During this era, the relationship between the Nationalist government and Germany was actually quite good. Since the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was only permitted to maintain an army of 100,000. The large number of military personnel involved caused significant problems with security and politics. This is also the root cause of the later presence of many German advisors within the Nationalist army.
Moreover, during the late Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang purchased German military equipment on multiple occasions, including many cannons that were still in service during the Republic of China era.
After World War I, Germany's defeat and subsequent international standing plummeted. For various reasons, they abolished many unequal agreements with China and instead signed equal treaties. This greatly improved the Nationalist government's perception of Germany. Although Germany's true intention was to find an ally in the Far East, this move undoubtedly brought tangible benefits to China.
Later, Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government formally invited various German advisors in the name of the nation. This was largely due to this premise. Even after Chiang Kai-shek came to power, China still obtained a considerable amount of weaponry from Germany. This demonstrates that Germany's attitude towards China at that time was unique among the great powers.
However, at this stage, the leader has not yet risen to power, and Lu Xuan's primary target is not him. Rather, it is another historically unknown figure, Arthur Eichengrlin.
This person was Jewish and the inventor of aspirin. However, this is actually a controversial matter.
Historically, the first person to publicly admit to inventing aspirin was Felix Hoffmann, a German. However, after Germany's defeat in the war, Arthur survived a concentration camp and issued a statement declaring himself the true inventor of aspirin.
This sparked controversy. Later, an Englishman reportedly found evidence in some Bayer company archives proving that Arthur was the true inventor. Therefore, Lu Xuan tentatively concluded that Arthur was the inventor and went to him first.
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Chapter 203 I'm an Angry Young Man (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
First, I want to state that the title of this chapter clearly indicates its content orientation. Therefore, aside from typos, I will not accept any dissenting opinions.
If you are a great cosmopolitan, please skip this chapter.
Because I'm not the author. I'm just a keyboard warrior, there's not much I can do. I can only vent in my own book. If this makes anyone uncomfortable, I'm sorry, I did it on purpose.
Arthur Eichengrlind was completely bewildered. He had returned home that day to find five Asian visitors. He swore he had never met any Asians before.
“Mr. Arthur, there’s something I want to ask you.”
Lu Xuan spoke in broken German. To Arthur, the voice was somewhat muffled, and even his own consciousness momentarily blurred. When he regained his senses, he found himself sitting at the table, his wife preparing dinner.
"Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner. I learned some Far Eastern cuisine today, see if you like it?" This was the only Asian element that appeared before Arthur's eyes. Without any Asian visitors, what had just happened felt like a dream.
Meanwhile, Lu Xuan and his group of five had arrived at Bayer Pharma. This German pharmaceutical company had become famous because of aspirin, becoming one of the top pharmaceutical companies in Europe. Unfortunately, after World War II, the aspirin formula was forced to be made public, and the profits were dispersed.
But World War II had not yet broken out. The aspirin formula remained one of the most valuable trade secrets in the world. Lu Xuan, having come to Germany, naturally wouldn't let go of this extremely valuable formula.
He didn't know Arthur or Hoffmann, nor what kind of people they were. He also didn't want to get involved in the upcoming conflict between the Germans and Jews. He was simply thinking of using the remaining time to help his country acquire as much valuable information as possible. If possible, he wouldn't mind killing a few people along the way. Unfortunately, his current abilities prevented him from escalating the situation too much. Otherwise, he would have stormed the Japanese Diet and massacred the cabinet.
Having obtained aspirin, Lu Xuan also looted a large amount of Bayer's research materials. He then set his sights on various military technologies.
In reality, many technologies are not very useful for China at present. This is because both cutting-edge Western medicine and military technology require sufficient basic industrial support. Simply put, even if you have the blueprints, you can't build many things. Take the currently hot topic of chip technology, for example. Lithography machines capable of operating at less than ten nanometers are truly impossible to manufacture even with blueprints; some precision machining techniques simply don't meet the requirements.
However, regardless of the circumstances, this research data can point China to the right path for the future. Lu Xuan has never doubted that this ancient country will eventually rise. If, in that time, this country can avoid some detours, it will fulfill one of Lu Xuan's wishes.
In this era, the United States had risen to prominence. However, Europe still possessed many valuable resources. They plundered a vast amount of technical data; five people simply couldn't carry it all.
Lu Xuan acquired a camera and photographed all the documents, storing them on film. He then carefully preserved them. Later, he planned to find an opportunity to send these materials back to China little by little through secure channels, entrusting the Chen family with their safekeeping.
These things are not yet ready to be exposed. Suddenly handing over top-secret European research materials to the Nationalist government was not a wise choice. You must understand, at this time, the Republic of China government…
They spent a full year traveling throughout Europe collecting various technical materials. During that year, the five of them did more than just act as spies. They also acquired a legitimate identity. Lu Xuan became a medical master from the Far East, traveling around Europe with his wife and disciples for academic exchanges.
He used his spiritual energy to cheat, easily curing the hidden ailments of several European nobles. Meanwhile, Partridge Whistle and others also used traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and other authentic Chinese medical methods to cure many prominent figures.
Facts speak louder than words. Although many Europeans still viewed the Far East as a land of barbarians with queues, ignorant and only skilled in swords and spears, they also acknowledged that the Far Easterners before them were truly civilized people.
They didn't wear queues, and although they wore traditional Far Eastern clothing, they looked more capable and proper. Their behavior was completely devoid of any barbaric mannerisms.
Each of them spoke at least two languages. The medical master, in particular, possessed an elegance and nobility that even European aristocrats lacked. It was said that this master had royal blood from an ancient Eastern country, but had concealed his identity to escape war.
You know what, Europeans are really into this kind of bloodline theory. Whether it's true or not, Lu Xuan's medical skills are genuine. Through his actions, Lu Xuan quickly became a well-known figure in European high society. Countless people wanted to meet this amazing Far Eastern wizard. He received dozens of invitations to banquets every day.
However, Lu Xuan didn't have time to throw balls with those idle European nobles. His purpose in being so high-profile was to have a fully equipped medical laboratory in Europe.
As mentioned before, his understanding of the curse within Partridge Whistle and the other two was based on the principles of traditional Chinese medicine. However, domestic resources are insufficient, and many equipment options are inadequate. Lu Xuan needs the most advanced equipment to conduct a comprehensive examination of them using Western medical methods.
"How was it, Master?"
“…” Lu Xuan shook his head gently.
"There's been no substantial progress. The existing equipment still can't detect the root of the curse. But there's some good news. The color of your blood has hardly changed. This means that the Ape Strike Technique is still effective. At least it has temporarily halted the deterioration of your bodies."
"We've also felt it; our bodies have become increasingly lighter over the past few years. There's no sign that the curse has worsened."
"That's good. At least our efforts weren't in vain."
At this moment, the old foreigner and Hua Ling ran in.
"Master, we are all ready."
"Alright, let's go then." Lu Xuan clapped his hands and a large cat jumped out from the corner. It was none other than the long-absent raccoon spirit, Xiao Hua.
"Look how fat you've become. You'd better get some exercise today." Little Flower quickly rubbed against Lu Xuan's hand a few times, indicating that it would obey. Having been used to a good life by Lu Xuan and Hong Gu, it wouldn't leave even if you tried to get rid of it. Moreover, as a spirit with intelligence, it could also get bored, and upon hearing that there was something going on tonight, it immediately became excited.
When visiting France, a trip to the Louvre is a must. The Louvre is considered a treasure of human civilization, referring not only to the building itself but, more importantly, to the treasures it houses.
Unfortunately, the more dazzling the Louvre's aura, the more ironic it becomes for Lu Xuan. It's even an irony for the whole of China.
The Louvre doesn't actually display as many Oriental artifacts as one might imagine. The arrogant French have always been very confident in this regard. But in the storerooms, countless artifacts looted from Beijing are piled up. The exact number is probably unknown even to them.
When Notre Dame Cathedral burned down in later years, Lu Xuan could only lament that he hadn't been the one to do it. Seeing countless idiots clamoring for donations, he wished he could just hack them to pieces through the internet. However, keyboard warriors were creatures far more powerful than the protagonists of online novels; he was powerless. He could only watch with amusement as the Paris government used the donations to improve public infrastructure… Unfortunately, he couldn't see the faces of those idiots at the time.
In reality, burning Notre Dame was nothing special. Lu Xuan wasn't particularly interested in that place. What he really wanted to burn was the Louvre.
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