Edward sighed faintly and said, "When I was still the crown prince, my mother ruled the kingdom, how strong was Britain at that time?" In all the world, there is no kingdom that can be compared with the British Empire; In order for the United Kingdom to continue to thrive without coming to a standstill, we have to find an enemy for ourselves. And when I succeeded to the throne, these enemies came out of the continent one after another like voles, and each one more intractable and one more difficult to deal with! ”

"Your Majesty, in fact, since the day when the Marquess of Salisbury was first Prime Minister, the British Empire, which had reached its peak of its ability to rule the world, had already begun to fall from its peak to a certain extent. At that time, France came out of the shadow of defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, and the unified German Empire completed the process of overall industrialization at an extremely astonishing speed; Tsarist Russia, which abolished serfdom, benefited from the reforms of its predecessor, Tsar Alexander II, and even Austria, where the national problem was the most serious, balanced the relations between the various states to a large extent, forming an enlightened and autocratic political and political peace under the rule of Emperor Franz. Britain is extremely powerful, but its core is only a corner of the British Isles; And when these European powers start to make a difference, their development potential is far beyond the reach of our British. Before, I was the only one in the flower garden of Europe, and I was the only one in the flower garden; And now that Germany, France, Russia, Austria and other countries have broken ground, it will be difficult for Britain to return to the previous years of pride, which is also a situation that will eventually be faced with the development of the times. In the new industrial revolution led by the electrification and chemical industry, the British Empire did not dominate as much as it did in the last steam revolution, so even if we have developed greatly, our share in the world will inevitably decline significantly. In just a few words, Balfour pointed out the most fundamental reason for the change in the situation.

"Until the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne, the British Empire remains the unrivaled absolute hegemon on the planet, so that my uncle can continue to push through the glorious isolation of the Empire, and can expand and defend the empire without any allies. Since then, however, and especially in the last five years, our world standing and international influence have been declining dramatically: the tragedy of the Boer War, and the fact that the industrial economy has been overtaken by Germany, have made the kingdom's red sun gradually sink to the west. Britain, which had pursued glorious isolation, could no longer adapt to the current international environment, so I decided to abandon the policy of glorious isolation that I had pursued for many years and conclude an alliance with Japan to resist Russia's eastward advance. Balfour added.

Edward nodded slowly. He set his eyes on himself, the prime minister, and said softly: "I understand what you said. But now I am in a rather disadvantageous stage in Great Britain. In order to stop Russian expansion in southern Europe, Central Asia, and the Far East, we have been fighting the Russians fiercely for nearly half a century; And in order to defend our colonies in Africa and protect our sea lines of communication, we must deal with the French threat. Germany, on the other hand, has been exerting its influence on the Ottoman Empire, intent on getting the sick man of Central Asia to hand over his belongings locked in the safe, while extending its tentacles into Asia Minor and even the Arabian Peninsula, threatening our vital Suez Canal and the Red Sea route. This matter also concerns the core interests of the British Empire, and they will never be allowed to act so arbitrarily. At present, the rights and interests of the British Empire in the world are facing a strong challenge from Russia, France and Germany, and we cannot fight one against three, and it is quite difficult for us to defeat one against three, even with one against two. My Prime Minister, do you have anything you can do? ”

"Your Majesty, didn't you already say that you already had a strategy to deal with it?" Belfour said with some surprise.

Edward nodded slightly, and his face showed a look of extreme complexity, as if unwilling and angry: "Since the national strength of our British Empire is limited, it cannot be one against three, so we must improve relations with one of these countries and reach an understanding with them that they will not infringe on each other's interests. Only in this way can we continue to maintain our transcendent status as the number one in the world. And looking at Russia, France and Germany, it is most likely that we will reach an understanding...... Only French Gaul, with whom we have a grudge for nearly a thousand years. ”

"Russia has taken a bear on the Far East and invaded South Manchuria, and successive tsars have always wanted to take away India, the most brilliant jewel in the crown of the British Empire, and we have the most direct conflict of interests, and the relationship between Britain and Russia is almost irreconcilable. Germany, on the other hand, took control of the Baghdad Railway, which controlled the Ottoman Empire, and its industrial and economic power surpassed that of Britain; If we reach an understanding with them, our British Empire will not only cut a large piece of the cake of existing colonial and trade interests for them, but will also cause a great imbalance in the power of Europe, and achieve the unshakable position of Germany as the hegemon of Europe, which is tantamount to giving up the crown of imperial power that we have lasted for hundreds of years. ”

Balfour's eyes twinkled, and he continued: "France, however, is different. Although their economy was prosperous, their industry was quite weak, and their overall strength was much worse than that of Germany; Even if they had our support, their posture towards Germany would not have been as complete as that of Germany's unwarranted crushing of them. For deeper reasons, France is also our God-given ally on the European continent: they are the old empire of the second largest colony in the world, and the colonies are completely sufficient for them; And they were far less impactful and competitive in trade than Germany, and had no effect on our British Empire. Therefore, we have come to an understanding with the French that we will only have to put away that hostile hatred of each other, and that there will be almost no real cost to either side! ”

"Exactly. The rapid development of the German economy in recent years has almost entirely been developed by squeezing the traditional trade markets of the British Empire; If we were to conclude an entente with Germany, we would have to allow them to rob us of our raw materials and dump our markets to satisfy their needs, which was obviously impossible for Britain to accept! In addition, Germany, as a new top power, had extremely few overseas colonies, which also doomed them to pursue a strategy of colonial expansion; If we come together with Germany, it will inevitably harm the colonial interests of our British Empire. Speaking of this, a hint of anger flashed in Edward's eyes, and he said, "But the group of idiot members of Congress only know that they have an extremely hateful attitude towards their long-cherished enemy France based on their own feelings, and they have not thought about the possibility of reconciliation with them or the gains and losses of interests; When I made this point, it was almost entirely a one-sided opposition. All they remember in their minds is Trafalgar, Waterloo and Fashoda, who all day long shouting for the complete crushing of the French bandits who dared to threaten the sea lines of the British Empire, but they did not see at all that the strength of Germany had grown to the point of shaking to the very core of the British Empire! If this continues for another 20 years...... No, it will only take 15 years for the European continent to become a German word for all; By then, will the sky over Britain still have the bright sun it is now? ”

Balfour bowed slightly to Edward, and said with admiration, "No wiser than my king." With you at your helm, Britain will surpass the Victorian era and restore the glory of the United Kingdom thirty years ago! But......" he said hesitantly, "the antipathy and hatred of France are now great among the people and parliamentarians, but the affection for Kaiser Wilhelm, who held the Queen's hand tightly on her deathbed, and who did not express any obvious opposition to Britain in the Boer War, has greatly increased. If we were to have such intimate contact with the French, I fear that it would be difficult to explain to the people such a thing that is contrary to the will of the people. In addition, the French are also cold to our British, and during the Interior Minister's regular visit to Paris last year, the convoy saw a series of flags such as 'Long live the Boers' and 'Long live Fashoda' from the French people all the way. I'm afraid we're going to stick a hot face to the cold ass of the French. ”

"Don't worry. The ignorance of the French peasants does not mean that their government has the same attitude; When the French were willing to retreat in Fashoda, I saw that their head of government was not a chauvinistic madman. With their pitiful national strength, even if Russia is united, it is impossible to confront Germany and Britain at the same time; And I believe that France will not reconcile with Germany, which occupied Alsace and Lorraine! As for the constraints within the kingdom...... Edward pondered for a moment, then said, "we can make the media gradually change the attitude of propaganda, and let the hatred of the French in the public come down; At that point, we will have no problem acting again. ”

Belfort nodded slightly, respectfully claiming yes.

Edward stood up and poured himself a strong cup of coffee by the fireplace; Looking at the ochre-colored liquid surface that shook in the microwave, his face was complicated, and he said in a tone that was almost to himself: "Willy, do you know the truth? If your country is only half as strong as it is now, even if I don't like you anymore, I will ally with you based on the royal kinship between the two sides for hundreds of years. But now that you have enough strength to threaten Britain, how can I continue to let you do it? All factors that might threaten Britain's position must be completely strangled in infancy. Don't blame Uncle Edward. ”