"China is a country that has just been unified, and their industrial base is so weak, and it is far away in Europe, do they have the ability to hold Central Asia, I don't think they can.Central Asia, sooner or later, will have to be recaptured by Tsarist Russia, or divided equally between Tsarist Russia and Britain. ”William I voiced his opinion."
What Your Majesty said is very reasonable, but Your Majesty can guarantee 100 percent that China will not be able to defeat Tsarist Russia and the British, and in what way the Chinese Congress will intervene in the Afghan war, whether it will directly send troops, or economic infiltration, and sell armaments to help, we don't know, but it is certain that Tsarist Russia is very likely to fight with the Chinese army again on the frontal battlefield."
Bismarck said to Wilhelm I.William I was a little impatient, "Although Tsarist Russia lost in the Far East, but those are barren places, and the hillbillies in the Far East are incomparable with the Russian army in the European battlefield, besides, at that time, Tsarist Russia was still deeply troubled by the Crimean War, this time if it fights with the Chinese army in Central Asia, I think, Tsarist Russia will win, so, China does not say that it occupies the Japanese island of Kyushu, even if it is impossible to keep Central Asia next to their territory, since they know that they will definitely lose, why not take the opportunity to step on it and take advantage of it" "Okay." and do as His Majesty wishes. ”Bismarck nodded slightly, "I have no way to convince Your Majesty, and this matter really has little to do with Germany, but I hope Your Majesty will not be openly hostile to China and verbally favor Japan, it's okay, there is no need for us to get involved in disputes that have no interests in ourselves." ”Kaiser Wilhelm I saw that Bismarck agreed with his point of view, and was very happy to think that 5 million marks could be credited to the account, "Okay, leave it to Mr.
Chancellor, I only propose one, Germany is in favor of the British to limit the withdrawal of China from the Japanese island of Kyushu, as for the rest, Mr.
Chancellor can dispose of it with full power." ”"Yes, Your Majesty."
Bismarck nodded helplessly and withdrew from the Kaiser's bedroom, not in a very good mood, but there was no way, he was just doing things under the Kaiser, and in the general direction, especially in matters that were not particularly related to the interests of Germany, he needed to do things according to the Kaiser's instructions.Bismarck's diplomatic viewpoint has always been that national interests are paramount, and everything is based on national interests.Bismarck believed that the common national interest was a powerful bond that unites nations.Before he ventured into foreign affairs, Bismarck was convinced that "the only sound foundation of a great power, which distinguishes it so much from small states, is national self-interest, not romanticism."
To fight for a cause that is not in one's own interests is disproportionate to a great power. ”He believes that in international relations, a country always puts its own interests first, decides its foreign behavior on the basis of national interests, and will not sell its own national interests for the sake of other countries.After the Crimean War, Bismarck announced the advent of the era of realpolitik."
There is no reciprocity in the policy of affection, it is only characteristic of Prussia; Any other government regards its own interests as the norm for their conduct, no matter how much they try to disguise it with legal or sentimental reasoning. ”Thus, Bismarck "considered the ideal in foreign policy to be unbiased, to decide that the question should not be influenced by antipathy or favorability toward foreign countries and those in power."
Bismarck's idea of the supremacy of the national interest enabled him to keep a clear head within the ruling circles, which had been excited by the constant victorious march, and to make more far-sighted decisions, which paved the way for the smooth progress of the subsequent unification war.Bismarck simplified the intricacies of the situation, and in the German-Danish, Austro-Prussian, and Franco-Prussian wars, he first used diplomacy to win over most of the powerful countries and isolate the enemy through the exchange of interests, and then each time set a limited military target that matched the strength.After the unification of Germany, Bismarck continued to win over Britain, Russia, and Austria, concentrating on crowding out and restricting its powerful neighbor France, and encouraging France's expansion in overseas colonies to divert its attention from the European continent, thus safeguarding German interests to the greatest extent.In terms of foreign issues, since the reunification of Germany, Bismarck did not want any more foreign wars, so that Germany could recuperate and cultivate its national strength.Therefore, he did not plunder the colonies in large quantities like other European countries.But he feared French retaliation, so he adopted a policy of alliance to isolate France.First in 1873, he concluded the "Triple Imperialist Alliance" with Austria-Hungary and Russia.In 1877, the Russo-Turkish War broke out, Russia defeated Turkey, and signed the Peace of San Stefano.But this harmed the interests of the British and French powers, so the powers asked Bismarck, who was not in the middle of it, to intercede.In 1878, the Berlin Conference was convened.In the meeting, he favored Austria, but remained ostensibly neutral.This made Russia a big loser.As a result, relations between Germany and Russia deteriorated, and Russia's conflict of interest with Austria-Hungary in the Balkans led Russia to withdraw from the Triple Alliance.In this way, after 1878, the Three Emperors Alliance was no longer continued.These questions haunted Bismarck in the late years of his reign, and even made him feel restless.In 1879, Bismarck renewed his alliance with Austria, known as the "German-Austrian Alliance".However, Bismarck feared that Russia would switch to France, so in 1887 he signed a "reinsurance treaty" with Russia.He also prepared to sign the "Triple Alliance" with Italy and Austria-Hungary.If you can, it would be better to pull Romania into the Triple Alliance as well.The establishment of the Triple Alliance will mark the final formation of an imperialist military bloc with Germany as the leader.Under Bismarck's leadership, Germany, which was gradually gaining wings, could not wait to join the ranks of colonial expansion.Bismarck did not want to get involved in the disputes between China and the foreign powers now, on the one hand, he was optimistic about China, and on the other hand, he believed that the rise of China could impact the old sphere of influence and establish a new system around the world, of course, all this was based on Bismarck's belief that no matter how China developed, it would not be able to pose any threat to Germany for at least 50 years.The meeting between Bismarck and Ito Hirobumi soon came, and, after the meeting, as Ito Hirobumi had envisioned, Bismarck did not make any commitments to Japan, but only promised to diplomatically support Japan and let China evacuate the Japanese island of Kyushu as soon as possible."
Mr.
Chancellor, what I said to His Majesty the Kaiser is that I hope that Germany will no longer have dealings with China in the future, and that it will not be able to do business with China or sell warships to them, and that we in Japan will order more advanced armaments from Germany."
Hirobumi Ito looked at Bismarck."
Your idea is ridiculous, if you think that by giving His Majesty a little greeting gift, you can influence Germany's foreign diplomatic strategy, I don't think there is any need for us to talk about it further."
Bismarck looked down on Ito Hirobumi, mainly because he looked down on Ito Hirobumi and the Japanese for this diplomatic method, on the contrary, he thought that Hua and the Chinese emperor should have been the first to find him, but so far, except that the diplomatic envoys of China had proposed to him a specific plan to purchase warships, there was no deeper contact, and moreover, there was not a word about the Japanese problem, and he did not seek diplomatic support from Germany.Ito Hirobumi was stunned, he didn't expect Bismarck to be so unkind to him.The two of them looked at each other coldly, and of course Ito Hirofumi looked very humble and respectful on the surface.Bismarck's eyes are bright, but it seems that he can see through Ito Hirobumi's heart.When Ito Hirobumi wanted to say something more, Bismarck had already raised his hand and signaled to see off the guest.Hirobumi Ito sighed, could only bow deeply with Shigeru Moriyama, and left Bismarck's office."
This old German man, what the Kaiser has already acquiesced to, he is still pushing back like this, can we give away 5 million marks, just in exchange for such a little thing, just in exchange for a word" Moriyama Shigeru said angrily.Ito Hirobumi glared at Shigeru Moriyama angrily, so frightened that Shigeru Moriyama quickly shut up, and suddenly realized that he scolded Bismarck, and seemed to take it with him, and scolded Ito Hirobumi too, because the money was sent by Ito Hirobumi.t1706231537: