Chapter 1092 Vegetable Market
The British government in the early 20th century was still very efficient. After all, the entire country is now in a "prosperous" state, although the growth of other countries' strength has caused certain damage to the imperial hegemony. threaten.
However, the British at this time would not have imagined that their descendants would be rapidly corrupted after entering the 21st century. At this time, Britain was like the United States in later generations, and the vast majority of people still had considerable confidence in the country. Strong, after all, without this kind of confidence, Britain would not have been able to survive the two world wars.
Soon Asquith's cabinet formulated the first draft of the country's plan and sent it to Asquith.
Asquith looked at this plan for a long time, and after confirming that there was no problem, he said to George: "Send this manuscript to the embassy in East Africa! Negotiate with the East Africans according to this standard."
"Yes, Prime Minister!" George said, then turned and left with the manuscript.
……
Rhine City.
The National Assembly Hall, where negotiations between East Africa and the United Kingdom began, was like a noisy vegetable market.
The game between the East African government and British representatives is still exaggerated, because the differences between the two sides' expected plans are indeed very large.
Foreign Secretary Freere asked the British Ambassador Russell in an exaggerated accent: "Fifty thousand tons, this standard is simply impossible to achieve. Today, the standard navy of the world's powerful countries is more than 800,000 tons. You are the brat you support." , the total tonnage of Japan's naval ships is very close to 500,000 tons, and it may only be a matter of one or two years to exceed 500,000 tons, so we absolutely cannot accept the British plan."
"If. If this plan is passed, then we in East Africa will actually lag behind Japan, which is unacceptable to us. After all, Japan is only a small island country in Northeast Asia."
Russell has every reason to suspect that Freer is connoting Britain. , what is a small island country? In fact, the UK itself does not even have Japan, so wouldn’t the UK be inferior to Japan, a small island country?
And why do you East Africans look down on Japan? Although Japan's geographical location and race are indeed prone to discrimination in European society, you in East Africa are not much better!
As we all know, East Africa is an African country, and Africa, except North Africa, has traditionally been regarded by Europe as a barbaric land and a civilized desert.
Before the rise of the independent country of East Africa, the sub-Saharan part of the African continent could be said to be the least civilized place that the colonists had ever encountered. Even though there were some ancient "civilized" countries in West and East Africa, these initially civilized countries were actually Arabs. Secondary civilization taught.
Take Zanzibar, which was annexed by East Africa, as a country that emerged after the expansion of the Oman Empire. The Kingdom of Uganda, which was eliminated by East Africa, also belongs to this type.
The same is true for the indigenous countries in West Africa. Many of them are the legacy of the glorious era of the Ottoman Empire in Africa, such as the British colonial Nigeria, a large number of various types of emir countries, and British India. Like a lot of country states.
As for the native civilization south of the Sahara, there is only one Great Zimbabwe site that has been completely wiped out in East Africa. And due to the lack of archaeological evidence and written data, no one can determine where this civilization came from, and even if it is large The ruins in Zimbabwe probably have little to do with the blacks and Bantu people in the traditional sense, and are most likely the work of the San people. All in all, before the rise of East Africa, sub-Saharan Africa was a civilization depression, an existence that could be despised by all regions in the world. So for Russell, in theory, your East Africa is not as good as Japan!
So Russell said to Freer: "Your Excellency Freer, don't be impatient in East Africa. Japan has already proven its strength. They have defeated Russia, one of the most powerful countries in the world, so Japan should naturally belong to civilization. As a member of the country, the current strength of Japan’s navy alone is enough to rank among the top in the world, so Japan is definitely not a so-called weak navy. The naval share we give to East Africa is enough to support East Africa’s status as a great power.”
Freer did not accept this trick. He said to Russell: "Japan cannot be compared with us in East Africa. Even if they defeat Russia through despicable means such as sneak attacks, in our definition of East Africa, Japan is just a country with better luck. , and is a puppet country that has been supported by others. Although our comprehensive strength in East Africa is not currently ranked in the first echelon among the world's major powers, it is not something that Japan can touch. "
Regarding these words of Freer, In fact, Russell quite agrees with it. Although it sounds a bit harsh to say it, for a country like East Africa that considers itself a German country, they actually regard themselves as part of the "civilized world" psychologically.
The so-called "civilized world" naturally refers to Europe. In this regard, East Africa is even more extreme than the Americans. After all, the United States at least recognizes and proudly considers itself an American country, and also created the Monroe Doctrine. This plan to control the entire American hegemony.
Of course, the arrogance of the East African government is not unreasonable. After all, except for East Africa and the Kingdom of South Germany, the entire African continent is either indigenous or a colony of other countries, or a pagan country like North Africa. It can be said that the entire African continent There are no three normal countries in mainland China.
The Americas are different. Although Canada is a British colony, it has very great autonomy. And as a British colony, Canada is not the same as a colony in the general sense. At least in the eyes of Canadians, their status is the same as that of the mainland. There is no difference, not a place like India where people were enslaved by the British, nor a penal colony like Australia.
With the exception of Canada, other American countries can basically be said to have achieved de facto independence. Even Haiti, a black country whose economy is in a mess, is comparable to the group of black forces on the African continent. Much stronger.
Frere continued: "Our expectation in East Africa is at least one million tons. The current tonnage of the U.S. Navy is close to this level, and Germany and France are not too far away from one million tons. These three In the next few years, the country's naval tonnage will definitely exceed one million tons, and may even exceed that of your country's Royal Navy. At least this will not be difficult for Germany and the United States."
"And in East Africa. We must ensure that our navy has the ability to balance against all naval forces except your Royal Navy, so that we can effectively safeguard our country's interests around the world."
What Freer said is true. From an East African perspective, at least in terms of national strength, the United States cannot guarantee an advantage over the United States even if the United Kingdom and its colonies are combined. As for Germany, if there is no interference from the United Kingdom, it will not be difficult for its navy to surpass the United Kingdom.
Of course, Russell would not agree to Frier's nonsense. The current total tonnage of the Royal Navy is only two million tons. If the total tonnage of East Africa's navy reaches one million tons, wouldn't it directly meet the British standard for defining the top two navies? A strong one.
If you add the United States, Germany and France, then in addition to the United Kingdom, there will be four countries in the world with a total naval tonnage of more than one million tons. The British two-power standard is not enough to suppress other countries. country, and this also takes into account that Russia, this behemoth, may not regain its strength at any time.
Before the Russo-Japanese War, the size of the Russian Navy exceeded 800,000 tons. At that time, it was second only to the British Royal Navy in size and ranked among the top three in the world. Although due to the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian Navy suffered It was a serious blow, but most countries, including the United Kingdom, would not think that this could break the backbone of the Russian Navy.
After all, judging from the experience of the past hundreds of years, Russia's ability to recover is extremely strong. Although the Russo-Japanese War had a traumatic effect on Russia, it could only delay the Russian navy. It’s just a matter of time for re-emergence.
(End of this chapter)