The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 311 Decide the future and meet the future! (Please subscribe and vote)
"Do we really not need him?"

Prince Albert thought for a while and whispered to his wife, "Honey, don't you really want to know something that might happen in the future?"

The Queen of England had already coaxed the child by then. The monarch of the world's number one superpower, who was only a little over 1.5 meters tall, was holding her son who was only a few months old and glancing at her husband. There was not a trace of confusion or worry on her chubby and delicate face, only a powerful aura of dominating the world.

The Queen's tone was very majestic, full of confidence and arrogance: "Dear Albert, I know very well what will happen in the future! But not through that prophet, but I can decide the future myself!

The Britain that I rule is the most powerful empire in history, and this empire is in its most glorious and prosperous era. Its fleets rule the oceans, and its colonies are spread all over the world. The combined area of ​​all territories belonging to Britain is larger than the combined area of ​​the Russian Empire, the Qing Dynasty, and the United States!
More importantly, Britain also has the most powerful industry in the world. Britain produces more steel, ships, textiles, and coal than all other countries in the world combined! This gives the British Empire endless power and ensures that the hegemony of the British Empire can continue forever, at least for another thousand years! "

Obviously, Luo Yaoguo underestimated the confidence and arrogance of the rulers of the British Empire at that time!
Today, the British Empire is as powerful as the United States, which just won the Cold War. It is the world's number one in industry, technology, and military! It even has the world's number one territory (including colonies)! Needless to say, its various natural resources are also the world's number one!

Moreover, Britain's industry and technology are now even more advanced in the world than the United States was in the 90s.

In the foreseeable future, no country is likely to challenge British hegemony.

The Queen of England said proudly: "So, the devil can only predict the future. I, the Queen of England, and the gentlemen in the British Parliament can decide the future.

For example, the future of Tsarist Russia is determined by us, and their future is quite bleak!
The future of China is also in our hands. If we want the Tatar Dynasty to survive, it can survive. If we are willing to support the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, then the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has a future.

The tone of the "Five Daughters of God" mentioned by Hong Xiuquan suddenly dropped sharply to below freezing: "Now that the Tatar Dynasty's envoys have come to Britain, I don't intend to give the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom a future. I want to see what the prophet can do to save his kingdom?"

When snow began to fall on the Thames, Sushun, Yuanbao, Bai Siwen, Li Hongzhang, Wang Libin and others finally arrived in London, the world capital of the British Empire, by boat.

Large paddle-steamer ships, rarely seen on the waters of East Asia, were everywhere on the Thames. There were merchant ships carrying cargo and warships equipped with large-caliber artillery, forming long queues almost on the water.

The port docks were filled with cargo warehouses and a variety of steam-driven cranes lined up densely. Dock workers came and went, busy like worker bees, operating machines or shuttling back and forth to carry small pieces of cargo.

The docks and slipways that can build "big ships" with a displacement of thousands of tons are lined up next to each other on the banks of the Thames, with the largest density in the world. The docks and slipways are busy with activity, and the clinking sound of rivets can be heard from far away.

London's industrial area is also near the Thames River. There are countless tall chimneys standing there, with black smoke and coal dust flying everywhere, making the air extremely turbid. Factory sewage and urban residents' sewage are continuously discharged into the Thames River. Day after day, without any purification measures, the originally clear river water has turned black. There is always garbage floating on the river surface, emitting unpleasant odors, and growing various germs.

This is London in the mid-19th century, the world's industrial and financial center, the heart of the British Empire, and home to as many as million British people.

Of course, most of these 2.4 million British people live in slums with poor conditions, so London now has the largest slums in the world!
If Sushun and his "Qing Dynasty traitor group" had come a few years earlier, catching up with the climax of the Charter Movement and the "Year of Revolution" in 1848, the slums of London would have been bustling.
However, as steam-powered ships became larger and larger and more numerous, the cost of transoceanic voyages became lower and lower. The bottom-level people in the slums of London who would never be able to make a living in their home country could at least "get a taste" of becoming adventurers.

There are still 40 million square kilometers of colonies outside, and there is also the "chosen rebellious son" America where they can live, and there are many backward countries and semi-colonies that admire the British Empire. If they change places, they might become the masters!

Therefore, after the "Year of Revolution" in 1848, British society gradually stabilized, the living standards of the poor began to slowly improve, and public security in London also greatly improved.

So at this moment, Li Hongzhang and Wang Libin dared to walk boldly on the bustling Charing Cross Street, each carrying a large bag of white pounds, accompanied by a few Qing followers with pigtails, and following a secretary of the British Foreign Office who always had a smile on his face.

"Mr. Li, Mr. Wang, we have arrived at Hatchards Books. It is the oldest and most famous bookstore in London. It was opened in 1797 and has been certified by the royal family. You can find all the books that have been published in Europe in recent decades in this bookstore."

The person who spoke was the British civil servant with a polite smile. His name was Jim Humphrey. He had served briefly in the Straits Settlements and Hong Kong. He could speak Chinese, but not fluently.

Fortunately, Wang Libin's English was very good, and after studying English with Wang Libin for several months, Li Hongzhang had already gotten the hang of it and could have simple conversations with the British - he was a genius who ranked 13th in the second class at the age of 24, and any liberal arts subject would be no problem for him!

Therefore, there was absolutely no problem in the communication between Li Hongzhang, Wang Libin and Mr. Humphrey.

After breakfast today, Li Hongzhang, Wang Libin and Humphrey asked to buy books, lots and lots of books!

So Humphrey brought them to Hatchards.

Maybe it was because it was still early, when Li Hongzhang, Wang Libin and Humphrey walked into this not-so-big bookstore, there were not many customers inside. There was only a short, fat middle-aged man with a big beard and a tall, handsome young man with a short beard looking for books inside. The two customers were facing the store door sideways, so they saw Li Hongzhang and Wang Libin wearing fancy Qing Dynasty official uniforms from the corner of their eyes. They looked very surprised, turned their heads together and stared at Li Hongzhang and Wang Libin, while whispering something in German.

A clerk who was tidying up the bookshelves was also attracted by the two Chinese visitors. He immediately put down his work and greeted them: "Gentlemen, can you understand English?"

"Of course I can understand."

Wang Libin answered in English.

"Please speak more slowly."

Li Hongzhang answered in English with a smile.

Jim Humphrey smiled and introduced them: "They are guests of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. One is the senior secretary of the Chinese emperor, and the other is the secretary of the secretary. They want to buy some books to take back to China."

The two customers in the store and the clerk all showed expressions of great surprise.

The clerk paused and asked, "What books would you like to buy?"

"Textbooks," Wang Libin said, "We want to buy English-language textbooks for elementary, middle and university textbooks from the Kingdom of Prussia. If it is difficult to buy the whole set, we want to buy English-language Prussian mathematics textbooks for all grades in elementary and middle schools, and physics and chemistry textbooks for all grades in middle schools."

Education in the British Empire was very chaotic at that time. There was no national education system. There were only private and church schools of varying quality. Naturally, there were no unified textbooks to buy.

Although the quality of education in some grammar schools and public schools exclusively for the aristocracy and elite is very high, the courses in these schools are too high-end, and the textbooks are compiled and printed by themselves, which may not be available outside.

Therefore, Luo Yaoguo instructed Wang Libin to give priority to purchasing the English version of Prussian textbooks. Prussia's national education is publicly funded, and the textbooks for primary and secondary schools are compiled uniformly. They focus on science and practicality, are suitable for most people to learn, and are relatively easy to self-study.

The reason why he had to buy the English version was because Luo Yaoguo did not have anyone who knew German, and he himself did not understand it, so he could not "copy" it after buying it!

However, the clerk frowned when he heard Wang Libin's request and said, "We do sell German-language Prussian elementary and middle school textbooks, but we don't have English-language Prussian elementary and middle school textbooks."

No?

Wang Libin thought to himself, "Then we can only settle for the next best thing and look for the British textbooks themselves."

Just as he was thinking this, the short and fat man among the two customers in the store suddenly said, "Mr. China, you want to buy the English version of the textbook of the Kingdom of Prussia, right?"

Wang Libin turned his head and looked at the man. He found that he was a short, fat man in his thirties with a big beard. He smiled and bowed: "Please call me Mr. Wang," and then pointed to Li Hongzhang, "He is Mr. Li, my boss." Then Wang Libin asked: "What is your name, sir?"

The bearded man smiled and said, "Mr. Wang, my name is Moore, and I am from the Rhine Province of the Kingdom of Prussia." He pointed to the tall man next to him and said, "His name is Friedrich, and he is also from the Rhine Province of Prussia.

If you want to buy English-language textbooks on the Kingdom of Prussia, Friedrich and I would be happy to help."

The young man named Friedrich smiled and said, "We can help you translate. If you need it urgently, we can also ask some friends to help."

In return, we want to know something about what is happening in China.”

Moore added with a smile: "We are both editors of a newspaper. We really hope to publish what is happening in China in British newspapers so that more people can know about it."

(End of this chapter)