Expedition to Europe

In fact, if you think about it carefully, the ability of Americans to violently attack is not completely unexplainable.

The industrial strength of the Americans is indeed very strong. It is so strong that Lanfang is a scumbag compared with others, but this does not mean that Lanfang has no ability to resist the United States.

It can be seen from the world wars that the individual combat capabilities of American soldiers are far inferior to those of foreign legionnaires.

The only cooperation between the US military and the Chinese-dominated Foreign Legion occurred during the Second Battle of Reims.

The 84th Brigade under the command of MacArthur at that time was included under Qin Zhiyuan's command and accepted Qin Zhiyuan's command.

In the actual battle with Germany, MacArthur did not fully obey Qin Zhiyuan's command and deployed his main force on the first line of defense. As a result, he was completely destroyed by the Germans' superior artillery, which in turn led to the collapse of the Amifontein front.

The Battle of Amifontein was MacArthur's first battlefield, and it was also the first time that US military troops set foot in Europe. The cruel reality gave a blow to the confident Americans. After that, all US military generals, including Pershing and Patton, became cautious. , and the US troops did not have much to praise except for their courage.

And courage is precisely what the Foreign Legion lacks most.

Put it this way, Americans are not terrible.

Even in another time and space, the Americans won World War II only on the premise that the Soviet Union contained a large number of German troops. After World War II, the Vietnam War and the Korean War launched by the US military as the main body made the Americans disgraced.

History is always strikingly similar. In both the Vietnam War and the Korean War, the newly born PLA played a huge role. It can be said that the reason why Americans are disgraced can be attributed to the PLA.

With such history as a reference, Qin Zhiyuan does value the United States, but not to the level of "fear".

Strategically, we despise the enemy, but tactically we value the enemy.

Of course, if you want to confront the Americans head-on, the navy must develop. Even if it cannot reach the speed of the United States, at least it cannot be too far behind.

In fact, Qin Zhiyuan has already prepared for the speed of shipbuilding.

In another time and space, PLA's warships were also called "xiadiaozi" and relied on "modularization" and "segmented shipbuilding." As long as Lanfang had enough shipyards, Qin Zhiyuan also only needed to propose this idea. There will be countless technical personnel to verify it, and then they can compare their military capabilities with the Americans.

In this case, the shipyard has been mentioned in a very important position.

Currently, Lanfang actually has three shipyards, namely Sulu Shipyard, Cam Ranh Bay, and Vladivostok. These three shipyards all have the potential to be upgraded to super shipyards, but these three are definitely not enough. Lanfang Fang also needs more shipyards to meet Lanfang's needs.

If you look at the map, you will know that Lanfang is actually an island country now, so the shipbuilding industry plays a very important role in Lanfang, and it is undoubtedly the first group in Lanfang's industrial development sequence.

In Qin Zhiyuan's plan, he originally planned to go to Sulu the next day to inspect the progress of the shipyard there.

But early the next morning, an unexpected situation disrupted Qin Zhiyuan's plan again.

William III has arrived.

Qin Zhiyuan's ascension to the throne was a major event that attracted the attention of the whole world at the end of 1919. As an old friend of Qin Zhiyuan, William III would definitely not be absent from such an important celebration.

Qin Zhiyuan also gave William III enough face and personally went to the port of Penglai Island to greet him.

That's right, William III did not go to Coconut City, but went directly to Penglai Island, which fully showed that William III valued Qin Zhiyuan.

Because of this, when Qin Zhiyuan saw William III, Qin Zhiyuan made a joke: "You actually ran directly here and left my prime minister hanging in Coconut City. This is not in line with etiquette."

It is said that Chinese people have many royal etiquettes, but in fact, European royal families also have many.

For example, kings like William III cannot do things as they please, and every move must comply with etiquette.

"Marx went to Coconut City, and he is equal to your Prime Minister status. It is more in line with etiquette for me to come to you." William III's face was a little red, and he was obviously a little excited.

Marx is Prince Marx, the current Prime Minister of Germany. Asking him to meet Huang Bohan is indeed equivalent in status.

Because Qin Zhiyuan was already married, William III came to Lanfang with his queen Cecilia, as well as William III's eldest son Christian Olaf and his second son Michael Hubertus. .

Qin Zhiyuan greeted Cecilia and the two princes first, and then took the same car with William III to Black Swan Castle.

Fortunately, fortunately, several palaces have been built near Black Swan Castle. At least there are places worthy of William III's status for William III and his party to stay.

Sitting in the car, Qin Zhiyuan and William III finally had a relatively private space where they could be more casual.

Qin Zhiyuan's current driver is Dong Xingxiu. This is an upright descendant of the Bagua sect. His kung fu puts Chen Kangjian to shame, and he is a standard Ouchi master.

"How have you been during this time?" Qin Zhiyuan was concerned.

"Oh, don't ask. It's definitely not as good as you. It can be described as miserable." William III looked sad.

Because Germany was forced to sign the "Contract of Versailles", it had to hand over 226 billion marks in compensation, and in order to prevent the devaluation of the mark, it could only pay in gold. Even if Germany scraped off the gold foil from the church, it would not be able to collect so much. Replace with various industrial raw materials.

At the same time, the Treaty of Versailles caused Germany to lose a large area of ​​territory and a large number of people. The domestic livelihood was miserable, the industrial base was lost and everything needed to be rebuilt, the armaments were suppressed to the extreme, and there was even no ability to protect itself. People were restless and the society was in chaos.

William III had just ascended the throne and faced such a huge challenge. The difficulty can be imagined.

"Don't talk so badly. Didn't the Americans and the British say that they could provide loans? Go and discuss with them and find a way to lend more." Qin Zhiyuan suggested.

The United States is a capitalist country. The profit-seeking nature of capital determines that the United States does not have a firm position. Lending to the Germans is a common practice of the Americans.

As for the British, they are just a troublemaker. Before the smoke of war in Europe has dissipated, Britain has returned to its old ways and started to support the Germans to prevent the French from dominating.

Only France is still vigilant against Germany, but it's a pity that no one pays attention to the French warning.

"The money of Americans and British is not so easy to get. If you want to get as much as you want, you must be prepared to pay an equivalent price." William III has the intention of seeing through the world.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't be so cynical. If you were replaced by George, you would probably do the same." Qin Zhiyuan exposed him bluntly.

The original text can be found in the Six # 9 @Books/Bar!

The "George" here is a polysemous word, referring to King George V of England and Georges Clemenceau, the French Prime Minister.

There is no way, there are too many Europeans with this name.

"First, get the money and use it to restore the national economy, and then talk about other things. Appeasing the people's hearts is the first priority. If your economy continues to deteriorate, the people's patience is limited. I'm afraid you won't be able to sit on the throne by then." Qin Zhiyuan warned.

In fact, whether it is the Germans or the Chinese, as long as life can be lived, no one will rise up to rebel.

Just before William III ascended the throne, a revolution broke out in Germany. Inspired by the Russian Bolsheviks, some proletarians launched a riot in Berlin.

Although the riot ultimately failed, it was enough to sound the alarm for William III.

Judging from the domestic situation in Germany, if the economic situation in Germany continues to deteriorate, there will definitely be Germans who are unable to make ends meet and rise up against William III, and then William III will have a harder time.

"Yes, so I came here this time to see if you can provide any help, and by the way, I can also talk to Lloyd George and Woodrow Wilson." William III has his own plans.

As the head of state, every move must maximize interests. If it were in Europe, William III would not have the opportunity to meet with the British and Americans, and the French would destroy it all.

But in Lan Fang, in the name of participating in Qin Zhiyuan's coronation ceremony, William III can meet with George and Wilson openly without any suspicion.

"Let our palms discuss this issue, let's talk about something else." Qin Zhiyuan said with a double meaning.

Lan Fang was also just founded, and it had to seek loans from Americans and British, so it was really powerless to help Germany.

It seems that Qin Zhiyuan and William III are really brothers in distress.

"Yes, let's talk about something else. By the way, your Penglai Island is really beautiful. Is it always like this all year round?" William III immediately changed the subject.

Penglai Island in October is no different from Penglai Island in February. The sky is still so blue, the water is still so green, the air is still so clear, and the sun is still so bright.

"Of course, it's like this all year round. If you are not afraid of the heat, this is a good place for vacation." Qin Zhiyuan was quite proud.

Compared with Europe, which lacks sunshine, Lan Fang is really like a paradise. The key is that everything in Lan Fang is magnificent, and there is no trace of artificial carving.

This is simply too rare.

"Oh... Is this your palace?" William III pointed to a magnificent building on the roadside and asked Qin Zhiyuan.

"No, this will be the Royal Theater in the future. Concerts, Peking opera, opera and other dramas will often be held in it. This is a holy place for music." Qin Zhiyuan explained proudly.

Lan Fang is a country without history, but this does not mean that Lan Fang has no future.

At present, on Penglai Island, large buildings such as the Royal Theater, library, museum, stadium, exhibition center, etc. are under construction. Qin Zhiyuan plans to build Penglai Island into the future cultural center of Lanfang, or even the cultural center of the world, to facilitate various follow-up operations in the future.

Qin Zhiyuan, who has experienced the 21st century, still remembers various cultural invasions. If Lanfang wants to become a country that everyone in the world yearns for, it must first establish a culture that everyone yearns for. In this regard, Qin Zhiyuan has a long-term plan.

In another time and space, when talking about Americans, being strong and rich is the symbol of the United States; when talking about Japanese, being polite and diligent is the symbol of the Japanese; when talking about Germans, being rigorous and pragmatic is the symbol of the Germans; when talking about PLA, well, "alternative and weird" is the symbol of the PLA...

In this time and space, Qin Zhiyuan wants to build Lanfang into a country that can be described with all the positive words.