Bismarck couldn't use chopsticks, so Li Xiao thoughtfully prepared... tweezers for the old guy.

He took a piece of mutton with tweezers and put it into the hot hot pot to rinse it for a few times. After the meat changed color, he dipped it in sesame sauce and chive flower sauce and put it in his mouth.

Old Bismarck chewed with his eyes closed, which was different from any food he had eaten in the West.

The spicy feeling exploded in his mouth like a grenade, but soon the feeling turned into numbness. At one point, Bismarck even felt that he was poisoned.

"This is a Ming Dynasty delicacy, called spicy hot pot. Eating it in winter is the best way to ward off the cold!" Li Xiao explained with a smile when he saw Bismarck's appearance.

He was very curious about the old man. What made him remember the name Bismarck was the famous battleship. Regardless of justice or evil, the legendary nature of that battleship was enough to attract people.

In particular, the German navy's spirit of disregarding death and the loyalty of the Prussian soldiers still infect Li Xiao to this day.

"There is no such delicacy in the West, and there is no such tableware." Bismarck glanced at the tweezers in his hand curiously.

Li Xiao was speechless. It seems that there is no habit of using tweezers to eat in the East and the West.

"Hahaha! We all use these things called chopsticks. It's a pity that you need to learn how to use them." Li Xiao picked up the chopsticks in his hand, skillfully picked up a piece of black fish fillet, and rinsed it in the soup pot.

Take out of the pot.

"Oh, it's amazing!" Bismarck nodded. He also felt that he couldn't do it with two small bamboo sticks.

"I heard that in the last war, your army suffered 60,000 casualties in one day?" Master Ao still doubted Li Xiao's words. There were 60,000 casualties in one day. Almost half of the first division was filled in. He should pay for such casualties.

Damn, keep beating? There’s a club in your head...!

"Yes! However, there were 80,000 casualties on the second day. It was much better on the third day, and we only lost 50,000 people." Bismarck followed Li Xiao's example and picked up a piece of black fish meat with long-legged tweezers and boiled it.

After that put it into a bowl.

It can be seen that the old guy likes this kind of fresh and tender fish.

"Eighty thousand...fifty thousand...sixty thousand...!" Ao Canghai calculated and looked at Bismarck in surprise: "You mean...that your army has lost nearly 200,000 people in three days?"

"Yes! At that time, both sides invested millions of troops in the battle. After the war, the total casualties on both sides were 1.1 million." Bismarck nodded.

"One million and one hundred thousand people?" Mr. Ao, who was used to fighting in wars, was also frightened by this casualty figure.

There were 1.1 million casualties alone. How many people participated in the war on both sides?

"What's the population of your country?" Mr. Ao was curious, how many people in this country could be so excited.

"The whole of Prussia has about 45 million people." Bismarck looked at the stout general in front of him curiously. Such continuous questioning in Prussia was a very impolite behavior.

"Forty-five million people, you are going to send one or two million people to fight?" Ao Canghai's eyes were as big as eggs.

You know, the total population of the Ming Dynasty has exceeded 300 million people. But the total number of soldiers in the Ming Dynasty is only 1.1 million, including more than 500,000 Marines stationed overseas.

.

Even the military in the country are mostly security forces responsible for maintaining local security. Ao Ye even thinks that they cannot be considered an army because most of their weapons are revolvers.

A division only has 300 rifles. Does it deserve to be called an army?

Ao Ye was experienced in hundreds of battles, but the battles he fought were really not large-scale battles involving millions of troops. Ao Ye was very envious of Bismarck's ability to lead a battle of this scale.

"In the battle of life and death, we have to devote all our strength." Bismarck nodded, looking a little bleak.

"Here's a toast to you!" Mr. Ao picked up the wine glass and walked over to clink it with Bismarck.

He also wanted to lead a million-strong army, but unfortunately he didn't have the chance. The First Division was already the largest division in the Ming Dynasty, and after a round of compression, it became 80,000 men.

"Mobilizing millions of people to participate in wars is the greatest harm to national strength. Don't even think about it in your life." Of course Li Xiao knew what Master Ao was envious of.

The Ming Dynasty will never use troops beyond its national strength. This is the experience that Li Xiao has accumulated over the years.

For so many years, Ming Dynasty has actually been following the route of elite soldiers.

Even though the actual field army of the Ming Dynasty currently has less than 300,000 people, its combat capabilities are indeed at the top level in the world. Even a country like Prussia with millions of armors would not dare to go to war with the Ming Dynasty.

However, on the basis of the regular army, Ming Dynasty also had a huge militia system. Every year, the militiamen would conduct training for half a month.

This was used to ensure that once the war was attrition, the Ming Dynasty could mobilize reserve troops at any time to continue the war, so as not to lose all the elite in the war of attrition and become unavailable.

"War is even a vicious thing. It distorts human nature, destroys faith, tears apart families, and destroys countries. Any disaster pales in comparison to it.

We don’t want it either!

We also don’t want to mobilize so many people to join the war. All the young and middle-aged men have gone to fight, the farmlands are all farmed by women, and the children are working in the factories.

But what can we do? If we are defeated by France, we will lose our country and our children will only speak French from now on. The French will kill our men and possess our women.

The winner will have everything, the loser will lose everything. This is war!

The German nation has relied on endless wars to get to this day. When the Romans bullied us, we fought, and when the Tatars bullied us, we fought the same.

Our ancestors, with their lives and blood, preserved our right to speak German and the land on which we live.

Perhaps one day, we Germans will no longer live on this land. However, the land cannot be lost in our hands.

We must be worthy of our fathers, our grandfathers, and our ancestors. The heroic spirits in the Martyrs' Shrine are watching us, and we have to take up arms and fight.

For victory, for Germany, for Prussia!"

His excited heart, trembling hands, blood-red eyes, and impassioned words all proved that this old bastard was drunk.

"We are also fighting bloody battles with the Jurchen Tatars, the Mongols, and the Russians for these reasons. We are also fighting to protect the land of our ancestors and the right of our children and grandchildren to speak Chinese.

For our Chinese nation!

For victory, for China, and for the ancestors!" Master Ao was obviously moved by Bismarck's words.

He picked up the wine bottle on the table and blew on one bottle in one breath.

He let out a long wine burp, fell back and spit out vomit like a whale.

Old Bismarck actually took up the bottle and started blowing on it.

With Wuliangye at 52 degrees, the old guy looked more than fifty rather than sixty. Li Xiao was very worried that the old guy would drink it to death.

Just about to reach out and stop him!

"Cough cough cough...!" A heartbreaking coughing sound came over.

Fortunately, the old guy's skills were far less advanced than Ao Ye's, so he had to give up this heroic move after a few sips.

The three great men of men have drank together, carried guns together, and done all sorts of things together...!

After attending this banquet, Mr. Ao and Bismarck became friends. He took the old guy around all day long, and even gave Bismarck a tour of the capital!

Large airship equipment factories, train and locomotive factories, weaving factories, steel mills...! Wherever Bismarck wanted to go, not only the Zheng family gave the green light. Even Ao Ye also gave the green light. He even invited Bismarck to visit him.

The first division military camp.

Moreover, we watched a military performance specially organized by Mr. Ao for Bismarck.

Li Xiao was very worried. In this way, spies would no longer have to steal and could just send an envoy to the Ming Dynasty. If Bismarck came today, it is very likely that Napoleon would come tomorrow.

Fortunately, King Arthur Alexander's group of people had been dead for a long time, otherwise they might have formed a group to come and drink at his place.

Li Xiao gave strict orders to the Zheng family and Master Ao, not allowing them to take Bismarck to Jinzhou.

Most of the important industrial cities in the Ming Dynasty are in Liaodong. The important scientific research bases are Jinzhou and Changxing Island!

As long as Bismarck didn't go to Liaodong, no matter how long he wandered around the capital, he would still be looking at the stars. Li Xiao didn't believe that the old guy could really tinker with generating electricity after visiting a power plant.

For half a month, Bismarck was shocked almost every day.

Obviously when he got up in the morning, he was mentally prepared to accept any kind of shock. But when he got there, Bismarck's eyes straightened.

Inside the factory building, which is more than thirty meters high, there is a large row of steel frames. Workers are installing pieces of skin on the steel frames.

The manufacturing of airships is relatively simple. There are countless small airbags wrapped in a large airbag. It is like there are countless honeycombs in a huge beehive.

In order to reduce weight, apart from the frame components, steel will never be used for the remaining components where aluminum can be used. Especially the pods, which are almost all made of aluminum.

Except for the huge glass window in the front cab, the rest of the cabin is filled with round portholes.

Circular turrets surround both sides, and the dual 25-inch rapid-fire cannons can spray deadly steel to destroy any enemy who dares to resist.

There is also a huge space inside the pod, which can store a large amount of ammunition and bombs.

Of course, this is an airship for combat use. The cargo airships now produced in airship factories are not so complicated. They are just a huge hanging basket. Everything that can be simplified is simplified, just to transport a lot of goods.

"Haha! Although the Ming Dynasty is building railways every year, there are still no trains in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. There is no way to do it. The sky is never sunny and the land is not three feet flat. It is too difficult to build railways.

.

And Jiangnan!

The Yangtze River is still a natural chasm. The Jinling Yangtze River Bridge, which we have been building for several years, is still not completed. It is really difficult to build a bridge over a natural chasm.

Fortunately, our airships and cargo airships actually carry a lot of cargo.

Where the railway cannot be repaired, we use airships. This thing can land safely without a large landing site. After loading and unloading cargo, it can continue to fly to the next destination.

Now that anti-aircraft artillery is so powerful, we no longer use airships for military purposes." Mr. Ao proudly introduced the airships.

"Hey...! In the last war, we suffered a big loss from airships. Later, all the airship tasks were handed over to the British. The British gained a lot of benefits!" Bismarck looked at the huge airship production line, almost envious.

To go crazy.

Only those who have experienced the outpouring of firepower from an airship can understand the pain of being beaten without being able to fight back. During the last war, Prussia played such a role.
To be continued...