North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 223 Not as good as a pheasant

"My dear Earl of Gold Mountain, when will you take us to hunt a giant whale as big as a small mountain?"

Azu smiled broadly upon seeing Duke Maximilian Joseph and his family again.

Azu and Duke Joseph embraced tightly: "Your Excellency, do not worry, I will definitely keep my promise!"

"However, before that, I must personally receive the Prussian delegation!"

After greeting the Duke's family members one by one, Azu's hand clasped tightly with Bismarck's steady and powerful hand.

"Mr. Ambassador Bismarck, welcome to California with your delegation!"

Bismarck, who was usually stern and unsmiling, twitched his thick mustache and forced out an awkward smile.

"Your Excellency Earl of the San Francisco, it is my honor to visit your California!"

Bismarck said solemnly, "On behalf of His Majesty William IV of Prussia, I extend my highest respect to Your Excellency the Count!"

"Haha!" Joseph laughed heartily, "Bismarck is a typical Prussian, all he does is work, work, and more work!"

During the month-long journey, Joseph and Bismarck got along quite well and became fairly good friends.

So Joseph freely made jokes about Bismarck.

“These Prussians, so rigid, so boring, and always putting on such a hypocritical act!” Joseph said, putting his arm around Bismarck’s shoulder. “Mr. Ambassador, do you agree with me?”

Bismarck maintained his serious, stiff expression: "We Prussians always maintain focus, meticulousness, and a spirit of exploration that strives for excellence...!"

"Alright, alright...!" Duke Joseph said to Azu, "Count of the Gold Mountain, do you know that Bismarck insisted on dragging me along to inspect those battlefields when we passed through the Isthmus of Panama!"

"This guy not only personally rode a horse to measure the distance between the artillery position and the point of impact."

"He even measured the diameter and depth of every single crater...!"

"And Bismarck insisted on personally inspecting your California National Guard, having officers who had just come off the battlefield tell him about the course of each battle."

"Finally, this guy insisted on boarding your new warship, dragging me from head to toe, touching almost every inch of steel plate and every part of the warship...!"
"Ahem...!" Bismarck coughed twice: "Your Grace, it's not as exaggerated as you say!"

“However…!” Bismarck said solemnly, “Count of Goldhill, after my personal visit, I have found that your army and navy are more powerful and more difficult to defend against than I imagined!”

"Let alone the tiny Republic of New Grenada, even the armies and navies of England, France, and our Prussia would find it difficult to easily defeat your coast guard and national guard!"

Bismarck remarked with some emotion, "I originally had some reservations about His Majesty the King spending tens of millions of dollars to order your firearms and warships, Count."

"But after visiting the site, I realized that the ten million dollars His Majesty the King spent was simply the most worthwhile investment in history!"

……

Azu hosted the Prussian delegation and the Duke Joseph's family with the highest Californian etiquette.

Over the next few days, Azu accompanied the two groups to visit Huamei Company's pharmaceutical factory, arsenal, machinery factory, chemical plant, shipyard and other industries.

The ever-expanding arsenal and shipyard left a very deep impression on both groups of people.

These two factories are not only enormous in scale, but also employ extremely advanced technology. Many of these technologies are unprecedented even in Europe, the most technologically advanced region in the world today.

After a thorough investigation, Bismarck's delegation was completely confident in the strength of Huamei Company, believing it was fully capable of fulfilling the multi-million dollar order signed with Prussia.

After completing his mission, Bismarck, finally able to relax a little, was given the opportunity to speak with Azu alone.

“Your Excellency…!” In Azu’s office, Bismarck looked down at the Macallan whisky in his glass and said in a deep voice, “I would like to know, what are your views on Prussia?”

After taking a sip of whiskey, Azu replied, "Mr. Ambassador, why would you ask such a question?"

Bismarck said, "After inspecting and visiting a small part of the Count's properties, I have gained a completely new understanding of the Count's strength."

"Without considering your population, your current strength absolutely gives you the potential to become a great power!"

“Your Excellency, you are still so young. Small California can certainly not hold you back.”

"Your lofty ambitions are evident from your willingness to pay any price to take over the Isthmus of Panama."

“California and Prussia are far apart, and that’s why we don’t have any conflict of interest.”

"On the contrary, Prussia is more likely to become a potential ally of California in Europe!"

“So…!” Bismarck looked up, staring into Azu’s eyes, and said, “So, I need to know clearly what your attitude is toward Prussia, Count.”

"This will determine whether we can become true allies in the future!"

He truly deserves to be called the Iron Chancellor of Germany in the future, and one of the most famous diplomats and politicians in modern times.

Right from the start, Bismarck got straight to the point, offering the bait of an alliance.

Azu smiled slightly: "Mr. Ambassador, California is just a state of the United States, not an independent country. Legally and politically speaking, California and Prussia are completely unequal."

"If the relationship is unequal, what's the point of talking about an alliance?"

Bismarck stroked his thick mustache: "My lord, let's speak frankly in private."

"California today is, in fact, highly autonomous, whether politically, economically, or militarily."

"If you wish, Mr. Governor, you can secede from the United States at any time and become an independent country."

"If California and Prussia form an alliance, then on behalf of Prussia, I can promise Your Excellency that Prussia will definitely support California's independence!"

Is it really necessary to be so direct?
Azu remained expressionless and said thoughtfully, "Mr. Ambassador, you misunderstand! California has never had, does not have, and will never have had any intention of independence...!"

"Heh!" Bismarck chuckled, a rare occurrence for him. "Count, save that for fooling others!"

"As far as I know, California was just a few years ago when it became an independent republic of California. It has only been less than two years since it officially joined the United States."

"Moreover, Your Excellency Earl, you are Chinese and have absolutely no loyalty to America."

"As long as California remains in your hands, Your Excellency, independence is only a matter of time!"

Father, like son!

Lincoln was aware of the problem, but because of his personal relationship with Azu, he was unsure about the future direction of California.

But Bismarck, as an observer, spoke with absolute certainty about California's future from a completely outsider's perspective.

Bismarck concluded, "My lord, if California's population weren't so small, perhaps you would have declared independence long ago, wouldn't you?"

Azu slowly shook his head: "Mr. Ambassador, no matter what, California will not go towards independence."

Faced with the young governor's vehement denial, Bismarck shrugged indifferently: "Perhaps, but the Kingdom of Prussia's desire to form an alliance with California is indeed sincere."

"Both His Majesty William IV and I, after this inspection, feel that it is a wonderful thing to have a steadfast ally on this vast land of America."

"Similarly, in Europe, if Your Excellency has an ally like Prussia, you will also gain many unexpected benefits."

Ah Zu smiled and said, "For example?"

"For example, if California were to become independent, it would inevitably lead to war with the United States."

Bismarck said in a deep voice, "And America will certainly strive for the support of England and France."

"If California allies with Prussia, then Prussia can restrain England and France and prevent them from interfering in California's war of independence!"

"Hehe!" Azu laughed, "Sorry, with Prussia's strength, I'm afraid it doesn't have the power to restrain England and France, does it?"

Bismarck said seriously, "Germany, which is currently fragmented including Prussia, does not have the strength to restrain England and France."

"But as long as Prussia can unify Germany, it will have enough power to restrain England and France."

"Unify Germany...!" Azu knew that Bismarck's words were all aimed at winning him over so that he would support Prussia's war to unify Germany.

After much talk, Bismarck finally revealed his true intentions.

Azu calmly said, "The French and Austrian empires will not stand idly by and watch Prussia unify Germany."

This statement sounds familiar; Queen Victoria and her husband, the Prince of Saxony, both said the same thing.

But now, Azu finally uses this phrase to test Bismarck.

Bismarck replied, "My Count, France is nothing to fear, and Austria can be destroyed in the blink of an eye!"

"Oh...?" Azu asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

Bismarck then began to analyze the situation on the European continent, as well as the infighting and internal and external troubles among the great powers.

……

After a lengthy discourse, Bismarck finally concluded: "France after Napoleon has lost most of its spirit and vitality."

"France can only win battles when led by dwarfs, foreigners, and women!"

"Therefore, there is nothing to fear!"

“As for Austria…!” Bismarck said dismissively.

"The Habsburg dynasty, having lost its title of Holy Roman Empire, is like a phoenix without its feathers, not even as good as a pheasant...!"

(End of this chapter)