British writer

London.

Time flies, and it’s Christmas in a blink of an eye.

The cold air is filled with festive atmosphere,

The Christmas tree at the entrance of Buckingham Palace is hung with decorations, like twinkling stars in the sky. Under the tree are piles of gifts, wrapped in beautiful colored paper and shiny ribbons.

A luxurious carriage drove past,

The horse's hooves lifted lightly, splashing up messy gray snow.

There were two people sitting in the car——

Stephenson and Edward VII.

The king and his ministers sit opposite each other,

Stephenson's face was full of helplessness,

"Your Majesty, discussing the process of conferring honors is just a trivial matter. There is really no need for you to go there in person."

Today is Christmas after all, a day for family reunions in the Western world.

It is really unjustifiable for His Majesty the King to sneak out.

King Edward VII stretched himself;

"I've done everything I need to do. Speeches, dinner parties... I've endured all the trouble. There's nothing wrong with going out to get some fresh air~"

He chuckled and lowered his voice and said: "I went to Brailla Road mainly because I wanted to talk to Lu Shi about the third part of "The Lord of the Rings". I heard that the book is called "The Return of the King", and even the name is so domineering. The content is definitely interesting.”

Stephenson was speechless,

"..."

When will my king be able to rely on his skills?

Instead, King Edward VII warned: "You must not reveal this matter to the Privy Council, nor to Whitehall."

Stephenson asked: "Then how do I file a report?"

Members of the royal family have many responsibilities, especially the king. They have to participate in many activities every year and cannot act at will, so the itinerary must be planned and recorded.

This is similar to the daily life notes of the Chinese emperor.

Edward VII spread his hands,

"Just say that I understand the sentiments of the people~"

He opened the curtains of his car and waved to the pedestrians on the street.

"How are you? Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"

Stephenson:? ? ?

His Majesty the King was stunned on the spot.

As a result, Edward VII quickly closed the curtains,

"Isn't this enough?"

Give it a hammer!

Stephenson almost cried,

"Your Majesty, if you want me to die, just say so. I will definitely be impeached tomorrow..."

Edward VII waved his hands carelessly,

"You have a title, what do you have to worry about? Speaking of which, Professor Lu's short science fiction collection "Chao Wen Dao" was blocked in Russia before. I heard that it has been unblocked recently?"

The topic change was very abrupt.

Stephenson was numb.

But he had no choice but to reply feebly: "What happened a week ago is no longer news."

King Edward VII asked curiously: "Have you explained the reason for the ban?"

Stephenson said: "The reason given by the Russian official is that "The Village Teacher" in the novel collection was written in French as the first language, and Mr. Tolstoy compared the English version when translating, so the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. "

"Tsk..."

Edward VII was speechless,

"I don't want...ahem...Tsar Nicholas used such a far-fetched reason? I'm so embarrassed!"

He asked again: "Then what?"

Stephenson spread his hands and said: "Then there was an operation to clean up piracy. The secret police came out in full force, plowed the streets and cleared holes, and sent hundreds of people to Siberia to grow potatoes. The operation even had a codename, 'Cleaning Up'."

Edward VII couldn't help but fall into deep thought,

After a long while, he said: "There is a way to combat piracy."

Stephenson scratched his head,

"They even captured Mr. Tolstoy during the operation."

King Edward VII was a little dizzy after hearing this.

"Wait a minute and let me take a look."

He was puzzled,

"Didn't I just say that Mr. Tolstoy is the original translator? He pirated his own version?"

Stephenson smiled and said,

"Who says it's not? Mr. Tolstoy defended himself in the same way. In addition, he had just won the Nobel Prize for Literature and had a high reputation in the entire European literary world. In the end, Tsar Nicholas failed to compare him with How are his men?"

Edward VII muttered: "The world is crazy."

Stephenson said: "Your Majesty, you might as well guess how many copies of "Chao Wen Dao" were sold in Russia in six days?"

Edward VII spread his hands,

"No more guessing, just tell me."

Stephenson said: "A total of 170,000 copies. More than the sales of other European countries combined!"

"puff!"

Edward VII laughed on the spot.

Nicholas II really suffered a big loss this time!

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that "Animal Farm" is actually satirizing Britain.

The royal tail is too big to fall off,

Several potted plants were planted in the House of Lords,

The House of Commons keeps a bunch of animals,

…

But because of "Yes!" "Prime Minister"'s "Jade First", Edward VII and the Palace of Westminster have long looked away.

If there are too many lice, don’t be afraid to bite them.

Anyway, Daying is not a human being, so he can just lie down and let him be laughed at.

Who would have thought…

King Edward VII smiled and said: "I really have to thank that Majesty."

Calling Nicholas II "that majesty" is full of irony.

At this moment, the carriage arrived at Braiya Road and stopped slowly.

Stephenson jumped out of the car first,

He then helped Edward VII down.

The two went over and knocked on the door.

Not long after, Lu Shi opened the door, looked at the monarch and his ministers with some surprise, and said, "I'm still thinking about who will be there on Christmas...hiss..."

He rubbed his hands,

"It's too cold outside. Your Majesty and Sir, please go inside first."

The three of them entered the house together.

Edward VII looked around.

The decoration inside the house has almost no festive atmosphere;

There is a small pile of gifts in the corner. The outer packaging is not very fancy, and it even has the names of various brands printed on it.

Patek Philippe,

Barber,

Carlo,

…

Near the kettle, a biscuit tin containing waffles was open, but inside were twelve Indonesian-made cigars, which must be expensive.

Natsume Soseki was studying with a cigar cutter.

Seeing the king, he immediately got up and

"His Majesty."

Edward VII waved his hand,

"sit."

He was already familiar with the road, so he pulled up a chair and sat down.

Lu Shi asked curiously: "Today is Christmas. His Majesty is not reunited with his family at Buckingham Palace. Why did he come to see me?"

Edward VII originally wanted to do it for "The Lord of the Rings\

,"But that would seem too unprofessional.

He smiled and said: "There are many regulations for the award ceremony. Have you read them all?"

Lu Shi pondered,

"Your Majesty has already thought about this matter?"

King Edward VII patted him on the shoulder and said: "Lu, you have worked hard for Great Britain and have made great achievements. It is right to give you a medal. Of course, this is not what the Privy Council and Whitehall say to the outside world."

He glanced back at Stephenson,

The latter understood and explained: "Professor Lu, in the current British system of honors and awards, there are loopholes."

He counted on his fingers: "The Order of the Bath is only awarded to senior military officers and public officials; the Grand Cross of St. George is only awarded to diplomats; the Royal Victoria Medal is only awarded to those who serve the British royal family..."

Edward VII took over the conversation,

"It happened that a big event happened recently - the end of the Boer War. Many people participated in it but never went to the battlefield, and these people should be rewarded. Therefore, we decided to establish the British Empire Medal."

As he spoke, His Majesty the King blinked mysteriously,

"It's not because of you~"

He actually became arrogant...

Lu Shi couldn't help but think of a classic movie line, "I made the dumplings just because of jealousy."

Maybe he is the vinegar.

He said: "As I said before, there are five levels in the design of the Order of the British Empire. Which level is your Majesty going to award me?"

Edward VII laughed,

"If you want to be called 'Sir Lu', you must be two levels up. Of course, this is not a true title."

The Order of the British Empire is essentially an order of knighthood.

The upper two levels are:

Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, referred to as "GBE";

The Knight Commander Medal is abbreviated as "KBE" for men and "DBE" for women.

Lu Shi understood,

"I know."

King Edward VII said: "Considering your future marriage problems, the level should be as high as possible. But..."

He showed a troubled expression,

"The recipients of the GBE title should preferably hold administrative or judicial positions, or have political status such as members of parliament. Professor Lu, you should know that Great Britain had colonies in the Qing Dynasty. As long as you ask, this matter is not difficult..."

Lu Shi shook his head,

"No, I am firmly opposed to that."

Edward VII was speechless;

Then, he slapped his forehead as if he remembered something,

"Or, religious identity? 'Saint' or something like that is not impossible."

Lu Shi:? ? ?

This development is indeed a bit unexpected.

He pointed around and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, today is Christmas, but do you think I feel half festive here?"

The implication is that he will not convert.

Edward VII curled his lips,

"To be honest, you and Mr. Natsume are too unconventional to follow the local customs. Why don't you stick some Christmas stockings and Christmas candles on the windows to show off? That's right. Chinese people don't even have similar beliefs, let alone 'saints'."

This is unpleasant to hear.

Both Riku Toki and Natsume Soseki raised their eyebrows.

Lu Shi said: "Your Majesty, China is not without faith."

Edward VII was surprised and said: "You want to talk about Buddhism? That shouldn't be counted, right? Besides, didn't you deny it in the book you wrote?"

Lu Shi was confused.

"In addition to novels, Your Majesty also reads my academic monographs?"

Edward VII was somewhat complacent;

"I am Lu Meng."

This guy even knows how to use allusions.

Lu Shi said: "You probably came up with that idea after reading the chapter about Li Zhi in "The Insignificant Year 1587", right? In that case, you must have an impression of the word 'Jingtianfazu', and you can Do you understand?"

literal meaning,

Heaven is God,

Ancestor is an ancestor.

King Edward VII said "hmm" and was a little confused.

"Can this be called faith?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"Chinese dynasties have always been based on agriculture. People believe that their ancestors worked at sunrise and rested at sunset, cultivating the land with their own hands and passing it on to future generations. This is why there is a saying of 'respecting the heaven and the ancestors', and It’s a belief.”

For a farming society, land is everything;

Ancestors bring land, and land brings inheritance, wealth and power, which in turn brings worship.

This chain of belief is very clear.

King Edward VII whispered: "It's true that I want to be simple."

Even if His Majesty the King has many faults, his sincere admission of mistakes is always worthy of recognition.

He sighed,

"If a god has not provided benefits, it is not worthy of being believed in... This kind of religious view will inevitably make people feel too utilitarian."

Lu Shi didn't deny it either.

"Long-term stable farming civilizations all have this characteristic."

He glanced at Natsume Soseki and said,

"Natsume, right?"

Natsume Soseki nodded in agreement and said: "Japan is more utilitarian. I just kowtowed to the Buddha statue here, and after leaving the temple gate, I turned around and walked into the Shinto shrine to worship without any hesitation."

Edward VII seemed to be listening to fantasy.

Today is a knife in the ass——

My eyes were opened.

Lu Shi said: "As for what your Majesty calls a 'sage', hehehe... In China, a 'sage' refers to a person with wisdom and noble moral character, or a good person whose thoughts can influence a country or even the whole world."

“So is the definition of ‘saint’ in the Church,” said King Edward VII.

Lu Shi shook his head,

"As far as I know, there was a 'saint' who was very violent when preaching and even forced others to convert."

"Ah this..."

Edward VII couldn't help but feel embarrassed,

"Professor Lu, I know you study history, but the Crusades are too far away, right?"

Lu Shi said seriously: "No. I'm not talking about history."

Edward VII pondered,

"That is……"

Lu Shi continued: "That 'saint' even used the opportunity of preaching to insult women."

Upon hearing this, both Edward VII and Stephenson showed disgusted expressions.

Edward VII whispered:

"The sixth commandment of the Ten Commandments is not to engage in sexual immorality. How could there be that kind of... um..."

He suddenly thought of someone——

Auguste Chapdelena, whose Chinese name is Marai.

This man was born in France. He entered a monastery to study when he was young. After completing his studies, he was responsible for preaching in the local area.

He was later promoted to a priest, and a few years later he was sent to China for missionary work.

At that time, the Qing government clearly stipulated that foreigners could only preach in the five treaty ports and were prohibited from entering the mainland privately.

However, Ma Lai relied on his French identity and did not take the ban seriously. He preached in Guiyang, Guangxi, and Hunan, and finally settled in Xilin County, Guangxi.

In this way, the famous Xilin Mission Case happened.

Edward VII thought of Marai because he and Lu Shi just discussed "reverence to heaven and ancestors".

As Lu Shi said, Chinese people have the custom of worshiping their ancestors.

But Marai did not allow it, and even prohibited believers from visiting graves to worship their ancestors and ordered the removal of ancestor tablets enshrined in believers' homes.

This move led to many family and clan disputes, causing great uproar.

As for the accusation of insulting women, it must also be true.

Edward VII sighed,

"In this case, the GBE title will not be considered."

Stephenson on the side intervened in the topic at the right time and said: "If it is just KBE, Professor Lu will definitely be fine. Famous scholar, outstanding writer, business tycoon... any identity is fine."

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"No, the business tycoon should forget it. I don't make much money either."

God, "I don't make much money"...

The other three people couldn't help but roll their eyes, and at the same time they understood the truth of "excessive modesty is just pretending to be X".

Lu Shi was helpless,

"Not much really."

Edward VII looked at him with contempt,

"To be honest, you don't earn much. But... you earn so fast! Wouldn't it be enough to accumulate it in ten years?!"

Lu Shi said, "Who knows what will happen in ten years?"

Edward VII was helpless;

"Okay, okay~ Anything else?"

Lu Shi pondered: "I feel that the claims of outstanding writers are not very reliable. My book sales are indeed good, but after all, they are more entertainment-oriented and not literary enough."

Edward VII also recognized this,

Just because it sells well, people are awarded medals. It seems that the British Empire Medal is very prestigious.

Lu Shi added: "I think famous scholars should also take it off."

Edward VII asked: "Why?"

Lu Shi shrugged.

"Take "Guns, Germs and Steel" as an example. It was too innovative. Although it was highly praised by many, many people opposed it, and it is still controversial in the academic circles. It is really easy to be criticized for awarding medals on this basis."

Stephenson: "..."

Natsume Soseki: "..."

King Edward VII: "..."

All three of them were silenced by Lu Shi.

About half a minute passed before His Majesty the King said, "Okay, okay! This is how you play, right?"

Lu Shi said: "I'm extremely sorry, Your Majesty. But I really didn't get an advantage and behave like a good boy."

How could Edward VII not understand?

"I understand that the matter of conferring honors is very involved. First, you are Chinese, and if you want to be called 'Sir Lu', your reasons must convince everyone, and you cannot be singled out; secondly, Margaretta, Grand Duke of Hesse My daughter..."

There is no need to say anything else explicitly.

Stephenson suggested: "Your Majesty, Professor Lu is also a media tycoon. "The 20 Greatest Britons", "Mirror", and polls are all very successful projects."

Edward VII replied: "Yes, but not good enough."

Natsume Soseki said: "What about education? Lu also invested in Columbia University and Carnegie University."

As a result, I denied it as soon as I finished speaking.

"Not even in the United States."

Several people were a little worried.

After thinking for a while, King Edward VII suddenly said: "Lu, if I remember correctly, you donated a lot of money to the British Red Cross, right?"

Natsume Soseki said "Ah!"

"I still have the newspapers from that time here!"

He pulled out a cardboard box from under the bed, rummaged through it for a while, and took out a yellowed newspaper.

There is a donation report there:

——

So far, the Boer War has been going on for two full years.

In Mafeking and Kimberley, in Ladysmith and Dundee, on the Swaziland border, on the Basotho border in the Caledon Valley...

We lost over seven thousand people.

…

At this time, this newspaper thought of an organization——

British Red Cross.

So, we organized an international business summit, which is also a charity meeting. We hope that the benevolent people will donate generously.

And they are indeed not stingy people.

——

The so-called "International Business Summit" is actually the Mirror's first advertising space auction.

Although the donation to the Red Cross was not made by Lu Shi personally,

But everyone knows that Lu Shi is the "Mirror".

King Edward VII then asked Lu Shi: "I also heard news, did you draft a document in Stockholm?"

Lu Shi was puzzled.

""Chao Wen Dao" is a novel."

Edward VII shook his head,

"Documents! I'm talking about documents! It's the "IPU Charter"!"

Lu Shi: "..."

I even forgot about it.

He must be one of the founders of the IPU reform.

The corners of Edward VII's lips curled up,

"So, in the end, the KBE title was not awarded to scholar Lu Shi or writer Lu Shi, let alone businessman Lu Shi, but to humanitarian and internationalist Lu Shi. In this way, no one can find fault, right?"

At the beginning, he planned to award Lu Shi a medal to fulfill the Queen's last words;

Later, he felt that he could win over Lu Shi by conferring honors and let Lu Shi work for him like an old scalper.

Overall, they are indeed "dumplings made just for the sake of jealousy."

But looking at it now,

Who else in the world is more worthy of this medal than Lu Shi?

What's more, the apparent reason for designing the Order of the British Empire is to honor those who made outstanding contributions to ending the Boer War but were unable to go to the battlefield.

Lu Shi made a record-breaking donation to the British Red Cross, which must be qualified!

King Edward VII patted Lu Shi on the shoulder,

"No one can hold it against you."

He took a deep breath,

"They don't deserve it!"

Lu Shi felt a little uncomfortable being praised so much.

"Do you need to speak of me so noble?"

King Edward VII laughed and said: "I'm trying to flatter you~ Why don't you show me the original manuscript of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" because I feel comfortable photographing you? ?”