"The current German Empire is facing a dead end, in the west, it is a strong defensive line held by the British and French forces, it is difficult for us to open the gap in a short time, and in the east is the huge Tsarist Russia, perhaps in terms of military training and equipment, the Russians cannot be compared with the British and French, but it is still difficult for us to defeat Russia, Russia's huge depth and sufficient population are enough to slowly wear down the empire's already insufficient troops, just like the Napoleonic Emperor encountered during his expedition to Russia, purely on the strength of the army, The Russians were no match for the 500,000-trained French army, but relying on a long front and a harsh winter, they eventually brought down the emperor of Europe. Schlieffen said with a worried face.

"And what about the Navy? I wonder if the Imperial fleet will be able to pull the British navy out of the war for fear of loss. Will the navies of our allies in the Mediterranean, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy, be able to suppress the French fleet, which is also in the Mediterranean? Wilhelm II glanced at Tirpitz, who had been silent, and said.

"If the Italians and Austria-Hungary had the right tactics and strategies, there should be no problem in suppressing the French Mediterranean fleet without the intervention of the British, and the loss of sea supremacy in the Mediterranean would have been fatal for Britain and France, and the British and French would have lost the most convenient passage to the colonies of the Far East and Australia, which would have been absolutely fatal for a country that was extremely dependent on colonies. Therefore, in order to ensure the smooth flow of shipping in the Mediterranean, the British had to transfer part of their main fleet to the Mediterranean. Tirpitz said with some smugness.

"And this is the opportunity for the High Seas Fleet! As long as the Navy receives sufficient resources, then face the British Ocean Fleet, which is divided. We will have a chance to defeat the Royal Navy, at the current rate of expansion, in the field of new warships. The British and French navies were no more powerful than the German Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, and Austria-Hungary, and as long as we are not thrown off in this arms race, the comparison of our strength with the British will be a more satisfactory value in future wars. Unlike Schlieffen's concerns, Tirpitz is optimistic about the future.

From the current point of view, Tirpitz does have the capital to be proud of, relative to history. The Germans did not put much effort into the pre-dreadnoughts, and by 1902 there were only 8 dreadnoughts. Three of them were Brandenburg-type dreadnoughts. The other 5 are the new Westminster-class quasi-dreadnoughts, ready to have 6 11-inch 40L main guns, which are expected to be replaced with 11-inch guns with longer barrels in the future, and the navy still has a lot of money to invest in the construction of new dreadnoughts. (In real history, the Germans built 14 ex-dreadnoughts before 1902.) Among them are 5 Brandenburg-class. 4 Caesar-class, and 5 Westminster-class. It can be seen from this that in the plane of Xu Jie, how much money the Germans have saved! ）

In terms of dreadnoughts, Germany was almost synchronized with the British from the beginning, and the performance of the warships was even more superior, even if as the British gradually gained strength, the expansion speed of the German navy would be slowly thrown away by a certain distance. But this gap is still within an acceptable range in Tirpitz's view!

As for the Italian Navy, at least on paper. The Italian navy, with 4 Dante-class quasi-dreadnoughts, was not much worse than the French, and in terms of new warships, the Italian 10-gun dreadnoughts were also somewhat better than the French Danton. You may say that there is still a Russian navy on the side of the Anglo-French alliance, but Tirpitz is sure that the current powerful Russian fleet will be wiped out in the Far East, and if Tirpitz can still look at the navy of a certain country outside of Europe, it is only the Chinese fleet in the Far East, which was born in the North Seas!

"So, we need to open up the situation from naval warfare? Forcing Britain to go to war by inflicting heavy damage on the British fleet to prepare for the war on land? Wilhelm II smiled slightly, and he didn't mind Schlieffen, who was already a little blue next to him, and asked with a smile.

"At least the performance of the Navy will not disappoint His Majesty, the Imperial German Navy needs not only advanced warships, but also the spirit of courage! I can assure you that the Imperial High Seas Fleet will not remain idle in the harbor as an existing fleet, and we will launch a stormy attack on the British! Until the British sits or we are destroyed! Tirpitz said impassionedly. Although Tirpitz did not have a score in the face of the powerful British Royal Navy, in the face of the monarch, big words and determination were still needed, especially now, when Wilhelm II was worried about the future of Germany!

"In fact, the army still has a chance, Lieutenant General Peng Yi of the Chinese Republic has been coming to Berlin for a while, he came this time to order a new type of land combat equipment, a new type of weapon that can quickly maneuver and has enough firepower and protection, and after some auxiliary vehicles, the assault speed and strength of this mechanized army will be several times higher than that of ordinary infantry! And that will be our hope for victory! Looking at the triumphant Tirpitz, Schlieffen said to Wilhelm II.

"What kind of weapons are you talking about, tank guns, and all kinds of self-propelled guns and truck guns? I have heard that there are also doubts about the effectiveness of this force within the Huaxia Republic, but Premier Xu is full of confidence in this. Theoretically, this mechanized force will be a combination of offensive and defensive forces, but the cost of building such a force will also be very huge, and more importantly, Germany does not produce oil, and even the whole of Europe does not produce oil. Armored units without oil are as useless as an army without bread. Wilhelm II thought for a moment and said.

"The oil problem is not unsolvable, Romania is an oil-producing country, the country's oil fields produce more than 1 million tons of fuel oil per year, and Turkey has also discovered oil fields in the Euphrates and Tigris regions, and they are said to have large reserves. If Romania and the Turkish Empire were to be on our side, Germany would have access to sufficient fuel, not only for the army's armored vehicles, but also for the navy. And we can now store some fuel in case we need it. Schlieffen said quickly.

"Turkey is promising, while Romania needs some work, but the effort should be worth it. So with these armored vehicles and matching weapons, will the army be able to break through the lines held by the French and British? How survivable are these vehicles in the face of dense artillery fire? I still don't feel at ease with things that haven't been tested in battle. Wilhelm II's tense face loosened slightly.

"In the next few years, I think we will be able to know how powerful this army will be on the ground, and in the Second Sino-Russian War, this force will be able to prove its worth to the world, and they will either become the darlings of the times, or become an expensive, flashy toy, and then we will see. What we need now is to build a prototype of armored forces, which we can not equip in large quantities at first, but we cannot lag behind in terms of R&D and tactical doctrine. Schlieffen said very resolutely.

The current situation cannot be left unresolute, because the actions of the French have bankrupted Schlieffen's plan, and it is difficult for the German Army to guarantee the success of the blitzkrieg against France in this situation, and the troops that cannot make contributions will not be taken seriously and financed, so for the sake of the development and future of the German Army, the chief of the General Staff can only believe in the armored forces rather than believe in them! Think of it as a lifesaver.

"Alright, if you can, I hope you and General Peng Yi can have an in-depth exchange on this stability, and I look forward to a new plan for the whole army on my desk." In the face of Schlieffen, the army general, Wilhelm II also had to give face, although he didn't believe it in his heart, but at least he had to give some comfort in terms of language.

"Your Majesty, the problems faced by the empire are not only the problem of military strength, we lack almost all resources except coal and iron, the metallurgical industry needs a large number of non-ferrous and rare metals, the automobile armored forces and the fleet lack enough fuel, we also lack enough labor, although now in peacetime our labor force is even a little surplus, but in wartime, the army and the military industry will occupy a lot of labor, and then we will have a shortage of labor. And that's not all, we have a shortage of food, 44 percent of our grain production is worth wheat and 15 percent of our cereals need to be imported, even in peacetime, and once it comes to wartime, a lot of manpower is transferred to the army and factories, and our food security problems are worrying. Prime Minister von Caprivi's deep voice echoed through the spacious palace.

"How long can we hold out with pre-war reserves?" For the first time, Wilhelm II realized the gravity of the situation. The former sense of superiority was gone, and the German Empire was able to burst into a terrifying battle in a short period of time with its accumulation and convenient lines of communication and the world's largest army, but now the war has become a war of attrition. A mode of warfare that fully reflects the superiority of the opponent caught Wilhelm II somewhat off guard.

"Steel and armaments can be stored through production, but this storage still takes time, there is something that seems to be able to be stored but it is difficult to supply the consumption of the whole country, this is food, we have a population of more than 55 million, to fill such a huge food gap, it is impossible to rely on normal trade, not to mention how to buy and produce such a huge quantity, just release a rumor in the market, I am afraid that the price of grain in the world will soar, Unless we have access to these grains through non-trade channels. Prime Minister von Caprivi smiled bitterly.

"There is a chance to solve the food problem, I already have an idea, and now the key is whether the army can break the deadlock from the Western Front, I need to know the outcome as soon as possible!" Wilhelm II pondered for a moment and then said. The supreme commander of the German Empire then called for the meeting to be adjourned. Today he is already very tired.

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