Daming 1805

Chapter 426 Depends on Daming's Attitude
After the cruiser problem is solved, the remaining destroyers really have nothing to dispute.

The problems that destroyers should have are basically extended from the standards of cruisers.

The total tonnage limit of destroyers was quickly determined at the amount of [-] tons.

It was followed by the total tonnage of submarines, which was limited to [-] tons.

In this way, the total tonnage of combat ships of various navies is limited to 75 tons.

The tonnage of the battleship plus the aircraft carrier accounts for 40 tons.

Finally, there are standards for decommissioning, replacement, training, and construction and trading of warships.

Based on compromise standards acceptable to all parties, various regulations have also been formulated one after another.

So far, the total tonnage of ships in various countries is below the total quota.

Prussia, Lucia, Austria and other countries are building with all their strength, and have not yet completed all fleet planning.

The tonnage of naval vessels of Britain, France, and Spain during the war exceeded this limit.

However, after the end of the World War, the Three Kingdoms successively retired a large number of old ships, causing the tonnage to drop precipitously.

Therefore, it is not yet listed which countries need to retire which ships immediately.

It just stipulates that when a country uses up the tonnage share of each type of ship, when the new ship is launched, the old ship with a tonnage no smaller than the new ship must be decommissioned.

At the same time, it is stipulated that the service time of all high-speed battleships is not less than 20 years, the service time of secondary capital ships and old-fashioned armored cruisers and aircraft carriers is not less than 15 years, and the service time of destroyers and submarines is not less than ten years.

Before the service life of the existing ships has not reached the specified service time, unless the original ships are sunk or damaged due to war or accidents and cannot be repaired, the old ships shall not be replaced with new ships.

At the same time, a monitoring team with representatives from all countries will be established to jointly supervise the construction and decommissioning of ships in all countries.

All signatories shall not sell, lease, or gift their existing ships to any other country.

All signatories shall not build warships for other countries.

The last two restrictions on the change of ship ownership were added by the French.

After Talleyrand made this request, Metternich of Austria couldn't help asking and confirming:

"Prohibiting the transfer of ships by various countries can be understood as preventing the transfer of ships to free up the share for building new ships, right?
"Is the prohibition of signatory countries building ships for other countries to prevent countries from starting construction in the name of other countries' construction, and wait until the ships are built to be recruited for use by their own navies?

"No ships are allowed to be traded or built for other countries. This requirement is too strict.

"Isn't it enough to restrict requisition in the treaty?"

In the original history, the Washington Naval Treaty after World War I also prohibited the signatory countries from transferring existing ships.

But there is no prohibition on building new ships for other signatories and non-signatories.

It is only required that the standards of these foreign trade ships must not exceed the scope stipulated in the treaty.

At the same time, in response to the British requisitioning the Agincourt battleship originally built for Ottoman during World War I, the signatory countries are prohibited from requisitioning ships built for other countries during the war.

In other words, the treaty cannot prohibit warship trading, the reason is very simple, it involves making money.

Whoever has trouble with money is having trouble with all countries.

However, after the First World War, the major Western countries were abolished, and then the economic crisis and the Great Depression came immediately.

In addition, the tonnage of naval capital ships has directly expanded from [-] to [-] tons to more than [-] tons, and the cost of construction and use has greatly expanded, which has widened a huge gap with low-level and traditional ships.

As a result, non-signatory countries no longer have the ability to purchase and use large capital ships, so that there has never been foreign trade involving capital ships after World War I and before World War II.

In the current Thai-Western naval treaty in this world, the French demanded that the trade of ships between the signatory countries and with foreign countries be completely prohibited.

The actual intention of the French is actually not in the content of the treaty itself.

So the French representative Talleyrand stared back at Metternich after hearing Metternich's question:
"Can the ships that our countries can build compete with Ming's ships?
"Will you be allowed to freely sell the ships you are designing or building using Ming's technology?
"Finally, and most importantly, making such a regulation will not actually harm the interests of all countries, but it will help Ming to acquiesce and support the treaty we signed!"

Those who can come to this kind of meeting are all good people. When Talleyrand said this, the representatives on the scene immediately realized it.

What the French asked was that the signatory countries should not build combat ships for other countries, but they did not stipulate that the signatory countries could not import combat ships from non-signatory countries.

Ming did not sign a contract, so Ming can export ships to any country.

At the same time, the ships of various countries are not very competitive compared with Ming Dynasty.

Regardless of whether this regulation is added or not, all countries will only buy Ming's ships instead of trading with each other.

Although Da Ming did not participate in the discussion and signing of the treaty, this kind of international treaty must consider Da Ming's attitude.

The key is not to violate Daming's interests, and it is best to be able to conform to Daming's interests from a certain angle.

In this way, when matters related to the treaty appear in front of the relevant personnel of Ming Dynasty, they will deal with it on the premise that they know the existence of such a treaty by default, and will not intentionally cause trouble.

If the treaty violates the interests of Ming Dynasty, then Da Ming will definitely ignore or even destroy the treaty when encountering related matters.

So Ming's attitude determines whether this treaty can really take effect.

The terms suggested by the French can obviously improve Ming's attitude towards this treaty.

With this understanding, representatives of all countries no longer questioned these two additional transaction restrictions.

So far, the main restrictions of the naval treaty have been determined.

In the follow-up, we must continue to clarify the details of all aspects, and finally let the special clerical personnel implement the details on paper.

Although a group of Thai and Western countries signed the contract, although Daming did not participate at all.

However, the original document of such a treaty signed between many countries can only be in plain language.

The plain text version shall prevail, plus the translated texts that each country reads by itself.

In the end, I will definitely send a few copies to the League of Nations for filing, and send a few copies to Daming Honglu Temple for archiving.

On May [-], the seventh year of Ankang in the Ming Dynasty, the "Paris Naval Treaty" was finally officially signed.

After the representatives of various countries wrote their names in turn on the formal treaty, they were obviously relieved.

The negotiations, which lasted for more than two months, have finally come to an end.

The naval development plans of the Thai and Western countries for the next 20 years have clear regulations.

But looking at this regulation, the moods of representatives from various countries are different.

The British and the French are somewhat melancholy.

The two countries that are most in favor of signing the treaty are also the ones that most hope to reduce the total tonnage of naval ships.

The final result is far from the original goals of the two countries.

Initially, both countries planned to limit the tonnage of high-speed battleships to about 16 tons, and the total tonnage of high-speed battleships plus aircraft carriers was limited to 10,000+ tons.

Now it is a simple capital ship that can be relaxed to 32 tons...

However, the advantage is that countries in good condition such as Lucia, Prussia, and Austria have made their shipbuilding plans public, and they have limited their shipbuilding plans to a controllable range.

So the British and the French also accepted this result.

The Lucian is also a little aggrieved.

Lucia's ideal goals and plans both exceed the upper limit stipulated in this treaty. The key point is that she did not achieve the initial goal of surpassing Britain and France in naval tonnage, and then achieved the status of the strongest navy in name.

However, the advantage is that it has achieved the same status as traditional naval powers such as Britain, France, and Spain in name, but in fact it has a higher status. It understands that countries like Prussia are future competitors, and avoids being targeted by all Thai and Western countries. .

As far as the treaty itself is concerned, it may be the most beneficial to Prussia. The quota stipulated in the treaty will not allow Prussia to squeeze the war potential too much, and there is no obvious restriction on the actual shipbuilding plan.

Most importantly, let Prussia see clearly the decline of Britain and France, and also see clearly that Lucia is the real opponent.

So Prussia and Lucia can also accept this result.

For other small countries, or countries that are in decline, they maintain the same status as other countries in name.

But the disadvantages are also obvious. Some countries that did not need to build 75-ton warships, now have the same tonnage ceiling, and have a tendency to forcibly pile up 75-ton warships to maintain military relations with other countries.

After the signing ceremony of the treaty, the French as the hosts first held an internal discussion meeting.

Prince Regent Charles summoned Talleyrand and other diplomats, major court officials and nobles headed by the Duke of Richelieu, and major admirals such as Villeneuve to his meeting room.

First revisit the signed treaty documents together.

After the main personnel finished watching, the Duke of Richelieu spoke first:

"Your Highness, I am very worried now. This naval treaty... probably won't have the effect of restricting the arms race, and may even have a counterproductive effect..."

Charles smiled wryly and asked:

"Is Your Excellency Richelieu worried that countries like Prussia and Lucia will fill up the 75-ton naval vessel quota as quickly as possible, and cause other countries to follow suit?"

Charles had obviously thought of this.

The original Washington Treaty in history required countries to stop building capital ships.

Only a few new ships such as the Nelson class were specifically listed and allowed to be built after the signing of the treaty because of mutual compromises and checks and balances.

Therefore, after the signing of the treaty, most of the shipbuilding plans of the relevant countries were cancelled.

The Paris Naval Treaty of this world has no relevant regulations.

So it is conceivable that after the treaty is signed, countries will start a new round of shipbuilding plans.

Treaty tonnage is both a limit and a goal...

After Charles asked back, the Duke of Richelieu also understood that Charles had thought about it, and then asked with some sadness:
"So Your Highness, if this happens, will we in France follow suit?"

Charles hesitated for a few seconds:

"Yes, we in France can only follow up, and this may not be harmful.

"A capital ship of 32 tons is actually not too much pressure on the former France.

"France is just not in a good state right now, but it is recovering quickly.

"Although the colonies have decreased, the industrial production capacity is now being upgraded and innovated.

"The construction of these warships can also be regarded as a part of the recovery and construction of the industrial production base.

"The most critical issue is that since there is the target tonnage of the naval treaty, there should be no war until the Thai and Western countries use up these tonnages and form combat capabilities.

"Lucia and Prussia should not be able to build more than two capital ships of [-] tons at the same time.

"What's more, now all countries have to get the support of Ming Dynasty, and they have to start a new round of shipbuilding technology upgrades.

"So they can't build ships faster.

"Their 32 tons, a total of eight brand new high-speed battleships, will take at least ten years to fully form combat effectiveness.

"Ten years from now, France won't be in the same state as it is now, and there won't be too much pressure to maintain eight battleships of the same level.

"So we will build two high-speed battleships every three years and continue to build one aircraft carrier."

A group of officials discussed with the military officers and felt that what Charles said was also reasonable.

The speed of two capital ships and one aircraft carrier every three years is certainly not slow, but it is not particularly fast in this era.

During the World Wars, France's extreme shipbuilding speed was much faster than this.

The current France should be able to withstand this speed.

After discussing on the spot for a while, no one raised any objections, and the implementation plan was discussed at Shire's request.

However, Talleyrand, who pays attention to diplomacy, once again put forward his own views:

"Your Highness, everyone, while we complete the shipbuilding plan, we also need to see Daming's attitude.

"Da Ming must also be able to see that this treaty actually has the possibility of promoting the naval shipbuilding competition.

"His Royal Highness Prince Dashi once proposed the goal that the total tonnage of the Ming Navy should reach the sum of the total tonnage of other countries.

"If we, France, Britain and Spain, as well as Lucia, Prussia, and Austria, have completed their respective 75 shipbuilding shares.

"Italy completed a shipbuilding share of 50 million, Portugal and Ottoman completed a share of 40 million, and small countries such as the Netherlands and Sweden also completed a share of tens of thousands to 10,000+ tons.

"Then Ming Dynasty will have to build ships worth 700 million or even 800 million tons to achieve this goal.

"I think that a naval vessel of this size should put some pressure on the current Daming.

"The main reason is that for Daming, there are other means to avoid this extreme situation.

"So we have to see if Ming will intervene, and whether he will make comments on the treaty we have drawn up.

"Da Ming should guard against the possibility of the countries in Europe building their own ships and jointly using them to confront Da Ming after they are completed."

Talleyrand's words immediately aroused a voice of assent.

700 million or even 800 million, the total tonnage data of this naval vessel is really terrifying.

In the World War, the total naval tonnage of Ming and Taixi did not reach this level.

Compared with the size of the traditional navy, this kind of data already has an order of magnitude gap.

Some people even think that it may be the last possibility to change the content of the treaty and re-sign it again.

(End of this chapter)