The streets of Berlin are not much better than those in Austria, at least that's what Wang Mingshan thinks. Budapest, the capital of Hungary www.biquge.info is also a European city, but because the implementation of land nationalization can be carried out in an integrated manner, the city has planned a wide road. Germany, where private ownership of land is not on this basis.

Wang Mingshan looked down on Berlin's urban construction. The Italian Marquis Grace, who came triumphantly from the Habsburgs, adhered to the tradition of the European aristocracy and looked down on the Junkers nobility. It is a cultural tradition, if not justified, for urban people to discriminate against rural people. If there is no mention of aristocratic titles, does Grace, the banker and capitalist, need a reason to look down on the landlords?

A trip to Germany by a former dignitary of the Min Dynasty aroused the curiosity of Wilhelm II, who invited Wang Mingshan to the imperial palace as a guest. The two talked for a while, and the topic naturally turned to war.

"How many troops does Your Majesty think it will take to wage a full-scale war in Europe?" Wang Mingshan followed the noun proposed by Wilhelm II and asked.

Wilhelm II replied with some hesitation: "Five million? ”

This sentence made Wang Mingshan feel that there would probably not be any real all-out war in Europe. It took decades of iron-blooded policy for the Republic of China to launch the North American War. During the war, he adopted the world's most advanced war concept at that time, developed the world's most advanced combat technology at that time, manufactured the world's most advanced war equipment at that time, and mobilized a huge army of as many as 20 million.

Even if we don't talk about the Republic of China, the war of German unification did not last long, and Germany at that time also had the advantages of ideas, technology, equipment, and troops, so that it defeated the enemy and established Little Germany like an autumn wind sweeping away leaves. These ideas, technologies, equipment, and troops did not suddenly appear in Prussia in a day, but were the accumulation of Prussia's hard work for decades. From the words of Wilhelm II, who was the successor of Germany, Wang Mingshan felt that he did not realize the hardships of his predecessors at all, let alone the huge inheritance he inherited.

It was not Wang Mingshan's job to educate foreign emperors, so he abandoned these core points and spoke with Wilhelm II about the contrast of power between Germany and the rest of Europe. The German Emperor was of great interest in this subject, and he gushed about Germany's superiority over France, Russia, and Italy. This made Wang Mingshan even more sure that Germany had not considered a full-scale war. Even if the future war were to be waged on the ground, in the air, on the surface and under the water, it would not be a full-scale war with the current attitude of Europe. The North American War was an all-out war, because the Republic of China did not expect the enemy to admit defeat at all. The goal of destruction was determined before the outbreak of the North American War, and after the end of the war, the name of the United States no longer existed on the North American continent. And the gushing Wilhelm II had the old dream of a European conqueror, which made Wang Mingshan sigh in his heart that 'people have to die more than people, and goods have to be thrown away'.

Leaving Berlin, Wang Mingshan went straight to the British Empire's British Province. Starting from Dublin, he went around the famous cities one by one. It was found that the roads were wider, the slums were demolished, the urban planning was in place, and the factories were in the limelight. The four-storey units serve as the city's main residences, forming neighborhoods. The city has a unified gas supply and central heating, and the community has a property committee. Gas came into the kitchen, and electricity became the source of lighting.

Seeing the jingling of trams on the streets of the city, Wang Mingshan had to admit that Britain was indeed very powerful. Such a change is earth-shattering in other countries, and it has been quietly completed in the UK. Strike when it's time to strike, this is the spirit of a great power. On an industrial level alone, this round of great innovation has allowed the island of Great Britain to progress by 20 years.

Grace will look down on Junkers, but not on the British. After the visit, she asked Wang Mingshan very suspiciously, "Didn't most of the British go to North America?" Why are the factories here working at full capacity? ”

Wang Mingshan answered his wife's question with a smile, "The cost of transporting goods produced in North America to India is relatively high, and now the factories on the island of Great Britain have undergone technological upgrades, so they naturally have to work overtime to produce and sell goods to India." Also, have you noticed nursing homes in the UK? ”

Grace frowned slightly, then frowned, "Many of the nurses there are Indians!" ”

Wang Mingshan also remembers this detail, but what he cares about is the fact that Britain is engaged in nursing homes. Those Indian nurses were in awe of Britain from the bottom of their hearts, and there was a sense of sacredness in their work of waiting for the elderly in England. In China, a country that attaches so much importance to filial piety, the evaluation of serving the elderly is that 'there is no filial son in 100 days before bed'. For this reason alone, the Republic of China cannot compare with India in any way. Even if the Republic of China was so strong, it would probably not be possible to build a nursing home system in the United Kingdom.

Britain has never wanted to become a country on the European continent, and Wang Mingshan is not worried that Britain is preparing to engage in an all-out war.

Leaving England, you will arrive in France, across the English Channel. This restless country made Wang Mingshan feel as if he had seen a schizophrenic patient, and the newspapers shouted to kill Germany and wash away the shame. In reality, pleasure places such as the Moulin Rouge are overcrowded, and absinthe from Cyprus is in short supply. Paris is drunk with money, with the belligerent clamor in the newspapers, full of 'businesswomen don't know the hatred of the country, and they still sing after the flowers across the river'.

Paris is so decadent that Grace, who has always liked to go to Paris to see fashion and shop, urged Wang Mingshan to leave quickly. She didn't want her two babies to be poisoned. When Wang Mingshan left, he believed that France did not have a plan for all-out war, and if all-out war was just a clamor in the newspapers, it could only be judged by whether the dog that bited people did not bark.

Grace took the children back to her native Italy to visit her parents, while Wang Mingshan went to Europa Bank's headquarters in Cyprus. This time it was Europa Bank that asked him to come out and help. After listening to Wang Mingshan's concluding remarks, the current president and party secretary of Europa Bank frowned.

"Secretary Wang, do you mean that the situation in Europe will become more and more peaceful in the next few years?" The governor really understands that it can't.

"The hostility will not necessarily decrease, and the willingness to fight will become less and less." Wang Mingshan replied.

"Is there a possibility that the gun will go wrong?" The secretary asked, those who are engaged in the banking industry are extremely sensitive to risks, and unpredictable risks have made them suffer too much.

Wang Mingshan pondered his words and said slowly: "What you have to worry about is not the problem of misfire. For Europe, even a misfire under the current system will not be a big problem. You have to note that there is actually a buffer consultation mechanism between the countries of Europe. In other words, there are rules among the European powers. If something happens, it won't be caused by a misfire, but a chain reaction caused by someone breaking the rules. ”

The comrades of Europa Bank looked at each other for a while before they continued to ask: "Secretary Wang, what you said is still an accident that caused a problem, right?" ”

"The type of accident is different, and I can be sure that an Italian warship fired a shot at a German warship, probably not going to provoke a war in Europe. But if Germany broke the rules, it would lead to war. Doesn't this make it more judgmental? Wang Mingshan explained.

After three days of explanation, the comrades of Europa Bank finally understood Wang Mingshan's view. Although everyone is still very uneasy, they are not as uneasy as before. At least Wang Mingshan assured that the war in Europe would not develop to the point of war in North America. Many European investors lost their fortunes in the North American War, because the Republic of China destroyed the United States in North America. Those people who are looking for investment in North America want the Americans, and they will definitely not come back. Looking for the people's court, there is no end. Because of this example, Europa Bank is very worried that such a horrific outcome of the war in Europe will also occur. Knowing that this is unlikely, the investment risk is much smaller.

After the matter was completed, Wang Mingshan, who felt exhausted, met with his wife and children at the port of the new Suez Canal and took the ship back to China. Along the way, you will see 50,000 or even 100,000 tons of giant ore ships and oil tankers sailing in the new Suez Canal. Wang Mingshan knew that he had seen the logo of his son's company on a 100,000-ton oil tanker.

Along the way, he saw many European newspapers shouting about the war, as if the war was about to break out tomorrow, but Wang Mingshan was even more convinced that his ideas were right. If war does break out, these commercial actions will naturally be reduced by danger. Of course, the premise of all this is that the person who starts the war needs to be rational. So far, at least, with the exception of Russia, which has not seen a field trip, Wang Mingshan has not seen a leader in Europe who has lost his rationality.

When he returned to Nanjing, before he had a day off, Wang Mingshan received an invitation from Wei Ze. With excitement, Wang Mingshan took his wife and children to see Wei Ze. The Italian marquiss Grace knew the rules of the Republic of China, and she took her children and set off with her husband in a very simple day dress. Since the North American War was launched by the Republic of China, for more than a decade, the European perception of His Majesty Weese was generally that of a 'cruel and powerful conqueror'. Last year's skirmish between China and Italy over Crete made the Italian marquiss understand that Emperor Weese was not polite to the European countries.

Wang Mingshan's two mixed-race children full of Mediterranean style are very beautiful, and Wei Ze likes it very much after seeing it. After seeing Grace, Wei Ze shook hands, looked up and down, and then smiled at Wang Mingshan: "I have long heard that your wife is a beauty, and now I see it with my own eyes, and I think your aesthetic vision is indeed good." ”

Wang Mingshan's old face turned red, he always felt that Wei Zedudu's words had a taste of saying that he was lustful. Grace just felt that Weeser was a bit machismo, and that he didn't match the image of the revolutionary who shouted 'women can hold up half the sky' and strongly promoted women's employment and women's emancipation. But after thinking about it, Grace also understood that this time Wei Ze invited not Grace but Wang Mingshan, and the two men naturally did not consider women's positions when they spoke. After confirming that her husband was indeed a close comrade-in-arms of the Chinese Emperor, Grace felt quite proud. She felt that if the Min Dynasty was not a republic but an empire, Wang Mingshan would have to be a marquis anyway.

The meeting conversation was over, and the work conversation was not very long. Wei Ze listened carefully to Wang Mingshan's report and nodded slightly inadvertently. Wang Mingshan's description of Europe is very realistic, and this first-hand account corresponds to Wei Ze's historical knowledge. In addition to the history of World War I, Weeser also remembered the pre-World War II video he saw, in which Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister on stage, raised his arms and shouted, 'Do you want all-out war?' Do you want this war to be more comprehensive and thorough than we can imagine today? ’

The Nazis in the audience raised their arms with great excitement in response, 'Follow the Führer!' Long live Hitler! ’

Weeser once thought that this was the result of mustache instigation, but in retrospect, it was actually a summary of the lessons of Nazi Germany from the First World War. They believed that the defeat in the First World War was the result of internal disunity and the conspiracy of traitors. So Nazi Germany was determined from the very beginning to wage a real all-out war. And the Germans, with their characteristic stubbornness, really put it into practice.

Wang Mingshan saw a thoughtful smile on Wei Ze's face, he quickly stopped talking and asked cautiously, "Dudu, what do you think?" ”

"I think your investigation is very good." Wei Ze retracted his mood and replied calmly. Then he took a document and handed it to Wang Mingshan. Wang Mingshan took it and saw that this was Russian information.

…… During the five years from 1905 to 1909, 5,735 people were sentenced to death for "disturbing the country", accounting for one-sixth of the political prisoners at that time, of whom 3,741 were actually executed, an average of 748 per year. Before Stolypin's administration, only 625 political prisoners were sentenced to death in the 81 years from 1825 to 1905, and only 191 were actually executed, or a little more than two per year. According to another source, in 1905-1909 during the Stolypin era, a total of 37,735 people were tried for political reasons, of whom 8,640 were sentenced, of whom 735 were executed, and 4,244 were sent to forced camps, 1,292 to correctional camps and 1,858 to be forced to work in the wasteland. All human beings are deprived of their personal liberty. According to official statistics, there were as many as 140,000 prisoners in Topolsk, Orel, and Moscow prisons, and by July 1909, as many as 1.5 million people had been punished in various criminal cases in Russia......

Just looking at the brutality of Russia's Stolypin reforms, Wang Mingshan was shocked. Western Europe looked down on Russia and thought it was a barbaric country. The Min Dynasty looked down on Western Europe, so it also looked down on Russia. Because he looked down on him, Wang Mingshan was too lazy to go to Russia, and he felt that Russia could not afford to set off any strong winds and waves. Therefore, Wang Mingshan made a judgment on Europe, 'as long as the rules are not broken, it will be fine'. Looking at the current situation in Russia, this is purely a posture to set off stormy waves.

Looking at Wang Mingshan's expression of disbelief, Wei Ze smiled: "You don't have to worry. A lot of things are useless just by looking at them, you are right, if you only believe the newspapers of European countries, the European war will start tomorrow. Actually, it's not like that at all. Even if you want to go to Russia, you can rest for a while and then go, you, like me, are not young anymore. ”