"What a spectacle!"

Standing in the middle of the World Exposition, Fran couldn't help but widen her eyes and exclaim with excitement.

It was May 1, 1851, the day of the opening of the World's Fair in London.

The venue she is in now is a super-large building made of steel and glass. In front of her, the towering steel formed a huge frame, countless pieces of glass were embedded in the long corridor, and the top of the building, which was already very tall, was made of curved material at the top of the middle, and below the dome was a wide corridor, through which countless people passed by, and witnessed this magnificent and trembling building in amazement.

Because of its structure, everyone in England named it Crystal Palace, which in her opinion was a very apt name.

She didn't look at anyone anymore, but threw herself into that artistic beauty. She could feel the artistic atmosphere of classicism from the dome, but the grand architecture of steel and glass gave her a surging passion and incomparable impact.

Is this the modern age? Almost everyone has such an idea when they walk here.

It turns out that the building can be built like this!

Her eyes widened and she looked around, trying to imprint everything into her mind.

There are many exhibits from all over the world in the exhibition area on both sides, and people stop to watch everywhere, but she feels that the building itself has been a great success. The British Empire had flaunted the privilege it now possessed, as she wished.

As she watched, sunlight streamed through the hundreds of thousands of panes of glass that filled the dome and walls. The pillars of light projected through the glass have become a symbol in themselves. It symbolizes the rising sun of the British Empire on the top of the world, and also symbolizes the glory of the British Empire after defeating all enemies.

It's amazing.

There were all kinds of costumes in the crowd, as if all the nations of the world had come to the British Empire to worship and congratulate her on her superior status.

In addition to the excitement of the grand occasion and the pride, there was also a kind of unconvincing feeling that the French had to be on the island across the Channel.

How could France be left behind than her sisters? We need to do the same!

…………………………

"Charles, we should have this stuff in France! It's so beautiful! ”

In the bustling crowd, Charlotte, who had been holding her husband's hand, lowered her voice and whispered beside Charles. Although on the surface, it doesn't seem to be much shocking. But the tone was both envious and jealous, revealing the mentality of not being willing to fall behind.

Then she turned her gaze to the people who were either proud or envious, "France can't let the British be so arrogant!" ”

Her husband, however, did not answer, but looked left and right, feeling the most glorious glory of the British Empire in 1851.

He wasn't dazzled by the building, nor was he fascinated by the event. In the 21st century, there are buildings that are even bigger and more beautiful. There were also bigger events than this one, and what really made it difficult for him to move was the passionate optimism of humanity opening its eyes in the fog and embracing the staggering of science and technology. This is a microcosm of the fact that industrial civilization has changed the entire world by destroying almost everything of its productive forces.

Relying on this high-spirited momentum, Britain became a country that opened the door to industrialization at this time, and thus became an empire that ruled the world. It has also exported the new concept of industrialization to the whole world.

Maybe you've done a lot of bad things. Perhaps the crimes are too numerous to mention, or perhaps they have left indelible painful memories for the peoples of the colonies and semi-colonies. But this contribution alone is worth remembering by all the world.

Yes, at this moment, it seems that the eyes of the whole world are focused on this magnificent building in Hyde Park.

"Charles!" Just as he was still sighing in contemplation, he suddenly had his hand pulled by Charlotte and was pulled back from reality.

"Huh......?" Charles looked at her inexplicably.

"Hey, didn't you hear what I was telling you?" Charlotte crossed her with some disgust.

"Oh, sorry, I was looking at something!" Charles smiled apologetically, "What did you just say?" ”

"I said, we're going to make almost the same building in France! And then we will also hold such a grand event, so that the whole of Europe and the whole world will know that we are a great country in France! Charlotte said angrily, not knowing whether she was angry with Britain or her husband. What do you think of this idea? We can't just watch the British show off and do nothing, right? ”

"Alright, Charlotte, didn't I say I'm sorry?" Seeing his wife's appearance, Charles couldn't help but laugh, "The British are qualified to show off now, and there is no need for us not to admit it." Moreover, in the present circumstances, even if we tried to grudgingly compete with the British, it would be only in vain to make people laugh, both militarily and here. ”

"Look at what you say!" When she heard her husband say this, Charlotte couldn't help but be even more displeased, "I'm not telling you to fight the British, I'm just saying that let's find a way to hold the same event in France, and don't let the British family put on a show......

"It's great." Charles shook his head, disagreeing with his wife, "But the greater part isn't here. ”

"What do you mean?" Charlotte became more and more confused.

"The building in front of us, according to what I know, uses a total of 900,000 square feet of glass, which was supplied by a glass supplier in Birmingham, and they hired labor and engineers from France to help meet the deadline. The other main building material is iron, including 3,300 iron pillars and 2,300 iron beams. Covering an area of 74,000 square meters......" Charles shrugged his shoulders and smiled at his wife. "My dear, guess how much the British spent on it?"

Charlotte looked around a little dazed. Keeps blinking.

"It should cost a lot of money, I think the materials are used a lot." After a moment, she answered Charles's question uncertainly, "One or two million francs, perhaps?" ”

"It's less than you estimated, about 150,000 pounds." Charles didn't sell the off, and answered Charlotte directly.

In this day and age, £150,000 is a lot of money, but in the eyes of different people, it provokes different reactions.

"One hundred and fifty thousand pounds? That's not much, is it? That's just over three million francs...... Even if it's a bit more expensive in France. At most, it will cost six or seven million, right? Isn't this for us to pay, the government can set a budget? Charlotte was still very curious, "I see that the exhibition is so grand this time, so even if we hold it once in France, we won't lose money, right?" However, I really didn't expect them to be able to make so many things with so much money......"

"My dear, you've finally figured out the essence of the matter!" Charles patted his wife's cheek affectionately with his hand as if no one else, "That's the problem! They only used 150,000 pounds! ”

This kind of childish behavior in front of the public made Charlotte's cheeks immediately crimson and glared at him fiercely. "You...... What are you doing? You'd better explain it to me quickly. I hate it when you pretend to be pedantic and put on this pretentious look! ”

"Ah, okay...... I'm sorry. 150,000 pounds is nothing more than a pile of scraps of paper and gold sitting there, and it doesn't mean anything. Let's talk about other countries. Maybe it could make a mountain of silver out of silver, but there was no way to move so much glass and steel together to build such a building. Think about it. What did our ancestors think of those glasses hundreds of years ago? Charles raised his hand slightly. Pointing to a piece of glass on the dome that was shining in the sunlight at this time, "They want a piece of glass like this." God knows how much it will cost! Charlotte, my dear, do you know what this means? ”

"What does it represent?" Charlotte looked at her husband with some confusion.

"How can those who regard glass as a treasure not shudder when they see such a building? It actually treated such a rare treasure as a building material like sand, and put hundreds of thousands of pieces without hesitation! Not to mention the steel, no other nation is entitled to use it as the British now, which is a terrible luxury. "My dear, this building may be great, but what is even greater is everything it represents—a new civilization, a power that can change the world completely." Only such a power can bring to everyone's life what was considered a luxury hundreds of years ago at an affordable price for all, and this power can and will change the world. And now, we don't have that power...... So if we reluctantly fight now, I'm afraid it will be just a humiliation. ”

"So, you mean, we're going to have to pay a lot more than it to make the same thing?" Charles's explanation still made Charlotte a little confused. "The greatness of the British lies in their ability to make large quantities of glass and steel cheaply? Do more than you can do in hundreds of years? ”

“…… You're right, Charlotte. Charles patted Charlotte on the shoulder.

Although this understanding is very rudimentary and not yet the essential, Charlotte's comprehension ability is very good to be able to get here, and Charles has no intention of explaining more, so as not to waste the precious time of the two of them.

"I always think you're talking too vulgar." Charlotte frowned, trying to contradict Charles, but she didn't know what to say. "So you mean we can just watch and watch the British do whatever they want?"

"Now we can only watch, but that certainly doesn't mean we've been doing nothing. It's shameful not to see the gap, but it's even more shameful to do nothing after seeing the gap. Charles shook his head, then looked up again and looked at the dome above him, "Mr. President will build high walls, and then develop industry in our country, and if we work hard, in a few years, we will make much more steel and glass than the British, and everything else!" At that time, we don't need to say anything, and the glory will come to us on its own, won't it? ”

"Soon?" Charlotte was so infected by her husband's tone that she unconsciously followed the reverie.

"Yes, in a few years, the next World's Fair will be held in Paris, and then the envy of the whole world will be concentrated there." Charles nodded, then looked down at his wife again, "In a few more years, we'll make all the difference, and then, it's your turn to receive Her Majesty with kindness!" ”

"Oh! Shire! Seeing her husband say this, Charlotte couldn't help but blink.

At this time, her husband was in high spirits, and he no longer had the humor and calmness of his usual life, only a haughty attitude that did not take anything in his eyes.

This kind of aura and will of "we are doing a big business" is what she is most fascinated by her husband.

In the declining and amalvible social world, she rarely sees such a high spirit. The ancestors of the Trevill family were also on the continent like this back then, right?

She did not doubt that her husband would be able to live up to what he claimed, because she had already witnessed his experience and knew that he would do what he said.

"I'll help you, whatever you do, I'll help you." Suddenly, she whispered.

In this crowded venue, the couple looked at each other affectionately, and the noise and strange sight next to them could not move them, and this noble couple never needed to care about the eyes of others.

"Ahem!" It wasn't until an intentional cough sounded next to them that the two of them woke up from a dream and retracted their gaze at the same time.

Charles looked to the side and found his sister, dressed in costume, standing there quietly watching the couple, and next to her close friend Mary, with an apologetic smile on her face, as if apologizing for not taking a good look at Fran.

I don't know why, his face suddenly felt a little embarrassed, and the original arrogant attitude of looking at the world disappeared without a trace.

"Ah, Miss Treville, you're finally here, we're still looking for you."

"Actually, I've been here a long time ago, but I just can't bear to disturb you." Fran replied in a low voice, no expression on his face, "I just admire you for being so close to no one in such a place." ”

"We are a couple and can be intimate anywhere until someone disturbs us." Before Charles could answer, Charlotte grabbed Charles' hand, and then looked at her sister-in-law with a sneer, "If you are really envious, why don't you also find someone to marry?" ”

"Well, let's continue shopping, and Her Majesty will see us later!" Charles hurriedly stopped them. (To be continued......)