Chapter 166: World War I Breaks Out

How strong the British Empire is, just look at the map. The small blue flag means that it is a British colony. There are so many small flags on the map that the scalps of people who look at them are numb. The Sun Never Sets Empire is now at its peak, and although it is starting to decline, it is still a powerful empire that China cannot match.

With these colonies, Britain was the world leader until the eve of World War II, which shows how strong the British Empire is now. Fang Jianxiong never thought of joining Germany's alliance to fight against Britain, not to mention the distance between the two countries, the navy is still Britain's strong point. From China to Germany, almost every choke point was under the control of the British. Such an alliance is not looking for death?

It is not difficult to convince Sun Baoqi and Tang Hualong on this issue, but another question makes these two a little worried.

"Fuguo, do you really want to fight the Japanese?" Sun Baoqi asked worriedly, Fang Jianxiong really didn't know whether to tell the truth or not. Japan's penetration in China is too deep, and it is difficult to guarantee that there are not one or two subordinates who have a good relationship with Japan around these two people.

After thinking about it carefully and looking at the eager eyes of these two people, Fang Jianxiong sighed, waved his hand and retreated left and right, and said in a low voice: "Teacher, Brother Jiwu, in fact, I don't want to fight at all. The problem is that once Europe fights, Japan will definitely take the opportunity to expand its influence in China. For example, the Jiaodong Peninsula! After the Russo-Japanese War, Japan was in a period of recovery, and its national strength was extremely weak. Even now, Japan's domestic economy is in a bad situation. Japan wants to recover and strengthen itself. The first is to suck blood from China, and the second is to follow the opportunity of war in Europe and make a lot of war money. The European war is an opportunity that cannot be missed for both China and Japan, and if we miss it, there will be no chance to turn around again for 30 years. Therefore, it is necessary to cut off the tentacles that Japan has reached out to suck blood! A war between China and Japan is inevitable, and all the recent deployments of the Ministry of Defense are aimed at this, which is absolutely secret, and the only people on the government side know about it are the teacher and Brother Jiwu. ”

The two audience members were dumbfounded. I didn't expect it to be really fighting. Seeing the expressions of the two, Fang Jianxiong knew in his heart that they were in a dilemma. The government of the Republic of China is now in a difficult period of transition and recovery, and there is no doubt that the burden of fighting a war at this time is heavy. The Chinese Navy is not good, it cannot hit Japan, it can only be a passive defense. Once the war does not end for a long time, it will be an unbearable consequence for the nascent government of the Republic of China. Coupled with Japan's powerful navy, which can land at any point along China's long coastline, how can it be defended when the time comes?

Since it was Fang Jianxiong's decision. That's something that can't be changed. Even if these two tried to persuade them, they couldn't open their mouths. This Republic of China was single-handedly defeated by Fang Jianxiong. The fact that these two were able to sit in their current positions was also due to Fang Jianxiong's strength. If it weren't for Fang Jianxiong, Tang Hualong wouldn't have been able to get along in the Nanjing Provisional Government, and he wouldn't have seen any good days under Yuan Shikai in Beijing. Sun Baoqi was forced to die by Yuan Shikai when he was independent in Shandong, and after just one month of Shandong independence, his hair was white.

"Fuguo, what can we do?" Sun Baoqi made up his mind, since Fang Jianxiong decided to fight. Then it's good to fight. Anyway, this student is capable, and it's not up to him to influence it. Since you can't control it, let's make every effort to help. It's already in the same boat, and they won't be better if Fang Jianxiong is finished.

"There are many things that the government can do, such as propagating nationalism, nationalism. Shandong officials, I plan to change a batch. All of them are to make sure that they can win this battle! "Fang Jianxiong still needs their cooperation very much. War is not just a matter for the military.

In Europe, after the agreement between Germany and Austria, there was also an agreement between France and Russia. On July 20, French President Poincarre and Prime Minister Viviani visited Russia. The two countries assured each other. In the event of war against Germany, the two countries would certainly fulfill their obligations as allies, and Russia, which had made three concessions and retreats in the international crises of 1909, 1912 and 1913, had decided not to make concessions and retreats this time. In the communiqué on the talks between the two countries and on open diplomatic occasions, Russia and France have repeatedly emphasized the "precious friendship" between the two countries, exaggerated the "fraternal naval and army forces," and pledged to each other to "cooperate with their allies loyally and unremittingly." During the summit meeting between the two countries, Russia held a reception banquet at the Winter Palace in Petersburg. During the meeting, Poingale spoke with the Austro-Hungarian ambassador and asked the ambassador to convey to the Austro-Hungarian government that "it should handle relations with Serbia with special caution." "Serbia is a very close friend of the Russian people, and Russia has its ally France, and I don't know how many terrible disputes there are on this issue," he stressed. ”

On July 23, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia, which could not be agreed, on the day of the return of the French president. The European war is on the verge of breaking out! Serbia, which did not want to fight, made a salvage effort, but in the end they all failed. On 28 July, Austria-Hungary entered and declared war on Serbia.

Britain's true intentions have always been well hidden, on the one hand instigating France and Russia to start a war against Germany and Austria, and on the other hand, on the 26th expressing its willingness to mediate. On the 29th, British Foreign Secretary Grey met with the German ambassador and said that Britain could maintain neutrality in the previous war between Russia and Austria, and once Germany and France intervened in the war, Britain would not be able to maintain neutrality. Kaiser Wilhelm II regretted it too late, because Austria-Hungary had declared war on Salvia for two days, and the army had already entered Serbia, and there was no way to recover it.

That is, the British played all four other countries during this period, and then also dragged themselves into the water and fell into the quagmire of Europe for four years. It's really a "shoot yourself in the foot!" ”

The Austro-Serbian war broke out quickly, and Russia and France sided with Serbia and immediately carried out a general mobilization for war. On 31 July, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia and France to stop their general mobilization, which was flatly refused. Germany declared war on Russia on July 31 and France on August 3. On 2 August, in order to implement the Schlieffen Plan, the German General Staff sent an ultimatum to Belgium, asking that the German army be allowed to fight against the French army through Belgium and that it should be given a reply within 24 hours. Belgium, with a population of 7 million, courageously rejected Germany's unreasonable demands and appealed to Britain for help. On August 4, Germany flagrantly broke the 1839 treaty guaranteeing the permanent neutrality of Belgium, and the German army invaded Belgium. Upon learning of Germany's intention to invade Belgium, Britain issued an ultimatum to Germany on 4 August, demanding that Germany unconditionally respect Belgian neutrality. But German Chancellor Batemann told the British ambassador to Germany: "International treaties are nothing but a piece of waste paper. Britain then declared war on Germany under the pretext of Germany's destruction of Belgian neutrality. In just one week, the two major military blocs in Europe appeared one after another amid the clamor of war, and they were involved in a four-year war. The world war began.

When Europe finally fought, Fang Jianxiong, who was in Beijing, cheered when he heard the news, set up a table of dishes, specially opened a bottle of 60-year-old Moutai, and called the three chiefs of general staff together.

"Three brothers, Europe is fighting. Germany invaded Belgium, and Britain declared war on Germany and Austria. For Europe, it is a disaster that has dried up blood, and for China, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for development. But before we can develop, we have to settle one competitor, and that is Japan. We can't beat Japan at sea, we can fight on land. All these years of preparation, all for this battle. I hope that everyone will unite sincerely and fight a battle of national rejuvenation. ”

When Fang Jianxiong picked up the cup, Yin Weijun came in and reported: "German Minister Hahausen urgently asks to see him!" ”

Fang Jianxiong smiled helplessly: "It's really not the right time to come, the bad guys are drinking." "The other three all think this guy is too shameless, but everyone likes Fang Dashuai's shamelessness." Let's go meet us. Fang Jianxiong put down his wine glass, and the three of them got up and came out together, and met Hahausen in the reception room.

"Your Excellency, have you not yet made up your mind about the alliance?" Hahausen asked when they met, and Fang Jianxiong didn't dodge this time, and replied directly: "I have made up my mind, there must be a prerequisite for the alliance between China and Germany, that is, the United States joins, otherwise China will not agree to the Sino-German alliance." ”

Hahausen froze, this result is really difficult to achieve. If the Americans want to form an alliance, won't they have an alliance a long time ago? Looking at Hahausen's disappointed expression, Fang Jianxiong continued to say unhurriedly: "Please tell His Majesty the German Emperor that the Chinese government is willing to cooperate with Germany on the Qingdao issue." He also promised that if Germany was willing to return Qingdao to China, German personnel and property in Qingdao would be protected by the Chinese Government. ”

Hahausen did not linger long, and immediately turned to take his leave after receiving a clear answer. In Chinese terms, Fang Jianxiong's statement this time is a poor dagger, and the previous Qiē pro-German expression is an illusion. For the sake of China's own interests, Fang Dashuai will not lightly touch Germany. Hahausen felt that he had been fooled, but anger would not solve anything. Fang Jianxiong's ambition for Qingdao is not necessarily a bad thing in Hahausen's view. The news must be fed back to the country in a timely manner.

The course of the First World War did not change much because of a map by Marshal Fang, and Moltke Jr., the chief of the German General Staff, changed the Schlieffen plan. The German army on the Western Front was reduced by 11 divisions, not to mention, and Belgium was chosen as the breakthrough point, rather than bypassing the Netherlands to avoid the fortress of Liège, a change that could be said to be a fatal defeat for Germany. The Germans were bleeding from their heads in front of the fortress of Liège, and the fierce fighting for three days and three days made no progress.

The little Moltke was so shocked that he urgently sent Ludendorff to lead reinforcements. Ludendorff, who had done his homework before the war, had called for many calls not to go to Belgium before the war, but to no avail, and could only watch the German army hit a wall. At this time, Ludendorff was not a big man, and he was only a deputy chief of staff (a colonel in history, a major general in this time and space) from the General Staff to the Second Army.