London, United Kingdom.

Outside the palace, the neat royal guards lined up in a neat and majestic procession, snow-white and sturdy horses, bright red military uniforms, and swords shining with cold light, and the eyes of each guard were full of noble indifference.

The nearby streets were almost crowded with Londoners, thousands of police officers nervously maintaining order, and people's eyes flashed with anger and contempt.

In the sky, several large transport planes were circling, their wings had just been freshly painted, the huge iron cross was so conspicuous, and a dozen British fighters looked so humble beside them.

Outside the mouth of the Thames, the British fleet sailed to the high seas to stand on guard, and it was the nightmare of all the British that confronted them, the main force of the German High Seas Fleet. Those new and mighty German battleships exuded a terrifying oppressive force that made it difficult for every British sailor to breathe.

September 13, 1914, was a day that caught the attention of the world.

At 7 a.m. on September 12, the German government sent a note to the British government, demanding a one-day truce between the two sides and a special mission from the German government to Britain for negotiations.

At 6 p.m. on September 12, the British government replied and agreed to the German government's request for an armistice.

At 7 p.m. on September 12, Britain and Germany jointly announced a one-day truce on September 13.

On 13 September, in the eyes of many, the dawn of peace had appeared. On the Western Front, the Germans suspended their offensive against the British and French troops, and the French tacitly ceased their military operations; At sea, German submarines suspended their attacks on British merchant ships, and the German High Seas Fleet swaggered close to the British mainland, stopping at the gates of the British, and the two fleets confronted each other with relative restraint.

The German Special Mission departed from France on a transport plane and arrived at the airport on the outskirts of London at about 9 a.m.

When a motorvoy carrying the German flag appeared on the streets of London, the onlookers suddenly became in an uproar. The attitude of the British people towards Germany has become very hostile, hundreds of British merchant ships have been torpedoed by German submarines, tens of thousands of British Army soldiers have been killed or captured on the Western Front, and even their proudest fleet has been completely humiliated by the Germans.

People shouted and waved their fists at the convoy, and if it weren't for the large number of cavalry guarding the convoy, people would even have tried to throw eggs and stones at the Germans.

"Your Highness the Prince, this is too dangerous here, and it looks like these ignorant Britons could lose control at any moment. I really don't understand why we, as a side of the favorable situation, should we come to the UK in person! Besides, with your honorable status, coming to England is a huge adventure! In a small car in the middle of the convoy, German Foreign Minister Bilow whispered that the German crown prince next to him, who was wearing a gorgeous military uniform and looking dignified, was now completely full of spring breeze.

"Your Excellency, your Foreign Secretary, how come your courage has suddenly become smaller! His Majesty the Kaiser, in order to express Germany's sincere desire for peace, sent a mission to England. But I think we are now here to humiliate the British as victors, and they will not dare to do anything to us under the eyes of the whole world! Prince smirked. Originally, the Kaiser appointed Bilow as plenipotentiary during this negotiation, but after Prince's rhetoric and bitter entanglement, Wilhelm II finally agreed to his request.

As the foreign secretary, Billo was shocked when he heard this, no one knew whether the British really had the intention of withdrawing from the war, and he felt terrified when he went there himself, and now Prince, who was now the crown prince, actually wanted to go in person, which was not only inconsistent with etiquette, but also worried about the prince's safety. However, after successive failed attempts to persuade the Kaiser and Prince, Bilow had no choice but to take this big burden with him, and he silently prayed all the way that the crown prince would not have an accident in England.

"But for the sake of your safety, I really don't approve of you participating in the negotiation in person!"

"Your Excellency the Foreign Minister, do you think that His Majesty the Emperor should send the Prince of East Prussia to negotiate? He was very busy now, busy destroying a large number of Russians, and his father, Prince Heydrich, and directing our fleet to destroy a large number of British ships! Prince said coldly, and his face suddenly became much more ugly. The 5th Army under his command had no outstanding record except for the elimination of a few French troops in the battle of the border, which was insignificant compared to the father and son of Prince Heydrich and Prince of East Prussia, who dominated the sea and the Eastern Front. These two men are the ones that every German talks about the most now, and no one seems to remember that the crown prince is called Prince.

"If I succeed in persuading the British to withdraw from the war, then I will be a great hero of Germany!" Seeing that Billomer was silent, Prince laughed.

Accompanied by Prime Minister Lloyd and Foreign Secretary Edward, the German mission's motorcade sailed from the airport on the outskirts to the Royal Palace, where it was "warmly welcomed" by countless Britons along the way.

Inside the palace, King George and his ministers waited blankly for the arrival of the Germans, who had lost a large number of small ships in the battle two days earlier, and only three cruisers, 16 destroyers, and nine submarines returned safely. At this time, the only naval forces to defend the British mainland were the old ironclad warships, and although the Mediterranean Fleet and the Asian Fleet were on their way back to the mainland, everyone understood that even with the addition of these two fleets, the British Navy was still no match for the Germans.

King George and his ministers were tired, and they had spent all day and night discussing the question of the fate of Britain and the world: war or peace.

Most of the people represented by Prime Minister Lloyd's believed that as long as the Germans' demands were acceptable, then Britain would consider withdrawing from the war, and many admirals also believed that the British Navy was no longer capable of fighting the German Navy, and they even proposed that the Germans could shell British ports today, and that they might send land troops tomorrow, and that the elite German army was fully capable of sweeping across the British Isles.

Some of the generals, led by the Secretary of the Admiralty, believed that they could not compromise with the Germans, that the Germans' appetite would not be limited to one France, that the vast colonies of Asia, Africa, and Latin America were their targets, and that withdrawing from the war would only allow Britain to gradually compress its living space and eventually die on these small islands. In the aftermath of the naval fiasco, their voices seemed so small, but they did not give up their opinions.

After a full day of arguing, King George's mind was getting more and more confused. He was still thinking about it until the Prime Minister's voice rang in his ears.

"Your Majesty, here they are!"

The king raised his head and looked bloodshot at the swaggering Germans in front of him. Prince is still the same, his face is so white that he doesn't even have a beard, his noble identity does not have a noble temperament, and his attitude is extremely arrogant and domineering.

"His Majesty the King of England, His Majesty the Emperor of Germany has asked us to convey his respect to you on our behalf!" Billlow and the others ceremoniously owed to George, but Prince did not move, looking like he was abandoned, and the British ministers couldn't help frowning.

"Oh, please convey my thanks to the Emperor of your country on my behalf!" George's Birlo nodded, then shifted his gaze to Prince.

"Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I haven't seen you for a year, you look good!"

Prince replied arrogantly, "Thank you Your Majesty for your concern, but you don't seem to be in good spirits!" I'm afraid it's because I haven't been able to sleep lately! Hopefully, our negotiations will be concluded smoothly today, so that you can rest easy! Time is pressing, I hope to dispense with useless nonsense, now the situation is clear, let's start negotiating! ”

King George was stunned for a moment, then invited the German delegation to take a seat, and because of the presence of Prince, the German crown prince, he had to participate in the negotiations himself.

After the British Prime Minister's usual opening remarks, Prince couldn't wait to speak.

"I have never been able to understand why your country wants to help France and Russia fight against our country, given that Germany and Britain have a close relationship, and that the royal families of the two countries have close blood ties. It's just that the Kaiser has been kind enough to entrust us to come and negotiate for the friendship between our two countries! If I were replaced, I would be sorry for those who betrayed me! ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone was stunned.

German Foreign Minister Billlow was also a little surprised, but he did not and could not interrupt Prince's undiplomatic rhetoric, but carefully observed the British expression. King George's brow furrowed slightly, but there was no change in expression on his face, first Lloyd looked helpless, Foreign Secretary Edward seemed to be smiling bitterly, Admiral Churchill was full of anger, and the other Britons also had different expressions.

The British fell silent, and Prince began to list the conditions of Germany:

"Your Majesty, it is my sincere hope that your country will withdraw from the war as soon as possible, dissolve its alliance with France and Russia, withdraw all British troops from the French battlefield, and refrain from providing any kind of assistance to France and Russia; Break the alliance with Japan and no longer support its attack on Qingdao! ”

King George was silent, and the Prime Minister nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Prince couldn't help but feel a burst of ecstasy in his heart, and continued to speak:

"As a guarantee of peace, we hope that your country will be able to hand over all the main warships to our custody on our behalf, and your country will keep only auxiliary warships of less than 8,000 tons; As compensation for the losses of our navy and army in the fight against your army, we hope that your country will pay us £2 billion in military spending and give us Singapore and Egypt! ”

"Prince!" King George stood up angrily, and everyone's mood was hanging in the air at this time, lest the king make some irrational decision. However, the Germans clearly opened their mouths this time, Singapore was an important British base in Asia, and controlling Egypt would control the Suez Canal, and the loss of these two places would hurt Britain's vitality overseas.

Prince's expression did not change in the slightest, and he stared at the King of England without fear.

After a while, King George slowly sat back in his seat and spoke in a low tone:

"The conditions in your country are unacceptable, and we need warships to protect our sea lines, which are the basis of our British existence! As for Singapore and Egypt, they have been consolidated by us with great manpower and material resources, and even if I could say yes, my people would not say yes! And military spending, as far as I know, your country did not have any great losses in the battles with our navy and army, 2 billion pounds seems to be too much! ”

In September, the residual heat of summer was still raging, but King George's heart was cold, the British people for hundreds of years with sweat and blood in exchange for the sun never set the empire has reached the twilight of the year, the land compensation has always come out of the mouth of the British, I don't want to pay compensation to others today. Everything happened so fast, two weeks ago Britain was the hegemon of the seas, and now it is a wretched man stranded on an isolated island.

"Your Majesty, the security of your country's sea lines can be guaranteed by us, and the cruisers and destroyers you have left behind can drive away the pirates; Singapore and Egypt are but two small lands among the many colonies of the British Empire, and whether they are important or Britain itself is important, I believe Your Majesty and the ministers know very well; How have you suffered enormous losses over the centuries when you have demanded war reparations from other countries? It took our country 10 years to prepare for this naval battle, and at a cost of 8 million pounds per dreadnought, we spent hundreds of millions of pounds just to build a high seas fleet, not to mention the need to train so many skilled sailors. 2 billion pounds, for the British Empire, is not much at all! A rogue smile appeared on Prince's face, disgusting to all the Englishmen present. However, they seem to have forgotten that after the Opium War, they also treated the ancient country of the East in the same way.

King George looked depressed, and after a while he spoke:

"We still have to discuss the conditions of your country! Let's go back to the embassy to rest, and then we will continue to negotiate in the afternoon! ”

Prince didn't say anything more, glanced contemptuously at the surrounding British ministers, and left with the German mission.

After the Germans left, King George looked haggard.

"Your Majesty......"

The crowd was about to say something, when the king waved them away, and he wanted to be alone in silence.

On the way to the embassy, Prince was now proudly reminiscing about the scene just now, and the English had been so humiliated once upon a time, that he unconsciously let out a great sigh of evil.

"His Royal Highness the Prince, our attitude was a little too tough just now, but it's okay to let the British see their situation clearly!" Contrary to his fears, he saw in the eyes of King George that the British had lost their former pride, and if nothing else, the British had decided to compromise, and they would at best bargain partially on the German terms. In fact, as long as the British were able to withdraw from the war, their goal had been achieved, and it was not easy for the British to spit out so many colonies at once, and as long as their own navy maintained this superiority and initiative, the British colonies would sooner or later be assigned to Germany.

Unaware of what was happening at the negotiating table, British citizens on the side of the road held hands and sang the British national anthem, and even some police officers who maintained order joined them. At this moment, a young man, an Irish man with a bomb to be exact, suddenly slipped through the police cordon and rushed towards the convoy of the German Embassy, the bomb in his hand was sizzling, and the British cavalry guarding both sides of the convoy drew their swords, but they and the bodies of their horses could not stop the huge power of the bomb.

"Oh God!" A British officer watched all this in horror, he could not imagine what it meant.