As relations between China and Germany, China and the United States became closer and closer, Russia faced rejection and suppression by Britain and France in Europe, and was also ostracized by Germany and the United States because of the deterioration of its official relations with China. One can imagine how sad it was for Russia, which had just cedered land and paid reparations, to offend the world's four superpowers and a rapidly developing China at the same time.

After several retaliatory plunders, it was strongly condemned by Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, and after the Qing sent 200,000 troops along the Sino-Russian border, and the Qing Foreign Minister Li Hongzhang issued a tough ultimatum to Russian diplomats. Russia finally bowed its head obediently, and although it was unwilling, it had to accept the fact that a large amount of land had been cut off by China, a country that could have been ravaged at will ten years ago.

Time flies, time flies. Three years passed in a hurry, and the hour hand of history soon came to the sixteenth year of Guangxu, in the summer of 1890 AD.

Tianjin Dagu Port Wharf.

The summer sun is shining, the sea breeze is blowing, and the dazzling light is reflected in the sparkling waves, hitting the body of the incoming and outgoing freighters, shaking people dizzy for a while. As the gateway to Gyeonggi and even the whole of North China, and the first treaty port to be forced to open, Dagu Port is like a thriving new atmosphere.

On the coastal hills, the seven-story lighthouse has been erected, the channel into the port has also been put down signs, the small western-style buildings made of blue bricks and ash seem to spread all over the port area overnight, and beside the two horizontal and vertical streets, all kinds of shops are lined up, some are opened by Chinese themselves and some by foreigners, and the goods range from flour, soap, and cloth to nails, nuts, and fertilizers. In the distance, the periphery of the port area is still under construction, and the sound of "knock" and "knock" piling is constantly coming, and in the direction of the black smoke Dagu shipyard, there are new factories rising from the ground, which is almost the same every day.

To the north of the port area, not far from the Dagukou Fort, is the military wharf of the Beiyang Fleet. The Beiyang Fleet has special military ports in Lushun and Weihai, and Dagukou is not their main base, but because the Beiyang Fleet is really a treasure of the Qing court, it has to be reviewed every three or five times, so a simple berthing dock is left in Dagu Port. It is only separated from the civilian wharf by a simple wooden fence, and sometimes the ships from other places will stop at the wrong wharf, and at this time, they will only unload the goods after accommodating with the officials at the wharf, but today the military wharf of the Beiyang Fleet is three steps and one post, five steps and one sentry, all of which are under martial law, and there are mosquito gunboats and torpedo boats patrolling back and forth on the sea surface of the port.

Two behemoths painted with the characteristic dark paint of the Great Shimizu Division were quietly moored by the dock, eight 305 mm thick gun barrels sticking out of the armored turrets, and the muzzles of the guns that had been meticulously rubbed by Shui Yong reflected the cold light, looking hideous and terrifying. This is the largest ship in Asia.

Not far away, German Ambassador Heinz looked at the "Jiyuan" and "Weiyuan", which had just been overhauled at the Dagu shipyard. No doubt. With a displacement of 7,400 tons, the image of the two ships is extremely profound. Although Heinz was not born in the navy, because of his family, he has extremely rich knowledge of ships, such a first-class heavy ironclad ship. Even the mighty Germany had only two, while the country, which had always been regarded by Westerners as an obscurantist and backward country, had four such warships, and it is said that in the last Sino-British war, the Qing navy also captured two even larger British ironclad ships. It's incredible. It's just that in this way, the naval strength of the Qing State has reached a fairly strong point in East Asia, and even in the world, only a few countries can surpass him.

However, he did not know that the two warships already under construction at the Mawei Shipyard would become the most powerful heavy ironclad ships in the world once they were launched. This is created by Guan Xuqing's pouring of outstanding talents and a lot of money from all over the country.

Even so, Heinz was slightly worried, he had witnessed the development of the country's terror, and once the people's wisdom was turned on, the whole country ran forward like clockwork. Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places have even seen the emergence of industrial zones, and there is no doubt that this trend is spreading. The country will undergo an industrial transformation, with a huge market, abundant natural resources and almost extravagant human resources, despite the many deficiencies in the education level of its citizens and its social system. Once it is allowed to embark on the fast track of industrial development, its national strength will inevitably expand rapidly, which will bring great shock to the world pattern.

Wilhelm II, who had been trying to facilitate this and had just ascended the throne of the German Emperor, was immediately furious. Despite the strong opposition of Prime Minister Bismarck, he sent an expeditionary fleet led by two Saxony-class ironclads. 15,000 German soldiers traveled from mainland China to Siam via several German colonies in Africa: Dolon, Cameroon, German South-West Africa (Namibia), and German East Africa (Tanganyika).

The German Army has been a model of the European Army since the Prussian era, and after defeating France in the Franco-Prussian War, it has enjoyed the reputation of "the first in the world"; Although the German Navy is not as powerful as the Army, and even in terms of total tonnage, it is not as strong as the Chinese Navy, which has risen rapidly in strength in recent years, but in the end it is also one of the top five navies in the world, and neither the quality of personnel nor the number of ships can compete with Siam, which has only a few old Fish and Turtle gunboats.

Although King Rama V Chulalongkorn of Siam has been committed to the reform and active construction of the country's political, economic, and military aspects. He abolished slavery, built schools, museums, a national library, built the country's first railroad, developed a road system, and established post and telecommunications offices and other modern facilities. Historically, the period of his rule has been called the "Restoration Era", but in fact it can be said to be the beginning of Thailand's modernization. To tell the truth, Siam's strength has indeed been greatly improved, and Chulalongkorn's more than 20,000 modern army and a navy composed of several torpedo boats and gunboats are definitely second to none among Southeast Asian countries at the same time, at least at the same time.

But it was a different story if they were faced with the German army, which had made the old power France tremble, and the navy dared to wrestle with the British in the future, and the Siamese army could not resist. Not to mention the fact that the Siamese army had to defend several of their seaports scattered.

Unsurprisingly, the German Expeditionary Force soon captured several important cities, including the Siamese capital Bangkok, but Chulalongkorn, who had been prepared for this, immediately led his army to retreat to the rainforests of north-central Siam, playing a game of cat and mouse with the German Expeditionary Force.

Two years later, the German Expeditionary Force still did not fully control the whole of Siam, and Chulalongkorn's army attacked the German Expeditionary Force like a ghost, and the British behind him were gradually revealed. Although the British had broken their nerve in Burma and were concerned that the German-led Triple Alliance would join forces with Russia and would not send troops to intervene, they still got involved by selling arms to Chulalongkorn.

So, although there are still good news from the front from time to time, the losses are equally staggering. In order to blockade the Siam coast and cut off the aid of the British, the expeditionary fleet needed to patrol the sea for a long time, and the coal consumed alone was worth tens of thousands of marks per month, and because most of the British arms dealers chose to smuggle arms from India or Bangladesh to the coast of Siam near the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean, and then the Siamese themselves used the mountains of the Malay Peninsula to smuggle them to the north, so the expeditionary fleet mostly patrolled the Indian Ocean. Fortunately, because the Chinese had seized Burma and blocked the way for the British to support Siam by land, otherwise he would have persuaded His Majesty the Emperor to end the war. Siam's coast on the Indian Ocean side is flat and straight, with hardly a good harbor that might allow some small ships to moor, but it is undoubtedly a fantasy for large warships of several thousand tons. As a result, the Imperial Expeditionary Fleet could only be repaired and replenished in the ports of Burma in China, which was another large expense, and the Empire even helped China to renovate the ports and shipyards in Yangon.

Thinking about it, Heinz had a feeling that the Greater German Empire seemed to have fallen into the hands of the Chinese emperor. But fortunately, the Chinese are still very concerned about the relationship with the empire, whether it is grain, coal or ammunition, sold to the expeditionary force is the best, the price is only a little more expensive than the domestic one, and if you add the freight of half the world, this is naturally much cheaper.

With the increasing relations between the two countries, his status as ambassador to China has also risen, so even if his term of office is over, he is not a trace of panic, from the letter written to him by an old friend, this time back, he may still get a medal, and what makes Heinz more confident is that this time back to China, he also undertakes an important mission, that is, as a guide to accompany the Chinese emperor who is about to visit Germany.

Guan Xuqing's current visit to Germany is not only to further consolidate the strategic alliance between China and Germany, but also to see the group of students who were personally sent to Germany by him three years ago. Today's autumn is the day when they return from their studies, and the special services and special forces of the Qing Dynasty will be established.

In addition, in the past three years, the old general Zuo Zongtang's body has been worse day by day. Although Guan Xuqing invited the best doctors from the United States, the results were still not good. It seems that it won't last long anyway, and the successor in Guan Xuqing's heart is Feng Xianghua, the son of Feng Zicai, who is studying far away in Germany.

Guan Xuqing can't wait to meet these indispensable talents in the military of the Qing Dynasty, and see what they have learned from the world's first army in the past three years.