Seven Seas Beacon Fire

"But this is indeed part of the treatment currently..."

"Don't mention that treatment the traditional Chinese medicine doctor prescribed for you again! What kind of treatment is it to watch you munching on a pork knuckle in front of me?!"

“At least the medicine he prescribed for you before was the most effective. He said it would force you to adapt…” Li Che looked at Zhu Miaoyun, who looked like she was about to bite him. Although he was actually a little eager to try it, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

The current treatment method is actually a somewhat "give-up" approach proposed by the accompanying TCM doctor after other experts failed to provide an effective treatment. Since the Crown Princess's current problem is that she is not used to the environment in Europe due to the long journey, and the more "mild" treatments have not been effective, the more "rough" approach is to let the Crown Princess adapt.

In Li Che's view, this was almost like a form of desensitization therapy. Of course, Zhu Miaoyun must have felt uncomfortable during the process, but fortunately, both the accompanying doctors and the local experts in Letania had no particularly effective treatment for the symptoms of acclimatization sickness. Fortunately, the adverse symptoms caused by Zhu Miaoyun's vomiting or diarrhea could be regulated through rehydration or medication.

Well, Zhu Miaoyun really suffered a lot on this trip.

Seeing his wife's pitiful state, Li Che felt a pang of sympathy. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Why don't you try that witch?"

"Try my ass!" Zhu Miaoyun wanted to slap this guy on the head: "Your shamanistic dance in the Victorian Empire is now being watched by the whole world. If I were to need a witch or sorceress from Letania to help me recover from my illness, regardless of whether that witch or sorceress is effective or not, it would be a weakening of your language."

“I don’t care about this weakening,” Li Che said with great certainty. “When that day comes, we can talk to the 8.2 magnitude earthquake about everything.”

“But that day hasn’t come yet… Ugh—” Zhu Miaoyun forced back the dry heaving in her throat: “Your trip to Europe isn’t over yet.”

Li Che actually wanted to say that there was a traditional friendship between Leitania and them. This traditional friendship, coupled with the current terrible situation of Leitania, meant that even without the influence of shamanism, Li Che had at least nine ways to deal with Leitania now. After all, the country currently had no cards to play from top to bottom.

"I see."

Li Che nodded. To be honest, he didn't believe that there were really any magical witches in the world. Even though Joan of Arc had so many magical auras, she was still defeated and captured on the battlefield in the end.

If Joan of Arc truly possessed any extraordinary abilities, she could not have been captured by the Duchy of Burgundy.

Similarly, Li Che did not believe that the so-called saintess who had suddenly appeared in Letania was really anything special. If she were, why didn't she appear before the Letania Empire was defeated?

Just like in the novels he saw in another world about ancient martial arts or supernatural powers, there is a point that most authors cannot explain and actively avoid: what were you powerful figures or families with supernatural powers doing during the humiliating modern history?

Even Jiang Nan, that old scoundrel, couldn't explain this clearly. That's why there's no scene involving the native mixed-race forces of Dongda University in his "Dragon Raja," not because of censorship, but because it's logically impossible to write.

However, just as Li Che's mind was wandering, Zhu Miaoyun misunderstood: "What? Are you a little disappointed that you didn't see that witch? Has the princess gotten tired of playing with witches and wants to try a different one?"

“Where did this jealousy come from?” Li Che shook his head. “Although I don’t believe this witch really has extraordinary powers, I am indeed a little interested in her because I just obtained some further information about her. Almost three years ago, this witch was admitted to university. Do you know which university it was?”

"It can't be Kassel College, can it?"

“It’s the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts,” Li Che said.

Zhu Miaoyun's eyes widened: "Is that the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts?"

"It is obvious that there is only one Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in Europe."

"So what?" Zhu Miaoyun waved her hand and said, "This girl got into the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts; she didn't fail the entrance exam for the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, and besides, the gender is wrong..."

“What I mean is, at least two or three years ago, this girl should have been just an ordinary girl who aspired to the highest art institutions in Europe. In just two or three years, she has become a ‘witch’ who is quite famous in the upper class of Letania. Among some of the lower-class believers, she is even regarded as a saint…” Li Che said, “Some major change must have happened in between to make this happen. Just like Huang Chao didn’t start by trampling the bones of nobles and officials in the streets, did he?”

"and you........."

“I would like to meet her in person. Since you say I am not suitable to meet her, then let our ambassador to Letania indulge in some ‘feudal superstition’.”

-------------------------------------

Zhang Boyuan was unaware that he was about to be labeled a "feudal superstitious person" while he was having an informal meeting with Ludwig, the current president of the Republic of Letania.

As the former supreme commander of the Leitanian Empire on the Eastern Front, and a commander who had achieved brilliant victories against the Ursus Empire, he led his troops to a great victory at the Battle of Tannenberg at the beginning of the war. After this battle, he was promoted to Field Marshal of the Leitanian Empire.

This victory later became the basis of his fame and legend, but those who worked with him believed that he was just a puppet. General Max Hoffmann, the chief of staff of the Leitanian Empire on the Eastern Front in World War I, once gave Marshal Ludwig a nickname - Wooden Titan, meaning a giant puppet.

He even went so far as to mock Hindenburg's performance during the battle to visitors to the Tannenburg battlefield: "This is where the Field Marshal slept before the battle; this is where he slept after the battle; in fact, this is also where he slept during the battle."

As the war progressed, more and more people realized that Ludendorff was the true mastermind; for this reason, Ludwig earned the nickname "General, what do you say?"

The old general gave the impression that half of his life had already left with the collapse of the Leitanian Empire. After all, unlike the ambitious Ludendorff, Ludwig had genuine affection for the Leitanian Empire, especially for Wilhelm II.

After all, not every country would promote such a mediocre talent as him to the position of Imperial Marshal.

Hindenburg was essentially a senior, politically-minded high-ranking military officer who was neither a good nor capable fighter. His partnership with Ludendorff was like a top 32 player playing mixed doubles with Sun Yingsha – surely no one really believes a top 32 player has any ability to turn the tide when facing adversity?

"So, the Crown Princess insists on canceling all her trips?" Ludwig asked with some concern and regret after reviewing the Tang Dynasty's proposed changes to the original diplomatic procedures. "How is Her Highness the Crown Princess?"

Zhang Boyuan knew why Ludwig felt regret. Although the Tang Dynasty had been established for several years, the Ming Dynasty still had a very special influence in the world. In fact, a considerable part of the Tang Dynasty's current sense of identity came from the former Prince Jin's Mansion—so we can be considered one of the original shareholders of the later "Southern Ming".

During her trip to Europe, Zhu Miaoyun actually received more attention from the public than Li Che did before he made his "unrestrained" prophecy about "divine punishment." Compared to the current Crown Prince's wife, people preferred to call her "the last princess of the Ming Dynasty."

“While His Highness’s health is not in mortal danger, he is indeed not well-suited for diplomatic activities. Therefore, he will be recuperating at Wusou Palace for the foreseeable future,” Zhang Boyuan said. “Compared to this, the trade negotiations between our two countries should be more important, shouldn’t they? When will this begin, Your Excellency?”

Ludwig looked troubled. Although he was the theoretical head of state of the Republic of Leitania, the current political situation in the Republic of Leitania was not under his sole control.

To put it simply, even he, the president, can't manage the parliament right now.

This brings us back to the inherent problems of the Leitanian political system. The Leitanian Empire's constitution is essentially a backdoor. Theoretically, the Republic of Leitania is a parliamentary-led state, with the leader being the majority party leader in parliamentary elections. However, to maintain checks and balances, the speaker retains considerable power. The speaker, the leader, and the parliament each have their own powers, which means that the problem of a power struggle between the executive and legislative branches has been sown.

This was not a problem at all during the reign of the Leitania Empire. After all, the Leitania Emperor liked to see the two factions under his command fighting each other. How could the authority of the Leitania royal family be demonstrated in that way?

However, now that King Letania is gone, the problems with this system have been exposed. Just look at Letania's economy now, and you'll understand that this system is really incompetent at everything, and its internal strife is number one.

After the destruction of the Leitanian Empire, the political landscape of the Republic of Leitania is now dominated by various factions, apart from the former military forces represented by Ludes. These other factions can generally be seen as political spokespeople for their respective countries.

For example, the current trade negotiations with the Tang Dynasty are absolutely fantastic news for Letania. You have to understand that many of Letania's once-glorious companies are now on the verge of bankruptcy. If they can regain the Eastern market, even just a portion of it, it will allow many Letania companies to survive.

The problem is that extreme right-wing ideology is developing very rapidly in Letania. In the eyes of these extreme right-wingers, although the Victorian Empire, the Kingdom of Gaul, and the United States of Colombia are not good things, the Tang Dynasty in the East is not one of their own.

Even during the honeymoon period between the Leitanian Empire and the Ming Dynasty, the actual civilian exchanges between the two sides were quite limited. Moreover, many Leitanians were racists, and the Yellow Peril theory was very popular in the early years when the relationship between Leitania and Victoria was not so bad.

Currently, the most authoritative and powerful far-right figure in Letania is named Ludendorff. Ludendorff and many other far-right figures believe that the Central Powers' defeat was due to the Ming Dynasty's failure to fully open up the Indian Ocean during the war. Well, far-right figures around the world are probably all equally naive or immature. No matter who is wrong, they themselves are definitely not wrong.

It is precisely because of these far-right elements that the Parliament of the Republic of Letania has strong objections to the start of trade exchanges proposed by the Tang Dynasty, because they feel that they have gained too much advantage in the Tang Dynasty's proposal.

After hearing Ludwig cautiously relay Ludendorff's opinion, Zhang Boyuan was both amused and annoyed by the old man and the entire Republic of Letania.

Why don't you take a piss and look at yourselves? What kind of state are you in now? Even beggars are starting to be picky?

Chapter 395 Bankers and Conspiracy Theories

After receiving the initial results of his meeting with Ludwig from Zhang Boyuan, Li Che had to admit that the hierarchy of contempt that Western European countries like Gaul and Victoria had historically held for Central and Northern European countries did indeed have some merit.

Although Letania, as an industrialized nation that rose to prominence during the Second Industrial Revolution, has achieved remarkable results in many scientific and technological fields, national character can indeed be reflected in many unexpected ways.

Just as an Indian programmer who can get a job in Silicon Valley can still defecate anywhere at the airport, there are still some people in Letania who have unrealistic ideas. No wonder they have always been regarded as barbarians.

I realize I didn't think things through before. Barbarians are barbarians, and Germanic barbarians are still barbarians!

After all, in another world, the countries of Central and Northern Europe often make choices that completely contradict their own national and ethnic interests. In fact, Wilhelm II of the Lytanian Empire showed some signs of this back then, using the distant Ming Dynasty to promote the Yellow Peril theory, trying to unite the relatives of the whole of Europe with this very... very naive (a more emotionally intelligent way of saying it) value system. He even commissioned a painter to create an oil painting of guardian angels from various countries fighting against a dragon.

As a result, no country from Victoria to Ursus appreciated the gesture. After Letania issued its first naval law at the end of the last century, it was met with high vigilance from the Victorian Empire. After being suppressed by the Victorian Empire, Wilhelm II put away his Yellow Peril rhetoric and actions, and shamelessly tried to improve relations with the Ming Dynasty, talking about friendship between the two countries.

But this also shows that Emperor Yongning of the Ming Dynasty was a hidden dragon and a young phoenix. His skill in finding allies was really... He dragged his empire into a war that the Ming Dynasty did not necessarily have to join.

The characters "卧龙" (Wolong) and "凤雏" (Fangchu) belong to this category.

“Your Highness, based on my experience in Letania over the years, the right wing led by Ludendorff is increasingly forming a stable group. Their current opposition to our talks in parliament is probably not because they feel that the Republic of Letania is being taken advantage of in our trade negotiations. I guarantee that if we contact Ludendorff and promise to reach an agreement with them on a portion of the deals, those right wings will immediately switch their support to us.”

“I can see that too. To put it bluntly, they’re just jealous because they didn’t get what they wanted… I’m envious now. I have a general idea of ​​the situation in Letania right now, and compared to the indirectly profitable trade negotiations, I think these right-wingers are more interested in loans, right?” Li Che recalled the Germans before and after Hitler’s rise in another world: “You just said that the far-right forces around Ludendorff are forming a tighter group?”

"Yes."

Li Che considered the current year and realized that the general direction of history's progress was not affected by whether or not a little mustache existed in the world. It seemed that it was only a matter of time before the Democratic Socialist Party came to the forefront.

"It seems that Ludendorff's most direct target is the $500 million loan that we had previously hinted at repaying."

Li Che's guess was already 70-80% certain. A loan of 5 million dragon coins was not a lot for a country today. In fact, the money was mainly to bribe the current government of the Republic of Letania so that the Tang Dynasty could open up the way to poach people and technology from Letania.

For example, Zeiss and some of the world's leading chemical companies that Li Che had long been eyeing, such as the Leitanian Empire, had been looted by the Gauls. However, the short-sighted Gauls mainly dismantled the equipment and took it back home to pay off debts. The relevant personnel and technical data of these companies are still in Leitania.

This is almost equivalent to the Republic importing advanced military technology and equipment from Russia in large quantities after Russia's death in another world, from the D-30 to the WS-18, from the U-116 system to the Type 04A, from the Su-27SK to the J-16, from the J-18 to the YJ-18...

While these domestically produced advanced weapons and equipment developed later have long since surpassed or even far surpassed their predecessors (which aircraft is the strongest in the world? Let's exclude the SU-35 for now, hehe), we still have to admit that the architecture and foundation of Russia's weapons and equipment are excellent. Without these foundations, our weapons and equipment with the same level of technology might have taken several years or even more than a decade to develop.

After all, many technological breakthroughs really only require a flash of inspiration and the ability to draw inferences from one instance to another. The same principle applies to the technologies that the Tang Dynasty wants to obtain from Letania. It's not that the Tang Dynasty can't climb the technology tree on its own.

As many War Thunder players have said—if there's a frame, why aren't you attacking?

Now, Ludendorff and his far-right ilk are probably hoping to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get a share of the $500 million loan that the Great Tang is preparing to repay to Letania.

For the nascent Democratic Socialist Party (DSS), even receiving just one-tenth of the 5 million dollar loan would be a huge boost to its early development. Even 50,000 dollars would be a considerable sum for Ludendorff and the far-right extremists.

Despite the significant political and social impact these far-right extremists have made and the considerable noise they cause in Letania, they are genuinely poor.

After all, for the Germans, a beer hall was essentially a place for ordinary workers to relax after get off work. Compared to other commercial and entertainment facilities, beer was probably one of the cheapest things there. Choosing to cause trouble in a beer hall could also be a good indicator of these guys' financial resources.

If you do the math, it's like Mixue Ice Cream opened here, and then these Germans caused trouble inside... Doesn't that instantly lower its prestige?

"Now that Your Highness has basically guessed Ludendorff's plans, would Your Highness like to meet this fellow?" Zhang Boyuan asked tentatively. "He is a true ambitious man."

“Let him hang on for a few days.” Li Che curled his lip in disdain: “Does this guy still think he’s the chief of staff from the Leitanian Empire? He thinks he has cards to play against me, then I’ll show him just how ridiculous that is. Arrange my schedule for tomorrow, I need to meet with those Leitanian bankers in advance.”

"Go see those bankers tomorrow?" Zhang Boyuan paused for a moment, then quickly nodded. There was a diplomat who had been involved in diplomatic affairs in Letania during the Ming Dynasty and was able to remain in office until the present Tang Dynasty, even rising to the position of ambassador to Letania. Zhang Boyuan's greatest strength was not his rich diplomatic experience, but rather—his ability to see the times.

Since Your Highness intends to establish those bankers tomorrow, it means Your Highness has already made a decision. If this temporary change is not expected to cause any bad consequences, then even if it is not so conventional, we should not object.

One of Zhang Boyuan's life principles was that before being loyal to the public and serving the country, one must first be loyal to one's elders.

As the current Crown Prince, Li Che is naturally the elder in Letania.

However, Zhang Boyuan, who knew the true nature of those Leitanian bankers, still reminded Li Che: "Your Highness, most of these Leitanian bankers are from 'New Leitania,' and most of them are Jewish..."

“I know that.” Li Che nodded slightly. “If you trace the origins of these bankers’ families online, most of them came to this country after the war between Prussia and Gaul in the last century, after the establishment of the Leitanian Empire, right?”

Zhang Boyuan nodded.

"Don't worry, nobody in the world knows how to deal with these guys better than me." Li Che couldn't help but make the classic blondie hand gesture: "Nobody!"

"What about President Ludwig...?"

"Since this old man can't make any decisions, let's bypass him and talk to the people below him separately. Not just Ludendorff, we can no longer regard the Republic of Letania as a whole. Let's treat these domestic forces as different warlords."

"warlord?"

"Yes, how to defeat warlords one by one in a civil war? You're a history major, do I need to explain that?"

"Understood, Your Highness."

-------------------------------------

That very night, Li Che received the information Zhang Boyuan had collected about the top bankers in Letania. It was clear that this guy had some real skills to survive two dynasties and even become an ambassador to a foreign country.

After all, in this day and age, diplomatic relations between countries are not like those in the 21st century of another world, where most countries have ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations. Currently, the Tang Dynasty maintains ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations with only five countries: Victoria, Gaul, Syracuse, Letania, and Colombia.

The Ursus Federation initially maintained diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level, but things didn't go smoothly due to the affair between Prince Alexei and the two princesses. At one point, the Ursus Federation downgraded the diplomatic relations between the two countries to the chargé d'affaires level, and currently, the two countries have only restored their diplomatic relations to the ministerial level.

It can be said that all the countries that have established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level are of great importance in the world. The prestige of Zhang Boyuan as ambassador is incomparable to that of the countless ambassadors in the other world.

If this were a game world, Zhang Boyuan, this seemingly unremarkable passerby character, actually possessed SR-level qualities, which surprised and delighted Li Che somewhat.

After carefully reading the information collected about the Leitanian bankers, Li Che revealed a complex expression: "Just as I expected" and "Although it was expected, this is a bit outrageous."

Unsurprisingly, he will be meeting with 10 banker representatives tomorrow, more than half of whom are Jewish. The remaining group are either not Jewish themselves but married to Jewish women, making them Jewish sons-in-law, or they are suspected to be front men for Jewish tycoons from other countries.

What Li Che found absurd was that, at least in the history of the other world, he had never read about Jewish tycoons extending their reach so far and so deeply, almost sweeping away the entire banking industry of an entire country...

Li Che seriously suspected that if there was a creator god in his world, it was because he had read a book by a certain novelist surnamed Song.

Putting that aside, there is one thing that does have something in common with the trajectory of another world.

The point is that among these bankers, some had close ties with the right-wing forces led by Ludendorff and were suspected of providing them with financial support. Although the scale of the support was very limited, such a connection is abnormal from a normal logical point of view.

Because Ludendorff's side is a far-right force, and the Democratic Socialist Party will be born by the end of this year. What are Jews in the eyes of those Democratic Socialist Party members?

Cockroaches are probably nothing special in the eyes of humans, aren't they?

In another world, Li Che had seen a conspiracy theory that had some basis: the suffering of Jews during World War II was actually orchestrated by Jewish tycoons.

Although there is no concrete evidence to support this conspiracy theory, it had already gained increasing acceptance on the internet before Zhu Miaoyun traveled to this world. He said the main reason for this was probably that people found the IDF's actions towards the Palestinians to be extremely inhumane. However, the logic of this conspiracy theory itself is also quite self-consistent.

Ultimately, the root of the problem lies in the fact that, although to outsiders all Jews may appear to be the same, the differences between Jews are actually vast.

Because Letania was a fragmented Germanic state before the establishment of the empire, the persecution of Jews in this land was relatively mild in all of Europe for a long time.

Therefore, many Jews came to this land with their families one or two hundred years ago. We have also integrated into the culture and customs of this land in our daily lives. Especially in the last few decades, more and more middle and lower-class Jews have not only abandoned their own Jewish culture and beliefs, but many of them have even begun to hold atheistic views.

But in the eyes of traditional Zionists, this is truly a righteous death...

Chapter 396 Don't give him a single penny

The news of the meeting between the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty and several representatives of banks in Letania was quickly released. Because someone had deliberately leaked information about the 500 million Dragon Dollar loan that was to be repaid, the meeting quickly attracted the attention of all political forces in Letania.

To repay the war reparations stipulated in the Treaty of Versailles, the current government of the Republic of Letania has almost no decent foreign exchange reserves. After all, last year, troops from Gaul and Belgium sent troops directly into the Ruhr industrial region on the Letania border to pack up and dismantle Letania's industrial equipment to repay the loans.

If the National Bank of Letania still had foreign exchange reserves in pounds, dollars, francs, and Swiss francs, it wouldn't have stood by and watched the Gallic troops dismantle the equipment in the Ruhr industrial region.

The 500 million Dragon Dollars repaid are worth far more than the face value of these Dragon Dollars to Letania. This situation actually reminded Li Che of India in another world. Although India's economic situation seems okay, in reality, due to the lack of energy in India, it has to use a lot of foreign exchange reserves to buy oil and coal, which makes India very short of foreign currency.