King of Beiyang

Rudolf Harker looked at Li Jingyuan with surprise, seemingly not understanding why he would make such a request.

"Your Excellency, I won't beat around the bush with you anymore."

My country is facing a threat from an enemy.

They have been meticulously preparing for over twenty years to defeat my country in the war. They even have the support of a very powerful nation.

The reason I am buying warships from you is to ensure victory in future wars.

However, I've only just realized this. If our enemies learn that I've purchased several warships, it will inevitably lead to an imbalance of power between us. They will then certainly try to acquire more warships to ensure they can defeat us in future wars.

Their supporters will certainly provide them with even more support!

Li Jingyuan explained.

Rudolf Harker nodded. "Mr. Lee, I completely understand. I'm guessing that country is the Eastern Empire? And the Eastern Empire's backer is the British Empire, isn't it?"

"Yes, Your Excellency." Li Jingyuan did not hide anything on this issue.

"Mr. Li, we are friends, and I am very happy to help you. However, on this matter, we must obtain the consent of the Imperial Government. Furthermore, only with the cooperation of the Imperial Government, or rather the Imperial Navy, can we truly ensure secrecy and prevent other countries from finding out," Rudolf Harker reminded him.

Li Jingyuan nodded repeatedly. He knew that to realize this plan, he needed the support of the German Empire government.

"Your Excellency, I will communicate with the Imperial government. I also ask that you speak on our behalf. In return, I will place more orders after the delivery of the 'Sea-Sky' class protected cruisers, especially large armored cruisers."

Li Jingyuan also believed that the German Empire would not refuse his request.

After all, he had placed a huge order worth nearly 150 million marks.

If the German Empire wouldn't even help with this small favor, wouldn't that be incredibly disheartening?

Rudolf Hacker was extremely satisfied.

Armored cruisers are larger and have more powerful firepower.

Therefore, the cost will be even higher. If the Vulcan shipyard secures the order, its profits will inevitably be greater.

  

Therefore, Rudolf Hacker almost patted his chest and guaranteed that he would fully cooperate with Li Jingyuan's plan.

As for what fate awaited the Japanese soldiers who were outmaneuvered by Li Jingyuan, that was not even on his radar.

Li Jingyuan then personally went to Berlin to meet with Prince Heinrich and made this request.

Although Prince Heinrich felt the matter was of great importance, he still expressed that he would do his best to help.

The Eastern Pharmaceutical Company has already generated substantial profits for him and the entire royal family. The annual tax revenue it pays is also considerable.

Given Li Jingyuan's cooperation with Krupp and the huge orders placed with the Vulcan shipyard, the German Empire should, both morally and logically, stand on Li Jingyuan's side.

Moreover, the Japanese that Li Jingyuan was dealing with had the support of the British Empire behind him.

Therefore, the German Empire would be even less likely to refuse on this issue.

Wilhelm II harbored enormous ambitions, seeking to challenge the hegemony of the British Empire and to create a wider living space for the people of the German Empire.

Wilhelm II would be more than happy to see his plans to thwart the British Empire's support for the Eastern Empire thwarted.

Therefore, after Prince Heinrich reported this situation to Wilhelm II, Wilhelm II immediately made the decision to fully cooperate with Li Jingyuan's plan.

In Wilhelm II's view, supporting Li Jingyuan's future defeat of the Eastern Empire would not only further deepen the connection between the German Empire and the Qing Empire, or the Beiyang Group, but also thwart the British Empire's plans and give them a severe setback.

This is undoubtedly killing two birds with one stone.

After receiving Prince Heinrich's reply, Li Jingyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he also suggested that a large number of sailors would need to be sent to the German Empire when receiving the six "Sea Sky-class" protected cruisers, and hoped that the German Empire could cooperate.

Furthermore, Li Jingyuan also hoped to hire some experienced naval soldiers and officers from the German Empire to help the Beiyang Fleet operate these warships.

The German Empire also gave the green light to this.

While Li Jingyuan was plotting against the Japanese and setting traps for them, he was also being targeted by the Japanese.

The Japanese devils had been preparing to invade the Qing Empire for a very long time.

They not only dispatched a large number of spies to operate in the Qing Empire under the guise of scholars, monks, and merchants, but also went undercover to collect all sorts of intelligence.

At the same time, a large number of intelligence personnel have been deployed in countries around the world, especially in the Western world.

Li Jingyuan founded the Oriental Pharmaceutical Company in the German Empire and made a fortune, which naturally attracted the attention of the Japanese.

Even though Li Jingyuan's cooperation with Krupp was known only to the upper echelons of society after Li Jingyuan gave his approval, the fact remains that it was only known to the upper echelons of society.

But this was no secret to the Japanese either.

Bolin, the legation of the Eastern Empire to the German Empire.

Minister Saionji Kinmochi and Military Attaché Fukushima Yasumasa are studying the information they have collected on Li Jingyuan.

Both Saionji Kinmochi and Fukushima Yasumasa were renowned figures in another timeline.

The former not only served as prime minister of the Japanese Empire twice, but was also appointed as one of the nine elder statesmen, wielding immense influence in the political circles of the Japanese Empire.

The latter, hailed as the "Father of Intelligence Warfare" in the Eastern Empire, was also the first general in the Eastern Empire to be promoted through intelligence work. A landmark event was that two years later, after stepping down as military attaché to the German Empire, he did not choose to return to the Eastern Empire by ship or train, but instead rode across the entire territory of the Russian Empire on horseback. Under the guise of exploration, he investigated the construction progress of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Russian garrisons along the route, and the local conditions. This provided firsthand intelligence for the later war with the Russian Empire.

As a result, Fukushima Yasumasa was called "the bravest cavalry officer in the Eastern Empire" by Western media!

"Your Excellency, this is all too unbelievable. I never imagined that a Chinese man who is only twenty years old could earn so much money in Europe and accumulate such a fortune in less than two years. It is simply unbelievable."

Fukushima Yasumasa narrowed his eyes, his cold gaze like that of a venomous snake about to devour its prey.

"This is truly incredible! Will this affect the Empire's plans?" Saionji Kinmochi couldn't help but frown.

The consensus among the high-ranking officials of the entire Eastern Empire was to wage war against the Qing Empire, plunder vast amounts of wealth by defeating it, and thus achieve the rise of the Eastern Empire!