"That's right." Lin Yiqing nodded, his eyes turned to the window, "It's time to start that plan back then......"

"But how do you persuade the old Luo family to invest money? I've heard that they never trade at a loss, and they're very shrewd. He Yunqing said, "Every penny they invest must be rewarded." ”

"This part, I have discussed it with the Queen Mother, and the conditions I threw at them are something they can't refuse, and Chiho should be able to understand a nation's desire for their homeland." Lin Yiqing looked at Chiho Kirino and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"Yes, I understand that feeling...... "Chiho Kirino muttered softly, looking at Lin Yiqing's gaze became extremely resolute for a while.

On October 28, 9085 (the 11th year of Daqian Guangxu and the 18th year of the Meiji era of Japan), Lin Yiqing officially departed from Tianjin by the passenger ship China Merchants "Jinxian", escorted by the cruiser "Weiyuan", and began his visit to Europe.

Hotel Europa, Biarritz, France.

Otto, Chancellor of the German Reich sitting on the balcony? Feng? Bismarck looked at the distant view of the Bay of Biscay, and his mind went back to the time when he and Catherine had met many years ago.

Biarritz is close to Bayonne and only 18 kilometers from the Spanish border. Earlier it was a small fishing village. Because of the mild climate and beautiful scenery, after 9054, the French Emperor Napoleon III built a large number of buildings here, and little by little built it into a prosperous town with convenient transportation and luxurious facilities. The traditional customs and folk art of the local Basque people make it even more attractive. Queen Victoria and King Edward VII both visited here for their holidays.

A miracle occurred on August 7th, 9063! That is the handsome Nikolai who once introduced Bismarck to the Russian Orthodox Church in Petersburg? Prince Orlof and his wife also stayed at the Europa Hotel. Knowing the truth in a foreign country makes people overjoyed. Ollov, Russia's ambassador to Belgium, got married only last year. His wife, Catherine, was a very beautiful blonde who was 22 years old at the time. She was born into the prominent Russian family of Trubetskoy, and Ollov introduced his wife to Bismarck and told him that Catherine had grown up in Paris.

Bismarck fell in love with Catherine at first sight, and Catherine also had a great affection for Bismarck, who lovingly called her "Katie", and Catherine affectionately called him "uncle". They float in the blue waves, lie down and wander on the beach. Bismarck, who was covered in the sea salt and sunshine, neither read the newspaper nor cared about current affairs, his whole mind was focused on Katie. Whenever the sun sank into the Bay of Biscay and the moon rose over the Pyrenees, Katie played for a long time for "Uncle", playing works by Baja, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Chopin, etc. Katie said during a break in Mendelssohn's "Song Without Words": "I didn't expect my uncle to love music so much. I'd love to play the piano for you all day. ”

"It just so happened that when I was studying in Göttingen and Berlin, the two brothers Kesselring, who had the same name as you, played music by Beethoven and Schubert, who grew up in Königsberg and were probably influenced by Slavic culture if they were not Slavs. You Slavs seem to have a better understanding and interpretation of German music than we Germans. ”

"Uncle, I have loved music since I was a child, and when I was a child I studied piano with a Polish teacher who was a student of Chopin's friend Liszt, and he took me to a recital between Liszt and Chopin. As the West Slavic Polish people, they struggled to survive in the gap between Russia and Germany for a long time, and their insight into the Tsar, the Habsburgs, and the Hohenzollern dynasty, as well as the discussion of German philosophy and music, should be better than any other people. For example, I think I can understand not only the essence of German music, but also the militarism of a certain Prussian uncle. ”

Bismarck was stunned for a moment, and scolded angrily: "You dead girl who is not big or small, see that I don't ...... you." ”

"Look, look, isn't this uncle's militarism coming again?" Katie didn't look at Bismarck, laughed, and then played the "Passion Sonata". Katie's smile made her even more beautiful, and the pair of toned and towering twin peaks vibrated to the rhythm of the sonata, sitting on the piano bench, their shapely body and the grand piano forming a beautiful picture. With the ups and downs of the sonata, Bismarck has a magnificent, noble, self-respecting emotion surging, and he has developed a kind of courage to be indomitable, unyielding, and indomitable on the path of life. Katie was playing the "Moonlight Sonata" again, and the sound of the piano made Bismarck feel warm and comforted.

It was another moonlit and breezy evening, and when Bismarck listened to Katie finish playing Schubert's Sonata in C minor and The Moment of Music, he suddenly sighed on a whim: "How good it is to be a musician!" It was at your age, when I was twenty-two, that I wanted to study music. ”

"Our militarist uncle is talking stupidly again, you may not know, how many of the truly great musicians did not die of poverty and illness in front of them? Moreover, until the last century, music was generally considered an art inferior to literature and painting. Katie said with a smile.

"It is Beethoven's great achievement in the creation of music, and the perfection of his works and the strong emotions that make it impossible to say that music is nothing more than a pleasant art. But from the very beginning, I noticed that you were particularly fond of the thoughtful works that Beethoven created in his later years, but what exactly are these works? My teacher told me that Beethoven's piano sonatas were a powerful tool for him to convey his inner thoughts, and that the power of Beethoven's music could express a philosophy of life without the need for words. ”

Katie turned around, her blonde hair glistening in the bright moonlight, and the big eyes under her long eyelashes shimmered with joy and warmth.

Bismarck said eagerly: "I have loved music since I was a child, and in Göttingen and Berlin the Kesselring brothers made me fall in love with Beethoven's music, and when I was depressed or grumpy, they accompanied me to the opera house or the music salon, and more often they played Beethoven's works for me all hours." They said that Beethoven could cure my heart. Whatever, they like to play and I like to listen to it anyway. At that time, I didn't even think about the ideological connotation of these tunes. You see, can you say that Beethoven used his music to express his passion, but also to comfort people's hearts, to inspire those who have great ambitions and daring to do things and fail repeatedly, so that they can learn from the pain and never turn back to the great goal. Most of life will not be smooth sailing, but people's abilities are also immeasurable, which does not refer to the kind of characters who have no ambitions, are cautious, and have a small belly. People who are capable, insightful, and ambitious will inevitably make big mistakes in the journey of life. At this time, his frustration is difficult to dispel with a book or a painting. Persuasion can also be counterproductive, especially if the latter is far less capable and perceived than the former. However, Beethoven's music can do just that. The noble, heroic and fearless spirit of his music can not only sweep away the frustration, but also lift you up, make you realize that you must pay the price of blood and tears in order to achieve great goals. Whenever I hear or play these Beethoven music in my mind, I feel like I have something to do, and I think I might be able to do something ...... possible. ”

"You can definitely do something big." Prince Orloff walked in with a smile, "I think you will sing Beethoven's "Looking Up at the Sky." ”

"Yes, I can sing and I love it, but sometimes I sing well, sometimes I sing badly."

"I love this song, but I can't sing it at all, without your physique. Would you please sing along with Catherine? ”

"It's an honor." Catherine played a solemn prelude, and the sound of the piano reverberated in the night sky of Biarritz with Bismarck's full-bodied tenor:

"Looking up at the sky,

Ah, how pitiful the world is,

How majestic is the Shinto of the universe!

The land sings,

The sea is also singing,

The people of the last days,

Listen to my counsel;

Who gave us the sun, moon and stars?

Who will refine the stone to make up for the sky?

Looking up at the sky,

Yes! How pitiful the world is,

Looking up at the sky,

Brilliant!

The Shinto of the universe,

The mana is boundless! ”

As soon as the singing and piano stopped, a round of applause broke out. The applause was also mixed with praise in various languages. It turned out that Bismarck's superb singing and Katie's tacit accompaniment attracted many listeners inside and outside the Europa Hotel. They either stopped to look up at the balcony window or tilted their ears to the doorway. At the end of the song, they applauded in unison. This little scene ends with a young girl presenting Bismarck with a large bouquet of flowers on behalf of the audience. Bismarck, an old diplomat, actually felt a little embarrassed when the little girl kissed him. He explained to the little girl that he was not a musician. Bismarck was initially moved by his singing, and he felt that he had never sung so well as he did today. Katie and Orloff didn't expect Bismarck to have such extraordinary musical talent. When the three of them were immersed in the sublime musical video they created together, they didn't expect that there were ears outside, and this song also touched so many tourists and citizens who had never known their lives.

"Ah, so successful, so beautiful! It is a miracle that God will accept the hymn dedicated to him! My wife and I both think that you should be a strong Christian, but we feel that you often unconsciously show a drift in your faith, and we feel the need to help you, not just give you historical background, as we have done in the past. Prince Orloff said.

"My wife and I feel that the emotional and spiritual fulfillment necessary for life can only be achieved by a strong religious faith. Human beings have no meaning in themselves in the world, and it is meaningful only when they seek to grasp life and interpret and evaluate it. Religion, as the highest level of spiritual concept, gives the greatest meaning to life, and is beyond the reach of any rationalism in interpreting and constructing life. Just as good music is superior to all other arts in soothing or motivating people's hearts, this is what makes music art superior to other arts. The function of music to soothe and motivate people to work hard cannot be explained by rationalism, but it is by no means a nihilistic mysticism. Christianity advocates the suppression of the overflow of desires and the desire for self-gratification, and Jesus Christ wants people to strive for their talents and abilities, to set personal salvation and the welfare of the world as the goal. If a society, a country, or a nation is in chaos, it is a manifestation of the excessive desires and passions of the people of the society, the country, and the nation, which is both a low-level instinctive impulse and an ambition to draw on fame and fortune. This situation must be controlled and guided by politicians with firm beliefs and strong wills, so that this society, this country, and this nation can be put on the right track and rejuvenated. "Prussia and Germany are in chaos, and they desperately need heroes, and they need a lot of money to clean up the situation and create a new era!" Perhaps it was the onlookers, the insightful people of the Russian and Belgian officials, who thought that you could clean up the mess in Prussia. You have to be strong in your faith and work hard for a big goal. We in Russia can only be your friends, Belgium is a small neutral country, and it is harmless to you. Your consistent friendship with Russia in the future is also a little contribution to my country as a diplomat. ”

At that time, Bismarck had been on vacation for a few weeks, but he did not want to go back to work. He wrote to his wife:

"I hope the post office doesn't send me a document to summon me back to Berlin! I'm covered in sea salt and sun...... Between two rocks full of wildflowers, I saw the rolling waves of the sea glowing green and white in the sunlight, and beside me was the best of the women, and when you got to know her, you would love her. She's a bit like Mary? Taden, but with its own characteristics, lively, intelligent, kind, beautiful, and young. "Madame Johanna is not jealous. She was convinced that her husband was no longer the kind of absurd man, and that this pure friendship was good for his health and happiness. She said she was happy about it. On 1 September, Bismarck and Mr. and Mrs. Olof went to Provence, the cultural center of southern France, and it was not until the 13th that he parted ways with the couple and returned to Paris the next morning.

Catherine's husband, Prince Orlov, said those words that are still fresh in my ears.

Indeed, it was he and King Wilhelm I who personally put an end to the chaos in Prussia and Germany, making them a powerful power to rival the French Empire, the overlord of the continent.

Before the unification of Germany, the concept of Prussia had two meanings: one was the Prussian territory on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which was ruled by Poles and Germans in the Middle Ages; The second refers to the kingdom ruled by the German Hohenzollern family, including Prussia and Brandenburg, with Berlin as its capital, and later seized large tracts of land in northern Germany and western Poland. The first Prussians were a part of the Indo-European Baltic people, mainly engaged in hunting and animal husbandry. He was later conquered by the Teutonic Knights and embraced Christianity. The majority of Prussia's inhabitants spoke German until 5 centuries ago, but the Old Prussian language existed until 2 centuries ago. The Slavs and the Balts rebelled against Germany, Poland established a royal alliance with Lithuania, and finally defeated the Teutonic Knights after repeated wars three centuries earlier. Poland gained sovereignty over the Order's territories west of the lower reaches of the Vistula River; Eastern Prussia remained part of the Order, but was subordinate to the Polish crown. The lands along the Visdulla River, which was ruled by Poland, were called royal Prussia; The Polish-speaking area was like a wedge between German-speaking East Prussia and the German Holy Roman Empire.

Frederick I's reign had to rely on Juncker, a descendant of the Teutonic Knights, and the German word for "Junker" is said to have been derived from the word "young master" to indicate that their elders were knights of the Order. The Order is a whole, without which they cannot conquer cities and lands, but will be eaten by the Slavs and the Polos. Therefore, the Order is both a landlord and a state, and the prerequisite for each knight to join the Order is to obey the collective, to fully integrate the individual into the country of the Order. In the early days of the Duchy of Prussia, the Junkers often rivaled the suzerain, sometimes even making the electors puppets. Frederick? William was determined to build an army before his coronation, and after the end of the 30-year war, William made an agreement with the Junkers: he allowed the Junkers to levy labor and rent from the peasants of the land, and the Junkers agreed to allow him to levy a "military tax" to create an army. From then on, the Junkers could no longer be warlords on the side of the drama. William compensated them with the fact that only those of Junker origin could serve as officers. At this time, Prussia became a veritable militaristic state. At the beginning of the last century, Prussia was renamed the kingdom, and at that time it was the 10th largest country in Europe, the 13th most populous and the 4th in the army! With a population of only 2 million, 85,000 were enlisted, and there were many barracks throughout Prussia, and every young man had to undergo compulsory military training. 6/7 of the revenues of the state treasury are spent on military spending. By the time of Frederick II, the army had increased to more than 200,000, and military spending accounted for 4/5 of the country's expenditure. This army made Prussia a military power in Europe. Prussia was once one of the poorest regions in Europe. The land here is barren, with patches of moraine, moraine and swamps. The whole economy is primitive and backward agriculture. There are no mines, no workshops, and almost no commerce. But the successive kings of Frederick took the army in their hands as their capital, and whoever was willing to pay for it, they rented the army to whomever they wanted, and went to the battlefield for whomever they wanted. Throughout the last century, the Prussian army took part in almost all the wars fought in Europe. In the War of the Spanish Succession alone, it earned 13 million thalers from the Habsburg emperor. Prussia actually got rich on the basis of this peculiar militarism. It is said that the kings of Prussia once proudly said: "Prussia is not a country with an army, but an army with a state." (To be continued.) )