Also arriving at the dock to greet him were Hoover and some executives of Nyasaland Enterprises in the United States, including Mike Carlisle and Baekeland.
Rock greeted them and then took a bus to the Rhodesia Hotel in Manhattan.
The naval meeting was held a month later. The reason why the British delegation came to the United States in advance was to communicate with delegations from various countries in advance and test the bottom line of all parties.
Coincidentally, the Japanese delegation also meant the same thing, so Kato Yusaburo hoped to have dinner with Roque as soon as he saw him.
Eating is a small matter, drinking is a big matter——
hetui——
Connecting emotionally is a big deal.
After ten consecutive days of traveling and traveling, Rock was exhausted both mentally and physically. When he arrived at the hotel and was about to take a nap, there was a knock on the door.
"Lord, the leader of the Japanese delegation, Tomosaburo Kato, wants to see you -" Fitch chose the wrong word, "seeking" is not enough, it is true that the mood is more urgent. Japan is actually similar to Italy, and both deserve Winston's evaluation: Long
He has a good appetite, but his mouth is full of rotten teeth.
As mentioned earlier, Japan was ambitious after the war and proposed the "Eighty-Eight Fleet" plan in an attempt to strengthen its dominance in Asia.
Compared with Japan in another time and space, Japan in this time and space gained much less from the World War. Japan in another time and space almost completely took over Germany's colonies in the Pacific. In this time and space, those colonies were all taken over by East India.
East India and southern Africa are closely related. If Japan wants to expand, it will face more difficulties than in another time and space.
In addition to limiting armaments, the Washington Conference also had another purpose, which was to resolve issues in the Far East and the Pacific.
In addition to the five countries that participated in the Naval Conference, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and a total of nine other countries also participated in the Washington Conference, and finally the Nine-Nation Convention was formed.
"Please -" Rock cheered up, understanding the Japanese's eagerness.
"Lord Nyasaland, I'm sorry for such a presumptuous visit -" Kato Yusaburo is fluent in Chinese, which is not surprising. Chinese still plays an important role in Japan.
Rock smiled politely. Since he knew it was presumptuous and still did it, he must not be feeling too sorry.
"The Yamato people and the Chinese are separated by a strip of water, and have been friendly for generations. The mountains and rivers are in different places, but the sun and the moon share the same river." Kato Yuzaburo was indeed deeply influenced by Chinese culture. Instead of talking about serious matters, he talked about useless things.
Rock didn't speak, and while the smile on his face gradually disappeared, he raised his hand and looked at his watch.
Kato Yusaburo immediately understood Rock's mood.
If you keep rambling on, Rock will have to see the guest off——
"Southern Africa has created an astonishing economic miracle in recent years. Products from Southern Africa can now be seen everywhere in Japan. The car His Majesty rides on is also produced in Southern Africa -" Tomosaburo Kato still doesn't know enough about Roque.
"Your Excellency, Minister, tell me what you have to say." Roque is really impatient. You have to listen to others. Who is in the mood to listen to what you say?
To put it simply, just speak human words!
"Lord, we hope to buy more goods from southern Africa." Kato Yusaburo gradually adapted to Rock's style. This is right. Business is business, and don't talk about what you have and what you don't have.
"Mr. Minister, you should go to the Ministry of Commerce, not me." Roque didn't answer. Doing business depends on who you do business with, and with the Japanese, I'm sorry, Roque is really not interested.
Japan's domestic resources are poor and it has been engaged in military warfare in recent years. Resources cannot meet domestic consumption. In addition to plundering a large amount of resources, they can only be purchased from abroad.
Compared with Japan, Southern Africa is a real rich country, especially in steel and special metals. Southern Africa has huge advantages in the world.
So a long time ago, Japan hoped to purchase various raw materials needed domestically from Southern Africa. However, Southern Africa was very harsh on Japan in this regard. Not only did it not sell raw materials but only industrial products, the prices were also very high and the Japanese government could not afford them.
To put it bluntly, Japan hopes that southern Africa can become Japan's raw material supplier, while southern Africa hopes to turn Japan into a dumping ground for its own goods. There is a huge difference between the two.
"Lord, the whole world is shrouded in the shadow of the economic crisis, and Southern Africa is not immune to the impact. You have raw materials, we have the market, and we can work closely together to play a greater role in our respective fields." Tomosaburo Kato knew that Southern Africa
Who is talking about Africa? The Ministry of Commerce of Southern Africa is a subordinate unit of the Ministry of Finance of Southern Africa. The son of the boss of the Ministry of Finance is also the son of Roque.
Oops, this relationship is a bit dirty.
Although the person involved has never admitted it publicly, it is not a secret.
"Minister, we do have raw materials, but we are not short of market, and your market in Japan is not big. Please forgive me for speaking too directly." Roque was unmoved. Japan's current population is only more than 50 million.
One thing, the market is really not big.
What's more, what Japan wants to buy most from southern Africa are rare metals, such as manganese, chromium, copper and platinum group metals.
Currently, only Southern Africa in the world can provide a large amount of these resources, such as platinum group metals. Southern Africa’s reserves account for 95.5% of the world’s reserves. Except for Southern Africa, Japan cannot buy them from other countries.
Not just rare metals, Japan is short of all metals. Japan wanted to buy steel directly from the United States before, but the Americans also asked for too high a price for Japan to afford. In the end, it had to buy scrapped ships to be dismantled from the United States and recycle them.
Southern Africa charges higher prices.
Roque is not short of money, nor does he value the profit from doing business with the Japanese. To put it bluntly, the stronger Japan's national power is, the greater the ambition of the Japanese government will be, and the greater the harm it will cause to the Chinese.
"Lord, the Empire of Japan is the British Empire's staunchest ally in Asia -" Tomosaburo Kato also has a temper, and the Anglo-Japanese alliance has a long history. Long before the Russo-Japanese War, Japan and Britain formed an alliance to jointly contain Russia.
The expansion of the empire.
The "Anglo-Japanese Alliance Treaty" was signed three times in total, in 1902, 1905, and 1911. The three signings were all to contain the Russian Empire.
Now that the Russian Empire no longer exists, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance Treaty has lost its meaning.
One of the purposes of the Washington Conference held by the United States was to dismantle the Anglo-Japanese alliance.
Therefore, this alliance really has no binding force on Rock. Not to mention that the Russian Empire no longer exists. Even if it exists, Rock has never treated the Japanese as allies.
"Allies are allies, and business is business. Of course I am willing to cooperate with Japan, but the business practices of southern African companies are not subject to the rules of the alliance." Roque rejects all moral kidnappings. Brothers must settle accounts clearly. What are allies?
?
Allies are used to take the blame.
We share the same hardships, but we may not all share the blessings.
Kato Yusaburo finally recognized Rock's true face. Kato Yusaburo had never seen such an inexperienced person.
However, Kato Yusaburo still has nothing to do, whether you say it is irritating or not.
"Lord, Southern Africa also has demands at the naval meeting, right?" Kato Yusaburo finally found the right entry point. It is useless to slap Roark with a big hat. Only tangible benefits can make Roark give in.
Rock encouraged Tomosaburo Kato to continue with his smile and eyes.
Tomosaburo Kato endured: "——If Southern Africa can liberalize exports, then our Empire of Japan will support Southern Africa to participate as an independent country during the naval meeting and receive treatment that matches the strength of Southern Africa."
To be honest, if Rock hadn't known about the little devil's nature, Rock would have almost agreed.
It seems that the conditions offered by Tomosaburo Kato are good, but in fact they are harboring evil intentions.
If Southern Africa participates in the Washington Naval Conference as an independent country, what is the Commonwealth?
If it is just for the tonnage of the navy, the huge market in the British Commonwealth will be lost——
Kato Yusaburo was afraid that he thought Rock was a fool, so he proposed such a condition.
"Your Excellency Minister, Southern Africa is a Commonwealth country, and it is impossible to participate in the naval conference in the name of an independent country." Rock was not fooled. The United States wanted to dismantle the Anglo-Japanese alliance, but it did not want to dismantle the Commonwealth.
For the United States, Canada, Australia, and India are not a concern, and even the British Empire is in decline.
Only Southern Africa, like the rising sun, has the ability to compete with the United States in all aspects. Therefore, if Southern Africa remains in the Commonwealth, it will be a huge threat to the United States and Japan. If Southern Africa can be completely independent, then
The threat is correspondingly much smaller.
"Even so, my lord, southern Africa also has demands for its navy, right?" Kato Tomosaburo settled for the next best thing. If Roarke was not to be fooled, it would be a good idea to stimulate Roque's ambitions appropriately.
Based on Kato Yusaburo's understanding of Rock, it is impossible for Rock to have no desires and desires.
"Of course, but the Southern African Navy is also part of the British Empire Navy." Rock smiled. Everyone knows that Southern Africa has ambitions, but ambition is not a bad thing.
To put it bluntly, Britain's current treasury is empty, and it is unable to maintain its naval supremacy around the world.
Southern Africa is prospering and there is an urgent need for a navy, so the British will take the initiative to support the Southern African navy without Roark's efforts.
This was already very obvious during the World War, otherwise the cooperation between Edward Dockyard and the Royal Navy Dockyard would not have been so smooth.
Sure enough, later on, Balfour convened a meeting of representatives from various countries. The main purpose was how to strive for more benefits for the British Empire.
Look, there are many sensible people in the British government. If it were twenty years ago, would we still have to fight for it?
Not even 20 years ago, before the outbreak of the World War, Britain had the confidence to say "If you dare to build one, I will build two."