Kaiser Wilhelm I's face became more and more ugly, although he had expected it before the outbreak of the war that it would be a hard war. For this reason, Germany has repeatedly changed their expectations. In the beginning, Germany hoped to defeat the Chinese Empire and become the new world hegemon. After measuring the combined strength of the two countries, Germany set the goal of unifying the whole of Europe, and then dividing the world with the Chinese Empire, creating favorable conditions for the next defeat of the Chinese Empire.

However, even achieving this goal is not so easy. In the face of the mighty Chinese Empire, Germany's only advantage was that they were able to sweep through Western Europe before the arrival of Chinese* reinforcements, and then fight a decisive battle with the Chinese Empire in Eastern Europe, using the long logistical supply lines to bring down the Chinese Empire. In this way, Germany has a slight chance of winning. However, the situation of the war turned out to be completely different from what the Germans had previously anticipated. On the Western Front, the German plan was not able to succeed. Although, the Germans had already invaded the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium. But the fierce fighting continued, and the Belgians were still resisting. Moreover, with the support of the Chinese Empire, the will of the Kingdom of Belgium to resist was very strong. The Germans wanted to destroy the Kingdom of Belgium in a short time, but they simply couldn't.

The defeat of the Ottoman Turkish Navy made it even more impossible for Germany to control the shipping routes in the Mediterranean. Once the Chinese reinforcements were sent to Western Europe through the Mediterranean, the situation facing Germany became even more critical.

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff, what should we do now to reverse the current unfavorable situation?" William I said. Obviously. The beginning of the war was very unfavorable to Germany, and if it did not find a way, it would be difficult for Germany to win the war.

"陛xià. Now we have only one way. If successful, it may be possible to reverse the current situation. If we fail, then we must be prepared to fight on two fronts with the Chinese. Count Moltke said.

All eyes fell on Count Moltke, as if considering what he could do. However, Count Moltke did not say it explicitly, but looked at Prince Felix, the Minister of the Admiralty. Suddenly, everyone understood. Count Moltke meant to send out the navy.

The Minister of the Navy, Prince Felix, suddenly felt nervous, the war had just begun, was it the turn of the German Navy to fight? But the German Navy was not ready. Though. The German Navy now had a total of 28 battleships of 7 classes. But if you want to defeat the Chinese navy, it seems that it will be somewhat difficult. The capital ships of the 5th Fleet of the Chinese Navy alone are no less than this number. The other four Caesar-class battleships will not enter service until next month. It is expected to be by the end of the year. All four 'Caesar-class' battleships will be fully commissioned. That's the case. The German Navy will have 32 capital ships.

Originally, Prince Felix planned to wait until the four 'Caesar-class' battleships were commissioned before waiting for an opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the 5th Fleet of the Chinese Navy. In this case, the German navy may have a slightly better chance of victory. After all, the 'Caesar-class' battleships are powerful battleships equipped with 381-mm guns, and their power is undoubtedly the most powerful in the world, comparable to the Chinese Navy's 'Minggai-class' battleships.

However, the current unfavorable situation of the war made the German Navy go to war in advance. This is undoubtedly a bit too risky.

"陛xià. The German Navy now has only 28 battleships, and the newest four 'Caesar-class' battleships will not be fully commissioned until the end of the year. So. Can we wait until the end of the year to fight the decisive battle with the Chinese Navy? Prince Felix said.

"If you wait until the end of the year, the Chinese will already have a foothold in Western Europe, and they can at least send millions of troops from home to Western Europe." At that time, even if the navy can win, we will not be able to drive the Chinese out of Western Europe. Count Moltke said.

There is no doubt that Count Moltke hoped that the navy would defeat the Chinese Navy's 5th Fleet and gain sea supremacy in the North Sea and even the eastern Atlantic. In this way, until the Chinese Navy defeated the German Navy, their troops could not be transported to Western Europe. Thus buying enough time for the German Army. The deployment of the German Army, as well as the mobilization of the second group of troops, will take time. The German Army could not buy enough time on its own. Therefore, you can only rely on the navy.

"Your Royal Highness, if the war with the 5th Fleet of the Chinese Navy starts now, is the Navy sure of victory? After all, at the moment, the number of capital ships on both sides is the same. On auxiliary warships, we are no less than the Chinese, and even a little more. There is actually not much difference between starting a war now and waiting until the end of the year to start a war. "Otto. Feng. Prime Minister Bismarck also said. After all, if the war starts at the end of the year, the Chinese Navy's 5th Fleet will also have new warships, and even if the 'Caesar-class' battleships enter service, they will be offset by the new warships added by the Chinese Navy. Coupled with the fact that time is now urgent, Germany needs the navy to buy more time. Therefore, it is undoubtedly the most appropriate for the Navy to go to war now.

Prince Felix nodded, and the truth was this. However, he always felt that there was some conspiracy of the Chinese Navy, otherwise, the Chinese Navy would not have squared its entire strength into two fleets. The Chinese Navy could have drawn the main force from the 1st Fleet to join the 5th Fleet, and in this case, the Chinese Navy would have an overwhelming advantage. If the German Navy wants to defeat the Chinese Navy, it is simply impossible.

"Your Royal Highness, the German Empire needs a navy to win. Now is the time for the Navy to contribute to the German Empire! William I also said. After the end of the last world war, Germany began to work hard to build a navy. Through his efforts, he was able to build a powerful navy that was the second largest in the world. Although, there is still a big gap between the German Navy and the Chinese Navy. However, this did not mean that the German Navy was defenseless. If you are lucky, you may be able to annihilate the 5th Fleet of the Chinese Navy at a small cost. And then defeat the 1st Fleet of the Chinese Navy. In this way, the German Navy will be able to become the new maritime hegemon.

Of course, this is the best outcome, and it is very difficult to achieve such a goal. But Wilhelm I believed that the German Navy would be able to pull off the miracle. When the Chinese Navy was still very weak, didn't it also defeat the powerful British Navy? The German Navy, too, can defeat the strong with the weak.

"It's Your Majesty, and the Navy will do its best to go to sea and fight a decisive battle with the 5th Fleet of the Chinese Navy. We will do our best to defeat the Chinese Navy and win. "Prince Felix knows that he can't say no anymore. The German Navy had to fight a decisive battle with the Chinese Navy.

"Hmmm! I am sure that the German Navy will be able to win. God will surely bless the German Empire. William I said.

"God bless the German Empire, the navy will win!" Everyone else chanted. Naval victory was their only hope.

Prince Felix left first, and he needed to rush to Wilhelmshaven to discuss the dispatch of troops with Admiral Philip, commander of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet. Although the German Navy had been in the thick of it for so many years, Prince Felix had no confidence in defeating the Chinese Navy.

After Prince Felix left, the Imperial Council continued. The focus of the next discussion will be on the eastern and western fronts of Europe. Kaiser Wilhelm I believed that it was unrealistic not to allow the war situation to deteriorate, nor to pin all his hopes on the navy. Kaiser Wilhelm I demanded that the army speed up the build-up of forces and launch another large-scale offensive on the Western Front. In one fell swoop, the Sino-Belgian coalition forces in Belgium were crushed, and finally the front was pushed to the Pyrenees. In this way, even if Spain cannot be destroyed, it can be held out by using the Pyrenees. On the Eastern Front, Germany's million-dollar army needed to enter Russia and launch a counterattack against the Chinese army together with the Russian army, driving the Chinese army back east of the Volga River to avoid the Russian hinterland being attacked by the Chinese.

It's just that it will be difficult to accomplish the goals of William I. At present, the Chinese, Belgian, Spanish, and Kingdom of France armies in Western Europe together still have more than 2 million men. To defeat them, Germany would need to invest no less than this number of troops. And if you want to inflict heavy damage or even annihilate these enemy forces, you will have to invest more troops. With the second mobilization not yet complete, it was difficult for Germany to draw so many troops. This was especially true in the event of the failure of the right hook plan in the first phase, in which the German Army lost hundreds of thousands of men.

In the eyes of Count Moltke, Germany's hope for achieving its goal still lies in the navy. If the navy can defeat the 5th Fleet of the Chinese Navy so that the reinforcements of the Chinese army will not land in Western Europe so quickly, then Germany can calmly mobilize troops and sweep through Western Europe. But if the navy had failed and Chinese reinforcements had been able to land lightly in Western Europe, the situation would have been even more unfavorable for Germany. If not, Germany will have to be prepared for a protracted war. And once it enters the stage of protracted war, Germany has absolutely no chance of winning. This has long been the consensus of the whole country.

Therefore, if Germany wants to win the war, or to accomplish the pre-war goals, it is up to the navy. They bore all the hopes of the German Navy. (To be continued......)

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