Regarding Sir von Holstein's actions, the old chancellor Bismarck just saw it in his eyes and let Sir Holstein operate in tandem, without objecting, even with a hint of acquiescence.

The reason for this is that the relationship between Chile and Prussia is far from being as simple as Sir von Holstein imagined.

In fact, since the time of Napoleon I, the struggle for the liberation of South America, promoted by Bolivar, a follower of Napoleon the Great, has been interspersed with the contest between the Holy Alliance and this follower of Napoleon, which has the historical origins of both the Spanish and Prussian troops.

Initially, the Mestizos (white and Indian) in the north of Chile, now Peru and Bolivia, were influenced by Bolívar and actively introduced all the political, military, and economic ideas of the French, making Peru and Bolivia deeply influenced by the French.

As part of the cause of the Holy Alliance in Europe, the Prussians did not miss the opportunity to strike at revolutionaries, especially the French revolutionaries, who dared to oppose the imperial power anywhere. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Prussians were closely associated with the Creoles (native South American whites) of the Vice-Crown of La Plata.

In May 1810, when the Court of Attorney of the Viceroyalty of La Plata overthrew the Vice-King of La Plata and established the United Provinces of La Plata, the South American liberation movement under the leadership of the great José de San Martín rebelled against Spain, which was subordinate to the Bourbons.

Therefore, Prussia should have made contact with Saint-Martin, who admired monarchism and opposed the French.

In the subsequent turbulent years in Europe, a large number of Prussians emigrated to the south of South America, in Chile, the Creole government granted land to settle these Prussian immigrants, as a return to the Creole government, Prussian immigrants in peacetime as farmers, wartime soldiers, so the southern region of Chile, also known as South Germany.

This is also happening in Paraguay and Argentina.

Thus Chile's historical ties with Germany are far from what Sir von Holstein seems, and the Chileans only work with the British, so superficial.

As a well-known Prussian, Bismarck's knowledge of Chile was far from being comparable to that of Sir Holstein from Bavaria, after all, the envoy from distant Chile was now in Schulenburg, the official residence of the old prime minister.

Acquiescing in Sir Holstein's proximity to the Peruvian president is nothing more than a trap dug by the old prime minister for the "coyote".

The trap of the old Chancellor was that, according to the Prussian Cabinet Decree of 1852, the Chancellor had the power to remove anyone in the Cabinet who overstepped the level of the Cabinet.

The content of this decree was simple: ministers or ministers were to inform the Prime Minister of new and important proposals before they could report them to the Emperor for ruling.

In fact, in any organization, this reporting process is a normal requirement, after all, no one can always skip their own leaders and report to the boss at will, otherwise the workflow in any organization will be extremely chaotic.

The purpose of this decree was to maintain the health of the entire German political system, and it was by no means some evidence of the so-called arrogance of the old chancellor in the article for the purpose of attacking Bismarck, or even fabricated: without the presence of the chancellor, the minister was not allowed to meet the emperor and report to work.

So Bismarck waited for this "coyote", who had always been against him, to personally introduce the President of Peru to His Majesty the Emperor, and then he himself removed Sir von Holstein in the name of violating the normal process of government reporting.

As another part of the old prime minister's plan, Herbert, the eldest son who has become the head of the office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also quietly received a special envoy from the distant Chilean government at the Berlin Zoo train station this morning.

At this time, in the study of Schulenburg, the official residence of the old prime minister, Chancellor Bismarck was chatting with the Chilean guest.

The Chilean guest, José Manuel Barmaseta, was the special envoy of the President of Chile, Anibal Pinto Gamondia, and, like the President of Chile, a senator from the Caren Mapu region of the Cacao Strait in southern Chile.

Politicians in Chile are basically from the Basque Country of Spain, and Balmaseta is also a second-generation Castilian-Basque born in Chile, a Basque who dislikes neither France nor Spain.

Barmaseda himself, before the Franco-Prussian War, as private secretary to former Chilean President Manuel Monte, had long established a good personal relationship with Prime Minister Bismarck, so the conversation between the two was frank and direct, without any diplomatic rhetoric.

"José, will your government and army be able to withstand the attacks of the Peruvian and Bolivian federal armies?" Prime Minister Bismarck, an old friend of Balmasaida, asked worriedly on this private occasion.

"Dear lord, it's hard to tell the truth." Barmaseda said bluntly. "At present, the Peruvian Bolivian Federal Army has four times the number of troops as Chile, and the Peruvian and Bolivian armies are also very combative, and they have always received support from the French government, especially in army building and weapons."

"Hmm." The old prime minister nodded, "During the Holy Alliance, Bolívar brought the French approach into his so-called South American Brotherhood League. Now the question is, will you be able to resist it? ”

"My lord, as soon as I arrived in Germany, I received the latest news from China, the largest warship of the Chilean Navy, the Esmeralda, had just been sunk by the Luaska ironclad ship of Captain Grau of the Peruvian Navy, and now the total tonnage of the warships of the Chilean Navy is also lagging behind the federal army." Balmaseda still spoke of the dilemma facing the Chilean Navy.

"And diplomatically, France is now making it clear that it supports Peru and Bolivia, and US Secretary of State Evert has already said that the Americans will support Peru's actions. As for the British, I just got the news that they remain outside-neutral. Balmaçeda spoke all the military and diplomatic pressures that Chile was facing.

The old prime minister was amused by Balmaseda's honest attitude, and asked with a smile, "José, until now you have not said whether you can resist the enemy, but have told me the worst situation in Chile, is it necessary for you to beg my assistance so honestly?" ”

"My lord, Chile has always regarded Prussia as its eternal friend, and as a descendant of the Basque Country, if you want to be helped by your friends, then you must tell your friends honestly everything about yourself." Balmaseda pushed his eyes on the bridge of his nose, still speaking sincerely.

"Jose, thank you for believing in Prussia so much. Well, I don't ask you if you can defend against the enemy, I'll ask you what you need? "The old prime minister was finally defeated by this honest Basque.

"My lord, before coming to Germany, I passed through Buenos Aires and boarded the ship from there." Barmaseda did not take the old prime minister's words, but was ready to move on to another matter.

"Buenos Aires? José, you went to the Prussians in La Plata? After a moment's thought, the old prime minister understood the meaning of Barmaseda's words.

"Yes, sir. Although the Argentine government was reluctant to send troops to help us, they agreed that we could organize volunteers in Argentina, and the Prussians in La Plata had already organized themselves before coming to Germany. Balmaseda finally stopped telling bad news, but brought good news to the old prime minister.

"General Ivanets wants his Prussian friends to help him arm this army, and then at the stage of stalemate with the enemy in Chile, he will suddenly enter the battle as a living force and crush the enemy in one fell swoop." Now Balmaseta not only told a good news, but also further explained the military plan planned by the Chilean military.

"How many weapons and equipment does this Prussian army need?" The old prime minister asked.

"Equipment for 3,000 people."

"How much time do you give me to prepare for this?" The old prime minister asked.

"According to General Ibanez's plan, it is necessary to deal with the naval forces of the Peruvian and Bolivian federal armies first, and after destroying their navies, General Ivanets will use his navy to throw this force behind the enemy's back and give them a surprise." The honest Barmaseda once again laid out the plans and discernments of the Chilean military, "We have about half a year to prepare this army. ”

"Half a year, that is, before November?" The old prime minister estimated the time, "What do you need besides weapons and equipment?" ”

"Your Excellency, you know that everything in the Chilean military is based on Prussia, and Chile would be grateful if Germany could provide the officer corps to help us." Barmaseda began to make sincere demands.

"Chile hopes to get a loan from Germany for the purchase of weapons and equipment for these 3,000 people." Balmaseta said sincerely, "Your Excellency, you know that Chile has no precious resources, and if the war can be resolved in the end, we are willing to take out a part of all the shares of Chile in the saltpeter company that we have jointly established with the British to offset the payment." ”

"Is the equipment for 3,000 people enough?" The old prime minister stared at Balmaseda's eyes and asked solemnly.

After being silent for a moment, Barmaseda said frankly, "My lord, this amount of equipment is based on the financial situation of Chile and the minimum number of people required for a military counteroffensive. ”

"Except for a little saltpeter deposits in the north, Chile only has fruit and wine in the middle, and cattle and sheep in the south.

"My lord, frankly, although this money is taken from the shares of our joint venture with the British, if Chile loses this war, we will not have the money to repay Germany in the end." Barmaseda spoke honestly, a terrible consequence that could occur.

The old prime minister shook his head with a wry smile, completely speechless to this Basque, in Europe, or in the world, it is really rare or even rare to use such an honest person as a diplomatic envoy. But sometimes sincerity and honesty can move people more than any words, at least the old prime minister is moved now.

"Jose, I'll help you with this, I'll try my best to help you raise equipment for 5,000 people, and as for the officer corps, I'll help you with this matter too." The old prime minister firmly assured his friend.

"Also, on the issue of payment for this armament, this concerns the Ministry of Economy of the Reich."

"Tomorrow, I will take you to the Ministry of Economy to visit Crown Prince Frederick, who is in charge of the Ministry of Economy of the Empire, and I will help you convince him to pay this money for the Chileans." The old prime minister promised, and then made up his mind in his heart, "It's a big deal, I'll let go of Prussia's push for the crown prince's new economic policy." ”