After his speech, U.S. President Harding left the Independence Memorial in Washington. He did not participate in the specific negotiation process of the next meeting, and US Secretary of State Hughes presided over it.

The first item on the agenda of the meeting was the limitation of the naval armaments of various countries. This topic is also the most important topic in this meeting.

"Ladies and gentlemen, since the end of the World War, countries have been desperately developing their naval armaments and building a large number of warships. This kind of frenzied military expansion has seriously threatened world peace. Therefore, the United States believes that it is time to put an end to this expansion. U.S. Secretary of State Hughes said earnestly.

After the end of World War I, the imperialist powers set off a naval arms race in full swing in order to compete for maritime supremacy. In particular, the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Japan are the most prominent. The United States, relying on its burgeoning industrial and financial power, challenged Britain, the world's leading naval power. US Secretary of the Navy Daniels announced that he would build 137 warships within five years to "build the strongest and best navy in the world."

Not to be outdone, Prime Minister Lloyd George said: "Great Britain would rather spend every last penny than maintain naval superiority over the United States or any other country." ”

In order to improve its naval interests and defend the empire's interests abroad, China is also vigorously expanding its naval armament. In particular, the 'Three Emperors-class' battleships, which were built during World War I, were the most powerful battleships in the world. Later, in order to deal with the threat of Japan, the 'Pangu-class' battleship was thrown.

Japan, on the other hand, responded to the threat of the Chinese Empire and pledged to defeat it in future wars. With the support of Britain, France, and the United States, not only the Kii-class battleships were built, but also the construction of the Yamato-class battleships and the Amagi-class battlecruisers began.

Soon after, France and Italy joined the race in high spirits. That's it. From the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, to the Pacific, a war of arms that cannot be seen is becoming more and more intense.

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.

Britain can't afford to be accompanied. It has long been deprived of financial resources by war. It is really painful to be holding on to joining the arms race. Japan was also unable to do so, and in order to build the 'Yamato-class' battleships and the 'Amagi-class' battlecruisers, most of their financial revenue was spent on the navy. If it weren't for the loans provided by Britain, France and the United States, it might not have been able to support it a long time ago. Although China has no problems with its financial resources, in fact, China has long wanted to waste resources by building battleships. After all, aircraft carriers are more powerful than battleships and represent the mainstream of future development. Although the United States has deep pockets. But it will not be easy to truly overwhelm Britain and China.

At this time, the economic crisis that spread to the capitalist countries broke out, and the cries of the peoples for disarmament became louder and louder. The naval arms race of the great powers is bogged down. 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.

On the first day of the opening of the meeting, the United States made a preemptive strike and could not wait to throw out a plan for limiting 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 ratio of each country, the capital ships of the United States and Britain are 500,000 tons each. China's 400,000 tons, Japan's 300,000 tons, that is, 5:5:4:3, and auxiliary ships refer to the prescribed ratio of capital ships. The United States wants to use this plan to establish naval superiority over China and share Britain's maritime supremacy.

"Gentlemen. This plan is the most feasible plan, and it is calculated according to the current national strength of each country. If the tonnage of each country's capital ship is determined according to this ratio, it will certainly be able to ensure world peace. U.S. Secretary of State Hughes immediately said unashamedly after throwing out this plan.

The British delegates were silent, they had already consulted with the Americans in advance. Though. They are very dissatisfied with everyone's vain attempt to share the supremacy of the sea with them. However, the Chinese threat is currently number one. As long as China can be contained, it does not matter if Britain suffers a little loss. After suppressing China's arrogance, Britain can reassert its maritime superiority at any time.

The representatives of the Chinese Empire, on the other hand, did not look very good. The size of the Chinese navy is no worse than that of Britain and the United States, and if you count the 'Pangu-class' battleships, the Chinese navy can have an advantage. However, the Americans actually gave China only a quota of 400,000 tons, which is obviously not enough. Even if you don't count the four 'Pangu-class' battleships, it's far from enough. Not to mention the four Pangu-class battleships, which are almost 300,000 tons. Such a plan was naturally unacceptable to the Chinese Empire.

Not only the faces of the representatives of the Chinese Empire were ugly, but even the faces of the Japanese, who were the lackeys of the United States, were equally ugly. Although the Americans said that they would curb the development of the Chinese navy, they did not say that they should also be counted! The quota of 300,000 tons was given to Japan, and the quota of 300,000 tons was almost used up by four 'Yamato-class' battleships. The face of the Japanese Navy Minister Yashiro Rokuro was even darker than the bottom of a pot. If he hadn't been sane, he might have questioned it right away.

The representatives of France and Italy were also a little unhappy, why did the Americans only mention the United States, Britain, China, and Japan, but the two of them did not? France, in particular, is known as one of the four great powers in the world. The Kingdom of Italy was also the winner of the First World War and was one of the great powers of the world. The navies of France and Italy, though relatively weak, did not come to the point of disdainful proposing.

"Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen, do you have any comments on this plan? If not, then we will draw up a treaty according to this scenario. U.S. Secretary of State Hughes coughed twice and then said. He was also a little surprised by the cold reception of the meeting.

The British Empire approved of this plan. For this reason, we are willing to abandon plans to restart the N3-class battleships. British Prime Minister David Lloyd George said.

The British people's statement undoubtedly made the delegates of various countries look sideways. Originally, everyone thought that the British would oppose it. After all, Britain is the nominal hegemon of the seas. Now, the Americans want to share the status of maritime supremacy with Britain! The British actually put up with this breath.

"The British Empire is a world leader, and this is something to learn from our countries. Therefore, the United States also decided to abandon the construction of the "South Dakota-class" battleships. U.S. Secretary of State Hughes also said.

In fact, both the British and the Americans gave up this money-burning plan because they did not have enough financial resources. After all, the amount of money needed for a cutting-edge battleship is an astronomical amount!

"Humph! It seems that the Americans and the British have long been in collusion. They are willing to give up the construction of the latest battleships, obviously they want to show their determination to maintain world peace, and then use this to put pressure on the empire! Imperial Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi said in a low voice.

"Not only that, but by abandoning these cutting-edge battleships, they can also save a lot of military spending and ease financial pressure." Yang Du said.

"No wonder the Americans asked us to abandon the construction of the Pangu-class battleships. They are worried that our 'Pangu-class' battleships will pose a serious threat to them after they are completed! Marshal Shi Tianhan, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, also said.

Obviously, Britain and the United States successively proposed to abandon the construction of the latest type of battleships, which greatly shocked the countries. After all, countries are now desperately trying to develop their naval armaments.

"Representatives of the Chinese Empire, do you have any objections to this plan?" U.S. Secretary of State Hughes asked proactively. Since the representatives of the Chinese Empire were reluctant to take a stand, they certainly would not let their calculations fail.

"I'm sorry, but the Empire can't agree to such a plan!" Yang Du said directly.

"Why? Don't you think it's a good way to maintain world peace? Hughes looked stunned, as if surprised. I have to admit that every politician is a qualified actor.

"Although this can maintain world peace, it will have a great impact on the security of the empire. It is impossible for the Chinese empire to sacrifice the interests of the empire for the sake of so-called world peace. What's more, the Chinese Empire simply did not see what this could do for the maintenance of world peace. Yang Du said-for-tat.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, why?" Hughes asked.

"First of all, the Chinese Empire, as one of the most powerful countries in the world, has extensive interests in the Pacific. Plus our old enemy is desperately building battleships. Therefore, the Chinese Empire must ensure that it has a strong navy. The quota of 400,000 tons did not meet the needs of the empire. We need the same quota as the UK and the US, which is half a million tons. In addition, if the Empire wants to abandon the Pangu-class battleships, then the Yamato-class battleships of the Japanese Empire must also be abandoned. Otherwise, the Chinese Empire would not have given up the Pangu-class battleships under any circumstances. (To be continued.) )

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