April 16, 1886

It was about 3 o'clock in the afternoon

An interstate express train numbered ZJ2076 slowly drove into the platform of Chang'an, the imperial capital, the pressure relief valve of the steam locomotive made a sharp snort, and a large cloud of white steam enveloped the train, as if to vent a body of exhaustion.

With a red carpet on the train platform, and the upper-class dignitaries and neatly arranged bands of the imperial capital of Chang'an, the royal capital of Chang'an, were greeted, and the soldiers of the Royal Praetorian Guard were escorted, the ceremony was solemn and solemn.

Standing at the front was the eleventh son of the emperor dressed in the uniform of the lieutenant general of the royal guard system and wearing a medal, His Royal Highness the King of Quang Nam, His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, his tall figure was cool and his father was a father, with a beautiful mustache flowing from his lips, and his expression was resolute and calm.

Next to him stood Brigadier General Pan Shouguo, the royal chamberlain, who was the eldest son of the prince of the Protectorate and the eldest son of the admiral Pan Hengchen.

After completing the military conquest of Cuba and Puerto Rico, His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, King of Quang Nam, led his army to participate in the post-war reconstruction and continuous clean-up work of the new colony, organized Chinese immigrants to resume production, and accumulated rich first-hand experience in governing local government affairs in Cuba.

In the past seven years, Cuba and Puerto Rico have gradually returned to their former peaceful and peaceful life after the war.

The population of the above two regions has also recovered to 896,000 under the continuous import of Chinese immigrants, of which 92.7% are of Chinese descent (note, whether young Cuban women are assigned or married into Chinese families, are of Chinese descent, this figure does not include about 233,000 prisoners in the hard labor camps, which is decreasing significantly every year), basically recovering more than 80% of Cuba's heyday.

This dazzling achievement contains the countless efforts of His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, the king of Guangnan, and a group of vassals, and it is always more difficult to build than to destroy.

The Spanish colonized the island of Cuba for nearly 300 years, leaving behind almost zero infrastructure, rough and narrow roads, often impassable during the rainy season due to mud and flash floods, and a measly few decent bridges.

In these 7 years

Cuba and Puerto Rico, with the help of the Empire, drove 100,000 prisoners to build 11,200 kilometers of roads, smooth and wide roads that could reach all provinces, counties, towns, and 80 per cent of villages, and that carriages and automobiles could travel unimpeded.

Among them, 2,655 kilometers of high-standard trunk roads hardened with asphalt, neat street trees on both sides of the road, with drainage ditches and standard milestones, ranging from 6.5 meters ~ 8 meters wide, greatly improving Cuba's ability to pass to the provinces.

meanwhile

In addition, more than 310 railway lines of 1,330 kilometers have been built, 879 bridges of various sizes have been built, 27 reservoirs have been built, 6 cement factories have been put into operation, 3 thermal power stations, 11 sugar factories, rice mills, oil mills, sawmills, flour mills and food factories have been built, forming a preliminary and perfect light industry system.

During this period, 13 wharves were renovated and repaired, and more than 170 kilometers of seawalls were repaired. Among them, the ports of Havana and Santiago have expanded their terminals by 50,000 tons, allowing the empire's latest 30,000-ton Panamanian ocean-going bulk carriers to unload directly at the port.

With the influx of a large number of Chinese capital, in some towns in Cuba and Puerto Rico, led by Havana, the original chaotic shantytowns have been demolished and rebuilt, and the buildings with two floors have become the mainstream of urban architecture, and the new roads and urban gardens have given it a new look.

The solid foundation laid by the painstaking construction has created favorable conditions for the next step of large-scale migration and economic development.

His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, King of Guangnan, and all his vassals, including Brigadier General Pan Shouguo, were rewarded by His Majesty the Emperor.

The intercontinental train came to a halt with a thick ball of steam, and then the military band played a happy song, and the beautiful notes echoed on the platform.

The door of the carriage opened, and out of the carriage came a dozen German officers and some attachés, who came out and stood on both sides with respectful expressions, and then the muezzin shouted loudly;

"The Venerable Emperor of the German Empire, Wilhelm...... His Highness arrives at ...... Salute! The German officers stood up in unison, then raised their hands in salute.

The officers of the Tang Empire who came to greet him also raised their hands and saluted at the same time, only His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, the king of Guangnan, held a beautifully carved white scepter in his hand, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and the old god was waiting for the German guests to come out.

His Royal Highness Wilhelm soon appeared at the door of the carriage, dressed in a well-dressed tuxedo, holding an expensive cane in his hand, and with two high, upturned Prussian beards on his lips that looked domineering.

After a slight pause at the door of the carriage, His Royal Highness William walked down the red carpet, came to stand in front of His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, King of Quang Nam, and said in a reserved tone; "If I'm not mistaken, this isn't the first time we've met, dear Your Excellency King Quang Nam."

"That's right, Your Royal Highness, I had the privilege of entertaining the prince and his wife at the Emilin Palace in Berlin, and you have changed a lot compared to more than twenty years ago!"

"I have an impression of Your Highness, and I especially like the beast pets around Your Excellency. Being able to run on their wide backs is a deep memory that I will never forget, the best time of my childhood. I owe you a "thank you", Your Excellency King Quang Nam. ”

"The same is true for me, and the time I spent at the Emilin Palace in Berlin is one of the best memories of my life." His Royal Highness Don Li Xin replied with a smile, then stretched out his hand and began to introduce the entourage around him, and said;

"Since you mentioned the events of more than 20 years ago, do you remember this young and heroic royal chamberlain at that time? Introduction, Brigadier General Pan Shouguo, the prince of the Duke's Mansion of the First Protector of the Empire, Deputy Commander of the Southern Dispatch Corps of the Royal Praetorian Guard, and a close friend of mine all along. ”

"It's a great honor to meet you, Your Royal Highness." Brigadier General Pan Shouguo "snapped" a standard and saluted, and then reached out to shake his hand lightly with His Royal Highness William, the crown prince, and the two exchanged a few simple greetings.

As for the rest of the entourage, they were even exempted from greetings, and only touched their hands ceremoniously.

It was then the Emperor Wilhelm's grandson who introduced him to the German officials who accompanied him, most notably Lord Herbert, the eldest son of German Chancellor Bismarck, who was the head of protocol at the German Foreign Office and had close ties with His Royal Highness.

In 1879, Wilhelm left the Bonn court and served in Potsdam in the tradition of the Junker military aristocracy, where he served until around 1883.

This was a sign of the gradual independence of the emperor's grandson, Wilhelm, during this period, when he established good political relations with his grandfather Wilhelm I and the pro-Russian conservative camp represented by Bismarck.

Soon after

Wilhelm was betrothed to Princess Augusta Victoria, daughter of Archduke Schleswig-Holstein, and was married in February 1881.

The marriage of the two marked Wilhelm as a relatively independent factor in German political life, free from the strong desire for control of his mother, Princess Victoria.

From 1883 onwards, the Kaiser Wilhelm joined the German Foreign Office and became acquainted with international affairs with the help of Lord Herbert......

After a brief welcome ceremony on the train platform, the Emperor Wilhelm and his entourage rode in a luxurious and distinguished royal black car, accompanied by His Royal Highness King Quang Nam, to the Grape Valley Palace, more than 30 kilometers away, where the German dignitaries will stay.

In order to welcome the arrival of the German royal dignitaries, part of the streets of the imperial capital Chang'an was closed, and a group of more than 20 black cars hung the royal emblem and flags, escorted by 200 cavalry of the Royal Janissary Guard, marched all the way down the avenue.

Sit in a steady-driving car

William looked out the window at the flowering street green space, tall and majestic buildings, clean and tidy streets without even a piece of paper to be seen, and the bustling crowds on both sides of the road stopped to look, full of modern metropolis flavor.

Especially when passing through the intersection, he saw the long queue of cars stopped by the police and the tram passing by the viaduct, which brought him considerable visual impact.

William couldn't help but say;

"Dear Herbert, everything I have seen and heard in the past few months has made me deeply jealous of the Tang Empire, which has only been rising for 40 years.

This strong emotion seemed to have taken away the woman I loved.

The glittering metropolises of Panama, the Nicaragua Canal, Mexico City, Gallup and Los Angeles have been an eye-opener for me.

When I see Chang'an City now, I know that this is an international metropolis that is not inferior to London, and in terms of urban governance and modernization, it is even far more than the European metropolises of London, Paris and Berlin.

It's hard to imagine how they did this. ”

It is not surprising that Emperor Wilhelm's grandson was one of the first European royal dignitaries to arrive, but he did not arrive in North America on a luxury cruise ship, but in Storm City, the southernmost point of South America, thus embarking on a long expedition of four and a half months.

Taking the Intercontinental Express, William and his entourage traveled north from Storm City, stopping and stopping in the cities they passed, passing through the coastal provinces of Zhennan, Dawn, Crescent, Weiyuan, Shengli, and Glory on the vast South American pampas savannah, and then continuing north through the provinces of Cr Negro, La Pampa, and Córdoba, arriving at the northernmost province of Salta, the former Andean Governor's Palace, and entering Peruvian territory from here.

This long journey came and went, and His Royal Highness William experienced a month and a half of train journey, and although he would often get off the train along the way to enjoy the local beauty, visit the city and the magnificent scenery of the mountains and rivers, this long train journey still made them want to vomit.

Do the math

The entire journey from Storm City by train to the border with Peru is more than 8,300 kilometers (note, the train route is not a straight line distance), but less than half of the entire Pacific Railroad.

The vast territory of the Tang Empire makes people desperate, envious, and red-eyed, making William salivate, and he is about to go crazy with jealousy.

(End of chapter)