Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 98 Churchill: FUCK!!!
Just as Ryan expected.

Just as he finished his call with Lieutenant General Draven and was quietly waiting for the sunrise.

The imperial capital is hundreds of kilometers away.

More than a dozen ministers from the Imperial Cabinet gathered together, including Lieutenant General Draven. Almost all the bigwigs who could be named had taken their seats in this heavily guarded conference room.

And at the head of the group was the current emperor of the empire.

At this moment, he was looking at the documents brought by Lieutenant General Draven's adjutant. The content of the documents was the proposal that Ryan and Lieutenant General Draven had previously put forward regarding negotiations with the government of the Kingdom of Perijie.

But the specific terms have been modified a lot.

This included, but was not limited to, changes to the fees for leasing railway lines, which were raised from the original 1 mark to a level that was barely acceptable to the Kingdom of Perijie even in non-war times.

In contrast, the profits from the operation belong to the empire, and the empire also guarantees to provide the Kingdom of Perijie with certain weapons, equipment and garrisons to help it quickly restore the city, public security and economy.

However, the original one-mark plan was not completely deleted, but was written below as a backup plan.

The rest of the content remains basically unchanged.

Whether it was about making an immediate decision and signing the treaty before the United Kingdom declared war, or about using various means to indirectly attack the United Kingdom and cause it to miss the precious opportunity to declare war on the Empire, Vice Admiral Draven did not move a word.

“Good plan.”

After a long time, when the sky outside the window began to glow with a yellowish light and cast a bright dawn light in this luxurious conference room, the emperor spoke.

He first looked at the other cabinet members who had already read the plan, and then looked at Draven: "Is this the plan drafted by Captain Flig, Duke Draven?"

"Major now, Your Majesty."

Draven nodded slightly and continued, "Major Flig's troops have completely occupied Ostend and captured a total of 6,000 United Kingdom troops, including two Lion-class battlecruisers. However, the number of troops they can currently mobilize is far too small. We'd better make a decision first."

"I think there's nothing wrong with this document," the emperor said, apparently seeing through Draven's thoughts. "What do you think, my Lords?"

Before he finished speaking, the Foreign Minister immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Albert I has a strong sense of resistance. This method alone may not be enough to force the Kingdom of Periguet to sign a peace agreement."

Two other ministers who had dealt with the Kingdom of Perijie also nodded. One of them was the Empire's Minister of the Navy, and the other was Moltke the Younger - he participated in this cabinet meeting not as an Imperial Minister, but as the Chief of the General Staff.

"If the Kingdom of Perige is willing to sign a peace agreement," Moltke the Younger said solemnly, "that would be great. However, since the war began, we have sent envoys to contact Albert I several times, but the results have each been unsatisfactory."

As Little Moltke said this, his eyes kept glancing in Draven's direction, as if he was on guard against him. "Major Flig's proposal is indeed good, but I think it's still a bit too conservative..."

His words immediately made Draven unhappy. His eyes widened and his anger was visibly concentrated on him.

To be honest, Draven actually has a good relationship with Moltke the Younger, but ever since he was severely criticized by old man Schlieffen last time, Moltke the Younger has become more and more dissatisfied with Ryan. As a result, when Draven deals with Ryan's affairs, he often has to consider Moltke the Younger's opinions more to prevent this guy from suddenly jumping out of the corner and giving him a big blow.

Even Draven is now feeling fortunate that he used his connections to mobilize the airship troops before, and that it was something that was finalized before the meeting, otherwise it would have been definitely disrupted by that guy Moltke the Younger.

Of course, the Empire's General Staff and General Headquarters are different departments that exist in parallel. Even if the General Staff disagrees, Draven can still rely on his relationship in the General Headquarters to forcibly send the fleet to Ryan.

And this is exactly what Draven is unhappy about.

Moltke the Younger is a guy who cares too much about his own business. He is also timid and conservative.

more importantly.

This guy has now gone so far as to speak ill of Ryan in front of the emperor.

Tolerable or unbearable.

Draven immediately said, "Then what does it mean to be unconservative?"

"Is it less conservative to lead a 200-man force across 800 kilometers to wipe out a United Kingdom brigade? Or is it less conservative to command four airships to capture two battlecruisers?"

"What were you doing while Major Flig was delivering intelligence about the Farland Army to the rear despite a troop disparity of more than ten to one? Didn't Marshal Schlieffen scold you enough last time? Now you want me to do it again, right?"

"Luckily, we're in the cabinet today, otherwise I'd definitely give you a beating!"

"Back when the old marshal and I led our troops to fight the Farlanders, you weren't even a second lieutenant. Now that you're a marshal, you think you can challenge us, right?"

For a moment, everyone in the cabinet meeting room was silent.

The reason is also very simple.

Draven and Moltke the Younger are actually the same age, but their experiences are completely different.

As a person born into an orthodox military aristocratic family, Draven graduated from the Imperial War College at the age of 20 and joined the army.

At the age of 22, he joined Moltke the Elder in an expedition to Falconry, and made great contributions to the stability and peace of the empire.

As for the current Imperial Marshal Moltke the Younger...

He entered the War College three years after the war ended, and graduated from the college six years after the war ended...

It can be said that if Moltke the Younger had not had a good uncle who allowed him to serve as the emperor's adjutant immediately after the death of Moltke the Elder, it would be hard to say who the current imperial marshal would be.

This is also the reason why Draven dared to scold Moltke in front of everyone.

He has the confidence, which he gained by hanging his head on his belt, not by any blood relationship.

Meanwhile, at the conference table, the current Emperor of the Empire felt that although Draven's curse was good, it was still a bit too dirty and not suitable to be said in such a public place.

To prevent the situation from getting worse, the emperor coughed twice and quickly stopped the increasingly irritable Draven: "Your Excellency the Duke, let's talk business."

"Humph!"

Draven snorted coldly, no longer looking at the young Moltke, and turned to the emperor: "As you wish, Your Majesty."

He said, "What the Foreign Minister said just now is not without reason. King Abel I has gained a lot of support due to his resolute resistance. This will indeed make our negotiations difficult."

"Therefore, we believe that we can also use some propaganda tactics to force Abel I to sign a peace agreement."

"Elaborate."

The emperor said immediately.

Draven paused. "We can spread the news through the newspapers about the United Kingdom's false deployment of troops, and thereby shift the focus to the United Kingdom's intention to sacrifice the Kingdom of Perijie to ensure it can launch an invasion of the Empire, just like the Kingdom of Farlan."

"But the Empire does not wish to engage in battle with the Kingdom of Perije. Therefore, the Empire is willing to return all occupied territories to the Kingdom of Perije, as long as they agree to a ceasefire with the Empire and guarantee that the Empire's troops can move through its railway system."

"This is not an easy task, but we only have 48 hours. If we fail to sign a peace agreement within 48 hours, the United Kingdom will inevitably continue to send troops to Perij."

The so-called 48 hours is the same as the six to eight weeks calculated by Field Marshal Schlieffen.

The latter was the time it took for Tsarist Russia to mobilize the whole country, while the former was the time it took for the United Kingdom to mobilize the whole country.

It was not until this moment that everyone present realized that they had little time left.

"48 hours..."

The emperor lowered his head and muttered to himself...

After a moment, he looked at Draven and said, "My Duke, if we do as you say, what are the chances of success?"

"If you are willing to dispatch a fleet of airships for me, I can guarantee that you can agree on the time and place of the meeting banquet with Abel I over the phone before sunset today."

"really?"

"really."

Draven nodded solemnly.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Duke Draven." The emperor immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned to look at the floor-to-ceiling window beside him.

The orange sun just jumped out from below the horizon at this moment, appearing in the sky in the most perfect posture.

--------------

A few hours later.

Buckingham Palace, the capital of the United Kingdom.

Winston Churchill had never faced such a tense moment.

But opposite him, the young King George V, who had just ascended the throne four years ago, was even more nervous than him.

Six hours earlier, at the urging of his aide-de-camp, George V, together with Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty and Acting Prime Minister, met with Sir Cumming, who was in charge of the kingdom's intelligence work.

The documents brought by the other party regarding the content of the Imperial Army's Honor Communication and a solution to deal with the impact of this Honor Communication have now become the most urgent needs of these two big men who hold the lifeline of the United Kingdom.

Churchill sat in a chair with a newly lit cigar in his mouth. His two small eyes, deep in his eye sockets, looked at George V for a while, and then at the two documents in front of him. The resentment in his heart was almost written on his face.

But what he cared more about was how the Empire had wiped out the Federal Marines stationed in Ostend in less than a few minutes.

Churchill knew clearly that the troops he sent out consisted of 3,000 people, commanded by Major General George Bernardiston, and all of them were soldiers with overseas stationing and combat experience.

If they were not extremely elite troops, it would be impossible to eliminate them in a short period of time.

The same idea also took root in George V's mind.

But unlike Churchill, George V was more regretful than worried.

He was not a qualified general and could not make the same detailed analysis as Churchill, but he was very clear that as someone who was determined to fight a decisive battle with the empire, this Marine Brigade would be captured, which would obviously make his Commonwealth Kingdom Navy a laughing stock to the world.

The support of the people will also drop rapidly. By then, let alone organizing troops to send troops overseas, I am afraid that even the power to maintain rule will be lost.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. Although the monarch still has considerable power, it is ultimately based on the trust of the people.

Once the people's trust is gone, the so-called King of the United Kingdom will be nothing more than a tool used to help Parliament sign various documents.

Amidst anxiety and panic, the king, who had only been on the throne for four years, asked Churchill with some hesitation and obvious hesitation: "Winston, should we withdraw our troops first?"

"No, my Lord, this is absolutely not possible."

Churchill dismissed George V's idea without a second thought. He removed his cigar, a cold glint in his narrow eyes. "The operation to dispatch troops to the Kingdom of Perijie was carried out in the King's name from the outset. If we withdraw our troops now, those forces determined to oppose participation in the war will inevitably quickly gain the upper hand."

Churchill's words left George V a little confused, because he clearly remembered that just at this time yesterday, Churchill was still a staunch anti-war advocate.

But today, he has abandoned his previous position and become more radical than those who firmly support the war.

He asked: "But my Prime Minister, weren't you also..."

"It is different now, Your Majesty."

Churchill's voice was as vague as ever, but very powerful: "The Kingdom's troops were wiped out by the Empire on the very day they came to support their allies. This is a provocation from the Empire and a declaration of war against us!"

"The last thing we can do now is withdraw our troops, but as you know..."

Churchill pointed to the document in front of George V, his expression solemn: "We can neither withdraw troops now nor send in additional troops at will."

"The Empire's army is certainly small, but they are clearly prepared to fight us to the death. Otherwise, they wouldn't have insisted on sending troops after hearing the news that the Kingdom had sent 80,000 soldiers."

"The two captured Lion-class ships haven't sent back any information yet. This means the enemy must have sent warships—at least a fleet capable of completely destroying the Lion-class."

"Furthermore, the King of the Kingdom of Perijie has not yet issued a statement on this matter. All we can do now is wait and see. While carrying out nationwide mobilization, we await news from the front lines..."

"more importantly……"

Churchill paused and began tapping the table with his fingertips. "The Empire has even issued thirty honorary communications in an attempt to provoke us."

"If we calculate based on their previous practice of having one honorary communication base station per regiment, this means they've deployed thirty regiments of troops to the front lines at once..."

The dull knocking sound continued.

"But they obviously don't have such a strong transport force. Perhaps they are already prepared to fight our support forces in Ostend. If that's the case, then we might as well hold our ground."

George V felt that he vaguely understood what Churchill meant. He asked tentatively, "Is it to allow the Farlanders to reorganize their offensive?"

Churchill picked up his cigar again and said: "I have this idea in mind, but I hope to get news from Abel I as soon as possible."

"I think the Empire must be preparing for peace talks with the Kingdom of Perijie right now, because their troops on the front lines can't wait."

"Although Abel I is not an outstanding talent, he is still very trustworthy when it comes to protecting the country."

"Oh?" It was the first time that George V heard Churchill speak so positively of someone, which made him, who had also met Abel I several times, very curious.

But before he could speak, George V noticed that Churchill's face was losing color at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"What's the matter, Winston?"

He stood up immediately, but was a beat slower than Churchill!
"not good!"

Churchill's exclamation was heard in the meeting room.

"We've been tricked by the Empire!"

Churchill looked at George V, his amber pupils trembling: "The Kingdom of Perijie is likely to surrender to the Empire!"

"But weren't you just saying..."

King George V shuddered, his forehead wrinkled, his eyes filled with confusion. "Abel I wouldn't surrender so soon. If he really wanted to surrender, there would be no need for him to order his troops to hold the Fortress of the Sun beforehand!"

But Churchill's voice became more and more urgent, which made his words, which were already lisp, even more unclear: "It is because he would not surrender so early that he surrendered!"

"Because the Empire sent troops to annihilate our volunteer army! To the Perijie people, they have now completely transformed from a snail army that could only use heavy artillery to blast through the Sun Fortress, into a divine army that can instantly cross the entire Perijie Kingdom and wipe out our 80,000-strong army in the blink of an eye!"

He leaned on his crutches and began pacing back and forth in the conference room: "Damn it! I shouldn't have let those journalists spread fake news!"

"Now the Empire has us on its hands. And yet, to keep it secret, we deliberately didn't tell Abel I about his intelligence war before the operation!"

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!!!!!!”

Churchill was so angry that he was shaking all over. He wanted to take the cigar out of his mouth, but he was so angry that he couldn't even hold the cigar.

Specks of red light scattered on the ground, burning a few black spots on the precious carpet that was hundreds of years old.

But Churchill no longer cared about such trivial matters. He stepped directly on the cigar and shouted: "Guards! Guards! Call the signalman immediately!"

The door opened even faster than he thought.

The young captain in army uniform was holding a thin piece of telegram paper. When he saw Churchill and George V, he immediately saluted and said.

"Your Majesty, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

"A telegram has been sent from the Kingdom of Perijie."

"They signed a non-aggression peace agreement at 8:00 a.m. local time..."

"FUCK!!!!"

(End of this chapter)