World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

Asquith was left alone in the room. He walked to the window and drew back the heavy curtains. Outside was a London winter night, thick fog blanketed the room, and the streetlights appeared as blurry halos in the mist.

He recalled Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 1900. At that time, Britain was at its zenith, with fleets all over the world, colonies covering a quarter of the globe, and everyone believed that the British Empire would rule the world forever.

Seventeen years later, a war brought the empire to the brink of collapse. Finances were on the verge of bankruptcy, the younger generation suffered heavy casualties, and loyalty in the colonies began to waver.

Meanwhile, new forces are rising – from the beautiful city of Meilika across the ocean, to the mysterious Lanfang in the Far East, and even defeated Germany is demonstrating terrifying resilience.

The world is being reshaped, and the old order is collapsing. Britain, the former hegemon, must find its new place in the ruins.

"God bless England," Asquith whispered.

But this time, his voice lacked its usual confidence, containing only a deep, heavy plea.

Berlin, Sanssouci Palace, 3 a.m.

Wilhelm II was not asleep. He sat in his study by the fireplace, wearing a dressing robe, holding a newly arrived encrypted telegram. The firelight cast flickering shadows on his face, making his expression appear even more somber.

Marshal Tirpitz stood opposite him, equally wide awake. The seventy-year-old veteran looked exceptionally aged today, but his eyes remained sharp.

"Lanfang's warning is true." Wilhelm II put down the telegram. "The Merleka people are really going to join the war."

"Intelligence has confirmed from Washington that Wilson will submit his message to Congress within two days," Tirpitz said. "Merika may formally declare war on Germany as early as a week from now."

"So Chen Feng failed."

"He did his best. But judging from the telegram, he gave us the advice we needed." Tirpitz walked to the huge world map on the wall. "He believed that since the entry of the Allied forces into the war was inevitable, we should adjust our strategy. We shouldn't try to withstand the arrival of the American forces on the Western Front, but rather try to contain the Allied forces in other directions."

"Other directions? Where?"

Tirpitz moved his finger from Europe to Asia: "The Far East. Britain's core interests are not in Europe itself, but in its colonies—India, Australia, Southeast Asia. If these places are threatened, Britain will have to divert troops to defend them, and may even need to request American troops to provide support."

Wilhelm II's eyes lit up for a moment, but quickly dimmed again: "But we have no power to threaten the British Far East. The High Seas Fleet is blockaded in the North Sea, and the colonial fleet is too small..."

"Lanfang has it," Tirpitz interrupted him. "Chen Feng hinted in a telegram that if Germany is willing to make sufficient concessions in terms of technology (money) and interests, Lanfang can take 'more forceful action' in the Far East. Moreover, Japan is mobilizing fifty divisions, more than a million men. Although their equipment and training are inferior to European armies, their sheer numbers are a threat."

Wilhelm II stood up, walked to the map, and gazed at the vast Asian and Pacific region.

"Do you think Chen Feng is serious? Will he really get Lan Fang on our side?"

“He won’t ‘stand on our side,’ he’ll stand on Lanfang’s side,” Tirpitz corrected. “But if we can convince him that helping Germany is in Lanfang’s interest, then he will act. And currently, this logic holds true—if Germany is defeated, the postwar world will be dominated by Britain and the United States, and emerging countries like Lanfang will be marginalized. If Germany is not completely defeated, or even manages to secure a decent peace, then Lanfang will have more room to maneuver.”

Wilhelm II pondered. As a monarch, he was accustomed to direct commands rather than complex calculations of interests. But war had taught him that in international politics, interests were more reliable than loyalty.

"What do we need to give?" he asked.

"Technology and funding," Tirpitz said without hesitation. "What Lanfang wants most is technology. The latest chemical processes, aircraft engine design, submarine technology, even... radio navigation and cryptography. These are areas where we are leading. In short, we can give him everything he wants!"

"But these are all military secrets!"

"If we lose the war, these secrets will be seized by the victorious powers," Tirpitz said calmly. "But if we share them with Lanfang, we can gain their support in the Far East to contain Britain, and we might even receive their direct aid—supplies, equipment, and perhaps their most advanced weapons."

Wilhelm II paced back and forth in his study. The firelight from the fireplace cast a long shadow of him on the wall, making him look like an anxious giant.

"The General Staff would object. Hindenburg and Ludendorff believed that Germany could win the war on its own, or at least secure a favorable peace."

"They are wrong," Tirpitz said bluntly. "Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness, but the General Staff is living in a fantasy. They cannot see that our resources are running out, that the people's patience has reached its limit, or that the decisive impact of the entry of the people into the war will be. Chen Feng saw it, and that's why he gave us this way out."

He approached Wilhelm II, his voice low and earnest: "Your Majesty, this is not surrender, but a strategic adjustment. We acknowledge that a complete victory is impossible on the Western Front, so we are opening a new front. We are trading technology for time, and space for survival. If Lanfang can truly cause enough trouble in the Far East, Britain might be willing to negotiate—while they still have colonies to lose."

Vision. Tirpitz offered a vision similar to Chen Feng's—not total victory, but avoiding total defeat; not conquest, but survival.

Wilhelm II walked to the window. Outside, the Berlin winter night was pitch black, with only the occasional distant anti-aircraft searchlight piercing the sky. This city, this country, had already paid too high a price for the war. Two million dead and wounded, the economy on the verge of collapse, children starving, and women toiling twelve hours a day in factories.

If Mirika joins the war, all this suffering may become meaningless.

He recalled Chen Feng's last words in the telegram: "In a storm, a wise sailor does not sail against the wind, but adjusts the sails to find a port he can reach."

Perhaps it's time to adjust the sails.

"Return the message to Chen Feng," Wilhelm II finally said, his voice carrying a calm that came after giving up the struggle. "Tell him that Germany is willing to discuss comprehensive technical cooperation. He can send a delegation to Berlin, or we can go to Dubai. But there is one condition—Lanfang must take concrete action in the Far East to restrain British power."

"What do you mean by 'substantive actions'?"