Faced with the Prime Minister's question, Prentis shook his head with some shame.

Salisbury snorted and said, "You soldiers only think about war, and never think about things from the point of view of money. Let me tell you, last year's total German fiscal revenue was 2.3 billion marks, which translates to more than 111 million pounds, and my British Empire can only reach 120 million pounds! William had such a rich purse bag, and his heavy industry was superior in quantity and quality to my British Empire; As long as they want to vigorously develop the navy, then in less than 15 years, the German navy will surpass France to become the second in the world! At that time, this navy will be like a dagger, directly against the throat of our British Empire in the North Sea! Do you still say that they are no threat to my British Empire? ”

Prentis lowered his eyebrows and remained silent.

After saying so much in one breath, Salisbury suddenly felt parched; After taking a sip of warm water, he re-opened: "Fortunately, Germany has not yet shown a particularly thirsty need for the sea. The seven-year fleet law that they had previously implemented, and only one battleship was built every year to replace the old ones, and this slow pace of naval development was undoubtedly gratifying news for our British Empire. The attack fleets of France and Russia have already challenged the sea lines of our British Empire, and if the Germans were to get involved in the seas, even if our British Empire could devote more than 20% of its annual revenue to the navy, it would still be difficult to deal with! ”

Prentis nodded silently, feeling kind. In 1897, Britain injected nearly 25 million pounds into the navy's military spending, accounting for almost 21% of the total fiscal revenue that year; However, in the face of the rapidly expanding French and Russian navies, the Royal Navy still felt that the big stick in its hand was a little underweight. Because to hunt down raiders who are elusive at sea, it takes a dozen or even dozens of warships just to pull a search net full of holes, and even with the current number of ships in the Royal Navy, it still cannot meet the needs of protecting the security of sea lines of communication. In order to deal with the threat posed to Britain by French attack ships, Britain started construction of 8 Crown-class first-class cruisers in the first two years; This kind of large fast warship with a displacement of 11,000 tons and a speed of more than 20 knots has a high cost of almost the same level as the capital ship. Unless Britain's economy grows and it can afford to increase its annual naval spending by another 30 percent; Otherwise, it would be hard to say that in the face of a German navy again!

"For my British Empire, the first goal now is to cut off the paws of the polar bear reaching out to the Far East, and then crush and sink the pirate fleet of the shameless Gauls. Until these two goals are achieved, it is necessary for us to maintain good relations with Germany, and let these Hans let me stay honestly on the land of Central Europe, and not jump out at this moment to do anything for the British Empire. As for your statement that the money that Spain bought ships from Germany would contribute to Hans's power, it is not entirely true. In the eyes of a country like Japan, £3.6 million is indeed a huge amount of money; But for Germans, the money is just a plate of dessert after a big meal. The economic level of the Germans is already on par with ours, and they, like us, are not so much less expensive. Salisbury said lightly, with a hint of strange emotion in his words, like envy and fear, "In view of the above two reasons, I have made such a good deal and let the Germans take over this matter." ”

After a while, Prentis suddenly spoke: "Since the Germans have such powerful industrial and financial resources, why don't we consider bringing in Germany as a reinforcement to turn this group of Hans into our allies?" With their help, we will be more comfortable dealing with Franco-Russian problems. France is our enemy, and France is also an enemy of Germany, and the two sides have a common interest in this matter! ”

Salisbury snorted coldly and said, "Are you influenced by Chamberlain?" I admit that the guy did a good job in the position of Colonial Minister, but he clearly lacked a fundamental understanding of international relations. We, the colonial ministers who were traditionally government-oriented officials, were taught to be idiots by pure book knowledge; Therefore, when discussing international affairs, we will only use the bad saying that 'the enemy of the enemy is a friend', but completely ignore a crucial factor! ”

Being refuted by Salisbury's merciless rebuke, Prentis was slightly embarrassed. He poured a glass of water for the man in front of him, and then respectfully brought it to him; Salisbury glanced at him, reached out and took the glass, and said, "The most crucial factor is that the first enemy must be our main enemy!" ”

Hearing this, Prentis pondered for a long time, and then asked in confusion: "But isn't our main enemy now France and Russia?" They are now fighting us for colonies, and they are also going to destroy our sea lines of communication; The other wants to seize the northeastern part of the Qing Dynasty and threaten our security in the Yangtze River valley and even in India. Are these two of the core interests of the British Empire? ”

Salisbury said angrily: "You soldiers, the way you think about war is ingrained in your minds; How can you understand that France and Russia can only cause trouble to our British Empire, and Germany is the existence that we really need to be wary of! If we had become allies with Germany, Germany would have no trouble crushing France on land; After that, wouldn't Germany become the hegemon on the European continent? Germany, which can be compared with us in economy and industry, will become a much more formidable opponent than France now! ”

"But France has a Russian ally to the east, a monster known as the steamroller of Europe, if they ......," said Prentis, who suddenly fell silent, for he had seen the old prime minister in front of him, looking at him with a mixture of grief and indignation.

"But you just said a good thing. Our main enemies now are indeed the Gallic chicken and the disgusting polar bear. Although Germany's potential threat to us is even greater than that of these two countries combined, this contradiction is still hidden beneath the surface of the water and has not intensified. At present, we still need Germany, an industrially powerful country, to contain the military strength of France and Russia on land, so that these two countries can devote more resources to the army; And Germany also needs our British Empire to contain France on the seas, to relieve the pressure on their bathtub fleet. In addition, the economy of the British Empire needs Germany as an emerging market, and Germany needs the British Empire, a trading partner with preferential tariffs on them, to help them continue to maintain an annual economic growth rate of more than 7%. Therefore, it is the wisest choice for the British Empire and Germany to maintain good relations and obtain what they need. ”

Prentis nodded slightly.

Salisbury looked solemn and said, "However, this is just a certain degree of compromise made by the two sides at this stage because they have common interests and common opponents. As far as the British Empire is concerned, after we have cut off Russia's paws to the Far East and completely crushed France at sea, the next thing to clean up is William's Germany. As for William, his empire is not strong enough now, and the army's military spending greatly limits the speed of their navy's development, so it is best to remain silent at this stage. The reason why I gave him a plate of dessert was to stabilize William, a German peacock with insufficient brain capacity, and prevent him from doing anything unfavorable to my British Empire. Germany is an imperial country, and the will of the emperor is the will of God; And William often has the same impulses as neurotic patients, and I have to guard against it. ”

"In other words, there will eventually be a fight between us and Germany?" Prentis was stunned.

"Not bad. By the time we have settled the troubles of France and Russia, the Germans should be almost ready. At that time, they will definitely build a powerful fleet that will attract the attention of the World Realm, and compete with us for the land under the sun, and this will be a completely new pattern of the World Realm! Therefore, we and Germany can only use each other and be wary of each other; As for the Anglo-German alliance...... I wonder if it may be realized in 100 years? ”

Speaking of this, Salisbury sighed slowly and said: "The current international situation is far more complex than any period in history; With the exception of Franco-German relations, which are almost certain, it is difficult to say whether any other country is an ally or an enemy. The main contradictions, the secondary contradictions, the contradictions that can be understood, the core interests, the common interests, and the interests that can be discarded...... So many factors are changing imperceptibly over time, and which should be keenly grasped to choose, and which should be decisively abandoned, is really more intricate and nerve-wracking than a ball of yarn that has been scattered by a cat. In the face of these lovely and hateful things, even the giant of the century in Germany, who was known as the 'conductor of the European symphony orchestra', could not completely solve the problem in many cases, and could only adopt the strategy of temporary delay. When I formed the cabinet in the last term, I was able to handle various affairs relatively smoothly; But I'm 68 years old this year, and my reflexes and memories are much worse than they were five years ago, and some simple things take a long time to figure out. In two years' time, I will have to consider whether I should resign from my current position as Foreign Secretary, because my physical condition does not allow me to continue like this. ”

"Lord Marquis......" Prentis's throat was a little sour, and he couldn't help but call him.

Salisbury smiled, and his words were full of strong confidence: "But now, my physical function has not deteriorated much, and there is no problem in continuing to work." Since God has allowed me to successfully achieve an unprecedented three cabinets in the political arena of the British Empire, my mission is to uphold God's will to expand and defend my British Empire in this complex and changing jungle of the world! The Germans thought that if their wallets were bulging and their industry was strong, they would be remarkable, right? I want these Hans to know that the British Empire's century-long imperial power cannot be shaken by anyone! ”

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