After visiting German Emperor William II, Navy Head Tirpitz, and Imperial Prime Minister Holvig, Xia Shu selectively attended several high-class banquets. The generals who have won many battles are dazzling everywhere. This is true. Whether it is at the Caesarhof Hotel in the central city of Berlin, or the aristocratic manor in Brandenburg, whether in the singing and dancing hall or the drinking and drinking room, Xia Shu must be in the focus of everyone's sight, and is surrounded by greetings, praises and various curious questions. Even if no reporter is present, it is just to satisfy others.

The group photo request was enough to be dazzled by the spotlight. This hot and hot position made Xia Shu, who was used to the big scenes and tired of compliments, feel unable to bear it. So in the last few days of Christmas, he politely declined all invitations. In addition to visiting several economists, he stayed in the Prussian palace, sooner or later with the emperor, queen and Princess Louise for a walk. Then he summoned a group of executive officers of the company, led by Uncle Weizel, to Berlin, and asked them in detail about the operation and operation of the Friedrich Shipyard, Hubert Airlines, and Hubert Weather Company.

War is the favorite of arms dealers, and this is true. As early as the clouds of war, the German side issued bulk orders to various military-industrial enterprises. After the war broke out, the German troops participating in the war's demand for various military supplies, including weapons, ammunition and equipment, increased sharply. From August to now, the additional orders received by Hubert Air and Hubert weapons are equivalent to the total of the past three years. The former's aircraft production line increased from six in 1913 to fourteen now, and the monthly output increased by more than three times, but it still could not satisfy the "appetite" of the German army and navy, let alone exporting military aircraft to the Austro-Hungarian Empire; the latter's production scope has expanded from a relatively single ship machine gun and aviation machine gun to three major areas: light weapons, armored combat vehicles, and auxiliary equipment. The factory scale has expanded six or seven times compared with two years ago, and its employees have also expanded from more than 600 to more than 20,000.

Friedrich's Shipyard, the cornerstone and core of the Xiashu Industrial Empire, has been developing and expanding continuously since 1904. Although it has never had the experience of building dreadnoughts and battle cruisers, nor has it tried to compete for the orders of naval battleships, this does not prevent it from becoming the most modern large shipbuilding company. In terms of technical strength and equipment level, Friedrich is enough to enter the top ten in Europe, and the lightest it has built.

Cruisers and large torpedo boats withstood the test of fierce naval battles and established a good brand image in the minds of naval officers and soldiers and even senior generals. Because of this, the market value of Friedrich's shipyard is estimated to exceed 100 million imperial marks, equivalent to more than 20 million pounds, which is more valuable than old shipyards such as Bremewesel, Kiel Germania, Hamburg Volksen, and Zekeser, who have the ability to build dreadnoughts and battle cruisers.

If an equivalent exchange is conducted, the sale of Friedrich's shipyard will be enough to form a powerful colonial fleet.

On Christmas Eve, Crown William rushed back to Berlin from the front line.

In addition, the second prince Aitel, who was stationed in the country, the third prince Adalbert, the fourth prince who chose to work in politics, the fifth prince Oscar, who returned home on vacation, the six princes under the knees of the Emperor and his wife, and a princess gathered in the palace to spend the first Christmas after the war broke out.

At the same time, more than two million German officers and soldiers deployed on four fronts, east, west, south and north, ushered in their first war Christmas on land in foreign countries.

It was winter, but the German team maintained a shocking victory on all fronts. Therefore, in the Christmas greeting, William II hoped that Germany would end the war with perfect victory in the new year.

The so-called perfect victory, in the usual understanding, is to completely defeat every opponent and force the former monarchs and leaders who have shown their power to bow their heads and pray for peace.

A new world order will be built under the will of the Germans.

The German Emperor seemed very confident about this.

Crown Prince William, who had just returned from the Western Front, was not as ambitious as his father. It can be seen that there must be something behind his tired smile that made him feel worried.

But this did not affect the atmosphere of the royal Christmas dinner. The little princes pestered their father and asked questions. Cecilia looked at her husband and four sons with a happy face. The entire royal family was immersed in sweet and warm family affection.

It was not until the smoking time after dinner that Natsuki had the chance to chat with Crown William alone for a while.

"I would have been like you." The tone of the crown prince of the German Empire was actually a little jealous and sour. After the war, his still thin face became more mature, and his eyes were no longer as frivolous as before, but had the fortitude and stability of a soldier.

Of course, Xia Shu knew what he envied, but since ancient times, naval warfare has been completely different from land warfare. On the vast sea, there were hundreds of ships between the two sides invested in the battle, and the so-called main force was dozens of dreadnoughts and battle cruisers. The battlefield situation faced by the naval commanders was much simpler and clearer than that of their colleagues in the army, and a battle between the main fleets could determine the outcome of the entire naval battle.

"If our positions in the military are transferred, the result should be similar to that now."

Crown Prince William smiled self-deprecatingly: "Ah...it's finally our little Joheng's turn to comfort me."

Xia Shu choked by these words, but he was neither anxious nor angry, nor afraid, because this was the normal way for Crown William to speak.

There was a silence between the two.

"If nothing unexpected happens, I will be the king of Ireland." Xia Shu said first.

Crown Prince William turned his head to look at his younger brother, without any bad expression in his eyes, and a sense of relief in his eyes to let go of his burden.

"Congratulations."

"It's a pity that I can't help you share military affairs anymore." Xia Shu said to himself. "Recalling the experience from the Arden Mountains to Verdun, the ideas I gave you were mixed, which shows that I am still far from a qualified army staff officer."

The crown prince shrugged and said nothing.

"Our enemy is still fighting stubbornly and causing trouble for us, but in fact we are already very close to the end of victory." This was not what Natsuki said to comfort Crown William, nor was he arbitrarily speculation out of personal subjective speculation. With the end of the Battle of the Faroe Islands, the British Navy's maritime cage used to block Germany had been opened, and German merchant ships protected by warships could freely enter and exit the North Sea. In the vast ocean outside the North Sea, although German merchant ships were prone to attack by Allied ships, the merchant ships of the Allied will also face attacks from German ocean attack ships and long-range submarines. The situation of both sides is basically equal. In this way, the situation of Germany's local materials will gradually improve, and the German army also has the conditions to drag down their opponents in the war of attrition.

According to Xia Shu's estimate, if the will of the French ruling class was not firm enough, or if there was a civil strife or even a revolution broke out in France, the Western Front would soon end with the German victory. The victory of the Alliance Team was completely determined by the efforts of the German army, which triggered this war but was in a secondary position. The victory of the Allied Team was entirely determined by the efforts of the German army. Previously, the two German corpses that reinforced the Austrian army had 6 infantry divisions and 2 cavalry brigades. Under the command of the famous German general Markens, who was able to conquer war, they broke through the Danube defense line that the Serbian army had worked hard to manage with a infantry blitzkrieg battle, and then occupied the Serbian, which had a strong defense.

Belgrade, the capital of Asia, reversed the unfavorable decline of the Austro-Hungarian army's long-term war. The Serbian army lost troops and continued to fight against the strong enemy with the determination to defend the country. If the German army could quickly invest in two to three corpses and persuade Bulgaria, which had a deep grudge against Serbia, it would be no difficulty to quickly pacify the southern line. Although Britain on the northern line and Tsarist Russia on the eastern line could not fight quickly, as long as it resolved France and killed Serbia, no matter whether it lost its maritime power, the British Empire that no longer shone, or the Tsarist Russian Empire with weak national strength and corrupt political system, it would not be able to stop the German army's victory.

It can be said that the key to this war has turned from sea to land and frozen on the Western Front.

The 5th Legion of Crown William was the main force in the middle and late stages of the Battle of Rouen. Despite having a large number of heavy artillery and naval chariots, the Crown Prince's troops still paid a heavy price, so that after the French retreated, the 5th Legion had no ability to pursue. The French cabinet fell during the war, and the new Prime Minister who took office decided to exchange space for time and voluntarily gave up the northern part of France. The 1st German Legion commanded by General Cluke did not take much effort to occupy from Le Havre to Nantes.

Tens of thousands of square kilometers of French territory suddenly became the number one hero on the Western Front. This unexpected result made Prince William quite angry. Not only did he have to watch the old Cluke receive the glory and praise that came to his face, but he also had to bear the consequences of losing all the elite. This was the third time the main force of the 5th Legion retreated to the rear to rest. Although the army's military system could be replenished soon, the large number of alternate officers and reserve soldiers would only repeatedly reduce the combat effectiveness of the troops.

Just before Christmas, the German General Staff formulated a new Western Front offensive plan. This large-scale offensive will be divided into four groups to attack the French army's defense line in the Loire basin with the 3rd Army of Hausen, the 4th Army of Albrest, the 6th Army of Ruprecht and the 7th Army of Helingen as arrows, and the 1st Army of Cluke, the 2nd Army of Bilo, and the 5th Army of Crown William were all included in the reserve echelon. Moltke planned to open the way with heavy artillery, and invested seventeen naval chariot companies and twenty-six wheeled armored chariot companies in one go, and sent army aviation troops and more than 200 aircraft drawn from the navy. Such a luxurious attack lineup could further push France to the brink of failure even if the main force of the French army could not be wiped out in one fell swoop.

Seeing the commanders of the legion were all ready to go, Crown William was already very depressed, but at the drinking party of the General Staff, someone used the power to list their "hero list". Unfortunately, although Crown William commanded the 5th Legion to fight four tough battles in the Ardennes, Verdun, Paris and Rouen, the 5th Legion's death rate ranks the highest in the entire army. Some regiments even made the fifth supplement, so they were criticized by this man as a reckless man who did not understand tactics.
Chapter completed!