While the French were nervous about the gunboat diplomacy adopted by Germany, the British on the other side of the Channel were nervously debating countermeasures. Prime Minister Asquith, Chancellor of the Exchequer George, Foreign Secretary Gray, Field Marshal Kitchener, Secretary of the Navy Winston Churchill and others gathered at the official office at 10 Downing Street overnight, and on the huge map in front of them, the port of Agadir in Morocco had been abruptly outlined in red pencil.

"There was no doubt that the Germans could not accept the French annexation of Morocco, so they responded most violently by sending the battleship directly into Moroccan waters." Asquith's faint voice echoed throughout the room, as if he was recounting something that had nothing to do with him, "What strategy do you think I should adopt for this incident?" ”

Gray was silent for a moment, and said: "Although the current crisis in Morocco was caused by the French first tearing up the treaty, the Germans' action of sailing warships into Agadir is also a very provocative move. On the basis of the alliance agreement we have signed with the French, I think that we should not only show our support for the French, but also drag Russia into the Moroccan question, so that they can express their solidarity with France. Above all, if we sit on the sidelines and watch France be forced to compromise under the blackmail of German force, it will not only further fuel the ambitions of the Germans, but also increase the resentment of the French against us, which is undoubtedly contrary to our strategy of counterbalancing Germany. ”

Asquith nodded slightly, and looked at the Treasurer George next to him, but to his surprise. The statements made by this dove, who has always been known for his moderation in the cabinet, were equally forceful. He not only agreed with Gray's policy of supporting France, but also believed that the Royal Navy should send warships to Agadir to confront the German ships; After all, the port was too close to Gibraltar to pose a serious threat to British shipping in the Mediterranean if the Germans took the opportunity to take it for themselves. After Britain and France signed the Crow Memorandum on Naval Defense, the surrender of Morocco to French annexation was no longer an unacceptable situation for Britain: in order to counter the threat of the German High Seas Fleet, almost all the advanced ships of the British Mediterranean Fleet had been withdrawn, and the entire Mediterranean shipping of the British Empire was maintained by the French. In this case, what does it matter to give France another Morocco, across the sea from Gibraltar?

"According to the telegram sent back by our ambassador in St. Petersburg, as long as Britain is the first to express its support for France's position. Russia will also be on our side in this dispute. With the help of the Russians. We have added another extremely heavy bargaining chip in the diplomatic game of containing Germany from expanding Morocco. Gray spoke again after receiving George, trying to sell his tough stance to the steady Prime Minister Asquith, "Since the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian army has begun to reorganize. We should eliminate the phenomena of incompetence and malpractice for personal gain. And considerable results have already been achieved. Once the war began. They will surely become our strong assistants and flood the small island of Prussia with an endless wave of people! The Russians are very rich in resources, even if we don't come to their aid. In time, the Germans will also surrender to us because they are exhausted. ”

Hearing Gray's words, a strange look flashed in Asquith's eyes; If the Russian giant can stand firmly on its side, the worrisome land situation can indeed be resolved to a considerable extent. He glanced at Sir Grey, who had been an evergreen in the post of British Foreign Secretary for eight years, and then received an affirmative look from the latter.

"Winston, is the Royal Navy sure of defeating the German fleet?" After a moment of silence, Asquith spoke again, his gaze on a fat man behind the crowd; The elderly politicians attending the meeting turned their heads one after another, and for a moment all eyes were focused on this middle-aged fat man who was not yet forty years old.

In response to Asquith's inquiry, the fat man known as Winston replied respectfully: "Mr. Prime Minister, after all these years of hard work, the Royal Navy has completely gotten rid of the embarrassing situation of being surpassed by Germany in the number of capital ships. At present, the Royal Navy's home fleet has a total of 24 dreadnoughts and 9 battle cruisers, which forms an advantage over the Germans of 19 dreadnoughts and 7 battle cruisers; Although the Germans still had 4 20-knots armed with 8 11-inch guns to accompany the main fleet to sea, they converted from armored cruisers would have no chance of resistance in front of regular dreadnoughts! It turned out that German shipbuilding was much less rapid than the British Empire; Their average annual construction of 5 capital ships has only been maintained for two years, but we have achieved the most magnificent turnaround with an average of 7 capital ships per year. ”

This is largely due to the successful negotiations that Sir Haldane had with the Germans five years earlier. If it weren't for the treaty that slowed down the construction of ships by the Germans, we would not have had the favorable situation we have on the seas today. Gray did not hesitate to praise Haldane, who was not present, and made Field Marshal Kitchener on the side feel very sour. In order to ensure the formation of a numerical superiority over the German High Seas Fleet, which was ahead of schedule, the angry Reichstag passed every year a surprisingly large naval shipbuilding budget; However, the British government's annual revenue is only that large, so the cabinet has to cut a large piece of meat from the army every year to satisfy the appetite of the navy's terrifying gold-eating behemoths. As a result of Britain's efforts to develop its navy, the Army's budget once again fell to the same miserable position as it had before the Boer War.

At present, the British Army has a total of 25 divisions with nearly 500,000 troops. This force may seem like a considerable force at first glance, but it is the amount of the entire British Empire, which includes all the colonial armies; The only meagre strength that could be mobilized in the British mainland was 6 infantry divisions and 1 cavalry division. Due to the high-speed riot of the British Navy over the same period in history, a large number of manpower and material resources were violently tilted towards the naval field; Even with Kitchener's best efforts, it was only enough to give the local army, which was to fight alongside the French in the war under the treaty, a fairly acceptable weaponry. The current situation of the entire British Army can be described as a gloomy fog: the scarce arms reserves not only make the British Army have serious shortcomings in the continuation of the fighting, but the lack of military pay also makes it difficult for him to recruit army volunteers in violation of regulations. What made him most indignant was that the insatiable navy was also preparing to start a new high-speed battlecruiser equipped with a 15-inch cannon and a speed of more than 30 knots, and the cost of such a ship reached 3 million pounds, enough to arm an entire army!

"33 against 26, the Royal Navy did not have much advantage over the Germans. In the event of a war, we will still face huge potential losses in the strength of the sea, and for Britain, the naval fleet is her everything! Once this Poseidon Trident suffered a heavy defeat in the war against Germany, it will be difficult for us to guarantee its current status in this world; And the colonies and overseas markets all over the world will also shrink dramatically or even disappear in a very short period of time, just like Spain after the destruction of the Armada. ”

Asquith was silent for a long time, and finally slowly shook his head and said: "If you send warships to confront the Germans, it will definitely further intensify the already serious tense situation. Neither our people nor our armies were prepared for a war with Germany for a colony that was not part of Britain; The result of rash and decisive action is likely to be that the British government will not be able to step down. Therefore, in the handling of this matter, we should simply express our support for France, and the act of sending warships to Agadir would only have the effect of excessively provoking the Germans, which would be contrary to the interests of Britain. ”

"But Mr. Prime Minister, you need to consider such a consequence; Once Britain and Russia were to support France in this matter, France would be even less likely to give up the Moroccan territories it had already acquired. Seeing that Asquith still wanted to seek a compromise strategy, the middle-aged fat man couldn't help but remind, "And judging from Germany's reaction that Germany would rather ignore France's proposal for colonial reparations and insist on France's immediate withdrawal of troops from Morocco, they will not tolerate Morocco becoming a French protectorate." If the Germans, under the pressure of Britain, France, and Russia, still do not choose to retreat and insist that France withdraw its troops from Morocco, the contradictions and conflicts between Britain and France and Germany will escalate sharply, and the only way to meet Britain in the last place is war! ”

Asquith shook his head and said, "I don't believe that Germany will declare war on France and the entire Entente world for a piece of African land that does not belong to them in the first place. As long as we don't overstimulate these terrestrial creatures, both sides will be able to find a way out of the Agadir crisis within a peaceful framework. At this point, he turned his head to look at Foreign Minister Gray beside him and said, "Edward, please make a statement tomorrow morning to support France's legitimate military control of Morocco on behalf of Britain." After the same voice has been heard in St. Petersburg, you will go and meet with the German ambassador and urge Berlin to recognize the reality and immediately reach a settlement with France and withdraw the two warships in and around the port of Agadir. Gray nodded yes.

Seeing this, a gray haze quietly appeared in the fat man's heart. His intuition told him that Franco-German relations, already tense, would become even more antagonistic by this announcement by the London government; A fierce war of steel collision has revealed the tip of its iceberg. (To be continued......)

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