After a long time, Mr. Hindenburg walked out of the room with a serious expression, and he stepped forward quickly, and said:

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Lady O'Connell was surprised: "Mr. Hindenburg, I really didn't expect that you would be able to deliver the news to His Majesty the Emperor of your country. ”

Hindenburg smiled: "Your Majesty is the commander in chief of all Junker officers, and I am just reporting the news to the highest superiors as usual." ”

The state belongs to the army, and the emperor is naturally equivalent to the supreme commander of the army.

This was Germany's special situation at this time.

Zhang Huaisheng suddenly spoke: "I take the liberty of asking, Mr. Hindenburg, who is your father?" ”

Hindenburg was a little puzzled, this question was indeed quite presumptuous, but he still said: "My father, Paul von Hindenburg, was the commander of the Fourth Army in Berlin and an imperial general, but he retired last year and is at home. ”

"So it was Mr. Paul von Hindenburg? I have admired the daimyo for a long time. ”

No wonder the surname Hindenburg sounds so familiar.

Paul von Hindenburg is a parallel time and space, after the defeat of the Second German Reich, the president of the Weimar Republic, personally raised the mustache for the role of German Chancellor.

Zhang Huaisheng vaguely remembered the reason why the old Hindenburg retired last year, as if in a military exercise, the army commanded by Wilhelm II was defeated, which greatly damaged the emperor's face.

Of course, Wilhelm II would not punish old Hindenburg for this, but he was not broad-minded, in fact, Wilhelm II was rigid, impulsive, and reckless, and far from a wise king.

The old Hindenburg, who was remembered by him, wanted to be promoted again, it was impossible at all, so he simply chose to retire.

"Mr. Zhang, have you really heard of my father's name?"

Hindenburg was a little puzzled, his father Old Hindenburg, although he was an imperial general, was not particularly prominent, at least there was no reason for him to be so concerned by a foreigner.

"Of course, your father had experienced the Franco-Prussian War, the Austro-Prussian War, and was a very good military strategist. In the library of the University of Edinburgh, I had the pleasure of reading your father's book, On the Causes of the Austro-Prussian War, a thesis written by your father when he graduated from the Military Academy in Berlin. ”

This is not nonsense.

Ten years ago, Britain and Germany were historical allies, and the University of Edinburgh had collected many works by senior German military officers, and there was indeed an article by the old Hindenburg, but it was sandwiched in a thick book, which was not conspicuous at all.

"I have always been proud of my father, but I didn't expect that Mr. Zhang, you would have read his papers."

Hindenburg showed a hint of a smile, if there is a rank in the sycophant, then Zhang Huaisheng's shot happened to scratch his itch.

As if aroused by Zhang Huaisheng's words, Hindenburg asked:

"Mr. Zhang, now that the international situation is becoming more and more tense, many people think that our Triple Alliance and the Entente will have a war, do you think we can win this war?"

"Heh, I'm just a Donghua exiled overseas, you know, our military education is still relatively backward, where do you dare to point out in front of a military family like Mr.?"

"You are too humble Mr. Zhang, maybe I don't know you, but I know Clifford very well, if it weren't for your talent being outstanding enough, how could he possibly put the 'Order' in your hands?"

Hindenburg asked nonchalantly.

Zhang Huaisheng thought for a while, and then said: "Then I will briefly say two words - first, once the war starts, Germany will be in an unfavorable situation of attacking from the east and west, Germany itself is not a big grain producer, and if the British fleet blocks the sea transportation channel, the consequences will be unimaginable." ”

"Mr. Hindenburg, I don't know if you have heard of a phrase called a ten-year army and a hundred-year navy, do you really think that the High Seas Fleet, even with the addition of Italy's Mediterranean Fleet and the Austro-Hungarian Adriatic Navy, can shake the position of the British Navy, which has been the supremacy of the seas for hundreds of years?"

Hindenburg was stunned, in this era, the concept of the British navy being the first in the world has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, even if the German fleet is now ranked second in the world on paper, he still has little confidence in his own navy.

Zhang Huaisheng sighed: "Moreover, the French navy is not weak, and it is already a good thing that the Italian fleet can offset each other with the French fleet, and the Austro-Hungarian fleet can offset with the Russian fleet." ”

"Since we don't mention it at sea, let's look at the land, first of all, the army of the Italians, sir, must have heard of it, the discipline is loose, the combat effectiveness is low, and the development of armaments is relatively backward;

The Austro-Hungarian Army, although not weak in combat effectiveness, had an extremely complex ethnic composition.

How many languages do you think an officer needs to know to command an army of Austrians, Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians, Transylvanians, Poles, Slovenes, Croats, Bosniaks, Dalmatians, and Serbs?

What combat effectiveness can such an army have? ”

Hindenburg exclaimed: "Indeed, the situation is not optimistic. ”

Hindenburg was actually not ignorant of these situations, he originally hoped to win a quick victory over France on the Western Front; Then the military forces were transferred to the Eastern Front, and together with Austria-Hungary, Russia was defeated.

The British Empire's Army, after the Boer War, was extremely low in threat and was not put in the eyes of the Junkers officers at all - but the news brought by Zhang Huaisheng that the British had used a large number of new weapons on the Scottish battlefield, which was obviously training, made him feel bottomless for a while.

Zhang Huaisheng advised: "In fact, war is for politics, and in many cases, things that can be solved by diplomatic means do not necessarily need to resort to force. ”

Unlike the Gaelic people, who generally looked forward to the outbreak of a world war in order to seek a chance for independence, Zhang Huaisheng did not actually want this war to break out.

But he is clearly not a decision-maker, and he can't decide anything.

"That being said, but..."

Hindenburg was silent.

In fact, Wilhelm II was not willing to go to war with the Entente, and it was the Junker nobles of Hindenburg who really wanted to fight.

If there is no war, how can the Junker aristocracy compete with the big aristocrats, the big bourgeoisie?

Sooner or later, they will become marginal characters.

It is of course a good thing to be reckless in military force and abundant in martial virtue.

But there are pros and cons to everything, and what is the last sentence that forgetting to fight will be dangerous - belligerence will perish!

"Thank you, sir, for your insight, your view of the international situation is much clearer than that of Mr. Clifford, and I look forward to you bringing new changes to the Scottish Regional Defence Board."

Hindenburg nodded politely to Zhang Huaisheng, although the problem is clear, it is not easy to solve the current dilemma.

If the problem is really solved, when Wilhelm II decided to completely abandon the foreign policy of the iron-blooded prime minister Bismarck, and decided to break with Russia and Britain, this group of Junker officers should stand up.

He turned his gaze to Ms. O'Connell, "Ms. O'Connell, did you need my help with anything you came to me on this trip?" In Hamburg, I'm a bit of a network. ”

"Something..."

Here, Zhang Huaisheng did not intervene again, but handed it all over to Ms. O'Connell to discuss.

In fact, although Ms. Chicken Feet looks very difficult to get along with, in fact, her emotional intelligence is quite high, at least in terms of dealing with people, she is much stronger than Zhang Huaisheng.

He was in charge of sycophancy, and it was enough to gain the favor of Mr. Hindenburg.

Who could cause more trouble to the British than a hasty, naïve, and complex rebel army under the command of a leader with a sense of the big picture and strategy?

There is no doubt about it.

It's well worth the German investment.

Soon, the conversation ended in a very relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

Mr. Hindenburg is not only willing to help the Order sell transcendent items such as the Butcher, the Rock, and the Corpse Whisperer, but also applies for a financial backing for them.

It's just going to take time to go through the process, so they're definitely not going to get the money tonight.

...

As she left the villa, Ms. O'Connell couldn't help but smile on her face: "I really didn't expect things to go so smoothly." ”

"This is all thanks to your good relationship with Mr. Hindenburg, ma'am."

"No, no, no, I think it was Mr. Zhang's outstanding talent that won the respect of Mr. Hindenburg - if you had led the uprising, the British would not have pushed back so easily."

Zhang Huaisheng smiled bitterly: "You said that, if Mr. Clifford heard it, he would definitely be sad." ”

It's a joke, of course.

As an outsider, he could not win the trust of a nationalist rebel army like the Gaeles, and at best he could only play a role akin to that of an advisor.

Miss O'Connell chuckled, "Oh, when the leader first entered the order, I brought it up, even if he said it in front of him, he had to admit it." ”

"Mr. Zhang, it's still early, do you want to go to the opera?"

"Huh?"

Zhang Huaisheng was stunned for a moment, and it was nothing to see, but with you?

As if seeing through Zhang Huaisheng's consternation, Ms. O'Connell smiled: "You think too much, what is there to see with me, an old woman, I'm talking about Teresa and them." ”

"I asked Mr. Hindenburg just now, that Federio is an old opera, and that it will only be performed this afternoon at an opera house on Feld Strasse, so Teresa must be around there."

Before Zhang Huaisheng could think about it, in his mind, the deputy personality began to beg tirelessly-in fact, he could also forcibly control his body, but Zhang Huaisheng was very disgusted with this kind of behavior, and often discussed it with him.

"Well, it's just..."

"Don't worry about other things, extraordinary materials, food, building materials, all take care of it."

Zhang Huaisheng no longer hesitated, but told again: "Just have enough food to eat, and there is no need to think about building materials, since Mr. Hindenburg promised to apply for a part of the funds for us, anyway, we have to run a route to the Americas, we might as well buy more commodities that are in demand over there, and after arriving at the place, sell these goods, and then buy building materials on the spot." ”

Originally, the reason why he planned to buy building materials was because he did not have enough funds.

Perhaps other goods are more profitable, but there is also the question of whether they can be filled in the hold.

It's much more appropriate to buy a hundred cheap building pieces that fill the hold with a profit of 1 than to buy a gem with a profit of 50 but only in a wooden box.

"Don't worry, I'm not one of those young people who doesn't know what to do."

Zhang Huaisheng smiled: "I'm sorry, I'm too worried." ”

He took off his hat and said goodbye to Ms. O'Connell.

looked at Zhang Huaisheng's back as he gradually moved away.

I don't know if it's an illusion, Ms. O'Connell suddenly felt that Zhang Huaisheng seemed to have become a different person, not only his temperament, but also some of his habitual movements had changed.