The old prime minister Bismarck was also a lover of bridge, and after dancing the polona, which he had to participate in anyway, and eating a few pieces of his favorite baumkuchen, the old chancellor made it to the table with familiar people.

The old chancellor was lucky today, as soon as he got to the table, he called the dealer directly, and as the old chancellor's bridge dealer, the master of the old chancellor's bridge dealer was William Mestre from Frankfurt, a young man in his thirties, who had just acquired part of a huge family business empire from his father, Ernst Mestre: the Mestre and Lucius companies.

The first attacker and his partner, the sixty-year-old Karl Johann Furtenberg (Freudenberg) from Weinheim, and Baron Otto von Tuch, head of the Tuch family in Nuremberg, were the first to attack and his partner, respectively.

Baron Otto von Tuch took advantage of the old chancellor's joy to play the cards and eat all three suits, and asked tentatively, "Your Royal Highness, do you think His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will support the high tariff policy of the Iron Valley Alliance?" ”

As the owner of the "Baron Tuch Brewery" in Nuremberg, Baron Tuch was still very concerned about the raw grains of beer, especially the prices of barley and wheat. Although German beer could only be made from malt, hops, water and yeast according to the Pure Beer Act of 1516, wheat was in fact an important ingredient in beer brewing.

The old prime minister glanced at Baron Tuch, then looked at the cards in his hand, and replied while calculating, "Dear Baron, as far as I know, during the ball, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and you did not have a symposium, Baron Tuch, did you not receive an invitation?" Monsieur Baron is the owner of the Deutsche Landsbank, and a great jeweler and garment merchant, which should not be! ”

Baron Tuch was a little sneering, knowing that there was a reason why the old man was sneering at him, that is, because he was a supporter and close friend of Ludwig II of Bavaria. And all this time he was opposed, Prince Lütpold Karl Joseph Wilhelm Ludwig, the agent of Prime Minister Bismarck in Bavaria.

William Meister's father and grandfather were staunch political allies and close family friends of the old prime minister. Therefore, in a familiar tone, he tried to help Baron Tuch and said, "Grandpa Otto, you know, I have just received a telegram from the crown prince that he will be appointed Minister of Economy, and I have been on the road from Frankfurt to Berlin for the past few days. ”

Mester shrugged his shoulders and said to the Prime Minister familiarly, "You got the invitation to the Imperial Palace Dance for me. I feel that Berlin has changed a lot in recent days, especially the sudden comeback of the crown prince, can you tell us the secret behind this? ”

Bismarck felt a little bitter in his mouth compared to his nephew's question, and said in his heart, "Shouldn't William's father teach him what to ask and what not to ask?" How did I know that Count Ron said such a thing to the old emperor before leaving! ”

The old prime minister casually picked up the cup of white beer on the table, took a sip, and said lightly, "Secret? What's the secret, the crown prince is the future emperor of Germany, and now is the prime of life, is it a fuss to be the minister of economy! ”

"Oh, oh..."Mester felt that his young brain was a little unable to turn, and said to himself, "This grandfather of mine can always disagree with the crown prince in the past, why is this attitude today?" ... It seems that the story in it can't be told at the table. ”

Mester smiled and nodded in agreement with the Prime Minister's words, then looked at the cards in his hand, and thought thoughtfully, "Speaking of which, the comeback of the Crown Prince is not even something that I, the Prime Minister's grandfather, can stop, and it seems that my family is about to adjust its attitude towards His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Then there is the Prince Waldemar who gave me the invitation letter, inviting me to his private presentation at the ball dinner, and I must ask about the background of this Waldemar prince. ”

"Grandpa Otto, you are right, Crown Prince Frederick will definitely become our Emperor, and it is only fitting that he will be Minister of Economy. It is a blessing for Germany to have an emperor who understands both military and economics to lead us in the future! "The ability to steer the rudder is an essential skill for the heirs of a large family, especially the Mestre corporate empire founded in 1788.

After some public praise to Crown Prince Frederick, Mestre whispered to the old chancellor, "Grandpa Otto, I have just received an invitation from His Royal Highness Prince Waldemar that His Royal Highness has a private promotion party to be held during the ball dinner, and I am invited to participate. I'm a little curious about this prince, I've never heard of him before, how can the crown prince's ball allow his promotion? ”

Karl Johan Furtenberg glanced at Temter out of the corner of his eye, and after quietly playing a card, he said in his heart, "The Mestre family has also received an invitation, and it seems that there will be a battle for the promotion of His Royal Highness the Prince." ”

"A young kid, just yesterday at his father's salon with some opinions, is a bit new." After following up on a card, the old prime minister continued, "The promotion meeting, I think it's just nonsense, what can an 11-year-old child understand, William, you don't need to participate at all." ”

"That's it, thank you Grandpa Otto, I see, I'll look for friends in Berlin and see if there is a better cooperation project." Mester said happily after playing a good card.

Furtenberg secretly rejoiced in his heart, "Sure enough, it is a young man, and the Mestre family thought that they could stay away from Berlin with peace of mind if they had a good relationship with the prime minister, but now it seems that this is simply a mistake and a disaster." The distance is long and the information is not well-informed, even if your family is the best chemical plant in Frankfurt, it is not the same as not knowing who the Koch Institute, the best drug research institution in Germany, is in the hands of now."

"Isn't Prince Waldemar's speech yesterday a little new? was actually sent away by a few words from the prime minister, young, really too young! Furtenberg happily played a card.

Baron Tuch was a little unconvinced, and said to the Prime Minister, "My scientist friends don't say that about Prince Waldemar, they don't think that His Royal Highness's speech at the salon yesterday is just a little new, but that His Royal Highness the Prince is quite cerebral and thoughtful. Mr. Meester, I suggest you should listen to it. ”

When Furtenberg heard Baron Tuch's words, he immediately felt the urge to cross over the table and strangle him, and said angrily in his heart, "What are you talking nonsense with your stinky mouth, Tuch! ”

After casually playing a card, Furtenberg said lightly, "Baron Tuch's words are exaggerated, and I also have a scientist friend who attended yesterday's salon, and he communicated with His Royal Highness the Prince. My friend also mentioned to me afterwards that his evaluation of His Royal Highness the Prince was the same as what His Royal Highness the Prince said. ”

Then he smiled at Mester and said, "Besides, attending an 11-year-old kid's pitch party is a joke, we adults haven't seen anything, do we want to listen to a kid say something?" It's a shame to get this out. ”

Baron Tuch looked at his card partner with some surprise, and said in his heart, "We were on the way to the palace in the afternoon, and you also praised His Royal Highness the prince's speech in the salon yesterday, saying that you must talk to His Royal Highness the prince at the ball, and when you first entered the palace, I saw that you were very happy because you received the invitation to the promotion meeting, why is it changing so quickly now?!" ”

Finally, Baron Tuch understood what he really meant from Furtenberg's angry eyes, "It turns out that your old fox doesn't want the Mestre family to participate in the promotion meeting, hmph, it's okay, the Mestre family likes to hug Bismarck's thigh, and they deserve to be unlucky." I'm not going to say anything from now on. ”

At the other table, clockwise sat Wilhelm I, Count Andrách, Minister of State of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bernhard Ernst Blo, Secretary of State of the German Empire, and Alfred Krupp, the patriarch of the Krupp family.

Secretary of State Bloo looked up, chasing the young women at the ball, and listed the upcoming dance repertoire one by one, and Crown Prince Rudolph, who wanted to invite the young women to dance together, shook his head slightly, and said with a smile to Count Andráhi, "Dear Giulo, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Rudolph is so young and enviable! ”

Crown Prince Rudolph, who was also busy with Count Andrách, smiled and said to the Secretary of State: "Dear Bernhardt, we were all young, weren't we! ”

"Good young man, you just saw my family's Qiaoqiao's dance performance, and that kind of dance step can only be danced by young people! Wait, I'm going to double it! Alfred, I don't believe in your contract, I'm going to double it! Wilhelm I said to Krupp.

"Are you sure, Your Majesty? I'm going to double it too! Old Krupp smiled and said, "In any case, in pleasing girls, I think His Majesty's grandson, His Royal Highness Prince Waldmar, is much better than His Royal Highness Crown Prince Rudolph." Your Majesty, you see, His Royal Highness the Prince and Her Royal Highness Princess Alba are talking happily, and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Rudolph seems to have been rejected again. ”

"Hahaha!" The Germans at the table laughed proudly.

Count Andrássy was short of breath for a while, and then said in a disapproving tone as much as possible, "Young, the advantage is so obvious, just like our army just chose Skoda in the procurement of artillery." ”

In an instant, between the eyes of Count Andráci and old Mr. Krupp, countless fires sparked.

"Hehe, in terms of looking at people, my family's Jojo is definitely at a level, this Princess Alba is definitely a beauty embryo, and after a few years, her beauty will definitely not lose to Queen Elizabeth back then. Right, Gyura? William I asked Count Andrách, an old acquaintance of Empress Elizabeth.

"Hehe, His Royal Highness the Count of Andráhi has the most say in Queen Elizabeth's beauty, right?" Old Krupp did not hesitate to tell a joke from the Austrian court.

"Yes, Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Waldemar, has definitely inherited your vision. Ahh "Count Andráhi decided to turn a blind eye to the old Krupp today, but directly complimented Wilhelm I.

"Haha, if your poker skills can be as high as your compliments, I will have to admit defeat. By the way, you and Rudolph came to Berlin in a hurry, is there anything urgent about His Majesty Franz? Wilhelm I also didn't want his good friend Krupp to make the atmosphere too tense, so he diverted the conversation from Count Andrássy's words.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty the Emperor Franz was very pleased when he heard the news of Crown Prince Frederick's return. His Majesty the Emperor Franz had an idea, His Majesty the Emperor Franz believes that the friendship between Germany and Austria needs to be passed down from generation to generation, Your Majesty, the friendship between you and His Majesty the Emperor Franz has been deeply rooted, and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederick and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Rudolph, as the successors, should also be like the two Majesies, the friendship will last forever. Count Andráhi said with all sincerity.

"Gyuluo, do you mean the German-Austrian alliance? Well, my view is that this alliance should be of a mutual-aid nature, and if you don't want to help us defend against the French, then you shouldn't expect us to deal with the Russians. "Of course, that's just my opinion, and in the end it's the Prime Minister who is in charge of diplomacy." But that's my opinion. ”