In the era when there was no nuclear weapon, the ultimate weapon of mass destruction, the main ship of the Navy was the nuclear weapon at that time. At the time of the Washington Conference, countries still really wanted to end the war, at least between the major powers. The World War I that had just ended had left the world with too tragic memories. In just four or five years, the war and the pandemic have killed nearly 100 million people in Europe and the United States. As long as it's not a guy who is ready to destroy the world, no one wants this situation to happen again.

Therefore, Britain and Japan broke the news that China has 5.5 million active military personnel, and this terrifying figure scares other countries enough. Belgium has a combined population of less than 5.5 million men, women and children, and the Netherlands and Portugal have very limited populations. As for the United Kingdom, France, Japan, 5.5 million people equals one-tenth of their population. The Chinese population is five times that of the United States, and the United States sounds terrified by the number of China's 5.5 million troops.

For China, per capita is a big killer at all times. China, with a population of 600 million, has much lower military spending and even the proportion of military personnel in the total population than Britain, France and Japan. In the case of France, France has a population of 40 million and an army of 800,000. The proportion of military members is as high as 2%. In China, it is less than 1%. Moreover, according to Wang Bin, the actual number of China's field troops is less than 1.2 million, accounting for 0.2 percent of the Chinese population. France's military participation rate is 10 times that of China.

The proportion of the military as a percentage of the population and the proportion of military expenditure to national income in all major industrial countries is much higher than that of China. Wang Bin used this data to question who other countries are doing with military force. The ridicule was so great that countries simply refused to discuss the issue with Wang.

However, Wang Bin is not here to stir up trouble, he summed it up mildly: "Our country's army is not so much an army as a professional and technical industrial worker. The level of culture and education in China is low, and production can only be organized through the model of the army. Therefore, the armies of various countries are professional armies, and our Chinese armies are militias with compulsory soldiers as the main body. Most of the work in the army is labor and study, and after retirement, after employment counseling, soldiers can become good ordinary laborers. This army exists to defend peace, not to wage war. ”

Wang Bin is right, because this is the reality in China. And the representatives of various countries listened disappreciatively, in their opinion, whether the Chinese army of 5.5 million people was defending peace or waging war, and this was not the order of the People's Party? But the BJP's approach to the formation of the army explains a question about how China has fed so many troops. The army is used as a "slave", engaged in production to support itself when it is not fighting, and sends it to the battlefield as cannon fodder when it is fighting. This can indeed greatly save military spending. As for why the Chinese can be so obedient, the representatives of various countries simply boiled it down to the "slavery" that the Chinese did not dare to resist.

In any case, 5.5 million Chinese soldiers are 5.5 million Chinese soldiers after all. It is the Chinese government that feeds this army, and it is the Chinese government that provides equipment for this army. Unless they declare war on China, there is really no way for any country to stop the Chinese Army from building itself.

As with all so-called peace conferences of our time, the main countries determined the direction and topics of the conference. The three navies of the Pacific Ocean, the United States, Britain, and Japan held a secret meeting. The size of the Chinese army intensified the British and Japanese demands for the maintenance of the Anglo-Japanese alliance. On the dissolution of the Anglo-Japanese alliance, the position of the two countries is unwavering. The United States had no way to convince Britain and Japan that it could only finally accept the continued existence of the Anglo-Japanese alliance.

After all, the figure of 5.5 million Chinese troops is too shocking, and the United States is not willing to stand against China in a broader multinational security way. Everyone is mixed in the international community, and once they face a Chinese army of this size in a war, all countries want other countries to die. Hide behind yourself and pick peaches.

Japan not only relied on the "China threat theory" to demand the preservation of the Anglo-Japanese alliance, but also demanded a ratio of 10:10:7 in the navy of Britain, the United States, and Japan. At the same time, the tonnage of the Chinese Navy is required not to exceed one-third of that of Japan.

The representative of the United States determined that China would never accept that ratio. In fact, as the United States expected, China demanded that the tonnage of the main warships of the Navy be maintained at least equal to that of Japan. This time it was not only China that objected, but France and Italy were also extremely unhappy with their share of 2.5. They also demanded the same ratio as Japan.

At this point, Britain and the United States had to make suppressing China their first priority. Wang Bin replied very clearly, "In recent decades, we have been invaded so many times, and the enemy has come from the sea. We in China must be able to defend China's security. ”

Britain and the United States are both countries that participated in the Eight-Nation Coalition 20 years ago, and they feel very delighted by China's demand. The representative of the United States asked, "What level of security does China really seek?" ”

"The safety of free trade at sea is the bottom line." Wang Bin took out the world system advocated by Wilson.

No matter what kind of armaments China has, the benefits that China is asking for are actually normal commercial trade, which is to the appetite of the US representatives.

Wang Bin looked at the relieved expression of the U.S. representative, and he continued: "In the final analysis, the naval issue is a question of protecting trade routes, and the Chinese side hopes to resolve conflicts between countries within the framework of a Pacific trade agreement. I can tell you very clearly that even if we were to get the same share as Japan, we in China would not have that much military spending to build so many warships. If a peaceful trading system could be established, we could abandon the same naval ratio that Japan had originally requested. ”

This is not Wang Bin's nonsense, the People's Party is indeed consistent in its attitude towards trade. China is committed to integrating into the world system and the global market. In this regard, even the British did not think that Wang Bin, the representative of China, was merely perfunctory.

Wang Bin lobbied hard, and the treaty on the limitation of the navy turned into a Pacific trade issue between Britain, the United States, and China. This is also a real essence of the problem.

Of course, Britain dared to brag about anything, and after making a bunch of meaningless promises to China, Wang Bin finally came up with China's bottom line, and China accepted the ratio of 4.

"It's absolutely not going to work! Up to 2! "As if he had never said anything good about China, the British delegates immediately vetoed China's demands.

More than a month was spent in various quarrels, and in the end, China made huge concessions in terms of capital ships and aircraft carriers. China, for its part, accepted the condition that the total tonnage of all warships should not exceed 300,000 tons. But Wang Bin said, "China cannot accept the restriction on the types of ships." Because China has no experience in building all kinds of warships, the same warship may only need to be built in three years in other major naval powers, and we may have to build it for ten years. Even if we build ships, the efficiency of our use of these warships, and the combat level of our warships, are far lower than those of the world's major naval powers. Therefore, the above requirements are already the bottom line that we in China can accept. If the above request is not accepted, we will not sign this agreement. ”

"China must accept the agreement." The representative of the United Kingdom was very firm.

Wang Bin continued with a gloomy face: "With China's current technological level, it will take at least 15 years to build ships from now on, and to build battleships. Japan does not believe that other countries will transfer battleship technology to China, and there is no need for everyone to say something wrong. All countries are naval powers, and they must know much more about technological development than we do. So the technical limitations are already holding our necks, and we can't accept any more of them. ”

The Sino-Japanese war and Sino-German military cooperation had proved that if 5.5 million Chinese troops were killed, Britain and Japan would have to kneel on the border with China. If China has a strong navy, there will be no rival to China in the Western Pacific.

The United States felt that it was a good thing to cause more trouble for Britain and Japan, and the United States had no intention of crossing the Pacific to fight a war with China's 5.5 million army anyway. Since the Anglo-Japanese alliance could not be dismantled, the United States naturally chose to make trouble for the Anglo-Japanese alliance. The United States expressed support for China's demands. The level of Chinese shipbuilding: All countries are well aware that the huge investment in R&D and construction of the navy is enough to consume China's defense funds. All countries are tired and panting in the shipbuilding race, and the United States knows very well how much it will cost to build a ship.

Britain also felt helpless in the face of China's threat of withdrawing from the Washington conference. Containment of China has now proven unrealistic, and at least the United States, the-stirring stick, will find ways to collude with China. The British were not afraid of China's almost self-made navy, which would be able to defend China's own long coastline for at least 20 years, and the naval convention would last 15 years. During these 15 years, Britain was not worried about encountering a challenge from the Chinese navy. In addition, the containment of China will inevitably lead to the disruption of Sino-British trade, and Britain still cares a lot about the benefits that trade in the Western Pacific brings to Britain.

In the end, with the mediation of the United States, the British side finally agreed to China's demands.

Naturally, the Japanese side resolutely did not accept China's demands, and if possible, Japan did not want China to have any warships at all. Japan's overly blatant behavior has provoked resentment in other countries, and the purpose of the Washington conference is to limit the navy, and even if a country like China, which has no navy, withdraws from the conference, the real impact will be very limited. On the contrary, if Japan, a naval power in the western Pacific, is to wreak havoc on the world situation. Japan soon discovered that "public opinion" was against it, and all countries demanded that Japan face the problem from a rational perspective.

Nor can Britain completely ignore Japan's feelings, and it is the first to assure Japan that it will not provide China with warship-building technology. On the contrary, France and other countries are waiting for Japan to make trouble, and the more Japan makes trouble, the more excuses France and other countries will have to extort money from Britain. The United States is responsible for convening the meeting, and if it breaks up, it will lose face.

In the end, the United States proposed to ban the proliferation of warship construction technology, which is tantamount to agreeing with the British attitude in disguise. Japan had no choice but to agree to this resolution.

In the end, the Washington Naval Convention stipulated that Britain, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy should build capital ships in a ratio of 10:10:7:3.5:3.5. The United Kingdom and the United States each have a quota of 500,000 tons. In addition, in the construction of aircraft carriers, the United States and Britain received a quota of 135,000 tons. Japan was given a quota of 91,000 tons.

China received a quota of 300,000 tons for the total tonnage of all warships. If China wants to build large warships, it must abide by the restrictions on capital ships under the Washington Convention. But China can choose the class of ships that need to be built, according to its needs. There is no restriction on the number of specific ships.

The treaty lasted for 15 years and expired in 1936.

As soon as the capital ship problem was resolved, the submarine problem was brought to the table. The British suffered from the loss of German submarines, so they insisted on limiting the development of submarines. The French immediately objected. There was no need for China to even add fuel to the fire, and Britain and France began a fierce quarrel.

The British representative said in a menacing manner: "Britain must not allow France, which has an army of 800,000 troops, to have a first-class submarine fleet!" The representative of France said to the general of the army: "If Britain is willing to cancel the capital ships, then we will immediately cancel the submarines." ”

The British representative immediately shot back: "France, with its bases all over the place, if it had a large number of submarines, would be many times more threatening to Britain than Germany was to Britain." ”

The representative of France ridiculed him: "Britain must have built capital ships to salvage sardines? So why not let poor France also build a few submarines to study the plants of the seabed? ”

The Americans wanted to play a round, but the British and the French didn't buy it at all, and after a lot of quarrels, the matter was simply shelved completely.

Immediately after the signing of the Naval Treaty, the Chinese delegates raised the issue of Port Arthur. Demanded that Japan immediately withdraw from Port Arthur. At this point, the Japanese delegates were almost lying on the ground and rolling around.

Looking at the bear-like appearance of the Japanese representative, Gu Weijun just wanted to tell the Japanese representative, "How far and how far!" This is what Zhang Yu said jokingly before the Chinese delegation left. Gu Weijun has always felt that he is a very passionate person, especially in diplomatic situations, he always has a kind of sad and generous impulse. Now this young man is more and more aware that his elegance seems to be shrinking, and the urge to scold his mother is getting better and better every day.

As a Juris Doctor, Gu Weijun has studied various types of international law. However, after working with the "old revolutionaries" from science and engineering such as the People's Party for so long, Gu Weijun realized that the essence of international law is strength, and if you have strength, you can formulate laws and interpret them in favor of your side. At a time when China's strength is simply not enough to protect itself, China has nothing to rely on other than verbal justice.

On the Lushun issue, the United States immediately began to fan the flames, "This is China's internal affair, and we will not interfere." ”

The Japanese representative immediately expressed strong protest against such gloating expressions by the United States, saying, "This is an international agreement, and China will never be allowed to unilaterally undermine it!" ”

Gu Weijun immediately said, "China's sovereignty brooks no violation. As a member of the Entente, Japan had no reason to station troops in China. This is the essence of international agreements, and if so, what is the point of fighting together in the same trenches? Japan's side is undermining international practice, and China has no reason to accept such an agreement. ”

The quarrel dragged on for several days, with Japan refusing to budge and China equally firm. The Washington Peace Conference had been in session for four months, and by this time it was March 1922. Looking at the posture of China and Japan, there are great signs of declaring war on each other at the Washington Peace Conference. The United States simply cannot concede such an outcome. In the end, before the matter reached a serious point of discussion, the United States wisely announced the end of the meeting, and any problems between the two countries could be resolved through consultation between the two countries themselves.

The Washington Peace Conference essentially limited the arms race around the world. Presumably established the dominance of the Versailles system over the entire world. The United States has risen to become a great power that can rival Britain, but China has also emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the world.

In 1922, after the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army marched into Tibet and approached Lhasa, the local "government" finally made clear its obedience to the central government. Then the People's Republic of China was officially founded, and a new map of China was provided to the world. Vladivostok, occupied by Japan, and the Kuril Islands officially appeared on the Chinese map.

The Russian Red Army, under the command of Trotsky, completely destroyed Kolchak's headquarters and eventually recaptured about 270 tons of gold. In addition to some of the gold that was hidden and could not be found for the time being, about 160 tons of gold flowed into China's pockets. But Trotsky was not a small-bellied guy after all, and if China had not curbed its greed, God knows how much of 500 tons of gold would have been left.

On December 30, 1922, the Soviet Union was officially established. The eastern end of the world island is entirely composed of countries with socialist systems. Such a variable has overwhelmed many "international observers". No one knows where this change will take the world.