North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 199 The Iron Chancellor Bismarck

After leaving Munich, Azu led the California delegation straight to Frankfurt.

At that time, Frankfurt was the seat of the Federation of the Rhineland Government.

Frankfurt is also the seat of the German Confederation Parliament.

In 1848, amidst the revolutionary storm that swept across the European continent, the German states formed the German National Council here.

In other words, at this time, Frankfurt was the center of the entire German Confederation, including Austria, Prussia, and Bavaria.

Azu came to Frankfurt just to see one person.

Otto von Bismarck!

In 1851, Bismarck was a 36-year-old middle-aged man, not yet the Iron Chancellor he would become more than a decade later, but the ambassador of the Kingdom of Prussia to Frankfurt.

At this moment, in Azu's eyes, Bismarck still retained his signature thick mustache and a pair of piercing eyes that occasionally flashed with a terrifying light.

During this meeting, Azu and the legendary Iron Chancellor, the "architect of Germany" and the "navigator of Germany," did not discuss any specific business.

At least on the surface, Azu was merely having a perfunctory meeting with Bismarck.

But that has already achieved Azu's goal.

One of the purposes of this trip to Europe was to meet these historically significant figures, establish initial connections, and lay the foundation for future developments on the European continent.

After leaving Frankfurt, the next stop is Berlin, the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia!
In Berlin, Azu met with King Frederick William IV of Prussia.

After demonstrating a range of advanced weapons produced by the Huamei Arsenal to Frederick William IV, Huamei Company and the Kingdom of Prussia reached a huge arms deal.

Frederick William IV, who was very interested in these advanced weapons, even personally accompanied Azu on a trip to the port of Hamburg.

After leaving Venice, the Zhiyuan and Dingyuan cruised around most of Europe, from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea, and then sailed along the Elbe River to dock directly at the Port of Hamburg.

In the port of Hamburg, Frederick William IV boarded the fast armored corvette "Zhiyuan" and personally experienced its super-high speed.

Furthermore, Frederick William IV, who personally sailed the Zhiyuan to the Baltic Sea, witnessed firsthand the powerful firepower and incredible range of the 155mm and 100mm breech-loading rifled guns equipped on the Zhiyuan and Dingyuan.

"Count Goldberg, could you sell your fast armored frigates to Prussia?"

Having personally experienced and witnessed this unprecedentedly powerful frigate, Frederick William IV barely managed to suppress his surging emotions and bluntly made a purchase request to Azu.

Azu said, "Your Majesty, since I have shown you this groundbreaking and advanced frigate, it is certainly available for sale!"

"However... the cost of such advanced frigates is extremely high...!"

"Bang...!" Before Azu could finish speaking, Frederick William IV slammed his hand on the ship's hull: "Count, you don't need to say anything! No matter how expensive, Prussia must possess such powerful warships...!"

Azu smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, what I want to say is that, in addition to frigates, we can also build and sell more powerful fast armored cruisers of over three thousand tons!"

"Our armored cruisers can even be equipped with more powerful 203mm naval guns, whose power is completely incomparable to those of the past!"

"As for even more powerful armored cruisers, I wonder if Your Majesty would also be interested?"

Frederick William IV, quite agitated, took a deep breath of the salty sea breeze.

"Count, just give us an offer... Even if the Prussian royal family has to cut back on spending, we still want to buy these frigates and cruisers...!"

After a moment's thought, Azu said, "A 1,500-ton fast armored frigate, $500,000!"

"A 3,000-ton fast armored cruiser, one million US dollars...!"

"Gulp...!" Frederick William IV swallowed hard. "One million dollars, that's...!"

"Four million two hundred thousand Prussian thalers...!" The finance minister behind him announced the price directly.

"Bang...!" Frederick William IV slammed his fist on the ship's side again. "Count, isn't this price... a bit too expensive...!"

Ah Zu came here this time with the sole intention of ripping off the biggest sucker!
Prior to this, he and Frederick William IV had reached a massive arms deal worth five million dollars.

This included the advanced HM49 rifle, a lower-spec version of the HM51 water-cooled heavy machine gun with reduced rate of fire and range, and a large quantity of grenades and ammunition.

In Vienna, Azu and the young Austrian emperor also reached almost identical huge arms contracts.

This time, he intends to use warships to rip off Prussia once again.

"Your Majesty, apart from the United States, such powerful frigates and cruisers have never been sold to any other country."

Azu calmly said, "Your Majesty, if you purchase such powerful frigates and cruisers, Prussia will surely possess a powerful navy!"

"From now on, at least in the coastal waters, Your Majesty will no longer fear the naval threats from England and France...!"

"A few million dollars is nothing. For a powerful Prussia, it can always find the money if they squeeze it out, right?"

The scene that Azu described to Frederick William IV was simply too tempting!
If Prussia's army was a formidable force on land, capable of holding its own against great powers like Britain and France, then its navy was utterly incompetent and utterly pathetic.

This is also one of the main reasons why Prussia seemed to lack confidence when facing the British and French powers!

To become a great power, a strong navy is absolutely essential.

Having only a powerful army is at best a domestic threat, not enough to be considered a prize for the great powers to carve up the world.

Frederick William IV grieved for a long time, almost grinding his teeth to powder, before finally saying fiercely, "Count, even if we completely drain Prussia's treasury, I can only come up with a maximum of another five million dollars...!"

"Your Majesty...!" the Finance Minister exclaimed in alarm, "Your Majesty, the national treasury is truly empty...!"

"Shut up!" Frederick William IV shouted, interrupting his finance minister. "If we don't have money, we'll borrow from the French and the British... In any case, we must build a powerful navy...!"

"Five million US dollars, that's enough to purchase four frigates and three cruisers, or six frigates and two cruisers...!"

Frederick William IV pondered for a moment and said, "Count, I can give you five million dollars, but I need six frigates and three cruisers!"

"If you agree, we can sign the contract immediately and pay at least half of the advance payment by the end of the year!"

"The remaining half will be paid when you deliver the warship. How about this deal?"

Upon hearing this, Azu pretended to ponder for a long time.

The price he quoted for the warship was more than half again as expensive as the price offered to the U.S. Navy.

The price offered to the U.S. Navy was less than $200,000 for a frigate and less than $400,000 for a cruiser.

Even with a powerful breech-loading rifled cannon, the price of 500,000 to 1 million US dollars would still be considered a blatant rip-off.

Even with Frederick William IV's attempts to negotiate, each frigate still cost $400,000, and the cruisers cost over $800,000.

"Your Majesty, in order to maintain the good relations between California and Prussia in the long term, I am willing to accept your procurement request!"

"Within three years, I will build a powerful, invincible Prussian fleet for Your Majesty...!"

"This is wonderful!" Frederick William IV clapped excitedly, then reached out and shook hands firmly with Azu.

Modern Prussia has long pursued a repressive militaristic national policy.

Unlike the extravagant style of other European courts, the Prussian royal family, with many successive kings, maintained an almost self-destructive Puritan-like frugal lifestyle in order to save precious military and social expenses.

Military nobles, also known as the traditional Junker nobles, occupied all officer positions in the army.

Historically, Prussia was located in the heart of Europe, surrounded by enemies on all sides. As a result, the entire social structure of Prussia, from top to bottom, was permeated with a strong sense of crisis.

What Azu wanted to do was to add fuel to the fire for militaristic Prussia, and put this engine of war in Europe on the right track for large-scale warfare as soon as possible.

Only by instigating an arms race, fighting, and chaos throughout Europe can one profit from the situation and slow down the development of the entire continent.

……

In Austria, a five-million-dollar arms deal was signed.

In Prussia, an arms deal worth ten million US dollars was signed.

Next stop, France!
The California delegation, aboard the Zhiyuan and Dingyuan ships, politely declined Frederick William IV's earnest invitation to stay, and Azu embarked on his journey once again.

After several days at sea, the Zhiyuan and Dingyuan docked at the port of Le Havre, located at the mouth of the Seine River.

This is the closest port to Paris, with a land distance of just over 100 kilometers.

Here, the California delegation was also welcomed by a welcoming party sent by Napoleon III.

Then, they boarded a welcoming carriage provided by the French government and headed straight for Paris, more than 100 kilometers away.

It was already October, and Paris was filled with a tense atmosphere, as if a storm was brewing.

In 1848, through election, Napoleon III, Napoleon's nephew and successor, became the president of the Second French Republic.

According to the Constitution of the Second French Republic, the president serves a four-year term and may not be re-elected.

Napoleon III, who had served as president for more than three years, should step down in two or three months according to the constitution.

But the allure of power is so strong that Napoleon III, who inherited Napoleon's will and lust for power, could not so easily give up the power he had finally obtained.
Just three months earlier, in July 1851, Napoleon III proposed amending the constitution in order to secure a second term.

However, the proposal was rejected by the French Parliament.

With his path to re-election blocked, Napoleon III prepared to achieve his goals in another way.

And it was at this rather sensitive moment that the California delegation, led by Azu, appeared in Paris, where a storm was brewing!
Although he was secretly making preparations, Napoleon III still took the time to meet with Azu.

“Count, I have heard about your journey through Europe, including your trips to the Vatican, Vienna, Munich and Berlin.”

Napoleon III, now forty-three years old, bears a striking resemblance in both height and appearance to his great uncle.

But in terms of temperament, this seemingly ordinary, short, middle-aged man did not possess the same domineering and arrogant air as his uncle.

Napoleon III maintained a polite smile: "Count, I have heard that you have signed huge arms contracts with Austria and Prussia!"

"Neither Austria nor Prussia has a very good relationship with France! By providing them with advanced weapons so recklessly, aren't you, to some extent, disregarding your relationship with France?"

"You should know that in the war to support American independence, we in France not only provided a large amount of military equipment and supplies, but also sent an expeditionary force of 100,000 men to fight alongside the Americans!"

"France played a decisive and enormous role in the independence of the United States!"

"Without the full support of France, there would be no independent America today!"

"Decades ago, the French government and the American government signed an alliance treaty!"

"Although Franco-American relations have fluctuated since the American War of Independence, they have always maintained the most basic friendship."

"Now, as the Governor of California, you are providing a large amount of advanced weaponry to France's enemies... Earl of California, don't you owe France a reasonable explanation?"

Faced with Napoleon III's questioning, Azu calmly replied, "Mr. President, do you and your France really lack confidence?"

"What does this have to do with self-confidence?" Napoleon III said, quite displeased.

Azu said, "It's just a few million dollars worth of weapons. Even if Austria and Prussia had these weapons, would they be powerful enough to rival France?"

"Heh heh...!" Napoleon III chuckled dismissively. "What a joke! Not to mention Austria and Prussia, even if they were all combined, they wouldn't be a match for mighty France!"

"We, France, have only one rival in the whole world...!"

Azu calmly smiled and said, "That's right! No matter how many weapons I sell to Austria and Prussia, they are no match for France."

"Moreover, the more money Austria and Prussia spend on arms purchases, the less money they have left for economic development and people's livelihoods."

"Only a strong economy and a prosperous people can support a strong military!"

"Therefore, to a certain extent, I slowed down the development of Austria and Prussia!"

"Mr. President, do you agree with this statement?"

Napoleon III stared into Azu's eyes, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "Perhaps what you said makes a little sense... but France absolutely does not want to see a Prussian army or an Austrian army with advanced weapons!"

“Of course!” Azu nodded. “The arms and weapons I sell to Austria and Prussia are quite restrained and limited! They could not possibly threaten the mighty France…!”

"That would be best...!"

Azu changed the subject, lowering his voice, and said, "Mr. President, I came to Paris not to be questioned by you... Why don't you guess what the purpose of my trip is?"

"Your purpose...?" Napoleon III asked with slight surprise. "Count, are you still planning to sell arms...? I'm very sorry, but a mighty France has no need to purchase any weapons from abroad...!"

"No, no, no...!" Azu shook his head and said, "Mr. President, I came to support you!"

“Support me?!?” Napoleon III was genuinely shocked this time: “Count, you mean…?”

“What I mean is, Mr. President, your term is coming to an end. As politicians, we all know very well that power is hard-won and should never be given up easily!”

"However, the French constitution limits the president's term!"

"A presidential term of only four years is simply not enough to make a sufficient contribution to the French people."

Upon hearing this, Napoleon III nodded in deep agreement.

Azu continued, "Therefore, for France to achieve stability and prosperity, it is only possible under your long-term leadership."

"The current French Parliament and Constitution are not only stumbling blocks to the President's path to power, but also the biggest obstacle to France's progress!"

Upon hearing this, Napoleon III's gaze toward Azu completely changed!
At this moment, the way he looked at Azu was like looking at a close friend; his eyes were filled with excitement and emotion.

Then Azu said, "Mr. President, your term has only a little over two months left. For the sake of France, you must take action!"

“This…!” Napoleon III hesitated. “Count, in your opinion, what should be done…?”

Azu said calmly, "The President must already have a plan in mind for what to do, so I don't need to say anything more, right?"

Napoleon III remained silent, neither denying nor admitting it.

Ah Zu said, "Mr. President, I'm here today only to provide you with event funding...!"

“Quoi donc……?” (French: What…?)

Napoleon III asked in shock, "Count, what did you say? What do you mean...?"

Azu smiled slightly and said calmly, "Mr. President, I've brought you money...!"

(End of this chapter)