In the attic of an old three-story building in an obscure alley in the heart of Hamburg near the north bank of the Elbe, a crazy middle-aged man is scribbling on paper with half a bottle of whisky.

In the triangular attic, there was only a wooden bed and a table, and the floor, sheets, and tables were full of manuscript paper, thick English books were interspersed with stacks of black and white photographs, and dirty clothes were thrown all over the floor.

This is a bachelor's apartment, and it is impossible for a man to be neat and orderly without a woman to take care of him, and it is very rare to have a small attic without a pensioner.

"Hamburg is a free city in Germany, but the Prussian government is pressuring to increase the trade tax by 15%, which is a challenge to the free city...... No, no, no, this kind of news is not interesting at all, the people of Hamburg have long chosen the Kingdom of Prussia, and they will not complain......"

"The training camp of the new army has increased by 30,000 troops in two months, and the intensity of training has fully doubled...... No, although this news is interesting, the photos are so ugly that they can't be published at all......"

The man wearing highly myopic glasses kept muttering, the pen brush in his hand was writing rapidly, and from time to time he had to match his photos, and when he was excited, he raised his hand to take a sip of whiskey, as if there was no literary brilliance without good wine.

He was a freelance writer active in Europe, and his job was to travel to find the best news to provide to the mainstream media in Europe at the time, such as the Times in the UK, Le Figaro in France, and even the Baltimore Sun in the United States.

Because of his seniority, he is more demanding, and in his muttering news after news is denied, he is looking for the most explosive news, the kind of blockbuster news that will take him to the next level.

The notebook on the cover of the lambskin contains the latest information he has obtained from the streets, and after turning through it, he finally finds a message that will attract readers.

"A strange rumor began to circulate among the citizens of Hamburg that an army of oriental faces had been seen in the new barracks of Hamburg, and that they had brought with them countless silver coins...... Now that the Hamburg boot camp has reached the highest level of alert, no one is allowed to approach the core area......"

"Yes, it's good, Prussia's new barracks plus the mysterious army of the East, and even countless silver coins, every keyword can arouse the curiosity of the European people, this is a top news, but unfortunately there are no photos......"

Just as he was muttering to himself, suddenly a voice came from behind him, "The photo thing is very easy to do, you can take it when you turn around......"

The man with glasses was so frightened that he almost fell out of his chair when he looked back to see his old acquaintance Jonas standing in the doorway with two Asians in suits.

"Oh God, Jonas, you have surprised me, haven't you gone to the far East, when did you come back, you two?"

Jonas smiled and hugged his old friend, "I'll introduce to you, these two guests from China, one is General Xiao Hexin and the other is General Sima Yun, who is Chinese, but the current military rank is awarded by the Ryukyu Kingdom...... This sloppy gentleman with a pen and water on his face is my good friend, the freelance writer Leo!"

"Oh, God! Is it really Chinese? The rumors are actually true, these Chinese were brought by Jonas?" Leo quickly wiped his hands on the hem of his clothes, and shook hands with the two enthusiastically, completely ignoring the ink rubbing on the back of Sima Yun's hand.

After a few brief pleasantries, Jonas stated the purpose of their visit: "Leo, what I have revealed to you below is the core secret of the Kingdom of Prussia, and I hope you will remember your people, and do not publicize these things, because it is harmful to the country......"

Leo had never seen his old friend so strict, and hurriedly nodded, "I'm a freelance writer, but I'm a Prussian first and foremost, and I won't hurt my mother country......"

Without waiting for Jonas to speak, Xiao Hexin began to use stumbling German and mixed with a little English, and began to describe his plan, but he didn't expect Xiao Hexin's language talent to be really good, and he actually expressed it very clearly.

"We came from the far east, and we escorted a war loan from the Prime Minister of the Ryukyus to Prussia, a total of 1.35 million silver coins......" Xiao Hexin slowly explained the cause and effect of their coming to Hamburg little by little, and in the end, Leo excitedly raised his head and killed the last whiskey, and slapped the table excitedly.

That miraculous ancient country in the East, a civilized country that can be traced back to ancient Greece and Egypt, actually took the initiative to establish diplomatic relations with our Prussia? This is a courtesy that even the British and French cannot get, and this is the first diplomatic attempt of that country...... Well, you've moved me, now tell me what are you looking for me?"

Sima Yun took over the conversation, "We want to hire you all the way, yes, you heard it right, as long as our army is in Germany for a day, you are the full-time reporter we hire......"

"We need to document our lives, our training and even our wars, we want you to eat and live with us, to get to know us in our lives, and we need your camera, your pen and ink to make Europe realize what our Chinese really is......"

"Yes, you guessed it right, this is a trip for our Chinese to make a name for ourselves, we will do everything we can to participate in the war in Europe as mercenaries, we want to impress the whole of Europe against us, we want to tear apart the lies of Britain and France...... We Chinese are not sheep, we are a group of real warriors!"

Now Leo finally understood that they were going to hire themselves as mouthpieces, to set off a public opinion war in the media throughout Europe, and the Chinese were going to reshape the country's image.

"Oh my God, you let me take a sip of wine to suppress my freak!" Leo pulled out another bottle of wine from under the bed, this time not forgetting to give the guest a glass.

"Oh my God, this is not news anymore, this can already be regarded as a long topic, the mysterious Eastern army is fighting in Europe, and the title alone can already attract the attention of all the Western world, this is my dream!"

"But you know, this kind of project is very time-consuming, and it requires a lot of photographic equipment, and I don't know if your funds can be ......."

Before he finished speaking, Jonas spoke: "You don't have to think about the problem of funds, Prime Minister Bismarck has secretly set up a foundation with a principal of 1.35 million silver coins, and the funds are withdrawn directly from here, so you can say how much monthly salary you want." ”

Leo touched his nose a little embarrassed, "As a professional copywriter, I can earn at least 12 silver Teller coins a month...... Oh, don't believe me, I'm a veteran of the Times for three years, and I'm not a wild man......"

Xiao Hexin smiled, nodded and said, "I don't know how much Mexican Eagle can be exchanged for huàn for 12 talers, but I can give you double the commission, what do you think of the monthly salary of 30 Mexican Eagles? ”

With a bang, everyone heard the sound of Leo swallowing, he usually earns ten thalers a month, but today he gets not double, but three times the salary.

"That's it, I've done it, and from today you're going to get the best pen in Europe, and the best news brain, and I'm going to make you gods! Okay, let me write a few letters to my old friends, I'm going to get them ready, I'm going to leave me the biggest page, I'm going to be the number one copywriter in Europe!"

Leo went crazy, he ignored the surprised eyes of the guests, opened the pen and began to write, he wanted to seize the news page for the whole topic, he wanted to use all his connections to build momentum for these Chinese.

In the middle of the 19th century, although there was already a news media in human society, it was only a few newspapers with a small circulation, and it was far from reaching the power of the media in the era of the information explosion in later generations. During this period, people were not aware of the power of public opinion warfare at all, and the so-called truth and justice were actually in the pen of those media people.

Xiao Lotian will not forget this powerful force, propaganda warfare and public opinion warfare are actually more important than battleships and giant artillery in his heart. Now Xiao Lotian has boarded the Italian merchant ship docked in the port of Sai and is setting sail for Marseille, a famous French port.

"Master Long, when we arrive in Marseille, let's take a boat north along the Rhône and the Saône, pass through Lyon and Dijon, and then take a carriage all the way north, and when we enter the territory of the German Confederation, we will be safe......"

Long Ye said with a bitter face, "It would be nice if it was so easy, you also said that France and Prussia did not deal with each other, let's go to the territory of France, they would agree?" Now that we are getting closer and closer to the nest of the great powers, my heart is fluttering and beating, and I always feel that something is going to ......happen."

Xiao Letian patted Long Ye's shoulder and said generously, "It doesn't matter, what is my identity?" I am now the prime minister of the Ryukyu Kingdom, I am protected by the public law of all nations, I have diplomatic immunity, even if I enter the hinterland of Europe without notice, they have to ...... politely to me."

"What's more, I have already contacted the German intelligence officer in the port of Sai yesterday, and when we arrive in Marseille, there will be a Prussian intelligence officer to pick you up, so you can rest assured......"

While the two were chatting, the Wing King Shi Dakai walked out of the cabin and said with an indignant face, "Since ancient times, gentlemen have not stood under dangerous walls, you are the prime minister of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and you are the backbone of the brothers, can you come to this Europe if you say ......?"

Xiao Letian stuck out his tongue and hurriedly persuaded, "I know, I know what the prince said, but if you think about it carefully, since Europe is the tiger's den in Longtan, then I have to come over in person to break through, let Xiao Hexin and them deal with me by themselves It's really a little uneasy......"

"The current situation in Japan and the Ryukyus is in a delicate balance, and all parties have fought three or four times in the last year, and no one has completely won, no one has completely lost, and now everyone is gasping for breath and accumulating strength, even if I leave for a year and a half, there is no problem. ”

"Lord Wang, this world has really changed, and without the help of external forces, it is no longer enough for us to toss on our own. It's not just that we are already behind the times, but more importantly, as long as our national fortunes begin to move upward, those powers will definitely try their best to restrain or even directly suppress them. Can you tell us that we don't have a few good allies who can do it?"

Xiao Lotian looked at the bow of the ship, and said in a blue and faint voice: "This is a major event like a strategic alliance, I can't do it if I don't go out in person......"