North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 224 This is a deal

"The Habsburg dynasty today is like a phoenix that has lost its feathers; it's not even as good as a pheasant!"

Bismarck continued his analysis: "Although the German Confederation is still led by the Austrian Empire, the national strength of Prussia is gradually catching up with Austria."

"In the present Austrian Empire, real power is in the hands of the Dowager Sophie... well, she is Nene and Sisi's aunt."

Having traveled together for so long, Bismarck and the Duke of Joseph's family have become very familiar with each other.

As an elder, Bismarck also greatly admired the two beautiful young princesses, Nene and Sissi.

When the lively and adorable Sissi was mentioned, even the old-fashioned Bismarck smiled knowingly.

"The Austrian royal family, also known as the Habsburg family, was extravagant and decadent, and its monarchs were mediocre and incompetent."

"On the other hand, the successive monarchs of Prussia have endured hardship and worked diligently to govern the country. Given time, they will surely be able to defeat the Austrian Empire and remove the biggest obstacle to the unification of Germany!"

Azu had to admire Bismarck; he had a long-term vision and foresight.

Although the Austro-Prussian War was still thirteen or fourteen years away, Bismarck was already confident that Prussia could defeat Austria.

Bismarck continued, "As long as Germany is unified, it will surely become a great empire on par with France and even England."

“Your Excellency, like your California, Prussia has a bright future and unlimited potential.”

"What concerns do you have about forming an alliance with such a country?"

Azu thought to himself, "It is precisely because Prussia has a bright future and unlimited potential that I dare not form an alliance with you."

Historically, no country that allied with Prussia has ever had a good ending!

In later history, the Austrian Empire allied with a unified Germany, resulting in the complete demise of the Habsburg dynasty, which had lasted for a thousand years.

And then there's Italy, Little Life... either they became the laughing stock of Season 1 and Season 2, or they experienced the warmth of 6,000 degrees Celsius in the summer.

Unified Germany became the greatest threat to the world. The Austro-Prussian War, the Franco-Prussian War, the Eight-Nation Alliance, S1 and S2... every major war was caused by Germany.

To ally with a country like that would be crazy.

Thinking of this, Azu still wore a warm smile: "Mr. Ambassador, I am very clear about Prussia's potential and the enormous benefits that an alliance would bring."

"But as I said before, California is just a state of the United States, and we really don't have the status or power to form an alliance with Prussia."

“However…!” Azu changed the subject: “I am very interested in establishing a mutually beneficial business relationship with Prussia!”

"Is it just a business relationship...?"

Hearing what Azu said, Bismarck was naturally somewhat disappointed.

But he remained patient and asked, "My lord, what do you mean by 'commercial interests'?"

Azu replied, "We in California can sign a commercial treaty with Prussia, granting them most-favored-nation status."

"The so-called most-favored-nation treatment means granting the other party preferential conditions no less favorable than those of any third country in all aspects, such as customs clearance, tariffs, and various industrial products."

Azu continued, “For example, California imposes an average tariff of 20% on industrial products from England.”

"Then I will not impose tariffs higher than 20% on industrial products supplied to Prussia."

"We in California impose an average tariff of no more than 25% on French alcoholic beverages."

"Then the tariff I impose on the wines I give to Prussia will not exceed 25%."

“We in California give Chinese immigrants almost full national treatment. So I will give Prussian immigrants the same national treatment.”

“And so on!” Azu smiled and said, “Does the ambassador understand what I mean?”

Bismarck nodded: "Of course I understand!"

"However, commercial relations are extremely complex and involve a very wide range of issues. This most-favored-nation treatment is still a completely new concept for us in Prussia, and we need to study it thoroughly before we can give the Count a reply."

"However, at least the Count's penicillin and military products can be transported freely in Prussia without any hindrance!"

Azu smiled and shook his head: "It's not just penicillin and military products, but also fertilizers. Our Huamei Company's phosphate fertilizer, nitrogen fertilizer and potash fertilizer have basically reached mass production."

"With these fertilizers, agricultural output can at least double!"

"Fertilizer can double agricultural output?" Bismarck was immediately taken aback.

Bismarck was clear about the concept of fertilizer.

Phosphate and potash fertilizers are now available worldwide, and nitrogen fertilizers are being researched intensively in Prussia.

Even the well-informed Bismarck did not truly recognize the extreme importance of fertilizers at this point in time.

Azu nodded and said, "Yes! As long as fertilization is done scientifically, agricultural output can double, and that's just the most conservative estimate."

"Our Huamei Industrial's fertilizer industry has produced phosphate, nitrogen, and potash fertilizers, all of which underwent actual cultivation trials last year."

"With the same seeds and the same land, wheat fields without chemical fertilizers can only yield a maximum of about 100 kilograms per mu." "While wheat fields with scientific application of chemical fertilizers can achieve an average yield of more than 200 kilograms per mu."

Bismarck was now truly shocked: "Count, is what you're saying true?"

"Hehe!" Azu smiled and said, "Of course it's true!"

“If the Ambassador is interested, he can visit our experimental fields in person.”

“Of course, of course we are interested!” Bismarck said excitedly. “If what the Count says is true, then Prussia will have to obtain your fertilizer in large quantities for a long time.”

With the vision of a statesman like Bismarck, he certainly understood the immense strategic significance of doubling agricultural output.

The population of the Kingdom of Prussia has now reached approximately seventeen million.

If agricultural output doubles, it means that Prussia's land alone could support at least twice the population.

Population equals national power and war potential!
This simple truth is something everyone understands, let alone someone like Bismarck.

Azu added, "In addition to penicillin, which treats various infections, our pharmaceutical factory has developed artemisinin, which is also remarkably effective in treating malaria."

"In this war against the Republic of New Grenada, malaria is the deadliest disease because of its location in the rainforest."

"Because we used artemisinin in our military trials, the number of soldiers who contracted malaria and even died was greatly reduced."

Bismarck nodded emphatically: "I heard about this from the soldiers and officers when I was inspecting the battlefield."

"In the mouths of those officers and soldiers, this miraculous drug for treating malaria saved countless lives."

"Since this artemisinin is so amazing, we in Prussia also need to purchase it in large quantities."

At this point, Bismarck's mood suddenly became heavy.

Having discussed so much commerce and trade, it's almost entirely been California unilaterally dumping goods on Prussia.

Prussia, however, had no competitive products to sell to California.

This unilateral dumping constitutes an absolutely unfair trade relationship.

If this continues, Prussia, with its trade deficit, will become a dumping ground for California's products, causing a massive outflow of Prussian currency and a mounting national debt...!
Thinking about this, Bismarck felt a chill run down his spine.

Seeing Bismarck's expression, Azu knew what he was thinking, so he said, "Of course, we in California are also very interested in all kinds of Prussian products."

"We are about to embark on a large-scale infrastructure project in California, and we urgently need a large amount of high-quality steel, machinery, and so on."

"Prussia's high-quality steel, machinery, and seamless steel pipes exhibited at the World's Fair are exactly what California urgently needs!"

Hearing Azu say this, Bismarck breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Bismarck replied, "I've heard, Your Excellency, that you intend to dig the Panama Canal. Is that true?"

Azu nodded: "That's certainly an idea, but California doesn't yet have the capacity to build the Panama Canal."

Bismarck probed, "If the Kingdom of Prussia intends to join the construction of the Panama Canal, I wonder, Your Excellency, what are your thoughts...?"

"Prussia...joining the Panama Canal project?"

Azu asked with slight surprise, "Prussia has always been a land power. When did it start to become so interested in maritime rights?"

"Moreover, the Panama Canal is quite far from Prussia, and it is not a key or core interest of Prussia...!"

Bismarck shook his head and said, "Indeed, Prussia has always been a land power, but it cannot remain just a land power forever."

"If Prussia could also secure a stake in such a crucial maritime project as the Panama Canal…!"

Azu calmly shook his head: "I'm sorry, Mr. Ambassador, the Isthmus of Panama is a right that the United States and California won with blood and lives."

“Even if I agreed to allow Prussia to take a share of the profits, the people of America and California would not agree.”

Bismarck said urgently, "Our Kingdom of Prussia can provide strong support in terms of manpower, material resources, and financial resources to build the Panama Canal as soon as possible...!"

"There's no need to discuss this issue anymore!" Azu waved his hand: "The rights to the Panama Canal belong only to the California government and the people of California, and will not be transferred to any country or any person."

"This is a matter of principle, there's no need to discuss it further."

Azu continued, "However, if the Kingdom of Prussia is willing, we in California can purchase large quantities of Prussian engineering machinery and raw materials for the construction of the canal."

Bismarck was once again deeply disappointed.

But at least Azu offered a small reward: a promise to purchase Prussian machinery and raw materials. It was better than nothing.

Undeterred, Bismarck asked one last question.

“My lord, even without a formal alliance, the Kingdom of Prussia is willing to support California’s independence.”

"In contrast, is California willing to support Prussia's great cause of unifying Germany?"

(End of this chapter)