The sun never sets

The weapons of the Alliance have obvious German origins, from infantry guns to heavy howitzers, and the main guns of battleships, most of which are developed based on German artillery. However, the performance of some of the Alliance's artillery exceeds that of German artillery.

This does not mean that the Alliance has surpassed Germany in artillery design. Because of the advancement of design concepts and material science, weapons are updated very quickly. Germany has many places to spend money, and does not have so much money to spend on developing division-level and army-level artillery. The artillery currently used by the German army is still usable, even if the performance is a little backward, it is not a big deal, because war is a confrontation between one system and another system.

However, if the Germans can get performance parameters and drawings from the Alliance for free, they will not refuse. If it is not free, they can pay a little price.

On the Indian battlefield, the German army captured a number of 105mm howitzers and shells produced by the Allied forces and conducted live ammunition tests on them. The power of the Allied 105mm howitzers was similar to that of the German artillery, but the maximum range was 1200 meters less. The reduction in range was exchanged for lighter quality and much lower cost.

It is light in weight, easy to produce, highly maneuverable and can be deployed quickly. The Military Commission of the People's Revolutionary League believes that these advantages can completely offset the disadvantage in range.

The 105mm light howitzer is a division-level artillery in both Germany and the Alliance, and the performance difference is not very large. However, at the army level, the Alliance's 155mm howitzer exceeds the German 150mm howitzer in terms of range and power. The Alliance has replaced the original anti-German 155mm artillery with 150mm howitzers in many units.

The Germans attached great importance to this heavy howitzer, which had just been put into service, and once proposed to buy ten of them, but were rejected. At that time, Germany and the Allies had just finished fighting in India, and the relationship was very tense.

Still quite nervous.

Now that they had the opportunity to test the Union 155mm heavy howitzer, this was a diplomatic victory for the German government. However, people always wanted more, and William III wanted more.

"Before I go to Henan to visit the artillery factory, I want to meet Chairman Lin again."

"We will apply to the Union's Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

After William III arrived in Chang'an, he soon met with Lin Yongchang. The two sides held friendly talks. The scene of the two leaders shaking hands was photographed and made the front page headlines of newspapers in various countries.

The People's Revolutionary League is the world's largest country, and Germany is also a European power. If these two countries join hands, they will be able to re-establish a world order. If these two countries can really cooperate sincerely.

Although Lin Yongchang met with William III and talked with him for two hours, all he said were repetitive and polite words. The people who really discussed the matter were the people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce.

The League had many German friends, such as Marshal Ludendorff and General Hoffmann, and the economic cooperation and trade between the two countries never stopped. Later, after William II once again built up the "Yellow Peril Theory", the League and Germany gradually drifted apart politically.

William III's visit eased the political confrontation between the two countries, but that was not enough. He had to have another private meeting with Chairman Lin. The communiqué of "reaching a consensus" was not enough. Germany needed to re-sign a non-aggression pact with the alliance.

Because of the Indian War, the non-aggression pact between the Alliance and Germany was not automatically renewed after its expiration. Germany needed to ensure that it would not be attacked by the Anglo-French Alliance and the People's Revolutionary League. The French Commune refused to guarantee that it would not attack the German Empire. The syndicalists were very aggressive. The German government could only stabilize the People's Revolutionary League in the east.

Two days later, the Germans' application was approved, and the Political Security Bureau arranged for William III and his family to have dinner with Chairman Lin at six o'clock this Sunday evening.

Lin Yongchang didn't care much about food. He was not as good as Comrade Felix Dzerzhinsky, who only needed water and bread. He would occasionally eat a lot, but that was because his body needed protein. Many people knew that Chairman Lin was particular about eating "fast" and didn't care much about the taste.

For his usual meals, he only needed one meat dish and one vegetable dish. When he was out on inspection tours, Lin Yongchang often ate the same meals as the soldiers and workers, and he still enjoyed them with gusto.

We couldn't just deal with entertaining William III as usual. China is a country of delicious food, and Russia also has a lot of good things. The chefs in Weiyang Palace usually made dishes like beef stew with potatoes and braised pork, so they were a little unfamiliar with making shark fin and abalone.

Fortunately, there was plenty of time, so we started preparing the ingredients two days in advance, soaking and aging them. On Sunday night, the chefs prepared 18 dishes, including Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Beef Wellington, roast suckling pig, lobster, crab and so on.

Of course, beef stewed with potatoes, braised pork, chicken, duck and fish are also indispensable. Chairman Lin once wrote an article, "Let every family have a chicken in the pot" and "People'sism is beef stewed with potatoes."

He also wrote a poem specifically for this, "When the potatoes are cooked, add the beef."

In order to cater to everyone's taste, the chef prepared a lot of small jars of salt. If anyone feels that the taste is too bland, they can sprinkle salt on themselves. In addition, there are pepper powder, cumin powder, etc., which are common in Western cuisine and are not considered to be unusual.

Chapter 820: Rhetoric

The sumptuous food was warmly welcomed by everyone. William III was the German emperor, and his life was much more luxurious than Lin Yongchang. He ate whatever he wanted, and he still thought that the wine and food at the dinner were very good. However, he did not come here for food and drink, so he only tasted the wine and the stewed beef with potatoes.

After the meal, the young people and children were enjoying desserts, while William III went to the balcony to talk with Lin Yongchang. It was not the first time that the German Emperor met Lin Yongchang. During the last meeting, Chairman Lin's youth and vitality left a deep impression on him.

From the public information, Lin Yongchang and William III are about the same age, but Lin Yongchang looks much younger now. If you put aside his identity and just look at his appearance, Lin Yongchang looks like a young man with high spirits.

"Your Majesty, do you smoke?"

William III nodded, and Lin Yongchang took out a Panda brand cigarette and handed it to him. William III lit the cigarette with a lighter and took a puff, only to find that Lin Yongchang didn't smoke. He asked in surprise, "You don't smoke?"

"Oh, I smoked for a while, but I didn't like it, so I stopped. Please do as you please, and don't bother me."

Lin Yongchang put the ashtray aside and asked, "Your Majesty, is there anything you want to say to me?"

William III had a lot to say, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't know what to say for a moment. He took a few strong puffs and put out the remaining one-third of the cigarette in the ashtray. Then he said: "What do you think of Germany's current situation and future?"

Germany's development is considered good in the capitalist world. With a stable ruling class like the Junkers, the German government is able to suppress all opposition voices in society.

But the better Germany develops, the bigger the problems in German society become.

In order to develop industry, the German government turned a large number of people into workers, artificially creating a huge proletariat. Most of the workers only had wages to guarantee basic living, and their families had no surplus food.

No matter how hard the workers work, the state, local governments, water, electricity, gas and other companies can always take out the last coin in their pockets. For workers in Germany and many other countries, "no work, no bread" is not just an empty phrase, but a common phenomenon.

If Germany had a large enough market to allow industry and commerce to continue to expand, the original economic system could continue to be maintained. But as long as the products produced cannot be sold, many German workers will have no food to eat. If they have no food to eat, they will cause trouble, and when they cause trouble, the state agencies will send out the police to suppress it.

If things get out of hand, there is still the army. The army, police, prisons and courts are all tools of rule. In front of such a strict system, the German proletariat suffered a lot but did not change anything.

A large number of unemployed people fled to Paris, and even more people came to the League to make a living. The [People's Revolutionary League] was still in a period of rapid growth. In the golden age, it was easy for individuals to achieve class transition through hard work.

The German government initially encouraged those unemployed workers to leave. Since Germany could not support so many people, it was a good thing to let them leave so that they would not take to the streets at any time.

However, the continuous loss of population has become more and more serious, which has made the German government feel the crisis. War is not only about the number of planes, tanks and artillery, but soldiers are also very important resources. Didn't Germany run out of manpower during the world war?

If it could have mobilized another million elite troops, the German General Staff would have fought to the last gasp to destroy the French Commune and would never have kept the syndicalists until now. As a result, the syndicalists became a huge threat to Germany.

"I don't quite understand what you mean, Your Majesty. Is there something wrong with Germany now?"

William III was silent for a while. "I believe you are familiar with the problems Germany is facing. Germany now faces the same problems as before the World War. If this problem is not solved, Germany will inevitably go down the same path."

"............You are so honest."

Lin Yongchang laughed. "Germany's current situation is much better than before the World War. Egypt, eastern Africa, and southwestern India are now all under Germany's sphere of influence. Isn't such a large market enough?"

"Not enough. It will never be enough. No matter how vast the colonies are, they can only temporarily satisfy Germany's appetite."

William III had experienced the most dangerous period of the World War. Before the People's Revolutionary League provided assistance to Germany, the Junker Officers Corps, faced with the dilemma of depleted manpower and extreme food shortages, once wanted to push William II out to take the blame in order to make peace with the enemy.

Although the situation later turned around and did not develop into the worst case scenario, William III was still wary of the General Staff and the Junker Officers Corps.

"This is the fate of militarism. Expansion, continuous expansion, endless expansion. Unless the whole world is swallowed up, there is no way to stop."

Lin Yongchang sighed, then asked, "Your Majesty, do you like philosophy?"

"I have read some philosophical works. Logic and Phenomenon of Legal Philosophy are elective subjects in school."

"What about economics? Has your Majesty ever studied economics?"

"I have read some of the works of Liszt, Marx and Engels."

"Then you should know the problems Germany is facing now... Well, what is the mainstream view in Germany?"

William III was silent for a moment, then said, "There is a relative overproduction and insufficient consumption capacity."

"Well, everyone knows the problem. But there are different ways to solve the problem. I think the German government's solution will definitely not be to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. To protect the rights of workers or to ensure the profits of capitalists? This is a question."

"If the workers' wages are raised, the competitiveness of German products in the international market will be reduced." This rhetoric is not new. A hundred years ago, British capitalists and factory owners had similar statements.

Lin Yongchang shook his head. "Alas, is there really any international market now? All countries are building tariff barriers. Although the United States has temporarily opened its market to Germany, if it encounters an economic crisis, it will definitely take care of itself first."

Some newspapers in the alliance made predictions about the global economy, saying that the US economy is overheated and there is a high probability that an economic crisis will break out in one or two years. You don't need a lot of economic knowledge to make this judgment. You just need to flip through history books to know. Choosing capitalism means choosing an economic crisis that happens every ten years. No one can escape it.

Chapter 821 Listen to Your Speech

William III was skeptical about the impending economic crisis. German economists and experts believed that the prosperity of the United States would continue for a long time. Many economists were excited about the financial innovation of the United States and wanted to implement "installment payment" in Germany and let capital idle. However, the conservative forces in Germany were very strong. In addition to liking to apply new technology in the military, the new war

Apart from the technique, he is very conservative in other aspects.

Conservatism is not necessarily a bad thing, it can also represent stability. It was because of the existence of the conservative Junker officer corps that the Kiel Harbor sailor uprising was suppressed, and the subsequent large and small workers' movements were also suppressed. The conservative Junker landlords were the mainstay of the German Empire.

Of course, the Junker officer corps also prevented Germany from further development. From Prussia to Germany, the original free atmosphere gradually disappeared, and Germany's military strength increased a lot, but the entire country's system became increasingly rigid.

Lin Yongchang explained to William III in a simple and easy-to-understand way the advantages and disadvantages of "installment payment" and "capital idleness". "This is just my immature little method. It may not be correct. I just said it, and you just listen to it."

William III listened to the king's words as if he were listening to a word. He seemed to understand something, but after thinking about it carefully, he was still half-believing and half-doubting. William III received a strict court education, and the people around him were very concerned about his ideological tendencies.

Before this, William III read a few pages of "Selected Works of Lin Yongchang". Soon, experts came to point out the fallacies in the anthology and explained the differences between Germany and the "People's Revolutionary League". The policies used by the Eastern powers would never work in Germany.

For example, how can "land reform" work? Germany doesn't have much land to begin with. If the land is divided, how much land will each person get? And it will cause social division and unrest. Experts cite the example that after Russia and Poland divided the land, they have been in turmoil until now.

In contrast, the Republic of Finland did not implement the People's Revolutionary League's system, so the Finnish people live much happier lives than the Russians and Chinese.

In most cases, words can be said in both positive and negative ways. William III felt that all his ministers were very capable and well-spoken, that the German Empire was growing stronger, and that everything was good, not just slightly good, but very good.

But compared with the Human Innovation Alliance next door, Germany's achievements seem to be nothing. William III is not as sensitive and suspicious as William II, and his personality is much more stable. Originally, he also firmly believed that the German Empire's army and technology were the best in the world, but the Indian War woke him up.

No matter how many excuses the marshals and generals made, a loss is a loss, and there is no need to argue about it. The failure of the war was the most important reason why William III insisted on visiting Chang'an.

Seeing that William III was silent, Lin Yongchang said, "I recommend two books to you. One is Mr. Li Runzhi's "Analysis of the Current Situation of Various Classes in Germany", and the other is Comrade Bukharin's "German Economic Report" written last year. The views and conclusions of these two books may not be correct, but at least they provide a new idea and perspective from the perspective of an observer. There is no harm in taking a look. Can you understand Chinese?"

William III hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "I can understand some of it, but I can't read it."

"Then I'll have someone find the German version and send it to you."

William III expressed his thanks and then fell silent again. He looked at the brightly lit city in the distance, and many thoughts and words flashed through his mind, but he couldn't say them for the time being. Well, he might as well finish reading those two books first.

Lin Yongchang added: "In fact, I don't recommend reading translated versions. Translators may delete the original text due to personal stance, ideology or other reasons. But most people can't understand books in foreign languages, so they can only read translated versions."

William III thought for a moment and said, "I will find a teacher to teach me Chinese."

Lin Yongchang seemed a little surprised. He looked William III up and down and asked, "Your Majesty, do you still have time to learn a foreign language?"

William III is already in his forties and almost fifty, and has long passed the best period for learning. Moreover, he has become the German emperor and should have a lot of things to deal with. How can he settle down to learn a foreign language? It would be better for him to learn a foreign language like Chen Qingquan.

"I can spare an hour every day to study. Chairman Lin, you can use German fluently, and I will be able to use Chinese fluently in the future."

Lin Yongchang couldn't help but say: "If it can really be done, it would be quite amazing."

However, he also felt it was a bit strange. As the German emperor, William III showed too much favor towards the alliance, and it didn't seem fake. It shouldn't be like this. As the top leader of a country, he should abandon personal emotions and face everything rationally in international affairs. But since it happened, there must be a reason.

Was it because William II was forced to abdicate that he was stimulated? Or was it because of the development achievements of the alliance that shocked him?

Even if William III had a favorable impression of the alliance, it probably could not change Germany's national policy. It was inevitable that the Allies and the Central Powers would go from confrontation to war. At the beginning, William II had a good relationship with Nicholas II, but it did not prevent the bloody battle between the German and Russian armies on the Eastern Front.

But if William III really has a good impression of the alliance, it would not be a bad thing. We can just let the comrades in the relevant departments follow up.

"Your Majesty, the temperature is a bit cold at night, let's go inside."

The two ended their conversation and returned to the warm room.

William III brought both of his daughters with him, but Alexander Lin Romanov Nicholas was not in Chang'an.

This frustrated some of William III's plans.

Mr. Engels called German women "dragoons", but girls are always lovely. Before becoming dragoons, German girls were also slim and graceful. The two German princesses were very beautiful, with healthy radiance on their faces. They were curious about many things in Chang'an.

The towering palaces, wide roads and squares, tall monuments to heroes, and the dinosaur skeletons in the Chang'an Museum all amazed them. Unlike William III, who only cared about arsenals and shipyards, the girls also became interested in the art of the Alliance, especially the many films the Alliance had made over the years. When they were in Germany, they had seen many films produced by the Alliance, and when they came to Chang'an, they naturally wanted to see more.

Chapter 822 Prosperity

Lin Yongchang has been in this world for almost thirty years, and has grown from an attribute of [121] to an existence of [666]. The Alliance is now large and powerful, and can select talents from a population of 8, and the consultants are all high-level, so he can get 13 political points, 13 diplomatic points, and 13 Junshi points every month. For the time being, there is no need to roll with girls for points.

Therefore, he had no thoughts about William III's daughter.

Lin Yongchang is more interested in William III now, but he can't spare the time for the time being and can't accompany William III to visit various places. He can only wait for William III to return to Chang'an and find an opportunity to talk to him in detail.

The Human Innovation Alliance announced some projects of the Three-Five Plan before the Spring Festival, but many more projects were not made public because many of the projects were military secrets or used the most advanced technologies, which were state secrets. If you inquire about them, you would be targeted by the intelligence department.

Before the new year, the Union's third five-year plan had already begun. On both sides of the Trans-Siberian Railway, industrial cities sprang up. Most of those cities served the military, but some were used for civilian purposes.

The industrial strength of the Alliance is very strong, and many of its military industries are at the world's advanced level, but in terms of scale, it does not match the Alliance's strong industrial strength. [People's Revolutionary League] The current scale of its military industry is only similar to that of Germany.

According to the Alliance's annual output of 8000 million tons of steel, the value of arms output should be more than twice that of Germany. The Alliance Central Committee plans to use the third five-year plan to turn the Alliance into the arsenal of the democratic world.

After entering 1929, the League was busy building the nation, Germany was trying to control the Suez Canal, and the American people were enjoying seemingly endless prosperity.

Financial innovations such as "installment payment" and capital idleness have led to an extraordinary prosperity in the US economy, a prosperity that can be described as abnormal or even crazy.

This prosperity, in turn, led to pre-consumption and a frenzy of financial products. Installment payments became increasingly popular and formed a complete industrial chain. For example, if a customer needs to buy something worth $100, he only needs to pay a down payment of $, and then pay $ every month for the next ten months. How is this operation done? This requires a financial company to play a role, and financial derivatives were born.

When the economy is developing well, there will definitely be no problem with this operation. However, if the economy encounters uncertainty and risks, and consumers are unable to repay the amount they should have repaid, the entire system will collapse.

Stocks on the stock market rose all the way, and everyone who participated in it made a fortune. Even those who did not make a fortune believed in "installment payments" and various financial product plans. Many people chose to consume ahead of time and bought all kinds of luxury goods, such as cars, jewelry, etc.

The U.S. population is just over 1 million, and the total number of cars has reached 2200 million. Although it is not as large as the Alliance's 2900 million, the U.S. population is only 1/8 of the Alliance's. In terms of per capita car ownership, the U.S. far exceeds the Alliance. It is not that Americans' income is four times that of the Alliance, but that Americans use the "installment payment" strategy of eating up the grain in the next year and enjoying the fruits of the future in advance.

For ordinary families, cars as durable goods are still a bit expensive, so some car manufacturers and financial institutions have cooperated to develop installment payment methods to encourage people to buy cars.

The interest rate for installment payments is very high, and the annual interest rate for car installment payments is even as high as about 30%, but Americans are still happy to accept these newly emerging credit products to buy goods that they cannot afford with the cash in their pockets, as if they do not care about the price of goods, but firmly believe that the prosperous era will continue and that they will have higher incomes sooner or later.

This was a crazy era full of dreams and illusions. Americans were inspired by a fanatical mood. Some people risked their lives to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, proving that Americans could overcome all difficulties. Others wanted to fly across the Pacific Ocean, but this plan was too crazy and the Alliance did not agree.

It’s not that they are worried about American planes taking pictures in the alliance’s airspace, but they don’t want to see anyone die in vain.

Mr. Hoover, an old friend of the Union, defeated his opponent in the general election and successfully entered the White House. When he was nominated as a presidential candidate, Hoover once said proudly: "Today, we Americans are more prosperous than at any time in history."

With God's help we should soon see the day when poverty will be banished from this country."