Philip is a traditional British aristocrat, and his interests have long been firmly tied to the British Empire. Although after southern Africa becomes autonomous, Philip will increasingly consider the interests of the Matilda family, but when it comes to the issue of Germany, Philip
Still tough, after all, Britain is the sovereign state of southern Africa. In Philip's view, a strong Britain can better safeguard the interests of southern Africa.
Unlike Philip, Rock has long seen through the paper tiger nature of imperialism. The world war is the best opportunity for southern Africa to completely get rid of the British control. If you miss this time, you don't know when the next time will be an autonomous south.
Africa cannot satisfy Roque. A southern Africa that is completely independent, has huge influence in Africa, and has a certain say in the world is Roque's goal.
That's why Roque would not be serious about this issue. Don't look at Britain's life-and-death struggle with Germany during the war. After the war, in order to contain France, Britain began to secretly support Germany. That's why there are no eternal enemies between countries.
Eternal friends have only eternal interests.
Having established this point, Roque was very honest with Philip: "Of course, I will sell it to whoever gives the money——"
"Including Germans?" Philip asked.
"Philip, local companies have not completely stopped cooperation with German companies." Roque did not answer directly, but just stated a fact.
The continental balancing policy and glorious isolation are no joke. Britain has always been like this. It will never do anything completely. It truly tries to keep a line in life so that we can meet each other easily in the future.
Britain's policies have always been adjusted in time with the comparison of the strengths of various countries on the European continent. During the period when France dominated the European continent, Britain organized seven anti-French alliances in succession in order to break France's hegemony on the European continent. In the end, it completely defeated Napoleon and crushed France.
The last hope for rise.
In the first half of the 19th century, Russia's ambitions were gradually increasing, and its ambitions in the Balkans were increasing. At that time, the Ottoman Empire was no longer able to compete with Russia's expansion. Britain pulled France to help the Ottoman Empire fight against Russia, trapping Russia firmly in the Black Sea.
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After the Franco-Prussian War, in order to take revenge, France put aside its past and formed an alliance with Russia to fight against the German-Austrian Alliance. Britain remained gloriously isolated and did not join any party, trying to profit from it.
As a result, Germany began to challenge Britain's maritime hegemony, and Britain quickly formed an alliance with France and Russia to form the Triple Entente.
This is the essence of Britain's troublemaker. Even if the arms race is in full swing now, British companies have still not completely cut off their ties with German companies. The reason cannot be explained to outsiders. Free trade certainly cannot be used as a reason. In order to support Germany and contain France in the future, it is
the truth.
If you offend someone badly now, what if Germany and France form an alliance to isolate Britain in the future?
Don't think this is impossible. Think about the European Community and the Brexit drama in the 21st century. It would not be surprising at all if the UK decides to reorganize its government and become a socialist country one day.
Even domestic companies in the UK are secretly colluding with Germany. Of course it is understandable for Rock to do this. Don’t the Germans know that there are evil intentions in building railways in southern Africa? They must know, but the Germans have no choice. This is just like Liu Beigang in the White House.
The imperial city was defeated, and then they held their noses and joined forces with Wu to fight against Cao.
"Locke, you always have to think about the children -" Philip's expression was complicated. In fact, what Rock did was blameless. Rock did not directly sell strategic materials to the Germans, but to the Americans. As for
Rock has no control over who the Americans sell it to.
So Philip could only say something indifferent from a moral perspective, but it was also far-fetched.
"I just think about it for the children. I hope that when they grow up, southern Africa will be stronger, face the international environment more easily, and be able to face the world with more ease." Rock followed Philip's topic and said, as for the British knighthood
,who cares.
To put it bluntly, if Roque had not shown sufficient value, Britain would not have made Roque a viscount at all.
It is precisely because Roque's value is increasing and he is becoming more and more important to the British Empire and southern Africa that the British government will spend all its money to win over Roque. As long as Roque does not break through the British bottom line, the British will give Roque the title of knighthood.
It will get higher and higher.
This is the most economical and cost-effective way to win over.
It is estimated that Henry and Irving really didn't want to see Philip's bad face, so they came together before dinner started.
Henry and Owen both came with their children, and the children immediately started shouting and yelling when they got together. The aristocratic demeanor that Phyllis, Lacey, and Carina usually emphasized was immediately thrown out of the sky, and they were left alone.
There is a joyful atmosphere inside and outside the manor. The ponies sent by Christian are most popular among the children, and even the girls want to try them.
When he met Roque, Henry was still concerned about the mines in Katanga and enthusiastically asked about the latest situation in the Congo Free State.
"The Republic of Congo and the Kingdom of Congo have signed the "Bukavu Contract", but the war is not over yet. The Belgian government is seizing the time to train the expeditionary force, and things may still change." Roque is actually not too worried about this issue. Within this year
The Belgian Expeditionary Force will definitely not be able to set off.
"How many expeditionary forces did Belgium form? Ten thousand? Or twenty thousand?" Henry looked down on Belgium. Ten thousand and twenty thousand people had no effect on the current Congo Free State. Britain sent a total of 450,000 to southern Africa during the Second Boer War.
At that time, the total number of Boers was only 440,000. If calculated this way, Belgium would have to form an expeditionary force of at least 10 million people.
Even if all the armies of all European countries were combined, they wouldn't be enough.
So think about the eight million regular troops that Chang Kaishen claimed at the end of World War II. Not to mention their combat effectiveness, this number would scare Europeans crazy.
"Locke, your methods are too crude." Lord Matilda, a former official of the Department of Colonial Affairs, was disgusted.
Rock laughed loudly. Although Rock's methods were rough, couldn't the deception, abduction, coercion and inducement used when Britain expanded its colonies be very sophisticated?
Taking into account the actual situation in the UK, it is true that the only option is deception, coercion and inducement. It is impossible to directly send troops to push back. The British Army has only a few thousand people all year round and cannot even be called "Royal". If the US Army
If they are beggars, then the British Army is just a bum, no one is much better than the other.
In the United States, the current image of the U.S. Army is that of a beggar. Since the independence of the United States, the United States has maintained a very small army with a serious lack of funds. Even the uniforms cannot be replaced in time.
Not even the Guards.
The United States National Guard is the militia.
Later, because it wanted to show its strength, the United States formed the Great White Fleet that could be used to sail around the world. However, the army was still not welcomed. Therefore, the troops the United States sent to Europe to participate in the war did not even have weapons and had to rely on support from Britain and France. This is really not true.
The United States is sincerely trying to trick Britain and France. This is the actual situation.
"But there are still hidden dangers in being so blatant." Owen thought a lot. If you use a nice word to describe this, it means being thoughtful, but if you use a bad word to describe it, it means being cautious.
"There must be. The Belgian government is very unhappy, but there is not much they can do. If they have the ability to bite me." Roque is not afraid. Belgium is a country in Europe that eats, sleeps and plays Doudou. Who is it in the story?
It can be bullied at any time. If it weren't for Britain's continental balance policy, Belgium would have been annexed by France long ago.
Before the Franco-Prussian War, one of the important reasons why Britain sat back and watched France be defeated was that France wanted to annex Belgium. Of course, Britain did not want to see this happen. A France with territorial ambitions was intolerable to Britain. The Franco-Prussian War
France had previously acquired Savoy and Nice from the Kingdom of Sardinia. One of these two places was a high-quality coal producing area and the other was a natural harbor.
Therefore, Belgium can do very little on the issue of the Congo Free State. The atmosphere in Europe is becoming more and more tense. Belgium cannot care about the Congo Free State now, because whether France becomes stronger or Germany defeats France, it annexes Belgium.
It's all a matter of coincidence. The international environment of small countries and few people is so sad.
"If you continue like this, I guess there will be an anti-Southern African alliance in Africa." Owen expressed deep concern that Southern Africa is now showing too much aggression. However, London has not restricted the expansion of Southern Africa, it is just a guideline.
The suggestion is that Southern Africa should change course.
The British mainland does not want to see Southern Africa endlessly tossing Belgium or Portugal. It wants Southern Africa to focus on Tanganyika and Southwest Africa.
Is this routine familiar? Think about appeasement before the outbreak of World War II. Britain could secure Germany's annexation of Austria. In order to satisfy Germany's demands, it forced Czechoslovakia to cede the Sudetenland to Germany, and then allowed Germany to annex the entire country.
Czechoslovakia, all this was to allow Germany to attack the Soviet Union and divert disaster to the east.
The same is true for southern Africa. Britain has accepted the lessons of the Second Boer War and cannot form an expeditionary force to Africa again. Therefore, southern Africa has become the most powerful weapon for Britain to attack Southwest Africa and Tanganyika.
"Europe is currently busy with an arms race. Even countries like Belgium have begun to prepare for war. Even if there is an anti-Southern African Alliance, it doesn't matter." Roque is more optimistic. The purpose of Belgium's expeditionary force is actually very vague. In the Belgian government's
According to the propaganda, the expeditionary force was established to protect national interests. The "national interests" here include not only the Congo Free State, but also Belgium itself.
