Chapter 730 The Crisis Is Coming

The Prussian-Russian negotiation has ended, and the Vienna Peace Conference has entered the most critical moment, disarmament and the establishment of a new international order.

Disarmament is progressing relatively smoothly, and everyone agrees that disarmament must be done. The core of the dispute focuses on how many troops to retain.

It's just a small country. It has a limited number of troops, and it threatens no one. Disarmament or disarmament has little impact.

The core contradiction lies in the three countries of Russia, Austria and France. Austria proposed a 10:10:7 force comparison, namely: Russia and Austria maintain a total army of 500,000 troops, and France maintains an army of 350,000.

French representative David Proval vehemently objected: "As a great power, this is an insult to France.

We cannot accept this ratio. France must have an army that matches its own strength. I propose that the three countries of France, Russia and Austria maintain an army of the same size! "

Austrian Foreign Minister Weisenberg shook his head and said with a smile: "Your Excellency Minister, the essence of disarmament is to save military expenses, maintain the military balance of the European army, and avoid wars.

Your country's army ranks first in the world in combat effectiveness. With the same force, who is your opponent and how can this balance be maintained? "

This touted explanation calmed the anger in David Proval's heart, but he still insisted: "No!

There are many colonies in France that need to be maintained. We cannot simply consider the combat effectiveness of the army. We must comprehensively consider various factors. "

In this age of the weak and the strong, strength is the embodiment of status. What is now allocated is not just the share of troops, but also the right to speak on the European continent.

If you get the same number of troops as Russia and Austria, with the advantage of combat effectiveness, even if France is not the hegemon of the European continent, it is also the uncrowned king.

"Combat advantage", well, the French people's self-confidence is really bursting in this regard, and they have always regarded themselves as the world's first army.

Perhaps the French Army was really the number one in the world at one time, but the Italians joined it, and now it is number one in the world, no one knows.

Not involving specific interests, Austria did not sing against the French on this issue, and after shouting for a long time, everyone acquiesced.

Wesenberg nodded: "What Your Excellency said is not unreasonable, and it is true that various factors need to be considered comprehensively.

But there are too many aspects involved, for example: population, economy, number of colonies, territorial area, national defense pressure, etc.

Which one do we take as a reference standard, or do we consider all of them to calculate a comprehensive value? "

It's a disastrous topic, and in any way, France is at a disadvantage.

David Proval thought it over carefully, and was embarrassed to find that it was a mistake to mention the colony.

Now the world's largest colonial empire is Britain, followed by Austria, and France can only rank third. And the gap between the third and the second is still very wide, less than half.

Taking the colony as a standard, wouldn't it allow the British to maintain the world's largest army size?

European countries may have no opinion, but John Bull felt that it was impossible to agree, which would turn them from a sea-power country into a land-power country.

In terms of population, economy, and territorial size, none of the French have the upper hand. According to these statistics, they may not even be able to get 70% of Austria's military share.

Not to mention the pressure of national defense, France has always put pressure on others, David Proval is really embarrassed to mention it.

After hesitating for a while, David Proval bite the bullet and replied: "Of course, it is considered comprehensive calculation, but we can focus on regional military balance."

British representative Edward: "I propose that the regional military balance should be considered on the premise of meeting the needs first.

Taking France as an example, it is simply not enough to keep only 350,000 troops. "

The consistent style of the shit stirrer seems to be good to meet the demand. The question is how to define the standard of this demand?

First meet the military needs of all countries, and then consider the military balance. Then we can only calculate it according to the high limit. The maximum limit of 500,000 will definitely not be able to be maintained.

The British conspiracy is naturally not so easy to succeed. It may not be a big problem for other countries to raise a few more soldiers, but the Russian Empire cannot afford it.

Russian representative Nikita Titov immediately retorted: "Sir, we are a disarmament conference, not an expansion conference.

Are you sure that disarmament can still be achieved if the military needs of all countries are met? "

Disarmament, why disarmament?

From the standpoint of the British, it is best for European countries to maintain the current situation. They spend a lot of military expenditure on the army, and they are unable to compete with them for maritime supremacy.

According to Austria's proposal, the number of French and Austrian armies will be suppressed to 350,000 and 500,000 respectively, which means that the two governments can save tens of millions of pounds in military spending every year.

This money will definitely not lie in the bank to generate interest, and most of it will flow into the navy, which will have a very big impact on Britain's maritime hegemony.

Edward was unmoved and deliberately pretended to be confused: "This is of course the Disarmament Conference, and the fact that everyone can sit here is the best proof.

How many troops to retain is the freedom of a sovereign country and should not be subject to external interference. Disarmament should be done voluntarily, not by external force. "

The confusion of the British has greatly increased the pressure on David Proval. Everyone else can "voluntarily", but not France.

This is a question left over from history. Among the countries present, there is one

Most of them are members of the anti-French alliance.

Even now, everyone is still wary of France. If no one takes the lead, a group of rabble, the French government is not cowardly.

It is a pity that it is different now. There is an Austria on the European continent that has not been suppressed, and there is another Britain outside the strait.

Once France refuses to disarmament, it is likely to be misinterpreted by the outside world, which will easily lead to a new round of international tension.

French representative David Proval 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 cause of war. Disarmament is imperative for the prosperity and stability of Europe. "

Extra points for David Proval. France does not oppose disarmament, but only the proportion of the armed forces of the three countries of France, Russia and Austria.

The hole dug by the British was perfectly avoided by him. The focus of the controversy was pulled back again.

Be reasonable and present evidence, and a new round of war of words will begin again. It's just that the dispute this time is not about the quantity ratio, but the calculation rules.

Comprehensive consideration seems to be good, in fact, the most troublesome is the synthesis. Because the more directions involved, the more problems will arise, and the longer the wrangling will be.

...

While everyone was arguing, a crisis hit the capitalist world.

The cause was the defeat of the Commonwealth of Pubo, which triggered turmoil in London's financial markets.

However, thanks to the efforts of the British government, the debtors were kept, and some debts were transferred, which reduced financial risks and restored confidence in the market, and this wave of crises was subdued.

Easter can't be avoided, but Halloween can't be avoided.

Although the Berlin government exists, its debts are being fulfilled normally. But with the end of the war, the factory orders disappeared.

Not only that, but many companies did not have time to deliver their last orders, and the Berlin government defaulted.

Breach of order is a commercial act, and at most it will compensate for a little liquidated damages, to be precise, the deposit is not required.

The sequelae of the breach of contract is the backlog of a large amount of materials. Ordinary products are okay, but if you transfer to the private market and sell them at a reduced price, you can get a little back.

Specially produced strategic materials will be troublesome, but capital is willing to sell them. The problem is that there is no buyer at all.

Not only the UK has problems, but most countries in Europe have a backlog of strategic materials, just in time for the great disarmament, and the market demand has dropped significantly.

Production enterprises with weak financial strength are now on the verge of bankruptcy because of a large backlog of goods.

It is not only the companies that produce strategic materials that have been hit, but almost all walks of life have been affected.

After the war, export orders decreased, and companies that started out by exporting had to turn around and come back to grab the domestic market, and the market competition became brutal.

Overcapacity has become a common problem in the capitalist world. In order to survive, companies have begun to show their magical powers, and discounts and promotions are indispensable.

Taking Austria as an example, the prices of various commodities in the country fell after the war, among which: the prices of daily necessities fell by 24%, the prices of clothing commodities fell by 31.6%, the prices of hardware commodities fell by 18.5%, and the prices of machinery and equipment fell by 18.5%. 9.8%, food commodity prices fell 6.4%...

Falling prices are not necessarily a good thing. Behind the falling prices, there is also brutal market competition.

Looking at recent economic data, Franz knew the economy was coming.

Now most companies are gnashing their teeth, and once the market does not improve for a long time, the weak SMEs will be the first to fall.

Once a wave of bankruptcy occurs, the economic situation will deteriorate sharply.

Putting down the information in his hand, Franz sighed: "Notify the cabinet and the heads of the economic department to come over for a meeting."

...