On January 6, the proclamation telegram of the founding of the Kingdom of Lanfang shocked the whole world, and the happiest person was none other than Kaiser Wilhelm II. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Due to the Moroccan crisis, Britain and France joined forces to put pressure on Germany, Germany's life was very sad, and at this time, the establishment of the Lanfang Kingdom, geographically close to the important colonies of Britain and France in Asia, will inevitably be the target of British and French attacks, in line with the principle that the enemy of the enemy is a friend, Germany should strengthen the relationship with the Lanfang Kingdom, so that it will become a pawn of Germany to contain Britain and France in Asia.

Moltke Jr., the chief of the German General Staff, who had just been in office for five days, felt that the Kaiser's inner thoughts were in line with his intentions, just like the Kaiser's suggestion that military aid to the Lanfang Kingdom could be increased. The Kaiser asked: "If they cannot resist the Anglo-French-Dutch forces, won't our aid be in vain?" ”

"Your Majesty the Emperor, if they fail, then they don't even have the qualifications to be pawns, we just lose some money, and these aids will definitely increase the battle losses of the Anglo-French-Dutch coalition forces, and we won't lose anything." In addition, the telegram sent back by our intelligence officers showed that the navy of the Kingdom of Lanfang was quite strong, and it sank all the warships of the Dutch Navy, which was not easy for a new kingdom. ”

"Yes, we can defeat the strong with the weak, which is of great reference for the development of our navy, and we should send people to inspect their naval strength."

"Your Majesty, we have sent people not only to examine their naval strength, but more importantly to test his attitude towards the Germans, after all, the Germans were the vanguard of the attack on Beijing in 1900, and it is not yet known whether this kingdom established by the Chinese has a hostile attitude towards the Germans; Moreover, our Pacific colonies are so close to them, and we must understand their attitude towards our Germany, otherwise we should agree to solve this potential danger. “

After considering it, the Kaiser basically agreed with Moltke's point of view, and could not draw conclusions in advance, and should wait for the end of the investigation to make a conclusion.

Therefore, the General Staff immediately conveyed the Kaiser's intention to the Acting Governor of Jiaoao, Admiral von Semeen, and asked him to send naval officers to the Lanfang Kingdom secretly to investigate the Lanfang Kingdom's naval strength and attitude towards Germany.

In the end, the errand fell to von Tirpitz, state secretary of the German Admiralty.

After receiving the order, von Tirpitz first took a ship to Shanghai, from Shanghai to Singapore on a cargo ship, then from Singapore to Pontianak, and then from Pontianak to Shangjing, a total of 22 days, and when he arrived in Shangjing, it was already January 27.

Von Tirpitz did not directly contact any government department of the Lanfang Kingdom, but first spent 3 days to understand the situation in Shangjing and experience life in Shangjing himself. Knowing the price conditions of accommodation, the quality and price of food, the attitude of the citizens towards the kingdom, the attitude of the citizens towards the mainland, and the documents issued by the kingdom of Lanfang were all within the scope of his understanding. The Kingdom of Lanfang uses Mandarin as the official language, and Tirpitz has been in China for many years, and he is fluent in listening, speaking, and reading Chinese, and there is no problem in communicating with the locals, which makes it convenient for him to listen to information.

After three days of walking the streets, communicating with different people, and even sitting in a restaurant listening to other people's conversations, von Tirpitz had a basic grasp of what he wanted to know. On the morning of January 31, von Tirpitz came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Lan Fang, revealed his identity, and asked to see Foreign Minister Li Wenmin.

Li Mingmin also understood Germany's attitude, and hoped to use Lanfang to contain the power of Britain and France in Asia, so as to reduce Germany's pressure in Europe, especially since the Moroccan crisis, after Britain and France had a tendency to alliance, the pressure was even greater, and it was urgent to find external chess pieces to contain Britain and France. I originally wanted to send someone to contact the Germans, but I didn't expect the Germans to come to the door by themselves, and how should the fat sheep be slaughtered?

"Your Excellency Tirpitz, welcome to you, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary." Tirpitz continued: "On behalf of His Majesty Kaiser Wilhelm II, I congratulate the establishment of the Kingdom of Lanfang. “

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your congratulations, and please bring your thanks and greetings from His Majesty the King to His Majesty."

"I will bring thanks and greetings to His Majesty the Kaiser." Tirpitz said: "We in the German Empire have always been peace-loving nations, and we in the German Empire support your ability to establish an independent kingdom from the colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands." “

"Thank you for the support of the German Empire, our King has mentioned the German Empire many times, the German Empire is a great empire, the country is rich, science and technology is developed; The German nation is a great nation, the people love peace, love labor, work rigorously, and live happily. Our Majesty the King is full of respect and yearning for the German Empire, which is the goal of our development. “

Tirpitz thought that the kingdom of Lanfang did not have a hostile attitude towards the German Empire, so it would be easy to do. So he said directly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your praise of the German Empire and the German nation." Your Excellency Foreign Secretary, I wonder what your country thinks about the situation in Southeast Asia in the future? “

Having learned the news that the British were going to attack the Kingdom of Lanfang with the Dutch, he said: "The Dutch Kingdom has oppressed and persecuted the people of the East Indies Colonies for hundreds of years, and its brutal rule has provoked our resistance, and we are forced to do nothing. Britain did not want colonial independence, which was a provocation to their worldwide colonial rule, and would play a very bad lead; In order to establish its hegemonic position in the world and to maintain its colonial rule in the world, Britain will certainly strike a fierce blow at us. ”

"May I ask Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, is your country ready?"

"People all over the world are afraid of the British Empire, but we are not afraid, in our Mandarin, the barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes, as long as they dare to come, we dare to fight. A small Boer War can make the British Empire pay a heavy price, not to mention our Chinese nation? It will definitely make the Anglo-Dutch army shed its last drop of blood. ”

"Your Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has your country not encountered difficulties?"

"Your Excellency Tirpitz, there are difficulties, the biggest difficulty is that we have no financial resources, we lack funds, I have been Foreign Secretary for several months, and I have not received a single salary, especially for soldiers. If there are conditions, there are no conditions, and we must also create conditions, because we have nothing, so we have to break this old world and build a new world. ”

At the end of the talks, Li hoped that the German Empire would financially support the kingdom of Lanfang and that he would take out a loan.

Tirpitz said that he would need to get approval from His Majesty the Kaiser, but that he would do his best to facilitate aid and loans.

When Tirpitz proposed to visit the Lanfang naval fleet, Li Civilians refused, hoping to have the opportunity to visit again in the future.

Tirpitz took his leave and returned to report back to His Majesty the Kaiser and the General Staff. However, the refusal of Li civilians to let them visit the naval fleet piqued their curiosity even more.