In early November, London gradually turned cold and gloomy, with morning mist lingering, forcing the policemen to wear cloaks while patrolling in the fog.
In such an atmosphere, "Guns, Germs, and Steel" began to gain momentum.
Because The Manchester Guardian only published Lu's column once a week, while "The Daily Telegraph" had a weekly frequency, by the time The Manchester Guardian had already started publishing the tenth chapter, "The Daily Telegraph" had just sent out one issue.
However, Lu was still making a name for himself.
It wasn't just the novel readers anymore; more and more upper-class individuals began discussing the name Lu.
...
Buckingham Palace.
Queen Victoria had just finished her morning toilette and was having breakfast.
Light and nimble footsteps could be heard outside.
A young girl rushed into the room and said, "Grandmother, today's issue of The Manchester Guardian has arrived, along with an article by Lu."
The Queen chuckled.
"Very well, let me see it. I shall use Mr. Lu's article to accompany my meal."
During this time, it was Margaret who accompanied the Queen for breakfast.
Margaret quickly stepped forward and handed the newspaper to the Queen.
Glancing at it, the Queen found only one sheet; the other pages had already been torn out.
"Is this all for today?" the Queen asked.
Margaret nodded.
"Yes."
The Queen then began to read.
Today's main headline was intriguing, "The Vast Sky and the Tilted Axis," while the subheading was more direct, "Why is the speed of spreading food production different on different continents?"
"Hmm, interesting," the Queen remarked as she read attentively.
As she grew older, the Queen found it increasingly difficult to concentrate; she would often doze off while doing anything. But for some reason, she could always focus completely when reading Lu's articles, as if she had returned to her youthful, studious years.
When she finished the last paragraph, the Queen suddenly realized that over an hour had passed, and the tea in her cup had already gone cold.
Impressed, the Queen exclaimed, "Very well written..."
Turning to Margaret, she said, "This Chinese man is truly remarkable."
Margaret smiled, picked up an empty porcelain cup, and poured hot tea again.
She whispered, "Grandmother, is the story of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire true? It's truly legendary, more exciting than the 'Epic of Homer.'"
Margaret's eyes sparkled with longing.
The Queen couldn't help but feel troubled.
Margaret was great in many ways, but she was too wild, just like her mother, always wanting to achieve great things.
However, the Queen couldn't criticize her; since she ascended to the throne, Britain had been at war everywhere, and the wealth plundered had built the empire on which the sun never sets.
No one was wilder than the Queen herself.
But as she aged, the Queen began to move towards conservatism, coupled with the deepening of constitutional monarchy; Buckingham Palace had begun to be marginalized, and the royal family had gradually become a mascot of the Commonwealth.
The true political core of London now lay in Westminster Palace, Whitehall, and Downing Street.
The Queen cleared her throat.
"However you look at it, that part of Spanish history should be true."
Margaret was stunned.
"Do you know?"
A smile appeared on the Queen's face.
"No, while my knowledge of history is good, Mr. Lu's articles are too detailed. How could I possibly know so clearly? I think that part of history is true because... Well, how do you think Britain acted during foreign wars?"
The Queen spoke the most bloodthirsty words in the kindest tone.
Margaret looked at her with admiration.
But soon, she regained her senses.
"Grandmother, earlier you said Mr. Lu's articles are very detailed. How did a Chinese man like him figure out the history of Spain?"
The Queen shook her head.
"I don't know."
The mysterious Chinese man...
Margaret sighed silently, her thoughts drifting away.
Mr. Lu was indeed a modest man, knowledgeable and talented, yet he had declined when her grandmother offered him a position as a family tutor for the royals, seemingly uninterested in fame and fortune.
Moreover, from his performance at the salon, it was evident that he was not lacking in strategy.
Why would such a person be willing to remain in the countryside?
Lost in her thoughts, Margaret absentmindedly stared at the newspaper on the table, her eyes gradually losing focus.
The Queen cleared her throat.
"Girl, pour me a cup of tea."
Margaret, lost in thought, didn't hear.
The Queen raised her voice, "Girl, pour me a cup of tea!"
...
"Pour me a cup of tea."
In an office at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, Rudolf Chevron was instructing someone to pour him tea.
The colleague beside him jokingly remarked, "Rudolf, have you gone mad reading the newspaper? I'm not your wife."
Chevron realized he wasn't at home and felt embarrassed.
He awkwardly scratched his nose and said, "Didn't you read The Manchester Guardian? I must say, not all of Britain is barbaric; there are a few who are quite competent."
His colleague was curious.
"Haven't you always identified as a conservative? Why read The Manchester Guardian?"
Chevron felt even more embarrassed.
In fact, he had always considered liberal newspapers as toilet reading material—read them when there's something to read, otherwise not at all.
So, coming across "Guns, Germs, and Steel" was purely accidental.
But that one time made him read it thoroughly, spending three whole hours squatting on the toilet while reading the first four chapters. When he got up, his lower body was numb, and he almost fell into the toilet.
After that, he sent a telegram to his friend in London, asking him to send the newspaper regularly.
His colleague asked, "Are there good articles?"
Chevron nodded.
He was a disciple of Laclau, believing that politics was highly tied to geopolitics, or simply a spatial phenomenon inherent to the nation.
Therefore, in his eyes, a nation was equivalent to its territory, a kind of geographical area with distinct characteristics.
This was also why Chevron became a conservative.
Unfortunately, his theory lacked a basis and was criticized by many sociologists as being purely theoretical.
But "Guns, Germs, and Steel" provided rigorous evidence for his ideas, making Chevron's thoughts no longer mere fantasies, but with the possibility of practical application.
Take the serialized part, for example,
It mentioned two important premises for the origin of civilization:
One, the availability of large domesticable animals that could provide milk, meat, fur, and even transportation and military support;
Second, the availability of cultivatable crops that could provide stable food sources.
Both of these undoubtedly had strong regional characteristics.
Although Chevron wanted to name his theory "geopolitics," it was a typical sociological subject.
However, he believed that the natural science content in "Guns, Germs, and Steel" regarding geography and ecology was the basis of politics.
Chevron closed the newspaper, a certain emotion brewing in his heart.
He suddenly said, "No, I have to go to London."
His colleagues were dumbfounded.
Someone asked, "Rudolf, are you really planning to defect?"
Chevron had received invitations from several universities in the London University Alliance to conduct political research and teaching in the UK.
This was also why his colleagues jokingly referred to it as "defection."
Chevron shook his head.
"I just feel that my future is in London... No, I have to send a telegram to Shaw."
His colleagues looked at each other.
The future is in London?
How is that any different from defecting?