the palace is in its heyday.
Of course, the heavily guarded palace and strict palace etiquette could not stop the two important ministers, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Minister of Finance. Even if they did not make an appointment in advance, the royal butler would not dare to block the carriage of these two people, even listening in the concert hall. The piano queen had no choice but to vacate the concert hall to wait for these two uninvited guests.
"Oh, dear Queen, seeing you looking so healthy is such a blessing for the empire that the sun never sets..." The Earl of Derby bowed and saluted, took a few steps forward and gently kissed the back of the Queen's hand.
"Please sit down, my old friend. Is your ventilation better? Change to a softer chair..."
Benjamin then saluted the Queen, but as a young junior, all he got was a smile and a nod from the Queen. However, Benjamin didn't care about this difference in treatment. After sitting on the chair, he irritably explained his intention to the Queen.
Queen Elizabeth listened with a smile and showed no signs of boredom. Benjamin was very eloquent and logical, and he quickly conveyed the thoughts he wanted to express very clearly.
What is surprising is that the Earl of Derby lacks the aggressiveness just now, but is very low-key. He just smiles and tastes Indian black tea, and his eyes are still wandering in the oil paintings on the wall of the concert hall.
Benjamin is a smart man. When he came to the end, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have made a big mistake. Was his attitude too aggressive? Will it make the Queen think that she does not have the capital of the Prime Minister? If that's the case, even if Xiao Letian is killed, it won't be worthwhile if his own career is tied up in it.
The future Prime Minister's guess was correct. The Queen was indeed a little impatient. There were too many things to consider on the empire on which the sun never sets. There were more urgent tasks everywhere in the huge colonies. The Boers in South Africa had been rebelling. France now controlled The largest shareholding in the Suez Canal, the Russian expansion in Central Asia made the British army in India extremely nervous, and the development of the North American continent after the American Civil War were all strategic issues worthy of British attention.
Who is Xiao Letian in comparison? An army of 30,000 to 40,000 people, a mysterious warship, and he has made a lot of wealth with some financial concepts that are more advanced than those of the Qing Dynasty... In the final analysis, he is just a regional tyrant. In the eyes of the British, Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army is better than him More threatening.
Debi sneered in his heart and said, "I have told you clearly that I will definitely give up my position next year due to poor health, but you are still so anxious to seize power. Do you know that it is difficult for people with ugly looks to be respected... ...The queen has experienced too many things in her life. What kind of moral knowledge do you have? It's really not enough..."
Sure enough, after Benjamin finished speaking, Debi shrugged without any comment and just smiled and said, "Maybe I'm older and can't see the problem too sharply... and my health has never been good. I will be dead next year at the latest." After retiring from power, young people should be given more responsibility for national affairs!"
These words were so destructive. Derby's words directly revealed Benjamin's eagerness to take over, turning a normal political proposal into a one-man show of Benjamin's dirty mind.
Even though Benjamin was politically experienced, he could not withstand such humiliation. He blushed and defended the Queen, "Your Majesty, I don't have any other ideas... I just hope that Britain's maritime power will not be challenged, and I don't want one to appear in China." A hero who can unite all resources appears. China is too big to allow them to unite as one!"
"We must not allow them to have heroes, absolutely not! If you want to destroy your country, destroy its history first! If you want to destroy its history, destroy its heroes first! China must be a piece of loose sand, and they must fight among themselves forever!"
Benjamin became more and more excited, and his hands began to tremble. "There are hundreds of millions of people! They all speak the same language, write the same words, and believe in the same beliefs... How terrifying is this?"
“So, we must make them lose their hearts, let them have a civil war between the Manchus and Hans, let the ethnic minorities on their frontiers attempt to rebel, let them not know friendship and respect for each other... let the people of Zhili look down on Henan People, let the people of Henan curse the people of Shandong..."
"Let the northerners of China call the southerners "southern barbarians", and let the southerners call the northerners "beishizi". Let them look down on each other, and let them attack each other. They will start with words and finally fight with fists. It is best to escalate it into a civil war again and again!
"Only this kind of China is in our interests. What I want to express from beginning to end is this truth!"
The queen was moved by Benjamin's sad tone. She finally realized Benjamin's love for Britain. Even Derby put away his mocking expression and became serious.
The Queen said calmly, "Dear Benjamin, don't get excited. Our love for Britain is unquestionable. We have seen everything you have done... Although I don't think Xiao Letian is as good as you said." It’s dangerous, but what you said about the strategy against China is still correct!”
Benjamin was so excited that he almost cried, "Your Majesty, I still insist that Xiao Letian is dangerous, really dangerous... It's not the tens of thousands of soldiers and a strange battleship that are a threat, but the aura of victory he has along the way. It’s a threat to us!”
"A great victory in Europe, three great victories in the Battle of Tanggu, a great victory in the attack on Japan, and now the Taiping Army in Iquique is even more victorious with his support... The most terrifying thing is that the Battle of Dakar and the Battle of Iquique , that battleship also won wildly!"
"Will this series of halos make Xiao Letian a myth? In any ghost place in China, as long as someone is mythized, he will become an invincible god. He can gather the power of hundreds of millions of people and make a thousand All the resources on the many square kilometers of land have become his palm!”
"This is what I'm most afraid of..."
Originally, it was enough to say this. Benjamin's grief-stricken performance like a movie star has impressed the Queen and Prime Minister Derby. Maybe the next second he will get the Queen's nod.
If Queen Victoria supports the physical destruction of Xiao Letian, then Xiao Letian will not survive until next year even if he escapes and is strangled by the Empire on which the sun never sets.
But it is a pity that Benjamin was too eager. At the last moment, he actually said a very unnecessary nonsense. This sentence directly changed history and changed Britain's last chance to strangle Xiao Letian.
"Dear Her Majesty the Queen, if this still doesn't move your heart, I beg you to eliminate this potential threat for the future of our Imperial Navy! That battleship is the ironclad proof of the alliance between Xiao Letian and Prussia! This It’s the most horrific thing and we absolutely cannot allow it!”
Note: Have you played "Clash of Clans" among book friends? "Clash Royale"? There are book friends there who have formed a tribe called "The Hidden Dragon of the Qing Dynasty". If you want to play, please join the tribe!
