In the slightly swaying cabin, Natsuki stared at the desk calendar on the table for a while. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

On the page of the calendar in front of me was the words "Friday, July 17, 1914." ”

The European War had not yet broken out, and in the eyes of later historians, there was still a chance to avoid it - if Germany did not give clear support to Austria-Hungary, persuade Vienna to abandon its attempt to annex Serbia, or make every effort to mediate between the great powers.

Historians' inferences are often based on the analysis of historical affairs, they may not really understand national politics, and they see a history that has lifted the fog, and they can express their opinions without responsibility, but the people in that period of history have completely different views, what they heard, what they stood on, and the concerns they faced, and the real visionaries were only a few.

No country is willing to back down again and again, and no country can be satisfied with the status quo. The root of war lies in the insatiable greed of human beings.

Coming back to his senses from the calendar, Natsuki rubbed his temples with his fingers, and at the moment he was not in the flagship of the fleet or the land headquarters of the naval base, but on the royal yacht "Hohenzollern", as a member of the royal family in the North Sea.

At this time, the whole navy - and indeed the whole of Germany - was tacitly preparing for war. Although the German Emperor, Reich Chancellor, and head of the army never publicly expressed Germany's support for the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's intention to annex Serbia through the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was well known, and the Russians were staunch supporters and allies of Serbia, and a major European war triggered by the Balkan conflict seemed inevitable.

Formally, Germany was only short of issuing a formal mobilization order.

At this stage when the situation is still uncertain, the supreme ruler of Germany can still take a vacation with peace of mind, which really makes many descendants sigh.

Many historical details have been lost to the long river of time, and you can't know the truth unless you can be there.

The Hohenzollern set sail from Bremen on 6 July and sailed the cool North Sea for more than 10 days with the royal family, but it was not really isolated from the rest of the world. Almost every two hours, the accompanying royal chamberlain would compile the reports and messages received by the radio and send them to Wilhelm II. Every afternoon, seaplanes departing from Germany bring in newspapers and periodicals published that day. In the evening, Wilhelm II was alone in the cabin reading a book and reading a newspaper.

……

Natsuki got up and left his desk, and in this small room, there were many oil paintings depicting naval battles on the four walls, from the ancient Battle of Salami and the Battle of Aktim to the modern Battle of Trafalgar and the Battle of Lisa, all of which were classic battles of decisive significance. The Industrial Revolution changed the way of life of mankind to a great extent, and war evolved from one or several battles to a strategic confrontation in which comprehensive national strength was contested. Sea power, the power that determines a country's maritime interests and even its economic lifeline, can no longer be determined by the outcome of a naval battle, but by a comprehensive competition of political, diplomatic, and military means.

Naval warfare cannot independently change the pattern of the seas, but it is an indispensable link in seizing sea power.

Pushing open the hatch, the fresh sea breeze blew in his face, and Xia Shu suddenly felt refreshed. Life is different from games, you can save and read files, and there is often only one chance to decide success or failure. In order to seize this opportunity, he not only endured the hardships with dignity, but also adapted to the main line of history as much as possible, so as not to overturn the dominoes of history and disrupt the pattern he knew - however, over the years, his intentional or unintentional influence has caused many historical things and events to deviate, such as the first-class Friedrich shipyard, the German Navy's submarines and high-speed speedboats, and the German Navy ships whose performance design is better than the historical original; For example, his classmates in the academy, the Hill family, the Irish Resistance, and the Italian ships that sank in the Aeolian Sea during the Italian-Turkish War, there are a lot of them. Looking at the changes in history, especially the Moroccan crisis, the Balkan Wars, and the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Natsuki gradually felt that history is like a big tree, with the instinctive power of life to repair, a leaf or a branch is broken and fallen, and if the branch is damaged, it will be repaired through the secretion of sap and the growth of bark. However, once the damage to the trunk is beyond the natural repair capacity, will the big tree abandon the repair and adapt to the change, or will it use an alternative forced repair?

Natsuki's personality is neither optimist nor pessimistic, he believes in the power of the will and obeys the arrangement of the Mandate of Heaven.

"Can't you sleep, Jochen?"

The voice of Kaiser Wilhelm II came from the direction of the ship's bow. There were no stars that night, and the light on the sea was extremely dim, and he was standing outside the light, so Natsuki didn't notice him at first.

"Oh, Your Majesty, you are here." Natsuki replied as he walked towards the bow of the boat. According to his observations, Wilhelm II's mood fluctuates greatly these days - in fact, the monarch's emotional personality is well known, and his greatest political weakness is that he cannot control his words and actions after he has come up emotionally, and some things have been decided, but he is often instigated by others or the atmosphere to make astonishing statements.

After the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Wilhelm II went to Austria to pay his respects. In Vienna, his affectionate consolation to the Austrian Emperor and the Grand Duchess was quite touching, and his remarks on the question of punishing the murderers were seen as appropriate and helpful in alleviating the crisis, but after returning to Berlin, he took a series of measures that ran counter to the principle of proper handling of contradictions, and he severely attacked Serbia and Russia, which was agitating the situation behind Serbia, and believed that Austria-Hungary should make good use of this opportunity to eliminate the Slavic plot and restore and consolidate the Empire's control in the Balkans. Germany's current state secretary for foreign affairs, von Yagov, was not Bismarck, he did not have the wisdom to skillfully handle international affairs, nor did he have the determination and courage to assert himself, and his position and viewpoint changed due to the change in the attitude of the Kaiser, and the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Germany took his remarks as Germany's attitude, which in turn influenced the decision of the Austro-Hungarian leadership -- to unilaterally exert tough pressure on Serbia, instead of resolving the conflict through multi-party negotiations.

When Natsuki came closer, Wilhelm II turned around with a sad expression.

Natsuki knew that he must be saddened by the death of Archduke Ferdinand again. The two men were on good terms, often inviting each other to hunt in their private hunting domains, going fishing together, corresponding weekly, and Wilhelm II personally presented the Grand Duke with an oil painting of the Cross of St. George, the wearer, for use on his throne (only the emperor could wear it). It is clear that if the Grand Duke had succeeded in ascending to the throne, Austria-Hungary would have been more pro-German than the elderly and wary of Germany Emperor Franz.

Compared with Franz, who reigned for more than 60 years, Archduke Ferdinand was more enlightened in many of his political ideas, and he advocated that the Slavs within the Austro-Hungarian Empire should enjoy greater political rights, which in turn transformed the Austro-Hungarian Empire from a "dual empire" ruled by Germans and Hungarians to a "triple empire", but it was also based on this clear proposition that the Austro-Hungarian Empire annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, triggering the Bosnian crisis and exacerbating the Russian Contradictions between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. The place where he died, Sarajevo, was the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina!

"The fate arranged by God is really unchangeable!" "In the last letter sent to me, he mentioned that he was going to Bosnia to review the military exercises, and I thought it was inappropriate at the time, but I only reminded him to be on guard, not to cancel the plan," Wilhelm II lamented. If I insist on inviting him to the Kiel Harbor Festival, then on June 28 he and his wife should be inspecting our warships, and not at the guns of the Slavs. ”

Natsuki sighed intentionally and whispered, "As you said, God's destiny is beyond our grasp. In fact, a week before the death of the Grand Duke, I sent him two telegrams in my private capacity, inviting him to come to Kiel to attend the celebrations, and the Grand Duke replied twice, politely declining my invitation. I think he wished so much that his wife would receive the honour which she did not receive in Vienna—that when the Grand Duke commanded military operations in a military capacity, she would be treated equally with her, and that June 28 was the fourteenth anniversary of their marriage. ”

For what Natsuki said, Wilhelm II was very clear. In fact, whether it is a private invitation or an official visit, whenever Archduke Ferdinand brings his concubine wife Sophie to Germany, he enjoys no different treatment from the crown prince and crown princess of any country, but in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, under the rule of Austrian Emperor Franz, who has always been quite complaining about the German emperor, this cold reception has never been eliminated, and even until 9 years after the marriage of the Grand Duke and his wife, the Austrian emperor "showed a little kindness" and awarded Sophie the title of Duchess of Hornberg and allowed her to enter and leave the palace, but even so, Court etiquette forbade her to sit in the Grand Duke's carriage with her husband, and she could not sit with him in the royal box of the theater. At court ceremonies, when Sophie enters, the folding door is only half open. It is said that when the news of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife reached the Viennese court, Emperor Franz was shocked and felt that this was God's punishment for the sin of marriage committed by his heirs......

After a long silence, Wilhelm II slowly put away his sad feelings, his face returned to his former arrogance and invincibility, and said in his seemingly resolute and tenacious tone: "I hope we can sacrifice the Grand Duke and his wife with a victory belonging to the Germanic people." ”

Natsuki faced the sea and tilted his head and closed his eyes: "Yes, this will be a confrontation between the Germans and the Slavs and the Celts, and it will be a great, epic war, where the loser will fall apart and lose glory, and the winner will become the master of Europe." ”

Natsuki's expression clearly aroused the self-pride ambition of the German emperor, who immediately followed up with the last sentence: "And the master of the world." ”

At this time, Natsuki deliberately breathed a sigh of relief.

In the case of being alone, Wilhelm II easily detected the embarrassment of his young son, who had always been calm and confident.

"What's the matter, Jochen, what's bothering you?"

According to the envisaged routine, Natsuki began to perform, and he deliberately showed his rare sad expression: "To tell you, Your Majesty, I have been suffering from insomnia in the last few days, I rarely fall asleep, and I am always having nightmares, and everything in my dreams makes me feel extremely real. ”

"Oh? Tell me what you dreamed about. Wilhelm II asked curiously.

"I dreamed that the Germans had only carrots and potatoes on their tables." Natsuki replied.

Wilhelm II was stunned for a moment, and then couldn't help laughing, although the smile was not as cheerful as usual.

"The war will have some impact on the living conditions of the people, but at most a few months the German table will be filled with sumptuous food - bread made from Russian flour and beef and mutton, roasted meat, French champagne and red wine."

Natsuki's expression did not change in the slightest, and he said, "Your Majesty, I have no intention of offending your great will, but what I am worried about is Britain's entry into the war. As I have submitted to you a military memorandum, it is very likely that Britain should follow Russo-French in waging war against us, given the binding effect of the Anglo-French-Russo-Entente system, and we will face a British naval blockade. This naval blockade will last as long as the war lasts, and with our current self-sufficiency in crops, meat, and dairy products, the average population of Germany will soon be half-starved and unable to fill their stomachs, and confidence in winning this war will soon be lost. ”

Wilhelm II frowned deeply, and said: "Even if England abandon the ideal of staying out of the matter and get involved in the war, even if they blockade our shores, Germany's reserves of supplies will be able to be maintained until our mighty army defeats France and Russia." ”

Natsuki patiently explained, "If everything goes according to our assumptions, there will be no suspense in defeating France and Russia on land, but, Your Majesty, have you considered that our two allies are not as reliable as your soldiers. ”

Wilhelm II replied in his usual veins: "Of course, I never expected anything from the Italians, and they did not need to send a single soldier in this war, as long as they were quiet spectators." As for Austria-Hungary, I just need them to hold back the Russian army for the time being, and if they can't even achieve such a low goal, then there is really no need for it to exist. ”

"I have looked through the records and reports of our observers during the Balkan war, and have talked with some officers who witnessed the Serbian army fighting, and with my understanding - forgive me for taking the liberty of saying this - the Austrian army was not only unable to defeat the Serbian army quickly, but was also constrained by the Serbian war, which affected the war against Russia, resulting in our army having to send troops to the eastern front to stabilize the situation during the critical period of the operation on the Western Front."

Wilhelm II stared at Natsuki with wide eyes, which in his opinion should have been "incredible" and, if it became a reality, would have a disastrous effect on Germany's war prospects.

In the two Balkan wars of 1912-1913, the Serbian army defeated the Turkish army and the Bulgarian army in succession, and although these two were not very strong opponents, the performance of the Serbian officers and soldiers did receive some positive evaluations, and they also gained experience through the war. Austria-Hungary? Unfortunately, this dualist monarchy has never experienced a real baptism of war, and the last war of the Austrians dates back to the Austro-Prussian War during the Austrian Empire, a fiasco of shamelessness.

(End of chapter)