British writer

Dirty dirty——

With the sound of the whistle, Lu Shi got off the boat.

Although there are no falling snowflakes in London, it is far colder than Paris.

The air was frozen, as if the entire city was wrapped in a shell of ice.

Pedestrians wore heavy winter clothes and walked in a hurry, their breath turning into wisps of white smoke in the cold air.

Lu Shi waved to stop a carriage.

The coachman recognized him immediately;

"Are you...are you Professor Lu?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"What's wrong?"

The coachman chuckled and said, "I picked you up, so I can brag to my friends! Come on, get in the car! I don't take any money."

After saying that, he started to help Lu Shi move his luggage.

Lu Shi was surprised,

I am indeed a celebrity in London, but not to the extent of being famous.

He couldn't help but be curious,

"Why is it free?"

The coachman was a strong man, and he was not out of breath as he answered the questions while carrying the luggage.

He said: "I see... uh... I heard someone read "The Rise of Great Powers: England", and the book has a very thorough analysis of our country. Those nobles eat meat but don't give us soup. It's really too much. !”

Lu Shi was somewhat surprised.

It is true that the original manuscript of the English version returned to London earlier than he himself did, but including the time for proofreading and printing, there must be less than 5,000 copies on the bookshelves.

It is really surprising that the number is so small, but it spreads among the lower class citizens first.

"Tsk..."

Lu Shi was speechless.

Perhaps, "The Rise of Great Powers" is more popular than I thought.

The coachman finished moving the luggage and kept talking,

“What impressed me most was the part about ‘sheep eating people’.”

Lu Shi understood,

"You're talking about the enclosure movement."

"Yeah!"

The coachman nodded and said: "Other books are vague and fleeting. The author would say that the nobles' methods were 'relatively peaceful', but they did cause some peasants to be 'forced' to leave. But you only used One word made me smell blood even through the pages of the book.”

That word naturally refers to "sheep eating people."

In modern times, anyone who has come into contact with the history of junior high schools should have an impression of this. It is not surprising to see so many things.

At the beginning of the 20th century, this word was extremely eye-catching.

Lu Shi chuckled,

"'Animal Farm' is obviously more spicy."

The coachman sighed helplessly,

"I've heard people read that book. At that time, I just felt depressed, but I didn't know why I was depressed. Professor Lu, "The Rise of Great Powers" is so intuitive! And..."

He paused slightly,

"Isn't Animal Farm a satire on Russia?"

Lu Shi almost burst out laughing,

It seems that Nicholas II couldn’t be cleansed even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

He was about to say something, but he heard the coachman say again: "But then again, "The Rise of the Great Powers" is also satirizing Russia."

Lu Shi was confused,

"Is there...is there any?"

The driver was also confused.

"No? The book even talks about RB but not about Russia. Isn't this ironic?"

"Ah this..."

Lu Shi was speechless.

A simple and unintentional act, but Nicholas II not only had to take a bath in the Yellow River, but also had to be dog-pawed.

This baby is so pitiful.

The coachman was a little embarrassed when he saw Lu Shi was silent.

"Sorry. I said too much."

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"It doesn't matter."

After saying that, he got into the carriage.

Da da da--

The horse's hooves trampled on the street, making a crisp sound, pulling the cart towards Burya Road.

Soon, the destination arrived.

Lu Shi jumped down and wrapped his coat tightly.

The cold wind whizzed through the empty streets,

On both sides of the street, shops are either closed or dimly lit, as if they have felt the cold winter night and entered a state of hibernation early.

Only the tavern RUDDER was bustling with people.

"Cut! I want to use slash!"

"You idiot, you took the wrong dice!"

"Ah...Gandalf..."

…

The Lord of the Rings board game is still popular.

Lu Shi smiled, took out the money and gave it to the driver, and said, "You still have to collect the fare. There is a saying in China, 'Brothers should settle accounts clearly.'"

The coachman hesitated for a moment,

"All right."

Although he received the money, he still seemed hesitant to speak.

Lu Shi asked, "Any more questions?"

The coachman said "hmm" and whispered: "Professor Lu, you predicted in your book that the situation in Britain will gradually get worse. Is this true?"

Lu Shi couldn't help but be startled after hearing this, and then joked: "You didn't pay back just now..."

Before he could finish speaking, the coachman blushed and retorted: "I didn't! I just... just..."

Lu Shi patted the other party's shoulder,

"I know."

No matter how much he hates those bastards who let "sheep eat people", the coachman is still worried about the future of Britain.

This is the simplest emotion.

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"I'm afraid those predictions will gradually become a reality. Moreover, some of them are already becoming reality. Canada and Australia have become autonomous territories, followed by New Zealand, Boer, and even Ireland... hum..."

Dominion is a special national system under the colonial system of the British Empire.

On the surface, the Dominion is still a colony;

But actually?

Internal autonomy, trade policy autonomy, limited independent foreign policy, own army (but only the British government has the right to declare war)...

Anyone could see that Dominion was the colony's final step toward independence.

The coachman understood.

"Professor Lu said in "The Rise of Great Powers" that Britain's prosperity came from colonization and international trade. So..."

Lu Shi patted the other party's shoulder again,

"There is no sun that never sets."

The driver sighed,

"Thank you Professor Lu."

Lu Shi waved his hand and carried his luggage back to Braiya Road.

When he entered the house, Natsume Soseki was changing clothes for going out.

We were lying on the table, meowing in front of the glass fish tank, and circling around from time to time.

In the fish tank, the turtle is crawling slowly,

The hard shell on its back and slow movements make it look a bit honest.

Natsume Soseki turned around,

"Lu, are you back? Just in time, Mr. Xiao asked me to go to the Royal Opera House today. He said that "Hunting" is being rehearsed and asked me to give some suggestions."

Because of the popularity of "I Am Cat", Natsume Soseki has become a well-known writer in London.

This is why Bernard Shaw was willing to invite him.

Lu Shi scratched his head,

"Okay, I'll come too."

He put down his luggage.

At this time, I jumped over and winked cutely at Lu Shi,

"Meow~"

Why doesn't Lu Shi understand?

He took out the French smoked chicken from the suitcase,

"French chicken, don't you like eating it?"

We are very satisfied,

"Meow~"

It moved its butt, then pawed a few times with its paws, and then pushed the shrunken little laziness in front of Lu Shi like a treasure.

From the looks of it, it seemed that he wanted to exchange equal value with Lu Shi.

Lu Shi was speechless,

"..."

Next to him, Natsume Soseki complained: "Fortunately, the little lazy turtle is a tortoise with tenacious vitality. If it had been any other pet, it would have been tortured to death by me."

Lu Shi put Xiaolan back into the fish tank.

"So, life lies in stillness. If we learn more and be lazy, we can live longer."

Natsume Soseki laughed,

"I feel so too."

Lu Shi thought about it and decided that he should take me with him, so he put him in the cat carrier.

Two people and one cat set off together.

On the carriage, Natsume Soseki naturally also talked about the topic of "The Rise of the Great Powers".

He seemed a little emotional,

"Lu, I didn't expect you to mention RB in "The Rise of Great Powers". After all, you already have "The Nature of RB Civilization". In your book, you made a profound analysis of RB, especially the 'shame' culture, which is very insightful. .”

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"It's just an objective description."

Natsume Soseki nodded,

Frankly speaking, he felt that Lu Shi knew RB better than he, a Japanese, did.

Especially that vigorous reform——

the Meiji Reform.

Lu Shi summarized it as: "top-down."

This evaluation is not low.

Because both the French Revolution and the British Glorious Revolution were initiated by the middle and lower classes in order to obtain political rights and interests commensurate with theirs.

However, the Meiji Restoration was driven by the elite, and state power played an unusual role in the reform.

Natsume Soseki pondered,

"Lu, you said that the Japanese are a nation where 'those who understand current affairs are heroes' and are as keen on learning as students."

Lu Shi nodded,

"That's right."

Not to mention those weird modern operations,

At least before the Plaza Accord, RB was indeed willing to learn.

Natsume Soseki added: "But you said in "The Nature of RB Civilization" that the Japanese have superiority and crisis awareness, which is also the root of the 'shame' culture."

The corners of Lu Shi's mouth couldn't help but curve.

"

‘Its prosperity is also rapid, and its demise is also sudden. ’

"

This is a sentence from "Zuo Zhuan\

,"The original text is: "Yu and Tang sinned against themselves, and their prosperity was also inconsistent; Jie and Zhou sinned against others, and their demise was also sudden."

Translated literally:

Yu and Tang blamed themselves; their rise was rapid and unstoppable;

Jie and Zhou blamed others, and their demise was swift and sudden.

Of course Natsume Soseki understood what Riku Toki meant,

The success of RB's reform is certainly a good thing.

However, the contradictory combination of the superiority in the nation's bones and the sense of crisis may make people collectively lose their way, break the rational thinking that maintains the balance between ends and means, and lead them astray.

Natsume Soseki was silent for a moment.

"I hope it doesn't end up like that."

Perhaps he felt that he was too optimistic. Before Lu Shi could express his opinion, he took the lead and said, "Lu, "RB's Civilized Nature" has become popular in RB, and many universities want to invite you to come and have exchanges."

Lu Shi pondered,

"this……"

Natsume Soseki shook his head,

"You don't have to make a decision in a hurry. If you really want to go, you might as well wait until I get my degree and we can set off together."

Lu Shi calculated silently in his mind,

That means there is still more than a month left,

There's really no rush.

After that, the two chatted about literature and history for a while.

The carriage arrived at the Royal Opera House.

The theater is located in Covent Garden,

In the center of the garden, a small fountain sparkles in the sun, giving people a bright feeling and seeming to dispel the coldness of winter.

I looked around curiously in the cat cage and barked from time to time.

Two people and a cat enter the theater,

After passing a long corridor, they arrived at the theater.

On stage, rehearsals have begun.

Lucas, played by Henry Irving, was asking loudly:

"

‘Look into my eyes, look into my eyes, what do you see? did you see it? Nothing at all. Nothing at all. Nothing at all. ’

"

This explosion is perfect.

Helpless, desperate, sad, lonely...

All emotions are included in it.

Lu Shi couldn't help but think of Owen's previous performance in "Yes!" Humphrey in Prime Minister,

That shrewd character has almost nothing in common with Lucas, but Irving is able to act like anything he wants. He is worthy of being a master who has appeared in acting textbooks in later generations.

Lu Shi couldn't help but applaud,

"good!"

Everyone looked at him.

Owen immediately got off the stage and walked over with George Bernard Shaw.

"Professor Lu!"

"land!"

They both greeted at the same time.

Later, Owen couldn't wait to say: "Thank you for being willing to believe in us. Before, I always thought that "Yes! Prime Minister" would be the pinnacle of my acting career, but now, "The Hunt" is it!"

George Bernard Shaw joked,

"That's not necessarily true. Who knows if Lu can write more shocking works?"

Both seemed very happy.

Lu Shi said, "It seems that your rehearsal was very successful."

Unexpectedly, both Irving and Bernard Shaw looked embarrassed.

"Alas..."×2

They even sighed in unison.

Lu Shi raised his eyebrows,

"what happened?"

Bernard Shaw squinted to the side with the corner of his eye.

Following his gaze, you can see sisters Phyllis and Zena working hard in the corner.

Faintly, the conversation between the two people could be heard,

"Remember after me, 'I just said some stupid shit, he didn't do anything.'"

"Uh...uh..."

"Zena, stay focused."

"Phyllis, this is so difficult...I didn't expect it to be so difficult."

…

Owen lowered his voice,

"Professor Lu, to be honest, even I think the role of Clara is difficult to play. It is too difficult for children to play a bad person well. Phyllis can't teach it, I can't teach it, Lao Xiao can't teach it..."

Lu Shi nodded understandingly,

When he was preparing to put "The Hunt" on the stage, he had already realized the difficulty, which was how to interpret it by young actors.

I can't help it. In dramas these days, the villains are very facial-looking.

What's more, the plays played by children are originally "The King's New Clothes" and "The Princess and the Pea", which are mainly innocent and innocent, and are not the same as Clara in "The Hunt".

Owen scratched his head and thought for a while,

"Professor Lu, why don't you go teach me?"

Lu Shi:? ? ?

"I go?"

Irving said seriously: "Professor Lu, aren't you a follower of Stanislavski? Maybe you have a way."

Lu Shi was speechless,

I didn’t expect that the other party could still remember what happened so long ago.

He said: "I really don't understand acting..."

Owen remains serious;

"But you are the original author of "Hunting", so you must have a deep understanding of the script, right? Even if you don't teach acting, you can still talk to Zena about what image of Clara you have in mind. Just think of it as a side reference~"

There is nothing wrong with this.

Lu Shi thought for a while,

"All right."

He led us towards the Dale sisters.

Phyllis heard the footsteps, turned around, and said in surprise: "Teacher!"

Zena looked a little timid,

"Professor Lu."

Obviously, she was afraid of disappointing Lu Shi because of her poor performance.

Lu Shi smiled and asked, "Are you encountering difficulties?"

Zena glanced at her sister and didn't dare to say a word.

Phyllis hated the irony and said: "Why don't you tell the truth? How lucky you are to be taught acting skills by a teacher!"

"Well……"

Zena's mood seemed a little low,

She whispered: "Professor Lu, I can't play a bad guy well."

Lu Shi let us go,

The little guy is smart and knows the purpose of his master bringing him here, so he sticks out his tongue and licks Zena's palm.

Zena was so amused that she giggled.

For a time, the atmosphere became much more relaxed.

Lu Shi took the opportunity to ask: "Zena, how did you interpret the role of Clara?"

Zena tapped her chin with her finger,

"Uncle Owen taught me that actors should take the initiative to feel the character and turn their emotions into part of the art, rather than just acting calmly. But I have never felt bad people, so I can only adopt the opposite idea."

Children's language is not very logical.

Lu Shi didn't understand.

Seeing his confused look, Zena became even less nervous.

She couldn't help but sneer,

"Professor Lu can be clumsy sometimes~"

As soon as he finished speaking, Phyllis next to him gave him a slap in the head.

"Don't say that, teacher."

"Well……"

Zena covered her head and said pitifully: "Professor Lu has learned negative numbers, right?"

Lu Shi was even more confused.

"Negative numbers? Negative numbers in mathematics?"

Zena said seductively: "Well, if there is a negative number, there is 1, so naturally there is -1. I think human beings are the same. They are usually kind, peaceful, and stable, but when they are angry, bloody and violent thoughts will inevitably flash through their minds."

Lu Shi finally understood,

"So, your approach is to treat evil as the 'negative number' of good and open the door to imagination?"

"right!"

Zena nodded excitedly and said: "Professor Lu, don't you know it very well~"

Just finished,

Boom——

Phyllis gave her sister another blow to her brain,

"Don't be too big or too small."

Zena rolled her eyes secretly,

My heart said,

Isn’t my elder sister always the same in front of Professor Lu?

snort!

British people with double standards!

On the other side, Lu Shi didn't know what Zeina was thinking, and said with a smile: "Zena, I'm afraid you can't act like this. Because, although Clara does evil, she doesn't necessarily think she is a villain. Just like the sentence just now Lines..."

He took the script,

"This sentence, 'I just said some stupid things, he didn't do anything', don't you think this sentence should have a very aggrieved and innocent tone?"

"this……"

Zena was puzzled.

Why do you feel innocent when you know you have wronged someone?

The grievance is even more outrageous!

When she looked at Lu, her eyes flickered.

Lu Shi had no choice but to continue: "Actually, Clara is not a villain, but a hateful person. You figured this out when you took the role, didn't you? So, the key is how to play a hateful person well .”

Zena nodded,

"right."

"..."

"..."

"..."

An eerie silence.

Lu Shi scratched his head,

"You're done with just one 'right'? Don't you have any other thoughts?"

Zena was also helpless,

"I can't act..."

Lu Shi: "..."

I really don’t know what to say.

Just as the two were staring at each other, Bernard Shaw came over and whispered: "Lu, the school has received two telegrams from Petersburg."

Lu Shi took it.

The first letter was from Tolstoy,

——

Lu Shiwu’s friend Huijian:

The masterpiece "The Rise of the Great Powers" has elegant words and profound thoughts. It exquisitely analyzes the ups and downs of world civilization and has profound insights and original thinking on history, culture, society and other aspects.

Reading it is like drinking from a clear spring, refreshing my heart and mind, making me intoxicated and unable to extricate myself.

There's just one thing I don't understand:

Why is there no chapter about Russia?

pity!

What a pity!

Sincerely, Leo Tolstoy.

——

The words are sincere and sincere.

Although Tolstoy did not explicitly state the purpose of this telegram, Lu Shi already understood it.

He sighed silently, complaining secretly in his heart,

If it were not for His Majesty the Tsar, I would definitely write "Czarist Russia".

Unfortunately……

He looked helplessly at the second telegram,

Unexpectedly, the signature turned out to be a long string:

Nicholas II Alexandrovich.

——

Lu Shi:

Although "The Rise of the Great Powers" is absurd throughout, it still has some merits.

Therefore, I hope you will treat your work with caution and do not let it be shamed because of its imperfection and imprecision.

If "Russia" is added, it will definitely become perfect.

Of course, the book will not be written in vain.

How about a hundred gold bars?

The greatest tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Nicholas II Alexandrovich.

——

Lu Shi:? ? ?

Is there anyone who asks for help?

The two Dale sisters next to him came over,

Zena carried me on her shoulders and asked, "Professor Lu, what's the matter? If there's an emergency, just go and deal with it first. We'll be fine."

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"No, I just didn't expect it to be so annoying...well..."

An idea struck him, and he handed the two telegrams to Zena and hugged me back at the same time.

Zena said "Ah..."

"can I see?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"Well, after watching it, you will know how to play an annoying person well."

Zena was shocked;

"Is there such a good thing?"

She lowered her head and studied the two telegrams word for word.

After half a minute, she raised her head,

"Professor Lu, this... I think I understand. Bad people know that they are doing evil things; and annoying people are doing evil things without knowing it, and there is nothing you can do about them."

The little girl had already equated Nicholas II with Clara in her heart.

First,

Nicholas II: forcing others to write, evil;

Clara: To wrong others, to do evil.

second,

Nicholas II: believed that Lu Shi added the "Russian Chapter" for Lu Shi's own good, and did evil without knowing it;

Clara: I think that questioning Lucas is just a casual comment, and he does evil without knowing it.

third,

Nicholas II: Tsar, unable to punish;

Clara: A young girl cannot be punished.

No matter how you look at it,

Nicholas II was Clara;

Clara was Nicholas II.

Zena said: "I should be able to give it a try now."