Chapter 1393 - 372: Reaching Consensus (Part 3)

Chapter 1393: Chapter 372: Reaching Consensus (Part 3)

After the interests of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and France were essentially satisfied, the United Kingdom finally began discussions about maintaining its own hegemony and the new global political landscape.

"The World War caused serious harm to all of Europe," Fromm said, "so, for the sake of peace in Europe and the world, countries should carry out large-scale disarmament, retaining only a small portion of their armies."

"Especially regarding the navy, countries like Germany and Austria-Hungary do not need to retain large naval forces, and other countries should also make corresponding reductions, including the United States, East Africa, Japan, and other countries outside Europe."

"As the World Overlord, we in the United Kingdom should retain the largest naval force to ensure the fair and orderly conduct of global maritime trade. I believe everyone would not oppose this!"

"Our sole demand from the United Kingdom is that the naval forces of other countries, except the Empire, should not exceed the scale of the Imperial Navy. What are your thoughts, Mr. Frier?"

Fromm emphasized in his query to Frier, the Foreign Minister of East Africa.

Germany and Austria-Hungary could naturally accept the restrictions on their navies, as neither country had a historically strong naval position. Although Germany boasts the world’s second-largest navy, its geographical location rendered its navy relatively ineffective during war, and Austria-Hungary is even less of a concern.

Therefore, neither Germany nor Austria-Hungary opposed the United Kingdom’s naval restrictions; analyzing the war’s process shows that competing with the UK was unnecessary. Meanwhile, France also did not oppose the UK’s proposal, or rather, the UK was not worried about France exerting its naval force, as France’s national strength was insufficient to compete with the UK.

The United Kingdom’s primary concerns now lie with non-European countries such as East Africa, the United States, and Japan. East Africa and the United States have advantageous oceanic conditions, and their size and industrial capacity are formidable; if not promptly constrained, these countries may dismantle Britain’s maritime hegemony.

Japan, on the other hand, would undermine the United Kingdom’s regional maritime dominance. Recently, Japan has gradually extricated itself from its dependency on the UK, while the United Kingdom possesses significant interests in the Far East.

In this secret peace meeting, the United States and Japan were not involved, so the United Kingdom naturally targeted East Africa as the meeting’s host.

Frier said, "We can accept the reduction in naval scale, but the premise is that countries such as the United States and Japan also accept your proposal, and the Imperial Navy must at least maintain the third-largest position globally in terms of tonnage, corresponding to its current strength."

Currently, in terms of naval tonnage, East Africa is essentially the same as Germany, both countries standing side by side.

Upon hearing Frier’s words, Fromm breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That naturally poses no problem. As long as we, as the Great Powers, maintain consistency, countries like the United States that are not part of the negotiations can only comply obediently."

"After all, Europe is the center of the world. We few countries, combined with East Africa, can determine the basic post-war world order, and I believe the United States is pragmatic."

The United Kingdom is not at all concerned about the rank of East Africa’s naval scale globally, as long as it ensures that no other nation’s navy poses a threat to the British Royal Navy, the world’s top navy. Of course, according to the UK, it is best to continue maintaining the ’two-power standard.’

That is, the strength of the Royal Navy should exceed the sum of the second and third largest navies, which are likely to be the United States and East Africa. As the basis for the ceasefire, Germany must abandon developing a large navy, and Austria-Hungary has never prioritized naval power, while France is to some extent an ally of the United Kingdom and unable to compete naively and effectively in naval terms.

Hence, among the world’s Great Powers, the United Kingdom presently focuses on limiting the naval development of the United States and East Africa. Since East Africa has chosen to compromise, the United States will also be unable to prevent the UK from establishing standards for post-war naval forces globally.

The reason East Africa agreed so readily was also due to considerations of promptly ending the European war. Even though the European war ends, it does not signify the end of European conflicts. Europe merely returns to a pre-war order, and European peace can only last a few decades at most. Once East Africa develops fully, it will be poised to more gracefully take over and partition global hegemony.