Crook's words were simply shocking, and everyone was shocked. No one expected that Crook would say such a shocking sentence. The Foreign Minister was even shocked and angry, almost angrily saying: "How is it possible? Qingdao is a fortress. We have an East Asian fleet. It is a powerful force. China is not an opponent!"

"That's right, we have the East Asian fleet, and Lieutenant General Spe is also the general I admire, but so what, we have too few people. Whether it is the East Asian fleet, the Qingdao Fortress, plus soldiers and the middle-aged Germans, there will be no more than 3,000 people. This is the number of people...!"

Crook didn't continue to say it, but everyone understood what he meant. Most of the people here were soldiers, or were once soldiers, and they also knew very well about the protection of the fortress. If Qingdao Fortress wants to play its role, it will take at least 10,000 or 20,000 people, so it may not be able to defend it. Their ability is too far from Germany's mainland, but even 10,000 or 20,000 people, it is impossible. Everyone knows that at the critical moment when the war is about to break out, it is unlikely that Germany will send troops to the Far East on a large scale.

The Foreign Minister was silent, and then seemed to think carefully before saying, "Didn't the northwest issue a war threat? They won't? Are they afraid that our Germany will settle the score in the future?"

"If you don't say whether the northwest will be, just act like the northwest. Then will Qingdao be safe? What I said about Qingdao cannot be defended, and it is illusion that it is not facing the northwest, because if the northwest really does its best, even if we don't have a war, we can't defend Qingdao. The northwest of Russia's millions of troops is as powerful as our elite German soldiers. I don't want to fight such an opponent thousands of miles away."

As Krook said, the generals present had a deep sense of what the Russian army looked like. They knew that when the number of people rose to the millions, even if they were a little overwhelmed, they had to rely on many methods to weaken him and divide and encircle him. However, the Northwest was a head-on confrontation, and relying on its real strength to defeat the millions of troops. In this regard, the Northwest Army was not weak, and this was also recognized before.

"Not the Northwest, who is it?"

"As long as we go to war with Britain, in East Asia, there is a country that will definitely take action with us. This country has signed an agreement with Britain, which is legally a thing of the past!"

Crook did not mention anyone, but everyone present understood after thinking about it for a moment. Japan, which is closely related to Britain and signed the alliance, was the only one in the British-Japanese alliance. Now, not only the Foreign Minister was stunned, but other people attending the meeting, including Tirpitz, were also stunned. They did not expect that Crook would suddenly mention this country. Such a small country on the sea has just joined the club of the great powers. Does he dare to challenge the German Empire?

But if you think about it carefully, everyone is not sure that in 1902, the signing of the British-Japanese alliance was more to deal with Russia, but the relationship between Britain and Japan has always been relatively close. It can be said that Japan also relied on the support of Britain to develop to the present level. With the support of Britain, he was fearless. With a mere small country, in the absence of strength, challenged the Qing and Russia, and won. If the war in Europe started and the German army and navy were both removed from Europe by Britain, Japan would really dare to take action.

Now, in terms of East Asia's strength, Japan has the advantage. Some time ago, Britain even helped Japan build the Battleship of the King Kong, which is the same level as the Lion-class, using a 14-inch artillery super-dreadnought. The UK even authorized Japan to produce the remaining three ships in China after purchasing one. It can be said that just one ship, the German East Asian fleet will definitely not resist the Japanese navy.

As for the army, let alone, Japan fought with Russia in Northeast China, and even defeated the arrogant Russia with the help of the navy's victory. In that war 8 years ago, Japan also captured a fortress, Lushun Fortress. You should know that it was a fortress that Russia had been operating for a long time, and its strength was not worse than Qingdao, or even stronger than Qingdao. As for the defenders, it was even more incomparable. During the long war, the defenders in Lushun increased to 40,000, with 646 guns and 62 machine guns. The navy had 38 warships. Such a powerful force was still captured by Japan. It was far less than Qingdao in Lushun, and it seemed easier to be captured.

A country like a madman, one has a perverted desire for land, and the other is still brave enough to fight against an absolutely weak situation, and dares to devote all its destiny. In this way, the country has the advantage in the navy and the army. Qingdao and Jiaozhou Bay are operated by Germany like a delicious meal. Does Japan dare not take action?

No one can be sure, but everyone knows that the possibility is very high. A problem that has never been considered was raised by Crook. The scene was quiet for a long time. The Foreign Minister did not dare to speak. The diplomatic secretary tentatively said: "Can Japan really attack?"

"Will, they have extraordinary desire for the mainland and land?" Crook was prepared and took out a lot of information, submitted to them by the Northwest, explaining in detail Japan's desire for the mainland and its territorial requirements over the past few decades, from the Liaodong Peninsula to Taiwan, and after Germany occupied Jiaozhou Bay, Japan also made many small moves about Jiaozhou Bay. It didn't care much before, and the possibility of connecting these together was really huge.

An enemy that I never thought of suddenly emerged. Japan is different from the Northwest. They are not as powerful as the Northwest. They can fight a million-level war with the Russian army. However, they have a strong navy. With the current strength of the Japanese Navy's fleet, plus the King Kong, even above the British Asian fleet, let alone the German fleet, there is no possibility of victory in naval battles, and there is a lack of enough soldiers in land wars. It seems that the fall of Qingdao is almost certain. As long as the war begins, Japan's distance from China may declare war in two or three days. In more than ten days, the war will break out.

There was a dead silence in front of the imperial world. No one would have thought that this most successful colony, Germany's only sphere of influence and military port in the Far East, was really destined to be unable to protect it. This kind of blow was really unacceptable.

The Foreign Minister opened his mouth. Everything he advocated and what he insisted on was so ridiculous after she was destined to lose it. It was better to take it out and exchange it for some benefits. This is what everyone understands and is the most correct idea.

Seeing that everyone was not talking, William II sighed. Unexpectedly, his most successful result, the things he made directly decided back then, were destined to be lost. Noting that William II's lost gaze, the Chief of Staff of the Army, Moltke, suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I have a number here. You may be able to take a look. It is about the Northwest!"

What Xiao Moltch took out was a general table of the Army's ordering supplies through the Northwest. It also had a certain summary. How many divisions of equipment, how many divisions' logistics, and how much total amount could help the German side save much expenses and time.

William II had long known that the trade exchanges between Germany and the Northwest were particularly close, but he did not expect that they would be so close. Judging from the cumulative amount of these has reached 1.2 billion marks, involving 7 armies, more than 40 reorganized divisions and a large number of logistics supplies. It can be said that once the Northwest breaks the contract, Germany's combat readiness will pay a huge price.

"Why are you ordering so many things in China?" William II asked in confusion.

Xiao Maoqi smiled bitterly. If he had a choice, he didn't want to. The key is that the cost-effectiveness of the northwest is extremely high. Even if the German-style equipment is entrusted to the northwest for production, even if the freight is added, it is a little cheaper than that of the domestic ones. Although this is not much, it actually reduces consumption. The most important thing is that this can save a lot of production capacity.

Don’t underestimate this. Money can never become strength and wealth. At the critical moment of war, only arms and weapons are the real strength. There is no only entry or exit between the Northwest and Germany. Many German machine tools and industrial products are needed by the Northwest. In comparison, Germany exports a large amount of industrial products, while the Northwest exports a large amount of guns, ammunition, arms and military supplies. After the exchange between the two sides, the deficit is very small, and Germany is relatively easy to accept, so it gradually expanded.

The Army General Staff has made a document on this issue and now it is taken out and proved with detailed evidence that this exchange is necessary for Germany. Because the emergence of the Northwest, under the premise of the same manpower and material resources, Germany's combat readiness material reserves and armed speed have increased by at least 15% compared with previous estimates, which is greatly conducive to the gathering of German strength.

William II was surprised. He did not expect that China had reached this level of importance and had already made a tilt in his heart. For Germany, the key is to win the next battle. If the battle against Britain is defeated, everything is useless. If Germany can defeat Britain, in addition to China, there are also a large number of colonies and military ports for Germany to choose from.

Crook used evidence to prove that Qingdao was destined to be unable to be saved. In the past few years, the Northwest has made great contributions and help to Germany. What Moltke has brought out is another aspect. With the exact evidence, the Northwest has an important role in Germany today. Apart from the direct military assistance, the Northwest also plays an important role in economic and combat readiness. This seems to be two huge weights that have made the balance tilt.

William II pondered for a long time, weighed the pros and cons, and finally said with difficulty: "You can negotiate with the Northwest on the Shandong issue!" (To be continued)
Chapter completed!