.“ Inviting the Crown Prince of Japan to visit Germany? ”

Stresemann had a look of surprise.

"That's right! How? Are you worried that he won't come? ”

In contrast, Chentian was much more relaxed.

After all, a diplomat is a diplomat, and his ability to speak with his expression is not blown, but the surprise on Xiao Shi's face quickly turned into worry, and he said very tactfully:

"Your Majesty, I do have such worries! As far as I know, the Japanese imperial family, especially the emperor and crown prince, are still relatively conservative, Emperor Meiji and Emperor Taisho have never set foot abroad, and this Prince Hirohito only left Japan once when he went to Singapore to talk to you last time, I don't think he will accept our invitation to come to Europe, and it will not only be a matter of face, but it may affect the relationship between the two countries! ”

Chen Tian put away a little ease and replaced it with some seriousness.

"Mr. Stresemann, I have two comments on your views. First, Japan's Taisho Emperor is in poor health, and the current crown prince will ascend to the throne within 10 years, so if you want to exert some influence on him through a trip to Europe, it is best to do so as soon as possible! Second, the friendly relations between Germany and Japan are only temporary, and if you don't want your career to be hindered, you better not make building a lasting and stable relationship between the two countries a career! ”

In response to the Kaiser's important suggestion, Stresemann immediately said that he would take it to heart.

"Alright, please send out an invitation in my name as soon as possible!"

Chen Tian still commanded in a calm tone.

"Yes!"

On important foreign issues, Stresemann, as Foreign Minister, still had to obey the orders of the Kaiser and the Chancellor, and when the Kaiser and the Chancellor's orders were contrary, the Kaiser's orders must be the first choice, which was an important purpose of Wilhelm II's abandonment of Bismarck.

After Stresemann left the study, Tatsuten sat back in his place and waited for the next visitor. He had just returned from Britain two days earlier, only to find that he had accumulated a lot of things that needed to be handled by himself, and he had finally lived a leisurely life. Now the pace of life is back to being busy.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on his door.

Then came Lieutenant General Max Hoffmann, his close staff officer and full-time head of the Supreme Command's strategy for the Americas.

"Your Majesty, Lieutenant General Hoffman salutes you!"

Chen Tian immediately motioned for the other party to sit opposite him, "Well, please sit down!" ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Hoffman sat down uninhibitedly, then flipped through the folder he had brought with him.

"Report what's been going on in the Americas lately, I'll listen!" When talking. Chen Tian was still holding a pen in one hand and looking at the documents in the other, and there was a thick stack of documents waiting for him to review on his left hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty! The first is the situation in Mexico, two weeks ago the UYR and the government army fought a major battle south of the Santa Maria River, which ended in the defeat of the government army, and the UARC continued to advance on the southeast coast where the Carranza regime was entrenched! In that battle, our mercenary corps performed very well, but it was the 1st Division of Zapatista and the 3rd Division of Villadi that played the main role. The victory in the battle was gratifying, but the casualties of the United Revolutionary Army were not small. And the consumption of ammunition is also quite large. Zapata once again requested additional ammunition supplies, and we subsequently allocated an additional batch of Xindi guns and ammunition! ”

"What's the reaction from the U.S. government?" Chentian's gaze remained on the document in front of him.

"President Warren Harding has repeatedly stated that the United States will not send troops to intervene in the Mexican Civil War, and at the same time hopes that we in Germany will recall our own advisers in the peasant army. Let the Mexicans solve their own problems! On the other hand, the U.S. Congress has approved a new aid package, and supplies worth $12 million will be provided to the Mexican government one after another! That's it for the latest intelligence report on Mexico! ”

After speaking, seeing that Chentian did not speak, Hoffman turned the topic to Guatemala.

"At the persuasion of Count Tirpitz, the President of Guatemala agreed to allow Mexican civilians to enter Guatemalan territory to escape the fighting, but the cost of housing these refugees had to be paid for by the German government or the merchant community! So far, some 200,000 Mexicans have entered Guatemala under the guise of refuge, and more than 2,000 Peasant Army soldiers have managed to blend into the refugee herd into Guatemala and enter the port of Livingston under our control, and then sail to Guadeloupe for our formal training! According to our previous secret agreement with Zapata, this number will eventually reach 5,000. They will be formed into a mixed infantry brigade and will return to Mexico after half a year of scraping! ”

Chen Tian, who bowed his head, asked again: "What is the economic situation in Guatemala?" ”

Hoffmann replied: "The Germans already control about 70 percent of the factories, mines and plantations, the number of American companies has been reduced from more than 300 last year to less than 50, and we have bought three railroads under their control!" Count Tirpitz said that Guatemala will now fall into an economic crisis as soon as we withdraw our investment, so the Guatemalan government does not dare to neglect our German-Guatemalan group in the slightest. ”

After quickly signing his name on a document, Chen Tian raised his head, "Tell the Earl that he did a very, very good job!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Hoffmann quickly jotted down the Kaiser's instructions in his notebook.

Before turning to the next document. Chen Tiandao: "What about South America?" ”

"Last month we completed a survey of the number of German diaspora, German-owned companies, German-language schools and German-speaking churches in South America. So far, 494,000 Germans live in Brazil, 197,000 in Chile, 81,000 in Argentina and nearly 110,000 in other South American countries, totaling more than 880,000 people, a number that is expected to exceed one million within three years. In these countries, German-funded companies already account for a certain proportion of the local economy, with 4,126 large and small enterprises, 127,000 individual businessmen, and more than 100 million marks of capital! The largest number of German schools are in Brazil with 352, 117 in Chile and 39 in Argentina and 71 in the rest of South America, and the number of German-speaking churches is almost three times as high, with 1,105, 392, 107 and 243 in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and other countries, respectively. In addition, the Royal Military Academy, which we helped the Chilean government to establish, has been hailed as one of the best military academies in South America, and Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay have invited us to help them set up their own military academies! ”

After a long report, Hoffman finally closed his folder.

"Hmm!" Chen Tian nodded. It was not his credit for expanding German influence in Latin America through immigration, investment, and military aid, as the German government strongly supported immigration and economic penetration into Latin America during the reign of Wilhelm II, and the Royal Military Academy in Chile was established at that time, and German schools and churches in Latin America were beginning to take shape before the outbreak of war in 1914, and military missions were sent to Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

In 1900, the German ambassador to Mexico made this in a report. If Germany had acquired a colony in Latin America in the past, it would have been worth more than it had acquired all of Africa. Wilhelm II added the following words to the report: "Yes, that's why we must take supreme power in the region." ”

After Chen Tian ascended the throne, the German government continued to implement the Latin American strategy, but because the British tycoons, chaebols and capitalists transferred their assets to Canada after the war and increased their investment in Latin America, which made the British capital, which was originally dominant in Latin America, formed considerable resistance to Germany, the United States and other later countries. In 1914, 51.9 percent of Latin America's foreign capital was British, while France, Germany, and the United States accounted for 10.4 percent, 3.8 percent, and 15.2 percent, respectively. Most of its vacancies are filled by British capital. The development of German and American economic power was relatively slow.

After waiting for a few minutes, seeing that Chen Tian still had no meaning to speak, Hoffman asked, "Does Your Majesty have any other orders?" ”

Chen Tian raised his head again. Then he handed the document to Hoffman, "Oh, I just saw a very interesting report that the Chilean government wants us to build them a fleet of naval capital ships and help them build up their air force. Because of the stakes, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent this document to me in the first place! ”

Hoffmann quickly skimmed through the contents of the document, then handed it back to Chentian with both hands, and he would never have read such a classified government document without the permission of the Kaiser.

"How?" Chen Tian asked.

After thinking about it, Hoffman gave a very cautious answer: "Your Majesty." The Chilean government has maintained good relations with us in recent years, and it is only natural that they should order warships and planes from us. However, Chile's expansion of the navy and the establishment of a new air force are important matters related to the situation in South America, and considering that the relations between Brazil, Argentina and other countries and our country are gradually warming up recently, I ask Your Majesty to consider this matter carefully! ”

Chen Tian played with the pen in his hand, and at the same time tried his best to search for all the information related to the Chilean Navy, this small South American country with a narrow territory, although it achieved independence in 1818, the country is rich in minerals, forestry, fisheries and agricultural resources. In particular, military minerals such as copper, iron, coal, and saltpeter are coveted by all countries, and saltpeter alone made Chile rich in the war.

The Chilean Navy is one of the earliest countries in South America and is a maritime force that cannot be underestimated in Latin America. Before the outbreak of the war, the Chilean government had ordered two battleships from the British, but both were requisitioned by the British Navy after the outbreak of the war, one became the "Canada" of the British Grand Fleet, and then sank in the Battle of the North Sea, and the other was sunk in an air raid before it was completed.

"It is true that Chile's naval maneuvers will make neighboring Peru, Argentina and even Brazil nervous, and we would do well to find a compromise that satisfies the demands of the Chileans without allowing other countries to surrender to the U.S. government!" Chen Tian said in a calm tone, "Lieutenant General Hoffman, you should go back first today!" Tomorrow we are convening a meeting of relevant people to discuss! ”

"Yes!"

Hoffman then got up and took his leave.

Predictably, discussions would take place at the German High Command, and at the same time, Tatsuten was curious to see what would happen in the Far East, in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

After receiving the emperor's invitation, the Japanese imperial family and government did not respond directly, and cabinet ministers gathered in the palace, most of them to persuade the crown prince to refuse the invitation.

"You don't need to say more! How can a monarch in the new era be a frog at the bottom of a well? It has been my wish for many years to travel around the world, broaden my knowledge, learn from the strengths of various countries, and deepen the friendly relations with the monarchs and courts of various countries, and take this as the end of my studies! ”

As soon as the young man's angry words fell, several old men kneeling in front of him fell to the ground and wept.

"Your Highness, you can't, His Majesty the Emperor doesn't care about the dragon's health, wouldn't it be unfilial piety to roam abroad?"

"Isn't it degrading for the crown prince of 'Divine Japan' to roam the country of 'Yidi'?"

"The North Korean assassins will be ready to move, and it will be difficult to protect themselves overseas!"

"Although Germany is an ally of our country, it is difficult to determine what its intentions are!"

In the midst of the opposition of the ministers, the boy sat indifferently, and if this trip was carried out, it would not be the first time he had left Japan, but it would be the farthest and longest.

"The sick emperor has a good ......"

The queen finally spoke, and these words were undoubtedly a bombshell for the boy, and he fell down with tears in his eyes.

"Hirohito has long been determined to travel to various countries, and I hope that the queen mother will forgive me!"

The new Prime Minister, Hara Kei, one of the few ministers who supported the Crown Prince's visit to Germany, advised the Empress:

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's outing this time is not only a kind of tempering, but also an increase in knowledge! Prince Fushimiya has gone abroad many times, praised the advanced machinery and concepts of foreign countries, learned the advantages of Yiren, and discovered the weaknesses of Yiren, which has great benefits for the country and the people! ”

"But Your Highness's safety ......," the queen was still very worried.

Prime Minister Yuan Jing replied on the ground: "Your Royal Highness, please rest assured, we will ask the German side to make every effort to ensure the safety of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" If there is a mistake, our country will go all out to defeat it! ”

The queen looked at the crown prince Hirohito with teary eyes, and then turned her gaze to the Emperor Taisho who was entertaining himself, and sighed, "Then Your Highness go and return quickly, and you must pay attention to take care of your body!" ”

"Thank you!" Hirohito fell to the ground.

The ministers couldn't resist the crown prince and the prime minister, so they had to cry and fall to the ground.

In October 1918, the 17-year-old Japanese crown prince Hirohito boarded the battleship "Katori" with an entourage of 25 close acolytes and army and navy officers, and set sail from Yokohama under the escort of the sister ship "Kashima" and began a voyage to Europe.