Britain, which had regained its naval strength, was confident enough to immediately announce the abrogation of the "Nine-Power Pact" and demanded that the British colonies continue to fight.

The G-8 demanded a joint war against Britain, but the Chinese Empire did not respond, and the Dutch and Turkish navies were too weak to continue the war with Britain without the support and cover of the Chinese Imperial Navy.

The Allied powers of Germany, Italy and Austria and the Entente powers of France and Russia had to form a camp against Britain, and none of the five countries wanted to let the colonies in their mouths spit out.

In the struggle for overseas colonies, the most important thing is the navy, and Britain's strong naval industrial capacity shocked the five countries. In a single confrontation, the navy of any country is no match for Britain, but the five countries also have a way, and the five countries surpassed Britain in the total number of Shenbow battleships imported and built by the Chinese Empire, so the five countries formed a joint fleet to fight against the British navy.

Although the British Navy was confident that it would defeat the Combined Fleet, that was the next policy, because once a fight started, the two sides would not be able to control the situation, and if it turned into the pattern of the Thirty Years' War, it would be fatal for Britain.

In the meeting room of the Downing Street Houses of Parliament, the co-cabinet of Prime Minister David ? Lloyd George discussed countermeasures with Henry, Fisher and other officials.

"Does the Navy have the confidence to defeat the Combined Fleet?"

All eyes fell on Fisher. They would never have asked this question before, believing that the Royal Navy was the most powerful and could not be defeated. However, since the Sino-British War, their confidence has been shaken, and the invincible British Royal Navy has been defeated by the Imperial Chinese Navy, and is almost about to die, so they dare not be so confident anymore.

Fisher said: "Our Royal Navy is confident that it will defeat the combined navy of the five nations!" ”

Henry said: "I hope you are cautious, the current situation is that the number of new concept battleships of the joint navy of the five countries exceeds ours, and they have all introduced the Shenbow-type battleships of the Chinese Imperial Navy, and the Shenbow-type battleships have already experienced the test of war, although our dreadnought-type battleships are also imitating the Shenbow-type battleships, but they have not been tested in war, if we lose the war again, the empire will no longer turn over, and the five countries will definitely divide us." ”

The pressure on Fisher's heart was also very high, but as Lord of the Admiralty, he could not back down. So he said: "Gentlemen, we in the Royal Navy have already paid enough tuition, and we will not make the same mistake again." ”

David was still sure of Fisher's spirit, nodded, and asked, "Then tell me what you think!" ”

Fisher then said: "Although the total number of warships of the five-nation combined fleet far exceeds ours, they come from five different countries, and their command cannot be unified. Although they now have a common goal of dividing up the colonies of the British Empire, the fundamental contradictions between the five countries have not changed, but have expanded, so they cannot have a unified commander, so they can only fight separately. We, the Royal Navy, can break them individually. ”

Henry asked, "Why do you say that their contradictions have expanded?" ”

Fisher smiled and said: "Originally, the German-Italian-Austrian Triple Alliance was full of contradictions with the Franco-Russian Entente, and they were two opposing military blocs. France and Russia have a wide range of conflicting colonial interests with us, and they are bitter enemies, and Germany and Italy are emerging powers, and they have been given to expand their overseas colonies, so they have gradually become our enemies. The interests of the two major military blocs will conflict with the interests of our colonies, but the contradictions between them were greater than the contradictions between them and us, because the empire was too powerful for them to shake us. However, the Anglo-Chinese war had brought the empire to its knees, so the Chinese Empire took the lead in colluding with the two major military blocs against us. At this time, the contradictions between the two major military blocs were concealed, because they had a common goal against us. They shamelessly colluded to plunder our colonies, and now they have basically achieved their strategic goal of seizing the colonies of their dreams. But what they didn't expect was that in the past, the colonies of the two major military blocs did not border each other and were separated by the colonies of the British Empire, and they did not have a conflict of interests in the colonies, but now they are different, the colonies of the two major military blocs are staggered and bordered by each other, and their contradictions will soon erupt. ”

David nodded and said, "I see what you mean!" Are you saying that the colonies we have lost now are like a link connecting the two major military blocs, and they will have to face each other's threats. ”

Henry asked, "But does this have anything to do with your navy's victory over the Five-Nation Alliance?" ”

"Of course it does!" Fisher smiled: "I don't know if you have studied the diplomatic strategy of Mr. Bismarck, the iron-blooded prime minister of Germany?" ”

"Don't sell it, say it!" David was not in the mood to play riddles, he was already in a mess in his heart, and whether he could defeat the five-nation combined fleet would become the key to the survival of Britain.

Fisher wanted to show his strength, but the other party didn't give him a chance, so he had to say: "I suggest that the empire sacrifice some of its interests first to divide and disintegrate the alliance of the five nations." Strive to win one side together to deal with the other side, so as to achieve the goal of each defeat. ”

Henry analyzed: "You mean that we choose to join one camp and deal with another?" ”

Fisher nodded, noncommittal.

David frowned and said, "Having said that, which side should we choose?" How do you explain to the people? ”

Fisher said: "In this regard, Wang Chenhao, the emperor of the Chinese Empire, is an expert, we should learn from him well, and help him count the money if he is beaten up." ”

David and Henry couldn't help but smile wryly, Fisher's analogy was indeed the current situation in England.

Henry said, "Tell me what you think?" ”

Fisher then said: "I think you should understand that the Chinese Empire is pretending to be overtures to the Empire this time, and they have a more insidious strategic purpose. ”

"That's right!" David nodded and said: "We know very well in our hearts that the huge losses caused by the Chinese Empire to the British Empire will never be forgotten, and we will take revenge on them sooner or later, but not now." Now our primary enemy is the seven European countries, and we can first clean up our close neighbors before we can deal with our distant neighbors. ”

"This is a long-distance and close attack, everything has a priority, we have to take it step by step." Henry had the same attitude.

Fisher smiled bitterly: "So the Emperor of the Chinese Empire is very clever in this move, and he is hoping that we will do this." He just wants to see a big war break out in Europe, watch us fight to the death with the seven European countries, and then he will reap the benefits of the fisherman. ”

David sighed, "What's the solution?" We know that they have sinister intentions, but we can't do anything about it. You can't leave the enemy at your doorstep and go to war with the Chinese Empire, right? ”

Fisher said: "So we can't fight hard with the seven European countries and let the Chinese empire watch the excitement." What I need is Mr. Bismarck's diplomatic means, to unite one side against the other, to preserve the strength of the empire as much as possible from being consumed, and to have a chance to seek revenge on the Chinese Empire in the future! ”

Henry nodded, understanding Fisher's intentions, so he said: "Uniting one side against the other side should be the best plan to crack the five-nation combined fleet, and at the same time, you can also recapture some colonies as soon as possible." ”

David asked, "But which side shall we choose?" ”

Fisher said: "His Majesty is good at diplomacy and has close ties with the French leadership, and if it were not for this war, I am afraid we would have signed a colonial memorandum of understanding with France to avoid colonial conflict." Germany had risen too quickly, and this time Germany had seized South Africa, the most economically rich part of the empire's colonies, where gold mines and diamonds were absolutely not allowed to give to Germany. ”

David asked, "You mean that we should unite France and Russia against Germany, Italy and Austria." ”

Fisher nodded and said, "Italy is a peninsular country, and as long as our navy surrounds their coastline, we will force them to submit. Austria-Hungary has fallen, and there are huge contradictions with Russia and Turkey, so we don't need to intervene. Germany's high seas fleet is on the rise, and the German-French contradictions are irreconcilable because of territorial disputes, and France will help us defeat the German navy as soon as possible. ”

Henry suddenly said, "What you say is indeed true!" But wars are unpredictable, and the results are generally unsatisfactory. Have you thought about the consequences if our entry into the Entente leads to a full-scale war with the Allies? The whole of Europe will be a pot of porridge, and we will not be able to be alone at that time, and we will inevitably be swept into it. As a result, the West declined and the East rose, so wouldn't it fall for the tricks of the Chinese Empire? ”

David nodded, this is indeed a serious problem.

"So we have to control the situation as much as possible, and put the battlefield in the overseas colonies, and not spread to Europe proper," Fisher laughed. All we need to do is retake the colonies occupied by Germany, Italy and Austria. Once we regain it, we will immediately dissociate ourselves from France and Russia, and then recapture the colonies invaded by France and Russia, so that we can take back our colonies, maintain the balance between the contradictions between the Entente and the Central Powers, and finally we will deal with the Chinese Empire and wash away the shame. ”

Henry nodded, "That's doable!" ”

David also listened, so he said, "Well, let's take it to the council and decide." The stakes are high, and if you are not careful, it will lead to unpredictable wars, so you must be cautious. ”

The matter was then hotly debated among members of the British Parliament, and in the end, the side that supported the United Entente against the Allies won a majority.

On December 28, 1906, the British House of Lords passed a resolution with historical value, which made Britain abandon its long-standing policy of isolating the European continent, and Britain decided to join the Franco-Russian Entente, which changed the course of European and even human history, and planted a huge bomb for the world war.

After the decision of the British Parliament, King Edward VII became the Ambassador of Peace and immediately set out to visit France.

On January 3, 1907, King Edward VII met with the President of the French Third Republic, Emile Edward, in Paris. Francois? Émile Fran Oisloubet signed the Anglo-French Memorandum of Understanding, which marked the end of the conflict between the two countries over the struggle for overseas colonies and the beginning of cooperation against the threat of a rising Germany. In the agreement, the two sides agreed on control over a range of countries and regions. Britain abandoned the two colonies of Anglo-Egyptian Sultan and Abycilia, and made concessions to France on Morocco, Madagascar, Siam (Thailand) and other places. In this way, there was no need for Britain and France to break out in the war over the colonies, and the French spearhead was shifted from Britain to Germany, so this treaty of understanding laid the foundation for subsequent political and military cooperation between the two countries.

On 9 July, French President Lube visited London at the invitation of British Prime Minister David, during which Britain and France further signed a political and military treaty between Britain and France, strengthening the alliance between the two countries. In addition, in the annex to the Anglo-French Entente, Britain and France in Southeast Asia were to unite in response to the expansion of the Chinese Empire.

Immediately after the Anglo-French Entente, France broke away from the Five-Power Coalition and transferred back to the French Navy. As a result, the five-nation combined fleet suddenly lost half of its sea strength and its strength was greatly reduced.

The Tsarist Empire only sent three warships to participate in the five-nation combined fleet, which was already embarrassing, and when the French Navy withdrew, the Tsarist Russian Navy also withdrew.

The Tsarist Empire sent an urgent note to the French political axe, expressing its dissatisfaction with France's unilateral agreement with Britain. Unexpectedly, France acted as an intermediary to mediate the conflict of interests between Britain and Russia. In order for Britain to join the Entente, it had to settle a conflict of interest with Russia. And Russia did not want to fight with Britain again, and if the dispute could be resolved, it would naturally be happy to become an ally.

As Britain urgently needed to retake the South African colonies occupied by Germany and the Netherlands as soon as possible, Britain was anxious to negotiate with Russia. In February 1907, under the mediation of France, representatives of Britain and Russia signed the Anglo-Russian "Sincere Agreement" in Paris. The pact was part of the Great Game between the British Empire and the Russian Empire in Central Asia. It defines the two countries in East Africa and Persia. Britain gave up Persia and the Gulf region, and the Gold Coast in East Africa was also assigned to Russia. The purpose of the treaty was primarily to prevent German expansion into the region. At the same time, in the annex, Britain and Russia also secretly reached a resolution to resist the expansion of the Chinese Empire, and secretly demarcated the future sphere of influence of the two countries in Afghanistan and the Tibetan provinces of China.

With the signing of the "Memorandum of Understanding" between Britain and France and the "Sincere Agreement" between Britain and Russia, the conflict of interests of the colonies between Britain and France and Russia was completely resolved, and after the Franco-Russian "Treaty of Alliance", the Triple Entente was formally formed. Britain wanted to seize the colonies occupied by Germany, France wanted to recapture Alsace and Lorraine occupied by Germany, and the contradictions between Russia and Austria-Hungary were almost irreconcilable.

(To be continued)