"Here we come, the Chinese are here..." The reporters were in a commotion. The shutters of countless cameras were pressed, and the hand holding the pen was taking shorthand. Every expression of Sima Yun and every scene at the scene would become the headlines of the newspapers. .
The Prime Minister's residence had long known about Sima Yun's arrival. The butler had been waiting at the door. The moment the doorbell rang, the polite butler opened the door.
"Hello, sir, what do you do for me?" With his neat black tuxedo, professional smile, and friendly eyes, he looks like a typical British butler.
Questions were answered, and both parties knew that the dialogue was not for the other party, but for the reporters around them.
"This time I am here to deliver an invitation to the Prime Minister on behalf of the head of state. Sir, please tell me that the Chinese head of state Xiao Letian hopes to attend the banquet at a time that is convenient for the prime minister. The time will be determined by you!"
"Please wait a moment, I will convey this to the Prime Minister!" The butler did not dare to neglect, took the gilded invitation with both hands, and turned to see Benjamin.
It stands to reason that even if a guest comes without a reservation, there is no reason to wait at the gate. However, both the guest and the host did not know what was going on. Sima Yun did not go in and waited in the foyer, and the butler did not let him.
Sima Yun just stood at the gate so leisurely, without any impatience on his expression.
"General Sima, can we ask you a few questions? Is this banquet considered an official banquet or a private banquet?"
"General, how big is the banquet? What sensitive issues will be discussed?"
"How do the heads of state in the East view the British Prime Minister's two rejections? If credentials cannot be exchanged, which countries will the Chinese people go to next?"
Questions came flooding in. Sima Yun smiled but said nothing. After being forced to question him for more than ten minutes, he only said one sentence: "Please be patient, I am waiting for the Prime Minister's reply now. Please be patient!"
From the window on the second floor, Benjamin tilted his head and looked at the chaos at the gate. He held the invitation in his hand and kept sneering, "Look, he invited me to dinner in a private name, and it was only me and Xiao Letian... He is Are you determined to see me?"
In the room were Montauban, Sir Gordon, Foreign Minister Larendon, and even Ivan, the deputy envoy of Tsarist Russia who was about to return home after recovering from his injuries. There were more than ten people in the room.
"First he attempted formal diplomatic negotiations, then after being rejected he wanted to have informal negotiations, and after being rejected again he wanted to have this kind of one-on-one banquet... It seems that Xiao Letian will not give up until he achieves his goal!"
Montauban smiled and said, "It seems that Xiao Letian is not blindly arrogant. He still knows how to bow his head in the face of absolute strength!"
"That's natural!" Sir Gordon said with high spirits while holding his pipe. "During this period, I accompanied His Majesty Emperor Tongzhi and got a lot of top-secret information about Xiao Letian. This person's arrogance is only superficial, but in fact he still knows how to advance and retreat in his heart! "
"When the Chinese nation was first established, many important ministers wanted to make him the king, but this cunning guy refused to do anything and finally only held power as the prime minister. This is not easy!"
"I heard from people around Emperor Tongzhi that if Xiao Letian dared to claim the throne at that time, the Qing Empire would definitely sever all relations with him and even break out a war! By then, all of his special economic zones and so many industries in China would have been uprooted!"
"This man knows how to bow to reality. He is a smart guy! In today's world, if you want to become an independent country, you must be recognized by the British Empire. These are the rules we have formulated!"
Sir Gordon was not originally a figure in the center of British power, but due to his special relationship with Emperor Tongzhi, he now became a frequent visitor to the Prime Minister's residence. This was the highest peak of his political career.
It is not an exaggeration to describe it as a meteoric rise. When analyzing Xiao Letian at this moment, he is simply elated.
Benjamin put down the curtains and walked back to the sofa. "Okay, my husband, don't analyze the relationship between Xiao Letian and the Qing Empire. Now you can help me analyze what strategy he will use on me if he wants to invite me to dinner." ?”
"What other strategy can there be? Just bow your head and surrender and then exchange benefits! Maybe you will get an astronomical bribe in your life... Believe me, the Chinese are good at doing this kind of thing!" Gordon said with great disdain.
British Foreign Secretary Larendon also nodded, "I agree with Sir Gordon's analysis. At this moment, Xiao Letian doesn't have many cards at all. Although Her Majesty the Queen expressed goodwill, she also expressed a clear signal of neutrality... "
"Before, I was worried that those in the Liberal Party would play the China card and speak for these Chinese people, but I didn't expect that Gladstone still understood that the interests of the Empire on which the sun never sets comes first at the critical moment, and he didn't say a word. It's really rare... …”
"What else can Xiao Letian do now? He can't start a war with our British Empire with just one battleship and two thousand soldiers, right?"
The whole house was roaring with laughter, and no one was afraid that the laughter could be heard from the windows and spilled out into the street.
After laughing enough, Benjamin threw the invitation back to the butler, "Go! Send the invitation back, I don't have time to attend this kind of rubbish banquet... By the way, tell the Chinese, let them put aside this thought, I will never negotiate with these bandit warlords !”
"Ah?" The butler looked shocked. "Prime Minister...do you really want to say that? Wouldn't it be rude..."
"That's it! These Chinese scoundrels don't know what dignity is. If you don't block all their fantasies, God knows what weird ideas will come up later. I'm tired of this rejection game, that's all!"
The housekeeper walked downstairs with a grimace. When the reporters at the door saw someone, they immediately swarmed up and almost knocked away the few policemen who were maintaining order.
"I'm sorry, sir, the Prime Minister has rejected your invitation!" After saying that, he returned the invitation with both hands.
Sima Yun pretended to be shocked and took the invitation and asked, "Rejected? This is just a banquet for dead people. It is not an official meeting. There is no need for any speech or memorandum... Is the Prime Minister's schedule too full? We It can wait!”
The steward, who looked embarrassed, could only cough and said, "Prime Minister... The Prime Minister asked me to tell you that he will not negotiate with the bandit warlords from the East!"
Ah... As soon as he said this, there was a huge uproar around him. All the reporters went crazy, their pens were trembling, and their eyes were full of excitement.
Super big news! Prime Minister Benjamin actually publicly humiliated the Chinese people as bandit warlords. This has completely closed the door to negotiations. Has the situation become so serious?
Sima Yun's face changed greatly. "What? Please repeat it again. I hope my English level has not been misunderstood!"
When the housekeeper confirmed again, Sima Yun's face turned pale with anger. The housekeeper really couldn't cope with this kind of situation. He gave him an apologetic look and quickly retreated into the house and closed the door to avoid suspicion.
At this time, only Sima Yun was left standing at the entrance of the official residence. All the reporters were looking at him, all the police maintaining order were also watching him, and the people in the distance were looking at him with their toes up in confusion.
"Hehehe..." Sima Yun laughed miserably, "Is this the Prime Minister of the British Empire? Is this a gentleman from a civilized country? Being so rude to such an extent is simply rare in the world!"
"Dear gentlemen, please remember that for this state visit we received official invitations from the royal family and the British cabinet! A grand welcome ceremony was also held in London before, at which the British official also recognized our head of state. identity!"
"It's only been a month, are we going to overthrow everything? Bandit warlords? When will the bandit warlords be able to receive an audience with the Queen?"
"Strong protest! We must express strong protest!"
Note: I feel dizzy and my hands are numb! It’s really not the age to work hard anymore... Here comes the fourth update! Okay, it’s up to me to make the latest news, and it’s up to you to support me! I hope Xinjing will post more updates in the future, so please support me more! Red envelopes and subscriptions are coming!
