In the character evaluation of Kaiser Wilhelm II by later generations, "stubborn and self-serving" is the most common word. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Specifically, it is stubborn, self-righteous, and does not listen to the opinions of others.

This assessment may be absolute, but it is generally consistent with the ruler's performance in most decisions.

Although he did not express his support for Crown Prince William's position, Natsuki followed him to the emperor's office.

The two waited at the door for a while, and it was not until the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the equivalent of the German Foreign Minister at the time, von Kidren, came out of his office that the two men were summoned.

After inviting the crown prince and prince to sit on the sofa, the emperor said with a smug look: "Under our diplomatic pressure, the French have agreed to make concessions and compensate us with their colonies in South-West Africa." ”

Unmoved, Crown Prince Wilhelm said: "But, Your Majesty, the barren lands of the French in South-West Africa mean little to us, and what we have lost is not only the colonial interests in Morocco, but also the dignity of the empire, and the expectations and trust of the people in us." ”

The Kaiser had apparently communicated with his heir in this regard before, so his attitude towards Crown Prince Wilhelm was not at all surprising.

"I've always wanted to get an outlet to the sea for our Cameroonian colony in South West Africa, and the French colony happens to have the conditions, and this is a good opportunity."

"But colonial interests are added value, and can never be compared to our interests at home, my majesty!" "Since 1904, our homeland has been surrounded by the enemy, and the situation is extremely unfavorable to us, and now is the time to break this encirclement once and for all, the army is ready for war, and so are our people!" ”

The emperor slowly put away the pleasant color on his face and said in a deep voice: "My Willy, when you rule a country with a population of tens of millions, going to war should not be an easy decision. In order to defeat the French in one fell swoop, our current military strength is not enough, and in addition to the strong fortifications built by the French in the border area, let's not forget, we must always be on guard against the Russians. ”

He then added: "In the next three years, our army will be expanded, our military equipment will be greatly modernized, and our army will be more offensive than it will be enough to end the fighting on the Western Front before the Russians pounce on our back." ”

Crown Prince William, though his mood was soothed, was reluctant to say: "Even if this is not the best time to go to war, we cannot ignore the voice of the people, who are looking forward to a victory, both diplomatic and military." In Morocco, we have already failed once, and if we fail again, the prestige of the German government and army in the eyes of the people will be reduced to an embarrassing level. ”

"With a cautious and sensible mind, we can avoid a diplomatic defeat." Wilhelm II said, and at this time, at last, he remembered Natsuki who was present, and changed the subject: "Oh, dear Jochen, it is a pleasure to see you again, the 'von der Tann' has won us an honor, and this news should be published so that the people can share in the victory." ”

"I am proud to dedicate this honor to you, Your Majesty, and to the Navy." Natsuki first complimented him, and then analyzed: "Publishing the news of this Forth Bay artillery exchange has a major advantage and a major disadvantage, the advantage is to let the people see the results of naval construction, improve everyone's confidence and morale, and the disadvantage is to overstimulate the British, so that they can focus more energy and financial resources on naval development, and then offset our efforts to narrow the gap in the navy." ”

The words were very tactful, but in essence they were still a rejection of Wilhelm II's ideas. The Emperor stared at Natsuki for a few seconds, then glanced at Crown Prince William, who already knew the brothers' views and positions.

"At the coronation of King George V, the British Navy demonstrated to the world their unrivalled strength, and it should have been clear to Jochen that our navy was less than half the size of the British, and that with the exception of a few newly built battleships, the old battleships that had been in service before were difficult to compete with the British fleet - this was reported to me by Admirals such as Earl Tirpitz, Admiral Muller, Admiral Holzendorf, etc., who, according to their analysis, would not have the strength to challenge the British Navy within three years."

Natsuki glanced at Crown Prince William and said, "Your Majesty, we really don't have the strength to challenge the British Navy at present, and we don't need to directly challenge the British Navy. As soon as we were ready to get involved in the war with France, we could mobilize all our torpedo boats for a large-scale combat exercise, and invite the naval attachés of all countries to watch, and keep them away from the German coastline, if not to discourage the British Navy from intervening by force. ”

The Emperor got up and left the sofa, began to pace at his desk, and then said: "If the British Navy is unmoved, and still launches an active attack in the way they are adept, according to the calculations of the Naval Staff, our fleet is very likely to be devastated." ”

"Calculus is calculus after all, Your Majesty." Natsuki argued, "The result of the calculation is to assume that the British Navy will put in four-fifths of its ships and break through to the Skagerrak Strait with its main fleet. In fact, it was a very risky move, because they weren't sure if we were going to attack the strait with a large number of torpedo boats, and they didn't know how many high-speed torpedo boats we had. ”

The emperor was silent for a while: "So...... Are you in favor of war against France, Jochen? ”

From foreseeing Crown Prince Wilhelm and the army generals in front of the palace to just now expressing his and the emperor's opinions, after more than half an hour of thinking, Natsuki has already chosen his own position, but he is not in a hurry to "charge into battle", but replied ambiguously: "If we can win a favorable situation and use a short-term war to win peace for Germany for the next thirty years, this is certainly worth our hand, but we still have two problems to solve: the intervention of the British and the resistance of the French." ”

Speaking of which, Natsuki made eye contact with the emperor and the crown prince successively. It was clear that both were very interested in his formulation.

"After all these years of preparation, our staff is well aware of the geography and topography of France, the size of its troops, its military disposition, etc., and the army can quickly launch an offensive according to the Schlieffen plan, but the position of the British is an unknown factor that cannot be ignored. As long as they were determined to intervene, with naval superiority, they could send 4 to 5 divisions to the north of France in a very short time. At first glance, it would seem that our strong right flank would be able to wipe out the landing British troops like ants, but the years of old feuds must have made the French army fighting at the beginning of the war, and in order to break their resistance, we must do our best, and the British army, which appeared on the battlefield earlier than planned, is likely to be the key force that determines the situation on the battlefield. If our right-flank offensive is delayed, the war risks turning into a war of attrition that is extremely unfavorable to us. ”

The Emperor was silent, and Crown Prince Wilhelm tepidly retorted: "Count Schlieffen's battle plan is the result of his life's military talent, an impeccable plan of war, and no matter whether the British send four or ten divisions, it will not change the outcome of the war - we will be victorious." ”

Natsuki replied in a non-deniable tone, "Of course, we will win." ”

At this time, Wilhelm II said: "You have made me a little confused, Jochen. What are you trying to convey when you support war and feel that the prospects for war are not very optimistic? ”

Without pause, Natsuki replied, "As I said at the beginning, Your Majesty, if we can get a favorable situation, we should go to war, and if not, we should be patient. ”

The Emperor thought for a moment: "In my judgment, although the attitude of the British has not been very friendly in recent times, the possibility of them being directly involved in the war between Germany and France is very slim - they are happy to see the two continental powers lose both." ”

As if having found an exit in the labyrinth, Crown Prince William exclaimed excitedly: "Therefore we should go to war, Your Majesty, and we must take advantage of the fact that neither Russia nor France has completed military preparations to crush France, isolate Russia, and make the British bow to us...... Don't miss the opportunity! ”

The emperor looked at his eldest son in a daze, then turned his gaze to the younger son who chose to be silent at this moment, racked his brains to ponder the logic of this conversation just now, and then reluctantly changed his mind: "Well, I think it is still necessary for us to convene the Imperial Council again to seriously and seriously re-discuss the issue of war against France. ”

Crown Prince William was immediately overjoyed: "Your Majesty, you have just made an absolutely wise decision. ”

The Emperor was not at all pleased, and he sighed, "I hope so! ”

After walking out of the emperor's office, Crown Prince William sighed: "It seems that the next time we encounter this situation, it is better for us to pay in advance." ”

Natsuki pretended to smile lightly, "Why, you just thought I wasn't on your side?" ”

"yes, I thought I had been betrayed!" Crown Prince William said with a smile.

Natsuki stopped and said solemnly, "You can rest assured that this will never happen because ......"

"Because we are good brothers forever." The crown prince spoke the second half of the sentence for him.

The two looked at each other and smiled, their right hands bent at their elbows.

Regardless of sincerity or not, in the case of no contradiction of interests, the strong alliance of the two will inevitably produce a win-win result.

……

As public opinion about the main war in the country was growing stronger, and at the Imperial Cabinet meeting held soon after, the main war faction represented by Army Chief of Staff Moltke Jr. and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Kidren also gained the upper hand, and Kaiser Wilhelm II decided to put more pressure on France in a more assertive manner.

With the support of the British, the French offered to compensate for German losses in Morocco with a piece of the French Congo border, and Germany gave the French two options: either withdraw their troops from Morocco immediately, or cede the whole of French Congo to Germany. The French side categorically refused. As soon as the news came out, public opinion in Germany became more and more intense, with the exception of the Socialist National Party and some left-wing radical organizations, all parties had high expectations for abandoning Morocco and receiving compensation from France, organizations such as the Pan-German Association openly called for Germany to fight at all costs, and army generals also expressed their strong confidence in winning the war on various occasions......

The crisis caused by the Leopard continued into its fourth week, and Britain, which had always feared that Germany had acquired a naval base in Morocco, suddenly assumed an unprecedentedly tough posture - Cabinet Secretary Lloyd George made a public speech claiming that Britain intended to keep the peace, but would not endure the humiliation of seeking a peaceful peace. After the speech was published, the anti-German wave in Britain and France was aroused, and various newspapers attacked Germany with full force, and there was a huge anti-British wave in Germany, and various parties and political forces called the speech a disgrace to Germany and demanded that the government fight back with all its might.

In view of the fact that diplomatic negotiations were already difficult, the Kaiser finally issued a secret mobilization instruction to the army, and the German generals, who had already been gearing up, immediately plunged into the preparations for war with unprecedented enthusiasm, and with the efforts of Schlieffen and his successors, only this crucial action order was needed, and the German army was like an automated machine, and all the army commander had to do was to maintain contact with the various units from his office through wired, wireless, and motorized messengers.

With the astonishing efficiency of the German staff and logistics departments, in just one week, 18 of the 20 active corps had secretly moved to the German-French border area, and 4 supplementary divisions and 16 reserve brigades were ordered to assemble; A variety of heavy weapons, including 305 mm siege mortars, arrived in designated areas in an orderly manner, and were attached to the German Army's nine flying squadrons, including airships, airplanes, and school-firing balloons, as well as to the corps headquarters deployed along the route. However, because the assembly and transfer of troops are carried out in a closed state, the speed of recruitment of reserve soldiers has been greatly restricted, and the full strength rate of most front-line troops is only 80 to 90 percent, and the reserve troops are only 40 to 50 percent, if the war breaks out immediately, the German army will put 960,000 troops into the French front, and in the absence of mobilization, the standing strength of the French army is 700,000, and the number deployed on the German-French border line in peacetime is less than 400,000.

Sensing the danger of imminent war, the French army sent additional troops to the eastern border region and the British for help. Compared with the assembly and mobilization of army units, the navy has an incomparable innate advantage, the British only spent three days to recall the officers and men of the navy on leave, and on the fourth day of the assembly order, the huge group of ships of the home fleet sailed out of the military port and stood by in formation in the waters east of the mouth of the Thames, and the transport ships and escort ships assembled in various ports in southern England, and groups of British expeditionary force soldiers wearing yellow khaki uniforms also appeared in these ports, along with horses, artillery, ammunition and other war materials. It can be loaded on board at any time.

The news of Britain's active preparations for war took the German top bridle by surprise, and at this time, Britain and France joined forces to launch a financial war against Germany, causing the German stock market to plummet, the Berlin Stock Exchange actually recorded a 30% drop in a single day, and out of fear of the depreciation of the mark banknotes, people ran on gold, resulting in a sharp decline in the gold reserves of the German Central Bank, and the Deutsche Mark faced a heavy blow from the gold standard. Before the Germans' military preparations were fully in place, the country was plunged into a financial crisis that should not be underestimated, and the prospect of war suddenly hung a haze......

(End of chapter)