It can be said that the rise of the European countries represented by Germany is to a large extent due to the innovative mechanism of the economic system, and they have not followed the British in the same footsteps, but have accepted the essence of modernization, adopted the latest scientific and technological achievements, and vigorously developed emerging industries such as electric power, chemical industry, petroleum, electrical appliances, and automobiles. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Britain's leadership in the First Industrial Revolution was not only based on coal and iron, but also on the research and invention of British scientists and engineers. Similarly, the development of Germany and the United States is closely linked to the country's emphasis on education and technology.

Secondly, the UK's economy is based on cotton, coal, steel and shipbuilding as its pillar industries, and the UK's leading position in these industries is a key factor in maintaining the UK's economic advantage. However, the UK has not upgraded its technical equipment in a timely manner, which has reduced its market share. Of course, for a country like the United Kingdom, which has already formed an industrial scale, it is more difficult to adjust the economic structure. But the situation at the time was that whichever country had an advantage in the new industrial sector could open up emerging markets and make high profits. Due to the force of inertia, the UK lags behind the United States and Germany in the research and development of emerging industries, so the proportion of emerging industries in the UK is very low.

In addition, the UK economy is highly dependent on foreign countries. Only 30% of UK investment is domestic, with the remaining 70% going abroad. However, the continuous transfer of capital from home to abroad, in the long run, has restricted domestic production investment and technological innovation, resulting in the foreign dependence of the British economy, and the dependent economy is very fragile, once the external conditions change, economic dependence will inevitably become a force restricting economic development. As Paul Kennedy pointed out, Britain's reliance on international trade and international finance was a strategic weakness.

Of course, the reason why Britain is gradually overtaken by the United States and Germany is also due to the backwardness of education and the loss of entrepreneurial spirit. and the aristocratic cultural tradition of the British who pursued tranquility and comfort, coveted pleasure, and opposed change. In fact, whether it is a country or a person, often after being in an advantageous position, there will be a kind of inertia to some extent. It's just that this is more evident in the UK. The French laughed at the short working hours and weekend vacations of the British industrialists; The Americans profited from the conservatism of the British; The Germans said, "If we have another hundred years of peace, we will put Britain to death." ”

The key to Britain's ability to become the world's most powerful country as a small country is that it has continued to seize opportunities for innovation in the process of its rise, creating new political and economic systems and new modes of production. So, if we summarize the reasons why Britain gradually fell behind in the second industrial revolution: in the final analysis, it was the conservative factors inherent in British culture that hindered the continuous innovation of British industry, and after taking the lead, Britain only tinkered with the old system and old technology, so that Britain was in a passive position in the face of world competition. In other words. When a country loses its ability to innovate, it declines.

Yes, Chen Wenqiang led a delegation to the United Kingdom, not to study, but to be invited to the coronation of the British emperor to show his friendly attitude. Get close to Germany, but also behave to a certain limit, so as not to invite the joint suppression of the Entente.

Just when the Haiqi and Hairong ships were docked in Plymouth waiting for the Grand Review. Chen Wenqiang has already led a delegation to London by car to meet with British Prime Minister Herbert? Henry? Asquith was interviewed.

Herbert? Henry? Asquith is one of the most important political figures in British history. He has held leadership positions in government for a long time. His political ideas and statecraft had a profound impact on Britain. Between 1880 and 1914, various social problems in Britain were prominent, and social contradictions became increasingly acute, and it was urgent for the government to promote social legislation to solve these problems.

In the Liberal government, Asquith was one of the key figures in driving the progress of British social legislation during this period. He advocated for social legislative reform, during his tenure as Home Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister. A series of social welfare and labour legislation bills have been prepared and proposed, and efforts have been made to ensure that they are passed into law in Parliament. Asquith's achievements in social legislation have had a significant impact on the development and progress of British society.

Still, Mr. Chan was not impressed with the prime minister and did not think he was an outstanding man. He knew Lloyd's? George and Winston? Churchill was capable, but he put a bunch of mediocre people above them. Because he prefers people like himself.

During the meeting, Chen Wenqiang pretended to be inadvertently and secretly observed Churchill, who is now the home secretary, on several occasions, but nothing seemed to attract his special attention. Whether the times create heroes, or heroes create the times, these seem to be two sides of a dialectic, which can be transformed into each other. It is true that Churchill has nothing to boast about at the moment, and perhaps it is worth mentioning the unrelenting attitude he took towards the workers' marches and strikes, but at this time he is being blamed for it!

At this time, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lloyd? George had just made a speech implying that Britain would not hesitate to fight Germany over the Moroccan question, saying that in the event of war, it would fulfill its obligations under the Anglo-French Entente, and that it intended to "risk every danger to protect its prestige and position among the world powers", and carried out a corresponding naval combat mobilization. Russia, on the other hand, had not yet prepared for war, advised France to accept it as soon as it saw it, and it was better not to escalate the situation.

Germany, for its own reasons, was not ready for war, and began negotiations with France, and the war clouds hanging over Europe were slightly dispersed, and the tense situation eased somewhat.

However, the contradictions between Britain and Germany deepened, and it is said that the anger of the whole Germans against Britain reached the extreme. In an interview with the British media, the Kaiser said that "most Germans are against the British", which at this time seemed to be not a rhetorical statement, but a little conservative. And Britain no longer regarded Germany as a mere imaginary enemy, but a real enemy to deal with.

Under these circumstances, the British side was naturally concerned about whether China and Germany would form a military alliance. Chen Wenqiang made it clear that China and Germany are only cooperating in the commercial, economic and technological fields, and that the government of the Republic has no plans to form a military alliance with any country at present. However, he also said something meaningful, which seemed to be a reminder and a threat.

"When you are cornered, in order to survive. Many people will not hesitate to sell their souls to the devil", British Foreign Minister Sir Grey frowned slightly when he heard this, speculating about Chen Wenqiang's intentions. Yes, this is likely to happen, the young Mr. Secretary of State is expressing an expectation. It is hoped that the Great Powers will not press too the new republic, otherwise something extremely unexpected will happen. Of course, the alliance with Germany is one of them.

Although China is not yet strong, the rise of another Boxer-like xenophobic incident will definitely cause great harm to Britain's economic and commercial interests, and will also upset the balance of the great powers in China and challenge Britain's position in China.

The weak is not a lamb to be slaughtered, he also has his own way of resisting, which is what Chen Wenqiang wants to express.

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After the meeting. Chen Wenqiang and others returned to the embassy. The meeting was purely polite and did not reach any meaningful agreement. That kind of diplomatic reaffirmation of friendship and mutual respect is worthless in the eyes of Chen Wenqiang.

However, this was not his expectation. Britain naturally did not want a strong China to rise smoothly, and naturally hoped that the influence of the empire would last forever. It is only because of the warming of relations between China and the United States and Germany that some kind of gesture of goodwill has to be made. And. Tensions in Europe have also shifted Britain's attention. The arms race that began with Germany also involved most of Britain's energy.

Then, Chen Wenqiang and his wife met with the soon-to-be-crowned George V and his queen, and presented congratulatory gifts. According to Chen Wenqiang's observations, George V behaved wittily and should have had a very short temper, but his queen, Princess Mary, appeared to be very talented.

The British at that time generally believed. George V was a "sailor's king". Because these four words accurately capture an important aspect of his character, namely, George V's early training as a professional soldier in the navy rather than as a king, and as for his witty manners, it was left over from his early life on ships.

As we all know, the British royal family has always been inextricably linked to various European royal families. And the same is true of George V's family. His family originated in Coburg, Germany. Since the marriage of Queen Victoria and her cousin, Prince Albert from the German Coburg family, in 1840, the German Coburg blood has been passed down in the British royal family.

With the needs of politics, Victoria's five boys and four girls, 37 grandchildren, and 80 great-grandchildren became kings or queens of Germany, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Greece, Romania, Yugoslavia and other countries under the help of politicians. An astonishing international network of royal relatives was thus weaved, and every strand of this web was connected to the Queen. It can be said that Queen Victoria was not only the grandmother of the Coburg family, but also the grandmother of Europe.

George V's European relatives are best known for their two great monarchs, Kaiser Wilhelm II (whose mother was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria) and Tsar Nicholas II (whose mother was the sister of George V's biological mother, Queen Alexander). The former is notoriously horizontal, and the latter is notoriously back.

Accordingly, Chen Wenqiang speculated not without malice that the consequences of such inbreeding generally give the descendants of the royal family limited wisdom and fragile character, and that these defects are no less harmful to the country than arrogant ambition.

In fact, although George V is not like his famous high voice and very short-tempered, this is only a superficial phenomenon, but he is not bad-eyed. Of course, this is not Chen Wenqiang's concern, nor does he feel that George V's kind eyes can bring any benefit to China. Although George V showed affection to the guests from the East and invited him to watch the sea review on the first review boat, this still did not change Chen Wenqiang's mind much.

The conservative and short-sighted British are unable to give China more help, and the recession is continuing, but the British are clearly not aware of this. The aura of the world boss makes the British look a little arrogant, and compared with China, the British already have a strategic ****** in Asia-Japan.

Therefore, compared with the generosity of the United States and Germany, Britain seems to be very stingy, although they also want to continue to increase investment in China, but the conditions offered are often difficult for Chen Wenqiang to accept.

Tasteless, empty and aggrieved, this feeling made Chen Wenqiang very difficult, but fortunately, George V's coronation ceremony came soon.

On June 21, 1911, the Haiqi ship and the warships of various countries that had come to participate in the parade and the fleet of the British Royal Navy were all assembled in the waters of Spithead as planned. On the same day, the captains and captains of ships of various countries received invitations from the British side to attend the coronation ceremony of the British king. Captain Cheng Biguang and his attaché went to London in the same car. Other Chinese dignitaries invited to attend the ceremony included Chen Wenqiang, special envoy of the Government of the Republic of China, and Liu Yulin, ambassador to the United Kingdom.

On this day, although the weather was not beautiful, and it was recorded in the diary of the crowned King George V as "showers, overcast, clouds in the sky", and "cool breezes", the whole city of London was still lit up and became a sea of joy.

The coronation ceremony symbolizes the continuation of the monarchy's traditions. The clouds in the sky outside and the dim colors of the interior contrast with the bright and ornate gowns, uniforms, and jewelry of the people who come to the coronation. At 8 a.m., Westminster Abbey was packed with people preparing to spend the day here. The streets were crowded with thousands of people, who had to wait for hours just to catch a glimpse of the royal procession as it passed.

At 10:30 a.m., King George V and Queen Mary left Buckingham Palace on a four-**** float pulled by eight cheese-colored horses to be crowned at Westminster Abbey in the diocese of Canterbury. Within half an hour's journey, 50,000 troops were sent to guard the streets along the way, and hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets, cheering and cheering for the new king and queen.

Two days later, King George V and Queen George V reviewed the multinational ship formation in Spithead Waters. According to the British side, the number of participating countries, the number of ships, and the military appearance of this review are the largest in British history.

As the three reviewing boats sailed out of Portsmouth Harbour, the Royal Navy flagship fired a cannon salute first, followed by 21 simultaneous shots from all the participating ships at the prescribed intervals. Suddenly, the rumbling sound of cannons resounded through the blue sea, and the billowing smoke filled the blue sky.

The British king took the school parade boat to review the warships one by one, and each time he arrived at the ship, the ship's band played the British national anthem and the national anthem of his own country, and the officers and men stood in solemn salute. As soon as the music was finished, the officers and men waved their military caps and shouted "hurrah!" three times. (Hooray!) King George V and Queen Mary looked pleasant, waving and smiling in return. (To be continued.) )