December 21, 1937.

Germany, Kiel Naval Base.

Wang Zhengting, a special envoy of the Chinese government, and Yang Jie, ambassador to Germany, stood on the viewing platform with a heart for themselves. It was a very bad day for China, as the Japanese army captured Nanjing, and the whole of China was in a critical situation. In Germany, however, the launch of the first battleship built by the German Navy after the war was celebrated at the German shipyard in Kiel.

The two-storey balcony was clad in red and green, with banners with inspiring slogans, and in the center of the red carpet stood the main figures they wanted to visit - the two great rulers of Europe, the Emperor of the Second German Empire and the Emperor of Austria-Hungary.

The time was approaching, and people rushed to the shipyard to watch the launching of the new battleships, many of whom had travelled from all over Germany to see the new battleships of the Reich in action. In the center of the slipway in front of the viewing platform stood a huge gray hull, whose majestic body and majestic momentum still aroused bursts of cheers, despite the fact that the superstructure and weapons had not yet been installed.

This is the first ship of the "German" class battleships newly started by the German Navy after the expiration of the "Washington Naval Treaty", nominally preparing to replace the four "King" class battleships that are ready to be decommissioned, but its standard displacement of 47,800 tons has far exceeded the 35,000-ton limit tonnage of the "Washington Naval Treaty", and even 3,000 tons more than the "Combined Forces" class battleships newly launched by the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the previous stage. It will become the world's largest capital warship in terms of tonnage.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, accompanied by the commander-in-chief of the German Navy, Admiral Raeder, walked to the microphone at the front of the viewing platform and delivered a brief speech to the government officials, naval and army generals, and nearly 100,000 people who came to watch the ceremony. In his speech, the German Emperor praised the new battleship that was about to be launched, and hoped that it would become the guardian of world peace for the time being. Later, the German Emperor expressed concern about the current war in the Far East, and at the same time rebuked the aggression of the Soviet Union and Japan, saying that it threatened to undermine the world peace that the Second Reich had carefully maintained after the war in Europe.

This was the voice that Wang Zhengting and Yang Jie wanted to hear, but unfortunately, the German emperor did not say anything more, and quickly said that he ended the speech.

At 10:30 a.m., in a piece of "Hooray! Victor's Crown" to the sound of military music, the huge hull of the "Deutschland" slowly slid into the water along the track under the traction of four tugboats. There was a thunderous roar of joy around the slipway, and it was believed that it would still be the new pride of the Empire, like other meritorious ships.

The high-profile launch of the "Deutschland" was actually a declaration of German power to the whole world. In this world, because it was not destroyed by Britain and France after the war in Europe, Germany's industrial strength far exceeded that of the same period in history, and its total economic output accounted for 21 percent of the total world economy.

War raged in the Far East, but thousands of miles away in Berlin's Imperial Palace, where people are busy redecorating for Christmas. In the study of the Imperial Palace, where the Berlin suburb is located, the German Emperor and the Austro-Hungarian Emperor, two rulers of Europe, sit in front of the fireplace, exchanging views on the current situation in the Far East.

Heldon's current trip to Germany was nominally to attend the launching ceremony of the new German battleship "Deutschland," but in fact he made a special trip to Germany to communicate with the Kaiser and the German government on the shape of the Far East.

Germany and Austria-Hungary naturally do not want China to fall into the hands of Japan and Russia, after all, the two countries have invested nearly 10 billion marks in China, and in China, not only many industrial and mining enterprises run by Austrian-Hungarian businessmen, but also major German consortia have invested huge amounts there. China has become the most important overseas investor and trading country between Germany and Austria, and trade with China accounts for 11 percent and 13 percent of the total trade between the two countries, respectively.

The German government did not want Germany to be involved in the war and was unwilling to directly send troops to intervene in the war in the Far East, while Helmeton hoped that the Chinese side would adjust itself and gradually become stronger in the war. Although the funds raised by the Chinese side rely on government loans from Germany and Austria and the issuance of bonds in Europe, the export of machinery and weapons of more than 300 million marks every Chinese New Year's Eve has promoted the rapid development of the two countries' industries, especially the military industry.

"Haydn, do you mean that we accept China's proposal and come forward to mediate the war in the Far East?" Wilhelm II sat by the fireplace, and the flames in the hearth flickered to make his face glow.

"Oh, it's not necessary, I believe that the Chinese will be able to defeat Japan after adjusting and re-equipping." As for the Far East question, it was a question between the Chinese and the Russians after the defeat of Japan. What we need to do now is to send some volunteers, as we did during the Spanish Civil War, to send some armor and aviation, and the Chinese need to tide over the current difficulties, and we need to safeguard our interests in the Far East. Our factories in the Far East have already begun to switch to the military industry, and after this adjustment period, they will be able to provide the Chinese with sufficient weapons and equipment. ”

"How much investment does your business have in the Far East?"

"Oh, it's about 3.5 billion kroner, and if you're interested, I can transfer you a part of it, which is worth about 400 million kroner. These are the most profitable factories at the moment, including chemical and coal chemical plants, several hydrogenation plants, two steel mills and a number of machinery plants, all of which are now beginning to be transformed into military enterprises. ”

"As I get older, my desire for wealth is not as strong as it used to be." William took a sip of his coffee, "Whenever you give me a favor, it's not a good thing. Haydn, you want to tie me to that chariot? ”

"Of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch." "I always had a hunch that the Americans don't know what's going on behind it, and that we need to work together to deal with a possible crisis," Helton said. ”

"Well, it doesn't hurt Germany. Although I don't like money very much now, I can't bear to refuse your kindness. William blinked, "My poor nephew is the poor king of Spain, and at my sister's request I need to earn him some gifts." ”

"What to do with this money is your problem, we need to coordinate operations in the Far East, the Americans are providing weapons assistance to the Japanese."

"Naturally, if it weren't for the Yankees, we might have gained much more in that war. Of course, because I hated the Japanese, I did not forget my old hatred, and they killed thousands of our brave soldiers in Qingdao. How many volunteers are you going to send? ”

"Three aviation divisions, and possibly an armored division, we need to help the Chinese stabilize the current war situation."

"Well, we also pick an aviation division and an armored division from the Far Eastern garrison. Our army has gone through too long of peacetime, and it also needs some actual combat experience. ”R1152