Lüders is dancing.

This is a caustic phrase that has recently become popular in diplomatic circles, referring to the recent series of balls at the Luedes-Tuileries and Versailles. This derogatory slander is widely circulated by diplomats who are supposed to be fighting each other at the negotiating table, throwing glasses, smashing stools, and performing all-out martial arts on the dance floor all day long, and the naval disarmament conference has completely turned into a dance party with no end in sight.

The situation that will become like this is caused by a series of issues between Charlemagne and Albiang over the upper limit and proportion of the total tonnage of naval ships, the proportion of the tonnage of capital ships, and the performance of warships. Charlemagne wanted to be on an equal footing with Albion, who hoped to contain Charlemagne's navy through the Treaty of Guò, and the Lapland and Castile attendees were passers-by who played soy sauce, and Cardinal Leopold, the only one who could control the scene, did not understand the navy, and lacked a workable plan that would be acceptable to both countries, and had the skill to strategize. Unable to hold each other, but unable to tear their faces, diplomats and admirals passed the time with a succession of balls and banquets.

This is true of the upper class, and the appearance of the grassroots people is generally similar.

The suppression of the rebellion, the corpses at the intersection of the Bursts are no stranger to the talented and enthusiastic Lüdes people, many of whom hid behind the windows with their coffee and watched the riots, and then what to do. After the success of the first day of the performance, the famous troupe accepted the new version of the script and the cast was also first-class, but the rumored witch surrounded by golden butterflies was never seen on the stage again. Somewhat disappointed the audience.

The world is peaceful, and it is still the same-

How could there be such a cheap thing, after crushing a few praying mantis that were not self-sufficient, the situation continued along a pre-laid track, the results of which will not be apparent for a few more years. Most people are more focused on the definite present than on the uncertain future.

Especially the guy who managed to escape the turmoil of the army and stay alone.

"In addition to the capital ships, the biggest problem is the cruiser part. ”

Captain Anna Illarion de Cotang Turville frowned and said with an unhappy expression.

In negotiations, the main battleship can also bargain. But one when it comes to cruisers. Albion immediately bared his teeth and put on a face of "if you dare to move, I'll try".

The proud Charlemagne Rooster had a hard time understanding why the Albion bulls were so excited about a "second-class battleship". Charlemagne, as a land power, didn't understand. For an absolute maritime power country like Albiang. Cruisers in non-war times. It is a surpassing capital ship, which is responsible for ocean-going patrols, colonial liaison, declaration of control rights, and handling sudden crises, which directly represents a country's control of the sea. It is not an exaggeration to say that the huge cruiser group single-handedly supported the cornerstone of Albian's sea power.

Charlemagne's ideal goal was to achieve the same size of the fleet as Albion. It is up to the two countries to establish a "mutually agreed ceiling" within which they are free to equip their navies.

This demand was obviously unacceptable to Albion and Castile, and Charlemagne was aware of it, so on the basis of insisting on this demand, he also prepared a second and third set of plans.

The so-called second plan is to settle for the second best when the first plan is not likely to be achieved. Tong Guò made partial concessions on the tonnage of the capital ships, agreeing that the capital ships were smaller in size than Albian. In exchange, Albion should "compensate" for the tonnage of cruisers, frigates and other auxiliary ships, i.e., a ratio of 10:6 tonnage for the capital ships of the two countries and 7:10 for auxiliary ships. On this basis, the two sides reached a package agreement on the division of overseas forces, the cessation of the expansion of overseas military bases, and the "opening of the door" of the colonies.

The plan ostensibly made concessions to Albian, demonstrating Charlemagne's sincerity in swearing peace, but in fact harboring evil intentions. At first glance, Charlemagne's naval combat force is subordinate to Albian, but in fact, Charlemagne's control over the sea lanes in peacetime is stronger, and in wartime, this large cruiser can become an important force in the execution of "cruising wars", which can not only be a single ship safari, attack and kill the enemy's lone merchant ships, but also form a strike group, attack merchant ships, and conquer the enemy's colonial islands with insufficient troops. The Albiang navy, which was fortified everywhere and could not defend itself, could only passively respond to the enemy, so that Albiang, which had been exhausted for a year or two, would collapse without a fight.

The Duke of Marlborough made it clear that the Albion Navy needed to keep at least 80 cruisers, and Charlemagne's cruisers should be kept at around 33 to 40, and the Duke gave the reason for this Charlemagne doesn't have so many colonial and overseas interests to protect, and 20 cruisers is enough, and if you insist on building more cruisers than Albion, we can only assume that Charlemagne is preparing for war with Albion, and has no sincerity to negotiate peacekeeping. If the peace talks fail because of this, Charlemagne will bear full responsibility for it. ”

It's an accusation and a threat. Castilla didn't play soy sauce this time, and jumped out in clear agreement with Albion's proposal, apparently they had similar concerns. Lapland, which had no colonies and was not a naval power, continued to play soy sauce, and the negotiating table for a time became a 2:1 format.

Although neither side can talk about the sincerity of peace talks, and they are secretly plotting to pit opponents and negotiate, but out of old scheming, no one took the initiative to jump out and say, "Lao Tzu is not talking, you can play eggs." Take the initiative to play the "bad guy" who pits the negotiation, and attack the transferee with the moral high ground. Under the interaction of various factors, peace talks become an endless waltz.

The delegates were busy on the dance floors and boxes in the palaces of Lüddes, and the workers in the shipyards were not idle, but busier than they were before the war. This is because if the peace talks fail, a big war will break out between the two sides, and the need for the number of warships is self-evident; if the peace talks are successful, they can also take advantage of the fait accompli that "the warships have been built and put into service."

Amid the melodious waltz on the dance floor and the clanging of the shipyard, no one knew that Charlemagne was slowly advancing the third option under the table, which was much more "soft" than the first two aggressive plans, and even the compensation for the tonnage of the cruiser was abandoned, which seemed to be a proposal that Charlemagne was fully convinced. But only by carefully studying the details will people find out what kind of calculation is in this plan with a certain company-like delicacy. (To be continued......)

PS: Sorry, I'm busy with work during the day, I forgot to change it, and there are double shifts at night. Stay tuned.