Chapter 1104: Chapter 113: The United Kingdom Chooses to Yield
In the previous life, the dissolution of the Soviet Union was, to a certain extent, due to the arrogance of the leadership in the later stages, especially the excessive psychological expectations of the populace created by propaganda regarding national development, leading to a difficult acceptance when the dream shattered.
Actually, the Soviet leadership was also in a quandary, being propped up by the low-grade opinion machine they themselves had created, and truthfully, even in its final stages, the domestic economic situation in the Soviet Union wasn’t as dire as imagined. At least, compared to many countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the Soviet Union, whose national system hadn’t collapsed, was still far superior in various aspects domestically to other regions.
Therefore, Ernst naturally "fully" absorbed the lessons from the Soviet Union, occasionally lowering the expectations of his country’s populace. If the East African citizens cultivated a "Saint" mentality, then the shortcomings of East Africa would be too numerous to count.
...
London
British Prime Minister Asquith: "This is the message sent by Ambassador Russell from the Rhine; indeed, the East Africans are somewhat greedy!"
The attitude of the East African Government is indeed somewhat harsh for the United Kingdom. Disregarding other factors, just the fact of wanting the UK to voluntarily open part of its market is hard to accept. Moreover, the East African Government has implicitly indicated a desire to obtain land from the UK’s sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean.
This is almost unprecedented in the recent decades of British history. The reason I say ’almost’ is because there are indeed countries as unreasonable as East Africa, such as Germany and Russia.
Of course, in response to the British Government’s "slander," East Africa also feels somewhat aggrieved, as the demands from the UK towards East Africa are similarly tough to swallow, such as the unreasonable request to limit the development of its national navy. Only East Africa is willing to negotiate with the UK, so asking for some benefits from the UK Government is just reasonable.
After all, the UK previously made similar suggestions to Germany, but Germany certainly did not show the UK any favorable face, making the UK Government look like a clown.
Chancellor George said: "The demands of the East African Government indeed seem somewhat greedy, but we must seriously consider them. After all, if we do not proactively cooperate with East Africa, they will achieve their objectives by other means."
"For instance, in terms of the market, we have long imposed sanctions on East Africa, but with little effect. Moreover, as East African national power continues to rise, they will actively expand their trade frontiers."
"East Africa’s actions in the Persian Gulf and South American regions, for example, are accompanied by military activities. If we continue to choose confrontation, the result will definitely be mutually destructive."
"But East Africa is not a small country; they can afford to wear us down. Yet we cannot devote all our efforts to competing with East Africa in the Indian Ocean or the South Atlantic."
Asquith sighed: "This is also what I worry about: if the East African Government were like Germany, a country that doesn’t compromise, we would be in a dilemma in the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic regions. However, the East African Government is obviously more rational than the German government. They have shown a willingness to negotiate with the Empire, but their demands are excessive."
One could say that the current state of the East African Government renders the British Government’s feelings extremely complicated. If the East African Government didn’t choose to negotiate, the UK would definitely be anxious, as the UK currently lacks the energy to entangle with East Africa. However, the East African Government does express a willingness to negotiate, yet their demands are too many...
In reality, the demands of the East African Government are not much, as George just mentioned: if the UK Government doesn’t give, is East Africa unable to obtain them on their own? East Africa and the UK are, in fact, in a dynamic competition in the market acquisition aspect.
After all, the South American market is primarily influenced by the UK and is not exclusively a British private domain or backyard. The UK cannot have absolute control, and East Africa, leveraging its geographical and size advantages, can fairly compete with the UK in the South American market.
East Africa is closer to South America, and its industry ranks third in the world, while although the British economy is strong, its industry ranks behind East Africa.
This means East Africa is completely unafraid of Britain’s various competitions in the South American region. Even if the UK can influence the governments of South American countries, this remains true, as the East African Navy is not to be underestimated. East Africa may hold respect for such Great Powers, but it adopts a different stance towards South American countries, as East Africa isn’t exactly a benevolent nation but one of the imperial colonial powers.
Thus, the conversation comes back to the navy issue: if the East African Navy exceeds British Government expectations, it could be as serious for the British Government as losing control over the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic situation.
Yet the British Government lacks the capacity, energy, and courage to again launch a large-scale war akin to the South African War to break the developmental momentum of East Africa.
Therefore, from the perspective of the current British Government, if they can achieve some interest exchange with the East African Government to keep the East African Navy within a "reasonable range," it would be considered the best outcome.
This is actually similar to how the UK previously used the Washington Naval Treaty to balance the naval development of the United States and other countries.
In the previous life, the UK was indeed a beneficiary of the Washington Naval Treaty, as after World War I, the United States had, in fact, become the strongest country globally in every aspect. Yet the Washington Naval Treaty limited the development of the United States Navy within a range acceptable to the British Government.
After much consideration, Asquith said through gritted teeth: "We can agree to the reasonable demands of the East African Government, of course, on the premise that they are within our scope of acceptance. At present, we have no prospect of causing trouble for East Africa in Africa, but once we escape from Europe’s affairs, we will reclaim what we’ve lost."
Ignorance of East Africa’s "kindness" is certainly unacceptable because currently, the UK simply cannot extricate itself from the European situation. Therefore, Asquith decided to temporarily concede to East Africa.
Of course, as the World Overlord, the UK is certainly not afraid of East Africa. As for Asquith himself, his current decisions are merely about temporarily feigning cooperation with East Africa. Once the Empire resolves the issues in Europe, they will ensure that East Africa returns everything they have gained with interest.
Asquith stated: "The East African Government must restrict their national navy within our requirements; only then can we make concessions on related issues. When the European situation stabilizes, we will use various means to make the East African Government understand that the Empire’s benefits are not easily taken."
George also agreed with the Prime Minister’s remarks because temporarily clashing with East Africa would have an impact not only on other departments but certainly not benefit the Treasury.
Merely adhering to the standard of two great powers makes the Empire’s Royal Navy a bottomless pit swallowing gold. If we want to redirect our efforts to the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, maybe we’ll have to establish a "three-power" standard.
Asquith continued: "Next, the government must produce a reliable plan. Although we might open up markets and territories, that must be decided by us, and absolutely must not disrupt the Empire’s overall strategic layout and core interests."
George said: "Rest assured, Prime Minister, in fact, the demands from the East African Government are relatively easy to fulfill. Our industries and East African industries are not fiercely competitive. At least at this stage, East Africa is not our main competitor in the international market; rather, the harm from East Africa is less than the United States, Germany, and France."
"Hence, we can certainly make meticulous divisions when opening the market to avoid competing with East African goods. Light industry production from East Africa has always been their weakness, which is precisely one of the Empire’s strengths. As long as East Africa does not infringe upon our core interests, it actually has little impact on us; rather, it intensifies competition with the United States and Germany against East Africa."
Asquith agreed with this point as well; East Africa’s performance in the international market, especially in light industrial products, is indeed not very prominent, or rather, poorly performing, with few outstanding products, whereas this field is an area of strength for the UK.
Asquith said: "As for the East African Government’s demands concerning territories, we also need to deliberate carefully. The Empire possesses vast lands and spheres of influence, selecting pieces with limited utility from the Indian Ocean region to give to East Africa is not too difficult."
