Opening game, American Tycoon

Chapter 445 Bismarck's Iron and Blood ([-]rd update, please subscribe)
In July 1870, Europe still seemed to be immersed in the bright summer sun, which was the best time of the year.From London to Paris, from Paris to Berlin, from Berlin to Vienna, almost everyone in Europe is enjoying summer.

Summer is always so beautiful. When the summer comes, the king will enter their castle on the top of the mountain to avoid the summer heat and enjoy the summer sunshine.Many wealthy people also travel by car to various summer resorts.

But this summer, something ominous seems to be brewing.

At the end of June, a newspaper in Paris published a big news-the long-hanging Spanish throne is about to usher in a new owner. After discussions in the Spanish cabinet meeting, Hohenzollern, who is distantly related to King William I of Prussia, The family's Prince Leopold was the hopeful candidate for King of Spain.

This result naturally angered the Duke of Gramont, the French foreign minister. After obtaining the emperor's consent, he immediately protested to the King of Prussia. Even after Prince Leopold himself refused, he still reluctantly continued to pass the Diplomatic channels, diplomatic protests to Prussia.

Although it seems to be just a protest, in the eyes of many sensitive observers, it seems that it is not that simple.But to observers, that seems to be the case.

On the afternoon of July 7, on the train passing through the Ems Spa in the eastern suburbs of Koblenz, the rich people in the luxurious carriages smoked cigars happily and chatted with a certain beautiful opera or ballet dancer.

Although Ems Spa is a sanatorium for the King of Prussia, rich people go to live in nearby hotels every summer. After all, the hot springs are not exclusive to the King of Prussia.

In a luxury box on the train, a foreigner with white hair and beard was looking at the scenery outside the train with an arrogant look.

The scenery here is simply not comparable to that of France.

As the French ambassador to Prussia, Benedet did not come to the hot springs for vacation. He brought the latest instructions from the French Empire. He came here to convey to King William I of Prussia about the French government's qualifications for the Spanish throne. the opinion of.

At [-] o'clock in the afternoon, Benedetti walked into the king's castle. As usual, as the French ambassador, Benedetti expressed France's attitude in an arrogant tone after meeting William I - saying:
"This is France's last attitude. I hope His Majesty can use a guarantee that this kind of candidacy that has been given up will not be required in the future!"

"Ambassador Benedeti, you should be very clear that Prince Leopold has rejected the candidacy for the King of Spain. What does this have to do with Prussia?"

Facing the rude behavior of the French ambassador and the French government, William I was shocked, but more disgusted. Although he still feels disgusted in his heart, he still said.

"Please tell the ambassador to tell His Majesty the Emperor that I and Prussia have no intention to intervene in this matter. The succession of the Spanish throne is only a matter of the Spaniards. What does it have to do with us?"

Although William I's answer basically agreed to the French request, Ambassador Benedetto was aggressive.

"Your Majesty, is this the official reply from Prussia?"

Faced with Ambassador Benedet's aggressive attitude, William I suppressed the dissatisfaction and anger in his heart and said to him.

"Mr. Ambassador, please enjoy the hot spring here in Ames for the time being. I will order someone to send a telegram to the Prime Minister to inform you of this matter. I believe that Prime Minister Bismarck will give your country an official answer soon."

After ordering someone to send the French ambassador, William I immediately ordered his attendants to send an urgent telegram to Bismarck to Berlin about the content of his conversation with the French ambassador.

This afternoon, Prime Minister Bismarck was holding a banquet at home. As in the past, the banquet hall of the Prime Minister's residence was filled with music and dancing, and the air was filled with laughter and laughter.In the banquet hall, Otto Bismarck, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Prussia, was standing there solemnly entertaining all guests.

Among these guests was an oriental man in a suit, who was very conspicuous among the westerners.

"Mr. Liu, listen to me, we also very much hope to buy your airship."

Once again, Prime Minister Bismarck raised his hopes to Liu Weidong.

"Now, you have agreed to sell airships not only to France, but also to England, so why don't you want to sell Prussia? For the sake of peace in Europe, I think it is necessary for you to agree to sell airships to any European country. Peace, Mr. Liu!"

Staring at the representative of the American company's office in Prussia, Bismarck felt quite uncomfortable-the French were about to have powerful airships, but Prussia did not.

"Now everyone is very clear that the party with the airship can be suppressed, and the party without the airship may break the balance of Europe and break the peace of Europe."

"My lord Prime Minister, I have already conveyed your request to Nanhua. Soon, there will be a corresponding reply. However, it will definitely take time."

Just when Liu Weidong was trying to change the topic, an attendant came in. He looked around quietly, and after a while, he walked towards Bismarck who was having a conversation with someone, and politely handed an envelope to Bismarck. .

"My lord, this is an urgent message from His Majesty Ames."

The king's urgent telegram?

Although a little curious, Liu Weidong politely chose to avoid it.After receiving the letter from the waiter, Bismarck unhurriedly opened the telegram to read it, and after a while the corners of his mouth slightly raised.His smile fell on Liu Weidong's eyes, as if he thought of something pleasant.

Did something happy happen to you?
"I'm sorry, Mr. Liu, I still have some other things to do here, and we will discuss the matter of the airship another day."

After expressing his apologies, Bismarck walked up to Moltke and several other generals, and said.

"Mr. Moltke, please come with me to the smoking room."

The moment the door of the smoking room closed, Bismarck looked at Moltke with a serious expression, and suddenly said:
"Dear Mr. Moltke, may I ask whether Prussia can defeat France, not just simply defeat them, but completely defeat them!"

Mo Qi was startled by the prime minister's question at first, and thought for a while, then he raised his head, calmed down slowly, and answered in a very firm tone:

"Mr. Prime Minister, you asked me whether we can defeat France, and I am very responsible to tell you that we can, and we will certainly be able to defeat France!"

Moltke's answer made Bismarck laugh, and said to him:
"Here is an urgent telegram from the king. I have read it carefully. Permit me to make some corrections. I will read it to you."

Then Bismarck deleted the sentence "you can still discuss it in Berlin" in the telegram, but added another sentence like this at the end-"His Majesty the King refused to receive the French ambassador in the future, and ordered the adjutant on duty to tell the French ambassador. There's nothing more to talk about."

"Master Prime Minister, this is..."

"This is to stimulate the French! Moltke, my friend, after this war, no one can stop the unification of Germany! And the unification of Germany must be forged with iron and blood, other than that No other picture!"

"Iron blood policy", this is exactly the policy that Bismarck has implemented since he became prime minister.Moltke certainly agrees with this.

After amending the king's telegram, Bismarck said:
"War always needs a reason. What we need is to add a little bit of sarcasm and humiliation without changing the meaning of the original message. The emperor of France will never accept such humiliation!"

He turned his gaze to Moltke, and said.

"Mr. Moltke, now is the time to test us. I believe we can win this war. After all, we have been preparing for so many years!"

Bismarck never doubted victory.Since becoming prime minister, he has used ingenious diplomacy to paralyze the French and keep them neutral in the process of German unification.

His diplomatic efforts were successful, and eventually Prussia rose up under the noses of the French.But the road to German unification is still very far away.

Who is the biggest resistance to Germany's unification?It is France.

Over the past few years, while using diplomacy to paralyze the French, Bismarck was also quietly preparing for war against the French.

Now, war is finally about to break out.

At this time, the Prime Minister of the Prussian Empire, known as the "Iron Prime Minister", was immersed in certain expectations for the future.

After all, he had been preparing for this moment for so long.

"Master Prime Minister, please rest assured that we will definitely be able to win this war, and I think the victory may come sooner than we thought."

As the chief of staff of Prussia, Moltke is also looking forward to this moment. This battle with France is not just the last battle for the unity of will.After winning this war, he himself will reach the pinnacle of honor...

"But I still have some worries, such as airships!"

Bismarck looked at Chief of Staff Moltke and said.

"When we first made all the plans, we didn't know that airships could be used in war, and we didn't count that the French got airships. Will this weapon have any impact on our plans when it is put into battle? "

"There will definitely be an impact."

Mao Qi nodded and said.

"But that's it. After all, the French haven't got an airship until now. Even if they get an airship, it will take time to train. Besides, as far as we know, Nanhua doesn't have many airships. The most important thing Yes...the German army will never collapse because of the appearance of a few airships!"

(End of this chapter)