The fourth update

Originally, the situation in the conference room was swaying from side to side, but now it was a foregone conclusion.

After Frederick III made his own decision, everything was already settled.

A smile tugged at the corners of Napoleon's mouth, and he looked at Prime Minister Gladstone like a victor. The Germans were no longer hesitant, and he told them very clearly that Berlin was now on the side of France, and that Prime Minister Gladstone would be there for him if he went to war.

After hearing Frederick III's answer, Prime Minister Gladstone lost his mind for a moment. He did not expect that in the end Germany would still be on Napoleon's side. Now the situation has become a little awkward, and once the war starts, he will have to fight against the two empires of France and Germany, and then the battle with these two empires will mean a terrible war.

Not to mention that France had already won twice against the British, Berlin's million-strong army was still on the sidelines. Prime Minister Gladstone was very sure that when the British fleet landed, he would be the most powerful military force in Northern Europe!

This is why Prime Minister Gladstone would rather test the other side's attitude at the negotiating table than go to war, the cost of which is too great. The fools of Congress sit in their chairs and speak without responsibility, but if he goes to war, he will face the threat of Britain's First Empire, second only to France since the 19th century.

The last war with Russia was only a small fight, and it didn't hurt at all. This time, however, they were facing France, and the situation changed dramatically after the Franco-Prussian War. Although France is nominally a weak chicken, Egypt's performance has impressed everyone.

This battle could drain London's strength, and he did not want to engage such a formidable opponent, let alone make himself a sinner of England.

But now that the people in the country are outraged, someone must come forward to take responsibility. Coincidentally, Gladstone happened to be sitting in the position of prime minister, and if he was not responsible, could anyone else be responsible?

So the hapless prime minister was faced with a difficult choice in a conference room in Berlin. Should it be a declaration of war on France, or should it abandon the Egyptian colonies and choose to compromise?

If the war were to be waged, he would have become the greatest prime minister in British history, but the statistics in front of everyone showed that Britain had very little chance of winning the war. Unless you agree to a cession from Egypt and give a colony.

If he did, Gladstone would be convicted of being a traitor.

By the time he got to this point, he found that there was no way back. Behind him is a cliff, in front of a tightrope, go forward, go back, it's nine deaths.

He faced an unprecedented predicament.

Eventually, Gladstone took a deep breath, pointed to Napoleon, and said, "Now that Berlin has made its decision, don't regret it." I will pay you with blood. All of all, for the declaration of war on Great Britain, we will take revenge. ”

Although he said it very hard, he actually didn't have any bottom in his heart. Taking the initiative to declare war on the Franco-German alliance was completely hijacked by domestic public opinion.

Napoleon still had a fearless expression, he had been waiting for Gladstone to say this, this was the last step of the whole plan, and then the most critical moment was to completely break Britain's colonial imperial status, overthrow the existing European order, and carry out a new round of reshuffling.

France has nothing to fear.

"I now announce that London will officially declare war on Paris and Berlin. Your Majesty Frederick, President Napoleon, you will regret it. ”

Napoleon made a gesture of please, "I'll wait." ”

By the time Moltke arrived, the Triple Conference had ended. All he could see was the back of the British delegation as they left the room in a huff, and the triumphant smile on the corner of Frederick III's lips. He knew it was all over.

Gladstone didn't say anything, but deep down he was already nervous.

When I left Berlin, I was racking my brains and wondering how to win the war.

At this time, the plot of Europe went down according to the ideas of Napoleon and Bismarck, but Bismarck thought one step more than Napoleon, and he planned to clean up both countries together in the war, so that Germany would be the final winner.

And this responsibility naturally fell to Moltke, who called him the only remaining senator of the whole of Germany, Bismarck pinned his hopes on the other side, worked out a strategy of all-out invasion, and after annihilating the British army, he took care of the French by the way. They didn't need to take Paris, they just had to let most of the territory north of Paris fall.

Napoleon was the last to come out, and he smiled at Moltke when he saw him.

However, the other party gave a cold response.

Napoleon deliberately walked up to him and said with emotion, "You are the only one left in the troika of the Second German Empire, Ron has died of illness, Bismarck has also been expelled, and Moltke's Chief of Staff is really a lucky man." ”

"After all, there are nearly a million land forces in the whole of Germany, and they need a clear-headed decision-maker, otherwise I am afraid that I will end up with Napoleon III in the future."

Moltke sneered, "His Majesty Napoleon deliberately provoked a dispute with England, probably not to use the power of Berlin to eliminate the greatest threat?" But the Germans are not stupid, we don't do thankless things, and if someone wants to sit on the hill and watch the tiger fight, then he has the wrong plan in his heart. A million-strong army can turn the tide of battle at any time, and even if they have advanced light weapons, they can't withstand the endless crowd tactics. ”

The German Chief of the General Staff was hinting to the other side not to do anything out of the ordinary, and Berlin was on guard against them.

Napoleon slowly retracted his expression and looked at each other with a serious expression. "I have only one question, do you think the present France is qualified to challenge the British order?" ”

Moltke, however, was dismissive of the issue.

"I don't know if you can defeat the British, but if you go to war with the British, we will be the decisive force in the war. Please Your Excellency Napoleon would do well to remember this, France is nothing without Berlin. We are the ones who matter. ”

Moltke whispered, "Don't try to make small moves behind your allies' backs, they're not stupid. ”

However, what he waited for was not a promise, but a more domineering reply.

"One thing you're mistaken, we've never underestimated any of our opponents."

Napoleon said in a calm tone, "It was they who underestimated France, and in the end paid a terrible price." ”