Chapter 1091 Britain chooses to give in

The disintegration of the Soviet Union in the past was partly due to the arrogance of the leadership in the middle and late stages. Especially at the propaganda level, the people's psychological expectations for the country's development were too high, making it difficult for the entire country to accept after their dreams were shattered.

In fact, the Soviet leadership was also riding a tiger, being held up by the low-end public opinion machine they had built. In fact, even at the end of the Soviet Union, its domestic economic situation was not at all as bad as imagined, at least compared to the vast number of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The Soviet Union, whose system has not collapsed, is still far ahead of other regions in all domestic aspects.

Therefore, Ernst naturally "fully" absorbed the experience and lessons of the Soviet Union and cooled down the temperature of his own people in a timely manner. If the people of East Africa are cultivated into a "sage" mentality, then the shortcomings of East Africa will be countless.

…

London

British Prime Minister Asquith: "This is a message from Ambassador Russell from the Rhine. Sure enough, East Africans are a bit greedy!"

The attitude of the East African government is indeed a bit bad for the United Kingdom. If other factors are put aside, it is difficult to accept the initiative of the United Kingdom to open up some markets. What's more, the East African government has also implicitly stated that it wants to take advantage of the British sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean. Acquire a piece of land within.

This has almost never happened in the history of the UK in recent decades. The reason why I say almost is because there are no countries that are more extreme than East Africa, such as Germany and Russia.

Of course, East Africa feels aggrieved by this "slander" from the British government. After all, it is difficult to accept the British request for East Africa, such as the unreasonable request to restrict the development of its own navy. East Africa is willing to negotiate with the British, so East Africa is willing to negotiate with the British. It is reasonable for the British government to want some benefits.

After all, Britain had made similar suggestions to Germany before, but Germany did not give Britain a good look at all, making the British government look like a clown.

Finance Minister George said: "The East African government's demands seem a bit greedy, but we must also seriously consider it. After all, if we do not actively cooperate with East Africa, they will use other methods to achieve their goals."

"For example, at the market level, we have been imposing sanctions on East Africa in the past, but with little effect. And as East Africa's national power continues to rise, they will take the initiative to expand their trade borders."

"For example, East Africa's actions in the Persian Gulf and South America are accompanied by military activities. If we continue to choose confrontation, the result will definitely be a lose-lose situation for both sides."

"But East Africa is not a small country. They can definitely afford to compete with us, but we cannot devote all our energy to competing with East Africa in the Indian Ocean or the South Atlantic."

Asquith sighed and said: "This is also what I am worried about. If the East African government is a country like Germany that refuses to take soft and hard measures, then we will be in trouble in the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic region, but the East African government is obviously better than Germany. The government needs to be sensible. They have expressed their intention to negotiate with the empire, but their demands are too generous. "

It can be said that the British government is extremely complicated about the current state of the East African government. If the East African government does not choose to negotiate, the United Kingdom will definitely be anxious. After all, the United Kingdom does not have the energy to engage with East Africa at this stage. However, the East African government has expressed its willingness to negotiate. The British government I still feel very sad because the East African government wants too much...

In fact, the East African government really doesn’t want much. As George just said, wouldn’t East Africa itself get it if the British government doesn’t give it? The East African government is actually in dynamic competition with the UK in accessing markets.

After all, the South American market is mainly influenced by the United Kingdom, and is not the British private land or back garden. The United Kingdom cannot always keep its promise, and East Africa, with its own geographical advantages and size advantages, can completely compete fairly with the British in the South American market. Start competing.

East Africa is close to South America, and its industry ranks third in the world. Although the British economy is strong, its industry can only rank behind East Africa.

This means that East Africa is not afraid of all kinds of competition from Britain in South America at all, even if Britain can influence the governments of South America. After all, the East African navy is not a dry job. East Africa may have respect for a big country like Britain and respect for it. South American countries will have to change their faces. After all, East Africa is not a good person, but a member of the imperialist powers.

So at this point, it comes back to the naval issue. If the East African navy exceeds the British government's expectations, it will be no less for the British government than the situation in the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic getting out of control.

The British government does not have the ability, energy and courage to launch a large-scale war in East Africa similar to the South African War, interrupting the development momentum of East Africa.

Therefore, for the current British government, if it can reach some exchange of interests with the East African government to limit the East African navy to a "reasonable range", it would be the best result.

This is actually similar to the way Britain used the Washington Naval Treaty in its previous life to check and balance the development of the navies of countries such as the United States.

In the previous life, Britain was actually the beneficiary of the "Washington Naval Treaty". After all, after the end of World War I, the United States had actually become the most powerful country in the world in all aspects. However, the "Washington Naval Treaty" limited the U.S. Navy to within the limits accepted by the British government.

So after thinking again and again, Asquith gritted his teeth and said: "We can agree to the reasonable request of the East African government. Of course, the premise is that it is within the scope of our acceptance. At this stage, it is impossible for us to cause trouble in East Africa in Africa. When we start from After Europe escapes, we will get back what we lost.”

It is definitely not possible to not accept East Africa's "goodwill". Now Britain can't get out of the European situation at all, so Asquith decided to make temporary concessions to East Africa.

Of course, as the world hegemon, Britain is definitely not afraid of East Africa. As for Asquith himself, the decision he made now is just a pretense with East Africa. After the Empire solves the European problems, East Africa will definitely spit out all the principal and interest.

Asquith said: "The East African government must limit its navy to our requirements before we can make concessions on related issues. When the European situation stabilizes, we will use various means to make the East African government understand that the benefits of the Empire are not so easy to get."

George also agreed with the Prime Minister's statement. Temporary conflict with East Africa will not only affect other departments, but will definitely not be good for the Ministry of Finance.

The two-power standard alone has turned the Imperial Royal Navy into a money-eating beast that is difficult to fill the gap. If you want to devote more energy to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, is it really necessary to come up with a "three-power" standard?

Asquith went on to say: "The government must come up with a reliable plan. Although we have to give up the market and land, we have the final say. We must not undermine the overall strategic layout and core interests of the empire."

George said: "Don't worry, Prime Minister. In fact, the requirements of the East African government are relatively easy to meet. The competition between our industry and the East African industry is not fierce. At least at the current stage, East Africa is not our main competitor in the international market. The harm from East Africa is not as great as that of the United States, Germany and France."

"So we can make some detailed divisions in the open market to avoid competition with East African goods. East African light industrial production has always been East Africa's shortcoming, and this is also the strength of the empire. As long as East Africa does not involve our core interests, it actually has no great impact on our country. Instead, it will make the United States and Germany compete more fiercely with East Africa."

Asquith also agreed with this point. East Africa is indeed not outstanding in the international market, especially in light industrial products. It can even be said that it is low-energy and has no products that can be shown off. This field is actually the strength of the United Kingdom.

Asquith said: "As for the East African government's request for land, we must also consider it carefully. The Empire has a vast territory and sphere of influence. It is not too difficult to select the least useful land in the Indian Ocean region and give it to East Africa."