Paying attention to tradition is a nicer way of saying it.
To put it bluntly, the British admirals are a group of old antiques with a rigid system, stubborn stubbornness, and a refusal to accept new things.
Because of this, although the British admirals discovered the power of aircraft carriers from the war between Lanfang and Japan, they refused to admit it. To this day, they are still immersed in the thinking of giant ships and cannons and refuse to step out.
This is a good thing for the Lanfang Navy. From Qin Zhiyuan's point of view, Qin Zhiyuan hopes that the British Navy will never get out of this vicious circle. In that case, the Lanfang Navy will get more time.
But for Lloyd George, this feeling is not so wonderful. Lloyd George knows that there is a problem in the British Navy, but he doesn’t know where the problem lies, so naturally he has no way to deal with it. This feeling of being helpless is really
depressing.
But it is obvious that Lloyd George is not here to chat with Qin Zhiyuan. Lloyd George handles the crisis in his own way.
President Harding made a suggestion, what is your opinion? Lloyd George looked relaxed, as if he was not worried about the problems of the British Navy.
For a moment, Harding and Qin Zhiyuan really didn't react. Qin Zhiyuan was very unfamiliar with the name Harding.
You don’t know that in the general election just a week ago, President Harding defeated James Cox of the Democratic Party and became the 29th President of the United States. I thought you had received the news. Lloyd George was a little speechless. If Qin Zhiyuan
If you don't know anything about the US presidential election, then Lanfang's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is really incompetent.
Oh, Harding, Warren Gammeril Harding, of course, I know him. Qin Zhiyuan raised his glass and concealed his ecstasy with the action of drinking.
It's really either embarrassing or ecstatic.
Simon Allen sent a telegram to Qin Zhiyuan several months ago, reporting on the progress of the relationship between him and Harding. It was under Qin Zhiyuan's instruction that Simon Allen would spend huge sums of money to support Harding's election.
.
Now that Harding has fulfilled his wish to save the President of the United States, Qin Zhiyuan's investment has finally come to harvest. Why doesn't this make Qin Zhiyuan ecstatic?
Qin Zhiyuan knows that Harding is a conservative. When Harding comes to power, the United States will definitely return to isolationist thinking. This is a good thing for Lanfang's expansion. The biggest good news is that if Lanfang and the United Kingdom because of a certain
If these things conflict, the Americans are very likely to stand by and watch until Britain shows its defeat. This is definitely a major benefit to Lanfang.
What is President Harding's proposal? Qin Zhiyuan really doesn't know about this.
During the recent period, first in Australia, then in North Africa, and now in Madagascar, Qin Zhiyuan really didn't pay much attention to the United States on the other side of the ocean, and he didn't know anything about Harding's proposal.
Of course, the greater possibility is that Gao Hongshi submitted the report to Qin Zhiyuan, but Qin Zhiyuan hasn't read it yet.
President Harding invited us, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and your Lanfang to hold a meeting in Washington. Regarding the expansion of the navy, you also know that all of us are facing the problem of restoring the economic development of the country. Then we may be able to reach an agreement.
Consensus, consensus on military expansion, think about the arms race between us and the Germans before the World War, God, it was terrible, I don’t want to do it again. Lloyd George said a little bit more, more on
Show attitude.
Only then did Qin Zhiyuan understand that Lloyd George was talking about the Washington Naval Conference.
In the past, after the World War, the desperate Japanese tightened their belts and started an arms race with the British with the dollars earned from selling Japanese women and raising silkworms.
That's right, it's a Japanese woman
There was nothing wrong with Japanese men, because at that time Japanese men were either in the army or in factories, and they were not responsible for economic development.
In order to get rid of the economic downturn, Americans did not agree with the arms race between Japan and Britain. Therefore, at the initiative of U.S. President Harding, Britain, Japan, France, Italy and other countries gathered in the United States to hold a meeting to discuss the proportion of warships owned by each country.
Had a meeting.
Of course, it was not just the above five countries that attended the meeting, there were also many other countries participating. For example, the Republic of China also sent a delegation, but it was a pity that the Republic of China did not get a chance to speak at that time. In terms of the navy, all the
The whole world was open to the Republic of China and did not restrict the Republic of China from developing its navy at all.
It is estimated that the faces of the representatives attending the meeting would be burning with pain.
What does an arms race feel like? Wouldn't developing armaments objectively promote the development of science and technology? Qin Zhiyuan was quite curious and went over Lloyd George's pain point again.
It is a feeling that can make people despair. Indeed, the development of armaments will promote the development of science and technology, but every step forward in science and technology means that those big things that have spent huge sums of money to build in the past have become things that lag behind the times. Therefore, in order to maintain
To be competitive, you can only start building bigger and stronger ones. The saddest thing is that originally you thought you were building the largest and most powerful warship in the world, but it hasn’t been launched yet and the overall performance has lagged behind again. It’s really a waste.
Lloyd George really hated the arms race.
It is true that war is the first driving force for the development of science and technology, but if science and technology is developed in the context of military competition, it will indeed make people despair.
What you mean is that we should attend this meeting and then restrict the development of the navies of various countries. Qin Zhiyuan's expression was a bit solemn. It is better to seek Lloyd George's opinion first.
To be honest, Qin Zhiyuan hopes to engage in an arms race with the British, but it is different from the current battle of battleships. Qin Zhiyuan hopes that the British will desperately produce battleships, and then Lanfang will desperately produce aircraft carriers, and then one day, when George V and King George V
When Qin Zhiyuan felt that continuing like this was no longer an option, Yingying and Lanfang had a decisive battle.
Yes, I am inclined to participate. We can agree on an upper limit that everyone can accept, and then play the game within the rules. Lloyd George's calculation was good.
What Lloyd George meant was to fight for quality, not quantity. Whether it was in terms of naval ship technology or personnel quality, Lloyd George was confident that Britain would not lose to anyone.
Lanfang was different. In Lloyd George's view, Lanfang was a symbol of stupidity and money. If Lanfang could not rely on the number of battleships to gain an advantage, Lanfang would always be severely suppressed by the British Navy.
What is the upper limit you want? Qin Zhiyuan tested Lloyd George's bottom line.
In principle, of course, the more the better, but considering the UK's affordability, I think 700,000 tons of battleships is a normal number. Lloyd George is really not polite, the number he quoted is higher than what the UK has obtained historically.
The quota is much higher.
In the original history, the United Kingdom, like the United States, received a quota of 500,000 tons for capital ships in the Washington Naval Treaty. Japan received a quota of 300,000 tons, and France and Italy both received a quota of 175,000 tons.
Some people are happy about this number, but others are worried about it. The British and Japanese think that theirs is not enough, and the French and Italians are also shouting that it is not enough. However, even before the outbreak of World War II, France and Italy did not use up the number.
their quota.
In fact, it makes sense for Lloyd George to offer 700,000 tons. Think about it, Britain now has a total of 23 battleships, basically all of which are more than 20,000 tons. The largest Hood is 43,000 tons, which is only for the British.
500,000 tons is indeed not enough.
Of course, if Japan's quota is now given to Lanfang, Qin Zhiyuan will not be able to use it up. In Qin Zhiyuan's plan, Lanfang will have a total of six battleships. Even if each ship is 35,000 tons, it will not be used up.
Only 210,000 tons can be used.
700,000 tons, this number is really astonishing, then we need 600,000 tons. Qin Zhiyuan said casually, not noticing that Lloyd George's face had turned into the color of pig liver.
600,000 tons. Do you know what 600,000 tons is? Do you want to build a fleet of 20 battleships? I'm afraid you don't have enough manpower to control them. Lloyd George's tone was a bit sarcastic.
Speaking of the navy, the British are indeed qualified to ridicule anyone. Of course, whether Qin Zhiyuan wants 600,000 tons or not, the problem is to pay back the sky-high price.
So how much do you think Lan Fang should have? Qin Zhiyuan didn't care, but he still tested Lloyd George's bottom line.
100,000 tons is enough. Compared with your country, 100,000 tons is an appropriate number. Lloyd George is really arrogant.
It is indeed a boast. The three battleships that Lanfang now owns, the Vladivostok, France and Ningbei, add up to more than 100,000 tons. This does not include the Lanfang, which has been launched but has not yet been delivered.
If Lloyd George's suggestion is followed, then Lanfang now owns more battleships than its fair share, and even Lanfang needs to be demolished, so as not to exceed too much.
Qin Zhiyuan definitely didn't want to dismantle the Lanfang, and he didn't argue with Lloyd George, but just smiled and said nothing.
Really, Lanfang does not need too many warships. If Lanfang has too many warships, it will affect the peace of the region and make Lanfang's neighbors feel a sense of crisis, which will trigger a further arms race. This is what we all
Neither of them wanted to see it. Lloyd George also tried his best to persuade Qin Zhiyuan to give up his ambition of 600,000 tons.
To be honest, I am not afraid of the arms race. If all warships are worth 22 million US dollars like the Vladivostok, then I will start with 20 ships. Qin Zhiyuan is really wealthy.
Just as Qin Zhiyuan said, the construction cost of Vladivostok, the former Nagato, was about 44 million yen, which is about 22 million U.S. dollars in U.S. dollars.
Of course, this was before the war between Lanfang and Japan. After the war between Lanfang and Japan, the yen has depreciated significantly, and the current exchange rate against the US dollar is about ten to one.
Hearing Qin Zhiyuan's lofty ideals, Lloyd George was finally dumbfounded. Only now did Lloyd George remember that Qin Zhiyuan was not only the king of Lanfang, but also one of the richest men in the world. Three to four billion US dollars was the most important thing for Qin Zhiyuan.
