The Prussian-Russian talks have come to an end, and the Vienna Peace Conference has entered the most critical juncture, which is to disarm and establish a new international order.

Disarmament is proceeding relatively smoothly and there is consensus that disarmament is necessary. At the heart of the controversy is the specific number of troops to be retained.

Small countries are just small countries, and their own armies are limited in number, and they cannot threaten anyone, so the impact of disarmament or disarmament is not great.

The core contradiction lies in Russia, Austria and France, and Austria proposes a 10:10:7 ratio of troops, that is: Russia and Austria maintain a total army strength of 500,000, and France maintains an army of 350,000.

The representative of France, David Proval, strongly objected: "As a great power, this is an insult to France.

We cannot accept this ratio, France must have an army commensurate with its own strength, and I propose that France, Russia and Austria maintain an army of the same size! ”

Austrian Foreign Minister Weisenberg shook his head and said with a smile: "Your Excellency, the essence of disarmament is to save military spending, maintain the military balance on the European continent, and avoid the outbreak of war.

Your country's army has the largest combat effectiveness in the world, with the same strength, who is your opponent, and how can this balance be maintained? ”

This flattering explanation calmed the anger in David Proval's heart, but he still insisted: "No!

France has many colonies to maintain, and we must not simply consider the combat effectiveness of the army, but must consider it from a comprehensive variety of factors. ”

In this era of the jungle, strength is the embodiment of status. It is now not just the share of forces that are being distributed, but also the voice of the European continent.

If you get the same number of troops as Russia and Austria, with the advantage of combat effectiveness, France will be the uncrowned king if not the hegemon of the European continent.

"Combat superiority", well, the self-confidence of the French in this regard is really bursting, and they have always considered themselves the number one army in the world.

Maybe the French Army was really the first in the world, but the Italians joined it, and now it is the number one in the world, and no one knows.

There are no specific interests involved, Austria did not contradict the French on this issue, and after shouting for a long time, everyone acquiesced.

Weisenberg nodded: "What Your Excellency said is not unreasonable, and it is indeed necessary to consider all aspects of the factors.

However, there are too many aspects involved, such as: population, economy, number of colonies, territorial area, defense pressure, etc.

Which one do we use as a reference standard, or do we consider all of them to calculate a composite value? ”

It's a devastating topic, and in any way of the comparison, France is on the back burner.

David Proval thought it carefully, and was embarrassed to find that it was a mistake to mention the colony.

Now the first colonial empire in the world is Britain, followed by Austria, and France can only be ranked third. And the gap between the third and the second is still very large, not even half.

Wouldn't it be a standard to keep the British the largest army in the world?

The European countries may have no opinion, but John Bull feels that it is impossible to agree, which will make them change from a sea power country to a land power country.

None of the French have the upper hand in terms of population, economy, or territorial size, and according to these figures, they may not even be able to get 70% of Austria's share of the army.

Not to mention the pressure on national defense, it has always been France that puts pressure on others, and David Proval is really embarrassed to mention it.

After hesitating for a moment, David Proval replied stubbornly: "Of course, it is considered comprehensively, but you can focus on military balance." ”

British Representative Edward: "I propose to consider the regional military balance on the premise that priority is given to meeting needs.

In the case of France, for example, only 350,000 troops were not enough. ”

The consistent style of the-stirring stick seems good to meet the demand, but the question is how to define the standard of this demand?

If we first meet the military needs of all countries, and then consider the military balance, then we can only calculate it according to the high level, and the maximum limit of 500,000 will definitely not be maintained.

Naturally, the conspiracy of the British was not so easy to succeed. If other countries raise a few more soldiers, maybe it is not a big problem, but the Russian Empire cannot afford to raise them.

Russian representative Nikita Titov immediately retorted: "Sir, this is a conference on disarmament, not an expansion conference.

Are you sure you can still disarm if the military needs of all countries are met? ”

Disarmament, why disarmament?

From the standpoint of the British, the European countries have the best to maintain the current situation, and if they spend a lot of military expenditure on the army one by one, they will not be able to compete with them for supremacy at sea.

If, as Austria proposed, the number of French and Austrian armies was reduced to 350,000 and 500,000 respectively, it would mean that the two governments could save tens of millions of pounds a year in military spending.

This money will certainly not lie in the bank to earn interest, and most of it will go to the navy, which will have a very big impact on Britain's maritime supremacy.

Edward was unmoved, deliberately pretending to be confused: "Of course, this is the Disarmament Conference, and the fact that everyone can sit here is the best proof of this."

How many troops to keep is the freedom of a sovereign state, which should not be subject to external interference. Disarmament must be voluntary, not forced. ”

The British stirred up, putting pressure on David Proval. Everyone else can be "voluntary", but not France.

This is a problem left over from history, and more than half of the countries present are members of the anti-French alliance.

Even now, everyone is still wary of France. If no one leads the way, a rabble, the French government will not coax.

It's a pity that it's not the same now, there is one Austria on the European continent that has not been pressed, and there is another Britain outside the strait.

Once France refuses to disarm, it is very likely to be misinterpreted by the outside world and easily trigger a new round of international tensions.

The representative of France, David Proval, retorted: "The sovereignty of independent countries must be respected, but as a responsible state, it must also be for the sake of world peace.

Excessive freedom is, in fact, the root cause of war. For the sake of Europe's prosperity and stability, disarmament is imperative. ”

David Proval's words are still a plus. France is not opposed to disarmament, but only to the proportionality of the size of the armies of France, Russia and Austria.

The pit dug by the British was directly avoided by him. The focus of controversy has been pulled back again.

Reasoning and presenting evidence, a new round of verbal warfare began again. It's just that this time it's not about the quantity ratio, it's about the calculation rules.

All things considered, in fact, the most feared thing is comprehensive. Because the more directions involved, the more problems will arise, and the longer the conflict will last.

……

Just as everyone was arguing, a crisis was also striking the capitalist world.

The cause was the defeat of the Popo Federation, which caused turmoil in London's financial markets.

However, thanks to the efforts of the British government, the debtor was saved, and part of the debt was passed on, which reduced financial risks and restored market confidence, and the crisis was calmed down.

You can't hide from Easter, but you can't avoid Halloween.

Although the Berlin government exists, the debt is being fulfilled normally. But with the end of the war, the orders for the factory were gone.

Not only that, but there are many companies that have not had time to deliver their last orders, and the Berlin government has defaulted.

Order breach is a commercial act, and at most it will compensate for liquidated damages, to be precise, the deposit is not required.

The after-effect of the default is that a large amount of materials have been backlogged. Ordinary products are OK, and they can be sold at a reduced price when they are transferred to the private market.

The strategic materials that are specially produced are in trouble, and the capital is willing to sell them, but the problem is that there is no buyer at all.

It is not only Britain that has problems, but most European countries have a backlog of strategic materials, just in time for the great disarmament, and the market demand has dropped sharply.

Financially weak production enterprises are now on the verge of bankruptcy because of a large backlog of goods.

It is not only these companies that produce strategic materials that have been affected, but almost all walks of life have been affected.

After the war, export orders declined, and enterprises that started by exporting trade had to turn around and come back to grab the domestic market, and market competition became cruel.

Overcapacity has become a common problem in the capitalist world. In order to survive, enterprises have begun to show their talents, and discount promotions are indispensable.

Taking Austria as an example, after the war, the prices of various commodities in the country fell, including the prices of daily necessities by 24%, clothing by 31.6%, hardware by 18.5%, machinery and equipment by 9.8%, and food by 6.4%, ......

Falling prices are not necessarily a good thing, and behind falling prices, there is also a brutal market competition.

Looking at the recent economic data, Franz knew that the economy was coming.

Now most enterprises are gritting their teeth, once the market does not improve for a long time, weak small and medium-sized enterprises will be the first to fall.

Once there is a wave of bankruptcies, the economic situation will deteriorate dramatically.

Putting down the materials in his hand, Franz sighed: "Inform the cabinet and the head of the economic department to come for a meeting." ”

……