"The Russians have not made any statement so far, but the absence of a statement is a statement, and we have reason to believe that the Russians have secretly supported the Serbs behind their backs." "Moreover, French Prime Minister Pancaré has visited Russia, and it is clear that the French did not go to St. Petersburg to dissuade the Russians from exercising restraint, which is not a good sign," Holwig said in a deep voice. ”

"The Serbs are still moving troops to the border, and in our judgment, they should be partially mobilized in the country." Goltz's face was equally gloomy. "Without the support of the Russians, I believe they would not have had the courage to do so."

"So the reason why the Russians are not taking a position now is because they are waiting for the attitude of the French." Jochen grimaced: "If the French say they will fully support Russia, then things will not be out of control." ”

"And Pancaré will definitely make such a statement." Holwig answered, and the room fell silent.

Everyone present knew that the Prime Minister of the Reich was talking about the inevitable end, because it was the Pangaré who went to St. Petersburg. At the beginning, there was a De Carse, and now there is another Pangallé. The influence of the French German-hating forces in the military made it impossible for them to be truly kicked out of French politics.

In 1912, the French National Assembly passed the Naval Enlargement Act, which required the construction of a first-line fleet of 28 battleships and 10 battlecruisers by 1920, as well as the construction of a large number of auxiliary ships and light ships.

This move immediately gave him the full support of the navy, which led to the rapid revival of the anti-German forces that had been suppressed in the Moroccan crisis, and even De Carse, who had been ousted from power in the first place, was able to return to politics with the help of Pangale and take up the post of Minister of the Navy.

In this case, can you count on Pangaré to go to Russia in order to dissuade Russia from exercising restraint? Who believes?

"We must now stop the situation from escalating." Jochen rubbed his frown with his hand: "Don't give up trying to mediate, get those damned Serbs to stop their stupid mobilization." ”

Jochen knew, however, that such an effort was unlikely to succeed, as Serbia, which had historically been supported by Russia, had also mobilized before Austria-Hungary. Although Austria-Hungary had issued an ultimatum to Serbia, it had never done anything. After learning that the Serbs had mobilized first, they had to hurriedly start mobilizing their troops late the next night, so it was impossible to expect the Serbs to brake.

"It can't go on like this." Jochen shook his head: "It is necessary for me to go to St. Petersburg to meet with Niki in person, and this kind of communication will not help solve the problem now." ”

Doesn't history say that because of Ferdinand's marriage between nobles and lows, his funeral was not attended by high-level officials from various countries, so that countries lost an opportunity to interview? Then go to St. Petersburg yourself. Meet with Nicholas II, who is most likely to go wrong, and see if you can defuse the crisis.

"Your Majesty, no!" Holwig hurriedly shouted.

"Why? Bateman? Is there a better way to show sincerity than by me personally? Jochen was a little displeased, historically Holwig and Moltke Jr. insisted on going to war despite Wilhelm II's opposition, and Wilhelm II was forced to sign the declaration of war and mobilization order.

"Your Majesty, these are extraordinary times, and as an emperor, you must stay in Berlin at such a time, otherwise there will be no one in the empire to make a decision if any unexpected situation arises." Holwig dissuaded.

And Goltz and Tirpitz on the side also looked deeply impressed. In the event of war, the emperor who signed the declaration of war and the mobilization order would be in great trouble if he was not in the country. Even if the emperor communicated effectively with Nicholas II in St. Petersburg, what if the French did it first?

I think that Nicholas II will not detain His Majesty the Emperor, after all, the two are related, and it is not in accordance with the rules to do so, but in any case, even if the Emperor is driven back to China, Germany has been caught off guard at this time.

"So what now? Do you want you to go? "Jochen has a headache. It's a terrible feeling that this kind of thing is out of your control.

After so many years as the emperor, the desire for control has also grown with the authority of his own emperor. The suspicion of Holwig just now also came from the suspicion brought about by the emperor's desire to control. However, with his knowledge of history, Jochen has always believed that even if things cannot be completely changed by his own will, he can still be under his own control, and he can be subtly promoted little by little.

But now, whether or not to start a war is completely up to you, and this feeling is really bad. Historically, Wilhelm II probably also felt because of this. And after knowing that Russia began to mobilize, it was decided to fight out before Russia made the first move, right?

"The attitude of the British is very important now, Your Majesty, if the British can show it. It should give Russia and France some control. Holwig suggested.

"We can't trust Britain!" Jochen blurted out.

For a moment, everyone was staring at Jochen.

"The diplomatic credibility of the British cannot be trusted." Jochen began to organize the language to explain: "British Foreign Secretary Grey is a hypocrite! His duties made him well aware of all the British secret treaties, and he was well aware of the obligations of England in these secret treaties. However, since he came to power, he has always claimed that Britain has not formed an alliance with France and Russia, and even said that he has no idea the content of this alliance!

And we should all know that this is a lie! The reaction of the British in a series of events after Edward VII's visit to Paris proves that there must have been some agreement between them! And now, with the French running to St. Petersburg, Gray has not stood up and made a statement about the attitude of the British! So it is simply unrealistic for us to expect the British to come forward and calm the situation! ”

Jochen couldn't explain to Holwig what Gray had done in history, so he had to explain it like this.

As Holwig said, Britain's attitude was indeed very important at this time, but Gray, as British Foreign Secretary, did not fulfill his responsibilities as a diplomat at this time.

As early as the spring of 1914, Colonel House, the special envoy of the President of the United States Wilson, reported to his president upon his return to the United States: "As soon as Britain agrees, France and Russia will fight with Germany and Austria." ”

As Jochen explained, Gray, while declaring that he was unaware of the alliance between Britain and France and Russia, told Churchill: "We will issue an ultimatum to stop the invasion of Belgium within 24 hours." Churchill, who received this assurance, turned his head like all the ships of the British Navy and gave the order: "From now on in a state of war against Germany!" ”

Gray, on the other hand, began to show his diplomatic skills, and when faced with Germany's inquiry into whether Britain would join the war if war broke out, Gray told the Germans in an ambiguous manner: France fought against Germany, and that was France's obligation to Russia; However, this does not mean that the UK will have an obligation in this regard.

Then he told the German envoy to report to Berlin that Britain would remain neutral unless Belgium was completely annexed. On the other hand, the German ambassador was tight-lipped about the fact that the Royal Navy was already preparing for war. On the weekend of the last week of July, he went to the country estate to continue satisfying his fishing hobby with what was later assessed as a "reprehensible disregard for responsibility". After the general mobilization of Germany and Russia, he still did not make a clear statement, and even at the cabinet meeting on August 2, he did not make any meaningful proposals.

Churchill, who got his wish, later praised Gray by saying, "I looked at ...... with admiration He works with composure. ”

It is no wonder that the Germans later called the elegant English gentleman "a scheming hypocrite", "the chief planner of war", and even a little more politely regarded him as "a man with two sets of human values...... There is a double moral standard. Even the British themselves believed that "for many years Gray had been hiding the truth from the whole affair." ”

And what about the attitude of the Royal Navy? Not to mention that, Churchill was completely ecstatic after receiving permission. Former British Prime Minister Lloyd? George described Churchill's state of mind about the war this way: "He was a genuinely happy man. ”

In the face of such a foreign secretary, such a naval secretary, the attitude of the British still need to be guessed? So it is undoubtedly blind and impossible to count on the British at this time.

"If there is a war, Britain will inevitably be our enemy." Jochen said: "If we want to stop the war, we can only hope for Russia, and as long as Russia does not move, then France will not move, France and Russia will not move, and Britain will not move, so we must open a breakthrough from the Russians!" ”

"Your Majesty, it is not appropriate for you to go to St. Petersburg in person." Holwig still insisted on his original attitude: "But what you said is that communication with the Russian side is necessary, and it is more appropriate to send a plenipotentiary envoy to Russia. ”

"So let's do it." Jochen shook his hand weakly, "Hopefully we'll be in time." ”

Jochen could not have been as blindly optimistic as Wilhelm II, and even at the last moment believed that mediation was possible, that war was unlikely to break out, and that England would not be an enemy of Germany.

Jochen shared Wilhelm II's hope that war would not break out, but at this point he was only struggling to make a final struggle before the final moment of history that he had decided. (To be continued.) )