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At the Paris Peace Conference, the most controversial issue was the distribution of Russia's $11.68 billion in war reparations. In order to demand reparations from the defeated countries, Song Xiaofei and British Prime Minister Henry. Campbell. Sir Bannevein, Chancellor of the German Empire, Bernhard. Feng. Pilov quarreled, and Song Xiaofei insisted on demanding 60% of the entire war reparations, that is, about 7 billion US dollars, because the sacrifice and credit of the squadron was the greatest.

British Prime Minister Sir John Banervan Song Xiaofei said: "You China take 50%, we Britain get 30%, Germany gets a large number of colonies, so a little less, 10%, the rest of the countries 10%, what do you think?" ”

Song Xiaofei shook his head, straightened the bow tie of his tie, and said, "No, absolutely not!" In this war, China lost the most, and we should have at least 58%. You know, if Tsarist Russia pays reparations, Moscow will probably have to return them to Nicholas II, otherwise, I'm afraid we won't get any reparations. This is another huge loss for China. ”

Sir Pilov, Chancellor of the German Empire, said: "If Nicholas II does not agree, we will prop up a new government." ”

Song Xiaofei said: "Tsarist Russia has a population of more than 100 million, which is different from other colonies. Let's leave it to Nicholas II to clean up the mess left by the Bolsheviks. ”

Sir Pilov, Chancellor of the German Empire, nodded and replied: "Although China has sacrificed a lot, it demands 58%, which is too much, and Britain has 30%. We in Germany do not agree. ”

British Prime Minister Henry. Campbell. Banavon is almost 70 years old, and although he has gray hair, he is still as fierce as a beast. He was not at all willing to sacrifice the interests of Britain, saying: "Then we in Britain will not agree with the German occupation of Ukraine and Poland." ”

The so-called negotiation means that everyone compromises with each other and gives up their own interests. The same is true for state-to-state negotiations. Seeing that the leaders of various countries were arguing, no one was willing to give in, and they all threatened each other by withdrawing from the peace conference, Song Xiaofei showed China's hole card. came out to play a round and said, "We China have made some sacrifices, and China has 56 percent." Both of you sacrifice something, Britain gets 28%, Germany gets 10%, and other countries get some benefits. Is that okay? Otherwise. You really don't have to talk about it. ”

After some discussion, this reparations plan was agreed to by China, Britain, and Germany. In the end, the negotiators from all countries signed the peace talks, each taking what he wanted. Germany got Ukraine and Poland, Britain got Russian colonies and dependent republics overseas, and France got Morocco and Finland. The United States got the whole of Europe and the free market of countries. China was the biggest winner of the Paris Peace Conference, not only receiving nearly 4 million square kilometers of Russian territory, but also winning a huge compensation of nearly $6 billion. Odessa and Nikolaev were also given as naval bases, laying a good foundation for future intervention in European affairs.

The news reached the country. Students from colleges and universities across the country spontaneously marched through the streets with national flags and gongs and drums to celebrate China's great victory at the Paris Peace Conference. Hundreds of thousands of students marched from Xuanwumen to Chang'an Avenue for dozens of kilometers, shouting slogans such as "Long live the motherland," "Long live the republic," and "Long live the president" to express support for the Chinese government.

The Russian Empire officially disappeared from the face of the earth, Ukraine, Belarus, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Caucasus and other countries became independent, and all the Asian regions of Russia were ceded to China. Moreover, with the withdrawal of China from Moscow and the dismantling of Moscow's industrial machinery and equipment, Nicholas II's Russia was weakened and reduced to a third-rate European country in the world, and was still burdened with this huge war reparations, so to speak, the Bolsheviks brought a century of catastrophe to Russia.

At the time, British and German newspapers rated Marx as the most influential man of the nineteenth century, because a German philosopher did it because Napoleon and the entire European empire failed to conquer the Russian Empire. However, before withdrawing from Moscow, the squadron truthfully announced to the world the atrocities of the Bolsheviks and Chekas in Tsarist Russia.

Although the Paris Peace Conference adjusted the relations between China, Britain, Germany, France, and the United States in the Russian Empire, their contradictions in East Asia and the Pacific were still very acute, and the contradictions between Britain and the United States were particularly intense. Because with the rise of the U.S. economy, the U.S. government is no longer content with its traditional sphere of influence in North America. The United States was dissatisfied with the outcome of the Paris Peace Conference and was anxious to break up the Sino-British and Sino-German alliances. At the same time, because of the previous competition for colonies by the great powers, countries also recognized the importance of the navy, and from 1903, the naval arms race of various countries intensified.

In order to compete for maritime supremacy, various countries have set off a naval arms race in full swing. In particular, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are the most prominent. The United States and Germany, relying on their burgeoning industrial and financial power, challenged Britain, the world's leading naval power. Not to be outdone, Britain Prime Minister Henry Henry. Campbell. "Great Britain would rather spend every last penny to maintain naval superiority over the United States or any other country," Banavin said. ”

Soon after, France and Italy joined the race in high spirits. In this way, the great powers, you build one, I build two, from the Atlantic, the Mediterranean to the Pacific, an invisible arms war is becoming more and more intense. During this period, China was vigorously developing advanced submarines, which is the priority development strategy of the Chinese Navy.

But it wasn't long before the great powers began to taste the bitterness of the arms race. With the launching of warships one after another, military spending has increased sharply, and the finances of various countries have been stretched. The US Navy has allocated a third of the entire state budget. It was against this background that the United States began to initiate a conference on the limitation of naval armaments. In this way, the United States can not only win the reputation of being "peace-loving," but also try to limit the other side in negotiations and compete for its own advantages. China also wants to play a bigger role in Asia.

In this context, after the Paris Peace Conference. The United States, China, Great Britain, France, and Germany held another meeting in Washington to balance naval forces. The main topics of the meeting were arms limitation and the resolution of issues relating to the Far East and the Pacific. The former is held by the United States, Britain, China, France, and Germany, which are composed of five countries, the Commission on the Limitation of Armaments, while the latter is held by the Far East and Pacific Commission, which is composed of nine participating countries. Joined Italy, Austria-Hungary and other countries.

Delegates from various countries gathered at the Independence Memorial in Washington, D.C., for the Washington Conference. In order to create a peaceful atmosphere, the venue was decorated with palm fronds and a "U" shaped conference table covered with a green tablecloth. Song Xiaofei considered that China also needed a period of peace to develop its industrial economy, especially to digest the industry it had received from Tsarist Russia and the war reparations. So he took Liu Buyun as a representative and participated in the Washington Conference.

All the delegates from all countries were seated, and the host, President Theodore of the United States, was the president. Roosevelt stepped up to the pulpit. He began his opening remarks: "We want to establish a good order and restore peace to the whole world. ”

On the first day of the opening of the conference, the United States preemptively struck by US President Theodore Murphy. Roosevelt couldn't wait to throw out a plan to limit naval armaments in favor of the United States: 1. Stop building capital ships; 2. Demolition of some old warships; 3. Calculate the naval strength based on the total tonnage of capital ships. Determine the proportions of each country.

The issue was discussed by the five-nation "Far East and Pacific Committee". The meeting was actually conducted under the manipulation of the United States, Britain, China, and Germany. At the beginning, the United States demanded the same tonnage of capital ships as the United Kingdom, but the British sternly refused. Not to be outdone, Germany was not to be outdone. Both China and France are vigorously developing submarines, so there is no enthusiasm for the tonnage of this main warship. In the end, Britain reached a compromise with Germany and the United States, and the final result of the discussions between the countries was: The total tonnage limit of the capital ships of the five countries was set at 355,000 tons for Britain, 315,000 tons for Germany, and 275,000 tons each for the United States, China, and France; the construction of capital ships with a standard displacement of more than 25,000 tons and the installation of guns with a caliber of more than 16 inches were prohibited; and the islands and fortresses occupied by the United States, Britain, and China in the Pacific region were to maintain the status quo and no new naval bases and fortresses were to be built. Except for places like the Hawaiian Islands, Australia, and New Zealand.

As soon as the proportion of capital ships was leveled, the five countries quarreled again over the issue of restricting submarines. Britain is most taboo about submarines developed by other countries. Britain advocated a complete ban on submarines. France, in a-for-tat manner, put forward a very different proposal, claiming that if a weak navy country is not allowed to use submarines, it is tantamount to handing them over to the naval powers to be slaughtered at will, and therefore there should be no restrictions on submarines at all. So the two sides began to quarrel like words and swords. 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?"

Seeing that the "submarine warfare" between Britain and France had reached a stalemate, the United States hastened to come out to play a round, but China has the most advanced submarines in the world, so it opposes the restriction of submarines.

At the end of the meeting, the participating countries signed a series of treaties, agreements and resolutions, including the Treaty on Island Dependencies and Territories in the Pacific Region. It was signed by China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. The treaty provides that States respect each other's rights to insular possessions and territories within the Pacific region, and that in the event of a dispute between them which cannot be resolved satisfactorily through diplomatic means, a meeting of States Parties shall be convened for the purpose of considering settlement; In the event that the above-mentioned rights are threatened by an act of aggression by any State, the States Parties shall consult comprehensively in order to respond to the situation "jointly or individually by the most effective measures"; The five countries also signed a supplementary treaty stipulating the concepts of "island dependencies" and "island territories," formally ceding Sakhalin Island and Japan's Kyushu Island to China, and maintaining the status quo of the division of Japan and Russia.

At the same time, China, Britain, France, Germany, and the United States formally signed the "Treaty on the Limitation of Naval Armaments." The signing of the "Five-Power Treaty" was the result of a temporary compromise between the countries on the issue of the balance of naval power, which enabled Britain and Germany to achieve roughly equal status in naval armaments, thus marking the end of British maritime supremacy. However, the treaty only limited two types of ships, so it did not fundamentally ease the struggle for maritime supremacy among the great powers. As a concession to China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China are required to maintain the status quo of naval bases in the western Pacific region. That is, Britain and the United States are not allowed to build new naval bases in this area.

China's industrial development has been temporarily peaceful in the external environment, and Song Xiaofei expressed satisfaction with this result. (To be continued......)