Expedition to Europe

Lanling Island, Pandora Hotel.

This is the largest and most luxurious casino on Lanling Island, and it is also the best hotel. The Lanfang government set the meeting here, which is unique.

In name, this meeting is to discuss the situation in Siam. The protagonists are Lanfang, Britain, and France. The United States, Germany, Italy, Belarus and other countries are present. The only thing missing is the representative of Siam, the country concerned.

Rama VI's family has died in the war. Siam can't even find a representative of public opinion in the general sense. In fact, there are still many candidates, but the representatives found by Lanfang are not recognized by Britain and France. For the same reason, the representatives found by the British and the French have not been passed. There were Siamese protests outside the hotel, but those people were all drinking tea in the small black room of the Lanfang National Security Bureau without exception, so this ridiculous situation has led to.

It looks like a concentrated manifestation of imperialist hegemony, but in fact this is the norm of international conferences in the early 20th century. The big fist is the truth, and the meaning of this sentence is vividly reflected.

The process of the meeting was very discordant. On the first day, the representatives of the British government had a fierce attitude. Lan Fang and France were in the same boat, so they naturally refused to give in to the British. Then the fierce words escalated into cursing, then turned into cup-breaking, and then developed into attacking each other with notebooks. The whole venue was full of smoke and it was hard to imagine that this was a model of "friendship" between several major powers in the world.

The British had reasons for their fierce attitude. In fact, at the beginning of the meeting, Lan Fang and France reached a consensus and agreed to implement co-management of Siam. The specific sphere of influence was divided according to the current situation.

This distribution method was originally more favorable to Britain, but in view of the current tense situation in the British-occupied areas, the British were very dissatisfied with this distribution method.

In the ten provinces in northern Siam occupied by the British, resistance activities were rising and falling. Hundreds of forces, large and small, under the banners of "Free Army" and "Autonomy League" came and went, making the British overwhelmed.

Even if the British used their butts to think, they could come up with the answer. These hundreds of forces may not all be supported by the Lan Fang people and the French, but the largest ones must be closely related to the French and the Lan Fang people. For example, the Chiang Mai Freedom Army that recently captured Chiang Mai City, if it is said that there is no support from the Lan Fang people and the French behind it, it would be laughable.

Judging from their performance in the world war, the British are indeed not as good as the Lan Fang people and the French, but that was when facing Germany. If they faced the mob composed of the natives, the British would still have enough strength. But the current situation is that the British are retreating on various battlefields and have not shown any competitiveness. Not to mention the colonial troops, even the troops composed entirely of British people have not gained much advantage from the natives. This is really too abnormal.

The first batch of British troops entering Siam were indeed colonial troops drawn from India, but as the resistance forces in northern Siam became more and more powerful, Britain drew two divisions from Libya to stabilize the situation in northern Siam, but this was useless. The terrain in northern Siam was complex and almost entirely mountainous. If the British troops were to clear out on a large scale, the resistance forces would disappear without a trace in the mountains. If the British did not send enough troops, the resistance forces would take the opportunity to attack, which made the British really at a loss. They had never encountered such a complicated situation anywhere in the world.

Under this premise, the British would never accept the proposal of the Lanfang and French. From the beginning of the recollection, the British asked Lanfang and France to withdraw their personnel in northern Siam, but Lanfang and France naturally refused to admit it, so the meeting came to a deadlock.

After a day of meetings, Lanfang representative Huang Bohan hosted a banquet for French representative Louis Herbert Lyautey at his residence.

Lanling Island is a new tourist destination. It is not easy to get a house here. Even William II has been renting a house in Pandora Hotel. However, Huang Bohan has a special status after all. Huang Bohan has a courtyard on Lanling Island. Although it is not as spacious as the house in Coconut City, it is still not a problem to entertain guests.

Huang Bohan is a wealthy man in the world. The decoration of the courtyard is naturally magnificent. Because of the national structure of Lanfang, the decoration of the entire courtyard is a combination of Chinese and Western styles, including the restaurant. There are both traditional Chinese restaurants and Western restaurants full of European style.

Lyoté is French, so the banquet was held in the Western restaurant.

As soon as he entered the banquet hall, Lyoté's eyes were attracted by the murals on the wall. Lyoté is also a high-ranking official, and he is familiar with various painting masters. Naturally, he can see at a glance that the murals hanging on the wall of the restaurant are actually the works of Dracovaro.

Don't know who Dracovaro is?

It doesn't matter. You know "Liberty Leading the People", which is his representative work.

The painting hanging in Huang Bohan's restaurant is certainly not "Liberty Leading the People", but judging from the painting technique and structural layout, this is also a work from Dracovaro's mature period. Such a work should be displayed in a museum, not on the dining table.

If it were a public occasion, Lyautey could just pretend not to see it and get away with it, but in a private occasion, he and Huang Bohan were already familiar with each other during the meeting, and the two of them cooperated well, so Lyautey spoke more casually.

"It's really despairing. I know you are a rich man, but you don't need to prove it to me in this way." Leotai complained half-truthfully.

"I don't mean to show off. It's just because it looks good. If it still catches your eye, you can go to my warehouse to pick a few paintings later. You know, it's because you came here that I hung this up." Huang Bohan's way of showing off is very unique.

According to Huang Bohan, if it weren't for a French guest, Delacroix's painting would not be qualified to be hung here. This made Leotai feel blood boiling immediately. He took several deep breaths in a row to suppress the urge to explode.

"Then I won't be polite!" Lyautey would not suffer for the sake of face. Not everyone can take advantage of Huang Bohan, nor can everyone get the opportunity to enter Huang Bohan's private collection room and choose at will: "It's hard to imagine how many good things of our country have been taken to Lanfang by you. I think you should return them, just like we did before."

There is no doubt that the World War caused serious damage to France, and countless works of art turned into ashes in the war. This is not only a disaster for the French, but also a catastrophe for all human civilization.

The "return" that Lyautey said refers to the batch of artworks that the French government returned to Lanfang at the end of the World War. At that time, the war was at a critical period, and the importance of the Foreign Legion became more and more prominent. The French were still relatively generous and allowed Qin Zhiyuan to empty the Chinese Pavilion of the Louvre.

Qin Zhiyuan did not take it for nothing. Strictly speaking, this was an exchange behavior. Qin Zhiyuan also gave the Louvre a lot of acquired artworks. In between, old Renault played a big role. After all, the exchange value was not equal.

"It's meaningless to argue about this issue. All my collections were bought with real money. You are going to give them all back to you with just one sentence. What do I get?" Huang Bohan did not comment.

Hearing Huang Bohan's words, Leotai immediately felt short of breath. To be honest, Leotai really couldn't think of anything that could move Huang Bohan. When it comes to money, he is rich enough to rival a country and was once one of the richest people in the world. When it comes to fame, Huang Bohan's portrait has been printed on banknotes. How else can he improve his fame?

"Friendship, friendship from France." Leotai finally found an excuse after racking his brains.

The original text can be read in Liu # 9 @Book/Bar!

"Haha, I don't need it myself. It is Lan Fang who needs the friendship of France, and France will not change its attitude towards Lan Fang because of my personal behavior." Huang Bohan was fearless.

Even though Lyautey is the smartest colonial soldier in France, he is still inferior to Huang Bohan, a profiteer. Dealing with someone like Lyautey is a piece of cake for Huang Bohan.

"Okay, today we are here to build relationships, not to discuss who Delacroix is. Tell me, what do you think of the British's suggestions?" Huang Bohan stopped teasing Lyautey and switched the topic back to normal mode.

At today's meeting, the British asked the Americans and Belarusians to have a say, but Huang Bohan and Lyautey did not agree immediately. For such things, they always have to discuss it first and form a united front.

The Lanfang people and the French are in collusion, and the British clearly feel that they are alone at the meeting, so the British want to expand the scope and find a few people who can help them at the meeting. The relationship between the Americans and the British has always been a united front, and Belarus exists because of the support of the British, so the British want to pull the Americans and Belarus into the "battlefield".

"It's useless. They can ask for help, and so can we." Lyaute didn't take it seriously.

"Tomorrow, representatives from the Republic of China and the coalition government will come, and they will also appear at the venue. What about you? Do you have a suitable candidate?" Huang Bohan also has a countermeasure, and he will fight back when the enemy comes.

A hero has three helpers. All countries are evolving into "big gangsters", and there must be a few hammers. The Republic of China is the best natural ally of Lan Fang, and the coalition government still has to buy rations from Lan Fang, so whatever Lan Fang says is what it is.

"Of course, I have sent a telegram, and there will be news soon." Lyaute certainly did not show weakness.

In fact, only Lyaute knew that in Europe, if the target to be confronted was the British, France really couldn't find many allies.