12 minutes of greeting, 105 minutes of talks, 45 minutes of lunch, 8 minutes of farewell ceremony, such an extraordinary meeting of Eastern and Western monarchs, from the beginning to the end lasted less than three hours, the participants did not sign any written agreement, did not reach the so-called secret agreement, but the impact of this meeting on the world is destined to be extensive and far-reaching - Europeans always compare it with the Crusader commander, King "Lionheart" Richard I of England more than 700 years ago, and the Sultan Saladin of the Abuyou dynasty signed the " The Jaffa Agreement" is a similar scene, arguing that the Kaiser's move successfully halted Japan's military expansion and eliminated the threat to the oil-producing regions of the Middle East, while the Japanese thought of the "Black Ship Incident" in 1853 in which the United States used gunboats to force Japan to open its country, and they called this meeting the "Gray Ship Incident", which meant that the gray-painted German fleet made concessions on issues such as coercing the Japanese troops in the occupied areas by force, and seriously damaged Japan's national interests. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Before parting, the monarchs exchanged gifts. Gifts for ordinary people are souvenirs that build friendships and deepen impressions, and for rulers at the pinnacle of power, gifts are often given to each other with deep meaning. Kaiser Wilhelm the Younger gave Xuanren a Japanese bronze Buddha statue from the shogunate period, which seems to be an exhortation to the other party to cultivate one's self-cultivation and be kind to the world; Xuanren gave William back a richly decorated katana with the words "invincible, invincible" engraved in German on the scabbard, presumably to encourage the German emperor to further expand his territory by force and knock over all the obstacles such as Soviet Russia, the United States, and Italy.

Natsuki's gift to the Emperor of Japan was unique. This is a Chinese calligraphy painting written by him himself, the content of which is "Yingting Liubei" by Jin Daiyuan, which is written:

The deceased was re-divided, and he was stationed in the stream.

The Qiankun exhibition is clear, and the scenery is borrowed.

The north wind snowed for three days, and it was too primitive.

The nine mountains are lush and grand, and they are not subject to the mausoleum.

The cold waves are surging, and the white birds are leisurely.

Huaigui people are anxious, and things are leisure.

The pot is full of groaning, and the dust is sad.

Looking back at the people in the pavilion, the flat forest is picturesque.

The reason for choosing this ancient Chinese poem is that Emperor Xuanren took the era name "Yuanhua", which originally means the development and change of all things in heaven and earth, which can be understood as the result of creation. This ancient poem quotes the word "Yuanhua", which means that life and death are determined, and there is no need to be too paranoid about a certain thing. In administering the country and handling affairs, we should have a long-term vision and be open-minded, and we should not be anxious for quick success and quick profits, and stick to immediate interests. Creation can catapult him from an inconspicuous prince to a high-ranking god, or it can plunge the invincible Japanese empire into a far-reaching disaster, all depending on the ruling class's decision-making.

As the first emperor in history to leave his homeland to meet with Western monarchs, Xuanhito, who took the era name "Yuanhua", was by no means a pure-hearted, weak and incompetent man. During the meeting, although his words and deeds were modest and friendly, his views and attitudes on some international affairs showed his arbitrary and domineering way of thinking, especially his idea of initiating a "monarchical alliance," which was a move against the trend of history in the eyes of sensible people. With the progress of modern civilization, the number of states has increased, but the number of countries that have retained the monarchy has been decreasing - wars have eliminated a group, revolutions have overthrown a group, and these three monarchs are arguably the three most powerful hereditary rulers at present, but when they stand side by side and take a group photo, it reflects the last afterglow of the monarchy. In Germany, the call for weakening the imperial power and promoting democracy has never stopped; In Ireland, royal power has gradually given way to parliament and government in form; Even in Japan, where feudalism is very stubborn, the democratic movement is flourishing. Years later, even though Germany, Japan, Ireland and Wales were still constitutional monarchies, the monarchs of that time were more symbolic than powerful, and trying to use a union of monarchies to curb the tide of democracy was tantamount to using a coalition of monarchies to curb the tide of democracy!

Seeing this special gift, a trace of surprise flashed in Xuanren's eyes, but he didn't say anything more to Natsuki. The new emperor immediately motioned for his attendants to present a pre-prepared gift: a military fan made of metal, with exquisite workmanship and ornate accessories. This thing was originally a tool used by ancient military advisors to calculate the location of good luck and evil, and later evolved into a tool for daimyo or generals to instruct the army to arrange formations, advance and retreat. Xia Shu took it and took a look, and the fan was depicted with images such as the twelve heavenly stems and the twenty-eight stars. If this is a compliment to his strategy, it can be readily accepted, but if it means to go cool, it is a rather unwise provocation.

Seeing Xuanren return to the ship with his entourage and a group of soldiers, William said to Natsuki half-jokingly: "Now, at this moment, we have the opportunity to send the Japanese emperor and his important staff to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish; In the future, even if we hate them so much that we gnash our teeth, we will never have a chance to take their lives again. ”

Natsuki snorted coldly: "Even if we really send them to feed the fish, Japan is still that belligerent country, and the Japanese army is still that murderous army, and it will not change fundamentally because of this." ”

William smiled and said, "It seems that your hatred of Japan will not change much." ”

Natsuki glanced at the Japanese boat that was drifting away, and said with a contemptuous expression: "Unless they deeply realize their mistakes and change their past mistakes, I won't have any good feelings for them." ”

Little William slowly put away his smile: "Indeed, this young man is not clever in hypocrisy, and he can't hide the arrogance and arrogance in his heart. The reason why he wants to suppress his emotions and force himself to play a humble gentleman is only because he does not have enough strength to challenge us right now. In a way, he is more dangerous than his older brother. ”

The "young man" in the Kaiser's mouth is actually a middle-aged man who has passed the age of not being confused, but he has been in the shadow of his brother Hirohito for the first half of his life, and his popularity and influence are very limited, both domestically and internationally. Before the Tokyo explosion, Xuanren had been in the army for 20 years, with excellent academic performance and excellent service performance, but as a noble core member of the imperial family, he could only stay in the rear honestly during the war, and rarely had the opportunity to display his talents and accumulate military exploits on the front line.

In comparison, the princes of the House of Hohenzollern seem to be in a better situation. In addition to the crown prince William Jr., the fifth Oscar and the sixth Joachim also wore crowns one after another and became the monarchs of European countries, the second Friedrich served as the military governor of Poland for a long time, the third Adalbert traveled to various countries as a naval diplomatic attaché, and the fourth Prince August-William to the Prussian Minister of Defense, all of them are well-known figures.

On the other hand, Emperor Xuanhito, who had returned to his ship, returned to a state of ambition and high spirit, standing on the deck of his battleship and looking out at the German fleet in the distance, the envy in his eyes replaced by a mixture of jealousy and disgust. In front of all the attendants and accompanying officers, he clenched his fists and said viciously: "This is the last time I will be humiliated!" ”

After the Tokyo explosion, Umezu Mijiro, who took over the post of chief of staff of the empire in the firing line, had already been overwhelmed by the Philippine uprising, the United States' entry into the war, the Japanese army and navy's lack of cooperation with each other, and the dispatch of troops from various places to do their own thing. It is to rely on the wealth of the country and the strength of the army. The imperial kingdom has been fighting for many years, and the soldiers are tired and the people are tired, and it really needs a long time to recuperate and recuperate before it can once again challenge the European and American powers, and it must not be rushed. ”

Xuanren snorted: "Of course I know the truth of lying on the salary and tasting the guts, otherwise, how can I tolerate such humiliation? Just wait for the Western powers to lift the joint blockade of our imperial country, and in ten years, no, five years, it will surely impress the whole world! ”

Umezu Mijiro hesitated for a moment, swallowing his words of concern back into his stomach. Not to mention whether European and American countries will take the initiative to provoke Japan in the future, so that Japan will not be able to straighten out its economy, repair trade, and develop its armaments in a fair and relaxed environment, it is a big question how long those reckless and reckless military guys who like to be able to live in peace will be able to live in peace; once they violate international conventions and cause trouble in the occupied areas, the Western powers will certainly use this as an excuse to exert pressure on Japan, and it will be a headache to clean up the mess when the time comes. In order to fundamentally resolve these problems, it is necessary to reform the Japanese armed forces, which have accumulated many shortcomings, but there are still various unstable factors in the current situation, and many problems have been left over from the Meiji Restoration.

In a short time, the German ships sounded their whistles one after another, pulled anchor and set sail. The Japanese warships did not linger for a moment and quickly left this sea area. By nightfall, all the German ships had docked at the heavily guarded Huhul Island naval base, and the Japanese fleet sailed out of range of the land-based radar stations in the Maldives archipelago. According to the plan, Kaiser William the Younger, after inspecting the military installations in the Maldives Islands, will take a long cruise by ship, visiting Said, Benghazi, Valletta, ******, Malaga, Brest, London, Amsterdam and other places, and finally return to Wilhelmshaven on the mainland. Coincidentally, Xuanren's itinerary was also arranged in Colombo, Yangon, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Da Nang, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Shanghai, Busan, and finally back to the port of Maizuru in China. More than 10,000 kilometers await the two monarchs, who will spend more than a month at sea, visiting the soldiers and their nationals in the ports of the occupied territories, visiting the protectorates or allies, and strengthening the current military alliance.

(End of chapter)