The topic suddenly became serious. Xiao Letian never expected that the queen would bring up such a sensitive topic at this moment. What was originally a happy meeting suddenly changed to a gathering.
Zai Chun's little face turned pale. The two Opium Wars were an unavoidable pain for the country. The face of the country was completely torn to pieces. This itself was a taboo of the imperial court. No one in the country dared to mention this topic.
But this is not the Qing Dynasty, but Europe, which spans half the world. It is the heart of the empire on which the sun never sets, London! No matter how unhappy you Zaichun is, you have to be a ninja.
The queen is indeed a master of controlling the situation. With a few words, the atmosphere of the whole room was aroused, and everyone listened with open ears.
"Your Majesty, there is no need to be angry. There is an old saying in China that is to be brave only after knowing one's shame. I very much agree with this sentence, but I think it is not comprehensive enough..."
"It is indeed commendable to know the shame of failure, to face it bravely and find ways to overcome it, but you have ignored one question, where does this shame come from?"
"With all due respect, these two humiliating defeats were not given to you by us Europeans, but brought on by you? This sentence is unpleasant but it is the truth!"
"I remember that when we first sent troops to the Qing Dynasty, the opposition in the parliament was very loud. I only made one statement at the time! I made it very clear..."
"This war has nothing to do with victory or defeat. The purpose of Britain is not just for profit... More importantly, we must let the Qing country know what the rules are!"
"We must let the sleeping China understand one thing. It must follow a rule that is followed by all mankind! What is it? That is the exchange of civilizations..."
"No one has the right to close off his or her own country. Civilization requires communication to progress, and commercial activities are the core means of communication among human civilizations!"
"China does not have any privileges that can override the global trade network! You said that you have a vast land and abundant resources, and you have everything you need? I don't think so. How happy are the lower-class people in the Qing Dynasty living at the moment? As an emperor, you , you should know..."
"If China is really as perfect as you say, with such a vast land and abundant resources, why is there still the Taiping Rebellion? Why do so many extremely poor people rise up in rebellion?"
"In the final analysis, you are not as perfect as you say! The so-called prosperous age and the so-called wealth only belong to a small number of people. In fact, you need civilized exchanges and commercial interests more than we do!"
"But you have closed your own door, and even rejected our goodwill over and over again. This has brought conflicts and contradictions to the final irreconcilable point..."
"Dear Emperor, please remember that there are some rules that are not formulated by any one country. It is not that I, the United Kingdom, want to impose our rules on you, but some rules that are universally applicable to all mankind. The rules have been violated by you, and these rules will naturally punish you!"
"Business is one of the important driving forces for the progress of human society and an important part of the progress of scientific and technological civilization. These are the rules of the game that can benefit all mankind. Why don't you accept it in the Qing Dynasty?"
"If you don't accept the rules, the rules will punish you in the end, that's all!"
Zai Chun's face turned pale, and the queen's tone suddenly became much gentler when she came here. She whispered, "Child... I am not blaming you. Many responsibilities do not lie on you, and you are also innocent!"
"But I have to let you know the truth of this world, and the truth is always cruel!"
"Britain is prosperous and strong precisely because Britain has found the most important rules of the game in human society and follows them very well, maintains them, and protects them..."
"Since we follow, maintain and protect this rule, then in the end the rules will also protect our empire on which the sun never sets! Business is the cornerstone of the progress of human civilization. Others do not pay attention to it, but we in the UK do, so the power of business will be crazy towards me. The empire that never sets is pouring in..."
"The truth is not difficult to understand! In the UK, even the king must abide by the law, and any treaty written in black and white must be abided by! And we have the world's earliest patent bill. Those who are comfortable with inventions and creations can always pass Their ingenuity leads to a good life..."
"Is this possible in the Qing Dynasty? You violate the spirit of commercial contracts, and your power overrides the laws of nature. You can use your power to plunder other people's property unscrupulously. It has even become a culture!"
"Excuse me, is this correct? Or wrong?"
The queen said earnestly, "My child, I hope what I said today can make you understand something..." Then the queen turned her attention to Xiao Letian.
"Okay, respected head of state, this little unpleasantness is over. I hope that through such a small incident, you can learn more about the British Empire..."
At this moment, Xiao Letian can no longer express his admiration for the queen in words. What kind of woman is she? Her ability to control the field is so powerful that it is incredible.
With a piece of spice, she was able to improvise an almost successful forced abortion, and after the forced abortion failed, she was able to improvise on the spot and began to promote the superiority of mercantilism.
How terrible! It's really scary. No matter what the situation is, this old woman can find an opportunity to benefit herself.
Especially the 'teaching' given to Zai Chun at the end was not a teaching at all but a threat from Chi Guoguo. The subtext was too obvious.
If you, Zaichun, want to get the full support of the British Empire, there is only one way to do it, and that is to follow British mercantilism, otherwise you will have absolutely no hope of success.
You won’t get any support!
Zai Chun smiled bitterly and picked up the wine glass, "Great Queen, I admire your wisdom. I feel the same way with these words..."
"Indeed, there were two unpleasant wars between the Qing Dynasty and Great Britain, and the wars did accumulate a lot of resentment and anger in our country, the Qing Dynasty!"
"But I, the Qing Dynasty, are not a narrow-minded person! War and peace are just the darkness and light that cannot be avoided as human society progresses..."
"Excuse me, everyone here, there are so many countries in Europe, which country has never had a war? As far as I know, Europe has experienced far more wars than China over the thousands of years..."
"Britain and France had a hundred years of war, but they can still sit together and work together now. The United States also had a war of independence with Britain, but now the two countries can still coexist peacefully..."
"War is not normal, people must always look forward!"
"Okay, let's toast our great Queen with this glass of wine! Cheers!"
Zai Chun answered beautifully, and Xiao Letian also stood up and felt very happy. It seemed that this apprentice had learned it in vain, and he seemed to have understood the truth he had taught before.
"Cheers!" The hall suddenly burst into cheers.
Note: Thank you for the support of Liu Nian Yizhang, cano, Pansy, HiGe, and Dongfang Weiming!
