I, Altria, only want to rule China.

Seeing that they didn't understand, Liya could only sigh and said, "Let me put it this way. Every steam locomotive you see is the result of the joint efforts of several disciplines, more than a dozen departments, hundreds of supporting workshops, thousands of master craftsmen, and tens of thousands of workers. If any link is missing, this thing will not be able to run.

stand up. "

Liya is really bold, she just forced two completely unrelated things together!

To be honest, some subjects like dynamics, aerodynamics, etc., were not available in Wu State at all, and some were just starting out.

When it comes to Leah's mouth, it seems that these subjects are already very complete.

What’s even more amazing is that steam locomotives don’t have much to do with these messy subjects. It’s more that Leah, the cheater, has cheated in advance, but Leah just wants to give the credit to these subjects.

Nanali and the others felt mixed emotions as they listened to Leah's constant stream of information about this and that, and the numbers of how many departments, workshops, master craftsmen, and workers there were. They were envious, jealous, and desperate.

Speaking of the steam engine, it is also being researched in Western Europe.

However, the steam engine they developed was just a start. Not only was it ugly in appearance, but its effect was not very good either. In short, it would probably take them at least a dozen years to reach the level of the Wu State.

Therefore, Leo II, Nanali and others were directly fooled by Leah.

Liya continued, "To be honest, the research and development cost of this thing is too high, and the production cost is even higher. If you start from scratch... well, you will probably have to spend at least five years' worth of silver from the national treasury."

"But you can rest assured. Since Wu State already has a steam locomotive, it means you will soon be able to have one too."

"If nothing unexpected happens, Wu State will completely solve the production problem within two years. By then, if you want it, you can directly place an order with Wu State. I promise to give you a very cheap friendly price."

"In this way, you can save a lot of costs and only need to focus on producing rails and laying railways."

Chapter 222: Cruelly Fooling

Nanali was a little moved when she heard that.

Just as Leah said, from research and development to manufacturing, the cost is indeed too high, and the current Sassanid Persian treasury simply cannot support such a large investment.

If Wu State could solve the production problem within two years, wouldn't it be more cost-effective for Sassanid Persia to buy directly from Wu State, its Far Eastern ally, rather than developing it from scratch?

After thinking for a while, Nanali said, "First, on behalf of Sassanid Persia, I will place an order for fifty steam locomotives with the Wu Kingdom."

Leo II also shouted: "We in Rome also need sixty!"

Clovis I was not to be outdone and shouted: "We Franks also need fifty!"

Seeing these two people fighting with her for the vehicles, Nanali immediately became dissatisfied and snorted coldly, "We Sassanid Persia need 200 vehicles!"

Seeing how these three countries were fooled by her father, Long Luxin wanted to laugh, but she had to hold it back, and her face almost turned red.

Liya chuckled and said, "Don't worry, don't worry. The reason why I took the lead in establishing the Five Permanent Members and blocked your hatred to form the Five Great Good Men is that I don't regard you as outsiders. You are all my friends."

"Steam trains are made up of two locomotives each, which can pull 20 carriages. Let's put it this way. After Wu State solves the production problem, we will ship out every two sets produced. We will definitely give priority to you, and let the rest of the countries wait in line."

At this point, Liya looked at Nanali and the others and asked, "Do you know where there is a lot of iron ore? Don't worry, I won't rob you. I will buy it with money, and I guarantee the price is fair."

Nanali, Leo II and others looked at each other, then nodded in agreement, tacitly agreeing to Leah's proposal.

There is no other way but to accept it. Steam locomotives are too difficult to produce, at least for the current Western European countries.

Especially Western Europe is now in a trade deficit with the Wu State.

Western Europe needs to import a large amount of goods from Wu State, but Wu State's demand for imports from Western Europe is very small. If Western Europe does not make some money through iron ore, life will become increasingly difficult.

Thinking of this, Leo II and Clovis I couldn't help but look at each other.

The gap between Western Europe and Wu State is so huge that they are afraid that they will be led by the nose in the future. With such a huge trade deficit, how are Western European countries supposed to make money back?

There is only one way to deal with this situation, which is to snatch the money from Wu Guo. However, even if they have the courage, they would not dare to do so.

Even if they join forces, they probably can't beat Wu State. What's more, there are so many followers around Wu State. How can they make up for the gap in the future?

While they were worried, Liya continued, "By the way, it's almost noon now. How about we go eat and talk while we eat?"

Leah planned to add fuel to the fire. Not to mention completely destroying their self-confidence, but at least to make them feel inferior from the bottom of their hearts.

Before the meal started, Leah had people set the tableware for Nanali, Leo II and the others, and then asked with a smile, "Do you know why our Chinese ancestors chose to use chopsticks instead of knives and forks?"

Nanali was more honest and was the first to shake her head and said, "I don't know."

Liya laughed and said, "One end of the chopsticks is square and the other end is round. The round end refers to the roundness of the sky, and the square end refers to the earth. This is the view of astronomy and geography in ancient China."

"The length of chopsticks is seven inches and six points, which refers to the seven emotions and six desires of human beings. The seven emotions are love, fear, joy, anger, worry, hate, and desire, and the six desires are ears, eyes, mouth, nose, body, and mind. Moreover, one chopstick cannot be used, and a pair of chopsticks can be used properly, so it also means the harmony of yin and yang, the combination of two into one, and the complementation of each other.

, which is also the Chinese philosophy. "

"In short, there is a lot of knowledge contained in a small pair of chopsticks."

Nanali exclaimed: "As expected of the Wu Kingdom, even chopsticks have so much knowledge in them!"

Leah chuckled and continued, "Of course, the most important reason for using chopsticks instead of knives and forks is convenience. Leo II must know why."

Seeing that Nunnally and Clovis I were looking at him, Leo II was stunned.

I know?

What do I know?

If I really knew why your Chinese ancestors gave up knives and forks and used chopsticks, I would be so awesome!

Leo II shook his head in confusion and said, "Sorry, I really don't know why."

Nanali mocked Leo II directly, saying, "Hey, His Majesty Arthur gave you a chance to shine, but you were useless!"

Although they are now the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Rome and Persia are old enemies, so it is normal for Nanali to mock Rome.

But after the ridicule, Nanali looked at Leah and asked, "Why is that?"

Liya smiled and shook her head, saying, "For example, when eating hot pot, it is very convenient to use chopsticks to pick up the dishes you want to eat, but it is not so convenient to use a knife and fork."

"For example, if we have this meal in the wilderness and we don't have chopsticks with us, we can just break off a few branches, clean them and use them as chopsticks. What if we use a knife and fork?"

"So, for various reasons, our Chinese ancestors eventually gave up knives and forks and chose chopsticks instead."

After Nanali and the others showed a look of understanding, a eunuch standing behind Leah clapped his hands, and then ten maids came in one after another, each holding a tray in their hands.

After entering the house, the ten maids formed groups of two. The first group came to Leah, and the other four groups stood next to Nanali and others.

One of the maids was carrying a tray with a small basin containing tea and a warm towel next to it, while the other maid was carrying a tray with warm tea in a teacup.

The three people who had never seen such a scene did not dare to move. They could only look at Leah with questioning eyes.

Leah first washed her hands with the tea in the basin, wiped her hands with the towel beside the tray, then picked up the teacup, rinsed her mouth with the good tea, and then spit into the basin.

After completing this series of procedures, Leah said to Nanali and the others, "Before eating, you should wash your hands and mouth with tea. This is to ensure hygiene and to remove the taste in your mouth so that you can enjoy the food more easily."

Nanali and others suddenly understood.

Chapter 223 Long Luxin's Request

After the four of them washed their hands and rinsed their mouths, a group of maids carrying basins came out one after another.

Liya then smiled and said, "Some of the etiquette of our ancestors is indeed a bit complicated. You may not be used to it. Please don't blame me."

Nanali waved her hands quickly and said, "Don't blame me, don't blame me. This is already very good. I have never seen such a scene in Sassanid Persia."

Liya smiled and said, "How about this, I will have someone compile the Wu Kingdom royal etiquette into a book, and when you leave, each of you can take a copy back with you, so that people won't look down on you."

After hearing this, several people thought strangely: "Except for your Wu Kingdom, who else in the world dares to look down on the food and etiquette of our great countries?

But then again, compared with Chinese etiquette, their food and etiquette are really nothing compared to others!

Thinking of this, Nanali simply bowed to Leah and thanked her: "Thank you very much. If Your Majesty Arthur can come to Sassanid Persia, I will definitely let you experience the same etiquette as in Wu Kingdom."

Liya smiled and nodded, then whispered to the eunuch behind her, "Serve the food.

This meal was the most extravagant meal Leah had ever had since she became emperor.

Leah usually eats four dishes and one soup, but the specifications of this meal were a combination of the characteristics of the famous Manchu-Han banquet in later generations. It was basically as luxurious as it could be, which directly stunned Nanali and others.

What’s more important is that it’s okay that there are many of these dishes, that their styles are awesome, and that their tastes are awesome, but each of these dishes has its origin.

There is a story behind every dish, which shocked people like Nanali who have little experience in history.

Then, Nanali, Leo II and others began to exclaim continuously.

“So these dishes have this kind of origin!”

“It’s really amazing!”

"Restoring the original taste of the ingredients is really a philosophical statement!"

"This is the enjoyment and treatment that a leader of a country should have!"

"..."

In short, this meal made Nanali and Leo II feel like they were eating dragon liver and phoenix marrow.

In short, Leah started from these tiny details, little by little, to let Nanali, Leo II and others experience the profoundness of the Chinese Central Plains culture, and made them realize from the bottom of their hearts that Western European countries are inferior to China in every way.

It turns out that Leah's way of playing is very effective.

After Nunnally, Leo II and others stayed in Wu State for a while, both Nunnally, Leo II, and Clovis I became victims of this tactic.

For example, Leo II is now very regretful. He regrets that he must have done nothing good in his previous life, so he was reborn into a remote place like Rome.

For example, Clovis I particularly hoped to be reborn in China in his next life.

Wu State is exploiting and suppressing them?

No, the Wu Kingdom will never exploit or suppress Western Europe.

When the ancestors of Western Europe were still squatting on trees and eating fruits, the ancient Chinese had already entered a civilized society. Wu State was so rich and had such a vast territory. What was there in Europe that was worth Wu State's exploitation?

Nunnally, Leo II and Clovis I were all absolutely certain that the Queen of Wu was a very friendly and elegant empress.

She regarded the Franks, Sassanid Persia, and the Roman Empire as friends of the Longwu Empire, and she regarded their monarchs as her friends. She always considered the civilians under her rule, and she also always considered the whole of Europe.

Compared to her, all the kings, emperors and the like in Europe are no longer qualified to call themselves monarchs.

Anyway, the longer they stay in Chang'an, the more serious the condition of Nanali and others will be.

Only after the matter of Wuchang was settled and Nanali and the others left Chang'an and started their journey back home did Leah breathe a sigh of relief.

At the beginning, Leah just wanted to trick them into becoming disabled and put them in wheelchairs.

But Liya never expected that the effect of the deception was so good that the guys lay on the stretcher directly, and Nanali even asked to apply for an annual membership card for the ICU!

This made Leah very worried.

Seeing that if the three of them stayed any longer, they would most likely all end up in the ICU, Leah had no choice but to end the first meeting of the Five Permanent Members, and then let Nanali and the other three go home with the other little kings.

Don't you still have to go back and select international students?

Don't you have to go back and look for iron ore?

Didn't you guys agree to attack Tianzhu?

After much persuasion, Leah finally managed to persuade Nanali and the other three to leave.

"Father, I want to bring some people back to Britain this time. What do you think?"

Although Long Luxin didn't want to rely on Wu State to make a name for herself, she had no other choice. The newly unified Britain was extremely poor, and her previous reforms had offended many nobles, so now those guys didn't help her much.

If she got rid of those people, there would be no literate people in Britain. It can be said that Long Luxin was very conflicted.

After thinking it over, Long Luxin decided that she should ask her father to get some people to Britain so that she could feel more at ease using her own people in the future.

"No problem. Just tell your mother about these things. She will arrange some people for you, and you can bring them back to Britain when the time comes. How are you living in Britain?" Leah asked.

"Well, although it was a bit difficult at the beginning, it is gradually getting on the right track now. With the help of father, I believe that Britain will be able to develop soon. The newly built Camelot will definitely not be worse than father's Chang'an!" Long Luxin said seriously.

"Really? But I've already planned to expand Chang'an. It will probably be ten times bigger than it is now. If Xin'er wants to be like Chang'an, she'll have to work harder in the future." Liya said with a smile.

"Hmm... ten times? Then what about the defense of Chang'an? Wouldn't it require 20 soldiers to defend it?" Long Luxin was stunned. Chang'an originally had 2 soldiers defending it. If it was expanded tenfold, the number of soldiers would definitely have to increase tenfold.

"Of course, we don't need city defense anymore."

"No city defense? What if the enemy attacks?" Long Luxin asked puzzledly.

"Xin'er, have you forgotten? This is no longer a battle of cold weapons. In the face of firearms and artillery, do you think the city walls are still useful?"

"Oh yes, that's true." Long Luxin patted her head. She had forgotten about it.

However, her father's words reminded her that they could choose not to build city walls when expanding Camelot, thus saving a lot of money.

Chapter 224 It must be you who seduced the Empress of Wu