Chapter 192 White

"Let other peoples divide the continent and the sea, and the era when we Germany were satisfied with the blue sky is over, and we also ask for territory under the sun."

As the fourth Prime Minister of the German Empire, Bernhard? Feng? Pirov's foreign policy is different from the caution of the Bismarck era. More often, his foreign policy is adventurous and radical, especially the Moroccan crisis caused by the blatant occupation of French power in Morocco half a year ago, which almost triggered a French war, although a month ago, under the intervention of Britain. In the end, Germany recognized Morocco as a protectorate of France, but obtained a part of the French Congo colony with an area of up to 275,000 square kilometers as compensation. Although the crisis was over, it intensified the confrontation between France and Germany and strengthened the alliance between Britain and France.

But in Bernhard? Feng? In the view of Pilov and Emperor William II, this crisis has fully demonstrated Germany's strength. At the same time, Germany has also received corresponding rewards. It is a huge African colony, but it also makes Germany soberly realize that under the blackmail of Britain and France, it has not expanded its territory overseas by force for the time being. The place of use.

After the crisis, some liberal politicians in Germany began to brew a new institutional design to seek the "new model of world politics" of Germany's surname on the way to avoid the isolationist crisis of war - it is not only safe and reliable, can effectively avoid war, but also conducive to spreading German culture on the world stage. Carry out a smoke-free " moral conquest".

It is also because of this that Germany has adjusted its diplomatic deployment, and its attitude towards China is also a foothold in this adjustment.

At this time, in the Prime Minister's Office, in the face of this thick confidential telegram from China, Bernhard? Feng? Pilov remained silent for a long time. To be precise, it was the complete content of the telegram that shocked him for a long time.

"The estimated reserves are 250 million to 350 million tons of sodium saltpetre,... The average ore grade is 7.89-10.43%, the local maximum is 35.07%, and the average of the whole mining area is 11.90%. The day, this is more than the reserves of Hanberite and Santa Lola saltpetre. Mr. Prime Minister, we must get Go to this saltpetre mine.

When Foreign Secretary Yakov put down the document in his hand, he almost shouted out this sentence in a trembling voice. Although he was a foreign minister, Yakov still understood what this saltpetre mine meant to Germany.

In the past hundred years, Europe's population has grown rapidly, and the fertility of the land has been exhausted. It is impossible for food production to grow in the same proportion without soil improvement. Through testing, the British found that sea bird droppings have the surname of fertilizer. Since 1840, sea bird droppings off the coast of Peru have been exported in large quantities. There are a large number of fish in the waters off the coast of Peru. The bonees and seagulls who rely on these fish have lived on large and small coastal islands since ancient times, and the feces left there have piled up into mountains. These feces are rich in nitrogen, ammonia, phosphate and salt and alkali, which eventually turn into natural phosphate ore.

However, soon after seabird dung hit people in the international market, agricultural chemists found that saltpeter contained more nutrients. By 1850, the use of saltpeter as fertilizer had become very widespread in European rural areas. The earth power of the Old World has long been exhausted due to soil erosion, and the fertilized wheat fields greedily absorb sodium nitrate nutrients from saltpetre. Later, Chile monopolized the world's saltpeter supply through the "Ptrite War" and the adequate supply of fertilizer made the ghost of European famine driven away.

Although these saltpeter mines are on Chile's land, they are controlled by the British, while Germany's agriculture, chemical industry and military industry are inseparable from Chile's saltpeter, and it is not the Chileans who supply saltpeter, but the British. The British Liverpool Nitrate Company monopolizes intelligence. The export of saltpeter mines, but during the "Morocco crisis", Germany's mining sailboats have been stranded in Chile's ports. Local suppliers have semi-discontone the export of saltpeter to Germany on the grounds of limited production. The shadow behind this is the Liverpool Nitrate Company, which is the British political axe.

"Your Excellency, this saltpeter mine will meet the needs of Germany in the next three centuries. In any case, we must get this huge saltpeter mine..."

"Yes, you can even do it at all costs!"

For a time, there were a lot of opinions in the whole office. Almost everyone was surprised that the telegram mentioned the huge size of the saltpeter mine. The reserves exceeded that of Chile, and the ore grade was not inferior to Chile. In the face of such a saltpetre mine related to the lifeline of German agriculture and industry, no one could keep calm, especially in the After the "semi-ejin" during the "Morocco crisis", everyone can clearly realize what this saltpetre mine in the hinterland of China means to Germany.

"So, Yakov, why do you think the Chinese take the initiative to show us this report?"

Pylov turned his head and asked Doyakov. In his opinion, the time of the report was too coincidental. That is, when China was about to start peace talks with Japan, a German geologist and naval officer Georg? The mining resource report that Kaibo participated in the investigation was taken out by the Chinese and handed over to the ambassador to China by the emperor himself.

"Chinese people need our help!"

Yakov replied without thinking.

"In the future negotiations, they need a real ally, and His Majesty has said that he will intervene in the negotiations, so in this negotiation, they need us to help them curb the diplomatic pressure from Britain!"

"But isn't this the starting point for our intervention in the mediation?"

Pylov frowned and said that His Majesty's intervention in the mediation of the conflict is to increase Germany's influence in China, especially when the Chinese are dissatisfied with Britain because of the betrayal of Britain. What Germany needs is only to appear in a fair, fair and slightly frank Chinese attitude, which is enough to make the Chinese. Thank you very much.

And is this saltpetre mine really a gift from His Majesty the Emperor?

In the face of this report, Pilov was silent. This saltpeter mine is an irrejectable ** for Germany and even any country. Why did the Chinese give this gift to themselves?

"... A province in northwest China is likely to be Gansu or Xinjiang Province. Because of the secrecy of the Chinese along the way, I can't determine the location of the mining area..."

Is this Georg? Kaibo answered after pulling the inquiry telegram.

"Gansu, Xinjiang Province..."

Looking at the name mentioned in the telegram, Pirov said to his secretary.

"Bre a map of China now!"

A few minutes later, a map of China appeared in the Prime Minister's office. After the map was spread out, Pilov quickly found the location of Gansu and Xinjiang Province, and then looked along the map to the edge. Pilov smiled.

"Haha, I knew it, I knew it, it's not just a gift!"

As soon as he raised his head, Pilov, who was smiling, said to Yakov.

"Let's go to see Your Majesty together. Maybe this saltpeter mine will be the best New Year's gift your Majesty has received!"

"This is indeed the best and most meaningful New Year gift I have received so far!"

William II put down the telegram in his hand without showing ecstasy or too much emotional fluctuations. He slowly stood up, walked to the huge globe, turned the globe, and found the position of China.

"The Chinese emperor hopes to use our strength to compete with the Russians. Otherwise, the greedy Nicholas will certainly not watch such a saltpetre mine under his own eyes without any crooked thoughts, so he needs us to intervene, and I think..."

Although the surname is very arrogant, William II is still keenly aware that this saltpetre mine is not just a gift "giving" to himself by the Chinese.

"I'm afraid they will use this saltpetre mine to exchange a lot of things from us, such as loans. Well, is there a railway there?"

"Your Majesty, the Chinese railway to the west has not yet been built to Xi'an. If it is in Xinjiang Province, it may need to build 2,000 kilometers of railway!"

Pylov answered truthfully about some information about western China on his way to the palace.

William II threw a look like this at Pilov.

"Now we can affirm one thing. The Chinese people will certainly hope that Germany will bear the funds for the construction of the railway. The 2,000-kilometer railway will require at least 100 million marks, and the future construction of the mine. I think Germany needs to bear at least 150 million marks to be able to get part of the equity of this saltpeter mine, and It will not be possible for our fleet to ship back the first batch of Chinese saltpeter until at least five years later!"

"Your Majesty, your decision is..."

Porov hurriedly asked.

"Of course, we need saltpeter. Our agriculture and our industry are inseparable from saltpeter. Without saltpeter, we don't have enough fertilizer. Without saltpeter, the army will have no explosives and gunpowder. Therefore, we want to get this saltpetre mine,"

William II said with great certainty, and then pondered for a moment.

"As for this fund, I think the German banking group should be very willing to bear it. Maybe ten years later, this saltpeter will bring hundreds of millions of marks of dollars in return to Germany every year, but I hope we can get enough benefits in the negotiations."

After a while of silence, he turned to face Yakov, and William II suddenly smiled.

"Drafting a telegram to send to the Chinese emperor in my name, telling him that I and the German Empire are very willing to stand firmly on the side of China during the negotiation. Friendship is based on the friendship between Germany and China! Well, at the same time, tell him that I am very happy to see that Germany will carry out broader and more comprehensive cooperation with China in the future..."

"Our plan worked!"

Putting down William II's reply to the telegram, Chen Moran smiled.

His own "white knocking brick" successfully opened the door of Germany. Now William II has bitten the hook, and slowly he will bite tighter and tighter.

"Your Majesty, we are fully capable of building railways and mining saltpeter mines. Why do we have to pull the Germans?"

Liang Dunyan couldn't figure out why His Majesty made such a bad plan anyway. In his opinion, once the Sino-Japanese negotiations were concluded and a huge amount of compensation was obtained, China was fully capable of carrying out all this by itself.

"Why?"

With a slight smile, Chen Moran looked at Liang Dunyan. They couldn't do their own intentions at all.

"We ourselves have the ability, but we must take into account the factors of Russia. Russia's hatred is very beneficial to us. However, because of the saltpetre mine in Xinjiang Province, the contradiction between China and Russia has led to the cooperation between Russia, and no one can estimate the impact on us!"

He said so, but Chen Moran knew in his heart that whether it was China and Germany co-organizing the Xinjiang nitrate company, or Germany provided loans to build the railway from Haizhou to Dihua, in fact, he made up his mind to directly confiscate the large enterprise after nine years and stop repaying the loan.

War, war will change a lot of things.

Now, saltpeter may be white gold, but after World War I, the artificial synthetic nitric acid invented by German chemists has come to the end of saltpeter. Now I just use a sunset industry for China for the greatest benefit. A thousands of kilometers of trunk railway is the most important thing. As for World War I, I rely on The last "profit" earned by the saltpetre export is almost negligible. What we and China need is only the railway.

"So, introduce Germany into the saltpeter mine, and Germany will deal with the Russians, so that we can be in a detached position. After all, this saltpetre mine happened to German geologists!"

With a smile, Chen Moran silently apologized to the employees of the company who found this saltpeter in his heart. For the benefit of the country, this is the only way.

"And, more importantly, whether it is the huge investment in railways and future saltpeter deposits and huge returns, it will make Germany's investment in China overwhelm the traditional European powers of Britain and France. At that time, China will become Germany's most important trading partner and investment market. At this time, we can talk with Germany. On introducing technology from Germany and hiring German experts to help us with the national industrial development plan, we will help us build a complete industrial system in the next ten years, so that we can become a real power.

With a little silence, Chen Moran looked at Liang Dunyan and said.

"Moreover, Germany's lead in China vows that it will inevitably lead to the vigilance of Britain and France. In order to compete for the market, they will further lower the price of industrial machinery, which is more conducive to our introduction of equipment and technology. Therefore, in any case, in this game between countries, we are the only final winner. China, Germany, Britain, and even the United States are just a stepping stone on our development.

Interests, the interests between countries are a game. Compared with those countries, if you control the future development, you will take the lead. As long as you master this opportunity, you can get a reward beyond imagination.

"For China now, if we want to develop, we must make full use of the contradictions between countries, cleverly strive for our interests, and do everything possible to maximize our interests. This is the basis of our rapid development. Now, we need to pull the Germans in through railways and saltpetre mines. In the future, when they are trapped, let's persuade them to spit out Qingdao. At that time, I'm afraid the Germans can only do this for our allies!"

When he spit out these words, Chen Moran's heart was a little complacent. He exchanged the "white gold" that was equivalent to chicken ribs for himself for too many things, and there was a long-term one in front of him. In short, he just played his utility to the best.

Yes, in the future, when the railway is built in Xinjiang Province, we must transfer the labor punishment camp of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to Xinjiang Province and grow cotton there, which is a reward.

This is the future in my hands!

He sighed from the bottom of his heart. Looking at Liang Dunyan sitting there, Chen Moran smiled.

"We have to prepare for two negotiations now. One is to negotiate with me. This negotiation is not so much a negotiation between me as a game with the United Kingdom and the United States. Now that Germany has intervened. As long as they are on our side, the pressure on the British side can be offset. The only thing that needs to be considered is It's the United States!"

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid that if we want to get the support of the United States for us, we should not only consider it diplomatically, but also need to..."

Before Liang Dunyan finished speaking, Chen Moran took it over.

"US dollar!"

"Your Majesty,"

Liang Dunyan nodded heavily, which was a strategy set by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after careful study.

"Now the United States has the world's largest industry and the most powerful financial economy. Even Britain needs to finance the United States during the Boolean War. Although France is the world's largest financing market, in terms of its financing potential, it may be the United States, and the American banking industry has always had the same British finance. The ambition of the world competition, if we want to ask for compensation, we say that we can consider using US dollars for settlement, then the U.S. political axe will at least support most of our compensation requirements for Japan. Of course, we also have to induce the U.S. financial community to force the U.S. political axe in exchange for supporting our requirements, so as to use US dollar settlement. Well, Americans get what they dream of, and we can still get huge compensation. Of course, most of the territorial claims can also be met.

Speaking of this, Liang Dunyan looked at His Majesty and said.

"Of course, this ultimately depends on how important Germany is willing to play in this game without the full support of Germany. First, if we ask for US dollars to settle, I'm afraid that it will cause a strong reaction from the British side. At this time, we need German support, but on the other hand, the German financial community also With the same demands, we must all take these into account..."

"Then use US dollars and marks to settle together! As for the proportion, it depends on how hard they work! To reveal this to them, today's behavior determines tomorrow's return!"

(to be continued)