While the Germans were making their last efforts to defuse the crisis, the British across the Channel were also deliberating on countermeasures. Prime Minister Asquith, Chancellor of the Exchequer George, Foreign Secretary Grey, Field Marshal Kitchener, Secretary of the Navy Winston Churchill and other cabinet members gathered at 10 Downing Street to analyze the future direction of the situation in the Balkans and even in Europe as a whole.

"The Serbs have categorically rejected the demands of the Croats to dismantle the mobilization, apologize for the previous series of incidents, and investigate, arrest, and dispose of all secret organizations in Serbia that led to the outbreak of the incidents, and report the results to Croatia openly and transparently." Gray reported to Asquith: "Both countries are now in a state of mobilization, and neither side is likely to back down. “

"In other words, if you want to resolve this crisis now, you can only look at the meaning of the people behind the two countries?" Asquith asked.

"No, Your Excellency Chancellor, the Germans, although they are now clearly in favour of Croatia, have exercised restraint and have not given up their diplomatic efforts to mediate, but their attitude is no longer important." Gray said with some pride: "The French have been encouraging Russia to take tough measures in support of Serbia, so their attitude will not help the situation to improve." The Russians, though now secretly supporting Serbia, were still vacillating on the German issue, so it was up to Great Britain to resolve the crisis. ”

"Should we, then, be unequivocal in our support for France and Russia?" Asquith naturally understands what Gray means, the British Empire is now the bookmaker in this event, and no matter how you bet, you will never lose, so the question now is, how to bet to maximize the benefits?

"I don't think there's any need for Britain to be clear on this matter." Gray began to thin the mud as he did in history: "No matter how things develop, it will have no effect on our country. It is entirely possible for my country to make a decision on the basis of subsequent developments in the state of affairs. Now we don't need to rush to make a statement. ”

Gray was well aware that not supporting France and Russia would be a breach of Britain's obligations under the treaty it had concluded. And in doing so, it was contrary to Britain's long-standing strategy of containing Germany. But unequivocally in favor of France and Russia? Then Russia let go of its last worries, and war would inevitably break out, but Britain would also bear the infamy of being a war planner, even if it was lighter, it would be fueling the flames and aiding the abuse.

Therefore, Britain will not suffer in this matter anyway. Then now deal with them with ambiguity, mislead them, and then wait and see how things develop. And judging from Gray's many years of experience, the probability of war breaking out in the present situation is extremely high, because as long as Britain does not stand up against France and Russia unequivocally, then the possibility of France and Russia stopping is extremely small. Therefore, Britain should not be clear about its attitude at this time, which will also leave room for how Britain will operate in the future, whether to enter the war or not to enter the war. are able to choose calmly.

However, some people can't understand Gray's painstaking efforts, and the fat man Qiu, who had just accepted the Germans' delicious food and drink, wiped his mouth clean and turned his face and denied it: "We must show our most resolute attitude in this matter!" If our ambiguous attitude on this matter causes France and Russia to misunderstand and think that we have violated the agreement we signed at the beginning, it will damage our diplomatic credibility!

Moreover, if France and Russia make concessions to Germany because of our country, it will inevitably hit their confidence and make them have no confidence to confront Germany in the future! Moreover, there was a new rise in the forces of compromise with Germany in France. You know, this has happened once before! This is contrary to our strategy of counterbalancing Germany! ”

Churchill's words made Asquith and Gray blush, after all, they were the ones who sold De Carce on the Moroccan issue in the first place.

But Churchill didn't care what was going on in the minds of the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary. Continuing to speak: "We have an obligation to the French and the Russians!" Especially for the French! After the signing of the Crow Memorandum, we are already closely related to France. We have surrendered the Mediterranean to the French, and have drawn all the cash ships there back to the mainland, so that the Mediterranean lifeline of Great Britain is entirely maintained by the French, and we must count on the French to continue to fulfill their joint defense obligations. So if we don't support France, then the Mediterranean may not be ours in the future! ”

"But now the Royal Navy is not sure of defeating the German Navy! You've just returned from Germany. It will not be unknown to the strength of the German Navy! You will not fail to see Field Marshal Fischer's assessment of the strength of the German Navy! Asquith was also a little annoyed.

However, His Excellency Fisher also pointed out that the strength of the German navy will continue to grow stronger over time! They still have 11 capital ships under construction! Eight of them should be armed with 15-inch guns! If we wait for these ships to enter service, then we will not be able to fight the Germans even more certainly! Churchill also retorted: "Now is the best time for us to go to war with Germany!" They only have 4 ships armed with 15-inch guns, while we have 6 ships with 13.5-inch guns, and 5 more will be completed by the end of this year! And the battleships of the Germans with other 15-inch guns will not be completed until the end of next year at the earliest!

And as soon as the war starts. France and Russia are caught between two fronts, and the Germans will inevitably have to transfer more resources to the army, and then their warship construction will be affected! And the successive commissioning of 13 15-inch naval gun capital ships under construction in our country will widen the gap between us and the Germans little by little!

And the officers and men of the Royal Navy were superior to the Germans in terms of professional skills and morale! So our strength is still stronger than them! Then a Trafalgar victory will bury the damned fleet of the Germans!

France and Russia consume Germany on land, and we blockade Germany at sea. The Russians are very resourceful, so even if we don't support them, they can still support them for a long time, and we and France can continue to get resources from outside. And Germany, under our flanking attack, will only be squeezed out of the last drop of blood in constant attrition! When the time comes, they will have to surrender to us! ”

"The council will not approve of your war plan! And there are many people in society who are afraid of getting involved in the war, and the cabinet must bear heavy pressure! Asquith objected.

The British aristocracy was inextricably linked to the German aristocracy, the royal family itself was of German aristocratic origin, and the current First Sea Lord, who was also of German aristocratic origin, and in this case, it was not uncommon for there to be pro-German forces in Parliament. Moreover, because of France and Russia, Britain had to be drawn into a war that they could have stayed out of, and many British, who were worried that they might ruin their lives, desperately hoped that the government could be neutral, so that the damned Germans and French Russians could continue to live in peace. So the pressure on Asquith is not light.

"Pacifistism means treason!" Churchill shouted. This sentence resounded throughout the European continent a few days ago, and the famous French pacifist and leader of the Social Democratic Party, Jean ? Jaurès was assassinated, as in history, and the Assassin was captured on the grounds that "pacifism means treason!" ”

"Such arguments don't solve the problem, Winston." Gray stepped forward to put an end to the argument between the Admiralty Secretary and the Prime Minister: "The situation is still unclear, and a premature statement will only put Great Britain in an awkward position, and I believe that as the situation gradually becomes clear, Lord Asquith and the Parliament will make the most appropriate decision." ”

Gray continued: "I think you and I need to communicate further, and it is necessary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have a deeper understanding of the Navy's judgment, and the Navy also needs to understand the diplomatic situation we are in now, so that we can give reasonable advice for Your Excellency the Prime Minister to decide." ”

Churchill also realized that there would be no result of continuing to quarrel with Asquith in this way, so he stopped fighting for the time being. Whether he will get what he wants will have to see how the Foreign Ministry responds to the Russians and the French, and how it deals with the Germans.

Although the prime minister was not forced to speak at the meeting, Churchill was excited about the possibility of war for the rest of his life. In Asquith's words, his admiralty "has already painted his pre-battle paint, and is eager to fight a naval battle." ”

People who genuinely desire war have been gearing up for an all-out war, ready to use an all-out war to erase the "regrets" left over from previous wars, and anyone who preaches peace is a shameless traitor in their eyes. Such people on the European continent at this time were not a minority in the camps of both sides.

Historically, successive chiefs of the General Staff of the German Army, starting with Wadsey to Moltke the Younger; the entire French army, represented by Prime Minister Pancaré and General Chauffeur; Almost all the close ministers around the Russian Tsar; Austria-Hungary was one of the main battle groups of all the imperial ministers except for the Hungarian prime minister, and Churchill, as the standard-bearer of the British main battle group, was also one of them.

And whether he can get what he wants now depends on what decision the one in St. Petersburg makes.

Historically, when the emperors of the Austro-Hungarian and German empires were still putting up their last stand against their warlike subjects, the emperors of Russia surrendered first.

Will Nicholas II be able to continue to resist this time? (To be continued.) )