The flotilla split at the mouth of the Thames, with the King William continuing to Spithead anchorage in Portsmouth, while the Hohenzollern sailed into the Thames on its way to London. Upon arrival in London, the Kaiser and his family were warmly welcomed by the British. The British were deeply pleased with the goodwill shown by the Queen's son-in-law to Britain in international affairs. The Empress of Germany is the eldest princess of the British, and it is natural for her to feel the warmth of home when she goes home to visit her family. The last time he visited the UK, Jochen made a good impression on the British, and this time he brought his wife to make him feel at home. Therefore, there is a lot of praise and praise from all walks of life and the media in the UK. This made Frederick III and Empress Victoria very happy, but Jochen could not be so optimistic, he knew what kind of foreign exchange he was up against. People.

In addition to wishing his grandmother a birthday on his visit to the UK, another very important thing was to consult with the British on the Samoan issue, and of course, Jochen's advice to the Foreign Office was not to focus only on Samoa, but to take this opportunity to solve other colonial problems that might have conflicts with the British. As a result, a head-to-head confrontation with the British Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, is inevitable.

And the Marquess of Salisbury was an imperialist and colonialist through and through. Internally, he pursued a heavy-handed policy towards Ireland and opposed William Jurte Gladstone's policy of Irish self-government. Externally, the focus was on plundering the colonies and seizing Burma in Asia; conquering Nigeria in West Africa, occupying Kenya, entering Uganda; Occupation of Rhodesia in South Africa. Convinced that the progress of the backward race must pass through the phase of European domination, especially of the British, and that it must be maintained by force, his mission was to enlarge and defend the British Empire.

Diplomatically, Britain did not need the Allies, maintained a policy of glorious isolation, maintained the balance of power in Europe, and did not support Joseph Chamberlain's idea of an alliance with the German Empire. And he likes to use military blackmail to force his opponent to negotiate, and then use diplomatic channels to achieve his own goals. A dispute with Russia over Istanbul forced Russia to participate in the Berlin Conference, and finally abandoned the Treaty of Santo Stefano; On the Egyptian issue, he had a contradiction with the Russians, so he signed the "Mediterranean Agreement" with Austria-Hungary and Italy to force Russia to back down on the Bulgarian issue; the use of force to deter in the Fashoda crisis to force France to recognize British dominance on the Nile; In order to deal with the naval threat of Russia and France, a bill to forcibly expand the navy on the principle of the two-power standard system; The Second Anglo-Boer War was waged for the resources of South Africa. In order to protect the interests in China, troops were sent to suppress the Boxer Rebellion. Such a diplomatic opponent was really annoying, and with his British prime minister until 1902, Jochen had to sigh why the damn British government didn't learn from the French and kept changing prime ministers.

Well, complaining was useless, and he had to brace himself up, and although he was dissatisfied with Bismarck, Jochen had to admit that it was the right choice for the German side to have the old prime minister come forward in this negotiation. The name of the iron-blooded prime minister Bismarck can still suppress the arrogance of the British, and with Bismarck's temper, he will not be left behind in resisting Salisbury head-on.

As Jochen had expected, the English were sharpening their knives and preparing to cut off a piece of meat from the Germans. In Salisbury's calculations, Samoa's remote Pacific islands were only an entry point to suppress Germany, and Samoa was of limited value to the British with Australia in hand. What the British were really interested in was the German colonies in Africa. Especially in the current situation of German Cameroon's current development, the red-eyed British obviously do not want the Germans to live so comfortably, Salisbury wants to coerce Germany to make a series of concessions on the colonial issue, and finally reach an agreement in favor of Britain, which can also add points to his political career. For this reason, even if Britain and Germany are at odds, it is a good time for them to win public opinion.

This stream does not hesitate to destroy relations between the two countries for the sake of its own political reputation. Hooliganism is a tradition in Britain. The Earl of Selborn's questionnaire in 1902 deliberately came up with a contradictory answer, which led the British to assume that the German naval shipbuilding program was aimed at the British, and thus the British Navy began to formally use the German Navy as an imaginary enemy. In order to increase his political prestige, Churchill, the fat man, even tried to resolve the misunderstanding between the two navies by visiting Tirpitz to the United Kingdom, and took the initiative to leak the contents of the secret talks on the German Navy's shipbuilding plan to the British, and then hyped up the German threat theory. It can be said that both the Anglo-German shipbuilding race and the First World War were provoked by Britain, the root of all evil.

However, Salisbury did not dare to be so blatant now, after all, the Germans had just shown goodwill to Britain on the Suez Canal issue last year, and on the Samoa issue, the venue of negotiations was placed in the United Kingdom, and the Kaiser and his family all came to attend the queen's birthday. At this time, the whole of Britain expressed a warm welcome and friendship to the Kaiser and his family, and now is the historical peak of Anglo-German intergovernmental relations. If you choose to attack Germany at this juncture and cause a deterioration in relations, the consequences will be incalculable, so it is the safest choice to first restrain yourself and ensure that you can get enough benefits. Although it is far less than the benefits brought by the deterioration of Anglo-German relations, as long as it can ensure that the agreement reached is beneficial to Britain, it will naturally be counted as its own diplomatic achievement, and the British people are still willing to support it.

In the following time, the Kaiser's family accompanied Queen Victoria to share family fun, and for her grandson's wife, Queen Victoria also expressed considerable enthusiasm and care, and gave valuable gifts, which made the nominal German Crown Princess Marie a little apologetic, so she was more courteous to Her Majesty the Queen. And just as the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren were enjoying themselves, at the Prime Minister's Office at 10 Downing Street, Salisbury and Bismarck began negotiations with each other.

"Your Excellency Bismarck, your country is now developing rapidly in Cameroon and East Africa, and Germany should be congratulated." Salisbury smiled and said with the sincerity of his face that those who didn't know him thought he was kind enough to congratulate the Germans on their colonial achievements.

However, Bismarck didn't accept this, and pushed back neither softly nor hard: "Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Germany's achievements in Africa are far inferior to Britain's, and Germany still has to learn from Britain." Salisbury choked on these words, learn from England, what to learn? Expand your territory, but if you want to expand your territory, isn't that just grabbing the meat from the mouths of the British?

"Where, where, Your Excellency the Prime Minister is humble. Is Germany's development in southern Somalia still smooth? We are still very concerned about your progress. German expansion in South Somalia was tacitly approved and supported by the British, and Salisbury's words were a reminder to Bismarck that the British could support and oppose it, and that the Germans had better not go against the will of the British.

Bismarck was naturally not a good one: "Thanks to the blessing of His Excellency the Prime Minister, the work in South Somalia is progressing smoothly." However, I have heard that your country has some minor troubles on the Egyptian issue, and the German Government is willing to give it the greatest support. "Sample, I have forced Germany to be careful that I support the Russians, do you think that a Mediterranean Agreement can really kill those gray cattle? If it weren't for Germany's invitation, the Constantinople Convention would have left you to play on our own.

Seeing that Bismarck could not get a advantage from playing with words, Salisbury decided to make his words clear: "Your Excellency Bismarck, this time the two countries are mainly negotiating on the dispute in Samoa, but I hope that we can go further, not only on Samoa, but also on a comprehensive memorandum of understanding with Germany on all colonial issues, I don't know what Your Excellency Bismarck wants." ”

"Fortunately, my country also has this intention, and also has some ideas of its own, so it is naturally good to be able to reach an understanding of all issues at one time this time." Bismarck replied faintly.

"Oh? Your country also has this idea? That's great. Although he said so, Salisbury was a little surprised, if it was only the Samoa problem, the Germans could not reach it, and it was not difficult for the British to suppress Germany, and it should not be difficult for the colonies in Africa to carry out surprise attacks, and it should not be difficult to get more benefits when the Germans were unprepared, but if the Germans had been prepared, this condition would be a bit difficult to discuss. Keeping the smile on his face, Salisbury continued: "Your country began to build a canal in 1887 to connect the North Sea with the Baltic Sea, and once it is opened, your country will not have to go around Jutland to pass the Guò Kattegat and Skagerrak Straits around Jutland, which will allow your navy to no longer have to disperse its forces, and the Guò canal will allow the fleet to be quickly mobilized, which is of great strategic importance to your navy." And I noticed that once the canal is opened, Helgoland Island will be directly blocked from the mouth of the north sea side of your country's canal, so its strategic value will also be greatly enhanced. I think your navy would like to get a strategic location. ”

"Listen to Lord Salisbury, the British government is willing to give Helgoland to our country? I appreciate the kindness of your government, and although I am very grateful, I should keep this place for yourself. Bismarck gave an answer that was completely unexpected by Salisbury.

"The generals of your navy really want to get this strategic point, aren't you willing to help your navy achieve its long-cherished wish?"

"The German Navy is now far inferior to France and Russia, and even lags behind Italy, and even if it gets Helgoland, it will not be able to hold it. And if only to fight Franco-Russian, it is the same with or without Helgoland. Germany does not need a strong navy, so Helgoland means little to us when we came, and we believe that the friendship between the two countries, with your government in charge of Helgoland, will not put the German navy in danger of being blocked. Bismarck opened his eyes and said nonsense, he did not believe in the friendship of the British at all, but if he wanted to knock on the bamboo pole of Germany, how could he make you wish.