In order to reassure the relevant personnel as soon as possible, Zhu Jingyuan held a small banquet that night.
Only six outsiders were invited: Charlotte, Amelia, Frederick, Monroe, Jefferson, and Adams.
Plus Zhu Jingyuan's staff, Lin Zexu and Niu Jian, as well as the Ottoman princess Irene from Zhu Jingyuan's harem.
It was held in the garden where the amusement park is located. It was not a formal and serious banquet, but a dinner party for daily entertainment.
Zhu Jingyuan and Irene were sitting on the large couch. In front of the couch was a long table with food and drinks.
There are two large armchairs at both ends of the long table, for Lin Zexu and Niu Jian to sit, and they eat and drink at the same table as Zhu Jingyuan.
Charlotte and six other outsiders were divided on both sides, each with an armchair and a smaller table.
Several musicians were playing soothing music opposite. There was also a small table for food and drink in front of the musicians, and they took turns playing.
The atmosphere of the whole scene is very cozy, relaxed and comfortable.
As the host and guest sat down, the servants began to serve the dishes.
There are stir-fries, barbecues, cold dishes, snacks, fruits, cold drinks, including wine, rice wine, and rice wine.
There was no soju, and the wealthy class of the Ming Dynasty generally did not drink distilled high-alcohol soju.
The widespread popularity of soju is actually a very post-modern thing...
Everyone eats and drinks first, because everyone knows that if you want to talk, you can't say it right away.
While eating and drinking, he secretly observed Zhu Jingyuan, everyone was obviously a little surprised.
The six Thais present, except for Monroe, were all seeing Zhu Jingyuan for the first time.
Zhu Jingyuan's appearance was more in line with the newspapers and rumors, but his temperament was completely different from what he had imagined.
They took it for granted that Zhu Jingyuan, the most famous prince of the Ming Dynasty, should be an extremely arrogant and domineering person.
The armistice negotiation process three years ago received a lot of reports and analysis from all over the world.
The things Zhu Jingyuan did and the special words he said during the meeting were all extremely domineering and even arrogant.
Statements such as "You are not qualified to discuss peace", "You'd better not do things that Ming Dynasty does not approve of", "I will show you the new cannonball is the sincerity of peace", etc. have all been emphatically interpreted and analyzed.
How can someone who can make such remarks not be overbearing?
The little girl Charlotte also subconsciously imagined Zhu Jingyuan as a figure similar to Napoleon.
Although I had seen photos of Zhu Jingyuan, I still instinctively felt that Zhu Jingyuan would become like a bear.
Originally, she was grateful to Zhu Jingyuan for rescuing her and creating a paradise like the amusement city.
But when he came to see Zhu Jingyuan, he was instinctively filled with fear and trepidation.
As a result, after meeting him directly, they discovered that this was not the case at all.
If you had to find a suitable adjective to describe how they feel now, it would probably be gentle.
He smiled most of the time, chatting and joking with Eileen and the two staff beside him, just like ordinary family members and friends.
He didn't just sit there and wait for others to serve him. When he poured the wine and drank it himself, he often poured it for Irene and his staff.
Charlotte stared at Zhu Jingyuan for a long time:
"Is this how he is with his family and friends?
"I don't care about the so-called aristocratic manners at all, I'm more casual than Napoleon, that rebel.
"Is it true that the more noble a person is, the more easy-going he is?"
As a result, at this moment, Zhu Jingyuan noticed that the little girl was looking at him, so he turned around and smiled.
Charlotte realized she had been discovered and immediately lowered her head in panic.
In the melodious sound of silk and bamboo orchestral music, after three drinks and five dishes, Zhu Jingyuan put down his chopsticks.
Everyone has been waiting for this moment, waiting for Zhu Jingyuan to settle things first, and then everyone can truly relax and have fun.
Zhu Jingyuan looked at Adams casually:
"Napoleon, Adams, you two should have been completely eliminated like the two thieves of Bosun.
“But during the great chaos in the United States, you have always been able to protect the three members of the Hanover royal family of the United Kingdom, which belongs to the League of Nations. It can be considered a meritorious service.
"So I asked you to make a promise to the British Hanover royal family and the French Bourbon royal family. As long as you send the three royal members in full, you will be allowed to stand on your own with the existing land.
"You are willing to believe me and deliver the three royal family members safely as I requested. I now confirm that I have received it.
"Then I keep my word. From now on, I will guarantee your safety on behalf of Ming Dynasty.
"The British and French coalition forces will not be allowed to continue attacking you."
Zhu Jingyuan's meaning is very clear. You have saved three members of the British royal family. This is your credit.
So I can give you a chance.
This may cause members of the royal families of various countries to become "curious items" and become targets of hijacking by rebels.
But on the other hand, only rare goods with comprehensive protection can be regarded as rare goods.
If you kill him, then wait to be completely wiped out.
This choice may increase the possibility of royal members being hijacked, but it can also increase their personal safety.
Members of the royal family are inherently difficult to hijack.
Once it is really hijacked, the situation will almost reach a state of force majeure.
This choice actually increases the likelihood that members of the royal family will be well protected amid the chaos.
Monroe and Jefferson, the two ministers of the Kingdom of America, listened to Zhu Jingyuan's decision, their expressions were a little stiff, and they sighed leisurely in their hearts.
After that, Napoleon and Adams became completely independent.
Frederick, the second son of the British King, the Duke of York and the American Regent, felt quite aggrieved, but did not say anything.
Charlotte and Amelia were simple-minded and just felt that they were finally officially free.
At the same time, he was grateful to Zhu Jingyuan for being willing to mediate and act as a guarantor, allowing Napoleon and Adams to send him over first.
Otherwise, even if he can regain his freedom in the future, he will have to continue to suffer with Napoleon for several months.
The most relaxed of all was Adams himself.
Adams breathed a long sigh of relief, then stood up directly and bowed slightly to Zhu Jingyuan:
"On behalf of His Excellency Napoleon and myself, I would like to thank His Royal Highness the Prince of Dashi for his care.
"But the two of us do not believe in Britain and France. We hope to protect the Ming Dynasty and become a vassal state with a foreign surname."
This has been said in telegrams before, and now it is said publicly in person, and a public and active plea is made.
Zhu Jingyuan smiled and said:
“This kind of thing needs to be studied by the people from Honglu Temple, and we will get back to you after representatives from Britain and France have arrived.
"If you don't talk about it now, it's useless. Now is the time to eat, drink and have fun..."
Zhu Jingyuan smiled and waved his hand, indicating to the servants that they could serve the second wave of dishes.
After this round of dishes was served, everyone had an extra plate of coins on the table.
The key is not the Ming Dynasty coins.
They all knew Ming Dynasty coins, and they could tell at a glance that they were not coins at all.
They couldn't bear their curiosity one after another, so they picked up a few and took a look, and found that there were five words written on them:
Dashi Amusement City.
The men looked a little confused.
The two girls, Charlotte and Amelia, immediately thought of the amusement park that Irene had mentioned.
"It should be the token of the amusement park..."
"Probably something like chips."
Sure enough, Zhu Jingyuan stood up at this time, holding a plate of amusement city tokens and saying:
"Just eating and drinking will always make you tired, so I prepared some gaming equipment in the side halls on both sides.
“They are all activated or exchanged using the tokens in this plate, and everyone can play with them.
"Don't be formal, just treat it as family and friends hanging out together."
"I'll go first, you can do whatever you want."
After Zhu Jingyuan finished speaking, he stood up with Irene, walked around from behind the long table, and walked directly to the side hall next door.
Most of the other adults didn't react yet, and at the same time they were a little restrained and hadn't adapted to this form right away.
The little girl Charlotte is much less reserved.
Children originally thought about having fun and were very curious about the game equipment invented by Zhu Jingyuan.
She was still thinking about asking for clothes, and she had to find an opportunity to tell Zhu Jingyuan, so she immediately got up and followed him:
"Your Highness...His Royal Highness Prince Dashi...please wait a moment..."
Zhu Jingyuan stopped when he heard the sound, waited for the little queen to run over with her maid, and then asked casually:
"It's little Charlotte, are you still used to the food?"
Charlotte immediately held the hem of her skirt with both hands and bowed slightly. After saluting, she nodded nervously:
"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness. The food here is delicious. The ice cream is especially delicious. I like it very much..."
Zhu Jingyuan smiled and nodded:
"As long as you like it, I'll take you to play with the game consoles. They've just been made and haven't been shown outside yet..."
Charlotte was looking forward to this kind of thing, and followed Zhu Jingyuan into the side hall.
The space here is slightly smaller, but it is also a brightly lit environment, even brighter than the opposite side.
Not only are there lights on the ceiling, but there are also many light bulbs on the walls, and there are also colorful neon lights.
Surrounded by those brilliant lights, there are more than a dozen vertical cabinets placed in the side hall.
They were claw machines, pinball machines, gashapon machines and other mechanical game machines.
The claw machine contains the most common plush toys of later generations, as well as candies, models, lighters, and silver coins.
There are those that are grabbed with claws that are common in later generations, and there are also those that are dug directly with shovels similar to those of excavators.
The contents inside are different, and the methods of obtaining them are also different.
At this time, there was no mature television, and it was difficult to develop complex video games.
So we can only do more tricks on simple machines.
But these facilities have already amazed a little girl like Charlotte of this era.
Zhu Jingyuan and Aileen deliberately showed how to play, playing each machine for several rounds.
The operations are very simple, and children like Charlotte learned it quickly.
These machines are often used as gambling machines, and their inherent logic can stimulate people's adrenal glands.
It will be difficult for future generations of adults to handle it, let alone teenagers.
Charlotte soon got carried away and had so much fun.
(End of chapter)
