Chapter 646 How far can your thoughts go? How far can you climb?
It seems that all European countries are republics and there seems to be no royal family. In fact, the royal families in Europe basically live well.
Take the Dutch royal family, for example. They have no real power, yet they are the symbol of the Netherlands! They are the mascot of the country! How can such people live in poverty? How does this make others view the Netherlands?
So the Dutch royal family all receive salaries. Take William, for example, who earns over one million euros a year, including his wife, children, etc. Their salaries increase every year, and according to local law, royal family members do not need to pay taxes - after all, the money they spend is tax.
William's annual salary might not sound like much, but the royal family is huge. Everyone has salaries, and don't the people who work for the royal family get paid? Bodyguards? Nannies? Gardeners? Drivers? The Netherlands spends over €350 million annually on royal expenses. And with the Dutch royal family owning vast assets like land and houses, William's net worth is no less than €12 billion!
But let's be honest, the King of the Netherlands only earns a little over one million euros? That's too low! Look at the Queen of England, who earns over 100 million US dollars a year... People like the King of Belgium and the Queen of Denmark also earn over 10 million per year.
The most interesting thing is that the Dutch royal family is probably the royal family in the world that is best at "crying poor".
The Netherlands celebrates King's Day every year, a day when the media can publicly report on the royal family. This so-called "King's Day" is actually the king's birthday, and celebrations are held annually on this day to celebrate with the public. How does William celebrate with the public? He once invited 150 people who share his birthday to a meal at the palace. He usually goes shopping with his wife and children, looking like an ordinary man.
What’s even more amazing is that their crowns are all fake: to be precise, the crowns are real, but the materials are fake.
The current crown of the King of the Netherlands was made 180 years ago at a cost of less than 2,000 Dutch guilders. The entire crown is made of silver plated with gold. The "gems" on it are actually glass, and the 72 pearls inlaid are all fake. Even this was felt to be a bit of a waste, so in 1898, 24 of the pearls were taken off and replaced with small snails... That's how frugal they were.
Anyway, the consistent tradition of the Dutch royal family is: down-to-earth.
Of course, saying that they are "crying poor" is a joke: the reason they use a fake crown is because the Dutch royal family has a tradition of ascending the throne without being crowned.
Generally speaking, when a royal family of a European country ascends the throne, they will wear a crown to prove that they are the real ruler, but the Netherlands does not have this custom.
This is because William I became the ruler of the Netherlands in 1815. At that time, the Netherlands included the present-day Netherlands and Belgium. However, the Dutch were Protestants and the Belgians were Catholics. At this time, the problem arose: should the Protestant bishop crown William I or should the Catholic Pope crown William I?
As a religious ceremony, the coronation embodies the "divine right of kings." So, if William I were crowned, who would have the final say in the country? God or the Dutch?
So William I simply didn't crown himself, instead creating a fake crown as a symbol. This practice of ascending the throne without a crown later became a model for other Nordic countries to follow. Everyone does the same thing now.
Looking at Xiao Peng sitting on the sofa thinking, Shao Feng suddenly laughed: "What? Is the vacation about to end?"
Xiao Peng was stunned: "What do you mean?"
Shao Feng said, "After all, he is a king. How can you act like nothing happened after you kicked the king? Did you agree to any conditions from them?"
Xiao Peng spread his hands: "Does dating his daughter count?"
"Pfft!" Shao Feng laughed out loud: "Brother, even though you look ugly, you're dreaming! Didn't you just say you weighed 180 kilograms?"
Xiao Peng pointed to the wall and said, "I'm talking about this one."
"Are you kidding?" Shao Feng asked.
Xiao Peng nodded and said seriously: "Of course it's a joke, you believe it!"
"...You have no friends like this! I don't even know if what you said was serious. Where did the simple and kind Xiao Peng go?" Shao Feng complained.
After he finished speaking, he stood up and walked directly to the cloakroom. Xiao Peng was still there, confused as to what was going on. Finally, he came out pulling his suitcase.
"Where are you going?" Xiao Peng asked puzzledly.
Shao Feng said, "Can I really live here with you? I'm here on business. Have you forgotten?"
"Are you really going?" Xiao Peng said helplessly, "I told you not to go."
"Even if I can't go, I have other things to do." Shao Feng said, "Brother, it's actually very difficult for me to come here this time. You are not in the country, but I am. Besides, I am still in Beidu and there are some things I really can't refuse. I did come here with a mission, but now I have achieved my goal."
"What did you do to achieve your goal?" Xiao Peng was confused.
Shao Feng said: "First of all, it is confirmed that you cannot obtain foreign citizenship. Some people are worried about this."
Xiao Peng said disdainfully, "What are they afraid of? They're not afraid of me acquiring foreign citizenship. They're worried about the ownership of my cultural relics after I acquire foreign citizenship. After all, they are my personal belongings! What if I acquire foreign citizenship and want these cultural relics? With China's current image as a great power, can we still cheat?"
Shao Feng smiled awkwardly and said nothing.
Xiao Peng continued, "And you should know that to avoid trouble, a batch of Yuanmingyuan artifacts in the museum were registered under my name. They are indeed state-owned. If I make a fuss about claiming those artifacts, won't they be even more troubled? How should this be attributed? Will they refuse to acknowledge it?"
Shao Feng coughed twice and said, "No matter what others worry about, as long as you don't change your nationality, that's all that matters. By the way, Ma Wufang and his father have been dealt with now."
Xiao Peng said disdainfully, "Didn't you say you'd deal with it last time? But he ended up going on vacation!"
"It's different this time. Ma Wufang was prosecuted for allegedly using his public office to extort 10 million euros, and his father was also found to have financial problems. Anyway, this time they are really dealing with them in the country." Shao Feng said.
Xiao Peng curled his lips and said, "I hope so. I mean, why are you so anxious? Why don't you stay here for a few more days?"
"I already know everything I need to know, and I've told you everything I need to tell you. So why am I still staying here?" Shao Feng paused. "The key is that Karima wants to introduce her friend to me."
"Karima? Who is that?" Xiao Peng asked in confusion.
Shao Feng grinned sheepishly: "It's the girl from yesterday!"
After hearing this, Xiao Peng opened the door and said, "How far are your thoughts? Just crawl as far away as you can! You bitch!"
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