Chapter 52

After leaving Outer Mongolia, one is met with endless rolling hills and steep, perilous cliffs. The rugged peaks and ravines are scattered with bizarre rocks, standing and lying haphazardly across the plains, their jagged edges interlocking in a way that captivates the heart.

From Mongolia’s Uliastai to Russia’s Novosibirsk, the mountains and rivers wind and twist for a full 1,400 kilometers. Since this vast area is rarely visited by people, it is not often that anyone comes here. The road connecting the Qing court’s Mongolia and the Russian hinterland has long been neglected and is now in a state of disrepair. Amidst the vast desert and the setting sun, Qing Ying and his companions trudged along the rocky, desolate road; braving the fierce, cold northern winds, it seemed as if they had been abandoned by the world, with only a few of them left in this vast expanse.

At the beginning, Qing Ying was moved by the desolate and ancient atmosphere of the vast wilderness and even considered writing a poem. However, as they continued their journey, they saw no one, and the scenery remained unchanged, leading to a quick shift from excitement to boredom and dejection. After half a month, Qing Ying only wanted to leave this godforsaken place as soon as possible, even if it meant reaching an ordinary village, which would be a thousand times better than the current situation!

In his idle moments, Qing Ying would either open the cherished photograph he kept close to his heart, thinking of Snowy, who was thousands of miles away, or analyze the current situation, pondering his next move.

Since the last decade of the 19th century, the world has been in turmoil, with nations vying for dominance. Britain dominated the world, Germany rose in the Rhine, Russia eyed the Far East, and America devoured North America. The old imperialist powers hoped to make further progress, while the emerging powers eagerly awaited a new division of the colonies under the sun. The two sides, while colluding with each other, also engaged in fierce competition, ensuring that lasting peace in the world was impossible. As the nation's strength grew, the United States, no longer content to remain in North America, was eager to extend its reach into South America and Asia. Historically, the United States, using the explosion of the "Maine" battleship as a pretext, formally declared war on Spain on April 25, 1898, annexing Puerto Rico and the Philippines. In the Far East, after the intervention of the three countries in the return of Liaodong, the conflict between Russia and Japan over the northeastern region of the Qing Empire intensified sharply. Both sides were preparing for war, waiting for the right moment to launch a fierce attack. In 1904, the Russo-Japanese War broke out, with both sides fighting fiercely, leaving the northeastern region of China in ruins.

In such a situation, what should he do? After several days of contemplation, Qing Ying had a clear plan. The most important task for the next three years was to seize the Philippines from the Americans and establish it as a forward base for Germany's involvement in the Pacific and the Far East. Compared to Germany's historical lease of Jiaozhou Bay, the Philippines, with its vast area and abundant population and resources, far surpassed the 500 square kilometers of Jiaozhou Bay. If the red, white, and black tricolor iron cross flag could fly over the Philippines, the benefits to Germany would be self-evident.

Historically, Wilhelm II had planned to annex the Philippines and make it a German colony in the Far East, but due to his slow action and Britain's lack of support, he had to give up, watching as the Americans seized the opportunity. In fact, if Germany had prepared earlier, the Americans would have had no chance: after deciding to wage war on Spain, they moved the only battleship of the Pacific Fleet, the "Oregon," to the Atlantic to ensure victory in the Cuban theater, leaving the Pacific Fleet extremely weak. Dewey's expeditionary fleet to the Philippines consisted of only four armored cruisers and two gunboats, with a total tonnage of just 20,000 tons, a joke in the face of European powers. However, due to Spain's even weaker naval strength, with only one outdated 3,500-ton cruiser and five 500-1,100-ton gunboats, the Americans, like monkeys in the absence of a tiger, became the kings. If Germany wanted to take the Philippines, it only needed to send a squadron to the area; the Americans, with their few armored cruisers, would not dare to make any moves!

However, using military force was a last resort and could easily invite criticism. To annex the Philippines, Germany would also need to balance the interests of other major powers like Britain and France. After much thought, Qing Ying could not come up with a perfect plan and decided to leave it to his adoptive father's ministers to worry about.

On March 14, Qing Ying arrived in Novosibirsk, deep in the heart of Russia. As the largest city in Siberia, Novosibirsk, despite its remote location, had a unique modern cityscape. The streets were bustling with traffic and people, and various shops and stalls were scattered everywhere, making Qing Ying, who had been traveling through sand and dust for over two months, feel as if he had arrived in heaven. While reporting his journey to Wilhelm II, a new idea suddenly came to him: since Japan and Russia were destined to clash in the Far East, why not use his status as the second son of Wilhelm II to support Russia's development in the Far East and let them fight to the death with Japan?

On a personal level, Qing Ying, a young man raised in the Celestial Empire, had no good feelings towards Japan, which was ruled by militarists; otherwise, he would not have gone to such great lengths to influence the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, which caused so much pain to the Chinese people. From the current international relations, if Russia could shift its focus to the Far East and engage in a struggle with Japan and Britain, which supported Japan, it would be a situation Germany would be happy to see. As Germany's national strength grew rapidly, the desire to redistribute the colonies became more urgent, and conflict with the old power Britain was inevitable. If Russia could attract Britain's attention, Germany could remain in the background and achieve better results in many areas!

In the historical Russo-Japanese War, Russia's losses on land were not as bad as they seemed, but its navy, which it was proud of, was devastated. At the beginning of the war, the Pacific Fleet stationed in Port Arthur was ambushed by Japan and suffered heavy losses. Then, the massive Baltic Fleet, sent to East Asia, was completely destroyed in the Tsushima Strait, while Japan only lost three torpedo boats. The once third-largest navy in the world was almost annihilated, with only a few warships and the Black Sea Fleet, which did not participate in the war, surviving. After this battle, Russia's naval strength plummeted, and it no longer had the power to counter Japan in the Far East.

Thinking about this, Qing Ying's thoughts began to flow. With his intervention, Germany's new battleships were already under construction, with performance far superior to their historical counterparts. At present, Russia had no large warships in the Far East. Therefore, Germany could support the Russian navy by selling warships, narrowing the gap with Japan's navy in the Far East. Since both Russia and Japan were Germany's potential enemies, if their navies could fight to the death in the Pacific, it would be extremely beneficial for Germany!

With this thought, Qing Ying did not immediately enter the telegraph office but first returned to his temporary residence to write a report, which he then sent to Berlin, 5,000 kilometers away. For high-intelligence individuals like Wilhelm II and Tirpitz, Qing Ying did not need to elaborate; a few words and a bit of guidance would be enough to lead them to follow his will.

After staying in Novosibirsk for two days and purchasing enough food and water, Qing Ying and his convoy set out again on the long journey to St. Petersburg. Although there were still no trains, the road conditions in the Russian hinterland were much better than before. Novosibirsk is at the same latitude as Moscow, and the direction of Qing Ying's convoy was almost directly westward. Traveling 700 kilometers west to Omsk, then 900 kilometers west to Chelyabinsk, another 900 kilometers west to Kazan, and then 900 kilometers west to Moscow... the vast expanse of Russia left an indelible impression on Qing Ying. If it were Germany, he would have traveled back and forth many times within the country!

From Moscow to St. Petersburg, there was still nearly 900 kilometers to go. Qing Ying set out from the capital in mid-January 1895 and arrived in St. Petersburg on June 8, a scorching summer day. As soon as he checked into a hotel in St. Petersburg, his adoptive uncle, Tsar Nicholas II, immediately sent several psychologists to provide psychological counseling and emotional support, fearing that his distant nephew might be mentally broken by the long journey. Under the guidance of these Russian doctors, Qing Ying gradually overcame the nightmare of the past four months. Looking at the large map of Russia on the wall and reflecting on the 13,000 kilometers of arduous travel, Qing Ying suddenly felt a surge of passion and realized: in this world, there are only people who stop walking, not roads that cannot be walked! When a person keeps moving forward, at some point, they will find that they have accomplished something they never dared to dream of!

Initially, Qing Ying proposed this global journey to Wilhelm II not to hone himself but to visit the ancient Eastern country, breathe its air, and dispel the clouds that loomed over it. Later, he met Snowy, adding a touch of beauty to his sacred mission. Qing Ying originally thought that these were all the gains of his journey. But today, he realized that persistence and hard work were the most valuable treasures he had gained from this global journey!

According to the traditional etiquette of European royalty, Qing Ying would pay a visit to the Winter Palace after resting.

PS: The author's belief is like the last paragraph. Despite the recent lack of attention, I will continue to write and complete this debut work.