The exercise could not go on. No matter how lightly Sa Zhenbing framed it, the British still have to have a little face in the end, and they can't completely mess with the failures without discipline. In addition, I have to admit that if it weren't for the Chinese "friends" who woke them up in time, I'm afraid I really couldn't believe that the fleet of the British Empire had such a big flaw!

Not only in terms of warship equipment, but also in terms of intelligence, and even at the level of tactical command -- this is also the part that the British are most annoyed by.

The British Royal Navy, which is the highest level of naval exemplification in the world, beats a new student at the tail of a crane in the most proud aspect, which is not an ordinary loss of face!

Major General Craddock, as the commander, almost committed suicide by swallowing a gun on the spot in shame! However, after all, he is a religious person, and he cannot go to heaven by suicide, and in addition, he is also responsible for sorting out the entire exercise process and experience and presenting it to the bigwigs of the Admiralty, so that everyone knows the strength of the Chinese. This is related to the life and death of the entire Royal Navy, and he has a great responsibility and cannot die casually!

Well, that's it.

After the return of all the warships, the British held a grand celebration banquet regardless of their previous suspicions to thank the Chinese friends for their cooperation and dedication. And taking the opportunity of relaxing with a drunken ear, he tried his best to get something out of the mouth of the Chinese naval officer.

The British are not willing to admit that their level is insufficient, they always have a fluke in their hearts, what if the Chinese secretly cheat and make a trick? In that case, we're not ashamed to lose

British gentlemen, you still can't afford to lose!

The report of the results of the exercise reached London, and the entire parliament and the upper echelons of the nobility fell silent in unison.

"Just lost? was beaten alive by such a simple and crude tactic without any sense of art? Is there a mistake? When did the British Navy become so vulnerable! ”

Disbelief, it's the first reaction. All kinds of doubts are pouring in, whether professionals or not, judging and analyzing from their own perspectives, looking for suspicious details that cannot be explained.

said this, but in my heart I kept beating drums one by one. The Chinese are indeed a nation that likes to hide and tuck. Quietly, give such a big gift to our family, saying that they didn't mean it, who believes it!

No, you can't let it go so easily, that's irresponsible to the whole of Britain!

For a time, the entire British upper echelons were talking about launching comprehensive sanctions against China and refusing to engage with each other.

Churchill, with his young background, made a big fuss in the House of Lords, spitting and shouting: "Terrible! It's horrible! It's not that the enemy shows terrible combat effectiveness. It's that some of us are horribly numb! It's terrible to be sluggish! They only see compromise and forbearance, as if the British Empire should be so excessively tolerant, but they ignore those bad guys with malicious intentions, always unruly hostile elements, and always regard our goodwill and tolerance as cowardice! How long are you going to endure this kind of thing?! No! Not even a minute or a second can be delayed, we must show our own resolute attitude! ”

Cracking down the arrogance of the Chinese is Churchill's clear-cut opinion. It is also the opinion of many young Conservative factions.

But the Liberal Party rulers did not quarrel much, and His Excellency the Prime Minister only said lightly: "Are you planning to completely push the Chinese into the main camp of the German allies?" Can anyone tell me. How to guarantee the inviolability of our colonies in Africa and Asia?! Once the Chinese open a land passage from the Persian Gulf, who can afford the consequences? ”

Churchill stiffened: "That's not going to happen." Germany is a member of the European civilized world after all, how can they put down their bodies and make friends with Chinese? ”

This is too unconvincing for even the leaders of the Conservative Party to help.

What kind of civilized world is Germany, a few decades ago. They have been mercenary exporters for more than a hundred years, and how many years has the pattern of fragmentation lasted? The so-called rise is only an achievement under Bismarck's iron-fisted rule. Compared with Britain and France, it is also a new tenderness!

On the contrary, it is China, which has been inherited for thousands of years. What about the substance? You're too embarrassed to speak!

Churchill certainly wasn't blushing and ashamed of that, and as a career politician, that's fundamental.

But he also had to admit that His Excellency the Prime Minister was right, and the current Britain really cannot draw too much fleet strength to the Indian Ocean. On the contrary, there is no longer a strong threat to China's periphery, and there is no way for their navy to move freely from the Pacific, whether it is to attack Australia or the Indian colonies, or to sweep along the east coast of Africa, as in the exercise.

And once China formed an alliance with Germany and took the initiative to occupy the Persian Gulf and open the passage from the port to Baghdad, the Germans would inevitably risk forcibly communicating the Eurasian land bridge from Austria-Hungary. Under the favorable conditions that the Russians are pinned down and have no time to take care of it, it is really not so difficult for the two countries to work together to open up Serbia, Bulgaria and Ottoman Turkey!

When the time comes, the flames of war will burn directly on Europe and the land bridge, and the interests of Europe will be lost. Who wants to see such a result?

Helpless! The British tried to think about it, but they couldn't find a way to temporarily block China.

Over the past 10 years or so, they have tried everything they can imagine, whether it is from Burma or India to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, or from the Russians to the western Xinjiang, Mongolia and even Heilongjiang, and they have engaged in hundreds of petty conflicts, but they have not at all contained the overall situation of China's stability.

Japan's best chess piece was abolished by China early, and it seems that only the United States has that strength at present.

But the problem is, Americans have a grudge against the British, who doesn't know that it was from Britain when the Civil War almost brought down the manipulator behind the United States? In recent years, the Americans have been engaged in industry to make money, and they are unwilling to get involved in dangerous wars outside -- and besides, they really do not have the ability to do so now.

Just this year, the U.S. "Great White Fleet" just finished its round-the-world visit, and its last stop was China. According to the grapevine, they "had a good talk, and the guests and hosts were satisfied", did they conclude an agreement to jointly control the Pacific? It's doubtful!

Churchill viciously appealed: "They can't be allowed to do that!" What we can't get in the British Empire, we will never allow anyone else to get! The world can only be led by us. Others, don't even think about it! ”

This is what the British really think. In fact, in the history of this world, they have done the same. When the halo of the world's number one power faded, the British left a pile of troubles all over the world in one fell swoop, whether it was the McMahon Line or Israel. The conflicts in the Middle East and the wars in Africa are full of traces of their bad deeds. The name of the world's No. 1-stirring stick is well deserved.

However, no matter how much they quarreled, the British really realized that the Chinese head of state on the other side of the mainland was definitely not something to be underestimated. Their ability to grasp the timing and the way they make their moves are just right to the point of the UK, and it is really not so easy to see the moves!

I can't come up with a good solution. We can only wait and see what happens, which is also the view of the Liberal Prime Minister. He always felt that the Chinese were not very willing to intervene in the disputes in Europe, and they did not want to take the initiative to show favor this time. Why not observe his words and deeds? Could it be that the British Empire still has that little bit of self-confidence?

The British have to admit that the world is rapidly slipping off the trajectory of completely breaking free of their control, not to mention the imminent end of the world. At least for them, it was a big blow.

There is no better way. The British had no choice but to continue to pinch their noses and admit it, watching the Chinese Navy's visiting fleet leave India and sail all the way to the Red Sea, calmly crossing the Suez Canal and entering the Mediterranean.

However, what worried them did happen, and the Chinese fleet sent a detachment. Travel to Greece and Austria-Hungary. Although it may seem lightweight, it is enough to show that they do not regard the British Empire as the only or first important target, and that China's visit seems to be genuine, high and low, strong and weak.

The main fleet visited Italy.

The Italians, who had already begun to show their comic appearance, had no awareness of the sight of a formidable enemy. They warmly invited Chinese visitors to visit Rome's cultural attractions and tried to help connect with them to visit the Vatican.

However, the Chinese generals are not enthusiastic about this, and the Vatican has always been strained because of China's restrictions on missionary freedom and the expulsion of a large number of missionaries who have hidden filth and committed crimes in China.

The culture and art of the Italians have won the appreciation of Chinese friends, and their "achievements" in naval construction have also been praised by Chinese naval generals at the professional level.

This article is really not a derogatory term. In good conscience, the Italians are very original in naval construction. In the history of the world, they were the first country in the world to propose a single-caliber all-main gun warship, and they were also the first to use a triple turret, the first to build an all-metal warship, and the first to use electromechanical devices to operate guns and turrets.

And so many other leading ideas, it stands to reason that it should be able to create a strong navy, right?

Unfortunately, the Italians are clearly not doing a good job in this regard. Their navy had not fought a war from 1866 to the present, and neither the government nor the naval industry was very enthusiastic. Even though the nations began to compete for dreadnoughts early, they dragged their feet until 1907 when they began to build the first all-main gun battleship, the "Dante". Looking at that very reluctant virtue, it is estimated that it is also used for façade.

However, the Italians' artistic ability was fully exploited, and this brand new battleship with a standard displacement of 19,500 tons was equipped with four triple 305mm main guns, and the slender hull ensured superior speed, with a mere 32,000 horsepower output, and achieved a speed of up to 24 knots. In the capital ships of the countries of the world in the same period, it does not fall behind.

The rest of the data is also impressive. Although Sa Zhenbing and the others were accustomed to seeing more advanced Chinese warships, they still had great respect for the top-notch goods that the great powers of this era could produce.

Subsequently, the Chinese fleet visited France and Spain along the way, and made a special trip to Morocco to inspect Sino-German cooperative mining enterprises, and after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, it went around the Atlantic Ocean and finally sailed to the mainland of the British Empire.

Again, they split in two, one of them continuing to visit Belgium, the Netherlands, and finally Germany.

Not to mention how Sa Zhenbing led the main fleet to deal with the British, Yang Hao, as a secret envoy, arrived in Germany on the "Tianjin", and together with the accompanying rear admiral, became the guest of honor of Wilhelm II's hospitality.

In the midst of a feast where the Junker aristocracy gathered. He saw with his own eyes historical figures such as Moltke Jr., Hindenburg and Ludendorff, and marveled at the abundance of talent in Germany.

Although he recklessly knocked down the troops under the Kaiser's personal command during the army exercise last year, and felt that there might be little hope for promotion, Hindenburg still dutifully played his role at a critical time.

In the seemingly relaxed communication, he always seized the opportunity. He constantly spied on the intentions of the Chinese envoys, trying to judge through him what His Excellency the Great Führer, who was far away in the East, had a view of Germany.

Yang Hao rarely encountered an opportunity to play at will, and he immediately opened his mouth at the banquet: "As you all know, China has an extremely good impression of Germany. Your country is one of the few great powers that has not waged a war of aggression against us (that was not in time), and at the same time we firmly believe that the German people are the best and hardest working people in the world, and that they deserve a status and treatment that is commensurate with them. Moreover. From His Majesty the Great Emperor, we see the hope of the realization of this historic achievement! ”

When Wilhelm II heard this, he was so happy that his molars were about to show out.

Yang Hao continued to spray good words that don't want money: "We note that Germany, under the leadership of His Majesty the Emperor, has made amazing achievements. With the peerless wisdom of the great Prime Minister Bismarck, Germany achieved in just 30 years what Britain and France had achieved in nearly 100 years. And in terms of economic and military construction, it has surpassed it in an all-round way, which is a rare and remarkable achievement in the history of mankind! ”

Wow! Thunderous applause! Cheers! Wilhelm II was also not lame. Most of the wrinkles on his forehead have been ironed out.

Yang Hao held a wine glass and questioned in private, telling the truth always makes people feel intimate!

With this premise, the foreshadowing. It is not surprising that China has taken the initiative to form a good alliance with Germany, and that the two best nations of the East and the West support each other and work together.

The Germans also did not mention how they were desperate to get a Chinese colony, and even sent people to join in the war of joint attacks—that was all in the past. Aren't we all spending money to settle it?

Hindenburg was still relatively sober, and he seized the opportunity to ask: "Does China intend to form an alliance with Germany?" Or in the midst of Europe's strife, openly on that side? ”

Yang Hao replied slyly: "Since ancient times, we have pursued the national policy of good-neighborliness and friendship, and have never carried out military aggression against other countries, let alone pursued military expansion. China also has no interest in caring about what happens too far away. Morally, though. We support Germany in its quest for a position commensurate with its strengths. ”

Hindenburg, of course, was not satisfied with this answer, and he did not believe that a country with a strong military force would really not be moved. What kind of species the military are, he knows too well.

Yang Hao expressed helplessness about this, to be honest, no one believed it!

Saying this, in private, China and Germany signed a series of mutually beneficial economic cooperation agreements, and secretly transferred a considerable part of military technology and a large number of arms. This allowed the German Army, which was already about to complete its new military construction, to be armed in a much faster time.

Heavy machine guns, infantry artillery, artillery of all kinds, large quantities of food, military supplies, meat, and much more, were openly supplied.

Although Germany is very industrial, it is still flawed in general. They have no way to make up for the most critical shortcoming, agriculture, but with China's help, they have made up for it.

Nominally, Germany is a Sino-German partnership for Morocco's phosphorus chemical industry, and has some rights and interests in a series of finished products such as fertilizers, agricultural products, additives, etc. China gives them a share, and no one can say anything.

Yang Hao's series of advocacy and support greatly increased the confidence of the Junker aristocracy.

Originally, until now, the idle Junker nobles couldn't find a more interesting activity to do except go to war. Over the years, they have worked overtime to prepare for war, continuously increasing the number of land forces, and by now they are close to achieving the scale required by the "Schriffen Plan".

Now that they have a large amount of equipment and supplies provided by China, the plan to call up 300,000 troops in the pipeline can be carried out immediately.

Once the new units have been reorganized, they will initially meet the standard of strength for waging war. At that time, even if Kaiser Wilhelm II was not happy, he would not be able to control the military that had already gone berserk!

The most important weight is that Yang Hao secretly promised that China would hold the Russian Army back for at least half a year, so that they would have no time to reach out to Europe. Germany should seize this rare opportunity and boldly plunge into the war against France!

In fact, without further ado, the cries for seizing the opportunity to wage war had been preached for some time before the German Junker aristocracy. They clearly saw that the Russians were vulnerable to the Chinese army, and the ridiculous performance fully demonstrated the characteristics of a group of waste.

For such an enemy, Germany did not need to put much effort into guarding against it, they could not pose a threat.

Secondly, Germany's finances are on the verge of collapse!

The competition for ships has come to this point, and the Germans are exhausted, although the battleships with powerful 381mm guns have been built, but the speed has always been unable to improve, and it is foreseeable that they will most likely not be able to match the British. Failure is almost inevitable.

Rather than having the entire country's economy dragged down by that time, it is better to take advantage of the current momentum and the rare opportunity to first clean up the enemy on the opposite side - France!

The arrival of Yang Hao's envoy solved their worries. Most of the people in the upper echelons of Germany are ready to move, and they can't hold it back! (To be continued.) )