Mid-May 1884

Red River Valley City

Queensland Autonomous Office, Governor's Office.

As the governor, Li Fushou met with members of the Australian mediation representative group of the Colonial Ministry headed by the Marquis of Winchester here. The guest and host talked harmoniously and showed a good atmosphere.

The Marquis of Winchester is a 37-year-old young noble gentleman. He is elegant and has a noble status. His words and deeds reveal that he has received a good aristocratic education and is a standard British gentleman.

Judging from all aspects, they are perfect.

The only drawback is poverty, and there is definite evidence;

In order to maintain a decent life in the upper class, the Marquis of Winchester has sold the valuable paintings, artworks and jewelry in the castle, which can now be said to be a bare-sized person.

There are many, many British down-and-out nobles like him...

"I have to be amazed that the wealth of Lord Queensland's territory is far beyond my imagination. If I was not mistaken, the population here is even more than Belize or Manchester. Oh my God, it's really unimaginable!"

"Thank you for your praise, honorable Lord Winchester, I would rather have a castle in London than a city here. He is so remote and far away from the political and economic center of the world."

"Haha...you're right, I agree with you."

"I had the honor of visiting London a few years ago, and I was deeply impressed by the luxurious life of the London upper class."

"I believe that only London, the world's central city, deserves it."

Mr. Winchester raised his head proudly, wearing a cohesive tuxedo, and a precious cane next to the chair, worth more than 140 pounds. He was full of confidence in his words and speech, and could not see any signs of pauper.

This is the down-and-out British nobles. They almost put most of their property on their bodies, and the donkey poop was shit outside. If they fell out, they could declare bankruptcy directly.

The real billionaire Li Fushou had a decent smile on his face, and seemed to have no idea of ​​the other party's background and was just right in line.

actually

The foreign agency far away in the UK had already investigated the Marquis of Winchester. In addition to owning a large castle that had been in disrepair, his family was almost deserted.

Moreover, Mr. Winchester was just a small role in the British Overseas Colonial Department, with a salary of 13 pounds and 7 shillings per week.

Logically speaking

A salary of more than £700 a year is enough to maintain a decent life for the middle class or the little nobles, but for Mr. Winchester, it is just a drop in the bucket.

To only maintain the basic function of the huge castle building, it is necessary to hire no less than 60 servants (this is already the minimum limit), and to attend valuable occasions and the two sets of carriages required for daily life, it will cost no less than 5,000 pounds a year, which he can never afford.

The British Overseas Colonial Department was originally established in 1768, mainly to deal with North American colonial affairs. After the North American War of Independence, the thirteen North American states broke away from the British jurisdiction to establish an independent country, and the status of the overseas colonial department dropped sharply.

In 1801, it was merged into the Army and Colonial Department.

In 1854, with the rapid expansion of the British Empire's colonies during the Victorian period, in order to deal with the heavy colonial affairs, the government divided the Army and the Colonial Department into two departments, the Army and the Colonial Department.

The Colonial Department is specialized in handling colonial affairs, and is under the jurisdiction of the newly established colonial minister.

The Colonial Ministry is not the department responsible for handling all overseas territorial affairs of the UK. The Ministry of India is responsible for Indian affairs, and the Governor of India is directly responsible for the affairs of the British protectors such as Egypt, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is clearly divided.

Both sides said something unnutrition for a while and gradually got to the point.

The Marquis of Winchester, with his slender and fair fingers, whirling the jade carvings of his precious walking sticks, said reservedly in a London-flavored tone;

"London Minister Lord Gulliver was deeply worried about the situation in Australia that day, and entrusted us with our party to investigate and mediate. It has been more than a month and a half here. He conducted detailed visits in the southern states of New South Wales and Victoria. The situation he heard and saw was not satisfactory..."

He was well versed in conversation, but he just talked in a foggy way, but the listeners knew it.

Some situations need not be explained clearly, and they will not point out the problem by name. Most of them are "deeply worried", "uncomfortable", "looking forward to a better solution", "looking forward to both sides letting go of prejudice and having frank and sincere talks", and ambiguous words like this.

Li Fushou also responded seriously, from time to time, such as "um", "ah", "I think so too", "looking forward to better results", "firmly safeguarding Australia's leadership and unification of the market", and once again emphasized his solemn position.

The talks took more than an hour and ended in formulaic clichés.

In order to express our welcome to the formal representatives of the mediation group and a group of seven people arrived in Queensland, Governor Li Fushou held a grand dinner and a dance party to entertain the group from London.

Before the party ended, Li Fushou left.

As he said;

It's already OK. I don't have more time to waste this beggar Hanako from London. Just treat it.

In fact

The enthusiasm for the nobles from London, the upper class of the Red River Valley and Brisbane was filled with zeal, with luxurious dance parties and dinners one after another, and seemed to never end.

Uh... the mediation team also had the same standard hospitality in Sydney and Melbourne. They worked all day at dances and luxurious dinners, and did not go to the front line country to understand the real situation. These old bureaucrats from London didn't bother to do this, and they were too ill-identified.

More than ten days passed in a flash

Red Fort, Lingxiao Pavilion

Li Fushou and Xin Changjun sat opposite each other on the sofa. In front of them was a pot of fragrant Yunwu tea, and they drank and talked.

"Yuan Ding, you're not authentic. I've left all the mediation team to us these days, and I don't even see my shadow."

"I know that Brother Changjun is a talented man, and he is very good at dealing with this group of beggars."

"My Lord Yuanding, the Marquis of Winchester, is not a three-year-old child, and is not that easy to fool. He has expressed his dissatisfaction through various methods. Although he has not stated it explicitly, in fact, his patience has almost disappeared."

"Hmph, I'll care about him going to die."

"That's not to be said. Although the Marquis of Winchester is an insignificant little role in the Colonial Department, he may not have the ability to accomplish things, but he must have the ability to do bad things."

"So, that's what he's worth, how much do you think it's worth?"

"This...I'm hard to be sure."

"hehe……"

Li Fushou smiled calmly, picked up the teacup and sipped it gently, letting the fragrant tea leaves linger in his mouth, and said in a deep thought, "Mr. Gulliver, the Minister of the Colonial Department, sent them to Australia, and there was no hope of solving any problem.

There have been policies regarding the situation in Australia. As Queen Victoria is about to face the 50th anniversary of the throne, it is better to have less than more things. This time it is just to create an opportunity to give them a chance to fill their exhausted pockets.

In my opinion

It is too much to give money directly, so why not let them invest in it. It is still a joint venture of Fulinmen Gas Stove Company in the UK, and it is worth 40,000 pounds to give Mr. Winchester 20,000 pounds of equity.

In this way, you can get a stable income of more than 2,000 pounds a year.

Of course, these equity was not given to them for nothing. They are not worthy of my big fight. If I want to buy real money, I just give them such an opportunity to invest.”

"Take out real money? Hahaha... I don't think the Marquis of Winchester can afford 20,000 pounds, and selling him is not worth the money." Xin Changjun laughed when he heard this.

"You are wrong. The Marquis of Winchester is not as down and out as you think. This title alone is worth millions of pounds, and countless wealthy American businessmen are willing to pay for it."

"Uh...and that's the case?"

"Of course, have you heard of American princesses?"

"Yuan Ding, you mean..." Xin Changjun finally realized it suddenly.

"Um!"

Li Fushou nodded seriously, expressing his approval of the other party's guess.

The late 19th century

With the rapid rise of the US economy, a large number of factory owners and entrepreneurs made a fortune. These nouveau riche are rich and powerful but have no social status. They are simply looked down upon in Europe and are ridiculed as "American cowboys with black fingernails" and "a group of rich and rich old hats."

at the same time

In today's prosperous period of the Victorian era of the British Empire, the life of the upper class in London became more and more extravagant and lusty, and it became increasingly difficult to maintain a decent upper class in life.

Many traditional aristocrats who only relied on land rent became depressed out of stubborn and conservative concepts.

He is handsome and handsome, has a good status and good education and knowledge. What is even more rare is that he has a dazzling aristocratic title on his head. His only disadvantage is poverty. This kind of down-and-out aristocratic situation is not uncommon in London.

Therefore, a young British aristocrat advertised marriage in New York, USA, attracted wealthy American tycoons to chase after him, scrambling to marry their wealthy daughter into a British aristocratic family, and bringing a generous dowry. This is the so-called "American princess".

The down-and-out nobles are interested in the money of American rich people, while the American rich people are interested in the status of British nobles. The two seem to be in a long drought and rain, and they hit it off.

This is the case for Churchill's mother, and the mistress of Downton Abbey. This is not uncommon at the end of the 19th century. Hundreds of American princesses married into British aristocratic families, and there were very few truly happy ones.

Mrs. Churchill gave birth to him after 7 months of marriage. It is said to have been premature. I am afraid everyone knows the facts.

Mr. Winchester has the title of Marquis and a nobleman with a long and glorious aristocratic heritage. With this alone, it is not an exaggeration to be worth millions of pounds. Some American tycoons are willing to pay.

He obediently gave his beautiful daughter and gave him a generous dowry worth a minimum of one million dollars.
Chapter completed!