In the personality evaluation of German Emperor William II by later generations, "stubbornness" is the most common word.

Specifically, it means being stubborn, self-righteous, and not listening to other people's opinions.

This evaluation may be a bit absolute, but it basically conforms to the ruler's performance in most decisions.

Although he did not express his support for Crown Prince William's position, Xia Shu followed him to the emperor's office.

The two waited at the door for a while until the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, equivalent to the then German Foreign Minister, Von Kidren, came out of the office, and the two were summoned to enter.

After asking the crown prince and the prince to take their seats on the sofa, the emperor said in a proud look: "Under our diplomatic pressure, the French agreed to make concessions and compensate us with their colonies in Southwest Africa."

Crown Prince William was not moved by this. He said: "But, Your Majesty, the barren lands of the French in Southwest Africa have little meaning to us. What we have lost is not only the colonial interests in Morocco, but also the dignity of the empire, the expectations and trust of the people for us."

Before this, the German Emperor had obviously had exchanges with his heirs in this regard, so his attitude towards Crown Prince William was not surprising at all.

"I've always wanted to get an estuary for our Cameroonian colony in Southwest Africa, and the French colony just happened to be in the right position, which was a good opportunity."

"But the interests of the colonies are added value and will never be as good as our interests in the land, my Majesty!" Crown Prince William argued, "Since 1904, our land has been surrounded by enemies, and the situation is extremely unfavorable to us. Now is the time to completely break this encirclement. The army is ready for war, and so is our people!"

The emperor slowly put away the joy on his face and said with a deep feeling: "My Willy, when you rule a country with a population of tens of millions, going to war should not be an easy decision. If we want to defeat France in one fell swoop, our existing military strength is not sufficient. In addition to the solid fortifications built by the French on the border, don't forget that we must also be wary of the Russians at all times."

He then added: "In the next three years, our army will be expanded, and the modernization of military equipment will be greatly improved. By then, our army will be more aggressive and sufficient to end the battle on the Western Front before the Russians rushed from behind us."

Although the mood of Crown William was soothing, he still said reluctantly: "Even if this is not the best time to start a war, we cannot ignore the voice of the people. They look forward to a victory, whether diplomatic or military. In Morocco, we have failed once. If we fail again, the prestige of the German government and the army in the minds of the people will drop to a very embarrassing level."

"We can avoid diplomatic failures by keeping a cautious and wise mind," said William II. At this time, he finally remembered the Xia Shu present, and then changed the topic: "Oh, dear Johen, it is a pleasure to see you again. The 'Von-der-Tann' has won us honors. This news should be published so that the people can share the victory."

"I am sincerely proud to dedicate this honor to you, Your Majesty, the entire Navy." Xia Shu first gave a compliment, and then analyzed: "There is a great benefit and a great disadvantage for publishing the news of the Fox Bay artillery exchange. The advantage is to let the people see the achievements of naval construction and increase everyone's confidence and morale. The disadvantage is to overstimulate the British and allow them to devote more energy and financial resources to the development of the navy, thereby offsetting the efforts we have made to narrow the naval gap."

The words were very tactful, and in essence they still negated William II's idea. The emperor stared at Xia Shu for a few seconds, then glanced at Crown Prince William. He had already understood the views and positions of the brothers.

"At the coronation of King George V of England, the British Navy showed the world their unparalleled strength. Johen should be very clear that our navy is less than half of that of Britain. Apart from a few of the latest battleships, the old battleships that were previously served were difficult to compete with the British fleet. This is the situation reported to me by the Earl of Tirpitz, Admiral Muller, Admiral Holsendorf and other naval generals. According to their analysis, the German Navy does not have the strength to challenge the British Navy within three years."

Natsuki glanced at Crown Prince William and said, "Your Majesty, we do not have the strength to challenge the British Navy at present, nor do we need to challenge the British Navy directly. Once we are ready to get involved in the war with France, we can mobilize all torpedo boats to conduct a large-scale combat drill and invite military officers from various countries to watch. Even if we cannot dispel the British Navy's idea of ​​interfering force, we can still keep them away from the German coastline."

The emperor stood up and left the sofa, began to pace at his desk, and said, "If the British Navy was unmoved and still launched an active attack in the way they were good at, according to the calculations of the Navy Staff, our fleet is likely to be hit by a devastating blow."

"The calculation is calculus after all, your majesty." Natsuki argued, "The calculation result is assuming that the British Navy invested four-fifths of ships and broke into the Scarglake Strait with its main fleet. In fact, it was a very risky move because they were not sure whether we would attack the strait with a large number of torpedo boats, and they couldn't figure out how many high-speed torpedo boats we had."

The emperor was silent for a moment: "So... are you supporting the war against France, Johen?"

From foreseeing Crown Prince William and the Army Generals in front of the palace to expressing his opinions just now, after more than half an hour of thinking, Xia Shu had chosen his position, but he was not in a hurry to "charge into battle", but instead replied ambiguously: "If we can win a favorable situation and use a short-term war to win peace for Germany for the next thirty years, it is of course worth letting go, but we still have two problems to solve now: the intervention of the British and the resistance of the French."

Speaking of this, Xia Shu exchanged his eyes with the emperor and the crown prince one after another. It was obvious that both of them were very interested in his statement.

"After years of preparation, our staff is well aware of France's geographical terrain, military scale, military deployment and other situations. The army can quickly launch an attack according to Schliffen's plan, but the British's position is an unknown factor that cannot be ignored. As long as they are determined to interfere and rely on their naval advantages, they can transport 4 to 5 divisions of troops to northern France in a very short time. At first glance, our powerful right wing can destroy the landing British army like trampling ants, but years of feud will definitely make the French team highly motivated in the opening stage. In order to defeat their resistance, we must do our best. The British team, which appeared on the battlefield earlier than planned, is likely to become the key force that determines the situation on the battlefield. If our right wing offensive is delayed, the war may turn into a war of attrition that is extremely unfavorable to us."

The emperor remained silent, while the Crown Prince William retorted tepidly: "The combat plan of Count Schliffen is the crystallization of his lifelong military talent, an impeccable war plan. No matter whether the British sent 4 or 10 divisions, it will not change the outcome of the war, and we will surely win."

Natsuki responded in an unquestionable tone: "Of course, we will win."

At this time, William II said: "You made me a little confused. Joheng. While you support the war, you feel that the prospects for the war are not very optimistic. What do you want to express?"

Natsuki replied without pause: "As I said at first, Your Majesty, if we can win a favorable situation, we should start a war, and if we cannot, we should endure it."

The emperor thought for a while: "In my judgment, although Britain's recent attitude is not very friendly, the possibility of their direct involvement in the German-French war is slim. They are happy to see the two continental powers both lose money."

As if he had found an exit in a maze, Crown Prince William shouted excitedly: "So we should start war. Your Majesty, we must take advantage of the opportunity that Russia and France have not completed military preparations to defeat France, isolate Russia, and let the British bow their heads to us... The opportunity should not be missed!"

The emperor stared at his eldest son in a daze, then turned his gaze to the youngest son who chose to be silent at this moment, racked his brains to ponder the logic of the conversation just now, and then reluctantly changed his mind: "Okay, I think it is necessary for us to hold the imperial meeting again and re-discuss the issue of starting a war against France in a serious and serious way."

Crown Prince William was immediately delighted: "Your Majesty, you have just made an absolutely wise decision."

The emperor was not happy at all, and he sighed, "I hope this is the case!"

After walking out of the emperor's office, Crown Prince William exclaimed: "It seems that it is better for us to give a briefing in advance if we encounter this situation next time."

Xia Shu pretended to be relaxed and smiled: "What, did you think I was not on your side?"

"Yes, I thought I was betrayed!" Crown Prince William said with a smile.

Xia Shu stopped and said solemnly: "You can rest assured that this situation will never happen because..."

"Because we are eternal good brothers." The crown prince said the next half for him.

The two looked at each other and smiled, bent their right elbows and held each other.

Whether sincere or not, if interests are not contradictory, the two strong alliance will inevitably lead to a win-win result.

...

As domestic public opinion on main wars is growing, at the imperial cabinet meeting held soon after, the pro-war faction represented by the Army Chief of Staff Moltke Jr. and the Foreign Secretary of State Kiddren also gained the upper hand. German Emperor William II decided to put pressure on France with a more tough attitude.

Relying on the support of Britain, the French proposed to make up for Germany's losses in Morocco with a region on the border of the French Congo, while Germany gave the French two choices: either withdraw troops from Morocco immediately or ced the entire French Congo to Germany. France flatly refused. As soon as the news came out, public opinion in Germany became increasingly fierce. In addition to the Social and National Party and some left-wing radical organizations, all parties had high expectations for giving up Morocco and obtaining compensation from France. The Pan-Germany Association and other organizations publicly called on Germany to fight at all times. Army generals also expressed their strong confidence in winning the war on various occasions...

The crisis caused by the "Leopard" lasted until the fourth week. Britain, which was always worried that Germany would obtain a naval base in Morocco, suddenly took an unprecedented tough stance. Cabinet Minister Lloyd George delivered a speech in public, claiming that Britain intended to maintain peace, but would not endure shame in order to seek a substandard peace. After this speech, the anti-German wave in Britain and France was aroused, and various newspapers attacked Germany at full speed, and a huge anti-British wave appeared in Germany. All parties and political forces said that the speech was a shame to Germany and demanded that the government fight back with all its might. Both sides did not give in.

Given that diplomatic negotiations were difficult to make progress, the German Emperor finally issued a secret mobilization instruction to the army. The German generals who were already ready to fight immediately devoted themselves to the war preparations with unprecedented enthusiasm. With the efforts of Schliffen and his successors, only this key action command was needed. The German team was like an automated machine. All the army commanders had to do was to maintain contact with various troops through wired, wireless and motorized messengers from their offices.

With the amazing efficiency of the German staff and logistics departments, within just one week, 18 of the 20 active corps had secretly traveled to the German-French border area, and 4 supplementary divisions and 16 reserve brigades were ordered to assemble; various heavy weapons, including 305mm caliber siege mortars, arrived in the designated areas in an orderly manner, and nine flight squadrons of the German Army, including airships, aircraft and school balloons, were also assigned to the army headquarters along the route. However, due to the assembly of the army,

The mobilization was carried out in a non-public state, and the recruitment speed of reserve troops was greatly restricted. The full rate of most front-line troops was only 80% to 90%, and the reserve troops were only 40% to 50%. If the war broke out immediately, the German army invested 960,000 troops on the French front, while without mobilization, the French army had a standing 700,000 troops, and less than 400,000 troops were deployed on the front line of Germany and France during normal times. The German army could still gain the advantage with its huge military strength.

Because he noticed the dangerous atmosphere of war approaching, the French team sent more troops to the eastern border area and seeking assistance from Britain. Compared with the assembly and mobilization of the army, the navy had an incomparable innate advantage. The British spent only three days to recall the naval officers and soldiers on vacation. On the fourth day after the assembly order was issued, the huge group of ships of the local fleet sailed out of the military port in a mighty manner, and stood on the order east of the Thames River. Transportation ships and escort ships gathered in various ports in southern England. Teams of British Expeditionary Army soldiers wearing yellow khaki uniforms also appeared at these ports, and together with horses, cannons, ammunition and other combat preparation materials, they could be boarded and shipped at any time.
Chapter completed!