afterglow

Chapter 101

After the European War came to an end, the German Empire changed in a chaotic situation. Seeing that the situation was not good, Britain and France immediately organized an intervention army to try to kill Nahan, but they failed and had to withdraw their troops angrily.

Regardless of the inherent advantages of the Germans who are fighting at home, just looking at the British and French armies, we know that this intervention war will undoubtedly be defeated-the bloody Europe has just ended, and the soldiers are so war-weary, who is willing to continue to die?
A few years later, the great powers gathered in Washington to discuss restrictions on naval armaments and to consider a new approach to the Asian order.

In fact, after the end of the European War, the competition among the major powers was equally fierce. The Americans threatened to build the most powerful naval force in the world, and planned to build 137 large and small warships within five years; the British were not to be outdone, saying that Even if you spend the last penny, you must ensure that the navy is number one in the world.

However, the Americans stately stated that for the sake of world peace, the naval power of various countries must be clearly regulated, and the implication is to restrict the development of the navy of certain countries.

The target of this attack is naturally Daming.

About 20 years of development has made Ming a country that cannot be ignored. Even though she has just started in many aspects, the huge size and population make the old powers have to treat it with caution.

Especially the United States.

Looking back at history, at the end of the nineteenth century, after the war between the United States and Spain ended, the latter was forced to sell the Philippines to the former at a low price.

Perhaps Ming Dynasty at that time was unable to interfere with the transaction between the two, but it was different when the European War ended.

How can the Philippines be occupied by Americans?That is almost equivalent to blocking the door of the house.

The issue of the Philippines between Ming and the United States launched many negotiations that lasted for more than ten years, but the Americans, determined to get their hands on Asia, refused to make concessions.

This was delayed until the Washington Naval Conference before the two sides decided to decide on this issue. Therefore, Ming participated in the conference as a neutral country in the European War.

条约草案中拟订了美英中法意五国的海军主力舰总吨位之比——美5.25：英5.25：中3.75：法1.75：意1.75。

In other words, Britain and the United States can have a total tonnage of capital ships of 52.5 tons, while France and Italy can have a total tonnage of 17.5 tons.

France and Italy do not matter, France focuses on land, while Italy only needs to maintain the Mediterranean fleet.

However, Britain and Ming Dynasty were very dissatisfied with this outrageous draft, and the diplomats of Ming Dynasty who participated in the agreement almost left the table on the spot.

After being persuaded to make peace, the intense mediation really began.

The bottom line given by the Ming Navy was 45 tons, so the diplomats first deliberately requested to be allocated the same 52.5 tons as the United Kingdom and the United States at the Washington meeting. Naturally, no one agreed to this request.

The U.S. side stated that Ming Dynasty allocated a maximum of 37.5 tons, while the foreign affairs officials of Ming Dynasty "slightly let go", saying that it could be reduced to 50 tons, and they refused to let go. The two sides broke up unhappy.

The United States must take into account both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. If it is calculated on a 25-30 basis, the Pacific Fleet may only have capital ships with a gross tonnage of [-] to [-] tons. Therefore, it absolutely does not agree that Ming can take too much advantage in tonnage distribution.

The British side saw the opportunity and tried to play the role of a shit-stirring stick again. Its proposal-since the Ming side did not let go, then simply increase the tonnage of both Britain and the United States from 52.5 tons to 60 tons.

This proposal was rejected by France and Italy.

After several days of entanglement, Ming and the United States began to discuss the tonnage allocation in private, and it was only then that Ming really revealed its purpose—the Philippines cannot be controlled by the United States.

The United States initially rejected any questions about the Philippines, but after being persuaded by Britain, France and Italy, it finally reluctantly expressed its position-if Ming Dynasty can reduce the tonnage allocation to 40 tons, then it can consider reducing the "military presence" of the United States in the Philippines.

Ming foreign officials continued to insist that the amount should not be less than 50 tons, unless the United States agreed to demilitarize the Philippines.

After some bargaining, the United States agreed to this request to a certain extent, so the diplomats of Ming Dynasty also announced their willingness to reduce the tonnage allocation to 43.5 tons.

In the end, the United States and Ming reached a separate agreement, which can be regarded as a sub-treaty of the "Washington Naval Treaty"-the United States is not allowed to station troops in the Philippines, the Philippine colonial army is limited to 6 people, the caliber of artillery cannot exceed 75 mm, and tanks cannot > 120 vehicles, the fortress area cannot be expanded and updated; the time limit is consistent with the naval treaty, until December 7936, 12 in Qiyuan.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty still wanted to make an inch, that is, remove the large-caliber artillery in the Bataan Fortress and Corregidor Fortress, but the United States flatly refused, saying that "a minimum self-defense capability must be ensured", and finally let it go.

After the two parties signed the agreement, the naval armament agreement was finally settled. In the end, the foreign affairs officials of the Ming Dynasty won the upper limit of the capital ship tonnage of 43.5 tons, which was slightly less than the navy's bottom line of 45 tons. A military presence can be regarded as a loss and a gain.

And this is also a major theoretical pillar of the radicals in Ming Dynasty today—the past two years is a good time to attack Nanyang, otherwise, when the time limit is up, with the national strength of the United States, as long as they are willing, they can rearm the Philippines in just a few years .

So time waits for no one!
Taking advantage of their current weak military presence in Asia, quickly take down the Dutch East Indies, and cook the raw rice to make a big deal. Otherwise, when Britain and the United States shift their strategic focus to Asia, they will miss the best time.

"Captain Ling, what do you think of the enemy navy in the Nanyang region?" Zhou Changfeng wanted to smoke a cigarette, but the whole pack of cigarettes was damp and did not ignite at all.

"You mean the Dutch fleet? It's just a chicken and a dog." Ling Su took a sip of his wine with a look of disdain, and gestured with his fingers, "There are only a few cruisers available, Java, Sumudara, Trump; then there is a destroyer detachment, six destroyers; there are four submarine detachments, a dozen submarines; in addition to some patrol boats, minesweepers, torpedo boats."

"It is indeed very weak. The current Netherlands has long since faded away."

"Mr. Zhou, the navy has never taken them seriously. In fact, what we were worried about before was that the army would not be able to deal with them cleanly."

Zhou Changfeng couldn't help laughing when he heard the words, "Are you still worried after this time?"

The corner of Ling Su's mouth was raised and he chuckled, "Of course I'm relieved, this time I really can't help laughing, you're making a big fuss, the Dutch's defense is really... tsk,"

"Well, if there are no accidents, I think a one-to-eight exchange ratio can be played. No matter how optimistic, one-to-ten is also possible."

"Officer Zhou is very confident."

"If you're not confident, then the army should be rebuilt." Zhou Changfeng said seriously.

A wave surged onto the deck, splashing the already wet clothes.

(End of this chapter)