When Chen Qimei and others were hiding in the Qingdao Concession conspiring, Wei Lixian and Lao Naixuan were also conspiring at the Lixian Academy (now Qingdao No. 9 Middle School) on Shanghai Road in the concession.

"Master Lao," Wei Lixian's Chinese was a little strange, but he could finally understand it, "in the current form of China, I think it will be difficult for the restoration to succeed, unless...... Unless there is a child of the clan who is not yet married, and marries a German royal daughter, of course, the princess may be better. If so, then His Majesty the Emperor will have enough reason to intervene in Chinese affairs, and even if he does not intervene, then you are safe in Shandong. Master Lao, I also heard that Lord Yuan Shikai in Tianjin was assassinated by the Revival Society, and his subordinates were very angry, if Lord Yuan's subordinates can be allowed to participate in the restoration, then there is a good hope for success......"

Wei Lixian seems to have been thinking about the restoration for more than a day or two, and as soon as he opened his mouth, the marriage strategy made Lao Naixuan's heart break out. But although he only shivered when he thought of those white foreign ghost women Lao Naixuan, he didn't marry himself anyway, he still agreed after feeling uncomfortable: "But now the prince who promoted this matter has become married, so ...... in this case."

"Master Lao, concubines are not allowed." Wei Lixian emphasized: "Whether it is according to God's will or the dignity of the royal family, a royal daughter cannot be a concubine. And I would also like to point out that this is just my plan, and it is uncertain whether such an approach will be effective, and the relationship between China and Germany is still in the testing zone. None of them have yet figured out how to interact with each other. ”

"Oh......" Lao Naixuan twisted his beard and began to be speechless, if he wants to be the emperor, it is Fu Wei, since the death of Cheng Guangxu, he has vigorously identified himself as the master of Zhongxing who loves Xinjueluo. But he is over thirty years old, and the main family has already married, unless he ...... Thinking about this, he didn't say much, got up and said goodbye and went back.

Restoration was not advocated by Lao Naixuan, and it was Prince Gong Fu Wei who first thought about restoration, but he was only dragged into the water later. When the righteousness was taken at the beginning. He and Duanfang confiscated their property and were imprisoned for several months, and when the final decree of King Min was issued, all these old men from the former Qing Dynasty were released. Like any other elder. He did not go to Tianjin, where Yuan Shikai was located, but to Qingdao.

In Qingdao, where the old are everywhere, everyone will naturally discuss something after a lot of discussion. Sun Wen of the revolutionary party understood that if the revolution was to succeed, it must have the support of foreigners. The same is true of the Restoration. If the restoration is to succeed, it must also have foreign support. But looking at all countries, the United States and Russia have been bought by the Revival Society and are completely on their side; Britain and France are one, and Britain naturally hopes that the country will be stable for its own business, and it will also tolerate the revival society; Only Japan and Germany have some hope, but what Japan wants is South Manchuria. It is the land of the ancestors, and it should not be discarded. So the best object can only be Germany.

However, Germany also has German problems, and there are German officers in the Risorgimen's Association who help them train their troops to fight, and now those Germans have been knighted, the highest being dukes, and the other few are counts, although these people preach that they left German nationality ten years ago, but they are still Germans after all. What Lao Naixuan hoped was that the rebels would not dare to lean on Germany among the two major international powers, and this was where the hope for restoration lies. With the promise of an alliance between China and Germany after the restoration, Lao Naixuan came to see Wei Lixian, hoping that Wei Lixian could connect with the German consul and even the emperor, but he didn't want this line to be married.

Lao Naixuan returned to the apartment, and Liu Tingchen, who was already waiting in the flower hall, hurriedly stood up and said, "Lord Lao, what did the foreigner say?" ”

Liu Tingchen is a waiter in the school, why he restored Lao Naixuan is unknown, now in these years, there are too many people who have milk and are mothers. He respected these people who pinned their hopes on restoration, and said at the moment: "Youyun, this German can't say for sure, now the revival will be powerful, if you want them to support us, the general method is still not possible." ”

"The general way?" Liu Tingchen also heard his words, and hurriedly said: "Then what kind of unusual method does it take for the Germans to support our restoration, and we can't cede this Shandong to them, right?" ”

"Mowing the land?" Lao Naixuan shook his head, "If you want to cut the land, how can we cut so many foreigners." The way that Master Wei Lixian wanted was to get married, but you know that the foreigner is going to be a wife and not a concubine, but King Gong has already been married, this thing is ...... Ay. ”

"Do you want to be in the main room?" Liu Tingchen thought about it, "Do you have to divorce your wife?" ”

Seeing that Liu Tingchen said what he thought, Lao Naixuan said: "Marrying a foreigner for the sake of restoration, Youyun, if this thing gets out, it will be ...... The Qingliu are going to denounce it. The best way is to find a clan that is not married to marry the Germans, and then King Gong will be the regent, so that both etiquette and human favor are in the past. ”

Lao Naixuan's mention is a strategy for both, but Liu Tingchen knows that King Gong's heart is absolutely impossible. A few years ago, Guang Cixi was stabbed, Guangxu came back, this King Gong heard the news not only did not like it, but also fell ill for a few days - he just looked at Guangxu to die so that he could inherit the throne, but it was good, this Guangxu did not die until the night of the revolutionary party's siege of the city, and the day after his death, the world changed color, so that people wanted to ascend the throne too late, and now he is finally ready to restore, but he wants to find a nephew as the emperor, how could this little King Gong agree?

"Lord Lao, I'd better go back and discuss with everyone, whether it is like what the Germans said, please let me discuss it later." Liu Tingchen himself couldn't decide on it, so he had to go back and report to Pu Wei. However, when he accompanied Lao Naixuan back to Pu Wei's apartment, he found that King Gong was no longer there, and after inquiring about the whereabouts, he was shocked: "What! Went to see the Revolutionary Party? ”

"Exactly." Hu Sijing, the former governor of Guangdong, said very naturally: "The revolutionary party also has the wrong way with the revival, and now the Sun Wen family that King Gong went to see will be in trouble with the revival." Some time ago, Yuan Shikai was said to have been killed by them, if they could kill Yang Jingcheng, then the big thing would be a big deal! ”

"Exactly! Precisely! Zheng Xiaoxu, former vice speaker of the National Assembly, also said. Regardless of whether the Germans support us or not, this Yang should be killed. As soon as he died, the thieves were left without an owner. That's a big deal. If someone raises his arms and shouts, then the world should be determined. ”

Zheng Xiaoxu has always been friendly with the Japanese, and Lao Naixuan saw that he did not care about the Germans in his words. Hurriedly asked, "Lord Zheng, is it possible that the Japanese have already contacted us?" ”

"Exactly!" Zheng Xiaoxu's face was triumphant, "Ji Fu (Shengyun) has gone to Japan, and now the relationship between the Revival Society and the Japanese is not harmonious, everyone says that there will be a war between the two countries, and we just take this opportunity to make our wish come true." ”

"Brother Su Gong, this depends on the restoration of the Japanese. I'm afraid they are wolf ambitions. "Raunai preached." The best thing to do now is to ask the Germans for help, even if it is done, we will pay them. But don't cut the ground. ”

"Brother Ji Xuan, Da Miao. It's about getting someone to help, and it's always going to be a good thing. The Japanese have already agreed, and they don't want to cut off an inch of my land, they just need some privileges. Zheng Xiaoxu said. Rather than the world being occupied by the chaotic party. Then it is better to bring in friends to help me restore. The Germans now have a relationship with the chaotic party**. Brother Ji Xuan, that Wei Lixian didn't tell you that their prince Henry was coming, right? ”

"Prince Henry?" Lao Naixuan had never heard of such a thing at all, "Isn't this Prince Henry the younger brother of the German Emperor?" ”

"Exactly! Since you don't know, then it is hopeless for a virtuous person to help me. Zheng Xiaoxu sighed and said: "Now the rebel party is constantly selling its rights and interests in order to win over the countries, this is for the oil mines, and the other is for the railway, anyway, in order to win the support of foreigners, they will do everything they can." Only the Japanese people are very evil. I didn't say anything, and I often made some trouble. The Japanese will become a problem for their henchmen in the future. That's why I'm willing to help us complete this restoration plan, which is also a lost corner and a harvest of mulberry elms. ”

Zheng Xiaoxu said a lot, but Lao Naixuan didn't listen to a word, the younger brother of the German emperor, Prince Henry, came to China in his early years, mainly because he occupied Jiaoji at the beginning of that year, and came in order to stabilize Jiaoao. Now that this person comes again, he must be friendly with the Revival Society and others, and once he is good, how can he support his own restoration. Therefore, he couldn't help but say: "It seems that in this current game, only the Japanese can achieve what they want." ”

"Exactly!" Zheng Xiaoxu said happily, and scratched his bald head while being excited: "There is no one else in Sheri!" The Germans should let it go first, and if they don't recognize the chaotic party, it's not too late for us to contact them. What we need to do now is to contact the old party in an attempt to build up strength, and when the time comes, we can do something. ”

"Yes. Right. Now that the Yuan thief is gone, his subordinates are panicking, and many characters have other thoughts. As long as the contact is done properly and the official position is allowed, it can still attract a lot of people. Hu Sijing said. Furthermore...... Moreover, Chen Boyan's second son is the governor of Shandong, if he can explain this son, then a big event can be expected. ”

Chen Boyan is Chen Sanli, the son of Chen Baozhen, a famous minister of the Restoration, and he is known as the fourth son of the Restoration along with Tan Sitong, Xu Renzhu, and Tao Jucun. Wuxu supported the Restoration, and was dismissed with his father, and Guangxu was a waiter in the Ministry of Rites when he reappeared, but he resigned not long after being an official due to the dispute over the suppression. His sons, Heng Ke, Rong Ke, and Yin Ke, went to Japan in their early years, and during their stay in Japan, the three sons returned to Shanghai to recuperate, and the eldest son and second son graduated a few years later. During his study in the East, the second son Rong Ke entered the Revival Society, and then he was one of the representatives of Jiangxi Province, and then Hangzhou was captured, and he was exempted from the death penalty because of the relationship between the family, and was only sentenced to ten years in prison.

Most of the people of the Revival Society are young, Chen Rongge was born in a famous official family, and the school he studied was the Department of Finance and Commerce of Tokyo Imperial University, so he was naturally entrusted with important tasks as soon as he was released from prison, perhaps the Revival Society wanted to win over Chen Sanli, the former Qing Dynasty ministers, but this purpose was not achieved, and he is now the governor of Shandong, which happened to become the key to the restoration, and the people close to King Gong attached great importance to Chen Rongge's lobbying, hoping that he could abide by ethics and respect his father's life.

Hu Sijing and Zheng Xiaoxu said things so beautifully, Lao Naixuan just didn't believe it, like his old master Duan Fang and others were respectful of the restoration, this is still an old minister, no matter how Chen Rongke respects his father's life, he will not sell the revival and turn to King Xiaogong. But at this time, he didn't want to pour cold water on everyone, but said: "So very good, so very good." But in his heart, he thought about Henry, the Prince of Germany, and thought that if he could meet this person, then even if he did not succeed, he could leave a way for the future. However, how can I meet this Prince Henry, and when did he pass through Qingdao?

When Lao Naixuan was thinking hard about Prince Henry, in the Governor's Mansion of Shanjiaoao, the Governor of Qingdao Concession, Wei Lixian was asking the Governor of Jiaoao, Alfred. Meier. Valdike reports on the Socialist Party. Born in the Valdike Navy, he was previously Chief of Staff of the Far East Fleet. After the previous governor, Truber, was taken away by Tirpitz, he became the fourth governor of Jiaoao.

"Your Excellency, I think we should support them. This was of great help to the Reich's undertakings in the Far East. Wilhelm only resented the emperor for being abandoned, and with them, it was difficult to form an alliance between China and Germany. Wei Lixian said.

"Nope! No! Richard, His Majesty the Emperor didn't think so. Valdike corrected him: "With Duke William here, this country will not be an enemy of the Empire, even if it is not allied with the Empire." As far as the Viceroyalty of Jiaoao is concerned, our biggest concern is that China will completely fall to Britain and France. As for Russia, I don't think they will end well with it, in Manchuria. If you want to suppress Japan, you must befriend the United States and Russia, and this is exactly what the Revival Society did. You know, Prince Henry is already on his way to China. No. It should be that he is coming soon, and the empire is likely to make a big deal with China. ”

"Big business?" Wei Lixian asked. He remembered that the current Chinese government was not much different from the previous government, the difference was that the previous government used to borrow money to pay compensation, while the current government borrowed money for shopping, and the Americans said that they borrowed 800 million marks, and used 400 million to buy American goods. "Your Excellency the Governor, are you saying that you want to set up a shipyard in Qingdao with the Chinese? Right. And the arsenal? ”

"Not exactly!" Valdike said. "What kind of business it is, only Prince Henry and Yang Jingcheng will know when they meet. I believe it's a big deal. He'll be there the day after tomorrow. ”

The business with Germany is really big. The United States, France, Russia, Germany, and Britain all took a lot of benefits, but the Fujian Railway, which Japan was asking for, did not follow, and this made the Japanese change their temperament and not only support Sun Wen, but also began to support the Zongshe Party. However, these were all expected by Yang Rui, so many yellow and red belts in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and now they have become flat-headed people, they will naturally think about restoration, and suppressing those opposition forces through restoration is a strategy set by Liu Boyuan and Yang Rui before, so when the report from Shandong was transmitted to the capital, Yang Rui was not surprised, but Chen Rongke's thinking about transferring and resigning was unexpected.

On the one hand, his father begged for each other, and on the other hand, the revolution must fulfill his duties, and Chen Rongge's situation was also difficult, but Yang Rui was not good to transfer him now. In the end, the solution was to let someone secretly take over Chen Rongge's position, but he still did not transfer him, so as to temporarily stabilize the affairs in Shandong.

After dealing with the affairs of the Zongshe Party, the next major event was the visit of Prince Henry of Germany to China. When he invited the Germans, Yang Rui didn't expect William to send Henry in person, but thinking of Henry's resume in the Far East and his profession, there was indeed no more suitable person than him. Thus, before the new American minister Reinsch arrived in China, Prince Henry of Germany arrived first.

After being ceremoniously received by Zhu Kuansu in the Forbidden City and awarded the Order of the First Class, Prince Henry went to the Prime Minister's Office to talk to Yang Rui. It is said that when Guangxu received foreign envoys, the first person to shake hands was this Prince Henry, and now Guangxu is no more, the world has changed masters, and Zhu Kuansu does not shake hands, I don't know how this tall, thin and capable German feels in his heart, but seeing his stern look, Yang Rui knows that even if he asks, people will not answer. With the comprehensive analysis of all aspects of information, the Germans still really have a preference for the Manchu princes. When the German minister Klinder was killed, William was extremely angry, but when the Manchus sent Zaifeng to Germany to apologize, William was very polite to him, and also taught him a set of statecraft...... Yang Rui only felt that the Germans were too lucky, and they were always on the side of the losers.

"Your Highness has traveled thousands of miles, and it is really hard." Yang Rui began to be polite after the two sides met, but he did not use German, and his words were translated by Tongshi.

"Your Excellency, it is my honor to be here in China again." Prince Henry said meticulously. Then he suddenly laughed, showing a side that the Germans did not have, "It is a great miracle that China can have such changes under the leadership of Your Excellency." ”

Listening to the compliments of the Germans, Yang Rui understood why William sent him, and said politely at the moment: "Without the help of German friends, we would not have achieved today's achievements." So, personally, I am very kind to Germany. "Yang Rui has already spoken German here, and when the general on the side saw him like this, he also retreated obediently." However, as far as China is concerned, being too close to Germany will only put the country in crisis, which neither His Majesty nor I want to see. ”

"Closer to Germany... In the midst of the crisis..."Henry pondered Yang Rui's words, and did not speak for a while, and then thought of one thing, and said: "Your Majesty, the Emperor of our country, wants me to bring greetings to Your Excellency, and Your Majesty hopes that the friendship between Germany and China will last forever." ”

"Of course, that's what I'm hoping for." Yang Rui said, and then directly inserted the topic, "This time I want His Excellency the Prince to come to China, I hope that the two countries can have closer cooperation in the military industry." ”

"Yes, I totally understand that." Prince Henry nodded, "Mr. Krupp has sent his eldest son to China with me, and they will fully support the military upgrade plan mentioned by Your Excellency as mentioned by the Minister in China." ”

"That's good!" Krupp sent a heavyweight to come, Yang Rui knows, the military industrial system has now been sorted out almost, but the domestic military industry output is too small, the original factory of the Manchu Qing Dynasty plus the first and second factories of the military industry run by the Fuxing Association, the annual output of rifles is less than 50,000, the artillery is less than 500, the production capacity of firearms is insufficient, the ammunition is also insufficient, the annual output of 50,000 bullets, less than 200,000 shells, with 500,000 troops, only 100 rounds of bullets per gun per year, and even fewer shells, Each gun has only eighty shells per year, and this is not counting the army, not the navy.

According to the estimation of the General Logistics Department, the output of rifles should be doubled to reach a scale of 100,000 units, and the artillery should also be doubled, with an annual output of more than 1,000 rifles. In terms of ammunition, the output of ammunition should also be doubled to 90 million to 100 million rounds per year, and the army and navy together must produce 3 million or even 5 million rounds of artillery shells per year, so that the military industry can fight a war with a foreign country. In terms of the layout of the military industry, there are seven arsenals in Northeast China, one in Shanxi, one in Lanzhou, one in Hubei, one in Sichuan, one in Nanjing, and one in Guangdong, and these seven factories must have the ability to produce guns and artillery.

In order to achieve this scale, the hardware investment is estimated to reach 20 million taels, which is only an increment, not counting the replacement of the original old factory equipment, if you want to completely new military equipment, then the investment will exceed 30 million taels. This is just an arsenal, there is no nickel mine in China now, those people in the mining department are on strike, Yang Rui only needs to entrust foreigners to find ore, once the nickel ore is found, then it is a huge amount of money to open a nickel mine and smelter. In addition, the bullets used in rifles are still round-headed bullets, and if you want to produce pointed bullets, you don't know how much the Germans charge for technology transfer, although the army currently chooses Mauser 96 7mm caliber firearms, which are not the same as Germany's 7.92mm, but after all, they are pointed-nosed bullets, and even Germany was only fully reequipped seven years ago.

Yang Rui finished thinking about the military industry, and then thought of another important matter, and only after thinking about it did he speak: "Your Highness, in addition to the need to order a large number of military production equipment, my country also wants to order a batch of ships in your country. ”

"Nope! Your Excellency Prime Minister, we guarantee that China's order will be completed on schedule, and the ships ordered by your country are now nearing completion. "Military equipment is a one-time business, and the Germans don't want to sell such equipment at all if they don't sell it to others. The military industry is like this, but the ships are different, building ships is more profitable than buying military equipment, it is Henry who heard Yang Rui say that he wanted to build ships, his eyes suddenly lit up, he tried his best to be reserved, and asked carefully: "May I ask what ships your country wants to order?" ”

"It's all boats." Yang Rui's answer made Henry's eyes dim a little, but the words behind made his breath hotter, "But the amount is very large, I estimate that the total price will not be less than 400 million marks!" (To be continued......)