Chapter 854 Meeting of Rulers
Things that help divide the enemy camp, from Alan Wilson's current perspective, should definitely not be avoided.
"Master Zhongtang, I can actually see that compared to many people, you still respect other different cultures." Lin Lianyu hesitated and said frankly, "I don't know if my feeling is right, but this is my truth idea."
A strange look flashed across Alan Wilson's face, and then he smiled and said, "You mean I think your culture is pretty good? Well, actually this issue is not complicated. It's just that our perspectives are different."
"Huh?" Lin Lianyu didn't quite understand, so he asked as if asking for advice, "What does Master Zhongtang mean?"
"In other words, China has lagged behind in modern times and has been passively beaten. What do you think?" Alan Wilson took out a cigarette and lit it, then found a place to sit down. "What's the reason?"
"In modern times? The Qing government is corrupt and incompetent." Lin Lianyu thought as he said, "It is also related to the alien government."
"Mr. Lin, I don't want you to spread this kind of thinking, because? Our queen is actually a German aristocrat. And before the German aristocrats, the British royal family has been a French aristocrat for a long time." Alan Wilson reminded, if he just said this simply, He could just pretend he didn't hear it, but it wouldn't work if he meant something to criticize Sang Huai. "As for corruption and incompetence? It's the same in all countries. You see, this is because we have different perspectives due to different nationalities."
"In your eyes, it seems that only China has been in a backward position in the past hundred years. If you open your eyes and look at the world, the countries crushed by the British are spread across the five continents, including China, but it can only be said that they include but It’s not limited to China. China is just one in a long list of countries that are being crushed.”
Lin Lianyu was startled and had to admit, "Yes, I always struggle to view issues from the perspective of my own country."
"Mr. Lin is a very knowledgeable person. At least he is not arrogant. He also believes that Chinese people live on the earth. Since all countries have been hit at the same time, China is just classified as one of the vast majority. This issue is You can look away." Alan Wilson said calmly, "There is no eternal power, but this time it happened to be the UK. I believe that your motherland will adjust."
There is no eternal great power, and Alan Wilson is the most qualified to say this now. Britain is in the time when the sun goes down.
Lin Lianyu felt that today's conversation was very comfortable. Alan Wilson was no longer the superior colonist. The two seemed to be friends of different nationalities. They could also ask many questions, such as the different advantages of Eastern and Western cultures.
"I don't know if my feeling is right, but I can make an analogy. The ancient Greek civilization was regarded as a mathematician to a certain extent, while the civilization of the same period focused on litterateurs. There were far more litterateurs than mathematicians. Both can become people widely respected by society."
Alan Wilson was thinking while organizing the language to explain, "But in adolescence, when a person first enters the society, the knowledge he has learned may not be of much help. After all, only a few can become widely respected scholars. The same is true for people and civilizations. They may not all become talented in the end."
This is also true. Two thousand years ago, the mathematical knowledge studied in ancient Greece was an alien standard in that era. Who dares to say that the mathematical achievements of ancient Greek civilization will definitely grow smoothly?
In fact, it did not go well. During the Christianization of the Roman Empire, the last wave of ancient Greek civilization in Egypt was persecuted. To be able to be picked up again after more than a thousand years would be a miracle to the whole of Europe. Big luck.
If the conversation ends here, the exchange this time will probably be like that between Alan Wilson and McCarthy.
Establishing a good personal relationship and developing it may lead to another walking Sino-British special relationship similar to the special relationship between Britain and the United States.
It's a pity... Alan Wilson is a standard British bureaucrat. He has already prepared to do some things in his second term, including improving education no matter how poor he is.
From the perspective of competition with Japan, Alan Wilson cannot allow Malaya to compete with Japan with its current education level.
At the same time, he must not support a place like the Soviet Union. The education industry must be supported, but more money must be added...
Lin Lianyu is a famous educator among the Chinese. For Alan Wilson, who wants to start in the education industry, the greatest value is to realize it in some areas that are not easy to detect, such as the education industry, so that the UK can benefit.
When he revealed that he might use resources to persuade the London government to allocate some resources to help Malaya establish an education system, Lin Lianyu was very excited, "Thank you, Lord Zhongtang."
"This is what I should do." Alan Wilson smiled, embodying the face of a thorough imperialist bureaucrat, who deceived simple educators. Although he was a little embarrassed, he was not ashamed but proud, "This Of course we need Mr. Lin’s help.”
Lin Lianyu of course agreed to this. In his opinion, nothing was more important than this.
"Then, let's meet again at the military parade in a few days, and then we'll talk about this in detail." Alan Wilson sighed and looked at the time on his wrist. He continued to work on his own affairs until Lin Lianyu left.
A telegram from London was forwarded from Kuala Lumpur, and Alyssa also came to Penang to deliver a cabinet resolution. This was the resolution he requested from London on the Malayan colony in the name of the High Commissioner to Malaya.
Today this resolution was delivered to him, and then Alan Wilson went directly to his wife, took out the cabinet resolution and said, "The cabinet has approved to convene a meeting of rulers to adjust the nature of the colony."
Pamela Mountbatten didn't know the inside story yet, so she asked her husband, "What is involved?"
"The United Kingdom recognizes that you, Ali Khan, and the nine Sultans of Malaya are hereditary princes. Eleven of you will be the rulers of the colonies and convene a meeting of rulers to serve the British Empire." Alan Wilson said absently, "That's probably what it means. After all, we have to keep pace with the times. We can't have everything decided by the colonial government. It's a new era, and Britain still has to face it."
Pamela Mountbatten snorted and asked carefully, "What power do these eleven rulers have?"
"It has the right to supervise the policies of the colonial government and keep the government clean. There is currently no other power." Alan Wilson coughed softly and explained for London, "What doesn't take a while? The struggle between Parliament and the king will last more than three hundred years. Only then will there be results.”
Pamela Mountbatten couldn't help but rolled her eyes. One pole will reach three hundred years in the future? Do you still dare to be perfunctory?
This matter became a cabinet issue. Alan Wilson asked his wife to inform other rulers, and then asked Alfred to prepare the venue in Penang for a meeting of rulers.
The Conference of Rulers did not include Emperor Bao Dadi. Emperor Bao Dadi's loss of his throne had nothing to do with Britain. If he was dissatisfied, he could go to the French. In terms of division of responsibilities, Emperor Bao Dad couldn't use French swords to kill British officials.
According to European tradition, even if the royal family of a country is overthrown, the identity of the king is recognized, at least the contemporary king is recognized, and he is happy to form a government in exile for this purpose.
If Emperor Bao Dai still wanted to be particular about his title, Alan Wilson wouldn't mind calling this emperor who, according to Eastern tradition, usually died inexplicably after abdicating the throne, his majesty.
But it was impossible for a South Vietnamese emperor to live in exile in the Malayan colony and hope that Britain would recognize him as the ruler of the Malayan colony.
At the Penang Commissioner's Office, Alan Wilson arrived at the magnificent conference room with the resolution document from London. He glanced at the faces of the major rulers one by one, and then sat down next to Pamela Mountbatten. , said, "Hello, dear Sultans, today is a good opportunity to communicate about some plans for the future of the Malayan colony."
"First of all, congratulations to everyone. The London Cabinet has determined that the noble status of the eleven rulers here will be recognized by the London government. You will receive judicial power to protect your noble status."
"Thank you to the London government for its recognition." Ali Khan immediately expressed his support for the London government's goodwill.
Ali Khan deeply understands what it means to feel precious after losing something. Only he himself can understand the twists and turns of the road from the collapse of the Hyderabad state to the present Maharaja of Sabah.
The Sultan of Johor heard this and asked, "Commissioner Wilson, what can we, the rulers, do?"
"In principle, I hope you will do nothing. It is best to leave the country to professionals. And with due power, the colonial government will allocate funds to you according to a certain proportion of fiscal revenue to ensure your living standards. At the same time, you also have the right to control the colonial government. The power to question government policies. But I hope you use it with caution.”
Alan Wilson started a two-pronged exposition, spending ten minutes explaining the pitiful powers of the colonial rulers of Malaya, and spending half an hour refuting the above powers.
"What's the difference between this and now?" After hearing this, the Sultan of Johor was almost laughed at the hypocrisy of the London government.
"There are differences. For example, Britain is a monarchy and recognizes your status. But after Sukarno comes, you may change from a noble sultan to a civilian. I heard that the Jakarta government now favors the Soviet line. Then maybe becoming a civilian is a good outcome, and maybe it’s the end of Nicholas II.”
"Of course, I am definitely not a threat. Anyone who is familiar with me knows that I am a pragmatic person." Alan Wilson said with a smile, "This is especially true for rulers who are friendly to the British."
"Actually, there's nothing wrong with it. Everyone gets what they need." Ali Khan began to help after Alan Wilson finished speaking. "The real enemy now is Jakarta. Dear Sultans, I think I am qualified to speak on this. I once said My kingdom was destroyed by people who pursued similar pursuits to Sukarno."