African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 1348 The Second Peace Conference

There is an old saying: when something is forbidden, it will prosper; when it reaches its peak, it will decline. On the surface, the current East African economy is in this state.

If countries around the world want to avoid this outcome, they can only open up new roads and get rid of the cycle. Britain and the previous maritime hegemons before Britain have broken the restrictions on their own development by constantly conquering other regions.

This is also the reason why world colonialism continues to rise and reaches its peak from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of this century. However, when World War I broke out, it was obvious that colonialism could no longer solve the original problem. After all, the world had been divided up and it could not Open up new markets.

This is also the reason why the two defenders of the old order, Britain and France, have shown decline in recent years. However, judging from the economic and social development of the two countries, the development of Britain and France is not slow, but compared with the United States, East Africa, and Germany It is no longer enough to wait for newly industrialized countries.

However, it is not easy for the late-developing countries in East Africa to break through the world order established by Britain and France, and Germany is the first challenger. However, Germany will ultimately be unable to break through the shackles of the British and French systems in terms of size.

However, Germany's geographical disadvantage forced Germany to take a risk. Even if it did not launch a war, it would eventually be strangled in the cradle by the surrounding powers.

East Africa and the United States have become talismans on the road to their rise precisely because they are far away from Europe, a land of disputes and large in size.

In fact, the process of East Africa's rise on the African continent is similar in difficulty to the process of the United States' rise on the North American continent.

When the United States was founded, the enemies it faced were mainly the Indians on the North American continent, while the enemies East Africa faced were the Bantu people in Africa. Although there was a time difference of hundreds of years, the Indians two hundred years ago were the same as the Bantu people in East Africa during the colonial period. There is almost no difference in the level of civilization between the two.

The former is good at stone tools and created a prosperous stone tool age with relatively prosperous civilization. Although the latter can make rough iron tools, its civilization is relatively lacking. Although its birthplace in West Africa has several ancient civilizations, it is also a secondary civilization of the Arab religion.

But no matter how developed they are, as long as they have not developed to a relatively mature feudal society stage, they will be vulnerable to Americans and East Africans armed with thermal weapons.

Feudal society still has a certain ability to resist colonialism. For example, the Far Eastern Empire in the 19th century. If Ernst could reach the level of the Far Eastern Empire when facing the Bantu people, it would be impossible for the Rhine royal family to create a foundation in Africa. .

Not to mention feudal society, most Bantu people have not entered the slave society, but are in the transitional period between primitive society and slave society. They are only close to North Africa, such as Buganda and other Bantu kingdoms that were wiped out in East Africa. The human government was considered a relatively elementary feudal kingdom, which was still influenced by the Arabs.

The civilization of the Bantu people is even difficult to identify using traditional civilization identification methods. Even in feudal kingdoms such as the Buganda Kingdom, slavery may be widespread.

This is just like East Africa in the 19th century and the United States before the Civil War. There is no doubt that the United States was a typical capitalist country at that time, but there was a slavery system. East Africa was even more complicated. East Africa in the 19th century was a complete hodgepodge. , slavery, serfdom, feudal monarchy, capitalism and even public ownership can all be found.

This has always made East Africa stand out on the world stage. It is no wonder that East Africa was closed to the country before the 19th century. If it had not been closed to the country, the social system of East Africa would probably have triggered a collective conquest by the international community. It is one of the five poisons. All types available.

Only after entering the 20th century did East Africa gradually integrate institutionally with the so-called "international society", and this "international society" is now Europe.

Europe holds the voice and hegemony of the world, so after European countries reach a unified consensus, they will naturally be able to "define" any other place or country in the world.

The reason why the United States and East Africa were able to escape the disaster was that for these two countries, countries within Europe could not reach a unified consensus, just like Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire never pointed fingers at East Africa on social systems and other issues.

Although Germany and Austria-Hungary looked down on East Africa, the African upstart, from the bottom of their hearts, East Africa was still considered a "poor relative" and half of its own people. This was one of the main reasons why East Africa favored the Allies in World War I.

…

October 1919.

European countries once again held the second round of peace conference in The Hague, Netherlands, four months after the end of the first peace conference.

At the first peace conference, although countries such as France and Austria-Hungary had tended to end the war, the contradiction between Britain and Germany was the main obstacle to peace in Europe.

As the actual leaders of the Entente and the Central Powers, Britain and Germany were unwilling to end the war easily. After all, neither of them achieved the results they wanted.

Britain participated in World War I mainly to suppress Germany, while Germany wanted to subvert British hegemony. The overall goal was not achieved, and both countries were naturally very unwilling.

However, as time went by, even if the two countries were unwilling to give in, they had to give in to each other because of the prolongation of the war. In addition to the rise of domestic anti-warism and the activities of the Labor Party in Europe, the changes in the war situation also made the two countries unable to Not putting your energy back on the negotiating table.

In order to promote peace between the two countries, this time East African Foreign Minister Friel once again traveled across the ocean to The Hague, the de facto political center of the Netherlands.

The last time Freer went to the Netherlands, it was to reach an agreement with the Dutch government on the redistribution of power in the Southeast Asia region. This time, he became an important participant in mediating the European war.

This made Freer sigh with emotion: "I returned to my old place, but this time I shouldered the fate of the entire world. I hope that with our persuasion, we can usher in real peace in Europe and the Middle East."

Dutch Prime Minister Kuyper, who came to greet Freer, agreed with his words: "Your Excellency is right, peace is the general trend. I hope that this time Germany and the United Kingdom can put aside their grudges and completely end this **** war. "

Prime Minister Kuyper can now be said to be one of the people who most hopes for the end of the war in Europe. Although he is a pro-German prime minister, he must consider the interests of the Netherlands.

In the early and middle stages of the war, the Netherlands, as a transportation hub in Europe, relied on the Port of Rotterdam, the Rhine River, railways, roads, etc., and made a lot of money as a second-tier dealer.

But in the later stages of the war, the situation completely changed. On the one hand, the Allied Powers officially decided to blockade Germany, and the Netherlands was naturally made things difficult by the Allied Powers and was under tremendous pressure. On the other hand, after five years of war, Germany, the Netherlands, The treasury of the main source of income countries has basically bottomed out.

The summary is that if the war continues, the Netherlands will not only be unprofitable, but may be turned into a new battlefield by the two camps.

This is obviously not what the Dutch government wants to see. After all, the tragic situation in Belgium is still vivid in our minds, and the Netherlands cannot withstand the hardships. For a small country like the Netherlands, a war can cause the wealth accumulated over a hundred years to be wiped out overnight. .

However, the situation in the Netherlands today is much better than in the previous life. In the previous life, the Netherlands was really sanctioned by the Allies, and the Belgian refugee problem triggered a food and social crisis.

However, because of the existence of East Africa, the situation in the Netherlands in this life is much better than in the previous life. Even after East Africa no longer transports materials to Germany through the Atlantic Ocean, the trade between East Africa and the Netherlands has not been interrupted, which allows the Netherlands to still have access to external materials. . Naturally, there is no need for any reason to do business between East Africa and the Netherlands. After all, both countries are so-called "neutral" countries. However, in the later stage, the scale of trade will be reduced to a level acceptable to the Allied Powers.

That is to say, it is enough material for the Netherlands to use, but it is unable to export to Germany, thereby expanding the scale of Germany's war potential.

At the same time, East Africa recruited a large number of Belgian refugees from the Netherlands, allowing the Netherlands to escape the refugee crisis.

The reason why East Africa is willing to give the Netherlands such special treatment, and even offend the Allies to a certain extent, is not without reason.

Just the colonies that the Netherlands sold to East Africa over the years are destined to have a much better attitude towards the Netherlands in East Africa. This is a real benefit.

Moreover, as mentioned before, the Netherlands is the most important transportation hub in Europe. It has the largest port of Rotterdam in Europe with the largest throughput. The land transportation is also very convenient, and the economy and industry are developed. These basic conditions are also worthy of East Africa's wooing of the Netherlands.

Therefore, Minister Freer said to Prime Minister Kuyper kindly: "We in East Africa see your country's efforts for peace in Europe and the world. We believe that after peace in Europe, our two countries can further deepen their economies. Cooperation in diplomacy, culture and other fields will exert more influence in international affairs.”

The Netherlands itself is a European country that cannot be ignored. At the same time, its Southeast Asian colonies and East Africa also have exchanges and cooperation, so Freer does not mind continuing to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

In the face of Freer's overtures, although Kuyper was the Prime Minister of a country, he did not dare to neglect it. It can be said that since he took office, the exchanges between the Dutch government and the East African government have been much more than before.

Prime Minister Kuyper said: "I believe that your country can play a more important role in this conference and bring peace to the entire Europe. The Dutch government also hopes to help East Africa contribute more to peace."

After a simple exchange, the two people rushed to the venue with their personnel.

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The countries participating in this meeting, except the Netherlands and East Africa, are still four other major European countries, and it is still a secret meeting.

Even the United States, a major member of the Allied Powers, and the Ottoman Empire, a major member of the Central Powers, did not accept the invitation. The reason is very simple. The United States itself supports the war. Bringing the United States into the conference is likely to delay the progress of the conference. As for the Ottoman Empire, The empire is simply not on the table.

Of course, the non-participation of these two countries is also in line with the ideas of the four major European countries. After all, this world war is essentially a European war. As long as Britain, France, Germany and Austria reach a consensus, the problem will naturally be solved.

The reason why East Africa can participate is because East Africa is the main initiator of the peace talks, and the Netherlands is the host.

As soon as Freer entered the venue, he saw such a scene. There was a thick fire between the representatives of the Allied Powers and the Central Powers, especially Germany and Britain, like two volcanoes that were about to erupt at any time.

The situation among the representatives of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was relatively peaceful, while France's attitude was a little uncomfortable. This situation is also easy to understand. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had been active in the battlefields of Eastern Europe before, and the ones who caused the greatest losses to the Austro-Hungarian Empire were the Russians. .

However, the situation in Russia has changed now. If the former Tsarist Russian diplomats were present, I am afraid they would not be as idle as they are now.

France, on the other hand, may feel aggrieved. After all, France knows very well that France can no longer fight, but the French people's hatred of Germany has penetrated deep into their bones, which makes the emotions of the French representatives very complicated.

Freer chose to turn a blind eye to these situations. As long as the two sides did not directly quarrel and take action, the situation was not too bad. At the last meeting, the representatives of both sides were very bad-tempered, and it took a lot of effort to break up the fight.

Freer came to the podium and said: "Everyone, welcome to The Hague again for the second peace conference, but before that, I hope you will adjust your personal emotions first. After all, anger will only intensify conflicts but cannot resolve them. problem, then our meeting will be meaningless, so I hope everyone can understand each other and promote the advent of peace in Europe.”

After setting the tone and diverting the attention of representatives from various countries, Freer waited for a moment and made sure that the emotions of both parties were temporarily stable before continuing to speak.

"I still remember the last meeting. It has been four months since then. In peacetime, it only takes a blink of an eye. However, in wartime, a lot of situations can be changed."

"And I think these four months have given everyone another impression that if the war continues, it will be difficult for the battlefield to undergo new changes, and the confrontation between countries will only cause more killings. , and at the same time intensified social conflicts in your country.”

"Therefore, it is completely unnecessary for the war to continue. It will only create opportunities for the Labor Party or other careerists in your country."

"Let me put it simply, the current predicament that everyone is facing is that the European war has reached a stalemate. If this war does not end proactively, it will continue for at least two more years, and I think more than two years, many The country cannot wait that long.”

"Two years from now, the most dangerous thing for everyone may not be the changes in the frontline battle situation, but domestic marches, demonstrations, even popular riots, and revolutions..."

In 1919, the Allied Powers and the Entente Powers each had their own victories and defeats, but the two sides still did not break the deadlock. As for the Allied Powers, although the Allies had recently re-opened the Persian Gulf shipping lanes and restored external sources of supplies, the Western Front was still unable to break through the Allied Powers' blockade. Instead, The pressure is mounting.

The Entente was just the opposite. Britain experienced a major defeat in the Persian Gulf. Among the millions of entangled troops, there were too many Indian and other colonial troops. Facing the elites of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Bulgaria who had experienced the Eastern Front, they simply could not defeat them. Organize an effective counterattack.

A large number of Indian troops fled to Persia, which also meant that the Southern Front battlefield was torn open by the Allies. The Allied Powers only had the position along the Red Sea on the Southern Front battlefield.

Once the Allied material blockade is lifted, even if the United States joins, it will be difficult for the Allied Powers to take advantage. After all, American soldiers have to cross the Atlantic to reach Western Europe. What's more, the combat effectiveness of the US Army itself is not strong, and the Allied forces have been initially relieved.

To be more precise, it means that Germany's military strength has been alleviated. In the past, it could be said that Germany was unable to support the Western Front alone. Now that the Austro-Hungarian Empire has withdrawn its hand from the Eastern Front, it can not only launch a southern offensive, but also have spare power to support the Western Front.

Of course, although the Allied strength gap on the Western Front has been replenished, it is still uncomfortable. No matter how poor the combat effectiveness of the American soldiers is, they can still hold back some of the Allied forces, and with the subsequent replenishment of the American troops, this will further increase. Allied pressure.

In summary, even now, the Allies and the Entente are still unable to open up the situation. The final measures taken by both sides have offset each other's respective advantages to a certain extent, and the battlefield is still stalemate. This is why Freer emphasized that after the first peace conference, this Reason for four months.

After all, at the first peace conference, the four countries of Britain, France, Germany and Austria may have had illusions in their hearts, just in case the other party collapsed! However, the fighting that has occurred in the past four months has proved that the end of the war has no end in sight, so peace talks are still needed to end this war with no end in sight.

(End of chapter)