Charlottenburg Palace is the summer residence of the Hohenzollern family, and the palace is not inhabited by royals on weekdays, and only when it is necessary to take a vacation, the emperor will bring the family to Charlottenburg Palace under the protection of the guards.

Yesterday, however, Charlottenburg Palace was accommodated by a large group of Italian guests. Today, Charlottenburg Palace is even more lively, and Kaiser Wilhelm came here with a group of high-ranking military and political officials.

In a large conference room at Charlottenburg Palace, led by two monarchs, the military and political leaders of the two countries gathered to discuss the next "peace" matters.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we must have gathered here to know the purpose of this trip. If you are asking for help from our country, then we need to know something about your country. We ask for your understanding as the current situation is likely to lead to a military conflict. ”

Italian Prime Minister Cruz asked questions at the beginning, showing the importance of this meeting.

"Please speak up, and we will tell you the truth."

It was Prime Minister Holweg who spoke.

Cruz, who received a reply, then continued. "In that case, we have a few questions to know. First of all, does your country have the idea of using military means when the situation cannot be calmed down. Secondly, if there is a military operation, then what is your plan, at least if we need to cooperate, we must know the military operation of cooperation. ”

Cruz's two questions are not simple, and they hit the nail on the head.

And this statement also shows that the Italian side fears the outbreak of war. Of course, this was not just a concern, but also an idea to test Germany's attitude towards Italy.

After all, there is a world war next, and no one except Carlo knows how long this war will last. Actually, Carlo is not sure, but at least he is closer to the truth than others.

Faced with the question of Cruz, after a short consultation on the German side, General Moltke Jr., who was the chief of the General Staff, spoke. "I can answer these two questions that you asked. To say that we have no plans for military action would be to deceive you. However, with regard to military operations, we exercise maximum restraint. Of course, if the other side resolutely refuses to budge, then this military operation is very likely to happen. In the event of a military operation, then our country hopes that the Italian side will be able to hold back the French army of 200,000. ”

Moltke's words are already very obvious, at this time, because of the solidity of the Triple Alliance, so in the current situation of tension with France, how can the German General Staff ignore Italy.

Besides, the military exchanges with Italy over the years have not been in vain, and they have a very good understanding of Italy's military strength. That's why Moltke hopes that the other side can drag down part of the enemy's forces in the south and relieve the pressure on his side.

Moltke's words did not move the Italians, who had been prepared before they came.

"On the issue of the need for the cooperation of our army, our side agrees in principle, but our country also has conditions. That is, if the British Empire is involved in this war against us, then your navy will need to hold back the British home fleet and launch our operations in the Mediterranean. ”

These words made Kaiser Wilhelm's expression change slightly, and then he turned his gaze to the head of the German Navy, Field Marshal Tirpitz.

Tirpitz certainly saw the Kaiser's gaze, and he knew the intention of the Kaiser's gaze. The current German Navy means a lot to him. And all along, the concept of the German Navy was based on the presence of a fleet. As he had said publicly before, as long as the German navy had only two-thirds of the strength of the British Empire, it would make the other side think twice.

However, at this time, Italy's request was contrary to his philosophy, so it was a bit difficult.

With a hint of luck at the moment, Tirpitz spoke. "Can you talk about this condition in your country?"

"I'm sorry, but this is one of the necessary conditions for our support for your country, and it cannot be negotiated."

Admiral Yagil, the representative of the Italian navy, directly rejected him and did not give the other party any chance to bargain. Because, unlike Germany, the navy is a matter of life and death for Italy. If Germany had remained in the harbor as a fleet as it had done in the past, it would have been a pit to Italy.

Therefore, this is also a condition that Italy must not concede, and if it cannot be negotiated, then Italy will definitely not join the German side. Now, and at some possible point in the future, Italy needs to prioritize security at sea, or else the war will not be fought.

Tirpitz let go of his luck in response to the Italian rejection, and he clearly felt the pressure from around him, and he had to agree. Although the navy is what Germany needs, the army is its foundation, although he is very impatient with it, but this is the essence of Germany, even the emperor cannot change this.

"There is no problem, if a war breaks out with the British, then our high seas fleet will definitely drag down the British home fleet."

Tirpitz is confident in what he said, because at present the strength of the German High Seas Fleet is not weak, and there are as many as 10 dreadnoughts in service with combat effectiveness, while the British Home Fleet currently has only 12 ships, and it is not at a disadvantage.

Moreover, Britain currently has only 19 dreadnoughts in combat effectiveness, and Germany and Italy are already able to compete with them. It's just that if you want Italy to be the master, you don't have to think about it anymore, if war breaks out in this dispute, the high seas fleet will be the master of the seas. After all, unless the British Empire is crazy, it will leave the high seas fleet around it alone and go to the Mediterranean to find trouble with Italy first.

Tirpitz's words immediately eased the atmosphere in the venue, and since the two sides had reached a preliminary agreement on sending troops, it would be much easier to talk about the future.

Sure enough, after solving the military problems of the alliance, it was much easier to talk about next.

Then the two sides talked about the issue of coordination, after all, one is in the north and the other is in the south, and intelligence communication is very important. In addition, there are many issues such as the purchase of military supplies, as well as communication with Austria-Hungary, which require consultations between the two parties.

Generally speaking, it is difficult to negotiate a result of these many problems in less than a month. However, this time, because of the urgency of the situation, it took only three days for the two sides to basically negotiate.

Of course, in fact, there is still a problem that has not been discussed, and it is not that the two parties have forgotten, but that they have deliberately let it go first. That is the question of how and how the two sides should end up if a war breaks out.

Some people may ask, it is not easy to end the war, the other side surrenders directly, or neither side can move to voluntary peace talks.

That's a good idea, but it's not that simple. This is not a war between two countries, but a war of several countries. Each country has its own needs and its own ideas.

The country wants to cut a piece of territory from country B, and the allied country does not want to see country B weakened, but wants to get a colony from the country. And the country does not want to see the allies get the colony.

This is just before the defeat and the victorious countries, not to mention the countries that want to gain benefits halfway, and the countries that want to make a lot of war profits.

So it's very troublesome, and it's very difficult. Just want to talk about the preliminary results, don't even think about it for three months.

However, for Germany, the outcome of the current talks is sufficient to cope with the current situation. Before negotiating with Italy, Germany had secured the support of its ally, Austria-Hungary.

Vienna's conditions were simple, that is, Germany supported their annexation of Serbia. For this small request of the Austrians, Berlin had no reason to refuse.