African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1149: Chapter 158: The Troubled William II

Berlin.

William II’s mood was quite bad, primarily because, in his view, Germany was not prepared for war, and the simultaneous declarations of war by Russia, France, and the United Kingdom were beyond his expectations.

Although William II often spoke of war, his attitude toward it was actually very cautious.

Otherwise, when Russia began mobilizing, William II would not have admonished the Russian government to stop, essentially hoping to avoid a military conflict with Germany.

Though war between Germany and Russia was inevitable, William II had no intention of starting it now.

The true culprit behind this irrevocable situation was actually William II himself; the Austria-Hungary war party led by Conrad was unafraid to declare war on Russia due to William II’s guarantees.

Previously, Conrad had asked William II’s attitude, and at the time William II did not realize the seriousness of the issue, so he replied to Conrad, ”How you handle this issue is your business, but under any circumstances, Germany will stand by your side.”

At the time, William II only thought the Austria-Hungary Empire would punish Serbia. Strong countries have various ways to sanction weak ones, but William II did not expect that Austria-Hungary would take the most radical form—war—against Serbia.

It can be said that William II was unaware of Austria-Hungary’s military plans; however, Conrad and other Austria-Hungary radicals got the answer they wanted from Germany.

This amounted to William II giving Austria-Hungary a ”blank check,” on which Conrad wrote a number beyond William II’s psychological expectations, putting Germany in a difficult position.

Germany was, to a certain extent, bound to the war wheels of Austria-Hungary and provoked the three world powers, which made the German government even more passive.

After all, in the alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary, Germany held a clear advantage; in terms of population, military, economy, industry, social stability, Germany far surpassed Austria-Hungary.

Thus, theoretically, Germany should have led the alliance, but due to William II’s careless words, Austria-Hungary ”dominated” Germany, forcing Germany to accept the wartime outcome passively.

This feeling of being out of control was naturally not one William II wanted to experience, and it also highlighted errors in communication between the two countries. Suppose William II had been more open to others’ opinions and cautious, this ”blank check” situation could have been avoided. Bismarck or William I would never have made such a mistake.

This also reflected the defects in German politics—William II held excessive power, to the extent that his statements or decisions could bypass the restraints of the German government.

In short, simultaneously challenging Russia, France, and the UK placed enormous pressure on William II; one-on-one, Germany might not be fearful, but each of these three powers alone was enough to trouble Germany.

Currently, the William II government can only hope Austria-Hungary stalls Russia until Germany defeats France before solving the Russian issue.

The second nagging issue was East Africa’s ”opportunism.” With the German government’s full attention on the war, East Africa shamelessly engaged in colonial deals, further souring William II’s mood.

From Germany’s perspective, East Africa should assist Germany, aligning with its interests, such that when the three strongest German countries unite, Germany wouldn’t be stuck in this passive situation.

By then, East Africa could move north to help Austria-Hungary control the Mediterranean, relying on the strong industrial capabilities and abundant resources of the Three Kingdoms, with no opponents.

After all, East Africa has plenty of resources scarce in Germany: food, cotton, rubber, oil, and metals, with over a hundred million population and a relatively strong army—its wartime potential is considerable, much stronger than Austria-Hungary.

Indeed, Germany relies substantially on East Africa for oil - East Africa has quietly become the world’s largest exporter of refined oil, boasting the most powerful oil industry system in the world.

Without mentioning other things, as long as East Africa provides Germany with sufficient material assurance, Germany will have more confidence in gaining war advantages.

Of course, Germany’s expectations naturally focus on German interests; East Africa does not intend to dive into troubled waters.

For example, the Mediterranean isn’t easily accessible; the UK and France hold substantial leverage there, making it impossible for the Austria-Hungary Navy to gain influence in the Mediterranean. Even if Austria-Hungary stands out a bit, surpassing the UK in the Eastern Mediterranean, East Africa might consider the northern strategy.

After all, the UK and France control the chokepoint connecting East Africa to the Mediterranean; external attacks are almost impossible. If Austria-Hungary’s Navy cooperates internally from the Mediterranean, breaking the strong blockade system established by the UK and France might be possible. But the fact is, Austria-Hungary’s Navy is trapped in the Adriatic Sea, incapable of making moves, and even if it breaks out, it will only face joint British and French naval encirclement.

Therefore, from all angles, East Africa simply cannot risk boarding Germany’s pirate ship, naturally triggering German dissatisfaction.

However, Germany needs East Africa, so it can only swallow this dissatisfaction, hence William II’s poor attitude towards East Africa, although he cannot criticize anything.

Moreover, East Africa’s suggestion about taking over German colonies exacerbated William II’s displeasure. After all, Germany paid a considerable price for acquiring these colonies.

These include the German Central Africa colonies, where joint development agreements were signed by East Africa, Germany, Belgium, and Southern Germany.

Now, all of this is being handed to East Africa, so you can imagine William II’s foul mood. This was Germany’s hard-earned overseas legacy, involving significant effort.

If these colonies are handed over to East Africa, it equates to losing territory even before the war starts. Usually, no one could accept this calmly.

And this period is not the usual time for Germany—it’s a critical moment for national survival crisis, forcing William II and the German government to grin and bear it.

Looking at the letters from East Africa, William II coldly laughed but still maintained a straight face, asking the German government officials, ”What do you think of East Africa’s proposal?”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arthur, said resentfully, ”East Africa is simply a disgrace to Germany; this is blatant extortion against the Empire. If it were before, we would certainly retaliate in kind.”

As the Empire’s Foreign Minister, Arthur’s attitude towards East Africa is not friendly; in Germany’s past foreign policies, East Africa was always won over, fulfilling many of its demands.

Germany naturally hoped to bind East Africa to its war chariot; hence, it had always been generous to East Africa, especially during East Africa’s vigorous industrial development, providing substantial funds, technology, and personnel support.

Following this principle, the frequency of interaction between the German Foreign Ministry and East Africa was very high. Arthur assured himself that in the bilateral relations, Germany’s support for East Africa was relentless but didn’t achieve the desired results, creating substantial trouble for the German Foreign Ministry.

Arthur and other diplomats even disliked interacting with East Africa, but for the Empire’s future, they had to grit their teeth and cooperate with East Africa, causing considerable annoyance.

Still, from the East African government’s perspective, it did nothing wrong, except not aligning with Germany’s strategic needs. East Africa also offered Germany significant positive feedback such as trade, investment, resources, providing considerable convenience in both economic and military fields.