In a small cottage facing the lake, the owner and his guests are leisurely tasting one of the best coffees in the world, known for its gentleness, elegance, perfect combination of sour and sweet, and the coffee beans grown on the slopes of the beautiful lake are the best of the best, and are called "the nobles of coffee" by connoisseurs.

"Your Excellency, Count, you have come to Guatemala, and this is the right season! At the turn of spring and summer, it's neither hot nor cold, full of flowers and trees, and the whole of Guatemala is best seen in Lake Atitlan! You see, it is surrounded by mountains, and the verdant mountains and forests reflect in the lake, and the lakes and mountains complement each other perfectly, which is really intoxicating! ”

It can be seen that the owner, who is nearly sixty years old, relish the scenery around him, and in this pleasant season, on the breezy lakeside, put two chaise longues under the shade of the trees, and brew a cup of the best Guatemalan Antigua classic coffee, there is nothing more enjoyable in life than this.

The guests were also in their sixties and seventy, with all the hair but the vigor of his life, and his speech was full of energy, and the most striking thing was his oversized beard divided into two parts, and the count with this emblem could not be found on the whole earth.

"No wonder His Excellency the Baron would rather spend his leisure here than go back to Berlin to enjoy the luxuries of the upper class!"

The master laughed heartily, "Let the Earl laugh!" My parents came here because they were optimistic about the profits of coffee farming! Since I took over the family business, I have been fortunate enough to keep the business going, so I'm happy to live here! ”

The guest also laughed unrestrainedly, "Ha, what a blessing the baron! Living in this place with beautiful mountains and rivers is not good for a long time! Alas, I simply sold the fief and took a stake in the plantation of His Excellency the Lord, so that I might as well settle here. What do you think? ”

"If His Majesty the Emperor knew, he wouldn't say that I confused the pillars of the country, and then demolished my plantation!"

When the master said this, the two of them laughed again.

After a hearty laugh, the two turned their eyes to the majestic volcano on the other side of the lake, which was the main season for coffee picking, and on the slopes of the volcanic field, countless coffee workers were picking the beans that were famous for their plump grains.

"Alright. Let's get down to business! His Majesty intends to control Guatemala's economy, politics and finally the military, in order to match our American's strategy! I'm here to get help from you! The guest said in a serious manner, with his iconic appearance, almost all of Germany knew that he was von . Count Tirpitz, father of the German navy.

Sitting in front of him was the Prussian nobleman Baron von Eischhorn, the proprietor of Guatemala's largest coffee plantation, the leader of the Guatemalan Plantation Owners' Union, and Tirpitz's colleague and friend in his youth.

The introduction of coffee to Guatemala can be traced back to the middle of the old century, but it was the German intellectuals who arrived at the end of the 19th century who really turned coffee cultivation into an industry. By the time 1916. German capital already accounts for more than 70 percent of the coffee industry in Guatemala. It can be said that German capital occupies an absolute dominant position in this industry.

"Lord Earl, if you say help, it is definitely an insult to the dignity and personality of despicable people!" Baron Eichhorn became unusually serious. He stood up from his position and said solemnly: "As a German citizen and a Prussian nobleman, it is my duty to serve my country!" As long as the country calls, even if I am asked to carry a gun to the battlefield, I will have no complaints! Presumably, the Earl also knew that when the war broke out the year before last, I sent my two sons back to Germany to join the army, and this time for the sake of the country, even if I wanted to break the bank! ”

Tirpitz was visibly surprised, but he quickly beckoned the baron to sit down.

"I know your intentions very well, rest assured, this time not only will you not go bankrupt, but will also allow you to expand the industry tenfold or hundredfold!"

"A hundredfold?" This time it was the baron's turn to be surprised, knowing that his estate in Guatemala was already very large. Even compared with American investors, it is not inferior, a hundred times, what kind of concept is that!

"That's right! Of course, these funds were not used to expand the scale of the plantations, but according to His Majesty's intentions, to annex, annex and annex, to annex the main industries of Guatemala, in order to achieve the purpose of controlling the economy of this country! Tirpitz calmly told Eichhorn that the funding would be divided into two parts, with 40 percent coming from the German government. Forty percent is provided by the royal family, and the remaining 20 percent is financed by donations and fundraising.

The baron was stunned again, "What? The royal family plans to give 40% of the funds, which is a lot of money! ”

Tirpitz said unequivocally: "That's right, the first batch of funds is expected to be 10 billion marks, which is $3 billion at the current exchange rate!" As long as the project is found, this batch of funds can be transferred from Germany within 1 month! ”

After a while, Baron Eichhorn spoke: "It seems that Your Majesty really values the strategic significance of Guatemala!" ”

Tirpitz looked at him and said meaningfully: "That's why Your Majesty asked me to come to you, because you are a person who is absolutely loyal to the empire and the Germanic people!"

The baron stood up with tears of excitement in his eyes, "With the trust of Your Majesty, I hereby swear that I will never dishonor the honor of the Eichhorn family, and I am willing to serve the Empire and Your Majesty with all my might!" ”

"For the Germanic peoples!" Tirpitz added a phrase that has become a mantra for almost everyone in Germany. Historically, such slogans have had a very strong appeal to national cohesion, of course, only in a country dominated by a single nation.

"Yes, and for the Germanic peoples!" It seems that the baron has not escaped the extraordinary influence of this appeal.

After the other party's emotions calmed down, Tirpitz said: "Having lived in Guatemala for more than twenty years, His Excellency the Baron should know the situation here very well! Coupled with the fame and business experience of the Eichhorn family, it is up to you how the funds are used and how the industry expands, and I have the privilege of living here for a while as the Ombudsman of Funds! ”

"That's great! The two of us can fight side by side together again! The Baron excitedly told Tirpitz that he felt his long-dormant battle blood begin to surge again.

"I'm very satisfied to be able to play for Germany again in my lifetime!" There was a strong reluctance in Tirpitz's tone, it was not that the Kaiser thought that he did not have the ability to serve the country, but that with his fame and merits, there was no challenge to continue to stay in the position of Minister of the Navy, but it was better to give up his position to the juniors, so that the Admiralty could continue to progress in this benign metabolism. For Tirpitz himself, retiring when he is successful is also a kind of free and easy enjoyment of life, but the leisure life makes it difficult for him to adapt to the busy, so when he heard the Kaiser talk about the strategy of the Americas and Guatemala's economic offensive, he remembered that he still had such an old friend in Guatemala, so he took the initiative to apply to the Kaiser to come.

"Me too!" Ashhorn, who was about the same age, felt the same way, and if it weren't for his father's desperate desire for him to return to inherit the family business, he might have been as successful in the naval world as Tirpitz would have been.

"In short, you don't have to stay at home every day to write your autobiography!" Tirpitz said with a little self-deprecation, and then, he began to ask Eichhorn about the situation in Guatemala, according to the information provided by the German intelligence department before, the Guatemalan economic war is mainly controlled by the United States, Germany and other foreign capital, of which Germany owns the coffee plantation industry, the United States controls the fruit and railroad, Britain and France also have some investment in Guatemala, but the scale is far less than that of Germany and the United States. After the end of the war, British and French capital was basically withdrawn from Guatemala, leaving only Germany and the United States with the strongest capital strength.

"That's true!" The baron affirmed the information of the German intelligence services, "If we want to control the economy of Guatemala, our biggest enemy is the United Fruit Company of the United States, which has a large area of banana plantations and labor, and their Central American International Railway Company controls the railway system of Guatemala, and occupies the two major ports of Barrios and San José, which are very well funded and have a very close relationship with Guatemalan President Cabrera!" ”

"In my personal experience!" Tirpitz said, "We should start with this Kavrela!" It is said that he is an out-and-out dictator, and with his support, it will be much easier for us to act! ”

"That's hard!" Eichhorn did not fully agree with this approach, saying: "This Cabrera is very cunning, he basically rules the country by army and violence, in front of people and behind his back, outwardly polite to foreign merchants and estate owners, but secretly encouraging them to compete viciously in order to profit from it!" Working with such people is neither reliable nor cost-effective! ”

"Leave this person to me!" Tirpitz stroked his beard, "Dealing with this kind of person has to be both soft and hard, and willing to pay the cost!" As for you, the next thing to do is to contact the Germans in Guatemala and buy the estates and factories that can be bought first! ”

"Yes, sir!" Ashhorn stood up and gave a very standard military salute.

Tirpitz stood up and returned the salute, and the two looked at each other and smiled.

After that, Eichhorn Coffee Company embarked on its staggering acquisition, and in May alone, 12 banana plantations, three sugar processing plants, and three coffee plantations were transferred to the company, but this was only the beginning. Soon after, Eichhorn joined forces with other German-owned companies in Guatemala to form the German-Guatemalan Group, with 39 coffee mills, four cotton mills, four sugar mills, and a large number of coffee, banana, cotton, and sugar plantations, employing more than 90,000 skilled workers, and a steady influx of German businessmen and capital.

American businessmen in Guatemala soon found themselves facing a terrible Germanic storm, and what was worse was that for some unknown reason, Guatemalan President Cabrera actually changed his usual hardline attitude and leased the port of Livingston on the Caribbean coast to German businessmen, and only a month later, the figure of the German ** began to appear frequently in the port of Livingston!