Self-cultivation of the traveler of the world

"Welcome to the world of quests, Harry Potter!"

"Have a nice trip"

A blue light flashed, and the pillow stopped in the air. At the moment Wang Xuebin left, everything in the world slowed down, and a new journey began!

Chapter 416 The Rise and Fall of Great Britain

The United Kingdom, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, an old capitalist empire, an empire on which the sun never sets.

As a country with colonies spread across 24 time zones, the rise and fall of Britain is closely related to the changes in the world.

The United Kingdom is located in Europe, but it is isolated overseas. The English Channel separates Britain and France, and the Dover Strait separates Sweden and Belgium.

For a country without any geographical advantage, if it wants to develop, it must make a fuss at sea. It just so happens that the United Kingdom is very lucky, and they have caught up with the good time for the rise of great voyages.

The great voyage is also called the great geographical discovery. With the birth of capitalism and the rise of trade among European countries, the gold standard became popular.

However, the gold and silver mines in Europe were simply not enough to support the development of capitalism. Therefore, European countries launched an era of disputes for maritime hegemony.

Britain, which seized the strategic opportunity period of the rise of sea power brought about by the great voyage, soon rose to become the world's number one power at that time.

A prosperous trading place has brought countless wealth dividends to Britain!

It coincided with the rise of the first industrial revolution, and the dividends brought by technological iterations made the national power of this empire on which the sun never sets reach its peak!

The United Kingdom, which is isolated overseas and has no land borders with any country, has turned its disadvantages into advantages in one fell swoop through its own strategy. Not only has it had enough dividends from the great voyage, but it can also take the opportunity to intervene in the conflicts among European countries.

It is said to intervene in mediation, but it is actually a shit-stirring stick, but it is such a shit-stirring move that makes the UK project their strategic measures to Europe, and then radiate to the Eurasian continent!

Legal hegemony, economic hegemony, diplomatic hegemony, language hegemony, all kinds of hegemony maintained the glorious status of Britain. For a long time, Britain was the center of the world!

As the old saying goes, no flower can be red for a hundred days, and it is an eternal law that it flourishes and then declines. This is true in China, and Britain is no exception.

With the blood transfusion of the vast colonies, the British people have lived a wealthy and luxurious life. They can make a lot of money in each colony by just taking out an industrial product.

Such easy wealth has captivated the eyes of the British, and they began to refrain from making progress, enjoying the dividends of colonization, and lying on the heads of the colonists to domineering.

The United Kingdom, which has lost its motivation to compete, soon lost its technological lead. With the birth of efficient land transportation channels such as train tracks, coupled with the rise of nationalist thoughts in the world.

British hegemony collapsed like a castle on the beach in an instant!

In the First World War, as the victorious country, Britain not only did not get any benefits, but was heavily in debt, with as many as 94 casualties, which dealt a heavy blow to Britain, which was not considered a prosperous population.

The transfer of one colony and the independence of one colony made Britain's dream of lying on the colonies sucking blood to restore its vitality suddenly shattered.

Without the blood supply of the colonies, Britain's return to its pre-war prosperity is already far away.

Germany, Japan, Italy, the United States and Russia, no country would like to see the former empire on which the sun never sets regain its vitality!

Soon, the Second World War broke out, and Britain was still the victor this time. However, Britain, which has experienced the darkest moment, no longer has the ability to dominate the world.

After the war, Britain was in depression and ruins everywhere. In order to maintain the country's survival, the former sea power empire had to rely on renting American warships to survive.

The former empire on which the sun never sets has lost its former prestige, and the high debt burden has made the British people breathless.

The economic depression and high unemployment rate have not only deeply affected the ordinary people in the UK, but also the British wizarding world is also under heavy pressure.

The influence brought by the old Dark Lord Grindelwald is in the ascendant, but the new leader of the Death Eaters has already made his debut.

He led his fans to promote his theoretical thought of the supremacy of pure blood everywhere. Under the influence of the depressed economy, this theory can be said to be a gathering of responders!

All disputes throughout the ages are economic disputes, and all problems throughout the ages are class problems!

As a traditional class in the magic world, pure-blood wizards have always stood at the top of the chain of contempt. In the past, when the economy was prosperous, they could still pretend to be noble and self-confident.

But the economy is depressed, and they, who claim to be noble, have to put down their dignity and compete with the emerging half-blood wizards and hemp-seeded wizards.

Emerging forces must think broadly. The traditional pure-blood class has no advantage in a fair competition, so they will naturally use some less decent means.

After all, a gentleman can't be eaten as a meal, not to mention that a gentleman is a disguise, who can be unreasonable and eat more, who wants to be reasonable?

The same is true of the war in the wizarding world, but at this time, Voldemort is not yet ready to challenge the order. Once the Death Eaters are ready, it will be a protracted war.

Wang Xuebin came to this time and space at this moment when the fire was cooking oil!

"Cough...cough..."

The choking smog in the air made Wang Xuebin very uncomfortable when he first arrived. Although it has been almost 50 years since the smog incident in the 20s, London is still shrouded in smog for nearly half of the time every year.

There is no way, in order to revive the economy, there is always a heavy price to pay. Compared with the seemingly generous aid from the United States, the environment is only the most inconspicuous one.

Otherwise, why did Britain recover its economy to such a degree in just 30 years after the war?

"Cough cough..."

Wang Xuebin tightened the black windbreaker on his body, pressed down the brim of his hat, took out a mask, put it on his face, looked at the surrounding environment, turned and left.

What he came to was not a pure film and television world, but a world where books and film and television were integrated.

Although he has a high degree of acceptance of film and television, the details in the book are obviously fuller.

As for the time, he did not choose the era when the Iron Triangle was rampant, not because he had any opinion on the three of Harry, but in this era, it was more beneficial to obtain the ownership of Hogwarts.

After all, other people's lives are always theirs, and Wang Xuebin doesn't want to disturb his own pace just to participate in other people's lives.

The task is always the first goal, if the task conflicts with his favorite characters, he will never show mercy!

"Excuse me, sir, do you need a newspaper? The latest Times, Sir Edward Heath has become Prime Minister, the British economy is expected to recover! Would you like to have a look?"

Hearing the newsboy's inquiry, Wang Xuebin, who was planning to leave, stopped. He turned around and glanced at the short, freckled newsboy, raised his eyebrows and asked softly:

"Is there a map?"

Chapter 417 The Leaky Cauldron

"how much is it?"

Watching the newsboy pull out a somewhat worn-out map from the bottom of a stack of newspapers, Wang Xuebin didn't care about it, took a look at it, and asked casually.

"Six shillings, sir!"

Seeing the expectant eyes of the newsboy, Wang Xuebin smiled, took out a pound from his pocket and handed it to the newsboy.

"The rest is your tip!"

Saying that, he rubbed the newsboy's fluffy and soft hair, turned and left.

The British currency of this period has not yet been reformed, and shillings and pence are still in use. According to the conversion method of British currency, one pound is equal to twenty shillings, and one shilling is equal to twenty pence.

One shilling is roughly equivalent to fifty cents of today's RMB, regardless of the conversion of purchasing power of the same era!

If the world of film and television is anything like the real world, then next year should be the day of British currency reform

The shilling will become a history, and the pound sterling will be converted directly to the new pence at one to one hundred.

At that time, those British people who are not good at mathematics will no longer have to worry about cumbersome currency conversion, although they may not be able to calculate one to one hundred...

What Wang Xuebin bought was a map of the UK, but except for London, which is clearly marked on the map, the cities other than London only have a rough outline.

This newspaper alone is not enough for Wang Xuebin to distinguish the difference between the real world and the world of Harry Potter, but it is more than enough to look at London alone.

"Charing Cross Road...southeast..."

Charing Cross Road is the traditional center of London, England, and a famous bookstore street in London. If London is the center of the UK, then Charing Cross Road is the center of London.

This is also the zero benchmark point of the UK's customary road and railway mileage, named after the connection to Charing Cross Station.

In the world of Harry Potter, Charing Cross Road is not only the center of London, but also the center of the British wizarding world.

Just behind the patio of a dilapidated pub called the Leaky Cauldron, lies the most prosperous business center in the British wizarding world - Diagon Alley!

The Leaky Cauldron was founded in 1500. The first owner was Daisy Doddridge. The witch wanted to create a channel connecting magic and reality. Obviously, she succeeded.

Today's Leaky Cauldron has become the gate that separates the wizarding world from the Muggle world, and the first check-in point for all witches and wizards to enter the magical world is this dilapidated bar!

The logo of the Leaky Cauldron is a broken cauldron that hangs from a magical sign outside the Leaky Cauldron.

This signboard is very magical. When ordinary Muggles pass by, they can only see a bare piece. Only when a magical person approaches, the iconic broken cauldron will light up on the signboard.

Arriving at the center of Charing Cross Road, Wang Xuebin clearly sensed a weak force, which constantly bewitched him, making him mistakenly think that he had something important to do, so as to ignore the shining sign above his head .

Wang Xuebin did not rush to resist, but stood there savoring it carefully. He knew that this was a witchcraft called the Muggle Repelling Curse, which was used to make people who did not have magic ignore some unreasonable existence.

Just like the difference between Chinese martial arts and magic arts, it is also the power of the Western world, and magic is also fundamentally different from magic.

Compared with the Merlin magic that Wang Xuebin learned, which is based on knowledge as the core of inheritance, the power of the Harry Potter world is more inclined to the warlock who inherits power through blood

The source of all power comes from the inheritance of blood, and whether one can exert the power of one's own blood determines whether a person is strong or not.

Wang Xuebin doesn't like this kind of feudal fatalism, but there is no way, Harry Potter is such a world of solidified classes, the upper class can fall, and the lower class has no way to advance.

Throughout the book, Harry Potter is actually a rich and noble boy supporting and guiding a poor noble boy, and with the help of poor nobles and outstanding commoners, he defeated the rich and common villains who pretended to be nobles!

The final result?

The civilian rich villain who pretended to be an aristocrat was killed and died. Although the rich and noble died, their reputation was passed down to future generations.

The poor noble boy married his sister from a poor noble family, and the good commoner married the poor noble boy.

Until the end, after fighting back and forth, nothing was broken, and the meat rotted in the pot. The people who benefited the most were still the aristocrats.

So in Wang Xuebin's view, no matter how lively the magic world is, it can't change his decadent and backward nature.

But he didn't come to liberate the British magic world, and he didn't intend to intervene to change it. You don't think there is any problem, so why should I worry about it for you?

Leaving aside the distasteful fatalism, the wizarding world is a wonderful place.

"Sir, is there anything I can do for you?"

An old man wearing a black pullover sweater, wearing black round-toed leather shoes, with a round face, pointed ears, and thinning hair, leaned over his body, and secretly looked at Wang Xuebin with his philistine smile.

This person is the current owner of the Leaky Cauldron - Tom, Tom is what people call him, but no one knows his real name for a long time.

Tom is a hybrid of a goblin and a wizard, and has a long lifespan similar to a goblin. As early as when Voldemort was still young, old Tom had already had this virtue.

Now more than 30 years have passed, his appearance has not changed at all, he still has the thinning hair and the philistine smile.

Having been able to take root in the passage of the wizarding world and the Muggle world for so many years, Tom's ability has never been simple, and his beautiful wandless spellcasting has deterred many greedy people.

But as far as Tom himself is concerned, he has never been proud of his powerful spellcasting methods. What he is really proud of is his sharp and precise eyes.

As early as the moment Wang Xuebin came to the Leaky Cauldron, Tom noticed this man. Although the sign of the Leaky Cauldron did not respond, he knew that he was definitely not an ordinary man!

The black over-the-knee windbreaker is wrapped around the straight body, and the broad and vigorous shoulders seem to contain powerful strength.

Between the movement and the stillness, there is no unnecessary movement, but the body is always in a state where it is easy to exert strength, as if it will immediately strike back with thunder if it encounters danger.

Those dark and deep eyes make people fall into them unconsciously at a glance. If they are sensitive, they can feel a hint of sharpness and blood in their eyes.

This is a dangerous man, thought Tom!

"Sir, would you like to come in and have a drink? How about a glass of Flame Whiskey to warm you up? My treat!"

"Well..."

Wang Xuebin, who was awakened by the voice, turned his head and looked back, with a hook on the corner of his mouth, he said softly:

"...Is there any pumpkin juice..."

Chapter 418 The Leaky Cauldron!

Pumpkin juice, evergreen in the magical world, can be seen on various occasions.

Whether it's breakfast, lunch, or a family feast, pumpkin juice is like orange juice in Muggles in the wizarding world. You can skip it, but you can't live without it.

As a non-alcoholic beverage, pumpkin juice is very easy and convenient to make.

Crush pumpkin, green apple, almonds, a spoonful of cinnamon, two spoonfuls of pumpkin pie spice, and stir into the pumpkin puree until the spices are fully integrated into the juice, then add water and continue to stir evenly.

There were not many people in the bar, and the juice was easy to make, so Wang Xuebin soon saw this famous glass of juice.

I don't know if it's because all magicians have the same virtue, and they all value the old as the most precious. Not only the glass that holds the juice is used for four centuries, but the rag that Tom wipes the glass doesn't look much younger than the glass.

Perhaps seeing Wang Xuebin's concerns, Tom purposely dug out a glass that was in good condition and had no gaps, and cleaned it with 'clean up a new', without using his starched rag again.

The slightly viscous juice with a golden yellow texture was slowly poured into the cleanest-looking glass. There was a little water vapor condensing on the outer wall, which showed the coolness of the juice.

Wang Xuebin sat on the bar, took off his mask, picked up the cup and looked at it for a while, sniffed it slightly, and took a sip lightly.

Hmm, bad taste...

The sweet and sour taste is mixed with a hint of almond aroma, but the complex taste of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices adds a richer taste to the juice, but also disrupts the natural sweetness of the juice .

Sure enough, he shouldn't have illusions about this country rich in dark cuisine.

"Boss, please bring me a cup of black tea. Don't add anything but tea leaves. By the way, use my cup!"

Wang Xuebin put down the juice, ignored Tom's expectant expression, reached out and took out a set of teapots and cups from his pocket, and took out seven more Galleons, which he placed on the table together.