As for the reduction of armaments, Hitler was even more prepared to do anything: "The German Government is willing to conclude restrictions on the heaviest weapons, especially those applicable to aggression, such as the heaviest artillery and the heaviest tanks...... Germany showed its readiness to agree to any restrictions on cannon calibers, battleships, cruisers and torpedo boats. Similarly, the German government is willing to agree to a limit on the tonnage of submarines, or to abolish the ...... of submarines altogether"

On this last question, Hitler threw a fragrant decoy at Britain. He was willing to limit Germany's new navy to only 35 percent of British naval power, leaving Germany still 15 percent less than France in total naval tonnage. There was an objection from abroad, saying that this was only the beginning of the German demands; To this objection, Hitler replied that "for Germany, this demand is final and unchanging".

Finally, Hitler's speech ended with a brilliant leopard's tail: "Whoever ignites war in Europe cannot hope for anything but chaos." However, we are firmly convinced that it will be the revival of the West, not the demise of the West, that will be achieved in our time. It is our proud hope and unshakable conviction that Germany can make an indelible contribution to this great work. ”

These words are sweet words of peace, reason, and gentleness. The Times, Britain's most influential newspaper, approached Hitler's speech almost ecstatically: "The speech turned out to be reasonable, straightforward and comprehensive. Whoever has read this speech in an impartial manner can doubt that some of the policy proposals put forward by Monsieur Hitler can form the basis for a definitive solution to the German question: a free, egalitarian and strong Germany to replace the defeated Germany that forced it to accept peace 16 years ago...... We hope that this speech will be recognized everywhere as a sincere, well-thought-out statement. ”

Downing Street in London. Baldwin, who had just moved into the No. 10 residence for the third time, was deliberating with several of his henchmen about how to respond to Hitler's proposal on a naval scale. The composition of Baldwin's cabinet has also changed markedly compared to a decade ago; And what made Baldwin feel most comfortable was that Churchill, who suffered from paranoia of being killed and spent all day looking for enemies for Great Britain, had been driven back to his hometown to eat old rice. Now Baldwin regrets his move to summon Churchill to the cabinet and appoint him as finance minister: Churchill knew nothing about finances. The policy of returning the pound to the gold standard introduced by him has made the British economy, which was already weak and sluggish after the war, even worse. After a series of austerity and recessions, this stupid policy that had just been established had to be urgently repealed!

At this moment, it is Austin who succeeds Churchill as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Neville, Chamberlain's younger brother? Chamberlain. Compared with Churchill's economic laymanship, Chamberlain was much more clever. Shortly after he took office, in July 1932, he put an end to free trade that had been harmful to Britain since the eighties of the nineteenth century by introducing the Imperial System of Preferences within the British Commonwealth. Although this kind of tariff barrier was a great deal in Britain, which had always adhered to free trade for the previous 300 years. But the end result was to help Britain, mired in the Great Depression, free itself from the oppression of more competitive American goods. Through this protection, a large number of local brick-and-mortar businesses have been pulled back from the precipice of death, which in turn has given the British economy a valuable respite and a head start for recovery.

In addition, Chamberlain played an important role in the Younger Plan for German reparations, which enabled Britain to pay off a large foreign debt to the United States in World War I. Previously, Britain promised to repay the debt of the United States. That was based on the premise that Germany needed to pay sufficient war reparations to Britain on time; Now, under the Younger plan, 95 per cent of the amount of German reparations was forgiven. Naturally, Britain can pretend to be poor and no longer pay in debt of tens of billions of dollars to the United States. Through these two changes, businesses in the UK have gradually recovered, and unemployment and national income have improved. Chamberlain's personal popularity is also growing day by day, and he is now the biggest favorite to win the next prime minister.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I believe that Britain should sign an agreement with Germany to limit the size of its navy." Chamberlain spoke slowly. There was a bit of gloom and solemnity in his expression, "Less than two years after the signing of the London Naval Agreement, a new round of shipbuilding climax has been set off on the European continent. France built 2 Dunkirk-class battleships, and 2 Richelieu-class battleships were also pushed onto the slipway at the beginning of this year; Italy has started construction of four Caraccino-class battleships, while more powerful battleships and new high-speed aircraft carriers are planned. Built with these large ships. There were also a large number of light ships, and even the Russians joined this fiery arms race with 2 battleships and 4 heavy cruisers. ”

Chamberlain paused, and then said: "Although the German Navy is still silent at the moment, it is obviously impossible for them to remain indifferent in the face of the grim situation in which the surrounding countries are vigorously developing their fleets. Before the end of this year, the construction of Germany's new warship will inevitably be announced. This trend is like the flow of the Thames River flowing into the North Sea, which does not disappear with any force; Even if we were to hold a dam for it, the raging river would immediately rush across the causeway and rush towards its intended goal. And no one will choose to fill the river completely, because the cost and benefit of doing so will not be in the same dimension at all. ”

Baldwin nodded slowly, already agreeing with Chamberlain's statement. Today, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles restricting German armaments are no longer observable: they were so harsh that when the whole of Germany united and resolved to restore national honor, the victorious powers, who had been tormented by the Great Depression, were unable to take the same uncompromising and tough measures as they had done ten years earlier. Hitler's Germany withdrew from the Conference on Disarmament, developed tanks and aircraft, announced the re-expansion of the army to 500,000, and began to build large battleships.

Economic sanctions? Not to mention whether the United States, which has close economic ties with Germany, will agree, Britain itself and Germany are each other's largest trading partners; Sanctions against Germany will inevitably plunge the British economy, which has only seen a little improvement, into a bottomless abyss, and the resulting starving people who have lost their jobs will launch a surge that can tear down the entire Downing Street. If this led to the Red Revolution in Western Europe, it would be the most terrible situation! France is willing to sanction, but there is not much economic and trade between Germany and France, so what is the effect of such sanctions?

Armed intervention? This may seem like the most feasible measure, but it is also difficult to implement at a time when the Great Depression has just bottomed out. The tragedy of killing almost an entire generation of men in France during the World War has now ignited with the cessation of German reparations payments and the contagion of the Great Depression, and has led to unimaginable catastrophic situations. There was a pessimistic atmosphere in the country that there would be no victors in the war, and the people's disgust with the war was at an all-time high; Moreover, the political situation in France has also fallen into chaos, and it has become impossible to think of gathering forces to fight the enemy country as it did in 1923!

It was for this reason that Poland, which was extremely disappointed with France, signed a non-aggression pact with Germany in January 1934; And in this way, another continental country with strong power will not do anything against Germany. Czechoslovakia and Belgium, without the support of France and Poland, were dead wood, and it was impossible to punish Germany alone. As for the United Kingdom, will it still resort to force when it is reluctant to impose economic sanctions? Not to mention that the British government itself is still planning to support Germany to balance the European continent, and if Germany is really overthrown, it will be a great disaster for Britain in terms of political, economic, strategic, and ideological struggle!

Faced with this situation, Britain could only resign itself to Germany's repeated crossings of the line, and pondered how in the process, as much as possible could be salvaged from the Reich's post-war benefits. What made them happy and excited was that Hitler, a fascist leader who believed in the extreme right, was an unexpectedly "humble gentleman" who revealed a desire for peace in his words and statements, which was very different from the arrogant Mussolini. The Downing Street hierarchy believed that all Hitler was seeking was equality between the great powers, and when he reaped all this, his Donnelly deeds would naturally cease.

"Now the situation is clear. Whether we agree or not, Germany will further develop their navy; Rather than allowing Germany to expand its fleet unscrupulously, it would be better to pretend to be magnanimous and give it a small limit, so that its development ceiling would be contained. The Admiral on the side spoke, agreeing with Chamberlain's words, "As long as the strength of the German Navy is confined to a low level for a long time, then we can draw some more ships from the home fleet and deploy them in the Mediterranean and Asian seas, so as to strengthen Britain's interests and deterrence there." Now Germany is asking for only 35% of the size of the Commonwealth, which is undoubtedly a show of considerable sincerity; In fact, with their industrial and economic power, they are fully capable of building a fleet comparable to that of the Japanese Navy in the next 20 years. ”

Baldwin nodded, already having a clear decision in his mind. The treaty of mutual assistance that France and the Soviet Union had just signed, and perhaps Britain needed to reconcile with Germany to counter this treaty that could cause an imbalance in the situation on the European continent. (To be continued.) )