The sonorous and powerful speech echoed in the wild, and the surrounding soldiers were all stunned. A China that they had never heard of appeared in front of everyone, and they were a little breathless under the weight of history.
In the mid-19th century, Europeans had very complicated feelings towards China. Since the literacy rate was still very low and the penetration rate of news media was not very high, the speed of information transmission was still very slow.
Sometimes something new happens in London, and half a year later people in the countryside around Hamburg still don’t know anything about it. This happens often.
In the eyes of traditional European people and in the mouths of old rural farmers, China at this time was still full of the mystery of medieval legends. The stories in Marco Polo's travels are still being passed on, and China can still be equated with porcelain, silk, wealth, and mystery in the hearts of the people.
In other words, China's national image in this era has not fallen to an eternal bottom. Only senior leaders and intellectuals in various countries understand how weak China is now.
If Xiao Letian had said these words after the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1894, he would have been dismissed and booed by everyone, but in 1866, especially after they created the miracle of the stone bridge, the weight would have been heavy. Very good.
The Guards Cavalry nodded silently one by one, "Yes, China has experienced so many hardships, and that time was more difficult than this one, but they all survived, and they came back again and again. This kind of nation does not admire Is it possible?"
"Our Prussian history is still short compared to the Chinese. We can defeat Denmark and Austria after decades of hard work. Why can't the Chinese still defeat Britain and France after decades of hard work?"
"Yes, yes! You must know that China is countless times larger than Britain and France combined. What's more, Mr. Xiao's army has already taught those arrogant French a lesson in Sanson. Facts have proved that the French are not invincible. of!"
It seems that Europeans also help relatives but not others. Xiao Letian and these middlemen have been accepted by these Prussians, and they naturally stand on Xiao Letian's side.
Leo sighed secretly in his heart. He knew that Xiao Letian had successfully passed the test, and his follow-up special report had a huge section.
At this moment, Leo glanced out of the corner of his eye and suddenly noticed a familiar figure flashing outside the crowd. When he turned around and looked, "Your Majesty the Prime Minister?" It turned out that the person standing behind him was the Prime Minister of Bimarck.
The soldiers didn't know how long the Prime Minister had been standing here, but judging from the strange expression on his face, they estimated that he had heard everything Xiao Letian had just said.
"Your Majesty Prime Minister..." The soldiers stood up, saluted and moved out of an alley, but Bismarck just nodded with a smile and waved to Xiao Letian.
At this time, Xiao Letian was only half full, but he had to go when the old prime minister called him, so he had to stand up, pat his butt and walk over.
"Xiao! I need your help now. The King, Old Moltke and Prince Karl are all here in the headquarters. The atmosphere is a bit bad now. You have to be mentally prepared... I hope you can stand on the sidelines. Come on, make some suggestions!”
Bismarck pulled Xiao Letian to a quiet place and whispered, "Now the empire's top officials are clearly divided into two factions. The royal family represented by the king and prince strongly demanded that the army march overnight, and the order given to the army was to capture Vienna within a week. Even if we can't defeat him, we still have to completely defeat the army around Benedek..."
"Old Moltke and I oppose this order. We believe that peace talks should be held with the Austrians immediately. We have been arguing all afternoon..."
Xiao Letian understood as soon as he heard this. William I and his son were dazzled by the victory. They wanted to solve Austria in one go and then completely unify Greater Germany.
Bismarck looked at Xiao Letian's brows furrowed. He hesitated for a moment and finally said, "Marshal Bittenfeld and Prince Karl will never interfere in this matter. They are standard soldiers involved in the strategic aspects of the country." The question has always been neutral... Now the battle in the military tent has been tied at two to two, and we urgently need someone to change the balance!" "Am I suitable? I'm just a guest of Prussia?" Xiao Letian was very worried hesitate.
"No, just because you are a guest, and a guest who has just shed blood for Prussia, your words are persuasive... Xiao! Don't worry too much. Prussia is dancing on the cliff right now. Any omission will be fatal. , then I’m afraid everything you want will be in vain!”
"Done!" Xiao Letian slapped his thigh. "Wait for me..." Xiao Letian made up his mind and began to look around with his eyes. Finally, he strode to a soldier and looked at him with a surprised and incomprehensible look. He was hit and snatched the bayonet away at once.
Stab, stab... Xiao Letian's bayonet flew up and down, making a lot of holes in the already tattered military uniform, and then he grabbed a handful of dirt and wiped the mess on himself.
At this time, the atmosphere in the headquarters was already very tense, and the strong smell of gunpowder seemed to be igniting at once. This is a compound military tent like a fortress, with countless single rooms separated according to purpose. Now all staff officers, officers, and bodyguards are concentrated in the outer rooms. There are only three senior officials of the empire in the core headquarters.
William I is an emperor that the German nation will never forget. It was during his reign that modern Germany emerged. He was also crowned German Emperor in the Palace of Versailles, France. Later Germans honored him as William the Great.
According to historical records, William I's talent was actually not very high, and there is no historical record of any particularly outstanding highlights of this emperor. In fact, based on his achievements in his later years, there must have been many imperial literati who tried to help him smear and brag, but they didn't.
There are only two possibilities for this phenomenon. One is that he really has very high morals and is unwilling to accept the praise of future generations. The other possibility is that the emperor's talent is indeed very ordinary, so ordinary that others would look for him if they want to write. Not to the point of focus.
But there is one advantage that later historians cannot dispute, and that is the lifelong friendship between William the Great and Bismarck. In Xiao Letian's eyes, the relationship between this emperor and Bismarck is a bit like the relationship between Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang in the Three Kingdoms.
Emperor William gave Bismarck absolute trust, and Bismarck rewarded the emperor with victory after victory.
But today, William I and his good friend the Prime Minister made a big fuss. He and his son Prince Karl sat side by side on chairs, angrily staring at Vienna on the military map. It looked like they wanted to kill someone with their eyes. Come and conquer this city.
Old Mao Qi sat opposite them, staring at the king with no sign of weakness, his chest rising and falling, and the beard under his nose was blown away. If this kind of unfriendly look was placed in the Qing Dynasty, he would have been executed all over the house. .
"The Prime Minister has arrived... The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Ryukyu has arrived..." Just as there was deathly silence, the report of the palace guard came from outside the military tent, and then the military tent was opened and two arrogant men walked in.
When Emperor William heard that the guests from the East were coming, he naturally acted like an aristocrat and wanted to be polite with a smile on his face. However, when he saw Xiao Letian's body covered in blood and fire, His Majesty the King was stunned.
"Oh...my God...Xiao, how did you do this? Didn't you say you weren't injured?"
Xiao Letian's military uniform was now in tatters, with holes all over it, and there were scratches here and there. He didn't know what they were, and his left arm was wrapped in thick layers of gauze, and the blood on it had dried up.
Xiao Letian stood at attention and saluted and said sharply, "Xiao Letian, the commander-in-chief of the Prussian mixed camp... has successfully completed the mission and now hands over the order to the Chief of General Staff!"
The king and the prince, who were speechless, rolled their eyes, especially Karl, whose nose was so angry that he twisted his nose and thought to himself, "Are you sincerely cheering for old Moltke? Are you trying to morally kidnap my father by acting like this?" It’s not like I haven’t seen you in the afternoon. Your arm was fine at that time, why didn’t I see the wound?”
But I can only think about this in my heart. If it were said on the spot, it would be a diplomatic dispute.
Old Maoqi was inexplicably moved. Xiao Letian's move was to emphasize to the king that I am the commander-in-chief. The Chinese people have recognized my command authority and supported me. If you do this, you will probably be embarrassed to replace him on the spot. That's it.
"Please rest a moment! I accept your order... Mr. Xiao Letian, your mission has been completed extremely successfully. Please forget your identity as a battlefield commander. Now please return to your identity as a prime minister!"
After speaking, Old Karl returned a military salute to Xiao Letian with great apologies. This was an apology for his previous rude words to Xiao Letian. Old Maoqi felt unusually emotional in his heart. He apologized for looking at people through colored glasses in the past.
In fact, it was not just Old Moltke who felt apologetic in the headquarters. Prince Carl felt even more apologetic. When the Zhongguan Corps first arrived in Hamburg, he was reckless and had a serious conflict with Xiao Hexin and his party. It can be said that in The person with the deepest prejudice against the Chinese among the top Prussian officials was Prince Karl.
But a series of things that happened later made Karl change his view. This group of Chinese bravely rescued orphans at the Hamburg fire, dared to confront the French cavalry on the French-Swiss border, and now they have resisted in Shiqiao Highlands with less than a thousand troops. Complete the Austrian army. Karl was completely impressed by every move of these Chinese people.
Because of this, when Xiao Letian walked into the headquarters as the Prime Minister of a foreign country, no one present raised any objection.
Bismarck cleared his throat, "Your Majesty, there is an old saying in China that jade can be captured with stones from other mountains. When we are unable to make a decision, can we listen to some suggestions from distant guests? Maybe we can get a certain amount of advice." Inspiration…”
William I and Prince Karl could not refuse Bismarck's suggestion. If it were another person or another environment, they would never let a foreign politician participate in the formulation of the Kingdom of Prussia's strategy.
But what they faced today was Xiao Letian, a man who had reached a strategic alliance with Prussia and whose body was scarred with blood and fire.
Facing Xiao Letian, he couldn't say anything if he objected.
...
