There will be no more than ten people in Prussia who can make a big noise in the Berlin Imperial Palace, and the four protagonists of today's luncheon are undoubtedly qualified.

King Wilhelm I of Prussia, the ruler of all Prussia, won three battles under his command and was eventually crowned Emperor of Germany.

William I's son, Prince Karl, later known as Frederick III, the Hundred Days Emperor, was a prodigious soldier and participated in three classic victories.

Without his brilliant diplomacy and strategic deception, Germany would not have been able to gain British neutrality, nor would it have been possible to deceive France in the Prussian-Danish and Austro-Prussian wars.

Moltke, the chief of the General Staff, is generally referred to in the history books as Moltke the Elder, a legendary military strategist who was eventually made a count and became the marshal of the Reich, and directly commanded three campaigns of the German national revival, at this time his position was also in full swing.

The four men in the dining room were the four pillars of the entire Reich, supporting the political situation in Prussia and Germany as solid as a rock. But today, the four of them had a violent quarrel.

The chilled grape wine had already been warmed, the tender beef on the plate had already been cold, and the love between the four of them was very excited, especially the young and strong Prince Karl, whose voice was raised an octave of excitement.

"The contract must not be signed, the alliance with the weak is suicide, the country has decayed, this is the consensus of the entire West, even their royal gardens have been burned down, and there is no plan for revenge, which shows that their spirit has already chosen to be weak, and it is our shame to ally with this kind of person" Prince Karl waved his hands, strengthening his momentum.

Prince Karl's attitude is very clear, the treaty will never be signed, but the money will not be returned, it is a big deal to treat it as an ordinary loan, and finally give a high interest. To treat weak nations, there is no need to be polite at all, to use the proverb of "China" to describe it, this money is a meat bun for beating a dog, and if you throw it out, you just want to take it back.

William I, who was sitting on the throne, frowned, and he was very disgusted with his son's almost bandit-like theory, "Karl, remember your identity, you are the prince of the empire, and you will inherit the throne in the future, how can you speak in such a scoundrel tone?

Old Moltke also spoke at this time: "If we take a long-term view, an alliance with China is of course a very good choice. Although the ancient country has declined, it still has the largest territory and people in the world. ”

"The countries that have the deepest control over China are Britain and France, and Russia to the north. However, these three countries have joined forces to infiltrate, and none of them can completely control China, which is so vast that if our German influence can enter China, even if each of the Chinese people buys a German nail, our factories will have to work 24 hours a day."

"That land has innumerable resources, a huge market, and an innumerable population, and if we in Germany can borrow one percent of it, national rejuvenation will not be a difficult task."

"But!" said old Moltke, "but it would be harmful to the empire to form an alliance with China in a short period of time, because China is the fat in the mouths of Britain and France, will they watch us form an alliance with China? Will they intervene? If Britain and France enter the war, our victory will be very slim."

Moltke Sr. was really proficient in strategy, he saw problems much more thoroughly than others, and analyzed short-term goals and long-term interests very thoroughly.

By now, in the four-member group, Moltke Sr. and Prince Karl have already expressed their unwillingness to form an alliance with China, while William I has remained neutral and has not made a clear statement, and all three have set their eyes on Prime Minister Bismarck.

At this time, Bismarck's feelings calmed down, he picked up his knife and fork and cut off a piece of red meat that had been cold, put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly, patiently as if he had never eaten such a delicacy, and it took him a long time before he spoke.

"Have you ever heard of a scholar in the Far East who is trying to send Western knowledge to the East, his name is Xiao Letian, and the name of the book he wrote is called "Journey to the West"?

"This young man who is not yet over 30 years old has now become the first person to spread Eastern and Western studies, and has become a grandmaster-level figure, and one of the sentences I admire most in his book is that the sentence 'Great Change Unseen in 3,000 Years' is not only applicable to the Qing Empire, but also to us."

"The rise of Prussia was originally nearly 100 years later than Britain and France, and now the glory of the sun never sets has covered the whole world, and even the British colony of the United States has been ** for a long time, and we Prussia are actually just catching up with the last train"

"The old empires have carved up the world, they have accumulated a huge amount of wealth in the Age of Discovery, and the emerging Germany wants to compete with them?

Bismarck put down his knife and fork and said coldly, "It is precisely because what you said is correct and unquestionable that I firmly chose to form an alliance with Xiao Letian, because this is the most strategic surprise." I don't think any politician in this world would have guessed my choice."

Bismarck's tone was too arrogant, but he was also arrogant, and in all the years he was in power, he had not made a single strategic mistake.

"It's because no one else thought that our strategy is more likely to be successful. In the feudal period of thousands of years, China has accumulated more wealth than the whole of Europe, and no economist can calculate how huge this wealth is, maybe 5 billion taels of silver, or 20 billion taels of silver, and these riches are deeply accumulated among the people, and even sleep underground."

Bismarck had already received Xiao Letian's secret letter, a 30,000-word secret letter written in English, which had been sent to Berlin by fast horse from the port of Rotterdam, and had only been delivered to Bismarck the night before.

Xiao Letian in the letter was extremely arrogant, he carefully analyzed the current world pattern, and the evolution of science and technology, and he even made a bold prediction about the changes in the future world in the letter.

"The future war will be affected by new science and technology and undergo great changes, the steam engine technology is becoming more mature and miniaturized, will inevitably change the means of human control of the sea, sail battleships will eventually be eliminated, the era of ironclad giant ships has kicked off, power technology is becoming more and more popular, the development of oil energy will gradually accelerate, and even one day human beings can conquer the sky, and the fire of war will burn from the land and sea to the blue sky."

"The German nation, after experiencing the iron-blooded rule of several generations of kings, has formed a very rigorous national character, and this character is most suitable for high-precision scientific and technological research, as long as the German nation is given enough time and money, the brilliant technology they can create will definitely be able to make the world jaw-dropping."

"I believe in the ability of the German nation to protect its own country, and I know that what the German nation needs most is space to survive. Wealth is inseparable from construction, and now there are no colonies in the world for Germany to expand, and Britain and France will definitely use military force to stifle the rise of Germany, there is no doubt about it"

"In such a dangerous international situation, dear Prime Minister, don't you think about the way out for Germany, and what land in the world can help Germany's rise? Africa, South America, Indochina, Malaysia, the Philippines, or even Oceania, which the British occupied?"

At the end of Xiao Letian's private message, he used the thickest ink to express his opinion: "There is only 'China', and now the only place that has not been divided by the old powers and is still accumulating wealth is 'China'." As long as we use the most modern financial means to mobilize this wealth, I think that the huge wealth of tens of billions of taels of silver will not only enable the rise of China, but also the rise of Germany and the United States."

"Yes, all the rumors you have heard are true, the U.S. government has signed a secret treaty with me in the Ryukyus, and my warship Xiao Lotian has reached an alliance with the United States. Now, I extend the olive branch to distant Europe, to Prussian Germany, which is working for national rejuvenation, and to the German nation.

In the letters, Xiao Letian faintly reveals his ambition for the world pattern, in the eyes of ordinary politicians, this may be just the dream of an East Asian careerist, but once the level of politics reaches the realm of Bismarck, the angle of looking at the problem is different.

Zeng Guofan once said that he and Xiao Letian were both hidden dragons of the Han nation, but what about Bismarck and Old Moltke? In fact, they can also be said to be the hidden dragons of the German nation.

The rejuvenation of any nation, without the guidance of heroes is not possible, without the leadership of the real hidden dragon is also impossible, the power of the people is like a torrent, there must be a figure like Dayu to guide and guide, and these top politicians their hearts are actually the same, there is always such a magical force in the underworld to bring them together, the so-called heroes cherish heroes may be this truth.

Xiao Letian's secret letter persuaded the iron-blooded prime minister, and what finally made him decide was not the war loan of 5.5 million taels of silver, but Xiao Letian's extraordinary self-confidence and keen observation of the world pattern.

A political rookie in the far east, who has such a strong grasp of the world pattern, will even make Bismarck feel a little jealous, such a talent is certainly worthy of trust and dependence, not to mention that there is such a mysterious and profound country behind him.

Combined with some of the numbers provided by Xiao Letian, plus his own understanding, Bismarck slowly instilled some of the ideas in the secret letter into everyone at the table. A luncheon gradually turned into a speech by the Prime Minister, and as time passed, Wilhelm I and Moltke the Elder's faces became solemn, and it seemed that they were already a little tempted.

Only Prince Karl was still dismissive, and he even proudly interrupted the Prime Minister's speech: "Even if everything is as the Prime Minister said, the Chinese country has a huge wealth to support the rise of the German nation, but how can we transport it? Will we always smuggle it like this time? I'm afraid you think too simply."

Prince Karl drained a full glass of wine, pushed away his chair and turned to leave, "I'm sorry, I still have something to leave first, as for how to deal with these Chinese, let's discuss it again!"