After the European War came to an end, the German Empire transformed in a chaotic situation. Seeing that the situation was not good, Britain and France immediately organized intervention forces to try to strangle Nasha. However, they failed and had to withdraw in anger.
Regardless of the inherent advantage of the Germans fighting at home, just looking at the British and French armies, we know that this intervention war is bound to fail - the bloody Europe has just ended, and the soldiers' war-weariness is so high, who is willing to continue to die?
A few years later, the great powers gathered in Washington to discuss limits on naval armaments and to consider a new approach to order in Asia.
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 navy in the world and planned to build 137 large and small warships within five years; the British were not to be outdone, saying Even if we spend every last penny, we must ensure that the navy is number one in the world.
However, the Americans state high-soundingly that for the sake of world peace, the naval power of each country must be clearly defined. The implication is to restrict the naval development of certain countries.
This spearhead is naturally directed at Ming Dynasty.
About twenty years of development have made Ming a country that cannot be ignored. Even though it has just started in many aspects, its huge size and huge population force the established powers to treat it with caution.
Especially the United States.
Looking back at history, at the end of the 19th century, after the war between the United States and Spain, the latter was forced to sell the Philippines to the former at a low price.
Perhaps the 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's almost equivalent to blocking the door of your home.
There have been many negotiations between the United States and Japan regarding the Philippines that lasted for more than ten years, but the Americans, who were determined to encroach on Asia, refused to give in.
It was not until the Washington Naval Conference that the two sides decided to finalize the issue. Therefore, Ming participated in the conference as a neutral country in the European War.
The draft treaty stipulates the total tonnage ratio of the naval capital ships of the five countries: the United States, Britain, China, France and Italy - 5.25 for the United States: 5.25 for the United Kingdom: 3.75 for China: 1.75 for France: 1.75 for Italy.
This also means that Britain and the United States can have a total tonnage of 525,000 tons of battleships, while France and Italy can have a total tonnage of 175,000 tons.
It doesn't matter between France and Italy. France's focus is on land, while Italy only needs to maintain the Mediterranean fleet.
However, Britain and Ming Dynasty were very dissatisfied with this outrageous draft. The Ming Dynasty diplomats who participated in the negotiation almost turned over the table and left on the spot.
After being persuaded to make peace, the intense mediation really began.
The bottom line given by the Ming Navy was 450,000 tons, so the diplomats at the Washington meeting first deliberately requested to be allocated the same 525,000 tons as the United Kingdom and the United States. Naturally, no one agreed to this request.
The United States stated that Ming Dynasty would allocate a maximum of 375,000 tons, but Ming Dynasty foreign affairs officials "relented slightly" and said it could be reduced to 500,000 tons. They insisted for a time that they would not relent, and the two sides broke up unhappy.
The United States must take into account both the Pacific and the Atlantic. If calculated on a 50-50 basis, the Pacific Fleet may only have 250,000-300,000 tons of battleships, so it will never allow the Ming Dynasty to take too much advantage in tonnage allocation.
The British saw an opportunity and once again tried to play the role of a troublemaker. Their proposal was that since the Ming Dynasty would not let go, the tonnage of both Britain and the United States could be increased from 525,000 tons to 600,000 tons.
This proposal was rejected by France and Italy.
After several days of entanglement, Ming and the United States began to discuss tonnage allocation in private, and Ming Dynasty finally revealed its purpose - the Philippines cannot be controlled by the United States.
The United States initially refused to ask any questions about the Philippines, but after persuasion from Britain, France and Italy, it finally reluctantly stated that if the Ming Dynasty could reduce the tonnage allocation to 400,000 tons, then it could consider reducing the United States' "military presence" in the Philippines.
Ming Dynasty foreign affairs officials continued to insist that it should not be less than 500,000 tons unless the United States agreed to demilitarize the Philippines.
After some bargaining, the United States agreed to this request to a certain extent, and Ming diplomats also announced their willingness to reduce the tonnage allocation to 435,000 tons.
In the end, the United States and Ming Dynasty 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 capped at 60,000, the caliber of artillery cannot be >75mm, and tanks cannot >120 vehicles, the fortress area cannot be expanded or updated; the time limit is consistent with the naval treaty, which ends on December 31, Qiyuan 7936.
In fact, the Ming Dynasty wanted to go even further, that is, remove the large-caliber artillery in the Bataan Fortress and Corregidor Fortress, but the United States flatly refused, saying that "the minimum self-defense capability must be ensured," and finally left it alone.
After the two parties signed this, the naval arms agreement was finally settled. In the end, Ming Dynasty foreign officials obtained the upper limit of the capital ship tonnage of 435,000 tons, which was slightly less than the navy's bottom line of 450,000 tons, but it greatly reduced the US's position in the Philippines. The military presence can be regarded as a gain as well as a loss.
And this is also a major theoretical pillar of radicals within the Ming Dynasty today - the past two years are a good time to conquer Nanyang, otherwise when the time limit is up, with the national power 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, they can quickly capture the Dutch East Indies and cook the raw rice into cooked rice. Otherwise, they will miss the best opportunity when Britain and the United States shift their strategic focus to Asia.
"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 could not be lit at all.
"Are you talking about the Dutch fleet? They're just local chickens and dogs." Ling Su took a sip of wine with a look of disdain and gestured with his fingers, "There are only a few cruisers available, Java, Sumudala, Tempe; then there is a destroyer squadron, six destroyers; there are four submarine squadrons, a dozen submarines; in addition, there are some patrol boats, minesweepers, and torpedo boats."
"It is indeed very weak. Now the Netherlands has long been in decline."
"Sir Zhou, the Navy never paid attention to them. Actually, what we were worried about before was that the Army couldn't deal with them neatly."
Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but smile when he heard this, "Are you still worried after this time?"
Ling Su, who raised the corners of his mouth, chuckled, "Of course I'm relieved. This time it's really making people laugh. You guys are making such a big fuss, the Dutch's defense is really... tsk,"
"Well, if nothing else happens, I think we can achieve an exchange ratio of one to eight. No matter how optimistic we are, one to ten is also possible."
"Sir Zhou is very confident."
"If you are not confident in this, then the Army should go back and rebuild." Zhou Changfeng said seriously.
A wave surged onto the deck, splashing wet clothes.
(End of chapter)
