When Shigenobu Okuma brought the United States to convey the news of Yang Qiu's hope for peace talks, and sat down with democratic bigwigs such as Inuyang Yi and Saionji Konobo to discuss countermeasures, he did not know that there was a group of fanatical officers in Lushun who had already begun to push Japan into the abyss.

Similarly, in the land of Europa, the frenzied atmosphere can even dispel the fog that drifts over the North Sea all year round.

Time doesn't pass quickly, but in the eyes of diplomats who live like years, the tight strings of Europe can no longer hold on. On July 12, two weeks after the assassination of Crown Prince Ferdinand, the two Austro-Hungarian legions began to move towards the Serbian border, and at the same time Wilhelm II officially addressed the Diet, saying that Germany would do everything in its power to ensure the interests of its allies!

Just four hours later, Nicholas II was talking about the diamond-encrusted throne in St. Petersburg, believing that Emperor Frank was an old fool because he did not see that Russia was ready, that millions of troops were being assembled, that the brave Cossack cavalry would crush Europe, and that there were still 300,000 "gray cattle" in the Far East. Although only an hour later the Russian Foreign Ministry said that His Majesty the Tsar did not say that the Frank Emperor was old, but only a misunderstanding in translation, but at this time did anyone still believe it?

The whole of Europe slapped their heads for their remarks, the Elysee Palace clearly issued a war mobilization order, the famous British generals in Whitehall have no grace to scold the brainless cousins, the pot-bellied admiral Qiu Fat Man is straightforwardly regarded as a shrew, and the Times, which has always been spicy, said that the royal family should investigate the bloodline and seriously check whether these two fools who are still adding fuel to the fire are Victoria's descendants.

Greasy-smelling rifles were issued to soldiers, boxes of bullets were opened, cannons were rolled out, warplanes roamed the skies, expensive Welsh white coal was stuffed into warship bunkers, and huge tankers were just a splash in front of the open mouths of ironclad ships! Civilian railway transport was largely paralyzed, trains were called up and leaned against the nearest barracks, and all sorts of words had been written in chalk on the outside of the cyan wagons.

"Glory belongs to Germany."

"Christmas is back."

"Long live France."

"A short but glorious battle is about to begin."

Fanaticism, restlessness, and restlessness pervade the skies over Europa, and even the lowest level, who have never cared about politics, can feel the depression and dreary that preceded the Great War. The warriors said their final goodbyes to their loved ones, the church was filled with people who had come to pray, and the Vatican even opened the city to welcome prayers from all directions. The frenzied atmosphere is like the most manic hurricane in the Caribbean, and the Far East, which is now inconspicuous, is also engaged in the final diplomatic competition, with plans, deals, and interests entangled, all revolving around the increasingly tense situation in Europe.

"Nope! We want a clear and clear answer. In the office, Cai Gongshi faithfully recorded Bernard's every word, and Yang Du, who rushed from Henan, sat on the sofa, his eyes were burning and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Bernard stood in front of Yang Qiu like this, his thin eyebrows made him look more Italian, and only the slightly raised chin could make people feel the arrogance that was used to by the British Empire. Yang Qiu did not have any dissatisfaction with this attitude, this is the essence of the family, what he has to do is to strive for the greatest interests of the country at this time, so he smiled calmly: "Your Excellency Bernard, I have made it very clear that our country will not be involved in European disputes, and if war breaks out, we will immediately declare neutrality." As for the question you raised about China and Japan, do you think it's our fault? If it weren't for Japan's deliberate splitting, if it weren't for the fact that they took away the emperor of the previous dynasty, the war would not have broken out at all! At the end of the day, I just want to ensure national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and if that's wrong for you, then I don't think we can continue the conversation. ”

After the translator finished translating this passage in clear words, Bernard looked at Yang Qiu very seriously and said slowly: "Your Excellency, the British Empire and your country have had a friendship for decades, and we don't want anyone to stand up and make trouble when Europe is in turmoil. Although I very much agree with your matter of ensuring the territorial and sovereign integrity of the country, how do you deal with Qingdao? Your previous relations with Germany do not reassure us, if Germany uses this base to attack the bases of our country and our allies in the Far East, then who will be responsible for this? And your army is currently concentrated in the northeast, so the Russian government has to strengthen its armaments, making it impossible for them to send troops back to Europe to maintain peace. And the southwest and Tibet! Your troops are also stationed there, so you must make sure you don't enter these areas in a public form. ”

Now know that you can't do anything? Yang Qiu sneered a few times, but there was still that faint look on his face: "Your Excellency, you can rest assured, I said that I will never get involved in disputes between you, China is a weak country, and it has no strength to get involved." But! ”

Yang Qiu paused, his voice raised a few degrees, and his arm was full of personal charm: "What I want to say is that Tibet and Mongolia are China's internal affairs, and no country should meddle in China's internal affairs. You know better than I do why my army is in the Northeast. The relationship between our country and Germany was a matter of the past, and I believe that His Excellency Hanger has brought my exact words to you. As for Qingdao, I can assure you that our country will issue a public statement at the first time that no country will be allowed to engage in a hostile war on our territory, and if it is discovered, it will be tantamount to declaring war on our country! ”

Bernard moved his lips and suddenly found that the young man had almost blocked all his words, but why did he always feel that his smile was full of hypocrisy and unsettling? Could it be that the smile of the East is not the same as that of the West? Bernard took a deep breath and saluted: "I will urge the Japanese government to open the channel of dialogue as soon as possible, but I hope that you must stop military action before that." ”

"Of course." Yang Qiu got up and finally comforted the special envoy for Far Eastern affairs, who was about to break his nerves: "As long as no bullets fly over, my army will never shoot." ”

Bernard left dissatisfied, and as soon as he walked on his front foot, Jiang Baili brought Traun in again. In just two weeks, the veteran diplomat, who was in his sixties, looked much older, and the sudden sound of non-alignment from Nanking before Prince Reinhardt's departure made him realize that the country was drifting away from Germany, but he came today to make a final effort.

Yang Qiu waved his hand, let Cai Gongshi and Yang Du leave temporarily, and then personally poured him a cup of coffee, and also took out his favorite Cuban cigar, but unfortunately the aroma of coffee and tobacco had made him no longer able to enjoy it with peace of mind, staring at Yang Qiu's eyes and saying, "Today, what can I get?" ”

"Sir Traun, I think you should already know very well. As a democracy, it's not just me, anyone! None of them can be against the will of the people. If it weren't for the damn Assassins, I think we could have done afternoon tea together at this point, but now a poor and weak country like ours, a country still tormented by war, would have the heart to do anything else? ”

The slow speed of speech made Traun a little angry, and he looked at Yang Qiu with an excited expression: "Your Excellency Vice President, please forgive me for speaking bluntly!" From the very beginning, without the full support of our country, you might not have been able to sit in this seat at all! Over the past three years, we have been holding the purpose of friendship between the two countries, providing your country with machinery and equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and hundreds of military officers to train your army! Is this how your army can hold off the weapons that Japan also can't do without selling to our country? There is such a sentence in the old Chinese proverb, the grace of a drop of water wants to be reciprocated by a spring! Now, something really sad is happening in Europe, and the situation is on the verge of breaking out, but don't you think about the outcome? If it were my country that won in the end, how would you face our relationship? ”

Traun roared like an enraged male master in a room with only two people, and outside the door, Jiang Baili asked Cai Gongshi for a cigarette, and his face was also cloudy. As the looming roar goes, what if Germany wins in the end? As a person who has been trained and studied in Germany for many years, he knows the heritage and strength of this country, so he is more worried than the two around him that if Yang Qiu makes a mistake in judgment, the future will be much more difficult.

Yang Qiu was not provoked, and he didn't even have any expression, and waited until Traun had vented all his anger before he said lightly: "Your Excellency is very right, the grace of dripping water wants to be reciprocated. So until the British envoy walked out of here just now, I didn't promise him to disarm Qingdao! I don't want to be an enemy of Germany, you can't understand how I feel at this time, in fact, I will wear this military uniform is also influenced by your ** team, when I first heard about those touching deeds in the Franco-Prussian War, I chose the profession of a soldier. ”

The words are very light, but they give people an irrefutable conviction. In fact, he did not lie, he joined the army in the parallel world entirely because of the Wehrmacht, which was infatuated with steel and blood when he was a student, and had nothing to do with politics or ideas, just a pure soldier. Throughout history, there had never been such an army that fascinated him, so he chose military uniforms. If he didn't have the persistence in his heart, if he put aside the heaviness of washing away the humiliation of a hundred years, he even wanted to fly to Germany immediately and join the Wehrmacht to conquer fortresses one after another. But there's more to it! As if sensing his emotions, Yang Qiu used a cigarette to stabilize his mind before continuing: "Your Excellency Traun, we are all in a whirlpool, how should you choose if you are in this position?" As for the assistance you said, I think I need to correct it! From the very beginning, we were a reciprocal deal! I think you know better than me what those technologies and materials have brought to your country, in fact, I have helped your country so far, Japan has been held back by me, and 300,000 Russian troops are stranded in the Far East! Is there a more realistic friendship than this?

Your Excellency, I do not think there is any need for the two countries to be on the table. I can tell you very clearly that unless your country opens up the Mediterranean Sea to the East Indies route, and your powerful fleet can radiate the two oceans to ensure the safety of the shipping lanes, you will not get what you want! ”

Traun opened his mouth and sat down again. In fact, Yang Qiu was right, all the previous cooperation Yang Qiu had paid what Germany wanted, and as of now, more than 100,000 troops outside the Shandong Peninsula have not entered, which is also enough to save face. And he did drag the British lackey Japan, and dragged the army of Nicholas II to the Far East.

But how can I explain to His Majesty William, who is still looking forward to the alliance? Is his political career coming to an end?

"This is the last thing I can do for Germany and His Majesty Wilhelm." Traun's face was all in Yang Qiu's eyes, and he slowly opened the drawer and put a thick document in front of him: "This is all the experimental reports of the new drug you want, which also have the signatures of two doctors in your country, and they have confirmed that the new drug can have a very good effect on diseases such as infection and inflammation." You should know better than I can see how many soldiers it can save, how many people don't have to have their limbs amputated because of it, they don't have to endure pain day and night. ”

"What do I have to give? Do you want Qingdao? Traun would not be stupid enough to think that Yang Qiu would give it away in vain, in fact, he had already obtained this experimental data from the doctor he had sent, and the country had already authorized the new drug at any cost.

"There are also two new weapons materials, one is a 15-millimeter artillery with a range of 22,000 meters, which is guaranteed to suppress all the current firepower of this level in Europe, and the other is a new weapon that can easily crush the infantry, including all of them to your country, as for the price, I need all your country's transport ships in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and a hundred tons of gold!"

"Don't you think it's a robbery while it's hot!" Traun's anger that had just been extinguished rose again, although most of the shipowners had already received the news of the war and were rushing back to Europe, but some had not yet returned, and it was conservatively estimated that there were at least 20 German and Austro-Hungarian merchant ships operating in the Pacific, of which there were at least 11 10,000-ton ships alone! According to the minimum of 1 million US dollars per 10,000-ton ship, it is worth at least 10 million US dollars, and 100 tons of gold is 14 million pounds, 70 million US dollars, and 140 million US dollars!

But just as he wanted to refuse, Yang Qiu took out the poisoned red apple like a witch who had seduced the door: "Your Excellency, do you think these merchant ships will be able to return to Europe once the war starts?" Even if they were all concentrated in neutral countries, they would still be seized, and it might not be long before they planted the flags of other countries, and they would not receive a penny back. ”

Traun gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at the guy who picked on his weakness: "50 tons of gold!" As for the merchant ships, I need to report back to the country, maybe the war will not break out. ”

50 tons of gold! In other words, this number is enough to impress anyone, but now is not the time to bargain, because now there is no longer the word price in Europe's mind, who cares about paying a little gold at the moment of your death, so he immediately shook his finger: "Your Excellency, last time you said that it was worth at least 100 million US dollars." ”

Traun's teeth are about to be crushed, why was he so cheap in the first place?! He also said politely: "Isn't it okay to bargain in business?" ”

"Haha." Yang Qiu smiled heartily for the first time, from this sentence at least proves that Germany has been tempted by sulfonamides, in fact, he will not hesitate to make a move, after all, this is something that can save the lives of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

"Okay, just a 50-ton takeaway merchant ship."

Traun raised his eyebrows, he didn't expect Yang Qiu to be so cheerful, but before he could be happy, the young man in front of him threw out the conditions: "But this patent is only for your country and your allies, and you must also conduct a free publicity for me." ”

Looking at the sly at the corner of his mouth, Traun quickly understood the meaning, there is no doubt that he will also sell this medicine to Britain and France, in fact, he will definitely take the opportunity to make money at this time. However, he was not angry, if Germany could not get the formula first and Britain and France got it, it would be very difficult to obtain it after the blockade of the shipping lanes and embargo, so this strategic thing must not be delayed.

What's more, Germany has paid such a big price, and it should also make Britain and France bleed! So he immediately promised to hype up the value of the new drug in Europe, but he also put forward a precondition that it must be sold to Britain and France in three months. Yang Qiu did not have any dissatisfaction with his little abacus, because he knew very well that at present, Europe believed that the war would end in three months, and Traun undoubtedly wanted to take this opportunity to disgust himself and make the value of medicine depreciate significantly.

Soon the two reached an agreement, Yang Qiu granted Germany the patent right to manufacture and produce sulfonamides for its own country and allies, and also sold the K16 cannon and A7V tank that Germany could develop itself in two years after two years in advance, Germany immediately mobilized 50 tons of gold from the country to go to Austria-Hungary, and then used Italian fast merchant ships to arrive in Shanghai within half a month to complete the contract.

Traun got up with the contract, although he was still very disappointed, but this valuable and extremely strategic thing finally gave him some explanation for the country and Wilhelm II, and Yang Qiu did not lie, even if China's national strength is completed at present, in the case that Germany cannot solve the shipping route and provide realistic support, they can at most block Japan and cannot attack Russia with a depth of thousands of kilometers to the north, as for sending troops from Yunnan and Tibet to the southeast peninsula and India, although it can be done, But then you would have to bear the reality that the southeast coast would be completely blown up by the British, French, and Japanese fleets, so any strategist with a clear mind would not make such a choice.

"That's right."

When Traun was able to hold the doorknob, Yang Qiu stood up from behind, walked to the map, turned his head, and said: "There is something I would like to remind Your Excellency, I have been informed of the information, the Japanese Army has made a plan to attack the Qingdao fortress, and is ready to use it as a gift in exchange for the British to support them in continuing and expanding the war against China. Do you think I should send a picture of the Bismarck Fortress with the enemy flag planted on the top of Bismarck, or should I send him a letter telling him that I welcome Germany back to the Far East after the victory to maintain peace in the region? ”

Traun's shoulders shook slightly, and after a complicated look, he walked out of the office without saying a word.