Autumn in the Invalides Cemetery in Berlin. This is the oldest military tomb in Germany, where countless Prussian soldiers are laid to rest. Field Marshal Léo Wilhelm of the Second German Empire, or Duke Léo Wilhelm of the Great Chinese Empire, rests here. Probably because of his dual identity, although the tombstone is a standard German appearance, there are two bronze Oriental sword-wielding armorers majestically standing in front of the tombstone, which can be regarded as the last insistence of the Ministry of Rites of Greater China.

Pushing away Yang Wuming, who wanted to help, Yang Rui took out the already blackened bouquet in front of the tombstone, swept away the fallen leaves, and put a new bouquet. Breaking the two bottles of military offerings and spilling wine on the front and back of the tomb, he stood silently with his palms folded, reminiscing about the past.

‘…… Yang, the country is a deception, we worked hard to build the country, but the end result is that we are enslaved by the state, even though we built it to serve us......

‘…… Remember, only the victors have civilization! ……’

'Yang, I'm going to assassinate the Kaiser......'

After a long time, Yang Wuming knelt in Yang Rui's ear and said: "Father......, it's not too early, Your Majesty, and ......Prime Minister Goering, it's cold here, and your body is ......."

The memorial to Leo was just after getting off the train in Berlin, and the Kaiser and Goering, who had long known about Yang Rui's itinerary, arranged this memorial. They came with them, hoping to win Yang Rui's support, and wanted to use Leo's prestige to evoke good memories of the German occupation of Paris in the last war, so as to once again state the view advocated by Ludendorff and others: Germany was not defeated because of military defeat, but because someone stabbed him in the back.

With a low response, Yang Rui turned around with Yang Wuming's support. Kaiser Wilhelm III and Goering were looking at him, hoping that he would say something -- this is the situation. They expected that Yang Rui would not be able to say anything else.

Pushing Yang Wuming away again, Yang Rui, who turned around, coughed and said to everyone in the cold wind: "Everyone: here rests a person who all the people of Great China cannot forget. A Baath Army soldier forever Chief of the General Staff. With his short life, he interpreted the rigor, courage, and golden qualities of the Prussian soldier in defending the honor of the soldier. However, during the thirteen years that God had gifted me to work with him, what made me admire even more was his patriotism in his blood—his unwavering devotion to the German nation and his unapologetic sacrifice.

I will never forget: one day in April 1907, at the Heinrich Hotel in Qingdao, he came back from Germany and said to me: 'Yang, I want to assassinate the Kaiser'......'" Yang Rui recalled the past, but he did not expect the past to be so shocking that Wilhelm III, Goering, Rebecca, government officials and reporters were all shocked.

Not caring about the surprise of others, Yang Rui continued to recall: "His face was full of pain at that time. He felt that war was inevitable, and I had told him that because of the bad geographies, Germany would be defeated by the British fleet on two fronts. This is no longer a short-term war like the Franco-Prussian War, which cannot be reversed by excellent German soldiers alone, and the victory or defeat of the war is determined by the strength of industry and the patriotism and self-interest of the people. He believed what I had said before, so he wanted to avoid this battle.

I also told him at the time that His Majesty the Kaiser was really not a man of war, even though he changed his marshal's uniform every day (laughs). The real enthusiasm for the war was the fanatical populace in the atmosphere of the time, who believed that Germany was already surrounded. There's nothing wrong with thinking that you're fighting for 'sunlit territory', just like a plant, it naturally extends its shade farther as it grows. But the farther reaches are already occupied, and the only way to get them is through war. Even if the Kaiser is assassinated, the next Kaiser will make those choices that are history. This is the natural will of the entire German nation. The only mistake is that everyone thinks they will win.

That time, he was convinced by me. But then he became even more alcoholic. And when the big war began, the tide of the war slipped more and more in the direction that was previously expected. He finally told me he was going back home. I know that many patriots returned to China to fight in the last war, but how many of them returned to China knowing that the motherland was about to be defeated and that they themselves would die in battle? I do not wish to denigrate the patriotism of the former, but here I am compelled to let the world know his patriotism - that is, to defend Germany with all his blood and life! This is not for power, not for honor, not even for victory, but just the heartfelt love of an ordinary German for his homeland.

His patriotism has infected me to this day. His protection of Germany also seems to have become my responsibility: in the past, 20 percent of my daily briefings were always about Germany, and I hoped that Germany would be as prosperous as China, that Germany would be as economically prosperous as China, and that she would be able to shake off the humiliation of the past and become a natural country like China, but this must not be a gamble with the destruction of Germany again.

The world has changed, the potential, prying enemy is stronger than ever, and Germany's geography cannot be changed, and the artificial gasoline, artificial rubber, and margarine, produced by exhausting the brains of scientists, cannot really replace natural things, and Germany itself is weaker than before, in which case peace is Germany's wealth and not the other way around......"

The short lecture was soon over. Amid the applause, Chancellor Goering walked to the middle, and according to the usual practice, he wanted to express his thanks and give a speech after Yang Rui's speech.

"Welcome to Germany, Your Excellency the Duke, and to show us here the patriotism of Marshal Wilhelm, whose friendship is as precious as a diamond! His Excellency the Duke said that the world has changed, and I fully agree with this, but I will say that the loyalty and love of the German people to their homeland have not changed. In addition, I would like to say that ********** have never been obtained from the negotiating table, and in the same way, the war of liberation of China was not decided at the conference table, and I will not say anything about the countless struggles that have been waged to achieve the independence of the entire country and nation.

I say this only to make your opinion known, Your Excellency, though undoubtedly worthy of respect, and yet I cannot find any proof in the history of Greater China or in the history of the rest of the world. Seventeen years ago, Germany did not go to Versailles to attend the conference, they had no right to discuss it. Rather, they were left to the hands of the victorious powers, and this humiliation was greater than that of the Han Chinese during the Manchu rule......"

Goering's speech was a for tat. In particular, he countered Yang Rui's arguments that 'peace is Germany's wealth, not the other way around', and that 'today's problems must be resolved through negotiations'. Although Yang Rui is no longer the premier of China, he is recognized as the head of the founding fathers of the great China. It was Goering's speech that caused a stir of displeasure among the Chinese embassy officials present.

"Mr. Prime Minister, I'm not against war, I'm just against a war that is doomed to failure." Yang Rui said this after Goering's speech, and then took his farewell to Wilhelm III. This sentence pierced Goering's heart like a bullet and made his face distort - although the industrial miracle created by China in the more than ten years after the war is the embodiment of the wisdom of the Chinese, there are countless Germans behind every factory and in every basic laboratory. Although it is only basic research, relying on this fragmented information, Goering can still understand China's military potential.

If China, Japan, and Germany jointly attacked the Soviet Union, then there was a chance of victory in the war. After the partition of the Soviet Union, China, Germany, and Japan could dominate the world after a few years of recuperation. It's just a matter of time.

This was Göring's grand strategy for Germany, but it was not recognized by Yang Rui. Geographically speaking, even if the Russian emperor was not restored, Russia under the Bolsheviks would be better than German-occupied Russia. Russia under the Bolsheviks was rotting, and the result of the decay was disintegration, and the bits and pieces of disintegration would naturally fall into the bowl of China - the Eurasian Canal, that is, the Caucasus, the Don region, and the vast Siberia would become independent, and they would all become part of the Asian Union.

German-occupied Russia would inevitably change the current political ecology of Russia, and the enslaved masses would be liberated from Stalin's collective farms. The Slavic peoples will be restored. Saving the civilized life of such a powerful neighbor is simply an old birthday boy eating arsenic - without the Bolsheviks, there would have been a negative growth in the fertility rate of the Slavs? If there were no Bolsheviks, the disintegrated Russia would have scattered and let a KGB spy take advantage of the chaos like Liu Bang. Become the president of the nation? The Bolsheviks did build up a strong industry and army, but the vitality of the Slavic nation was also exhausted by them in advance.

Goering was a military man. But the military will always be a low-end tool of national competition. In some wars, if you lose, you win. And in some wars, when you win, you actually lose. Territory and resources are not the first priority. What really matters is whether the fighting spirit and vitality of the nation are exhausted, and whether the spirit of the nation is weak and old.

After he rested for a while, Ambassador Gu Weijun introduced the current situation in Germany to him, and he comforted: "My lord, it should be your speech and attitude in France that let Germany know about ......."

"I'm not angry, there's nothing to be angry about. I know that Germany doesn't really want to go to war, they just want to use the threat of war to regain what they have lost little by little. But this is playing with fire, and once it misses, it will be another big battle. "Yang Rui really doesn't care about the dissatisfaction of the Germans, they originally wanted to form an alliance with China, and they didn't want China to stand more and more on the French side." Shaochuan, what is the situation in Germany now? ”

Seeing that Yang Rui really didn't care about the rudeness of the Germans just now, Gu Weijun was also relieved, and he said: "My lord, now that Germany no longer pays reparations, it is a lot better." However, in order to expand the army, a lot of money was spent. According to rough statistics, Germany spends more than five billion marks on the military......"

Three years earlier, Germany's GDP had reached 75 billion marks (1928 prices)[note 153], a figure more than China's, but 5 billion marks of military spending was equivalent to 2.5 billion Chinese dollars, which was indeed very high. Yang Rui was concerned after a silent calculation in his heart: "What about the debt? ”。 He remembered that someone would say that Germany had to go to war in 1939 because its debts were due.

"Debt is decreasing right now." Gu Weijun, who learned that Yang Rui was coming, had already prepared a lot of data, "Our people misestimated before, his debts are not increasing, but decreasing." Shenwu's foreign debt in 22 years was 19 billion marks, but now it is only about 15 billion marks[note 154], but the domestic debt is increasing, and the current size is about 10 billion marks. ”

When Gu Weijun talked about Germany's debt, he couldn't help but look at Yang Rui -- China not only has no foreign debt, but even very little domestic debt, and under such circumstances, it can get out of the world depression. I have to say that it is the ability of the Revival Society.

What Gu Weijun thinks Yang Rui doesn't know, he just thinks that the fact that Germany had to start a war because of the debt crisis in history can be avoided (he still thinks that Hitler started the war because of debt bankruptcy.) But I don't know that the head of the German Central Bank is still Schacht, and his financial strategy is the same as in history. Nothing has changed. In other words, Germany did not go to war because of the debt crisis), and if Germany did not go to war because of financial bankruptcy, then there was a little more certainty that Germany would not go to war.

"What about prices? Is it smooth? Yang Rui asked like a reporter.

"This ......" Gu Weijun didn't expect Yang Rui to want to know this, he said: "My lord, although Xia Guan has never been to the German market, he pays the same amount every time he buys cigarettes and matches. ”

"Hmm." Yang Rui nodded, he believed that Gu Weijun was telling the truth, and Goering, who was wholeheartedly envious of the aristocracy and was born in the Air Force, was a little higher in character and had fewer lies than Hitler, who was born in the army and was born in the homeless man. Instead, he asked: "I heard that the Americans are very opposed to the German barter in foreign trade?" ”

"Yes. My lord. Gu Weijun breathed a sigh of relief, he was afraid that Yang Rui would continue to ask how much wheat and beef were. Cotton and tobacco from the southern United States, as well as wheat from other places, have historically been sold to Europe, especially in central and northern Europe. If you barter, considering the high tariffs of the United States, German-American trade will definitely not be possible,......" Gu Weijun said about the German-American trade contradictions, looked at Yang Rui's words uneasily, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "...... But now there is no contradiction between virtues. ”

"Why?" Yang Rui, who didn't notice anything wrong, asked casually.

"Because... Because of Germany. And Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and Northern Europe are all importing our cotton and cotton cloth, and at least half of the tobacco leaves are ours. Gu Weijun, who was worried in his heart, said, "My lord, if you count the Soviet Russian side." Our share of the world's cotton and tobacco trade is not small......"

"I know!" Yang Rui completely understood what Gu Weijun meant. In last month's naval negotiations in London, Britain and the United States demanded that China and Japan dissolve their alliance. But it was politely rejected by the Chinese and Japanese representatives. Even if the United States doesn't care, Britain actually stands on the side of the United States. This made Yang Rui vigilant, so he did not go to England, but went from France to Switzerland. And then to Germany.

The international situation is like this, and the relationship between China and the United States is also deteriorating. In the political landscape of the United States at this time, the economy of the South had been dependent on the export of cotton and tobacco to Europe since the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies in North America (which was the cause of the Civil War), and the farmers in the South were the main voters of the Democratic Party, and they cared more about Europe than about the rest of the world. But at this time, two labor-intensive agriculture, cotton and tobacco, were replaced by China, and its domestic production plummeted, and countless bankrupt farms were numerous.

Democratic voters are Southern farmers, while Republican voters are mostly Northeast manufacturing factory owners. At first they had no interest in Europe, but as their industrial capacity expanded, the domestic market could not be digested, and they became more and more interested in the world market, the Spanish-American War, the Panama Canal, the open door, the gold dollar diplomacy against East Asia, these are the Republican Party's efforts to open up markets outside the United States at their expense. However, not to mention the integration of the East Asian alliance market, automobiles, electrical products, and chemical products ......, and they are subject to fierce competition from Chinese products in these emerging industries.

It is enough to offend the factory owners, the supporters of the Republican Party, who are not in power anyway, but offend the Southern farmers ......, which is tantamount to offending both parties in the US Congress. This rhythm, really pill.

"We don't dump cotton fabrics and tobacco in the European market," Yang Rui said after a deep sigh: "Domestic farmers can make money." As I said earlier, plants will naturally grow in the sun and rain, and the growth will naturally extend the shade of the tree farther away. For what reason do we not allow farmers to grow cotton and tobacco? ”

As the holder and decision-maker of China's behind-the-scenes power, even if Gu Weijun is the ambassador to Germany, Yang Rui does not need to explain anything to him, but Yang Rui said a few more words because of his reputation in later generations. Even if he can't get out of that knightly brotherhood.

"My lord, after the failure of the London negotiations, Europe generally believes that there will be a war between us and the United States, and the mainstream public opinion in the United States also believes that the government should prepare for war as soon as possible to prevent war from happening." Gu Weijun talked about the current situation in Europe and the United States after the London negotiations, he remembered the last sentence Yang Rui said at the Invalides Cemetery just now, and said: "My lord, we ...... Are we really going to war with the United States? ”

"We have no idea of going to war with the United States." Yang Rui said. "But we will never let the threat of war stop people from growing tobacco and cotton. Do you think this makes sense? Child laborers in the cotton fields of the American South are paid between 30 and 40 cents a day, and many of our workers do not have that salary. Not to mention the bitter farmers. ”

"My lord......" Yang Rui's rebuttal made Gu Weijun speechless, because the other party threatened to go to war. It is unreasonable to not dare to produce and give up the market to others, especially since the domestic peasants are not rich. But he really didn't want to see a war break out between China and the United States, so he stubbornly said: "My lord, can we negotiate with the United States again?" Our cotton and tobacco yields are reduced a bit, so that ......"

"Didn't you try it last time?" Yang Rui looked at him and smiled, Gu Weijun turned out to be an authentic cent. "They are very loud and want us to withdraw from the European market, and this kind of negotiation is not negotiable. And if such a contract is signed. Is it that the Soviet and Russian markets are also going to be withdrawn, and are there radios and refrigerators that should not be sold?

We didn't dump, we didn't subsidize, we didn't abuse workers – women all over China knew that marrying a worker was certainly better off than marrying a farmer. In the eyes of customers, our things are of good quality, low price, many styles, and not bad service. It's complete free competition, and it's impossible for them to compete freely, so we can't compete freely, right? You'd better accept this heart. It's like the story of the wolf and the lamb, whether you drink water upstream, or drink water downstream, or even don't drink water. The wolf always wants to eat the lamb. ”

Gu Weijun blushed when he said this, but fortunately, Yang Rui didn't delve into it, he just went on to ask the next question, "What is the situation of the Jews?" Have scientists and researchers been cleared out of universities and research institutes? ”

"Overall it's not very good." Gu Weijun cleaned up his mood. He began to reply with all his heart: "His Majesty the Emperor had wanted to be tolerant of the Jews, but when he learned last year that several Jews had been involved in an attempted assassination against him, he did not speak much for the Jews. Most Germans put the blame for the defeat and inflation on the Jews. They are largely deprived of their civil rights, and there are many professions that prohibit them from practising. However, this was only an unwritten practice, and the Imperial government did not specifically persecute the Jews. ”

"Did any Jews leave Germany?" Yang Rui asked.

"It's... It's not clear. Gu Weijun said. But if they leave Germany, they won't have much to go. Europe as a whole is not very friendly to them, and the United States is now in an economic crisis and will not be able to live even if it will accept. ”

"Hmm." Yang Rui nodded, but didn't ask any more questions. Practically, the Jews he did not hate or like, but the problem was that if there was a bad fight with Germany, there would have to be new technicians to fill the positions that had left the Germans. The time for the founding of China is still too short, and the comprehensive quality of scientific research personnel obviously cannot be compared with the accumulation of others in the past 100 years......

"You can help me keep an eye on some German Jews." Yang Rui ordered unceremoniously, and did not say the reason.

"Yes, sir." Gu Weijun immediately agreed.

"Is it a welcome party in the evening?" Let's get down to business. Yang Rui asked about the current affairs.

"Yes, sir. According to the reception schedule announced by the Prime Minister's Office, the evening is a welcome banquet. Gu Weijun said.

"Tell them to cancel." Yang Rui said. He looked at Gu Weijun, who was a little surprised, and added, "Just say that I'm not feeling well, let's put it back." ”

"They're probably going to get a doctor to come in at that point." Gu Weijun felt that Yang Rui was still angry.

"I have a doctor myself." Yang Rui said. He didn't say this, and said, "Shaochuan, have you heard any rumors recently?" ”

"The wind?" Gu Weijun didn't know what Yang Rui was referring to, he thought about it. "My lord, I heard ......"

"What have you heard?" Yang Rui asked with a smile.

"I heard that the British and Germans are secretly negotiating about the tonnage of the two navies." Gu Weijun said.

"The British did not sign a naval treaty with us in the Pacific, but signed a naval treaty with Germany here, and he made it clear that he wanted to provoke two wars." Yang Rui said. (To be continued.) )

PS: Note 153: Economic History of Germany in the Twentieth Century, p79

Note 154: The original text reads: 'From February 1932 to 1938 Germany reduced its foreign debt from Reichsmark 19 billion to Reichsmark 10 billion. 'Ibid., p77; Another p90 page: 'On April 20, 1945, when Hitler celebrated his last birthday, the enemy's debt was as high as 337 billion enemy marks, and at the outbreak of the war, it was only 31 billion Reichsmarks', from which it is inferred that 310-100 = 21 billion Reichsmarks are internal debts.