Chapter 91: Rear Admiral Müller

"For instance?"

"For instance, the oil-fired boiler technology of the 'Restoration Class.'" Tirpitz stared at him. "Not everything—just the basic principles and a few key parameters. Enough for us to start our own research."

Wang Wenwu was silent for a long time.

Finally he said, "General, I have no authority to decide this matter. But I can pass the message on to Mr. Chen."

"That's enough." Tirpitz straightened up. "The fact that you're willing to pass it on means there's still room to negotiate."

He was about to leave, then stopped:

"One more thing… Fisher over in Yingguo asked you for the 'Leopard Class' design, didn't he?"

Wang Wenwu's heart tightened, but his expression remained unchanged: "The General is very well informed."

"I have my channels," Tirpitz said. "A word of warning: that man Fisher will do anything for technology. Yingguo has spies in Lanfang—I know of three myself. Be careful."

"Thanks for the warning."

"You're welcome." Tirpitz turned and walked back toward the hall. "After all, we're partners now."

The next day at the Kiel naval base, the atmosphere was somewhat delicate.

Wilhelm enthusiastically took Wang Wenwu to observe a fleet exercise—six "Westfalen Class" battleships arranged in a Column, conducting gunnery training in Kiel Bay. When the 305-millimeter Main Guns fired in salvo, the sound waves made the glass of the reviewing stand hum.

"What do you think?" Wilhelm asked proudly.

"Very impressive," Wang Wenwu said politely. "The formation is very tidy."

"But it can't compare to the 'Restoration Ship,' I know." Wilhelm was quite clear-headed about it. "That's why we need the 'Kaiser Class.' Mr. Wang, I thought about it for a long time yesterday…"

He gestured for his attendants to step back, then lowered his voice:

"Two 'Kaiser Class' ships aren't enough. The German Navy needs a true trump card—a warship that can crush the 'Dreadnought' and even stand against the 'Restoration Ship.' Do you… have anything more advanced?"

Wang Wenwu sighed inwardly. What was bound to come had come.

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

"The Restoration Ship you have." Wilhelm's eyes gleamed. "I know it's the foundation of your nation and not for sale. But if… if we paid three times the price? Four times?"

"Your Majesty," Wang Wenwu shook his head, "this isn't a question of money."

"Then what is it a question of?"

"Strategic balance." Wang Wenwu spoke earnestly. "The 'Restoration Class' is already a regionally disruptive force. If Deguo possessed a warship of the same class, Yingguo would see it as a direct challenge, potentially triggering an arms race or even conflict. That would benefit neither Deguo nor Lanfang."

Wilhelm's expression darkened: "Are you saying Deguo doesn't deserve to have the best warships?"

"No, I'm saying the timing isn't right." Wang Wenwu quickly adjusted his phrasing. "Once the 'Kaiser Class' enters service, the German Navy will already hold an advantage in the North Sea. At that point, if the situation calls for it, we can discuss more advanced cooperation. But right now… taking too big a step is liable to pull something."

This statement was half true, half false. The true part was a genuine fear of provoking Yingguo too hard; the false part was that Chen Feng had no intention whatsoever of selling the "Restoration Class"—that was the guarantee of a generational gap advantage, not for sale at any price. (Not for sale for now.)

Wilhelm stared at him for a long time, then finally gave a cold snort: "That's what you tell the Yingguo people too, isn't it?"

"No," Wang Wenwu said frankly. "What we told Yingguo is: the 'Leopard Class' outperforms the 'Dreadnought,' but is inferior to the 'Kaiser Class.'"

This was a clever line, but effective.

Wilhelm paused, then suddenly laughed: "So Deguo gets the better one?"

"Yes."

"Do the Yingguo people know?"

"They'll find out sooner or later." Wang Wenwu smiled. "When the 'Kaiser Class' construction begins."

Wilhelm laughed heartily, clapping Wang Wenwu on the back: "Good! I love it! Let that old fellow Fisher go guessing!"

His mood had clearly improved, and he returned to that excited state: "Then let's first order two 'Kaiser Class' ships. Let the people below handle the contract details—the principle is as we discussed yesterday: Deguo helps you build a steel plant, and you provide the gun steel technology. Also…"

He leaned closer: "Tirpitz wants the oil-fired boiler technology, I know. Give him a little—not too much, just enough for him to research for a year or two. Keep him occupied, so he's not always nagging about self-developing this and self-developing that."

Wang Wenwu understood. Wilhelm wanted immediate combat power; Tirpitz wanted the long term. The Emperor was balancing.

"I will pass the message on to Mr. Chen."

"Good!" Wilhelm draped his arm over Wang Wenwu's shoulder and looked out at the warships turning in the bay. "Mr. Wang, do you know? My grandfather unified the German nation, my father built the Imperial Fleet. And I… I want to take the German Navy truly out into the world. Not just the North Sea at our doorstep, but the whole world—the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic. I want there to always be a German Imperial naval flag flying alongside the Union Jack!"

He spoke with passion, his hand gesturing in the air:

"But the Yingguo people are in the way. They have three hundred years of maritime supremacy, bases spread across the globe, the world's number one fleet. For Deguo to rise, this shackle must be broken. And you… you've already broken it. With a single ship, you made the Yingguo people sit down and talk."

He turned to Wang Wenwu, a kind of fervor in his eyes:

"So we are natural allies. You want to return to the South Ocean; we want a place in the sun. Together, we can change this world."

A sea breeze blew across the reviewing stand, carrying the smell of salt and gunpowder.

Wang Wenwu looked at one of the most powerful emperors in Europe, at the ambition and fervor in his eyes, and a sentence from Chen Feng's telegram suddenly flashed through his mind:

"The Deguo people want to use us to break Yingguo's supremacy; we can in turn use their ambition to secure room for development. But remember—we are no one's chess piece. We are chess players."

"Your Majesty," Wang Wenwu spoke up, "Lanfang is willing to help a friend realize reasonable ambitions."

He used the word "reasonable."

Wilhelm understood, but didn't care: "Reasonable or not, history will be the judge. Come, lunch is ready. We'll sign the letter of intent this afternoon, and tonight I'll personally take you to the train station—you're still going to Paris, aren't you?"

In the final hour before departure, Tirpitz came to Wang Wenwu's hotel room.

No small talk—he directly handed over a folder.

"This is the file on Rear Admiral Müller," he said. "His Majesty has appointed him head of the consular-level military delegation stationed in Dubai, departing next month. This man… is very capable."

Wang Wenwu opened the file. The photo showed a man of about forty, blond, blue-eyed, with a serious expression. His résumé was impressive: graduated from the Kiel Naval Academy, participated in the Eight-Nation Alliance—at the time he was with the East Asia Squadron, and could speak a little Chinese. Later he worked in the Naval Technology Bureau for a number of years, specializing in propulsion systems.

"A very suitable candidate." Wang Wenwu closed the file.

"Almost too suitable, isn't he?" Tirpitz sat down and poured himself a glass of water. "He's an expert in steam turbines and boiler technology, can converse in everyday Chinese, and has Far East experience. Mr. Wang, let's be plain with each other—I'm sending him there to learn technology. As much as he can learn."

Being this direct, it was actually hard to get angry.