The stars are dotted and the moon rises tomorrow, and the long Thames River flows quietly, reflecting the sparkling luster in the moonlight. On both sides of the river, the bustling megacity has fallen asleep, except for a towering giant clock, which is still moving tirelessly, rain or shine.

Bird's-eye view of London, magnificent. In the delicate building, in a spacious room, an old man in his sixties is holding a fountain pen and sitting casually at the desk in the center. He was tall and fat, and his beard, which was more than a foot long, accentuated the shining shine of the barren land in the middle of his head. In front of him, a middle-aged man in his fifties sat beside him, although he was dressed ordinary, but the unique temperament of serving in the army for many years was already sharp and outstanding.

With the sound of the lid snapping, the bearded old man of the Mediterranean finished his work. Turning his head and looking at the familiar face next to him, the old man coughed and said in a slightly hoarse voice: "Prentis, you came to me so late, what happened, can't you wait until tomorrow to go to work?" The middle-aged man called Prentis bent slightly to him and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Lord Marquis Cecil, for choosing to disturb your peace at this time. But I think it's better if you know about it now than after 12 hours. ”

The old man, known as Cecil, rang the electric bell on the table, and a moment later a waiter walked in with two cups of steaming coffee, and then respectfully placed them in front of them. Smelling the mellow aroma of high-quality coffee, the old man couldn't help but squint his eyes pleasantly; He took a sip of the coffee on the table, with an intoxicated look of pleasant enjoyment on his face, and after a while, he said with some reluctance: "What is it, you can say it." ”

"Lord Marquis, according to the information just sent back, just five days ago in the afternoon, Russia ordered warships from Germany." Seeing that Cecil had finally finished tasting the coffee and shifted the topic to the main topic, Prentis, who had been waiting a little impatiently, immediately spoke.

Cecil nodded slightly and said, "The Russians did this, I expected it to be. Their own industrial background is weak, and they can only be regarded as second-rate among the great powers, and if they want to have warships that can compete with our British Empire, it is almost impossible to design and build them by themselves, and they must rely on foreign technology......" Speaking of this, his voice suddenly lowered, and he said in surprise: "You just said, which country did Russia order warships from?" ”

"The Marquis is Germany, the German Empire ruled by the grandson of Wilhelm, who suffered from polio under Her Majesty the Queen." Prentis Road.

"Huh?" Cecil frowned, he put down the coffee cup in his hand, and a sharp glow suddenly shot out of his eyes that did not match his age at all. Obviously, he was still sitting in place, not moving, but Prentis next to him suddenly had an illusion in his heart, as if the old man in front of him was a sleeping lion; Once awakened, it carries with it an unparalleled sense of authority, making people feel completely unable to resist it.

"I originally thought that the Russians, based on the Franco-Russian alliance, would ask the French to order ships; Unexpectedly, the object of their choice would be the Germans. Cecil's hoarse voice sounded low in the dimly lit room, with a grim feel, "Nicky, that little guy (Nicholas II was only 26 years old when he became Tsar.) In contrast, Jin Sanfat, who only ruled a corner of the North Stick at the age of 29, is simply weak) really likes Hu Lai, and does not play cards according to the rules at all. I really doubt that he knew what the consequences of ordering warships from Germany at this time would be. France has invested so much money in Russia and incorporated so many shares; How could one be one step ahead of France in such a matter and order battleships from their sworn enemy Germany? Prentis, do you have any specific information about this order? ”

Prentis nodded slightly, and said, "After sacrificing the hue of a male intelligence officer, we got some information on this order. On the initiative of the Germans, Germany then ordered 1 large armored cruiser from the German Wilhelm shipyard; After the completion and delivery of the ship, Russia was included in the sequence of the Pacific Fleet. With a design displacement of 10,700 tons, it is armed with 8 40x 210 mm main guns and 8 40x 150 mm secondary guns. Unfortunately, due to the Russian officer's limited knowledge, we now know only so much, and there is no information about the ship's speed or armor. ”

Hearing these words, Cecil's gray eyebrows couldn't help but jump a few times, and after a while, he slowly spoke: "Russia will order warships from Germany, I still have a little expectation in my heart. After all, half a year ago, Germany participated in the Russian-led intervention lineup when there was little interest in the Far East, which was a great favor to the Russians; In return, it was not a big deal for Russia to order a battleship from Germany. But what I didn't expect was that this time it was the Germans who took the initiative to come to the door and sell warships to Russia. Could it be that after this incident, Germany could not wait to export relations to Russia? ”

"Lord Marquis, in my opinion, this matter is not a good sign for my British Empire." Prentis said with some apprehension. Cecil glanced at him and motioned for him to continue.

"Russia and the Reich have been at loggerheads for the past three decades, especially in the Far East. Russia wanted to annex the territory in the northeast of the Qing Dynasty, extend their power into East Asia, and obtain the coveted ice-free port; And the empire has been trying to prevent Russia from doing so for the sake of its own interests. Previously, the Empire had the upper hand in the confrontation with Russia, but now this situation has changed uncomfortably. ”

Prentis's face was solemn, and he continued: "A few years ago, a defensive alliance treaty was signed between Russia and France. Although the treaty was directed against Germany, the two were completely tied together because of the huge loan granted by France to Russia. And in Africa, the Reich and France also had irreconcilable contradictions. Therefore, not only in the defense of Germany, but also in the targeting of the Reich, both of these two are a pair of sluts who have been stealing and treacherous and have started McRab almost as soon as they met. With the entry of France, Russia has grown in power, and the Empire must be so careful to deal with it, and it can no longer be as easy and casual as before. ”

"And if this is all it takes, the British Empire will be more than enough to deal with France and Russia; But the Germans were so good that they came to the middle at this time and intervened. The most outrageous thing is that they actually chose to support such a barbarian as Russia, and I really don't know which tendon in the brain of that guy with polio is wrong! The intervention of the three countries half a year ago forced the British Empire to make concessions, which was really a great diplomatic shame for the Empire. If Germany also chooses to turn to Russia for the sake of the Far East, then it will be difficult for the British Empire to restrain Russia's advance in the Far East. Prentis said in a deep voice.

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After listening to the middle-aged man's worried narration, the corners of Cecil's mouth curled, and his prosperous beard became even more rugged and bold. After a moment, he shook his head with a smile and said, "As a soldier, I am very glad that you can think so much about my British Empire. However, you only see the most superficial things, and you don't go beneath the surface to uncover more valuable intelligence and information. The scenario of Germany's fall to Russia, which you feared, is practically impossible; As for Germany's full support for Russia's eastward advance, as long as the Germans are not stupid, they will not do it. ”

The middle-aged man was puzzled, and said suspiciously: "But Lord Marquis, isn't Germany the most reluctant to fight on two fronts?" Now the two young madmen were full of ambitions for the Far East, and it was an opportunity for them to unite with common interests. What's more, the more Russia expanded eastward, the less pressure Germany had in Europe, how could those land Hans not fully support Russia's eastward advance? ”

Cecil took a sip of coffee and said lightly: "So I said, you only see the most superficial things in international relations. Twenty years ago, Germany and Russia were indeed intimate; Now, however, relations between the two countries, while still good on the surface, are almost irreparably rift internally. If Germany were to unite with Russia, there would inevitably be two insurmountable obstacles. ”

Prentis asked, "Which 2 obstacles?" ”

"The first obstacle was the contradiction between Austria-Hungary, Germany's ally, and Russia in the Balkans. Since the contradiction involves the core interests of both parties, it is impossible to reach a consensus; The collapse of the Three Emperors Alliance is the reason for this. In recent years, as Russia's attention has shifted eastward, the dispute between the two countries in the Balkans has come to an end for the time being; However, this is only a stopgap measure to drag on one day at a time, and it does not mean that the two sides can put aside the dispute in this area! Therefore, if Germany were to form an alliance with Russia, the Balkan contradictions between Russia and Austria would be an insurmountable chasm. Moreover, at the Berlin Conference of 1878, Germany, taking into account its friendship with the Reich, chose the former between Austria-Hungary and Russia; Therefore, they can now only go one way to the dark, constantly strengthening the alliance with Austria-Hungary, and upgrading the current defensive alliance between the two sides. Cecil said.

PS: Tomorrow night the unit will have dinner, so the update time will be after 12 o'clock to ask for some collections