"The French have a bitter hatred for us. This was not only due to the fact that His Majesty was crowned in the Hall of Mirrors of Versailles, and the huge indemnity of 5 billion francs, but also because the Empire had ceded Alsace and Lorraine from them. This hatred not only did not fade with the passage of time, but grew stronger by our continued occupation of Alsace, and was always in opposition to our Germany in international affairs; It is for this reason that Count Schlieffen formulated a war strategy that used it as a bait. ”

In the spacious and gorgeous study, Holwig sorted out his thoughts and explained his analysis to Emperor Wilhelm: "Now, we have burned the war to the French mainland, and a large area of land from Rouen in the north, Verdun in the middle, and Beirut in the south is occupied by our Germany; Even Paris, known as the supreme jewel of the French nation, was ravaged to pieces by the iron hooves of our German army. Hundreds of thousands of French soldiers were killed, and millions were enslaved by our rule; Under these circumstances, the vast majority of the French hated our Germany to the core, and vowed to go to Berlin and sentence us all to death by hanging. ”

"Politicians in France, however, are different. With the exception of a handful of ultranationalists, led by De Casser, who have been advocating revenge against Germany all day long, the vast majority of French heads of government undoubtedly have sober and wise minds - as evidenced by the fact that they began to plan in the 80s of the last century, actively avoided the Fashoda conflict with Britain, and finally brought us into a three-sided encirclement of Britain, France and Russia. It is impossible for them not to realize the objective fact that France alone cannot defeat our Germany; And they would not have been unaware of the unprecedented victories of the Empire on the Eastern Front and the North Sea, having lent countless sums of money abroad. What kind of consequences will it have? They already felt that they could not win the war against Germany. The idea of negotiation has already been born; But they are afraid of civilian and military pressure. That's why the neutral Dutch government is going to release this message. Holwig said unhurriedly.

William's brows furrowed slightly, and his heart had already begun to calculate rapidly. After a while, he took over and said, "In other words, it is still not time to completely end the war on the Western Front?" ”

Holwig nodded, "Caesar is wise." Although the French government had deliberately tried to salvage more property from the force of the Reich, the hatred of our Germany for the bloody army and the ruined people was as fierce as magma. Even if we offer relatively lenient conditions now, the French people will not agree. The war will continue, and it will be some time before peace comes to Germany. ”

"So. How should we respond to this mediation letter from little Mary's cousin? William asked.

"Although it is difficult for the French government to negotiate an armistice with us at this time, in the end we will inevitably return to the negotiating table from the battlefield, so it is still necessary for us to convey to Bordeaux our German will through this informal channel of the Queen of the Netherlands. In any case, France must never again threaten our Germany after this war, and we will directly put forward the terms of the armistice on this basis. Holwig gently twisted his goatee under his chin, already making up his mind, "At the same time, we must intensify our military operations in all theaters of battle, and exert pressure on the French government and people through constant victories." Let them finally surrender to us in utter despair. ”

Hearing these words, William couldn't help but have a smile on his face. "Etelle's army has been gassed and has made great strides in the city of Paris. The next step is to follow this path and take all of Paris over. ”

Holwig nodded and smiled, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince does have a whimsical idea in his head that is difficult for us to fathom. This gas war has solved the political detriments caused by our long-term confinement in the city of Paris. However, compared with the capture of Paris, what dealt a heavier blow to France was the cutting off of their contact with the outside world. Although this country is a land country like us, at the moment when the large industrial area of the mainland has fallen, it also needs to rely on the import of personnel, raw materials and war materials from the outside world to continue the war. We can have our allies launch an offensive in the Mediterranean, cutting them off from the West African colonies; The High Seas Fleet struck again after repairs, destroying the Allied cargo ships in the Atlantic. As long as we can hold on to the fruits of our present victories and make steady progress, the Gauls will be in great pain and compelled to bow their proud heads in the face of the harsh reality. ”

"Very well, you will be solely responsible for the response to the French."

William slowly raised his head and stared at the huge lifelike painting on the wall: Wilhelm I and Marshal Moltke were prancing side by side on the battlefield of Sedan, and a soldier respectfully spreading a French tricolor flag under their horses' hooves. In the sound of the ticking pendulum, only Wilhelm said softly: "Since the signing of the Treaty of Frankfurt, successive imperial governments have tried every means to resolve the Franco-German contradictions caused by the Franco-Prussian War; The old guy once fully supported the establishment of the French colonial empire, and I also proposed to negotiate to settle the dispute in the first Moroccan crisis eight years ago, with absolute military superiority. However, these Gauls were not in the least moved by the goodwill of our Germany, but insisted on repeatedly provoking and sinisterly detonating this European war that wanted to kill our Germany. Now, we who have been devoured again and again do not need to give them any kind favors. France must be completely weakened to the point of being below the level of a second-rate country. If they do not choose to accept it, we will plow this glory of Germany ourselves with the sword in our hands! ”

On 7 September, Germany, with the neutral Dutch government, informed France of the Berlin government's request for an armistice. Since the war was triggered by France taking the lead in tearing up the General Protocol of Algejeras and the Treaty of Madrid and sending troops to occupy all of Morocco, France must bear the consequences of the war.

In the office of the Provisional Government in Bordeaux, Germany's armistice demands were quietly laid out at Chancellor Viviani's desk. France needed to immediately withdraw its troops from Morocco and compensate Germany for all the wealth it had expended in this war. On the territorial question, Germany could in principle agree to restore the Franco-German territory to the pre-war period, but France had to surrender all of its overseas colonies as compensation for the current loss of the mainland. Since the current war against Britain was not over, France had to lease all ports along the northern and western coasts to Germany. In addition, the size and equipment of the French army and navy are also limited.

The French government is obviously unacceptable to this condition. The withdrawal of the indemnity is not enough, and the current defeat of the army on the battlefield has made them mentally prepared for this: however, the surrender of all overseas colonies and the restrictions on the army is far beyond their psychological endurance. The ministers knew very well that the reason why France was able to recover so quickly after the reparations of 5 billion francs in 1871 was only due to the sazerainty of France, which was the suzerain, plundering the colonies in a scissor-like manner: through the guò trade lever, the natives of these colonies were constantly transporting almost all the wealth they had created to France proper. If France loses its colonies, it will shrink from a world-class power to a regional power in an instant, not to mention that the Germans still have provisions on France militarily!

Seeing that the Germans were so denied a way to live, the French government could only postpone the peace talks for the time being, hoping that there would be a change on the battlefield that would benefit the Entente. However, after a week's hard work, their victory was limited to another French defeat of the Italians at the western foot of the Alps, and several French attacks in Paris to retake the northern city were stopped by the Germans, who had copied the previous French defensive tactics. At the same time, the Middle East battlefield, which had been neglected before, suddenly came with thunderous news: the Ottoman army had wiped out the British forces deployed in Kuwait and was now rushing towards the Sinai Peninsula, where the Suez Canal is located!

Although Egypt is a British colony, Britain and France have long been a community of losses; For Britain, Egypt is undoubtedly second only to India in its core interests. After three decades of operation, Britain had firmly established its rule over the region, but with the entry of the Ottoman Empire into the war, the security of the colony of the empire on which the sun never set suddenly deteriorated.

Historically, after the Ottoman Empire entered the war, it used the main army to launch an offensive in the North Caucasus in order to regain the territory previously lost in the Russo-Turkish wars. However, Enver overestimated the obstacles that the rugged mountainous terrain of the Caucasus had made the Ottoman offensive a disaster. In this plane, the Qing British, who knew the history, tried their best to persuade the Ottoman leadership to first solve the British power in the Arabian Peninsula and then move westward to seize Egypt. Egypt had been the territory of the Ottoman Empire since 1517, but was taken by the British in 1882; In the past, due to the inability to confront the British head-on, they could only smash their teeth and swallow it in their stomachs, but now there are German and Austrian powers in front of them to attract the hatred of the British, and it is an excellent time for Istanbul to regain the lost territory and regain the territory of the empire's heyday! (To be continued......)