Chapter Twenty-Three: A Counterplot Against a Plot

  Feng Chengqian had not yet returned to Berlin when the arms trade between the German Empire and the Qing Dynasty became an international hot topic.

  Four ironclad warships, absolutely not to be underestimated.

  The strongest reaction was not from old imperial powers like Britain, France and Russia. After all, four ironclad warships were nothing to be feared by Britain, let alone France and Russia.

  The most shocked is obviously Japan, which is closest to the Qing Dynasty.

  In the Far East, after the "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" joined the Beiyang Fleet of the Qing Dynasty, it has become the most powerful fleet in the Far East region and also one of the top ten fleets globally. If four more ironclad warships are added, even if they are only on the same level as the "Dingyuan", it will break the regional balance.

  On the day Feng Chengqian was waiting for a mail steamer at Ningbo, Japanese Prime Minister Kuroda Kiyotaka convened an emergency cabinet meeting and immediately had Foreign Minister ōkuma Shigenobu notify the Qing authorities of extreme concern over the Qing's purchase of warships from Germany. Former prime minister and current Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Itō Hirobumi also actively campaigned, viewing the expansion of the Beiyang Fleet as the greatest threat, and demanded that the cabinet take targeted action.

  This thing happened at just the right time.

  Three years ago, Ito Hirobumi secretly drafted the constitution and presented it to the Emperor last April. After the Emperor established the Privy Council, or the highest advisory body, Ito immediately resigned as Prime Minister and was succeeded by Kuroda Kiyotaka, while he took on the role of President of the Privy Council to deliberate on the constitution.

  This constitution drafted by Itō Hirobumi and then reviewed and adopted under his guidance is called the "Constitution of Itō Hirobumi".

  At this critical juncture, the news that the Qing government is adding four ironclad warships will inevitably have an impact on the Japanese Constitution which is still under deliberation and will also affect Japan's future development.

  A few days later, ōkuma Shigenobu boarded a mail steamer bound for England.

  ōkuma Shigenobu visited Britain as Japan's Foreign Minister at the request of Kuroda Kiyotaka to negotiate the purchase of warships.

  The Qing Dynasty greatly expanded the Beiyang Fleet, and Japan naturally could not fall behind.

  It's just that things aren't that simple.

  The expansion of the Qing fleet also posed a threat to British interests in the Far East. Although at that time, Britain was not yet ready to form an alliance with Japan to counter the Qing, considering the role played by the German Empire, especially its expansionist actions in the Far East, Britain needed an ally with sufficient weight in the region.

  Besides Japan, who else can be chosen?

  Obviously, this is exactly what Feng Chengqian was worried about the negative impact.

  It wasn't until several years later that Japan defeated the Qing in the First Sino-Japanese War, occupied Korea, and then Russia, Germany, and France intervened, causing Japan's dream of leasing Liaodong Peninsula to fall through. Britain, in order to prevent Russia, France, and Germany from gaining too much power in East Asia, took the initiative to get close to Japan, which eventually led to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

  In a sense, the Anglo-Japanese alliance was one of the foundations for the subsequent Russo-Japanese War.

  Although Britain has not let its guard down, Japan is also not enough at this time. However, the closeness between Britain and Japan has become a foregone conclusion, and Japan's military expansion will inevitably accelerate.

  How history would unfold was beyond Feng Chengqian's imagination.

  On the third day after Feng Chengqian returned to Berlin, ōyama Iwao arrived in London and formally proposed to Britain to purchase four ironclad warships and hoped to obtain a loan.

  The news arrived when Feng Chengqian was reporting to Frederick III on the construction of warships.

  Although Bismarck thought it unnecessary to purchase an ironclad, von Ketteler presented sufficient reasons that the Qing had borne most of the research and design costs, so the Imperial Navy could get a new-style warship at a very low price.

  Not just Feng Chengqian, but also the majority of imperial capitalists and bankers supported the construction of warships.

  An empire only needs to build one warship, and it can provide orders for five warships to the shipbuilding industry, giving hundreds of companies and tens of thousands of workers something to do. Why not?

  Bismarck was not deliberately opposed, but wanted to take this opportunity to strive for better conditions.

  Feng Chengqian was very clear that Bismarck did not want to spend the money himself, but rather hoped that the capitalists and bankers who supported the construction of warships would foot the bill.

  The key lies with the bankers.

  After several days of negotiation, Bismarck made concessions by providing corresponding personnel, but the imperial government indeed did not have a surplus budget.

  "You mean borrowing from the bank?"

  "The Deutsche Bank and the Württembergische Bank have promised to provide loans, but the bankers are all very shrewd and won't give away money for nothing."

  "What do they want?" Frederick III knew, of course, that bankers were difficult to deal with.

  "The right of currency issuance of the empire."

  Frederick III's eyebrows jumped a few times, and his expression was extremely solemn.

  "To be precise, it is the reorganized central bank of the empire."

  "Do you think it's necessary?"

  "If we give in to the bankers' demands, it would be no different from losing everything for the sake of a small gain."

  "This is also what I'm worried about."

  "We can just make use of this matter."

  "How to use?"

  "Seize the opportunity of reorganizing the Imperial Central Bank to regain control over the imperial financial system."

  "This..."

  "Your Majesty, finance is the foundation of a country. Although I also can't say anything profound, I think that the financial industry must be controlled by the state and absolutely cannot fall into private hands."

  Frederick III remained silent because he knew this was a very thorny issue.

  "It is undeniable that this matter has great difficulty and cannot be accomplished overnight." Feng Chengqian paused for a moment, "However, for the future of the empire, we must rise to the challenge."

  "You're right, just can't rush into it."

  "What does Your Majesty mean..."

  "Since the Deutsche Bank and the Württembergische Bank are willing to provide loans, let's get the money in hand for now. As for whether or not to reorganize the Reichsbank, and how to do it, we can talk about that later." Frederick III sighed with a wry smile, saying "I'm very clear on your thoughts, but you have to know, these banks control the lifeblood of the empire. Not even the Chancellor can fool them, let alone you."

  "Prime Minister?"

  Frederick III forced a smile and said: "I will let the prime minister make concessions, you have achieved your goal, don't worry about the rest."

  "But..."

  "There's nothing to be anxious about, you should know that your roots in the empire are still shallow and not enough to do these things." Frederick III knew that Feng Chengqian was a bit worried. "To want to overthrow the banker, just having my support is far from enough. When the time is ripe, I will make arrangements myself."

  Feng Chengqian nodded and didn't say anything more.

  Although he was not familiar with the finance of this era, he knew a little that the Jewish people controlled the financial system of the Second German Empire and even the whole Europe, especially several famous but low-key families. Prussia's defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War, the coronation of Emperor William at Versailles Palace, and the establishment of the Second German Empire were all related to Jewish financiers.

  Even if Feng Chengqian did not understand this history, he would know that Bismarck played a very important role in it.

  Without the support of financial groups, Bismarck would not have been able to sit stably in the position of Imperial Chancellor for more than twenty years, making the Imperial Parliament a mere formality.

  Understanding this point, Feng Chengqian also understood the German Emperor's difficulties.

  They faced not only a Jewish financial group but a financial interest group tied to political marriage, and the core of this group was the imperial chancellor.

  Feng Chengqian couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

  Obviously, Bismarck was not only the imperial chancellor but also a representative of a huge interest group.

  Perhaps in the history familiar to Feng Chengqian, soon after William II ascended the throne, Bismarck was forced to resign, and it was not as simple as being at odds with the emperor.

  Fortunately, Feng Chengqian's most pressing concern was resolved.

  With the bank willing to lend, the last obstacle to building a battleship had disappeared.

  Two days later, the German Emperor approved the financing plan submitted by Bismarck, only adopting a delaying tactic in the matter of reorganizing the Central Bank of the Empire, asking Bismarck to formulate a more detailed plan. Then Frederick III found von Schlieffen alone and asked him to bring out the design drawings of the warship as soon as possible and start construction as soon as possible, so that the bank's loan commitment would be implemented, lest it would delay and cause trouble.

  The emperor's meaning couldn't be clearer: once they get their money, they turn against you and deny any acquaintance.

  Even if bankers have complaints, they will not confront the imperial emperor for such trivial matters, nor will they be stingy for long-term benefits.

  However, the German Emperor also gave Feng Chongqian a difficult problem.

  On his way back home, Feng Shengqian had already thought of building a new type of warship like the "Fearless" class, changing the history pioneered by the British Navy.

  Back in the empire, Feng Chengqian only realized that his idea was unrealistic.

  In the familiar history of Feng Chengqian, "Fearless" represented a brand new era. Its main technical features were not only fully equipped with heavy artillery, but also many designs that far surpassed previous warships, such as replacing reciprocating steam engines with steam turbines and armor belts covering the entire ship's vital parts.

  Relatively speaking, installing main guns of uniform caliber and length on a battleship is the simplest thing.

  The industry of the German Empire was not strong enough, let alone being able to manufacture high-power steam engines within a short period of ten years. If reciprocating steam engines were used, there would be a problem with the endurance of warships at high speeds. As for adopting an all-steel design, the key lay in whether it was possible to manufacture steel plates that met the required standards, and the German Empire's steel mills did not yet have such production capabilities.

  At this time, it is difficult to manufacture, let alone design a large warship.

  Before this, the largest warships built by the Empire were the "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan", which were sold to the Qing Dynasty.

  This time, the Qing dynasty wanted even more powerful warships, with a tonnage that would definitely exceed that of the "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan", so the design difficulty was extremely high.

  If there was enough time, Feng Chengqian still had some confidence.

  No matter what, he possessed knowledge, especially about warships, far surpassing that of the best engineers of this era.

  Unfortunately, the German Emperor did not give him enough time.

  In order to complete the design in a short period of time and start construction, there is no choice but to settle for second best.