Xiao Letian fell into silence. Everyone's eyes were on him, with anxious expressions. This is the core of all the problems, because no matter how well you speak Chinese principles, you can't grasp Benjamin at all. Attitude.
If this old man is completely shameless, acting rogue, and ignoring all your Chinese principles, what should you do, Xiao Letian?
After three or four minutes of silence, Xiao Letian sighed and turned his head and said, "Bring me the map, the one from East Asia..."
"Since you have asked this question, let me give you a clear answer. Prime Minister Benjamin has always declared that I am a careerist and a warlord. My ultimate goal is to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and become king myself. …”
"And the Chinese! The Prime Minister also looks at it with colored glasses, as if the Chinese are savage beasts, as if the emergence of the Chinese will stir up bloodshed and invade other countries..."
"Are the Chinese a group of ambitious people, or are they the hope of rejuvenation in East Asia? I can't brag about myself, I can only honestly tell you the facts and reason..."
The map slowly unfolded beside Xiao Letian, and the mountains, rivers, landforms and oceans of East Asia were revealed bit by bit in front of everyone.
Looking at the ancient and desolate land of East Asia, Xiao Letian's face suddenly turned extremely sad as if he was possessed by a movie king. Wang Huaiyuan behind him handed over a document before the head of state could speak.
Xiao Letian raised the paper in his hand, "Gentlemen, this is the latest report sent to me by my subordinates before I left Ryukyu. It is written with blood and tears..."
“In March 1869, a severe spring drought occurred in Ruzhou and Nanyang, Henan. There was not a drop of rain in March, and more than 2 million acres of wheat seedlings were affected. In some areas, there was even a situation where wheat was exchanged for food... "
"Have you ever heard of exchanging children and eating them? It's because the desperate people really can't survive anymore. Two families exchange their young children and then eat them to survive!"
Hiss... The crowd gasped. Although the gap between rich and poor in Europe after the Industrial Revolution was still severe, cannibalism, a characteristic of the dark ages, had long since disappeared.
In Europe in this era, although the people at the bottom are suffering, their most basic survival can still be guaranteed. Extreme exceptions like Ireland can be remembered in history forever.
But this was not the case in the Qing Dynasty. The primitive and traditional agricultural technology relied heavily on watching the weather. Almost every year, there were countless famines across the state capitals within the Qing Dynasty, affecting hundreds of thousands or even millions of people.
How common is this situation? Basically, when a famine affecting less than 100,000 people occurs, officials don’t bother to report it, and historians don’t even bother to write about it. Famines involving more than 100,000 people can only be mentioned casually in county and state annals.
Only those special courts that affected a province and suffered millions of people would take it seriously, and the historians of Beijing would write down the records.
"Haha, change your son and eat! This is not a few words in an ancient book. This is a real tragedy that happened in the Qing Dynasty! In order to prevent such a tragedy from happening, when the famine started, our Chinese people had already mobilized two people One hundred thousand shi of food was urgently transported...
"God knows how much this food will be corrupted, and God knows whether the people can have enough to eat... But at least with this food, the situation of cannibalism will be alleviated a lot..."
Xiao Letian rubbed his red eyes, "I wish I could completely solve these famines, but I am powerless. Not only Ruzhou and Nanyang Prefecture, but in April, Fenhe River in Shanxi was hit by heavy rains, and Pingyang Prefecture was hit by ten Thousands of people suffered disaster..."
"Then the Jiaozhou area of Shandong Province encountered a once-in-a-century locust plague, and all the green crops in the three counties were eaten away..."
"During May and June, Fujian, Guangzhou, and Guangxi were swept by typhoons, and hundreds of thousands of people were affected, but the Qing Dynasty simply couldn't take care of it..."
"Jiangnan is in the period of economic recovery, and the northwest is still at war. How can the court have the money to provide disaster relief? It is powerless..."
Speaking of this, Xiao Letian pointed to the small island country on the sea, "If the imperial court cannot be relied upon, then even though we, the Chinese, are weak, we cannot stand by and watch. We cannot save the victims across the country. I can at least save some..."
"No matter how weak the power of kindness is, we must do it! Gentlemen, Prime Minister Benjamin keeps spreading the Chinese threat theory to Europe, saying that we are careerists and invaders!"
With trembling fingers, he pointed at the broken map of the country, "China's suffering is beyond your imagination. People have trouble even having enough food to eat. Who else can we invade? What other ambitions can we have?"
"It's not easy to protect yourself!" At this point, Xiao Letian beat his chest in pain, tears welling up in his eyes. Countless photographers clicked their shutters to record this scene.
Everyone was shocked by the miserable scene described by the head of state. The editors and reporters present were all elites in London. They were middle class and above, and they had long lost the feeling of hunger.
When they heard that the head of state revealed his family scandal, everyone was so shocked that they even forgot to record it.
"How is that possible? Doesn't the Qing Dynasty claim to be a great country with a vast land and abundant resources? Even if there is a gap between the real situation and what the court said, the gap is not so big!"
Xiao Letian nodded, "The gap is so big. If I have the opportunity, I would like to provide convenience for you to go into the inland of the Qing Dynasty in person to see what the real Qing Dynasty is like..."
"Okay, I can now answer everyone's doubts about why Prime Minister Benjamin is so afraid of the Chinese... It's because he only sees the huge side of China and ignores the weak side of China..."
"What is the population of China? Although there is no accurate figure at the moment after a war, it is still guaranteed to be between 500 million and 600 million..."
"How big is the land area of China? It is more than 10 million square kilometers. It is the second largest empire in the world after the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets..."
"Such a vast land, such a large population, and such a large size are really scary... The Chinese nation has risen in East Asia, and the mother body it relies on is naturally China. The Prime Minister is worried that the Chinese nation will one day mobilize such a large force. With its size, it will naturally challenge the interests of the Empire on which the sun never sets!"
"I can understand the Prime Minister's concerns. Standing in his position, for the sake of British national security, it is understandable for him to say this... Therefore, I have never been angry from beginning to end, let alone resented Any personal distaste for the Prime Minister!”
"Only in his position, seeking his own government!"
"But if you don't explain clearly, you can't explain clearly, and the casserole will never leak until it is beaten... Hahaha, I will give you a good answer to the Prime Minister's worries and the worries of the entire UK today!"
Note: Thanks to book friends Song Yusi and Jushi Xiaoyao for their red envelope rewards!
