Chapter 2143： High-level meeting one (1/1)

As expected by President Armand, at this time, the senior leaders of all parties in Germany are indeed discussing the next step. As Crown Prince Ruprecht said, whether to attack the British fleet is a plus point, not A must-do question. If the British are willing to agree to the Germans' request for a truce, then the Germans can naturally conclude a treaty, but if they do not agree, then they can only meet each other!

And what is this condition? This is not something Ruprecht can finalize alone. If the Frenchman is left alone, the prince would dare to do it, but the contract with Britain is directly related to the distribution of benefits after the war, and everything often comes to an end. The time is the most important! And the ending when it comes to interests is even worse! So at this time, even if Ruprecht has a general idea in his mind, he must discuss it with other mountains in Germany!

So, on the second day after the surrender of the British Expeditionary Forces, the Kaiser’s representative of the Grand Duke of Baden and the parliament representative Barthes came to Wilhelmshaven, and they would communicate with the Crown Prince on negotiations with Britain. In addition to the two, Prime Minister Holweger and Mr. Buhler, a military representative sent to the parliament, will also attend the meeting. Of course, Buhler's position is much lower than that of Holweger, who still has the position of prime minister. Now, his arrival made Ruprecht also a little surprised, but since it was for the parliament to arrange personnel, then it does not matter who will be able to negotiate a plan is the most important.

”I think you should be very clear that the empire has won the ground battlefield and is about to win the entire war. We cannot enter London or Paris as we did decades ago to show our strength and pride to the world. However, with the swords in our hands, we are enough to gain far more benefits than any war. Today, all of us are sitting here to discuss this issue.” Ruprecht's opening remarks were brief and exciting. Let the participants feel excited.

”Now the UK has passed the information of the peace talks to us through a third party, but what they want to give is still far from what we expected. Your Highness, I remember you once said that when necessary, naval power will be used to fight against the UK. The pillar of the Great Fleet is launching an attack. Now, is this battle still necessary? If we can destroy the Great Fleet, will we gain greater benefits? For example, India in South Asia?” Prince Bert asked.

”There is a saying in the ancient East that it is too bad to be too old. This sentence means that something done is the same as if it is not done well. This sentence is very suitable for the current German empire. Many things in this world cannot be done solely by force. The solution, believe me, maybe the British are the rats crossing the street and everyone shouts, but no country wants to see the British Empire fall apart. The French and the Russians don’t, the Americans don’t. Actually, we don’t. Can't even beat the British too badly!” Ruprecht said calmly.

”Let’s not talk about the technical issue of how we landed on the British Isles, nor the American’s reaction at a critical moment. To put it simply, if the United Kingdom collapses, it will leave the world over 150 times the land area. Who will inherit the colony of China? Who will benefit the most from such a large vacuum zone? Anyway, in terms of geopolitics and strength, I don’t think the exhausted empire will be the biggest beneficiary of this event.”

”If the beneficiaries are French or Russians, we don’t care, their power limit is so big, no matter how big it is. But what about the United States? Think about it, if the United Kingdom collapses, then Canada will definitely be included. The strategic frontier of the United States, and Australia and New Zealand will see the wind move the rudder closer to the United States to balance the threat from Japan. The two most important dominions in the Commonwealth, two countries with an area of ​​more than 17 million square kilometers, joined the American side. , And we are unable to control India, which has hundreds of millions of people. So who is the biggest victor in this war? We worked so hard to bring down the British, but what is the point of supporting a bigger enemy for ourselves? I don't think anyone in this room believes the long-lasting friendship between Germany and the United States?” At the end, Ruprecht asked rhetorically.

Just like the Americans have always been worried and hostile to the Germans, the Germans are actually the same with the Americans. The common interests in front of them make the two superpowers stand together temporarily, but what about ten years later? When the empire of the older generation falls from its peak or fades out of the world, where will the relationship between the two nations of virtue and virtue go? This is really hard to say!

In fact, there are many situations like this in history, such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Was Germany capable of destroying the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Prussian-Austro-Prussian War? There must be some. After all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire in that era was caused by internal and external troubles~~ But Germany eventually let the Austro-Hungarian Empire a horse, which was also affected by a variety of factors, and it was very important for Germany to do so. One reason is that if tens of millions of Germans who believe in Catholicism in Austria enter Germany, how will Germany solve the religious problems and the administrative problems caused by it. After all, Austria is too big! Bigger than the Bunga of Southern Germany.

At that time, Britain, Russia, France and other countries also did not want the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The three countries worried that Germany was too big as a factor, and they worried about the proliferation of complex national issues. Another factor was that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was preserved under the influence of many factors, and the First World War ended. After that, the downfall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is okay. Germany is dead. No one will become too powerful because of the annexation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Balkan countries have become independent. Many of them have taken a share of the legacy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. , Which also inherited the responsible ethnic issue. Therefore, the ultimate destruction of an empire is not only a matter of strength, but also the result of the game between countries. Obviously, Britain cannot be destroyed now, and neither condition is met!

”So what are our conditions? The British are defeated, what price will they have to pay?” Grand Duke Baden thought for a while and said, after all, interest is the most important thing.

”We can discuss indemnity matters later. The most important thing is the colony and British armament restrictions. In the case of colonies, my opinion is to let the British completely withdraw from Africa and the Middle East, and at the same time, part of India will be independent!” Precht said.

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