After the little joke, the Duke of Newcastle got down to business. He was here to serve as a guide for the little emperor, not to talk about football.
Working with respect, the Duke's smile became more candid, and he soon gained the little emperor's trust.
"Your Majesty, I wonder if the scenery of Britain can still catch your eye?" the Duke asked, pointing to the land in the distance.
Zai Chun nodded with a smile and said, "It's very shocking... The impression that the whole UK gives me is... power and shock!"
"Oh, God! Your Majesty's description is so accurate. This is the strength of Britain. This is the power brought to us by the Industrial Revolution..."
"Look, that's the Southampton area. That's the famous local steel factory, with an annual output of half a million tons of track steel for railways..."
"Your Majesty, have you seen the pastures on the coast? Look at where there are at least 20,000 sheep living. These wool will eventually become the most popular woolen products in the UK..."
"This is Britain. We have turned our country into a super factory. The interests of the empire are maintained by sea routes. We can transport tea from China, long-staple cotton from India, and wool from North America and Australia via sea ships. and corn…”
"More European coal, Nordic wood...all the resources from around the world are gathered here and become the raw materials for the super factory!"
"We use high efficiency and productivity that no country in the world has ever had to process massive amounts of industrial products, and then transport them by sea and sell them all over the world..."
"No country is a rival to our products because we have the most advanced productivity and the most effective efficiency. Our products are not afraid of price wars with any country in the world. We will never fail!"
"Dear Your Majesty! This is Britain, this is the Empire on which the sun never sets... During your visit this time, you must take a closer look and see with your own eyes the prosperity of the British Empire. I think this will be helpful to you in pro-politics and governing the country in the future. !”
Zai Chun's eyes lit up as he listened to the Duke's introduction. His biggest mission when he came to Europe was to let the Qing Dynasty have such power. If he wanted to become the master of Zhongxing, he would not be able to follow the old path of becoming a holy king.
"Dear Duke, thank you for your explanation... Yes, I did see the glory of the Empire on which the sun never sets. Such strength simply shocked me!"
“I really regret because my fathers missed so many historical opportunities...but I will not miss them again. I hope to learn more and more essence of governance from your country during this visit. I also hope that the British Empire can give the Qing Dynasty some assistance in its reforms..."
The Duke of Newcastle couldn't help but provoke Big Thumb in his heart. Sure enough, he was different from the impression of the Manchu and Qing officials. The little emperor was very open-minded!
And what other words did he use to describe it just now? Your country! British Empire!
This is an honorific from the mouth of the emperor of China, a country with a thousand-year-old civilization. This really gives Britain enough face.
The Duke couldn't help but sigh in his heart, if you Manchus had had such a polite attitude, I'm afraid there wouldn't have been those two wars.
Thinking of this, the Duke nodded and smiled and said, "Thank you for your Majesty's trust in the British Empire. I am personally very willing to cooperate with the Qing Dynasty. No matter what gains you will get from this state visit, I will go to China to invest in my own name... …”
"I am willing to contribute more to His Majesty's rule. I think with my family's business ability, I will definitely contribute more taxes to Your Majesty! Hahaha..."
"Look at it! My Majesty, look at this beautiful scenery of the British Empire..."
A strong sense of uneasiness emerged in Xiao Letian's heart. He was a practicing politician who was about to become a master, and his ability to observe words and emotions was innate.
Xiao Letian felt a sense of neglect from the moment the Duke of Newcastle boarded the ship. That's right, nine out of ten of the Duke's words were addressed to Zai Chun, and he looked at Zai Chun for nine out of ten minutes.
Xiao Letian is not fighting for anything. He also knows that Zai Chun is higher than him as the head of state in terms of status, but he cannot forget that Zai Chun is still his apprentice, and Zai Chun does not personally govern, and many major events cannot represent him. Qing.
If analyzed from the perspective of interests, the Duke should talk to himself more, or half and half, which is reasonable. But this did not happen, and the Duke of Newcastle focused all his energy on Zai Chun.
With a hint of doubt, Xiao Letian smiled and spoke to the side, "Of course there is no doubt about Britain's strength, but when it comes to the scenery..."
Xiao Letian pointed at the gray sky, gray grass, gray woods... and gray sheep.
"It's gray and polluted, so it can't be considered a beautiful sight, right? In my impression, Britain has blue skies, clear water, and everlasting green all year round!"
The Duke smiled at Xiao Letian with impeccable politeness and said, "Oh, my head of state, this is not like what you can say! Isn't all this beautiful? This kind of mechanical beauty with industrial power, even the gray It all smells like steam..."
"As far as I know, you are also building industrial zones in Asia. Aren't you also pursuing this kind of power?"
Speaking of this, the Duke said to Zai Chun with a hint of ridicule, "I feel your Majesty's eagerness for industrial power, but I think your Majesty should not make detours..."
"When it comes to industrialization, you should come to the UK for reference...but don't make it an IWC brand! Hahaha...all equipment from the United States, Prussia, and the UK, and even Italian standards, I really I don’t know how a special zone that has been in such a mess will continue to develop!”
Hiss... Xiao Leqiang took a breath of air-conditioning. It was really aimed at himself. Before he said a few words, he started to find fault. Did he start to attack my special zone?
Xiao Letian shook his head. He knew that there was not much awareness of environmental protection in the world. As the most powerful industrial country, Britain naturally had to bear the most serious pollution.
Historical records show that from the 18th century to the 20th century, Britain had the largest pollution problem in the world. The cost of industrial civilization supported by coal-burning was such a gloomy mess.
But people at the time didn't care about all this. They even felt that this gray tone was a unique sign of industrial civilization and a symbol of industrial power.
On the contrary, those pastoral scenes correspond to poverty, backwardness and weakness.
Look at the expressions of Zai Chun and the Duke. Looking at such a large haze in front of them, they are still smiling? The smile was so big that his back molars were exposed. It seemed that Zai Chun was eager to have Sijiucheng change into such a main color right away.
