The Franco-Prussian negotiations had ended and the Vienna Peace Conference had entered the most critical moment of disarmament and the establishment of a new international order.
Disarmament was progressing relatively smoothly and everyone agreed that it was necessary. The core of the dispute was how many troops should be retained.
It was fine if it was a small country. They had a limited number of troops, and they couldn't threaten anyone. It wouldn't matter much whether they disbanded or not.
The core contradiction was between Russia, Austria, and France. Austria proposed a 10: 10: 7 ratio of troops. That was, Russia and Austria maintained a total of 500,000 troops and France maintained 350,000 troops.
The French representative, David Proval, strongly objected, "As a big country, this is an insult to France.
We cannot accept this ratio. France must have an army that matches its own strength. I propose that France, Russia, and Austria maintain the same size of the army! "
Austria's Foreign Minister, Wesenberg, shook his head and smiled, "Your Excellency, the essence of disarmament is to save military expenses, maintain the balance of the European Army, and avoid war.
Your country's army is the best in the world. With the same number of troops, who is your opponent? How can this balance be maintained? "
This flattering explanation calmed the anger in David Proval's heart, but he still persisted. "No!
France has many colonies that need to be maintained. We can't simply consider the combat power of the army. We must consider from a comprehensive range of factors. "
In this era of the law of the jungle, strength was the embodiment of status. Now the distribution was not only the share of troops, but also the right to speak on the European continent.
If they got the same number of troops as Russia and Austria, with the advantage in combat power, even if France was not the overlord of Europe, it would be the uncrowned king.
"Advantage in combat power", well, the French were really confident in this aspect and had always claimed to be the world's best army.
Perhaps France's army was really the world's best in the past, but with the addition of the Italians, no one knew where they were now.
Austria did not disagree with the French on this issue because it did not involve specific interests. After a long time, everyone acquiesced.
Wesenberg nodded, "Your Excellency's words are not unreasonable. We do need to consider all aspects.
But there are too many aspects involved, such as: population, economy, number of colonies, territory, national defense pressure, and so on.
Which one should we use as a reference, or should we consider all of them and calculate a comprehensive value? "
This was a devastating topic, and France was at a disadvantage in every aspect.
David Proval carefully calculated and awkwardly realized that mentioning the colony was a mistake.
Currently, Britannia was the number one colonial empire in the world, followed by Austria and France. Moreover, the gap between the third and second place was very wide, not even half.
Using the colonies as the standard, wouldn't that allow the British to maintain the largest army in the world?
The European countries might not have any objections, but John Bull would never agree to it. That would make them go from being a sea power country to being a land power country.
In terms of population, economy, and territory, France did not have the upper hand in any of these areas. Based on these figures, they might not even have 70% of Austria's military strength.
There was no need to mention the pressure on national defense. It had always been France who put pressure on others. David Proval was really embarrassed to mention it.
After hesitating for a moment, David Proval braced himself and replied, "Of course it's a comprehensive calculation, but we can focus on regional military balance."
Edward, the British representative: "I propose that we prioritize meeting the needs first before considering the regional military balance.
Taking France as an example, keeping only 350,000 troops is simply not enough. "
Satisfying the needs seemed good, but the problem was how to define the standards of the needs?
First meet the military needs of all countries, then consider the military balance. That could only be calculated according to the high limit. The maximum limit of 500,000 would definitely not be able to be maintained, and in the end, disarmament would become an expansion of the military.
The British's conspiracy was naturally not so easy to succeed. It might not be a problem for other countries to keep a few more soldiers, but the Russian Empire could not afford it.
The Russia representative, Nikita Titov, immediately retorted, "Sir, we are here for a disarmament conference, not an expansion conference.
If we meet the military needs of all countries, are you sure you can still reduce the military? "
Disarmament, why should they reduce the military?
From the British's point of view, it was best for the European countries to maintain the current situation. Each country would spend a lot of military spending on the land and would not be able to compete with them for maritime supremacy.
According to Austria's proposal, the number of Fao and France's land forces would be reduced to 350,000 and 500,000 respectively, which meant that the two governments could save tens of millions of pounds a year on military expenses.
This money would certainly not just sit in the bank and accrue interest. Most of it would flow into the navy, which would have a huge impact on Britannia's maritime supremacy.
Edward was unmoved and deliberately pretended to be confused. "This is, of course, a disarmament conference. The fact that everyone is sitting here is the best proof.
It is the freedom of a sovereign country to keep as many troops as possible, and it should not be interfered with by external forces. Disarmament should be voluntary, not forced by external forces. "
The British's interference increased the pressure on David Proval. Everyone else could be "voluntary," but not France.
This was a problem left over from history. More than half of the countries present were members of the anti-French alliance.
Even now, everyone was still wary of France. If there was no leader, the Government of France would not be afraid of a motley crew.
Unfortunately, it was different now. There was Austria on the European continent and Britannia on the other side of the strait.
Once France refused to disarm, it was likely to be misinterpreted by the outside world and could easily trigger a new round of international tension.
David Proval, the French representative, retorted, "The sovereignty of an independent country must be respected, but as a responsible country, it must also consider world peace.
Excessive freedom is actually the root of war. For the prosperity and stability of Europe, disarmament is imperative. "
David Proval's words were still a plus. France was not opposed to disarmament, but it was opposed to the ratio of the army size of France, Russia, and Austria.
He had perfectly dodged the trap that the Englishman had dug. The focus of the dispute was pulled back.
Reasoning, presenting evidence, a new round of verbal warfare began again. But this time, the dispute was not about the ratio, but the calculation rules.
The overall consideration seemed good, but in fact, the most troublesome part was the synthesis. Because the more directions involved, the more problems there would be, and the longer the wrangling time would be.
…
Just as everyone was wrangling, a crisis also hit the capitalist world.
The cause was the defeat of the Pu Bo Federation, which caused turmoil in the London financial market.
However, under the efforts of the Government of the United Kingdom, the debtors were protected, and part of the debt was transferred, reducing financial risks, restoring confidence in the market, and the crisis subsided.
You can avoid Easter, but you can't avoid Halloween.
Although the Government of Berlin existed, the debt was being paid normally. But with the end of the war, the factory orders were gone.
Not only that, but many companies didn't have time to deliver the last batch of orders before the Government of Berlin defaulted.
Defaulting on orders was a commercial act, and at most, they would pay a little penalty. To be precise, they didn't want the deposit.
The sequelae of the default was a large amount of backlog of materials. Ordinary products were okay, and they could sell them in the civilian market at a lower price.
Specially produced strategic materials were troublesome. The capital was willing to sell them, but the problem was that they couldn't find a buyer at all.
Not only the United Kingdom had problems, but most European countries had a backlog of strategic materials. It happened to be a good time for the general disarmament, and the market demand dropped significantly.
Production companies with weak financial strength were now on the verge of bankruptcy because of the backlog of a large number of goods.
Not only were these companies that produced strategic materials affected, but almost all industries were affected.
After the war, export orders decreased, and the companies that started with export had to turn around and fight for the domestic market. The market competition became cruel.
Overcapacity became a common problem in the capitalist world. In order to survive, companies began to show their skills, and discounts were inevitable.
Take Austria as an example, after the war, the domestic commodity prices fell. Among them: the price of daily necessities fell by 24%, the price of clothing fell by 31.6%, the price of hardware fell by 18.5%, the price of machinery and equipment fell by 9.8%, and the price of food fell by 6.4% …
Falling prices were not necessarily a good thing. Behind the falling prices, there was also cruel market competition.
Looking at the recent economic data, Franz knew that the economic crisis was coming again.
Now most companies were clenching their teeth and holding on. If the market didn't improve for a long time, the weak small and medium-sized enterprises would be the first to collapse.
Once the bankruptcy wave appeared, the economic situation would deteriorate rapidly.
Franz put down the documents in his hand and sighed, "Inform the cabinet and the head of the economic department to come for a meeting."
…
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