"What, the French are now ready to make peace with the Germans? Gentlemen, this is the most shameless betrayal of the century! ”

In the Prime Minister's Office at 10 Downing Street in London, the tall British War Secretary Kitchener slapped his palm on the long table in front of him, and said loudly to his colleagues in a tone full of anger and resentment: "A year ago, it was these French who single-handedly provoked the dispute in Morocco, which suddenly triggered a conflict unprecedented in Europe since 1870; In order to fulfill the treaty of aid to the allies, Great Britain resolutely chose to abandon the prosperous and peaceful life and plunge into the trenches to help them resist the German offensive artillery fire. During the year's war, more than 250,000 British soldiers were buried forever on the other side of the Channel in a land that did not belong to them; They did not have the duty to defend the territory like the French soldiers, but fought bloodily and even paid with their lives with a sincere heart to bear the difficulties of their friends! And now, the kingdom for which they have shed their blood is about to bow down to its adversary, so what is the sacrifice of our lads? ”

was slapped on his table like this by Kitchener and roared, but Prime Minister Asquith failed to show the slightest dissatisfaction. The qualifications and titles of the other party are currently the pinnacle of the entire United Kingdom, and even if they form a cabinet instead of themselves, it will only be a matter of minutes. Moreover, the British Army, now led by Kitchener, is the only bright spot in the current collapse of the Entente; At present, the British army on the battlefield in France has long been the central pillar of its own power; If it weren't for the mainstay of these 40 divisions, France might have been knocked down in the offensive half a year ago, and it would have been impossible for them to survive in this state until now.

"Your Excellency, Marshal. The French had just suffered another heavy defeat in land battles: they had lost 15 divisions in a month. It is inevitable that the will to fight will be shaken. If this had happened to my Britannica's Army. It is also a near-unbearable loss. Foreign Secretary Gray spoke softly, relieving Asquith, who was sitting at the top. He paused, then added, "Actually, it's time for us to think about the future. We must not allow this war to continue in its present form, in which case the consequences would be a catastrophe for both France and us. ”

"Why, Edward, are you going to sue for peace with the Germans?" Kitchener turned. Said to Gray in disbelief. The former widower had been the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom since 1905, and had never fallen after several successes of Prime Ministers; It was under his single-handed facilitation that France and Russia, which were originally at odds with Britain, became Britain's hardcore allies one after another, and formed a double encirclement of the Allied camp led by Germany and Austria on land and sea. Now that the Russian giant has collapsed with an unexpected vulnerability, is he about to abandon the idea he has been dreaming of for ten years?

"As much as I would be tempted to say that Britain is perfectly capable of carrying the war on, the reality is that we can no longer afford to drag it on." Gray spoke in a heavy tone, the bitterness in his words could no longer be concealed, "On April 23rd, after the end of the Battle of Des. The Washington administration, which saw that the Germans had won the battlefield, swallowed $400 million in German government bonds in one go; Even the Germans have lowered their interest rates to a new low of 5%. Those money-hungry Americans are also willing to eat! ”

"At the same time, our bonds have been heavily sold off on Wall Street, and the American people are generally worried and afraid of holding our bonds, even if they sell them at a loss or even at a loss. Our financing in the U.S. has shrunk dramatically, with our results in the first quarter of this year down more than 70 percent from the three months in the early days of the war. The money-starved kingdom can no longer afford to buy supplies from the United States on the same scale as before, and even the American shipowners now prefer to ship goods to Hamburg to Southampton and Liverpool. At present, the North Atlantic has become a channel for the supply of fresh blood to Germany, and every sortie of the High Seas Fleet will escort a fleet of hundreds of thousands of tons to the German mainland, while we can only stay in the port and sit silently. On the contrary, the situation of our maritime shipping has become worse and worse, not only has the tonnage of sunken merchant ships increased dramatically, but even the total volume of shipments has decreased at an unacceptable rate! ”

Speaking of this, Gray's sentiment gradually became agitated: "The total amount of goods on the market in London is now at least twice as low as before the war, the citizens often have only a single staple food and vegetables, and we have even been forced to implement rationing of household items. Isn't it even the army units of Your Excellency Marshal that they have enough ammunition and supplies to support them? Because they are all directly transported to the outside world, or the raw materials are transported before they can be produced in our factory! In such a situation, who can tell me what it will be like if the war continues? What's more, war is by no means merely for the sake of war, but must be a way to resort to force to achieve a certain political goal; Now, however, Britain has lost this crucial principle and philosophy. Will we continue the war in the hope of breaking through Berlin, or will the Royal Navy recapture the Trident from the High Seas Fleet? Britain today cannot control the imposing Prussian beast, and if it wants to stay on its back, will it not wait for the other party to throw us down and then trample on us with its iron hooves? ”

Kitchener opened his mouth at this, but finally did not refute Gray's words. At present, although the British Army's performance can be described as excellent, it is limited to the situation of being able to maintain the Western Front: as for the German army, which has returned from a counteroffensive and a great victory on the Eastern Front, even the always energetic and resolute Kitchener has no such unrealistic plan. After entering 1914, the decline of the British fleet on the sea also greatly radiated to the land field, and the hundreds of reserve battalions that had completed training lacked enough ammunition to arm them; At the same time, the supply of ammunition supplies also declined, which also dragged down the normal performance of the army's combat power in a considerable way. If the Germans' recent assaults had been directed against the British, Kitchener was not sure to do a better job than his French counterparts.

"But Edward, should we just allow the voices of surrender in the French government to grow, and finally join the French in suing for peace with Germany? If the war were to end now, you should know ten times better than I do about the disadvantages that Britain will face at the negotiating table! After a long silence, Kitchener finally spoke again, "Even if we really lose hope of winning the war, we must help us negotiate with some positive actions on the battlefield, so that our opponents can reach a relatively decent peace in fear of Britain." The Bolsheviks were able to make a humiliating peace with the Germans, but I in Britain could never sign a similar humiliating treaty with them! ”

"Your Excellency Balfour, how is the Navy preparing now?" Hearing Kitchener's last words, Asquith's eyes suddenly flashed at the top, and then he asked the Admiral Balfour, who had been silent all this time.

"Your Excellency, the Grand Fleet got 2 battleships after entering 1914, both of which were super dreadnoughts ordered from us by Chile and Brazil in South America, equipped with 10 unified 14-inch guns, and their firepower was more powerful than any of the previous warships in the Grand Fleet. The Rapid Fleet received three long-awaited Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, eight 15-inch guns that had already formed a considerable combat effectiveness in the round-the-clock training of the Royal Navy sailors, enough to engage the Germans at sea. ”

As if Asquith had expected this inquiry, Balfour did not hesitate to tell everyone about the situation of the navy: "Although the strength of the Grand Fleet is no longer sufficient to compete with the German High Seas Fleet, the new Queen's fast fleet, with three new ships, is fully capable of fighting the German reconnaissance fleet." We sank 2 German Cruisers in the Battle of Southern Ireland, but the Germans stopped building them from 1911 onwards; As a result, there are only 4 battle cruisers left in their reconnaissance fleet, and with 6 to 4, we undoubtedly have a near-crushing advantage! The Queen-class battleships, which can reach speeds of up to 24 knots, are able to accompany fast fleets in most situations, which is also a valuable legacy left to us by Winston. ”

Asquith let out a long breath. After more than half a year of the decline of sea power, even a politician like him has a certain understanding of the navy after a long illness; The Royal Navy is now out of the game in the field of heavy samurai in cluster battles, but it still has the initiative in the fast cavalry that detects and attacks, and with this it is enough to meet the minimum requirements. For a moment, Asquith's gaze became sharp again, and he said, "What Marshal Kitchener said is extremely true. We must reap a decent peace without land reparations, and the only way to achieve this is to make the Germans feel the heritage of Britain's sea power! It would be enough for us to show enough sea power to be intractable to the Germans, to contain their inflated ambitions; After all, the navy is not a quick product that can be changed at will, and the greed of the Germans will eventually succumb to the harsh reality. (To be continued......)