There is a cup of black tea in front of the queen, and the beautiful tea soup is served on a white porcelain cup with gold embroidery. It looks like Jingdezhen's special export porcelain, which is the best of the best.
Several small snacks and cakes were placed on the white tablecloth. The small and novel shapes looked very appetizing, but neither the Queen nor Benjamin touched any of them.
The bitter and sour black coffee did not contain a drop of milk or a grain of sugar. Benjamin needed this strong and stimulating taste to wake himself up. Everything he encountered today was like a dream.
Neither of them said anything until the queen spoke first, "Drink less coffee. I heard someone said that you haven't had a good night's sleep in the past few months? If you continue like this, your body will be destroyed... Come on." A cup of black tea?”
Benjamin shook his head, and the Queen sighed softly, "Hey...you have such a stubborn character, you really refuse to change. Try something new. This tea is different from what we have had before..."
"Actually, when I was young, I thought that the only type of tea in the world was black tea. But now I understand that tea in China is a large series that can fill a museum, including green tea, scented tea, and black tea. There are even black teas and white teas, each of which has hundreds of small classifications, all with different tastes..."
"Today's cup of black tea was sent by Xiao Letian. It seems to be called 'Lapsang Souchong', which is a very low-yield category produced in the mountainous areas of southern China. The taste is quite good..."
Benjamin raised his head and looked at the queen. Of course he knew that the queen could not just tell him about the classification of tea leaves. In fact, every word of the queen contained profound meaning.
"Why do we Europeans think that there is only one kind of tea: black tea? It is not because of transportation problems. Black tea is fermented tea. In fact, the freshest tea leaves are half-done after several months of transportation, coupled with the influence of the humid environment at sea. It’s fermented, so we really don’t have the luxury to enjoy the best treasures!”
"Fortunately, with the efforts of these Chinese businessmen, they taught us British businessmen that there are many categories of fermented tea, and some of the top varieties taste unimaginably good...for example, this pot !”
After all, the queen gave Benjamin a cup of tea, but the cup of black coffee was actually taken away.
Sipping the top-quality lapsang souchong sent by Xiao Letian, Benjamin felt that his cold internal organs were all warmed up. The aroma was indeed different. The tea he had drunk for more than half his life was just garbage compared to this cup.
"Not bad, right? So we want to thank these Chinese businessmen. They understand China more deeply than we do. Only they know what treasures are hidden in the more than 10 million square kilometers of land!"
"Our strong ships and cannons have knocked on the door of the Qing Empire, but we cannot knock on the people's hearts and minds of that nation. The opposition to us in the government and among the people is very strong..."
"They don't dare to confront our army, but they will play tricks on us in daily life and business activities... Those people bully us because we don't know how to do it, and they will pass off inferior products without us even knowing..."
"Without the Chinese, do you expect those merchants from the Qing Dynasty who hate us to sell us such royal treasures? So, there are many things in the world that cannot be solved by war..."
There were two smart men in the room who were over fifty years old. Although Benjamin was more than ten years older than the Queen, he was just a primary school student in front of the Queen.
The reason is simple. The Queen ascended the throne at the age of 18. How old was Benjamin when you entered politics? How old are you when you become prime minister? In terms of political experience and seniority, Benjamin is not worthy to be the queen's grandson.
Why did Emperor Tongzhi perform the courtesy of his grandchildren in front of the queen? That's because this woman is indeed of the same generation as Emperor Daoguang, and no one can deny this.
"In the final analysis, our UK still relies on business to become strong. Our constitution, our colonies, our powerful military, and advanced industrial technology...all of these ultimately serve business. They are all for To ensure the global dominance of our British business!"
"Benjamin! You must remember that the expansion of the colonies was not because Britain needed that illusory victory as spiritual opium. It was the hobby of Napoleon III..."
"When we expand our colonies, we must make money. There is no need to keep unprofitable colonies... But you have really gone astray in these years!"
"Have you really not noticed that many colonies are already unable to make ends meet? I don't care about the increased military expenditure. To be honest, I am willing to give our brave boys the best weapons and the best treatment..."
"But... after all, we are also businessmen. You have to carefully calculate the ratio of input and output, right?"
All Benjamin's stubbornness outside was completely useless in front of the Queen. At this moment, he was like an old man who had been hit or even suffered the pain of losing a son.
"I know...I know all this...but Xiao Letian is different. This person is really different. I can smell an extremely dangerous smell from him..."
"Your Majesty, please believe me. You cannot use conventional thinking when dealing with the Chinese and Xiao Letian. This man is so scheming and has the whole world in his belly! He is a life-or-death problem for the British Empire!"
"When dealing with the Chinese, we cannot consider investment and output. Even if we lose money for a while, we have to kill this budding poisonous weed!"
The Queen smiled and shook her head. "I understand what you said, but the choice of whether to go to war is in Congress and not in my hands? Even if you convince me, can you convince the entire Congress?"
"The motion of no-confidence has been passed, which means that most members of Congress have chosen not to believe you. What can we do..."
"Your Majesty, you have a way, you must have a way... As long as you show your support for me, I can make a comeback! With your support, I can even dissolve the parliament and hold a new election!"
Benjamin was so anxious that he almost shed tears. "Your Majesty! I implore you to exert your influence. Only you can solve the cancer now. You can't let a tiger become a problem!"
Note: Seniority is a very interesting thing. In fact, in modern times of the 21st century, including in Western politics, seniority is also very important.
I remember that when Deng Gong visited the United States, President Carter gave Deng Gong very high courtesy and was very humble in every aspect. Of course there was political necessity in this, because at that time the United States needed China to open its market and China needed to contain the Soviet Union.
But from a personal point of view, Carter himself is a junior etiquette, and you can clearly see it from the posture and tone of their conversations, including their smiles.
Seniority! Seniority is really important! After all, Deng Gong was the only high-ranking World War II general in the international political arena at that time, and he was still in power. What seniority was Carter? It’s clear just by looking at his resume.
Even Taizu's seniority in his later years was frighteningly high. You can tell the clues by looking at their sitting postures and facial expressions when they met with Nixon.
When it comes to seniority, these four words sound a bit like the remnants of feudalism. Today's young people are very disgusted. What they want is to break tradition, surpass the curve, and cross the class on the corpse of the old stubborn.
But at the real top level, seniority is still a tradition that must be observed. This may be the different values of the two worlds!
If you say a few more words casually, it’s just gossip! Don’t worry, we don’t charge you for gossiping, so this section is considered free.
I have something to do during the day today, so the second chapter is expected to be in the afternoon or evening, so please be patient.
