On the morning of the next day, German Prime Minister Billo met with Xu Jichao and Li Sanjie and held talks. During the talks, on behalf of Germany, Bilow expressed his acceptance of East China's proposal to conclude a partnership, and hoped that from now on, the two sides could cooperate closely and mutually benefit each other; while Xu Jichao, on behalf of East China, expressed his willingness to establish good relations with Germany, help each other, and jointly deal with various international challenges.

The atmosphere of the talks between the two sides was quite harmonious, and after the talks, the two sides formally signed an agreement to conclude a partnership and issued a joint statement, which also symbolized that the relationship between East China and Germany had taken another step forward, although it was not as close as the relationship between Germany and Austria-Hungary, which had already signed a military alliance and had a common defense, but it was much closer than the general state relations.

After the talks, Bi Luo also set up a working luncheon to entertain the talks of East China, the work luncheon is simpler than the formal banquet, but also casual, although Bi Jing's formal banquet is rich, but the atmosphere is too police, so only the country with a close relationship will be so casual, Bi Luo arranged this way, but also intended to express the meaning of close to East China.

Although there are not many diplomatic contacts between East China and Germany, in recent years, there is not a lot of cooperation between the two sides, because it is a relatively high level of military cooperation, and some military cooperation has not even been between Germany and Austria-Hungary, so it can be regarded as reaching a relatively close level.

East China defeated the Russian Army in the Far East War, and defeated the Combined Fleet with the British fleet as the main force in the naval battle.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Prince Heinrich of Germany came to the apartment and invited Xu Jichao, Li Sanjie and other key members of the mission into the palace to attend the Christmas dinner, and Kaiser Wilhelm II also planned to receive the members of the mission before the dinner.

In countries that still retain a monarch, it is of course a great honour for the monarch to receive foreign envoys, who are envoys of a non-monarchical country, especially on the first day of the visit, and to be personally received by a member of the royal palace. Of course, Prince Heinrich has visited East China many times, and he knows most of the main officials of East China, and Xu Jichao is also an old acquaintance, so this time he also took the initiative to invite Ying to invite members of the mission. And Wilhelm II, in order to show goodwill to the mission, also agreed.

Xu Jichao and Li Sanjie took five key members of the mission to the Berlin City Palace with the prince to meet Wilhelm II.

Although the Berlin City Palace is famous, it is one of the oldest imperial palaces in Germany, and it is also the residence of the Kaiser in Berlin and the place where he handles government affairs and receives ministers, so it is also resplendent and almost luxurious.

Wilhelm II, dressed in military uniform, received the members of the mission in the halls of the Royal Palace. Xu Jichao took Li Sanjie and others, bowed to Wilhelm II, and said: "Your Majesty the Emperor, I would like to signal to Your Majesty on behalf of East China." ”

Wilhelm II also stood up from his seat, bowed slightly, and said: "Distinguished guests from the East, welcome to Germany, I hope you can feel comfortable and happy during your time in Germany! ”

Xu Jichao and the others bowed to Wilhelm II again, and then they all sat down.

In this era, most royal palaces still retain some power, and although technology has reached a certain level, most royal families still regard themselves as gods or agents of gods, so the palace state still retains some respectful etiquette. Although European countries do not have the usual ritual of kneeling like Asian countries, in formal occasions, when the monarch is present, only the monarch has a seat, and the other ministers can only stand and answer each other to show their respect.

But this creates certain difficulties in the interaction between non-monarchies and monarchies, because non-monarchies are equal and the dialogue between superiors and subordinates is also equal in form, at least being able to sit face-to-face. Therefore, the general non-monarchy and monarchy exchanges, the royal family will not come forward, by the minister to deal with, but the relationship is particularly good in the country, the royal family can not be seen, over time it has formed a set of non-monarchy and monarchy exchanges, the royal family reception etiquette, the first salute, and then by the royal family to sit, of course, the minister who accompanies the monarch to meet will also have a seat, to show equality, but the monarch's seat will be a few steps higher, and it is more respectful.

After Xu Jichao sat down, Wilhelm II smiled and said: "I remember that in 1896, Prime Minister Li Hongzhang of your country visited Germany, this was the first time in German history to receive visitors from China in the East, he left a deep impression on me at that time, I still remember that he was called Bismarck of the East at that time, I didn't think of welcoming Chinese guests again, we waited for 12 years!"

Heinrich, who accompanied Wilhelm II to meet him, listened, but only rolled his eyes, although Li Hongzhang and the current Xu Jichao and others are Chinese, but this is a general term, Li Hongzhang is an official of the Chunting Court, while Xu Jichao and others are from East China **, these are two hostile political bodies, so Wilhelm II compared Li Hongzhang and Xu Jichao and others, perhaps out of good intentions, but it is really a bit nondecent, and in terms of diplomatic etiquette, it is also very rude. However, Heinrich also knew that his imperial brother likes to do things on a whim, and when he thinks of one play, the ministers also have a headache about this, which can be regarded as a normal operation.

Xu Jichao said: "Although Mr. Li Hongzhang and we belong to the hostile camp, but when he was alive, he had a good relationship with us, and we also have great respect for his knowledge and contributions to China, and I have heard of Mr. Li Hongzhang's experience when he visited Germany, I think that with the deepening of our cooperation between East China and Germany, the relationship will continue to strengthen, and the visits between each other will definitely become more frequent, and I believe that the next time Chinese visit Germany, there will be no need to wait for 12 years." ”

After he finished speaking, Bilo and Heinrich were also relieved, and the other party could still speak, which could be regarded as resolving the emperor's inappropriate remarks and avoiding embarrassment between each other.

And Wilhelm II didn't feel that he had said the wrong thing, but Xu Jichao's answer still made him quite satisfied, and said with a smile: "Yes, I also hope that Germany and China can have an eternal friendship this time." ”

Xu Jichao said: "We believe that although China and Germany are far apart, they have many similarities and should be good friends and partners. ”

Wilhelm II was also a little surprised, he really couldn't think of any similarities between China and Germany, frankly said that if there was no East China **, he would not have looked at China in this era at all, this sentence would even be regarded as an insult to Germany, but by the envoy of East China **, Wilhelm II would pay attention to it, and said: "Yes! What are the similarities between Germany and China!"

Xu Jichao said: "China and Germany are both countries with a long history, and each has created a splendid culture, China is the center of East Asian civilization, while Germany is the center of European civilization, isn't it very similar?"

Wilhelm II burst out laughing and said, "There are indeed many similarities!"

In fact, the history of Germany is not long, from the founding of the country, it is less than 40 years now, even if the entire history of the Hohenzollern Dynasty is counted, it is only nearly 500 years, but Germany has always regarded itself as the successor of the Holy Roman Empire, so that it can not be forced to reach a thousand years, although it is still not enough to see compared with China, but it is indeed a country with a long history in Europe; of course, Germany can indeed be regarded as the center of European civilization, and a large number of writers, philosophers, and Artists, therefore, say that they have created a splendid culture, and it is not a boast to it, and Wilhelm II will naturally be happy when he hears it.

Xu Jichao continued: "Moreover, Germany has been divided for a long time in history and suffered humiliation, but in the end, Germany finally achieved national reunification and national rejuvenation by relying on its own tenacity and hard work. And now China, Germany at that time is very similar, backward, divided, and humiliated by foreign enemies, and we are also trying to achieve national reunification and national rejuvenation, and in this regard, we should learn from Germany. ”

Wilhelm II listened, but also nodded again and again, his heart was very useful, because the realization of German reunification and national rejuvenation is the greatest achievement of the Hohenzollern dynasty, and it is also the place where Wilhelm II is proud. ”

And the prime minister on the side, Bi Luo, was also taken aback, for fear that the emperor would not be able to find the north by Xu Jichao's words, and make any promises indiscriminately.

Fortunately, Xu Jichao owed a debt and said: "On behalf of East China**, I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness." In this way, this paragraph was gently revealed, and Bi Luo also breathed a sigh of relief, and he didn't feel a little better about Xu Jichao's impression.

It turned out that Wilhelm II was only going to meet for about 30 minutes, and a few kind words were enough, but Xu Jichao's response was decent, and he didn't show any traces, and he didn't feel in a good mood, so he couldn't stop talking about it, and he talked for more than 1 hour, and there was no end in sight. Not only did Bülo get anxious again, because the main thing today was the Christmas dinner, and the emperor still had a lot of things to do, and he had to leave enough time to prepare, so he gestured to Prince Heinrich and asked him to remind the emperor.

Prince Heinrich understood, taking advantage of the gap in the conversation, suggested that the emperor still have the matter of the Christmas dinner, it is better to stop here for this meeting, and after the Christmas dinner, find a suitable time to meet Xu Jichao, and it is not too late to have a detailed discussion, Wilhelm II ended the meeting with some unfinished feelings. And Bi Luo also breathed a sigh of relief, serving such a monarch is indeed a very hard thing.