Austria-Hungary, a southern European power that has repeatedly annexed other countries by force, has a huge territory, once ranked on the list of world powers, and the huge dualist empire is the instigator and victim of this world war, however, the Berlin peace talks did not have its seat, and the peace treaty was not mentioned at all, which made many countries puzzled.

Before the start of the four-nation summit, the president's chief of staff, Max, was forced to wait for the Austro-Hungarian state delegation and make difficult representations with the Austrian delegation on the question of whether Austria-Hungary would participate in the Berlin peace talks. Given the current internal political factions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the disintegration of the ruling class, and the crumbling of the entire national edifice, how could the Austrian delegates present at such an international congress in which it was not clear which ruling class they were serving? Therefore, Max suggested that there is no need for Austria to behave falsely and toughly at this sensitive time, but just wait and see. The Austro-Hungarian delegation was secretly saddened and knew that the future of the country was uncertain, so they had to quietly leave Berlin before the peace talks began.

The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, the sole heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Princip, a young Serbian student, heralded the imminent end of the young dualistic empire. As the war unfolded, many of the opening-up policies introduced before the war were forced to be abolished, new historical development opportunities were lost for a short time, and the economy itself was slowing down and suddenly stopped, causing domestic nationalists to rise rapidly and no longer actively cooperate with the country's foreign military operations. Coincidentally, the country was no longer able to unite its many nations, and the war was gradually at a disadvantage, and the originally unworthy dualistic empire had to begin to fall apart.

The Imperial Government had long since lost its former glory and strength, and was faced with widespread civil upheaval, such as rebellion in the Czech Republic, riots in Hungary, etc., which left the Austrian imperial power helpless. The Berlin peace talks seemed to be dawning, but the Federal Republic of Germany was also faced with a situation where there was no rice to cook, and the president's chief of staff, Max, also showed that he was powerless in the face of the visiting Austro-Hungarian mission, and as a result, instead of receiving help from his friends, he received the solemn advice of Adrian, the president of the Federal Republic of Germany, from Max, warning the Austrian government "not to make any move to sabotage the peace conference at this time, otherwise Germany will react strongly." The Austro-Crarian representative had no choice but to return home in a huff and convey the "friendly" advice of the Hanseatic Palace.

The end of the Berlin peace talks was ringing, the heads of state were busy cashing in the war dividends, Germany's overseas colonies were handed over to the British government, France was beginning to confirm its rights to its original territories, and other countries were happily returning home to report. At the same time, the British and American prisoners also began to board ships from Germany, France, Belgium and other ports to return home, but there is no definite news about the French prisoners.

The Chinese delegation from the East did not have any encouraging results in this peace talks, and the delegation headed by Gu Shaochuan, the head of the delegation, was also packing up and preparing to return to China. At this time, a young staff member of the German Foreign Affairs Department suddenly hurriedly found the residence of the Chinese delegation in Berlin. After knocking on the door, the staff member went straight in, saying that their director wanted to meet Gu Shaochuan, the head of the Huaxia delegation, alone, as soon as possible.

Gu Shaochuan, who was cleaning up his clothes, put down the clothes in his hand and said, "Hello! I'm Gu Shaochuan, may I ask which director is looking for me?"

The young man was sweating profusely and said, "I'll take you there now, and you'll understand everything when you go, and of course it's a great thing that you won't expect, so please trust me anyway." ”

Gu Shaochuan turned back to his companions and said, "Okay, don't be in a hurry to pack up, I estimate that this time there will indeed be an unexpected gain that will make our trip worthwhile." Remember the proposal of the representative of France? Those military equipment and design drawings have long been coveted treasures by all countries. I'll go over and have a look, and then I'll tell the consulate in Berlin. ”

The person who made the appointment to meet the Chinese delegation was Hermann of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany? Munch, assistant to Minister Miller? Dustgaard, whose ancestral home is Ireland, has been living and working in Germany since graduating from university, with the rigor of a German character, but also a touch of British tactfulness and alertness. He is a well-known Huaxia expert in Germany, who served as the director of the office of the Second German Reich Embassy in China in his early years, and is fluent in Chinese. This appointment with Gu Shaochuan was actually instructed by Minister Miller, because the Huaxia delegation has always been a group with a sense of justice at this peace talks, which attracted the attention of Stresemann and also Miller.

Monk? Dashgaard is a very good negotiator, and Miller chose him as the German representative for this deal negotiation, which is very unique.

The German side chose a very warm ministerial reception room, which could create a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. Monk? Dashgaard politely asked Gu Shaochuan to sit down first, and then said, "Hello! It is a great pleasure to have a face-to-face conversation with you at such a time and on such an occasion, and Mr. Ambassador must have known all the details of the signing of the Berlin peace talks, but it is a pity that for the sake of world peace, Germany will sell its domestic military industry as a whole in exchange for trust, and the existing related enterprises will also face the transformation or sell overseas. Living in China in the past few years has given me some preliminary understanding of your country's military industrial system, which must still be relatively backward, of course, this is just my guess. This peace talks, your country is not surprising, but if your envoy can buy a complete set of military equipment back to China, it will also be worth the trip, what do you say, Your Excellency? ”

Gu Shaochuan's heart was already prepared, since Munch? Dustgaard had already pierced the window paper, so he was calm: "I don't know which factory's equipment Your Excellency is talking about?" Mauser? Krupp? Or is it some other arsenal equipment? ”

In fact, Gu Shaochuan is very interested in any set of equipment, and he wishes that all the production lines could be bought back to China, not to mention the complete production line, as well as technology and drawings. Military products have always been cut off by Western countries, and if this major matter can be negotiated, it will be the winner who is not inferior to France in this peace talks.

Meng Ke smiled and said: "Yes, the acquisition is not restricted, it depends on whether the envoy is reluctant to make a bid." ”

When Gu Shaochuan heard that there were still competitors, he was immediately a little disappointed, and said lightly: "China's national conditions, your envoy should be very clear, in the past hundred years, poverty and weakness, people's livelihood has withered, not to mention that foreign exchange reserves are blank, and even the problem of food and clothing for the domestic people has not been solved, and it will definitely be difficult to buy such expensive production equipment." ”

Munch was not in a hurry, and said with a reminder: "For your country, we do not fully consider foreign exchange, Germany will be willing to accept your country's industrial raw materials and geological and mineral resources as an equal exchange, and we can strive for the principle of fairness." As far as I know, your country has a vast territory and rich and diverse natural resources, and Germany is willing to provide technical assistance to your country in rational development and share the dividends, but the distribution of this dividend must be slightly lower than that of your country. ”

Gu Shaochuan pondered for a moment and did not immediately express his position: "I know the sincerity of Your Excellency and your country, but I can't give an accurate answer yet, let me convey this message back to China, and then make a decision?" ”

Munch expressed his understanding, and then the two sides talked about related topics.

The entire German Foreign Office is very lively, large and small offices are engaged in transaction dialogues, and the seller takes the initiative to find a buyer, and the Chinese representative is an example.

At lunchtime, the negotiators from all countries left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and returned to their residences for a concentrated meal.

In the afternoon, the buyers of these countries met each other tacitly, speculating or noticing, and seeing each other as their competitors. To the curiosity of buyers from all over the world, representatives of the military industry from the United States and Great Britain also appeared here, which convinced them that Germany was drawing salaries from the bottom of the military industry and saw the sincerity of the Germans. Buyers in most countries gradually found that there were more competitors and the bidding was much more fierce than expected, and they put down their arrogance, began to compromise on price, and tried to sign a deal with the German side as soon as possible.

The British deputy's visit had only one purpose, that is, to buy the complete production line and technology of the Fokker aircraft assembly plant at any cost, and to pay directly with Germany's compensation money.

The Americans took a fancy to Germany's tank technology, and the performance of the German army on the Western Front made the US Army very embarrassed, because of tanks, and the entire US Department of Defense was infinitely exaggerating the power of German tanks, so they were not interested in anything else, so they wanted tanks.

The American delegates were very inspired by the British way of trading, and the compensation money was paid in advance, and when it was not enough, it added some money, saying that it was necessary to buy back the whole set of technology and make good use of it.

In the end, all countries were basically able to achieve what they wanted, and the United States successfully bought the production technology and drawings of Germany's three mainstream tanks, and Britain also bought the technology and drawings of the Fokker aircraft assembly plant, as well as those engines and so on. Britain and the United States made easy purchases, and only used the reparations owed by Germany, which can be described as full of harvest and joy.

In the presidential palace of the Hanseasa Palace, after listening to the reports of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of the Interior on the transaction, Adrian smiled happily, for Germany, it is not a bad thing that these things are sold, and the German government pays for them. It would be difficult for so many munitions enterprises to remain viable if they were completely deprived of work, and Germany now has an excuse to continue to operate these military enterprises, and it is justified.