The news of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife reached not only Vienna, but also quickly spread throughout Europe and the whole world. "The European war has broken out, and it seems that Chief Wu's prediction is still accurate and appalling." Zhu Zhiyao, who was sitting in front of the Taipan desk, took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and continued: "You know, if we didn't know that he couldn't have planned the Sarajevo assassination, I would have to suspect that he had planned the whole thing, otherwise how could he have predicted it so accurately and outrageously." ”

"Are you trying to tell me that Wu Chenxuan is a god operator?" Rong Zongjing was a little dissatisfied with Zhu Zhiyao's chatter: "Let's talk about what to do next." ”

"What to do?" Zhu Zhiyao seemed to be still a little chilled by Wu Chenxuan's prediction, but soon he smiled at the chicken thief, "Of course, I did it according to Boss Wu's orders, after this batch of German munitions was processed, I will go to the production line of British 7.7 bullets, and it will not be a problem to double it for two years." In addition, the production of the roll-on-roll wheels has to be accelerated, and the Americans' steel plate orders have been contracted by us until August next year. When the time comes, the Yankees will watch our ships sell at a high price, and it will be enjoyable to think about it. ”

"Well, it's a pity that flour hoarding can't be done for a long time, by the way, how profitable can you make from these ten canning production lines, I always feel that selling those flour mills to the Miao family is a bit of a loss?"

"It's a loss, but flour is not the most scarce in Europe now, even if you make flour for a year or two, Lao Maozi is short of food, but unfortunately there is no money, who cares if he lives or dies." When there are no men working on the farms in Europe, our flour will be worth a lot. But the price of canned food can increase from now on, do you think, do the soldiers squatting in the trenches dare to light a fire to cook? If you really want to do this, isn't it intended to recruit cannonballs? So in addition to bread, you have to rely on canned food to live, you said that this British, French, German and Russian he doesn't know how long to fight, how much can the canned food store? Our canned food is easy to break, and we don't even need knives, so we guarantee that those soldiers like it, and besides, even if the flour is in short supply, it has to be a matter of one or two years, and when the canned food makes money, won't the expansion of your other flour mills be useful? ”

"That's right." Rong Zongjing's heart is much brighter, anyway, there is nothing serious in the Congress now, it is not as important as making money, "Brother Zhu, when the time comes, I will expand the capacity to see the machines of the standard factory and your new factory, and your quotation can be honest." ”

", you've taken out the standard factory to press me, do I dare to ask for a disguise?" Thinking about a bunch of things at home, Zhu Zhiyao also hurriedly packed his bags and came out of the congressman's office, got into his own standard business car and hurried back to Shanghai, and held a meeting with a few managers.

Chinese industry and commerce, organized by the Chamber of Commerce, were very eager for the outbreak of war in Europe, and Germany was also hungry for war in Europe, and Moltke and the General Staff deduced that it would be advantageous to go to war in 1914. For there were two events that spurred Germany to seek a quick war that year. First, in June, Germany completed the widening of the Kiel Canal, enabling the newly built "dreadnoughts" to sail directly into the Baltic Sea from the North Sea through the canal, thus accelerating the flexibility of military mobilization. Second, in April, Britain began naval negotiations with Russia, and Moltke Jr. was greatly disturbed when he learned of this. On 1 June, Moltke said to Echard Stein, who had been in England for many years: "We are ready, and the sooner we are, the better." The German military knew that if the war dragged on until 1917, when Russia and France completed a new military expansion, the balance of power would change. In a letter to the ambassador to Britain in July 1914, German Foreign Minister Yagov said: "In 1914 Russia was largely unprepared for war. France and Britain were also reluctant to go to war in 1914. According to the speculation of all authoritative sources, in a few more years, Russia will be ready for combat. At that time, it will be able to overwhelm us with the number of its own soldiers; The Russian Baltic Fleet and strategic railways will be built, but the power of our group will weaken day by day. "The Germans, with a premonition that Russia would grow in power and that Austria-Hungary, which now seemed to be mighty, would decline, wanted to go to war in a favourable balance of power.

On the afternoon of June 28, William's second brother learned of the assassination of Franz 61 Ferdinand on a yacht off the coast of Kiel, and immediately stopped browsing activities. Like a gambler who has made a bet, he paced frantically on the yacht and said, "1914 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" ”

On 5 July, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Germany was instructed to present a personal letter from Kaiser Franz to Wilhelm II. The letter stated that the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife "was the result of direct agitation by the Russian and Serbian Great Slavists; Their only purpose is to weaken the Triple Alliance and divide my empire. …… If we allow this to continue, it will mean that my court and my territory will be in danger for a long time. …… In the wake of the recent terrible events in Bosnia, you must have thought that an amicable solution to the hostilities between Austria and Serbia was out of the question; As long as this source of incitement to this evil in Belgrade goes unpunished, the peaceful policy of all European monarchies will be threatened. "The so-called punishment of Serbia in the letter is to start a war of aggression. Franz 61 Joseph pleaded with Wei to express his support for his war actions.

The Kaiser accepted the letter from the Austro-Hungarian ambassador and stated on the spot that Austria-Hungary "could certainly count on Germany as an ally and a friend to support it." Germany fully supported" Austria-Hungary's "military action" against Serbia and believed that "it would be a pity if we let go of such a favorable opportunity". Such a statement almost doomed the outbreak of a major European war.

On July 5 and 6, Wilhelm's second brother convened a meeting of senior generals and government ministers at Potsdam Palace. He told his favored retainers that there might be war. The generals replied to the emperor that all preparations for war were ready. The chief of munitions of the General Staff reported to the emperor: "I have nothing to do after this visit. The mobilization plan was completed on March 31, 1914. The army, as always, is ready. So Germany made the decision to go to war.

The Austrian Chief of the General Staff also met with the Austrian Emperor on 5 July and conveyed Germany's reply. The 82-year-old old emperor muttered: "In 1914 we could not turn back, there was going to be a terrible war." "Austria-Hungary immediately set about preparing to provoke war. While Germany and Austria were preparing for war, Russia and France were also actively preparing for war. On July 20, French President Poincaré and Prime Minister Viviani visited Russia. The two countries assured each other that in the event of war against Germany, they would fulfill their obligations as allies, and that Russia had made three concessions and retreats in the international crises of 1909, 1912 and 1913, and that in 1914 it decided never to make concessions or retreats. In the communiqué on the talks between the two countries and on open diplomatic occasions, Russia and France have repeatedly emphasized the "precious friendship" between the two countries, exaggerated the "fraternal naval and army forces," and pledged to each other to "cooperate with their allies loyally and unremittingly." During the summit meeting between the two countries, Russia held a reception banquet at the Winter Palace in Petersburg. During the meeting, Poingale spoke with the Austro-Hungarian ambassador and asked the ambassador to convey to the Austro-Hungarian government that "it should handle relations with Serbia with special caution." "Serbia is a very close friend of the Russian people, and Russia has its ally France, and I don't know how many terrible disputes there are on this issue," he stressed. ”

Britain was also ready for war, and believed that it was better to fight late than early, and that it would be detrimental to itself if it delayed any longer. Because Britain saw that Germany was more productive than it could, it would quickly catch up in the naval shipbuilding race, hoping to defeat its dangerous rivals by war in 1914 while still maintaining naval superiority. However, after the Sarajevo incident, Britain did not show any intention of entering the war at first, because it was afraid of Germany pulling back from the precipice and taking responsibility for starting the war in the first place. At the same time, there was a pro-German faction in the British parliament and cabinet. Twelve members of the British Cabinet were not in favour of going to war. The working class as a whole and the majority of the Liberals were opposed to going to war. Mass rallies in Trafalgar Square demanded that Britain declare neutrality. Under pressure from the vigorous peace movement, British Foreign Secretary Gray told the German ambassador to Britain that Britain had no alliance with Russia and France and was not bound by any obligations, and repeatedly affirmed that Britain's attitude was to "do everything possible to prevent war between the great powers." ”

After the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum, Russia informed Austria-Hungary that an attack on Serbia would provoke a general mobilization of Russia, and that Russia would not allow Austria-Hungary to defeat Serbia and become the hegemon of the Balkans. On July 26, British Foreign Secretary Gray proposed that Germany, Britain, France, and Italy mediate the discord between Austria and Serbia. However, Britain secretly encouraged France and Russia to fight against Germany and Austria, and promised to support them, which emboldened France and Russia. The true face of Britain was revealed only the day after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. On July 29, Gray met with the German ambassador and made it clear that Britain could remain neutral if the conflict was limited to Russia and Austria; If Germany and France were involved, "the situation would immediately change, and the British government, under certain conditions, would be forced to make an urgent decision." In this case, you can't sit on the sidelines for a long time." When Kaiser Wilhelm II finally learned of the true intentions of Britain to enter the war, he planned to pull back from the precipice and persuade Austria-Hungary to accept British mediation. However, Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia for two days, and the army had already marched into Serbian territory. Things have come to this point, and it is impossible to undo it.

The Austro-Serbian war broke out quickly, and Russia and France sided with Serbia and immediately carried out a general mobilization for war. On 31 July, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia and France to stop their general mobilization, which was flatly refused. Germany declared war on Russia on July 31 and France on August 3. On 2 August, in order to implement the Schlieffen Plan, the German General Staff sent an ultimatum to Belgium, asking that the German army be allowed to fight against the French army through Belgium and that it should be given a reply within 24 hours. Belgium, with a population of 7 million, courageously rejected Germany's unreasonable demands and appealed to Britain for help. On August 4, Germany flagrantly broke the 1839 treaty guaranteeing the permanent neutrality of Belgium, and the German army invaded Belgium. Upon learning of Germany's intention to invade Belgium, Britain issued an ultimatum to Germany on 4 August, demanding that Germany unconditionally respect Belgian neutrality. But German Chancellor Batemann told the British ambassador to Germany: "International treaties are nothing but a piece of waste paper. Britain then declared war on Germany under the pretext of Germany's destruction of Belgian neutrality.

In just one week, the two major military blocs in Europe appeared one after another amid the clamor of war, and they were involved in a four-year war. The world war began. Far East, a group of business tycoons who had already prepared their napkins were also tied up and waiting to be served, and their tables were not only foie gras and truffles, sausages and beer, muffins and bacon, but also sushi and sashimi quietly prepared in the back kitchen.