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As the carriage pulls into the main entrance of Blenheim Palace, you can see the brilliant lights coming from the palace in the distance. The carriage had been driving for a short while, and I had already seen a lawn full of cars and horses, and faint music was heard.

It seems that another feast of British high society is taking place in Blenheim Palace!

After getting out of the carriage and walking a little inside, I saw that inside the gate of the palace, more than a dozen musicians in tuxedos were shaking their heads and pulling Western musical instruments. Violins, violas, and a huge piano.

A butler wearing a beautiful Western dress and a wig is standing solemnly at the door to greet guests. However, the guests were dressed in strange costumes, some dressed as Arabs with their heads covered, some in outdated European military uniforms, some dressed as Indians, and some dressed as if they were ancient Romans or Greeks.

The fat man Qiu, who came with Zhu Jishi, grinned and said, "Jason, look, the two of us seem to be wearing the wrong clothes......

His loud voice alarmed many guests at once, and when he looked here, he saw Zhu Jishi dressed in a serious dress, and they all covered their mouths and laughed.

"Today is a masquerade ball," Qiu Fatzi pulled Zhu Jishi's arm and said with a smile: "I don't know what George will dress up into?" I remember the last moment he was dressed as the emperor of China, wearing a silk dragon robe and a tie tied at the back of his head to pretend to be braids. ”

Zhu Jishi laughed twice, and walked in with Qiu Fatzi. Of course, the butler who greeted the guests at the door would not ask Zhu Jishi for an invitation, and respectfully called him "Sir".

When he arrived at Blenheim Palace last time, Zhu Jishi did not enter the palace, but only attended a drinking party on the lawn. So this is the first time he has experienced the luxury of the interior of what is claimed to be the first mansion in England (more than a hundred years later, the interior of Blenheim Palace is not open), but he has been a temporary royal physician at Windsor Castle for a month, and has seen the same grandeur before. So I didn't have much interest in visiting now, just grabbed a briefcase, which could contain important things, and followed Qiu Fatzi to the second floor of the palace.

When passing through the hall, there were many guests who greeted the fat man Qiu, both men and women, and it seemed that the fat man's popularity was quite good.

"Sir Zhu." Zhu Jishi suddenly heard someone shouting about himself, and following the reputation, it turned out to be a "black chief", who looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was for a while. The man said, "I'm John. Brown, steward of Windsor Castle. ”

"Oh, you're Mr. Brown, and I almost didn't recognize you." Zhu Jishi smiled awkwardly, walked to Brown's side, and laughed in a low voice: "Are His Royal Highness the Prince and Queen Bixia all right?" ”

"It's all good," Brown attached to Zhu Jishi's ear, "when will the medicine be ready?" ”

"It's done." Zhu Jishi knew that the other party was talking about the medicine for Victoria's disease. "I'll personally deliver it to Windsor Castle next week."

"I'll send a carriage to pick you up."

"Thank you."

This was the end of the conversation between the two, and as soon as they went up to the second floor, Qiu Fatzi raised his thumb and said to Zhu Jishi: "Jason, you can do it, and John. Brown has made friends, and this guy is Prince Albert's confidant. ”

Zhu Jishi shook his head and did not take this stubble. He would rather be with John. Brown was a friend, not Prince Albert. Although the prince and the queen seem to be very approachable, the king is a king after all, and Zhu Jishi has heard of the truth that accompanying the king is like accompanying the tiger. Now that Albert has broken his knots, there must be an intention, Victoria's commotion is just a trivial matter, and the real purpose of the prince is probably to exert influence on China through himself and the University of Hong Kong!

The second floor of Blenheim Palace is also richly decorated, with works by European painting masters hanging everywhere. After passing through several open porches, Zhu Jishi and Qiu Fatzi stopped outside the two heavy gates. The fat man knocked lightly on the door panel a few times and said, "George, it's me, Robert, and Mr. Zhu has arrived." ”

The duke's voice came from inside: "Please come in." ”

Pushing open the door, Zhu Jishi found that the room inside was very spacious, with a long row of bookshelves against the wall, which were filled with thick hardcover books. Duke Marlborough did not pretend to be the emperor of China this time, but wore a Turkish robe, not a sultan or a minister of the Ottoman Empire?

There was also a person sitting across the desk, it was Bai Siwen's original master, Jardine, who was wearing normal clothes like Zhu Jishi and Qiu Fatzi. When the two of them saw Zhu Jishi coming in, they just nodded slightly and said hello, but did not get up to greet them.

Qiu Fatzi pulled over a chair, beckoned Zhu Jishi to sit down, and then went out by himself, seemingly in a hurry to attend the dance party downstairs.

"Coffee or tea?" The duke asked Zhu Jishi with a smile.

"No, I think we're going to be leaving this room soon." Zhu Jishi put the briefcase on the desk, took out a package of things from it and put it on the countertop, took a breath, and said with a smile: "George, this is the bomb I told you, it has 10 times the power of black powder!" He glanced at the cigar in the duke's hand, "If it explodes in this room, none of the three of us will survive." ”

The Duke gasped, quickly snuffed out the cigar in his hand, and then asked with interest, "Jason, this...... What are bombs made of? ”

"It is made by stir-frying ammonium nitrate powder and kerosene at low temperature."

"Can ammonium nitrate explode?" Jardine asked coldly.

Zhu Jishi didn't pay attention to this leprosy ghost, he had already inquired about the details of Zha Di from Bai Siwen, and knew that he was an opium dealer, and he was a peer with himself, so his peers were enemies, and there was no hope of being friends in this life.

"Can you explode and try it?" Duke Churchill smiled and said to Zhu Jishi: "How did this thing detonate? Direct ignition? ”

"Throw it in the fire and fry it, the explosion point of ammonium nitrate is 300 degrees Celsius, and it is easier to detonate it after mixing kerosene." As he spoke, he took out a small copper-shelled L-tube from his pocket and carefully placed it on the table. "This is called the L tube, and it has a thunder acid gong in it, which can be used to detonate ammonium nitrate explosives. George, would you like to find a place to give it a try? ”

"Well, let's go outside on the lawn and try it out." Duke Marlborough stood up, and before he could take a step out, he suddenly said, "Jason, what do you want to do with this ammonium nitrate explosive?" ”

In fact, this explosive, Zhu Jishi has already been shiyan in the factory in Manchester, and someone has reported the news to the Duke of Marlborough, so the duke has long known the result of Shiyan, but now the face work still has to be done.

"This explosive is a big deal, not only for the military, but also for opening mountains and building roads." Zhu Jishi has already prepared a plan for cooperation, and it is still the same way of thinking, he will give Jishu patents, and others will provide funds. "George, I think the patent for ammonium nitrate explosives and ** is worth £30,000, right? How about Jishi Holdings' 60% shares? ”

"£30,000? It's too expensive, right? Before Duke Churchill could squeak, Jardine interjected: "Mr. Zhu, do you know how much black powder is sold for a pound now?" Even if your ammonium nitrate explosives were sold for 10 times the price of black powder, these two patents would not be worth £10,000. ”

"10 times?" Zhu Jishi grinned, "Can the British Royal Grenadier throw a black powder grenade that weighs 10 times as much as an ammonium nitrate grenade?" As he spoke, he looked at Duke Churchill again, "George, you are an officer, you should be able to know the military significance of ammonium nitrate bombs, right?" ”

Duke Churchill smiled faintly, "Let's see its power with our own eyes first." ”