Sitting in a luxurious, comfortable and slow carriage, Natsuki looked out the window with a relaxed expression, the financial and political center of the world, the only heart of the British Empire, London. The Pen & Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info large and steeped in history, but it wasn't really a monumental city until the Victorian period, so most of the roads and buildings here are engraved with the glory of that era.

Heading east along the River Thames, the famous Tower Bridge soon comes into view, with its majestic and imposing two iconic square towers that are the cornerstones of the empire on which the sun never sets. The long steel cable not only plays a role in stabilizing the bridge deck, but also forms a strong visual artistic atmosphere; The ingenious deck is able to rise quickly under the action of a hydraulic machine, which has surprisingly never failed since it was put into operation......

On the tranquil and beautiful Thames River, all kinds of boats sail in an orderly manner, the wind and waves are calm, and there is only one sound in the air that is slightly noisy, it is like a bee smelling the fragrance, the distance is sometimes near and sometimes far, and the tone is sometimes high and sometimes low. The closer you get to Tower Bridge, the more pedestrians stop to watch the riverbank, their eyes wandering to the humming sound.

Natsuki is indifferent and acts like an outsider, but he is precisely the "master messenger behind the scenes". During his and Louise's trip to Thetford, the Friedrich shipyard lads drove the Kraken for hours a day on the River Thames, crossing arches at high speed, sprinting and spinning in circles across the open river. When it comes to seeing the world, no one of the city's citizens dared to compare with the Londoners of that era, but even so, many Londoners came to watch the performances every day.

During the performance, which lasted for several days, the "Kraken" did not suffer from any malfunctions such as stalling halfway, which changed people's impression that the internal combustion engine was "delicate and fragile" in this era, and also allowed Natsuki's intentions to be perfectly displayed.

As he approached Tower Bridge, Natsuki said to the man in the dress, "Stop for a moment." ”

The well-dressed, humble and dignified middle-aged man tapped the carriage board with his fingers, and in groups of two, the carriage stopped steadily on the side of the road.

Natsuki didn't explain, opened the door and got out of the car alone, stretching his legs and feet while pacing towards the railing of the river embankment, where several gentlemen in top hats were looking intently at the river.

Walking up to a gentleman, Natsuki launched a "random survey" with his signature Irish accent: "This guy is pretty, isn't he?" ”

The gentleman glanced at him, not recognizing the Prussian prince in the limelight.

Unlike in the occasion of racing and royal banquets, Natsuki deliberately wore a black jacket today, which looked extraordinarily low-key.

"Well, I have to admit that the machine made by the Germans is indeed great, but unfortunately, it will definitely be transformed into a military use - a guy with a torpedo on his shoulders!" The gentleman's tone is the same as that of the British press.

Sometimes, public opinion represents the mainstream view of society; Sometimes, public opinion dominates the mainstream view of society.

"So that no adversary will dare to approach its shores."

Natsuki didn't have an obvious inclination when he said this, but the gentleman next to him was quite curious when he heard it, and he turned his head again to look at Natsuki carefully, with a look of surprise in his eyes: "Uh...... God, you are the prince of Germany, Prince Joachim......"

Natsuki shrugged his shoulders with a natural expression, confirming the other party's judgment.

Although the relationship between Britain and Germany was a little strained, it was not enough for Natsuki to shout on the streets of London. In fact, when it was revealed that the owner had returned to London, the luxury merchants of Bond Street were full of anticipation, and some offered to deliver samples of the jewels to the princes and princesses' rooms to choose from. In addition, Xia Shu can always see young ladies in the lobby and restaurant of the hotel, they are like the red mountains on the side of the road, and they can't wait to show their brightness when the spring breeze blows.

Since he had been recognized by passers-by, in order to prevent accidents, Natsuki returned to the carriage.

"Let's go!" He commanded.

A short distance ahead is the Tower of London Park, and before you reach the park, the carriage turns into a fork in the road on the left. After a short uphill walk, turn right onto a quiet gravel road and you will be greeted by a beautiful Victorian villa perched on a hill by the river.

Passing through the gate of the courtyard covered with green vines, the carriage stopped in the delicate and neat courtyard, and the Italian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ferrero, stood dignified outside the gate to greet him.

The surname reminds Natsuki of spherical chocolate wrapped in golden tin foil.

In this meeting, the role of the Italian diplomat is only to thread the needle, and the real protagonist of the conversation with Natsuki is the middle-aged dark-haired man standing next to Ferrero. He has a moderate figure, a square face, thick eyebrows, bright eyes, and a graceful demeanor, like little Robert. Donnie's temperament is somewhat similar.

"Your Royal Highness, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Mr. Esposito of the Swan Company of Venice."

Introduced by the Chocolate Ambassador, Natsuki and the dark-haired middle-aged man shook hands, and the three of them quickly walked into the house and walked down the beautiful wooden spiral staircase to the terrace, where the circular flower beds are planted with irises and cornflowers, creating a refreshing sky garden. It's just that the iris is the national flower of France, and the cornflower is the favorite of the Germans, because of the entanglement of Alsace and Lorraine, the two countries have been inseparable since 1871, and the two beautiful plants are planted together but complement each other, like nature's merciless mockery of humans.

"As far as I know, your company has a history of designing and building speedboats that goes back half a century, which is a very remarkable tradition, Mr. Esposito." Natsuki praised politely.

The black-haired middle-aged man smiled bitterly and said, "I'm ashamed to say it!" The foundation established by our ancestors has stagnated in the hands of our generation. In the past few years, our speedboats have lost all the traditional water races, and we can only watch with envy the triumphant songs of His Royal Highness the Prince's masterpieces. ”

Like the Friedrich-Friedrich-Shipyard, Swann specialized in the design and construction of speedboats, and in the early years their steam torpedo boats were widely exported to Eurasian countries and appeared in the Russo-Turkish and Qing-Japanese wars. Historically, the Swann MAS boat was also famous for its knives at sea, and the Italian Navy used this high-speed torpedo boat to sink the Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleship "Sente" at the end of World War I. István", during World War II, the Italians used this kind of speedboat to sink a number of British warships, creating one of the few bright spots in modern warfare for the Italian Navy.

Natsuki and this Esposito should have been wary of each other, but on the rooftop full of iris and cornflowers, their conversation was full of sympathy. Natsuki talked about the "accidental opportunity" of his entry into the high-speed speedboat industry, and lamented the ups and downs on the road to entrepreneurship, while Esposito admitted that his company lacked the weakness of first-class designers, and if it continued to operate with the current decline, it would close down in a few years.

Speaking of Swan's predicament, the chocolate ambassador lost no time in playing the "emotional card", praising the great friendship between Germany and Italy on the one hand, and suggesting that the Italian government still adheres to the "Triple Alliance" and is a trusted friend of Germany in the context of hostility towards Germany.

Natsuki stopped in his ears with these words, and he was somewhat disgusted in his heart. On the surface, Italy was on the side of Germany and Austria because of the Triple Alliance, and their relationship should have been very close, but this was not the case. At the beginning, Italy joined the German-Austrian alliance not out of firm comradeship, but to get rid of the unfavorable situation of internal and external difficulties - externally, the ****** that had invested a lot of money was easily taken away by France, the imperial dream was broken, and the royal family and government were generally dissatisfied at home; Internally, the struggle between the secular powers and the papacy was not over, and the radical forces in the country demanded the removal of the pope, but this inevitably caused a strong opposition from Roman Catholics in Europe and isolated Italy. Under these circumstances, Italy desperately needed some diplomatic victory to boost morale, and because Britain was unwilling to abandon their usual liberal policy, the Italians had to take the initiative to approach Germany and Austria-Hungary and make an alliance request.

Bismarck, who was in charge of the overall political and diplomatic situation of Germany at that time, was a shrewd and sophisticated figure, who not only looked down on Italy's weak national strength and lame military, but also concluded that it was difficult for the Italian political system to maintain a long-term stable policy, but the unexpected closeness of Franco-Russian relations made Bismarck change his original intention. Because once Germany and Austria went to war with France and Russia, Italy's political position would be highlighted, even if they only supported France and Russia without sending a single army, they would be able to contain a large number of Austro-Hungarian forces. In order to protect the backyard of Austria-Hungary and allow them to concentrate on containing Russia, Bismarck promoted the German-Austrian-Italian "Triple Alliance" as an auxiliary means of balancing the relations between Germany, Austria and Russia -- in Bismarck's European equilibrium, the "Three Emperors Alliance" formed by Germany, Russia and Austria has always been the most crucial core, but ironically, his successor has very firmly set aside Russia and concentrated on the "Triple Alliance" as a guarantee of European hegemony.

(End of chapter)