Chapter 15 2. To quarrel for profit

The First World War disintegrated the old pattern of international relations and established the "Versailles-Washington System".After World War I, representatives of the victorious countries held a peace conference at the Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. Representatives from 27 countries attended the conference. Mr. Gu Weijun attended the Paris Peace Conference on behalf of China.But representatives of the Chinese government have no right to speak, and even Italy has no right to speak.Those who really have the right to speak are the United States, Britain, and France, the so-called Big Three of the Paris Peace Conference.At the Paris Peace Conference, the United States, Britain, and France each had their own ideas and goals: the United States wanted world hegemony; France wanted European hegemony; The same things it wanted before.

In this way, a very interesting scene appeared.Any country has conflicts with two other countries, and any two countries can also unite against one country. If the United States wants world hegemony, it will conflict with Britain and France.Since the opening of the new sea route, the center of the world has been in Europe, and you North American bison want to get in the way, but there is no way!Nouveau riche who thinks highly of you?In this way, Britain and France have conflicts with the United States. How can you want world hegemony? France wants European hegemony, and it has conflicts with the United Kingdom and the United States. The United States wants world hegemony, and of course it does not allow the European continent to have thorns.Looking at continental Europe today, the only country that can confront the United States is France.It is always so individual, but individuality cannot be eaten as a meal. If France wants European hegemony, the United States will definitely not do it, and neither will Britain.

The United States has conflicts with Britain and France, and France has conflicts with Britain and the United States. What about Britain?What they want is colonial hegemony and maritime hegemony, which is obviously in conflict with the United States, and it is in conflict with France to maintain the balance of power on the mainland.Any country has conflicts with other two countries, and any two countries will unite against one country.Therefore, the Paris Peace Conference has been arguing for more than five months. Why is it so noisy?There are too many contradictions to resolve.The French Prime Minister chased the British Prime Minister with a map. He chased the British Prime Minister all the way to the toilet, onto the table, and stood on the table to chase others, just to get the Saarland Basin in Germany, regardless of any gentlemanly demeanor.

After arguing for half a year, they signed the Versailles-Germany peace treaty.Germany was dealt harshly on several fronts.Germany lost 1/8 of its territory and 1/10 of its population, and lost all its overseas colonies.The colonies in Africa were divided among Britain, France, and Belgium, and the colonies in the Pacific Ocean were inherited by Japan, such as the Bellau Islands and the Mariana Islands.The German army cannot exceed 100,000, and cannot have tanks, heavy artillery, or even heavy machine guns. It can only have rifles, which are basically at the same level as the police; the German navy cannot exceed 15,000, and cannot own capital ships, aircraft carriers and submarines. It is about the same level as the Coast Guard; Germany cannot have an air force, and only kites can fly.

Regarding the amount of compensation, the representative of France said the number with one mouth, 132 billion gold marks!The representative of Germany was very angry. It is not worth the money for you to squeeze out the bone marrow of every German and sell it.Since you are a lion, you can take whatever you want. It doesn't matter if you want 800 billion, I can't afford it anyway.In the end, the United Kingdom and the United States had no choice but to smooth things over, saying that before May 1, 1921, they would first take 20 billion gold marks, and if they had no money, they would pay in kind, such as locomotives and machinery and equipment. Machines are required.The remaining numbers will be discussed later.

After disposing of Germany, the Allied Powers also signed a peace treaty with Germany's little brothers, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey.Signed the "Treaty of Saint-Germain" with Austria, the "Treaty of Neuilly" with Hungary, the "Treaty of Trianon" with Bulgaria, and the "Treaty of Sèvres" with Turkey. These treaties without exception require the above-mentioned countries to cede land , reparations, disarmament.The Allied Powers even demanded that Hungary cede 4/5 of its territory, which is about to be cut into the Vatican.Think about it, Hungary is only more than 90,000 square kilometers, is there still 4/5 of it?Cut it into the size of Beijing.

In this way, the Treaty of Versailles with Germany, together with the treaties with Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey, constituted the entire Versailles system.The Versailles system adjusted the political landscape in Europe and the Middle East.On the ruins of the Russian Empire, independent Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were established; on the ruins of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Hungary, and the Czechoslovak Republic were established; There is still a considerable part of the territory of the Hungarian Empire, which was incorporated into the newly established Kingdom of Yugoslavia.In this way, on the ruins of several major European empires, a series of emerging nation-states were established, laying the foundation for today's European national territory.Today's European countries are further divided into based on the foundation formed after World War I.Czechoslovakia was divided into two, and Yugoslavia is now divided into seven.In the future, there will be one village and one country in Europe, and it will take only two minutes to drive to a country. How fun!

The Versailles system implies many contradictions, the first being between the victorious country and the defeated country.The nature of the First World War was an unjust war between imperialists. Everyone is not a good person. Why should I be punished in Germany?I understand, just because I was defeated, I committed the crime of defeating the war, and I was defeated.Then I will win next time.As soon as the treaty was signed, Foch, the commander-in-chief of the Allied Powers and the French Field Marshal, looked up to the sky and sighed: "This is not peace, but a 20-year truce." Sure enough, the treaty signed in June 1919, by September 1939, "World War II "It exploded.The two world wars were really separated by 20 years.

Germany is a fierce tiger. If you want to recruit it, you must recruit it to death, otherwise you should not recruit it.After the war is over, we are all Europeans, we can shake hands, hug, toast, break up, and so on.If you recruit it and fail to recruit it to death, it will recruit you, and it has the ability to recruit you.It is not like countries such as Tanzania, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, whoever goes whoever is the master, it is not this kind of country.You recruit it and it gets angry. Although the "World War I" hurt its vitality, it didn't move its muscles and bones, so it licked its wounds and sharpened its claws, and one day it would pounce on it again.

Before the Second World War, quite a few Nobel laureates in natural sciences were Germans, and Einstein was also a German. If Hitler didn't blow him away, the Germans would have created the atomic bomb.You can take away its locomotive, you can take away the machines in its factory, but you cannot take away the wisdom in the human brain.You do not allow Germany to have an air force. There are aviation clubs all over Germany, which use light aircraft to train pilots and then send them to the Soviet Union for training. Its air force is there.The Soviet Union and Germany were two international pariahs, so they quickly joined forces.You do not allow Germany to own submarines. German engineers went to Spain to help build submarines. After the construction is completed, I keep the blueprints and I can build them when I return to Germany.Therefore, when Hitler ordered to rebuild the Air Force, all the members of the aviation club took off the logo on their uniforms and pasted the eagle emblem of the Air Force, and they became soldiers of the Air Force. They did not even need to change their uniforms. The clothes of the aviation club were the uniforms of the Air Force , Just put on the badge and it’s over. The ××× City Aviation Club was changed into the headquarters of the Air Force X Corps. Overnight, it has the most powerful air force in Europe equipped with more than 3,000 fighters.You let the German Army only keep 100,000 people, yes, these 100,000 people are all non-commissioned officers, all are squad leaders, and there are no soldiers. As long as there is a war, each person can command at least 12 or 3 people.Then the 100,000 people quickly expanded to more than 1 million, and then the veterans were promoted to platoon leaders and company commanders, and the recruits used to be squad leaders again, and the army expanded like a snowball.Look at today's Japan, members of the Self-Defense Forces are called self-defense officers, 90% of the 250,000 people in the Self-Defense Forces are officers and non-commissioned officers, and there are no soldiers.In other words, as soon as a war broke out, the army could be expanded immediately. It is said that within more than 100 hours, Japan's troops could be expanded to 6 million.Therefore, the country raises fewer soldiers in peacetime and sends more troops in wartime. This is the reason, and it is enough to cultivate some backbones.

Germany is very powerful. If you recruit such a country, the end will be miserable. More importantly, the opinions of the victorious countries are not unified.We said that it is not impossible for you to dispose of Germany. You can completely dismember it according to the French method, and let it return to the state before the reunification, or the state before the Franco-Prussian War.But the United Kingdom did not do it. The United Kingdom did not want France to be dominant. It wanted to maintain a balance of power on the continent. The opinions of the victorious countries were not unified, and the ability to restrict Germany was further weakened.After World War II, the Allies learned the lessons of World War I and divided Germany up until 1990 when they were reunited. Today's unified Germany has only 350,000 square kilometers, compared to 580,000 before Hitler came to power. Today's Germany is much smaller than it was back then, and a considerable part of its territory has been incorporated into Poland and Russia.Today's Germany is very kind, and of course it is still the number one power in Europe. The Versailles system also failed to ease the contradictions between imperialism and oppressed nations.For example, China was also a victorious country in World War I. We sent 150,000 laborers to Europe. After the war, our rights as a victorious country were divided up. You treat us too badly.Another is the contradiction between the two social systems.With so many contradictions implied under the Versailles system, this system is doomed not to last long. At the Paris Peace Conference, the League of Nations was also established, which was initiated by the United States and actually controlled by Britain and France.This shows that the political center of the world is still in Europe. Although Europe's central position has been shaken, it has not been broken.The strength of the United States has increased, especially its economic strength, but its military and political influence is not enough.In fact, the United States at that time was a bit like the European Union and Japan today, and Europe at that time was like the United States today. Feng Shui took turns and turned back.The League of Nations did not play a role in maintaining peace and sanctioning aggression, but it still played a role in the protection of human cultural heritage and poverty alleviation.Do you think the United Nations can maintain peace and sanction aggression today?I'm afraid I can't do it either. Let's see who invaded?It is okay to sanction Saddam Hussein, but can the United Nations control who the United States wants to hit?However, isn't the United Nations doing a good job in disaster relief, protection of human heritage, education, etc. today?The League of Nations actually played this role back then.Why can't the League of Nations keep the peace?The funniest point is that the statutes of the League of Nations stipulate that if a country launches a war of aggression, all members of the League of Nations must unanimously approve sanctions against this country.Who doesn't have many friends internationally?Sanctioning aggression requires all countries to pass it unanimously, which is simply nonsense, so it is not feasible. The Versailles system adjusted the ruling order of imperialism in Europe and the Middle East, and the adjustment of the Far East and the Pacific region was the Washington system formed by convening the Washington Conference. In the First World War, the European powers fought fiercely and had no time to look east. They relaxed their competition for the Far East and the Pacific region, especially China.Because the United States and Japan were not the main participating countries in World War I, the two countries launched fierce competition in the Pacific region, especially for China.At that time, Japan had the upper hand, and the conflict between the United States and Japan gradually intensified. The battle for hegemony in the Far East and the Pacific depends on the navy, so the great powers launched a shipbuilding competition.The navy is the most expensive among the three armed forces. A tank costs several million dollars, and a Chinese tank may cost several million yuan, because our labor force is cheap.An aircraft is in the tens of millions, and warships cost hundreds of millions. An aircraft carrier costs four to five billion U.S. dollars, and the aircraft on it is almost four to five billion U.S. dollars. If the escort ships are fully equipped, it will cost another four to five billion U.S. dollars. Dollar.It costs 4,000 yuan to use a catapult to fly a U.S. aircraft carrier. It costs 80 million U.S. dollars to stay in the port for a year without doing anything. That is a gold-eating beast.After the end of World War I, the European powers were severely injured and unable to participate in the arms race. Therefore, in 1922, the United States convened a meeting of nine countries, including Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, China, and Japan, in Washington. At the Washington Conference, Britain, France, the United States and Japan signed a four-power treaty. The Anglo-Japanese alliance formed in 1902 was dismantled.Back then, Britain formed an alliance with Japan to deal with Russia in the Far East.Before the Sino-Japanese War, the leader of the Far East was the Qing Empire. In 1900, China’s manufacturing industry accounted for 7.0% of the world’s total, while Japan’s accounted for 3.00% and China’s was twice that. The Qing Dynasty was the leader in the Far East.After the end of the Second Opium War, China and Britain were in a honeymoon period of more than 30 years, and was later forcibly dismantled by Japan. The British empathized with each other and entered into an alliance with Japan to deal with Russia.Japan is happy, we have formed an alliance with the United Kingdom, and the son of the tenant farmer adopts the feeling of the rich man.The alliance was valid for 20 years and expired in 1922.Five years after Britain formed an alliance with Japan, Britain and Russia entered into an agreement. There is no need to deal with Russia, but they can still deal with Germany. In 1914, Japan occupied Qingdao and other places in Shandong under the pretext of fulfilling the obligations of the Anglo-Japanese alliance. After "World War I", Germany was defeated, and the Anglo-Japanese alliance was really unnecessary for Britain.The United States is even more displeased with the Anglo-Japanese alliance.How to break up the family?The Americans said, let's make a four-nation alliance, the young couple has become a young couple, how do we live these days?So the Anglo-Japanese alliance was effectively dismantled.At that time, Japanese Foreign Minister Arita told the British Foreign Minister Clement sourly, thank you for arranging a decent and grand funeral for the Anglo-Japanese alliance.It is impossible for these four countries to really form an alliance. Japan deliberately tried to form an alliance with the United Kingdom, but it was dismantled. During the Second World War, the Japanese navy captains who were careless, tied themselves to the bridge when the warship sank, and sank with the warship.This is really not the spirit of Bushido, this is the tradition of the British Royal Navy.Later, Britain realized that I would build a warship for one year and train a colonel and captain for 20 years, and I was not allowed to sink with the warship.In western countries, when a warship sinks, the captain must be the last to leave the ship, but if he has a chance to escape and does not escape, he cannot be regarded as a martyr, but can only be regarded as a death in the line of duty, and cannot be awarded a medal.Japan is still finished with the captain and the warship.When a new driver drives on the road, he can post "Novice on the road, please take care of me". Can a military ship post this?Can you fly a plane?People are hitting you as a novice.Weapons are worthless, talents are the most important. Regarding the issue of naval armaments, Britain, the United States, Japan, Italy, and France signed a naval agreement.The five-nation naval agreement stipulates that the ratio of aircraft carriers and capital ships of Britain, the United States, Japan, Italy, and France is 5:5:3:1.75:1.75. Britain and the United States are neck and neck, and Japan ranks second.Give Italy and France a ratio of 1.75. Italy and France are very happy because they haven't reached it yet.Not only does Italy and France not need to disarm, but they can also expand their armies. It may only be equivalent to 1.42 now. If I can reach 1.75, I can continue to build.And Japan has exceeded the standard. The total tonnage of the Japanese navy has almost reached 70% of that of the United States. Now if you want to reduce it to 60%, its warships have to be demolished.Both ships of the line were in the dock, nearing completion, but having to be demolished.The US is on par with the UK.It turns out that the British Navy has always maintained a dual-power standard. The British Navy is the largest in the world, and its total tonnage must reach the sum of the second and third. This guarantees that the second and third will not be able to defeat it.Now that the British Empire has no choice but to lose its power, its industrial strength is weak, and the World War I wiped out more than 60 years of Queen Victoria's savings. There is no choice but to admit that the United States is equal to it.Today, the U.S. Navy can't count how strong the standard is in the world.The total tonnage of warships is 3.3 million tons, and no country in history has ever achieved this figure.There are 11 aircraft carriers alone, one with 100,000 tons, or 1.1 million tons, ranking first in the world.The U.S. Navy ranks second below the Chinese Navy with 800,000 tons, then the Russian Navy with 700,000 tons, and the Japanese Navy with about 600,000 to 700,000 tons. How much does this add up to equal to that of the United States?The Chinese navy has a relatively large number of warships, but the tonnage is relatively small, and most of them are boats. At the Washington Conference, the nine countries participating in the meeting signed the "Treaty on Principles and Policies Applicable to China's Events", referred to as the "Nine-Power Pact", which restored China from the original Japanese monopoly to the state of joint domination by several imperialist countries . The Washington Conference, the United States reaped a great success, Japan suffered a huge failure.Little Japan managed to get a lot of money, and the Anglo-Japanese alliance was dismantled by the United States; the navy fought for a long time, and it was still second, and the United States and the United Kingdom kept pace;So, why did Germany and Japan provoke "World War II"?Germany, as we said earlier, is not a truce, but a truce for 20 years; Japan is the same. The Washington Conference was signed in 1922. Nearly 20 years later, the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War broke out. Germany and Japan were contained under the "Versailles-Washington System", and they had to rise to challenge and break through. The Versailles-Washington system, no matter whether there are problems of one kind or another, after all, it has maintained the stability of the world in the ten years after the war.The decade after World War I was the golden decade for the development of capitalism in the 20th century, especially the United States.The incumbent president of the United States at that time was Coolidge, known in history as "Coolidge prosperity".Radios, refrigerators, washing machines, and cars began to enter ordinary American homes, and television had not yet been invented.Refrigerators and washing machines entered Chinese households in the 1980s and 1990s, and cars entered Chinese households in this century. In other words, our living standards are 60 to 80 years behind others.At that time, the U.S. economy was developing very fast, and Americans believed that this prosperity would continue, but they did not see the deep crisis hidden in it.