Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Austro-Hungarian Empire

Since the outbreak of the World War, the domestic conflicts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire have been stimulated, and the Hungarians who want to be independent have been strongly suppressed by the Vienna government.

However, this suppression did not make the Hungarians dispel the idea of ​​independence, but strengthened their determination to become independent.

However, the present Hungary is no longer the Hungary of the past. A large number of ethnic minorities have been separated from the Kingdom of Hungary and have become the direct jurisdiction of the central government.

The Vienna government freed these ethnic minorities from the oppression of the Kingdom of Hungary, and these people immediately became loyal supporters of the central government, and they were extremely hostile to the Hungarians.

With the help of these ethnic minorities, the situation in the Austro-Hungarian Empire has stabilized. Even if the Hungarians want independence, their current strength is not enough!

Since Britain and France hoped to support the Austro-Hungarian Empire to contain Bulgaria, no one from the outside supported their independence. The Hungarian independence goal now seems to be getting further and further away!

It's not that they didn't want to win Bulgaria's support and then gain independence. Unfortunately, the Hungarians made a mistake in their wishful thinking. Now Ferdinand did not want to break the peace and stability of southern Europe, so he refused to support their independence!

As for whether the Austro-Hungarian Empire will grow bigger? Anyone who has known the Austro-Hungarian Empire knows that it is impossible for them to become really strong until the national problem is solved!

It is not that there is no solution to the national problem of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but that the Vienna government could not make up its mind, otherwise the problem would not have dragged on until now!

It can be said that as long as the Kingdom of Hungary is settled, half of the national problems of the Austro-Hungarian Empire will be solved, and the remaining half will be solved.

Now, on the surface, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has solved most of the national problems.

Except the Hungarians are restless,

Other nations have united around the Vienna government under the leadership of the Habsburg family.

As a bystander, Ferdinand knew that these ethnic minorities who were now separated from the Kingdom of Hungary, grateful that the Habsburg family had given them a better life, would naturally support the Vienna government.

What about the future? People's hearts will always change. Once certain policies of the Vienna government harm their interests, or under the provocation of careerists, it is not impossible to move towards independence!

No sense of national identity is the root of national independence!

This is also the reason why the War of Independence broke out in the thirteen states of North America, while Canada, New Zealand, and Australia have never been independent!

Thirteen states in North America are multi-ethnic mixed places. The proportion of British immigrants is too small, and they have become local minorities. Among these British immigrants, the Irish who hate the British government account for the majority.

So when the British are going to collect stamp duty here, they are independent, in fact their tax is lower than that of the UK!

Canada, New Zealand, and Australia are different. British immigrants have always dominated.

Even in the 21st century, under the joint action of the United States and the Soviet Union, they parted ways with the United Kingdom, and people still think that the Queen of England is their supreme leader!

This is the sense of cultural identity. Historically, in the first ten or twenty years of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, many people still supported the Habsburg family after the independence of these nations.

But after World War II, as the older generation died, that sense of identity ceased to exist!

An Austro-Hungarian Empire that was destined to not be a threat, Ferdinand naturally did not bother to suppress it. No matter how Britain and France supported it, their national strength could not be transformed into combat power.

I believe that any general, who is told that there are more than a dozen languages ​​in his troops, will probably have a tingling scalp. If you want all units to cooperate, let the officers learn foreign languages ​​first!

This kind of army, once the establishment is broken up, is really scattered, and the language barrier wants to reorganize, it is just talking in sleep!

Due to the relationship between the world war, the young labor force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire suffered heavy losses, and the domestic economic recovery was not fast.

In addition, there is a Russia in the civil war next to them, they can export some industrial products, so this time the Great Depression in Europe, they can be considered to have escaped.

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France

One of the winners of the First World War and one of the losers of the First World War!

After defeating the biggest enemy Russia, he also expanded his native area, obtained valuable mineral resources, and gained the largest share of the enemy, becoming the hegemon of the central and western European continent.

On the surface, they are a big winner, but in fact only their own people know their own suffering!

The population loss in the war is also ignored. This is not fatal. The key is that the most tragic battles in the world war were fought in their homes, and the results can be imagined.

Of course, if the French are a country dominated by the real economy, then this is not a problem, and it can be recovered soon.

Obviously, this is impossible, the famous usury empire, the domestic industry can not compete with the virtual economy.

In the face of interests, who is willing to honestly engage in business?

Everyone knows that the profits of ten years of business are not as high as the profits of one year of mixing in the stock market, and capital is all profit-seeking!

If there are fewer people investing in industry, the number of new jobs in the society will naturally decrease, and the number of unemployed will also increase.

The number of unemployed people in France has exceeded 5.6 million, and the unemployment rate has exceeded 21%, which is in stark contrast to Bulgaria, where the number of unemployed people has been less than 1 in 1,000 for a long time!

(Unemployment = Unemployed / Working-age population)

With such a high unemployment rate, the French economy will naturally not get better!

The political struggle within France is also the fiercest among European countries.

What about the British Empire?

The biggest winner after the World War, the biggest winner of the American War! It is simply standing at the pinnacle of life, but their domestic economy is also in a recession!

Although it is not as high as the 21% unemployment rate of the French, it is still close to this figure. After the end of the World War, the British Empire will increase the number of unemployed people by 1.1 million every year on average.

Want to ask why? Similar to the French, capitalists are keen to invest in the virtual economy and are not active in industrial investment.

Now the three kingdoms of North America have been added, and new competitors have appeared in their colonial markets. The capitalists are surprised to find that resale of cheap German goods is also more profitable than the products they produce.

This consequence is very terrifying. Driven by interests, the capital invested by the British Empire in industry in recent years has not only not increased, but has continued to decrease.

As of 1921, the total amount of new investment in local industry for the whole year actually dropped to 12 million pounds, which is inversely proportional to the increase in investment in Bulgaria year by year!

You must know that the equipment of the enterprise also needs to be updated. As far as the new investment scale of the British people is concerned, it is estimated that not to mention the expansion of the industry, the scale of their local industry will not shrink!

Of course, from the perspective of capitalists, their approach is correct. Now that the overall market in the capitalist world is shrinking, tightening investment at this time is the best way to avoid risks.

Anyway, because of the decline in the purchasing power of the people, the processing and manufacturing industries are also facing excess capacity.

As for whether it will cause an increase in the unemployed, further shrinking of the market, and feedback to the vicious circle of overcapacity in the manufacturing industry, this is none of their business!

This is the prelude to the London Conference. With the recession in the continental European economy, all countries hope to reduce military expenditures through disarmament, and then invest the money in the country.

Among them, the British and French are the most urgent. The total tonnage of the Royal Navy has reached the highest peak in history. There are thousands of warships, with a total tonnage approaching three million.

As a price, the British Empire's naval military expenditure has always been high. Even in peaceful times, to maintain this large navy, the naval military expenditure also accounts for 38% of their financial income!

If you add the army and air force, the military expenditure has accounted for 43.7% of the fiscal revenue, which is more than when the arms race with the Germans was carried out before the World War!

If there is an enemy, it is nothing for them to maintain this large navy, but now looking around the world, there is no navy with a total tonnage of more than one million tons!

Even the gross tonnage of the British Royal Navy \u003e the sum of Bulgaria + France + Japan + Russia + Austria-Hungary!

Is it really necessary to maintain such a large fleet? These are the top five standards!

Now the navies of all countries in the world, all united together, may not be able to win the battle against the Royal Navy!

After discovering that there was no powerful enemy, the satisfied congressmen decided to cut military expenditures. The first cut was the navy, which had the highest military expenditure.

...

London Conference

"We propose that the British Royal Navy retains 1 million tons of total naval tonnage as the base 10, and the proportion of the total naval tonnage obtained by each country is: France 2.8, Bulgaria 2.7, Japan 1.8, Russian Empire 1.8, Austria-Hungary 1.3, Spain 1.2, the Netherlands 1.1, Portugal 1..." Gray said solemnly

In addition to Japan being suppressed, the ratio given by the British is still in line with everyone's actual situation, so everyone does not have much opinion.

It's just that the total tonnage of the navy has doubled compared to the Washington Conference in history. This is also because the British now have stronger financial resources and can afford more military expenditures.

Seeing that no one came out to object, Uchida Yasushi had to bite the bullet and jump out, saying:

"No, I'm against it! This ratio is too low. The Empire of Japan must get at least 5 shares, otherwise we can't accept it!"

"Mr. Yasuya Uchida, this navy ratio is the most scientific number calculated by everyone after synthesizing various factors!

With your country's financial income, it is already very difficult to support a naval fleet with a total tonnage of up to 180,000 tons. Why do you need to fight for one, which is beyond the standard of your own affordability? "Grey said earnestly.

This is only a superficial meaning, and in essence it implies that Yasushi Uchida, Japan's comprehensive national strength is just like this, there is no strength to fight for a fart!

Didn't you see the French and Bulgarians drinking coffee leisurely? None of them jumped out to fight, what are you worried about?

Of course, even if Ferdinand wanted to fight, he would not fight with the British now, at least after the disarmament is completed, then jump out to engage in an arms race!

Now the British naval superiority is too obvious. Although everyone's tonnage ratio has not changed much after the disarmament, the tonnage gap between the two sides has narrowed!

From the gap of more than two million tons, it has narrowed to several hundred tons. How can the latter be easier to catch up with?

As for the contract signed, it has always restrained the weak. For the strong, it is a contract when it is needed, and it is a piece of waste paper when it is not needed. Just tear it up!

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gray, I just lost my temper, but 180,000 tons is too little. Our bottom line is 400,000 tons. If it is lower than this number, China will not approve it!" Uchida Yasushi said politely.

Gray was also lost in thought, as if hesitating to agree to the Japanese request. After all, even if the total tonnage of the Japanese navy remained at 400,000 tons, it would not threaten the sea power hegemony of the British Empire!

"If Japan obtains a total naval tonnage of 400,000 tons, then we also ask to increase the proportion. After all, the scale of the navy must match our international status!" Metev broke the silence with a smile.

"The French Republic also needs a navy that matches our international status!" the French representative said casually.

He doesn't care how big the Japanese navy is, but let the Japanese navy surpass the French navy. Gallic chicken can't afford to lose that person now. After Metev made this request, he immediately followed!

Today's France is not even a little bit stronger than the historical France.

Financially, it is not so embarrassing. The American debts are gone, the Germans are still paying their indemnity, and their proud heads are not ready to be lowered.

The second-year juniors are not exclusive to Japan. If the total tonnage of the Japanese and Bulgarian navies climbed to their heads, it is estimated that the patriotic youths in China will have to demonstrate again, and the opposition parties will not let this go. Opportunity to crack down on government prestige!

Gray has already reacted. It is impossible for the two countries to tolerate the size of the Japanese navy exceeding them. Perhaps this is just a matter of face, but at this time, face cannot be lost at all!

This is also a manifestation of international status. Ferdinand does not care about the size of the navy at all. Bulgaria can tolerate that the navy is not as good as the British. They are world hegemons and domestic citizens can accept it.

It can also be tolerated that the size of the navy is not comparable to that of the French. The French are an old-fashioned empire and have been the second naval empire in the world for a long time. It is also acceptable for the navy to be inferior to their citizens.

If there is no naval armament treaty, the total tonnage of the Bulgarian navy is not comparable to that of the Japanese navy. It can also be said that Bulgaria is a land power country, and there is no need to compare the navy with them.

But now to sign a naval armament treaty, if the tonnage obtained is not comparable to that of Japan, it will be a big trouble, and this will damage the self-confidence of the people!

I am afraid that many people will question the government. Is Bulgaria's international status even inferior to Japan?

Naturally the same is true for the French. Even if they lose to the British, if the second-largest navy cannot be retained, how can the government explain it to the public?

"Mr. Yasushi Uchida, you should understand that the navy must match the national strength. If your country increases the tonnage of the navy, everyone will follow suit. In the end, isn't the meaning of the arms treaty gone?" Gray persuaded.

Japan must make concessions, this is his attitude, otherwise the two countries will increase their naval tonnage, then the advantage of the British Empire will be weakened!

Yasuo Uchida was shocked that this would still happen!

The Bulgarians and the French did not come out to fight for naval tonnage before, but now they have all jumped out for a face!

Doesn't it mean that European countries don't care about face, but only pay attention to interests? Why are the two land power countries jumping out now? Isn't this cheating?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gray, this is beyond my authority, I have to ask the country for instructions!" Uchida Yasushi said helplessly.

"There is also a telegram here, you can use it directly, hurry up, everyone is waiting for you!" Gray said impatiently

Everyone cast a contemptuous look at Yasuya Uchida, a plenipotentiary representative who has exceeded his authority one after another and has to ask the country for instructions. Isn't this shameful to the diplomatic community?

Look at the representatives of so many countries participating in the meeting, which one has not obtained the highest authorization, and must constantly ask the country for instructions?

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