As mentioned earlier, the French industry suffered quite a lot of losses in the war, and even by 1920 it was still only about 60% of the pre-war period, a considerable distance from its heyday in 1913.

At present, the scale of industry of the French is not even comparable to that of Australasia, and if you look at the scale of industry, the French are actually at a loss.

But if we look at the size of the economy, the French, although they also suffered quite heavy losses, were far less severe than industrial losses.

Compared with the loss of French real industry, the economic losses are still willing to be recovered by the capitalists.

After all, the recovery of the French economy is also a good thing for these capitalists, and when the economy recovers, the capitalists can recklessly exploit those civilians.

Combined with reparations from the defeated countries and the United States, France's economy, while not as good as it was before the war, was far from as bad as it was in history.

From an economic point of view, the French are the third best in the world, and the size and proportion of the navy are not destined to be much worse.

But if we look at the scale of industry, the scale of industry of the French is lower than that of the United Kingdom, the United States and Australasia, almost to the level of Italy, and the French will naturally not be willing.

In the face of the torture of the two great powers, the representatives of the island countries seemed to be a little lacking in confidence.

After all, industry and strength are relatively fair, and they can better prove a country's comprehensive strength.

Although the current military strength can also prove the strength of the country in one aspect, the idea of reckless militarism mentioned by the representative of Australasia is also completely existent, and this is something that the people of the island nation cannot refute at all.

It cannot be said that the island countries maintain the current level of army and navy just to protect the security of their own country.

Needless to say, it is not credible to say this, under the premise that Russia is mired in a civil war and the United States and the island countries are allied, I am afraid that other powers will immediately demand the disarmament of the island countries, after all, the existing military strength is fully capable of guaranteeing the security of the island countries.

There was no way, the representatives of the island countries looked at their ally the United States, but found that the Americans looked like they had nothing to do with themselves, and had no intention of defending the island countries in the slightest.

The islanders cursed in their hearts, but on the surface, they did not dare to be dissatisfied with the Americans, and could only refute the views of Australasia and France, saying: "This is not fair! Both the economy and industry are very bad for the island countries, and we cannot accept such an offer! ”

"Why?" The Russian representative, who did not have good relations with the island countries, also spoke, and said with a sneer, contrary to his previous gesture of small transparency: "Because your country's idea of reckless militarism has been exposed? Judging by the current situation of the island nation, neither industry nor economy can support an army and navy of this size. Your country's reluctance to give up its naval size ratio is nothing more than greater ambitions. ”

Looking at all the countries here, most of their military strength is linked to their own economic level and industry, after all, the military strength of small countries cannot be too strong.

Especially the Americans, if you look at the industrial scale and economic level, the United States is definitely the top in the world.

The military strength of the Americans is not the strongest among the great powers, and their overall military strength lags behind Britain and France, which is very different from such extreme conditions as island countries.

Under the premise that the Americans were unwilling to help the island countries, the position of the island countries in this conference became precarious, and no one was willing to help them, and it seemed a little helpless in the face of the joint attack of several major powers.

"If island nations are not willing to look at the economy and industry, how about looking at the area of land that each country actually controls?" This is, Minister Gray made up for the last slash, smiled and looked at the representative of the island nation, and asked.

Again, the great powers are basically not too disadvantaged in terms of land area. After all, in addition to their own homeland, they can also occupy a large number of colonies. In this era, colonies were also recognized.

Britain and France have a huge colonial system, and they are definitely the two largest countries in the world today. (Russian Civil War)

The United States and Australasia each occupy a large amount of land, all of which are millions of square kilometers.

Even Italy, a country that was inconspicuous among the great powers, occupied a number of colonies, and theoretically covered an area of more than a million square kilometers.

The island nation alone does not have any recognized colonies other than its own mainland.

Although island countries also have interests in East Asia, the problem is that other powers also have interests in East Asia, and East Asia naturally cannot be a colony of island countries.

As a result, the island nation is one of the least in size among the great powers, and it is still the one that suffers the most, even behind countries like Italy.

If you really look at the land area, this is a fatal blow to the island country.

The British Empire covers an area of more than 20 million square kilometers, and the French control area is more than 10 million square kilometers.

Australasia covers an area of more than 9 million square kilometers, and Americans are not much different.

Under such circumstances, the hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of the island country are very pitiful, and it is also quite at a loss in terms of the division of the size of the navy.

If the British Empire, which has the largest land area, has a navy of 1 million tons, then what should be the size of the navy of an island country with only a few hundred thousand square kilometers? Tens of thousands of tons or 10,000 tons?

You must know that the tonnage of a battleship is as high as more than 10,000 tons, and the current super dreadnought is as high as more than 20,000 tons and 30,000 tons.

If the size of the navy is really divided according to the land area, the current navies of island countries can be disbanded on the spot, and only some small and medium-sized warships can be equipped, perhaps not exceeding the size of tens of thousands of tons.

Speaking of which, the conditions put forward by Britain, France, and Australia are very unfavorable to the island countries, and coupled with the lack of support from the Americans, the representatives of the island countries are somewhat angry and devastated.

It is impossible for the representatives of the island countries to agree to the conditions of Britain, France and Australia, and if they do, it means that the island countries have no hope of rising at all.

Who would dare to bear such a huge responsibility? If the relevant agreements are really signed, I am afraid that after the representatives of these island countries return to China, they will be directly torn apart by the angry island people, just like the kind in the anti-Japanese drama.

"Mr. Gray, the conditions you have put forward are too harsh for me and the island governments behind me to accept." The representative of the island nation stood up and retorted with a slight collapse.

"Oh? Why? Representatives of island nations. No one but you oppose these proposals, are you really fair? That's a bit ridiculous! "Minister Gray is not accustomed to this former dogleg in the slightest, and directly turned on the mockery mode, and at the same time is the ally behind the attack on the island nation, the United States.

"In any case, Mr. Gray, the government of the island nation will not agree with such a division. If you insist on such an offer, we will have to withdraw from this meeting. Sorry, goodbye. The representative of the island country directly threw out what he thought was a killer weapon, that is, to withdraw from this naval meeting to threaten the British to take care of the feelings of the island country as much as possible.

Leave a meeting?

Hearing the islanders say this, Minister Gray was a little amused at first.

It is no joke that representatives of so many countries have gathered here, nor is it simply for the sake of holding a meeting that will not yield any results at all.

In the final analysis, this meeting was convened by the British, and naturally it was also about the face of the British government.

If the government of the island country withdraws from the meeting like this, to put it bluntly, it will be a slap in the face of the British government in the face.

Will the British government accept such behavior? When pigs fly.

"Representative of the island nation, I hope you can be held accountable for what you say. This meeting is not for the benefit of any one country, but for the sake of peace and stability throughout the world, for the sake of humanity as a whole, and for the sake of all the countries here. Minister Gray smiled, but his words were not so gentle.

"I hope that your country will uphold a responsible attitude towards the whole world, instead of disrupting the order of the conference or even withdrawing from it for its own selfish interests." Minister Gray looked at the representatives of the island countries and said with a little meaning: "I will allow your country to withdraw from the conference, but if you cannot explain your withdrawal from the conference and obtain the approval of all the countries here, then I will consider your country to provoke the British Empire and all the countries present." The sacred dignity of the British Empire cannot be violated, and I am sure that other countries here will not allow such a thing to happen. ”

Not to mention the islanders, even the United States behind the islanders did not dare to openly anger the brows of the British Empire.

As the most powerful country in the world, the British Empire's strength and status are still highly recognized, and it is fully capable of sanctioning any country.

Sure enough, after hearing Minister Gray's overt and covert threats, a cold sweat flowed from the forehead of the representative of the island nation, and the pace of wanting to walk out of the conference room immediately stopped.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva carefully, the representative of the island nation explained awkwardly: "I apologize for my previous reckless behavior, and the government of the island country respects this meeting and expects this meeting to bring stable peace to the world and all countries." ”

At this time, the representatives of the island countries no longer dared to look at the eyes of the representatives of other countries, and they did not need to think about it, the representatives of other countries were absolutely abusive and contemptuous, after all, they openly provoked the British Empire, and then quickly confessed to it, this kind of behavior is not honorable.

However, it is also natural that the pressure of the British Empire cannot be borne by a single country, especially a pseudo-power such as an island country with an imperfect foundation and needs the support of other countries.

"Alright, everyone, the meeting continues. This is a meeting that concerns the whole world and all of humanity, and I hope that when you put forward your opinions, you will think more about other countries, and not just for your own selfish desires. Minister Gray did not care about the embarrassed state of the island delegates and announced the resumption of the meeting.

3000 words for the third update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

The belated third update, Riwan was successfully completed, and today continues Riwan! Ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)