Chapter 275: Sino-German Talks II

"Yes, that's it. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 Info" Wilhelm's right hand shook loosely, loosened and gripped, and it seemed that Chen Wenqiang's words were very enlightening and shocking to him, "Germany should take full advantage of its geographical very proud advantage, and the territory of Europe is too small for us. May the great men who preside over our destiny be able to secure a necessary territory for Germany under the sun. ”

"It is impossible to pursue world policy without strength, and the expansion of your fleet should not only protect your country's overseas trade, but also give your country its rightful share in world domination." Chen Wenqiang said: "China's efforts to expand its armaments and defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity are also inseparable from the support and help of a powerful German Empire with the strongest army in the world. ”

"So, Mr. Secretary, what do you think about the Sino-German alliance?" Wilhelm II asked very directly.

Chen Wenqiang pondered for a moment and said frankly: "The time is not ripe, and my country has practical difficulties. With all due respect, your country's power in the Far East is not strong enough, and since our country is far from yours, after the Sino-German alliance, our country will inevitably face the pressure and interference of Japan, Britain, France, and Russia alone. Well, it's a bit like the situation in your country with Britain in 1898 and 1899. ”

On March 29 and April 1, 1898, Britain extended an olive branch to Germany, saying that it would abandon its traditional isolationist policy and "look for an ally that would help her (Britain) in the peace she wanted", and that ally was Germany.

The British Prime Minister said: "It seems to me that Germany's interests are practically identical to ours on those larger matters." proposed that Britain and Germany hold negotiations on China and West Africa and establish an alliance; If Germany were to side with Britain now, Britain would support Germany if it was attacked in the future. However, Germany feared that if it had agreed to the terms of the alliance, the British Parliament would reject the treaty. Germany would then become the main hostile target of France and Russia, and become the scapegoat for Britain.

At the same time, the German government believed that the benefits offered by Britain were far from compensating for the losses caused by the confrontation between Germany and France and Russia; Moreover, a regional alliance between West Africa and China could not eliminate the enormous security threat posed to Germany by the Alsace-Lorraine time bomb. Therefore, the Germans categorically rejected the terms of the British, and in turn demanded that Britain join the "Triple Alliance" against France. But the British Parliament could not agree to this alliance, and the first phase of negotiations ended in nothing.

October 1899. With the outbreak of the Boer War, European countries set off an anti-British upsurge, and Russia, which was in constant conflict with Britain in the Far East, Near East, and Central Asia, took the opportunity to actively carry out activities, and the shadow of the anti-British alliance lingered in the hearts of British politicians. As a last resort, Chamberlain and others began to turn to Germany again. On November 30, Chamberlain famously said the "New Triple Alliance," arguing that the tripartite alliance between Britain, the United States, and Germany "will be an even more powerful force in the world in the future." But his remarks were met with a lukewarm reception in both countries.

Wilhelm II whispered a few words to Prime Minister Bateman, who asked, "We can understand your country's concerns. But if the United States can agree to the establishment of a triangular alliance between China and the United States and Germany, will your country be relieved? The United States and Germany united. Influence in the Far East should be enough, right? ”

Chen Wenqiang nodded with a smile and said: "If this is the case, China will be very happy to conclude treaties with Germany and the United States to play a joint role in world peace." ”

Based on the current international situation and the United States' long-standing isolationism, it is impossible for Germany to win over the United States to form an alliance, which is not a thing for Chen Wenqiang. If you can really succeed, join such a strong alliance. For China, too, it is a profitable thing. Of course. If that is really the case, the entire world pattern will be turned upside down, and even Chen Wenqiang will not be able to see through it.

Although Wilhelm II had illusions about the triangular alliance between China and the United States and Germany, even if it was not successful, it was in the interests of the German Empire to support China, and it had nothing to do with friendship and goodwill.

In the opinion of the German government. There are irreconcilable contradictions between China and Japan, China and Russia, just as France and Germany have formed mortal enemies because of Alsace and Lorraine. It is impossible for a rising nation to remain indifferent to the territory it once lost. This is the inherent thinking of the Germans, and it is also the intention of the Chinese government to express to Germany through the Outer Mongolia incident and the several boycotts of Japan and Russia after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

China has a vast territory, a large population, and abundant resources, and the hope for rejuvenation is great. In the short term, Germany's support and assistance can expand, and has already expanded, Germany's commercial interests and influence in China; In the long run, China, with its strong military, will be able to contain the energy of Japan and Russia. A government close to Germany, with an army trained by German military advisers, is something that Germany would be very happy to see.

Moreover, Chen Wenqiang's current visit to Germany was not empty-handed, and in order to show its sincerity in establishing friendly relations with Germany, the Government of the Republic still made a bet. Of course, there are real things in this, and there are also illusory imaginations. For an emerging weak country like China, it doesn't matter whether the gift is expensive or not, the important thing is to show a sincere attitude.

A sniper rifle equipped with a 2.5x scope, a real mortar, a parachute bag, and a vial of white powder.

Is it shabby? A little. But Chen Wenqiang calmly introduced these things to Wilhelm II and the dignitaries of the German Empire.

Let's talk about sniper rifles first, just with a scope, it doesn't seem to be difficult, but in terms of technology, there are few more options for sniper weapons used by countries that participated in World War I. While many arms manufacturers have expressed their ability to provide better, specially designed weapons to their host militaries, the results are often counterproductive.

Because, in the eyes of the soldiers, the original intention of the businessmen is to make a profit, and they will only come up with some flashy things to deceive the army's procurement costs. At the time, the most direct argument against the use of specially designed rifles as sniper weapons was their cost.

There is no way, the shooters can only choose their own weapons from the old rifles in service to deal with the brutal war. But even if the rifles are made by the same manufacturer, they must undergo rigorous testing before they can be used as candidates for sniper rifles. At the time of testing, as long as there are several shots with a large dispersion, the gun will be eliminated.

And having a reliable scope is only one part of what makes a good sniper rifle, just as important as the assembly process of the gun. But on the battlefield, there are some factors that are not up to the individual. In the case of the scope base, you may be sure that it is fixed, but it is likely to come loose when you don't even notice it.

And the mortar designed and manufactured by the China Ordnance Research Institute. In full accordance with Chen Wenqiang's line of thought, it has surpassed the simplicity of the "lightning strike artillery" and has a more perfect structure, which basically has the characteristics of a modern mortar.

"This cannon was invented by our researchers, it is light and flexible, and it is an effective suppression weapon to support and accompany infantry operations. It will also be an extremely important conventional weapon for infantry. Chen Wenqiang stroked the barrel of the cannon and explained slowly: "This is a kind of artillery that carries out curved fire on shielded targets, and its greatest ability is to kill and injure the enemy at close range or behind obstacles such as hills, and use it to destroy light fortifications or bridges, especially mountain warfare and trench warfare, and combat with small infantry units." ”

Wilhelm II circled around the mortar twice, seemed interested, nodded again and again, and said: "Tomorrow." You can get someone to demonstrate, and it looks good. ”

Chen Wenqiang pointed to the parachute bag and said with a smile: "This is relatively simple, and it is not our invention, but it is something we have perfected and made it more practical." ”

At the end of the fifteenth century, the Italian artist Da? Finch designed a parachute, sewn 12 yards wide and the same length of linen to make a tent that could hold a person from a height unharmed.

But one of the real skydives was the French young Gallerin. October 22, 1797. Gallerin rises 100 meters into the sky in Paris by a giant hot air balloon. After attracting attention, he cut the tether. Release the balloon. Relying on a large white canvas attached to the hanging basket, it successfully landed safely on the ground.

As Chen Wenqiang said, there are many controversies about the invention of parachutes, but the ability to fold and package parachutes, lines, etc., and have undergone safety tests to prove that they have practical value. It's the thing in front of you.

When Chen Wenqiang reached out and picked up the vial of white crystals, his face became serious, his voice became solemn, and he slowly introduced: "This is a drug that has just been discovered in China to treat bacterial infections with few side effects, and this is a revolution. Human beings finally have a special medicine to fight bacterial infection, with it, many terminal diseases have become ordinary diseases, surgical infections are no longer terrible, and sepsis after injury will not appear again. If there is war, it will save the lives of tens of thousands of wounded. Even in peacetime, it will extend the life span of humans by more than a dozen years. ”

The invention of penicillin was not a problem at all for Chen Wenqiang, who had already prepared and purified penicillin crystals as early as 1906.

The principle of freeze-drying method is not complicated, it is in a vacuum state, using the sublimation characteristics of water, so that the water pre-frozen in the object, without the melting of ice, directly sublimated into water vapor and discharged, so that no deformation, no damage, the least loss of components of the stable biological material can be prepared. Although the freeze-drying method was first used in 1890, it was not taken seriously, and no one expected it to play a significant role in the study of biological samples.

However, Chen Wenqiang has not made this achievement public, but has introduced a complete set of sodium citrate production equipment from the United States, as well as some other instruments and equipment, and secretly organized personnel to carry out experiments on the industrial production of penicillin. This is a difficult and long-term task, and although the experimental team has found some experience so far, Chen Wenqiang expects it will take another three or four years to achieve final success.

"So amazing?" Wilhelm II and several other dignitaries looked closely at the most inconspicuous of vial crystals, either in disbelief or amazement.

"It's just that this thing is difficult to make, and it took us countless manpower and material resources to quench it over five years." Chen Wenqiang said regretfully: "But we have accumulated considerable experience, and it is expected that it will take another three years to manufacture this miracle drug in large quantities and bring it to the market." ”

"It's a hundred times more precious than gold and diamonds." Wilhelm II exclaimed: "Dr. Chan is famous all over the world, and even now that he is a statesman, he has not forgotten to benefit mankind." ”

Chen Wenqiang smiled a little helplessly: "Actually, I would prefer to do my own business, which is simpler and easier to be happy." Although he is a high-ranking official now, he has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, and he is more unhappy. ”

Wilhelm II nodded sympathetically and said, "With great power comes great responsibility, and this saying is not wrong at all." Being in a high position is indeed missing a lot of simple happiness. ”

The whole meeting was full of sincerity and friendship, and the Chinese government showed a frank and frank attitude, which made Wilhelm II very satisfied, and agreed on the spot to establish a Sino-German cooperative scientific research institute. Although Chen Wenqiang made many demands on behalf of the Chinese government, and the final decision could only be made after deliberation by the German government, Chen Wenqiang believed that as long as Wilhelm II agreed, the matter would be mostly successful.

Next, the Chinese delegation hosted several banquets for German businessmen at the Embassy in Germany, and reached a series of technical and commercial cooperation intentions.

Siemens has won a large number of orders for the construction of power plants, as well as trolleybus targets in Shanghai, Nanjing, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Wuhan, and decided to set up branches in China; Daimler AG decided to provide gasoline buses and gasoline trucks to China in installments, so that China could establish a transportation network extending in all directions as soon as possible, and to build a joint venture with the Chinese side to build an automobile factory in Guangzhou. In addition, chemical giant BASF and heavy industry giant Krupp are both interested in the investment projects proposed by the Chinese government and are looking forward to the large-scale construction plans of this emerging country.

The influence of the German government and Kaiser Wilhelm II was enormous in attracting the interests of the German monopolies through investment. At the beginning, Bismarck's diplomatic strategy was to focus the greatest energy on the European continent, to maintain the balance of the European continent, and to avoid too much involvement in world affairs that would lead to a head-on collision with British interests. However, since the reunification of Germany, its economy has developed rapidly, and the need for raw material imports and export markets for manufactured goods has increased day by day, so Bismarck has had to make concessions to emerging domestic interest groups in the later period of his reign and begin to participate in global colonial competition.

After Emperor Wilhelm II ascended the throne, he complied with the demands of this interest group and pursued a "world policy" of striving for global hegemony, and Bismarck's steady and self-controlled foreign policy was completely abandoned. And the trend of thought that Germany must expand is basically this interest group clamoring.

Having received the favor of Wilhelm II and the support of the monopoly group, Chen Wenqiang was full of confidence that his visit to Germany would achieve the desired goal. The introduction of advanced technology from Germany and the help of loans from Germany are the two most important purposes of this trip. (To be continued.) )