"Well, then change another person. You can ask His Royal Highness Prince Ruprecht. How about William Howard Taft?" Roosevelt naturally knew about Robert's meeting with the Social Democratic centrist leader Hasai. Ruprecht must have known the matter at the time, but did not say anything. Unexpectedly, this time, the German crown prince is waiting for him here!
When the outcome of the Spanish-American War changed, the entire American history also turned a corner. Theodore Roosevelt’s ascendance to the presidency was delayed, and for the same reason, the political career of his good friend and partner, Vice President William Howard Taft, has also changed accordingly. Therefore, the current tower Futt was Roosevelt's vice president, and from the standpoint of status, he was 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 that the possibility of the other party's consent was high. Of course, even so, Roosevelt was still a little unhappy, because inadvertently, the American plenipotentiary went to Brussels to negotiate with the Germans itself was a bit weak. The Germans regained control inadvertently.
Count Hogner did not know the contents of the document, so he was unable to 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 affairs, Earl Hogner left. One day later, when the German side called back saying that Taft was acceptable, William Howard Taft came to Roosevelt’s office. In the absence of anyone else, Roosevelt told Taft about the contents of the file he had just seen.
"If according to this document, we want to help the Germans to subdue France? Even the Germans put forward more stringent conditions, the French must copy?" Taft said after reading the document.
"That's the case. Prince Ruprecht emphasized that only when the French surrendered, the German army could concentrate its efforts on the British in one fell swoop. Pershing and others also expressed support for this opinion." Roosevelt said.
"However, a France that has completely become an enemy of Britain is the most beneficial to Germany. What about the United States? Without the support of the British, France can only choose to be neutral or simply rely on Germany. Then Germany will express it like the Prussian-Austrian War. With his tolerance, Germany’s position in Europe as a whole will be unshakable. In this case, is it really good for the United States?” Taft said.
"What about your thoughts?" Roosevelt asked.
"I think hitting the British hard and making France surrender are two unrelated things. For the Germans, they want the British to shed more blood. But we don't need it, as long as the British don't interfere in the Far East. After the war, the British certainly did not have the ability to intervene in the Far East. We hope that Europe will have a balance of power. It would be good for us if the war is now over. Why do we have to let the Germans beat Britain and France so badly?" Taft asked.
"I have considered this issue, and even our German allies have definitely considered this issue. Let the French release the water, and then the British are the ideal situation for the Germans. You know, if this plan fails, the Germans What will it do?" Roosevelt asked.
"I don't know." Taft replied simply.
"All the people involved in this matter, except you, whether it is me, the Germans or even the French know what the Germans will do! They completely destroy France! No mercy! No mercy! No one Can prevent this 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 **** and explicit!
"No occupation at all! Do you know the total population of 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 the prince concentrates all his power on the French, what will happen? Even after the war is over, France does not need to pay indemnities or cede colonies and territories. France’s future is gone! The rest of the people are absolutely afraid to face the German soldiers! Even the population cannot guarantee that French society will In extreme dilemma, the colonial system is more likely to fall apart. The war has bankrupted France, a financial credit country, and the Germans’ saber can make France a third-rate country forever."
"So, the prince said very clearly that after this war, Germany will never allow France to become an enemy again Either the French and the British break, and then they may be able to remain neutral, or the Germans It will make France never have the power to resist Germany! For such multiple-choice questions, we cannot provide France with the third option, so we can only choose the first one and let Britain and France completely break." Roosevelt explained.
"Are our dollar weapons so powerless? 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 also obtained a lot of food, raw materials, and oil from the Russians. If we abandon the alliance with the Germans at this time, what about the Far East? Will the U.S. Navy face the Japanese alone?"
"From our point of view, there is no benefit to having a fight 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 a decision on the French issue. The reason is simple. The French are scared! I'm really scared! Just 2 days ago, Wei Gang came to me personally, expressing his willingness to accept the conditions put forward by Ruprecht in principle, and our intelligence agencies in Europe also received similar news. In the Germans Under the blade, the French have a great possibility of surrendering." Roosevelt said.
"Then the prince put forward more stringent conditions? And this time, he rejected the request to negotiate with the French again on this issue, but directly demanded that the other party either accept or accept destruction, right?" Taft Said.
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