.“ Sheriff, I've searched it all, but I still haven't found anything! ”

"How is that possible! Didn't you see two people coming up? ”

"Yes, but there are already two people here!"

"Are you sure it's these two?"

"Sheriff, it's too dark, I'm not sure!"

"Well, but I always thought they would leave one man in the house, so we should have caught three of them! But since I didn't find it...... Wrap up! ”

When the footsteps on the stairs faded away and finally nothing could be heard, Igor climbed back onto the roof, and hung under the roof for a long time, causing his arms to go numb and gasp for air, glad that he had escaped, and he could not help but mourn the misfortune of his companions.

A day later, Christmas Eve 1915 arrived.

Snowflakes are flying and the lights are shining.

A Christmas tree full of gifts and lights, a sumptuous meal full of colors and flavors, and bright smiles of children.

The day's international naval meeting went very well, with the concessions of the Japanese delegation removing the main obstacles that had previously been in place, and the expected painstaking negotiations eased in the Christmas atmosphere. In the end, the six countries reached an agreement on the total tonnage limit of capital ships, with Germany, Austria-Hungary, the United States, Japan, Russia, and Turkey reaching 475,000 tons, 400,000 tons, 335,000 tons, 335,000 tons, 250,000 tons, and 220,000 tons, respectively.

After the afternoon session, delegations accepted invitations to attend a Christmas dinner arranged by the United States Government, and for many of them, it was the first time they had spent Christmas in a foreign country.

As if a treaty had been signed to bring peace to the world, the dinner was filled with a celebratory atmosphere. It seems that everyone has found the answer to the happy truth, everyone is optimistic, everyone is looking forward to a better future in a good situation, the banquet is staggered, the dance skirts are spinning, the banquet is full of promises, people have no doubt that 1915 will end in such a harmonious and relaxed atmosphere.

There was only one person, and there was a deep coldness hidden under the intoxicating smile.

She. Coldly watching the hosts headed by Wilson raise their glasses frequently, she envied their powerful national strength, their huge treasury, and even more envied the various factors on which they relied for their rise -- a peaceful and stable environment, an advanced education system, developed science and technology, the spirit of self-esteem and self-improvement, the habit of dialectical thinking, and successful war and expansion, all of which she could not copy.

Her gaze then turned to another person, one whose cough could shake Europe. She envied Germany, because they had the best army and navy, and they had highly qualified soldiers who were incomparably brave and tenacious. With a combination of loyalty and wisdom, an incomparably large circle of influence, countless people to worship and respect, and the greatest victory of the century, she could not replicate all this.

When her eyes turned to the crown prince of Austria-Hungary, her eyes became sharp, and the man who was mediocre but arrogant, hesitant but self-righteous, who loved vanity and great joy, stood before that incomparably noble throne. Despite the weakness and contradictions of that empire. But it is the motherland that her soul loves.

Looking at the short Japanese, in addition to contempt and disdain, there was a strange recognition in her eyes. She recognized the martial spirit of this nation, its studious spirit, its endurance, and the unconditional worship and obedience of hundreds of millions of people to the emperor like a god.

Finally, there are the Turks, whom she and her country envy only because they have the only outlet for the Black Sea, and secondly, the unfathomable reserves of oil, but this by no means includes its dog-like loyalty and attachment to the powerful.

Deep down, she believed that she had the power to subjugate the world and the only suitable king of the world, while Wilson could only be the Home Secretary at best. Agripleni I and Wilhelm III would be good generals, Karl would be good for propaganda, the Japanese emperor would be good for bishop, and Kemal might be good for the post of education minister.

However, Wilson will not be resigned to domestic affairs, Aglini and Wilhelm III will not give up the throne, the emperor will still be the emperor, Karl will still be Karl, and even Kemal will not waver. Thereupon. She has only one choice, and that is to subvert the original order of this world and build a great planet of her own.

At this dinner, no one felt her sky-swallowing ambition, no one noticed her earth-shattering conspiracy, people complimented her, people loved her, and she sneered in her heart.

"Your Majesty, have you slept well these days?"

Linda smiled, faintly, intoxicatingly, and smiled at her younger sibling, Zita, the Austro-Hungarian Crown Princess.

"Luckily, the weather here isn't as cold as we are, but luckily you can see snow!"

"I'm not very used to the rooms and beds, the complete absence of the palace atmosphere and décor! Alas, I've been suffering from insomnia these days, and I wish I could go back to Austria sooner! The crown princess said as she stroked her face with her hand, looking pitiful.

"Oh, Your Highness, you also know that this is not Europe after all, they don't have a royal family, and they don't know how to serve the royal family, so I can only temporarily wronged you during this time!" Linda looked sympathetic and pitying, if her younger sibling was not too lucky, this situation would soon be over, and then she would be able to go to the comfort of heaven to rest.

Zita obviously didn't know the terrible thoughts in the heart of the sister in front of her, she was the princess of the Principality of Parma before marrying Karl, she was neither interested nor good at politics and power schemes, she wanted to know where to go to escape the heat this summer and where to go to play in winter.

"Where is the most beautiful place in Russia when spring comes?"

Linda thought for a moment, "The roads get muddy in the spring, so we usually stay in our rooms playing chess or reading books!" ”

"Too bad, Russia...... Oh, sorry! Zeta gently covered his mouth with his right hand, and after a while, he said embarrassedly: "Then come to Austria in the spring, and see the beautiful scenery of flowers blooming and everything awakening, anyway, this is also your motherland!" ”

"Okay, if time permits!" Linda was still smiling, and there was no trace of reluctance on her face.

Zeta asked again: "Summer, isn't it cool in Russia in the summer?" ”

To be honest, Linda was very disdainful of this kind of boring topic for women, not only Zita, but most of the noble ladies around her were bored and ignorant. In her opinion, even the Empress of Germany was no better.

"My esteemed Crown Princess, the four seasons in Russia cannot be compared to Austria, but if you want to see the sea freeze, there are plenty of ports to go to!"

"It's a pity, it's a pity The crown princess had a look of regret, in her impression that Russia was always so bad, poor, backward, primitive, and barbaric, but fortunately she was not allowed to marry into Russia in the first place.

"Is my brother sleeping well these days?" Although the relationship with Carl is very weak and even a little incompatible, when it is mentioned in front of outsiders. Linda is still a pound, "my brother".

"He's a little tired these days, so he doesn't care if he's comfortable or not!"

"Oh? What has he been up to lately? Government affairs? For such a topic, Linda finally got some interest. But when she's interested, Zeta tends to be very unconcerned.

"Sort of, he's been busy meeting with envoys from other countries these days, probably talking about some political things! By the way, didn't I talk with your envoy for three hours the day before yesterday? ”

"Yes, our Majesty is like this these days, as if the reception and conversation will never end!" She seemed to feel the same way, but Linda just wanted to see if she could learn something from Zeta. Because this kind of woman is the least politically savvy. It is also often the easiest to divulge political secrets during conversations.

"Yes, I don't like Americans very much, they are always inherently inferior when they speak. What a faux pas! Zita whispered, looking disdainfully at the Americans around her, and it was hard for her to imagine how spiritually empty and even depraved a country without royalty could be. Of course, Americans' so-called ancestry and history cannot be compared with the royal family of Europe.

"Americans...... Oh, indeed! Linda chimed in, she was not surprised that there would be secret talks between Austria-Hungary and the United States on certain aspects, political, economic, military, nothing more than these three, and with the ability of Karl and the Austrian Foreign Ministry, it was okay to make small moves or mess up something. Don't expect to make an earth-shattering move.

Zeta glanced at Karl, who was still talking to US Secretary of State Ryan, and said to Linda, "I have to pull him away from the Americans, lest he become a street vendor!" ”

After saying this, Zeta and Linda both laughed, full of mockery and disdain, of course, Linda knew very well that this was just a little joke with prejudice, and it took less than a hundred years for the small market traders in the United States to catch up with European countries to reach the level of economic and industrial world. If she could, she would rather give up her so-called nobility in exchange for this advantage.

After Zeta, who will say goodbye to him?

Linda thought to herself, her eyes searching the crowd.

Oh, is that him?

Gianlugi William, now Kaiser Wilhelm III, said from the bottom of his heart that Linda's views of him were extremely complicated. At that time, he was not unaware of his friendship with Linda, and she still has Gigi's letters sent from all over the world, which contain the most sincere feelings of a teenager. More than once, Linda wondered if she would have a bright future with the German prince if she hadn't been with Aglini, and the result of the strong alliance would be 1 plus 1 greater than 2 or less than 2?

It's a pity that all this only exists in the imagination, and life choices are often only once.

If you go head-to-head with him, who will emerge victorious? Linda has no bottom in her heart, and this is one of the very few situations that she can't measure with confidence, because there are so many unknowns in him. Seizure of power? Linda is sure she's doing a better job! Give yourself a German army, and you can easily defeat France! However, if you give yourself a German navy, you may not be able to defeat such a British navy; Giving himself the status of Emperor of Germany, he may not be able to plan such an international naval conference.

As the International Naval Conference progressed, Linda saw more and more clearly the hidden value behind this conference, the value to Germany, and the value of time! Once the international naval treaty is signed, on the surface, the situation in the whole world, especially in the Pacific Ocean, will tend to be stable, but this will not really prevent the military competition and power expansion between Japan and the United States, and the Japanese will still rely on their existing powerful navy to go south to the Indian Ocean, where the British colonies will not be able to resist the iron hooves of the Japanese army, and the German-Turkish coalition will also expand its sphere of influence from the Gulf to the Indian Ocean and South Asia, where the German and Japanese forces will meet, but the two countries will not have a fierce conflict over this. This is because at that time, the military and financial strength of the two countries will enter a period of adjustment and relaxation. If nothing else, Germany will focus its efforts on the Americas and Japan on the South Pacific.

And what about Russia and Austria-Hungary?

Linda came to understand why Germany and the United States had agreed to give Russia and Austria-Hungary a more lenient naval limit, for political and military reasons, Russia needed to restore its naval strength, and Austria-Hungary wanted to build an influential oceanic navy, which was what Agrini and Karl really thought. However, the biggest problem is the economy, and the economic situation of Russia and Austria-Hungary is not optimistic, and investing large sums of money in naval construction will inevitably bring undesirable backlash to both countries. Linda's view that the rapid post-war reduction of the size of its military by an economic and industrial powerhouse was based on this consideration, but most people now see this German strategy as a peace-loving move.

"Honey, why are you stunned here! Uncomfortable? ”

Linda came back to her senses, and it was not the person she was thinking about standing in front of her, but her husband, Aglini, the master of Tsarist Russia. Another farewell!

"Nothing, just remembering something by chance!" Linda looked up and smiled.

"Oh, big thinker, let's go over there!" With that, Aglini took Linda's hand and walked towards the Germans.

The next day, Christmas, the International Naval Conference adjourned for a day.

Three days later, on December 28, the six countries agreed on most of the details of the negotiations.

On 30 December, a resolution was passed on whether or not to impose a gross tonnage limit on non-capital ships, which was the last detail to be discussed at the International Naval Conference, which concluded more than 100 discussions.

That night, the official document of the Washington Naval Treaty was delivered to the naval delegations of the six countries, and after reviewing and confirming it, the delegations of the six countries had no objections, and the signing ceremony was scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. the next day at the US Capitol.