In November 1907, with the cold winds of early winter, Viscount Haldane, Secretary of War of the British, arrived in Berlin and began an official visit to the German government in his private capacity. Hearing this news, Qingying first felt a little surprised; But after a while, his heart was already clear.

For Haldane, Qingying, who is familiar with history, has no strangeness at all. As a man who left a lasting mark on Anglo-German relations on the eve of the First World War, Haldane will forever be recorded in the history of the treacherous pre-World War I history with his successful reform of the British Army during his tenure and his responsible but unsuccessful visit to Germany in 1912.

Historically, the beginning of 1912. In order to ease the tensions between Britain and Germany caused by the shipbuilding race and the second Moroccan crisis, Haldane, then British Secretary of State for War, was invited by Kaiser Wilhelm to visit Berlin and was received by the German side with a very high profile. In addition to easing the tension between Britain and Germany and avoiding the outbreak of war, Haldane's visit to Berlin had a more important purpose, that is, to sign a naval agreement with Germany like that of 1935, and to consider using this to change the previous hostile strategy towards Germany.

If the obsolete Blucher is included, Germany has built 21 capital ships in a row from 1907 to 1911, while Britain has only 27 Dreadnoughts in advance (although this would subvert some of the notions of World War I heroes, but it is historical). The rapid development of the German navy caused great anxiety among the decision-makers in London about the issue of war against Germany, because the number of capital ships reached 75% of that of Britain's German High Seas Fleet. It has become an invincible opponent for the Royal Navy in all aspects! Once the two sides go to war. The British fleet would most likely suffer a heavy setback in a head-on decisive battle with the German fleet; Even if the German fleet was completely annihilated. The Royal Navy itself will fight its way through naval battles in which 1,000 enemies are killed and 800 are lost. For Germany, which had few overseas colonies and was dominated by land power, the loss of a naval fleet would not shake the very foundations of the empire; And for Britain, which is heavily dependent on the sea, this will undoubtedly directly destroy the fragile foundation of the empire on which the sun never sets! At that time, the United States, France, and even Japan will pounce on them like hungry wolves, overthrowing Britain's traditional trade areas and seizing Britain's vast overseas colonies, which they have long coveted; And the Royal Navy, which had suffered a great loss of vitality in the war against Germany, was powerless to change this disastrous outcome!

Therefore, in the face of the cruel fact that its own national power has been desperately surpassed by Germany. The British had been forced to begin to reconsider their attitude toward Germany in their worldly strategy, including Germany in their list of great powers that were considered "tolerable." Britain's previous retreat from North America, the Far East, and the Mediterranean, as well as the acquiescing circumnavigation of the Americans' "Great White Fleet," were examples of Britain's reluctantly pursued strategy of not being enemies of the great powers, silently cutting the cake in its hands for the United States, France, and Japan to enjoy. After hearing the news of Haldane's visit, Tirpitz, who had been promoted to the rank of naval marshal half a year earlier, was excited: the risk fleet he had built had achieved results, and Britain had already shown signs of subservience to Germany! Breaking the encirclement of Germany by the Triple Entente and making Germany the hegemon of Europe is just around the corner!

However, this wonderful opportunity that could have changed history was directly buried in the hands of Churchill, a fat man.

In the ensuing negotiations with the Germans, Haldane offered to guarantee neutrality in the event of an attack from France and Russia, as long as Germany limited the number of capital ships to half that of the British. This condition was clearly unacceptable to Tirpitz. Tirpitz's reasons for refusing are very reasonable and sufficient. Not to mention that the 2-to-1 ratio simply does not allow the German Navy to realize the core significance of the risk fleet that "will also cost the British Navy an unbearable price after its own destruction", based on the number of dreadnoughts currently operating on both sides 20 to 27. Nor is it possible for Germany to accept a naval agreement in the style of "wielding the sword from the palace" and abolishing its own martial arts in exchange for an agreement that Britain may renege on at any time. In other words, the reason why Britain considered choosing "neutrality" without war against Germany in the European war was precisely because it was afraid of Germany's huge fleet, which could inflict unbearable losses on the British navy; For Germany, only the stronger its own navy, will it be safe from the growing risk of war in the British fleet! And if Germany destroys the Great Wall by itself, God knows whether Britain will fulfill its promise or simply turn its face?

However, the Kaiser and Tirpitz were genuinely interested in an alliance with the British. Because the Anglo-German alliance is not only a shortcut to breaking the blockade of Germany by the Triple Entente, but also the only way to resolve the hatred between Germany and France. Considering that there was a gap between the British and German shipbuilding industries, Tirpitz made a huge concession in the negotiations, offering a 10-to-16 ratio of capital ships between the two sides, which was the minimum force required for the German navy to ensure that Britain could fulfill its promise of neutrality in the war. In order to show as much sincerity as possible, Tirpitz also revealed to Haldane the details of the Third Amendment to the German Navy Act of 1900, which had not yet been adopted by Germany.

It was at this critical moment that the Churchill guy appeared gorgeously. He had just taken office as Minister of the Navy and urgently needed to make a big news story to prove his abilities and gain political capital for his future career. Therefore, in the matter of the Anglo-German negotiations, a mad thing was done in an instant. Ignoring the most basic political principles and diplomatic ethics, Qiu Fatzi stabbed this news, which was absolutely confidential to the governments of the two countries, to the press, and interpreted every detail of the negotiations with a deformed thinking wearing colored glasses, and regarded all the actions of Germany as a heinous and deliberate provocation by the warlord government. "It's the ratio of the number of capital ships that sit on the ground and the huge naval shipbuilding plan, isn't this a despicable threat like a bandit villain or what?"

Under the frenzied instigation of Churchill and his hard-line supporters, British public opinion was in an uproar, and the press and media made extremely vicious personal attacks on Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tirpitz, and baselessly spread rumors that Germany's aim was to conquer the whole world. Originally, Tirpitz was hesitant because he took the initiative to reduce the number of British capital ships from 75% to 62.5%, and had a feeling that he was blackmailed by Haldane's "empty glove white wolf"; And this move by Britain made Tirpitz's trust in Britain disappear in an instant. As a result, the negotiations broke down. Churchill, who was trapped by persecution and devoted his life to finding enemies for the British Empire, ruined the opportunity for Anglo-German reconciliation and delayed the fall of the empire on which the sun never sets for 50 years, convinced Germany that the dispute with Britain, a bandit who adheres to the law of the jungle, can only be resolved with a sharper sword, and at the same time proved his "far-sighted" prophecy that Germany "plotted to encroach on the world". And this is undoubtedly a political capital and glorious achievement worthy of special mention and lifelong boasting of Churchill, who "keenly exposed" the "sinister conspiracy" of Germany in just one month after he became Minister of the Navy!

As Haldane's visit failed due to "the outrageous provocation of the German side", the British high-level leaders, who had been warring and hesitant in their policy toward Germany, instantly changed their position: since Germany disdained to reach an agreement with Britain, then they should pay the heaviest price for today's arrogance! Enraged, the bullish John Bulls went out of their way to approve a budget for seven capital ships, including two Queen Elizabeth-class battleships with a total cost of £5,538,000, and in 1913, Britain began construction of six Queen-class or R-class battleships equipped with eight 15-inch guns. However, due to the increasingly severe land situation, the slow development of naval artillery subsystems, and the lack of exploration of its own potential, the number of capital ships that year was only 3, and then only 2 in 1913. Coupled with the three capital ships that Britain lost in the war, it constituted an absolute numerical advantage over the German Navy in the middle and late stages of the war.

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After reviewing this black history that was compiled and sorted out by the English-speaking world, so few people in later generations knew about it, Qingying also began to think about his next move.

Historically, Haldane visited Germany after Germany started construction of 5 capital ships in 1911, and the number of dreadnoughts started by Britain and Germany suddenly approached; And in this plane, due to Germany's preemptive victory in the field of dreadnoughts, the process of Haldane's visit was greatly advanced. Based on the historical experience of his previous life and the current state of affairs, Qing Ying could almost conclude that the Minister of War, a lawyer who was known as "Schopenhauer among generals" and who fanatically admired German classical philosophy, had come to reach an agreement with Germany on the navy.

And the British government's attitude towards Haldane's trip, Qingying can also guess at this moment. Under its own role, the German Empire made a great leap forward in finances, armies, and the international situation in which it was located, and the impact on Britain was far greater than that of the same period in history. The British government, which was simply unable to gain the desired advantage in the shipbuilding race, was compelled as it has historically been to consider the possibility of "tolerating Germany": that is, to end the shipbuilding race, which had overwhelmed its economy, by recognizing Germany's demands, as it had done earlier with the United States. The British government hoped that Haldane would be able to gain as much leverage as possible for the Royal Navy at the negotiating table, so as to dominate the post-rapprochement Anglo-German relations as much as possible. (To be continued......)

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