Chapter 575: A Hypothesis (Part I)

At noon, the sun is strong. It shook so much that people couldn't open their eyes, there was not a trace of wind, and even if the windows of the carriage were opened, the people in the carriage were still sweating.

Sitting in the carriage, Mr. Rex, the German minister to China, was waving the folding fan in his hand vigorously, his forehead was dripping with sweat, soaking his collar, and the interpreter sitting next to him was also embarrassed.

Yesterday, news came out from the National Assembly that, after careful debate, the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Chinese Diet unanimously agreed to shelve the motion of an alliance between China and Germany, and that it would be impossible for China and Germany to form an alliance before the next session of the National Assembly.

This news made Mr. Rex very helpless, although the German government did not directly propose an alliance between the two countries to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but through a group of "pro-German" members of the Chinese parliament to the Chinese central government to propose an alliance, but it is undeniable that now the Chinese parliament has shelved the motion. This was actually a slap in the face to Germany, which made His Majesty the German Emperor so annoyed that he even personally sent a secret telegram to the Legation in China, asking Mr. Rex, "Are you derelict in your duties?" These are the original words of His Majesty the Emperor, and Rex has no doubt at all that once the Emperor immediately summons him back to China, his future career will be over.

"Congress? Joke! What is the Congress of this country? All I know is that there is a 'Far Eastern madman' in this country! He is the true master of this country! ”

This is also the exact words of His Majesty the Kaiser of Germany in the telegram, and it is clear that His Majesty the Kaiser of Germany is of the same opinion as Monsieur Rex, and they both believe that China and Germany can immediately form an alliance as soon as the "mad president" of this country nods.

Therefore, the main task of Rex to meet with Mr. President at the Presidential Palace in China was to make clear to Mr. President the position of His Majesty the Kaiser of Germany, hoping to make Mr. President make up his mind to form a military alliance with Germany.

That's right, in Rex's view, the "mad president" is still hesitating, so he will 'hand' over the issue of the Sino-German alliance to the Congress, and now, Rex's task is to cheer up Mr. President to see if there is a possibility of turning the matter around, if China and Germany really cannot form an alliance. The Germans also wanted to get a promise from the president that in the event of an all-out war in Europe, the German government hoped that the Chinese central government would maintain "neutral neutrality in good faith."

Now that the Balkan war in Europe is in full swing, in order to win the support of its allies, Bulgaria, which is directly involved in the war, has expressed its willingness to form an alliance with the Allied bloc, but it has been rejected by Germany and Austria-Hungary, for the simple reason that they do not want to endorse a weak country that has been involved in the war, and they do not believe in the credibility of the Bulgarian tsar, if they must ally with some weak and small countries, it can only be those countries that have not yet been involved in the war, such as Mexico, such as China, And China is clearly one of the weaker countries with the most value for alliances, at least, this country has ample human resources and amazing war potential.

There are now two views in Germany, represented by His Majesty the Kaiser, who insisted that a formal military alliance treaty with China should be concluded now, lest China be co-opted by the Entente bloc, and the Reichstag and Bundestag members of Germany. They insisted that now was not a good time to conclude a military alliance with China, since Germany's need for allies in the Far East was not so urgent.

However, for the German emperor, the Reichstag and the Bundestag were only legislatures and had no right to interfere in the administration of the government, and according to the imperial constitution, all officials at all levels of the German imperial government were appointed by the emperor and were responsible to the emperor, so the emperor's will was higher than that of the Reichstag and the parliament.

However, it is not an easy task to persuade the "mad president" to make up his mind to form an alliance with Germany, although the German government also took into account China's current difficult situation, and the Prime Minister did not explicitly propose in his telegram to the minister in China that a formal military alliance treaty must be concluded with China immediately at this time, but as the German minister to China, Mr. Rex still thinks that he should be conscientious in this matter, and must satisfy His Majesty the Emperor, and it is nothing to offend the German government, but if he offends the German emperor, It's really irrational.

Sitting in the carriage, rocking the folding fan, Rex thought about strategy and tactics, and he understood that the "mad president" was almost instinctive in his dislike of Britain and Japan, especially for Japan, which can be seen from the domestic and foreign policies of Mr. President, although now the new emperor of Japan has ascended the throne. The Japanese government seems to be intent on repairing relations with China, but in Rex's view, the conflict between China and Japan is the keynote of relations between the two countries as long as the "mad president" remains in power, after all, the president is a strongman politician and a fanatical nationalist-statist.

Perhaps by taking advantage of this, the relationship between China and Germany could be further drawn, and Rex decided to find a breakthrough in Sino-Japanese relations, and in any case, he had to get a promise from Mr. President that even if China could not be an ally of Germany, it would never be an enemy of Germany.

This time, the president did not entertain him at the state guesthouse, but chose the rather mysterious and colorful Commander's Hall to receive the German minister.

In Rex's view, this commander's hall is the country's most mysterious political 'gate', it seems to be above the cabinet, but at the same time, legally speaking, this commander's hall does not exist at all, it is only the product of the president's personal will. It is not the 'door' of the political department stipulated in the program of the political fǔ organization, which seems to reflect the strength of this president from one side, no one dares to point fingers at the existence of the commander-in-chief, and even the cabinet has remained silent, perhaps this is because the commander-in-chief has not blatantly infringed on the interests of the cabinet, at least on the surface, the cabinet is still the soul of the government.

Entering the Commander's Hall, Rex and the interpreter followed an adjutant up to the second floor and into a reception room, where the president was already waiting, and several people were sitting beside him. Judging from the military uniforms, they are all naval officers, and one of them, Rex, is the Chief of the Navy Tang Xiangming, and his brother Tang Hualong is the speaker of the House of Representatives.

Seeing Tang Xiangming present, Rex's mind immediately became active, because as far as he knew, although this Tang Xiangming had studied in Britain and France, this person appreciated the development of the German Navy, and he was a "pro-German" figure.

While greeting the naval officers, pondering the true purpose of the move, it was not until the president began to speak that Rex withdrew his gaze and looked at the president.

"Mr. Minister, I heard that you are coming here today, and I specially invited these senior admirals to come over and speak, for two main purposes; First, I would like to thank Germany for its efforts and help in the progress of China's shipbuilding industry; Second, the Admiralty has recently seen the rapid development of the Army, which is a little uncomfortable, and they hope that the center will increase the funds for building ships, so that the strength of China's naval surface fleet will be somewhat enhanced in any case, and in consideration of the advanced 'nature' of German technology, I intend to order two large warships from Germany. ”

"Mr. President, for the sake of the cooperation between China and Germany and the friendship between the two peoples, German engineering and technical experts will continue to serve in your country. As for the issue of building ships in the Navy, I can contact China to see if we can find a suitable shipyard to undertake the construction of large warships in your country, but there is one thing that must be reminded of you. At present, the situation in Europe is tense, all the military powers are rushing to build warships, and the race to build dreadnoughts has overwhelmed the shipyards in Germany. ”

"I am very pleased that Mr. Minister is reasonable. Indeed, I am very disappointed by the actions of the Congress, in my opinion, China and Germany both need allies, although the two countries are far apart, but as a victim of the old world order, China and Germany have every reason to form an alliance, but unfortunately, the parliamentarians are worried that the conclusion of a military alliance treaty between China and Germany will lead to a complete collapse of Sino-British and Sino-Japanese relations, and will lead to the road of confrontation, so the current Sino-German alliance issue must be treated with caution. In this regard, I also hope that Mr. Minister will understand China's plight and express my apologies to His Majesty the Emperor on my behalf. ”

Zhao Bei sincerely apologized to the German minister, and at the same time he also understood that the other party would definitely not give up easily, after all, the German government had invested too much in China in the past two years, and if China's "thanks" were only lip service, the German government would definitely not be satisfied, although the Germans were rigid, but they were not stupid, and if China kicked Germany away now, it would only make the efforts of the previous two years go to waste.

With this in mind, Zhao Bei's next words will be extraordinary.

"Mr. Minister, I have noticed that relations between Germany and Russia are still in a stalemate, and that the proximity of China to Germany has aroused the displeasure of the Russian Tsar, and although Russia has not taken any decisive action at present, out of necessary precautions, the central government of our country has decided to send the main force westward to Gansu and Xinjiang, but this action is also somewhat risky, and I am now curious to know that in the event of an unpleasant incident between our army and the Russian army in the western frontier region, then, Will the German government take a clear stand in support of our side? Of course, there are unpleasant events between China and Russia, and this is just an assumption, an assumption for me. ”

A hypothesis? Is this really Mr. President's assumption?

Rex's eyes narrowed, and he began to ponder the practical implications of this hypothesis.