Grab the Transvaal Gold Mine! Even if Bismarck City is as deep as the sea, this moment can not help but be a little moved, it is really the attraction of the Transvaal gold mine is too great, European newspapers have continued to report on the Transvaal gold mine, the annual output of up to 100 tons of Transvaal gold mine has long been famous in the world, is recognized by various countries as 'the world's largest gold mine'.

For the Transvaal gold mine, there is no country that is not hot, and Germany, known as the first military power in Europe, is no exception, but the eye is hot, Bismarck has never had the idea of fighting the Transvaal gold mine, one is that Germany does not have a strong naval fleet, and the Qing Army is also prestigious.

He never dreamed that he would have the opportunity to get his hands on the Transvaal Gold Mine, the world's largest gold mine with more than three million ounces of gold a year, and the mere thought of it made his heart boil and his mouth dry.

What if Germany could own the Transvaal gold mines? Germany's rapid development in recent years is completely based on France's huge indemnity, if it has the Transvaal gold mine, it can continue to maintain the momentum of rapid development, ten or twenty years later, it can completely ignore the threat of Britain and France, dominate Europe in one fell swoop, and most importantly, Germany will have abundant financial resources to build an ironclad fleet to compete with England!

After all, he has been in the political arena for many years, and Bismarck quickly suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and calmed down, the Transvaal gold mine is located in South Africa, which cannot be swallowed by Germany, at least not alone!

Moreover, it is not so easy to snatch the Transvaal gold mine from the hands of the Qing State, the Qing State is world-class in both the navy and the army, especially the navy, even the British League, which is known as the 'maritime hegemon', has to retreat, and the army combat power is also extremely strong, and the armies of Britain, France, Russia and other countries are not opponents, how can this gold mine be so easy to grab?

Germany does not have a strong navy at all, even if it is snatched with the connivance and assistance of England, it cannot be controlled for a long time, unless it is a combination with England, it is possible to firmly occupy the Transvaal gold mine for a long time.

In the blink of an eye, Bismarck saw through the other party's thoughts, even so, he was still excited, even if it was more than a million ounces of gold a year, it was also a huge long-term investment! Moreover, Germany itself was interested in opening up colonies in Africa, which was a rare opportunity.

After a slight mutter, he said slowly: "What is the production and reserves of the Transvaal gold mine, your country is clear, and the reports in the newspapers of various countries may not be the facts...... ”

Is this tempting? Disraeli had a faint smile on his face, such a big piece of fat was thrown out, he was really not afraid that the other party would not be moved, "The output of the Transvaal gold mine, the reports of newspapers in various countries are indeed a little untrue, not high, but low!" The annual production of gold from the mine has been steadily increasing every year, and last year it exceeded 150 tons, which is close to 5 million ounces!

In this regard, the Boers were well aware that the Qing mining of the Transvaal gold mines not only employed a large number of local blacks, but also a large number of Boers, and the Boers also sent tax collectors to supervise the statistics. As for the reserves, the Boers also carried out detailed exploration, with rough estimates, at least more than 10,000 tons. ”

More than 10,000 tons! More than 300 million ounces of gold! Bismarck's heart was beating violently, this number was so big that he could not bear it, he didn't dare to imagine, if the Qing State was allowed to mine, what would the Qing Congress develop in 20 or 30 years? Maybe there's a chance of a fourth 'Yellow Peril'!

After his mood slowly calmed down, he tentatively said: "Although the Transvaal gold mine is attractive, it is far away in South Africa, and the Qing country has a world-class navy, has your country developed a torpedo that can compete with it?" ”

When it comes to torpedoes, Disraeli has a headache, the Qing Kingdom has carried out an extremely strict blockade of torpedoes, Makqin heavy machine guns, barreled artillery and other technologies, especially torpedoes, which are particularly strict, in recent years, they can neither steal relevant drawings and materials, nor can they see the real thing, and the Royal Navy military factory is full of wine bags and rice bags, which have been developed for several years, and there has been no progress at all.

If a torpedo had been developed, with the British Empire's strong industrial strength and shipbuilding capabilities, it would have been a shame long ago, and would there still be a chance for Germany to get involved in the Transvaal gold mines? Disraeli secretly slandered himself and said truthfully: "The development of torpedoes is progressing slowly, and it is difficult to use them in actual combat for a year and a half. ”

Hearing this, Bismarck's face had a strange expression, "When South Africa goes to war, it is not the land battle that determines the outcome of the war, but the naval battle, your Excellency will not be unclear about this, right?" ”

The old god Disraeli said: "If our country does not participate in the war, there will be no naval war, and it is the land war that determines the victory." After a pause, he continued: "Dissatisfied with Your Excellency, the Qing State has officially annexed Bengal and is increasing its troops to Bengal, which is clearly intended to threaten India, and our country cannot participate in the war ....... South Africa. ”

England not going to war? Is co-authoring to provoke Germany to challenge the behemoth of the Qing Empire alone? Bismarck's brows furrowed, and then he slowly wrinkled again, even if England entered the war? If you can't win the Qing navy, participating in the war will only increase your losses.

On the other hand, it is the wisest not to enter the war, if England does not enter the war, there will be no naval war, and the British merchant fleet, which has declared neutrality, can openly travel to and from South Africa to ensure the logistical supply of the German army. What's more, he didn't look at the combat strength of the British Army, and if it was really a joint operation of the Army, it would probably still be cumbersome.

Thinking of this, he reacted, "Could it be that the Qing Kingdom has expected your country to move the Transvaal Gold Mine?" ”

"It should be your country's contract for the Ottoman Railway, which caused the Qing country's worry and panic." Disraeli said unhurriedly: "The Qing State is afraid that you and I will join forces to snatch the Transvaal gold mine, for the Qing State, the most important thing at present is the Transvaal Gold Mine, I think, the Qing State's actions in Bangladesh just show that the Qing State is weak-minded." ”

Bismarck nodded slowly and agreed with this view, for the current Qing State, the Transvaal gold mine can be said to be the most important, how can it not be sensitive? After a slight sigh, he said slowly: "The Qing Army is stronger than the Navy, the Battle of Tianjin, and the Battle of Pretoria are enough to show that the Qing Army is a world-class army, and the Qing Army's weapons and equipment are far superior to our German Army. ”

Seeing that the other party was obviously tempted, but deliberately exaggerated the combat strength of the Qing army, Disraeli secretly sneered in his heart, nothing more than wanting more benefits, he said straightforwardly: "Seize the Transvaal gold mine, and divide the two countries equally." ”

Deuce? Bismarck said coldly: "If your country does not participate in the war, you still want to divide it equally?" ”

"Although our country does not participate in the war, it is responsible for the logistics and supply ....... of your army."

Before Disraeli finished speaking, Bismarck said: "In the battle of Pretoria, how many casualties did your country have?" ”

In the battle of Pretoria, the British army suffered heavy casualties, the main casualties came from artillery shelling and Maxim heavy machine guns, and now the war casualties are indeed getting bigger and bigger, Disraeli knew very well what the other party meant, and was silent for a while before saying: "Qing will not easily give up the Transvaal gold mine........." ”

That's for sure, no one can easily give up the Transvaal, which is known as the world's largest gold mine! Germany cannot swallow it alone, and it cannot swallow it! Bismarck knew this very well in his heart, and even said: "Twenty-eight points, your country does not participate in the war, accounts for twenty percent, and there can be no more." ”

"Four or six points at most!" Disraeli said in a deep voice: "Although our country does not enter the war, it also takes great risks........ ”

"Your Excellency doesn't really think that just our two countries can swallow the Transvaal gold mines, do you?" Bismarck said coldly: "The output of the Transvaal gold mine is increasing year by year, five million ounces of gold a year, it is no wonder that the Qing country does not work hard, this must be a long-term war!" The population of the Qing State exceeds 500 million, and if it continues to fight for a long time, our country will inevitably not be able to support it, and if we want to grab the Transvaal gold mine, we must unite Austria-Hungary and Italy. ”

Disraeli sighed secretly, but he was a little impressed in his heart, instigating Germany to seize the Transvaal gold mine, which was originally a plan to kill two birds with one stone, of course he knew that it was impossible for the Qing State to give up the Transvaal, and it would inevitably fight for it endlessly, and Germany was also unstoppable, so that it could weaken the two major opponents of Qing and Germany in one fell swoop.

The other side obviously understood his intentions, so he proposed to involve Austria-Hungary and Italy to avoid fighting the Qing State alone, and in addition, Austria-Hungary and Italy both had slightly larger ironclad fleets, which could avoid over-reliance on England, and finally, it was to encircle the two countries and further isolate France.

To his admiration, Bismarck was willing to share the Transvaal gold mine with Austria-Hungary and Italy, and after thinking for a while, he said: "Several countries will jointly send troops, and the grasp will naturally be greater, so let France also participate, according to the Oriental saying, this is called guarding against backyard fires." ”

A fire in your backyard? Is this worried that the war situation in South Africa will be deadlocked, and France will take the opportunity to counterattack Germany? Although Bismarck had the intention of isolating France, he also had to guard against this, after all, after the Franco-Prussian War, Germany and France were already in an endless situation, if the war in South Africa was unfavorable, France would inevitably take the opportunity to attack, in addition, it was also necessary to prevent the Qing State from supporting France to start a war!

After pondering for a while, Bismarck said: "Transvaal gold mine, our country must account for forty percent, otherwise, our country is not interested." ”

After being silent for a while, Disraeli said very simply: "Yes, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and France each account for 20%, and my country does not want it." ”

"Really?" Bismarck looked at each other in disbelief.

Disraeli nodded slowly and heavily, for England, the Qing Empire is the biggest enemy, if you can't take this extremely rare opportunity to defeat the Qing Kingdom in one fell swoop, the decline of England will be irretrievable, as for the Transvaal gold mine, he doesn't care very much, England has Australian gold mines, and it is the world's industrial hegemon, it is the center of the world economy, and he hasn't seen the shares of the Transvaal gold mine yet.

Seeing Bismarck's suspicious face, he said slowly: "The main purpose of robbing the Transvaal gold mine is to eliminate Yuan Qi and crush the Qing Kingdom. Austria-Hungary participated in the war, and twenty percent of the shares had to be given, otherwise, this war could not be fought at all, and it could only be that our country took into account the overall situation, not to mention that our country did not participate in the war on the bright side. ”

"Good!" Bismarck said briskly: "My country will take the lead in this war. ”

"The war must be waged as soon as possible, at least before Christmas." Disraeli said, "We must start a war when Yuan Qi is at his weakest!" ”

Qingdao, Qingdao Shipbuilding Factory, 520 Research Institute.

The 520 Research Institute is an institution specializing in the development of submarines, with its own shipyard and wharf and other supporting facilities, on the wharf, Yi Zhishu and his entourage waited quietly surrounded by many research and technical personnel of the Institute, and it didn't take long for there to be movement on the sea surface of the wharf, and a huge gray submarine slowly floated up.

"This is a double-hull submarine newly developed according to the creativity of the big treasurer." Wang Shengwang, the dean in his early forties, said slowly: "The submarine is 21 meters long, has a displacement of 63 tons, and is equipped with a steam boiler, which is powered by steam and has a power of 120 horsepower. The surface speed can reach 12 knots, the underwater speed is 7 knots, and the dive can be ....... 15 meters. ”

Yi Zhengxing asked curiously: "Since it is powered by steam, how to sail underwater?" ”

"When diving, the steam boiler is extinguished, and the residual steam is used as the power in the water." After Wang Shengwang explained, he continued: "At present, the dual propulsion system is being studied to use the gasoline internal combustion engine as the power, and at the same time drive the generator to generate electricity and save money, so as to enhance the underwater endurance of the submarine ........ ”

The huge submarine slowly floated up, the swarthy hull was half floating and half sinking, looking like a huge whale from a distance, Wang Shengwang glanced at the expressionless Yi Zhicontent, licked his lips, and continued: "The submarine is equipped with a periscope, and the first part is equipped with a torpedo tube, which can launch torpedoes underwater. ”

After a pause, he continued: "At present, the submarine has actual combat capability, but the defect is that the endurance is insufficient, and the combat radius is too small....... ”

The development of submarines, Yi Zhishu has always attached great importance to it, because he knows very well that submarines are a major weapon in naval warfare, whether it is the First World War or the Second World War, the performance of submarines is remarkable, and during World War II, it has even become an indispensable ship for the navies of various countries, and after World War II, submarines are even more important weapons of the country.

However, to say that the submarine has actual combat value at present, he doesn't realize it, mainly because the underwater endurance is too poor, at most it can only be used to guard the port, which is really not significant, a little groaning, he said: "The power of the submarine is good in concealment, the focus of research is on the underwater endurance, electric propulsion is the main research direction, and there is another difficulty, air manufacturing, the submarine dives underwater for a long time, there must be enough air." ”