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Chapter 742 Europe after World War I

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    "The fact that Zhang Hanqing was able to maneuver both sides of the conflict with Britain and Japan, and dare to threaten with force, does not mean that China's strength is already superior to the two countries.  On the contrary, he has set the tone in his heart that there cannot be any military escalation with either Britain or Japan.

    The reason why we dare to do this is that we have fully grasped the current international situation.

    The impact of World War I on various countries was far-reaching, and even brewed the undercurrent of World War II.  As a veteran, Zhang Hanqing clearly understands the impact of this war on the future. One of his main advantages in coming to this world is to be able to use "advantage" to maximize China's interests.  In terms of international policy, it mainly uses the influence of the "League of Nations".

    The League of Nations was an international organization established shortly after the end of World War I. It was essentially the prototype of the later United Nations.

    The first part of the Treaty of Versailles is the Covenant of the League of Nations.  The Covenant defines the organizational structure, functions, principles and obligations of member states of the League of Nations.  On January 10, 1920, the day when the peace treaty officially came into effect, the League of Nations was officially established under the chairmanship of Wilson. All countries that declared war on the German-Austrian Group during the war and newly established countries were founding members of the League of Nations.  In this way, the League of Nations has a total of 44 member states, which later gradually increased to 63 countries, with its headquarters in Geneva.

    The main institutions of the League of Nations include the General Assembly, the Council, the Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice, the International Labor Office, etc. The most important institution is the Council.  The "Covenant" stipulates that the United States, Britain, France, Italy, and Japan are permanent members of the Security Council, and there are four non-permanent members.

    Although the United States was one of the initiating countries, ironically, it did not participate because it failed in the leadership competition with Britain and France.  Therefore, there were only four permanent members before Germany joined the League of Nations in 1926. The League of Nations was mainly controlled by Britain and France.

    According to the "Covenant of the League of Nations", the responsibilities of the Council are: drafting disarmament plans, reviewing annual reports submitted by countries undertaking mandates, ensuring the territorial integrity of member states, proposing proposals to the General Assembly to resolve international disputes, and implementing economic and military measures against aggressors.  Military sanctions, etc.  China's previous major disarmament was carried out at its request.

    Although Zhang Hanqing knew that this loose alliance was of little use, the League of Nations did not even protect China's interests in Shandong in the Paris Peace Treaty.  But in the early days, especially from the post-war period to the late 1920s, the League of Nations was still very famous, and he also intended to use this alliance to correct the policies of all parties towards China:

    China joined the League of Nations on June 29, 1920. Since China is already a member of the League of Nations, many matters can of course be resolved within the League of Nations. And since it is a member state, national sovereignty cannot be questioned. This cuts off the tension on the scene.  To China¡¯s black hands, the policies of various countries towards China have become transparent.

    A quick look at the world before and after World War I shows very few changes.

    Although the borders of Europe are different due to the disappearance of the four great empires, as far as the entire world is concerned, European rule does not seem to have weakened.  Britain, France, and other empires still rule as many overseas colonies as they did before 1914.

    In fact, their territory was even larger, as they now controlled territory in the Middle East that had previously been under the Sudanese rule.  Thus, Europe's global hegemony was more complete after the First World War than before it.

    However, beneath the surface, the situation is completely different.  In fact, from a global perspective, the main significance of the First World War was precisely that it began to weaken European hegemony - a process that was completed after the Second World War. This weakening was manifested in at least three  In all aspects, economic decline, political crisis and the weakening of control over the colonies.

    Before 1914, Europe¡¯s economy relied heavily on large-scale overseas investments, which generated large profits every year.  However, during World War I, Britain lost a quarter of its foreign investment, France lost a third, and Germany lost all of its foreign investment.

    The complete change in this trend can be seen in the new financial strength of the United States.  Before the war, the United States relied on Europe to provide the capital it needed.  By 1914, the United States owed about $4 billion to European investors; a tiny sum by today's standards, but three times the national debt of the period.

    However, the war completely changed this relationship.  Because in order to pay for war materials, the Allied governments were first forced to sell their shares in the United States, and then borrowed money from the U.S. government and private parties.  Thus, by 1919, the United States had become a creditor nation with loans of $3.7 billion, and ten years later, this figure had risen to $8.8 billion.

    Industrially, the same pattern was evident, as many mission areas in Europe had been destroyed, while American factories had suffered greatly during the war.Driven by demand, it has grown astonishingly like bamboo shoots after a rain.  By 1929, the industrial output of the United States accounted for at least 42.2% of the world's total industrial output, which was greater than the output of all European countries, including the Soviet Union.

    Therefore, the economic relationship between Europe and the United States was completely changed by the First World War.  Europe is no longer the world's banker and the world's workshop, as it was in the 19th century. Leadership in both areas has passed across the Atlantic.

    The war devastated Europe not only economically but also politically.  Before 1914, Europe was the birthplace of basic modern political thought and political systems.  As we have seen, the influence of these ideas and institutions has reached every corner of the globe.

    However, the catastrophe of the war made Europeans demoralized and lost confidence.

    Across the continent, the ancient order is being questioned and challenged.  British Prime Minister Lloyd  In a secret memorandum in March 1919, George wrote: "Among the workers who opposed the pre-war situation, there existed a strong sense not only of dissatisfaction but of anger and resistance that was evident in all existing political, social and  The economic order is viewed with suspicion by broad swaths of people across Europe."

    At this critical juncture of the revolution, many Europeans looked to two non-Europeans for guidance, Wilson in the United States and Lenin in Soviet Russia.

    Because the Soviet Union¡¯s social nature was different from that of Western countries, it had just recovered from the threat and even armed intervention of the Belarusian army supported by capitalist countries and was consolidating its socialist regime. The Western world began to isolate the Soviet Union.

    From the 1920s to the early 1930s, the Soviet Union carried out a "New Economic Policy" to restore the economy.  Its main contents are: abolish the surplus grain collection system and implement in-kind tax; stop the rationing system and allow the sale of goods; relax foreign trade controls and encourage investment by foreign-funded enterprises; allow a certain degree of private enterprise economy, etc.

    The New Economic Policy gradually restored the Soviet Union's economy. At a time when Europe was being reshuffled, the Soviet Union was basically excluded. However, it was an unexpected blessing in disguise: by 1928, Russia's industrial and agricultural product output had successfully returned to the level of 1913.  , and also lay a solid foundation for the rise of superpowers in the future.

    The success of the Soviet Union gave hope to Germany, which was trapped in "jail".  In an attempt to emulate the Bolshevik Revolution, soviets were established in Berlin, Hamburg, and Budapest, and demonstrations were held on the streets of London, Paris, and Rome.

    Wilson's close friend Colonel House wrote in his diary on March 22, 1919: "Cries of dissatisfaction are heard every day, the people want peace, Bolshevism is becoming more and more accepted by people everywhere, Hungary has just surrendered,  We are sitting on an open fire store. One day, a spark will ignite it."

    The people need strong leadership, and the country needs to unite the hearts of people who have suffered from the war. The national socialist system adheres to one-party leadership. Because it has the advantage of concentrating its efforts on big things, it has gradually gained market share on the world political stage.  The Soviet Union did this, China did this, and Italy, a permanent member of the League of Nations far away in Europe, also followed the same pattern.

    Mussolini declared his "National Fascist Party" as the only legal political party in January of the year, marking the first time for fascist rule. This made Hitler maintain an almost paranoid loyalty and friendship to him throughout his life.

    The close diplomatic relations and all-round military and economic mutual assistance between China, Germany and the Soviet Union have made the traditional powers Britain, France and Japan feel excluded.  In order to continue their interests in China, they can only be more inclined to the United States' "open door" policy, thereby increasing the United States' voice.

    The good interaction between China and the United States has also given them a strong sense of presence in successfully resolving the "May 30" crisis.

    Looking back on the entire incident, only Germany and the Soviet Union maintained a strong sympathy and support for China from beginning to end, so Zhang Hanqing decided to reciprocate the favor and sincerely seek benefits for both countries.  He said this when meeting with the German Minister in China:

    ¡°The German nation is a great nation and has experienced similar suffering, rejection and oppression to the Chinese nation in history. Now around us, our interests are still being plundered by foreign powers, and our living space is still being squeezed.

    We feel the same pain deeply. If we want to break this situation, we need to join hands to deal with it together.  All this requires strong industrial and military capabilities to support it.

    Germany has pent-up military industry capabilities, and we have strong military industry needs.  I visited your country last year and received a good response. China and Germany have formed an all-round national relationship. We have made great progress in the field of military industry, but I think this is far from enough!

    The rejuvenation of the two countries will inevitably involve the interests of the great powers: France will not accept a rising Germany, and Britain will not tolerate its Versailles system being broken, so a war is needed to overthrow it; Japan will not be able to survive the rise of China in Asia.  Hom, if we want to complete the historical task of making the Chinese people stand up, China and Japan must have a battle.

    The interests of Britain, the United States and other countries in China and Germany determine that they will not sit back and watch this war. No one dares to predict who they will help.  But imperialism is the same breed, and we cannot pin our hopes on their conscience. The correct solution is to become stronger ourselves.

    So I have an idea that is a sublimation of the results of the previous talks with General Sickert.  "

    Don¡¯t Europeans claim to be superior people? In terms of strategy, let these ¡°superior people¡± first see what ¡°strategy planning¡± is and what ¡°Chinese strategy¡± is!  (Remember the website address: www.hlnovel.com)To accomplish the historical task of making the Chinese people stand up, China and Japan must have a battle.

    The interests of Britain, the United States and other countries in China and Germany determine that they will not sit back and watch this war. No one dares to predict who they will help.  But imperialism is the same breed, and we cannot pin our hopes on their conscience. The correct solution is to become stronger ourselves.

    So I have an idea that is a sublimation of the results of the previous talks with General Sickert.  "

    Don¡¯t Europeans claim to be superior people? In terms of strategy, let these ¡°superior people¡± first see what ¡°strategy planning¡± is and what ¡°Chinese strategy¡± is!  (Remember the website address: www.hlnovel.com
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