New Shun 1730

After teasing, Liu Yu smiled nonchalantly and said something that shocked the queen.

"We are all the ruling class of the country. The country is our country. Of course we will speak with our chests straight when we speak. We will not be as numb and numb as the suffering peasants in our flooded areas or the serfs in the Russian aristocratic estates. pain."

The Queen was shocked by his definition of the country, but asked from a purely moral level: "It sounds like you are a kind person. Since you feel the pain of those people, why do you focus most of your energy on external expansion? , instead of alleviating their pain?”

Liu Yu thought nonsense, the time has not come, and the spear that breaks the shield is not sharp yet.

But he said righteously: "The reason why I am eager to expand abroad is because the people under the rule of foreign races may have the same miserable life, but at least it can be guaranteed that there will be no massacres based on ethnic groups."

"A very bad thing is not equivalent to a very bad thing plus one bad thing. I don't have the ability to make the world no longer have ethnic divisions and religious conflicts, so I just have to take the initiative. "

Elizabeth smiled and asked: "Do you think you are a kind person?"

"Absolutely. For example, I don't like hunting very much. I went to Heilongjiang to participate in the war since I was seventeen, and I killed many people with my own hands. Seeing those animals struggling always reminds me of the time when I kill people. So I Strive to become a general, because there is a saying in China that a gentleman is far away from the cook. Of course a gentleman has to eat and even order the slaughter of cattle and sheep, but as long as he doesn't look at it, he will feel at peace."

"It's very hypocritical, isn't it?" Elizabeth's blue eyes flashed, and she asked elegantly and as if she was close to the relationship, using this kind of rudeness, or the good-natured sarcasm between friends.

Hannibal, who was accompanying Elizabeth, lost no time in speaking fluent Chinese to Liu Yu.

"When Yuan Shao saw people who were hungry and cold, he felt sorry for them. What he didn't see or think about was the so-called benevolence of a woman. How can Marquis Jing also have the benevolence of a woman?"

Liu Yu almost laughed when he heard such fluent Chinese, but managed to hold it back and clicked his tongue at Hannibal.

"Maybe."

"Perhaps a hypocritical ruling class is better than an absolutely evil ruling class."

Queen Elizabeth shook her head and chuckled. Regarding Liu Yu's denial, she gave a definition that she thought she knew very well.

"If you think so in your heart, then you are a staunch Machiavellian. Machiavelli teaches those in power to be cruel on the inside, but they must show kindness on the outside."

"Rulers should show love for the people as sons and be kind and generous in public. Punishing people should be done by others. In the end, they can blame others and find scapegoats to avoid being condemned by the people. Reward others. You should personally come forward to prevent subordinates from doing personal favors. Favors should be given little by little to give them hope; blows should be fatal to them, so that they do not have the possibility of revenge. He pretends to be ignorant about everything, and avoids letting his subordinates know about him, but he must know his subordinates well, control them at any time, and use the power of killing. "

"Machiavellians believe that human nature is inherently evil, but must show hypocrisy."

"You are not a ruler, but your understanding of hypocrisy shows that you are a standard Machiavellian."

Liu Yu smiled and said: "Your Majesty the Queen, I have not read Machiavelli's book, but what you mentioned is what we call the 'technique' of the three schools of Legalism: law, technique, and momentum."

"The Celestial Dynasty uses Confucianism to govern the country. As a Confucian believer, what we understand cannot be understood by using the Legalist 'law, technique, and momentum'. Of course, I can't tell the difference at the moment, but if I have the chance, I will give you some books by the ancient sage Han Feizi. You can read them carefully and understand the difference between "Dharma, Technique, and Power". If you are still interested, you can read Confucian books and see how they are heretical. What is the starting point of the debate?”

"If you cannot understand the ancient sages, you cannot deal with the Celestial Empire."

"Many things, if you think about them with your accustomed thinking, will often lead to misunderstandings on both sides. It is foreseeable that there will be more and more exchanges between China and Russia in the future. I still recommend that you send some scholars to study in China to facilitate understanding. The differences in thinking between the two parties can avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.”

Queen Elizabeth smiled and said: "I will respect your suggestion."

"I haven't read Confucian books, but I have read some introductions by Voltaire."

"If you think you are a Confucian gentleman, can you think that you helped me ascend to the position of Tsar simply to abide by Confucian ethics and be an honest and trustworthy person? Just because you promised Hannibal, so Are you going to fulfill your original promise and not ask anything from me?”

Liu Yu nodded immediately.

"Yes, you can think so. I have no undue demands on you personally or on Russia. As you said, I helped you ascend to the throne of Tsar just because I had no right to Hannibal. His promise - he told me what he learned in the French military academy and his experience in participating in the construction of the Russian Navy. In return, I will protect you, the princess in his heart."

"I support the boundary agreement signed before and will not ask for more. I personally do not want to accept the Russian title. I do not want to turn this help out of morality and integrity into a dirty and vulgar one. exchange of benefits.”

His tone of voice was not too serious, but rather joking.

But now that the words were spoken, even if the tone was joking, it was enough to reassure Elizabeth.

"So, you are a real 'scholar'. Do you believe what you say?"

Liu Yu winked mischievously and said with a smile: "Just do as the Romans do. Europe cannot define the profound concept of a scholar. You can think that I have gathered the seven virtues."

Elizabeth also smiled and said: "I can confirm that there is no honesty among the seven virtues. And your Latin teacher is a Jesuit missionary, so you must know that there is no honesty among the seven virtues and no lying."

Yes, among the seven virtues, there really is no integrity.

After that, the two people looked at each other and laughed at the same time.

Since Liu Yu said that his moral character does not include "not lying", it is obvious that some of his words are lies.

As for which ones are fake, although it is impossible to tell in a short period of time, it is at least certain that Liu Yu said that he agreed with the previous boundary agreement and would not ask for too much. This is true.

Elizabeth said that Liu Yu was a Machiavellian, while Liu Yu said that Machiavelli was just a school of magic. In fact, he was telling Elizabeth that these so-called magical-sounding knowledge did not exist in Dashun. , but the spell potential is still very smooth.

The characteristic of Machiavellians is hypocrisy. Even if you believe in the evil of human nature, you must show your belief in morality and benevolence.

Liu Yuyue said that Dashun governs the country and conducts diplomacy with Confucian ethics. In fact, he is saying that Dashun's foreign policy can only be hypocritical, and is essentially an exchange of interests.

The two people seemed to be joking and set the tone of today's meeting: don't talk about morality, talk about interests. Liu Yu promised not to make territorial demands, and Elizabeth did not have to focus on bargaining.

So much for moral matters.

After the joke, Liu Yu followed Elizabeth and entered the summer palace.

The upcoming dinner was not attended by many people, only some close people around Elizabeth, and not even Bestuyev, the deputy prime minister of the Privy Council who presided over foreign policy.

Among these people, except for Hannibal and Liu Yu, who were old acquaintances, the rest had only met on the day of the coup.

As the lubricant in the middle, Hannibal introduced to Liu Yu one by one that the people present were all Elizabeth's coup team and members of the so-called "shadow cabinet" during the forbearance period.

However, they were all Russian nativists, and the court doctor, Count Lestock, was not present either.

The main ones are the Shuvalov brothers, Razumovsky, Elizabeth's cousins, etc. There are not many in number, but they are all Elizabeth's real confidants.

There are no foreign forces, nor are they local aristocratic forces. They are all new nobles who rose with Elizabeth's rise to power.

The atmosphere was not that formal. It was not a formal palace banquet, but more like a family banquet for a feudal lord and his retainers.

Under the bright candlelight, Elizabeth, who had gone to change her clothes, appeared again.

After sitting down, Liu Yu did not wait for those people to bring up the topic, but directly took the initiative to ask questions.

"Just now in the Summer Palace Garden, Her Majesty the Queen used the light snow to metaphor some political affairs. I guess this meal will also have some metaphors, right?"

"Fortunately, after receiving the invitation from Her Majesty the Queen to hunt, I have been thinking about how to use metaphors along the way. I have prepared many, many props for this. I have also been thinking about various possible scenarios along the way."

"For example, what kind of beast is captured, and what kind of metaphor should be used to use it? For example, when eating, what kind of metaphor should be used at the dinner table?"

"People in the classical era all like metaphors. Our culture is also inherited from the classical era. In the books I have read since I was a child, the ancient sages used all kinds of metaphors. Since Her Majesty the Queen also likes to use metaphors, then I also like to use metaphors. Just follow Her Majesty’s preferences and gain her favor as much as possible.”

Several people at the table laughed in what sounded like good-natured ways. It was the first time someone heard this kind of metaphorical metaphor, and they took the initiative to bring it up instead of leading it to the question naturally.

"Then, I propose that we give a toast to the Marquis who likes to make metaphors, and we will listen carefully to the end of your metaphors."

The Queen took the lead in raising the wine glass, and the others followed suit, drinking all the wine in the glass, and then turned their attention to Liu Yu.