In order to make the Argentines completely frightened, all the armies of the Allies never saved weapons and ammunition this time, and even gathered hundreds of artillery pieces to bombard the Argentine front line indiscriminately, blowing up the lush woods into wasteland and flattening the sharp hills on the border.

The bombardment on the 11th alone consumed more than 40,000 shells from the Allies, with an average of hundreds of shells fired from each artillery.

It is not clear how many casualties were inflicted on the Argentine army, but it can be seen from the position of the Argentine front that the Argentine casualties were definitely not small.

After two successive rounds of shelling, the Argentines could no longer bear it, and on November 13, 1913, Argentina again asked for an armistice.

The good news is that, knowing that Argentina simply would not hold out for a few days, the peace negotiators of both the Entente and Chile were still in Sydney.

On the Argentine side, there was not much thought in withdrawing representatives from the peace talks, which also led to the peace talks going very smoothly and quickly restarting in Sydney.

Perhaps because they understood their current situation, the Argentines behaved very obediently in this peace talks.

After two days of peace talks and negotiations between the two sides, on November 15, Argentina's compensation amount was finally determined, totaling 11.83 million pounds.

Among them, the compensation to the four major powers of the Entente totaled 8 million pounds, and Australasia received 2 million.

and the remaining £3.83 million, £2 million as war reparations against Chile, £1.83 million to the Chileans who suffered losses in this war and to the Chilean government in Chile.

For Argentina, the nearly £12 million reparations is not a small number.

Even with the help of the Americans, it will probably take several years to pay off this reparation completely.

More importantly, this is also a big blow to Argentina's domestic national self-confidence, and it may not be easy for Argentina to restore its identity as one of the three major hegemons in South America.

You must know that Chile will be able to receive a total of more than 3 million pounds in compensation, which will greatly alleviate Chile's current economic weakness.

This will also indirectly lead to a widening of the gap between Chile and Argentina, which will cultivate a thorny enemy for itself.

Of course, Chile is not the Argentine government's top headache right now. When the complete contract is released, the first thing the Argentine government will have to deal with is the angry Argentine people.

As for the cession of the entire province of Tierra del Fuego, as demanded by the Chileans, the Argentine Government categorically cannot accept it.

If the Chileans accepted their demands, the Argentine government would be overthrown by an angry Argentine populace, even if Argentina did not perish in the war.

For any country and any people, the cession of national land is a great shame. And the person who agreed to sign the treaty was generally nailed to the pillar of national shame.

Of course, the final decision-makers in this matter were the four major powers of the Entente, the British Empire to be precise.

Everyone, including Australasia, was not very interested in this matter, so the attitude of the British Empire became very important.

Although the British Empire was an ally of Chile, Britain had a very friendly relationship with the region. However, the British Empire's consistent policy of balancing the continent still made it a little difficult for the British government to deal with this matter.

The reparations after the defeat of Argentina could not be escaped, but the amount of compensation and what restrictions should be imposed on Argentina also gave the British Empire a headache.

Let Argentina lose less, and the Chilean side will inevitably be dissatisfied. But if Argentina is weakened too badly, Chile in southern South America will no longer be in the way.

By the time Chile had digested the fruits of the war, South America would have turned into a confrontation between Chile and Brazil.

In view of the current situation, Chile has the advantage and it is not impossible for it to become the hegemon of South America.

Even if it can't fight Brazil in the short term, Chile can continue to press Argentina and accumulate the foundation for its own rise.

This was not allowed in the eyes of the British Empire. Chile has saltpeter mines that were very important to the British Empire, which means that Chile must not be too strong, otherwise it is likely to exceed the control of the British Empire.

The Argentine representative seemed to understand this, and since the deadlock in the territorial negotiations, the Argentine representative repeatedly asked for a meeting with the British representative and had a long and confidential conversation.

Finally, on November 20, 1913, at the suggestion of the British Empire, both Chile and Argentina backed down and changed their demands.

In the end, the peace talks also went very well, with Argentina agreeing to cede the land east of Karen, north of San Sebastian, plus the islands of Estados and San Diego, and to relinquish sovereignty over all disputed areas.

Although Argentina eventually ceded land, it was only small islands and soil, which was acceptable to Argentina.

Although the Chileans were somewhat unwilling, they were helpless in the face of the British Empire's decision.

Fortunately, it can be regarded as obtaining new land, and it can be regarded as giving an account to the people and the media.

The only remaining issue in the peace talks was the formation of a four-nation condominium in the black soil of northern Argentina, as demanded by Australasia.

The reason why Australasia agreed to send troops this time was for the sake of the black soil in Argentina.

In addition, Australasia had reached an agreement with the British Empire beforehand, so Australasia's request was supported by the other three major powers of the Entente.

Faced with the common demands of the four major powers of the agreement countries, Argentina had no ability to resist at all, and after a long period of peace talks, it finally agreed to Australasia's demands.

The black soil of Argentina is mainly concentrated in the Pampas plain, and the black soil here has a characteristic, which is basically red black soil.

The surface of this black soil is red soil, and the real black soil is underneath the red soil, and the disadvantage is that the soil is not as fertile as the normal black soil.

Moreover, if such black soil develops agriculture, there is a defect, that is, it is easy to cause soil erosion and cause damage to the soil.

This is not a problem for Australasia. Arthur wanted to acquire this land in order to build a granary in the short term and prepare for the two wars.

After the end of the Second World War, the land will definitely be returned to Argentina.

As for the demarcated condominium of the black soil, it is located on the coast of the Argentine province of Buenos Aires, with Puerto Blanca as the center, with a radius of several tens of square kilometers, and was officially leased by the Entente for a period of 45 years.

During this period, the four major powers of the Entente could carry out various economic operations on this land, including agriculture and animal husbandry, and Argentina was not allowed to interfere in any way. And all the results obtained belong to the laborers, and have nothing to do with Argentina.

This also means that the land can be used as an overseas farm in Australasia for the next 45 years, growing a large number of crops for Australasia.

The local Argentines could also be used as cheap hired farmers, and Australasia needed to sit back and get a lot of food.

The erosion and destruction of soil fertility caused by the massive cultivation of this land has nothing to do with Australasia 45 years later.

Of course, in order to protect its interests in this land, Australasia specifically requested that troops be stationed in this land to protect the safety of Australasian enterprises and Australasian people.

At the same time, the garrison can also deter the Argentine government and let the Argentine government restrain the Argentine people.

On November 27, 1913, the Sydney Treaty was officially signed in Sydney, the capital of Australasia, which also represented the official entry of South America into the peace phase.

In the presence of many media and people, representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Australasia, Chile and Argentina signed the agreement, which also means that the contract has officially begun.

According to the agreement between the two parties, the Argentine government's high indemnity will have to be repaid within a maximum period of five years.

Once the period of reparation exceeds five years, interest is paid to the victorious Power at the rate of 10 per cent per annum.

Given the Argentine Government's financial situation, even if the Argentine Government were to pay these reparations within five years, Argentina's financial situation would be dire.

Perhaps in order to save this soon-to-be-lost ally, but also to express its apologies for not doing anything in the war, the U.S. government contacted Argentina a few days after the Sydney contract was announced, claiming that it could help Argentina with reparations.

Although the Argentine government has become less convinced of the Americans, this is one of the few options that Argentina has at the moment.

Fortunately, the Americans are sincere in wanting to save Argentina as an ally. Within days, the United States and Argentina reached a new agreement, under which the United States would provide Argentina with 3 million pounds in free aid and 15 million pounds in low-interest loans to help restore order in Argentina.

The two bailouts, which add up to £18 million, have finally discouraged the Argentine government.

At the very least, after the war reparations are repaid, there will be around £5 million left over to save the situation in Argentina.

In fact, the Americans were already feeling the pressure from the Entente at this time. The four major powers of the Entente joined forces, and even Germany could not support it, let alone the United States, which was not currently militarily strong.

In order to ensure that their security would not be threatened, in early December 1913, the Americans announced a new round of naval expansion bills, using a large-scale expansion of the navy to send a message to themselves and the people that the United States was still safe.

In the end, it is the deep-pocketed United States, and the naval expansion bill also looks very exaggerated.

According to the naval expansion bill announced by the US government, from 1914 to the end of 1916, the United States will build three super dreadnoughts and two battle cruisers every year for three years, for a total of nine super dreadnoughts and six battle cruisers.

If the US Naval Expansion Act can be successfully implemented, the number of major warships of the United States will reach the top three in the world by the end of 1916, and its naval strength will be greatly improved.

The reason why the Americans have such an exaggerated plan for naval expansion is due to the joint action of the four major powers of the Entente.

In the past, the United States believed that the security of the United States could not be threatened by virtue of its unique geographical location.

However, with the joint actions of the four major powers of the Entente, the United States understood a truth, that is, no matter how far away it was, the navy could reach it.

Either have a strong army capable of annihilating the enemy on land. Although it may be possible to burn the flames of war to one's own homeland, the advantage is that it can kill the enemy's living forces and achieve the final victory of the war.

Or having a strong navy that will destroy the enemy's chances of landing on their own soil at all.

As long as the shores of the United States are not threatened, the homeland of the United States is not threatened.

At present, the situation in Europe has clearly shifted in favor of the Entente, which the Americans are somewhat unwilling to see.

If the Germans were defeated, the most threatening country in the British Empire would be the Americans themselves.

At that time, the geographical location that the Americans thought was very safe would not be able to withstand the naval blockade of the four major powers of the Entente.

Rapidly increasing the strength of the Navy so that the US Navy has the ability to protect the coast is what the United States urgently needs to do at present.

It was precisely because of the pressure from the Entente that the passage of the naval expansion bill was very smooth, and the corresponding financial appropriations were quickly passed by the US Congress.

You know, in the past, if the U.S. government wanted to make any visit, it would have to negotiate with Congress for a long time when the appropriation was made.

Now that the U.S. Congress has agreed to allocate funds so quickly, it is enough to see that those congressional elders are also feeling great pressure on the Entente.

This is actually quite normal. After all, an alliance of four countries with the most powerful navy in the world, plus two top powers with a strong continental navy and a great power with good land and naval strength, such an alliance of four countries, unless four countries of the same size confront each other, it is irresistible in this world.

At present, the most powerful Allied power to fight against the Entente is only one of the world's largest army powers, plus one Austro-Hungarian Empire, which has a good army.

As for Italy, it could have been regarded as a great power with a fairly good navy, but it was a bit strained in terms of the army.

In fact, the actions of the Americans are much more than that.

The strength of the Entente made the Americans feel the pressure, and at the same time, it also made the Americans understand a truth, that is, the importance of allies.

But there are not many allies worth making in the world, especially the more powerful countries, which are either in the European vortex or not very powerful.

If the United States wants to join the Allies and directly oppose Britain, the United States is certainly unwilling.

Not to mention whether the Allies will be able to fight against the Allied Powers after the United States joins the Allied Powers, the mere fact that the Allies are currently so powerful will give some people in the US Government a headache.

After thinking about it, the Americans finally set their sights on the island nation on the other side of the Pacific.

It was a country in the Pacific Ocean, hated and rivaled by Russia, one of the Entente powers.

Although the relationship with the British was good before, because the British wanted to win over the Russians, the British had temporarily stopped their contacts with the island countries.

The special geographical location of the island country is destined to make the country want to rise, and it must look at the continent not far away.

The previous hegemon of the Far East was still Russia, which also means that if the island country wants to rise, it must fight with Russia and the Entente behind Russia.

In this way, the island nation is suitable to become an ally of the United States. In addition, in order to confront Russia, the United States has already established ties with the island countries, and it will be easier to win them over.

Therefore, the U.S. government has drawn up a plan for wooing island countries, aiming to alleviate the pressure on the United States to entente countries by winning over island countries and forming alliances with them.

As for the island countries, they are naturally overjoyed by the olive branch thrown by the United States. You know, since the British suspended aid, the island countries seem to have a tendency to fall to the bottom.

Originally, the various industries of the island country were severely restricted, and there was no sufficient supply of mineral resources. Coupled with the fact that Britain cut off aid, the island nation not only lost the status of a great power that it had recently acquired, but could even lose the possibility of becoming a great power.

After all, it was Russia that made the island country an enemy of a great power, and Russia was a member of the Entente.

At present, the Entente is so powerful that even the Central Powers are not able to match it, let alone an island country that is not even a great power.

Therefore, after receiving an olive branch from the Americans, the islanders agreed to the Americans' inquiries without even thinking about it.

For island countries, an ally like the United States has the advantage of not having any conflict with the United States at all in a short period of time.

The hand of the United States has not yet fully reached this side of the Pacific, and the island countries do not have much interest in the Pacific at the moment.

This also leads to the fact that if the two countries form an alliance, they will be in a honeymoon period in a short period of time, and the relationship is relatively close.

On December 7, 1913, the U.S. government announced that it had reached a cooperation agreement with the island nation on the joint construction of dreadnoughts, and the two sides signed a mutual trade agreement, marking the initial conclusion of the U.S.-Japan alliance.

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(End of chapter)