Beiyang Dream

Chapter 51 I can represent the Beiyang government to sell the Dutch port of Pontianak to Germany!

April 8, 1890, Sunday, 8:00 a.m.

The corridor outside Lieutenant Colonel Helmut von Moltke's office at the Prussian War Academy.

Chang Desheng straightened the collar of his dark blue cadet uniform, swung his thick, heavy braid over his shoulder, stared at the heavy oak door in front of him, took a deep breath, raised his hand, and knocked three times, neither too hard nor too soft.

"Please come in."

Chang Desheng pushed open the door and went in.

The office was small, with two rows of bookshelves against the wall crammed with gilded German military books, and a huge map of Europe hanging on the wall, covered with arrows drawn in red and blue pencils. Young Moltke sat behind the large oak desk, dressed in a crisp Prussian army lieutenant colonel's uniform.

"Zhenbang, sit down."

As he spoke, Little Moltke casually picked up a brass bell from the corner of the desk and gently shook it.

Ring ring.

Footsteps immediately came from outside the door, and a soldier pushed the door open and peeked out.

"Coffee," said Moltke, "two cups, no sugar."

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel."

The door closed again.

Chang Desheng thought to himself, "Whoa!"

The compensation has improved.

Before, when I came to the office, I always had to stand to answer questions. Now I have a seat and even coffee... It feels a bit like I'm acting as an agent of imperialism.

But he didn't show any smugness on his face. Instead, he gave a proper military salute and sat down obediently in the hard, high-backed chair opposite the desk.

Moltke was clearly pleased with his behavior, and with a smile, he picked up a bound document from the table and pushed it towards him.

"Take a look at the final evaluation of the wargaming simulation."

Chang Desheng accepted it with both hands.

The document had a kraft paper cover, the kind used by the War Academy, with the Prussian eagle emblem printed at the top. He opened it, and the first page was the grades:

Chang Desheng (Qing Dynasty), Campaign Organization and Staff Work: Excellent.

Below is a handwritten comment by Moltke the Younger, written in German cursive script, spanning more than half a page. Chang Desheng quickly skimmed it; the core message was three points:

First, he and the three Turkish trainees were praised extensively, with the "Incheon Landing - Rapid Attack on Seoul - Seizure of the North Korean Royal Family" plan demonstrating "excellent grasp of the element of surprise and operational organization."

Secondly, of course, the shortcomings were pointed out. The plan was "too risky," failing to deploy blocking forces at key passes between Seoul and Pyongyang; the "window of opportunity" for the Incheon landing was too long, giving the Qing army time to react.

Third, and most importantly: "If we can send several hundred plainclothes Japanese soldiers to infiltrate Seoul in advance and join forces with the Japanese legation guards, creating chaos and controlling key points within the city while the main force lands, the probability of success will be greatly increased."

As Chang Desheng looked at these lines of text, his brows slowly furrowed into a knot.

I've already copied the Japanese raid on Seoul and the kidnapping of King Yi from the history book... Tojo will definitely report this to their home country, and they certainly won't use the same recruitment methods again; they'll definitely improve them.

And the way to improve it is probably the same as "Teacher Xiao Mao's" approach!

That was close! Luckily, "Teacher Xiao Mao" wrote it down in the war game assessment... I need to remember it so I can come up with a strategy later.

At that moment, the office door opened.

The orderly came in carrying a brass tray with two cups of black coffee, steaming hot. He put down the cups, turned and left, the door closing softly behind him.

Chang Desheng put down the evaluation documents, picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and then looked at Xiao Maoqi with a smile.

Wait for the other party to make an offer.

"Zhenbang," Mao Qi didn't stand on ceremony with Chang Desheng and went straight to the point, "His Majesty the Emperor is very interested in the situation in the Far East..."

Chang Desheng thought to himself: Here it comes.

"His Majesty believes," Moltke the Younger continued, "that the German Empire needs a reliable foothold in the East—an ice-free port where the Empire's fleet can be anchored."

He looked at Chang Desheng.

"As the most powerful political and military group in the Qing Dynasty, would the Beiyang Army be willing to... help the Empire acquire such a port?"

He paused, then added:

"As a testament to friendship."

The room was quiet for a few seconds.

Chang Desheng was already cursing in his heart.

He hasn't even seen any investment, and he's already asking me for benefits?

No, they're not looking for me, they're looking for the Beiyang government, for Li Hongzhang!

This confirms that I am Li Hongzhang's representative. Although I am only a fifth-rank committee member now, in the eyes of these Germans, I, Chang Desheng, am the "manager" of the Beiyang government in Berlin.

Well, might as well take advantage of this opportunity.

He quickly sifted through the map in his mind.

Eastern...ice-free port...

Jiaozhou Bay? No way! I'm just a lowly committee member, selling Qingdao? Would I risk my life?

The ports of North Korea... Once I and Yuan Shikai team up as "King-level" officials in North Korea, perhaps we can decide to sell them.

Now......

Wait, I've got it!

A pair of dimples suddenly flashed into Chang Desheng's mind.

Luo Jingrou.

The Luo family is in Borneo... Lanfang Kingdom...

Pontianak!

Chang Desheng's eyes lit up.

Where is Pontianak Port? Southeast Asia, you know, Southeast Asia is in the East! That place is hot all year round, like a sauna, so it must be an ice-free port, perfectly meeting the requirements of an "ice-free port in the East"!

Most importantly, although the Lanfang Republic collapsed a few years ago, the Chinese community there still exists! The Chinese population accounts for one-third of the local population, and they make up the vast majority of the economy. Many of them still want to restore the nation!

A "three-way deception case" instantly formed in his mind:

They told Zhang Zhensheng and Luo Jingrou: "This time, the Beiyang government will not take your money for nothing. We have contacted the German magnates and will help you 'restore your ancestral property' and take over Pontianak!"

He told Li Hongzhang: "The Germans have their eyes on Pontianak and insist that I act as their 'middleman.' To ensure the Empress Dowager's birthday warships are delivered on time and to prevent the Summer Palace project from being abandoned, I have no choice but to 'reluctantly' act as their go-between. Anyway, if things go well, the Dutch will lose a port, the Germans will gain a base, the Luo family will reclaim their ancestral property, our Beiyang Fleet will gain another 8200-ton ironclad warship, and you, Li Hongzhang, will reap a huge sum of money! Everyone's happy!"

Most importantly... if the sky falls, there's that tall Wilhelm II to hold it up! The Netherlands and Germany are friendly neighbors, and they won't fall out with Wilhelm II over a mere port.

So this deal... is a sure thing!

Chang Desheng was overjoyed inside, but he had to keep a straight face. He put down his coffee cup, sat up straight, looked at Xiao Maoqi, and nodded.

"OK."

He only said one word.

Little Moltke was clearly taken aback for a moment.

He probably didn't expect Chang Desheng to agree so readily...

"You're right," Chang Desheng said with a smile, "an ice-free port in the East... right now there's one ready-made. Our Beiyang government has been working on it for a long time, and we're just one step away from it."

Little Moltke leaned forward: "Where? Is it in Shandong?"

Chang Desheng shook his head: "No."

"That is..."

"Borneo," Chang Desheng said.

Little Moltke was taken aback: "Which province is Borneo in?"

Chang Desheng said, "You Europeans call that place Kalimantan Island."

"Chang," Moltke's voice deepened, "you don't mean Lanfang, do you?"

Chang Desheng smiled: "Teacher, you know Lanfang too?"

"Of course I know," Moltke said, his face grim. "A self-governing regime established by Chinese was destroyed by the Dutch a few years ago. You Beiyang... want to support Lanfang's restoration?"

He shook his head and said, "That won't do. The German Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands are friendly neighbors, and we cannot support a separatist movement against the Netherlands."

"You misunderstand," Chang Desheng waved his hands repeatedly. "There will be no restoration of Lanfang, nor will it affect the diplomatic relations between Germany and the Netherlands. On the contrary, if this matter is handled well, it can even strengthen the friendship between Germany and the Netherlands."

Moltke raised his eyebrows.

"How so?"

Chang Desheng leaned forward and lowered his voice:

"Teacher, the Dutch have been fighting in Aceh for almost twenty years, and they've emptied the national treasury. They simply can't manage remote colonies like Borneo, otherwise Lanfang wouldn't have been able to establish itself for over a hundred years."

"At present, Pontianak is nominally under Dutch rule, but in reality, it is governed by a native sultan who acts as his proxy. That sultan levies exorbitant taxes, causing widespread resentment and anger among the local Chinese community, who have long wanted to rebel."

"If we... I mean, if the Beiyang government secretly supported the local Chinese armed forces to overthrow that Sultan, and then..." He paused, observing Moltke's expression, "and then the Chinese community elected a 'self-governing committee' to restore order, protect trade, and continue paying taxes to Batavia as usual..."

Moltke squinted.

"Will the Dutch agree?"

“They had no choice,” Chang Desheng said. “It would take a month to send troops from Batavia to Pontianak. By the time they arrived, Pontianak would have been completely transformed. Then they would have to choose between a devastating, costly war to quell the rebellion, or accepting the fait accompli and continuing to collect taxes… Which do you think the Batavian bureaucrats would choose?”

Moltke remained silent for a moment.

"What role did the Empire play in this?"

"It's very simple," Chang Desheng held up two fingers, "It only requires two things."

"First, the Beiyang Army will purchase a batch of... well, a rather large-scale arms shipment through Schneider Electric. This shipment needs to be cleared through customs and transported to Southeast Asia. The procedures may not be entirely compliant, and we need the Imperial Customs to... be lenient with us."

Moltke nodded but didn't speak; he was waiting for the second point.

"Secondly," Chang Desheng continued, "after the 'armed conflict between Chinese and indigenous Sultan' breaks out in Pontianak, a German warship is needed to sail into Pontianak port under the pretext of 'protecting overseas Chinese.' A small squad of marines should also be sent ashore to protect the German trading post and its citizens."

He paused, then added the most crucial sentence:

"Of course, if the situation requires, this small team can also assist in maintaining order 'at the request of the Pontianak Chinese Self-Government Committee' until the Dutch authorities send new administrative officials."

The room fell silent again.

Xiao Maoqi and his apprentice Chang Desheng were both making plans in their hearts.

Moltke's calculation was this: use a batch of "non-compliant" arms smuggled out of the country (since they were already sold to the Qing Dynasty, the money was already made), plus a few days' voyage for a warship, to exchange for a ticket to a strategic foothold in Southeast Asia. Moreover, the risks were controllable; even if the British intervened in the end (which was unlikely), Germany could use the pretext of "protecting its citizens" to withdraw at any time.

Chang Desheng's plan was this: he had the arms, the powerful imperialist backer (Killer Wilhelm II!), and the prestige of the Beiyang Army. All that was left was to persuade the Zhang and Luo families to provide money and manpower to instigate a "local-Hakka conflict" in Pontianak. If successful, the Luo family would reclaim their ancestral property, the Beiyang Army would gain prestige, Germany would acquire the port, and Chang Desheng would gain connections and Luo Jingrou! If he lost… that was impossible!

The two thought for a full three minutes.

Then, Xiao Maoqi slowly spoke:

"This matter... requires a more formal, informal discussion."

"Understood," Chang Desheng replied immediately. "I can arrange an informal meeting between you and Guo Shigui, the counselor of our Beiyang Embassy in Germany, and Mr. Zhang Zhensheng, the representative from Lanfang."

Moltke nodded: "I hope the location will be inside the Qing Dynasty's legation in Berlin!"

"No problem!" Chang Desheng agreed readily. He had no choice but to agree. If Li Hongzhang was behind this, it would be a piece of cake for the two sides to meet at the embassy.

"Time?" Moltke asked.

"The sooner the better," Chang Desheng said. "Mr. Zhang is in Berlin these days. As for Counselor Guo... I'll talk to him tonight."

"good!"

Little Moltke stood up.

Chang Desheng immediately stood up and saluted.

"Zhenbang," Xiao Maoqi walked up to him, patted him on the shoulder, "you have more courage than I imagined...

Chang Desheng smiled and said, "Teacher, there's an old Chinese saying: 'Fortune favors the bold.'"

"Very good," Moltke nodded. "Keep this spirit. The Empire needs... friends with spirit."

He walked back to his desk, took out a notepad from the drawer, quickly wrote a few words with a pen, and handed it to Chang Desheng.

"This is my personal contact information. Feel free to contact me anytime if there are any updates."

Chang Desheng took it with both hands, glanced at it, and saw it was an address and phone number in Berlin.

At that time, telephones were just beginning to become common, but both Moltke's family and the Qing Dynasty legation had telephones installed.

"clear."

He put away the note, saluted again, and turned to leave the office.

Nanyang, Pontianak, Lanfang.

I've made my move on this game.

......

On the same day, in the morning, at the Japanese Embassy in Berlin.

A Japanese-style room with tatami mats, a low table, and two cups of tea that had gone cold.

Fukushima Yasumasa sat cross-legged, his back ramrod straight. Opposite him, Tojo Hideaki knelt, his head bowed, as if he were apologizing.

"You mean," Fukushima Yasumasa spoke, each word heavy with conviction, "that Chang Desheng, in this war game simulation, devised a plan to invade Korea with 'undeclared war, a surprise attack on Seoul, and control of the King'?"