Chapter 1406: Disposition of Britain
After the victorious powers successively disposed of the United States, Italy, Russia and France, only the last and most important country of the Entente remained, England! Britain, the former world hegemon! Especially in the Victorian era, Britain was the most powerful country in the world! The fleets of the British Royal Navy, which cruised the world's seas, protected the interests of the British Empire. Britain's overseas colonies are the largest in the world! It's just that with the rise of emerging powers, and failures again and again, the former British Empire has become yesterday's yellow flower, and now the British Empire, even the mainland has been occupied by the Chinese and German armies, and the former giants have fallen with a bang!
Should be in the embassy in China, should be Prime Minister Asquith, Foreign Secretary Edward. Gray and former ambassador to China, Zhu Erdian, were frowning at the collected information. The victorious negotiations with Britain were put to the end, which was not a good thing for Britain, but more like China, Germany and Austria-Hungary treating Britain as the biggest piece of fat to divide it at the last moment!
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, according to the information we have gathered so far, this peace meeting is very unfavorable to us! China, Germany, and Austria-Hungary dealt with the defeated countries very harshly, and we may not escape this fate! "British Foreign Secretary Edward. Sir Grey said with a look of frustration! They had traveled all the way to Beijing to attend the peace conference, only to suffer such a fate, which made the Victorian British consider it a deep humiliation.
"The Chinese will not let go of this opportunity to weaken us! But maybe the Germans will help us! According to our secret agreement with Germany, they will help us to minimize our losses as much as possible! Prime Minister Asquith said. Now Britain has put all its hopes on the Germans! It's just that even they can't be sure whether this hope is insured or not!
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I don't think we should hope too much! When dealing with Russia, the Germans also tried their best to fight for the Russians, but it was still useless! In the end, the Germans themselves joined in the plundering of Russia! "Edward. Sir Grey said! He was now a little skeptical of the promises made by the Germans. It's just that now Britain has no chance to even regret it!
"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, we are not the same as Russia! Our naval and shipbuilding capabilities, which the Germans need! If the Germans want to catch up with and surpass the Chinese Navy, they will have to cooperate with us! In addition, Russia is facing 6 victorious countries, while Britain only needs to face China and Germany, so the pressure on Germany will be much less! Even if we will pay a huge price this time, on the whole, with the help of Germany, the price we will pay will not be too heavy! Former British Ambassador to China Zhu Erdian said!
Prime Minister Asquith nodded and agreed with Zhu Erdian's statement. It's just that there is still no joy on his face. Britain itself has been shattered, the island of Ireland has become independent with the support of China, and overseas colonies are doomed to be lost! In addition, the greedy Chinese will certainly not let the British go like this, they will definitely plunder more territory. There are also huge war reparations, and with the greed of the Chinese, it is initially estimated that the Chinese will at least propose more than three billion Chinese yuan in war reparations! This is an astronomical sum for Britain, which is now weakened by Yanzhòng, at night!
"Edward. Sir Grey, I think we should now pay a visit to the German Prime Minister and Foreign Minister! Reiterate our cooperation agreement! Prime Minister Asquith said. In this way, he will be able to settle down!
"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister!" Edward. Sir Grey said. Although he didn't think it would have much effect, he didn't object to it! Now Britain is desperate, and there is only a dead horse as a live horse doctor!
On the evening of October 26th, British Prime Minister Asquith and Foreign Secretary Edward Edward. Sir Grey secretly went to the German Embassy in China to visit German Chancellor Holwig and Foreign Minister Stresemann. I didn't leave until 1 a.m.
At 9 a.m. on October 27, the peace conference continued, this time to deal with Britain, and the countries involved were mainly China and Germany, of course, in the future to divide Britain's overseas colonies, Austria-Hungary as one of the great powers will also get a point. As for the rest of the country, it is only to act as an audience. However, being able to see the fall of the former world hegemon still makes all countries very excited. When Britain dominated the world, all countries were bullied by Britain! Now Britain is out of luck, and of course they are going to take advantage of the opportunity to fall into the ground! Of course, it would be best if they could also get a little benefit! However, this probability is too low!
Enver, the representative of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. The Pasha is undoubtedly the most tangled one! The former Ottoman Turkish Empire was a powerful empire spanning Asia, Europe and Africa. However, the invasion of Britain and France made too much of their territory a colony of Britain and France. Now it is difficult to win the battle between Britain and France, but these colonies have already fallen into the hands of China. It was not without thought that the Ottoman Empire wanted to get these colonies back from China, especially the rich Middle East. However, their demands were all denied, which made Enver. Pasha has always been a little dissatisfied in his heart! It's just that, forced by China's strong military strength, the Ottoman Turkish Empire did not dare to say anything!
When the clock hand points to 9 o'clock, the meeting officially begins. British Prime Minister Asquith and Foreign Secretary Edward Edward. Sir Grey was already there, as were China's Prime Minister, Wu Dinh Fang, Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi, and Defence Secretary Jiang Xingguo. On the German side, Chancellor Holwig and Foreign Minister Stresemann have also taken their seats. Prime Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Mario. Webb and Foreign Secretary Leopold. Feng. The Count of Belhidald sat on the sidelines as a spectator. When it didn't involve Britain's overseas colonies, it was nothing to do with them!
"Ladies and gentlemen, today's meeting has officially begun! The content of today's meeting is mainly to discuss the UK's disposal plan! The countries of Britain that participated in the attack were China and Germany! Therefore, the discussion of the British disposal plan is also mainly done by China and Germany! Chinese Prime Minister Wu Tingfang said. He knows that today's negotiations are probably the most difficult. China and Germany will once again intensify the contradictions on the issue of dealing with Britain! Of course, China is not afraid, and its strong military power gives them full confidence!
German Chancellor Holwig and Foreign Minister Stresemann nodded expressionlessly. Germany's strategy is to win over Britain, and with the help of Britain's naval and shipbuilding strength, the German navy can rise rapidly and have the strength to challenge the Chinese navy! But they also know that China is also very aware of this, and it will be very difficult for Germany to achieve this goal!
British Prime Minister Asquith and Foreign Secretary Edward Edward. Sir Grey looked very helpless. They are like weak lambs, waiting for their fate. And China, the butcher, has already raised the butcher's knife high!
"Britain is one of the leading powers of the Entente, and in this world war, Britain has caused huge losses to all countries! Therefore, the Chinese government wants to be able to deal with Britain harshly! In this regard, we put forward the following demands: First, Britain should give up all its overseas colonies and let the victorious powers distribute them! Second, Britain ceded the Welsh region and the Cornish Peninsula and the Channel Islands to China! Third, Britain compensated China and Germany for the war reparations, totaling 5 billion Chinese dollars, and China enjoyed 70 percent of these war reparations! Fourth, limit the armaments of Britain, Britain must not have a navy and air force, the army will only keep 50,000 people, and it will not have tanks, armored vehicles and artillery of more than a hundred millimeters! Fifthly, all shipyards in Britain were completely dismantled, leaving only small shipyards for the manufacture of fishing boats! "Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi read out the disposal plan determined by the Chinese side!
"Wow!" After listening to China's plan for dealing with Britain, the delegates of various countries immediately discussed it! There is no doubt that among these defeated countries, the disposition of Britain is undoubtedly the most ruthless! Not only did Britain lose all its overseas colonies, but it also lost the island of Ireland, and now China wanted to take a piece of British soil. The war reparations are also 5 billion Chinese dollars, even if Britain is the former world hegemon, I am afraid it will not be able to bear it! The two-year war had almost depleted the wealth that Britain had accumulated over the years. In particular, the losses of the British Navy made the losses of the British very large! And China's demand for the dismantling of British shipyards is undoubtedly to fundamentally solve the British threat to China!
"Such conditions are too harsh, Britain will not agree!" British Foreign Secretary Edward. Sir Grey jumped up and shouted loudly! If Britain agrees to such conditions, then Britain will really never have a chance to turn over!
"If this is the last demand of the Chinese government, then the British government will reject these demands!" British Prime Minister Asquith also said!
"Is there still a choice in Britain at this moment?" Chinese Defense Minister Marshal Jiang Xingguo said disdainfully. Britain is now under military occupation by China and Germany!
Suddenly, Prime Minister Asquith and Foreign Secretary Edward Edward. Sir Grey's face was full of shame!