Standing on the open-air bridge of the "Grand Duke of Frederich", Admiral Verenick couldn't help but feel emotion as if he was a different world in his heart. At the beginning of the war, the arrogant British Empire Royal Fleet was like an invincible giant, bringing a suffocating sense of oppression to any opponent. But now, just four years have passed, and their most proud and powerful battleships are now burning fire on the sea and are gradually sinking into the water.

Just like in a dream, such a powerful battleship called "unsinkable ship" fell under his muzzle.

The God of Luck has left the British, and now they have lost the scepter of the sea god, and the myth has been broken. Since defeating the "Invincible Fleet" of the Spanish Empire, the British Empire has tasted the taste of failure on the sea for the first time, and it was a crushing defeat. The Betty fleet flew in a panic like a stray dog, no longer cared about the so-called gentlemanly demeanor and face.

The signal flag of "Victory Return" on the "Earl of Spee" has been raised, and General Sorochin is commanding his scarred fleet to line up on the sea and stagger. Although the German and Austrian fleet has brought three British and three main battleships, its situation is not much better. Most of the German warships were seriously damaged, and the buildings and equipment on the deck are in a mess. Three warships were seriously damaged, and the "Deferring" was even more terrible, with the bow of the ship being destroyed, with as much as 2,200 tons of water in the front, the front deck was almost as high as the sea surface, and the power compartment was seriously damaged, so he could only barely follow the fleet at a speed of 15 knots.

Benefiting from the excellent design of German ship designers and the greater reserve buoyancy of the warship itself, as well as the crew's hard work and active damage management work, it still floats tenaciously on the sea.

In comparison, Austro-Hungarian warships were less severely damaged and could be re-scheduled after returning to the shipyard for one month of emergency repairs. Several German warships will have to stay in the dock for a long time in the future.

After several hours of voyage, the battlefield was left far behind. It was already dark, and the entrance to Brest Bay in France in front was already in sight, and the beacons outside the French port were clearly visible.

"History will open a new page!" The news has long been spread to Berlin, Vienna and London. The British cabinet was shrouded in a tragic cloud. The news of the navy's defeat was strictly blocked, and ordinary people were unaware of it. Berlin and Vienna were trapped in a carnival, and the people flocked to the streets and stayed up all night to celebrate the great victory achieved by the navy. The German Emperor immediately issued a long telegram of commendation, praising the heroic and great performance of the German navy soldiers. The Austro-Hungarian Emperor said the famous saying above in the congratulatory message.

The result of the Battle of the Bay of Biscay did determine the direction of the war, which marked that the Royal Navy was unable to prevent the German and Austrian surface fleet from entering and leaving the North Atlantic waters freely, and also marked the fall of the British Empire's navy from the throne of the maritime overlord. The New York Times commented on this naval battle: The scepter of the sea god has been lost, who will become the next maritime overlord?

Is it the British who made a comeback and returned to their past times, or is it the emerging industrial countries: Germany and the United States?

The change of old and new is a historical necessity. With the decline of Britain's industrial capacity and technological level, it has become inevitable that it will be replaced by emerging industrial countries. Although the Germans have pulled Britain off the altar, they may not be able to stand on it.

In Madrid, with the mediation of the Spanish, the Allies Group and the United States and Britain finally sat at the negotiating table.

The war has now entered its final stage. On the European continent, the German-Austrian alliance has no opponents. On the ocean, as time goes by, the German-Austrian fleet has begun to gain the upper hand. After the Battle of Biscay, the British realized that it was impossible to win the war again, and had to listen to President Wilson's advice, put down their stance and began peace negotiations with Germany and Austria. If this war continues and the German-Austrian fleet rushes into the Indian Ocean, the British Empire may lose the entire India and the Far East colonies.

The British can no longer take such risks.

It took time for the Americans to reorganize their arms, and the purpose of their participation in the war was to gain benefits from the war, and it was unlikely that they would bear huge losses and casualties for the sake of Britain. Now the Americans have begun to back down, reduce the supply of supplies to Britain, and require the United Kingdom to use gold to pay for the goods.

In Vienna in May, midsummer has arrived, and the pleasant weather in spring is being replaced by heat. After the end of the French Battle, the atmosphere of war on the streets of Vienna began to become peaceful. With the beginning of the army's demobilization work, domestic production gradually recovered, and the entire city returned to its previous peaceful and lively scene.

Although some materials are still rationed during wartime, various commodities on the market have also become richer, and even luxury goods such as alcohol can be seen selling.

The project of the Habsburg family's unfinished New Hofburg Palace began to continue. Because it was too noisy, the emperor had moved to the slightly further Shanbolun Palace to work.

In the palace of the Austrian emperor, the Austrian emperor and the Hungarian king were entertaining his brother-in-law, the "great German Emperor", William II, and his two imperialist leaders were carrying out a dirty deal before a peaceful negotiation.

"Egypt and Sudan will be handed over to Germany after the war, the Sinai Peninsula will be ceased to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Libya will be custodianized by Austro-Hungarian Empire; regarding the disposal of the French colonial emperor, Tunisia will be handed over to Germany as compensation, and the Crimean Peninsula will be ceased to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the Far East, the French Indochina Peninsula (Annan) will be handed over to Germany and Austria as part of the war compensation. The Japanese government must return the German colonies and property occupied during the European War on the condition and compensate Germany and Austria for property losses of 5 billion marks (of which

Austro-Hungary was able to receive 500 million marks of compensation due to the loss of four warships during the Qingdao Battle). Germany and Austria agreed to establish Polish and Ukrainian countries in Russia's occupation of Polish and Ukrainian territories..." Rudendolf was reading the terms of the agreement reached between the two governments, and the transaction behind it was actually much dirty. The dismemberment of the Russian Empire so that it will no longer become a new threat for decades is the focus of the transaction. The two countries have reached an agreement in private and will jointly interfere with the civil war that has already broken out in Russia.

The negotiation process and conditions are mainly dominated by Rudendolf and Boloevic, and the emperors of the two countries rarely interfere in this process.

"I heard you support the formation of a large number of Chinese labor forces?" William II suddenly turned the topic to another direction.

"Well, um, I want to help the Chinese. What's wrong?" Li Haidon lit a cigar, spit out a sip of blue smoke, and covered his face.

"It's not that simple, what do you think?" said William II. "Want to enter the Far East?"

"Of course, William, what is the purpose of our war? It is by no means for this war compensation, but for the sphere of influence, that is, the broad space for the future development of the country. The country in the Far East has the largest market in the world, and its population is twice as large as the whole of Europe. There is no reason to turn a blind eye to it." Lee Hayden said.

"What does this have to do with helping them form an army?"

"The army is the cornerstone of a country's stability. What is the value of a market that is trapped in chaos?" Lee Hayden said with a smile, "What we need is a stable market with a promising future."

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