Beiyang Dream

Chapter 40 William II's Big Wins, Extraordinary Wins, Huge Wins

February 17, 1889, 12 PM.

Potsdam, Sanssouci Palace, Wilhelm II's study.

Wilhelm II sat with his legs crossed, a cigar in his right hand and his left hand resting on the armrest, his fingers tapping like abacus beads.

There were two people standing opposite.

Prime Minister Kaprivi, with a thin face, stood ramrod straight in a dark gray formal suit. Colonel Tirpitz, with a full beard and gleaming eyes, stood tall.

"Your Majesty," Tirpitz's voice was filled with excitement, "the Qing people have taken the bait."

He took the documents out of his briefcase and handed them over.

Wilhelm II took it with his left hand, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be quite heavy.

"Letter of intent?"

"Yes," Tirpitz nodded. "The Qing people spent more than a month working on it, and the technical specifications are listed on seventeen pages. 8,200 tons, three twin 240mm semi-rapid-fire guns, ten 150mm recoil guns, Krupp new armor steel, high-pressure ventilation, and a speed of eighteen knots."

Wilhelm II glanced at the book and then frowned.

"Alfred," he looked up, "this ship... its specifications are even better than the Brandenburg-class?"

"Your Majesty," Tirpitz stepped forward, "this is not an ordinary ironclad warship, but an experimental vessel. The Qing people call it a 'stepped ship'."

"A stepped ship?"

"It means..." Tirpitz paused, "...a step-like warship, you have to step on it to take the next step."

Wilhelm II paused for a moment, then laughed out loud.

"Understood," he said, putting down the documents with a smug look on his face. "The Qing Dynasty is paying for us to test new technologies. Alfred, you've done a great job!"

"That's not all," Caprivi interjected, "the Qing people also signed a memorandum promising to purchase at least three classes of capital ships and several cruisers from the Empire within the next ten years, with the total contract value estimated at 20 million taels of silver."

Wilhelm II's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Twenty million taels?" He stared at Caprivi. "Do they really have that much money?"

"Your Majesty," Caprivi pulled out a small notebook and read aloud as if reporting an account, "According to HSBC's estimate last year, there are approximately two billion ounces of silver deposited in the Qing Dynasty. That's equivalent to one hundred million ounces of gold, or about... 12 billion gold marks."

The study was silent for three seconds.

Wilhelm II took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"12 billion... gold marks," he repeated. "Then how come their finances are so small?"

"Because they don't have a modern tax and monetary system," Caprivi closed his notebook, "but if they wanted to, they could squeeze money out of the people. I have great confidence in the Qing Dynasty's ability to pay."

Wilhelm II leaned back in his chair, squinted, and began to scrutinize the dark ledger of imperialism in his mind.

The Qing Dynasty paid 2.3 million taels of silver to buy an experimental warship. Germany installed all its immature technologies on it and tested it in actual combat. If it succeeded, the technology would be considered mature; if it failed, the Qing Dynasty would be the one to suffer. The research and development costs were shared, and the testing risks were borne by someone.

The German Empire...that was a huge victory!

Over the next ten years, there will be 20 million orders. This will allow factories like Krupp, Vulcan, and Mauser to operate more smoothly, and the entire industrial chain will flourish.

This is a huge win!

With Qing China as a stable client, the German Navy was able to continuously start construction on new ships. They would build one class, verify a batch of technologies, and then build the next class. This allowed them to catch up with Britain much faster.

This is a huge win!

That's a huge win...

"Alfred," Emperor William said with great pride, "tell the shipyard to build this 'Step-Style Ship' well. It needs to be both combat-ready and capable of testing—install all the immature but usable new technologies on it!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Tirpitz's expression and tone were identical to the Emperor's—he looked victorious.

Wilhelm II looked at Caprivi again, and seeing that the old man seemed about to say something, asked, "Prime Minister, what other conditions do the Qing people have?"

Caprivi and Tirpitz exchanged a glance.

Then, Caprivi lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, the Qing people demand... that this ship be delivered under the name of 'Longevity Celebration Ship'."

Wilhelm II raised an eyebrow: "A birthday greeting?"

"Yes," Tirpitz continued, "Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty will celebrate her sixtieth birthday on November 7, 1894. They hope that this ship can arrive in Tianjin six months before her birthday as a birthday gift from His Majesty to the Empress Dowager. The ship's name has already been decided—'Longevity'. They also hope that His Majesty can send a birthday card to Empress Dowager Cixi first, preferably with a more detailed congratulatory message."

Wilhelm II paused for two seconds.

Then he burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking with mirth.

"A congratulatory warship sending greeting cards to the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty—who came up with that idea?"

"Changde won," Tirpitz replied.

"It's him..." Emperor William nodded. "Good, very good! We should grant our esteemed client's request. After all, who would refuse an 8,200-ton ironclad warship as a symbol of friendship between our two nations?"

After he finished laughing, his expression suddenly turned serious.

"But," he leaned forward, resting his left elbow on the table, his gaze sweeping over the two men, "'Friendship' alone is not enough. We need to make this 'friendship' generate the greatest... geopolitical benefits."

Neither Caprivi nor Tirpitz spoke, waiting for His Majesty the Emperor to speak.

Wilhelm II stood up and walked to the huge map of the Far East on the wall. He pointed to the Korean Peninsula, traced a line west across the Yellow Sea, and finally stopped at the small bay at the tip of the Shandong Peninsula.

Jiaozhou Bay.

"Alfred," he said without turning around, "when you return to Berlin, do two things. First, have the Admiralty's investigation department secretly assess Jiaozhou Bay under the topic of 'Far East Logistics Base.' I need a complete lease and construction plan—docks, forts, coal mines, railways, all the details."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Tirpitz stood at attention.

"Secondly," Wilhelm II turned to look at the two men, "let the Japanese know that the Qing Dynasty was going to buy new ironclad warships from Germany and that the two countries were going to cooperate in the long term."

Kaprivi frowned: "Your Majesty, this will provoke Japan."

"That's exactly what I want—to provoke Japan!" Wilhelm II walked back to his desk and sat down. "The Japanese will go crazy and demand more ships and faster cannons from Britain. To counter Japan, Qing China will come to us demanding even more ships. Once the arms race starts, it won't stop."

Kaprivi paused for a few seconds, then slowly nodded: "I understand. The escalation of tensions between China and Japan will create a more favorable environment for our future actions in Jiaozhou Bay."

"That's not all," Wilhelm II said, tapping his finger on Jiaozhou Bay on the map again. "If the Japanese launch a war before that old lady's birthday... the Qing Dynasty will definitely demand that we deliver this 'birthday ship' ahead of schedule. And what kind of... political compensation would neutral Germany require to deliver a warship to a belligerent nation in an emergency?"

He didn't go on.

But all three people in the study understood the emperor's thoughts.

Kaprivi bowed deeply: "Your Majesty is wise and far-sighted. I will have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs develop contingency plans to ensure that, under any circumstances, the Empire can obtain the greatest benefit in the most dignified manner."

"Go ahead," Wilhelm II waved his hand.

The two withdrew.

The door closed.

Wilhelm II was left alone in the study. He walked back to the map of the Far East, his finger lingering on Jiaozhou Bay as if the Black Eagle flag had already been nailed there.

After a long time, footsteps were heard outside the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Moltke walked in, stood at attention, and saluted.

"His Majesty."

"Helmut," Wilhelm II said without turning around, "how is that Qing Dynasty student, Chang Desheng... doing lately?"

“Your Majesty,” Moltke stood ramrod straight, “he remains the most outstanding student at the War College. He is first in strategy, tactics, and fortification. Moreover, he is very adept at using engineering thinking to deconstruct military problems.”

Wilhelm II nodded, his face expressionless.

"Next semester," he said, "we'll arrange a war game exercise for Chang Desheng and those Japanese students. Make it a big one, and let the General Staff take a look."

"What is the hypothetical scenario being simulated?"

Wilhelm II raised his left hand, made two virtual taps in the air with his fingers, and finally landed on a certain location on the Far East map.

"The battlefield," he said, "is in Korea."

Little Moltke was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered: "Yes, Your Majesty. I will go and prepare immediately."

Moltke gave a military salute, then turned and left.

Wilhelm II turned around, walked back to his desk, took out a diary from the drawer, opened it, and picked up a pen.

On the latest page, he wrote:

December 17, 1889, another day of great victory for the German Empire under my wise leadership...

The Qing commissioner named Chang Desheng was clearly a pro-German figure, and could be observed further and, if necessary, developed into the empire's agent in the Far East.

After he finished writing, he closed the notebook and locked it in the drawer.

Then lean back in the chair and close your eyes.

I went through that mental ledger again:

China provided the funding, and Germany acquired the technology.

The Qing Dynasty and Japan mutually depleted each other's resources, while Germany profited.

In the future, if they plant their flag in Jiaozhou Bay, Germany will gain territory.

Wilhelm II's lips curled up, higher and higher, until finally he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Big win, huge win, mega win!