Ever since the continent of Europa opened up a new sea route, it has become the master of this blue planet. The white people have brought the world under their control. Other continents have become colonies one after another. Even if China was lucky enough not to fall, it would still be nothing more.
It's just a piece of fat that you can ask for.
Europe is at a dizzying height, but with the arrival of the New World, this land favored by God began to show bad signs. The industry in the New World flourished and became the largest industrial power, which seemed to herald the glory of old Europe.
has gradually dissipated, and what is even more fatal is that the internal conflicts in Europe have reached an irreconcilable point. France and Germany are feuding, Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are also at war with each other, and Britain is facing the threat of the German navy. In the end, two major groups have taken shape.
, everyone knows that war is coming, but no one knows how long God has left for everyone!
However, on June 28, shocking news came to the world. Crown Prince Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo. The murderer was a Serbian young man. This news was enough.
German Emperor Wilhelm II, who was waiting for this opportunity, was already impatient.
Just two months ago, Germany widened the Kiel Canal, making it easier for the German navy to mobilize, and Britain's aid to Russia has also increased a lot. If it drags on, Germany will inevitably face a situation of attack from both sides, and it will also be land and sea.
A common threat, so the Germans are not willing to wait any longer.
And Britain is also unwilling to wait any longer. Although Britain is the world's most powerful country and has the most powerful navy, the British know their own suffering. After Britain established global hegemony, the British have a huge navy.
The navy, as well as the colonies all over the world, the British can get enough benefits from international trade if they work hard. Simply put, the British collect tolls like a gangster, so the British live a comfortable life.
.
It stands to reason that as long as the British can continue to maintain their huge military advantage, they can live comfortably like this. However, the world is not static. With the unfolding of the second industrial revolution, Britain's industrial strength was first surpassed by the United States, and then
Let Germany overtake it again, and British industry has begun to fall behind.
What's even more terrible is that the emergence of new technologies has made it no longer possible for Britain's huge fleet to guarantee complete hegemony. There is an urgent need to improve the level of armaments, and updating the huge fleet requires a strong industrial base as support. Unfortunately, Britain
Its industrial level has lagged behind that of Germany, which means that Britain must spend more money to build warships comparable to those of Germany.
Of course, Britain can also gain certain advantages by relying on its accumulated shipbuilding experience. However, as long as Germany builds larger and larger ships, thicker defenses, sharper cannons, and faster speeds, it will not go wrong.
It was under this situation that Britain and Germany launched an arms race.
Britain's backward industrial capabilities are already struggling to cope with this kind of competition. If it continues for a few more years, Britain even doubts that it will be defeated without a fight. Britain's situation is very similar to that of the United States in later generations. Both countries are on the path to global hegemony.
After reaching the top of the world, I started the path of de-industrialization, hoping to rely on strong military power to live a prosperous life as a parasite. However, by not forgetting the consequences of the past, the fate of the United States may not be that good.
It is this sense of urgency that makes Britain also hope that the war will come quickly. Both sides are so eager to fight. After learning about the Sarajevo incident, they can’t wait to start preparations for the war. After the businessmen of the world got the news, sensitive people were
They guessed what might happen next, so they started to prepare...
In Chengdu, Qiao Yu has secretly gathered all the people from all walks of life in Sichuan's politics and business. Being able to participate in this level of memories is undoubtedly a recognition of financial resources. Everyone's faces are smiling, not at all because Austria-Hungary has lost its only
The crown prince felt sad, but instead he was happy and excited, and everyone was gearing up.
Qiao Yu was also extremely happy. As soon as the First World War broke out, Sichuan's opportunity would come. This was the moment he had been waiting for for a long time. Everyone had sat down. Qiao Yu gently adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and said with a smile.
: "Gentlemen, the Sarajevo incident will definitely become the trigger for the European War. Seeing that a war of unprecedented scale is about to come, I wonder if you are ready. As the saying goes, a cannon fires, and gold is ten thousand taels. I think this number
Too little. This war will be measured in at least hundreds of millions of taels of gold. The perfect opportunity our Sichuan industry has been waiting for has arrived!"
Among the people present were Wang Dongcheng, Xue Shan, Zhang Fuxiang, Wang Gui and others who had followed Qiao Yu from Chongqing, as well as Wang Chengji from southern Sichuan, many salt merchants from Fushun, and many businessmen from Chengdu, each of whom was worth as much as
It is more than one million taels, and they all have large-scale factories, otherwise they would not be qualified to enter this circle. Everyone's eyes were filled with light when they heard Qiao Yu's words. As early as a year ago, Sichuan's industrial production began for the war.
layout, establishing factories to produce military supplies, purchasing equipment in large quantities, and training workers at all costs. Some people were originally skeptical, but now there are not many doubts.
"Don't worry, Commander, we have started preparations a long time ago. Now we have hoarded a batch of supplies in Europe, mainly in Germany. The most important ones are food and daily necessities. According to our estimation, once Germany starts a war, it will face the British
Blockade, and Germany cannot be self-sufficient in food, so we think this is a good choice!" The wealthy businessman Xu Hua first introduced the situation on his side, Qiao Yu nodded slightly, this choice is indeed good, as early as the beginning of the year
At that time, Qiao Yu purposefully organized all the businessmen and assigned different tasks.
Some are responsible for production, some are responsible for raw materials, some are responsible for trade, and some are responsible for finance, etc. Sichuan's industrial power is undoubtedly weak. Not to mention compared with the United States, it is far inferior to Japan, so it wants to gain some
Profit can only be achieved by planning in advance and organizing closely. Fortunately, Qiao Yu has absolute authority in Sichuan and has close cooperation with businessmen. If it were anyone else, he would not be able to carry out this kind of layout.
In addition, it also benefited from Qiao Yu's grasp of the First World War. Other businessmen simply did not have such courage. After all, the whole world thought that the European War would be a short war that would be over in a few months. They did not expect this at all.
It will be a feast that lasts for more than four years.
After Xu Hua finished speaking, Zhang Fuxiang also spoke: "Commander, I am mainly responsible for arranging Sichuan's military production. We have established three large-scale textile factories. The number of textile workers in Sichuan has exceeded 100,000, and we can produce large quantities of textiles.
Military supplies such as military uniforms, boots, quilts, tents, etc. have also been established. Seven canneries have been established, scattered in various places. They mainly use local resources, including canned pork, canned beef, and canned fruit, all designed for export. Medicines, bandages, etc. are also available.
They all have considerable production capacity. Although it is not comparable to that of the United States, this is our greatest effort!"
"Well, it's pretty good that we can do this with our limited foundation. Minister Wang, how prepared are the overseas financial markets?"
When Wang Dongcheng heard that Qiao Yu had named him, he hurriedly said: "Commander, we have raised a total of 30 million yuan, which is quite a lot, but this amount of money is simply not available in the foreign market, so I decided
All this money was invested in the U.S. financial market, with the main goal of buying the stocks of the arms companies recommended by the commander-in-chief. After the Sarajevo incident broke out, the United States generally believed that the war would spread to the United States, and the United States would be wiped out. Therefore,
The stock market began to fall crazily, but according to the personnel sent to the United States, it was estimated that this was probably a trick played by the arms tycoons in the United States. The purpose was to obtain the stocks of the invaluable arms companies at a low price.
So I had people invest all their money in U.S. Steel, Mobil Oil, DuPont, Bethlehem Steel, General Motors!”….
Qiao Yu knew that the U.S. stock market was bound to skyrocket because of the First World War, but he didn't expect that it would start to fall first. However, Qiao Yu also agreed with Wang Dongcheng's judgment. This should be just a trick of the tycoons. Across the Atlantic, the war was really fierce.
It was difficult to get to the United States, and he fully agreed with this investment strategy.
Zhao Baoxuan was mainly responsible for the military industry. When he saw everyone talking, he also said: "Everyone, the reorganization of the Sichuan Arsenal has been initially completed, and the production capacity has increased by nearly 20%. Among them, the bullet production has increased the fastest, reaching 200 per month.
Thousands of grains, but the quality of our arms is still far behind Europe and the United States. In addition, white people also have inherent prejudices and may not be able to take a fancy to our stuff. Therefore, our main target is Russia. Russia is the largest among the Allied Powers, but
Its industrial strength is also the weakest, and it cannot even guarantee the most basic firearms, so Russia is our largest potential customer for arms!"
Qiao Yu listened carefully to everyone's reports. He knew very well that this was the limit of what Sichuan could do. In addition to these arrangements, Qiao Yu used all the profits from printing holiday yen and invested it in the American financial market.
The money is Qiao Yu's private money, and Qiao Yu is also planning to use the money to do more things, such as affecting Japan's financial order. You must know that Japan officially became a great power with the help of World War I. Now if it can
Adding a little bit of congestion to Japan is definitely a wish.
Zhang Fuxiang also said immediately: "Commander, I have contacted the consuls general of Britain and France and expressed our willingness to provide strategic materials to the two countries. Britain and France are very enthusiastic, but we advocate that Britain and France take the initiative to give up their financial support for Sichuan.
interference, but they are not willing, and the negotiations are not going smoothly now!"
"They are unwilling to do so, but I believe they will agree soon. The war will be more brutal than imagined. Lords, our next task is to count the money!"