Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany?

Without even reminding, Duncan immediately remembered what His Majesty had done: in 1896...... It was during the period when the Transvaal thwarted Dr. Jensen's military expedition and the conspiracy of the Aliens Reform Commission to send them to prison, and that relations between London and Pretoria were strained, but Wilhelm II gave the Transvaal President a letter to the President of the Transvaal, Paul Brown. Krueger sent a world-famous telegram congratulating him on his victory...... That's all. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Apart from a congratulatory telegram, the German Emperor offered no support to the Boers in the Transvaal, especially the military aid they craved - the Transvaal army had no German military advisers, no Krupp cannons, no commission rifles; Of course, it had some Mauser rifles, but that was bought by Pretoria at its own expense.

The German government will never provide assistance to the Transvaal, it was, is, and will be; There was something wrong with Wilhelm II's spirit, there is no doubt about it, but he was not a fool.

And this is also Qin Lang's opinion.

Duncan remembers well that after their failed attempt to sell arms to the Boers, Qin Lang told him in a contemptuous tone that the Transvaal government would never get the German military aid they expected and thought they could get. Duncan believed Qin Lang because his prophecy had not gone wrong in any way......

But now, his latest judgment clashed with the old prediction and contradicted each other - it looked like Qin Lang was finally going to make a mistake.

Duncan suddenly became excited—he was watching from the side when Qin Lang made his first mistake, and Duncan believed that this was the most exciting situation he had encountered, and there was no one.

His heart was racing.

However, it seemed that Duncan's reaction had already been foreseen, and before he could express any emotion or question, Qin Lang's voice sounded again. "The world is moving forward, the situation is changing rapidly, and the international situation has changed markedly compared to when I made my judgment."

After a slight pause and a sip of his drink, he continued: "A series of actions after Wilhelm's second reign has led to a gradual deterioration in relations between Britain and Germany, a change that is enough to prompt Berlin to revise its policy, and what happened in China last year is a direct trigger. In order to counter British intervention and purge himself of the humiliation suffered by Germany, Wilhelm II would inevitably choose the Transvaal as a battlefield to take revenge on his English relatives. ”

Because Britain united with other countries to prevent Germany from retaliating against China and expelling Germany from the peace treaty, it used the Transvaal to launch a counterattack. Duncan thought about it. Indeed, this is a possible action that His Majesty may take. However, the ministers of the German Empire ......

Qin Lang still knew what he was thinking.

"You know," his tone became contemptuous, "the Junker nobility needed new wars to raise their position, and the emerging capitalists of Germany needed many colonies to provide resources for their factories, as well as as markets for their products. And the British Empire has the largest colony in the world - do you think Wilhelm's second minister would have worried about war? ”

"That's true." Duncan reluctantly admitted. But for some reason, he suddenly remembered a sentence that Qin Lang often hung on his lips. "But now is not the time, the time is not ripe yet."

"So the Germans will be careful to carry out their plan and will not leave any excuse sufficient to lead to a full-scale war."

"However, you said that the Germans would provide military assistance to the Transvaal." Duncan's mind seemed to be completely confused, his thoughts were in a mess, and he couldn't turn around at all.

Qin Lang turned his head and exchanged an extremely helpless look with O'Connor, and then O'Connor replaced him as the new spokesperson.

"There are many types of aid, sending military advisers to the Transvaal in the name of the government, providing weapons and equipment, and even sending combat troops directly, this is just one of them, and the worst kind." "Or it could be done a little more secretly," he said, "by taking in some officers and enlisted men, declaring them to be discharged, and then sending them to the Transvaal to fight the British army in the name of the Volunteers—no doubt the British could guess what was going on with the German volunteers on the battlefield, but London would at best protest Berlin's failure to restrain its veterans." ”

"But......" Duncan's expression showed that he was about to lose control. Yes, O'Connor gives an inference...... Guess, but he thought it was ridiculous.

It's ridiculous from every angle.

"Since it is an army sent by the German government, how can it be a volunteer army?" Duncan protested loudly.

O'Connor shook his head. "The Volunteer Army is just a name, a disguise—"

"But the pretense is always debunked. If members of this volunteer army had been captured by British troops, the British would have been able to have evidence of German support for the Transvaal. ”

"Berlin can claim that the evidence is unreliable and is a lie fabricated by the British army and intelligence services using violence to force captured members of the Volunteer Army." Qin Lang snorted, "As long as Berlin insists that the German soldiers who appear in the Transvaal are all volunteers and have nothing to do with the German government, the means of counterattack that London can choose will be extremely limited." ”

Unless Britain was willing to declare war on Germany first, to let the world war begin before - but this was impossible, and no country was ready for an all-out war; Although they were similarly unprepared in 1914, the arms race had been going on for many years and had not yet begun in earnest - all London could do was engage in a brief cold war with Berlin. It will hasten the world war, but it will not allow it to start immediately.

This is exactly what Qin Lang was looking forward to, and the situation was moving towards it: the burgeoning Boer demonstrations in solidarity with the Transvaal in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, the newspaper articles attacking British colonial policy and calling for support for fellow citizens, the various foundations that popped up overnight to directly support the Boers, the active fundraising campaigns that took place every day, and the countless civil society organizations that were recruiting volunteers......

They all show the means that Berlin has decided to use to prop up the Transvaal, and at the same time to take revenge on London, clearly, unequivocally - any suspicion is foolish.

However, Duncan is not stupid, just a little sluggish. Qin Lang and O'Connor believed that he just failed to turn back in time, and was confused by some wrong ideas......

But their guesses weren't entirely correct.

Duncan was indeed deluded by some false ideas because he believed them to be correct. Of course, everyone who makes mistakes believes that he is right, but what sets Duncan apart from most of them is that he doesn't get enough information, and instead of getting information and making wrong judgments.

Duncan knew nothing about what was happening in Europe.

"Parade? Essay? Foundation? Collect donations? Civil society organizations? Wait......" His gaze swirled back and forth between Qin Lang and O'Connor, "My God, what the hell are you talking about?" ”

His reaction confused Qin Lang and O'Connor at the same time. Eventually, they thought of a possibility. "How long has it been since you've read the newspapers, Duncan?"

"I watch it every day." After a pause, he added, "But the newspapers never mention anything about Europe......"

"What newspaper do you read?" Qin Lang interrupted him.

"The local newspaper in Zhanjiang."

"Then you should change a few newspapers." O'Connor said, shaking his head, "Don't waste your precious time on those third-rate local tabloids." ”

"I'll send a telegram to my secretary, Sean." Duncan accepted his suggestion - but it was a little late, and now he had to look up the news in other ways. "Now, who can tell me what the hell is going on in Europe? There are also updates on the British conflict with the Transvaal. I need detailed message. ”

"Even if we do, all we have is some news from the newspapers." Qin Lang shrugged his shoulders - the spies sent by Fisborne were still on the way, and they would not set foot on the continent until after Christmas - but even so, he and O'Connor still had a lot of important information of value.

"Three weeks ago, the British government announced that it would send 4,000 troops to the Natal colony after British expatriates living in the Transvaal had written a letter of complaint to Queen Victoria, and the negotiations that had since begun on their final status had not made any progress." Of course, the letter of complaint was written by the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, Alfred. At Sir Milner's behest, the lack of progress in the negotiations was the plan of the British government, and the deployment of troops in southern Africa was London's intention - Qin Lang knew this, but he decided to keep them secret for the time being.

Because there is no doubt that the British government is certainly not willing to cooperate with a foreign businessman who can spy on their top secrets at will, but Qin Lang wants to get a few contracts.

His goal is very clear. Now, looking back on those aims, he says: "After the British Government announced its decision, the organizations that supported the Boers significantly accelerated their activities, and the results were remarkable. According to our statistics, by two weeks ago, the newspapers had openly claimed that these organizations had raised more than five million marks, as well as a thousand Mauser rifles and a large number of ammunition. ”

"It seems a little little." Duncan commented.

"Because no newspaper is going to poke out the preparations of the German government, it is completely impossible to accurately predict the scale of German military aid until our spies send back the news."

But Germany will certainly provide military assistance, and the war will soon begin.

"We won't wait too long." (To be continued.) )