British writer

After a little snow,

People sent 1900 away.

The New Year's bell is ringing, and the time has come to New Year's Day,

January 1, 1901.

Cecil had no chance to rest, and had to go to Whitehall for a meeting.

The carriage moved on, slowly through the mist,

Cecil opened the curtains and breathed the not-so-clean air in London to relieve stress.

For Cecil, the whole of late December was very difficult. More and more citizens blamed the Anglo-Boer war, which caused a lot of criticism to the cabinet.

Fortunately, this situation is only concentrated around London,

Other constituencies are temporarily unaffected.

Beside Cecil sat a middle-aged man,

His name is Arthur James Balfour, he is Cecil's nephew and political successor, and he is called by his colleagues as a politician who can handle things well even if he lives in the Machiavelli era.

Belfort whispered: "Your Excellency, the Royal Navy..."

Before he finished speaking, Cecil interrupted rudely: "I know! I know! But the problem now is not Erwin, but... well... mainly the Liberal Party, Bannerman's fox is really too difficult Entangled."

Belfort was silent.

Both of them knew how critical the situation was.

Without a word, they came to Whitehall, ready to meet the Chancellor of the Exchequer,

The carriage stopped slowly.

Belfort jumped lightly from the carriage,

Cecil is a bit old, and his legs and feet are not very agile, so he can only wait for his nephew to help him.

Unexpectedly, after a while, Belfort got back into the carriage again,

"Uncle Robert, look at this."

Cecil frowned,

After entering politics, Belfort has always been very measured, calling Cecil outside is a title, such as "Your Excellency Prime Minister\

,"He suddenly changed his name to "Uncle" just now, there must be something that messed him up.

Cecil reached out and closed the car door,

"how?"

Belfort handed over the paper in his hand, and said in a low voice, "It's written by the Royal Publishing Bureau, and it's said to be a questionnaire."

Cecil took the questionnaire and read it carefully,

He muttered in surprise, "Women's suffrage?"

Belfort said: "Could it be that the Liberal Party has got the queen... No, it's impossible. I just read the first line of the questionnaire, and it says 'This questionnaire is for survey and statistical purposes only. It has no tendency and does not represent any opinion. '."

Cecil snorted coldly,

"Even if that's the case, the matter is in the Conservative Party's favor?"

Balfour was silent,

It's not that he can't answer this question, but that the answer to this question is too severe——

The issue of women's suffrage and the right to be voted on the table is a breakthrough in itself.

Even worse, if women had the vote, it was self-evident who they would vote for.

"We acted too late," Belfort said.

Cecil didn't answer,

In fact, there is no such thing as "too late" at all, but the position of the Conservative Party makes it impossible for them to make such actions to attract women.

Ballots are such a double-edged sword, if you don’t hurt others, you will hurt yourself.

The Conservative Party has won the trust of voters by relying on a steady and steady style. To maintain this style, it cannot propose an overly aggressive strategy, allowing the big ship of the United Kingdom to make a 180-degree turn.

But after the Industrial Revolution, everything changed so fast,

A steady helmsman cannot keep up with the turbulent waves of the times.

Cecil read the questionnaire carefully again, and said, "Fortunately, these questions do not have any tendency. I just don't know the idea of ​​the questionnaire..."

He tossed and turned, studied carefully,

"Whose handwriting could it be..."

Cecil almost stuttered every word, every word seemed to burst out from between his teeth.

...

"So, this is Professor Lu's handwriting?"

Buckingham Palace,

Queen's bedroom.

The queen put the magnifying glass aside, picked up the black tea, and took a sip.

Margarita carefully observed her grandmother's expression, but found that the Queen had a calm expression on her face, showing no signs of expression, as if she had no opinion on the content of the questionnaire.

Her Royal Highness said softly: "Yes, it is indeed Professor Lu's idea."

The queen chuckled,

"Smart! Really smart! Only..."

Margarita asked, "But what?"

The Queen replied: "It is not a good choice to let the Royal Publishing Office print and distribute the questionnaire. It is best to sell a newspaper like The Times because it can find a large number of subjects. Of course, the Royal Publishing Office may be chosen out of some compromise." There is nothing to blame for the considerations in it.”

The queen's tone was full of approval.

Margarita couldn't help but let out a long breath, and said, "I thought you wouldn't approve of such a thing."

The queen took a sip of tea and said, "The questions in this questionnaire are all neutral and can truthfully reflect the attitudes of the people. It is a very practical tool. Why do I not approve of it?"

Margarita couldn't help pursing her lips and chuckling,

Hearing that Professor Lu was praised by her grandmother, she was very happy, and her little heart continued to expand, like an inflated balloon.

However, the queen misunderstood her granddaughter's expression and scolded her: "You, you and your mother are really carved out of the same mold, and you are full of thinking about these things."

Margarita didn't react,

"Huh? What?"

The queen raised her eyebrows and waved the questionnaire in her hand,

"You're not thinking about this? About women's suffrage."

Margarita blushes,

"This... I am indeed... um..."

She really couldn't go on talking, and to cover up, she picked up the cup and drank tea.

Looking at her hesitant appearance, as long as she is a normal person, she will know that there is something wrong.

The queen looked Margarita up and down for a while, and suddenly said, "Rita, are you thinking of Professor Lu?"

These words are like a sudden cold arrow,

"Cough! Cough cough..."

Margarita choked on the tea she just drank and coughed violently.

She hurriedly picked up the handkerchief to wipe her mouth, then took the queen's arm like a shame, and said, "Grandma, isn't it~ I was just a little distracted just now~~~~~~"

Her Royal Highness the Princess dragged her tone on purpose,

When ordinary people hear it, their bones will be lightened by four liang.

The queen was very helpless,

"you……"

Just after saying this word, Margarita spoiled the conversation: "I really care about women's suffrage. Grandma, do you think the questionnaire will affect that matter?"

Being distracted from the topic like this, the Queen had nothing to do.

she nodded

"Of course it does. Let me ask you a question now, which of the two clothes I usually wear the most doesn't look old?"

Margarita tilted her head and thought for a while,

"Probably the white one."

Unexpectedly, the queen said, "Okay, do you really think I'm old?!"

Margarita was stunned.

"ah?"

Seeing her expression, the queen couldn't help laughing,

"That's what the questionnaire does—presupposition. Just as I presupposed the premise that I look old in the question I asked you, the questionnaire also presupposes that women's suffrage is an urgent problem to be solved."

Margarita got it.

Anyone who has done the questionnaire will subtly accept this point of view,

No matter how neutral the questions on the questionnaire, no matter how negative their views on women's suffrage.

But Margarita was still a little confused,

"The problem is the problem. If you pretend you don't see it, it doesn't exist?"

The queen nodded her granddaughter's little nose and said affectionately: "You, have you forgotten the jokes in "Yes! Prime Minister"? For many people, invisible problems are not problems. The best way to veto the proposal is to Not to bring it up and talk about it, try to refute it, but to put it on the shelf and leave it to the dust and mice."

"this……"

Margarita was speechless.

The queen glanced at the questionnaire again, and said, "Professor Lu is really an amazing person."

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