It was easy to come to the United States once, Ruprecht naturally wanted to take a good stroll, taking the train from the west coast of the United States to the east coast, what he saw and heard along the way made Ruprecht feel the richness and potential power of the United States, with such a good material foundation, it is really intolerable that the United States does not rise. And when Ruprecht came to Newport News, in a conference room at the famous Newport News shipyard, Ruprecht met two very famous people in later generations, one named Theodore. Roosevelt, an American commander of the Spanish-American War, can be said to be. And the other person is the famous Mahan.

"It's time to get down to business!" When these two people appeared in front of Ruprecht, Ruprecht was also a little nervous, not only because these two people were historical celebrities, but more importantly, the United States behind Roosevelt, and the attitude of the United States! Ruprecht even knows what the Americans are arranged, the relations between Germany and the United States are definitely not good, and what do the Americans want to do after the latest round of strong performances? Is it to ease the relationship, or is it a soft threat? Or is it just bottoming out?

"What do you think about the future situation in the Far East? After the Qing-Japanese War, there will inevitably be a change in the Far East, the dying empire will fail, and a new power will rise in the East. And it seems that most of the countries of Europe are not friendly to this country. Roosevelt said tentatively.

"Yes, the country is hated, his ambitions are too big, and he is greedy and domineering." Ruprecht naturally knew which country Roosevelt was talking about, and said it mercilessly.

"And how does it compare to Russia? Russia expanded step by step from Muscovy to the current great empire, and Japan can't be more greedy than Russia, right? Roosevelt said.

"You have time to gather information about Japan, a country that has been following their plan hundreds of years ago -- to conquer Korea first, and then to use Korea as a springboard to conquer all of China. I know you don't believe what I'm saying, but I can say responsibly that your country's expansion in the Far East will eventually lead to a fierce conflict with Japan, even to the point of irreconcilability! ”

Although Russia also had this in mind, their centre of gravity was in Europe, and according to His Excellency Mahan's argument, the influence of an empire was not determined by its overall strength, but by the amount of power it could devote to a particular hot spot. It won't be long before Japan will become the most powerful power in the Far East, the British can't match it, and the Russians will be equally difficult to resist. Ruprecht said.

"Do you think I'm biased against Japan? Think I'm looking at things with hatred? No, you are wrong, I can only say that you do not understand the ambitions of the Japanese, think back to what Japan did in Taiwan and in Hawaii, how weak Japan was at that time? What did they do? What would they do if Japan became strong one day? Will it give other countries a piece of the pie? Ruprecht asked.

"I think we can change the subject. We can talk about things that are of interest to everyone, like shipbuilding, or naval tactics or something. Roosevelt's face tensed slightly, and then he pointed to the battleship under construction in the distance, trying to change the subject.

"You and I met with a government background, and you represent the ideas of some Americans, and I think I can also represent the ideas of some Germans. We can talk openly and honestly about things that the two countries of virtue are too far apart, so far away that we have enough space to accommodate our differences with each other. In my view, German policy in the Far East should be based on economic interests rather than colonial and regional hegemony, because it is too far away from us. ”

"Your country has more to pursue than we do, and you and some of the people behind you intend to use military means to gain a foothold from some Sunset Empire, am I right?" After Ruprecht finished speaking, he looked meaningfully at Roosevelt, who was a little dumbfounded!

The Far East, some sunset empire, colonies! What a clear hint of this! Isn't this talking about the Philippines, Spain's colony in the Far East?! A group of people in the United States have had this idea for a long time, including Roosevelt, but what he didn't expect was that the person opposite guessed so accurately! This can no longer be described in awe, it can be described as horror! Roosevelt now understood Simpson's feelings when he faced Ruprecht—our thoughts were almost entirely understood by the other side!

There is no way, Ruprecht's hanging is too big, there have been conspiracy theories since the Spanish-American War, if it is really a conspiracy, Theodore Roosevelt is definitely one of the main operators behind the scenes. Regardless of the conspiracy theories, Roosevelt must have had his idea of the Spanish colonies a long time ago!

"What do you mean by that?" Roosevelt's Adam's apple moved, and it took him half a day to say such a sentence.

"At least I don't have any thoughts about the Philippines, but I can only guarantee myself, it's hard to say anything else!" After the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, the German fleet that occupied Jiaozhou Bay immediately returned to the Philippines, but after comparing the strength of the two sides, the sad Germans thought that they might not be able to fight, so they forgot it.

But this plane is different! If Germany had kept maintaining more than 2 Munich-class armored cruisers in the Far East, it would not have been able to fight Dewey's small ships! One pick 4 is exaggerated, but 2 armored cruisers plus a few miscellaneous fish, there is no problem at all to reimburse the US Far East Fleet! Theodore. Could Roosevelt not be afraid?

In the present Theodore. In Roosevelt's view, the Germans are capable, and they have a little idea, it depends on the mood, if the mood is good, once they start with Spain first, then the Philippines will definitely not run! What can Americans do now? Or what will the Americans do in a few years?

Yes, in a few years, 4 nearshore defense battleships were completed, and Brooklyn was also completed, but the Germans were not idle! And if you look at the warships that can be sent to the Far East, the Americans can't beat them, now Germany has 6 armored cruisers, and how many are there in the United States? Let 4 BBs to the Far East? This is the difficulty point.

In fact, Ruprecht feels that he still has an advantage, at least now Germany has a greater probability of obtaining the Philippines than the United States! At least now it is impossible for the Americans to do anything to Germany in the Far East! At least now that Germany has the support of Russia, France is expected to remain neutral! Ruprecht feels that in the current dispute for the Far East, Germany is full of good cards, if it is not the third person at the table, even if Germany really takes the Philippines now, what can the United States do? What can Spain do?

Thanks to book friends yr81113, Polin Gods, Zsuzm, sunnybirdc for their tips~~~.