C2037 Master of Diplomacy Benjamin (1/2)
A visit to Europe by the Emperor of China was something rarely encountered in history. From the moment humans started recording down their history, they had never heard of it.
The distant Asia would always be a mysterious land of gold in the eyes of Europeans. Although England, the nineteenth century, had torn the skin off the painting in two wars, the thousands of years of inertia had been very powerful. Most people in Europe still believed that China, which was far away, was very powerful.
They were not only strong but civil and courteous, a country that Marco Polo's travels had long described as a paradise, and it was strange to say that human nature was so complex that they preferred to believe everything that was described in literature and art, but were skeptical of serious government reports.
It was just like how, in Xiao Letian's previous life, the people of this country approved of the universal value of Hollywood movies, but doubted the news that came along with it.
This was also the embodiment of the ancient saying that 'foreign monks know how to recite scriptures'. After all, distance produced beauty!
Europeans and Asian were the same. Although there were differences in culture and looks, human nature was the same. It was because of this that the arrival of the Eastern diplomatic mission was able to shock the entire Europe.
Britain deserved the glory of its first visit, and it also took on the security, coordination, and financing of the entire diplomatic visit, which could be described as its own pocket to supplement the state visit.
Of course, this transaction was not a loss, because the true elites' politicians all knew clearly that this kind of image engineering could greatly enhance the British Empire's national image, and was very helpful for them to rule the colonies and suppress the opposition within the Kingdom.
If the country's image was greatly enhanced, those voices of criticism would naturally become weaker and weaker. When the national pride increased by one percentage point, then the investment invested in public security and welfare would be reduced by ten percentage points.
Most importantly, this was a British display of strength to the world. They wanted to visit this golden age using the Emperor of China to beat up those who were chasing after the second and third place again, so who would be the leader of the world?
Benjamin hated the Chinese, but he would not hate the promotion of his country's image that was brought about by the Chinese visits, so he had to prepare with both hands, on one hand, he had to hold this diplomatic event in great honor.
If he wanted to make a fool of himself in front of the whole Europe, and tear apart his fake mask, Benjamin wouldn't mind helping Napoleon III if it was possible. At the very least, he had to start that anti-Chinese alliance.
Benjamin was a person of action, he wanted to do it, so at this welcoming party, he used the influence of the Prime Minister to send out an 'invitation letter' to all of Europe.
The so-called invitation letter was actually three parts forced, including when Sha Russia was angry at the tsar for rejecting it. How could he send an envoy to attend the welcoming ceremony of an enemy monarch?
But at the critical moment, Benjamin sent a personal telegram stating how strong he was, and hinted at a threatening tone. Sha Ao was obviously afraid that he would pull a fast one during the later stages of the negotiations, so he sent a special envoy to London to attend the welcoming ceremony.
Similarly, in France, it was the same. Napoleon III was even more unwilling to send people to participate in this welcome ceremony, but after Benjamin secretly made some promises, the French Emperor's attitude changed.
In order to disgust Xiao Letian and Zai Chun, Napoleon had even sent out a conqueror of China, Duke of oculi bridge, who was the one who commanded the British and French combined forces to defeat Seng Gelinqin outside the Beijing. He was the one who led the troops to attack the Beijing and burn it down.