The Duke of Newcastle may have noticed the change in the Queen's attitude towards the Chinese, otherwise he would not dare to come up with ideas to go against Benjamin even if he and Xiao Letian had great interests in cooperation.
After hundreds of years of accumulation, the British Prime Minister system has now become deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Although the royal family nominally rules the British Isles, the power of the Prime Minister cannot be underestimated. In many cases, the Queen also has to give the Prime Minister face.
The Queen has no right to interfere with decisions that are within the Prime Minister's power!
However, Queen Victoria is a special case. This grandmother of the European royal family is so popular with the people. The love of the people is the queen's ultimate magic weapon. With her huge reputation, Queen Victoria has suppressed the cabinet throughout her life.
The queen may not speak, but if the queen speaks, no one can disobey her!
It was this subtle change in the attitude of the royal family that made the old hound Duke of Newx smell something strange, and that's why he came up with this suggestion to Xiao Letian.
"War is like this. Before the all-out decisive battle, there are always small conflicts and small tests to pave the way. Just like some of Benjamin's small actions yesterday. That does not mean that he will kill you that day. In fact, it is just a test. Just your reaction..."
"Yesterday Benjamin used the two pawns, the French and Russian special envoys, to see your reaction, but to his surprise, you were eaten cleanly..."
"Then as usual, it's your turn to play the chess game at this moment! How can you know Benjamin's next move if you don't take the initiative to test it out?"
"Well, that makes sense...You continue!" Xiao Letian showed full attentiveness.
The Duke of Newx said with a little pride, "Simple! Didn't you already throw out a piece of bait yesterday? Continue to make a fuss..."
“Let’s start with the protected area on Mauritius Island and see how Benjamin responds!”
"Mauritius legally belongs to the Indian colonial system, and the Queen is crowned with the title of Queen of India, so the ownership of this island is in the hands of the Queen!"
"Well, that's right. I asked my men to investigate. That deserted island exiled some European criminals and many Indian untouchables. I heard that a group of refugees from the late Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also fled there..."
"That place is too poor, so no nobles or capitalists are interested, so this land basically has no property rights disputes. Since no one owns it, it naturally belongs to the first title holder, which is the Queen's property! "
"If you want to purchase land in Mauritius, you must apply to the Royal Asset Management Office in your own name. The royal family has its own independent accounting firm and law firm to help handle these royal property transactions..."
"After all, it is related to overseas colonial transactions, and your status is quite special. The Royal Assets Management Office will definitely submit a bill to Parliament for approval... Then when the bill is submitted to Parliament, I think Benjamin will have to take action!"
The Duke sipped his black tea and calmly analyzed, "Benjamin will find a way to stop this transaction no matter what, so it is very likely that his back tricks will be exposed in advance!"
"This is a good thing! As long as he plays more of his trump cards, you will be safer... Even if you fail to buy the land in Mauritius, it doesn't matter. Anyway, you are seeking to establish diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom..."
"When Benjamin has used up all his cards, and you seek key breakthroughs in your main mission, I think the resistance will be much smaller!"
"Perfect!" Xiao Letian couldn't help but applaud. "I understand what you mean. Is this to force Benjamin to play his trump card in advance and detonate the killer moves that were originally planned to be released during the negotiation for the establishment of diplomatic relations?"
"Perfect! In this case, I can buy some properties in London in my own name in the next few days. Then I will see what he says. Since I, Xiao Letian, can buy commercial properties in London, then a property on the Indian Ocean Don’t I have the right to buy a worthless desert island?”
The Duke also smiled, "That's right. I will ask people to search for high-quality real estate. You can completely renovate it after buying it. In the future, this will be a branch of our catering empire!"
It is truly a blessing that heaven and earth work together! Xiao Letian is not a miser. He knows how to share benefits with others, so Xiao Letian has friends all over the world.
In this world, only those idiots from the Manchu Qing Dynasty regard all foreigners as enemies and treat them as savage beasts to guard against.
what's the result? The end result of having no friends at all is to make the whole of Europe your enemy. There will be no objection at all in the European countries to any offensive measure against the Manchus.
If you don’t know how to divide and disintegrate the enemy, then running the country in this way is just asking for death!
The highlight of all today's activities was the dinner. The British knew that the envoy was exhausted physically and mentally after the long sea voyage, so they did not arrange too many activities today.
Emperor Tongzhi had only one arrangement to accompany the Queen for morning tea in the morning, and in the afternoon he inspected two schools in London, and then prepared to go to the East Palace for a dinner.
Xiao Letian's arrangement today is to inspect the Royal Guards barracks in Hyde Park. In fact, he is also inspecting the living conditions of his brothers, and then the Duke of Newx will assist in distributing all the invitations.
A very hot day passed like this. Xiao Letian's carriage was filled with all the newspapers in London that day. Not a single headline was missing, whether it was praising him or accusing him, whether it was ridicule or Be alert! Xiao Letian read all reports extremely carefully.
Through the carriage window, he could see citizens arguing with each other over newspapers in the café on the corner of the street. He even saw a gentleman who was walking and reading a newspaper and ended up crashing into a gas lamp pole.
Of course, there are also the huge oriental ink landscape paintings. Almost all the paintings are filled with citizens. The citizens who did not have the opportunity to visit the grand event yesterday all took turns to walk out of the factory today to see this rare world view. .
"Reputation! This is reputation... brush it up. The higher my reputation in Europe, the harder it will be for you Benjamin to kill me. As long as I can't die, then I can play with you slowly. I really think I am invincible. Already?"
"Haha...do you understand if you borrow a knife to kill someone? There are plenty of knives that can kill you!"
The sun sets in the west and the moon rises in the east! The gas lamps outside the East Palace were lit two hours earlier than usual. This Chinese return banquet was very important. The London Police Department specially sent people to block the streets around the East Palace, allowing only VIPs with invitations to enter.
Luxurious carriages rumbled across the stone road one after another. The ladies and ladies in costumes and the well-dressed gentlemen got off the carriages one after another and walked into the East Palace under the leadership of the attendants.
As a result, these distinguished guests were stunned by what they saw as soon as they opened their eyes!
Note: There will be another update soon, three updates today!
