Beiyang reactionaries

If the two Far Eastern powers of China and Japan unite, the situation in the Far East will become more and more complicated.

"Prime Minister Duan, we can coordinate this matter on your behalf."

"Prime Minister Duan, we can coordinate this matter on your behalf."

On April 1935, 4, Alexander Cadogan, British Ambassador Plenipotentiary to China, asked Duan Xun to see him.Alexander Cadogan was Minister Plenipotentiary to China when he first came to China four years ago, but he has been promoted to Ambassador Plenipotentiary to China two years ago.Alexander Cadogan is also the first plenipotentiary ambassador to China in British history.This is also because China's influence in the Far East is growing, and Britain is paying more and more attention to China.That's why there is a plenipotentiary ambassador to China for the first time.

He had to come.

Recently, the situation in the Far East has changed so fast that he is dizzy and even a little caught off guard.

In particular, China and Japan have been negotiating repeatedly, and even the heads of government of China and Japan have met to negotiate.From the previous economic cooperation, China and Japan have now begun to cooperate comprehensively, and they have also come up with the "Sino-Japanese Joint Statement".

We are all civilized people.

Therefore, in terms of diplomatic vocabulary, it is definitely not the same as a shrew cursing the street, and it is rare to criticize the enemy by name, let alone express one's own thoughts straightforwardly.Diplomatic statements have their own set of diplomatic vocabulary. The "Sino-Japanese Joint Statement" is like this. It will not directly state the goals of China and Japan. It is very euphemistic, and it seems to be some major principles.But everyone is eating this bowl of rice. Although the "Sino-Japanese Joint Statement" is euphemistic, how can Britain and France fail to hear the meaning behind the words in the statement.

After all, this is not the first time a country has proposed such a meaning.

It is somewhat in line with the previous views of the United States and the Soviet Union, so Britain and France have already understood the meaning of China and Japan.If there is only a general outline, then at most it is a point of view in the general direction.However, China and Japan also created the Asian part, which made Britain and France nervous.China and Japan want to dominate Asia, and the meaning of excluding other countries is obvious.

And China and Japan are not just talking.

Since the meeting between the heads of government of China and Japan, China has immediately drawn Japan into the conflict with the Netherlands.China's attitude was quite sincere before, and it expressed to the Netherlands that it hoped that the two countries could negotiate and sit down to discuss how to solve the current problem.He has always been very disciplined, and first made representations with the Dutch ambassador to China.Then the Chinese ambassador to the Netherlands and the Dutch government protested.

I asked for negotiation three times, and the attitude was very good each time.

But the Netherlands did not give China face.

But now China has pulled Japan in and let Japan come to uphold justice.After that, China's attitude changed drastically and became aggressive.Before, they just expressed dissatisfaction and asked the Dutch government to terminate the new "land policy".But after letting Japan come over, China's demands began to increase, and the tone became more and more tough.

China demanded that the Netherlands immediately terminate its "land policy" in the East Indies, apologize for this policy, and compensate the Chinese and overseas Chinese property lost due to this policy.And it not only requires the Netherlands to abolish the new "land policy" of the East Indies, but also requires the Netherlands to abolish the old "land policy", saying that this is also an unfair policy.Let the Netherlands abolish these legal provisions that discriminate against Chinese and overseas Chinese.And require the Netherlands to respect the reality of the East Indies, respect the ethnic choices of the East Indies, and give the East Indies enough autonomy.If these conditions are rejected, China will take tougher measures.

Of course, China is like this, and the Netherlands really doesn't care.

China announced the data of the Second Five-Year Plan, which indeed surprised many people and felt the development of China's industry, which included many great powers.But this does not mean that everyone recognizes that you are an industrial power and that your military strength is very strong.

This is the case in the Netherlands.

Although it has fallen, it is no longer the glorious era of the sea coachman, but I still feel that I am very arrogant.For a country like China, it doesn't care at all, and it is still very contemptuous.It should be said that early great powers like the Netherlands looked down on Asian countries.It is really because the world has been led by white people for hundreds of years, so I look down on Asian nations and nations of other skin colors.The so-called racism is not just Hitler, these white countries all have racism.

It's just that Hitler was the most radical and did the most excessive things, while other powers did things more covertly.The Netherlands does not care at all about China's sudden strong statement.

What about your China?

Tough measures, what tough measures can you have.

But soon Japan joined in.Japan accepted China's invitation to intervene strongly in this matter as a mediator, stating that Japan supports ethnic equality and racial equality.Japan opposes any oppression of other nations, other races.The Netherlands is required to admit its mistakes, and the Netherlands is required to correct its mistakes in accordance with China's requirements.If the Netherlands does not correct its mistakes, Japan will reserve the right to take other actions.

Japan is not China.

Although it is also an Asian country, Japan had already defeated the then great power Tsarist Russia 20 years ago, and was promoted to a new great power.For the next 20 years, Japan was treated equally by many great powers.

Including the World Naval Limitation Conference that began in the 20s, Japan was invited every time, and the share of the Japanese navy was very high.Now the big powers are still meeting in London to discuss how to limit the development of the navy, and Japan is also one of the participating countries.Because Japan has long been a naval power.

After Japan's strong intervention in the issues of China and the Netherlands, the situation immediately became very complicated.With the entry of Asian powers like Japan, the Netherlands is now riding a tiger.The Netherlands absolutely cannot agree to China's request.

After all, China's demands are too much.

It is not impossible to discuss the termination of the new "land policy".But China demanded that the old "land policy" be abolished, more autonomy be given to the East Indies, and an apology from the Netherlands was also demanded.The Netherlands will never agree to these things.

Restricted by the "land policy", these Chinese and overseas Chinese already own the most land in the East Indies, and they are already in a strong position in the economy of the East Indies.If the "land policy" is abolished and the Chinese and overseas Chinese are allowed to buy land at will, it will be fine.Who can control the development of Chinese and overseas Chinese in the East Indies in the future, maybe all the good land in the East Indies will be taken by Chinese and overseas Chinese.Including giving more autonomy to the East Indies, isn't this a joke?The Dutch came here to colonize, not to lead them to a rich new world.The East Indies is a colony of the Netherlands, where the Netherlands plunders raw materials. How can they be given the right to self-government, and how can they plunder the wealth here.

As for the apology, it is even more unacceptable.

Apologize to China?Apologize to overseas Chinese?At that time, I will lose face, how will I raise my head in the world in the future, and how will I continue to rule the East Indies.So the Netherlands once again rejected the demands of China and Japan.

The situation is getting more and more tense.

China and Japan have a tough attitude, and the Netherlands must succumb. If the Netherlands does not agree, the two countries reserve the right to take the next step.But the Netherlands also has its own face and just refuses to agree.Because of this problem, there is a lot of gunpowder between China, Japan and the Netherlands.

Britain really can't stand it anymore.

So Alexander Cadogan requested a meeting with Duan Hoon.Cadogan is the plenipotentiary ambassador to China and has the right to demand an interview with the head of the Chinese government.

Duan Xun did not refuse.

Although in the Far East, Duan Xun is not afraid of any country.But the United Kingdom is the world's hegemon after all, and the face that should be given still has to be given.The British ambassador to China wanted to meet him, and of course Duan Xun wanted to meet him.

"Ambassador Cadogan, I don't know how to coordinate."

"Prime Minister Duan, I think both sides can take a step back. The Dutch government abolishes their new 'land policy' and recognizes the current reality of the East Indies. Your country also abandons other demands and restores friendship with the Dutch government."

Being the world leader is exhausting.

Whatever happens in the world, you have to get involved.What the boss of the world is, that is, the builder and defender of the world order.Because they are the beneficiaries of this world order, they must maintain the stability of the world order in order to ensure that they can obtain the most benefits.Therefore, they will take care of anything that disrupts this order.

If your strength is really strong, then this is no problem.Just like when Britain was at its strongest, of course there was no problem.However, the strength of the United Kingdom has only declined, and it will be very difficult to maintain such a dominant position. It is already more than enough.

The world order, which has been stable for almost 20 years, is now in turmoil again.

The Soviet Union's revolutionary output became more and more serious. Hitler revised the "National Defense Law" in Germany and began to expand the army, and the expansion speed was very fast. Within a month of the release of the "National Defense Law", the German army has already expanded a lot, and within this year it will expand by 50 troops.

In response to Germany's military expansion, on April 1935, 4, according to France's proposal, the heads of state and foreign ministers of the three main signatories to the Treaty of Versailles, Britain, France, and Italy, held a meeting in Strezza, northern Italy, to discuss the issue of Germany's public tearing up of the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles in action.This meeting was exaggerated by the Western press at the time as the so-called "Streza Front" to contain Germany.But in fact, it only passed a paper resolution, expressing regret for Germany's breach of the contract and expanding its military, reaffirming the guarantee of Austria's independence, and declaring that the three countries will "conduct close cooperation to maintain collective peace" and so on.A few days later, the League of Nations also passed a resolution in Geneva condemning Germany's unilateral abolition of the Treaty of Versailles and rearmament, and decided to set up a special committee to study "possible" economic sanctions against Germany.

But it's all superficial.

Because they are all thunder and rain.

France reacted most strongly and condemned it the most.But at the same time, France also expressed its willingness to seek reconciliation methods to "eliminate the tension that has arisen."The same is true for the United Kingdom. Although it actively expressed its opposition to Germany's military expansion, it stated that its foreign minister would still look forward to visiting Germany.It is really because Britain and France do not want to make too much trouble with Germany and do not want to fight again.

Unexpectedly, the problems in Europe were not resolved, and now there are problems in Asia.

Therefore, the United Kingdom decided to suppress the Netherlands.Originally, the United Kingdom supported the Netherlands in suppressing the increasingly powerful overseas Chinese, because after the economic crisis, the strength and number of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia expanded too fast.But after seeing the tough attitudes of China and Japan, I think it is better to take a step back.

"Ambassador Cadogan, I am very sorry, but I cannot promise these."

?

"Ambassador Cadogan, I am very sorry, but I cannot agree to what you said."

"President Duan, why?"

Alexander Cadogan had a headache.

The world situation is becoming more and more complicated, and there are more and more disobedient people.Europe came out with the damned Hitler, a "madman" who had no idea what was going to happen next.It has already slowly broken through the "Treaty of Versailles", and now it is actively expanding its military.When Germany has an army of 50 troops, the regular army will surpass that of the United Kingdom.

Of course, there were early signs of Hitler's military expansion.

When Hitler was elected chancellor in 1933, Germany's military spending was around 1934 to 1934 million U.S. dollars.But by [-], Germany produced more than [-] aircraft a year.Moreover, in [-], Germany built a large number of aircraft factories, automobile factories and other factories.In fact, many of them are deceitful, and the arsenal is built in this name.