Downing's influence in Germany was more than just a depot, and he was the diplomatic plenipotentiary of the German Confederation to Japan, and now he was going to Frankfurt to consult with the states about where to set up the governing body for trade.

Before the meeting began, as soon as he arrived in Frankfurt, Bismarck arrived on Pegasus and apologized for the attitude of the Prussian king towards Luxembourg, and Downing said indifferently: "It doesn't matter, I have already negotiated with Krupp, and before I actually control Luxembourg, all the profits of Krupp's steel works will belong to me." ”

Negotiated it? In this way, the people of Krupp did not dare to compete with the Iron King at all. Bismarck was struck by Downing's domineering, and the leaders of Prussian heavy industry behaved like merino sheep in front of him. Who's to say it isn't? Bismarck came to apologize for the first time, didn't he have the same mentality? The telegraph king, the steel king, the medicine king, the electricity king, the automobile king, the shipping king, the emergence of the BBC also means the future media king, each of these kings is not easy to mess with, let alone the seven kings in one? The steel industry is a high-energy enterprise, and Krupp will never dare to offend the people who provide him with power technology alone.

Bismarck could not have guessed when Downing would demand a complete withdrawal of Prussian troops from Luxembourg, because Downing's Hessian mercenaries seemed unreliable now, would Downing want to use British troops? It doesn't look like it. The people of Luxembourg were not as brave as the Swiss, and it was unreliable to raise their own army, especially now that the inhabitants of Luxembourg seem to be suspicious of the new ruler of the atheist doctrine.

Downing said to Bismarck: "Luxembourg, I don't really care so much, but it is a poor agricultural country that I bought for 500,000 yuan, and maybe the East India Company rebuilt with the King of Holland can make it back." I have nothing to lose. ”

He released a smoke bomb to cover that he was training Satsuma mercenaries, and at this time, Downing had a whim, or I used the Japanese mercenaries hatched in the samurai scabbard to destroy Prussia under the pretext of the battle for Luxembourg, and there was no possibility of a ** Germany from now on.

This is an interesting challenge, because Prussia is now thriving and full of talents, and Bismarck is the best of all, as is Moltke, a military strategist, who is about to become Prussia's chief of the General Staff.

Just think about it, Tang Ning has a phobia of murder, he can't defeat the enemy, he is uncomfortable first, it's better not to make a mess in the world.

The controversy at this meeting was that the North German Confederation led by Prussia tended to set up the administration of the Far Eastern Trade Port in the Free City of Hamburg, which was an important economic center of Germany and a free city at the state level, similar to the Free City of Frankfurt. South Germany, led by Austria and Bavaria, tended to locate its institutions in Venice, a port city under Austrian rule.

The argument of North Germany was that Venice was a place with a predominantly Italian population and that there might be territorial disputes in the future, which was not suitable. Austria's argument is that the German-speaking population of Venice is the elite of Venice, and isn't the Grand Duke of Luxembourg digging canals? In the future, the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean will be a shortcut.

The Germans did not attach much importance to the trade of the Far East now, and if it were not for the Grand Duke of Luxembourg visiting Japan, no one would have remembered this, and the King of Prussia gave Bismarck full authority to handle the negotiations, and in order to compensate for the king's attitude in Luxembourg, Bismarck made a decision for the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, who was still the plenipotentiary to Japan. The Bavarian delegates, who were Bavarian's son-in-law and the ones who dug the canals, were quite sure that Downing would choose Venice. The two made a move, and the matter was basically decided, and Austria could only second.

Territorial disputes? This is a good thing, and it can be left and right when the time comes. As a result, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg chose Venice as the seat of the Far Eastern Trade Administration.

Downing explained to the delegates that the East Indies had economic resources such as rubber, oil palm, and oil, while China and Japan had huge human resources after their founding, and emphasized that Japan's population was comparable to that of the British mainland, and that they had the highest literacy rate in the world, and that they had a strong urge to learn from the West, would be a force to be reckoned with. As for the Qing Dynasty, after the civil war, a government that attaches importance to trade will be decided, because only the army that attaches importance to imports from Europe can win, so the potential of the Far East is huge, and the German compatriots should not lag too far behind the importance of Britain and France to the Far East.

The representative of Austria asked: "When is Mr. Windsor going to sell the merchant ships produced by your shipyard that are twice as fast as others?" ”

At the last minute of the patent for the turbine steam turbine, Downing gave up because he had decided to keep the technology a secret, and now the world's most interested countries are digging into the nitty-gritty of the technology. If you had a technique that doubled the speed of sailing, would you show it lightly? Of course not. Downing, who had his own shipbuilding ability, did not need to cooperate with others, so Bismarck would think that he was the king of shipping. It's not a big deal if the boat is bigger, but it's twice as fast, and that's amazing.

Tang Ning said with a smile: "We can't build a 10,000-ton ship, but we will soon lease a thousand-ton boat, and we can build a ship like this in half a month." ”

The representative of Austria: "Huh? Or rent? Can the captains stand the fact that the ship they manage is not their own? ”

Tang Ning: "That's a mistake! The risk of chartering a ship is much smaller than buying a ship, you know, the profit of sea trade is very considerable, you can earn a ship back in two or three years, however, the risk is also large, I have chartered the ship to include insurance, compulsory insurance, to ensure the safety of goods and crew. Our wireless telegraphy shipwreck assistance network is more complete than any other country or institution, and the property rights of the ships are in our hands, which is also conducive to better allocation of resources, raising prices when there is a shortage of routes, and transferring ships away if there is no money on them.

I also have one of the biggest reasons -- I have a way to shorten the current loading and unloading time from half a day to less than half an hour, which saves time and effort. Because we are developing a quay crane that can directly transfer the goods of the entire train car between the ship and the train, this kind of huge box I call 'container', so I have to control various standards of cargo ships, so that it is convenient for the container to go up and down, and it is also convenient for me to develop a large truck that can pull the entire container. You know the power of standardization in terms of mechanization and automation, so for the time being, I want to control the property rights of all cargo ships, and in the future, I will have competitors as fast as my ships. ”

Bismarck instantly grasped the power of this new way of shipping, and hurriedly asked: "Does this kind of ship need a special dock?" ”

Tang Ning: "Yes, when the core equipment such as container cranes is ready, we have to talk to the ports about cooperation, and the construction of the container terminal in Singapore has started, and I hope that Hamburg and Venice will become the pioneers of container terminals." ”

The other deputies were bureaucratic and strict, and only cared about their own one-third of an acre of land, and what ports and wharves had nothing to do with them, while Bismarck was an ambitious person, and when he saw the greatness of it, it was a pity that Prussia did not have any decent ports at all, and this may be an opportunity for Prussia to develop maritime transportation. （http：／／.）。 On July 20, 1853, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, which had no North Sea port, signed the Yad Agreement, which purchased a 313-hectare plot of land for the construction of the Prussian naval base. It was later named Wilhelmshaven.

In Bismarck's eyes, Downing's research project has never been unsuccessful, so this time the crane project will definitely succeed, and the first container project in Europe will be very promising, preferably built in this new port in Prussia, of course, it is very close to Hamburg, it can also be in Hamburg, anyway, it is also within the Customs Union, and the Free City of Hamburg, which belongs to the Prussian sphere of influence, is in the hands of Prussia.

The representatives of Austria did not realize the revolutionary nature of the container port at all, alas, it was more comfortable to talk to smart people, and in the end, sure enough, the first container terminal in continental Europe chose Wilhelmshamn. Bismarck was also the first politician to be strongly aware of Downing's world-leading shipbuilding technology, and wanted to arrange a meeting with Downing with two high-ranking Prussian admirals, but Downing had little interest in helping Prussia develop a strong navy, and politely declined.

Now Downing's shipping business is backed by the British Empire and the Dutch Empire, which is quite worry-free for the time being. It is surprising that the Royal Navy of Great Britain and the Royal Netherlands Navy have so far shown no interest in his shipbuilding, otherwise he would have to find a reason to prevaricate. Because he wants to build his own Luxembourg navy, this sealess state sounds as ridiculous at first glance as Mongolia wants to build a navy, but there will always be a place, didn't you Prussia also buy a piece of land on the North Sea?