Chapter 445 Bismarck's Iron and Blood (Third update, please subscribe)

In July 1870, Europe seemed to still be immersed in the bright sunshine of summer, which was the best time of the year. From London to Paris, from Paris to Berlin, from Berlin to Vienna, almost all Europeans were enjoying summer.

Summer is always so beautiful that when the summer comes, the king will move into their castle on the top of the mountain to avoid the high temperature and enjoy the summer sunshine. Many rich people will also take a car to various summer resorts.

But this summer, something ominous seems to be brewing.

At the end of June, a newspaper in Paris published a big news - the long-vacant Spanish throne was about to have a new owner. After discussion at the Spanish cabinet meeting, Prince Leopold of the Hohenzollern family, who was a distant relative of King William I of Prussia, had the hope of becoming a candidate for the King of Spain.

This result naturally angered the French Foreign Minister, Duke of Gramont. After obtaining the emperor's consent, he immediately protested to the King of Prussia. Even after Prince Leopold himself refused, he still continued to make diplomatic protests to Prussia through diplomatic channels.

Although it seems to be just a protest, it seems to be more complicated than that to many sensitive observers. However, in the eyes of observers, it seems to be just that.

On the afternoon of July 13, on a train passing through Ems Spa on the eastern outskirts of Koblenz, the wealthy people in the luxurious carriages were happily smoking cigars and chatting about a beautiful opera or ballet dancer.

Although Ems Hot Springs is a sanatorium for the King of Prussia, every summer wealthy people would go to stay in nearby hotels. After all, the hot springs were not exclusive to the King of Prussia.

In a luxurious compartment on the train, a foreigner with gray hair and beard was looking at the scenery outside with an arrogant look.

The scenery here cannot compare with that in France.

Benedetti, the French ambassador to Prussia, did not come to the hot springs for a vacation. He brought the latest instructions from the French Empire and came here to convey to King William I of Prussia in person the French government's views on the qualifications of the candidates for the Spanish throne.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Benedetti entered the king's castle. As usual, as the French ambassador, Benedetti expressed France's attitude in an arrogant tone after meeting William I. He said:

"This is France's final attitude. I hope Your Majesty can guarantee that you will not ask for this abandoned candidacy in the future!"

"Ambassador Benedetti, you should know that Prince Leopold has refused to be a candidate for the King of Spain. What does this have to do with Prussia?"

Faced with the rude behavior of the French ambassador and the French government, William I was shocked and more disgusted. Although he still feels disgusted in his heart, he still said.

"Please tell His Majesty the Emperor that neither I nor Prussia have any intention of interfering in this matter. The succession to the Spanish throne is only a Spanish issue. What does it have to do with us?"

Although William I's answer basically agreed to France's request, Ambassador Benedetti was aggressive.

"Your Majesty, is this the official response from Prussia?"

Faced with Ambassador Benedetti's aggressive attitude, William I suppressed his dissatisfaction and anger in his heart and said to him.

"Mr. Ambassador, please enjoy the hot springs in Ems for the time being. I will have someone send a telegram to the Prime Minister to inform him of this matter. I believe that Prime Minister Bismarck will give your country an official response soon."

After ordering the French ambassador to be sent out, William I immediately instructed his attendants to send an urgent telegram to Bismarck in Berlin regarding his conversation with the French ambassador.

That afternoon, Prime Minister Bismarck was holding a banquet at home. As usual, there was dancing and music in the banquet hall of the Prime Minister's residence, and the air was filled with laughter. In the banquet hall, Otto Bismarck, the Chancellor of the Kingdom of Prussia, was standing there solemnly entertaining guests from all sides.

Among these guests there was an Oriental man in a suit, who stood out among the Westerners.

"Mr. Liu, listen to me, we also really hope to be able to buy your airship."

Once again, Prime Minister Bismarck expressed his hopes to Liu Weidong.

"Now, you not only agree to sell airships to France, but also agree to sell airships to Britain. So why are you not willing to sell airships to Prussia? For the sake of peace in Europe, I think you need to agree to sell airships to any European country. This is for the sake of peace, Mr. Liu!"

Staring at the representative of the American Company's Prussian office, Bismarck felt quite unhappy - the French were about to have powerful airships, but Prussia did not.

"Now everyone knows clearly that the side with airships can suppress the side without airships. This may upset the balance of Europe and also disrupt the peace of Europe."

"Mr. Prime Minister, I have already conveyed your request to Nanhua, and they will respond soon. However, this will definitely take time."

Just as Liu Weidong tried to change the subject, an attendant came in. He looked around quietly, and soon walked towards Bismarck who was talking with someone, and politely handed Bismarck an envelope.

"Prime Minister, this is an urgent message from His Majesty from Ames."

An urgent telegram from the king?

Although he was a little curious, Liu Weidong still politely chose to avoid it. Bismarck took the letter handed over by the waiter and slowly opened the telegram to read it. After a while, the corners of his mouth slightly raised. His smile fell into Liu Weidong's eyes, as if he was thinking of something pleasant.

Did anything happy happen?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Liu, I have some other things to do here. We can discuss the airship another day."

After expressing his apologies, Bismarck walked up to Moltke and several other generals and said.

"Mr. Moltke, please come with me to the smoking room."

At the moment the door of the smoking room closed, Bismarck looked at Moltke with a serious expression and suddenly said:

"Dear Mr. Moltke, may I ask whether Prussia can defeat France, not just simply defeat them, but completely defeat them!"

The Prime Minister's question startled Moltke at first. He thought about it for a while, then raised his head, slowly calmed down, and answered in a very firm tone:

"Mr. Prime Minister, you asked me whether we can defeat France. I can tell you responsibly that we can and will definitely defeat France!"

Moltke's answer made Bismarck laugh, and he said to him:

"Here is a dispatch from the King, which I have read carefully, and will read to you with some minor corrections."

Bismarck then deleted the sentence "We can still discuss it in Berlin" in the telegram, and added another sentence at the end: "His Majesty the King refuses to meet with the French ambassador in the future, and orders the aide-de-camp on duty to tell the French ambassador that His Majesty has nothing more to talk about."

"Prime Minister, this is..."

"This is to stimulate the French! Moltke, my friend, after this war, no one can stop the unification of Germany! And the unification of Germany must be forged with iron and blood, there is no other purpose!"

The "iron and blood policy" was exactly the policy Bismarck had been pursuing since he became prime minister, and Moltke certainly agreed with it.

After revising the King's telegram, Bismarck said:

"War always requires a reason. All we need is to add a little sarcasm and humiliation to the original message without changing its meaning. The French emperor will never accept such humiliation!"

He turned his gaze to Moltke and said.

"Mr. Moltke, now is the time to test us. I believe we can win this war. After all, we have been preparing for so many years!"

Bismarck never doubted his victory. Since he became chancellor, he had used his skillful diplomacy to lull the French into neutrality during the unification of Germany.

His diplomatic efforts were successful, and Prussia eventually rose under the noses of the French. But the road to German unification was still very long.

Who was the biggest obstacle to Germany's unification? France.

Over the past few years, while Bismarck was using diplomatic tactics to paralyze the French, he was also quietly preparing for war against the French.

Now, the war is finally about to break out.

At this time, the Prime Minister of the Prussian Empire, who was known as the "Iron Chancellor", was immersed in certain expectations for the future.

After all, he had been preparing for this moment for so long.

"Prime Minister, please rest assured that we will definitely win this war, and I think victory may come faster than we think."

As the Chief of Staff of Prussia, Moltke was also looking forward to this moment. This war with France was not only the last battle to unify the country. After winning this war, he would also reach the pinnacle of honor...

"But I still have some concerns, like airships!"

Bismarck looked at Chief of Staff Moltke and said.

"When we first made all our plans, we didn't know that airships could be used in the war, and we didn't expect the French to get airships. Will the use of these weapons on the battlefield have any impact on our plans?"

“There will definitely be an impact.”

Moltke nodded and said.

"But that's all. After all, the French still don't have an airship. Even if they get one, they still need time to train. Moreover, from what we know, Nanhua doesn't have many airships either. The most important thing is... the German army will never collapse because of a few airships!"

(End of this chapter)