Both Bismarck and Moltke were shocked. No matter how much they thought about it, they could never imagine that the dignified head of state of the Chinese nation was actually a cultural relic thief!
Although plundering is very common in wars, it is really rare for someone to be as ugly as Xiao Letian!
The expression on Bismarck's face was as if he was constipated. "This... what is in this broken castle? Rosenberg is just a very inconspicuous small castle on the border. It has a history of less than two hundred years, and its owner is also a Ordinary broken settlement!"
"The paintings and sculptures in this castle are not by famous artists. You want this?"
Old Moltke also nodded, "When it comes to treasures, it has to be the Louvre and the Tuileries Palace. The treasures there are like mountains. When we get to Paris, it will be better if you seize some real things." Is this bit of rags strong?"
Xiao Letian quickly waved his hand, "No! You're calling it pie cakes to satisfy your hunger! After we conquer Paris, I won't be able to get those good things by myself. Our two families have to share them together anyway!"
"Moreover, the more precious a treasure is, the easier it is to arouse international discussion. If I really take the Mona Lisa back to China, will you be willing to do so?"
"Haha, if you are willing to let it go, Italy and England won't be able to let it go either. Isn't it necessary for diplomatic intervention by then?"
"So, the meat that goes into your mouth is meat. Since you want to fight the autumn wind, you can't dislike broken things!"
Bismarck and Moltke certainly don't care about the fate of French cultural relics. It must be very satisfying to be generous to others. Using the wealth of the French to do favors for the head of state is a business that is guaranteed to make money!
Bismarck nodded, "I finally understand. Is the head of state trying to take revenge? To avenge the Summer Palace of the Qing Dynasty? Your approach is wrong. I think you should do it this way..."
The iron-blooded Prime Minister pretended to be mysterious and whispered, "We will definitely win this battle. When we really capture Paris, the French will definitely negotiate with us!"
"When the time comes, you can open your mouth... Well, I will transfer some of the prisoners to you at that time, and you will directly take care of them as bargaining chips to threaten France!"
"Just ask France to return...the Summer Palace...No, no, no, it seems you call it the Old Summer Palace, right? Let them return the cultural relics of the Old Summer Palace!"
"You just let go of blackmail and take prisoners if you don't give them. Don't worry, in order to calm the people's anger, the French government has to nod!"
"Hahaha... Once these treasures are in your hands, I guess they won't be returned to the Qing Dynasty. Then your museum will really have a great harvest!"
"Hahaha..." Xiao Letian laughed heartily. He stretched out his hand to touch Bismarck's shoulder, "How about we can become good friends. I have the same idea as me, we all thought of it together!"
"Just do it like this. I don't believe that they have the lives of 50,000 to 60,000 prisoners in their hands. How dare the French government disobey my orders? Besides, I have a point in this matter!"
"Back then, you robbed me of China's things, but now I rely on my own ability to take them back. This makes sense. No one can give a shit about this!"
"Here, cheers!" The three of them picked up their wine glasses and drank a large glass of white wine.
Is that really all Xiao Letian's appetite is? Obviously it was impossible. The three of them were gradually getting a little drunk as they exchanged glasses. Only then did he speak.
"It is not enough to have the cultural relics from the Old Summer Palace. What I want to build is a world-class museum. What I want is the largest in the world, even surpassing the British Museum!"
"I also need European cultural relics, so my condition is that I will take all my trophies back home!"
"Of course, I won't be greedy about some cultural relics that can easily cause diplomatic disputes, such as the Mona Lisa, the Statue of David and other treasures, but I have to take away some other treasures and you can't stop me!"
In this era, although some people collected cultural relics, it was only a personal hobby of a small number of nobles. Real people did not engage in this, and a nationwide collecting craze had not yet formed.
Including Bismarck and Old Moltke, they don't care much about these worthless things. They pay more attention to domestic indicators in the fields of military and economy.
When you have time, look more at the railway mileage, the number of locomotives, the production capacity of steel plants, and new technologies... This is what these politicians care about.
Of course they think artworks are valuable, but they definitely don’t value them as much as later generations!
Xiao Letian, a thief of cultural relics, took advantage of this loophole. This was an idea he came up with during a chance encounter in Liulichang, Beijing.
That was when Xiao Letian was the short-lived King of Beijing. Ci'an gave him a secret edict from Qingjun. As a result, he led the new army into Beijing, performed martial arts in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and released hot air balloons in the sky of Beijing.
He stabilized food prices and carried out city-wide cleaning. In just a few months, Beijing changed its appearance, from being dirty and messy to being clean and tidy.
In addition, food prices are stable and public security is stable. It can be said that the house is not closed at night and the streets are not picked up!
Although the Eight Banners disciples in Beijing scolded Xiao Letian as a living Cao Cao when they had nothing to do, they had to bow their heads in submission when they saw the earth-shaking environment in the capital.
At that time, Xiao Letian went to Liulichang in casual clothes and met a great chaofeng who was very good at doing business. People in the capital gave him the nickname Ghost Eye Zuo Ye, the big left, Zuo Chaofeng!
This man was the master of Manshun, one of the four eunuchs around Emperor Tongzhi. Manshun learned his skills in appraising cultural relics from him!
Xiao Letian took a fancy to a wine bottle from the Zhou Dynasty, and finally spent a full five thousand taels of silver to buy it. However, before leaving, Zuo Dachaofeng actually gave Xiao Letian a Qianlong pastel bottle. Butterfly disk.
This disk is really beautiful, with a diameter of fifty centimeters. It has a white porcelain base, pastel glaze, and a beautiful pattern of butterflies fluttering around the circle. When you open the bottom of the disk, there is a stamp from an official kiln.
If this big disk had been placed in Xiao Letian's previous life, the auction house would have been blind if it didn't sell it for one million. However, such a precious disk in such good condition is actually just a gift at this moment. That’s all!
Xiao Letian became interested at that time and asked with a smile, "If you sell one piece and give one piece back, will you lose money?"
Zuo Dachaofeng laughed at that time, "Sir, you don't understand! This is what you have to do in this antique business!"
"Based on your majestic appearance, you are no longer a mortal at first glance. Moreover, you can handle a business of five thousand taels of silver without blinking an eyelid. You must be from a wealthy family..."
"Furthermore, your official aura shows that you belong to the officialdom, but your words and deeds are very different from those of the big guys in the court. At this moment, I can just guess that you are... one of Mr. Xiao's subordinates, right? ?”
Come on, Zuo Dachaofeng didn’t recognize the real Buddha, but he guessed it pretty well!
