On December 16, 1902, a fleet mysteriously arrived at the port of Hamburg in the German Empire, where it was valued and received with great pomp and ceremony.

The head of the fleet was Australian Foreign Minister Andrew and Defense Minister Kent, and they were greeted by a German convoy and quickly arrived at the Berlin City Palace in the German Empire.

Because of the good relations between Australia and the German Empire, the two ministers were soon received by Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Of course, there was also important news brought by the two ministers, which was what directly alarmed Wilhelm II.

"Your Majesty the Kaiser, on behalf of the Principality of Australia and His Majesty the Duke, I would like to extend my sincere greetings to you." As soon as he met Kaiser Wilhelm II, Minister Andrew saluted Wilhelm II with a little respect, together with Minister Kent.

"Both, I heard that you have a piece of news for me about the major foreign policy of the German Empire, I wonder what kind of news can make the two ministers go to Germany without any painstaking efforts?" Kaiser Wilhelm II nodded indifferently to the two ministers, and then asked with a little interest.

"Your Majesty, I wonder if you heard of the treaty between Australia and the island nation a month ago?" Foreign Minister Andrew asked mysteriously.

"That's nature. The military and economic treaties between you, in general, have their pros and cons, but they do have a certain impact on the situation in the Far East. But this has nothing to do with the major foreign policy you are talking about about the German Empire, right? Wilhelm II nodded and asked rhetorically.

"It just matters, Your Majesty. This was also a good opportunity for the German Empire, perhaps to get rid of the Franco-Russian Entente. Minister Andrew also stopped selling the guanzi and explained with a smile.

"Oh? Did you say that in the Far East the Tsarist Empire would suffer defeat? Wilhelm II asked with a little interest.

It is not only the situation that unites France and Russia, but also the deep-rooted interests of the two countries.

It is unlikely that the Tsarist Empire would be able to abandon the Franco-Russian Entente, or that it would remain neutral in the conflict between Germany and France, unless Germany could save the Tsarist Empire from some crisis.

But could an island nation, supported by the British Empire and the United States, really be an obstacle to the Russian Empire in the Far East, or even plunge the Russian Empire into crisis? I'm afraid it's unlikely to happen.

"Although I do not believe that the mighty Russian imperial army will be defeated in the Far East, it is certainly the case according to the information we have so far. Judging from the situation in the Far East and the regional situation, the overall strength of the island countries has surpassed that of the Tsarist Empire, and the navy can also compete with the navy of the Tsarist Empire. This was bad news for the Russian Empire, because they were facing logistical supply problems that were dozens of times more severe than those of the island nations. If the problem of domestic logistics and supply cannot be solved, then sooner or later the Tsarist Empire will fall into disadvantage in the struggle for hegemony in the Far East. Minister Andrew explained with a smile.

"Oh? Can you elaborate on that? "This question already represents the attitude of Wilhelm II, already curious about the opportunities for the German Empire to win over the Tsarist Empire, as Minister Andrew said.

"Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the Tsarist Empire has less than 100,000 troops in the Far East, and the training of these soldiers is worrying, and the weapons and equipment are very backward. It was not difficult for these soldiers to hold the Far East in peacetime, but they were dwarfed by other powerful countries in wartime. Minister Andrew said with a smile.

At the same time, the island nation's army size is hundreds of thousands, and according to the size of their population, the total number of troops can even be as high as three million after extreme conscription. Although the Tsarist Empire could also reach this number, and even far exceed it. But the logistics of the Russian Empire did not allow them to transport large numbers of troops to the Far East, and the maximum number of their troops in the Far East was about 200,000 men. Compared to 200,000 and 3 million, the difference in numbers is enough to decide everything. ”

"More importantly, the training of the army of the island country is partly based on the German Army, although it is not as good as the German Army, but the training quality and weapons and equipment are definitely not weaker than the Far Eastern Army of the Tsarist Empire. With a huge disadvantage in numbers and weaponry, who do you think will have an advantage in the Far East, Your Majesty? Minister Andrew asked with a smile.

"Isn't there still a navy in the Far East of Tsarist Russia? Such a large navy is enough to withstand the fleet of the island nation! As long as the navy of the island country cannot gain superiority, then even if the army has a great advantage, can't the Tsarist Russian navy also bomb the coast of the island country? Wilhelm II asked, slightly puzzled.

In fact, not only Wilhelm II, but even at the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, most countries believed that the fleet of the Russian Empire was sufficient to defend against the fleet of the island nation.

Even if you can't achieve an advantage or victory, you can still hold on to the ocean and cut off the ocean transportation lines of the island nation.

In this case, the war in the Far East would become a tug-of-war, and the Russian Empire, which was larger in size and richer in mineral resources, would undoubtedly gain a greater advantage.

But who would have thought that the island fleet, which did not seem to have much advantage, would actually kill the entire fleet of the Tsarist Empire with a slight damage, completely rewriting the situation of this war?

It's just that the Russo-Japanese War has not yet taken place, and people have not experienced this surprising naval battle.

"Your Majesty, after obtaining several warships ordered from Australia, the naval strength of the island nation is no weaker than that of the Far Eastern Fleet of the Tsarist Empire. What's more, most of the battleships and new warships of the island countries have been built in the last ten years, and the warships of the Russian Tsarist Empire have generally been in service for more than ten years, and there are not many young warships. Coupled with the logistical problems that have been exposed before, the Far East, as the base camp of the island nation, will be adequately guaranteed for logistics and transportation. But looking at the Tsarist Empire, the Trans-Siberian Railway has not yet been fully completed, and the transportation of materials is a great problem. What's more, the economy of the Tsarist Empire was largely dependent on French loans, but France did not support the Tsarist Empire in the Far East, which also led to the financial situation of the Tsarist Empire. With all these factors, what reason do we have not to believe that the island nation, a newly rising country, will win the battle for regional hegemony with an established power like the Russian Empire? Not to mention that the warships ordered by the island nation from Australia were Brunswick-class battleships from Germany. The performance of such an excellent warship must have been heard of by His Majesty. If the Tsarist Empire does not want to make progress, then it is only natural that it will lose its hegemony in the Far East. ”

"Of course, if the Tsarist Empire loses its hegemony in the Far East, this will not be a good thing for the German Empire either. The Russian Empire, which had hegemony in the Far East, would devote some of its energies to the Far East, which would also reduce the pressure on the German Empire under the influence of the Franco-Russian Entente. But if the Tsarist Empire loses its hegemony in the Far East and does not have as much influence in the Far East, they will also focus more on Europe. The Russian Empire under the Franco-Russian Entente would become one of the greatest enemies of the German Empire, unless the German Empire was willing to renounce its opposition to the French. ”

So the question is, will the German Empire give up going against the French?

In addition to the long feud between the two countries, there was also the conflict between the old colonial powers and the emerging industrial powers.

An emerging industrial power like the German Empire also needed a large market to dump their industrial products and make enough profits.

But the problem is that the old powers have always regarded their colonies as their own confines, and the industrial products of other countries are either highly tariffed or basically inaccessible.

In addition, with the increasing importance of industry and technology to the country, the emerging industrial countries have overtaken the old powers in terms of comprehensive strength, such as the German Empire's catch-up with France and the rise of the United States.

Because its status has gradually risen to the same level, even Germany's comprehensive strength has surpassed that of France and has become a relatively recognized second power.

Under such circumstances, Germany became increasingly dissatisfied with the share of the old powers Britain and France in the world's colonies, and the new industrial countries also needed land under the sky, not blue skies.

The Franco-Prussian War had led France to pay a large amount of reparations to Germany and trampled on the dignity of France to form the German Empire.

Under various factors, the contradictions between France and Germany have become deeper and deeper, and even irreconcilable.

But there were not so many contradictions between the German Empire and the Tsarist Empire, and there was even a brief period of the Three Emperors Alliance between the German Empire and the Tsarist Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Although this is a loose alliance that is temporarily compromised for short-term interests, the nature of the alliance dictates that it will one day be dissolved.

But it was also a period of good cooperation between the German Empire and the Tsarist Empire, and it was something that Germany was looking forward to now being able to win over a country with great war potential, or to remove it from the list of France's allies.

Wilhelm II nodded, kind of tentatively agreeing with Minister Andrew's point.

The Tsarist Empire had to show a certain decline in the Far East in order to demonstrate the importance of the German Empire, a country that could support the Tsarist Empire's policy in the Far East, to the Tsarist Empire.

At the same time, the Russian Empire could not afford to lose much of its advantage in the Far East, and a Tsarist Empire that focused entirely on Europe was not a good thing for the German Empire, because at least on the European side, the Russian Empire preferred an alliance with France rather than with Germany.

This depends on many factors, although French capital is addicted to the high income generated by borrowing, which has reduced France's industrial upgrading and technological development to a certain extent.

But this also has an advantage, that is, it can shorten the distance with some countries through loans, especially economically backward countries like Tsarist Russia.

After a large number of loans from France to the Tsarist Empire, the economy of the Tsarist Empire was full of French elements, which also brought the two countries closer and closer.

At the same time, the German Empire, which had concluded treaties of the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy, was moving further and further away from the Russian Empire.

First of all, now the allies of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Tsarist Empire, had a large number of conflicts, and the two countries had many disputes between the borders and very poor relations.

As the saying goes, the enemy of a friend is an enemy, and a friend of an enemy is also an enemy. In this way, the German Empire passed by the Tsarist Empire and went to the opposite side.

Wilhelm II was so interested in what Australia could offer in the hope of wooing Britain and the Russian Empire.

Britain has always pursued a policy of isolation and balance, generally helping the weaker side, but not making the defeated side too weak, lest the weak become strong and become a new threat.

The situation in Europe is now relatively clear, divided into two distinct military blocs. The Allied bloc of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy, and the Entente bloc of the French Republic and the Tsarist Empire all tried to win over the British Empire, which was now the world's number one power.

However, the attitude of the British Empire has always been vague and hazy, and on the basis of a relatively balanced balance of power on both sides, the British Empire adopted a wait-and-see attitude and remained neutral until the end of Queen Victoria's era.

Now came the time of King Edward VII, because Edward VII and Wilhelm II did not have a good relationship, which also made the relationship between the British Empire and the German Empire somewhat estranged.

Of course, it cannot be denied that the rise of the German Empire and the development of the navy were among the factors that alienated the British Empire and the German Empire.

The target of the German Empire was the old powers, which occupied a large number of colonies, and in addition to France, there was not the British Empire?

Although the Germans did not say anything about this, the British Empire was indeed an old power, and it also had the largest colony in the world today.

"Since you've come all the way from Australia, you must have some plans and intentions, right? Tell me, what advice does Arthur have for the current situation in Germany? Wilhelm II asked with a smile.

The purpose of allowing Australia to send two senior ministers to Germany was definitely not as simple as informing Wilhelm II of the news.

The Australian royal family, that is, Arthur also has the head of royal affairs in Europe, if it is just to pass the news, just let the head of royal affairs pass it on, there is absolutely no need to make such a big move.

The two-in-one chapter asks for support

(End of chapter)