Chapter 1092 Wet Market
The British government at the beginning of the 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 posed a certain threat to imperial hegemony.
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. The vast majority of people still had very strong confidence in the country. After all, there was no such thing With such confidence, Britain could not survive two world wars.
Soon, Asquith's cabinet drew up a 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 Britain were held, was like a noisy wet 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 take a year or two to exceed 500,000 tons, so we absolutely cannot accept the British plan."
“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 referring to Britain as 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 for North Africa, has traditionally been regarded by Europe as a barbaric land and a desert of civilization.
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.
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-colonized Nigeria, a large number of various types of emir countries, and a large number of princely states in British India. Same.
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 materials, no one can determine where this civilization came from. And even the Great Zimbabwe site is probably not the same as the Great Zimbabwe site. Black people in the traditional sense have little to do with Bantu people, and it is most likely the work of the San people. All in all, before the rise of East Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa was a depression of civilization, 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 major country.”
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 as 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. "
Russell actually agrees with Freer's words. Although it sounds a bit harsh, countries like East Africa that consider themselves German countries 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 United States. After all, the United States at least recognizes and proudly considers itself an American country, and also created the Monroe Doctrine in an attempt to control the entire America. The plan of hegemony.
Of course, the arrogance of the East African government is actually not unreasonable. After all, except for East Africa and the South German Kingdom, 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 there are no three countries in the entire African continent. a normal country.
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 much stronger than the group of black forces on the African continent.
Freer 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 countries will have 1 million tons in the next few years. , the naval tonnage will definitely exceed one million tons, and may even exceed that of your Royal Navy. At least this will not be difficult for Germany and the United States. "
“East Africa must ensure that its navy has the ability to balance against all naval forces except your Royal Navy, so that it 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, even Britain and its colonies combined, may not be able to guarantee an advantage over the United States. As for Germany, if there is no interference from the United Kingdom, its naval size would exceed The UK is not a problem either.
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 we 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, and this is also We must consider that this behemoth Russia may not regain its strength at some 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 and ranked among the top three in the world. Although the Russian Navy suffered heavy losses due to the Russo-Japanese War, including the British Most countries, including Russia, will not think that this can break the backbone of the Russian Navy.
After all, judging from the experience of the past few hundred 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 re-emergence of the Russian navy. .
(End of this chapter)