World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

London, January 12, 1916, early morning.

The fog on the Thames hadn't completely dissipated, and the gaslights on Whitehall streets cast a dim, yellowish glow. At this hour, most Londoners were still asleep, but the office of Foreign Secretary Edward Grey was already brightly lit.

The air in the room seemed to freeze. The fire in the fireplace burned brightly, but it couldn't dispel the bone-chilling cold.

Gray stood by the window, his back to the other five people in the room. He was sixty-four years old, had served as Foreign Secretary for ten years, and had experienced countless diplomatic crises, but the report delivered to his desk this morning still gave him an unprecedented shock.

"Gentlemen," he turned, his voice unusually calm, "can anyone tell me how much of this report is exaggerated?"

Four people sat around the long conference table: Sir Mansfield Cumming, Director of MI6; Admiral John Jellicoe, First Lord of the Navy; Lord Kitchener, First Lord of the Army; and Colonel Hamilton, the former military attaché to Japan who had just been transferred back from the Far East.

Sir Cumming cleared his throat. The fifty-eight-year-old intelligence chief had a face that was easily forgotten—which was his greatest asset. But at this moment, his expression was unusually serious.

"Your Excellency, this report has been cross-verified through three independent channels." Camin's voice sounded like it was being squeezed from the depths of his throat. "The information provided by our commercial intelligence agents in Shanghai, our naval observers in Singapore, and the German munitions department clerk we bribed in Berlin all match perfectly."

He picked up the thick document on the table: "The Lanfang Republic, a Chinese nation that has only been established for twelve years, is involved in the European war with astonishing depth. What they are doing goes far beyond what we originally knew about transporting mercenaries from the Sakura Kingdom."

Admiral Jellicoe—the 53-year-old Commander of the Navy—frowned. "Be specific, Camin. How specific?"

“Three aspects.” Kamin opened the document. “First, military transport. In the past eight months, the Lanfang fleet has transported more than 150,000 Japanese soldiers to Germany, and that number is still increasing. They have at least eight converted troop transport ships of 10,000 tons each, and the escort fleet includes two Bismarck-class battleships, four Omaha-class cruisers, and an unknown number of destroyers and submarines.”

Lord Kitchener—the Minister of War with his signature beard—tapped the table with his thick fingers: "We already know about the situation in Japan. Tell me something we don't know."

"Second, arms trade." Kamin turned to the next page. "The German Army has equipped itself on the Eastern Front with a new type of 105mm howitzer, whose performance far surpasses that of our counterparts. Technical analysis shows that the design of this artillery is completely different from the existing German system, with obvious... Asian characteristics. Our engineers believe it originated from Lanfang."

The room fell silent for a moment.

"Third," Kamin's voice lowered, "technology transfer. According to intelligence from our Berlin informants, Lanfang and Germany reached a large-scale technology exchange agreement last April. Germany traded optical, metallurgical, engine, and radio technologies for Lanfang's weapons and equipment and production capabilities."

"Optics? Zeiss technology?" Jellicoe jerked his head up. "Are they crazy? That's a top secret of the Empire!"

"Not only that," Cumming closed the file, "there's also Krupp's special steel smelting process, diesel high-pressure injection system, and even... a copy of the submarine unrestricted combat manual."

"Bang!"

Kitchener slammed his fist on the table, splashing ink everywhere. "Treason! This is treason! The Germans sold out the Empire's entire fortune for a few cannons?!"

Gray walked to the table, placed his hands on it, and leaned forward. "Cummin, are you sure this intelligence is accurate? Would the Germans be stupid enough to hand over core technology to an Asian country?"

"I'm quite certain, Minister," Cumming said. "We have a summary of the minutes from the German General Staff meetings. Ludendorff personally approved the deal, and Wilhelm II gave his nod."

He paused, then added, "Moreover, according to our intelligence in Borneo, Lanfang's industrial zone has seen unusual technological breakthroughs in the past six months. Their shipyards have begun using new welding techniques, the quality of steel in their arsenals has significantly improved, and there are even... indications that they are developing some kind of aircraft."

"An airship?" Jellicoe raised an eyebrow. "Like a Zeppelin?"

"No, it's more like... a machine with fixed wings. The specifics are still unclear, but Lanfang has established a massive secret base in the Persian Gulf mountains, with an extremely high level of defense."

Gray slowly straightened up and walked to the fireplace. The flames cast dancing shadows on his face.

"Gentlemen," he said, "you all understand what this means, don't you?"

Kitchener sneered, "This means that yellow-skinned monkey named Chen Feng is profiting from our war. He sells weapons to the Germans, killing our young men; he sells weapons to the Japanese, sending them to their deaths on the Eastern Front for money; then he uses the profits to develop himself, and incidentally steals Europe's most advanced technology. What a shrewd businessman!"

"Watch your language, Kitchener," Gray frowned. "We're conducting a strategic analysis, not racist abuse."

"I'm stating the facts!" Kitchener stood up, his tall frame casting a huge shadow under the light. "This Chen Feng, ten years ago he was just an exiled businessman, and now? He controls half of Southeast Asia, defeated the Japanese navy, and dares to support Germany right under our noses! Who does he think he is?!"

Jellicoe was relatively calmer: "The question is, what can we do? Military options?"

The room fell silent again. Everyone looked at the Minister of the Navy.

Jellicoe picked up a pencil and quickly calculated on the paper: "The core of the Lanfang Navy is four Bismarck-class battleships, with a standard displacement of 41,000 tons, eight 380mm main guns, and a speed of 30 knots. We currently have two Revenge-class battleships, HMS Revenge and HMS Resolution, in Singapore, with a displacement of 28,000 tons, eight 381mm main guns, and a speed of 22 knots."

He looked up: "On paper, we have the advantage in a one-on-one situation. But the problem is, Lanfang's warships are newer and faster, and... we don't know their tactical capabilities. A full analysis of the East China Sea naval battle shows that Lanfang's naval commander Zhang Zhen's command skills were quite superb."

"You mean, we can't beat them?" Kitchener asked, displeased.

"What I mean is, the risk is extremely high," Jellicoe corrected. "To defeat the Lanfang Navy in the Far East, we would need to divert at least four capital ships from the home fleet. Meanwhile, the German High Seas Fleet is right across the North Sea, ready to strike at any moment. This is a classic case of 'fighting on two fronts,' which the Admiralty cannot accept."