Bringing the Railway to Daming

Jack looked at his daughter in surprise upon hearing this, then instinctively asked, "Are you really willing to go?"

Diana nodded. "I really want to go—what's wrong with being a lady-in-waiting to a king if it can keep my father, mother, and brother safe?"

Upon hearing this, Jack wanted to say that the king's maids might not actually be doing maid work; they might be doing something else entirely.

But he didn't know how to bring it up.

Then, he looked at his wife Anne and son George, and sighed, "Alright, go ahead."

At this moment, the officer in black said something, and the Ming soldier who understood English said, "Tell your daughter to take frequent baths these days and not to eat anything with a strong smell, otherwise she will lose her head if she angers the Prince of Dai over there."

"Okay, we understand," Jack replied, his face grim.

After the Ming soldiers left, Diana comforted her father instead.

“Father, the Ming army is so powerful that they might not leave after occupying London, which means we will live under their rule from now on.”

"If I could become a maidservant to that Prince of Dai, perhaps I could offer my father some assistance."

Jack felt bad after hearing this. "Silly child... being the king's lady-in-waiting is not an easy job."

Anne then added, "Diana, now that it's settled that you'll be a lady-in-waiting to that king, we won't say anything more. But once you get there, you must be careful and not anger the king. Preserving your life is the most important thing. Understand?"

Diana nodded. "Understood."

···
···
After spending about half a month in London, Zhu Gui had basically sorted out the "governance" affairs of the occupied area.

It wasn't that he was particularly capable in domestic affairs, but rather that he had domestic officials sent by the Dai and Ning vassal states, and had accumulated some experience in similar matters on the European continent, so he was naturally adept at handling them.

On that day, after several transport ships, fully loaded with antiquities and treasures he had looted from London and the surrounding areas, set sail directly for the Mediterranean, Zhu Gui had several telegrams drafted in succession.

One of the letters was sent to the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Capital.

Liu Kuan was summoned to the Fengxian Hall once again.

Besides Zhu Xiong Ying, only Prince Zhu Chun of Shu was present in the hall this time.

Liu Kuan was quite surprised to see this.

Zhu Chun is now in the Ming Dynasty. In addition to running several newspapers and magazines such as "Tianxia Shuo", he has also invested in some businesses and has already made a fortune.

However, after Zhu Xiong Ying came to power, he imposed some restrictions on the business activities of princes and nobles, so he kept a low profile and went to Shu to take up his fief.

Nowadays, the princes who have settled in their fiefdoms naturally do not have the same power as they did more than ten years ago during the Hongwu reign. Apart from having a thousand guards, they at most have the power to submit "secret memorials" and send telegrams to the capital, which can be considered a form of disguised supervision of the local areas by the Ming imperial family.

After all, although the princes could not manage local military and political affairs, they could report some things they saw to the emperor by telegram, which put a sword of Damocles over the heads of local officials.

Therefore, the princes within the Ming Dynasty mostly stayed in their fiefdoms on weekdays, only coming to the capital during the New Year or when summoned by the court.

Although transportation is convenient nowadays, it is still not easy to come from Chengdu to the capital, which is why Liu Kuan was surprised when he met Zhu Chun.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty and His Highness the Prince of Shu." Liu Kuan bowed respectfully.

Zhu Xiong Ying smiled and said, "Teacher, please rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhu Xiong Ying then said, "Teacher, can you guess what this matter is about?"

Liu Kuan was somewhat speechless and shook his head, "How could I possibly have guessed that?"

Zhu Xiong Ying: "My thirteenth brother sent a telegram saying that the Triple Expeditionary Forces have captured London for more than half a month and have basically taken control of the southeastern part of England."

"Of course, most importantly, there's another thing he mentioned this time—this is the telegram he sent; the teacher will understand once he takes a look."

After Zhu Xiong Ying finished speaking, he had a eunuch in the palace hand him a telegram.

Liu Kuan looked at it for a while and then showed a surprised expression. After he finished reading it, he had a look of surprise and complicated emotions.

In this telegram, Zhu Gui explained his idea of ​​joining forces with Zhu Gang, Zhu Chun, and other princes from the Dabentang (a high-ranking official family) to establish a "Museum of Western Countries" in the Ming Dynasty.

Logically speaking, displaying and exhibiting things looted from other countries is not a Chinese custom, but when Liu Kuan thought about the Chinese artifacts displayed in the British Museum and the Louvre and other Western museums in later generations, he felt very pleased with what Zhu Gui and others were doing.

However, he was now a subject of the Ming Dynasty, so after a moment's thought, he said, "Your Majesty, the matter of the museums of the Western countries is feasible, but it would be best if the court did not get involved and let the princes handle it themselves."

Zhu Xiong Ying asked, "Why is that?"

Liu Kuan said, “While displaying treasures obtained from other countries in one’s own country can certainly demonstrate the strength of a nation, it can ultimately be detrimental to its reputation.”

Zhu Xiong Ying was unconvinced, but she didn't intend to argue with Liu Kuan over such a trivial matter, so she nodded and said, "Alright, then let Thirteenth Brother and the others handle it—as long as Teacher is happy."

At this moment, Zhu Chun also smiled and said, "Teacher, the reason why we students did this is to let you vent your frustration about the invasion of China by Western countries in the past."

Liu Kuan smiled upon hearing this and said, "Your Highnesses, the King of Shu, are very kind."

"Does the teacher have any suggestions for the museums of those Western countries?" Zhu Chun asked again, then explained, "This matter is mainly handled by the students in the Ming Dynasty."

Liu Kuan thought for a moment and said, "How to establish a museum cannot be explained in a few words. I will write down some specific suggestions later, and Your Highness the Prince of Shu will understand after reading them."

"There is one thing I can say in advance - after the museum is built, whether you are a Chinese or a foreigner, you will definitely need to buy a ticket to visit, that is, you will have to pay a fee."

"Your Highness must remember that Chinese citizens can buy tickets at a lower price, while foreigners must pay a higher price."

"Why is that?" Zhu Chun asked curiously.

Liu Kuan laughed and said, "Naturally, it's because that's what the Western countries did in the original history."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiong Ying and Zhu Chun were slightly taken aback, and then both showed expressions of sudden realization.

Afterwards, the three chatted about museum matters for a while, and then Zhu Chun took his leave. Liu Kuan also wanted to leave, but Zhu Xiong Ying stopped him.

"Teacher, I never imagined that the Kingdom of England would be so vulnerable. It seems that it's only a matter of time before the Three Feudatories conquer the entire British Isles."

"However, if the Jin, Dai, and Ning vassal states were allowed to occupy the British Isles, it would exceed the territorial limits set for them by the imperial court."

"Therefore, I would like to make other arrangements for the territories of the British Isles, for example, by sending two more princes to establish their own kingdoms and setting up an overseas military command. What do you think, teacher?"

Liu Kuan thought to himself, "You've explained things so clearly, unless there are major errors or omissions, how could I possibly raise any objections?"

He then asked, "That's possible, but there are two issues we have to consider."

Zhu Xiong Ying asked, "Which two questions?" (End of Chapter)