Two under the brilliant lights of the Palace of Versailles. All the participants were engrossed in the high rostrum, while the reporters pointed their cameras at the speakers on the rostrum, and from time to time turned their cameras to the bottom of the rostrum, and recorded the expressions of the delegates from various countries on the camera negatives, which was not only a record of history, but also a decisive scene in the history of modern international politics, and in the words of the British minister, this meeting will determine the entire world pattern and the political map of Europe in the next few years.

It has been more than half a year since the Paris Peace Conference, and it is now the autumn of the Northern Hemisphere, and after the conclusion of today's plenary session, the Paris part of the Peace Conference is basically completed, and all that remains is some minor revisions and adjustments, which is not only a declaration of the official end of the war in Europe, but also the beginning of a new era in the world.

Today's meeting will not only officially announce the detailed rules for the punishment of the defeated countries, but will also officially announce the establishment of the League of Nations.

Since there were five defeated countries in the European war, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, and Austria and Hungary, which were dismembered by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the detailed rules for the punishment of the defeated countries constituted five catties. The Germans called this extremely harsh peace treaty the "Treaty of Versailles", because the content of the treaty was too harsh for the Germans to accept, but under the military threat of the Entente, the German Weimar government ratified the treaty at the last moment, and the chairman of the conference is now reading out this peace treaty that has been accepted by the defeated countries.

Under this peace treaty with Germany, Germany lost a large part of its territory, from which France would seize Alsace and Lorraine, and France would exploit the coal mines of the Saarland for fifteen years, Belgium would receive Euburn, Malmedy, Mauresna, and other areas, and the Schleswig-Holstein region would be occupied by Denmark. Czechoslovakia and Poland under German occupation officially declared their independence, and the Gurchen region in southern Upper Silesia was controlled by Czechoslovakia, Poznan, most of West Prussia, part of East Prussia, and part of Upper Silesia were placed under Polish rule, Gdansk Danzig became a free city under the Trusteeship of the League of Nations, and the region of Memmel was occupied by the Entente**, while Lithuania expressed great interest in the region, and at the same time, the German government also recognized the permanent independence of Austria, and Germany and Austria were never united, The west bank of the Rhine was occupied by the Allies for fifteen years, and fifty kilometers of the east bank was left undefended, and in this way, through this peace treaty, Germany lost one-eighth of its territory and one-tenth of its population.

As for Germany's colonies, they were divided among the belligerents such as Britain, France, Japan, and Australia in the name of "trusteeship," but on this issue, due to the huge differences between Japan and Australia, and China's firm stand on the side of the "interests of Ayuan" and resolutely oppose the Australian government's "White Australia policy," the Paris Peace Conference did not reach a complete consensus on this issue for the time being, and "certain details" of this issue were left to be resolved at a later meeting of the League of Nations.

Considering the excessively powerful military machine on which Germany relied for the war, the peace treaty weakened Germany's military potential, not only forbade the German army to possess and produce military aircraft, tanks, heavy artillery, submarines, and capital ships, but also forbade Germany from implementing compulsory military service, and at the same time abolished the German General Staff Headquarters, limited the total strength of the German army to no more than 100,000, the number of officers to no more than 4,000, and the navy to only have 36 light ships, and at the same time dismantled all military installations in the western regions of Germany. But in view of the red threat of Soviet Russia, the fortifications in the eastern part of Germany could be retained, and the arms trusts were also retained to provide the German ** with enough force to resist the Russian attack.

The League of Nations set up a special reparations committee on this issue, composed of Great Britain, the United States, France, Italy, and Belgium, and the specific amount of German reparations and the method of distribution were decided by the committee through consultation, and before that, Germany had to pay 20 billion gold marks, or about five billion dollars, to the League of Nations in the form of ships, gold, industrial goods, and negotiable securities.

There is no doubt that even the terms were very harsh, and many even doubted whether Germany could afford to pay such a large war reparation, and some economists even directly warned that such a demand for reparations made in disregard of economic laws was likely to further exacerbate the depression of the European economy and even the world economy, which was obviously contrary to the spirit of maintaining lasting peace in the world. Of course, Britain and France, which controlled the League of Nations, did not think so, and the two governments agreed that Germany was to blame, on the one hand, Germany was the first to provoke this European war, and Germany should pay the price to warn those countries that tried to start a new war, and on the other hand, the "Brest Litovsk Treaty" signed by Germany and Soviet Russia was more harsh and greedy than this peace treaty with Germany, so the Entente was governing itself in the same way as its own people, which was in line with the image of European civilization and justice.

However, the British and French governments apparently deliberately ignored the basic fact that at the time of the signing of the Treaty of Brestletovsk, the tsarist government of the Russian Empire was still lingering in the Far East, and in fact, the Entente did not recognize the legality of that treaty, and the Allied armies were still fighting against the Soviet Russian Red Army.

As a delegate to the current Palace of Versailles, Gu Weijun sat not far from the rostrum, and next to him sat several other delegates from Asian countries, the reason why they sat together was to show "Asian unity."

Although the League of Nations was formed, the Asian power in this international organization was really insignificant, and only one of all Asian countries became a permanent member of the League of Nations, because Japan had declared war on Germany and participated in the fighting, and Japan had sufficient national strength.

As for China, because it has always maintained an absolute contingent in the European war to participate in the war against Germany, China has not become a permanent member of the League of Nations, and even within the League of Nations, it cannot play a greater practical role in international affairs. Perhaps Asian countries could occupy one more seat in the permanent membership of the League of Nations, and the permanent members of the League of Nations would also increase to six: "Britain, France, the United States, Italy, Japan, and China."

However, as China's plenipotentiary who has repeatedly guided the "Big Three" to hold secret consultations at the Paris Peace Conference, Gu Weijun knows that the statements of these foreign newspapers are completely wrong, and even if China participated in the war against Germany in those years, China would not appear among the permanent members of the League of Nations today, and this is not a relationship between "justice" and "injustice", but purely the layout needs of the old powers such as Britain and France for the future global strategy, and Britain and France do not want to see China play a greater role in international affairs. And at the same time, I want to continue to stabilize Japan in order to contain China, so. Among the permanent members of the League of Nations is Japan, but China is unlikely.

Although the US president is now strongly advocating that the United States also join the League of Nations, the latest news from within the United States has disappointed the US president, because the majority of the members of the US Senate oppose the US joining the League of Nations, believing that it will affect the free movement of the United States, and the congressmen are also worried about Britain and France dominating the affairs of the League of Nations. He did not have the slightest affection for the "Versailles system" established through the Paris Peace Conference.

At the same time, Gu Weijun also understood that those foreign newspapers that shouted that China had missed the opportunity to declare war on Germany did not have any good intentions, and they purely wanted to drive a wedge between China and Germany; in fact, the sympathetic stance of the Chinese representatives towards Germany at the Paris Peace Conference caused widespread dissatisfaction in Britain and France, and the French government even almost withdrew from the mediation work between China and Britain on the conflict over the Central Asian issue, but at the same time, the deep sympathy of the Chinese representatives for the German people also aroused a strong favor among the Germans. The China Industrial Technology Exhibition Association is recruiting talents in Germany, and it is precisely because of the impartial position of the Chinese delegates at the Paris Peace Conference that the work is now progressing smoothly, and many professionals urgently needed for China's industrial upgrading have boarded the mail ship to China.

Although the purpose of the applicants is more to make money, it is undeniable that the patriotic sentiment of German technical experts tells them that if Germany needs revenge in the future, China may be a good place to preserve Germany's technological strength, since the Entente banned Germany from manufacturing military wool machines, heavy artillery, tanks, submarines, and capital ships, then Germany will quickly transfer these technologies to China, and the Germans fully believe that these military technologies will continue to be developed in China until Germany needs these technologies. They will quickly return to the Germans and contribute to Germany's re-emergence. A big country with a real strategic vision will never limit its eyes to the seats of representatives of any international organization, Gu Weijun knows very well what China needs most now, what China does not need to vote, what China needs is technology, technology, or technology!

It is precisely for this reason that Gu Weijun is not frustrated that he did not get a permanent seat in the Security Council, and, more importantly, just yesterday, at the signing ceremony for the establishment of the League of Nations, Gu Weijun did not sign his name on the treaty, so in a legal sense, although China participated in the Paris Peace Conference throughout the whole process and played some roles at the Peace Conference, but now, China refuses to join this international organization, and China is not a member of the League of Nations.

Of course, this is not Gu Weijun's own opinion, this is actually the highest order from the Commander's Hall of the Chinese Presidential Office, it was Zhao Bei who ordered Gu Weijun not to sign the treaty on the establishment of the League of Nations, Zhao Bei's meaning is very clear, this League of Nations, China is not rare, and it will not join!

From that moment on, China's position became clear, and governments finally understood that for years to come, China would continue to pursue the principle of "absolute neutrality, participate in international affairs as a center-right country, and move more freely without the constraints of the League of Nations."

Perhaps Gu Weijun's actions were too shocking, which caused widespread speculation, and no one knew what the "Far East madman" was thinking, because he didn't look down on the international organization of the League of Nations? Or do you think that you have been treated unfairly in the arrangement of the permanent members of the League of Nations? Although the delegates could not understand the actions of the Chinese delegates, when the Chinese delegates refused to sign the treaty on joining the League of Nations, several small Asian countries followed in the footsteps of the Chinese delegates and did not attend the signing ceremony.

Asia is indeed planning to go its own way, and China will undoubtedly become the most powerful competitor of Britain and France in the East.

On the one hand, the Japanese representative expressed understanding for the Chinese representative's refusal to attend the signing ceremony for the establishment of the League of Nations, but on the other hand, the Japanese representative quickly signed the treaty and, with the support of Britain and France, became a permanent member of the League of Nations, becoming the most powerful representative of the Asian countries in the League of Nations, and could even speak on behalf of Asia.

But will the Japanese government really be able to achieve its goals through the League of Nations? In this regard, not only Zhao Bei is not optimistic, but even Gu Weijun is not optimistic, the reason is very simple, since even the United States feels that it is impossible to exert its strength in the League of Nations, so with Japan's national strength, how can it be on an equal footing with Britain and France? Japan's position as a permanent member of the League of Nations is merely a foil, and it is inevitably a bit wishful thinking to achieve Japan's strategic goals.

Sitting on the chair, thinking about the issue of the League of Nations, Gu Weijun was a little distracted for a while, until the applause around him, he did not regain his mind, this is now, the peace treaty with Germany has been read out, a total of four hundred and six articles, the treaty will officially enter into force in the following year, at that time, Germany will become the meat on the chopping board of the League of Nations, how to cut, by whom, are determined by this lengthy peace treaty.

"Is this really a peace treaty? No, it's just a twenty-year truce. ”

Gu Weidi suddenly remembered what Zhao Bei had told him before he left Beijing, at that time, he still thought that Zhao Bei was too pessimistic about world peace, but now, through this peace treaty with Germany, Gu Weijun also saw the future war and smoke in Europe.

In Gu Weijun's view, this peace treaty with Germany is a complete failure, if it really wants to break the revenge of the Germans, either completely dismember Germany as proposed by France and make it no longer a sovereign state, or let the German people see the peace sincerity of the European countries, instead of forcing Germany to a dead end.

Dogs jump over the wall in a hurry, people rush to the house, force people to be anxious, and do everything, this is not subject to the will of the victor, nor will it change because of the temporary weakness of the vanquished, Germany still has enough population and territory, as long as it takes time, Germany may not be able to recover its national strength, and at that time, perhaps Britain and France will pay a heavy price for this peace treaty that can neither stop the war nor eliminate anger.

After the reading of the peace treaty with Germany, the next step was to officially announce the establishment of the League of Nations, but Gu Weijun stood up and prepared to leave the venue with the representatives of several Asian countries.

"Gu Sang, Gu Sang. Are you leaving? ”

Japan's plenipotentiary representative to the Paris Peace Conference, Saionji Gongwang, chased after him, and without caring about his identity, he grabbed Gu Weijun's sleeve.

"Your Excellency Xiyuan Temple, the League of Nations has nothing to do with our country, and I don't think there is any point in attending the ceremony here

"However, Japan is a permanent member of the League of Nations.

”

"It is useless, Britain and France will not allow Japan to play an important role in international affairs, please seriously consider this. I will take my leave, and I hope that I will be able to meet with Your Excellency in Japan in the future, and in the future, it will be necessary for China and Japan to continue to strengthen exchanges in the face of the aggressive trend of the European powers. Gu Weijun left a word, and then said goodbye very politely, turned around, walked out of the conference hall, and came to the square in front of the Palace of Versailles, the sky was sunny, and it was a crisp autumn season, a few birds skimmed the sky, and the clear sky made people intoxicated.

"My old old! I won't forget you! ”

Looking at the sky, Gu Weijun shouted in his heart, no one can know the meaning of the word "country" better than him at this moment, and it was at the Paris Peace Conference that he truly realized the meaning of "country".

"Motherland, we will make you stronger."

Gu Weijun made up his mind, at this moment, his eyes had become blurred, whether it was the emotional outpouring in his heart or the strong sunshine stimulation, even he couldn't tell the difference. , If you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the heart, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!