Wild North America 1846

Chapter 677 Jealous William

1886. 4, 16

[-] o'clock in the afternoon

An interstate express train numbered ZJ2076 slowly entered the platform of Chang'an, the imperial capital. The pressure relief valve of the steam locomotive let out a sharp chirping sound, and large clouds of white steam enveloped the train, as if to vent the exhaustion of the whole body.

A red carpet was laid on the platform of the train station, and there were high-ranking dignitaries in Chang'an, the capital of the imperial capital, neatly arranged bands, and soldiers of the Royal Guards. The ceremony looked solemn and solemn.

Standing at the front is the eleventh son of the emperor, His Highness Tang-Li Xin, King of Guangnan, who is dressed in the uniform of the lieutenant general of the Royal Guards and wears a medal. His tall figure resembles that of his father, with a beautiful horoscope Beard, with a firm and steady expression.

Standing next to him is the royal aide, Brigadier General Pan Shouguo. He is the son of the Duke of the Protectorate, the eldest son of Admiral Pan Hengchen.

After completing the military mission of conquering Cuba and Puerto Rico, His Royal Highness Tang-Li Xin of Guangnan led the army to participate in the post-war reconstruction and continuous clean-up of the new colony, organized Chinese immigrants to resume production, and accumulated a wealth of first-hand governance in Cuba. Government experience.

For 7 years, Cuba and Puerto Rico have been reborn from the ashes after the war, and have gradually restored their peaceful and peaceful life in the past.

The population of the above two areas is also under the continuous import of Chinese immigrants, and the total population has recovered to 89.6, of which 92.7% are Chinese (Note, whether young Cuban women are allocated or married into Chinese families, they are all Chinese. The figure does not include the approximately 23.3 hard labor camp inmates, whose number is decreasing significantly every year), basically recovering more than 8% of Cuba's heyday.

The dazzling achievements here include the countless hard work of His Highness Tang Li Xin, the king of Guangnan, and his subordinates. Construction is always more difficult than destruction.

The Spaniards have colonized the island of Cuba for nearly 300 years, leaving almost zero infrastructure construction. The roads are rugged and narrow. During the rainy season, they are often impassable due to mud and flash floods. There are even fewer decent bridges.

During these 7 years
Cuba and Puerto Rico, under the heavy injection of money from the empire, drove tens of thousands of convicts to build roads as long as 10 kilometers. The flat and spacious roads can reach all provinces, counties and towns, and 1.12% of the villages. Can travel without hindrance.

Among them, there are 2655 kilometers of high-standard arterial roads hardened with asphalt, with neat street trees on both sides of the road, drainage ditches and standard milestones, ranging from 6.5 meters to 8 meters in width, which greatly improves Cuba's traffic to the provinces. Ability.

at the same time
A 1330-kilometer railway line was also built, 879 bridges of various sizes, 27 reservoirs, 6 cement plants, 11 thermal power plants, 310 sugar factories, rice mills, oil mills, sawmills, and flour mills were put into operation. There are more than [-] food factories and so on, forming a preliminary and complete light industry system.

During this period, 13 piers were rebuilt, expanded and repaired, and a seawall of more than 170 kilometers was repaired.Among them, the ports of Havana and San Diego have expanded their 5-ton wharves, allowing the empire’s latest 3-ton Panamanian ocean-going bulk carriers to directly dock and unload.

With the influx of a large number of Chinese capital, in some towns in Cuba and Puerto Rico headed by Havana, the originally messy shantytowns were torn down and rebuilt in large areas, and the buildings with two floors above and below have become the mainstream of urban architecture. New roads and urban gardens give it a new look.

The solid foundation laid by hard work has created favorable conditions for the next step of large-scale immigration and economic development.

His Highness Tang-Li Xin, King of Guangnan, and his subordinates, including Brigadier General Pan Shouguo, have all received awards and awards from His Majesty the Emperor.

The intercontinental train spewed thick steam and stopped, and then the military band played a happy song, and the beautiful notes echoed on the train platform.

The door of the carriage opened, and a dozen German military officers and some entourages came out of the carriage first. After they came out, they stood on both sides respectfully, and then the muezzin shouted loudly;

"His Royal Highness Wilhelm, grandson of the Emperor of the German Empire, arrives... to salute!" The German officers stood at attention in unison, and then raised their hands in salute.

The officers of the Tang Empire who came to greet him also raised their hands in salute. Only His Highness Tang-Li Xin of Guangnan was holding a beautifully carved white scepter in his hand, with a smile on his lips. The old god was waiting for the German guests to come out.

His Highness William soon appeared at the door of the carriage. He was wearing a well-dressed tuxedo, holding an expensive cane in his hand, and the two high and upturned Prussian beards on his lips looked domineering.

After a short pause at the door of the carriage, His Highness William walked along the red carpet, stood in front of His Highness Tang-Li Xin, Wang of Guangnan, and said in a reserved tone; "If I'm not wrong, this is no longer We are meeting for the first time, dear His Excellency King Guangnan."

"That's right, Your Royal Highness, the Empress Dowager, I once had the honor to entertain the prince and his wife at the Emmelin Palace in Berlin. Compared with twenty years ago, you have changed a lot!"

"I have an impression of Your Highness, and I especially like the animal pets around you. Being able to ride on their broad backs is an unforgettable memory in my life, the best time in my childhood. I owe you a "thank you" , His Excellency King Guangnan."

"The same is true for me. The time I was studying in Berlin's Emmelin Palace is the best memory in my life." His Highness Tang Li Xin replied with a smile, and then stretched out his hand and began to introduce the entourage around him, saying;
"Since we mentioned something that happened more than [-] years ago, do you still remember the young and brave royal attendant at that time? Let me introduce you, Brigadier General Pan Shouguo, the deputy commander of the Southern Dispatch Corps of the Imperial Guard, and the first-class son of the Duke of the Empire. A close friend all the time."

"It's a great honor to meet you, His Royal Highness." Brigadier General Pan Shouguo stood at attention with a standard "snap" and saluted. Then he reached out and shook hands with His Royal Highness William.

As for the rest of the attendants, they didn't even exchange pleasantries, they just touched their hands politely.

Immediately, Emperor Wilhelm's grandson introduced the German officials accompanying him, the most notable being Lord Herbert, the eldest son of German Prime Minister Bismarck, who is the protocol director of the German Foreign Ministry and has a close relationship with His Royal Highness.

In 1879, Wilhelm left the Bonn court and served in Potsdam in the tradition of the German Junker military aristocracy until around 1883.

This is a sign that the emperor's grandson William gradually acquired an independent status after he became an adult. During this period, he established a good political relationship with his grandfather William I and the pro-Russian conservative camp represented by Bismarck.

Soon after
Wilhelm was engaged to Princess Augusta Victoria, daughter of the Grand Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, and married in February 1881.

The marriage of the two marked that William had become a relatively independent factor in German political life, separated from the strong desire for control of his mother, Princess Victoria.

Since 1883, Emperor Wilhelm's grandson has entered the German Foreign Office and has been familiar with international affairs with the help of Lord Herbert...

After a short welcome ceremony on the train station platform, Emperor William and his wife took a luxurious and distinguished royal black car, accompanied by His Highness the King of Guangnan, to the Grape Valley Palace more than 30 kilometers away, where the German distinguished guests will stay.

In order to welcome the arrival of the distinguished guests from the German imperial family, some streets in Chang’an, the imperial capital, were closed. A group of more than 200 black limousines hung the royal logo and flags, and were escorted by [-] Royal Guard cavalry galloping along the avenue. go all the way.

Sitting in a big, smooth car

William looked out of the window at the green street with flowers in full bloom, tall and majestic buildings lined up, not even a piece of paper could be seen on the clean and tidy streets, and the bustling crowds on both sides of the road stopped and looked over, full of the taste of a modern metropolis.

Especially when passing the intersection, seeing the long queue of cars stopped by the police and the tram passing by the viaduct brought him considerable visual impact.

William could not help saying;
"Dear Herbert, what I have seen and heard in the past few months has made me deeply jealous of the Great Tang Empire, which has risen for only 40 years.

This strong emotion seems to have taken away my beloved woman.

Previously in Panama, the Nicaragua Canal, Mexico City, Gallup and Los Angeles, these dazzling metropolises have opened my eyes.

Now that I see Chang'an City, I realize that it is an international metropolis not inferior to London. In terms of urban governance and modernization, it even far surpasses European metropolises such as London, Paris and Berlin.

It's unimaginable, how did they do this? "

What he said is not surprising. The grandson of King William was one of the first European royal guests to arrive, but he did not arrive in North America on a luxury cruise ship, but arrived in Storm City, the southernmost tip of South America, thus opening a four-year period. Half a month of long research trip.

Taking the Intercontinental Express, William and his party went all the way north from Storm City, stopped and stopped in the passing cities, and passed the coastal Zhennan Province, Shuguang Province, Crescent Province, and Weiyuan Province on the vast South American Pampas prairie, Victory Province and Glory Province go north all the way, then pass through Rio Negro Province, La Pampa Province, and Cordoba Province to continue northward, arriving at Salta Province, the northernmost point of the former Andean Governor's Mansion, and entering Peru from here.

During this long journey, there were stops and stops all the way. His Royal Highness William experienced a train journey of one and a half months. Although he would often get off the train along the way to enjoy the local beauty, visit the city and the magnificent scenery of mountains and rivers, this long train journey still takes a long time. They feel like throwing up.

do the math

From Storm City to the border with Peru by train, the total journey has been more than 8300 kilometers (note, the train route is not a straight-line distance), but it is less than half of the entire Pacific Railway.

The vast territory of the Tang Empire makes people despair, envy, and envy. It makes William salivate, and he is about to go crazy with jealousy.

(End of this chapter)