Since 1887

After six rounds of peace talks in Panama, Bolivia and Peru forged a military alliance against their rival, Chile.

On May 11 and May 13, Bolivia and Peru officially declared war on Chile, and the bird war officially began.

Chile officially declared war on the two countries on May 16, and a war for the resources of the Atacama Desert began......

This war, which was 8 years later than the original history, still came again as expected, and after the rise of the Tang Empire caused a chain reaction, history still corrected the direction with tenacious inertia.

The Tang Empire, as the leader of the entire Americas, did its best to mediate the peace of the three countries in South America, but in the end it could only be declared a failure, allowing them to fight like cocks.

No way

Bolivia, Peru and Chile were all confident that they could win the war and were eager to fight it and settle the dispute once and for all.

Behind this

The British have been fanning the flames, Germany has sent officers to Chile to organize the training of soldiers, France has announced large loans for Peru and Bolivia to buy French rifles and munitions, and the Spanish officer corps has arrived in Lima, Peru.

At the negotiating table in Panama, how can such peace mediation not break down, with the representatives of the three South American countries simply distracted and without the mandate of the Government to make substantive concessions?

In this case, the Tang Empire can only choose to let go.

In this South American war, the Tang Empire declared its neutrality, and in the name of the "American Alliance", it sent peacekeeping troops to protect the mines and property of the Pacific Yingtang Mining Company, maintain normal operation, and prevent the impact of the war.

As for who has this precious resource in the end, it will depend on the barrel of the gun to speak, and whoever wins the battle will be responsible.

This incident caused a major frustration in the field of diplomacy of the imperial government, and also proved that the leaders of the American alliance are not omnipotent, and the cooperation of the "American alliance" does not involve the military field is the greatest weakness.

The "US Alliance" has always been a regional organization of countries with economic cooperation as its main purpose, and it has considerable influence on general issues.

However, when it comes to high-stakes government decisions, it is impossible to influence the will of South American countries.

From 1886 to the second quarter of 1887, a wave of workers' strikes and urban riots in the country made the country the focus of attention of the Tang Dynasty and other European countries.

Ignoring the strong opposition of the British, France successively sent two additional batches of French Foreign Legion reinforcements to Baltimore, Newark, and Kenton counties, so that the French garrison jumped to 27,200 men.

With such a large number of troops, France already has the ability to influence Washington's policy.

After the United States has paid the last tranche of war reparations, the war reparations will be paid off for a period of 25 years with an annual interest of 5.5 percent, totaling 500 million Tang Yuan.

As expected, the U.S. government demanded that the "International Customs Supervision Commission", led by the Tang Empire and with the participation of Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries, formally return the mortgaged control of the United States' customs.

Representatives of Britain and the Netherlands and other countries agreed one after another, while France strongly opposed it, and the Tang Empire was caught in it and had not yet expressed a clear attitude, in fact, it was waiting and seeing.

In today's world, the law of the jungle is followed.

But there are also some international rules that need to be followed, such as the fact that the defeated country should pay war reparations of varying amounts, and once the defeated country has fulfilled its repayment responsibilities, the victorious country cannot use the excuse to drag it out.

For example, in the Franco-Prussian War, the French raised a huge sum of 5 billion francs in just two years, which greatly surprised the German Chancellor Bismarck.

After France paid a huge war reparations, the German Empire, in order to avoid offending the public, had to pinch its nose and withdraw its troops, returning the occupied French territories and the customs under its control to the French government.

This is also the case with the Tang Empire, after all, so many European powers are watching, and the appearance cannot be too ugly.

Since the United States has paid off the huge amount of principal and interest in war reparations, it should return it to the customs that supervises it, and withdraw its troops from the territory of the United States one after another.

After the disarmament of 150,000 people in the Tang Empire, 44 of the 123 military bases originally under the jurisdiction of the US Command were vacated at once, and many of them have been returned to the local government.

The remaining military bases were occupied by the French Foreign Legion that came across the sea, and there were a total of 27 military bases in Baltimore, Newark, and Kenton counties, which were handed over to the French by the Imperial military.

It should be clarified

The withdrawal of the Tang Empire was not all withdrawn, but the military bases of the Royal Army distributed in various states and large and medium-sized cities in the United States, which were about 92~95.

Some of the remaining important military bases along the coast, such as the "Shipyard Barracks" stationed in New York Harbor, the Royal Navy Base in the Port of New Jersey, the Philadelphia Garden Military Base, naval stations and warehouses, and many others, are not included in the withdrawal.

This is because the above-mentioned military base has signed a long-term lease agreement with the US government for a period of 99 years, and exists as a base for the Tang Empire to fulfill its military protection obligations to the United States.

As for why there is such a treaty?

Then we have to find out from the various unequal treaties signed by the United States after the war, all of which are crowned with high-sounding reasons such as maintaining regional peace, preventing the recurrence of the tragedy of war, and promoting the peaceful and stable development of the large North American market.

A total of 27 military bases were covered by these treaties, of which 9 belonged to the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire and 18 belonged to the Royal Army.

The existing Tang Empire has a total of 132,000 troops stationed in the United States, and it is expected to retain about half of the troops after withdrawal, that is, between 62,000 ~ 65,000, which belong to different units of the Royal Army and Navy.

The attitude of the Tang Imperial government today is;

It is okay to withdraw the troops, or not to withdraw the troops, it depends on the outcome of the game between Britain and France, and it will not affect the interests of the empire anyway.

The multinational financial institutions of the Tang Empire do hold hundreds of millions of Tang yuan worth of claims issued by the United States, most of which are financial bonds guaranteed in the name of states or cities to "tear down the east wall and make up for the west wall".

Even if the United States collapses, as long as these states and cities are still there, then they will have to pay these debts, and they will not be able to rely on them.

France's debts differed in that most of them were huge debts owed before 1861 by the government of the United States of America at war. After the post-war debt restructuring of the "International Creditor Committee", the Government of the United States of America was still responsible for paying off the principal and interest of the debt.

Once the United States is divided and the government of the United States of America does not exist, it will be a real headache to ask for this money.

Isn't it stupid to think on your heels to know that there will never be a divided government willing to take on the heavy debt left by the former government of the United States of America?

The common perception among the British and Americans is;

In the past 25 years, the United States has repaid about 1.26 billion yuan worth of international debts, and international creditors have basically recovered their capital, and there is a slight surplus, which is almost enough.

But the French don't think so, the principal and interest of millions of loan sharks in France are as high as 8.2~850 million Tang Yuan, which is a huge amount of money that can be piled up, how can it be said that if you don't want it, you don't want it?

The British have always been vicious and sinister with their intentions, and they are trying to use French money to do favors!

Therefore, on the issue of the United States, Britain and France fought against Maimang, and France's continuous dispatch of foreign legions to the North American continent was a strong signal;

Even if relations with Britain are broken, this debt cannot be dispensed with.

The Tang Empire took a back seat, watching the inextricable fight between Britain and France, and stood up from time to time to say a few innocuous words.

As for U.S. Customs, it certainly can't be handed over now.

Chips are only valuable if they are pinched in their hands, and handing them over is equivalent to automatically giving up the right to speak, so what do fools do?

The Americans fiercely criticized the Tang Empire for not abiding by international rules, and the Tang Empire could only "hehe", and the opinions of the United States were directly ignored;

A group of top international bigwigs are gambling, when will it be little Karami's turn to speak?

"What are the current trends in Britain, France and other countries?" Emperor Richard asked.

His mood was very relaxed, and he was playing with an imperial green jade pixiu in his hand, which was moist and smooth, and he rolled smartly in his hand.

Foreign Minister Liu Daqing stepped forward and responded;

"Your Majesty;

Recently, there have been new military movements in Britain and France, and a British fleet will arrive in Quebec next month, followed by Montreal.

This is a powerful fleet led by three 10,000-ton main ironclad ships, including six ironclad cruisers with a displacement of 3,500 tons to 5,000 tons, and is planned to join the British North American fleet sequence.

The arrival of the fleet was a visible display of muscles by the British Royal Navy.

The first is to promote the accession of Quebec to the Canadian Confederation, and the second is to plan to visit the ports of the United States and southern countries in August ~ September to further expand the influence of the United Kingdom.

Remind the French openly and covertly; Who is the overlord of the seven seas in this world?

Not to be outdone, the French had agreed with the Imperial Admiralty that they planned to send a fleet in July led by the "Admiral Bodin" and the "Terrible", accompanied by two ironclad cruisers and other military auxiliary ships, and a fully staffed Normandy musketeer division of more than 8,200 men.

You can see it

Paris is ready to take a hard line on the US debt, and in fact he cannot back down.

At the slightest hint of a tactful retreat from the Parisian government, the current cabinet will be overthrown by the angry French.

Now that there is nothing to be done about London, the anger of London is turned upon us, and Prime Minister William Cecil sends two transatlantic telegrams in quick succession, expressing his anger at the tacit agreement between the Reich and the French.

London wants us to follow international norms, withdraw our troops on time and return control of customs.

The French said;

They were more than willing to take the place of the representative of the Reich in the chairmanship of the Customs Control Committee. and further conclude a new trade treaty with the Imperial side.

Aiming to significantly reduce French import tariffs, especially for machinery, agricultural machinery and chemical products, the relevant tax rates have been reduced from the original 110%~150% to an average of 30%, but this does not include agricultural products.

The agricultural products exported by the Reich were in direct competition with the French agricultural products, and the agricultural field was also the last bastion of the French, and it was impossible to compromise easily.

But the promise of tariff reductions in the industrial sector was of great significance to the Imperial Government.

After all, this is the largest single market on the European continent, and the French have not built a centuries-old colonial heritage, which is really rich. ”

Lord Liu Daqing's words revealed joy, the game between Britain and France on the North American issue has made the Tang Empire begin to reap the fruits, this is a big fat meat!

Emperor Richard raised his eyebrows when he heard this, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and then he said;

"It seems that in the face of interests, Britain and France are not willing to back down!

This year and next

The Americas will become the main battlefield of the world's great powers, one is the guano war in the south, and the other is the rice problem in the north, which will attract the attention of European countries.

Let's leave him alone for the time being, let's eat the benefits first.

Since the French had this courtesy intention, the government immediately sent people to France to negotiate a new trade treaty and open up the largest single market in Europe as soon as possible.

As for the issue of the United States, the War Department can give the necessary assistance, and they can send troops if they want, anyway, it is the British who are in a hurry.

Mr. William-Hassel in London has not been lonely in the past two years, and our old friend, Prime Minister Bismarck, has been very active in international affairs lately. ”

Speaking of which

Emperor Richard shook his head with a smile and said; "Let him ebb and flow, and I will not move. It is most appropriate to respond to all changes with no change.

The imperial government still has to focus its main efforts on domestic development, on economic development, on improving the rule of law, and on expanding and consolidating the influence of the Chinese circle.

In international affairs, we should adhere to the concept of "guarding and waiting for change", and do not take the initiative to stir up trouble, do not take the initiative to fan the flames, and do not take the initiative to stand out.

Let's wait and see what leverage the British can come up with to impress us. ”

Speaking of this, all the ministers laughed heartily, and bowed their hands in unison; "Your Majesty, the ministers naturally have nothing to disobey!"

Due to the relatively in-depth and perfect industrialization, Britain and Datang are both countries that vigorously promote free trade policies, and now they must add Germany, which are also developed industrial countries with low tariffs in the world.

France is lagging behind in industrialization, and the competitiveness of industrial products is slightly inferior.

Therefore, it is a representative of conservative countries with heavy tariff barriers, aiming to cultivate domestic industrial and agricultural competitiveness through high tariff protection.

Prevent fragile domestic industrial enterprises from being swept away by a flood of imports before they can develop.

The severe world economic crisis that lasted for three years in the 70s, and various countries erected high tariff barriers, which was a major regression in world trade and seriously hurt the export-oriented industrial economy of the Tang Empire.

Those years of time

The Tang Empire survived the economic crisis by frantically expanding the scale of infrastructure construction and exporting colonial wars to the outside world to consume the huge industrial and agricultural production capacity of the society.

Learn from the pain

The Tang Empire has accelerated the establishment of international organizations such as the "American Alliance" and the "Pan-Pacific Cooperation Organization", and has painstakingly built its own circle of friends, just to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

In the face of the olive branch thrown by the French, how can they be willing to turn it away?

In this day and age

Although the overall economic scale of France is only 1/3 of that of the Tang Empire, it is almost 8% of the total economic output of the Tang Empire if the colonies are added.

France is in a harsh strategic environment in Europe, and its military power is very strong, and it is willing to invest a lot of money.

Especially after the defeat of the Franco-Prussian War, the French invested heavily in the military field, and the strength of both the army and the navy was very strong.

Before 1870, the French Army received an annual allocation of 75 million francs, which was equivalent to 15 million Tang Yuan, nearly three times the military budget of the Royal Army of the Tang Empire in 1886.

In 1886, the French Army allocated 142 million francs, worth about 28.5 million Tang Yuan, which was 4.5 times that of the Royal Army of the Tang Empire.

The French Government plans to quadruple the Army's military spending over the next 10 years to 600 million francs per year.

In 1886, the French army had an establishment of 502,000 men, twice the size of the Royal Army of the Tang Empire. Among them, the French Nineteenth Army was stationed in Africa, the French Foreign Legion was spread across the colonies, and the main force of the rest of the army was all in Europe.

In the event of a large-scale war, the French army could afford to grow the total number of troops to 900,000 in one month and 1,500,000 in three months. At its limit, France was able to mobilize between 4 million and 4.5 million troops.

If you want to compare it with the Franco-Prussian War, its war mobilization capacity has been greatly strengthened.

Until the end of the XIX century

The French Navy has always occupied the second position in the world, in 1870 the total tonnage of the French Navy was 457,000 tons, and in 1885 it was 480,600 tons, of which there were 58 ironclad ships of 336,800 tons, and the rest of the ships such as iron-clad wooden hulls, iron sheets, and pure wooden sails had 95 ships, totaling 143,800 tons.

According to the development plan of the French Navy;

The main ironclad ships under construction and the ironclad ships planned to be built in the next five years have a total of 13 ships of four types, with a displacement of 6500~11,000 tons and 305 mm guns.

It is estimated that by 1890, the total tonnage of the French Navy will rise to 535,000 tons, including 71 ironclad ships with a total of 395,300 tons, which is still the second largest in the world.

There are 102 non-ironclad ships of 119,700 tons, including old sail warships, and 194 speedboats of 15,700 tons, which are quite strong.

In response to the arms race, the French Navy plans to start a new upsurge in shipbuilding......

A hard work, a harvest.

Britain, France, Germany, Austria and other countries have invested huge amounts in the field of armaments, which are beyond the reach of the Tang Empire, and its strength is naturally strong, far surpassing the developing Royal Navy of the Tang Empire.

There is nothing to be indignant about, Britain and France and other world maritime powers have been developing for hundreds of years, and in the fierce competition environment in Europe, they have invested heavily to create a fleet that is naturally extraordinary.

The rise of the Tang Empire has only been more than 40 years, first, it does not participate in the European arms race, and second, it has the geographical advantage of the two oceans, and there are no considerable competitors around it, so there is naturally no need to spend huge sums of money to build a large fleet of astonishing scale.

Isn't it good to spend so much money on developing the economy?

The development of the Tang Empire in the military field was moderate, and it was much stronger than the United States in the original history, but it still embarked on the old path of the United States, that is, it paid more attention to economic development.

There is inevitability in this, and it is also the only correct choice for the current Tang Empire.

Although the Tang Empire rose in North America, it seemed to have become the hegemon of the entire Americas, with an undoubted dominant position in the Pacific Rim and a group of vassal states under its command.

But it should be noted that in the 19th century, European culture and white people still occupied the center of the stage and were the protagonists of the whole play, while the Tang Empire was just a supporting role that stole some limelight.

If you don't understand your position, you will inevitably make a big mistake.

With the existing strength of the Tang Empire, it is not enough to challenge the status of the protagonist, and it is the right thing to carefully polish the acting skills and accumulate practical experience on the stage, rather than being too ambitious.