Mediterranean Hegemony Road

After the Ruhr crisis broke out, local residents took to the streets to protest against the occupying forces, which were brutally suppressed. The occupying forces arrested the leader of the demonstration and shot and killed 18 protesters at the scene.

On April 15, at the funeral of the victims, half a million Germans appeared, causing panic among the occupying forces and forcibly dispersing the crowd.

In addition, a strict population movement law has been enacted. Any gathering cannot exceed 30 people. German people must open a way for the occupation army to travel, otherwise it is illegal.

The atrocities of the occupying forces aroused the resentment of the Germans, and the German people soon launched a "passive resistance movement".

Namely: not cooperating with all the actions of the British and French occupying forces, such as workers' strikes, businessmen's strikes, and collective closures of hospitals, schools, and government departments.

In order to win the support of the voters, the German government supported this passive resistance movement and ordered all government officials not to cooperate with all the activities of the occupying forces.

Soon the passive resistance movement broke out in Germany. So far, the German government has interrupted all reparations payments. In the later stage, the Germans took the initiative to blow up local railways, canals, factories...

However, these passive resistance movements did not frighten the occupying forces. The British, French, and Belgian forces blocked all communication routes in Germany and prohibited the flow of materials to force the local residents to compromise.

On July 12, under the pressure of material shortages, the German central government had to announce the end of the passive resistance movement. Before that, many factories in the Ruhr area actually resumed work.

No matter how insistent, people always have to eat. In the face of hunger, Germans have to choose to compromise.

It is not that the local German people have not launched an armed uprising, but unfortunately they were quickly suppressed by the occupying forces, and the people who participated in the uprising were brutally slaughtered.

After seeing the determination of Britain and France, the German government had to make concessions and admit the fact that Britain and France occupied the Ruhr area.

However, this resistance also has a positive side. In order to appease the workers, the capitalists have to raise their wages, improve their food standards, living and working environment, and reduce their labor intensity.

The bad influence of this incident is far from being eliminated. The German government, which was weak in this incident, has been abandoned by the German people.

The deteriorating economic situation has also caused political chaos in Germany. In this context, Germany's right-wing forces have grown rapidly.

Faced with this situation, the British took immediate action and began to actively respond to the crisis.

On August 2, 1925, the Allied Powers convened an international conference in Paris again. This time, a German representative participated in the conference.

Except for France's peeping over Germany's territory, the rest of the countries are all to allow Germany to repay its debts smoothly. A chaotic Germany is not in everyone's interests.

"I express regret on behalf of the British Empire for this Ruhr incident, and the performance of the German government in this crisis is very disappointing!

Taking into account the actual situation, we propose to establish concession areas such as Ruhr, Cuxhaven, and Williamsport, and the League of Nations will form a coalition to maintain local law and order!

The occupying forces of Britain, France and Belgium will gradually withdraw from the current occupation area and hand over power to the German government.

Regarding the debt owed by the German government, I propose to suspend the implementation, and at the same time reduce the current one-third of the workers' wages to one-fifth, in order to restore Germany's economy! "British Foreign Secretary Gray said cautiously.

That's right, the British are supporting Germany now, but unfortunately they also want benefits. The annual profits are as high as hundreds of millions of pounds, which makes the British capitalists unable to stop.

In this case, how could Gray ignore it? You know, although the achievements of the United States have been eliminated,

Freed Lloyd-George from a political crisis, but the opposition remains strong.

If it is not possible to win over the support of domestic consortiums, then it will be a matter of time before the cabinet falls. In this context, the interests of the Germans will naturally be sacrificed.

"No, what is the concession? This is a trampling on the sovereignty of an independent country. The German Republic will never tolerate this happening!" The German representative immediately retorted

"Since the German government refuses, I think it's fine to establish a concession area, let's maintain the status quo first, and after the German government repays all the debts, we will withdraw from the current occupation area!

If the German government cannot afford the war reparations, then I propose to let the German government use its territory to cover the war reparations, and directly pay off the debt at one time, so that everyone will not worry about it all the time! ' proposed French Foreign Minister Alexander

"Mr. Alexander is right, if the German government is unable to pay the war reparations, then it is also a good choice to use land to cover it!

If you are worried about the price, you can hold an auction and let the countries all over Europe participate together, and it will surely sell for a good price! "The Belgian representative goes downhill

President Cournot has been mad, who is worried about the price, I have never promised to sell the land!

With the huge debt owed, it is estimated that the entire German territory will not be sold. Isn't this the French inviting all countries to carve up Germany together?

If there is an auction, it is estimated that the German Republic will not exist. There are not many countries in the world that are interested in Germany, but there are not many.

It is estimated that any neighboring country, as long as there is a chance, will not mind tearing a piece of meat from the German mainland. In addition, with the old enemy of France, does Germany still have a future?

"No! Unless I'm dead, you absolutely don't want to take any land from the German Republic!" President Gounod roared angrily

Seeing the performance of France and Belgium, the British knew that they had reached an agreement, and the French should have obtained the support of Belgium with great profit.

After all, Germany is not small. If Germany were to be divided up, Belgium could at least double its territory. Such a big benefit was enough to make them tempted.

Even the representatives of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires were on the move, and they wouldn't mind sharing a piece of meat if possible.

Gray is very clear that the British Empire is not afraid of the French annexation of Germany, their strength is limited, swallowing them will also be indigestion.

But if the French win over Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Austria-Hungary, the Russian Empire, Sweden, and the Netherlands to carve up Germany together, they will be in big trouble.

In so many countries, each person is divided into a piece of meat, then it is a big trouble. Once the French are successful, the European continent will be respected by the French, and the worst fear of the British Empire will happen!

"Everyone, we are all civilized countries, how can we do this kind of thing that violates the sovereignty of other countries? The British Empire absolutely cannot tolerate this kind of thing happening on the European continent!

We can resolve the debt problem of the German government through negotiation, and there is absolutely no need to go overboard. We have to trust the repayment ability of the Germans, as long as we give them time and the German economy returns to normal, paying our debts will be no problem at all!

Don't forget that pre-war Germany was the second most economically powerful country in the world, with their wealth generating £2.46 billion a year, and given them a little time, they will have no problem paying our debts! "Grey objected.

Talking nonsense with eyes open is a must-have skill for diplomats, and Gray has undoubtedly reached the pinnacle of his training, so he is so serious about talking nonsense!

If the British Empire did not violate the sovereignty of other countries, where did their colonies come from?

Knowing to know, but not to expose. On this issue, everyone's bottom line is not so clean, so it's better not to delve into it.

Gray's attitude finally made President Gounod breathe a sigh of relief. If the French were to dominate the meeting, then the German Empire would become a thing of the past.

In the face of interests, the integrity of each country is very low. Fortunately, the major powers bordering Germany are not very in shape now, otherwise even the British would not be able to stop their determination to carve up Germany.

Gounod is worried when he thinks of this, the strength of the French is about to recover, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is now recovering a bit, and Nicholas II of the Russian Empire seems to be about to unify the country.

If Germany does not recover, will these neighbors have a place to stand when they are strong?

This meeting had little to do with Bulgaria, and Metev didn't even bother to come over, so he directly made Bulgaria a representative of major events in France.

Now, the Bulgarian representative is watching with interest from the various countries, without any intention of intervening. Everyone understands Bulgaria's attitude, that is, paddling.

"What about this deadline? We can't wait forever. The attitude of the German government is very bad. If they don't want to repay the debt themselves, what should Mr. Gray do?" French President and Foreign Minister Alexander asked rhetorically.

There are quite a few members of the Allied Powers, but seeing the two big bosses in Britain and France fighting each other, everyone decisively chose to be neutral. Neither one is easy to provoke. If you support one, you will offend the other.

And this offense is still very deadly, and it is almost impossible to get off in one line.

If the idea of ​​supporting the British and letting the French carve up Germany goes bankrupt, will the French not have a grudge for the rest of their lives?

Vice versa, if you support France, let the French carve up Germany, and destroy the plan of the British Empire, will the British dream of you?

This kind of national policy related to their core strategy has no strength. It is better not to intervene. I didn't see that Belgium only made a statement at the beginning, and after seeing the strong opposition from the British, did it obediently shut up?

The Russians are really interested in dividing up Germany, but unfortunately they are busy with the civil war, and Nicholas II is not stupid, how could he spread his power at this time!

"Mr. Alexander, why worry? The German government is not defaulting on its debts, and no matter how long it takes, they will still have to pay interest!

Don't you even have the slightest bit of patience?

In my opinion, let the German government suspend the payment of war reparations from 1924 to 1926, and by 1927, they will almost recover and have the ability to bear the debt! "Grey said with a sneer.

"So, your country is going to guarantee the Germans?

As long as your country is willing to guarantee Germany's debt, we believe in the ability of the Germans to pay, and the extension will be extended! "Alexander's anti-general

"Mr. Alexander, the British Empire is a responsible power, for the sake of world peace and problems, we can provide a limited guarantee for the repayment ability of the Germans!

Under normal circumstances, we can guarantee the German government's ability to pay after three years. Is there any problem? "Grey said with a sneer.

"Of course, I don't know what kind of limit Mr. Gray's limited guarantee is? What kind of situation does this normal situation mean?

If you don't intercede, you still don't worry about it? As for the reputation of your country, everyone knows it! "French President Alexander said sarcastically.

...

After a month-long row, the French government was forced to make concessions under pressure from the British. But this concession also cast a shadow over British-French relations.

Similarly, the British were very dissatisfied with the French behavior. Under the French run, the London government was forced to provide a guarantee for the Germans' ability to pay.

In theory, if the Germans failed to perform again after three years, the British would be held responsible, and the pressure on the London government would increase.

History has returned to the original track again. The contradiction between Britain and France has been intensified again because of the German problem.

Ferdinand's purpose of triggering the conflict between the two countries has been achieved. In the short term, the eyes of the British were attracted to the German issue, and they bought a period of peaceful development for Bulgaria.

Similarly, the contradiction between Germany and Britain and France has also become intensified with the establishment of the concession. In the short term, under the bayonet of Britain and France, the Germans are forced to choose a compromise, but one day in the future, this kind of conflict will inevitably erupt. of!

Ferdinand, who was far away in Sofia, was deeply relieved after receiving this information.

With the sudden outbreak of the German problem, the conflict between Britain and France became fierce again, and the London government had to once again put away the "Containment of Bulgarian Development Plan" that had been prepared.

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