From Hamburg to Berlin, from Berlin to Vienna, to Constantinople, to Baghdad, to Kuwait, such a line divides the entire Eurasian continent into two. If my speculation is correct, the East and West of this line, the Germans will invest a lot of money.

The African continent, which has been geographically separated from the Eurasian continent by a Suez Canal, has no colonies in Germany, but obviously they have not relaxed, and it is easy for the shadow of Germany to be seen behind the Boers.

It can be said that except for America, the challenges of the Germans are everywhere. Perhaps it was precisely because of the smell of full-scale war that the Americans retracted their hands to the Pacific Ocean, handed the Samoan Islands to the Germans, and returned to their own courtyards to manage their territory with peace of mind. There are many unrest in the Southern Americas, and countries that showed off their power in front of the US Navy a few years ago also need lessons. Although these places have many European factors, the Americans firmly believe that if a world war breaks out, this place will be far away from the attention of European power.

The statement of the German Emperor William II on the leading countries on their respective continents is not aimless. Germany and the United States must have a certain degree of tacit understanding, which can be seen from the United States lending 29 million US dollars of foreign debt to Germany. Behind the abandonment of the interests of the Samoan islands to Germany and borrowing 29 million US dollars at the same time, the United States must have received Germany's commitment to some kind of affairs.

It can be seen that except for a powerful navy that William II dreamed of challenging the British Empire's maritime hegemony, Germany was almost ready.

This is also the reason why the UK has been struggling to deal with it recently.

That night, I summoned Zhang Zhidong, Zaiying, Shanqi and others to agree on the response strategy that the country should adopt under the current situation.

The signs of pro-Germany that appear in the army must be controlled. The Germans are not internationalist philanthropists. They have their own purpose. They should seize this opportunity and quickly popularize the world situation education in the army. In addition to the current Confucian control course, additional content learning of the world situation is added. As for the teacher talents, they should be assigned to various units to serve as graduate officers of the Imperial Land University who are assigned to each unit. Considering that the Imperial Land University is a place with a very serious atmosphere of pro-Germany, the courses are mainly aimed at introducing the world's hegemony situation, and try not to involve tendencies. It is completely impossible and unnecessary for the Army to completely reverse the pro-Germany. It is normal for a country that has just entered the development period to respect a strong country psychologically.

It is impossible to completely reverse the psychological factors of the Army's pro-Germany. All I want is not to let the fire burn too hot, so as not to be implicated by the Germans in a total war that was enough to bury the fruits of past development.

The establishment of a staff system has also been put on the agenda, and national affairs need to be prepared. For example, the German Emperor's rush to the shelves this time should have been proposed for reference by the decision-making level. The staff should have prepared for other aspects, such as the implementation of various policies in the future development of the country, variables in foreign policy, war preparations, etc. At first, all aspects must be taken into account, and they will be divided after the time is ripe.

Otherwise, as now, the most tired person will always be the highest level of dictator, while the others will determine the degree of fatigue according to the size of the official rank.

Internationally, we must quickly understand the current situation and future direction between the German group and the British group, and quickly judge the time and under what circumstances will the war break out, and under what circumstances will it affect China. At present, China has not signed a joint defense or offensive agreement with any country. The only one is the joint defense agreement against Russia signed with Britain. However, with the thawing of the British-Russian relations, this treaty has long been in name only.

But whether William II will ask for a clause for joint attack or defense of the two countries is still a variable. Logically speaking, he would not have it without it being proposed at the beginning. However, this person's unpredictable style of conduct really makes people dare not completely relieved.

Therefore, the most critical work must be done by me. First of all, I have to find out his trump card and what exactly is he going to do? I am 100% sure that he has never thought about it before.

Of course, there is another problem, that is, the words and deeds of the German Emperor were not so much his own ideas, but rather that the German General Staff used some method to cater to the German Emperor's character, allowing him to spontaneously and consciously do such behavior. Behind this is the urgent needs of the German military, political, industrial, and a considerable number of the Juncker landlord class.

The representative of the Junker landlord class was the army, and the representative of the emerging industry was the navy. Both interests now require an outlet for catharsis, and the German Emperor was just their representative.

In view of this, even if we start from our own interests, we must come up with some measures to fully alleviate their war requirements. I am a person who knows the ending of history. Germany will face inevitable failure, but it cannot tell them the development trend of history. This will also be a headache. At the same time, various contacts or helps with Germany will arouse the disgust of the British Empire. In this era, the British Empire is far more glorious than the United States in later generations. No one except the German group has such a dream.

Zhang Zhidong also raised an extremely important question, which is the source of raw materials and product markets of the industry. This is also an important reason why he agrees with the Southeast Asian strategy. His staff obviously serves as a counselor for him. As his horizons broaden, the industry gradually understands that many resources are no longer self-supporting, and many places in Southeast Asia are the best sources of resources for the empire, both in terms of geographical and cost.

The market also faces the problems of developing domestic markets and developing overseas markets. In this regard, continuous military operations must be carried out to conquer territory, appease public order, and then cultivate the market. This long-term process must be laid out in advance. In this regard, there can be a considerable degree of cooperation between Germany and China. The reason is very simple. The market controlled by the British will always belong to the British. In Asia, there are not many places left for themselves to play.

This is the domestic pressure I face, and the industry has already had its own requirements. This pressure is reflected in policies, which inevitably requires the empire to compete for hegemony against the outside world.

Fortunately, I still say that the only emperor can suppress such demand for more than ten or twenty years, but in the future, if I always suppress domestic demand, then the revolution will be almost visible to me. No one can oppose hundreds of millions of Chinese people, even their emperors.

In agriculture, since Zhang Zhidong's administrative system is also taking into account, the large landlord class urgently needs to suppress it, otherwise it will induce deeper social problems. Therefore, new land and immigration actions are also imperative. The Chinese people's complex for land is unimaginable to foreigners. The results of the land expansion war in recent years have slightly alleviated the pressure of land annexation in recent years. However, in the future, greater living space is still needed. Land legislation is imperative. Otherwise, some poor people who have no land, no production and no industry will jump out for the needs of survival. The civil unrest in Shaanxi and Gansu has sounded the alarm for the court.

Industry and agriculture have not been connected in this era, but in Zhang Zhidong's Tiaochenli, agricultural mechanization has been in his preparations. One day in the future, in his concept, the agricultural land in the mainland will fall into the hands of agricultural capitalists after many rounds of gradual annexation. Mechanized agricultural production will produce several surplus labor. These people will be the object of immigration policy. New land will be used to resettle immigrants, divide industrial and agricultural land, and cultivate markets. Only in this virtuous cycle can a healthy situation of progress in industry and agriculture, and the progress of industry and agriculture will in turn support the military system that can win the living space for the empire. Such a circular structure is the way for survival of the most huge empire on the earth.

He was obviously well prepared, and the great gift list of the German Emperor obviously also greatly encouraged him. As the head of the literary management system, he had completely become a pro-God faction. In his decades of long-term planning, he painted me an attractive and virtuous empire model of progress. It was obviously beyond the scope of the discussion tonight. I didn't agree, but my heart was overwhelmed.

Zhang Zhidong, a contemporary scholar, has his thoughts been extremely aggressive by the environment, and there are many things to be supplemented with his plans, such as the thought control system, etc. Moreover, such a result will inevitably lead to a certain degree of local autonomy in this huge empire. Although this is quite in line with my idea of ​​a franchising country under the Chinese Empire system, I never thought that in just a few decades, the franchising country system such as the Fusang Kingdom of the Chinese Empire, the Siam Kingdom of the Chinese Empire, and the Philippine Republic will emerge.

However, according to Zhang Zhidong's idea, such a system will obviously reveal clues within decades.

He obviously felt that with the comprehensive help of the German Empire, this huge empire could already start. But he forgot one thing that started would take more than ten years of overall peaceful development. If a world war breaks out tomorrow, it would be unimaginable to stand on the side of Germany, overseas territories would almost certainly be vomited back immediately, and the coastal areas would face attacks from unknown places at any time.

Looking at Zhang Zhidong's slightly frivolous 63-year-old old star, I felt a lot. This person has changed unknowingly. To a certain extent, I should see clearly the classes behind him, the capitalist class, the big landlord class, the big business class, and maybe even the working class.

"More importantly—" Just as I was thinking about his seal, Zhang Zhidong said: "Your Majesty, according to the Minister of Education and Culture, there is indeed a saying in the oracle bone fragments left by the ancestors. If you seize this opportunity, China will surely leap the dragon to the east. The translation of the Tuchen is that the two Western beasts are seeking profits, and the dragon to the east is obviously showing the current pattern."

I was stunned and then I understood the trajectory of Zhang Zhidong's mind. Although people like him cannot trust the religious prophecies, they also have a great effect. What moved him even more was that such a process gradually became a reality under his promotion. How could an ambitious person give up such a direction of success?

He obviously didn't know that Kang Youwei's so-called translation was purely based on needs. I had known Kang Youwei that such a translation was long ago, and many great scholars and talents in Beijing believed that Kang Youwei's translation was true. Although I don't believe it, how many people in this era would not believe it?

"Emperor—" Zhang Zhidong said again: "Today, I was also reported by General Yike Tang A, General Yili, and auspiciousness came out of Xinjiang. An ancient tomb was unearthed from Hotan. There was a brocade in it. The top was embroidered with official scripts and embroidery to "five stars come out of the east to benefit China." This is why it is a thing of the Qin and Han dynasties. According to the astronomy of the "Book of Han", it should be an object of the Han Dynasty when the Han Dynasty used its troops. This is also a good sign."

I know this, nodded and smiled, "Where are the five stars now?"

"Reply to the emperor's words--" Shanqi replied: "A few days ago, when Liu Kun, the governor of Liangjiang, came to the letter, Yun said that he had observed a five-star pearl-shaped vision at the Xujiahui Observatory in Shanghai, and the servant thought it was right."

I listened to him and had no interest in drinking tea. I looked at Shanqi and Zhang Zhidong. It seemed that they had already communicated in advance. Two of the four important officials had completely chosen the strategy of turning to Germany.

Only Zaiying's face was always bitter. He knew how sad his life would be in the future when facing the double pressure from Germany and Britain.

He smiled secretly and said, "I also want to use troops. I will use troops against Japan in the second half of the year. If Ying Xiangrui, this is Ying Xiangrui. Also, you are all important ministers of the country. I always say something about prophecy and divination, not the wind of ministers." He closed his smile and said, "I asked you to come tonight, because it was inevitable that the world war would be about to break out. Let you think about how I should make decisions and deal with it. You, in addition to the previous one, there was a little way, and later, I would ask me to go to the sword mountain. You must think clearly that no matter what, my Qing Dynasty has been in vain for ten to twenty years of peaceful development, and the time for peace starts. If the war is about to begin, if my Qing Dynasty depends on Germany, the country will be destroyed!"

"Your Majesty—" Hearing my harshness, a few people didn't dare to sit down and kneel down to apologize.

I waved my hand and said, "Get up and talk, I am not blaming you, but reminding you that as a minister of the country, one word can make a country prosperous, and don't forget to have a thought that you can destroy the country. You are the minister of Xiangyan, and I know that you are determined to be strong, but too much is not enough. This is also the regret of the ancestors."

After talking, his thoughts were much broader. He comforted Zhang Zhidong and Shanqi for a little while, and smiled at Zaiying, "Looking at your sad face, I know that the Emperor of De is not easy to serve. Well, it's getting late, so let's just disperse like this. Xiangyangong, industry is still the main point, I have to depend on your achievements."

After the two of them left, I smiled in Zaiying's surprised gaze and said, "Let's go, I'll send you back home."

It was not only Zaiying who was surprised. William II, who lived in Prince Gong's house, was also surprised by my visit at night. The displeasure that he had earlier suffered from changes in the itinerary naturally disappeared. With the help of his master, I found a secret room with him and started discussing.

This is a conversation that is about to change the course of the world. I was a little nervous, and William felt it when he shook hands and asked in kindness.

I smiled and said, "That's because you are worried that you are furious in the thunder, because there are some problems with your schedule."

"When it comes to this—" William's face changed and he turned his head and asked, "Your Majesty gives me the feeling that he is very afraid of Britain and France."

I shook my head and smiled, spread my hands and said, "France should be a little better, they are farther away." Both sides laughed knowingly, and then got to the point. I asked my biggest worry directly: "Is Your Majesty ready to start a war against Britain in the past two years?"

"This was impossible during Queen Victoria's lifetime." William II hesitated for a moment before answering.

I shook my head secretly. At this critical moment, he must show sincerity to believe him. Otherwise, I will not be able to explain to the British, so I shook my head with a giggle smile and said, "As far as I know, Her Majesty the Queen is already in her twilight years, and a little disrespectful guess will be obvious within two or three years. Is Your Majesty waiting for such an opportunity?"

William II smiled bitterly and shook his head and said, "Of course not. I have said that I have never thought that one day war with the British Empire. I have never thought..."

"Germany thought," I cut off his words, "Your Majesty, your global layout has shown a dangerous situation. To some extent, if Your Majesty is not ready for war, the counterattack of the British Empire will bring you and your country into a tragic ending."

A look of surprise on William II's face made me believe that this sentence really touched his heart. In the process of analyzing the current changes that Germany's strategic actions may cause, I gradually grasped that the German emperor was not really prepared in his heart. The only thing he was prepared was the German General Staff.

He also knew that some words and deeds or actions would anger Britain, but he obviously believed that Britain would not do anything out of line to him, especially after the German naval power thrived.

In the past ten years, the German Navy has grown from a total tonnage of thousands of tons to a top five navy in the world, and the total number of navy and army personnel has also grown to 800,000. Their plan is to increase these two figures to first, second and one million within ten years. Therefore, the German Emperor believed that even the British Empire would not dare to easily stroke his tiger beard.

But I have the responsibility to make him realize how dangerous the current situation is. Maybe the war will not break out quickly. But a few years later, once the Baghdad Railway is completed and extended to the Kuwait port, it will take less than three or two years; a few years later, the German navy has really reached the level of strength to challenge the British Empire. According to Germany's national strength and investment, this is not a big problem; and a few years later, the British Empire has to protect itself... no one can stop the outbreak of a total war.

Who can predict the outcome of such a real world war?

In recent years, the British Empire has not been stupid enough to wait for Germany's aggressiveness. He and I have every reason to believe that the British Empire will be ready quickly and kill any challenge crisis of the German group around the world.

They will definitely deal with the Boers quickly, and the Baghdad Railway is not smooth sailing. If I join the German group, Russia and Japan will definitely be quickly armed. The Germans' shallow lies in Turkey, an allies of Turkey, will quickly fall into the hands of the Russians, and the significance of the Baghdad Railway will no longer exist, and all the overseas colonies that Germany has acquired will be forced to give up. The same experience will also happen in my country. A global hegemony, the British Empire, who has fully relaxed its hands and feet against you, cannot be underestimated.

William II obviously had never thought of such a deep question, but judging from his thoughtful expression, the General Staff must have raised such questions to him, but he ignored them.

His fingers kept pounding on the table, and our conversation lasted from 11 o'clock to 2 a.m., all about the changes and response strategies mentioned above. Of course, everyone can realize the danger, because no one knows when the British Empire will launch revenge.

I also suggested to him that Britain might take immediate retaliation actions, such as comprehensively helping Serbia in the Balkans. This emerging power in the Balkans has always regarded itself as the second brother of the Slavic world. If they get help from Britain, they can quickly form a cooperative relationship with Russia. The unity of the Balkans is just around the corner, and the line between Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Constantinople to Baghdad will be cut off in half.

So what if Kuwait falls into Germany? The Indian Ocean Fleet, the East African Fleet, the Red Sea Fleet, the British Empire's navy deployed in this area has enough strength to deal with all challenges. The north of this area is the sphere of influence of the Russians. In the Middle East, Germany has the ability to bear the threat of war from the two countries of Russia and Britain at the same time?

More importantly, even if China firmly ally with Germany, both countries need more than ten or twenty years of long-term preparation, especially the navy, which is no different from children compared to the British Empire.

I just made my last effort. If they continue to go crazy like this, I can only say sorry, because no matter how tempting is, it is not worth the danger of my destruction.
Chapter completed!