Chapter 739 Don’t think about leaving once you’re here
Although George reached an agreement with American capital headed by Morgan Jr. during the Washington Conference, George never pinned his hopes on the Americans.
George really knows the nature of Americans very well. These guys are the ones who don’t let the hawk know the rabbit before they see it. No matter how nice they say it to you in person, they will forget all about it when you turn around. It’s still Kissing. Ge said it well: It is dangerous to be an opponent of the United States, but it is fatal to be an ally of the United States.
You can only listen to half of what little Morgan said. Russia and the United States do have extensive common interests on many issues, but after overthrowing the international structure dominated by Britain and France, the United States is willing to share the right to speak on international affairs with Russia. ?
Not necessarily!
George and Morgan Jr. did not sign the agreement.
The agreement has no effect on these two people.
Essentially, these two are using each other, just like the Anglo-French alliance before the World War. If you are serious, you will lose.
Now George couldn't care less about arguing with the Americans. His main task was to deal with the British with all his strength.
When the time came to 1922, the situation in Britain not only did not improve, but became worse.
In November last year, Britain and Ireland reached an agreement to allow Ireland to become independent, ending the nearly two-year Irish War of Independence.
Almost at the same time, Britain and Egypt also reached an agreement to allow Egypt to become independent.
The successive independence of Ireland and Egypt set the best example for British overseas dominions. For a time, India, South Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Straits Settlements of Lion City all put forward independent demands.
Facing fierce public opinion, the British government had no choice but to decide to continue holding the Imperial Conference next year.
For the whole of 1921, British exports dropped sharply from 1.01 billion pounds in 1920 to only 50 million pounds.
In 1919, British exports were £2.6 billion.
In just two years, Britain's exports dropped from 2.6 billion to only 0.5, which made those who heard it sad and those who heard it shed tears.
Compared with Britain, Russia's exports increased from 3.5 billion rubles in 1919 to 22 billion rubles in 1921.
George told himself not to be proud, 220 rubles is only equivalent to 2.3 billion pounds.
Witt can't control himself and has been feeling windy when he walks recently.
"Send a telegram to New York and ask them to take action."
George fully mobilized every resource to make Britain worse.
The next thing George will hit is the pound.
In 1922, the pound was the only international currency in the world, and the franc was almost useless.
The rise of the ruble and the US dollar has posed a strong challenge to the dominance of the British pound. During the World War, the UK abolished the gold standard system due to financial constraints, which has had a serious impact on the credibility of the British pound.
In the world, only the US dollar and the ruble are currently linked to gold.
On Monday, April 3, when the New York stock market opened, the stocks of all British-related companies crashed, falling by more than 15%, catching everyone off guard.
At the same time, the canal company's stock also began to fall, causing a new panic.
To this day, some people still believe that the "Suez" grounding incident can be perfectly solved.
44% of the Canal Company's stock is controlled by the British, 51% is controlled by the French, and the remaining 5% is obtained through social financing and is mainly sold in the UK.
The major shareholders have deep pockets and can continue to hold on.
The small shareholders are counting on dividends to survive. After the canal was blocked, rumors about the canal spread in London.
Some people say that the stranding of the "Suez" was a Russian conspiracy against the United Kingdom.
Some people say that France is dissatisfied with the status quo and hopes to seize jurisdiction over the Suez Canal.
What's more, they linked the grounding of the "Suez" to Egypt's independence, saying that this was Egypt's legitimate demand.
Regardless of whether George was legitimate or not, the canal company's losses were certainly as high as millions of francs a day, and George's losses were not small either.
The Suez Canal was blocked. Although France and Italy suffered losses, Russia was most affected. Due to the insufficient capacity of the Siberian Railway, more than 50% of Amur's cargo sent to St. Petersburg has to pass through the Suez Canal.
The Suez Canal is 195 kilometers long. If it bypasses Africa, the voyage will increase by more than 10,000 kilometers.
So the Suez Canal is not only a forbidden area for the British, but also a major artery for Russia.
Dmitry represented Russia at the coronation ceremony of Fuad I.
At the subsequent thank-you banquet, Dmitry suggested to Fuad I: Why not take back jurisdiction over the Suez Canal?
Fuad I was so wronged. Why didn't he want to take back jurisdiction over the canal, but the British didn't agree.
"Your Highness is still young, you should do everything you can to create a more suitable external environment for His Highness."
Dmitri focuses on attacking Fouad.
"Your Majesty the Grand Duke, the situation in Egypt is different from that in Russia."
Fuad is still very sensible.
"Compared with Russia? Do you deserve it?"
Dmitri's words deeply hurt Fouad.
On the night of the thank-you dinner, British troops stationed in the Canal Zone were attacked.
The attackers used mortars and light machine guns, causing heavy losses to the British troops.
Starting at 6 a.m., several temporarily requisitioned merchant ships began to transport the wounded. According to local Egyptian media statistics, more than 150 people were killed and nearly 600 injured, which greatly exceeded the loss figures announced by the British government.
The British government claimed that only six officers were killed.
Lloyd George's first reaction was to increase troops.
Subsequently, the plan to increase troops was rejected by both houses of Congress and was stillborn.
Russia and the United States have successively denied it, saying they had no prior knowledge.
On April 9, a British shipping company issued a warning to Dolgorukov Shipping Company, saying that if the canal crisis cannot be resolved within a short period of time, the shipping company will send frogmen to "Suez" "The number blew up."
After this news was published, the Dolgorukov family increased the number of troops protecting the "Suez" to 1,500.
Based on the current establishment in Russia, 1,500 people is almost a standard group.
The Dolgorukov family’s additional troops were strongly opposed by the British army.
The location where the "Suez" ran aground is less than 3 kilometers away from the British military headquarters in the Canal Zone.
This distance is completely within the killing range of mortars equipped by the Russian military.
Unlike the Foreign Legion living in tents, the Cossacks hired by the Dolgorukov family, in the name of the security group, have begun to build regular camps next to the canal, which is absolutely unacceptable to the British army.
On April 15, McMahon arrived at the Cossack camp and asked the Cossacks to dismantle fixed facilities and reduce the garrison in the canal zone.
The commander of the security regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Fenix, severely rejected McMahon's unreasonable request.
With the Dolgorukov family withdrawing their troops, can McMahon ensure the safety of the Suez?
Fenix publicly stated that he wanted the Cossacks to evacuate unless ordered by the Queen Mother.
This empress dowager does not refer to Anne, but to Catherine.
(End of this chapter)