The remnant sun was sinking in the west, the brilliance was dim, and the rolling black clouds as thick as ink were surging rapidly in the sky, surging towards the sky over London. The wind is howling, the sand and gravel are running, and a shower is imminent.

In the official office at No. 10 Downing Street in London, British Prime Minister Asquith was standing in front of a huge map of Europe with a solemn face, looking at the powerful country on the Central European continent, with a complicated mood and indescribable for a long time. Next to him, War Secretary Kitchener, Admiral Secretary Churchill, and Foreign Secretary Gray were all standing with frowns furrowed; An inexplicable depressing atmosphere permeated the room, casting a gray shadow in the hearts of every member of the meeting.

"The news has just been received from the military attaché in St. Petersburg that the Russians have suffered an unprecedented defeat on the battlefield of East Prussia. More than 200,000 Russian troops were almost completely wiped out in just four days, and only the remnants of two divisions were able to escape from the encirclement, and they inflicted only negligible losses on the Germans. At present, the situation on the Eastern Front in Germany has completely turned from a dangerous situation, and there will be no pressure for the next twenty days. ”

Asquith spoke softly, breaking the oppressive silence in the room; However, the words he uttered made the emotions in everyone's hearts sink even more. In the dim light, in the ticking bell, only his voice sounded again, but this time with an irrepressible hatred and anger: "I really don't understand how unstoppable these filthy butchers are when they whip and torture and slaughter free people, but in the face of real war, why do they become as stupid and weak as newborn slimes?" With a huge advantage twice as many troops as the enemy, they were completely wiped out by the Germans unscathed! Even if this is a different pig to command, it is impossible to have such an unbelievable situation! ”

When everyone heard this, they had relatives in their hearts. No matter from which point of view, it is a completely incomversible situation for the Russian army on the Eastern Front to suffer such a crushing defeat, but it happened so really! Although the Russian army is progressing well on the Galician battlefield. The Austro-Hungarian Army was defeated one after another, but this did not solve the main problem of the moment. With the successive defeats of the French army in the war against Germany, both Britain and France pinned their hopes on the Russian giant to launch a "desperate attack" on Berlin to save the situation; At present, the southern flank of the Russian army has been folded, and the direct attack on Berlin has completely become a mirage. Germany, which has no worries, will continue to be able to devote all its energy to the battlefield on the Western Front, and this is exactly what Britain and France want to see!

"Sir Kitchener, what is the current situation on the battlefields of France?" Asquith looked at the Minister of War in front of him and asked in a slightly hoarse tone.

Seeing Asquith's gaze sweeping, Kitchener, who had a solemn face and two big beards, said in a deep voice: "Mr. Prime Minister, the situation on the battlefield in France is on the verge of collapse. Since the defeat at the Battle of Mons. Pursued by the German Army Group Crook, our expeditionary force retreated sharply in the direction of Paris: at present, our troops had withdrawn from the Mons Canal in Belgium to the Marc River, which was less than 30 miles (about 48 kilometers) from Paris, and the Germans were still pressing on our rear step by step! The same was true of the French troops, who had suffered heavy losses in the battle of the frontier and were at all powerless to resist the German offensive at the moment; It won't take a few days. Paris would be at the forefront of the battlefield due to the retreat of the French mobile forces. Paris and the Seine will be our last line of defense; If this place is broken through by the Germans again. In 1870 the situation was no longer inevitable. ”

"What? The French are going to withdraw to the Seine? Asquith's eyes widened. There was a look of disbelief on his face. The Seine flows from the southeast of Paris, and its overall position is still thirty miles behind Paris; Once the French army withdrew here, Paris would completely become a salient wedged into the German front, and this situation of being attacked on three sides was very likely to be broken by the Germans!

Kitchener nodded solemnly and said, "Last night, Xia Fei revealed his plan to John (French). That is, the Aine, Marne, Petit Moran, and Grande Moran rivers were used to resist the Germans' attacks layer by layer, and finally stabilized the current near-collapse of the war on the Seine. From now on, our 100,000 officers and men of the expedition will also work hard to resist the German attacks in these areas. If God can bless me British, then our army will be able to build a new front in front of the Seine. ”

Asquith let out a slow breath of cloudy air. Thin Sven's face was full of shocked expressions that could not be concealed. Although he had long known that the French were losing ground at present, he could not have imagined that the situation of the war would deteriorate to this field: France, with the assistance of the British Army, would be in a situation as dire as it was in 1870! Asquith turned his head to look at Foreign Secretary Gray next to him and said, "Edward, what is the current attitude of the French government and military circles, and are there any signs of peace with the Germans?" ”

"Mr. Prime Minister, the determination of the French to fight is entirely worthy of our reassurance. They have signed a treaty with us aimed at advancing and retreating together, whereby neither side can make peace with the Central Powers alone. As long as the battlefield does not show a situation of exhaustion, they will continue to act as the pawns of our British, fighting to the death with the Germans. Thankfully, the Italians remained neutral and did not join the German-Austrian side, which allowed the French to make the most of the African colonies' forces and resources by sea. ”

Hearing Gray's words, the solemn gloom on Asquith's face finally melted a little. Before the outbreak of the war, his greatest fear was that Italy would fulfill its promise and join the Triple Alliance: once Italy fell to Germany and Austria, the situation of the Entente in the entire Mediterranean would collapse due to the surrender of the Italian Royal Navy! He gave Gray a grateful look and said, "Edward, Italy has been able to maintain its current neutrality, and all of Britain is grateful to you for your outstanding contribution. ”

"However, Mr. Prime Minister, Italy's attitude towards staying out of the situation is not as resolute as we thought." Although Gray did not want to break the cold water for everyone at this critical moment, out of consideration for the responsibility of this country, he still bluntly expressed his worries, "Mr. Prime Minister, you also know that the reason why Italy did not join the camp of Germany and Austria at the first time is not because they love peace, but because they choose to take sides. If either side shows signs of weakness, they will not hesitate to tear off the pretense of neutrality and rush up like a hungry wolf to tear the dying man's flesh and blood! ”

Gray spoke slowly, his words full of solemnity: "With the end of the Franco-German border battles and the Battle of Tannenberg, Italy's neutrality began to loosen uncomfortably; Especially now, when the German army is facing Paris and the war situation on the Western Front is in jeopardy, the voice in Italy asking for a ride on the German tank has suddenly increased. The successive defeats of our Entente have tilted the balance in the hearts of the Italians in favor of the Allies, and if we continue to lose in the near future, what will be the attitude of the Italian government, but it will be out of our control! ”

"So we have to get a win in the near future?" Asquith Road.

Gray nodded, "Exactly." This victory was not only to stabilize the restless hearts of the Italians who had thrown themselves into the arms of Germany and took advantage of the fire, but also to salvage the negative emotions that had now arisen among the army and the population due to the successive defeats on the Western Front. We desperately need even a partial victory to restore the morale of the people. ”

Seeing Asquith look at him again, Kitchener shrugged his shoulders and said, "Mr. Prime Minister, the Army has done its best to support the French war effort. At present, the Native Regular Army has long since been sent to the French battlefield, and there are only two native regiments of police forces left in the British Isles. Speaking of this, Kitchener glanced at the middle-aged fat man on his right, and said lightly: "Britain was founded on sea power, how can its glory be defended by the army?" The hard-earned money that taxpayers put into the arms race will definitely need to repay the principal and interest with good results; As the most powerful maritime force on the planet, how can they stay in the harbor all day fishing and doing nothing? You say yes, Lord Winston? ”

Hearing the piercing words in Kitchener's words, Churchill could not help but feel a trace of anger in his heart.

In 1911, at the age of 37, Churchill assumed the position of Minister of the Navy, and he caused a lot of trouble in military circles at the beginning of his tenure. The Iron Duke-class battleship was urgently halted and replaced by a high-speed Elizabeth-class battleship equipped with eight 381 mm guns and designed to reach a speed of 25 knots, which was pushed to the slipway: although this kind of battleship has a significant increase in performance compared to the Iron Duke class, which was born from the George V class, its cost is also climbing, and the most expensive of which is the Queen Elizabeth is more than 50% higher than the Iron Duke! The rapid increase in the cost of the Navy's capital ships directly led to the sudden explosion of the Navy's budget after that; And with only so much government revenue, the Army, which has always been regarded as insignificant in Britain, has naturally become a motherless child once again to be slaughtered. At present, the Army, which has never received enough military spending, is working hard to withstand the bombing on the front line of the European war, and the Navy, which has been raised white and fat, is nesting at home all day as a shrinking turtle, how can Kitchener give Churchill a good look? (To be continued......)