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【204】Thousands of miles of rivers and mountains open a new face (8)

Out of the Ziguang Pavilion, Yao Fan and his entourage rushed to the Yi Nian Hall to meet with the German Minister Barland.

After the British Minister Wei Tuma was thrown in the Purple Light Pavilion by Yao Fan, he angrily said to Counselor Swytz: "This guy is a madman! Or a megalomaniac! All the same, only when the stick hits their heads, can they be a little sober. ”

"At least he's tactful until you take an unshakable stand," said Swaites, "but he may have overestimated his army." ”

Wittuma looked at Sweetz and said: "What he relies on is nothing more than that rapid-fire machine gun, which does look extremely light from a distance, but I bet that it is a thing that sacrifices reliability, the thin barrel and thin body, at a glance, you can see that it is cutting corners, and the Chinese use it to hit their so-called three-plate axe."

Swaites, I've been in China for 34 years, and I know the Chinese way of thinking, most of them are cowardly and gentle little creatures, shrewd and ignorant, and a sudden onslaught will make hundreds of soldiers lose their fighting spirit and break and flee. This is called the 'three-plate axe', which is a Chinese tradition, and it is said that the warrior of ancient China could only make three movements, and if the three offensive moves could not defeat the opponent, he would expose his lack of skill. ”

Wittoma walked towards the outside of the Purple Light Pavilion, educating Swift beside him along the way, "But their weapon is very clever in its design thinking, that is, it is to try to gain an advantage by strafing fiercely when the battle is just starting out. It's so thin and thin, I suspect it's only going to be one or two rounds, or it's going to blow up. ”

Listening to Wittoma's speculation, Swifts said suspiciously, "But they also have a repeating rifle. ”

"This is probably an improved version of Henry's 1860 repeating rifle, this gun is very expensive, and it is complicated to maintain, those stupid peasants will quickly fill the rifling with gunpowder residue, the accuracy of this rifle is not worth mentioning, but when shooting at close range, it is very suitable for the kind of fierce firepower required by the tactics of the three-plate axe." ”

Swift had now been persuaded by Wittoma's one-bite three-plate axe tactic, and he and Wittoma got into the same carriage, and on the way back to the embassy, he asked, "How can we avoid the loss of this three-plate axe once the British army and Yao Fan's army fight?" ”

"We have cannons. ”

Swaites patted his head: "Yes, I almost forgot, we have cannons, much better than the Qing cannons captured by Yao Fan." ”

"Immediately after returning home, draw up a report, send it to Tientsin, send it to Shanghai by sea, and send a telegram to Hong Kong, telling our commander that he must bring more artillery and avoid charging at close range." ”

……………………

When Yao Fan entered the Yi Nian Hall, he saw that Barand was already waiting, Yao Fan smiled and spread his hands, asking Barand to sit down on the chair in the Yi Nian Hall, and there was a freshly brewed tea on the small table between the two. The windows on all sides of the hall were wide open, and a cool June breeze blew comfortably through the hall.

"Frank, should I change my name to you Chairman Yao?" Barland quipped.

"We are also old friends, we have known each other as early as when our party and our army were stationed in Jimo, and we are now talking in a private nature, which can be called cordial."

Barland smiled and nodded, "I want to congratulate you, Frank, for making it happen!" Your revolution went so smoothly that you have even taken Beijing, which is a feat worthy of going down in history. ”

"There is something I want to sue you, I have just negotiated with the British ambassador Wittoma, and he is very unhappy."

As he spoke, Yao Fan told Barand about the content of the negotiation just now.

"Frank, your attitude is too tough, but I admire your courageous retort for the sake of national dignity. But the fact is that the British are a poisonous snake, and they will never rest on their laurels, and now because Germany has a monopoly on the export quota of Bicycles, thermos flasks, sewing machines, folding umbrellas, pens, and dyes exported from Qingdao, and only distributes a small amount to them in Shanghai, the British merchants are very annoyed, and I guess they will immediately complain to Wittoma. ”

"Mr. Barland, Germany has been very profitable in these six commodities during this time, right? I know that the Meris Comptoir has now increased its capital and shares, and almost all the German businessmen with good faces have taken shares, and you must have a stake in it. ”

Baland said unabashedly: "Frank, I would like to express my gratitude for your friendliness and generosity towards the German Empire, and likewise all the Germans at present have close feelings for your regime, and the fact that His Majesty Wilhelm I and His Excellency Bismarck have ratified the secret treaty we have made before is a clear proof of our friendship. ”

Yao Fan said: "I heard that the Merris firm bought nineteen second-hand merchant ships in one go after the share expansion, with a small displacement of two or three hundred tons and a large one of two or three thousand tons, this kind of trick is really amazing. I sincerely wish you all the best in this safe and prosperous way. ”

Barand said gratefully: "I believe that the friendship between us that has been poured with common interests is indestructible. Although His Majesty Wilhelm I and His Excellency Bismarck were not very pleased with your reception of Marx, and greatly disapproved of your use of such radical slogans as socialism, I and all the German businessmen were on your side, and we persuaded His Majesty that it was better for Marx to stay in Asia than to keep him in London and under the control of the British. ”

"Dear Mr. Barland, I am very pleased with your efforts. But now that we have collapsed with the British, the next measures for the British to intervene with arms, and possibly even impose a naval blockade of the port of Qingdao, will undoubtedly harm our interests, and I will have to change the focus of trade to stimulating domestic consumption. ”

Barland thought with a tiger face, for a period of time, the profits of the Merris Comptoir were simply growing at a terrifying rate, and the annual profit of this piece was expected to reach an astonishing seven million taels just by exporting thermos flasks to Europe and North America. The total annual profit of the six major commodities is expected to exceed 12 million taels! That's the equivalent of three million pounds! Sixty million Deutsche marks! As one of the shareholders, Barand is never willing to give up such a golden doll, never!

"Frank, I believe that your infantry has great combat capabilities, and the wars of this period have also proved this, if you need to purchase German weapons, whether it is rifles and artillery, even the latest equipment of the German Army, I can help you get it, I also know some German bankers, I can help you get a loan from their bank."

"No, Barland, you're misguided, I have full confidence in my army, but I'm worried about you, once the British Navy blockades, whether your merchant ships will be able to trade as usual."

"All the steamers of the Merris Merchant House now fly the black, white, and red tricolor flags, and they are equipped with German sailors, and an attack on the German merchant ships is an attack on the German Empire, and the British dare not do this!" Barland said solemnly, but he did not know the bottom in his heart, as the British sphere of influence, although the Qing State allowed the interests of all countries to be equalized, but it never allowed countries to send troops without the consent of the British.

"This is too pale in front of the cannons of the British warships, do you think it is possible that the German fleet will come forward to protect your maritime interests?"

With a hint of helplessness, Barand said frankly: "From Europe to China, the coal and water supply ports on this way are all under the control of the British, and without the permission of the British, there is not a single steam warship in Germany that can reach Qingdao." ”

Yao Fan pretended to be annoyed and said, "Is the German navy so weak? ”

Barand did not refute, but said sternly: "Germany, as a continental country, confronts France, the largest army country in Europe, to the west, and to defend against Russia's covetousness with Austria-Hungary in the east, and we do not invest much in the navy. ”

Yao Fan was silent.

Baland then said in an agitated tone: "But the dignity of the German nation must be protected at sea, and if the great German nation cannot secure its interests at sea, it will be the greatest disaster and shame!" I assure you, Frank, that I will do my best to bring about the protection of trade between His Majesty William I! ”

Yao Fan knew that he could not rush it, but he hoped to provoke a maritime struggle between Germany and Britain. At present, the German navy is really weak, and even the mosquito gunboat ordered by Li Hongzhang is such an eye-catching thing, and the Germans themselves have actually purchased two sea batteries for the defense of the estuary, which can be said to have no ambition to compete for hegemony in the ocean.

"Mr. Barland, Germany's maritime power is deeply relied on by the Chinese people, and I hope that His Majesty the Emperor of the German Empire will be able to make decisions that make the Chinese people feel safe."

Barand nodded silently, knowing that it was a heavy responsibility to persuade the Kaiser to strengthen the navy's ocean-going strength, which required not only a huge investment in funds, but also the awareness of an arms race at sea with Britain.

"Frank, I'll do my best to help you mediate with Wittoma for now, and I'll go to the British Embassy tonight."

"Dear Barland, you said to the British that you should not interfere with the maritime trade between Germany and me despite sending troops, and this should be your bottom line."

"Yes, Frank, that's what I mean, I know you have a lot of confidence in your army, and Germany is not currently capable or prepared to engage in a direct confrontation with Britain in the Far East, you can only rely on yourself on land, Germany is willing to open the door to you for arms purchases, but it is true that it cannot send troops to intervene."

"Barland, you can't just negotiate with the British, you should try to persuade other countries not to participate in the British expedition, I don't care if more fools come to die, but that will bring complicated multilateral diplomatic pressure to our alliance."

"You're right, I'll do my best to win over ambassadors."

After the talks, Barand left the Age Hall, looking at the sunset on the horizon, he thought with emotion: "If Britain can plant a big heel fight in China, what a wonderful thing it will be for the German Empire, damn the British, I hope they die as much in China as possible, if they can draw Russia and France in and die together, it will be even more wonderful!" ”

Barand has the confidence to dare to think like this.

During this period, more and more Germans followed the opening of a trading office in Qingdao with the Meriss, and they obtained the export share while participating in the Meriss, so they also invested in Qingdao to set up their own company office. According to the agreement with Yao Fan, German businessmen in China must abide by Yao Fan's laws, and these laws from the 21st century are obviously very civilized, and these beautifully printed German versions of Chinese laws are detailed and clear, except for not enjoying the extraterritoriality enjoyed in other parts of China, they are very complete in other aspects.

It is precisely because there are more and more Germans in Qingdao that Yao Fan's army level is gradually noticed by German businessmen, Barland's eyeliners found that the training of the Qingdao garrison is very hard, and the incorruptibility is terrible, and the corruption and silver situation everywhere in the Qing Empire cannot be found in this army, these soldiers are paid very high, they have a strong spending power, because they are disciplined, they cannot prostitute and smoke big cigarettes, but their monthly salary is as high as that of American soldiers, So that their standard of living is at the highest level in Qingdao.

As Yao Fan swept through North China in a furious manner, defeating the Huai Army, which was the most powerful army in China, Barland was convinced that the army, known as the People's Liberation Army, had the strength to compete with the European armies. Baland was in his right mind, and he understood that such a powerful army, with countless soldiers to be requisitioned for local operations, could not be a European army that could bargain from them after crossing the ocean.

Therefore, Barand did not intend to adopt all of Yao Fan's construction, and negotiations with Wittoma were necessary, but the Russians, the French, the Americans, the Japanese, the Italians, the Austro-Hungarian ...... Barland felt that he had to be treated differently, digging holes where he should be digging, waking up when he should sell favors to wake up, and resolutely expressing his stance when he should be resolutely stopped...... In short, it is in the best interest of the German Reich to ensure that Britain, France, and Russia are involved in the Far East, where this defeat is very likely, and let Yao Fan, an emerging power, play the role of a meat grinder!