Palace Flower as Employment [Red Mansion]

The Europa envoys were left hanging in the side hall for a long time, and they didn't see Jia Qi until Jia Qi sent away the Suzhou prefect who was returning to Beijing to report on his duties.

In fact, they made a joke the first time they saw Jia Qi.

When the servants of the Jia family saluted outside the door, the envoys of Europa knew that the master had come out, but when they saw a young man with smooth skin, rosy cheeks, bright eyes and even a clean chin without a beard came in. At that time, almost everyone regarded this young man as Jia Qi's eldest son.

They have heard that Jia Qi's eldest son, Jia Fu, is just 21 years old this year, and his appearance fully meets this requirement.

Among them, Charles Ferdinand, the Portuguese envoy, said, "Excuse me, are you the eldest son of Jia Zhiyuan? We are here to see your father, please inform me."

As for the French ambassador Louis, he said: "Oh, my God, you and your father look so much alike when you were young. Almost exactly the same."

Jia Qi said to the former: "If you want to see my father, I'm sorry, my father just passed away at the age of eighty-six." Then he said to the latter: "Your memory is very good. I really didn't have much time seven years ago. The change."

The room suddenly fell silent.

Then, there were exclamations.

Louis said: "God, my friend, is it really you? I mean, you are 38 years old this year, but you look like you are only in your early twenties!"

That being said, Louis couldn't help but look at Prince Albert.

Prince Albert turns 30 this year.The last time he came to Great Wei, Queen Victoria had just given birth to their eldest daughter. At that time, he was only 23 years old, a young man in his prime, but now, Prince Albert is already a typical Middle-aged.Excessive toil made his temples a little bit of white hair, his skin was no longer smooth, his cheeks were no longer plump and rosy, and his figure was not as tall and straight as before.

He was like most Germans, with a big beard and a big beer belly.

Standing with Jia Qi, rather than saying that he is more like the middle-aged man who is nearly forty years old, it is better to say that he looks exactly like Jia Qi's elder.

If it wasn't for the wrong time and place, Count de Lossay, the French ambassador Louis, would like to say: Did the goddess of the forest cast magic on you, giving you eternal youth?

Following Louis' line of sight, Jia Qi's eyes naturally fell on Prince Albert.

Jia Qi said: "Long time no see, Your Excellency. I remember that when you came last time, you had just been married to the Queen of your country for a few years. At that time, the closest you were to the British state affairs was to help the Queen put a square on the signature. Graph paper. I don’t know if the situation has improved? Have you become His Royal Highness of your country?”

Prince Albert stood there upright, like an old-fashioned soldier, but it could be seen from the hand holding his cane that he was not as calm as his marble-like face .

It was a long story, but in fact it was only two seconds of hesitation before I heard Prince Albert say: "It seems that you know us well in England. We are indeed humiliating ourselves by playing tricks in front of you."

Jia Qi said: "It's not that I know you Yingjili very well, but that every part of your body is telling me all kinds of information. Now, I can be sure that you are already the Royal Highness of Yingjili. Congratulations."

Said, Jia Qi nodded to Prince Albert.

His actions looked quite chic, and his movements were also very good-looking, but whether it was the English envoy headed by Prince Albert or the envoys from other countries, they didn't feel very good.

This man is truly horrible.

They were just standing here, and even since they entered Jia's house, they hadn't discussed anything about Prince Albert, yet the other party saw so much.

No one doubted that Jia Qi had known the news through other channels in advance.

No one suspected that Jia Qi was deliberately intimidating them.

Because this kind of thing makes no sense.

Prince Albert was silent for a long time before he raised his head and said, "Yes, I am now the Queen's husband of England. This is the title my wife gave me despite the pressure of the officials. As you said, At that time, the closest I was to the British national affairs was to stick graph paper on my wife’s signature, but now, as you said, I use my wife’s love and trust in me to master the process step by step authority. I do not deny this. You have already guessed it?"

Jia Qi said: "Yes. I think that you will go to Wei Dynasty again. I am afraid that it is also the request of the ministers in the UK? No matter how capable you are, no matter how incompetent those ministers are, you will leave in the end. It's still you."

Prince Albert's face turned red all of a sudden, even if he was blocked by a big beard, anyone could tell that his complexion was not very good-looking.

Prince Albert knows better than anyone that there are only a handful of queens in British history, and the royal family and the country have never left any place for the husband of the ruling queen.In England, Albert had no formal duties, no special title, no established status.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for Queen Victoria to forcefully put the title of husband on her husband’s head after she went back last time, Prince Albert would be the same as the decapitated queen to Louis XVI’s France, except for the books And opera, he can't get in touch with state affairs, and the British ministers don't allow him to get in touch with state affairs.

He can only be a doll of the British royal family.

Prince Albert could not refute.

He couldn't even find a word to refute Jia Qi.

If England had won the battle between England and Wei, Queen Victoria's prestige would have been greatly increased. With Queen Victoria's support, he would naturally be able to get in touch with the government.

The problem is, Britain lost.Queen Victoria's prestige has dropped to the extreme. To put it more clearly, how the French people treated Louis XV after France lost the Seven Years War is how the British treat Queen Victoria now.

You know, before the Seven Years War, Louis XV was also deeply loved by the French people, and after the Seven Years War, Louis XV became a well-known tyrant.

The people are so realistic and so cruel.

If Prince Albert was just the son of a German duke, he wouldn't have to do so much, but the problem is that Prince Albert is the husband of Queen Victoria.Even though Queen Victoria was reluctant, Prince Albert had to go through this for his wife and his children.

Thinking of the importance of his trip to England and his wife, Prince Albert had to say: "I'm sorry, I mean, the attack on the Shanghai state capital."

Jia Qi said: "You are an upright person. I thought you would deny it and put the blame on the East India Company, and then try to convince the Wei officials that those merchants did it and have nothing to do with you. relation."

After a moment of silence, Prince Albert said, "Such words can fool others, but not you. If I do that, it will be the same as deliberately provoking you."

When you are at a disadvantage, sincerity is more important than showing off.Especially when you can't hide it from the other party at all.

Prince Albert felt that it was meaningless to play such a small trick in front of the other party.It's better to be honest, and it's easier to get the favorability of the other party.

Jia Qi stared at the other party for a long time, then slightly lowered his eyelids, and said: "Since you understand this, you should also understand that between countries, there are no eternal allies and no eternal enemies. There is only eternal benefit. The attack on the Shanghai state capital caused so much loss to our Great Wei. Now that Yingjili has lost the war, what benefits can it bring to our Great Wei? What capital does Yingjili have to allow us to Why is Wei showing you a high hand? Rather than hoping to win my favor here, it is better to go back and think about it, that is more practical, isn't it?"

Jia Qi's words sound very polite, but his attitude is not so polite.He didn't even care that it was getting late, and he didn't entertain these Europa envoys or leave food for these envoys, so he threw them out.

Before Louis and the others had time to speak to Jia Qi, Jia Qi's butler politely invited them out of the door.

Standing at the gate of Jia Qi's house, all Europa envoys have a headache.

Louis kept surreptitiously eyeing Prince Albert.

It was obvious that the eastern prime minister just now had a very unusual attitude towards the English prince, and even patronized these British princes and ignored them at all.

As an aristocrat and an envoy of a major European country, Louis felt that being ignored was a very bad omen, but as a businessman, Louis felt that sometimes being ignored by the other party might not be a bad thing.

Louis is a China hand. On the second day, he found an opportunity to send a greeting card to Jia Qi's house according to the oriental etiquette, agreeing to visit again in a week.

On that day, when Louis came to Jia Qi's mansion again, he didn't sit on the bench for a long time.

Instead, he waited in the side hall for less than a quarter of an hour before seeing Jia Qi.

"Oh, honorable lord, when I saw you a week ago, I thought I was dazzled." Louis said in a passionate and romantic tone unique to the French, "I hope you will not find me offensive."

"Not at all." Jia Qi laughed, "Youth means longevity. You think I am young, which is a good sign. By the way, how is your family? I heard that the current situation in your country is not very good."

"As you say," replied Louis, "you have heard, I suppose, that there has been a new rebellion in our country. The reign of the late King, I mean, was restored in the years of the late Louis XVIII. , the lily flag that had been trampled into the dust by the revolutionaries flew over Paris again. The nobles became active again, and everything looked so beautiful, but in the end, it was ruined by that idiot Charles X! His methods were too radical, and in the end Outraged the people. France is finished."

Jia Qi said: "It's not that France is doomed, but that the existing order in France is doomed. As for the people, they are all literate. As long as they are willing, they can be used. After all, the real thinking people in this world It's a minority."

"That's right! That's it." Louis said, "Actually, the previous king was a good man, just like Louis XVI. Unfortunately, Louis XVI was implicated by his queen, and all the efforts of the previous king were ruined by his younger brother. France, I really don't know what France will become..."

Originally, he wanted to have a relationship with Jia Qila, but for some reason, after hearing Jia Qi's concern, Louis couldn't help complaining, and even became more and more emotional.

After he calmed down a bit, he realized that he seemed to have lost control in front of the prime minister of the Far East.

Louis said embarrassingly: "I'm sorry, I mean,..."

"Never mind. You love your country very much."

"I am French."

Lewis said so.

After his mood stabilized a little, Louis said: "To be honest, I was taken aback. A few years ago, it was still very fashionable to say in Parisian social circles that a railway was going to be built. But I don't want to Unexpectedly, there are also railways in your country."

"Very surprised?"

Louis shook his head again and again: "No, it was not an accident. How should I put it? Your country is a country of craftsmen, and it is not surprising that your country will build railways. However, I also remember that your country likes the wind of nature. I thought your country used wood to make trains."

"Wood is still a lot weaker in terms of toughness. And in terms of cost, the cost of wood is too high. Quality hardwood is not cheap in this country."

"makes sense."

"Your country appointed you as an ambassador, but what do you want you to do? To be honest, when I know the current situation of your country, I gasp. I don't think your country still has the strength to care about it. overseas."

The development of science and technology requires a stable society and time.In the civil strife in France, nobles and scholars chose to flee one after another. There is no doubt that French technology is likely to stagnate or retreat.

This is beyond doubt.

Jia Qi is curious about how many years France will be in chaos, how many years it will take to stabilize, and how many years it will take to catch up.

Louis said dejectedly: "You are right. In fact, in France, all the nobles fled if they could, even Charles X. Want to do something for my country."

"Want to find allies for your country?"

Louis nodded.

"I'm afraid that if you try your best, no one will remember your kindness in the future, and maybe they will label you a traitor and criticize you."

"Anyway, I'm French."

Jia Qi stared at Louis for a while, and said, "France has people like you, and I believe it will recover soon."

"If that's what I told you, that's fine."

When Louis heard that, he was really relieved.

Then the two of them chatted happily.

From Louis' mouth, Jia Qi knew a lot of things. Of course, unconsciously, Louis himself was tricked by Jia Qi.

With the information provided by Louis as a base and supported by various news from Honglu Temple, Jia Qi will soon be ready to formally deal with these Europa worlds in the coming year.

The envoys of the European countries were stunned by Jia Qi's plan to adopt his son.

For the Europa people in this period, it’s okay to let their legitimate legitimate children have someone else’s surname, and also send a lot of money. This kind of thing is not good for themselves and their family. Who would do it? ?

After all, Europa in this era adopts the primogeniture system.All laws protect the interests of the eldest son.Most of the property in the family can only be inherited by the eldest son, and the second and youngest sons can only live with the money at most.The second and youngest sons definitely have no share in fixed assets such as land, unless their elder brother has no sons after his death, so they have the opportunity to inherit his elder brother's property.

If we compare the laws and regulations related to property inheritance in the Eastern society with those in the Western society, the protection of the interests of the eldest son in the Western society is stricter than that in the Eastern society. The treatment is not as good as that of the bastards in Eastern society.

Therefore, the envoys from Europa are even more incomprehensible than the Wei people.

What they couldn't understand was why Jia Qi wanted to send out large sums of property.It's fine if the son is sent away, but what the hell is sending such a large sum of property outside?

And the feeling of the people of Great Wei towards Jia Qi's behavior is that Jia Qi probably felt that he had too much money, so he planned to adopt his second son back to Yue's family, and distribute some of the family property by the way, so that if something happens in the future, Jia Qi The family's side has fallen, and the Lin family can still keep part of it through Lin Wenzheng's name, and can also take care of the brothers on the Jia family's side.

People in Great Wei would object because Jia Qi's adoptive son's behavior did not conform to Great Wei's traditions and relevant laws and regulations. As for money, that was secondary.

This attitude of the people of Wei aroused the widespread curiosity of the Europa people. Many Europa envoys also paid close attention to this matter, especially Prince Albert, who did not let go of the discussions of the common people in the streets and alleys.

He felt that this was a good way for him to understand the country.

Although it was Jia Amnesty's will, and although the sons-in-law of the Jia family testified, it was not easy to truly achieve this.Money is second to none. Everyone knows that once Jia Man adopts back to the Lin family, Jia Qi will definitely donate at least 300 million of his family wealth.But this money can't compare to the political capital left by Lin Ruhai.

Not to mention Lin Wenzheng's name, but overseas crops such as sweet potatoes and corn have long been spread all over the country.When Emperor Gaozong and Emperor Sejong were in power, the country and the court tried their best to conceal the relationship between Lin Ruhai and these overseas crops, but Jia Qi did not forget to promote Lin Ruhai in his own village.Now, wherever sweet potatoes and corn are grown in the north and south of the Yangtze River, when people mention sweet potatoes, they will think of Lin Ruhai.

It can be said that Lin Ruhai's status in the hearts of the people is much higher than that of the three kings of the Great Wei Dynasty, and many people keep Lin Ruhai's tablets at home.

Although Lin Ruhai has been dead for many years, the political capital he left behind has not dissipated, on the contrary, there are signs of rapid expansion.

In Jiangsu Province, many people want to have a relationship with Lin Ruhai, while in Gusu, anyone with a brain wants to have a relationship with Lin Ruhai.Of course, it would be even better if you can adopt your own children.

What's even better is that Lin Ruhai is dead, and Lin Daiyu has been married for many years. As long as the Lin family decides about this kind of matter, it will be fine at most when the matter is over and Lin Daiyu will be notified.

The only problem is that after Lin Ruhai's death, Emperor Sejong asked people to take care of Lin Ruhai's funeral, not only treating Lin Ruhai and the Lin family as an extinct family, but also the Lin family as an extinct family.

In other words, many people in Gusu wanted to have a relationship with Lin Ruhai, but Emperor Sejong's way of handling the Lin family was there.If they want to adopt the child under Lin Ruhai's name, they must first overturn Emperor Sejong's decision to deal with Lin Ruhai's funeral and take the Lin family's ancestral property into the state.

This is also Jia Qi's reliance.

Because Jia Qi will not ask the imperial court for the ancestral property of the Lin family that has long been taken over as state-owned. On the contrary, Jia Qi may spend a lot of money to buy the original tombs and sacrificial fields of the Lin family.

This is also Jia Qi's advantage.

In fact, the empress dowager, the other two prime ministers in the cabinet, and even the officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs did not intend to trouble Jia Qi. Even the Ministry of Rites believed that Lin Ruhai had found the sweet potato, so that Wei would no longer be troubled by hunger and discouragement. It is not too much to set up an ancestral hall for Lin Ruhai and let Lin Ruhai enjoy the incense forever.

Those who have been making trouble for Jia Qi and who disagree with Jia Qi's adoption of his son back to the Lin family are the censors from Yushitai.

After more than a year of lip service, Jia Qi has returned to the cabinet, and the matter of adoption is still pending.

It's not easy for the Empress Dowager to speak up about this matter, and Qi Qian also has his own news channel, so the only person who would ask about it is naturally only Liang Jian.

Jia Qi said: "It's a good thing that the censors are able to uphold the laws of the country. As for my dog's adoption to the Lin family, apart from my father's confession before his death, I also can't bear to let the teacher's family cut off the incense. After all, my surname is not Jia. Forest."