Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 122 Caesar-class Battleship
On the morning of the day of his departure.

Before setting off, Ryan handed over all the training work to Lieutenant Brinkman, who had already finished her leave, and also asked her to take truck and motorcycle driving courses.

Brinkman then asked Ryan why he didn't drive himself.

Ryan didn't say anything, turned around and got into the Mercedes that he had asked Ms. Catherine to buy for him, and drove off towards the airport, leaving Brinkman alone in the same spot because he had to stay home and couldn't go abroad.

There are also some other versions of the story regarding the diplomatic mission.

As Tirpitz had said at the meeting, almost all the attendees were high-ranking officials and generals of the Empire. Apart from Rein, who was an exception, the lowest-ranking person among the rest was the Chief of Staff of the Imperial Marine Corps—a lieutenant general.

But this lieutenant general was at best a scapegoat brought in to fulfill the grand deception that Renne had meticulously set up for the United Kingdom, so in reality, Tirpitz was the one with the lowest status.

As for Ryan himself.

With Tirpitz's promise and the Emperor's permission, Renn now has two identities.

Firstly, as a war hero who was the first in Europe to launch a counterattack against the invasion of France, he visited the United Kingdom, laying a foundation for the friendship between the two countries thereafter.

In this respect, the United Kingdom had absolutely no reason to refuse, but the second point was actually more important.

Secondly, as Tirpitz mentioned earlier.

Ryan will travel abroad as the adjutant to the Fleet Admiral.

This is the guarantee that Renne can truly enter the United Kingdom and participate in subsequent negotiations.

The only problem is...

Just as he boarded the airship bound for Ostend, before he could even take off his army lieutenant colonel uniform and change into his navy captain's uniform, he heard a sound coming from the deck ahead.

"The new marshal has been appointed." It was Tirpitz's voice, and Renne recognized it.

"Who is it?" A voice I'd never heard before called out. It sounded a little urgent, but mostly calm.

Then Renn heard the Emperor's voice: "He is not yet a marshal."

The young emperor paused for a moment before saying, "The old marshal hopes to recommend Falkinhan as chief of the general staff. If he does not make any mistakes in the next year, then I will be the one to bestow the marshal's scepter upon him."

The name was familiar, but compared to being familiar, Renn actually had a lot of opinions about Falkenham.

This is not only because this guy on Earth has a terrible track record, but more importantly, in 1916, as the Chief of the General Staff of Germany, he did not give any instructions when ordering troops to carry out combat missions, thus squandering the vast majority of the Reich's manpower.

Raine's previous decision to have the Empire abandon Palau and instead attack Verdun, while not directly related to Falkenham's current situation, was also to prevent him from getting involved with that idiot Falkenham in the future.

As for the specific stupid things he did...

In 1916, the German army, under the command of Falkenhayn, launched the famous Battle of Verdun.

In this battle, Falkingham's aim was to bleed the French dry through a protracted war of attrition at Verdun, rather than to capture Verdun.

However, when Old Deng issued the order to attack Verdun, he did not explain this to the commanders of all the army groups responsible for the main attack.

He was determined to maintain the troop exchange ratio between Germany and France at 1:2, with 300,000 troops stationed in the rear, which infuriated Crown Prince Wilhelm, then commander of the German Fifth Army.

The Crown Prince of the Empire made several breakthroughs at Dumont Castle on the front lines, but each time he was forced to abandon the capture because there was no one (Falkenham did not provide reinforcements).

Furthermore, due to Falkenhahn's vague instructions at the front, Germany was almost unaware of where it should actually attack when launching its offensive, which further extended the front lines and dispersed its forces.

As a result, the Battle of Verdun did not bleed the French dry, but instead bleed the Germans dry.

It can be said that Jinhan fought an absolutely terrible and utterly disastrous battle.

After it was all over, everyone labeled him the Butcher of Verdun, and the Kaiser waved his hand and sent him to the Ninth Army to command troops to fight against Romania.

For Ryan, this old Deng was the ultimate riddle-maker; rather than replacing Falkington with Moltke, it would be better to keep him in the game…

But now that things have come to this, we can only wait and see how things develop for the time being.

But.

Although he was unhappy, Renn didn't really need to worry too much.

Although his troops were under the command of the General Staff, they still had the authority to make independent decisions and exercise discretion most of the time.

Given the size of the army, it was impossible to wage a massive campaign.

At worst, it would be the same decapitation operation as before, and that would still be based on the premise that the intelligence is accurate.

As for the subsequent selection of the Chief of the General Staff and the Marshal...

Rein recalled that after Falkingham stepped down, the work of the General Staff and the Field Marshal immediately fell to Hindenburg.

This is a good thing, after all, based on Renn's interactions with Commander Hindenburg over this period, he is actually a fairly easy person to talk to.

Shaking his head to clear his mind of distractions, Rein quickly changed into a new naval uniform. After confirming that his decorations and medals were in place, he followed the crew to the bridge.

"Colonel Ryan Frieger has arrived!"

The guards' voices were as loud as ever, and then, as expected, Renn heard the Emperor's voice: "Please let the Colonel in."

The metal hatch slid open slowly. Rein first saluted the Emperor, then glanced around the bridge and found that, apart from the bridge crew, there was only the Emperor, Tirpitz, and two men in naval officer uniforms.

He recognized one of them; he was the captain of the Zeppelin-class ship and would not be attending the meeting with the United Kingdom.

And the other...

Looking at the other person, Ryan felt as if he had seen them somewhere before.

The man was also staring at Ryan. After a moment of silence, he stepped forward and extended his hand, his voice booming: "Constantine von Herlingen, Baltic Coast Guard Commander, Major General Brian has mentioned your name to us quite a few times, Colonel Frieger."

Renn almost got ringing in his ears from the other person's voice, but he immediately remembered who it was.

The younger brother of General Herlingen, commander of the Seventh Army.

Although this was their first meeting, Ryan had heard of Blacklingen, who was also a general.

The other party was the Baltic Coast Guard Commander, who had previously served as the Director of Naval Intelligence and later became the Chief of Staff of the Imperial High Seas Fleet, assisting Tirpitz in promoting the Risk Fleet Project.

Before the outbreak of this war, he was transferred to the Baltic Sea to organize the Imperial Fleet to create a blockade line against the Imperial Navy at sea.

The fact that they are here suggests that they were personally selected by Tirpitz.

Ryan paused for a moment, then immediately reached out to shake hands with the other man, and said during a brief struggle of strength, "General Brian is exaggerating. I am not worthy of such praise."

Admiral Herringen replied, "Not at all. That's how the military is. Only those with ability can sit at the negotiating table, and those without ability don't deserve to be remembered, do they?"

As he spoke, he glanced again at the Blue Star Max Medal hanging on Ryan's collar.

It was only then that Raine realized that among everyone present, only he and Tirpitz possessed Blue Star Max, while the Emperor, who had served in the military, the Imperial Navy Admiral, and even the Zeppelin's captain, all wore only a standard Iron Cross.

Rein knew very well that Imperial soldiers would not disrespect a decorated soldier, and if he did not accept the praise under such circumstances, he would likely be seen as looking down on the other party.

Therefore, he did not offer any further modesty, but simply said, "Serving the motherland is a soldier's duty."

"good."

General Hellingen released Rein's hand with satisfaction, patted him on the shoulder, and turned to Tirpitz: "I always thought Josiah had a problem judging people, but this time he's finally found a good prospect." The Emperor, however, had a mocking smile on his face: "Well, you're too late."

The emperor, holding his wine glass, looked at Rennes before turning to Constantine von Herlingen: "If you're thinking of introducing your daughter to the colonel, then forget it. Schubert got here before you."

Rein froze, his gaze falling on the Imperial Middleman less than five meters away. He thought to himself that this guy must know about his and Marshal Schlieffen's unwavering determination to cut the budget from the Navy for the Air Force's large-scale construction, and he was waiting to frame him!
But Herlingen's information network was clearly much better than the Emperor's: "I've already heard about this from my men. Let me tell you, even if Schubert is willing, it depends on whether his little girl is good enough for him!"

Now it was Helingen's turn to be watched by Renn.

But the next second, Renn breathed a sigh of relief.

Because that's what Hellingen said: "Look, the Air Force sent more than a dozen female officers and sergeants to their unit last time, each one more beautiful than the last, but so far none of them have spoken to Colonel Frieg. So Your Majesty, what you're saying is not right."

This older brother, who was also an Imperial General, then spent the whole way exchanging barbs with the Emperor and Tirpitz, while only Renn was studying the terms of the negotiations with the United Kingdom.

A few hours later, Ostend.

The way to reach the United Kingdom could not be by airship under any circumstances, and Renn was well aware of this.

But he never imagined, in his life or his past life, that he would one day actually be able to sail out to sea on a living dreadnought.

What surprised him even more was that the dreadnoughts the Empire used this time were not the previous Nassau-class or Heligoland-class...

Tirpitz gave Rennes a big surprise.

He directly deployed two Caesar-class battleships to replace the previously planned Nassau-class.

Why Caesar?

On the deck of the Frederick the Great, Rein stood on the foredeck, his back to the receding shore, looking at Tirpitz who was still waving goodbye to the crowd on the shore: "This is not what we said at the beginning."

Tirpitz didn't look at Renn; he continued waving, and a faint voice came from his mouth: "Because this is the request of the United Kingdom."

"The demands of the United Kingdom?"

Rein's mind went blank for a moment, his voice sounding off: "Have they lost their minds? At a time like this, they're sending the enemy's newest capital ship, two of them forming a fleet, to escort their own battlecruiser?"

He couldn't understand why the United Kingdom would do this, because it would only incite stronger anti-war sentiment within the United Kingdom—the mainstream public opinion within the United Kingdom would be determined by the number of domestic fleets that the Kingdom could currently command.

They currently have fewer than four warships under their command, two of which are still in the hands of the Empire. Therefore, they are unlikely to act rashly at this time—as it would be too risky for them to survive.

Tirpitz said, "I didn't believe it at first either, but after thinking about it, I roughly guessed what the United Kingdom meant."

"How to say?"

Rein turned his gaze toward Ostend Harbor, where two Nassau-class battleships, which should have been voyages, were docked, and in the sky was a small civilian airship of the Worker class without a hard hull—he was in charge of taking pictures and recording the scene.

Tirpitz said, "My guess is that the United Kingdom probably wants to use the statement that 'the Empire sent two dreadnoughts and captured two of our Lion-class battlecruisers' to gain the support of the members of parliament, so that they can raise funds to build more capital ships."

"In the propaganda to the public, the message was to use the statement that 'the Empire's navy and the Kingdom's navy did not engage in battle. After a standoff, the Kingdom's naval commanders abandoned the standoff and chose to hand over the ships peacefully upon hearing the news of a peace agreement between the Empire and the Kingdom of Perije.' This was to stabilize public sentiment and use the opportunity to warm up for the subsequent declaration of war."

His two sentences silenced Renn.

It's not because what was said was wrong, but because what was said was too right.

After all, the two Lion-class battlecruisers had not suffered much damage in the previous battles, and Raine and the Navy hoped to return the two warships to the United Kingdom as intact as possible, thereby winning some goodwill from the people of the United Kingdom.

However, according to Tirpitz, the United Kingdom will inevitably see two factions with differing opinions but absolutely the same stance because of this matter.

In other words, I want to fight the Empire, but the Empire has humiliated the Kingdom, and I must fight to save face for the Kingdom.

This is not a good thing.

This means that the United Kingdom's high command, that is, their current cabinet, is definitely ready to go to war. They just need to give themselves some time and space to gather their so-called invincible fleet.

Prior to this, the United Kingdom will maintain a relatively peaceful attitude, but this attitude will certainly have an absolute bottom line, and this bottom line will inevitably be much higher than the Empire expects.

Having figured this out, Renn's expression turned serious: "If that's really the case, then there's no point in arguing about this negotiation."

"You think so too?" Tirpitz was somewhat surprised. "I talked about this with the old marshal and also with Moltke the Younger, and their views were similar."

"What did Moltke say?"

Raine didn't ask Schlieffen for his opinion, because his and Schlieffen's opinions were basically the same. The two of them were among the few who knew the Empire's entire war and production plan for the next year and had long been mentally prepared to go to war with the United Kingdom.

Therefore, he asked Moltke the Younger for his opinion.

Tirpitz clicked his tongue, several wrinkles appearing on his forehead: "Little Moltke's views are rather conservative..."

He believed that the United Kingdom's demand was actually a threat to the Empire, intended to let the Empire know that the United Kingdom was not afraid of the Empire's navy, and to incite domestic public opinion through this action...

This statement displeased Renn somewhat, because Moltke hadn't analyzed the overall picture, but his conclusion was correct.

"He said most of it, but not all of it," Renn said. "Did he also say we should be careful that the Kingdom doesn't seize the Empire's warships?"

"That's not true."

Tirpitz shook his head: "He was telling me to be careful of the new prime minister of the United Kingdom."

“Churchill?” Ryan asked.

"Yes."

Tirpitz said, "Little Moltke said that Churchill is a warmonger, advocating that the United Kingdom take the initiative to attack rather than defend. So the fact that they are asking us to send our flagship this time is enough to show that the warmongers in the United Kingdom have gained the upper hand, and the conservative defensive faction has failed to win in the confrontation with the warmongers..."

Tirpitz paused for a moment, then said, "He means that if we can find the peace faction, we can greatly reduce the risk of war."

Ryan interrupted Tirpitz abruptly: "He's talking nonsense."

"really."

Tirpitz's voice clearly turned helpless: "His Majesty's plan remains the same as before: to require the United Kingdom to sign a treaty, for us to return the warships, and to demand that they guarantee not to interfere in Falland's affairs. The affairs of the Empire and Falland do not require the interference of others."

“Impossible.” Renn shook his head directly: “Churchill and the Parliament of the United Kingdom would never agree to this. They will definitely use all sorts of methods to muddy the waters between the Empire and Farland in order to make full preparations for their own participation in the war later.”

"Then what are you going to do?"

Tirpitz glanced at Renn, then looked at the distant coastline.

The ship was moving very fast, and we could already see the United Kingdom's mainland on the other side.

The sea breeze lashed against their faces, causing the medals on their chests to flutter and their neatly styled hair to begin to lose its shape.

Ryan didn't answer immediately. He put his brand-new naval cap on his head, pressing down his hair which was about to become deformed, before he spoke.

"Let nature take its course."

He looked toward the United Kingdom in the distance.

"No matter how many countries are involved in this war."

"The ultimate winner will only be the empire."

"And we will never give anyone the opportunity to surrender prematurely."

(End of this chapter)