British writer.

Chapter 140
LSE,

polling office.

A group of students are extremely busy here, and the office is completely in chaos.

Nikolic flipped through the data sheet,
Solomon next to him asked, "How about the response rate and effectiveness?"

Nikolic said: "Better than expected. We sent a total of..."

At this time, the door was pushed open.

Lu Shi walked in, nodded to everyone,
"Go ahead. Leave me alone."

Nikolic continued the topic: "A total of [-] questionnaires were sent out, and [-] questionnaires were collected on site throughout the day. Considering that more than [-] questionnaires are expected to be collected tomorrow, this response rate is still quite good. of."

This result surprised everyone present.
More than "pretty good"?
Simply far exceeded expectations!
In Britain at the beginning of the 20th century, except for those property owners and noble lords, almost everyone worked overtime.

I have a lot of work, so I don't care about other things.

Combined with the realities of literacy rate and relatively backward education for all, the rate of answering the questionnaire will definitely not be high.

Solomon muttered: "It seems to be 70%. This data is very good..."

Nikolic echoed: "It's strange. In the past, not many people were willing to fill out the polls. "The 20 Greatest Britons" is unprecedented."

Lu Shi casually moved a chair and sat down,

"It's not difficult to understand."

Everyone's eyes cast over, flashing their thirst for knowledge.

Lu Shi said: ""The 20 Greatest Britons" has a strong entertainment nature, and it can provide conversation material after dinner. Of course, citizens like it. For example, 'Who did you vote for?', 'I voted for XXX', 'Ah, I voted for him too', which can open the topic in an instant."

This is true,
On the streets, many people are discussing "The 20 Greatest Britons".

Such a large-scale discussion has even given the poll a sense of fashion, which is more extensive than when the prime minister and parliamentarians are elected.

Solomon joked,

"I even had the illusion of participation by the whole people."

Lu Shi shook his head,

"That's not the case, it's just that these types of topics are easier to talk about. Moreover, it can also build a sense of identity and create cohesion."

If the people present feel something.

Solomon said: "Indeed, when discussing "The 20 Greatest Britons", it is inevitable to understand the people on the list. For example, the example I gave before is the great engineer who even Professor Lu has never heard of. Isambard Kingdom Brunel."

Lu Shi's head was full of black lines,

￣□￣｜｜

"I know now. Brunel was the chief engineer and chief designer of the Great Western Railway, and also designed the Box Tunnel, the longest tunnel in the world at the time. Besides these achievements on land, he was at sea His contribution is also very great. He designed the 'Great West', 'Great Britain', and 'Great Eastern', each of these ships is getting bigger and bigger, and will always be the 'world's number one ship'."

Solomon spread his hands,

"Look."

Nikolic on the side gave him a blank look, and complained: "What 'look'!? Can't you make it clearer!?"

Solomon said: "Knowing Brunel's life, what will you think?"

Nikolic pondered for a moment,

After a long time, he said, "I understand."

See micro-knowledge,

These contributions of Brunel in the field of transportation actually helped the development of the UK's overall economy.

Therefore, when the British come into contact with his deeds, they will have a sense of pride of "I am a citizen of the British Empire";
When foreigners are exposed to these, they will yearn for the British Empire.

This is what Professor Lu calls “shaping identity and creating cohesion.”

It's no wonder that "The 20 Greatest Britons" has such a high degree of discussion.

Nikolic shook his head,

"It's a pity that it's useless. This kind of thing is too easy to be imitated. I can guarantee that by the end of this year, there will be similar selections in all countries in the world."

Solomon said: "It's inevitable. Everyone has a reason for this kind of thing. For example, I think Cai Lun is as great as Gutenberg."

The two got farther and farther away.

Lu Shi brought the topic back to voting and asked, "How efficient is it?"

Nikolic replied: "No problem. From the results, the Queen is overwhelmingly the first. However, Faraday, Sir Newton, and Darwin are all ranked low, which I did not expect. It is as if the British do not value it. intelligence."

Solomon teased: "We just make excuses for ourselves, 'I'm not stupid, I just don't have money and power.'"

Everyone couldn't help laughing after hearing this.

Solomon said: "Sarcasm, I learned it from Professor Lu."

Lu Shi couldn't help complaining: "Don't blame me for everything, hey! Your words also sound ironic."

As he spoke, he stretched himself,
"It's normal for different circles to have different cognitions."

Some people think it is Newton;
Some people think it is Queen Victoria;
Some people think it's Shakespeare;
……

There is no right or wrong in this matter.

Nikolic still had some regrets and said: "The key to the problem is not the difference between Newton, Faraday or Darwin. The key to the problem is that people did not vote for a scientist or an explorer as the greatest No. 1."

The young man also became sad.

Lu Shi patted him on the shoulder,
"Okay, although the results haven't come out yet, it's almost there. Send it to Fleet Street and let Mr. Scott prepare in advance."

He had a hunch that it was almost time.

……

Isle of Wight.

Osborne House, the Queen's bedroom.

It was early morning.

"Cough cough..."

"hot……"

After a short gasp, the queen managed to open her eyes from the coma of pain.

She looked around with difficulty, and found that Margarita was lying on the side of the sick bed, and two nurses were standing not far away, carefully manipulating the injection needles, but she did not notice that the Queen had woken up.

The climate on the Isle of Wight is humid and warm.
There is no air conditioning in this era, and the queen is covered with a thick quilt, which is simply terrible.

Moreover, the air is filled with strong floral fragrance,
Originally, this was the queen's favorite smell, but at this moment, she almost felt sick.

The queen raised her hand slowly, aiming at the small window on the top.

As a result, she found that she couldn't move at all, and her right arm was numb, as limp as if a bone had been pulled out, and the numbness spread along the blood vessels to her fingertips.

Margarita then woke up,

"Grandmother?"

The two nurses next to me also looked over,

"His Majesty."

The Queen didn't disagree, but simply said, "Open the window."

Margarita gently wiped the cold sweat from the Queen's forehead, and complained softly, "You're so sick and you still open the window?"

The queen said "hmm" and repeated: "Open the window."

Margarita looked helplessly at the two nurses, her eyes full of consultation.

How dare the nurse be the master?

"..."

"..."

"..."

For a while, the room was silent.

Margarita said: "Grandma, please give me the voting paper in your hand first."

The queen was a little surprised,

"I'm holding something in my hand?"

She has lost feeling to her right hand.

Margarita nodded and said, "Yesterday, since you took over the voting paper of "The 20 Greatest Britons", you haven't let it go. I can't even take it away from you."

The queen wants to pinch her fingers,

As a result, he was still paralyzed without any consciousness.Faintly, she knew that what was supposed to come was coming.

She smiled at Margarita, and said in an extremely kind tone: "Okay, you open the window first. I will give it to you when I open the window."

Margarita chuckled,

"Why are you still bargaining with me? You spoiled old kid~"

After finishing speaking, she touched her grandmother's forehead,

"It's so hot, how do you open the window?"

The Queen said: "Five minutes. Just five minutes."

Margarita has nothing to do with the queen,

"Let's say it first, I will only open a 5-minute window for you."

As she spoke, she helped the queen tuck the quilt, then got up, moved her numb arm a little, and opened the window.

The sea breeze with a touch of salty taste slowly blows into the house,

The room fell into a comfort and silence that could not be experienced in London.

Margarita's long hair was blown by the wind, and the tip of the hair touched the tip of her nose, itching,

Some of the ends of her hair touched her eyes, making her eyes slightly moist, as if she was about to cry.

A strange feeling filled my heart.

Margarita turned around,
"Grandma, the window is open~"

However, there was no response from the Queen.

Her hands were on the edge of the bed, and the voting paper of "The 20 Greatest Britons" that she was holding tightly fell to the ground.

Moonlight streams in through the narrow window,

The two nurses knelt by the bed, as if they were praying, but they couldn't make a sound out of grief.

Margarita looked at the Queen on the hospital bed,

For a moment, she couldn't recognize this great woman, because the queen was smaller and older than she remembered.

A nurse whispered: "Your Highness..."

Margarita interrupted: "I know."

After speaking, she pushed open the door.

In the room, the Prince of Wales and other royal families all glanced at Margarita, as if they were waiting for something.

Margarita slowly stretched out her right hand and pointed her index finger to the sky.

Osborne Palace was silent, as if even the noise of the seabirds chirping outside had suddenly disappeared.

The Prince of Wales stood up slowly,

"I'll send a telegram to London right away."

……

London.

curfew!

For no reason, the pedestrians on the street seem to have disappeared,
Even the drunks were cleared to the entrance of the bar, under the bridge, and the streets were empty.

Citizens who had something good to do ran out, and then they were chased home by the Queen's Guards who suddenly appeared in the streets and alleys. They were not allowed to go to the streets, and had to go to bed obediently.

But for the gentlemen of Westminster, things are completely different.

Few MPs can sleep well.

Prime Minister Robert Gascoigne-Cecil was neatly dressed, sitting in the study with a serious face, closing his eyes and meditating,
The two gas lamps behind him flickered on and off due to insufficient air supply.
Looking at it from a distance, it looks like two dying old people.

for a long time,

dong dong dong-

There was a knock on the closed door.

Cecil opened his eyes suddenly, and scolded: "I have already said, don't bother me until the news is sent out!"

The knocking stopped immediately,
The butler's cautious voice came from outside: "The news has been sent out. The editor-in-chief of The Times, Barker, said that they must rush to finish the work in the last two hours, so that the news can be published in the newspaper."

"Whoo~"

Cecil let out a sigh of relief;

"Where's the Daily Telegraph? Come in and talk."

The door was pushed open.

The butler rushed in with small steps, bowed deeply to Cecil and said, "There is no guarantee over there."

Cecil frowned involuntarily,

After a long time, he shook his head,
"Forget it, don't force it."

Since the "Daily Telegraph" began to serialize Lu Shi's articles, there has been some estrangement between the two sides.

But this kind of thing cannot be put on the table and said,
The Daily Telegraph's early political stance was pro-Liberal, and later it was pro-Conservative.

Such an inconspicuous appearance is also a kind of protective color.

Cecil muttered to himself: "I can't force it..."

He turned to the butler and asked, "How did the news get out?"

The butler replied: "The Queen's Guards have withdrawn."

Cecil was slightly confused.

Yesterday, he received a telegram from the Isle of Wight and learned that the Queen had died of illness, so he sent his family out to inform colleagues in the Conservative Party to make early preparations.

During this period of time, because of "Yes!The Prime Minister” and the Royal Navy’s budget, Cecil has been criticized, both the people and the MPs have criticized him, seeing that he will not be able to survive, and the cabinet will be dismissed.

Unexpectedly, the Queen soared on a crane at this juncture.

When the old and the new are changing, the Prince of Wales must seek stability.
Cecil, as a veteran politician, of course knows to make good use of this buffer period, find ways to control public opinion, and regain the initiative in the parliament.

Unexpectedly, all the people he sent out yesterday were driven back by the Queen's Guards on the grounds of a "curfew".

This made Cecil couldn't help but daydream,

Could it be that the Prince of Wales also supports the Liberal Party?
Or did Queen Victoria have some last wish to settle the Anglo-Boer war once and for all?

All kinds of doubts came to my mind, of course Cecil couldn't sleep peacefully.

But now...

"You tell me that the Queen's Guard has withdrawn?"

Cecil was still a little unbelievable.

The butler nodded,

"Correct."

Cecil asked again: "So, the curfew is over? It's only been a few hours, and it's over?"

The butler glanced at the clock and said, "Less than two hours."

Cecil was even more at a loss, not knowing why the Prince of Wales imposed the two-hour curfew,
Is it fun?
Or is it the new Wang Liwei, the new official taking office?

Or is it really just a curfew to control law and order in London?

No matter how you think about it, it's a bit incredible.

Cecil was puzzled,
For a long time, he felt that he was too sensitive as a politician, and interpreted too many signals from some very ordinary things.

Gradually, the self-confidence of veteran politicians returned to them,
From the analysis of the current situation, Cecil believes that the Prince of Wales is not a resolute and iron-fisted monarch like Queen Victoria.
In other words, the Prince of Wales is not prepared to intervene in the cabinet and parliament,
As long as we make good use of the buffer period of the Queen's death, those ducks who like to be noisy and free will surely be beaten down!

Cecil's lips curled up,
"Hmph, look how I pluck those ducks!"

After finishing speaking, he wrote a letter at his desk and handed it to the housekeeper.

"Sent to The Times headquarters."

The butler took it and turned to go out.

Cecil stopped him again: "Prepare the carriage for me, I'm going to see Belfort."

The butler looked back,

I saw Cecil puffing out his chest and regaining his former majesty, no longer the frustration of bowing his head and drooping shoulders just now.

The housekeeper suppressed his laughter.
"Yes, I'll prepare right away."

(End of this chapter)