Chapter 512: The Crisis of the British Government
Nearly two years have passed since the end of the First World War, but the economies of European countries have not shown any signs of recovery.
The situation is relatively good. The British Empire's economy has grown slightly compared to before the war, but it does not mean that the British Empire's economic situation is good.
On the contrary, as proletarian ideas spread across the world, the impact on the British Empire can be imagined. This is why the British Empire wanted to prevent the development of Soviet Russia.
The influence of the Soviets on workers all over the world was extremely huge. Related parties were established one after another in various countries around the world, which also greatly affected the political environment of each country.
As a large number of soldiers began to retire, and various countries took the initiative to reduce the scale of the military industry, there was a certain wave of unemployment in all countries participating in the war, the most serious of which were Germany and France.
But the British Empire is no exception. Not to mention the situation in the colonies of the British Empire, even in the native Irish region of the British Empire, the situation at this time is enough to cause a headache for the British government.
The British Empire itself is not a whole, but a union of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
Among them, the independence issue of Scotland and Ireland has always existed, and it has always troubled the British Empire and the British government.
If there was a wiser monarch who won the trust of the British people, the problems in Britain could still be suppressed.
But unfortunately, Queen Victoria is one such monarch, Edward VII can barely count as half, and the current George V is not.
This has also led to the existence of certain hidden dangers in the British mainland since George V came to power, but the British Empire at its peak was able to suppress these hidden dangers.
But now, the British Empire, which has experienced the ravages of war, coupled with the influence of the Soviet Union, has some uncontrollable trends.
In Ireland, a large number of unemployed workers began to demonstrate, and it has even evolved into a labor movement.
In Egypt, the Egyptians also began to be dissatisfied with the rule of the British Empire and formed some large-scale guerrilla teams to attack British garrisons.
Starting from March this year, when students in Cairo, Egypt, rebelled against the rule of the British Empire, students went on strike, workers went on strike, and merchants went on strike, and the trend quickly swept across Egypt.
Today, six months later, this trend shows no sign of disappearing, and has even gradually evolved into an armed uprising.
If the crisis facing Cairo and other major Egyptian cities cannot be suppressed as soon as possible, the British Empire may have to start a war in Egypt.
More importantly, the Egyptians have consciously united together to face a subversive crisis against the British Empire's rule in Egypt.
What caused this crisis was not only the crazy oppression of the colonies by the British Empire during World War I, but also the neglect and forced discharge of soldiers after the war. As a result, these soldiers who originally worked for the British Empire not only lost their jobs instantly, but also There is no compensation either.
Some British troops were no longer willing to work for the government. They just stationed themselves in the city and defended passively, without any decision to suppress the uprising.
If you understand the pension policy of the British Empire before and after World War I, you will know that it is natural for British soldiers to be cold towards the government.
You know, these soldiers worked tirelessly for the British government. After returning home, they found that their family's property had been levied a large amount of taxes by the government, and many of their properties were even forcibly bankrupt.
Because of this, many soldiers can't even find where their families have gone after returning home. After joining the war, their families were broken up and their families were destroyed. This is simply unacceptable to these soldiers.
The British Empire was far inferior to Australasia in this regard. Although Australasia is very harsh on the indigenous people, it is still very gentle towards its own citizens.
Australasian soldiers can all receive the subsidies and pensions they deserve, so they will naturally not be dissatisfied with the government.
The indigenous people in each colony have basically been expelled, and there is no crisis in the colonies. There is no need to worry about the people in the colonies seeking independence.
Citizens of Australasia, under the various cultural influences of the government, generally consider themselves Australasian by default.
Today's Australasia may be divided into various ethnic groups, but Australasians are gradually being accepted by more people.
It is to wait until one day in the future, there will be no other ethnic groups in Australasia, but only one united and unified nation, that is, the Australasians.
Condensing the entire population of a country into one nation is crucial to national cohesion and unity.
Thankfully, Australasians have relatively similar skin tones, which is what binds these populations together as a nation.
After all, if everyone has different skin colors, in this era of serious racial discrimination, people are repulsive, and it is very difficult, or even impossible, to forcibly integrate into one nation.
As for India, the most important colony for the British Empire, there is actually not much to say. The movement against British rule in India has always existed, whether it was serious or not, and whether it had a big impact or not.
The current British government may still be glad that India's resistance is not strong. When the famous non-violent non-cooperation movement breaks out, the British government will have a headache.
Knowing that this is India, this is the basis of the British Empire. If India is lost, Britain will be just a United Kingdom, and the King of England will be just a king.
Even if you think about the worst, the British Empire without India would be worse than the current France, and global hegemony is destined to fall into the hands of other countries.
Both Egypt and India were important to the British Empire. Egypt owns the Suez Canal that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, and India is the most important colony of the British Empire. Neither can be lost.
At the famous No. 10 Downing Street in the UK, under the auspices of British Prime Ministers Law and George, a meeting on how to deal with colonial and local crises is underway.
Speaking of No. 10 Downing Street, it can be said to be famous in later generations. It is the residence of successive British Prime Ministers and the center of power of the British Empire government.
However, this house was not originally dedicated to serving the Prime Minister. Its history can even be traced back four hundred years ago.
The current No. 10 Downing Street was formed by the merger of the Whitehall Palace annex and the original No. 10 Downing Street 200 years ago.
Whitehall Palace was the main residence of the British monarchs from 1530 to 1698, and its annexes once housed Prince Charles, son of King James I of England, Princess Elizabeth, Prince Charles' sister, and Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. , George Monk, Duke of Albemarle, Prince of Orange and Cabal Cabinet member, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham and other distinguished princes, nobles and dignitaries.
After this, the house was defined as the residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and was the official residence of every subsequent Chancellor of the Exchequer. However, since the British Prime Minister also served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, No. 10 Downing Street has also been considered the Prime Minister's residence, which is later recognized as the British Prime Minister's residence.
"Mr. Gray, how is the contact between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Egyptians?" In this famous house, British Prime Minister Lloyd George rubbed his brow and looked at Foreign Secretary Gray aside.
"It's not going well, Mr. Prime Minister. The Egyptians are obviously unwilling to cooperate with us, and the Egyptian garrison does not have a high desire to fight." Gray shook his head, shrugged and said to Prime Minister Labor and George.
"Damn it!" Prime Minister Lloyd George cursed secretly, but he could do nothing about the inaction of the Egyptian garrison.
"The Ministry of Finance will urgently allocate a fund to appease the morale of the Egyptian garrison. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do a good job in publicity. I hope that what happened to the Egyptian garrison will not happen to other armies." Prime Minister Labor and George thought carefully for a long time. Only then did I come up with a safer way.
There is nothing that can be done to appease the Egyptian garrison. After all, only the Egyptian garrison taking the initiative can suppress the uprising and resistance in Egypt.
As for the expenses required to appease these garrisons, the wool comes from the sheep anyway. Later, the government will arbitrarily add taxes and squeeze them from the colonies, and it will be earned back soon.
"Get in touch with Australasia. Our actions need the support of Australasia so that we can remain invincible in the World Alliance." Prime Minister Lloyd George continued to order.
The relationship between the British Empire and France after the war was not that good. Although the French also lived a miserable life, the British Empire faced such a current situation, and the French attitude was definitely one of gloating over misfortune.
Not to mention supporting the British, it is good for the French not to add insult to injury. Under such a premise, Prime Minister Law and Prime Minister George can only hope to win over their allies Australasia and first establish themselves in an invincible position in the World Alliance.
This is actually one of the reasons why Prime Ministers Law and George firmly support Australasia becoming the four permanent members of the World Alliance.
In any case, as long as they have the support of Australasia, the British have obtained two votes among the permanent members of the World League and are already invincible.
"I understand!" Gray nodded, and he also understood the importance of gaining Australasia's support.
If it was the British who chose Australasia before World War I, then now it is the British who are wooing Australasia.
There were many great powers before World War I, and the British Empire actually had many options.
But now, the two major powers of the Allied Powers are severely restricted. Russia is suffering from a civil war, France has suffered heavy losses in the war, and the United States has suffered from the reputation of the flu, and its international status and reputation have plummeted.
Under such circumstances, the only ones that can maintain their pre-World War I strength are the British Empire and Australasia, as well as Italy, which has never had a strong presence.
But the problem is that Italy's army strength amazed the British Empire, because they were surprised to find that among the great powers, there were those whose army strength was so much lower than theirs.
The navy that Italy is proud of has also been surpassed by Australasia. Compared with Italy, Australasia's win-win value is definitely higher.
"What are the French doing now? Logically speaking, the French should not be so quiet." Speaking of foreign policy, Prime Minister Lloyd George suddenly started talking and asked Minister Gray with a little doubt.
"The French should not be in the mood to care about foreign countries for the time being. Their economic situation has a big problem. Just like us, the unemployed population is their main crisis. At the same time, their colonies also have some problems, which should be enough for the French to have a headache." said Thinking of the French, Minister Gray instantly gloated, as if the close cooperation between Britain and France during the war did not exist.
In fact, this is indeed the case. Except for some special periods, the major powers gloat about each other's crises. After all, only when other countries are weak will they become stronger.
Moreover, for the British Empire, which is now in crisis, a busy French government is reassuring.
If the French government has nothing to do, then I'm afraid the British government will have a headache.
However, although it was determined that the French would not interfere with the British actions, Prime Ministers Labor and George were still uneasy. They looked at Minister Gray and ordered: "Find a way to increase some pressure on the French. After we solve all the problems Before, I didn’t want the French to be too easy.”
When it comes to the army, the British are not very proficient. But if the goal is limited to fanning the flames, this has been the specialty of successive British governments.
Whether on the European continent or around the world, the British Empire's balancing policy and ability to stir up trouble are definitely among the best, and its means of creating crises are countless.
Minister Gray also nodded tacitly, meaning nothing to Law and George's instructions. There was even some excitement and expectation in his eyes.
"Where are the islanders? This is an uncertain factor for us and we need to pay attention to it at all times." Finally, Prime Minister Law and Prime Minister George turned their attention to the island countries, Britain's former allies.
"The islanders have been restless recently. Their request to obtain German colonies in East Asia was rejected by us, which also brought them closer to the United States. The Russian Civil War has made the island countries more and more penetrate into the Far East
. The more serious the situation is, maybe they are trying to take advantage of the Russians, or they may want to directly invade the Far East. We have to be on guard.
Especially when the diplomatic actions of the Americans are restricted, island countries with American support may have What a crazy idea." Minister Gray also knew the island country's intelligence very well and blurted it out without any hesitation.
"Well, that's a problem." Prime Minister Laohe George rubbed his brow again and couldn't help but sigh.
Although the British Empire cut off its support to the island countries before World War I, the Americans played the role of successor very well, almost seamlessly, and sent a large amount of material support to the island countries.
According to the current international situation, the island country actually has the status of a great power.
However, due to the rejection of the World Alliance led by the United Kingdom, and the fact that the United States, which the island country is backed by, has a poor international reputation, the island country's status as a great power has not been recognized by countries around the world and the European people.
But this will not hinder the ambitions of the islanders. As the owner who once raised islanders, the British Empire was very aware of the ambitions of the island nation, and would naturally be on guard against this crazy country.
To be honest, although island countries like these are easy to target, the British Empire does not have the ability to completely destroy them.
We can only place our hopes on Australasia, hoping that Australasia will have a good way to check and balance the island countries.
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(End of chapter)