Chapter 742: Remains of Feudalism
Compared with another time and space, Russia's biggest advantage is its relaxed external environment.
After the end of World War I in another time and space, Red Russia was excluded from the international community. Not only did it not participate in the Paris Peace Conference, but it also failed to join the League of Nations. Moreover, due to the crazy interference of foreign forces, it lost Finland, The three Baltic countries, Warsaw and other places.
Russia now not only has the Black Sea outlet, but also broke the blockade of the Baltic Sea. Through the free trade organization, a large group of followers are tightly gathered around Russia. Even Britain, France, and Italy rely on Russian resources for their operations. reconstruction.
With the completion of a large number of key projects represented by the Bosporus Bridge, Russia's domestic construction level has reached a higher level.
George built a road network across Russia to connect all Russian cities.
The level of urban infrastructure has also been successfully upgraded through reconstruction. Cities such as Constantinople and St. Petersburg, as well as Moscow and Warsaw, which were seriously damaged in the war, have taken advantage of this trend and have improved in just a few years. Completed a gorgeous turn.
Due to its geographical location, Constantinople has become one of the most important transportation hubs in Russia.
Compared with Constantinople under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the current layout of Constantinople is more reasonable, the streets are wider, and all roads have been hardened, which has strongly promoted Constantinople modernization construction.
Constantinople is the second city in Russia to install street lights on every street.
The first one is Vladivostok.
Constantinople is also the city with the second largest number of cars in Russia.
The first one is Vladivostok.
Constantinople is still the second largest port in Russia -
soon to be the first.
In early May, George went to Crimea to inspect the new capital of Alexandria, which was under construction.
Although Vladivostok and Constantinople have received a lot of praise, Alexandria is the first truly modern city in Russia.
Alexandria is located in the south of Crimea, about 40 kilometers away from the Black Sea Fleet's home port of Sevastopol. Most of the construction in this city has been completed, and Russia will officially transfer most of its government agencies from early next year. Constantinople was moved here.
Crimea has an average temperature of 4 degrees in January and 24 degrees in July, with an annual precipitation of 300-500 mm. It has always been the most famous tourist destination in Russia.
Alexandria has beautiful scenery and convenient transportation. It not only has complete urban infrastructure, but also has unforgettable hot springs and a large number of palaces built in the Tsarist era.
George inspected schools, hospitals, shopping malls, parks, libraries, theaters and other facilities, focusing on underground parking lots.
There is an underground parking lot under every residential building in Alexandria. The largest underground parking lot has 3 floors and can park 1,500 cars.
When George originally made this request, many people questioned it. Witt even claimed that only 10 parking lots were needed, enough to park all the cars in the entire city of Alexandria.
When Alexander began construction, there were fewer than 15,000 cars in Constantinople.
In just two years, there were more than 50,000 cars in Constantinople.
This does not include the numerous bicycles and motorcycles.
With economic development, cars have gradually entered ordinary households. Russia produced more than 5 million cars last year alone.
With the commissioning of automobile factories in St. Petersburg and Constantinople this year, the annual production volume of Russian cars will exceed 8 million.
Looking at it this way, Russia will become a country on wheels in at least ten years.
While George was inspecting Alexandria, Lloyd George was forced to resign due to domestic and foreign pressure.
The person who succeeded Lloyd George and was ordered to form a government was Andrew Bonar Law, the leader of the House of Commons and a Conservative Party member.
Like Lloyd George, who was called upon during the war, Bonar Law inherited a mess.
In 1922, Britain was still unable to escape the impact of the economic crisis. The economy continued to be sluggish, prices soared, people complained, and there were internal and external troubles.
The first problem Bona Law faced was forming a cabinet.
Before becoming Prime Minister, Bonar Law withdrew from politics due to health reasons and was idle at home. Even members of the Conservative Party doubted whether Bonar Law could fulfill his duties as Prime Minister.
The cabinet led by Lloyd George was a war cabinet, formed by a coalition of the Conservatives, Liberals, and the Labor Party.
Bona Law was not only opposed by the Liberal Party and the Labor Party, but also ministers from the Conservative Party did not support Bona Law becoming prime minister and boycotted the new cabinet led by Bona Law.
There is nothing new under the sun, and it is the same in the UK. There are plenty of people willing to do the job of minister.
Bona Law quickly formed a new cabinet of 11 people and successfully performed his duties.
When he first became prime minister, Bonar Law was full of confidence and vowed to lead Britain out of the economic crisis and return to the top of the world.
Reality soon struck Bonar Law hard.
During the Liberal Party's administration, Bonar Law was the most vehemently opposed Conservative MP.
Whether Asquith was Prime Minister or Lloyd George was Prime Minister, Bonar Law was like an angry young man, opposing everything the Prime Minister did.
Bona Law not only opposed the Prime Minister, but also attacked Churchill, who served as Lord of the Admiralty, as a complete layman who did not understand the navy at all.
After Churchill resigned, Bonar Law became Colonial Secretary. Bonar Law also slandered the Secretary of War Kitchener as an impractical lunatic. As a result, after Kitchener was killed, Bonar Law, a man who had never served in the army, actually succeeded Kitchener as the British Secretary of War.
Now you know why the British Army performed so poorly in the World War.
Because the British Minister of War is a layman like the Minister of the Navy and does not understand the army at all.
After Lloyd George became Prime Minister, he appointed Bonar Law as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The two were once the closest political partners.
However, the good times did not last long, and the most fatal backstab to Lloyd George came from Bonar Law.
After Bona Law successfully assumes his duties, he will put the repayment of US loans on the agenda.
During Lloyd George's tenure as prime minister, Britain used the excuse that Germany had not paid reparations. Not only did it pay interest, but it also tried to deny American loans.
Bona Law asked Chancellor Stanley Baldwin to set up a repayment plan that would increase the interest repayments by the British government from £34 million to £40 million per year.
This plan was naturally opposed by the British Parliament.
The person with the strongest opposition was none other than former Prime Minister Lloyd George, who had just resigned.
This British drama is slowly becoming more and more important to watch.
Like U.S. loans, the Suez Canal has been blocked to the point that it has to be resolved.
From March to May, the blockage of the canal still showed no sign of resolution. Countries around the Mediterranean became increasingly opposed to Britain. The new British ambassador to the League of Nations only attended one plenary meeting of the League of Nations before he was dismissed. Little Nicholas scolded him and ran away, hung up his seal and left.
Although the countries around the Mediterranean have deep resentments, they are unable to shake the UK. The UK can ignore it.
What caught Bona Law off guard was that even the United States urged the United Kingdom to resolve the problem as soon as possible, otherwise the United States would attack the United Kingdom.
Not a military strike, but a sell-off of the pound.
During the World War, the UK abolished the gold standard system, which had dealt a serious blow to the credibility of the pound.
If the United States sells the pound, the pound's international currency status will be in jeopardy.
Bona Law had to face the "Suez" still stranded in the canal.
The deadlock of the "Suez" is that the canal company wants to confiscate the oil loaded on the "Suez" to make up for the losses.
Out of its own interests, Dolgorukov Shipping Company, to which the "Suez" belongs, sent mercenaries to station next to the "Suez" and did not allow anyone to get close.
Bona Law contacted Werther who was visiting Australia, hoping that Werther would come forward and let Dolgorukov Shipping Company take the initiative to make concessions.
Witt's reply to Bona Law was extremely perfunctory.
If Dolgorukov Shipping Company makes concessions, which Lloyd George did when he was Prime Minister, will it be your turn to solve the problem?
Bona Law was enraged and ordered the British troops stationed in the canal zone to expel the mercenaries of the shipping company.
Before the British troops were dispatched, the Russian Mediterranean Fleet announced that it would hold military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean.
Bona Law's heart suddenly rose to his throat.
Isn’t this old guy getting hairy again?
Nicholas Jr. said at the League of Nations that if anyone dares to harm the interests of Russian companies overseas, Russia will fight to the end.
Peter, who has returned to Russia after the Washington Naval Conference, also said that the Russian Navy is not afraid of any challenges!
These words were obviously meant for the Mediterranean Fleet.
The Mediterranean Sea is very large, covering 2.51 million square kilometers, and is the most important transportation hub in Europe.
The Mediterranean is also very small and cannot accommodate two Mediterranean fleets.
Russian army generals headed by Duke Vasily of Suvorov also spoke intensively. If the navy cannot defeat the remnants of feudalism, the Russian army will avenge the navy.
Bona Law never imagined that he, the British Prime Minister, would one day be pointed at and scolded as a "feudal remnant".
It makes sense if you think about it carefully.
After the demise of the four great empires, Britain was the only empire left in Europe.
Others that still adopt monarchy are kingdoms and not worth mentioning.
Bona Law was helpless and hoped that the canal company would take the initiative to make concessions.
Bona Law was scolded even more harshly this time.
If the canal company is willing to make concessions, does it require your mediation?
The situation changed. Churchill, who returned to the House of Lords after resigning, finally found an opportunity to scold Bonar Law as a traitor to the British Empire.
The interests of Russian enterprises have been harmed, and military and political officials have been intensively saying that whoever dares to touch a Russian enterprise will be destroyed by the Russian army.
As the British Prime Minister, instead of protecting the overseas interests of British companies, you force British companies to make concessions to foreign companies. Whose side are you, Andrew Bonar Law?
Bona Law was on the verge of tears, and finally realized how difficult it is to be Prime Minister.
Lloyd George was very happy: You old thing is here too!
(End of this chapter)