"Think about it, guys. Germany was weakened by defeat, Austria-Hungary was torn apart, and Russia was occupied by the Red Devil. France will find itself at the end of the war in the best times since Napoleon. ”

Listening to Churchill's generous statement, the ministers were not surprised as to why Italy had not been mentioned. It is simply a shame that Italy, as a great power, can lose even a small African country, and I thought that it would be ashamed and brave, but it can be seen from its performance in this war. In the face of a small number of local troops in Austria-Hungary, Italy could still be defeated, and there was no one in this war.

"But why do we have to choose Romania?"

Seeing a cabinet member ask about himself, Churchill said naturally. "This is what I consider from a combination of location, economics and politics."

Churchill's words made everyone look at him. Seeing that the cabinet members were interested, he decided to explain.

"I believe everyone knows the geographical location, so I won't talk about it much, and the political and military documents I gave you have enough explanations. Now I'm going to talk about what I value the most. ”

Churchill said what he valued most. "That is the king of Romania, Eder I. Here I need to say that the young king had a very high prestige and power in Romania. ”

"How tall can it be?"

A cabinet minister who did not know much about Romania asked him that Queen Victoria's power and prestige were already very high. For the British Empire, the Victorian period was the most nostalgic era. During this period, the British Empire pressed the various powers into submission.

As the British economist Jevons described in 1865: "The plains of North America and Russia are our cornfields; Canada and the Baltic Sea are our forest areas; Australia has our sheep farms; Peru sent silver, and gold from South Africa and Australia went to London; Indians and Chinese grow tea for us, and our coffee, sugar cane and spice plantations are located throughout the East Indies. Our cotton has long been cultivated in the southern United States and has now expanded to every warm region of the planet. ”

It is spectacular to imagine that the whole world is at the service of the UK. However, it is a pity that at the time of the second industrial revolution, the British Empire allowed the two late-developing countries to seize the opportunity, and the United States and Germany had surpassed the empire economically. The economic base was reflected in the military, with the peep of the sea power of the two countries, which was vital to the British Empire, the Kaiser's high seas fleet, and the United States also quietly built the Great White Fleet.

In the face of the actions of the two rising stars, the British Empire quietly adopted superb political skills, suppressing one and co-opting the other. For the United States, across the Atlantic, the empire pulled the greedy Wall Street capitalists on board by ceding a small part of its interests, and they tried to encourage the United States to join the Entente for their own interests.

And for Germany, which is close to itself and located in Central Europe, of course, it can only suppress. The Reich co-opted two land powers, leaving Germany with only a part of its efforts at sea. The British Empire was able to devote much of its energies to the navy in order to guarantee absolute overwhelming power against Germany at sea in order to protect its colonies all over the world. Now it seems that the process is a bit tortuous, but everything is moving according to the established development track.

"According to my investigation and the report of the ambassador to Romania, the Romanian monarch Eder I is a bit like the monarch of the East."

After Churchill finished speaking, he unconsciously added. "It's kind of like the power of a monarch in the Far East."

In the face of Churchill's additional words, the cabinet ministers present all smiled, it was rare to see Churchill have such a look, but they all knew the reason.

Churchill was madly obsessed with *** religion and oriental culture in his youth, and his family had to write to dissuade him from becoming ***. For example, in 1907, Gwendline Bertie, who was about to become Churchill's brother-in-law, pleaded in a letter. "Please don't convert to ****** religion. I've noticed your Oriental, Pasha-like tendencies. "If Churchill had been a ****** religion at that time, he would not have been able to hold a high position in politics.

"In Europe, can there still be a backward power structure like the Far East?"

A cabinet minister who was obviously unconvinced asked Churchill about what he saw as the monarchical power structure of the Far East, which was backward and unenterprising. It is inconceivable that such a power structure could exist on a civilized European continent, but fortunately he does not have the spirit of the universalism of the United States in later generations.

Churchill spoke calmly when asked. "Yes, I didn't think there would be such a political structure in Europe before. The Romanian monarch has more power than Germany and Russia, but this is not a bad thing for us. ”

Churchill's words made Prime Minister David George speak. "That's true."

Excessive concentration of power has various drawbacks, such as reducing the government's ability to adapt, not motivating the subordinates, and officials pandering to the superiors for their own future. However, there are also good aspects, such as ensuring the uniformity of the overall policy, which can ensure the speed of decision-making. Now there is enough merit for Britain to persuade a few people, including the Romanian monarch, to pull them into the camp.

"In order for the war to end as soon as possible, and for the post-war layout, I think that it is of sufficient interest for us to agree to Romanian conditions now."

In the face of Churchill's words, there are still voices of disapproval, and Foreign Secretary Balfour has a different opinion. "Mr. Churchill, I think there are still many details of your proposal that need to be discussed. For example, Romania's post-war division of power and obligations in the Balkans, its attitude towards the Russian Red regime, and its willingness to form an intervention army. This is something that cannot be taken lightly. ”

Balfour's words made Churchill curse, and the foreign secretary was old and confused. He was a notoriously hardliner in British politics when it came to the Russian Red regime. However, he can still distinguish the priorities of the matter, and discussing these matters with Romania now will only increase the difficulty and detriment the progress of the negotiations, is this still the Victorian era for this foreign secretary?

Churchill thought of this, sorted out the language, and said a little angrily. "Gentlemen, what we need to see now is the benefits of Romania's accession. I don't think the disadvantages should need to be discussed now. You know, we've spent too much manpower and money on this war, and if it drags on, it will give us more challengers around the world. And the purpose of our war is not to find ourselves a few more competitive opponents. ”

Churchill's remarks made Prime Minister David George feel that they could no longer be allowed to discuss it like this, so he closed the subject. "Gentlemen, I don't think it's our country's business for Romania's accession conditions, I believe Paris must be more anxious than us, I think we can wait for news from France."

Prime Minister George's words made Churchill even more anxious, and he spoke to him in an eager tone. "But Mr. Prime Minister, if we wait for news from France, then we can't get a head start. You know, the Serbs are now strongly supported by France. After the war, it is expected that Serbia will pay more attention to the voice of France. ”

"But you must also note that the losses of France in the war, my Quartermaster, you are too anxious."

In the end, it was Prime Minister George who put an end to the discussions in this government, and everything was mainly waiting for news from France.

The result did not make them wait any longer, and France sent it the next day on its decision. This made Churchill indignant and felt that his proposal was completely unheeded. (https:)

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