December 21, 1937.

Kiel Naval Base, Germany.

The Chinese government’s special envoy Wang Zhengting and the ambassador to Germany, Yang Jie, stood on the viewing platform with great concern. This day was a very bad day for China. The Japanese army captured Nanjing, and the situation in China seemed very critical. But in Germany, people celebrated the launch of the first battleship built by the German Navy after the war at the German shipyard in Kiel.

The two-story viewing platform was covered with red and green, and various banners with inspiring slogans were pulled. At the center of the red carpet, the main figures they wanted to visit on this trip - the two major rulers of Europe, the emperor of the Second German Empire and the emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Time is approaching, and people rushed to the shipyard with great enthusiasm to watch the launch ceremony of the new battleship. Many people came from all over Germany to witness the style of the new imperial battleship. In front of the watchtower stands a huge gray-white hull. Although the superstructure and weapons have not been installed, its majestic body and majestic aura still arouse people's cheers.

This is the first ship of the German Navy's newly started construction after the expiration of the Washington Navy Treaty. It is nominally the four King-class battleships that are ready to be retired. However, its standard displacement of 47,800 tons is far beyond the 35,000 tons of limited tonnage of the Washington Navy, and even 3,000 tons more than the newly launched "Joint Force" class battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the previous stage. Since the Yamato-class battleships built by the Japanese Navy have not yet been launched, the German will become the largest tonnage battleship in the world.

At 10 a.m., accompanied by the German Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Raidel, German Emperor William II walked to the microphone on the front side of the viewing platform, and delivered a brief speech to the government officials, naval and army generals and nearly 100,000 people who came to watch the ceremony. The German emperor praised the new battleship in the upcoming launch, and hoped that it could become the guardian of current world peace. Later, the German emperor expressed concern about the current war in the Far East, and at the same time blamed the aggressive actions of the Soviet and Japanese countries, and said that this might undermine the world peace carefully maintained by the Second Empire after the European War.

This was the voice that Wang Zhengting and Yang Jie hoped to hear. Unfortunately, the German emperor did not express more and quickly said that he would end the speech.

At 10:30 am. Amid the military music of "Long Live! The Crown of the Victor", the huge hull of the "Germany" slowly slid into the water along the track under the traction of four tugboats. At this time, the entire ship platform was thundering and people believed that it would still become the new pride of the empire like other meritorious warships.

The "Germany" was launched in a high-profile manner, which was actually the German emperor declaring Germany's power to the whole world. In this world, since it was not destroyed by Britain and France after the European War, Germany's industrial strength was far greater than that of history. The total economic volume accounted for 21% of the world's economic volume, which was added to Austro-Hungary. The economies of only the two countries have accounted for one-third of the world's economy, which is basically the same as the total industrial capacity of the United States and Britain.

Wars were flying in the Far East, but the palace in Berlin thousands of miles away was singing and dancing, and people were busy redecorating the palace to welcome the arrival of Christmas. The woods in the suburbs of Berlin where the palace is located were already covered with a thick layer of white snow. In the palace study, the German Emperor and Austro-Hungarian Emperor, two European masters, were sitting in front of the fireplace, exchanging opinions on the current situation in the Far East.

Lee Hayden's trip to Germany was nominally intended to participate in the launch ceremony of the German new battleship "Germany". In fact, he made a special trip to Germany to communicate with the German Emperor and the German government on the situation in the Far East.

Germany and Austro-Hungary naturally do not want China to fall into the hands of Japan and Russia. After all, the two countries have nearly 10 billion marks of investment in China. In China, not only many industrial and mining enterprises started by Austro-Hungary merchants, but major German consortiums also have huge investments there. China has become the most important overseas investor and trading country for Germany and Austria, and trade with China accounts for 11 and 13% of the total trade volume of the two countries. It is impossible to see it fall into the hands of Japan and Russia.

The German government does not want Germany to be involved in the war. It is not willing to directly send troops to interfere in the Far East War. Lee Haydn hopes that China will adjust itself and gradually become stronger in the war. Neither side has any questions about providing aid to China. Although the funds raised by China rely on government loans from Germany and Austria and issuing bonds in Europe, the annual export of machinery and weapons has promoted the rapid development of the two countries' industries, especially the military industries.

"Haydn, do you mean we accept China's advice and mediate the war in the Far East?" William II sat next to the fireplace, and the flames in the furnace blew, which made his face radiant.

"Oh, that's not necessary. I believe that the Chinese can defeat Japan after adjustment and re-equipment is completed. As for the Far East issue, it is the issue between the Chinese and the Russians after defeating Japan. What we need to do now is to send some volunteers, just like we did during the Spanish Civil War, sending some armored troops and aviation troops. The Chinese need to overcome the current difficulties, and we need to protect our interests in the Far East. Our factories in the Far East have begun to turn to military industry, and after this adjustment period, we can provide the Chinese with enough weapons and equipment."

“How much investment does your business have in the Far East?”

"Oh, there are about 3.5 billion kroners. If you are interested, I can transfer it to you a part, worth about 400 million kroners. These are the most profitable factories at present, including chemicals, coal chemical plants, several hydrogenation plants, two steel mills and some machinery plants, which are now starting to transform into military enterprises."

"As I grow old, my wealth is not as strong as it used to be." William took a sip of coffee. "Whenever you give me good things, there must be nothing good. Haydn, do you want to tie me to that chariot?"

"Of course, there is no free lunch in the world," said Lee Haydn. "I always have a premonition that Americans don't know what to do behind the scenes. We need to join forces to cope with the possible crisis."

"Well, this is not bad for Germany. Although I don't like money very much now, I still can't bear to refuse your kindness." William said with a wink, "My poor nephew became the poor king of Spain. At the request of my sister, I need to earn him some gifts."

"How to deal with this money is your problem. We need to coordinate operations in the Far East. Americans are providing weapons assistance to the Japanese."

"Of course, if it weren't for the Americans, we might have gained more in that war. Of course, because I was tired of the Japanese, I did not forget my previous hatred. They killed thousands of our brave soldiers in Qingdao. How many volunteer soldiers are you going to send?"

"Three aviation divisions, and perhaps one armored division, we need to help the Chinese stabilize the current situation."
Chapter completed!