Unexpectedly, Queen Elizabeth brought her two daughters.
"Elizabeth, Margaret, it's been a while." Wilhelm affectionately ruffled the hair of the sisters. "How have you been lately?" He immediately felt his question was inappropriate; London was being bombed day and night by V3 cannons and V1 missiles, so how could anyone be doing well, even members of the royal family who were confined to bunkers. Perhaps due to the lack of sunlight for a long time, both sisters had somewhat pale skin.
"Your Highness Wilhelm." Little Elizabeth and Margaret performed a standard curtsy.
Wilhelm smiled. "Why are you calling me so formally?"
"Brother Wilhelm." Little Elizabeth hesitated before softly saying, "Brother Wilhelm, can't we stop fighting this war?"
"I don't want to fight either." Wilhelm put on an innocent look. "But your Prime Minister Churchill wants to keep fighting, so I have no choice but to go along. Why don't you persuade your father to dismiss and arrest Churchill?" Although the British monarchy had never exercised this power since the establishment of constitutional monarchy (because replacing a prime minister is a significant matter not considered unless the nation is in extreme peril, otherwise it would shake the constitutional framework), in times of national life and death, exceptions could be made.
Just like in the original timeline with Italy, where King Vittorio Emanuele III of the constitutional monarchy arrested and dismissed Prime Minister Mussolini, this was one such situation.
"Don't forget, you are also of German descent, the ancestors of the British royal family were German, we are family. Family should help each other, right? Once the war ends, you and Margaret can play with your brother every day, how about that?"
"Okay!" Little Elizabeth bit her lip, her expression complex; beside her, Margaret responded loudly with delight.
"Good girl!" Wilhelm gently patted Margaret's cheek, laughing inwardly at her carefree nature, then turned to ask Little Elizabeth, "Elizabeth, do you want to see Europe unified?"
Little Elizabeth answered seriously, "No one has ever succeeded."
"That's true." Since modern times, conquerors attempting to unify Europe, from Charles V, to Louis XIV, to Napoleon, have all ended in failure. "Do you know why they failed?"
Seeing Little Elizabeth shake her head, Janik chuckled softly. "They failed because certain people don't want to see Europe united."
Thanks to its unique geographical position, Britain could easily avoid invasions from continental land powers while the narrow English Channel could not truly separate Britain from Europe. This meant Britain had the capability to project its power onto the European continent while continental armies could not easily cross the sea.
Compared to Britain, the Netherlands was in a more tragic position; both countries were similar in their reliance on commerce and had strong navies. Early on, Dutch commerce and naval strength were even stronger than Britain's, but because the Netherlands was on the continent, it was subdued after two invasions by French forces.
Moreover, Britain's proximity to the European continent meant it had to constantly monitor continental affairs and be vigilant against the emergence of a truly threatening continental power.
Thus, in modern European history, Britain has consciously played the role of an offshore balancer, aligning with other European nations to counterbalance the strongest continental power.
The first two countries in modern European history with the potential to unify Europe, the Spanish Empire under Charles V and France under Louis XIV, were both kept in check by Britain aligning with other nations.
However, even with its excellent geographical position and economic strength, Britain's size ultimately limited its ability to perpetually stop the growth of continental powers. This was evident during Napoleon's era; despite Britain's utmost efforts, it couldn't prevent Napoleon and his armies from sweeping through the continent.
Napoleon was an invincible hero on land but had no control over the seas. The French navy was no match for the British, being defeated multiple times to near annihilation, forcing Napoleon to abandon his plans to cross the Channel and conquer Britain. In desperation, Napoleon decided to strangle Britain, dependent on maritime trade, through economic blockade. He issued the famous "Continental System," prohibiting France and all its allies and vassals from trading with Britain.
In the years that followed, Britain faced severe difficulties but could still obtain necessities from its many colonies. However, the continental nations, cut off from maritime trade, grew increasingly dissatisfied.
Among these, Russia's dissatisfaction was the greatest.
Tsar Alexander I of Russia was young, vigorous, and deeply resentful of Napoleon's dominance. He covertly allowed Russian merchants to trade with Britain as a way to pressure Napoleon and express his discontent.
Napoleon, on the other hand, looked down on Alexander I, considering him arrogant but incompetent. In 1809, Napoleon proposed marrying Alexander's sister, receiving a cold response; Alexander would never consent to his noble sister marrying a Corsican upstart.
Napoleon retaliated by announcing his engagement to an Austrian princess during negotiations with the Russian court, greatly offending the prideful Alexander, leading to a gradual deterioration in relations. Later, Napoleon announced the liberation of Poland from Russian control and annexed territories Russia was interested in, further escalating tensions.
By the end of 1811, Napoleon decided to teach this young Tsar a lesson; more importantly, only by thoroughly defeating Russia could he truly subdue the other continental nations and finally turn his full attention to Britain. At this time, the "Continental System" was full of loopholes, not just with smugglers from various countries but even France occasionally trading with Britain. Napoleon's rear was also unstable, with large numbers of French troops bogged down in the guerrilla warfare in the Iberian Peninsula, while Britain was always ready to counterattack.
But Napoleon's ambition drove him to ignore all this, using Russia's violation of the "Continental System" as a pretext to launch an invasion.
Napoleon commanded an army of 600,000, crossing the Niemen River in two columns to invade Russia, aiming to annihilate the 200,000 Russian troops facing him and decide the war in one battle. The Russian army withdrew from Moscow, moving to Kaluga to threaten French supply lines and organizing civilians for a "scorched earth" policy, harassing the French. The French, suffering from hunger and cold, were forced to retreat from Moscow southward. The Russians counterattacked, pursuing and annihilating a large number of French troops. Napoleon lost all his cavalry and nearly all his artillery, with only 30,000 men making it back across the border.