The second volume is full of glory and splendor in the capital, and the spirit is full of energy in the foggy city. Chapter 336 Dublin (Part 2)
Subtitle of this chapter: They are all in Dublin!
Monday morning, July 25, 1921.
Buckingham Palace, London, England.
"Marquis, what do you think?"
The British Foreign Secretary paused for a moment, then said in a very sad tone, "Prime Minister, this incident will definitely have a very, very, very bad impact on Britain's diplomatic reputation..."
"Now we have truly become the laughing stock of the whole world!"
Upon hearing this, the other two people present secretly gritted their teeth.
As the ancient Romans said, an empire does not need to be loved, but only feared.
As the world's number one imperialist empire, its brutality can inspire awe, but its incompetence can only arouse laughter.
So these people don’t need to read newspapers in other countries to know that the whole world is now mocking them.
I have to say that Niu Niu’s “relationship with the country” is really bad.
A book titled "All the Countries We've Invaded: And Some We Didn't Get Time To Invade" was published later. The author, a British historian, conducted over two years of research and found that, in the histories of over 200 countries in the 21st century, only 22 had not been invaded by the British.
However, this did create an unfortunate consequence. Napoleon spread nationalism throughout Europe, and similarly, the British spread nationalism throughout the world.
Lord Curzon sighed and said, "But that's nothing. The only thing that worries me is the reaction of the Japanese, and of course the reaction of the Chinese."
One shouldn't be too sensitive, especially when serving as the foreign minister of the world's largest empire. If people laugh at you, then so be it; it won't make you lose a hair.
For example, there are two well-known writers who have been writing for junior high school boys and girls for more than ten years, and finally became famous amid the ridicule of adult readers.
But now the British diplomatic community is dealing with the very sensitive Anglo-Japanese alliance and preparing to attend the Washington Conference.
As we all know, the real purpose of the Washington Conference was to establish an imperialist international relations system in the Far East and the Pacific region that the Versailles system failed to include.
This international conference was aimed at adjusting the relations among the imperialist powers in the Far East and the Pacific region after the First World War and establishing a new pattern of power comparison in the East.
Therefore, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and the Washington Conference were actually the same thing, but the "Hibiscus Legion" who claimed to be Seres made this big news, making the situation in the Far East even more complicated.
To use a rather inappropriate analogy, the "723 Incident" was like a group of diners discussing how to cook the fish in a fish tank. Unexpectedly, the fish leaped out of the tank and smeared the diners' faces with its own excrement.
Although the actual impact will not be that great, after all, diplomatic results still depend on national strength, but it is still disgusting.
Prime Minister Lloyd nodded gravely and said, "My Lord, please take care of the diplomatic affairs. After the Imperial Conference, please have a good talk with Minister Matsui and Minister Gu."
"Of course, this is my duty." The Foreign Minister immediately agreed.
The Prime Minister turned to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and asked, "Winston, what do you think?"
"Hmm..." The old smoker puffed on his cigar, frowning as he said, "I'm wondering about your Highnesses... Oh, and that Chinese guy, where are they going?"
Hearing this, Prime Minister Lloyd said unhappily, "Our director has sealed off all the Chinese communities in London and is now searching house to house."
Just as our Master Yuan expected, the Chinese in London are indeed in trouble.
This kind of "search" will definitely not be so civilized, polite and calm, and those "suspicious" Chinese are destined to have coffee in various police stations in London.
The "coffee" of that time must be much more unpalatable than the "coffee" of later generations.
However, for the sake of the SCP Foundation's just cause, Lord Fool had no choice but to turn a blind eye to this.
The Prime Minister continued, "At the same time, he also controlled traffic and mobilized the garrison to inspect various vehicles and ships..."
"Alas..." Churchill sighed, "I'm afraid we are already too late."
"I guess the two princes were sent out very early that night..."
At this point, he suddenly narrowed his eyes and said, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, that Chinese guy is gone too!"
"That's strange, why did he disappear?"
Prime Minister Lloyd asked curiously, "Winston, who are the Chinese you are talking about?"
But Churchill seemed not to hear him and said to himself, "Where has he gone again?"
"Why did those people take him away?"
"Why did his female student become the spokesperson?"
"Why was his good friend allowed to stay at the scene as a reporter?"
Lord Curzon answered Churchill's nagging: "Prime Minister, Winston is talking about Neo Yuan. He is the Chinese novelist that Mr. Einstein admired."
"Oh, no wonder the name sounds familiar. He seems to be quite famous in the United States."
It's not easy. The British Prime Minister, who is really busy with state affairs, also knows the name of Yuan Yanshu, who is not yet busy with state affairs.
Prime Minister Lloyd said in an admiring tone: "I remember now, this is a Chinese gentleman with a strong sense of justice. According to the newspaper, he severely criticized the kidnappers on the spot and was beaten by the brutal bandits..."
"Injured? That's right!"
Winston Churchill suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "He did it on purpose... No, they did it on purpose!"
"What do you mean by intentional?" the other two asked in unison.
"I mean that the Chinese man and the gang are in collusion. They are putting on a show right in front of us!"
Churchill was one of the four great men in the future, and he was definitely a smart man. He was also a real eyewitness.
At this point, he had figured out the whole thing.
He stood up suddenly, not even noticing the cigarette ash on his clothes, but walked around several times with his hands behind his back.
"I thought it was a bit strange at the time. Why did those people detain the two princes in solitary confinement? This is completely unnecessary."
"Now the matter is clear. They want to send the two princes away without telling us hostages."
"Then the next question is, why did they send the Chinese away as well?"
Churchill turned around and asked loudly to his two colleagues.
"Why?" the two people present asked again in unison.
"Because Neo Yuan is the mastermind behind this incident!"
"Hmm..." The two looked at each other and both felt that their colleague seemed to be a little obsessed.
Prime Minister Lloyd naturally did not know about the feud between Churchill and Master Yuan, but Lord Curzon did know a little.
However, precisely because he knew this, the Foreign Secretary felt that Churchill was a little narrow-minded and his imagination was a little too big. How could he conclude that Neo Yuan was the mastermind based on these signs alone?
"He disappeared with the two princes just to prepare for the next plan!!"
The Prime Minister couldn't help but ask, "Winston, what is the next plan?"
"The next plan is, is, is..."
Even though Churchill was a great figure in history, he was only seeing the whole picture through a lens, so naturally, he could "guess the beginning but not the end." So all he could say was, "That's it, that's it..."
Fortunately, someone rescued him at this time.
Humphrey's secretary came in and reported: "Prime Minister, and Your Excellencies, the King and Queen have summoned you."
Upon hearing this, the three senior British cabinet officials naturally stood up, picked up their clothes, and walked towards the conference room...
Around noon.
A farm on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland.
"Click, click, click..." The projector, which had run out of film, made the sound of an empty machine.
"Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo..."
In the warehouse that served as a temporary screening room, apart from this sound, there was only the sound of suppressed sobbing.
The saying goes that men don't shed tears easily, only because they haven't been bullshitted... No, it's because the time has not come for them to be sad.
Our Master Yuan, the big star and old Kennedy were not surprised at this scene at all.
So the three of them sitting together were having a small meeting.
Old Kennedy asked a very serious question in all seriousness: "Neo, how much should the ticket price for this movie be in Ireland?"
How could this big banker not be serious when it comes to such a serious issue involving small amounts of money?
Yuan Yan suddenly glanced at him in surprise and said, "Joseph, why are you still planning to ask your compatriots for movie ticket money?"
"Ah! Is this movie going to be shown for free in Ireland?" Lillian Gish was shocked. "That's a lot of money!"
As a close lover, she naturally knew that although her Chinese lover seemed to regard money as dirt on the surface, he actually valued small amounts of money.
Kennedy Sr. chimed in, "Yeah, I think every Irish person should see this movie. There are 4.5 million of us Irish!"
Ireland's situation was indeed tragic. Its population peaked in 1840, just before the Great Famine, at eight million.
It continued to decline after that until 1940, when it stopped falling and began to rise again. However, even in the 21st century, it did not exceed 8 million.
Four and a half million people, if one ticket is worth one U.S. dollar, that’s four and a half million U.S. dollars!
Of course, a large amount of distribution fees will definitely be deducted from it, but even if it is split 50-50, it is still two million US dollars.
“How can it be free?”
Master Yuan deliberately raised his voice to explain to his two companions, "Of course we have to charge for movie tickets, but we can declare that the 'profits' after deducting all 'costs' will be donated to the local warriors in Ireland..."
In the eerily quiet warehouse, he spoke so loudly that it almost echoed, "Of course, only if they agree to my request, please, please!"
Naturally, Valera and the others heard these words carefully.
The interim Irish president blew his nose with a handkerchief, then stood up, walked over to Yuan Yanshu, bowed, and said, "Dr. Yuan, on behalf of the Irish people, I thank you for making this film."
"Mr. President, you're welcome..." Our Master Yuan also stood up and bowed in return, saying, "I didn't do this alone."
"Yes, I know. So I want to thank Miss Gish and Joseph, and the entire film crew, too."
Valera also bowed to the other two and continued, "So, Dr. Yuan, is the donation you mentioned true?"
Yuan Yan suddenly said somewhat unhappily, "Mr. President, a promise from us Chinese is worth a thousand ounces of gold!"
"But let me be frank. The cost of bringing the two crown princes to you must be considered a cost..."
"Hmm..." He thought for a moment and said, "I'll just take $500,000 from you."
The cost of "Operation Tai Sui" would not exceed 50,000 US dollars at most, but he asked for ten times the amount.
As expected of a time traveler with a master's degree in economics, he can earn ten times the profit even by carrying out terrorist acts.
"Five hundred thousand dollars?! Dr. Yuan, this..." As expected, upon hearing such a large sum, he became embarrassed and said hesitantly, "This is too little. How can we afford it?"
Our Master Yuan thought to himself that he was indeed naive and had underestimated the financial resources of the Irish.
No, they have to pay some money.
"Mr. President, we are also victims of the British colonial empire. This price is our support for your independence."
He pondered again and said, "How about this? Just add another $500,000 and we'll sell you the Irish distribution rights for this film. Of course, the prerequisite remains the same."
One million US dollars, the filming cost of "Orphan of Famine" plus the operational cost of "Operation Tai Sui" have been covered, and all earnings from then on are pure profit.
What Yuan Yanshu values more is the American market, which has 100 million moviegoers, ten times that of Ireland. Besides, there are other countries in the world.
With this wave of publicity, are you still worried that no one will come to see this movie that vilifies Niu Niu so much?
"Dr. Yuan, let's discuss this."
"Mr. President, of course."
In fact, there was no need for much discussion. After only five or six minutes, our Master Yuan reached a verbal agreement with the Irish Provisional Government.
So on this Monday afternoon, the Irish Provisional Government issued a telegram that shocked the world...
Buckingham Palace, London, England.
The imperial meeting, which lasted from morning to afternoon, was extremely dull.
The monarch and his ministers of the great British Empire remained silent, but George V and his queen refused to let these cabinet ministers go.
The king and queen also felt a sense of resentment in their hearts.
Aside from the love for his children, the British Crown Prince was unexpectedly kidnapped in the British capital. It would have been fine if it was just a kidnapping, but now he is missing, with no trace of his body.
Wouldn't this become a joke in the entire royal circle in Europe?
If a country becomes a joke, the entire nation will bear the consequences, but if a royal family becomes a joke, only a few royal family members will bear the consequences.
So George V and the Queen would rather waste time with these old guys. Fortunately, someone came to rescue them at this time.
"Bang!"
Sir Humphrey Appleby, who was always calm, graceful, and a proper British gentleman, unexpectedly, unexpectedly, unexpectedly rushed into the meeting hall of the imperial court in a disheveled state and sweating profusely.
He had not forgotten the etiquette, but after a hasty salute, he waved the telegram in his hand and shouted: "Du, Du, Dublin!"
"Dublin what?!"
“They’re all in Dublin!”
