There was deathly silence in the headquarters. Bismarck's final threat made William I unable to deal with it. Coupled with Xiao Letian's previous brilliant analysis, the king and the prince had nothing to say if they wanted to refute.
At this time, Xiao Letian realized that William I was really as blessed but incompetent as later generations deduced. When faced with his own doubts, he did not refute at all. Of course, Xiao Letian’s reasoning was based on the experience of countless historians in later generations. What has been deduced cannot be refuted at all.
But as a king, you have to fight even for the sake of face. Even if you go back to sleep and change it the next day, it's not too late. But William I couldn't even do this. He just looked red and very anxious. Circle in the command post.
Xiao Letian also heard a lot of interesting rumors when he was in Hamburg. In fact, the title of Bismarck's iron-blooded prime minister was not given by the enemy. More than half of the factors were in Berlin and in China.
There was news in the Berlin court that in order to ensure the authority of his prime minister, Bismarck did not even allow civilian officials to report to the king alone. He must be notified of all meetings, and most of them must be accompanied by him. .
Domineering, extremely domineering, this was the first impression that King Yi and Xiao Hexin had after hearing such rumors. If this were in Asia, such ministers would only end up dead, and the Immortal Sect would be worthy of you.
But the amazing thing is that William I is really tolerant. No matter how rude Bismarck is, His Majesty the King is never angry or even complains.
Sometimes it is really hard to tell whether a famous minister shapes a wise king or a wise king shapes a famous minister. If Prussia had not had Bismarck, perhaps their road to recovery would not have been so smooth. And if Bismarck had not had the trust of the king, he would have been ousted before he could even govern.
Today, after Xiao Letian's reasoning loosened the stubbornness in the king's heart, and when Bismarck's threat to resign was bluntly thrown out, the king gave in.
"Okay, gentlemen! You have convinced me...I take back my order. I will leave all the subsequent war and negotiations to you two!"
After listening to his father's words, the stubborn Karl let out a long sigh. He knew that nothing could be changed, and the look in his eyes at Bismarck became more and more complicated.
Hearing the king's promise, Xiao Letian and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Old Maoqi turned around and left the house to find his staff. He wanted to set up a defense line overnight to prevent the enemy from counterattacking. Bismarck had to take a train back to Berlin immediately, and now the diplomatic envoys from various countries were waiting impatiently.
William I had just been denied the imperial order, and now it was time to lose face. He nodded to Xiao Letian, turned around and left the military tent. In the end, only Karl and Xiao Letian were left in the headquarters.
"You should choose me, not Bismarck... Don't forget that I am the prince, and I am responsible for the future of this empire!" Karl suddenly broke the silence.
Xiao Letian seemed to have known what the prince was going to say. He smiled coquettishly, "I'm just telling the truth. Continuing to fight will do a lot of harm to Prussia but nothing good."
"Don't change the subject, you know what I want to say!" Karl was a little annoyed.
But Xiao Letian acted as if he didn't understand. "Didn't I change the subject? You should know better than me. The ethnic situation in Austria is extremely complicated. Even if Prussia can annex it, it will be very difficult to digest it. When a country falls into serious ethnic conflicts After conflicts and internal strife, I’m afraid even God can’t save..."
"Think about it, when you are working hard to get into the top clubs, you are always worried about someone stabbing you in the back. This feeling is very bad. Limited resources cannot be wasted like this!"
Xiao Letian had a teasing smile on his face, but what he said was correct. Why did Bismarck abandon the Greater Germany plan and choose to unify northern Germany, which is the territory of modern Germany? National issues were also considered.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire is really too troublesome. As you can see from the map, Hungary, Bohemia, Serbia, and Montenegro... these are areas where ethnic mixing is most likely to lead to chaos.
Even the trigger for the outbreak of the First World War was here, caused by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife. Why did Princip, the young Serb who was the protagonist in the Sarajevo incident, kill the Crown Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire?
The reason is simple. The young man was a nationalist. What they dissatisfied with was the Austro-Hungarian Empire's dictates to Serbia. Moreover, he was also a fanatical and angry student. Look, the tragedy happened.
The father wanted to avenge his son, so he declared war on Serbia. Then Russia, which had always had a grudge against Austria, immediately announced an alliance with Serbia to jointly resist the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
At this time, Germany was the upgraded version of Prussia. It had already reconciled with its brothers in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If the polar bear wanted to bully its brothers, was there any nonsense? Come on, copycats, this is a declaration of war with Russia.
Then France also saw an opportunity. The revenge of the Franco-Prussian War has not yet been avenged. Now is the best opportunity. We also declared war on Germany.
Immediately afterwards, the United Kingdom, Italy and even China began to take sides. A massive world war began with the detonation of the Balkan powder keg, causing a chain reaction and exploding all over the world.
Bismarck was a smart man, so what could he do with such a hot potato? That is to say, William I and his father were always fanatical in their minds, always thinking about unifying Greater Germany and restoring the glory of the Holy Roman Empire.
As an aside, this ideal was finally realized by someone, and that empire was called the German Third Reich.
Okay, Xiao Letian Balabala said a lot of reasons. He thought he could convince Prince Carl, but he didn't expect that what he got in the end was Carl's very melancholy expression.
He kept staring at Xiao Letian with a very melancholy look. In the end, he couldn't speak anymore. Xiao Letian secretly wondered, does the crown prince have a habit of cutting off his sleeves? I have to be careful.
When Xiao Letian was speechless and looked at Prince Carl with a strange look, the crown prince sighed and said.
"I admit that when I first met you Chinese, I looked at you with colored glasses, and my behavior in the Hamburg recruit camp was also very rude. Please accept my apology!"
After saying this, Prince Carl took a step back and bowed respectfully to Xiao Letian. Now Xiao Letian was a little at a loss. This boy was just a docile donkey. The more you pushed him against him, the more energetic he became. Now that Prince Carl had lowered his attitude, Xiao Letian felt embarrassed.
"Your Highness..." Xiao Letian wanted to say something, but Karl raised his hand to stop him.
"Xiao! Please allow me to use this title of friend. I think you have found the wrong ally. Bismarck is too old. His influence is destined to slowly fade away, and I...only I am." The future master of the empire, I am the Crown Prince of Prussia, and only I can guarantee the longevity of the alliance..."
"Such a simple truth, you should be able to see it with your intelligence, but why do you have to choose Bismarck and avoid my kindness?"
Karl asked very puzzledly, "Why is this?"
Xiao Letian was forced to the table, and his stomach was full of bitterness. There is really no answer to this question. I cannot tell you clearly that you are the famous Hundred Days Emperor in history.
Your son will get throat cancer in the future, and his hair will be cured after only a hundred days on the throne. In the end, your son will become the king of the country. If these words were spoken, Karl would probably have to cut himself with a knife.
Well, looking at Karl's powerful look, he probably wouldn't be his opponent in a single fight.
Xiao Letian smiled sheepishly. He knew that if he didn't give an answer today, he would not be able to get out of the military tent. Finally, he gritted his teeth, stamped his feet, closed his eyes and decided to take a gamble.
"Your Highness, if I tell the truth, how can you guarantee that you will not become angry? I need a promise from you!"
Karl was stunned for a moment but then he raised his hands and swore, "I swear to God, no matter what you say today, I will not be angry at all!"
"Well, since you are willing to die, I am also willing to bury you. Since you want to hear bad words, I am also willing to give you some poisonous words... Prince, I wonder how much you know about China? Chinese medicine and Chinese divination techniques, do you have any knowledge? Do you understand it?"
"Whether you believe it or not, but I do believe it. Traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese divination techniques have existed for thousands of years. The ancients were even able to predict the rise and fall of a dynasty and a nation..."
Xiao Letian talked nonsense. Anyway, at this time, no Europeans knew anything about traditional Chinese medicine or the Chinese Book of Changes. Xiao Letian translated those weird names literally, sometimes in English, sometimes in German, and in the end even a long paragraph He talked about Chinese for a long time.
Karl was dumbfounded. The serious atmosphere just now was gone. He had already made Xiao Letian feel dizzy. "Wait a minute... Dear Xiao, I can't keep up with your thinking. Please tell me directly whether the result is good or not." ?I can not understand what you say!"
"Okay, I know you don't understand either, so I'll make it clear. Based on my many years of Yi learning and common sense of traditional Chinese medicine, I can deduce that you often have hoarseness in the throat, blood in the phlegm, difficulty breathing, and occasionally... The current situation of difficulty swallowing..."
"You ask me to count on my fingers... Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to two hundred and five..." Xiao Letian shook his head like a magic stick and finally shouted.
"Your Highness, go see a doctor quickly. There is a foreign body in your throat. If it is not treated early, it may be life-threatening!"
Prince Karl took three steps back, and finally his face turned extremely pale. He sat down on the chair with his eyes straightened.
"Are you a devil? Are you really a devil from the East? I'm going to kill you..." After saying this, Prince Carl unsheathed his sword and stabbed Xiao Letian in the throat.
...
