The meeting at sea did not last long, only about half an hour. Because it was held on the Chinese cruiser Haiqi, outsiders did not know what the two talked about..
Just after the meeting, it didn't take long for Nanyue to secretly send some of its diplomats to Hans. The two parties signed a large number of contracts, covering various aspects such as military, industry, and agriculture.
But these are all things that happened later and will not be mentioned for now.
Mainz continued his journey north and soon arrived at the capital of China, preparing to start his visit to China.
The Beiyang government was very nervous when it heard that the revolutionary government in the south was going to send troops to intercept Hans's delegation.
Most of the Chinese navy was inherited from the Qing Dynasty. After the Sino-Japanese War, the Qing Dynasty realized the importance of the navy, so after its defeat, it purchased many warships from abroad. Although these warships did not reach the level of the Sino-Japanese War, Dingyuan ship and���The tonnage of a ship of this level is only over 4,000 tons, and it belongs to the category of light cruiser.
Compared with the Qing Dynasty, which already had battleships and armored cruisers, the Qing Dynasty's naval strength lagged far behind.
However, there was nothing that could be done about it.
The Treaty of Shimonoseki signed after the failure of the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1899 and the Treaty of Xinchou signed after the Eight-Nation Allied Forces invaded China.
These two treaties greatly emptied the Qing Dynasty's finances and made the Qing Dynasty very poor.
A large amount of fiscal revenue had to be used to repay debts, and there was no money to buy expensive warships.
However, thanks to the hundreds of millions of taels of silver harvested from the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Footbath had enough funds for foreign purchases, and this was how it took off.
Before the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the last batch of cruisers purchased from Sun Bu Luo were the Haiqi and Haichen. During the national protection movement, these ships all went south to join the revolutionary government in the south, and were in the hands of the Beiyang government in the north. There is a serious lack of main naval ships and no strength to confront the South.
Moreover, compared with the Qing Dynasty, the power of the central government during the Beiyang Government was greatly reduced. They were no longer able to maintain effective rule over the country, so their fiscal revenue lagged far behind that of the Qing Dynasty. Coupled with the years of civil war, all their money was used for purchases. The army's equipment is used to pay soldiers to fight the civil war. Where is the spare money to buy expensive naval warships?
Besides, the navy has little help for warlords like them. You can't expect to send naval warships to land to bombard others, right?
Against this background, the Chinese navy had a vacuum period of fifty years, and stopped developing after the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
The Beiyang government heard that the revolutionary government in the south wanted the navy to intercept Hans' delegation. Apart from praying in their hearts, they had no other way to help, so many people thought that this visit was going to be ruined!
Unexpectedly, the Hans actually broke through the obstruction of the southern rebels and came to the north.
This made the Beiyang government overjoyed, and they held a more grand reception ceremony to welcome the European guests from afar!
The person in power in the Beiyang government at this time was none other than Zhang Zuolin, a warlord from the Feng clique.
Originally, historically, Cao Kun, the Zhili warlord, should have occupied this place at this time, but there has been a slight change in history.
Zhang Zuolin, who was supported by weapons from Mainz, relied on tanks, aircraft and artillery that were an entire era ahead of other warlords in China. When fighting other warlords, he was almost invincible.
Although the Northeast Army is not very good at using weapons like tanks, the appearance of tanks as a weapon on the battlefield of the Chinese Dynasty is already a foul level. The attack speed of this bullet is not satisfactory, and its own firepower is also low. It is extremely vicious. For warlords everywhere who lack artillery, this kind of thing is their natural enemy. They don't know how to deal with these iron lumps!
Even big warlords like the Zhili Warlords suffered a big loss when facing the Northeastern Army's tank troops, not to mention that the Northeastern Army was also equipped with an air force. Although the number of fighter planes was not large, what is the air force of other people? In an era when they didn't even know what airplanes were, their fighter planes were simply invincible. At this time, the warlords in China did not have corresponding air defense weapons at all!
As a result, they were completely at a disadvantage when facing the armored forces and air force of the Northeast Army.
Zhang Zuolin relied on these two sharp weapons to successfully escape the border, captured Peiping, drove away the Zhili warlords here, and successfully controlled the Beiyang government!
It is precisely because they have seen the power of the weapons provided by Hans and enjoyed the huge benefits brought by these weapons that the Northeast Army attaches great importance to Hans' distinguished guests coming from afar!
Mainz and others were personally greeted by Marshal Zhang as soon as they disembarked at Dagokou.
Marshal Zhang not only came here himself, but also brought an entire division of cavalry troops to escort the German delegation all the way to Peiping, fully armed.
After arriving in Peiping, Zhang Zuolin organized 200,000 people to welcome him along the more than 50 kilometers of Chang'an Street.
Looking at the huge welcoming team, members of Hans' delegation were dumbfounded!
When had they seen this scene before?
This scene feels like welcoming a national leader. This is too grand!
"General, I'm so sorry. We lack heavy industry in the country and the cement plant has not yet been built, so the road is not very smooth yet. If you come to visit again in two years, we guarantee that you will not be bumpy on such a road!"
Shaoshuai Zhang is just 2 years old this year, which is the age when he is high-spirited.
And as his father ascends to the throne of the president of the Beiyang Government, his status has also risen with the tide.
In Shaoshuai Zhang's view, after his father retires, this president will The position must be reserved for himself, so from now on, he has regarded himself as the master of this country.
It is precisely because of this that when facing foreign guests, especially important foreign guests, Shaoshuai Zhang. I will pay special attention to it, hoping to make the foreign guests feel at home, thereby leaving a better impression on them.
As a Chinese, Mainz can certainly understand the other party's thoughts.
Because of the disastrous defeat caused by the Opium War, The Celestial Empire fell for hundreds of years. During this period, they were invaded again and again by foreign enemies. They were pushed to the ground and beaten violently again and again. After the beating, they were exploited and squeezed, and they were also abused by Westerners. Slander and discrimination!
Such tragic experiences have caused the Chinese people to have serious doubts about their own culture and even their own race. Many people have a feeling of white supremacy, and subconsciously think that they are not good enough, and then try their best to The feeling of trying to please foreigners in exchange for their recognition is like a humble person hoping to be recognized and performed by others.
This morbid idea has not been completely eradicated even after 100 years. , let alone this era!
Mainz knew that in the 1920s, it was the time when foreign languages were intruding heavily and the self-denial within China was at its most severe. Against this background, he, a Westerner, His status in China is higher than that of 99% of the people in China!
Therefore, some of those who were mobilized by the Beiyang government to welcome him were forced, but some were also voluntary.
In their opinion, they could get one. The official visit of the defense minister of a large foreign country is something to be very proud of!
This can be seen from the sight of Marshal Zhang in front of him!
Mainz sighed in his heart, feeling disappointed with Marshal Zhang. It is also a lament for the problem of China.
He cannot solve this problem and has no energy to solve it. He can only hope that great people will appear in China to save this country and save this nation.