"General Scheer, what bondage are you talking about?" Emperor Wilhelm II asked slowly, he had a hunch that he would do something he regretted as he had done when he had approved the war.

"My Majesty, of course, unlimited submarine warfare!" Admiral Scheer replied at once, "As long as you allow our submarines to attack any ships bound for Britain and France, the submarine forces of our navy will be able to bring down the supplies that Britain and France have received by sea to near zero." Your Majesty, our biggest problem now is that we cannot get the supply of key strategic materials, in fact, whether it is Britain or France, they are far more dependent on sea freight than we are. The British were not even self-sufficient in food, and their factories were dependent on colonies outside their homeland for all kinds of raw materials. And France sent a large number of adult men to the battlefield, and only women were employed in the factories. Their factory production was affected as much as agriculture, so in fact, they were able to continue fighting largely on the purchase of materials and industrial goods from the United States, and even directly on weapons and ammunition. As long as they can cut off this line of transport, their strength will dry up faster than we do. ”

"But, Your Excellency, have you ever considered how the Americans would react?" "If we had resorted to infinite submarine warfare, it would have been impossible not to sink American ships, and moreover, it would have blocked the way of the Yankees." They will not remain indifferent. If they also go to war, if they are on the opposite side of us, then we are even more ......"

"My Majesty, you can't just think so." General Scheer said, "You know, Britain and France have run out of money since the beginning of the war. Your Majesty, as you must know, Britain and France have sold several tranches of war bonds in the United States, and the main purchasers of these war bonds are the Americans. If these bonds are to be profitable, they must ensure that Britain and France win. Your Majesty, you must also know that this kind of bond in the hands of the Americans today is definitely not a small amount. So, although the United States has not yet entered the war, if Britain and France cannot defeat us, they will definitely go to war against us for those bonds. So, Your Majesty, while our land forces still have a certain strength, we can also weaken Britain and France by unrestricted submarine warfare. ”

"But the United States ......"

"Your Majesty, we all know that the United States is a large country with a vast territory, abundant resources, and the largest industrial world, and it has infinite potential. But Your Majesty, the United States is not armed now, and its army is in fact nothing more than a police force. It takes time for the United States to enter the war, and it will take quite a while for them to turn their army from a police force into a real army. And this is long enough for us to strangle Britain and France with unlimited submarine warfare. When the United States is fully armed, the overall situation on the European battlefield may be decided. At that time, even if they don't want to, they will have to go to our side and take Canada as compensation. General Scheer replied.

"So General, can infinite submarine warfare be so effective?" Emperor Wilhelm II asked.

"According to the results of our research, if unrestricted submarine warfare is practiced, we can sink more than 300,000 tons of ships every month, which is already more than the British, the French, and even the Americans can ship. In this way, if we can continue to block the routes for three to four months, there will be a famine in England and a severe shortage of supplies for the French army. At that time, when our land forces launch another decisive offensive, we will be able to force the British and French to the negotiating table. General Scheer replied confidently.

"Is that so?" Emperor Wilhelm II said, "I need to consult with others on this subject." ”

"Your Majesty, this is as it should be. I think Field Marshal Hindenburg would have understood. General Scheer replied.

……

"Your Majesty, if the Navy is so confident, then I have no objection to letting them try. After all, now that the Empire has reached a life-or-death point, any means that will help the Empire win should be tried. The Chief of Staff of the German Army, Field Marshal Hindenburg, said so.

"Ah, then......" said Emperor Wilhelm II, "then, let the men of the navy begin to prepare." ”

……

Field Marshal Hindenburg left the palace and got into his car, and his adjutant asked: "Marshal, it is very risky to do this, why don't you stop it?" ”

"Why should I stop it?" Field Marshal Hindenburg said, "Germany now does need to take risks, and, if I prevent this, will not the Navy have good reason to put the blame on us?" ”

……

"Daddy, Daddy!" Gladstone shouted as he ran towards Scrooge, who was taking a dip in the shade of a tree in the garden. Seeing this scene, Scrooge frowned slightly.

"Gladstone, pay attention to your manners and image!" Dorothea, who was sitting on the side, also frowned and scolded Greystone. Greystone also immediately realized that he was a little out of shape just now, and he immediately stood up and said to Scrooge in a steady voice: "Dad, the Germans have announced that they are going to engage in unrestricted submarine warfare. ”

"This is really good news for our shipbuilding industry. Do you understand what you should do later? Scrooge asked as he leaned back in his rocking chair and swayed slowly.

"Dad, that's what I'm here for. I think the most important thing right now is a few things like this. First of all, it is necessary to do the work of Congress and the President so that they can continue to maintain a pacifist course. The United States should not declare war on Germany too soon, because it is not in our interests. Gladstone said.

"Why do you think that?" Scrooge asked.

"The more ships sunk by the unlimited submarine warfare of the Germans, the better it will be for our shipbuilding." "And the greater the consumption of Britain and France." On the one hand, this increases the demand of the shipbuilding industry, and on the other hand, when Europe needs to be rebuilt after the end of the war, we in the United States can have a greater say in Europe. In addition, the more ships were sunk at sea, the more supplies the British and French had to order. For example, if the British need a million tons of steel, and 250,000 tons of steel are lost at sea, he must order at least 1,250,000 tons from us, and the same goes for everything else. So, the submarine warfare of the Germans is actually a good thing for most American companies. So I think it's easy for us and the rest of the family forces to come to an agreement on this issue. It should not be difficult to get both the president and Congress to continue to love peace. ”

"Well, that's a good idea." Scrooge nodded and said, "What about the other than that?" ”

"Dad, on top of that, we need to get some of our deals with the Germans done as soon as possible, after all, we're going to go to war with the Germans eventually. And we must maintain a patriotic image. So......" Greystone smiled.

"What else?"

"And that's what we reported. The war won't go on like this forever. Although we were able to build our ships faster than the Germans could sink them, there was always a time when the economic power of Britain and France would be exhausted. Even if you rely on borrowing, it is impossible to sustain yourself indefinitely. So when Britain and France are really hard to maintain, we in the United States will definitely enter the war. Therefore, we should be prepared in terms of public opinion and the development of weapons and equipment. At present, our public opinion is too much towards isolationism, and this needs to change slowly. The U.S. military also needs to be expanded as soon as possible. ”

"That's right, just arrange it according to your ideas." Scrooge said with a wave of his hand, then closed his eyes and continued to lie in the rocking chair and enjoy the cool breeze under the tree.

……

In August 1916, half a year earlier than in history, the Germans began their infinite submarine warfare, that is, German submarines would attack all ships on the routes to Britain and France, regardless of which country they belonged to, and the Germans would not give any warning before the attack.

On September 11, 1916, an American ship was sunk, resulting in the death of more than 30 people, and on September 15, 1916, another passenger liner from Britain to the United States was sunk, killing more than 300 people. The U.S. government's response to such a situation was not very tough, they merely condemned the Germans for a moment of routine atrocity, and then warned the American ships to be safe and not to sail on routes close to Britain and France. Of course, the Germans also pretended to regret the sinking of the passenger ship or something, and promised to pay compensation, as well as to open the net for the passenger ship with obvious appearance characteristics. And then there was nothing.

This perfunctory attitude of the United States naturally boosted the morale of the German Navy. And because of some of the technologies that Scrooge provided to Germany, such as cow submarines, submarine support vessels registered in foreign countries as merchant ships, and a much larger submarine force than ever before, the Germans did achieve the same results as Admiral Schell had expected in the first month after the start of the system of unlimited submarine warfare. Almost every day, they were able to sink more than one British or French merchant ship. Such a result further encouraged the German submarine forces. Soon, both Britain and France could feel the noose around their necks gradually tightening.