On October 5, 1909, Qin Kai hurriedly returned to Beijing from the Northern Real Room, and after several years of operation, the Northern Real Room, which participated in the top secret plan, had formed a very stable operation mode, and a large number of national elite-level scientific researchers became the pillars of the research and development of the real room, and the funds from the government and major industrial funds provided sufficient resources for various research and development.

The last time Qin Kai had a conversation with Tesla, a mustache, he unexpectedly produced a research and development project that he was very excited about imagining, and Tesla even dreamed that this was his most perfect plan since the last Tesla Tower......

Qin Kai then immediately issued a death order to the special service colonel in charge of the real yàn room in the north, once the mustache proposed any large-scale construction, he must report to the real yàn room committee as soon as possible, a year ago this guy rebuilt a small Tesla tower to carry out experiments, but destroyed the small thermal power plant distribution unit that supplied power to the real yàn room, of course, he was very interested in Tesla's plan.

Of course, returning to Beijing is not to fulfill his duties as chairman of the Science and Technology Development Committee, and the Russians have even launched a war forcefully when Germany takes the initiative to seek peace, which absolutely makes the politicians of the whole Europe fall out of sight, you know, Germany's current domestic situation is not ideal, and less than a year after the end of the 16th global economic crisis that swept Europe and the Americas, governments are just enough to take a breath.

With the new round of railway construction in China, Germany, and the United States, and the huge investment in power plants brought by the electrical industry, countries were originally looking forward to the economic rise from so many new industries. But. Financial speculation was the first to erupt in the Russian Empire. Then came a Waterloo-like collapse of the Russian stock market. It then affected France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and eventually led to the collapse of the offshore U.S. market.

However, the most severely affected by this economic crisis was definitely the Russian Empire, which was the first to break out of the financial crisis, a large number of European capital took the lead in fleeing, leading to the widespread closure of Russian factories, and the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire had to propose to the tsar a plan to ban funds from leaving the country, but in the end it was forced by pressure from various countries. But it can't be implemented.

During the same period, the rapid expansion of production capacity by the United States and Germany led to the production of most of the production capacity at the beginning of the outbreak of the Russian economic crisis, which led to the soaring price of raw materials, and the prices of raw materials such as steel, copper, and lead rose by more than 7 percent, which once again hit the heavy industry of the Russian Empire...... The only reason for the survival of Russia's heavy industry is the investment of the Russian navy and army.

In this case, Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary without hesitation, which also means from the point of view of a military alliance. The Russian Empire had already declared war on Germany, which was an important reason for the shock of the countries of Europe. And the first thing to bear the brunt of is the attitude of the French!

Through the opportunity to intervene in the "Gisanja crisis" between Britain and France, Qin Kai successfully intensified the contradictions between Britain and France, but it is obvious that the trend of history is quite elusive, and the contradictions between Germany and France are really difficult to bridge, according to the information obtained by the Intelligence Department, Britain, France, and Russia finally reached a secret "Triple Agreement" last year, and the content of this agreement is much less binding on Britain, France, and Russia than the old "Triple Agreement" originally promoted by France in history, but, The three countries pointed the finger at Germany was undoubtedly written into the instrument.

However, because the signing of the Triple Agreement was later than the original history, and the conflict in the Balkans was unexpectedly advanced, which led to the British and Russian colonial negotiations, the French now play an important role in the Triple Agreement, and once France decides to enter the war, Britain may also be joined the war as the historical trajectory.

This...... Obviously, this was not a situation that Qin Kai was willing to accept in its entirety, and there was no doubt that the great powers were in conflict of interests, so on the night of his arrival in Beijing on October 5, he personally called on the British Minister to China, Bauer, a veteran British diplomat who, because of his outstanding achievements in the Far East, now had a great say in London.

He brought thoughtful conditions, "We want to work with the British government to assume the responsibility of maintaining international trade security, so we hope to get confirmation of your country's neutral position in the European war, otherwise China will have to impose strict restrictions on shipping in the Strait of Malacca in order to ensure its neutral status, and at the same time, in order to ensure the security of China's vast maritime territory, we will also deploy ocean-going forces in the Pacific and Indian Oceans!" ”

As a senior minister to China, Bauer naturally has a very clear understanding of China's position, and the war in Europe will obviously be subject to China's serious attention, after all, today's China is no longer an Asian power, but a world superpower, and the rule of the Chinese government and Chinese culture have made the whole of Southeast Asia and Australia a giant federal power.

Britain's trade benefited greatly from the open Far East, but the politicians in London, thousands of miles away, apparently did not understand the energy of the Far East, and even after the Sino-British naval battle, the politicians were still so enchanted with the white world, and when China had extended its military power to the Arabian Sea and the coast of East Africa, India, the most dazzling pearl in the queen's crown, was now under increasing threat.

Although Qin Kai only declared that China would exert control in the Far East, in fact, the blockade of the Gulf of Aden in the Red Sea was definitely not impossible for China, which had already deployed its navy in Mukalla.

Therefore, he immediately understood the urgency, and after some tense negotiations, he cautiously assured Qin Kai, "Dear Qin, I will ensure that the information is delivered to Prime Minister Asquith by key people within 12 hours, but I can't guarantee a response from London, but I think that Britain and China have absolutely the same national interests!" ”

Qin Kai was still very satisfied with Bauer's statement, this Englishman was obviously an object to deal with. At least. For the power of China. Bauer had a clearer understanding than most politicians in London, "Dear Bauer, I also bring the sincerity of the Chinese government, and if the British government can maintain a neutral position, we will warn the Germans to ensure the safety of the British Territories in Australia and India!" ”

The German Far East Fleet, with strong support from China, was no longer comparable to the original historical fleet. It has 1 Beowulf-class battleship and 1 German-built von? The battlecruiser Tann, one Moltke-class heavy cruiser, and four powerful medium warships are now a formidable maritime force in the Far East, with permanent military bases in Nagasaki and Subic Bay.

If Britain had declared war on Germany and the Chinese government had maintained its neutrality and had not dealt with the German Far East Fleet and military forces, there would have been no doubt that the British zone of Australia and the coastline of India would be the primary targets of the Germans...... Of course, idiots can also imagine if the Germans were going to act. The inevitable passage through the Strait of Malacca or a bypass to Sumatra is the key to this, which is obviously China's attitude.

When the news was sent to Buckingham Palace at noon on the 6th. The situation in the whole of Europe has changed like an avalanche, after the Russian Empire's tough declaration of war, it has entered the territory of Ukraine on the afternoon of the 4th, and began to assemble in the Ukrainian military town of Lviv near the Hungarian border, at the same time, the Russian Empire Nicholas II proposed to France to unanimously prepare for the external preparation against the German-Austrian alliance.

By the 6th, the information transmitted from the French Prime Minister's Office to Buckingham Palace showed that this time the Russians were obviously prepared, and it was only four days from the declaration of war to the march, but the Russian troops gathered in the fortress of Lviv had reached 350,000 people, and Russia assured the French government that at least 500,000 troops would be gathered again from the Black Sea and the road and railway within a month.

This means that the short 80-kilometer buffer zone from the fortress of Lviv into the Hungarian border will be trampled by hundreds of thousands of Russians shouting for Ulla in most days, and according to the information available to the French government, the Austro-Hungarian army on the Hungarian border is now showing fatigue, with only one corps and three corps, about 100,000 troops.

However, Russia had a common border with Germany and Austria-Hungary, which stretched for more than 1,100 miles, and was then the Polish province of the Russian Empire, from which the Russian Army could attack Germany to the west or northwest and Austria-Hungary to the south...... And this time, Russia resorted to an offensive from the direction of the Lviv fortress, apparently in order to avoid irritating the German Army on the Northwestern Front.

The border between the Western Front and Germany, only 180 miles from Berlin, the Russians had been trying to cut off the territory of East Prussia, a territory sandwiched between Poland and the Baltic Sea, but, despite Russia's full confidence and impressive numbers of Slavic troops, General Dimitriev, who was the commander of the Eastern Front, was clearly aware of the German Army, which was recognized as the first-rate army of the era.

General Dimitriev's Russian Third Army took the eastern front to hold back the German army, and the main direction of attack was to Hermann of Austria-Hungary, far from the Russian-German border. The direction of the Fourth Army under General Kusmanek......

On the same day, Buckingham Palace convened a cabinet to discuss the issue of dealing with the Russian-Austrian war, and after carefully listening to the advice of his cabinet members, Prime Minister Asquith raised his concerns to Lord Fisher, who was the first minister of the navy, whether the Royal Navy would be able to control the vast seas if war was declared on Germany.

Lord Fisher, who has the traditional sun-skinned skin of the Navy and is one of the few officials in Asquith's cabinet who has dealt with China at all, after carefully expounding his judgment on the control of the Royal Navy, finally produced a new naval report and posed a question to all the cabinet members present: "Seventeen years ago, when we lost control of the Strait of Malacca with absolute military superiority on paper, and 17 years later, we have to deal with the challenge of Germany at the same time. Is it still possible to defeat a China in its heyday? ”

This somewhat unscanned question immediately made the atmosphere of the cabinet meeting tense! As the first naval minister, Fisher obviously had the most naval power, and he already understood very well that if he was fighting in the Atlantic, the Royal Navy's supply lines could obviously attack from all directions to encircle and annihilate any enemy who entered the sea, and even the Chinese navy could not fight in a situation where it could not be replenished.

Similarly, if the Royal Navy sails into the Pacific Ocean to fight, now the only supply port of the British Empire is in Sydney, Australia, although there is a port on the west coast, but the defense capability is low, it is estimated that it will be completely blocked or destroyed by the Chinese Navy before the war starts! Trying to attack the entire South China Sea and Pacific Ocean from Sydney is almost a dream...... What's more, sailing from an Indian port to Australia was originally a gambling expedition!

On the night of October 8, the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom, Chen Bo, received a response from Buckingham Palace, and the British government conditionally agreed to the request from Beijing, and Prime Minister Asquith proposed that Britain would maintain a neutral position in the European war if Belgium, which had close relations with Britain and had already declared permanent neutrality, was not attacked.

When the telegram arrived at the Prime Minister's Office in Beijing, it was already early morning on the 9th, and Zhou Ruidong, who had not slept all night, was obviously not completely satisfied with the result...... On the issue of war in Europe, it is obvious that the British still favor France and Russia, which are parties to the "Triple Agreement", and include Belgium in the conditions, and it is obvious that the British also realize that if the defense system built by the French in the front is obviously not a tofu scum project, the British military has long realized that in the event of war, the possibility of the Germans attacking in a roundabout way is almost 100%.

In this way, the British, in responding to the call from China, also forced Germany into a difficult position, and if Germany implemented the Schlieffen plan, there was no doubt that his colleagues would declare war on Britain, France, and Russia, and Prime Minister Asquith decided that Wilhelm II would not go crazy in any way......

Early in the morning, Qin Kai, who was exercising in the mansion, also got this news, and he also felt a little relaxed, no matter how conceited Wilhelm II was, he must also understand the current situation, and his own connivance with the current situation in Europe has at least maintained the current fragile balance, which may be able to buy critical time for the Germans!

After having breakfast in a hurry, Qin Kai immediately rushed to the Prime Minister's Office, at the critical moment, it was not that he was worried about Zhou Ruidong's handling, but he was obviously unwilling to stay out of the matter, at least, he could make some advance planning for China's future, in this regard, it is estimated that no one in this era will be more qualified than me.

However, as soon as the Cabinet meeting on the same day had finished deliberating on the "Draft Provisional Conscription," the officers of the Ministry of Military Affairs who had arrived in a hurry from outside brought the worrying news again...... The French government had declared war on Austria-Hungary in the early morning of the 7th, despite warnings and consultations from the British. (To be continued......)