Chapter 2013 Candidates
"Okay, then change someone else. You can ask His Royal Highness Crown Prince Ruprecht, how about William Howard Taft?" Roosevelt naturally knew about the meeting between Robert and the leader of the Social Democratic Party, Hassey. Ruprecht must have known about it at the time, but he didn't say anything. Unexpectedly, this time, the German Crown Prince was waiting for him here!
When the outcome of the Spanish-American War changed, the entire history of the United States also turned a corner. Theodore Roosevelt's ascension to the presidency was delayed, and by the same token, the political career of his good friend and partner, Vice President William Howard Taft, also changed accordingly. Therefore, the current Taft Fut is Roosevelt's vice president, and in terms of status, he is also considered equal to Crown Prince Ruprecht. As for ability, Roosevelt also trusted Taft very much.
Taft and Crown Prince Ruprecht also met before. The relationship between the two parties is not bad. Roosevelt felt the odds were high that the other party would agree. Of course, even so, Roosevelt was still a little upset, because inadvertently, the plenipotentiary representative of the United States went to Brussels to negotiate with the Germans, which itself was a bit weak. The Germans inadvertently regained control.
Earl Hogner did not know the contents of the document, so he could not exchange views on certain issues on behalf of the crown prince and Roosevelt. Under the current circumstances, his main task has actually been completed, paving the way for the subsequent arrival of the US plenipotentiary in Brussels Road, and after dealing with today's matter, Earl Hogner left, and a day later, when the German side replied that Taft was acceptable, William Howard Taft came to Roosevelt's office. Without anyone else, Roosevelt told Taft the contents of the document he had just seen.
"If according to what is written in this document, we want to help the Germans subdue France? Even if the Germans put forward harsher conditions, the French must copy them?" Taft said after reading the document.
"That's right. Crown Prince Ruprecht emphasized that only when the French succumb can the German Army concentrate its forces on the British. Pershing and others also expressed their support for this opinion." Roosevelt said.
"However, a France that has become an enemy of Britain is the most beneficial to Germany, so what about the United States? Without the support of the British, France can only choose to be neutral or simply go to Germany. Then Germany will express it like it did in the Prussian-Austro-Prussian War. Is it really good for the United States under such circumstances?" Taft said.
"And what do you think?" Roosevelt asked.
"I think that beating the British and bringing the French to their knees are two unrelated things. For the Germans, they want the British to shed more blood. But we don't need it. We just want the British not to interfere in the Far East. And after the Great War, the British will definitely not be able to interfere in the Far East. We hope that Europe will be balanced, and it would be good for us if the war ends now. Why do we have to let the Germans beat Britain and France so badly?" asked Taft.
"I've thought about it, and even our German allies have definitely thought about it. It's the ideal situation for the Germans to let the French let the water go, and then give the British a hand. You know, if this plan fails, the Germans will What will you do?" Roosevelt asked.
"I don't know." Taft answered simply.
"Everyone involved in this, except you, me, the Germans, even the French knew what the Germans would do! They destroyed France! No mercy! No mercy! And no one This can be prevented from happening! This is definitely not the result we want to see!" Roosevelt said.
"Are you kidding? Do the Germans still want to completely occupy France?" Taft was really taken aback. He didn't expect the subtext in this report to be so bloody and explicit!
"There is no need to occupy it at all! Do you know how many people there are in France?" Roosevelt asked.
"It's less than 40 million," Taft said.
"Up to now, the war has killed nearly 2 million people in France! A generation of French men fell on the battlefield like this! And if that prince concentrated all his strength on the French, what would be the result? Even after the war, France does not need to pay compensation, and does not need to cede colonies and territories. The future of France is gone! The remaining people will never dare to face the Germans! Even the population cannot be guaranteed, and the French society will In extreme distress, and the colonial system is more likely to collapse, the war has bankrupted France, a country of financial credit, and the German saber can make France forever a third-rate country."
"So, the prince said very clearly that after this war, Germany will never allow France to become an enemy again, either the French will break with the British, and then they may be able to remain neutral, or the Germans will make France forever powerless To resist Germany! For such a multiple-choice question, we cannot provide France with a third option, so we can only choose the first one, so that Britain and France will completely break up." Roosevelt explained.
"Are our dollar weapons so ineffective? If we stop supporting the Germans now..." Taft said.
"The Germans can still win the war. Believe me, the Germans have a lot of reserves, and they have obtained a lot of food, raw materials and oil from the Russians. And if we abandon the alliance with the Germans at this time, what will happen to the Far East ? Let the U.S. Navy face the Japanese alone from thousands of miles away?"
"From our point of view, there is no benefit in breaking up with the Germans now, and even if we are willing to bear a considerable price, it may not be able to prevent the Germans from making decisions on the French issue. The reason is simple. The French are afraid! They I'm really scared! Just 2 days ago, Wei Gang came to me personally and expressed his willingness to accept Ruprecht's previous conditions in principle, and our intelligence agencies in Europe have also received similar news. In the German Under the knife's edge, the French have a great possibility to choose to surrender." Roosevelt said.
"Then the prince put forward even harsher conditions? And this time, he refused to negotiate with the French again on this issue, and instead directly asked the other party to either accept or meet the destruction, is that right?" Taft said Said.
The second one is here~~~! Ask for a subscription and a reward~~~! !