Chapter 1357 London Naval Conference
Although Serbia's defeat was mainly caused by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria's actions disgusted the Serbs even more. Of course, the main reason was that Bulgaria was not as powerful as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Serbia was defeated by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but it was still dissatisfied with Bulgaria.
But even so, Serbia can only vent secretly. As the clear loser of this war, Serbia can only dare to be angry but dare not speak out.
London.
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, do we need to follow up on the situation in East Africa and France? According to the East African government, relevant cases have appeared in our country and were detained and quarantined by East African customs." The British Minister of Health asked the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister David said: "It's not necessary. It's just a small flu. There is no need for such a big fanfare. Now the people are already complaining about the government. Now is not the time to add fuel to the fire."
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After the war, British Prime Minister David suffered significantly less turmoil than French President Clemenceau.
After all, although Britain suffered considerable losses in the war, its homeland was almost undamaged and its population losses were almost negligible. The population lost in World War I could be recovered in two or three years.
Of course, the casualties suffered by the Indian and other colonial armies were huge, but for the British government, if the Indians died, they would die and it was nothing to worry about.
Moreover, to a certain extent, the United Kingdom has also achieved its goal, unlike France, which has achieved nothing. If the World Naval Conference led by the British government goes smoothly after a while, there is a high probability that Prime Minister David's approval rate will usher in a decline. The wave grows.
This is also an important reason why Prime Minister David is unwilling to follow the French and East African governments' response to the plague with great fanfare at the current stage.
Prime Minister David said: "What the people need now is celebrations and gatherings to vent the grievances accumulated during the five years of war. If we take strong measures at this time, it will be tantamount to rejecting the will of the people."
"Moreover, I suspect that the East African government is completely alarmist. We have not received any information about the outbreak of local plague. Has your Ministry of Health made any relevant reports recently?"
The Minister of Health shook his head and said: "Based on feedback from lower-level agencies and medical institutions, we have not received any reports of large-scale local outbreaks."
"Although the medical resources in the UK have indeed been relatively tight recently, according to the opinions of our consultants and experts, they think this is a normal phenomenon. After all, the war in Europe lasted for five years, and during and just after the war, The increase in the number of illnesses is normal. ”
The reason why British medical institutions and experts came to this conclusion is actually related to the location of the UK. After all, the UK is an island country, which to a certain extent isolates the exchange of personnel between the UK and the European continent.
And if the original source of the plague was the European continent, the UK would be affected with a lag.
After hearing the feedback from the health department, Prime Minister David said more confidently: "It seems that at this stage we should not stand against the people."
"The control of the epidemic requires a lot of administrative resources and is unpopular. At least in the three weeks before the World Naval Conference, we should not impose too many restrictions on our own people."
"When the World Naval Conference is over, even if there is a problem at that time, we will be there in time to deal with the relevant issues, not to mention that the situation may not happen."
All in all, Prime Minister David does not plan to make any big moves before the World Naval Conference, let alone learn from Clemenceau's relevant policies.
Far across the strait on the European continent, in Berlin, the capital of Germany, William II was also discussing related issues with his subordinates.
In a royal estate on the outskirts of Berlin.
"What do you think of the tricks played by the French?" William II asked the cabinet members.
Prime Minister Hermann said: "Your Majesty, since the virus in Clemenceau's hometown can be treated with such great fanfare, perhaps we should also follow up, so that if the situation really worsens, we can reduce our losses."
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Some people objected: "Your Majesty and Prime Minister, I don't agree with this view. The most important thing we should do now is not to deal with a plague that we don't know the specific situation, but to speed up the liquidation of the Labor Party and Jewish elements in the country..." .”
"It can be said that since the end of the war, we have discovered that the Labor Party's penetration of the empire has reached a shocking level. If the war had not stopped, the empire might have followed in the footsteps of the Russians."
"There are countless private labor organizations. They are present in newspapers, factories, and governments. They have even penetrated into powerful institutions such as the army and police stations, and they have a considerable say in society."
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This is not alarmist, but the real development of the Labor Party in Germany. After all, Germany has always been a region where the Labor Party is active, and can even be said to be one of its birthplaces. Before the war, the Labor Party had become a force that cannot be ignored in German politics.
During the war, especially in the later stages of the war, the German Labor Party was very active, because at this time all the attention of the Wilhelm II government was on the front line and was unable to take care of these members of the Labor Party organization who were hiding in the dark.
This also led to the expansion of the labor organization in Germany's rear, especially workers in factories. The sick and wounded who had been removed from the front were the most vulnerable to incitement.
If it were before, Wilhelm II actually didn't care about these German Labor Party organizations. After all, there were many political groups in Europe that opposed the imperial system, and the Labor Party was not ranked at all before.
However, since the Russian Labor Party seized power, the situation has been different. Before the Labor Party successfully subverted a country's political system, it naturally did not attract much attention.
However, the bad thing is that the Russian Labor Party succeeded, and they also killed Nicholas II of Russia, which was even worse. This was intolerable for William II. After all, he was also a monarch.
Previously, the understanding of the Labor Party by an autocratic monarch like Wei Jian II was that this group of people mainly targeted capitalists. After all, this was indeed the main political slogan of the Labor Party.
However, what happened in Russia clearly told William II that this group of Labor Party elements were also the mortal enemies of the monarchy, and even if the monarch fell into their hands, the fate would only be worse.
So William II said: "Yes, for the government at this stage, the most important thing is to eliminate the domestic Labor Party organizations. This matter is prioritized first, followed by solving the empire's financial crisis, liquidating and confiscating domestic illegal businessmen ill-gotten gains during the war ”
The German government's so-called solution to the empire's financial crisis is naturally to solve the empire's debt problem by "fighting local tyrants" and to obtain funds for the country's economic recovery after the war.
The Junker aristocracy must not be touched. In addition, it is obvious that the richest group in Germany is the Jews. The Jews are indeed the richest group in Germany. By liquidating this group, the German government has accumulated a lot of wealth.
This was a spoils-sharing feast for the Junker aristocracy. Under the leadership of the government, many people easily obtained a large number of former Jews to open banks and factories.
This is also the current mainstream practice in European countries. Because the war ended suddenly and there was no real winner, it was impossible to make up for the previous losses through war reparations. In this case, European governments could only use their own money. People operate.
It just so happened that there was a special group in Europe that was very wealthy and made a fortune during the war. At the same time, they themselves were not favored by ordinary people in Europe, and they became a punching bag for the grievances of people in various countries.
When Prime Minister Hermann saw what William II said, he still wanted to fight for it: "Your Majesty, liquidating organizations and groups such as the Labor Party and the Jews... does not prevent us from responding to possible plagues." "Our country's Infectious disease research experts agree with the East African government’s view, and judging from historical experience, it is an eternal truth that after a major disaster, there will be a major epidemic.”
"So we should respond actively instead of neglecting this aspect of work for other reasons, and we can also use this opportunity to learn from France in sealing the border and controlling population flow, thereby preventing Jews and Labor Party elements from fleeing abroad."
William II directly ignored the previous words, but the last sentence made his eyes light up. He said: "In this way, we can arrest these lawless elements more legitimately and avoid the loss of state-owned assets and the wealth of the German people."
"Herman, you have a good idea. It is understandable that we should learn from some of Clemenceau's practices. At present, the most important thing at this stage is to make up for the hole in the government's finances."
This made Hermann breathe a sigh of relief, but he also succeeded in convincing William II to take the flu seriously.
The reason why Prime Minister Hermann is so vigilant about this influenza is due to the lobbying of relevant German institutions and experts.
This also starts with Germany's developed medical industry. Since the second industrial revolution, Germany's education level has improved significantly, and the field of science and technology is also in a period of explosion.
This has also made Europe a new medical center in Europe. Especially with the concentrated outbreak of chemistry, biology, and medical fields, Germany ranks first in Europe in terms of theoretical research on health and disease and industrial scale.
Of course, this is not without its drawbacks. For example, Germany has become a country with serious abuse of chemical agents.
It can be said that the birthplace of the modern pharmaceutical industry is Germany. Germany's Akfa, Bayer, and Hoechst are all well-known pharmaceutical companies in the world.
Starting in the 1980s, dye companies and chemical factories around the world began to establish laboratories to research and develop new drugs. Whether it was dyes or chemicals, these were Germany's strengths.
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In the past life, if it were not for the failure of the two world wars, Germany would definitely have been the world leader in medicine and pharmaceutical industry for a long period of time, instead of being later replaced by the United Kingdom and the United States.
This is also easy to understand. The pharmaceutical industry is extremely profitable, but it also means that only powerful countries can control this hugely profitable industry.
All in all, German medical institutions and experts had a great influence on Prime Minister Hermann, which led to his suggestions for Wilhelm II.
……
Although a terrible plague is brewing that is about to ravage the entire world, diplomatic activities between countries have not stopped.
January 15, 1920.
London.
The London World Naval Conference led by the United Kingdom was officially held. In addition to European countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and Austria, East Africa, the United States, Japan and other foreign powers were also invited.
Except for Russia's inability to attend due to special reasons, this World Naval Conference is regarded as an internal meeting of imperialism. Even if other countries want to participate in the conference, they do not have the national power. After all, only imperialist countries have the strength to engage in large-scale events that can affect the world's oceans. pattern of naval competition.
"Mr. Bruce, why do you East Africans wear masks on your mouth?"
Outside the venue, the East African delegation attracted special attention because these East Africans all wore masks and stood out from the crowd.
Bruce said: "We heard that there was a plague outbreak in Europe recently, so this was the advice of our medical staff. They said it might have some effect."
"Haha, even if there is really a plague, what role can a piece of rag play? I still suggest that your country's personnel remove such eye-catching things!" the receptionist said.
Masks, or masks specifically used in the medical and health field, actually appeared not long ago. It was said in previous lives that modern medical masks originated from the Far Eastern Empire.
Of course, in Ernst’s time and space, the country of invention of medical masks was naturally East Africa. Since the colonial period, East Africans have been accustomed to wearing masks in response to large-scale infectious diseases.
Medical masks are a must-have for medical institutions in East Africa. In hospitals in East Africa, medical staff wearing masks are very common.
However, things are different in Europe today. Many people do not agree that masks can work. This is even the view of mainstream medical staff in Europe. In fact, in the past, they have never seen anyone wearing a mask to practice medicine.
Bruce was not affected at all. He said: "No, thank you for your concern. Just think of this as a habit of ours in East Africa."
He didn't bother to explain to these people. In fact, if the matter wasn't more important, Bruce and other East African personnel would be reluctant to attend this meeting.
After all, gathering in this "epidemic area" in London has a high probability of being affected by the European influenza pandemic.
Bruce and others still fully agree with the message issued by domestic medical institutions. After all, this is the experience accumulated in East Africa's decades of history.
In the last century, East Africa was a country where plague was rampant and prevalent. Facts have proved that when a plague breaks out, a combination of paying attention to hygiene, wearing masks, disinfecting, etc. can protect your safety to the greatest extent.
Of course, the behavior of Bruce and others was undoubtedly criticized by delegations from various countries. For a while, the East Africans seemed to become a laughing stock.
Many East African participants turned green with anger, but Bruce comforted him: "Do our best and don't care what they think. I encountered some plagues when I was fighting in Africa, and some of my comrades were the same as them, but , Facts have proved that some risks can be avoided only by following the warnings of medical institutions. Some people who did not listen to the advice went to hell early and did not die on the battlefield.”
Bruce is a soldier, so he will inevitably encounter some special situations. After all, there will always be some plague outbreaks on the battlefield, which was very common in East Africa in the last century.
Therefore, Bruce has sufficient experience in this area, not to mention that the East African army is often exposed to some special tasks, such as sealing off epidemic areas, handling corpses that died of unnatural causes such as plague, etc.
As a result, the East African representatives could only endure the rumors from other countries and ignore the ridicule in their words, which also gave the news media in the UK and other countries a good amount of material.
For a time, East Africa became a laughing stock around the world, adding a source of laughter to this London Naval Conference. However, after experiencing the baptism of the European influenza pandemic in the future, they would no longer be able to laugh. Instead, the people who laughed at East Africa today became The laughingstock of later generations.
(End of chapter)