Chapter 789: Not Ready for War

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After listening to Prime Minister Yang Hua's introduction, the ministers all started to talk. Although everyone can see that the empire has been developing rapidly over the years. But after all, the foundation is too thin, and there is still a big gap with the Western powers. The United States has always been regarded as the most important enemy by the Emperor Wang Yuze. And now the number of major industries of the empire is comparable to that of the United States, and it is only a little behind. However, this is based on China's huge population and territory. If you count the per capita value, then the empire and the United States are not half a point apart! The ministers who were puzzled by Wang Yuze's request to mediate the contradictions between Germany and France also understood! With the current strength of the Empire, if there is an all-out war, there is no absolute certainty of victory!

"Everyone now has a clear idea of the gap between the empire and the enemy! Qualitatively, we don't have much advantage, except that we have a much larger population than the United States. Of course, a large population is also a big advantage, at least we don't have to worry about not having enough soldiers! Wang Yuze said with a smile.

The solemn look on the faces of the ministers did not diminish it. Everyone knows that the future war will be a war related to the fate of the empire. Originally, everyone was still full of confidence, but now it seems that the empire will have to work harder if it wants to ensure the final victory!

"Don't worry too much! Now it's not just us who are not preparing for war, it's the same with other countries! I estimate that we still have at least five years to prepare, and at the current rate of development of the empire, it is not a problem to fully surpass the United States in five years! Other than that. Although the industrial strength of the United States is strong, the military industry is their weakness. Although the Americans received help from the British, there was still a big gap compared to the Empire. Whether it is the warships of the Navy or the weapons of the Army, the Americans are not our opponents. In addition, the warriors of the empire were more heroic and skilled than the Americans. Therefore, if there is a war, the final victory will be ours! Wang Yuze said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The ministers were also convinced. It has been proven from all the wars that the army of the Empire. It is the most elite force in the world, more powerful than the Western powers. And in the Mexican War that ended last year, it was proved that the Imperial Army could defeat more than three times as many American troops. Even if this number is discounted a little, the empire only needs to invest a million troops in the Americas to defeat the United States. It shouldn't be too much of a problem!

"Next, the Empire should focus on preparing for war. We must be fully prepared for a long-term war before war really breaks out. In addition, the layout of the empire overseas should also be completed in a hurry! The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should pay attention to the situation in Europe and try to avoid the start of war before the Empire is ready! Wang Yuze said.

"Yes. 陛xià! The ministers all replied. After today's meeting, everyone has seen where the empire is still deficient, and what is next, where these are lacking. It is the direction of everyone's efforts. As important ministers of the Empire, their fate has long been tied to the Empire. Only if the empire remains strong can their interests be safeguarded!

In Europe, the chaotic situation continues. France and Germany are also negotiating. But. Neither France nor Germany will give up Morocco. This makes it impossible for the two countries to reach an agreement in the negotiations, and the attitude of both sides of the negotiations is very tough, and the crisis of war has not been eliminated!

However, in the current Moroccan crisis, France united with Britain, the United States, Russia, Spain and other countries to isolate Germany, so that Germany's diplomatic efforts did not achieve any results. But with the support of China as an ally, and with Austria-Hungary and Italy waving their flags on the side, Germany is also very emboldened. After seeing that the negotiations were at a stalemate, Germany began a new round of military threats!

In June 1905, the German General Staff announced the start of military mobilization, expanding the strength of the army from 620,000 to 1 million. The High Seas Fleet also frequently cruised on the route from the North Sea to the English Channel, maintaining strong war pressure on France.

Germany began to mobilize, which undoubtedly increased tensions in Europe. Moreover, Germany's hard-line attitude gives the outside world the illusion that Germany is ready to come for real. This time, the French panicked. The standing strength of the French army is only 400,000, and the mobilization system in France is much slower than that of Germany. When Germany mobilized a million troops, the mobilization of France was probably far from over. If this continues, once the war starts, France will be taken by surprise.

In order to cope with the crisis, the French army began to mobilize the army on the one hand, and concentrated the country's forces to the northeast. At the same time, France turned to the other members of the Entente for help, hoping that they would be able to rescue France as soon as the war broke out. However, the rest of the Entente countries were not ready for war, let alone mobilized. Should Germany launch a surprise attack on France, the French would have to survive the initial difficulties alone. This is a big blow to France.

Within the French government, there was still no decision on whether or not to go to war with Germany. Germany's hardline attitude made them panic. French President Falier convened an emergency meeting to discuss the current situation. At the meeting, there was a heated argument!

"Gentlemen, the situation is now very critical, and war is likely to break out in the next second. But damn it, we're not ready for war right now! President Fallier roared.

The Minister of War, Louis André, and the Secretary of the Navy, Charles Camille Pilaten, both buried their heads low. France's military strength is inferior to that of Germany, and coupled with the backwardness of the mobilization system, France will suffer a great loss in the early stage of the war. However, this is not caused by the two of them, France's military slackness for a long time has caused the current bitter fruit!

"Your Excellency, Gentlemen. I don't think it's time for us to continue to provoke the Germans! If war breaks out, we will suffer huge losses, and even if we can win in the end, we will pay a lot of losses. Therefore, I think we should make appropriate concessions to the Germans! Prime Minister Emir Kombhu said.

"Your Excellency, I cannot agree with you. We had invested a lot in Morocco, and if we had made concessions to the Germans, our losses would not have been small. And the angry populace won't say yes! Foreign Minister Theofler del Casse objected, and during the negotiations he had always advocated being tough on Germany.

"Morocco is our bottom line and we will not give Morocco to the Germans. But in order to avoid planning contradictions, we can make appropriate concessions. For example, stop our actions in Morocco and let Morocco maintain the status quo! Finance Minister Maurice Ruvier said.

"No, Sultan Abdulaziz of Morocco can't hold out anymore and will soon agree to our request. If you give up, you'll lose all your efforts! Colonial Minister Gaston Dumeg said.

All the cabinet members expressed their views. But with the exception of Foreign Minister Theofir del Casse and Colonial Minister Gaston Dumeg, who advocated continued toughness, the rest of the people advocated temporary concessions. Everyone didn't want to fight with the Germans, especially when there was no chance of winning, keeping the peace was the most important thing!

At the end of June, the French Foreign Minister, Foreign Minister Théofele, was forced to resign, and Maurice Ruvier took over as Foreign Minister to continue negotiations with Germany!

At the same time, China, Britain and the United States have also played their respective roles, calling on both sides to remain calm and not to exacerbate conflicts.

On July 2, Chinese Ambassador to Germany Yang Sheng met with Kaiser Wilhelm II and expressed China's attitude to Kaiser Wilhelm II. In addition, a letter from Wang Yuze was forwarded to Kaiser Wilhelm II. The letter was not written by Wang Yuze himself, but was sent to the Chinese embassy in Germany in the form of a telegram, and then translated into German.

After reading the letter, Ambassador Wilhelm II said that Germany would carefully consider China's opinion. At the same time, however, he said that Germany's interests should not be infringed upon. If interests are lost, Germany will not hesitate to fight!

In the evening, Kaiser Wilhelm II also convened the German ministers to discuss countermeasures. After all, from the very beginning, Germany was trying to use military deterrence to intimidate France, so that France agreed to Germany's demands. But I didn't expect that France was so bold and kept going toe-for-tat with Germany, so that Germany felt a little difficult to ride a tiger!

"Ladies and gentlemen, today the Chinese Ambassador to Germany met with me and conveyed to me the letter of the Chinese Emperor. Our Chinese allies believe that no one is ready for war right now, so they hope that we can remain calm. The Chinese emperor believed that the best time to go to war should be four to five years later! Kaiser Wilhelm II said.

"Father, Morocco is a dispute between us and the French, and it has nothing to do with the Chinese, so we don't need to listen to their opinions!" Crown Prince William immediately shouted.

Kaiser Wilhelm II couldn't help but frown, this crown prince, although smart and capable, seems to have a great prejudice against China. This is not a good thing for Germany at this stage. Now, Germany can't do without China.

"Count Schlieffen, what is your opinion?" Wilhelm II asked directly.

"Your Majesty, now is indeed not the best time to start a war, and we are also not ready for war!" The Chief of the General Staff, Count Alfred von Schlieffen, said!