At the venue of the Washington meeting, Xu Shichang lay quietly on his seat as if he was asleep, while Gu Weijun, who was on the side, looked at the US representative with a mocking expression.

"Do you think that our country will accept such a treaty?"

Opposite Gu Weijun, the representative of the United States, Henry? Cabot? Rocky shrugged his shoulders, obviously not thinking that Gu Weijun and Xu Shichang would accept such a treaty.

And in Henry? Cabot? Lodge's side, the British representative of Lee? Baron Fallm spoke.

"We don't have a mind against your country..."

Don't wait for Lee? Fallm finished speaking, and Gu Weijun had already interrupted him by tapping his hand on the table.

"But now, it's hard to believe that you're not targeting our country!"

Hearing Gu Weijun's words, the representatives of the other five countries were silent for a moment.

At the Washington Conference held at the end of 1921, the main contents of the Washington Naval Treaty stipulated not only the total tonnage of capital ships owned by the signatories, but also the total tonnage of the aircraft carriers of the signatories, the standard displacement of the capital ships, and the caliber of artillery.

Because the topic of the total tonnage of capital ships owned by various countries will definitely cause disputes for a long time at the meeting, so at the beginning of the meeting, the six countries have reached a consensus, that is, to solve other problems first, and then discuss the topic of the total tonnage of capital ships, so at present, the main discussion is about the limitation of the displacement of capital ships and the caliber of artillery.

However, this topic has only just begun, and it has already encountered great difficulties. Among the navies of the other five countries, there are very few capital ships with a standard displacement of more than 40,000 tons, or during the entire European war, the standard displacement of the capital ships of the five navies was maintained at around 35,000 tons, and there is only one standard displacement of more than 40,000 tons, that is, the extremely famous battlecruiser Hood.

With a standard displacement of 42,100 tons, the Hood was the largest warship in the world at that time.

With eight twin 15-inch L/42 caliber guns, the Hood is also a powerful presence that no one dares to underestimate (although the Hood sank unluckily twenty years later, the Hood was a sample for the U.S. Navy to design a new battleship before World War II).

It is also for this reason that the other five countries, except for China, believe that the standard displacement of capital ships such as battleships and battle cruisers should be limited to 35,000 tons, and this has created a big problem.

Although the displacement of the capital ships of Britain, France, the United States, and Italy was maintained at about 35,000 tons throughout the European War, and the displacement of most battleships of individual countries was even more than 20,000 tons, the Chinese Navy and Britain, France, and the United States said that the Chinese Navy had different meanings.

Because of the poor foundation and the inability to compare the number with Britain and the United States and other countries, in order to gain local superiority, the displacement of the capital ships of the Chinese Navy is obviously one size larger than that of the capital ships of the British and American Navy.

In addition to the [Baxia]-class battleships with a standard displacement of more than 29,000 tons and a full load displacement of more than 33,000 tons, and the [Jairus]-class battlecruisers with a standard displacement of more than 20,000 tons and a full load displacement of more than 23,000 tons. At present, the standard displacement of the latest [Xingyuema]-class battleships of the National Defense Navy has reached more than 41,000 tons, and the full load displacement has reached more than 47,000 tons. The displacement of the [Kui Wood Wolf] class is in line with the standard, with a standard displacement of more than 35,000 tons and a full load displacement of more than 41,000 tons.

Leaving aside the [Baxia] class and the [Jairus] class for the time being, in the past few years, the [Star Horse] class and the [Kuimu Wolf] class have each served eight ships, that is, a total of sixteen capital ships.

If, according to the provisions of British and American Italian law, the standard displacement of a single capital ship of the contracting state shall not exceed 35,000 tons, and the caliber of the main gun shall not exceed 16 inches, then the [Kui Timberwolf] class will be nothing, but the eight relatively new [Star Horse]-class battleships will all be dismantled.

This is also why Gu Weijun looked at the relationship between the British and American representatives with a mocking face just now.

At present, in terms of the number of capital ships alone, 74 warships of the German High Seas Fleet were seized by the Allies and sailed into Scapa Gulf, Orkney Islands, England, and on June 21, 1919, they carried out a collective self-sinking operation in Scapa Bay, England, which was the most famous Rainbow Operation in later generations, and it was already the third largest navy in the world.

The third in the world is not only in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality.

However, if Britain and the United States follow the meaning of Italy and France and sign such a treaty, it will be no different from self-abolition of martial arts for the Chinese navy.

The Chinese navy, which was originally the third strongest navy in the world, will not be able to talk about it, and the superior position of the navy will be wiped out.

If Gu Weijun and Xu Shichang agreed with the views of the five countries, they would either be bought by the five countries, or they were poisoned and their brains were disabled.

Xu Shichang is pretending to be asleep here, also expressing his dissatisfaction, and at the same time letting Gu Weijun play to his heart's content there.

―――――――――― noticed Gu Weijun's posture, and looked at Xu Shichang, who was obviously pretending to be asleep, the Italian representative Vittorio? Rolandi? Rishi shook his head helplessly.

"Mr. Gu, limiting the standard displacement of a single capital ship of various countries to less than 35,000 tons is a conclusion reached by experts from various countries after discussions. Not to mention your country's eight [Star Horse]-class battleships..."Speaking of which, Vittorio? Rolandi? Rishi looked at the translator next to him and asked in Italian. "It's called Xing Yuema, right?"

Wait until the translation is confirmed, Vittorio? Rolandi? Rishi just said that the English star is right, Vittorio? Rolandi? Rishi continued.

"What's more, the standard displacement of your country's [Star Horse]-class battleships has reached more than 41,000 tons, and at present, except for the British battlecruiser HMS Hood, there is not even a single capital ship in the world that can compete with your country's [Star Horse]-class in terms of surname. Under such circumstances, in order to reach the level of your country's [Star Horse] class in terms of the surname of the capital ships, there is no doubt that a new wave of shipbuilding will be set off again, which is what we call an arms race, and the arms race is undoubtedly not in line with the theme and purpose of this treaty..."

"Could it be that letting our country sacrifice and dismantling the eight capital ships on our own is in line with the criteria of this treaty?"

Vittorio? Rolandi? When Rishi heard Gu Weijun say this, he sighed bitterly and said something that made people cry and laugh.

"Isn't your country willing to sacrifice for the sake of world peace?"

"Is there peace in the world?" Gu Weijun sneered. "A few years ago, our president said that Italians are very peace-loving, and I didn't believe it at the time, but now I believe it. You Italians are really peace-loving..."

This was still during the First World War, when Italy had just switched to the arms of the Entente, and the Italians had already begun to fight against the German-Austrian forces on the Italian front.

But just this mention made Gu Weijun and others remember it until now... Although Gu Weijun said that Italians love peace, after seeing Gu Weijun's expression, Vittorio? Rolandi? If Rishi believed that Gu Weijun said it with good intentions, then he would not be able to sit in this position today.

It's just that Italy's position is very embarrassing now, not only did it not get enough benefits at the Versailles Peace Conference, but it was also the weakest among the six participating countries in the Washington Treaty, plus Gu Weijun was just sneering and didn't say anything strange, so Vittorio? Rolandi? Rishi had no choice but to pretend that he hadn't heard.

See Vittorio? Rolandi? Rishi turned his head away, and Gu Weijun looked at the others with a mocking face again.

"All in all, if the treaty is so directed against us, then I don't think there is any need for me to talk about it here..."

"That is, our country will withdraw from this talk!"

This is also what Yan Guang means, although Yan Guang has always been not short of money, even more so after getting Kolchak's treasure, but giving up eight capital ships at once, this is also something that Yan Guang can't bear.

Hearing Gu Weijun say this, the representatives of the other five countries also looked at each other.

If the China of the past was not taken seriously by them, then the current China has grown to the point where no one can take it lightly. If China withdraws from the talks, there will be no need for the talks in Washington to continue.

Not to mention anything else, if China withdraws, it will definitely withdraw. After all, it is too much of a loss to be equipped with only 35,000-ton capital ships against China's 41,000-ton [Xingyuema] class.

Similarly, the United States and Britain will certainly withdraw, and if the United States and Britain follow suit, then the talks will be meaningless.

So after a stalemate for a while, the day's meeting could only be declared over.

However, during the day's dialogue, the other five countries also understood China's position that it would never accept such conditions, and it cannot be said that it has not gained the slightest.

"But if the displacement of the capital ship cannot be limited to 35,000 tons, won't this meeting be meaningless?"

Yuzaburo Kato, who attended the talks on behalf of Yuzomoto, spoke to representatives of several other countries at a private banquet.

If the displacement of the capital ships of various countries, especially China, can be stipulated in the treaty, it will undoubtedly be of great benefit to Yumoto, which is why Yuzaburo Kato and Masanao Uehara have been promoting this treaty during the talks.

However on the side of the American representative Elihu. Lut said with a wry smile.

"Then you can come up with an idea that can get the Chinese to voluntarily dismantle eight capital ships..."

Because of a treaty, he dismantled his eight most cutting-edge capital ships for no reason, who would agree to this kind of thing? At least Elihu. Lut asked himself if he would never agree.

After hearing Elihue. After Luth's words, there was also a silence among the crowd.

In fact, they didn't think that the five countries would come forward together to threaten.

But after the end of the European war, almost all of the remaining four countries except the United States were seriously damaged, and in this case, the five countries simply did not have the ability to make China bow its head.

As for the use of force?

Just for the sake of a treaty, to provoke another big war again, domestic public opinion alone is enough to make people think twice.

"Ugh..."

At this time the Italian representative Carlo . Yamazawa suddenly said with some hesitation.

"Otherwise, allow the Chinese to keep those eight capital ships?"

"If you do that, what's the difference between having a meeting and not having it?"

Hear Carlo. Yamazawa said this, and Yuzaburo Kato replied categorically.

As a preacedent of the Chinese naval threat, Yuzaburo Kato would rather agree with China's proposal to raise the upper displacement of capital ships than with the Italians.

And it is clear that Britain, France and the United States think so too ... Although in the following time, the five countries have always hoped that China can take a step back, but Gu Weijun's posture of not giving in to death has brought the meeting into a stalemate.

Under the threat of Gu Weijun withdrawing from the meeting, it was the six countries that gave in in the end.

Of course, the six countries will not give the national government any privilege of "retaining eight additional capital ships", but will increase the standard displacement of 35,000 tons originally agreed upon by the five countries to 41,000 tons. In this way, not only do China's eight capital ships not need to be dismantled, but the other five countries can also start construction of new ships in a timely manner according to their own economic conditions.

After solving the problem of displacement, the six countries also began to solve other problems.

For example, the caliber of the main guns of the capital ships of each country must not be higher than 16 inches (that is, 406 mm), and the capital ships in service must be 20 years old before each contracting party can build a replacement ship.

In addition, the meeting also stipulated the tonnage standards and main gun caliber of aircraft carriers and cruisers, in addition to the two capital ships of battleships and battlecruisers.

Each Contracting State shall not build, acquire, or construct for the benefit of other Contracting Parties to this Treaty aircraft carriers of more than 27,000 tons.

Each Contracting State shall not build, acquire, or construct for the benefit of other Signatories to this Treaty a combat vessel of more than 10,000 tons, with the exception of capital ships and aircraft carriers. Ships not for specific purposes of warfare, or for the purpose of warfare in peacetime, nor for the purpose of warfare, nor for the purpose of warfare, nor for wartime temporary employment or military transport, and other similar non-combat purposes, shall not be subject to this treaty.

Combat ships built by the signatory countries after the entry into force of this treaty may not be armed with naval guns of a caliber of more than 8 inches (203 mm), except for capital ships.

The specifications of ships built by the signatory countries for countries other than those signatory to this Treaty shall not exceed the restrictions on firepower and tonnage of ships of the same class imposed by this Treaty, and the number of aircraft carriers built for non-signatory countries shall not exceed 27,000 tons, etc.

By the time these treaties were over, the time had already entered 22 years.

And then comes the real highlight.

"The total tonnage of the capital ships of the six countries..."

It is clear that in this treaty that determines the status of the navies of the countries for the next twenty years, no country wants its country to be given a relatively poor position.

However, reality is cruel and cannot be changed by human will.

The status that each country deserves is determined by its own strength, not by its words, which also makes Italy, which is the weakest of the six countries, and France, which has the greatest losses in the European war, have to be at the lowest level.

As for Britain and the United States, which were the most powerful of the Entente powers, they belonged to the highest one.

Although China is still much inferior to Britain and the United States in terms of overall strength, after nearly a decade of development, the gap between China and Britain and the United States is no longer as big as it was before the war.

Therefore, if a more reasonable arrangement cannot be made, it is obvious that the Chinese delegation will not agree to this meeting. At this time, together with France and Italy, which were still pursuing higher tonnage, the whole meeting seemed rather chaotic.

Finally, on the issue of gross tonnage, it took the six countries almost two months to resolve.

And the end result... 5:5:4:4:2:2 In terms of the total tonnage of capital ships, the total tonnage of capital ships of the United States and Britain shall not exceed 525,000 tons and 15 capital ships respectively.

The total tonnage of the capital ships of China and the two countries shall not exceed 410,000 tons and 10 capital ships respectively.

The total tonnage of capital ships of France and Italy shall not exceed 200,000 tons and 5 capital ships respectively.

In the entire Washington meeting, Britain and the United States unsurprisingly ranked first, tied for first place.

France and Italy, the bitter mandarin ducks on the European continent, are tied for the last place in the third echelon due to their own strength.

Of course, it is quite expected that China will achieve such results, after all, China, which has been relatively far away from the European theater throughout the war, has not only gained the greatest benefits, but has also not suffered too many losses.

Therefore, it is more reasonable to get such a position.

The key is to say... In the European war, except for the capture of Germany's islands in the Pacific, he made almost no contributions, and in the two conflicts with China, they also ended in failure, so the current status of the company was somewhat questioned by public opinion in various countries.

However, it was recognized by the remaining four countries except for the Central Statement.

Of course, the reasons given by Britain, France, the United States, and Italy are still relatively high-sounding: First, the navy still has a very strong strength, and although it is not as good as Britain, the United States, and China, it is no problem to rank fourth in the world. Second, it is necessary to defend against Soviet Russia, so it will give it such a high status.

It's just that..."Vladivostok has been occupied by our country, do you still need to take precautions..."

Although Soviet Russia did not have no other ports in the Far East except Vladivostok, Gu Weijun still sneered in the end.

At this time, if Gu Weijun still can't see the intentions of the four countries against China, then Gu Weijun, the foreign minister, will not have to go now.

After hearing Gu Weijun's cynicism, the Italian representative Luigi? Albertini smiled wryly and waved his hand.

"Gu, don't get me wrong..."

Gu Weijun looked at Luigi coldly? Albertini and the others glanced at each other, shook their heads, and finally signed the treaty.

Although it is indeed unpleasant for Yuben to obtain the same status as China, the signing of the "Washington Naval Treaty" is also of great benefit to China. Especially under the condition of ensuring the overall strength of the navy as much as possible, the signing of this kind of treaty, which was later called the [Navy Hypothesis], really relieved a lot of pressure on the national social and political axe, which is also the reason why Gu Weijun and Xu Shichang agreed in the end.

In fact, in addition to capital ships such as battleships and battle cruisers, aircraft carriers, which had begun to be valued by various countries at the Washington Conference, were also limited by the treaty.

According to the treaty, the tonnage of aircraft carriers of each signatory party shall not exceed the following standards: United States, 140,000 tons; United Kingdom, 140,000 tons; France, 60,000 tons; Italy, 60,000 tonnes; 10,0000 tons in China, 81,000 tons in China.

With the pen of Gu Weijun and Xu Shichang, this treaty on the limitation of naval armaments, which was later called the "Navy Hypothesis", finally came to an end.

―――――――――― "The President, the Prime Minister and Minister Gu sent a telegram from Washington..."

"Has the treaty been signed?"

"Yes."

Yue Chang replied after nodding.

"Did you sign it in the end..."

After hearing Yue Chang's answer, Sa Zhenbing, who was sitting on the side, smiled bitterly.

In this treaty, although China obtained the status of the second echelon, it also obtained a total tonnage of 410,000 tons and the number of capital ships of 10.

However, even if the battleships of the [Baxia] and [Jairus] are removed, there are still 16 capital ships in the country. Therefore, even if China has been given a relatively good position at the Washington Conference, the navy still has to dismantle nearly 10 new capital ships.

Now the navy has begun to study whether the capital ships should be dismantled, but no matter which one is dismantled, it will be a painful thing for an old navy like Sa Zhenbing.

Noticing the appearance of Sa Zhenbing and several other admirals, Yan Guang shook his head.

Of course, he understood the feelings of these admirals who had gone through two eras, but the Washington Treaty was indeed a necessity for China, after all, it did take some time for China to slowly digest the benefits gained in this war, not to mention that war is not the only thing to do in this world.

What's more..."Now that the treaty has been signed, it is obviously impossible for Britain and France to reverse it..."

His eyes rolled, and Yan Guang turned his head to Yue Chang.

"Send a telegram to Shaochuan and tell them not to stay in the United States and return to China immediately."

Yue Chang was a little puzzled, but he still said with his legs.

"Understood."

After Yue Chang left the living room, Yan Guang walked to Sa Zhenbing's side and sat down to comfort him.

"Don't worry, Sa Lao, it won't be long before we can make Britain and the United States regret it..."

Yan Guangke has been waiting for the "Washington Treaty" for more than three years, and now he is finally able to make everything public.

"Send an order to the Iraqi and Kuwaiti authorities to tell them that they can now exploit the oil there!"

"Yes!"

After the other official also walked out of the living room, Yan Guang smiled gently.

"It won't be long before they will regret why they gave us such generous terms..."

―――――――――― about the temperature of the tank, when it was minus 50 degrees, it was at the end of December, and Xiong Kewu went north in March, because Xiong Kewu was from south to north, and three months had passed, so there was no problem with the temperature.

(To be continued)