Chapter 734: All the Virtues Meet
George has reason to believe that Coolidge deliberately did not mention France in retaliation for the unfair treatment Wilson received during the Paris Peace Conference.
Clemenceau really went too far. No matter how much he disliked Wilson, he was also the president of a country, so there was no need to humiliate Wilson in a teasing way.
Italians deserve it. From the World War to the Paris Peace Conference, and now to Washington, Italy has always been a walk-on.
France did not pay enough attention to the Washington Conference. Even if the president did not come, neither did the prime minister. Instead, the Minister of Colonization, Albert Salau, came.
The key point is that Albert Salau, the colonial minister, has not been officially appointed, but is only acting.
Since the French still do not respect the United States, when Albert Sarao raised objections, Coolidge smiled and said: "Isn't it a good thing not to set restrictions on France? You can build as many as you want—— ”
Coolidge’s words caused the whole audience to burst into laughter, except for Albert Sarao, whose face was ashen.
The reason for setting restrictions on Britain and Russia is that Britain and Russia really have the strength to build more battleships. Without restrictions, the arms race will definitely intensify.
There are no restrictions on France and Italy because France and Italy not only cannot afford to build new ones, but also have to gradually dismantle and decommission their existing battleships. The main focus is to be economical and practical.
It’s okay for others to laugh. The Italian representative is also laughing. It’s not an awkward laugh, but a hearty laugh.
It’s very strange.
George's mind was not on the meeting, and he raised his vigilance against the United States to the highest level.
The United States in the 1920s was completely different from the United States in the 2020s.
The United States in the 2020s is like the United Kingdom now. You say it has no strength, but the Royal Navy is still the most powerful fleet in the world.
You say it is powerful, everyone can see that it is strong on the outside but strong on the inside.
During the Paris Peace Conference, the United States' influence on Europe was still very weak, otherwise Clemenceau would not have dared to treat Wilson with a teasing attitude.
The Washington Naval Conference officially sounded the clarion call for the United States to compete for the right to speak.
What about Russia?
George's previous idea was that Russia was big enough and had enough resources. As long as George managed Russia well, he could face any situation.
Now it seems that it is not necessarily true.
The way of thinking of white people is jungleism. Whoever has the biggest fist is the master.
Since Russia has strength, it must show it.
If you don’t show it, you don’t have strength.
Yes, the way of thinking of white people is so simple. It is useless to play Sun Tzu's Art of War with them. As long as you make the slightest compromise, they will think that you are afraid.
Coolidge showed no mercy to France.
Coolidge was still very cautious about Russia.
“If Russia needs 500,000 tons of battleships, it will have to build at least ten new battleships on the current basis, which will place a heavy burden on Russia’s finances.”
“This It’s Russia’s problem.”
Peter’s seriousness is also related to Russia’s dignity.
Coolidge’s suggestion of 50:50:30 was not made in vain.
After the end of the world war, Britain, the United States, and Russia not only introduced new shipbuilding plans, but also dismantled and decommissioned old warships. After completing the replacement of old and new warships, the British, American, and Russian The tonnage of capital ships is basically this ratio.
What Coolidge means is that from now on, if each country wants to build a new battleship, it must retire an old battleship to ensure that the total tonnage of each country's naval capital ship remains unchanged.
According to this rule, the arms race can indeed be restricted, but it is extremely detrimental to the development of the Russian Navy.
There are still disputes in Russia over the development routes of the navy and army.
The naval admirals headed by Peter hope that Russia will build more battleships and compete with the United Kingdom and the United States for maritime discourse.
The army generals headed by Vasily and Brusinov hope that Russia will continue to maintain the continental state model and focus on maintaining the army's advantages and ensuring Russia's security. George had previously preferred to focus on developing the Army.
Russian maritime interests must not be considered now either.
In the Russian Empire era, the Russian Empire was blocked by the British and had almost no overseas interests. It didn’t matter whether it had a navy or not.
Now that Russia has not only broken through the Black Sea, but also gained direct access to the sea on the Atlantic coast. The Far East has East India's interests to protect, so Russia also needs a powerful navy.
Of course, to build a strong navy, there is no need to fight with Britain and the United States on capital ships.
Capital ships refer to battleships and battlecruisers, both of which are on the verge of being eliminated.
Two of the four "auxiliary ships" being built in Russia are aircraft carriers.
Even if Russia builds large warships next, they will all be aircraft carriers.
Coolidge did not dwell too much on the issue of capital ships. If Russia really wants to build them, no one can stop them. The key is that the total number is controllable.
In addition to attending meetings, George frequently met with important figures in American political and economic circles.
On October 25, Felix arrived in Washington, and now the three major Russian consortiums finally gathered in the United States.
On the 26th, Joseph held a reception at the Dolgorukov family's estate in Washington.
While George was in Washington, he also stayed in this manor.
In order to ensure the safety of the manor, not only the Washington police deployed a large number of police forces outside the manor, but the Bureau of Investigation (FOI) also dispatched staff.
The Bureau of Investigation, established in 1908, is an intelligence agency under the U.S. Department of Justice.
The current FOI is not the famous von Bülow in the future. The main task of the staff is to copy license plates.
Starting at 4 p.m., motorcades arrived at the manor one after another.
Williams, who had just started working at FOI, was attracted by the appearance of these cars as soon as he took out his notepad.
"What car is this?"
As a car enthusiast, Williams had never seen any of these cars.
"Don't look, these are bulletproof cars just launched by the Dolgorukov family. You can't afford one with your lifetime salary."
Team leader Walker was casual.
“Oh——”
Williams lowered his head and took note of the license plate.
“Don’t remember these—”
Walker still takes good care of his little brother.
Williams hesitated.
“Those logos on the car body are the emblems of the Rothschild family.”
Walker was lazy, and it was useless to note these vehicles.
The next two hours were simply a big gathering of American conglomerates. In addition to Rothschild, consortiums or family companies such as Rockefeller, Morgan, Mellon, Chase Manhattan, and DuPont showed up one after another.
The car Williams and Walker were in was asked out of the parking lot at 6 o'clock, and the police car of the Washington Police Department also had to leave. Whether they are here now or not, it no longer makes sense. This manor It can be said to be the safest place in the United States now. Even if the US government sends troops to attack, it may not be able to penetrate.
(End of this chapter)