London, the capital of the British Empire. The current British Empire, as the hegemon of the world, is in full swing. However, the emerging power of the German Empire had begun to challenge the British Empire's supremacy in the world. However, the UK still has an absolute advantage.

In order to secure its position, Britain has always been outside the European continent and has pursued a balanced policy. On the European continent, once a country rises, it will be suppressed by Britain and other countries. A hundred years ago, Napoleon the Great's French Empire was a powerful force in Europe, but it collapsed in the wars waged by Britain and the formation of an alliance against France by bringing together many European countries.

Now, it was the turn of the German Empire. The unification of the German Empire was completed, and the strength of the German Empire exploded into an extremely strong force. At the end of the last century, Germany's industrial output had surpassed that of Britain and ranked second in the world, second only to the United States. In terms of scientific and technological strength, Germany is not inferior to Britain in any way. At the same time, Germany has the most powerful army in the world. All of this has put a lot of pressure on the UK. It also forced Britain to put aside its arrogance and sign treaties with its original enemies, France and Russia, forming the Triple Entente.

Arguably, the most important thing for Britain now is to contain Germany and the Triple Alliance led by Germany. Everything else, you can step aside. Germany's aggressive development has already made Britain feel a great threat. In particular, Germany's huge investment in the navy has made Britain feel the pain of the skin. The Royal Navy is the most powerful navy in the world, and it is also the foundation of Britain's maintenance of its world colonial system. The Germans tried in vain to challenge Britain in this regard, and Britain naturally fought back with all its might.

Britain knew that Germany was more terrifying than any of its previous opponents, and hoped that the Triple Entente would concentrate all its efforts on dealing with the Germans. But the Russians, who were allies of Great Britain. Now it is embroiled in a large-scale war in the Far East. This made Britain very dissatisfied. From the British side's point of view, Russia should devote all its strength to the suppression of Germany and the Triple Alliance. Therefore, they did not hesitate to refuse to support Russia, so that Russia could make a big mistake in the Far East. Now, it seems that their plan is about to succeed.

10 Downing Street, Prime Minister's Office. Prime Minister Herbert. Henry. Asquith convened a cabinet meeting. Foreign Secretary Edward. Sir Grey, Lord of the Admiralty John Grey. Sir Fisher, Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Fisher. Lloyd. George and Secretary of State for the Army, Richard. Haldane attended the meeting.

"Gentlemen, our Russian allies have already lost hundreds of thousands of troops in the Far Eastern theater. The remaining 200,000 people were also surrounded by the Northern Army in Kulen. Once this remnant army was wiped out, the Russians would have lost half of their standing army. I think it's time for the Russians to stop the war. Otherwise, if it goes on like this. This will cost the Russians too much to bear. It is also not in the interests of our entire alliance. Prime Minister Asquith said.

"Before the outbreak of the war, everyone underestimated the Northern Army. It turned out that the Northern Army was not an upstart. Their army strength is already absolutely world-class. "Secretary of State Richard. Haldane sighed. Compared to the British Royal Navy, which is a powerful force in the world, the British Army is nothing more than a pocket army. The whole army is only a few tens of thousands, and it is completely unable to match the identity of the world's first power.

The other ministers also nodded their heads one after another, and before the start of the war, the British hoped that the Northern Army would be able to withstand the attack of the Russian army. No matter how bad it is, it will be a lose-lose situation. But who knows, the Northern Army defeated the Russian army cleanly. Is it about to win the final victory?

"Now the Russians have already suffered heavy losses. If they had met, the war would have stopped, right? "Chancellor of the Exchequer David . Lloyd. George also said.

"However, everyone seems to have forgotten that our allies are very stubborn. Especially that His Majesty the Tsar. Will he be able to accept the outcome of being defeated by a local Chinese warlord? "Foreign Secretary Edward. Sir Grey said.

Suddenly, the faces of the other cabinet ministers became a little solemn. They were well aware of the stubborn and conceited nature of Tsar Nicholas II. This time being defeated by the Northern Army was an absolute shame for him. If you want him to accept this result, I'm afraid it's harder than ascending to the sky.

"Anyway, Russia has been defeated. Nicholas II had to accept this result. Russia's limited national strength could no longer be thrown into a senseless war in the Far East. Even if Nicholas II did not care about those ordinary armies and treated them as cannon fodder. But the most valuable place for these cannon fodder, not in the Far East, but in Europe! Prime Minister Asquith said.

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister, I fully agree with you. The Russians have already approached us, and they want us to mediate the war. And, an emergency loan to Russia. "Edward. Sir Grey continued.

"Conciliation and loans? Hmph, I think the Russians are faking, and the real purpose is to get a loan and then continue the war. "Chancellor of the Exchequer David . Lloyd. George said disdainfully.

"Yes, the analysis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also like this. Russia's finances were on the verge of collapse, and they simply didn't have the money to continue fighting. However, His Majesty the stubborn Tsar seems to have ignored this. Until now, he still refuses to admit defeat. "Edward. Sir Grey said.

"We can't give loans to the Russians, it's just taking money for waste. Previous wars have proven that the Russian Army is not at all an opponent of the Northern Army. They have lost 700,000 troops by now. Even if there is the Trans-Siberian Railway, they will only be able to put in another two or three hundred thousand troops at most, due to the constraints of transportation capacity. Expecting these armies to defeat the Northern Army is simply delusional. "Secretary of State Richard. Haldane expressed his opinion.

"According to the information we have received, the preparations of the Russians do not stop there. They tried to rally the Japanese to launch an attack on the Northern Army. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed the ambassador to Japan to refuse the Japanese loan request and to warn the Japanese that they are not allowed to participate in the war. "Edward. Sir Grey said.

"So, what do we do next?" Prime Minister Asquith said. He hoped that the Russians would stop the doomed war, so that they would be able to devote all their strength to the war with Germany when a future war with the Germans broke out. Instead of wasting national power in the Far East now.

"Since the Russians have invited us to intercede, we will intervene. However, if the Russians want to get a loan, it is impossible. Not only will we not be able to lend to the Russians, but we will also demand that France not lend to the Russians. In addition, it is necessary to put pressure on Russia to end this war! "Lord of the Admiralty, John. Sir Fisher also said.

Now the British Navy had absolute superiority over the German Navy. After the 'Dreadnought' battleship entered service, the next three 'Burle-Rophon-class' battleships and three 'St. Vincent-class' battleships were under intense construction. Once commissioned, the British Navy would have seven advanced battleships. However, the German Navy also began the construction of new types of battleships. According to the information obtained by the British Navy, the German Navy began to build more than eight battleships at the same time. This put a great strain on the British Navy. Of course, the British did not know that two battleships and two battlecruisers of the German Navy belonged to the Northern Navy.

"I fully agree with His Excellency Sir Fisher. We must sober up the Russians and make them understand that it is a shame to waste precious combat power in the Far East. "Foreign Secretary Edward. Sir Grey said.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for the War naturally seconded the proposal.

"Very well, in that case, then we will formally refuse the Russians' request for a loan, and mediate this war." Prime Minister Asquith said.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we now have a difficult problem to face. That is, whether the government in the north will accept our mediation. They now have the upper hand on the battlefield. "Edward. Sir Grey said.

Prime Minister Asquith couldn't help frowning, the British Empire is the world's largest power, even if the Northern Army defeats the Russians on the battlefield, do they dare not give face to the British Empire?

"The government of the North has very close relations with the United States and Germany. Both the United States and Germany provided large loans to the governments of the North. "Edward. Sir Grey continued.

"We must stop the government in the north from moving closer to the Germans. Otherwise, if Germany and the northern government, which also have a strong army, flank Russia, Russia will surely collapse quickly. "Secretary of State Richard. Haldane said.

The other ministers were also shocked, and Richard. Haldane's point of view is a bit too astonishing. If the northern government and the Germans were united, would Russia be able to hold out? Once Russia collapsed, the Germans had no one in Europe to restrain them. I'm afraid that the whole of Europe will fall into the hands of the Germans. At that time, will the British still be able to confront Germany, which has mastered the whole of Europe?

"We can't let that happen." Prime Minister Asquith said. Originally, he planned to suppress the northern government in the negotiations. However, now it seems that this will not work.

On August 14, 1908, Britain and France announced that they would mediate the war between Russia and the northern government. (To be continued......)

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