Early March 1915

Richard and his entourage arrived in Berlin and stayed in a palace-style mansion on Kurthou Street, still the vice chairman of a multinational telecommunications company, Count Li from the Tang Dynasty.

Time of war

The Germans were as obedient and disciplined as machines, and the whole country was enveloped in fanatical patriotism and bloomed with astonishing productivity.

Workers work overtime in factories, and women and children go into the fields to make up for the shortage of labor in the countryside.

The German economy as a whole grew by 11.7 percent in the first quarter over the same period last year, and the national economy has completely transitioned to a wartime system with a strict supply rationing system in place.

The pride of the German invasion of France inspired everyone, and in today's Western and Eastern Fronts, the well-trained German army resisted the British, France, and Russia.

On both the Eastern and Western Fronts, it was the Germans who had the offensive advantage.

Under what circumstances did this lead to a brilliant record?

Due to the blockade of the North Atlantic by the British Royal Navy, the channels of sea transportation have actually been cut, and the volume of import trade has been greatly reduced.

Imports are not smooth, and the export of industrial products is naturally not smooth.

Originally, large imports such as grain, kerosene, and minerals were greatly checked, which brought a considerable degree of trouble to the German Empire.

Fortunately, Austria-Hungary was a traditional grain producer and exporter in the Allied bloc, and was able to meet most of Germany's grain import needs.

The iron and coal mines in Lorraine, Alsace and the Ruhr region can basically meet the needs of heavy industry, and there is no big problem for the time being.

As for some coffee, cane sugar, cocoa, frozen meat, canned food, tea, and chemical industry supplies used to improve life, there is no choice but to tighten the belt and use less or no use.

Everything here is a sought-after item on the black market, and the price is surprisingly high.

The only thing that is inseparable is the "antibacterial king" produced by the Tang Empire, which is something that saves the lives of German front-line officers and soldiers, and it has to be imported at a great cost.

In the case of a basic disruption of import channels by sea, Germany could only obtain it by smuggling by land.

There were two general smuggling routes, one was to enter German-occupied Belgium through the Nordic countries and then into Germany proper.

The other passes through the city of Fubo or Kuwait City, the pearl of the Red Sea, enters Libya or Baghdad by land, passes through the Ottoman Empire, and enters from the Balkans.

The second road was much longer and passed through numerous towns along the way, but thanks to the Eastern Railway, which was opened by the Germans, it was the main source of entry.

Most of the valuable supplies of kerosene, lubricants, saltpeter, bristles, leather and medicines, which were urgently needed in the war, were imported from the second smuggling channel.

After all, the Ottoman Empire was also on the side of the Central Powers, and imposed strict military protection on the imported materials, both in quantity and quality.

The Tang Empire has always adhered to a policy of neutrality, because North Atlantic traders have also been repeatedly disturbed, and there have been sharp conflicts with Britain and France and other Allied countries.

The current Entente military bloc and the Allied military bloc are all very dependent on the materials exported by the Tang Empire, so a delicate balance has been formed.

It was in this context that Richard and his entourage arrived in Berlin.

Next stop

He also planned to visit Frankfurt, Vienna, Rome, Milan, and Turin to examine in detail the human and social conditions of famous European cities during the all-out war, and interpret the values of the white community from a higher level.

The first week after moving in

The lavish mansion was the subject of snowflake invitations, social events and charity dinners, as well as goodwill from the German military.

The French know what the Germans understand.

The vice chairman of the World Telegraph Company is also a nobleman of the Tang Empire, and such an identity is also a powerful person in the upper class society in the Tang Empire, so it is naturally easy to get some "sterilization kings".

All these entertainments were pushed to Xu Jinxun, but fortunately, Xu Jinxuan's secretary team was not vegetarian, and soon brought a large number of good things for the Germans, including the "sterilization king".

By virtue of the transport submarines.

The transport submarine is a new 560-ton submarine developed by the Tang Empire, which is not equipped with weapons and can transport 140 tons of cargo at a time with a range of 1,200 kilometers.

The submarine departed from a secret port in the United Kingdom and crossed the English Channel to Belgium, with a single voyage of only more than 140 kilometers, which is very convenient.

Under normal conditions, transport submarines move on the surface of the sea.

Often in the early morning or late afternoon when the vision is poor, the periscope depth can break through the dangerous British Royal Navy blockade, and then you can swagger to the surface of the sea.

Even if you encounter danger, you can dive underwater to avoid the search of British Royal Navy ships.

In this situation where the submarine was discovered by the eyes and there were no favorable measures for the discovery, the transport submarine was like a fish in water in the English Channel.

When returning

Transport submarines were loaded with gold, silver, treasures, curios, and other high-value items, as well as a small number of German exports of industrial goods, such as Zeiss telescopes, artillery sights.

This secret transport line did not change the fate of Germany's inevitable defeat, but only drew a small hole in the treasury of wealth of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and it flowed day and night......

The most important commodity they can trade is the "sterilization king", and the rest are motors, lubricants, coffee, cocoa, liquor and other materials.

Someday

Dressed in typical German worker attire and wearing a fedora, Richard walked out of the slum-stricken neighborhood of Ridley and ran into a group of urban pickets who had been forcibly conscripted.

Armed with rifles, these city pickets searched the streets for homeless people during the day and pulled nets near bars at night, shoning drunks into horse-drawn wagons and taking them away.

If there are those idle men, then congratulations, after a short period of military training, they will soon appear on the battlefield on the Western Front or the Eastern Front.

Caught off guard

When Richard turned the corner, he was not far from the dozen or so city pickets.

He stood still and stared at the other party, and after only a few seconds, he immediately turned around and ran back, and the city pickets behind him chased after him with shouts.

Richard plunged into the streets of the Ledley neighborhood, running wildly on his long legs, and quickly shook off the people.

He turned out of the other street, saw that no one was paying attention to the left and right, then took a deep breath, calmed the gasp of the wild running all the way, and pretended to merge into the flow of people.

It's funny to think about

The German Empire has always been small in land and inhabited, and it is also one of the most populous countries in North America every year.

Since the outbreak of war in Europe, the number of immigrants from Germany has decreased dramatically, from an average of 100,000 to more than 200,000 per year to more than 10,000.

As expected, the number of immigrants will drop dramatically as the war moves into a bloodier phase of trench warfare.

no doubt

These people were consumed in the trenches and became part of the German price to pay for the war.

In 1914, Germany had a population of more than 65 million, second only to Tsarist Russia among European powers, and its economy ranked second in the world.

If Wilhelm II had the patience to wait another 20 years, the population of the whole Germany would reach 85 million ~ 90 million, and the strength would have reached a higher level.

In terms of population alone, it is the sum of Britain and France.

If the attack were to occur at that time, the Allied bloc led by Germany would have at least a 70% chance of winning.

It's a pity that there are no ifs

Richard knew very well that even after more than 100 years, the total population of Germany was just over 80 million.

Germany sacrificed too many young men in the two world wars and sacrificed the future of the German nation.

In Richard's personal visit, this change can be felt very clearly.

In today's era, ordinary families in Britain, France, Germany and other countries, a couple has an average of 5~6 children, and British families have become fewer, with an average of 4.6 children per family.

There are more German families, with an average of 6.3 children per family.

If the war is postponed for 20 years, the population of the entire society will be increased by one-third.

The Tang Empire is the biggest beneficiary of peace, and since its establishment, the empire itself has not experienced war for 70 years, and its population has maintained a steady growth trend.

By the beginning of 1915, the total population of the Tang Empire had reached 210 million, the size of 140 million in Tsarist Russia and 60 million in Germany.

If there is a big war on the scale of a European war, the curve of population growth will be interrupted.

This is the case in Germany now, regardless of the large number of young and middle-aged people in urban and rural areas, the whole country has a strong advantage in youth, due to the stage of explosive population and economic growth.

If we can calm down and develop for another 20 years, the future of the German nation is limitless.

It's a pity that there are no ifs

The entire German nation was paying for Wilhelm II's ambitions, the cities were scarce, and the workers were still tightening their belts and working enthusiastically to support the war at the front.

But enthusiasm can't be eaten as bread, and there is a law to sustain it year after year.

During Richard's observation in Berlin during this time, he saw that the most active were the Jewish usurers, who hoarded and drove up prices.

When the supply of bread was in short supply, the price of a piece of bread was 5~6 times that of the pre-war period, and the price of a box of sterilization king was dozens of times the price.

It is no wonder that the German people hate these Jewish financiers so much, the so-called people are doing it, the sky is watching, and there is always a time for retribution.

These Jews did not have the slightest influence in North America, but they had a lot of power in Europe, including England and France.

Richard was only a sober observer, carefully observing the social and cultural conditions of European countries during the war, which was a new subject of great interest to him.

He's not going to get involved, and he's not going to try to change anything?

The only thing that has changed is that the Chinese cultural relics and antiques looted by European countries are moving to the North American continent at an unprecedented rate.

Antiques from European countries, antiquities from ancient Egypt and the Near East were also transferred, and the wealth of Europe flowed into North America.

We have entered the new year

With the Ottoman Empire joining the Allied camp, wars broke out between the two major military blocs in the Near East and the Arabian Peninsula, which inevitably affected the interests of the Tang Empire in the Red Sea region.

In response, the Tang Empire made a swift military response.

April 7~11, 1915

The Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Yemen, and Jeddah regions of the Gulf officially declared their independence from the Ottoman Empire and implemented political and military independence.

Shortly thereafter

The above-mentioned regions have successively declared their annexation to the Tang Empire and become one of its overseas provinces, namely Jeddah, Yemen, Kuwait (including Qatar) and Abu Dhabi, a total of four overseas provinces.

These areas were as Richard said, and they caused little social upheaval and little opposition, and they were smoothly incorporated into the Empire's overseas colonial areas.

(End of chapter)