Val Ching Manor, which has been deserted for a long time, welcomes a special guest today.

Staff Officer Moltke also visited Bismarck's estate for the first time in more than half a year, and at present there is no war in Germany, and France is also in charge of Egypt, so there is no need for the German staff to bother with it.

But Moltke always felt that something was not right, that his political vision was far less long-term than Bismarck's, and that he wanted to extract some news from the old man's mouth.

Bismarck, who was idle at home, was of course more than willing to share his views with his old friends, and on the question of Egypt he pointed out the great mistakes of the British.

According to intelligence, General Wolsley and the Duke of Cambridge have always been at odds, and the two sides have long disputed the reform of the British Army. This time, General Wolseley was suddenly replaced, and it was the group of nobles who played a role in dragging him back. It's just that these idiots don't realize what they're doing, although Wolseley has some losses in the early stage, and even suffered heavy losses, but he definitely knows the situation in Egypt better than the Duke of Cambridge, and it is right to delay time, on the contrary, the Duke of Cambridge is to attack the French defense line fiercely, wanting to end the war in a short time, but it has suffered serious losses. ”

Bismarck continued to himself, "If I were Napoleon, I would take advantage of this opportunity to inflict heavy losses on the British army." Bite as much territory as you can, and then negotiate with the British. The best-case scenario would be that Egypt would be divided between North and South or East and West, and Germany would get the territory it wanted, and the British would have to suffer this loss. ”

Moltke listened quietly to what he said, and from time to time threw out some of his own opinions.

Bismarck picked up the teacup, shook his head with a chuckle, and said to himself, "Napoleon, that old fox, may have prepared a more clever plan." The British were also considered unlucky for themselves and picked the wrong opponent. If I were Prime Minister Gladstone, I would work with Berlin to get rid of France, and then I would take the opportunity to dismantle the colonial empire. It's a pity that the original good hand was chosen by the wrong ally because of France's weakness, and the British were going to lose this game in Egypt. Once Egypt's colonies were lost, control of the Mediterranean was not necessarily in British hands. ”

Moltke sighed, he understood what Bismarck had said, but the current situation was beyond his control. Frederick III began to become more arbitrary than anyone else, especially when it came to foreign expansion, showing paranoid parania on a paranoid basis as any other dictator. It's hard to imagine that he was such a gentle and elegant man before.

Moltke stood up, she walked to the window, looked at the green landscape, and whispered, "Now Germany is vigorously developing its naval power, and France and Germany are trying to join forces to build a fleet that can rival Britain!" But now that His Majesty Frederick has fallen deeper and deeper, he will not listen to our words, preferring to believe the promises of the Tuileries Palace. ”

However, Mai Sui laughed at Moltke for not understanding the situation, and he said seriously, "Your Majesty Frederick? His Majesty Frederick could no longer listen to anyone. The fish is almost biting the barb, do you think he will let go? ”

"If it were me, I would not let go in the face of such interests, but politics is more based on experience and keen insight, and the Kaiser, who has just succeeded to the throne, does not have enough experience."

Moltke felt as if he had heard something, and he abruptly turned back and asked, "You mean that His Majesty Frederick is the fish that bites the hook?" ”

But Bismarck did not answer the other party's question, but continued to talk to himself, "Only when the fish are pierced by the barb in the bait will they suddenly wake up, and now we can't persuade us, not to mention that Germany is about to gain its greatest benefit, the territory of Egypt, and then completely break with the British." If His Majesty Frederick finally comes to his senses, he will come back to me. Only I can pull Germany back from its predicament, I just hope that it will not be too late. ”

Moltke listened to Bismarck's rambling speeches and carefully jotted down key information.

"By the way, Chief of Staff Moltke, did you go to investigate the weapons of the French? I have noticed that the French have recently come up with a lot of new weapons. Including the Maxim machine guns and their new artillery, which I have always been optimistic about, completely overcome and adapted to the harsh conditions of the battlefield, I suspect that a genius has emerged in the French ordnance department. Did you find anything from the Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff? ”

"Sorry, Bismarck, I have not found anything so far. However, the excellent performance of the Maxim machine gun is obvious to all, we have now mastered our own smokeless gunpowder, and the imitation Maxim machine gun is mass-produced, as for the artillery, we don't have to worry about the quality of the Krupp gun, they have enough superior performance. Finally, on the issue of rifles, the French have been trying to mass-produce the serial-firing rifle, which sounds like a portable version of the Maxim machine gun, but it is limited to design or process problems, small-scale mass production, and no mass production. ”

Bismarck pondered for a moment, then replied, "However, the bursting rifle ...... So far, it has not been able to replace the status of single-shot rifles. ”

"That's what I thought, too."

Moltke said, "If every German soldier had a rifle that could fire continuously, it would be a major disaster for German logistics, and the French must have been aware of this problem, so they started small-scale production, not large-scale production." Because in the event of a war, the consequences of such a rifle were serious logistical pressures. It may be that many soldiers will not be able to wait for logistical supplies after they have finished their bullets. ”

Bismarck saw through the opponent's routines and understood the shortcomings of the Germans.

"We also need a new rifle, the Germans have already suffered in the Franco-Prussian War, and now that we have mastered smokeless gunpowder technology, it is time to phase out the old guns on a large scale."

"France and Germany are again feuding. That will be when I will return to the post of Chancellor of Germany. ”

"It was also the day of the outbreak of war."

By this time the port of Alexandria had become a sea of fire, and the troops commanded by the Duke of Cambridge did not stop the French from going deep alone, as he had requested. Instead, the enemy broke through layers of defense and rushed to the vicinity of Alexandria Harbor.

At the same time, the artillery of the Eastern Front also began to launch a fierce attack, so that the British, Eastern expeditionary team did not have time to move back in the direction of Alexandria.

The silence of the night was broken by the roar of cannons, and the kerosene lamp above the Duke of Cambridge swayed, casting layers of shadows in the map spread out on the table.

The Duke of Cambridge felt that something was wrong, and now that the French had formed an encirclement of the British army, the rest of the troops were also being dragged back, and they could not return to Alexandria to defend themselves. The French seized a golden opportunity and plunged directly into their hearts like a sharp thorn. And the Duke of Cambridge's only way to retreat is the Mediterranean Sea behind him, and the Mediterranean fleet at this time is gone, which makes people feel afraid.

He was genuinely afraid, and as a man of the rank of a marshal, George had never been captured by the enemy. Before that, he boasted in front of Queen Victoria, saying that he would definitely revive the glory of the British nobility!

Now don't talk about reviving glory, it's good to be able to save your face. The French army is further closing the encirclement, and the possibility of the British army breaking the defense and counter-encirclement is becoming less and less.

"General George, it's not good now. Alexandria had lost contact with the rest of the troops outside, and we were trapped here by the French, unable to move. Even the Mediterranean Fleet can't be contacted, and if you continue like this, our entire army will be annihilated. ”

"Shut up!"

George now had lost all the hesitation he had when he first arrived at Alexandria, sweating from his forehead, and walking back and forth in the command room, trying to find a gap and break the enemy blockade.

"Do you really want me to go back to sea?"

This terrible thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately rejected it.

No, never, I don't care if it's Napoleon or whoever, today I, the Duke of Cambridge, will gamble on my glory and fame to fight to the death for the French!

"Don't panic everyone, it's night and we don't know the number of enemies. By the time dawn rose, the troops would be able to arrive in time. As long as they can't capture Alexandria, this lone advance will be considered a failure. The French are very adventurous, and anyway, when we are unstable on our feet, we use sneak attacks once and for all. But the British are not vegetarians either, and we will hold on until the last minute! ”

Rather than boosting morale, George was comforting himself. For he saw that everyone's face was ugly pale, as if he knew that his life was short.

He was about to say something when suddenly a dazzling fireball flashed outside the window, and with a loud roar, the window glass was directly shattered.

Unsteady on his feet, George fell to the ground, staggered to his feet, poked his head out of the window and saw a scene he will never forget.

It wasn't until many years later that he woke up from this lingering nightmare.

It was a bayonet advancing in the moonlight, shimmering with a chilling light. They were engaged in street battles and hand-to-hand combat with the British in Alexandria, an inconspicuous city!

I don't know who spoke first, and then the entire command war room was in a mess, many of them were people who entered the command headquarters by title and price, and they had not received this level of war baptism at all!

"The French are in!"

The War Department suddenly exploded. 13110