Under these circumstances, the Japanese were forced to realize the harsh reality that with their current national strength, even the emperor would not be able to eat one meal a day to lift the shoes of the Americans in the shipbuilding race. Although Japan has re-proposed its plan for the construction of the 88th Fleet, the last Amagi-class battle patrol will not begin until 1917, which is enough to prove that Japan is not capable of fighting in the naval race. As long as the Americans are willing, they can use steel to kill the little money that Japan has accumulated over the past decades!

However, if you just give up your ambitions for foreign expansion and live willingly under the pressure of the American godfather to become a docile and obedient little brother, it will be an absolutely unacceptable outcome for the Japanese government. As for the naval competition with the United States, Japan is weak if it wants to fight, and it is unwilling to give up. Therefore, they can only start at the diplomatic level, hoping to achieve their goals with the help of other powers.

"Although your country and Germany are separated by the two poles of the earth, they have always maintained a relatively harmonious relationship. Especially after the outbreak of the Great War in Europe, your country, which was an ally of Great Britain, did not declare war on Germany, and the Imperial Government could not fail to praise your wise decision. Qingying spoke slowly, still with considerable vigilance in her words, "However, your country is still an ally of Britain after all. And now that your navy dominates the western Pacific, there is no other force other than the United States that can compete with your fleet. Your Excellency has offered to cooperate with us, and it is difficult for Germany to believe in the sincerity of your country. ”

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The reason why Japan concluded an alliance with Britain in 1902 was to defend itself against the eastward advance of the Russian barbarians; Now that Russia has fallen apart under the blows of your country, the treaty has lost its original meaning. Your country's industrious and rigorous quality, orderly and tenacious heart. They have always been exemplary examples admired by all Japanese people; As allies of Great Britain, we ordered warships from your country and declared our neutrality in a great war. It's the best table xiàn. Current. The fact that the Japanese Government is considering replacing the present Anglo-Japanese alliance with a new treaty should be a sign of our sincere desire to make peace with your country. Kato spoke unhurriedly, his coherent and beautiful words not at all like what a professional soldier could have, "If your country can cooperate with us, the combined fleet will be the most reliable help for your country; And having us contain the Americans in the Pacific will also be beneficial to your country's future actions, right? ”

Looking at Kato's humble and arrogant expression, Qingying couldn't help but be secretly awe-inspiring in his heart. The rise of Japan at the beginning of the 20th century coincided not only with the second industrial revolution, but also with the rise of the "scholars". Whether it is the old people such as Saionji Gongwang, Yama Prefecture Youtomo, and Oyama Iwa, who came all the way from the feudal kingdom era. Later, Kodama Mototaro and Yamamoto Gonbei and other new ministers of the Meiji era could be called outstanding national scholars, and almost all of them rose to the top of Japan's decision-making positions in groups. Even Yuzaburo Kato, who is now appearing in front of Kiyoei, is also a talented person in Japan who is both civil and military: during the Russo-Japanese War, he was the chief of staff of the Combined Fleet, and together with Heihachiro Togo, he personally commanded all naval battles, and then became the commander of the main fleet. In the historical Washington Naval Conference, he was also the negotiator of the Japanese side as a military man, and won the world's third naval status for Japan, whose industrial capacity was not as good as that of Italy!

"Germany would prefer more specific rules and regulations than a new, vague agreement." Qingying pressed down the strange feelings in her heart and slowly opened her own price. With the gap in national strength. He still had enough confidence in the negotiations with the Japanese: Germany could choose to support the Japanese navy, but only if the dagger could not have a blood trough opening for itself.

"The Japanese Empire will recognize the interests of your country, including the distant French Indochina, in the Far East. And to ensure that your country will have an arbitrary monopoly and will never involve capital in these areas. Seeing that Qingying also faintly had a tendency to go up, Kato was overjoyed, and hurriedly threw out a branch full of sweet dates in his hand. According to his judgment, the intransigence shown by the young man in front of him at the meeting today was precisely the stubbornness of Germany after the war to maintain its absolute sea power like that of Britain in those years, and it could be used by its own side. As long as he makes a guarantee on the issue of colonies in East Asia, it will be enough to dispel the doubts in the minds of the other side about Japan's position.

"Mr. Kato, these overseas territories were originally the result of the bitter war in Europe. Why should your country not have any involvement in these territories that do not belong to yours at all, and why should you now use this as a sign of sincerity? Qingying frowned, and said with some displeasure, "Your country should express its firm position on breaking away from the Anglo-Japanese alliance and making peace with our Germany in a more appropriate way. I believe that your country should pledge to devote one-third of its annual import funds from now on to the purchase of commodities and goods from Germany. Only in this way can we feel your country's sincerity and position. ”

Although the present Japanese pledged to respect Germany's absolute autonomy over its East Asian colonies, Kiyoying could not trust the strength of the Japanese to carry out this promise in the future, as a vicious dog that grinded its teeth while sleeping. Therefore, it is necessary for Germany to establish a layer of ties with it at the level of interests, so that it cannot come and go hungry like a falcon. Once a large number of high-end industrial products from Germany enter the Japanese market, it will not be possible for Japan, which has a weak industrial foundation, to get rid of its dependence on them; And Germany can also earn foreign exchange, and better exert its will on the Japanese thug.

Hearing Qingying's words, the muscles on Kato's face twitched slightly: the other party really didn't see the rabbit and didn't scatter the eagle, and his guarantee in the colony did not satisfy them. However, now the only people they can rely on are the Germans, and if they do not support them at the negotiating table, no country has the capital to compete with the United States at present; The British Empire, whose prestige had fallen with the defeat of the Great War in Europe, and who could not even maintain a navy on a par with the United States, could not take into account the interests of Japan?

Kato sat quietly at the other end of the coffee table, his mind already beginning to calculate rapidly. Among the post-war world powers, Germany is undoubtedly the only one that can compete with the United States; In order for Japan to further deepen its interests in East Asia in the future, it is also necessary to use the power of this emerging world empire to contain the United States. Riding on the German chariot may really be a good choice for Japan in the future: not to mention the sophisticated industrial machinery of the other side, which is also what Japan is currently on the road to industrialization!

"As long as your country agrees to help Japan in this negotiation, we are willing to accept your country's offer on trade." In the sound of a ticking clock, Kato, who had been silent for a long time, spoke softly, and his eyes regained the clarity of the beginning of entering the door. As the negotiator with full powers in Tokyo, he had every right to make such a pledge: as long as he brought back a naval agreement in favor of Japan, neither the government nor the people would dispute the additional rules.

To the surprise of Qing Ying, the Japanese proposed that the size of their main fleet should be 70% of that of the United States, and preferably 75% higher. This request made Qingying couldn't help but frown. Historically, the Japanese took advantage of the windfall made in World War I and tried their best to plan a large number of unfinished ships as mouth guns, which made it difficult to get 60% of the United States' share at the negotiating table; Now Japan can't even afford to make this down payment in advance, and it is undoubtedly too reluctant to ask for 70% of the other party's ratio. You must know that for a relatively weak decisive battle fleet, its relative to the enemy's sixty percent and seventy percent Zhen Rongguang is definitely a watershed; If sixty percent is a trouble that cannot be underestimated by the dominant side, then seven achievements have a considerable chance to defeat the strong threat of the other side!

It is for this reason that Germany did not mention reparations in the negotiations with Britain before, but insisted that the other side must guarantee a 6-10 share of Germany. This is especially true for the United States, a country that needs to divide its troops between two oceans. However, in order to stabilize the Japanese, Qingying still agreed. After all, the greater the pressure on the United States in the western Pacific, the better it will be for Germany in the future, and the outcome of the negotiations will depend on whether it will succeed or not.

In order to cope with the situation that it was difficult for Japan to obtain the desired tonnage of capital ships, Kiyoying and Kato reached a consensus in the subsequent discussions, that is, to seek an advantage over the Americans in the replacement of warships. Some of America's new warships must be scrapped, while Germany and Japan will have to compete for more new ships. In addition, Kiyoei also promised to sell the blueprints of the King-class battleships to Japan, so that it could make a comprehensive upgrade of the Ise class, which had just been planned. Anyway, the king-level idea is a product of the Qingying cottage Yamato, and it is not a heart-wrenching thing to return to the Japanese now.

Early the next morning, negotiations on limiting naval armaments resumed. Perhaps it was Qing Ying's sword-drawing at the meeting yesterday that frightened the old Sams, and the Americans greatly lowered their reservation requirements for the new open ships: of the seven capital ships planned in 1914, they only asked for the construction of two battleships and two battle cruisers, and the other three capital ships were abandoned. And in terms of total tonnage, the Americans also took advantage of the trend to reduce their share to 450,000 tons. Wilson claimed that this was the minimum that the government of the United States could no longer afford to take a step back.

"If your country insists on keeping the four new ships that have not yet been laid, even the keels have not yet been laid, then Germany should also put into service the four H-40 class battleships. They are much more finished than your warships, and there is no reason to dismantle them if your new ships are preserved. Seeing that the fire was almost in progress, Qingying immediately stopped entangled in tonnage, but started to make a fuss about the replacement of new ships. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the monthly ticket support of F4U forever, and the reward of Temple Gaoyi and zhouyu1976~~