Ps. The large chapter of 15944 words was sent, which can be regarded as making up for the previous few days.

The last question still fell on Austria-Hungary.

Like Emperor Franz's growing age and temper, Austro-Hungarian diplomacy became increasingly old-fashioned and old-fashioned.

For Austro-Hungarian diplomacy, Emperor Franz always had a criterion in his heart, that is, only after the two monarchs recognized each other's personal conduct, and then strengthened the intimate private feelings between the two monarchs, this was the anchor that fixed the boat of friendship between the two monarchs.

As for France, the only one on the European continent that did not have an emperor, Emperor Franz did not want to see it.

Because of this old-fashioned knight-like character, Emperor Franz attached more importance to the friendship between the two sides, but did not value the so-called exchange of interests in diplomacy.

Of course, this is only the personal diplomatic opinion of His Majesty the Emperor Franz, and in the real diplomatic practice of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, thanks to the blessing of the dual monarchy, there will always be all kinds of interest-oriented deviations in Austro-Hungarian diplomacy.

Like the new Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, Baron Heinrich Karl von Hemmele, in November of this year, Emperor Franz also changed his own Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire (note 1), and the 11th Viscount Tarfe, the German Eduard Taffe, became Prime Minister again, which was also the 14th Prime Minister in the short history of the Austrian Empire in more than 30 years since the establishment of the post of Prime Minister in 1848.

Yes, one of them was called the Austro-Khalinarian Foreign Minister, and the other was called the Austrian Empire's Prime Minister, and there was no subordinate relationship between the two, and according to the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy, the Austro-Hungarian Ministers of Foreign Affairs, War and Finance, as well as the Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary, were appointed directly by the Emperor Franz.

In the course of many discussions with his father and Chancellor Bismarck about the diplomacy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the palace of the Berlin prince, because Lord Bismarck always cursed the Baron Hemmelle for his stubbornness in the German-Austrian Covenant, Joey understood that the heir of the Count of Andráhi was extremely disgusted by Lord Bismarck.

It is also through the emotions inadvertently expressed by the Prime Minister that Joey understands that Bismarck is particularly fond of the current Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Moscow, the Magyar Sigmund Graf von Kolospathak Karnoki.

Historically, Baron Hemmele, who sat in the position of Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister for less than two years, Joey did not know his true diplomatic level, but he was extremely familiar with Viscount Tafe, the Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire, and Karnoki, the Foreign Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Joy knew that these two were the most bizarre figures in the less than 100-year history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, all of which were blessed by the history of Austria in the compulsory secondary school history when he was in the middle school in his previous life.

The most famous deeds of these two gentlemen in the history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire are that Viscount Tafe, who was of German origin, hated the Germans very much but loved the Slavs to death, and similarly, Karnoki, a Catholic of Magyar origin, did not love the Catholics, but loved the Orthodox Christians who were oppressed by the Catholics.

From the perspective of human emotion, loving a thing or a person is easy to produce the associated emotions of love for the house and Ukraine, but these two famous figures are just the opposite, as the Ishslavs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire but actively anti-Russian figures, in the nearly 20 years of their rule, they have not stopped and spared no effort to question the correctness of the alliance of the German, Austrian, and Russian emperors, just like a victim paranoia, always constantly suspecting that Russia has some evil intentions for Austria-Hungary.

If these two were just sitting in the palace hall (the building name - Hofkanzlei, the center of power in Austria-Hungary, symbolic equivalent to Downing Street, the docks of Orsay, Wilhelm Street) and thinking nonsense, or hysterically cursing in the Austro-Hungarian newspapers, these two gentlemen first paid money and guns to help the Duchy of Seville become independent from the Ottoman Empire, and then encouraged Archduke Alexander of Bulgaria to expel the Russian army, bent on blocking Tsarist Russia, and then afraid that they would not have enough trouble, The Tisza family, who ruled the Kingdom of Hungary, were forced to increase their oppression of the Croats.

Of course, as the prime minister of the Kingdom of Hungary and the de facto head of the Tisza family, Tisza Kallman was not a fuel-efficient lamp, and in oppressing the Croats, he skillfully turned the sharp contradiction between the croats and the oppressed Croats to the Serbs, the darlings of these two gentlemen, rather than the Magyars who oppressed the Croats.

Finally, these two gentlemen also dreamed of taking Catholic Romania back into their arms and forcibly taking Bosnia by the way, and as for Menegro, Macedonia, Epirus and Greece, the more the merrier.

In short, these two gentlemen came as they pampered the Yugoslavs at home, blocked Russia externally, saved fuel on the Germans, and troubled the Ottomans.

If the powder keg that led to World War I was the Balkans, these two gentlemen were the initiators of the powder keg that turned the Balkans into a powder keg.

Fools are not terrible, but the most terrible thing is an unusually diligent idiot, and Austria-Hungary also has a pair, and it is difficult not to die.

Judging from the appearance times of Viscount Tafe and Baron Hemmele in the same history as in his previous life, Joey is sure that the wings he crossed have so far only fanned out an imperial Russian naval adventure that he did not have in the history of his previous life, and did not fan the history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

That is to say, according to his known history, in the next few years, the Bismarck in front of him will not be able to stand the resentful nagging of these two adults in Austria-Hungary for many years, and finally promote a new alliance of the Three Emperors, the German, Austrian, and Italian alliance.

In Joey's eyes, this new alliance of the Three Emperors is actually worse than the old alliance of Germany, Austria and Russia, in which Austria and Russia are actually competing for the interests of the sphere of influence in the Balkans, and so far, there has been no direct war between Austria and Russia, and there is no direct territorial dispute between Austria and Russia.

Austria and Italy, on the other hand, were very different, as the unification of the Kingdom of Italy was based on the decay of the Austrian Empire, and to this day in 1879, the two countries are still entangled over the former Adriatic territory of the Republic of Venice.

The Italians insisted that the former Republic of Venice was an integral part of the history of the Kingdom of Italy, and that Italy naturally had sovereignty over all the territories of the Republic of Venice, including the territory of the Republic of Venice on the Adriatic Sea, which is now Croatia.

The Italian people and officials have always been resentful, even resentful, about the Austro-Hungarian encroachment on their territory, and there is no shortage of Italians, especially the most destructive anarchists of the working class, who are ready to deal another blow to Austria-Hungary at a critical time.

After all, they believe that the working class of the world is one family, and that there is no need for a state or a nation, and the famous people who died on the assassination list of the Italian anarchists were French President Marie François Sadie Cano, Spanish Prime Minister Antonio Canovas de Castillo, and King Umberto I of Italy.

Of course, in history, Emperor Franz's wife, Princess Sissi, also died at the hands of this group of cowards.

Similarly, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was obsessed with the newly lost region of Venice, and was always wary of the territorial dispute between Austria and Italy in Croatia and Italy's ambition to intervene in the Balkans.

To be able to pinch such two countries into an alliance that has both war and blood debts, territorial disputes, and entanglements of interests, and is full of contradictions, Joey admires Prime Minister Bismarck's diplomatic ability very much.

But as soon as he thought of this, Joey couldn't help but lament in his heart, "An Austro-Hungarian Empire has already overwhelmed the German Empire, and then bring a European pig, and it is also a white-eyed pig that cannot be raised, Lord Bismarck is afraid that the future road of the German Empire will be too easy to walk!" ”

I look at the problem from the perspective of a posterity who has insight into history, and knows the bad performance of Austria-Hungary and Italy in history, but if we look at this era from the perspective of Prime Minister Bismarck, Austria-Hungary is still one of the five great powers in the world, not only has a huge army, but also has a strong agricultural foundation and a fairly complete industrial system.

Italy, on the other hand, in its first two wars of unification, with its relatively dazzling military performance, coupled with the second largest population after Britain and France, and the second highest birth rate in Europe, made the European countries define Italy's status as one of the quasi-powers that can wrestle with Austria-Hungary.

Of course, Bismarck's Italian fan, who is currently the president of the Italian parliament and leader of the left-wing party, Francisco Crispi, is a politician who has been preaching in the Italian media that there will be a war between France and Italy, and that the French must break the spiritual shackles imposed on the Italians by military force in order to achieve the true liberation of the Italian nation.

A big fan who is so staunchly anti-French is naturally a partner worthy of Prime Minister Bismarck's wooing and cooperation.

In Europe in 1879, probably no one except Joey could have known that these three battles for the unification of Italy had completely exhausted the pitiful light of the Italians, and the Italian military power after that was like spaghetti, with a little water and heat, the noodles that looked extremely hard immediately became extremely soft.

However, it must be admitted that although Italy's military capabilities after 1866 were extremely incompetent, the Italians had great political luck, and in the Third War of Unification in 1866, they lost to Austria-Hungary both on land and at sea, but the outcome of the war allowed Italy to gain Venezia.

Not to mention Joey's previous life, Italy's "brilliant" performance in the two world wars.

Therefore, pigs also have the luck of pigs, and it is not okay to be unconvinced.

No matter how much Joey looked down on Italy, in any case, it was still Chancellor Bismarck who was the pilot of the German giant ship, and he could not decide the course of the giant ship, the only thing he could do was to plan a few more possible routes on the chart.

After a short period of contemplation, Joy suddenly said, "My lord, since the collapse of the Vienna system in '48, I don't think there is a new system in the whole of Europe that can maintain the balance of power among countries, right?" ”

"Huh?!"

In the face of Joey's leapfrog thinking, Crown Prince Frederick and Chancellor Bismarck did not keep up with their thinking for a while.

"Qiaoqiao, why are you interested in the Weiye/Na system?" Crown Prince Frederick asked curiously, "This is what many people define as a reactionary system. ”

"Father, there is never a shortage of opponents in any policy, and no matter how bad the Vienna system is, it is not without any merit, at least the principle of balance of power in this system guarantees peace in Europe, the principle of orthodoxy guarantees the legitimacy of the monarchy, and the principle of compensation, I think, can at least be tried in the Balkans."

"In the Balkans?" Prime Minister Bismarck furrowed his eyebrows, "Jojo, what do you want to compensate for Viya/Na Na?" ”

"My lord, I once said that the Austro-Hungarian Empire is a national prison, and the only thing to be thankful for is that the two prison wardens, Viye/Na and Budapest, have done a good job so far, at least the prisoners in the prison are serving their sentences seriously."

"But the countries that are not locked up in prison, like Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, as well as Bosnia, Macedonia and Epirus which are still in the hands of the Ottomans, each of them has a "big" Balkan plan in their hearts, either they want to monopolize the Balkans or they want to be the hegemon of the Balkans, and they see us as the great powers and the Ottomans as if they did not exist as air, and for peace in the Balkans, they are like a bunch of outlaws ready to destroy the peace of the Balkans. ”

"If, my suggestion, is it possible to reconstruct the balanced principle of maintaining peace in Europe by reshaping the Vienna system of the great powers, and to re-establish a balanced diplomatic relationship between Vienna and Moscow that guarantees peace in the Balkans, that is, can this group of Balkan criminals be arrested first....."

"So, Qiaoqiao, what do you mean, let the gendarmes arrest this group of criminals and put them in the prison of the nation to serve their sentences?!" Prime Minister Bismarck said suddenly.

"Gendarme?" Crown Prince Frederick took a closer look at Master Bismarck and asked uncertainly, "Is it a Russian?" And how did the Russians compensate the Austrians? ”

"Father, my lord, according to my simple understanding, complex religions and chaotic ethnic relations are at the root of all the problems of the Balkans, so my solution is to simplify the complexities."

"My simple understanding can be boiled down to one sentence, that is, the believers of God are returned to Austria-Hungary, the Slavs are returned to the Tsar, and the followers of Allah are returned to Allah."

Without waiting for Crown Prince Frederick to speak to Chancellor Bismarck, Joey quickly spoke his thoughts.

"Based on this idea, I would like to talk about a principle, the principle of compensation, which in simple terms is the exchange of land for peace, the exchange of land between Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Ottoman Turkey for peace in the Balkans."

"The first thing to do is to ask Romanian Catholics to move westward as a whole and exchange settlements with Slavs living in Serbia and Bosnia who profess Orthodox Christianity."

"Secondly, Bulgaria is encouraged to eat up the Macedonian region, in exchange for Bulgaria to settle the settlement of the Slavs of Montenegro on Macedonian land, and the vacated lands of Montenegro will belong to Croatia."

"In order to compensate the Greeks for the possible regret of losing the annexation of the Macedonian region, the region of Epirus will belong to Greece."

"In the end, the Allah's followers in the Balkans will be sent out of Europe, just as Spain expelled them, to completely solve the religious problem in the Balkans, and to cut off the hand of Ottoman Turkey into Europe."

"Land for peace?!" Prime Minister Bismarck gently stroked his beard with his hand, and quietly began to ponder in his heart, "This little guy's proposal for the overall immigration method for a region is a bit interesting. ”

"Large-scale migration is not uncommon in the history of Europe, usually the act of a single country or nation, but I didn't expect the little guy to be very bold and want to plan the two powers and the entire Balkans."

"Let Bulgaria annex Macedonia, Greece eats Epirus, the interests are in front, as long as someone shelters them against the Ottomans, they will definitely raise their hands in favor of this plan, as for the patrons, there is no need to guess, the little guy will definitely say that it is the Russians."

"Sheltering Greece and Bulgaria is undoubtedly expanding their interests in the Balkans, plus a feud with the Ottomans, and after a little diplomatic mediation, the greedy Russians will definitely agree."

"As for Austria-Hungary, the Prague side has coveted Serbia and Bosnia for more than a day or two, and now with the addition of the Menegro, this price is enough, whether Vienna is satisfied or not, at least it can satisfy the appetite of the Prague side."

"I have to say that this is a feasible solution that can completely resolve the potential conflict between Austria and Russia."

"However, there are still several difficult issues to solve. First of all, Romania is a country, and the king is still a side branch of the Hohenzollern family Sigmarin roots, how to deal with the opposition from a country and the accusations of the Hohenzollern family? ”

"Secondly, to whom does this new land that Austria-Hungary get, Austria or Hungary?"

Third, how to convince the Ottomans whether to use a war against the Ottomans or an exchange of interests? If it is a war, then where are the nodes of war control? If it is an exchange of interests, where are the benefits and how? ”

"Fourth, after the Serbian Slavs move to Romania, the Romanian-Bulgarian-Greek line will be the sphere of influence of the Slavs or the Orthodox Church, no different from the direct rule of Russia over these three countries, plus the Caucasus land that the Russians have swallowed, not only the Black Sea will be the inland sea of Tsarist Russia, but also the leather boots will be stepped into the Mediterranean Sea through Greece."

"The British will never accept this situation, so will Britain have another Russo-Turkish war, or another Crimean war?"

"If this war breaks out, what will Germany do, and who should it choose?"

Thinking of this, Chancellor Bismarck looked at Joey with a deep gaze, and there was only one conclusion left in his heart, "This little guy is afraid that the contradictions between Britain and Russia are not deep enough." ”

After glancing at the Crown Prince, who was also silent, Master Bismarck finally opened his mouth and asked Joey, "Jojo, your thoughts have to be said, very interesting, but behind the fun there are some extremely difficult questions. ”

"For example, Romania is a country recognized by the Great Powers after the Berlin Conference, and there may be a way for it to send Catholics out of the country, but what can be done to make it readily accept a large number of Yugoslavs?" Prime Minister Bismarck asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Let Tsarist Russia and Austria-Hungary dismember Romania together, Wallachia belong to Austria-Hungary, and Moldavia and Dobroga belong to Tsarist Russia, and let the leather boots of Russian soldiers be close to Bulgaria and Greece, and meet the strategic objectives that the Russians have never achieved in the Ninth Russo-Turkish War." Joey replied without hesitation.

Glancing at his frowning father and the old prime minister, who had no expression of joy or anger on his face, Joey blinked and hurriedly said, "There are many excuses for starting a war, such as sudden civil strife in Romania, or religious conflicts, and humanitarian disasters, and even for Russia, the need for a certain piece of land is the perfect excuse." ”

The old prime minister waved his hand, not interested in Joey's rotten excuses for war at all, and asked directly, "After Russia and Austria-Hungary send troops to Romania, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Carroll will definitely come to Berlin for help, what will I do then?" ”

"Grand Duke Carol?!" Joey was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly remembered that the Romanian Grand Duke whose full name was Carl Ettel Frederick Zephirinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern Sigmaringen was an out-and-out relative of his own distant relative, and the current Prince of Sigmaringen, Karl Anton, was an elder of his own relatives who liked him quite much.

Joey was stunned for a long time, his expression was like eating the most difficult thing in the world, and finally he couldn't help but curse fiercely in his heart, "What fucking shit!" （heilige scheisse）”

Looking at Joey's deflated expression, Prime Minister Bismarck smiled at the corner of his mouth, and said in his heart, "It is indeed a good choice to completely erase Romania, the nail that the French drove into the Balkans, but since it was Joey who proposed this solution, then the problems of the Hohenzollern-Sigmarin family, that is, the internal problems of the Hohenzollern family, I am very happy." ”

Looking at his son's embarrassment, Crown Prince Frederick couldn't help but shake his head secretly, "It seems that the complaint of the court teacher who taught the history of the European aristocracy is right, his youngest son is talented in politics, science, literature and music, and his grades are indeed mediocre in the family history of the European aristocracy, oh, it should be very bad." ”

"Archduke Carroll's grandmother was the niece of Empress Josephine, his mother was the niece of Emperor Napoleon, and the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family, although our distant relatives, belonged to the Swabian lineage and had always been Catholic, while our family belonged to the Franconian lineage, so it is not so much that the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family was closer to Prussia than to France."

"The fact that Grand Duke Carol can become the Grand Duke of Romania should actually be the will of Emperor Napoleon III, and it has nothing to do with your grandfather and Prime Minister." Crown Prince Frederick said and sighed.

"Qiaoqiao, you can't score 4 points in your family history and badge studies." At the end, Crown Prince Frederick shook his head and couldn't help but remind.

"Hey, hey, hey....", Prime Minister Bismarck on the side, laughed without any kindness.

"If Romania is really going to be solved, what will happen to the remaining Romanians?" Crown Prince Frederick decided to give his son a little more help and bring the conversation to what Joey was good at.

"Father, do you mean the Orthodox and Protestant after the Catholic migration, the Orthodox Christians are naturally in charge of the Patriarchs of St. Petersburg, and as for the Protestants and Jews, my suggestion is to take them back to Germany."

"But that's hundreds of thousands of people! Solving these immigrants is bound to be a huge government budget, and even if we can absorb some of them with skills, it will still be difficult for us to absorb the large number of agricultural workers. Crown Prince Frederick shook his head vigorously.

"Father, have you forgotten Professor Richthofen?" Joey laughs and reminds his father that he has gotten rid of the bad network of European aristocrats, and Joey is back to his senses.

"Jojo, what do you mean, they go to Africa?!" Suddenly, Crown Prince Frederick understood something.

"Yes, father, not long ago I received a letter from Professor Richthofen, who said that Africa has more arable land than you can imagine, not to mention hundreds of thousands of Romanian Protestants, even if it is dozens of times more, there is no problem at all."

"Qiaoqiao, even if the land in Africa is good, we may not have the ability to migrate on a large scale in such a short period of time?"

"Father, please rest assured that if this land-for-peace plan is really implemented, a resettlement plan will be formulated for many years, at least ten years, and will never rashly increase the financial burden on the country." Joey patted his chest and assured his father seriously.

"Of course, it will take time to remove some weeds in Africa, so at the suggestion of Professor Richthofen, I asked Ahrensbach to start a study on colonial management as soon as possible." Joey shook his head slightly.

All of you are smart people, so you naturally understand what the weeds in Joey's mouth refer to.

Fortunately, this is an era of non-white leftist control of public opinion, and Chancellor Bismarck nodded without political correctness, "They are completely a group of animals with low intelligence, how to manage animals and let them learn civilized behavior, this is indeed a science"

"Yes, my lord, they are comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the British colonial method with the French colonial method, and they are also looking for colonial experts in several European countries, and if they can find the ideal expert, I will recommend it to the new management major of the Faculty of Economics of Humboldt University, and I will also sponsor them to start a course on colonial management." Joey said proudly.

"Jojo, don't always put all the funding on one university, I don't mean Humboldt's university is bad, but I don't want to make the academic level gap between the various places in Germany too big." Crown Prince Frederick kindly reminded his son.

"Of course, father. This year's funding of Humboldt University's introduction to a management program is just a pre-emptive attempt, and if successful, the foundation will fund the program across the country. Joey nodded.

"Ahem." Seeing that the father and son were getting more and more biased, Prime Minister Bismarck hurriedly used a dry cough to remind the two to end this unnutritious topic quickly, and everyone had more important topics to discuss.

"Jojo, assuming that Austria-Hungary did annex Serbia, Bosnia, and the Negoro territories of Men, I would like the Ahensbach Institute to do a project analysis for me to see who has them in our best interest."

"Yes, sir." "From my instincts alone, it seems better for Hungary to be in charge of the said lands, after all, the Magyars are called the shields of Christendom. ”

Prime Minister Bismarck's eyelids jumped sharply when he heard this.

"Viscount Tafei wants to take over the administration of the Yugoslavs to Viye/Na, but you cunning little guy suggests Prague to take control, because I am afraid that Emperor Franz will not have enough troubles." Thinking about it, Prime Minister Bismarck glared at Joey, who was smiling, and then bowed slightly.

"If I'm not mistaken, Joey, are you also ready to agitate for a new war against the Ottomans?" Prime Minister Bismarck asked, spreading his hands out.

"Yes, my lord, this will be a holy war of God against Allah that will last for hundreds of years, a war in which the European peoples will continue to bravely resist the Ottoman oppression and tyranny, and more importantly, a battle in which the Balkan people will control their own destiny, in short, this will be..."

"Uh," the old prime minister put his head on his head with one hand and waved his hand vigorously with the other, "I will leave this set of rhetoric to me, read it in the newspaper in the future, and now tell me something that cannot be seen in the newspaper." ”

Joey touched his head and said with an embarrassed smile, "First of all, of course, it is to eliminate the possibility of the biggest conflict between Austria and Russia in the alliance of Germany, Austria and Russia, and also to propose a possible solution for dealing with the Balkan problem in the future." ”

Yes, it is only a possible solution, at least better than watching the situation in the Balkans deteriorate helplessly, even if there is a better solution for Chancellor Bismarck in the future, at least the one proposed by Joy is also a solution.

What's more, Joey already clearly felt his plan, and Prime Minister Bismarck obviously listened to it.

"Secondly, against such a common enemy as the Ottomans, it is possible to unite all the peoples of the Balkans to the greatest extent, and only in the name of such justice can the people endure the pain caused by the migration of peoples, and at the same time turn the deep pain into boundless anger against anyone who dares to oppose it, or to the country."

Public opinion can be bullied, but it cannot be disobeyed, and Joey's soul knows the depth of the hatred between religions and peoples in the Balkans, and now is the perfect opportunity to incite a holy war against the Ottomans in the name of God.

The contradictions between Catholics and Orthodox Christians are far less than those between Allah's followers, and a holy war against the infidels, enough to unite Catholics and Orthodox Christians in Europe under one banner of battle, is one of the opportunities.

Austria-Hungary has obtained the richest land in the Balkans, Tsarist Russia has turned the Black Sea into an inland sea, and leather boots have stepped into the Mediterranean, and the small contradiction between Austria and Russia will eventually become insignificant in the face of obtaining the interests of the entire Balkans.

In the face of the world's most advanced military technology, the largest military personnel of Austria and Russia, and the war against the Ottomans with the advantage of the Balkans' home field, the Ottoman empire will be vulnerable, and this is the third opportunity.

To be the first to dismember Romania, the thief of Europe, meant to break the nail of Britain and France in the Balkans, to deny Britain and France a foothold to intervene in the Balkans, and then to counter the possible re-military intervention of Britain and France by inciting the rising national liberation sentiment and religious fanaticism in the Balkans.

If Britain and France are determined to intervene in the Balkan War, then what awaits them will be a terrible people's war in the Balkans, coupled with the Austrian and Russian powers behind the Balkan people, Britain and France will never dare to send their land forces to intervene in the Balkan War, even if they support the Ottoman Empire.

A land war without the involvement of the British and French armies would result in the Balkan Wars in history, with the Ottomans eventually being exiled from Europe, which is the fourth opportunity.

As long as the mighty German Empire exists, the French will have to consider whether it is cost-effective for them to offend the Russians on the Ottoman issue or to win over the Russians to put pressure on Germany.

These five opportunities, just like the world trend is mighty, those who go along with it prosper and those who go against it die, and Joey wants to be this trendsetter.

"Thirdly, even though the earth is small, we are not destined to conquer it alone, since we have chosen Austria-Hungary as an ally, and we want to continue on the path of the European Majority Alliance, then we need to set an example of an ally, a model of alliance that will enjoy the benefits of human progressive civilization as long as it follows Germany closely, not only in terms of scientific and technological civilization, but also political civilization, and more economic interests."

"Therefore, we need to pull out the eyes of our Austro-Hungarian allies from the already decaying Balkans, solve the Balkan problems in the simplest way and thoroughly, avoid the hidden danger of war on the eastern front of Austria-Hungary, and then set his sights on the vast world and work with us in Africa, the Americas and Asia to fight for more alliance interests."

"Britain and France always like to go it alone when they occupy colonies, maybe we can change to a more effective way, form a colonial team, and use our scientific and technological strength, plus Austria-Hungary's huge human resources, and considerable wealth and strength, to explore and colonize the world together."

"Jojo, the idea of setting an example of an ally is not bad, and it is a good thing to be able to tie Austria-Hungary to the German chariot and advance and retreat with us, but how to divide the benefits of the colonies? In addition, Austria-Hungary also has complex domestic political problems, which may not necessarily be as we would like. Crown Prince Frederick interjected with some uncertainty.

"Father, the interests of the colonies could be distributed by the establishment of joint venture colonial companies, and from the colonial experience of the Netherlands and Great Britain, the use of commercial means through companies, together with the necessary government support, was the most effective and rapid means of opening up the colonies, so I suggest that the German African colonial companies to be formed should be open to Austria-Hungary in terms of shares."

"As for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, I hope it will change as we wish, otherwise, after economic control of Austria-Hungary, we will unite all the forces willing to unite around us and push Austria-Hungary to change, and at worst it will be to support the independence of Austria and Hungary."

Hearing this, Prime Minister Bismarck looked at Little Joey, who was vaguely showing his fangs, and smiled silently with his eyebrows raised.

Crown Prince Frederick thought and thought for a while, and finally sighed, turned to Chancellor Bismarck and whispered, "Otto, I will write a letter to Rudolph through private channels, and I ask you to write a letter to Archduke Albrecht." ”

Crown Prince Rudolph of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is the number one fan of Crown Prince Frederick, and the purpose of Crown Prince Frederick's letter is nothing more than to prepare to support the liberal reforms within Austria-Hungary promoted by Crown Prince Rudolph, and Archduke Albrecht is the number one tough conservative in Austria-Hungary and the number one fan of Prime Minister Bismarck.

Writing a letter to Archduke Albrecht was nothing more than to put Chancellor Bismarck on the side of the conservatives and persuade Archduke Albrecht to give Crown Prince Rudolph more opportunities for change.

If it does, the transformation of Austria-Hungary can be expected, if not..... That is, to continue to deepen the rift between liberals and conservatives within Austria-Hungary, which seems to be equally beneficial to Germany.

Chancellor Bismarck of course understood this, and immediately nodded in agreement, and then looked at Joey, "Jojo, there is a loophole in your idea just now, in fact, the most active in the development of colonies should be the church, and the establishment of the German-Austrian joint venture colonial company now means that the Catholic Church also has the same opportunity to spread the faith in the German colonies, which is not good for Protestantism." ”

"But without introducing the Catholic Church, you want to get the support of Austria-Hungary with people and wealth, which will be very difficult to do."

Religion, like the three means of culture, economy and military, were the four pillars of colonial development, and Joy was certainly reluctant to give up religious means, but the question raised by Prime Minister Bismarck was very realistic, and it was impossible to avoid the question of Catholicism by winning over Austria-Hungary.

"That's a tricky question.," Joey pondered.

After all, it was a soul that had crossed over a hundred years later, and this experience of hundreds of years quickly inspired Joey.

"Father, my lord, from the perspective of a pure Protestant, I would like to ask the question, what are the similarities and differences between Protestantism and Catholicism?" Joey asks his father and the Prime Minister a strange question.

Looking at Joey's sincere face, Crown Prince Frederick and Bismarck looked at each other and began to think about Joey's question.

"Between two religions, the similarities outweigh the differences." After thinking for a long time, Chancellor Bismarck reluctantly took the lead in replying, and Crown Prince Frederick on the side also nodded in approval.

"If I use numbers to express the similarity between two religions, at least 70% of the two religions are similar, can you agree?" Joey has added a new question.

After half a ring, Crown Prince Frederick nodded at the same time as the old chancellor.

"If we ask the Berlin evangelical elders to issue a religious appeal to Christians all over the world, calling on all Christians to respect each other, and to hope that all churches and denominations will learn from each other and cooperate with each other in the mission area, and promote the unity and witness of the two churches through sincere dialogue with each other."

"If we can set up such a unified Christian organization, will it be able to solve the problem of religious antagonism that we have been suffering for a long time?" Joey asked confidently.

"Huh?!" Prime Minister Bismarck was immediately inspired by Joy's idea, "If such an organization were to be formed, it would be perfectly possible to find a pretext for the wars of religion in the Balkans, without the need for a decree from the Pope." ”

"Haha, Joey, your idea not only solves the problem of colonial religious cooperation, but also completes the last piece of the puzzle of the Balkan War in the future!" Prime Minister Bismarck slapped the armrest excitedly.

Crown Prince Frederick also laughed, if such an organization was really formed, it would also mean that Berlin would have a way to promote reconciliation between Protestants and Catholics in Germany, after all, national contradictions, like religious contradictions, were the triggers for national holocaurecy.

It is even possible to include Judaism and Orthodoxy in this organization.

The urgency of establishing such a Christian organization was evident before the Austro-Hungarian question, and Crown Prince Frederick and Chancellor Bismarck had discussed it almost instantaneously, and it was during this Christmas that the two of them went together to visit the Evangelical elders to bring about it as quickly as possible.

This was supposed to be 30 years later, in 1910, when the Christian unity organization appeared, but it was brought forward by Joy with a flap of his wings.

"Well, it's always a pleasure to talk to this clever little fellow." Prime Minister Bismarck watched Joey take a deep breath of satisfaction, loosening his somewhat tired body.

Suddenly, for no reason, the old prime minister found that he still had one last exam question to test Joey, and then put away his smile and asked Joey with a serious face, "Joey, if you advance the Balkan plan according to the plan you said, even if it is forced by the resistance of the Balkan peoples, as well as the pressure of the Austro-Russian alliance, even France will stand on the side of Austria and Russia, Britain will not use force in the Balkans for the time being, but in the long run, Britain will never tolerate the Russians entering the Mediterranean,"

"This means that in the Balkans, there is a great chance that a war will break out between Britain and Russia, and if war breaks out, Britain and Russia will definitely force us to choose sides, and whoever we choose will face the wrath of the other side, and the last few years have been a critical period for the new economic plan, Joey, we can't play with fire diplomatically."

"In addition, even if we put aside the domestic problems, in diplomacy alone, we have the Danish problem, the Baltic Sea Organization, the African exploration and colonization plan, the participation in the South Pacific War, the cooperation plan with the Qing State, the German-Austrian-Russian Three Emperors Alliance, the German-Austrian Alliance, the long-term United Britain plan, plus the Balkan plan you proposed, Joey, it seems that we have too many things to deal with, and we are too busy."

After that, Chancellor Bismarck and Crown Prince Frederick exchanged glances.

"My lord, first of all, I am just providing a possible solution to the Austro-Hungarian and Three Emperors' Alliance's Balkan issues, and the decision on what to do in the end and when to make it is still in your hands." Joey hurriedly raised his hands in defense, "Besides, even if you really want to turn the idea of the Balkans into reality, you can't do it without about 10 years of preparation." ”

"So, I'm just proposing a short-term Balkan diplomatic plan on top of a long-term diplomatic strategy that will always be in the majority."

"Secondly, the many diplomatic tasks mentioned above are in my mind the two main lines, alliance and economic interests, that is, the promotion of our political alliances and economic interests under the premise of the diplomatic idea of a permanent majority.

"From Denmark to the Baltic organization, just for us to find a northern ally and a stable market, Sweden. The Three Emperors Alliance is to solve the stability of our east and south, and the solution of the Balkan issue is fundamentally to maintain the stability of the Three Emperors Alliance, and a stable Balkan region is also a huge market. ”

"Participation in the war in Chile to obtain mineral resources, as well as the expansion of investment in livestock in Argentina, is also to help us find potential allies and markets in South America."

"The cooperation plan with Qingguo is for us to find a solid forward base in East Asia and potential consumers of industrial products."

"And the African colonization plan, the reason why we prioritized the conquest of East and West Africa, was mainly to avoid the conflict with the British colonial competition. At present, the most mature colonies in the whole of Africa are concentrated in North Africa, if we support Austria-Hungary, or Italy enters the complex North African region, this means that we have a North African colony agent, and we can form an alliance of interests in the Mediterranean through economic cooperation to tie up Austria-Hungary and Italy to jointly develop North Africa. ”

"In the past two days, I have only seen the report provided by Ahrensbach that Italy has produced less than 4,000 tons of steel this year! God, how much capital and technology will Italy need to develop into a new industrial country.... It's all business! Joey sighed heartily.

"Finally, sir, forgive my arrogance, and allow me to add an anchor to the great ship of your allies as you strive to find a political alliance, to resist the impermanence of diplomacy."

Chancellor Bismarck has been looking for allies for the German Empire all his life, such as the German-Austrian-Russian Alliance, the German-Austrian Alliance, the German-Austrian-Italian Alliance, the German-Austrian-Italian Alliance, the German-Austrian-Italian Alliance, the German-Austrian-Italian Alliance, the German-Austrian-Italian Alliance, the German-Austrian-Italian Alliance, the German-Austrian-Italian Alliance, the German-Austrian-Italian Emperor, the German-

"Jojo, please help me and your father pour a glass of wine, anyway, it's worth a drink today." The look of satisfaction on the old prime minister's face was beyond words.

Taking advantage of the break when Joey turned to pour the wine, Chancellor Bismarck had a brief exchange with Crown Prince Frederick.

After the traditional congratulatory messages of praise for Christmas and mutual wishes for peace, Crown Prince Frederick and Chancellor Bismarck drank all the wine in their glasses, and after putting down the wine glasses in their hands, Prime Minister Bismarck grabbed Joey's shoulders with both hands, leaned over and looked at Joey and said seriously.

"Jojo, as you said, it is up to me to decide how and when to do German diplomacy, so I want to tell you frankly that there are many unknown factors whether your idea just now can be turned into real action, and even when it will be able to act, so I will not promise you anything."

"Don't be discouraged even if you don't implement your plan in the Balkans in the end, in any case, at least some of the ideas you said, we have already acted!"

Even if there was a slight regret of not being promised, Joey's heart was still full of joy, and it seemed that after half a year of evaluation by his father and the prime minister, he had finally been recognized by them and became an opinionator who could express some personal views on the German Empire.

Perhaps in the near future, history will change due to its own differences, and witnessing a new history of one's own is far more interesting and challenging than everything you know.

Crown Prince Frederick watched everything in front of him with a smile on the sidelines.

"Finally, I sincerely welcome you, when you can come to the German Foreign Office as an adult, you will be a seasoned diplomat, would you?" The old prime minister warmly extended an invitation to Joey.

"Of course, my lord, this is a much-requested opportunity!"

"Very well, as a prepared diplomat, Mr. Waldemar, two East Asian missions will visit Berlin after the New Year, and I would like you to accompany His Royal Highness Prince Heinrich to receive them." Chancellor Bismarck immediately ordered without hesitation in the same tone as he did with a subordinate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Afterwards, an analysis report will be submitted to me." The old prime minister said uneasily.

Joey blinked vigorously, a little dizzy when he listened, and couldn't help but say, "Could it be that I have officially stepped onto the diplomatic stage like this?" ”

"Qiaoqiao, it was supposed to be me and the Prime Minister accompanying the Qing and Japanese missions in the past few days, but the Prime Minister and I need to focus on convincing the Protestant elders, and take advantage of the fact that all the elders of the Protestant denominations are in Berlin during the New Year, and hurry up to promote the establishment of the Christian unity organization you mentioned."

"And Wilhelm is now in Hesse, so I have to ask Henry and you to come forward to receive the East Asian mission. Fortunately, Henry had been to Qing and Japan to be familiar with the situation there, and you..., it just so happens to be an East Asian expert. Crown Prince Frederick looked at his little son, who was a little ignorant, and explained with a smile.

"Of course, there is no need for Henry to do any diplomatic negotiations with you, but you are required to accompany these two missions to visit the ship and artillery manufacturing factories, especially the Qing Kingdom wants to know about their ironclad battleship manufacturing plan, and your teacher and you are the best at this."

"The Japanese side wants to know about the German shore artillery factory, and the Grusen company is a giant in this field, and it just so happens that you are also familiar with it." Crown Prince Frederick said with a smile, "As for the Krupp company, I will arrange for someone else to accompany you." ”

"In short, your range of activities is mainly in the vicinity of Brandenburg, and you will not be delayed in the new semester next year."

It's all arranged so meticulously, and Joey has to think about it again, so Joey can only honestly follow.

In the end, Chancellor Bismarck made another request to Crown Prince Frederick, that is, to borrow the Crown Prince's study, and ask Joey what kind of money-making ideas he had prepared for himself.

After the crown prince left, Prime Minister Bismarck finally saw the so-called money-making idea that Joey had prepared for himself, and the first impression of the sketch of this thing made the old chancellor cry and laugh.

This is a sketch of a spring bed, yes, a sketch of a spring bed called "Simmons" by Joey in his previous life, and to be more precise, it should be Simmons' best-selling 1925 Sleeping Beauty model, which combines coil springs directly into a cloth bag and then sewn into a mattress as a whole.

Like the problems encountered by Simmons in the past, Joy also encountered the same difficulties in the large-scale industrial production of steel coil springs, as was the lack of drawing and coiling machinery and equipment, which could not be produced on a large scale.

As for the handmade method, it can be made, but due to the consistent production consistency of handmade products, coupled with the high price, the use can only be fixed to high value-added products, such as a rapid-fire artillery.

In fact, coil springs appeared in the European door lock and watch industry as early as the fifteenth century, and in the 17th century, the British scientist Hooke once again magnified the role of springs, but it was not until Joey was ready to use coil springs for Grusen's artillery retractor that he found that the current popular spring manufacturing method in Europe still uses copper alloy, and the patent for handmade steel springs was just applied for in 1876.

This was the time when a ton of pure copper cost £207 (the price of futures copper on the New York Mercantile Exchange in 1880, a pound of copper/45 cents), calculated according to the cost of Joey's early Simmons prototypes, if copper springs were really used, plus the cost of cotton and linen fabrics and sewing labor, and the 25% net profit that a Simmons should have, the final price of a Simmons mattress would be at least close to £15, and this is only the factory direct price.

In 1879, families with an annual income of 50 pounds in the UK were already top middle-class families who could participate in British elections without worrying about food and clothing, and had the right to vote, and took out more than 3 months' income of middle-class families to buy a Simmons.... It's basically hard.

It's hard in England, but it's even harder in Germany, so if you buy a Simmons with coil springs in 1880, you're undoubtedly buying a luxury item.

By the way, in 1876 Mr. Zarmon Gilbert Simmons' company produced hand-spring mattresses, and it was not until 1889 that the Simmons mattress was produced through large-scale mechanization of steel springs, and at the same time succeeded in reducing the cost of hand-spring mattresses from $12 to less than 95 cents.

At the end of 1879, the Simmons Mattress Company was still a small factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA, so Joey did not hesitate to register the patent of Simmons, the sleeping beauty that should have been held by Simmons in 1925.

Ignoring Prime Minister Bismarck's complaining gaze, Joey frankly said that the biggest difficulty encountered by this mattress was the high cost, and even Prime Minister Bismarck, who had no business experience, understood that the sales market for this product was very narrow.

The unhappy old prime minister tapped on the armrest of the sofa and asked extremely dissatisfied, "Jojo, do you think that I don't have any qualifications to enter the German industrial field?" Or are you just scribbling on me? ”

"My lord, absolutely not! In fact, this product is tailor-made for you. Joey said with a smile, just like the gold medal sales he was good at grasping people's hearts in his previous life.

"My lord, for an ordinary person, in the 24 hours of a day, what do you think takes the most ordinary person's time?"

"Work!" Chancellor Bismarck replied without hesitation.

Joey could only touch his nose in embarrassment, and said again, "My lord, I mean ordinary people, but not people like you. ”

"Uh....." Prime Minister Bismarck touched his beard, and after thinking for a long time, he hesitated and said, "Sleep?!" ”

"Yes, adults, ordinary people spend at least 1/3 of their day in bed, and the quality of the bed determines the quality of a person's sleep, and people who don't sleep well will not have the spirit to work seriously for a day!"

"What's more, those mattresses made of leather and linen, filled with hay, wool and feathers, are simply a breeding ground for bacteria, and many terrible infectious diseases are hiding in them, and each terrible virus can quietly take your life while you sleep."

Intimidation is always a good way to sell, and Joey used it without hesitation.

Prime Minister Bismarck's face tightened, with Joey's reputation in the medical community now, he couldn't help but not believe it, not to mention that what Joey said was still a real situation.

"Also, according to the research of researchers at the Ahensbach Institute, a normal person will change the sleeping position about 35 times every night when sleeping, and each change of sleeping position is to relax every muscle on our body.

"The longer you sleep on a plank bed, the more you will feel the inconvenience of moving because of back pain caused by spinal deformity."

Authoritative words are also a good way to sell, even if the Ahensbach Institute has not done research in this area, but in the eyes of the old chancellor, as long as the name of the authority of Ahrensbach is hung, this is an authoritative conclusion.

"And this spring bed perfectly solves the above thorny problems!"

"A spring mattress that is not only clean, protects you from dreaded diseases, but also protects your muscles and spine during sleep, and saves you from the trouble of mobility in old age, you can get it for just £20, how many do you need to buy?!" Joey is like a gold medal salesman, constantly teasing the customer's exuberant purchasing power.

"Joey, didn't you just say £15?" Prime Minister Bismarck, like all ordinary people, began to count the gold coins in his pocket.

"My lord, this is a product named after you, isn't your name worth the extra £5 per mattress?!" Joey asked rhetorically, looking puzzled.

"Uhh

Waiting for Prime Minister Bismarck to laugh enough, the smile on Joey's face faded at the same time, and then said to Prime Minister Bismarck seriously, "My lord, the above is just some sales skills to figure out people's psychology, and what I want to say next is the fundamental reason why this product is tailored for you." ”

"I've said so much earlier that I just want to say that getting a good night's sleep, a good night's sleep, is incredibly important for anyone! And the meaning behind a good night's sleep is to make people have a good dream, if every German can get a good night's sleep, a good dream through this spring mattress! ”

"In a sense, this German is not having a good German dream!"

"Huh!" Hearing this, Prime Minister Bismarck couldn't help but sit up straight, and Joey's words had already touched on the category of public opinion.

"As the Hohenzollern family, as the prime minister, one of the most important jobs in my opinion is to help Germans realize their dreams, and making every German can afford to sleep on a spring mattress is a good action to realize their dreams."

"I have now set a very high price for this spring mattress for you, and the subsequent advertising and the name of the product that you have named after your family title are just to let all Germans know that it is a luxury that only the aristocracy can afford."

"My lord, you only need to give my mother's foundation research team about 18 months to solve the problem of industrial production of steel springs, and your family's spring mattress factory will no longer use copper coil springs, but will switch to steel coil springs on a large scale."

"At that time, I guarantee that each Bismarck brand spring mattress will not cost more than 4 marks ($0.95)."

"If you and your government are willing to set a small goal for the improvement of the lives of the German people, such as popularizing the spring-spring mattresses that they can use among the German people, turning a luxury product of 400 marks into a light luxury product of 4 marks, so that every German citizen can truly experience a beautiful dream."

"My dear lord, do you say that this is for every German to realize their German dream?!"

Joey smiled and looked directly at Prime Minister Bismarck.

After a long time, Prime Minister Bismarck exhaled lightly and asked Joey seriously, "Jojo, this thing should have been originally intended for your father, right?" ”

Joey smiled noncommittally, "Now, my lord, your government needs it even more. ”

Note 1: The Minister-President of Austria literally translates to Austria Minister-President.... Well, I really don't know how to translate the name of the head of the Austrian government in this dual empire, so I continue to use the deprecated title of prime minister.