Finally passing the test, Xiao Letian felt that the shirt inside his suit was wet and soaked with sweat. Even if there was an iceberg behind him to cool down, he could not let go of his anger.
This banquet is really thrilling and will not stop for a while. From the beginning of Montauban's making things difficult until Benjamin's personal battle, Xiao Letian must muster 120,000 yuan to deal with these people. If he is not careful, That is the end of the world.
These minor characters are easy to deal with. I really didn’t expect that the Queen would personally take action in the end to force the palace, just a little bit of the secret recipe of the source of freshness would be leaked.
The secret recipe is a small matter, but it is a big deal if the morale of this trip is compromised!
Diplomatic negotiations are all about momentum. If you choose to give in at the beginning, what will envoys from other countries think? Will you make concessions when negotiating with other European countries in the future?
This is a taboo for military strategists!
Fortunately, Princess Sissi, the lucky star, temporarily interfered and disrupted the queen's control rhythm, which gave Xiao Letian a chance to play the tragedy card.
Later, Zai Chun's attitude towards the queen was also very appropriate. Although he was scolded mercilessly, he still used a soft knife to slightly maintain the dignity of the empire.
yes! Who among you in your home country has never experienced the victory or defeat of a war? Even Britain has tried and failed.
The neither humble nor overbearing answer and the subsequent toast were respected by many envoys present. People gave respectful applause to Emperor Tongzhi, the Eastern Head of State and the Queen of England from the bottom of their hearts.
At this moment, the dinner party finally came to the final stage. According to the plan, after a fireworks show, the state banquet would finally end. However, just when Xiao Letian was about to announce the fireworks, another accident suddenly happened.
No one expected that after the toast, Princess Sissi, Xiao Letian's lucky star, suddenly spoke.
"Ah! I always feel that something is missing... Dear Head of State, since this secret recipe cannot be a gift to the Queen, are you really not preparing a national gift?"
The atmosphere that had just become harmonious suddenly became more subtle. People suddenly couldn't figure out what the queen was going to do. Before, some people suspected that Austria had something to do with the Chinese, but now they were confused again.
Some people even think that Princess Sissi is tired of having European lovers secretly, and now she sees a handsome oriental man, and is a little obsessed with her.
But why is Princess Sissi jumping out to cause trouble for Xiao Letian now? Something is wrong, something is very wrong!
Xiao Letian obviously didn't understand the tricks of the Queen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Looking at those deep eyes, Xiao Letian couldn't understand her depth for a while.
"Well... Her Majesty the Queen is right to remind you. I was really careless..." Xiao Letian scratched his nose and said with a smile, "Originally I wanted to wait until the fireworks show was over before I presented this gift to the Queen. Since the Queen is now I’m just interested…”
"Come here! Break the iceberg!" Xiao Letian suddenly yelled.
"Cut the iceberg? Is the gift hidden in the iceberg?" Everyone present exclaimed.
The Queen suddenly became interested, "Oh? You really prepared a gift for me? Is it in the iceberg behind me?"
The queen's table is just under the main iceberg. It is the core of the whole place, the coolest place with the most beautiful scenery. The queen has been admiring this magnificent iceberg and the surrounding scenery, but she can't I didn't find any clues.
Four ice-cutting craftsmen were seen climbing to the top of the iceberg wearing spiked shoes. The huge hammers and iron drills began to destroy the main body of the iceberg, and a piece of ice and ice slag rolled down like an avalanche.
Xiao Letian on the side said loudly, "Since ancient times, Kunlun has produced beautiful jade. What is jade? The beauty of stone is jade. It is bred by the essence of the earth and is the spirit of all stones!"
"Today, what I give to the Queen and the British royal family is a jade carving work. He chose Hotan, Xinjiang, and running water seeds from the Jade Dragon River in Kashgar. It was carefully carved by Jiangnan Su Gong..."
"Some people may know that China's Xinjiang is currently in the flames of war. The Central Asian careerist Agubai took advantage of the weakness of the Qing Empire's civil strife to send troops to invade!"
"Here, I want to announce to Europe! The Chinese people firmly support the Qing Empire's counterattack, and Xinjiang will always be an inalienable part of China... At this moment, Lord Zuo Zongtang, who is conquering the Western Regions, has sent troops to Yumen Pass to fight with the Agubai tribe. Several small-scale battles..."
"I am honored that the Qing Empire still has an experienced Hunan Army team and a group of brave warriors who have not lost their blood. Since entering the Western Regions, Mr. Zuo has not failed once!"
"I asked General Zuo to transport this piece of jade from the Western Regions after all the hard work. This journey can be said to be a narrow escape! The rebels and bandits tried to rob it more than ten times along the way!"
"At a high price with the lives and blood of countless warriors, this jade was finally safely transported to Jiangnan!"
"What exactly is this jade carving? Now let's wait and see!"
There was a loud bang, and a piece of ice weighing more than fifty kilograms rolled down from the iceberg. The guards nearby rushed to hug it, and the piece of ice rushed to the queen's table.
A gap more than three meters deep was cut into the huge iceberg. At this time, people discovered the outline of a statue under the light. The curiosity of everyone present was aroused, especially when Xiao Letian took the jade stone. The rarity of it has skyrocketed.
No one noticed that the faces of the Queen and Prince Edward, who were closest to the jade sculpture, had changed at this moment. They seemed to have seen ghosts, with shock on their faces!
Europeans do not have the habit of appreciating jade. They prefer crystal clear gems, but this is an exception for the royal family. These European rulers can establish connections with the distant East through various channels.
The best tea, silk, porcelain...including jade are collected by royal families and royal families in various countries.
Especially after the Second Opium War, a large number of jade articles from the Old Summer Palace were lost to Europe. However, ordinary people could not appreciate this kind of beauty, so most of the jade articles became the private collections of high-ranking nobles.
In other words, jade is definitely a niche collection in Europe, but it is not completely unfamiliar. At least those present know that jade is a top-notch treasure in the East.
"Since ancient times, beautiful jade has come from Kunlun, and the beautiful jade from Kunlun is concentrated in the Yulong River in Kashgar... The most top-notch beautiful jade is the seed material from the mountains and rivers!"
"Tens of millions of years ago, earthquakes and landslides caused the jade mines in the mountains to decompose and crack, and rolled down the rivers with the annual snowmelt. After millions and millions of years of water erosion, the originally rough jade mines became It became warmer and formed rare materials..."
"People say that jade has five virtues: moistening and warmth, which is the prescription of benevolence; its gills are from the outside, so you can know the middle, which is the prescription of righteousness; its sound is smooth and loud, and it can be heard far and wide, which is the prescription of wisdom; it is not scratched and broken, which is the prescription of courage. It’s the right way; it’s the right way to be sharp and honest but not timid.”
"Benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, courage, and purity! This is the noble character of jade, and it is also the character that a gentleman should have!"
"Queen! Your Highness the Prince! Please accept the small profit given to the royal family by my Chinese family. This jade sculpture reminds us of that respectable person. May his soul rest in peace in heaven!"
Note: I would like to thank the three book friends from Heaven to the left, Shenzhen to the right, Xiaoyao Sanren, and Anonymous 37331482229 for their complimentary red envelopes. No gentleman can support an artist, thank you!
