Zhu Erdian asked with a grim face: "Lord Sun, you should know about the relationship between Germany and France, right?" ”

Sun Yuanqi said: "I know a little bit. ”

The intricate relationship between Germany and France, no less than that between China and Japan in Asia, occupied the most important space in the first half of the twentieth century, and the outbreak of two world wars was inextricably linked to the bitter rivalry. As long as you are in that era, it is impossible not to know the love and hatred between the two of them. “,

If we want to talk about their grievances, we have to go back to the distant seventeenth century.

After the Thirty Years' War, Germany, which had been divided into numerous small states, was in decay for a long time. Politically, it was to be subservient to the policies of the French Chancellors Richelieu and Mazarin, which were designed to keep Germany weak and divided; Militarily, it was also invaded and partitioned by the French at intervals, such as during the reigns of Louis XIV and Napoleon.

However, the rich and handsome may not always be the rich, and the grassroots may not always be the grassroots.

In the 70s of the nineteenth century, Bismarck's Germany finally got the opportunity to counterattack. Taking advantage of Napoleon III's ambitions and weaknesses, he succeeded in knocking the French Empire to dust through the battles of Sedan and Versailles, and took with him the beloved region of Alsace Lorraine. In this way, Germany became a powerful and unified empire. "Look

The French regarded the defeat of the Germans as a great disgrace, and even more so as a sin in which the Germans had taken away the Lorraine region of Alsace, such as "snatching a baby from its mother's arms". Proof of history. Germany's actions were not only evil, but also a grave mistake. As a result, Germany will lose more than 7 million lives. And more than 80 million people around the world will be buried for it!

The French people are obsessed with this and have always been determined to take revenge, especially in the army, and the psychology of revenge is growing day by day. But how could a French GI, dazed by perfume and softened by wine, be a match for the German warriors? So France, while regaining its strength and preparing for revenge, was also actively looking for a strategic partner against the Germans. This led to the Franco-Russian alliance of 1893 and the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia in 1907.

The Germans, naturally, were well aware of France's eagerness for revenge and were not going to sit idly by. In 1882, before the establishment of the Franco-Russian Alliance, the Triple Alliance Treaty was signed with Austria-Hungary and Italy. It's like two little kids fighting. While the weak side is asking for help, the strong side is also pulling teammates, and more and more people are involved. In the end, the heads-up turned into a group fight.

And so the First World War broke out.

The result, as we all know, was a crushing defeat for Germany. The Treaty of Versailles, signed after the war, shifted all the responsibility for waging war to Germany, and thus imposed extremely severe economic and military sanctions on Germany, stipulating that Germany should disarm, control the army to less than 100,000 people, and prohibit the possession of an air force. Even more vicious was the redrawing of Germany's borders. As a result, Germany lost 13% of its territory, 12% of its population and all its overseas colonies, and not only the Alsace Lorraine region that it had seized was to be returned to France. The Saarland coal mines were to be administered by the League of Nations, and the German territories on the west bank of the Rhine were to be occupied by the Entente for 15 years, and Germany was not allowed to defend them within 50 kilometers of the east bank.

War responsibility, military restrictions, border demarcation, war reparations, ...... extreme harshness of the Treaty of Versailles caused strong resistance and antipathy among the German people, and a sense of anger and humiliation quickly spread within Germany. In particular, the loss of a large number of territories, colonies and its own economic advantages aroused strong national revanchist sentiments among the German people. Scheadmann, the prime minister of the Weimar Republic of Germany, claimed: "Whoever signs such a treaty will have his hands rotten!" ”

This time, the side of revenge became Germany.

Twenty years later. Germany, under the leadership of Hitler's Nazi party, once again unleashed a world war. Putting France on the soles of your feet again. Tragically, Germany not only has pig-like teammates like Japan and Italy, but also tries to challenge the world on its own, only to suffer another heavy defeat. With two fiascos in a row, Germany was completely broken and could no longer stand up.

Of course, Germany and France have also used painful experience to tell us a truth: it is better to stand on the side than to be strong!

Zhu Erdian asked again: "Does Lord Sun know about the Triple Entente of Britain, France, and Russia and the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria, and Italy?" ”

Sun Yuanqi said: "I also know a little bit. ”

Zhu Erdian asked again: "Then has Lord Sun heard of the disarmament negotiations between the British Empire and Germany in recent years?" ”

In order to tie Germany's hands and feet, Britain has been proposing since 1905 to reduce and suspend the construction of naval armaments, suggesting that the best way to restore friendly relations between Britain and Germany is to postpone Germany's naval program, or to bring the British and German navies to some appropriate proportion. However, Kaiser Wilhelm II simply ignored it, believing that it was absurd to improve Anglo-German relations at the expense of Germany's naval buildup, and instructed the navy to implement the naval law that had been formulated word for word.

However, at that time, Germany was not sure of winning a war with Britain, so at a secret meeting held in June 1909, Zabiro decided to create smoke bombs to paralyze Britain in order to buy time and step up war preparations. As a result, envoys and dignitaries of the two countries shuttled back and forth to discuss the issue of disarmament. In fact, until the outbreak of World War I, the two sides did not come to a single conclusion.

Sun Yuanqi replied immediately: "I have also heard a little." ”

Zhu Erdian said: "Since Your Excellency knows everything, why do you still sell the patent rights of military products to Germany, Austria and other countries?" Your move will not only ruin the outcome of the disarmament negotiations between the British Empire and Germany, but will also intensify the arms race between the two alliances. The slightest carelessness will lead to catastrophe! I hereby solemnly hope that Your Excellency will have a clear understanding of the situation, restrain yourself from the precipice, and immediately stop this dangerous move, so as not to jeopardize world stability. ”

Sun Yuanqi was not moved at all and replied calmly: "According to European and American newspapers, Germany began to rapidly expand its army and increase its military budget since 1911. Military spending was expected to exceed 2 billion marks by 1913. At the beginning of this year, they drew up a bill for the expansion of the German army by 136,000 men and the strengthening of heavy artillery units, and decided to advance the armament plan, which was originally scheduled to be completed within five years (19121916), to the spring of 1914. The regular army of Austria-Hungary exceeded 500,000. Military expenditures amounted to nearly 500 million kroons.

"Russia's army budget this year is as high as 572 million rubles, and the navy budget has also reached 350 million rubles. Although the country's standing army had already exceeded one million, the ambitious tsarist government was still unsatisfied, and wanted to expand its army to 2.3 million with a new military expansion program. As for France, it has been preparing armaments for a long time, and for a long time it has been increasing the number of standing armies, and its military spending has been rising steadily. It now accounts for more than 30 per cent of the country's total budgetary expenditure.

"It can be seen from this that the arms race in Europe has already begun, and countries have been on a procurement frenzy. Even if the patent usage rights are not sold. Nor will they stop arms purchases or cut military spending. Moreover, the power and cost of military products such as rifles and mortars are far inferior to those of heavy artillery giant ships, and steel helmets and camouflage uniforms are mainly used to protect the safety of military personnel. Your Excellency the Ambassador is too alarmist, isn't it? ”

Zhu Erdian said: "It is undeniable that the arms race in Europe is intensifying now, and the military products sold by Your Excellency are indeed not very lethal. But the situation in Europe is very delicate at the moment. It's like a powder keg. It could explode at any moment. And Your Excellency's arms sales are likely to be a spark, and the slightest carelessness will cause a catastrophe out of control. ”

The outbreak of the First World War was of course closely related to the feud between Germany and France, but if we really look closely, we can find that there is a more complex background, and behind its contingency there is an inevitable factor.

Before the beginning of the 70s of the 19th century, Britain held the top position in the world in terms of industrial production level, accounting for 1/3 of the world's industrial output value and 2/5 of the world's industrial export value. But by the beginning of the 20th century. The emerging capitalist powers, the United States and Germany, soon caught up with and surpassed the old imperialist powers in leaps and bounds. Become the first and second economic powers in the world, respectively. Britain's industrial production has fallen behind the United States and Germany, ranking third, and the era of dominating everything in the world market has become a thing of the past.

The tremendous economic development has brought not only a prosperous life, a rise in status, and a growing self-confidence, but also a growing political demand. Just like China, after its GDP rapidly surpassed that of Germany and Japan and officially became the world's second largest economy, the people have irrepressibly developed radical tendencies such as nationalism and nationalism. The developed countries that have been knocked down from the altar disdain the low quality of the nouveau riche, while feeling more loss and jealousy, and then there are all kinds of targeted rules, agreements, restrictions, and encirclements, so the signs of war begin to emerge. It is not nonsense to compare the situation in 1913 with the situation in 2013 on the Internet. As for whether China in 2013 was Germany in 1913 or the United States, it is a matter of opinion.

Before World War I, the focus of the fight was not for the right to speak, but for the colonies. Although the United States, Germany, and Japan had already caught up with each other at that time, the colonies of the world had been roughly divided, and the old imperialist countries were so full of fat that they could only pick up some scraps. According to statistics, Britain, France, and Russia, the three old colonial powers, occupy nearly 60 million square kilometers of colonies, accounting for more than 85% of the total number of colonies in the world; Germany, the United States, and Japan, the three later imperialist countries, had only 3.6 million square kilometers of colonies. Only 5% of the total number of colonies in the world. Britain, France, and Russia have 17 times as many colonies as Germany, the United States, and Japan.

On the one hand, the old colonial powers are desperately trying to expand and consolidate their existing territory, and on the other hand, the newly emerging empires are demanding a new division of the world according to a new position of power. In this way, the contradictions intensified, making Europe a powder keg, which eventually led to the outbreak of world war.

Sun Yuan smiled and said, "So that's the case." I thought that His Excellency the Ambassador was not able to make a fortune, so he did everything possible to stop the arms sales! Although Your Excellency the Ambassador has a far-sighted vision for the world, I do not agree with your high views. ”

"Oh?"

"Have you read Mr. Angel's The Big Fantasy?" Sun Yuanqi asked.

Zhu Erdian's face was difficult to look at. (To be continued...) )