Back to the Republic of China as a commander

Maybe in the eyes of my relatives and elders, I'm just a little rascal doing nothing, and in fact I think so myself.In order to live a more nourishing life, I had to use my relatives to go to the far east to cheat food and drink as a consul and business representative. I even came to such a judgment that maybe my life, Phillips, was like this .But God seemed unwilling to abandon me. He let me play the role of the savior of the Principality of Luxembourg once, and I seemed to be born to save Luxembourg --- Excerpted from "A Luxembourger's Oriental Legend" by Phillips

In September 1913, in the Principality of Luxembourg in Europe, an old man lamented: "The peace of Europe is dying..."

The old man who lamented was none other than Paul Easton, the greatest prime minister in the history of the Principality of Luxembourg, the distant relative of the little man with the sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, Phillips.This bald old man with a gray face and beard has been the Prime Minister of the Principality of Luxembourg for 25 years, but he is facing the most dangerous moment in the history of the Principality of Luxembourg.

The world in 1913 was really not peaceful. The two major military blocs with the Anglo-French Allied Powers and the German-Austrian Allies as the main body started the craziest arms competition. In 1913, Germany's standing army was expanded from 42 to 87, France's was expanded from 50 to 80, and Russia was also planning to increase it from 80 to 230 million. The champion of Europe, but its quality is very low, and it cannot be compared with the armies of Germany and France; The quality of the army is not as good as that of Germany and France. In the end, the United States also responded to the tense situation in Europe by expanding the number of troops from 140 to 80.

In fact, this is nothing more than a normal thing. Veteran colonial powers like Britain and France have mastered too many colonies, but their national strength does not match.On the contrary, Germany has surpassed Britain and France economically and militarily, but because it was too late to unify, it has too few colonies, and the lack of raw materials and markets has affected the further development of Germany.When the sustaining force of the original world order begins to weaken, there will inevitably be emerging forces that will jump out to challenge the old order, and Germany has played such a challenger role.Later historians attributed Germany's WWI to Wilhelm II's personal recklessness and stupidity, but they didn't want to imagine why the whole of Germany would support his recklessness and stupidity. Many accidents were actually inevitable.

Now even the most ignorant of politics knows that Europe has become a huge powder keg, but they don't know where the fuse is and when will it be lit?

Paul Easton, as the prime minister of a small country like the Principality of Luxembourg, has absolutely no control over the situation in Europe, and he can't even control the fate of his own country. Luxembourg is at the crossroads of the entire European continent, and is surrounded by Germany and France. caught in the middle.No matter who fights who, Luxembourg must pass through. Although Luxembourg was recognized as a neutral country in 1886, it does not have the unique geographical conditions of Switzerland. Standing in the center of the battlefield, you are neutral. Show me.

But if they really participated in the war, Luxembourg, with its poor population of 30, would not even be able to piece together an army for one battle.In Paul Easton's own words, we have produced enough steel to conquer the world, but not enough soldiers to use it.

Peace cannot be made, and war cannot stand. What is the future of Luxembourg?

Paul Easton thought of his idle nephew Phillips Easton. This guy was already in his early thirties, and he hadn't done anything for so many years except to find himself an unpaid consul in the East. What's the matter, his wife is really good at life, and his wife also likes her very much.Let’s not talk about it, this guy who had achieved nothing for many years suddenly came to him a year ago, saying that he had hooked up with an Eastern warlord, and then the Albeid company that served him got a batch of orders, mainly some machine tools and tower cranes Well, there is also a contract for supporting facilities required for an annual production of 100 million tons of steel.However, it was later heard that the production capacity there was insufficient, and in the end only 20 tons were taken.By the way, at that time he also persuaded himself to transfer some of his citizens to the East to temporarily avoid the approaching danger of the European War. Unfortunately, he never waited to see this distant nephew, and the situation at that time was not as severe as it is now, so he didn't take his words too seriously. thing.Thinking about it now, it is indeed necessary to do this. After all, the most reliable thing in Luxembourg is the steel industry. If it is moved to the United States or to other countries, iron ore resources and coal resources have long been owned, but the east is said to be still undeveloped. In a barren land, I just don't know what the situation of this warlord is.

With a trace of doubts and expectations, the Prime Minister, who has been weakened recently, immediately asked his secretary to invite this idle nephew. For the past six months, he has been eating at home in Luxembourg waiting to die. . .

Our Phillips Easton, who was looked down upon by his distant uncle, was indeed living at home and waiting to die. After seven or eight years in the Far East, the big deal that was finally negotiated was Wang Zhenyu's deal, the tower crane at the pier, There is also the equipment of An Giang Iron and Steel Works.What is even more tragic is that due to the shortage of industrial workers and the shortage of coal and iron ore resources, the production capacity of Anjiang Iron and Steel Works has been reduced from the initial million tons to 20 tons, and the commission has naturally shrunk accordingly.

Due to its own lack of resources, the construction of Anjiang Model City was taken away by the Germans, and the railway project also belonged to the damn Belgians, but our poor Phillips had to honestly return to Luxembourg with a commission of less than [-] pounds. After all, the family also needs money, so let's send back the most money I have earned over the years.

This time, the Albeid company fired itself, and only Phillips, who was the Consul of the Principality of Luxembourg in Hankou, could only hang around at home. Uncle Paul summoned. . .

"No problem, dear Uncle Paul, please believe your nephew, the middle-class tyrant king and I are as good as brothers, he said at that time that as long as we Luxembourgers are interested in taking refuge there, he is willing to draw a piece of land Give us to live and develop until the end of the war. Dear Uncle Paul, can you imagine? The whole of Europe is smashed into a pot of porridge, while the subjects of our Principality of Luxembourg can continue our happy and peaceful life in calm Asia, and then continue to produce Our steel, and then shipping these products back to Europe to make a fortune is simply perfect." Phillips' bragging skills are really top-notch.

But it also depends on the target, bragging in front of his uncle Prime Minister Paul Easton is tantamount to playing a big ax in front of Luban: "Okay, Phillips, I am your uncle, I know how much you are capable of than anyone else , It’s not me hitting you. These things are not what you can think of, tell me, is this what the cockroach said?”

"Ahem, dear Uncle Paul, how can you say that about your nephew? It was indeed said by that damned Chinese tyrant king. He seems to be very familiar with and understands our European situation. It is likely that the Qing Empire A government-sponsored overseas student, where I met a railway engineer from Belgium who returned from studying abroad. That..."

"Okay, okay, dear Phillips, stop, you're going too far, I'm just worried about my country, if our people pass by, is there any guarantee of safety? Can you guarantee that this guy will not be greedy? And the place you mentioned is far away from the sphere of influence of the British, can the British control it?" Paul Easton really thought about different issues, and poor Phillips was dumb on the spot.

Paul Easton could only sigh, he was getting old, otherwise it would be better to go this trip by himself, there was no other way, he rang the bell on the table, and the secretary immediately bowed in: "Arrange the carriage, I want Go meet our lovely Grand Duchess."

The current Grand Duke of Luxembourg is Mary Adelaide. She is the first female Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the eldest daughter of the former Grand Duke William IV.After the death of William IV, because there were no male heirs (William IV and his wife, Princess Mary Anna of Portugal, had a total of six daughters), the royal family of Luxembourg was forced to revise the rule that female heirs could not inherit the grand line. Dredd succeeded.

This child is only 19 years old this year, but he has to face an unprecedented and complicated situation. What Paul Easton can do is to find a way as soon as possible to help this child lead the country out of the crisis.

"Grandpa Paul, do we really want to move?" The young and beautiful Grand Duchess raised her own doubts. In fact, she is only 19 years old and she doesn't even have a specific idea about this country.It was a very bad thing that her father went to God before he could teach her how to deal with the affairs of state.

Paul Easton sighed. He knew better than anyone else that anyone in Luxembourg could leave. Only he, the prime minister and the symbol of the country, Her Royal Highness, the Grand Duchess, could not leave. The Allied Powers headed by Britain and France would not allow the same front The comrades-in-arms fled, and the two allies headed by Germany and Austria also needed the ruler of Luxembourg to stay in Luxembourg.The fate of this poor child is destined to be a tragedy. Once the war breaks out, she will watch the enemy's army march into Luxembourg City and see her country fall. . .

"His Royal Highness, I, Paul Easton, have served the Principality all my life. Please believe in my judgment as an old man. War in Europe is inevitable. All we can do is to find a new place to stay, so as to prevent us from being caught in the war." What’s more important is that our industry continues to grow and develop during the war. As for this homeland, when the war is decided, we can come back and shake hands with the victor.”

Grand Duke Mary felt that what Prime Minister Paul said seemed to make sense: "Then Grandpa Paul will take full responsibility. Dad also explained so before his death."

Only then did Paul Easton let out a long breath of relief. . .