I, Altria, only want to rule China.

Grand Secretary Holbach was immediately confused. What is this thing?

While Grand Secretary Holbach was confused, Grand Secretary Diderot opened his eyes wide and exclaimed in surprise: "Oh, God, what do I see?"

After exclaiming in amazement, Grand Secretary Diderot turned around and looked at Grand Secretary Holbach and said, "What do you think this thing is?"

Grand Secretary Holbach suddenly thought of something. Instead of answering, he hurriedly took out a stack of newspapers from his bag. After rummaging through the newspapers for a while, he pulled out a page that was about steam locomotives.

"Oh my god, I originally thought this was just something the Wu people were bragging about, but I didn't expect it to be true!"

Because this newspaper was written only in words and had no pictures at all, when Grand Secretary Holbach saw it for the first time, he didn't think of it at all.

Now I see with my own eyes that this thing can actually pull several tons or even dozens of tons of goods. My eyes are about to pop out. No wonder Wu State is so powerful now. Just for this logistics, the whole of Western Europe combined can't catch up!

With shaking hands, he lit the pipe and took two deep puffs. Then, Grand Secretary Holbach looked at Grand Secretary Diderot and said, "This time, the decision to come to Wu State was the right one. Otherwise, with just that idiot Luo Lin, he would not have thought of how useful this thing is."

Maester Diderot also lit his pipe, hummed, and said, "Yes, this steam train does not need to rest like a carriage, nor does it need fodder. It only needs coal or wood. This will undoubtedly greatly speed up the flow of their goods."

"The increase in the speed of goods circulation will bring more tax revenue to their country and allow their civilians to enjoy lower prices, thus making their country's rule more stable."

"What a terrible country! If Sassanid Persia doesn't learn from Wu Kingdom, I'm afraid we will lose the qualification to be Wu Kingdom's ally."

Chapter 162 How could Wu State be so powerful?

Just think carefully, when the Wu State invaded them that day, how would they resist? Just thinking about the terrible consequences makes one's heart tremble.

"damn it……"

Before he could finish his words, Grand Secretary Diderot's face suddenly turned pale. He looked at Grand Secretary Holbach and said, "Do you find that this carriage we are riding in is different from the ones we have ridden in before?"

Grand Secretary Holbach was stunned and asked, "Aren't they all horse-drawn carriages? Is there any difference?"

Just as he finished speaking, Grand Secretary Holbach also reacted and shouted in unison with Grand Secretary Diderot: "Spring!"

Grand Secretary Diderot's face was still pale. "It can only be a spring, and it must be made of high-quality steel. Otherwise, this carriage would not be so stable anyway."

"God! The manufacture of springs requires high-quality steel. Such precious things should be used in spring scales, but the Wu people actually installed them on carriages."

"Holbach, can you tell me what kind of country Wu is?"

Grand Secretary Holbach also looked unhappy and did not even answer Grand Secretary Diderot's question.

As for what kind of country Wu was, Grand Secretary Holbach himself didn't know. The only information he knew came from newspapers and some of Rowling's statements.

However, just the little bit of information he heard from Rowling, plus the steam locomotive and horse-drawn carriage he saw today, was enough to make Grand Secretary Holbach drop his eyes in astonishment.

A country where civilians are not afraid of the army and even actively join the army; a country where civilians are exempted from all taxes but have a sound finances.

A country that can manufacture steam locomotives, a country that can use springs to reduce shock in horse-drawn carriages...

What's even more terrifying is that this country is still making progress. Her Majesty the Queen of this country does not seek pleasure, but instead uses most of the tax revenue to build roads and schools...

Thinking of this, Grand Secretary Holbach suddenly said in a deep voice: "I am beginning to miss those ancient Western European countries. At least they don't scare us so much."

Maester Diderot also agreed: "Yes, times are changing so fast, it feels like we are all old."

But after he finished speaking, the look of anticipation appeared on the face of Grand Secretary Diderot: "Now, I can't wait to see the city of Wu State. I really hope to see what the living conditions of the common people of Wu State are like."

In the opinion of Holbach and Grand Secretary Diderot, the customs they had seen before was the face of a country, and all the good things should be piled up there, so even if it was more advanced than that in Western Europe, it should just be an exception.

However, the closer they got to Chang'an, the more shocked Holbach and Grand Secretary Diderot became.

Any county town would have several schools and a "large library", which was rarely seen in Sassanid Persia or in Western Europe.

Luo Lin said that the Emperor of Wu State has been working hard to promote education, so every county town in Wu State has several primary schools for the children of all the civilians in Wu State to go to school.

If we count the primary schools shared by several villages, then Wuguo has the largest number of schools in the world.

And above primary school there is university.

There is currently a university in every province in the entire Wu Kingdom, and it is said that these provinces are constantly building new universities.

As we have seen before, the so-called "large libraries" are just small libraries in the county town. There are not many books in them, at least not compared with the state-level libraries. However, any of those state-level libraries can be compared with the largest library in Sassanid Persia.

In response to this, Luo Lin explained that the taxes collected by the Emperor of Wu were not used for personal enjoyment, but were always used to improve education and the lives of civilians.

From this point of view, not only the king of Sassanid Persia, but also the monarchs of Western Europe and even the whole world should learn from the emperor of Wu State.

"You know, whether in Sassanid Persia or in Western Europe, being a soldier is not an honorable thing, and the civilians are also afraid of the army."

"In Wu Country, being a soldier is something that is envied. Their civilians always teach their children this way: if you encounter danger, go find a policeman in uniform."

"Their civilians also have great trust in the government, which is hard to find in Western Europe."

"When we first came to Wu, the damn Roman Empire said that the civilians of Wu didn't have the same beer bellies and red faces as the Roman peasants. But we all know that the reason why the Roman peasants had red faces was because of the sun."

After thinking for a while, Luo Lin continued, "The Wu Kingdom has a complete system to ensure the lives of its civilians. As far as I know, any city or several villages in the Wu Kingdom will have a warehouse full of food. Once a disaster occurs, they will distribute the food to the affected civilians."

"Including civilians who work in factories, they will also be protected. According to the different labor intensity of the factories, they strictly set the daily working hours. Factory owners will never dare to bully the workers as much as the factory owners in Sassanid Persia did."

"If the common people of Wu State are dissatisfied with local officials or factory owners, they have many channels to complain, and then higher-level officials will happily stand up and seek justice for them."

“And the officials in this country are very interesting.”

"Officials in this country are not allowed to make decisions for ordinary people. They might as well go home and become a small vendor. In fact, many officials in Wu State were former nobles, but they all changed after they became officials in Wu State."

Neither Holbach nor Grand Secretary Diderot could think of any rebuttal to Rollin's statement.

Maester Diderot could not help but sigh and said, "This country has embarked on a path that no one has ever taken before, and it is the right path."

Compared to the heavy moods of Holbach and Grand Secretary Diderot, Luo Lin seemed very relaxed: "The prosperity of Wu State is not a bad thing for us Sassanid Persia. After all, we Sassanid Persia are Wu State's ally in Western Europe."

"Moreover, 200 Sassanid students will soon enter Wuguo's schools. As long as these young men study hard, Sassanid will eventually become stronger and stronger."

Chapter 163 You are so smart!

Holbach and Grand Secretary Diderot could not help but nodded. After looking at each other, they secretly decided in their hearts that they must warn the young men who were selected as overseas students that if they could not study hard, they must hit them hard on the head with their canes.

After traveling for half a month with heavy hearts, Holbach, Diderot and others finally arrived at a large city.

However, just when the Sassanid nobles thought they had arrived at the capital of Wu State, Luo Lin said dejectedly: "Sorry, I miscalculated the time."

"If it were just me, I would have already reached the capital of Wu State. However, there are too many of us, and our journey is very slow. Therefore, the city that appears in front of you is not the capital of Wu State."

The Sassanid nobles were very confused.

Even though all the praise words such as tall, mighty, and solid could not fully describe the city, it was not the capital of the Wu State, but just an ordinary city.

"There are dozens or even hundreds of cities like this in Wu State."

After settling down in the hotel in this city, Luo Lin once again reminded these Sassanid nobles: "Listen, gentlemen, you can now go freely with the guide."

"But please remember my advice to you. Don't hug the women of Wu country casually. They have a set of criminal laws to protect women! And don't make a fuss about everything. This will make you look like a country bumpkin and bring shame to our Sassanid Persia."

"And ladies, please restrain your enthusiasm and do not hug Wu country men casually. This is extremely disrespectful in Wu country."

A group of Sassanid nobles felt that Luo Lin must have done it on purpose to show off his familiarity with the Wu State.

However, these Sassanid nobles envied Roland's familiarity with the Wu State.

I really want to be like him...

But compared with the gentlemen of Sassanid Persia, the ladies and young ladies were very excited.

Studying the knowledge of the Wu State and researching the system of the Wu State are men's things. All women have to do is shop, buy, buy.

Silk, clothes, shoes, sachets, jewelry, porcelain...

As God knows, there is nothing that can bring greater joy than shopping. If there is one thing, it is being able to shop without restraint.

For example, a piece of clothing made of silk would be so expensive in Western Europe that it would be prohibitively expensive. Even the Sassanid Persian nobles were reluctant to buy it. But when they came to Wu State, the hometown of silk.

Buy it! You must buy it!

Then, Rowling could only watch as a group of Sassanid noble ladies rushed out of the hotel.

Holbach and Diderot had no interest in shopping. After looking at each other, they looked at Luo Lin and asked, "Can we visit the library of the Wu people?"

However, Luo Lin looked at Holbach and Diderot as if they were idiots: "Gentlemen, it is almost evening now, and the library of the Wu people will definitely be closed. However, if you just want to read books, then I can borrow two books for you."

Grand Secretary Holbach was stunned and asked, "Can you borrow books from the Wu people?"

Luo Lin shrugged and said, "To be exact, there are some books and newspapers in your hotel, which can be borrowed for free."

Holbach and Grand Secretary Diderot were even more shocked.

How rich were the people of Wu? They could even borrow books in hotels. Shouldn't books, such precious things, be kept in libraries or in bedrooms?

Ruby is similar to her sister Nunnally. She loves balls, fashion, fun, disguises, celebrations, and gardening. As the new Archduchess of Austria, Ruby is definitely a wealthy person.

Walking on the streets of this city, Ruby never cared about prices. Whenever she saw something she liked, she would simply ask the maid to buy it for her.

Ruby not only shopped, she also ate along the way.

The other Sassanid noble ladies were similar to Ruby. After all, they were all born into aristocratic families, their husbands were also aristocrats, and none of them were short of money.

In Western Europe, only nobles can marry nobles, so the merchants here, big and small, soon found out that there was a group of women from Western Europe who were not short of money.

But after a crazy period of shopping, eating and shopping, Ruby suddenly felt a little unsatisfied, and a very bold idea popped up in her mind.

Then, Ruby hurried back to the inn and found Luo Lin: "Luo Lin, I have a very bold idea, I hope you can help me."

Just when Luo Lin was confused, Ruby asked seriously: "Luo Lin, I hope you can tell me, what kind of merit is the greatest in Wu Country?"

After all, Ruby is the Queen's sister, and she is also a relative of Luo Lin, so Luo Lin did not hide anything and said directly: "To be precise, not only the Wu Kingdom, but the greatest contribution in this land is the expansion of territory."

After that, Luo Lin couldn't help but ask curiously: "Why are you asking this?"

Ruby had a smile on her face that showed that everything was under control. She looked a little mysterious. "Of course it's for Sassanid Persia."

"After we go back, I will persuade my sister to give a piece of land to Wu State. In return, Wu State should also give us a piece of land, right?"

"This means that we have helped Wu to expand its territory. We can have the identities of both Sassanid Persia and Wu at the same time. Is this way of forming an alliance more effective than the verbal agreement between you and Wu?"

Luo Lin looked at Ruby with a confused look on his face and praised her: "You are really smart!"

When Ruby saw Rowling praising her, she immediately said excitedly, "Really? My mother said I was very smart since I was a child!"

Luo Lin continued to be confused, feeling like he was about to collapse.

Is calling you smart a compliment? Sorry, you haven't learned the Wu people's skill of using a complimenting tone to insult others.

Luo Lin's face darkened and he said, "As for your bold idea, the Wu Kingdom has an army that is almost invincible to deal with you."

"Put aside your dangerous thoughts. Wu State will never agree to your request, because it would be a great shame and humiliation for Wu State."

Chapter 164 I Can Marry Her Majesty the Queen of Wu

Ruby was stunned and muttered softly: "How could this happen? Isn't this normal?"

Luo Lin sneered and said, "What is normal in Western Europe may not be normal in Wu Country."

"You should be thankful that you asked me in advance instead of doing something rash like this. Otherwise, your actions would likely be seen as a provocation by the Wu Kingdom, and might even trigger a war between the Wu Kingdom and Sassanid Persia."

"Even if the Queen of Wu Kingdom did not misunderstand you, your idea is still impossible to achieve. The land of Wu Kingdom can only belong to the country, and individuals cannot obtain fiefdoms."

However, Ruby still did not give up and continued to ask: "Besides this, what other merits can be obtained to obtain a fiefdom?"

Seeing that Ruby still refused to give up, Luo Lin laughed and said, "There is no other way, because there are currently no nobles with fiefs in Wu State. Everything is state-owned."

The anticipation on Ruby's face disappeared in an instant. Is there no other way?

Seeing that Ruby seemed to have given up, Luo Lin bowed to Ruby and said, "My princess, do you have anything else to say? If not, I will take my leave first."

Luo Lin had learned all the etiquette used by the officials and common people of Wu State that he had seen.

However, Ruby is the sister of the Queen of Sassanid Persia after all, and her train of thought is truly unmatched by ordinary people.

As the saying goes, if one plan fails, another one will do. Ruby reached out to stop Luo Lin, took a deep breath and said, "Well, I have one last solution, marriage! As long as the queen of Wu is willing to marry me, then my fiefdom can become part of Wu in Sassanid Persia. In this way, doesn't it mean that I have the fiefdom of Wu?"

Where is the land?"

"Hey, Luo Lin, are you listening to me? What are you looking for? Looking for something while talking to a lady is not gentlemanly at all. It's very rude!"

Luo Lin said with a gloomy face: "I'll find a knife! I'll kill you, you idiot, with one blow, so that you don't start a war between Wu and Sassanid Persia. No, not only the war between Wu and Sassanid Persia, you will even drag the whole of Western Europe into the war!"

Ruby panicked and quickly took two steps back before looking at Luo Lin and asking, "Why? Could it be that the Queen of Wu Kingdom would also consider a marriage a disgrace?"

Luo Lin stopped looking for the knife, looked at Ruby and said, "Although the Queen of Wu has special hobbies, it would be a shame to marry you! Let me ask you, how many lovers do you have?"

Ruby timidly held up three fingers, then after a moment's thought, she raised the remaining two fingers as well: "Five, just five. What does this have to do with marriage?"

Luo Lin said angrily: "It matters a lot! Even ordinary Wu people want to marry a pure and innocent woman, not a woman with five lovers! Not to mention the emperor of Wu."