At sunrise, the royal train departs from Brandenburg with its graceful exterior and magnificent interior. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 InfoKaiser Wilhelm II, dressed in a gorgeous uniform, sat triumphantly at the dining table, eating omelettes, sausages, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, and toast one by one, and it was obvious that the good mood made him appetite.

The observant of the imperial family watched the emperor at the table without saying a word, until he untied the cloth before he spoke: "Your Majesty, Admiral von Müller, Chief of the Navy Cabinet, and Admiral Stein, First Quartermaster of the Army, will board the train at Plitz Station. ”

The Kaiser did not squeak, but stared blankly ahead, and after a long while, he finally let out a loud burp, and nodded contentedly: "Oh, I see." ”

The attendants removed their plates, brought cigars and newspapers, and Wilhelm II smoked a cigarette leisurely and flipped through the newspapers in front of him very casually, as if he felt that the large report of the army crossing the border and advancing into the heart of France was tasteless. Catching a glimpse of the attendant military attache entering the carriage, he asked from afar, "Hey, Ross, what's the good news for us?" ”

The squirting attendant attaché, who had a gire gait, apparently knew what the emperor was expecting, and he replied: "Yes, Your Majesty, the fleet command has taken a very long coded telegram, so we have spent some time deciphering and proofreading, and the content is very shocking and absolutely inspiring, you see! ”

Wilhelm II placed the cigar on the ashbox and took the telegraph clip in his right hand. In order to cater to his needs, the handwriting on it was very upright and the font was relatively large, so several telenewspapers were divided up and down.

For about a quarter of an hour, Wilhelm II read the telegram quietly, his eyebrows fluttering to speak of his cheerful state of mind at the moment.

As the platform approached, the train slowed down, and soldiers with loaded guns could be seen outside the window, while senior officers from two different directions, Admiral Müller and Lieutenant General Stein, waited quietly for the train to stop, surrounded by adjutants. They held their heads high and their chests high, but their expressions looked a little unnatural.

By the time the train was steady, Wilhelm II had read the telegram for the second time. The telegram was like a big magnet that caught his attention until the attendant was there to remind him that he realized that the generals had arrived.

"Come, sit down!" The Kaiser gloriously beckoned Müller and Stein to sit down across the table and asked if they had already eaten breakfast. Knowing that they were both full, he invited them to smoke cigars, and then said to Müller: "Have you read this latest war report?" ”

Mueller took the telegram and looked at it, shaking his head.

"Last night we crushed the British Navy." The Kaiser said happily to Stein on the side. In the Army, the role of the First Quartermaster General was the equivalent of Deputy Chief of the General Staff, a position that Moltke Jr. held for several years before becoming Chief of the General Staff, and was highly evaluated.

"Oh?" Stein's eyes widened in surprise.

Wilhelm II nodded very affirmatively: "An indisputable victory, we sank at least 12 British capital ships, at the cost of only one capital ship and three old battleships, in addition to the loss of some cruisers and torpedo boats." Above the North Sea, the German fleet was on the rampage. ”

Before this, Müller had apparently known much about the naval battle, and as he read the telegram, he said meaningfully: "After this very surprising night, we have surpassed the British Navy as the number one in the world in terms of the number and tonnage of the capital ships." ”

The plan for the High Seas Fleet was personally approved by the Kaiser, and for reasons of secrecy, very few people in German high-level circles knew about it, and Müller, who was not affiliated with Tirpitz, was apparently excluded from the list of those who knew about it.

The Kaiser picked up the cigar, and the victorious gesture made the pair of high-pitched beards even more proud.

Although the Navy's victory overshadowed the Army's brilliance, it was definitely news worth celebrating from the height of the country. Stein said: "That's great! The war has just begun, we have defeated a formidable enemy, and victory will surely belong to the great Germany, to the great Kaiser! ”

"Haha......" Wilhelm II laughed unabashedly.

Müller, who was reading the telegram, suddenly sighed: "What a pity the loss of the 'King Albert', it was actually a torpedo fired by a dying enemy......"

"What's this!" The Kaiser said nonchalantly, "There are almost no losses among the officers and sailors on board, and they will soon be replenished to the newly built battleship." With control of the oceans, we have everything. With our 'Hohenzollern Genius', the German Navy will have more powerful ships of the highest class! ”

Müller today seems intent on singing a "contradiction" to Wilhelm II: "As Your Majesty wishes, we have shattered the myth of the invincibility of the British Navy, and the situation that follows is very favorable to us, the British Navy will not be able to blockade the North Sea, and the morale of the army has been dealt a heavy blow, and if we can give them one or two more heavy blows, we have every chance of forcing them to withdraw from the war alone." It's just that, until then, our maritime shipping lines will always be frozen, and all merchant ships can only continue to stay in the port and wait, and domestic supplies will become more and more scarce. ”

Wilhelm II confidently said: "It is true that the British Navy still has the strength to continue fighting, but I am skeptical that they have the confidence to continue fighting." By this time, my cousin George, who must have known of the crushing defeat of the fleet, should have given careful consideration to my peace proposal a few days earlier, and it was an opportune time for him to remain a good king to whom the British people respected, as long as the blame was placed on the cabinet and the professional politicians to take responsibility. ”

Mueller did not say a word about this.

"Don't worry, this war won't take months." Wilhelm II turned to General Stein, "Am I right?" ”

"That's inevitable." General Stein looked embarrassed and perfunctory.

The Kaiser noticed Stein's unnatural expression, he slowly put away his smile and took two puffs of his cigar: "The fortress around Liège is still in the hands of the Belgians?" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Stein bowed his head and said, "The resistance of the Belgian troops was far more stubborn than we thought, and they did not give a damn about our persuasion to surrender. Because of the limited number of troops, Emirhi's troops are waiting for reinforcements. ”

The German army's attack on the Belgian fortress city of Liege began on August 4, which is known as the "first fortress in Europe", the scattered artillery fortresses constitute a fortress group, the complete defense system and the resolute resistance of the Belgian army made the German attacking troops with absolute superiority in strength lose their troops, and it was not until August 7 that the army group Meuse under the command of Emirhi entered the city of Liège, but most of the forts around the city were still under the control of the Belgian army, and the battle was far from over. The stalemate in Liège was completely unexpected by the German General Staff, and it also seriously affected the German army's plan to advance on the Western Front.

"How surprising is that the German Navy defeated the superior British fleet with inferior forces, and the German Army, with 120,000 men, could not capture a fortress guarded by a few thousand Belgian regular troops and some citizen militias, and still had to stop and wait for reinforcements?"

In the face of the Kaiser's reprimand, Stein opened his mouth, but there was nothing to say.

Wilhelm II exhaled heavily and asked, "When will our siege artillery arrive in Liège?" ”

Stein hurriedly replied: "The first batch is tonight at the latest." ”

"It is to be hoped that tomorrow the battle flag of the German Army will be planted in most of the fortresses of the fortress of Liège," said the Kaiser, "and that the day after tomorrow we will be able to proudly proclaim to the whole world that the German army has captured the strongest fortress in Europe." ”

The heavy siege mortars made by Krupp and Austria-Hungary Skoda had the terrifying power to destroy everything, and when these heavy guns arrived, it was only a matter of time before the Germans captured Liège.

Immediately afterwards, the Kaiser lowered his voice and said to Stein: "Without removing the stumbling block of Liège, our entire right wing will not be able to unfold smoothly." The decisive victory of the Navy greatly improved Germany's war situation, but it was not enough to solve all problems alone. ”

Stein's expression was embarrassed, but he had to say "yes" repeatedly.

The Kaiser waved his hand and motioned for Stein to leave first.

"Your Majesty, you just mentioned the matter of the communiqué, when will we announce the victory of this naval battle to the outside world?" Mueller asked duly in time.

"The sooner the better, of course." Wilhelm II thought for a moment, "I'm going to announce this in person in Kiel." ”

Muller should say: "In that case, I will go and get ready." However, there is still a problem...... Your Majesty, the commander of this naval battle...... It seems that it was not the commander of the fleet, Admiral Ingnoor. ”

"Huh?" The Kaiser was taken by surprise.

Muller continued: "Last night we received a part of the fleet's communication message, and judging from the contents, it seems that His Royal Highness Prince Joachim is commanding the fleet. ”

"Is there such a thing?" The Kaiser stared at Müller for a few seconds, then turned his gaze out the window and explained to himself: "Jochen is the chief of staff of the fleet, and if General Ingnoll is unable to perform his duties, he is indeed the first person to take over the command, and more importantly, no matter who is in command of the fleet, we have won a naval battle that completely turns the tide." ”

Mueller smiled respectfully: "You're right. If it was really His Royal Highness Prince Joachim who commanded this naval battle, it would be even more proof of the superiority of the royal bloodline. In terms of age, appearance, origin, etc., His Royal Highness the Prince is indeed more suitable than General Ingnoll to become a national idol, and can boost the morale of the army and the people. ”

The Kaiser, however, did not particularly agree with Müller's point of view, and he was a little hesitant, presumably with some apprehension in his heart.

Muller apparently took a fancy to this, saying: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is an excellent army commander, commanding the 5th Army Corps in the heroic battle on the Western Front, and His Royal Highness Prince Joachim commanding the fleet to defeat the British Navy. ”

This was clearly an implication, but the Kaiser listened to it but did not say anything.

Mueller was a little disappointed, he blinked a few times in a row, and said: "Your Majesty, if we win this naval battle, are we taking the opportunity to send a peace signal to the British royal family?" I think that the war with Germany was largely driven by the interests of the British Cabinet and Parliament, and not by the full will of the British Crown. ”

Wilhelm II smoked his cigar leisurely: "This war has just begun, we have already occupied the initiative, if we take the initiative to express our willingness to negotiate peace, it is inevitable that the enemy will use it to create public opinion, this kind of self-seeking trouble, I will not do it a second time." ”

(End of chapter)