The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 271 The Prussian Prince Crying Poorly
Less than five hours after leaving Yunyang, the train arrived at Xiangjiang (now Rockhampton, Australia) - an important eastern port known as the Beef Capital and Coal City.

The city is located on the banks of the Hong Kong River (Fitzroy River), less than 60 kilometers away from the entrance to the bay, with a population of more than 125,000. It is a river port connecting inland water and coastal transportation, and is also the intersection of the coastal railway and the central railway.

There is an extremely vast area of ​​grassland and pasture in the hinterland of Xiangjiang. The northwest monsoon from the ocean is relatively humid, bringing abundant water vapor to the area and forming precipitation. It provides moisture for the growth of pasture and sufficient drinking water for grazing livestock, making Xiangjiang The government has become the most famous livestock production area. Several counties and agricultural and animal husbandry areas under its jurisdiction raise more than one million cattle and sheep, and the production scale ranks first in the local area.

In addition, Xiangjiang Prefecture is also rich in coal resources. Several of the largest local coal mines are located here. The scale of coal output from here exceeds six to seven million tons every year, which not only provides huge financial support to the region, but also It has also created a large number of job opportunities and is one of the two major economic pillars of the place.

While the train stopped briefly at Xiangjiang Station, Pan Guangfeng unexpectedly met an acquaintance here.

"Dear Mr. Ambassador, I am glad to meet you again in your country." A young European walked up to Pan Guangfeng, bent slightly and greeted him warmly.

"Prince Friedrich, to be honest, I am very happy to meet you here, but more importantly, I am full of curiosity." Pan Guangfeng said with a smile: "I didn't expect that you have not returned to Europe yet, and you can still be here with me See you again in Hanzhou."

"Oh, Mr. Ambassador, I think I have fallen deeply in love with your country." Prince Friedrich of the Kingdom of Prussia (the future Frederick II) showed a very happy expression, "Your country is too It's so big and magnificent. It took me more than a year to travel around Hanzhou. Oh, God, you have to know that I came by the greatest means of transportation in the world - the train. Visit your country. If it were in Prussia, even if you rode a horse continuously and circled around our small country, it would probably not take less than a month. "

"Huh?" Pan Guangfeng looked at the other party in surprise, "His Royal Highness, you mean that you have already taken the train and circled around Hanzhou? This really surprised me. To be honest, I have been living in Hanzhou. In more than thirty years, I have never traveled to the entire Hanzhou.”

"Really?" Prince Friedrich was obviously a little proud when he heard this, "Then, can we think that my great experience of circling Hanzhou will be recorded in the annals of history? Oh, of course, this record, It should be the first record of a foreigner circumnavigating the Han continent. I think there must be many travelers in your country who have done such a feat. Oh, God, I think the train is definitely the greatest invention in the world. It will make the once unreachable distance very short, and also greatly reduce the time we spend traveling. To be honest, Mr. Ambassador, I very much look forward to the early completion of the railway built by your Qi engineers for our Kingdom of Prussia. If so, I can take a train in Prussia and see our own beautiful hometown comfortably and comfortably.”

The Kingdom of Prussia is located in the Central European Plain, surrounded by many big powers, including Poland, the Holy Roman Empire, France, Hanover (at that time, Hanover and England were a personal union), Saxony, as well as Denmark, Sweden, and Russia on the Baltic Sea coast. None of them were easy to mess with.

Under this situation, if several railways can be built within the kingdom that reach all directions, limited troops can be quickly transported to the intense fighting areas, and the enemy can attack the enemy quickly, or quickly form a local advantage in force, which is very important to Prussia. In other words, it is tantamount to realizing several times the blessing of one's own military strength.

Although the Kingdom of Prussia expanded its army to a huge size of 80,000 during the reign of Frederick William I, its military strength far exceeded that of the North German states, but in the place of the Four War, the Kingdom of Prussia still had a strong They feel insecure and if they are not careful, they will be attacked by surrounding countries.

Because, with the poor relationship between Qi and the Austrians, there is very little political contact, let alone any formal economic cooperation, and it is probably impossible to help them build railways within the country.

The Polish people who are not very smart have obviously not realized the huge benefits of railways. Moreover, with their procrastination in doing things and their political system that debates endlessly over trivial matters, it is probably very difficult to introduce railways, and then it becomes Nowhere in sight.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the Kingdom of Prussia becomes the only country in the region with railways, so that the great role of this convenient means of transportation can be fully utilized.

Therefore, in addition to continuously increasing its armaments over the years, the Kingdom of Prussia has also actively carried out diplomatic activities with neighboring countries, both vertically and horizontally. It has tried its best to weaken Poland in the east and used various means to hinder its smooth political and military reforms and prevent its national strength from increasing; In the southeast, they are on guard against the Austrians who are constantly expanding their influence in the German region, and at the same time they covet the other side's wealthy Silesia; the two states of Saxony in the south and Hanover in the west are like thorns on the back, and they are the targets to be broken quickly; In the Baltic Sea to the north, they spared no effort to eliminate interference from Sweden and Denmark and prevent these two former Nordic hegemons from threatening Prussia from the sea.

When this economic agreement was sent back to Chang'an for review and approval, the Prussian prince must have learned the news through diplomatic channels.

Before returning to his homeland, Pan Guangfeng, as the plenipotentiary minister to Europe, brokered the signing of a wartime neutrality agreement between Sweden and Prussia. On behalf of the State of Qi, Pan Guangfeng signed a package of economic cooperation agreements with the Prussian government, including an important railway project. Contract to build a north-south railway from the capital Berlin to the important commercial port of Stettin in the north (today's Szczecin, Poland) and the military town of Leipzig in the south.

As a co-owner federal territory of the Kingdom of England, Hanover is simply the private property of George II. It is unlikely that Hanover will spend a large sum of money from his pocket and exert a large amount of political and economic benefits to cooperate with Qi.

They were not even willing to pay a penny for the Kingdom of England's compensation for the defeat of the Qi country, not to mention that they would exchange a large amount of money into steel rails and then "throw" it on the ground.

At present, it seems that the Kingdom of Prussia has indeed taken the lead and may become the third country to build railways after France and Ireland.

Saxony, on the other hand, is a landlocked country located in the hinterland of Central Europe. If it wants to conduct trade with overseas countries, it has to pass through many borders and obstacles, so it is temporarily unable to gain the favor of Qi.

Compared with the island country of England, trains are more revolutionary and subversive for a continental country like Prussia. In addition to its military significance, it allows the Prussian army to take advantage of the speed of railways to quickly maneuver in various cities and border areas. It can also to some extent strengthen the political and economic unity of many noble territories within the kingdom, increase their centripetal force towards the central government, thereby weakening the separatist and independent state of various lords within the territory.

As early as more than a hundred years ago (1618), just after the merger of Brandenburg and the Principality of Prussia, the "Thirty Years' War" that swept across Europe broke out. The new Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, Georg Wilhelm, immediately declared neutrality in view of the weak national strength. He naively wanted to protect himself and grew insignificant. But the warring countries in Europe did not follow his example and continued to fight on the ground between Brandenburg and Prussia. By the end of the war in 1648, approximately 60% of the population of the German states had been wiped out, 65% of the population of Pomerania had been wiped out, and 25% of the population of Silesia had been wiped out, with nearly half of the men dead. , very tragic. Brandenburg-Prussia, which was forced into the war, was also ravaged to the point of death, losing half of its population and its economy was in extreme decline.

Therefore, the successor Friedrich William summed up a painful experience from the "Thirty Years' War", that is, he must make the Kingdom of Prussia bigger and stronger and control his destiny forever in his own hands.

As a result, he spent his whole life establishing a centralized system with monarchy as the core in the Kingdom of Prussia. He also trained an elite army that obeyed the king's orders, laying a solid foundation for the rise of the kingdom.

To this end, he carefully designed a new bureaucracy to ensure the smooth implementation of centralization. He beat and pulled the nobles with both kindness and power, forcing them to swear allegiance to the monarch.

He also vigorously promoted mercantilism, expanded tax sources, and recruited religiously persecuted Protestants from various countries to settle in Brandenburg-Prussia. These measures were indeed very effective, and they were also copied by some other countries.

By the time of Prince Friedrich's father, Friedrich Wilhelm I, Prussia was finally built into a kingdom with strong influence in Germany and even the areas around the Baltic Sea.

Prussia is willing to boldly try and advance any methods and means that can enhance the kingdom's strength.

When the Qi people briefly introduced the positive role of the railway to King Friedrich Wilhelm I, they immediately agreed to the Qi people's railway construction plan without hesitation.

The Qi people provided technology and equipment, and the Prussians provided people and land. The two parties quickly established a railway joint venture and began to build the kingdom's first railway, which was also a main railway line running from north to south, with a mileage of 300 kilometers.

Although Prince Friedrich was not very old (born in 1712), he had been staying in Qi for more than a year and a half, and he was once a literary young man who was not familiar with current affairs. However, during his travels in Hanzhou, he deeply realized how important the railway was to a continental country. Compared with the slow and clumsy horse-drawn carriage transportation, it was definitely a disruptive change.

"Mr. Ambassador, I may have to leave Hanzhou and return to Prussia."

The train started slowly. Pan Guangfeng invited Prince Friedrich to his luxurious box and made him a cup of tea.

And the prince from Prussia looked out the window at the villages, towns and fields flying by, with a trace of reluctance on his face. He turned to Pan Guangfeng and said: "I am amazed by the vastness of your Qi country; your wealth and You are so powerful that I deeply admire you; your splendid culture and advanced technology make me even more intoxicated. Can you believe it, after more than a year of traveling and studying in Hanzhou, I found that I really fell in love with your country, Qi. "

"Haha..." Pan Guangfeng handed him the tea cup and said with a smile: "It can be seen that you have really experienced and learned a lot in our Qi country. Only now, I have come to realize that your Chinese proficiency We are already quite proficient, so we can have a relaxed and pleasant conversation without the need for an interpreter. Since you like our country, you might as well stay a little longer."

Although Prince Friedrich has not been officially designated as the crown prince, Pan Guangfeng, who is well versed in Prussia's internal affairs, knows that the then King Friedrich Wilhelm I has regarded him as the first heir to the kingdom. If nothing else, He would one day inherit the Prussian throne.

If he could subtly exert influence on him during his stay in Qi and make him a Prussian king who is close to Qi, then for Qi, it would be equivalent to cultivating a potential loyal ally of Qi in Europe, which would be beneficial to the empire. The implementation of the European strategy will definitely be of great benefit.

"Mr. Ambassador, my father has sent three consecutive waves of envoys to Qi, and he also brought his extremely stern letter, asking me to return to Prussia immediately to fulfill the obligations of a son and a subject." Friedrich Prince Xi smiled bitterly and said: "So, I cannot disobey the orders of a father and a king. Unfortunately, I can only choose to follow orders, leave Qi and return to Europe."

"Oh, that's really a pity." Hearing this, Pan Guangfeng shook his head and comforted: "His Royal Highness is still very young, and there will be many opportunities to come to our country again in the future. By then, as an old friend, I will definitely visit him Wait on the couch, walk on the ground to greet each other, and be a good landlord."

"..." The Prussian prince, who had only a little knowledge of Chinese, obviously didn't understand the several idioms Pan Guangfeng said in succession. He looked at the other person with silly eyes, and then shrugged with self-deprecation, "Mr. Ambassador, you might as well tell me Tell the truth, even if my father didn't send someone to urge me to return to Prussia, I think it would be difficult for me to continue to stay in your country. "

"Um?……"

"Because I don't have a penny in my pocket anymore." Prince Friedrich looked slightly embarrassed and said with a somewhat nervous expression: "Not only did I spend all the money I brought, but I also owe your emperor Your Majesty’s money is more than 100,000 yuan. Yes, I am already impoverished and an outright pauper.”

"..." Pan Guangfeng looked at the other party in confusion and did not respond for a while.

Ok?
As a prince and heir to the Kingdom of Prussia, what do you mean by crying like this in front of me?
You actually owe our Emperor hundreds of thousands of dollars!
How did you spend the money?
Do you still want to take a break from me and borrow some money?
(End of this chapter)