The sun never sets

After the ceremony, there will be grand parades, lion dances and other activities in the next few days, and the excitement will continue for several days. However, William II could not wait any longer and once again submitted a request to meet with Chinese leaders to the People's Government through the embassy.

At the founding ceremony, William II saw Chairman Lin standing on the city wall through a telescope. Although he was shocked by Lin Yongchang's youth, he did not despise China. As early as seven or eight years ago, William II had concocted the "Yellow Peril Theory". At that time, he wanted Russia to focus on the East, but part of the reason was that he was really a little afraid of China. This is a big country with a larger population than Russia, and the geopolitical environment is good. Unlike Germany, it does not face the danger of being attacked from both sides.

Whether it is Russia, France, or the British Empire, they cannot directly attack China's core industrial areas. The vast territory provides a wide depth and gives China time to react, so China can advocate not to participate in hegemony, but Germany cannot. William II has prepared many arguments to persuade China to stand on Germany's side.

The reply from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Government arrived soon, and Chairman Lin agreed to have a formal meeting with Wilhelm II at 8:00 a.m. on October 4. Before the meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs needed Germany to provide a memorandum to determine the content of the meeting. Before that, Wilhelm II could visit the steel factories and military industries around Taiyuan accompanied by the staff of the People's Government.

William II was not very interested in the industrial system of the People's Party. Many factories here were shipped from Germany. Overall, they were more backward than Germany. What was there to see? He had already learned about the industrial level of the Chinese in the ambassador's report. Just as Lin Yongchang said in the government work report, China was still a poor and backward agricultural country overall. What William II was really interested in was the tactics used by the People's Army.

In a telegram to the country, General Ludendorff and the staff praised the People's Army's "infantry infiltration tactics", believing that this was a killer move to break the trench system, and even if it was not used to deal with trenches, it would have a very good effect. The People's Army is good at penetration, flanking and flanking, and has many creative measures in terms of mobility and flexibility.

In addition, the People's Army was equipped with a large number of grenades, mines, mortars and other weapons, which were very easy to use. In the history of Europe, there was a grenadier army. Grenades were quickly accepted by the German army. It was obvious that mines were very useful in defensive operations. However, the German Army did not think much of mortars. Even though Ludendorff emphasized the important role of mortars in actual combat, German generals still believed that mortars were crude weapons made by the Chinese when they had no choice. China could not mass-produce barreled artillery, so it used mortars as a substitute.

Germany's military industry is very developed, and it can equip a large number of barreled artillery, including mountain artillery and field artillery. Why do they need mortars? They don't like 82mm caliber, 100mm and 120mm caliber. As for mortars, Germany has mortars. Wouldn't it be better to just use 280mm mortars?

In addition to its disdain for mortars, the German General Staff was also dissatisfied with some of the results of Chinese war games. After the Moroccan crisis broke out, the Chinese General Staff organized a large-scale war game to simulate a land war between Germany and Austria-Hungary and France, Britain and Russia. In the game, the German Army launched an attack on France with a modified version of the Schlieffen Plan.

Ludendorff and other German officers participated in the entire simulation process, but the result was not ideal. Germany finally stopped at the river and the fortress and failed to completely penetrate the French defense line. The focus of the Schlieffen Plan was to strengthen the right wing and rotate southwestward with Verdun as the axis, but this plan was too risky and too self-evident. The whole plan can be seen as an enlarged version of the "diagonal tactics", betting that the German army would defeat the French left wing before the French army penetrated the German left wing.

In the simulation of the Chinese General Staff, the German left wing was too weak and was likely to collapse first. If the left wing was strengthened, the offensive power of the German right wing would not be enough. The best solution was to increase the number of the army, but this was impossible. In addition, in the simulation, the Austro-Hungarian army was pinned to the ground by the Russian army and failed to keep the Russians out of East Prussia.

When the German General Staff learned of the results of the Chinese simulation, they scoffed at the results, thinking that the Chinese had only learned a little bit and had no idea what was going on.

They didn’t grasp the essence of war games, and on the other hand, they were busy catching spies. The “Schlieffen Plan” was a top-secret plan of the German General Staff. How did the Chinese know about it?

The Germans launched a large-scale campaign to clean up spies, and caught many British spies in various departments, as well as some French and other countries' spies, but no Chinese were involved. The German intelligence department monitored the Chinese embassy all day, and Chinese diplomats collected a lot of public information, almost all of which was collected from newspapers, and then paid attention to the price levels in various parts of Germany through inquiries. In addition to spying on intelligence, embassies of various countries also have some commercial tasks. The Chinese collected the prices of various materials so that they could do better business with Germany, which was beyond reproach.

The embassy is a recognized spy agency, but the Chinese embassy did not conduct espionage activities, but only collected information through some public channels. It is not possible to arrest people for this reason. After two months of comprehensive monitoring of the Chinese embassy, the Germans could only admit that they could not find anything useful. The conclusion given by the intelligence personnel was that the Chinese may have obtained the information of the Schlieffen Plan from Britain or France. The French fought two wars with the Chinese, and it was natural for both sides to send spies to each other. Britain is the hegemon of the ocean and poses a great threat to China. It is also easy to understand that the Chinese government sent spies to the British Isles.

Since the Chinese did not conduct espionage activities in Germany, they could only have obtained relevant information from other countries. In other words, the military plan formulated by Chief of the General Staff Schlieffen had been known to the British or the French. Even so, the German General Staff did not give up the "Schlieffen Plan". The General Staff formulated dozens or even hundreds of operational plans, some true and some false, some false and some true. Who knows which ones are deceptions and which ones are real operational plans?

The biggest difficulty in intelligence work is not getting intelligence, but finding truly valuable clues from the vast amount of intelligence. In intelligence warfare, it is common to mislead opponents and enemies through double agents, or deliberately spreading smoke and mirrors, or spreading false information. Before "Barbarossa", my father received more than one piece of news saying that the Germans were going to launch a surprise attack, and even German soldiers surrendered to the Soviet Union with combat plans. However, my father still firmly believed that it was all false information released by Britain, the United States and other countries.

The "Schlieffen Plan" seems to be full of wishful thinking and assumptions. Who dares to say that the Germans will definitely deploy troops and fight according to this plan?

Chapter 432: Not Busy

Compared to the pride and arrogance of the Junker officers, Kaiser Wilhelm II was much more rational. He was also proud of the German Army, but he also understood that relying on the German Army alone would not be able to break Britain's world hegemony. Not to mention that the German Navy could not defeat the British Royal Navy, even the German Army, which was proud of it, might not be able to defeat the ground forces of France and Russia at the same time.

The Schlieffen Plan was a gamble that put the main forces on the Western Front, with the main forces on the right wing. There were two conditions for the success of this plan. First, the Austro-Hungarian Army could stop the Russian Army on the Eastern Front. Second, the German Army on the Western Front could defeat the left wing of the French Army (and possibly the British Army) before the left wing collapsed, and sweep the enemy's rear from the southwest. However, the first condition was difficult to achieve. The Russian Army was defeated in the Far East, and the losses were almost as high as those in the Crimean War. However, Russia's strength was not damaged too much. The battle took place in the far east, and the flames of war could not burn to Russia's elite areas in Europe.

After being beaten up by the Chinese, Russia accelerated the pace of reform. Politically, Russia was still a little hesitant, but militarily, Russia moved much faster. According to the news sent back by intelligence personnel in Russia, the Russians learned the tactics of the People's Army, increased the number of heavy machine guns, and equipped with grenades and mortars. China is a poor country, so it equipped a large number of cheap and easy-to-use mortars to enhance its firepower. Russia is also not rich, and they are also equipped with a lot of cheap mortars. The accuracy and range of mortars are not as good as those of barreled artillery, but the advantage of cheapness alone can cover up all the disadvantages. Military problems are ultimately economic problems.

The German General Staff disagreed with the results of the Chinese war game simulation, but William II did not think so. He asked Ludendorff about the war game simulation and the tactics of the Chinese army. Ludendorff answered all the questions of His Majesty the Emperor in detail.

"The Chinese army's infantry infiltration tactics are more advanced than our army's tactics!" Ludendorff said with a serious expression: "Faced with an enemy that has dug trenches and deployed machine guns and artillery, the attacker will have to pay a huge price! If we don't improve our tactics, we can only fill the trenches with the bodies of our soldiers... If you need, I can apply for a few battle and combat summaries for you to review."

Wilhelm II said: "You should send these things to the (German) General Staff!"

"I have reported these things to the General Staff many times, but the response is always to let us sell more German weapons."

"I know, I know, General Erich, do you think we can get China to side with Germany?"

Ludendorff hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, because of the massacre committed by the Allied Forces after they captured Beijing, the Chinese are very disgusted with Europeans, including Germany."

In the memorial hall in Peking, Chen

Evidence of the massacre committed by the Eight-Nation Alliance was listed, many of which were filmed by the Eight-Nation Alliance themselves. Most of the things were done by the British and French, but the Germans also had a part. Less than ten years have passed since the incident, and hatred is not so easy to eliminate. Even if Ludendorff and others worked diligently, they only received recognition and some goodwill. The Chinese did not have much of a cold attitude towards Germany as a country.

Before going to war with the French again, the people's government carried out extensive propaganda. The incident of the Eight-Nation Alliance was mentioned again and again, and photos of various massacres were printed in newspapers. Looking at those black and white images, it seemed as if the smell of blood was blowing in one's face.

Although Ludendorff repeatedly said that the Chinese would not ally with Germany, William II thought it was still worth a try. Even if it failed, there would be no loss. If it succeeded, it would be a major victory for German diplomacy.

Before meeting with Kaiser Wilhelm II, Lin Yongchang first met with Emperor Taisho and Meiji. Meiji had a great grudge against Lin Yongchang. If it weren't for Lin Yongchang and the People's Army, how could famous Japanese generals such as Oyama Iwao and Nozu Michitsugu die on the battlefield? But he was seriously ill and estimated that he would not live for many years. Before he died, he wanted to meet his "enemy of his life." Well, this was just his own opinion. Lin Yongchang didn't take him seriously from the beginning.

After meeting Chairman Lin, Meiji was very respectful. He once resented the Chinese, resented Lin Yongchang, resented Ito Hirobumi and Yoshihito, the unfilial son, but everything was over, his era was over, his life was about to come to an end, and he let go of all his resentment. In Japanese history, the emperor was basically a decoration, one more or one less would not make a difference.

The moment he saw Chairman Lin, Meiji understood why Miyazaki Toranosuke said he was "out of breath". Meiji not only felt out of breath, he even wanted to get up from his seat immediately. He had thought of many things to say, but at this time his mouth was dry, he was sweating, his mind was blank, and it took him a while before he could speak.

"There have been some misunderstandings between Japan and China, but that is all in the past. Under your leadership, Chairman Lin, we Asians can also hold our heads high and have equal dialogue with Europeans."

Meiji endured the discomfort and said sincerely: "Hokkaido has been incorporated into Japan for a long time. After the separation, the lives of local people have been inconvenient, and there are some complaints in Japan. Now Hokkaido wants to return to the embrace of Japan. I hope Chairman Lin can allow it."

Lin Yongchang hoped to split Japan into pieces, but it was impossible. Although "Lin Yongchangism" was vigorously promoted in Japan, Japan had also awakened its national consciousness. If Japan was forcibly split, it would only cause disunity between Japan and China, and might even force Japan to turn to Britain again.

"Then do as you wish."

Hokkaido can be re-incorporated into Japan, but Ryukyu cannot. Ryukyu was once a tributary state of China, but is now a protectorate of China. The Japanese have never thought of re-annexing Ryukyu, although Japan has a naval advantage and can forcibly seize Ryukyu. But if they do that, they will inevitably fall out with China, so why bother?

Emperor Taisho Yoshihito behaved more respectfully than Meiji. He read all of Lin Yongchang's works and agreed with the "people's line". However, the real boss of Japan is not the emperor. Emperor Taisho and Meiji only had a superficial and polite exchange. Emperor Taisho wanted to say more to Chairman Lin, but was obscurely stopped by his entourage. Even as an emperor, he was often helpless and could not do whatever he wanted. Emperor Taisho could only politely stand up and prepare to leave, but he still showed his willfulness.

"Chairman Lin, I still have many questions to ask you. Can I write to you after I arrive in Japan?"

"Of course you can!" Lin Yongchang smiled and stepped forward to shake the Emperor's hand. "If your Majesty is not busy, you can stay in China for a while. I will be free in a couple of days and accompany your Majesty to walk around and take a look. After five years, your Majesty can come back and take a look."

Emperor Taisho nodded repeatedly, "I'm not busy."

Chapter 433: Long Consideration

The Taisho Emperor and the Meiji Emperor were just doing the surface work, and the specific matters were still discussed by Akiyama Saneyuki. The last time Akiyama Saneyuki came to China, he brought a war plan against France. This time, the Japanese set their sights on the Philippines.

"Prime Minister Ito is preparing to take action against the Philippines?"

"If Chairman Lin agrees, we can act now!"

After receiving the war reparations from the French, Japan's finances improved a lot. They no longer had to count the rice to cook. The dreadnought on the slipway could continue to be repaired, and the second ship could be prepared. The Japanese fleet suffered little loss in the South China Sea Battle, but gained a lot. If you win, you can get money. If there are three or four more such victories, Japan's debts can be almost paid off. It is well known that Americans have never been good at fighting. Since they can defeat the French, then the Americans are no problem.

Moreover, the US military had a legitimate reason to attack the Philippines: "Asia for Asians" and "national independence and autonomy." Isn't this what Lin Yongchang's doctrine advocates?

"China is not capable of supporting the Filipino independence movement on a large scale, and the United States is not as weak as you think. If Japan takes the initiative to assume the responsibility of liberating the Philippines, China can provide you with

A batch of guns, but they will not admit it openly. "

Lin Yongchang said: "Qiushan, we need time to develop. Without strong economic strength, we cannot support a strong army."

Akiyama Saneyuki looked a little tired. "Prime Minister Ito said that China only needs to provide secret support, and Japan can do the rest."

Lin Yongchang thought for a moment and said, "The Philippines is far away from the U.S. mainland. It is not difficult to deal with their army. The real problem lies in the U.S. Navy. Are you sure you can defeat the U.S. Navy?"

"We will be 60% sure when the Hanoi completes its sea trials and is officially put into service," said Akiyama Saneyuki. "This is the best time. The Americans are building warships on a large scale, and their shipbuilding speed is faster than that of Japan. If we don't start before June next year, the gap in naval strength between Japan and the United States will only get bigger."

"..............", Lin Yongchang sighed, "This is another gamble! Qiushan, have you ever thought about what to do if the Americans still refuse to negotiate after losing the Philippines? You also said that they build ships faster. If the Americans build 17 or 18 dreadnoughts and attack together, can Japan resist?"

Akiyama Saneyuki replied: "Even with the national strength of the United States, it will take at least four or five years to accumulate ten dreadnoughts. If the United States refuses to admit defeat, then Japan can only build more battleships."

"Japan's shipbuilding speed cannot match that of the United States, so..." He paused, his tone became firm, "We are going to build an unprecedentedly powerful battleship to counter the United States' quantitative advantage with quality!"

"An unprecedentedly powerful battleship... You mean a super-dreadnought?"

"Yes!" Akiyama Saneyuki stood up from his chair and bowed, "We also ask China to provide the necessary technical support!"

"Get up, get up, don't bow so easily."

Lin Yongchang pushed Akiyama Saneyuki back to his seat and sighed, "General, you have given me a difficult problem."

In this era, battleships are a reflection of a country's industrial strength. The blueprints of the super-dreadnought battleship can be provided to Japan for free, but with Japan's current industrial strength, there is no way to turn the blueprints into real objects. Not to mention Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom can't do it either. The United States has the strongest industrial strength, the United Kingdom has the highest technical level, and Japan's industrial strength is only a fraction of the United States, with almost no technical reserves. If they want to build a super-dreadnought battleship, don't they have to rely on China?

China's power has already affected beyond Asia, but it has not yet been able to challenge the world's hegemony, nor can it sustain a long-term war with the United States. But then again, if the battlefield is only in Asia, it is not impossible to fight. The United States' long-range delivery capability is not strong. It will save a lot of trouble in the future if we drive the United States out of Asia now. However, this will have an impact on China's "Five-Year Plan".

Or should we go all out to strengthen Japan? Let Japan put most of its efforts on shipbuilding? Doing so would expand Japan's strength in a short period of time, and it might even have other ideas. But in the long run, it would also exhaust Japan's potential, which might not be a bad thing for China. As long as Japan does not develop a strong army, it will not pose a threat to China. Now China's coastal areas are threatened by the British Royal Navy, and it would not be a big deal to replace Britain with Japan. Anyway, Japan is now China's ally, and strengthening Japan is not a bad thing.

Lin Yongchang was thinking for a long time, while Akiyama Saneyuki was silent. There were only two of them in the reception room. Lin Yongchang could speak Japanese, and Akiyama Saneyuki could speak Chinese, so there was no need for an interpreter to communicate between them.

After thinking for nearly two minutes, Lin Yongchang made a decision, "If Japan is determined, China will provide necessary support within its capacity. However, relying on China alone is not enough, we need to bring Germany in."

Like Japan, the Germans' industrial strength is not as good as that of the United States, and their shipbuilding technology is not as good as that of the United Kingdom. However, Germany is different from Japan. Germany's steel production is more than half of that of the United States, and its technology in some aspects has surpassed that of the United Kingdom. Didn't Kaiser Wilhelm II come to China to strengthen military cooperation? China will not conclude a military alliance with Germany, but strengthening naval cooperation is still possible. Since everyone wants to build a super dreadnought battleship, let's do it.

"That's it!"

Marshal Lin was very happy after making a decision. "The Japanese government should step in to strengthen naval cooperation with Germany! China should provide the technology to solve the problems of the power system and main gun first!"

The tonnage of a super-dreadnought battleship is almost twice that of a dreadnought. It is not impossible to continue burning coal, but it is difficult to increase the speed. It is better to switch to burning oil. There is oil in Nanyang, but it is now the territory of Britain and the United States. So we can go to Sakhalin Island to dig oil. The oil in northern Shaanxi can also be used for the time being. Comrade Chen Tianhua has achieved initial results in building a petrochemical plant in northern Shaanxi. If all goes well, it will be put into production in a year.

The 15-inch main gun on the super dreadnought has not yet been built by any country, so the electroslag remelting technology is used directly. Electroslag remelting is not a very "high-end" technology. As long as you are willing to invest money and manpower, you can master it in one or two years.

In fact, the technical principle of electroslag remelting is very simple.

The steel ingot is installed under the electrode and immersed in the molten slag in the slag pool (the slag needs to have a high resistivity so that a large amount of heat can be generated when the current passes through to melt the steel ingot; it must also be alkaline to achieve deoxidation and desulfurization effects; and it must have good molten fluidity to allow for sufficient chemical and physical reactions). The connected alternating current generates a large amount of heat due to its high resistance when passing through the slag, melting the immersed steel ingot. The molten steel drips into the molten pool through the slag pool, and then re-condenses into a steel ingot after passing through the condenser. This method can significantly reduce the content of non-metallic inclusions and harmful gases in steel, make the crystal particles smaller, more uniform and dense, and effectively improve the mechanical properties of steel.

Electroslag remelting consumes a lot of electricity. If you want to use this technology, you need to build a lot of thermal power plants first. Electroslag remelting technology alone is not enough. It can only solve the smelting problem of gun barrel dismantling. After refining, the barrel blank must go through forging, heat treatment and subsequent processing to create a qualified gun barrel. In the manufacturing process, hydraulic presses and rotary precision forging machines are needed, all of which are provided by Germany.

Chapter 434: Peace for a Generation

Lin Yongchang will never be able to rest assured about Japan, but the situation has come to the point where he can only continue to increase his support for Japan. However, he will not leave no tricks behind. The super-dreadnought power system can be placed in Japan, and the 15-inch naval gun industry must be placed in China, so that Japan will not be able to break free from the dog chain.

Military cooperation between China, Japan and Germany was a major event that could change the world situation. Akiyama Saneyuki could not make the decision, and such an important matter could not be mentioned in the telegram, lest the news leak out. So after Akiyama Saneyuki agreed in principle, he took a train to Tianjin overnight, and then took a ship back to Japan. He needed to inform Prime Minister Ito of the news, and the cabinet would make the final decision.

After meeting with his Japanese friend, Lin Yongchang met with German Emperor Wilhelm II the next day. Germany is the world's second largest industrial power and the largest land power. Wilhelm II's long journey to China has caused a huge international response. Many European newspapers said that this was Germany's attempt to win over China. Downing Street took this very seriously and instructed Jordan to find out Germany's intentions. In any case, China must not be allowed to completely lean towards Germany.

Previously, Germany wanted to win over Russia again and re-establish the "Triple Alliance", but was destroyed by Britain and France. However, Britain's diplomatic efforts did not work in Italy, and Italy had a tendency to re-join the Triple Alliance. Prime Minister Bismarck used his superb diplomatic skills to create many alliances and compiled a huge network, pulling most European countries to Germany, thereby completely isolating France on the European continent.

Italy borders France, and there is a direct conflict of interest, so it will be wooed by Germany. China also borders France in Southeast Asia. Although China left Saigon and did not annex the entire Vietnam, releasing goodwill and showing that it would not seek hegemony, what if the Chinese change their minds again?

Jordan felt that President Lin was so cunning that he would not easily bet before the situation in Europe became clear, but he still obeyed the order of Downing Street and sent people to closely monitor the movements of William II. Not long after William II's carriage drove into the presidential palace, Jordan received the news. But he had no way of knowing the specific content of the negotiations between China and Germany. Most of the previous relationships within the Chinese government were broken, and the Chinese did a great job in counter-espionage. Because of the different races, Britain's espionage activities in the Far East can only rely on local people. If you want to find out the secret treaty between China and Germany, the best way is not to launch activities in China, but to find a way in Berlin.

After the German General Staff discovered that the "Schlieffen Plan" had been leaked, it conducted an internal investigation and caught quite a few spies from Britain and other countries, but failed to catch many more.

Kaiser Wilhelm II did not care about other countries knowing about the cooperation between China and Germany. On the contrary, he hoped that all the powers would know about it. If he could force China to completely turn to Germany, Wilhelm II would wake up laughing in his dreams. Therefore, Kaiser Wilhelm II acted in a very high profile. He brought his men and horses to the city, fearing that others would not know about it.

At the ceremony a few days ago, William II had seen Lin Yongchang's appearance through a telescope and was surprised at his youth. After entering the Presidential Palace and getting close to him, William II realized that Lin Yongchang was simply too young. Not only was he young, but he was also healthy, tall, confident, sunny, and full of energy and vitality. Standing in front of Lin Yongchang, William II thought he had seen the legendary sun god Apollo.

He couldn't help but feel jealous and subconsciously retracted his left arm. Lin Yongchang ignored the German emperor's small movements and said with a smile: "I was too busy in the past few days. I only have time to receive Your Majesty today. I am really sorry."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries and made some polite remarks. Lin Yongchang and William II stood on the steps in front of the presidential palace, shook hands in a friendly manner, and let the reporters below keep pressing the shutter. The Germans wanted to create an image of China and Germany getting closer, and Lin Yongchang didn't mind using Germany to suppress other powers, such as the United States and Britain. The policies of President Theodore Roosevelt of the United States leaned to the left, but this did not make him have any special affection for China, which was also on the left.

On the contrary, Roosevelt did business with China while prohibiting Chinese state-owned enterprises from expanding in the United States.

However, this was not very useful. Under Lin Yongchang's instructions, some Chinese companies changed their names and some cooperated with Americans. For example, Mr. Hoover and Mr. Morgan were both good friends of the Chinese people.

"Click!" "Click!"

"Crack!"

The sound of shutters clicking continued to ring out. A reporter stepped forward and asked, "Mr. President, is the German emperor coming here to form a military alliance with China as the outside world says? Will this increase the current tension in Europe? Is the Chinese government going to abandon its promise of not seeking hegemony and prepare to expand abroad? What do you think of the current naval arms race?"

Lin Yongchang turned his head to look, and it turned out to be an old acquaintance. The person asking the question was none other than Morrison, a British journalist who was born in Australia. Morrison had lived in China for a long time and spoke authentic Chinese.

"Mr. George, you ask too many questions."

Lin Yongchang released his hand from William II and said with a smile, "We Chinese love peace, so we will not participate in a naval arms race."

Well, it is true that they will not participate, but that does not prevent them from providing technology to Germany and Japan. Technology transfer is also a normal business behavior... maybe not so commercial, but definitely normal.

"His Majesty William's visit to China is only due to the traditional friendship between China and Germany, and does not mean that China and Germany will conclude a military alliance. As for the current situation in Europe, we are too far away to get accurate information, so it is inconvenient to comment. However, we hope that all countries can sit down and negotiate peacefully, and not resort to force for all issues!"

"............", Morison was a little speechless. The Chinese were so warlike. They fought Russia and Mongolia, and immediately attacked Japan after the war ended. Then they went south to defeat the Yuan Shikai government supported by Britain, and then fought with the French in Southeast Asia. How dare they say they love peace?

He felt that all politicians were equally shameless, and continued to ask, "What do you think of the religious conflicts in the Western Regions... Mr. President, Mr. President, please don't leave yet... Your Majesty William..."

The guard stopped Morison and other reporters. "Okay, everyone, please don't go any further."

Chapter 435 The Emperor and the Junkers

"British journalists run really fast!"

Lin Yongchang received William II in the reception room. He first made a joke and then said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for coming to China despite your busy schedule. The Chinese people will always remember this friendship."

William II was once again amazed at Lin Yongchang's fluent German. "Mr. President, your German has a Berlin accent. Did you ever live in Berlin for a while?"

"Not really, but I know Berlin very well."

The picture of the Red Army raising the red flag on the Empire State Building is a classic, and Lin Yongchang has seen it in many places. In addition, in "Hearts of Iron", he has set out from Berlin many times to ravage the entire world, or launched a "thunderstorm" to violently bombard Berlin.

William II said: "Since Mr. President can speak German, can the translator and others leave temporarily?"

"Since your majesty says so, then of course it is possible."

The Chinese and German translators, attendants and military attachés left the room one after another. The door was tightly closed, and no one knew what President Lin and the German Emperor talked about inside. All we know is that two hours later, when William II left, he had an unconcealed excitement on his face.

After returning to the embassy, Kaiser Wilhelm II was still extremely excited. He said loudly: "I knew that President Lin is a smart and brave man!"

As soon as William II proposed to strengthen military cooperation, Lin Yongchang agreed, and also said that Japan could be brought in for a three-way cooperation to jointly develop a super dreadnought battleship. Although China still refused to sign a military alliance treaty, Germany did not expect to cooperate with the Chinese Army. Half a world away, it was impossible to cooperate. As long as the super dreadnought battleship could be built, it would greatly enhance Germany's prestige and voice in the world.

Neither William II nor the Junker officers were prepared to fight a long world war. Their thinking was still stuck in the era of the Franco-Prussian War, and they wanted to win the war with a limited, short, and decisive battle. They believed that as long as the main force of the French army was defeated, the other side would pay compensation and cede territory in exchange for peace, so that the German army could withdraw its troops and calmly deal with Russia in the east.

The outside world has no way of knowing the specific terms of the secret agreement between China and Germany, but there is no doubt that it exists. Germany sent more engineers and officers to the Far East, and the whereabouts of so many people could not be completely hidden. Zhu Erdian failed to get the documents of the Sino-German secret agreement, but found evidence that Japan and Germany were beginning to get closer. Germany helped Japan build three power stations and sold several hydraulic presses to Japan, which would greatly enhance Japan's ability to build warships.

The British government protested, believing that Germany's absurd actions endangered the peace and security of East Asia. Germany said that this was all commercial activities, and if the British needed it, they could also sell the hydraulic press to the UK.