In 1914, two things prompted Germany to strive for a quick war. //// First, in June, Germany completed the widening project of the Kiel Canal, allowing the newly built "dreadnoughts" to sail directly from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea through the canal, speeding up the war.

The flexibility of troop mobilization; second, in April, Britain began naval negotiations with Russia. After learning about this, Moltke was greatly disturbed. On June 1, Moltke said to Eckhard Stein, who had been serving as ambassador to Britain for many years.

: "We are ready, and the sooner we do it, the better." Germany knows very well that if the war is delayed until 1917, when Russia and France complete their new military expansion plans, the balance of power will change. German Foreign Minister Ya

In a letter written to the ambassador to Britain in July 1914, Gove said: "At present, Russia is basically not ready for war. France and Britain are not willing to fight now. According to the speculations of all authorities, in a few years,

Russia will have fighting power. By then, it will be able to overwhelm us with the number of its soldiers; Russia's Baltic Fleet and strategic railways will be built, but the strength of our group will gradually weaken."

The Germans had a premonition that Russia's power would grow day by day, while the seemingly powerful Austria-Hungary Empire would decline day by day, so they hoped to launch a war when the balance of power was favorable.

What’s interesting is that both warring parties in this war were optimistic before the war! They all believed that they would win the war quickly. The Germans, who were rampant in militarism, jumped excitedly, and the French, who were bent on revenge, did not change their attitude.

Romantic in nature, they believed that victory in this war would come easily. The French had made a lot of preparations to win this war, and with Britain as their ally, their backbone was even stronger.

On July 5, Germany clearly stated its support for Austria-Hungary's use of force against Serbia.

There is a very interesting phenomenon. Before the war broke out, Britain's largest trading partner was Germany. Twelve cabinet members in the British cabinet clearly opposed the war. However, the British government saw clearly that the Germans had stronger manufacturing capabilities and would start to develop in a few years later.

Yes, Germany's naval strength may catch up with Britain's.

Let's put it this way, starting from the Moroccan crisis in 1911, European countries accelerated their preparations for war. The crazy armaments overwhelmed all countries, and the pressure on European countries reached a critical point.

While Europe was gearing up, Asia was not quiet either. After William II convened a meeting with his favorites and military officials to confirm the war, he immediately ordered Minister Harhausen to pull China onto the German ship at all costs. At this time

, more strength means more guarantee of victory. Sino-German relations have always been good, and now China and the United States have made some kind of friendship agreement. It would be great to bring China on board and then bring the United States to join.

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Harhausen asked for a meeting and met Marshal Fang easily. This treatment made him very proud. In China, the only ministers from the United States and Germany had such treatment. Ministers from other countries would definitely be treated badly if they wanted to meet Marshal Fang.

Block the driver. The commander-in-chief does not interfere in politics! This is the reason for everyone to come. In the past two days, other ministers have also come, and they have all been blocked.

Why can the Chinese and German ministers meet with the commander-in-chief for other people's reasons? There are very good reasons. Can they control the meeting between personal friends?

This obvious partiality cast a shadow over the hearts of other countries in the last two days of June. Marshal Fang was a lunatic. When he was still a small warlord, he dared to challenge the British Empire.

Dignity. Now that he has hundreds of thousands of mercenaries, he must be more courageous. What if this guy impulsively joins the German alliance? The Russian government will be itchy. As for Japan, the British government still has to guard against it.

As he grows bigger in China, he simply doesn’t dare to let Japan attack China.

Obviously, the British Empire believes that there is no comparability in strength between China, Japan, China and Russia. The key now is Europe. The Germans are not easy to deal with. Asia can only be used as a resource place. Britain needs a stable China and must guard against Japan.

To grow bigger in Asia. Britain has always used and suppressed Japan. Speaking of Japan, it is not easy. It is following behind Britain. The country is small and has few resources. The money it has is used to build warships and fill the army. The people

The standard of living is very poor.

This meeting happened to coincide with both Sun Baoqi and Tang Hualong being at Fang Jianxiong’s place. It’s not that these two were idle, in fact, the Sino-U.S. friendly cooperation agreement in the past two days had been very strongly protested by Japan. After Sun Baoqi’s protest, he went to

Go to Tang Hualong to protest. Japan has troops stationed in China, and Ijuin even issued a threat of war. The president and prime minister were a little helpless, so they came to Fang Jianxiong to ask for an accurate word.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, it is an honor to meet you. According to the Chinese, there will be no roundabouts today. I only represent the Emperor of the German Empire to convey to you the wishes of His Majesty the Emperor. The German Empire is willing to give up the Boxer Indemnity and grant China most-favored-nation status.

, to provide an interest-free loan of 200 million gold marks to China. The premise is that China and Germany form an alliance!" Harhausen is considered a China expert, and his Chinese is pretty passable. When speaking Chinese at this time, Harhausen has done his homework.

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Harhausen felt confident about persuading Fang Jianxiong. The reason was that Fang Jianxiong had always been pro-German. This reason was actually very untenable in terms of state-to-state relations. The problem was that the Chinese always gave foreigners the impression that they were all about relations.

Harhausen's words did not go beyond Fang Jianxiong's expectations, but they made Tang Hualong and Sun Baoqi greatly surprised and at the same time overjoyed. Sun Baoqi was involved in the alliance between China, Germany and the United States. The Qing government at that time was too bad, and the Japanese were responsible for this.

It's a mess. In other words, no one in the entire Allied system wants to see this happen.

Now that Japan is aggressive and Sun Baoqi and Tang Hualong are in trouble, Harhausen is really overjoyed to form an alliance. Compared with Germany, does Japan have the nerve to be called a great power? With Germany as an ally, can it still be afraid of Japan?

If the United States is brought in, everything will be fine. The key is that Germany proactively proposes an alliance. This is really exciting news. At least Sun Baoqi and Tang Hualong are happy to see it happen.

In fact, once the alliance between China and Germany becomes powerful, it will be much more powerful than the Allied Powers. The problem is that if this thing cannot be accomplished, the Americans will definitely not do it. This is due to the country's geographical location and political system. The United States

Fang Jianxiong would not agree to the Sino-German alliance if others did not do it. Besides, the U.S. military force at this period was not strong. It could just do something to take advantage of the situation, and join the Allies to start a war with Britain, France, Russia, and Japan. The U.S. government really did not have the courage.

If it were either Sun Baoqi or Tang Hualong who made the decision, the alliance would definitely be a success. Cancellation of the Boxer Indemnity, most-favored-nation status, and an interest-free loan of 200 million gold marks. Such a big pie would fall from the sky and stun these two.

Not difficult at all.

"Mr. Minister, your country's sincerity is touching. I will consider this matter carefully. Of course, the final decision must comply with legal procedures and cannot be made by one or two people. This will take time, please understand.

"Fang Jianxiong's method is to continue to delay. There will be another month before the war breaks out in Europe.

"Marshal, I can understand your feelings. But sometimes, if you want to obtain huge benefits, you can't do it without taking risks. The alliance between China and Germany will objectively have some negative effects on China's situation.

But one thing is certain, once China and Germany form an alliance, Germany will help China arm its people. And China

What needs to be done is to bear the burden on a small part of Japan and Russia." What Hahausen said was really tempting. Of course, he did not expect Fang Jianxiong to take it seriously. The distance between China and Germany is too far, and the most terrible thing is

What is important is that China is not an industrial country. What little industrial foundation it has is simply unable to support a modern war involving millions of people.

If he had to wait three to five years, Fang Jianxiong would dare to take the gamble now. For now, let’s forget it.

"Yes, I know!" Fang Jianxiong nodded, expressing his approval of this statement, but his tone changed, and he ignored the eager eyes of Sun and Tang, but still did not let go: "Mr. Minister, please be patient."

"Okay, now that I say that, I have to go back and wait for the news." Harhausen said goodbye helplessly, and he couldn't say anything else. He fell behind in persuasion. At this time, Germany really didn't necessarily think that China must be conquered.

Even without China's participation, Germany still believed that it could win the war. At this time, everyone in Germany was optimistic.

After Harhausen left, Sun Baoqi immediately said: "Fuguo, why didn't you agree to him? I thought you would at least show your preference." Fang Jianxiong glanced at the teacher, and then at Tang Hualong, who was hesitant to speak.

These two most powerful politicians in China today, except for the military power, all other powers are handed over to them. Both of them want to form an alliance with Germany. It is not that they are not afraid of the British Empire and its allies, but they feel that they can be sure to do so.

The United States is also pulling in.

"Both of you, please look at the map. This is Germany, this is the United States, and this is China." Fang Jianxiong walked to the wall and pointed at a world map. "The United States has the best geographical location. The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are defended by the United States.

The best barrier. The United States, which has the largest industrial capacity in the world today, does not have a strong military strength. The American system determines this. Just look at how difficult it is for the United States to suppress even the Japanese navy. Next, let’s talk about Germany’s position, Europe’s

middle part, Bismarck

Later, Germany gave up its original policy of isolating France, putting it into an unfavorable situation between France and Russia. Once a war broke out in Europe, there was a question mark as to whether the German navy could make a difference in the face of the powerful British navy. If

If Germany cannot defeat France and force France to surrender within a month after the war begins, then I think the alliance between China and Germany will become meaningless. China will even have to join the Allied camp at the appropriate time." (Unfinished)
Chapter completed!