Rebirth of the Spanish Empire

William II couldn't help but ask: "How to change and how to adjust? To what extent should it be adjusted?"

Theobaden and Little Moltke were also staring at Tirpitz with great interest. They were both thinking about what Tirpitz would say this time. The three of them were the most powerful people around William II. It can be said that most of William II's decisions are made with their company, which shows how much influence they have on William II. Tirpitz has always been the most trusted by William II among the three. Of course, this is also due to the fact that William II lived in England for a long time when he was young and saw the power of the British navy. He has always wanted to see something like this in Germany. The reason for the naval desire, after all, it now seems that Tirpitz has realized half of the dream for the German Empire, reaching the point of becoming the second largest navy in the world.

Naturally, Tirpici no longer pretended to be modest, and said with a conniving look on his face: "The main reason why Britain has been chasing us over the years is naturally because of the excessive development of our navy, but there are also other reasons. Another main reason is our strong dominance in Europe. Especially with the support of Russia and the ally of Austria-Hungary."

"Don't forget, Russia has turned against us, but Britain still allied with France and others to deal with us." At this time, Theobaden said.

William II nodded in agreement, while Little Maoqi remained silent, not knowing what he was thinking.

Tirpitz smiled and said: "That's because at that time there was no other country in Europe that could threaten their status as the world's largest power as close as the German Empire, because we also had the Austro-Hungarian Empire. With the support of the top powers on the European continent. With the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s Germany, Edward VII could hardly sleep at ease. And now”

"You mean we can separate the Austro-Hungarian Empire now?" Moltke's eyes lit up, and then he stared at Tirpitz and said seriously: "Let the Austro-Hungarian Empire become an ally between us and Spain at an equal distance. In this way If we come, Britain will have less scruples about us, because our weight in their eyes has dropped a lot. On the contrary, Spain's weight will greatly increase, plus the South American Caribbean and European allies such as Portugal and the Ottoman Empire. , far beyond the point where we become Britain’s number one potential enemy?”

"No, Chief of General Staff, the position of the number one enemy. I think it should be transferred to France. Don't forget, France now has Russia, a superpower on the Eurasian continent, especially Russia's population base of more than 100 million. , although Spain has surpassed France in terms of personal combat power, the number of people can still pile up victory. So seriously speaking, France should be more likely to become the enemy of Britain than Spain. After all, Spain's potential There are too many enemies, including Russia and the United States, as well as the conflicts between Spain and France, which are still engaged in territorial disputes. And the feud with Italy and Denmark is well known to everyone. Spain has offended half of Europe. It has become a big country, and its close relationship with Britain and our German Empire has made Britain put down a lot of hostility towards Spain.

On the contrary, the French have rapidly developed relations with other powerful countries over the years. Not to mention other things, even Britain's ally Belgium now has an unclear relationship with France. It is as if Belgium was Britain's lover. It turned out that France also participated in the affair and became a mistress. This has caused dissatisfaction with Buckingham Palace. Britain already has conflicts of interest with Russia in the Balkans, and there are many conflicts of interest in the Arab world, Central Asia, and the Far East. Back then, because we seriously threatened Britain, we had to compromise and cooperate with the French to accept Russia. But now if we don't pose much of a threat to Britain. Will the British still fight with us and let the French and even Spain take advantage? In this regard, I think absolutely not. Even if the UK feels that it cannot contain the interest groups led by France and Spain, it is not impossible to join forces with Prussia to beat France again as it did more than 40 years ago. "

"Okay, very good." William II laughed loudly, while several other people were also calculating [quickly], and the final result was this. This seems to be very likely to happen. After all, the existence of a German Empire that does not really threaten Britain will not only not be regarded as a threat by Britain, but can even be regarded as an important pawn to check and balance the hegemony of other major powers in Europe. Therefore, Tirpitz's statement made them admire the subtlety of the other party's alternative statement.

But Tirpitz hadn't finished speaking yet. He said: "So before that, I think we should just put on a show with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Spain."

"Of course, okay, let us put on a show with them, hahaha," William II said with a laugh.

In Buckingham Palace, a large number of people around George V are also having heated discussions about this matter.

Lord of the Admiralty Fisher, Foreign Secretary Edward Gray, Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd George, and Secretary of War Richard Haldane, the original Home Secretary disappeared, and is now replaced by [Winston Churchill], and His original position has been replaced by his good friend Wingers George. In addition to them, there is also the current British Prime Minister Asquith. It can be seen that the new king of the United Kingdom, George V, has completely established his footing.

"Your Majesty, I think that although many conflicts between us and the German Empire have been reduced, the fundamental contradictions that really exist are still not eliminated. Therefore, I think that we should continue to develop the naval competition and arms race with the German Empire. Rather than, as Winston Churchill said, we should look to the Far East to add colonies."

Fisher stood up first and spoke loudly. After speaking, he also looked at Churchill.

"Your Majesty, I think we should now turn our energy to developing the British economy. Don't forget that the British colonies are already the number one in the world. Even Spain and France are far behind. Now we see that Europe There is turmoil on the mainland. What we should do most now is not to get involved. Instead, we should first get out of the quagmire there and strengthen ourselves first, instead of letting our strength be prematurely depleted in it. Such a result That is, we can develop ourselves and at the same time watch the development trend of the European continent, and then choose the results that maximize the benefits we have always pursued.

Since the German Empire has or does not currently pose a threat to us, we should take the opportunity to develop ourselves. As the German Empire, the largest country in the European continent, becomes weaker, we can even take the opportunity to instigate countries on the continent to fight each other. They suffered a lot of losses, and we finally stood up to clean up the scene and make a profit. "

Churchill's words made people dissatisfied. Even War Secretary Richard Haldane frowned, showing his dissatisfaction, but he just snorted softly and remained silent. However, others are not so easy to deal with.

Fisher kicked his eyes, and then said angrily: "Churchill, what do you mean by this? Are you telling His Majesty to stop meddling in European affairs? I know that Britain has always been called an alternative to Europe. The most opportunistic country, but look at what time it is now. We are not the [old Europe] we were back then. Today's Europe is a country where things can happen anytime and anywhere that can absolutely affect Europe as a whole. In a rapidly developing Europe, if you say that the UK should detach itself from European affairs and develop itself, I think you are crazy."

"Secretary of the Admiralty, your tone should be more correct." George V glanced at Asquith. Although everyone knew that Winston Churchill was Asquith's favorite disciple, Fisher said this in front of his teacher. He was a little dissatisfied when he heard it, not to mention the teacher Asquith, so George V hurriedly shouted. Of course, it's not that he's afraid of Asquith, but that he doesn't want the UK under his command to be fighting within itself at a time when things in Europe are ever-changing.

Fisher also knew that his tone just now was impulsive, but he couldn't help but said it. Now he was in a much better mood. He glanced at His Majesty and Asquith, then turned to Churchill and said, "No. Sorry, I know that everyone is in a different position and has different views and structures. Of course, your internal affairs are mainly focused on managing internal affairs. However, as a soldier and a commander in charge of the navy, I have to I have the utmost dedication and integrity for my career, so my tone just now was a bit too high, please forgive me."

Churchill smiled, and he didn't know whether he was a real child or a fake smile. He said: "Everyone gets what they need." After that, he stopped talking.

Fisher secretly thought: What I am waiting for is your words, so he turned to look at George V and Asquith: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I think that although the Home Secretary's position is what he said, Although it makes sense, you have to think about it, can the UK really get out of the muddy waters as he said? I think this is an absolutely very dangerous move. The reason why the UK can influence the situation in Europe is to its advantage. The development of the UK is due to the British power cheering for the UK in Europe. This is the UK’s greatest influence. Europe is the core of the world. If the UK does not even have this core influence, how can it influence the world? , therefore, I firmly oppose the UK’s implementation of such a policy.”

"I also think that the UK should continue to exist on the European continent. After all, this can bring us closer to Europe and allow us to understand the development of the situation and take corresponding countermeasures." Edward Gray, the Foreign Secretary, also responded.

Thanks to Huanyue Wuchen and Flying Elf for the reward. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)