I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 734: All the talents have arrived
George had reason to believe that Coolidge deliberately did not mention France in retaliation for the unfair treatment Wilson received during the Paris Peace Conference.

Clemenceau really went too far. No matter how much he disliked Wilson, he was still the president of a country. There was no need to humiliate Wilson in a teasing manner.

The Italians deserve it. From the World War to the Paris Peace Conference, and now to Washington, Italy has been a supporting role.

France did not take the Washington Conference seriously enough. Not only did the president not come, but the prime minister did not come either. Instead, it was the Minister of Colonies, Albert Sarau, who came.

The key point is that Albert Sarao, the Minister of Colonies, was not officially appointed but only acting.

Since the French still did not respect the United States, when Albert Sarao objected, Coolidge smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be a good thing not to set limits on France? You can build as many as you want--"

Coolidge's words caused everyone to laugh, except Albert Sarao, who looked livid.

Restrictions are imposed on Britain and Russia because they really have the ability to build more battleships. If no restrictions are imposed, the arms race will definitely intensify.

There are no restrictions on France and Italy because not only can they not afford to build new battleships, but their existing battleships will also have to be dismantled and retired one after another, with the main focus on economy and practicality.

It would have been fine if other people laughed, the Italian representative was also laughing, and it wasn't an awkward laugh, but a hearty laugh.

It's just weird.

George's mind was not on the meeting and he raised his vigilance against the United States to the highest level.

The America of the 1920s is very different from the America of the 2020s.

The United States in the 2020s is like the United Kingdom today. You may say it has no strength, but the Royal Navy is still the most powerful fleet in the world.

You say it is powerful, but everyone can see that it is strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

During the Paris Peace Conference, the United States' influence on Europe was still very weak, otherwise Clemenceau would not have dared to treat Wilson in a teasing manner.

The Washington Naval Conference officially sounded the clarion call for the United States to fight for the right to speak.

What should Russia do?
George's previous idea was that Russia was big enough and had enough resources, and as long as George managed Russia well, he could face any situation.

It seems that is not certain now.

The white people’s way of thinking is jungleism: whoever has the bigger fist is the boss.

Since Russia has the strength, it must show it.

If you don't show it, then you don't have the ability.

That’s right, white people’s way of thinking is so simple. It’s useless to play Sun Tzu’s Art of War with them. If you compromise in the slightest, they will think you are afraid.

Coolidge showed no mercy to France.

Coolidge was still very cautious about Russia.

"If Russia needs a 50-ton battleship, it will have to build at least ten new battleships on the current basis, which will place a heavy burden on Russia's finances."

“This is a Russian problem.”

Peter is serious, which is also related to Russia's dignity.

The 50:50:30 proposed by Coolidge was not a random suggestion.

After the end of World War II, while Britain, the United States and Russia introduced new shipbuilding plans, they also had to dismantle and decommission old warships. After completing the transition from old to new, the tonnage of the main battleships of Britain, the United States and Russia was basically in this ratio.

What Coolidge meant was that from now on, if countries wanted to build a new battleship, they would have to retire an old battleship to ensure that the total tonnage of each country's naval battleships remained unchanged.

According to this rule, the arms race can indeed be restricted, but it is extremely detrimental to the development of the Russian Navy.

There is still controversy in Russia over the development paths of the navy and army.

Naval generals led by Peter hope that Russia will build more battleships to compete with Britain and the United States for the right to speak on the ocean.

Army generals led by Vasily and Brusinov hoped that Russia would continue to maintain the continental state model and focus on maintaining the army's advantages to ensure Russia's security. George used to prefer to focus on the development of the army.

Russia’s maritime interests must not be considered now either.

During the Imperial Russian Era, the Russian Empire was blockaded by Britain and had almost no overseas interests, so it didn't matter whether it had a navy or not.

Now Russia has not only broken through the Black Sea, but also gained direct access to the Atlantic coast. In the Far East, there are interests in East India that need to be maintained, so Russia also needs a strong navy.

Of course, to build a strong navy, there is no need to fight to the death with Britain and the United States over capital ships.

Capital ships refer to battleships and battlecruisers, both of which are on the verge of obsolescence.

Of the four "auxiliary ships" Russia is building, two are aircraft carriers.

Even if Russia builds large warships in the future, they will all be aircraft carriers.

Coolidge did not dwell too much on the issue of battleships. If Russia really wanted to build them, no one could stop it. The key was to keep the total amount under control.

In addition to attending meetings, George frequently met with important figures in the American political and economic circles.

On October 10, Felix arrived in Washington, and now the three major Russian financial groups finally gathered in the United States.

On the 26th, Joseph held a reception at the Dolgorukov family's estate in Washington.

George also stayed at this estate during his stay in Washington.

To ensure the safety of the manor, not only did the Washington police deploy a large number of police forces outside the manor, but the Field Office of Investigation (FOI) also sent staff.

The Bureau of Investigation, established in 1908, is an intelligence agency under the U.S. Department of Justice.

The current FOI is not the famous Feng Bilo of the future. The main task of the staff is to copy license plates.

Starting from 4 pm, convoys arrived at the manor one after another.

Williams, who had just started working at FOI, was attracted by the appearance of these cars as soon as he took out his notebook.

"what car is this?"

As a car enthusiast, Williams had never seen any of these cars.

"Don't look at them. These are the bulletproof cars that the Dolgorukov family just launched. You can't buy one with your lifetime salary."

Team leader Walker was nonchalant.

"Oh--"

Williams lowered his head and memorized the license plate carefully.

"You don't need to remember these—"

Walker is still very caring towards his little brother.

Williams hesitated.

“Those logos on the car body are the emblems of the Rothschild family.”

Walker was lazy and there was no point in remembering these vehicles.

The next two hours were a grand gathering of American financial groups. In addition to Rothschild, financial groups or family businesses such as Rockefeller, Morgan, Mellon, Chase Manhattan, and DuPont all showed up.

The car that Williams and Walker were riding in was asked to leave the parking lot at 6 o'clock, and the police car of the Washington Police Department also had to leave. It didn't matter whether they were here or not. This manor could be said to be the safest place in the United States now. Even if the US government sent troops to attack, they might not be able to break in.

(End of this chapter)