I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 852 It's Not Infertile
The Free Trade Alliance is headquartered in Constantinople and has nothing to do with the League of Nations. They are two separate systems that do not interfere with each other.

Wilson's proposal to establish the League of Nations was intended to enhance the United States' international influence, and providing a dialogue platform for all member states was only a subsidiary function.

Unlike the League of Nations, which focuses on international affairs, the Free Trade Alliance is an economic organization that aims to promote and facilitate trade between member countries. It is purer, more pragmatic and more dynamic.

In the past, trade between countries was simply about exchanging what they had and what they didn’t have, and there was no concept of win-win cooperation.

Russia pioneered the "win-win cooperation" model through the Free Trade Alliance, which benefits all member countries.

What is win-win cooperation?

In the past, the wine of the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the rose wine of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia both regarded Russia as their main market. There was direct competition between the two, and they fought closely to gain more market share. In the end, not only did the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia suffer heavy losses, but Russia's interests were also damaged.

It seems strange, doesn't it? How could Russia's interests be harmed by the competition between Yugoslavia and Bulgaria?

It's actually quite normal.

In the end, business competition is reflected in price, quality and service.

Yugoslavia and Bulgaria are engaged in a price war and will certainly fiddle with quality and service, but it is Russian consumers who will ultimately pay for it all.

The Russian government's goal is to provide better services to Russians. If they cannot afford wine and rose wine, they can consume vodka. There are alternatives on the market. But if they spend the price of wine and rose wine and only get the quality of vodka, consumers will only blame the cunning wine merchants and the inaction of the Russian government.

With the Free Trade Alliance, this matter will be easier.

The Russian government has only one requirement: all wines and rosés entering the Russian market must ensure quality.

So the three companies sat down to negotiate and reached an agreement acceptable to all three parties. This is a win-win cooperation.

In addition to the Free Trade Alliance, Russia-led international organizations also include the Collective Security Alliance, which focuses on military cooperation.

There are many countries that envy the CSCA model, but not many countries apply to join the CSCA.

Joining the CSCU is conditional. First, the defense field must be opened to other member states and military cooperation between each other must be strengthened. Second, the free flow of population between member states must be allowed, so that we can truly integrate into the CSCU family.

The first one is okay.

The latter is the reason why many countries are reluctant to join the CSTU.

Russia has a large enough population that allowing free movement of people is almost a fatal threat to countries with smaller populations. Only a country like Korea, which is not at all worried about the influx of Russians, can accept the harsh regulations of the Collective Security Union.

So over such a long time, although there are many countries that want to join the CSUA, only Australia has actually joined the CSUA.

After the Kingdom of Italy invaded the Abyssinian Empire, almost all weak countries felt insecure, and this was when the value of the Collective Security Alliance was reflected.

The Collective Security Alliance will only trigger its overall defense function when its member states are invaded by foreign enemies. If a member state actively expands outward, it will not only not receive a response from other member states, but will also be expelled from the alliance.

In this way, the Collective Security Alliance will not only not threaten the existence of other countries, but will provide security for weak countries.

Vasily went to George, hoping that George would modify the rules of the Collective Security Alliance and rapidly expand the scale of the Collective Security Alliance.

"why?"

George didn't know what the benefit of doing this was.

"If the Netherlands joins the CSTU, our warships can dock at Dutch ports and our bombers can use Dutch airports. This is like putting a gun to the chest of the British!"

Vasily was sensitively aware that the international order established through the Paris Peace Conference was collapsing.

Although the Paris Peace Conference did not bring true peace to the world, the League of Nations was still a beneficial attempt. Whether it was France's colonial war or Australia's independence, they were essentially overflows of internal contradictions between Britain and France, not wars between countries.

Italy's invasion of Abyssinia completely disrupted the balance between countries, and social Darwinism began to rise again. Russia's policies should also be adjusted as the international situation changes.

I have to say here that Mussolini was really a madman.

The Abyssinian Empire was weaker than Italy, so Italy could certainly invade Abyssinia.

Russia is far more powerful than Italy, does that mean Russia should invade Italy as well?
This is why old-school British politicians look down on the nouveau riche. Some politicians who come from the lower classes do have a huge gap in their understanding of politics compared to those from political families with deep roots.

This specious conclusion is very popular in Europe and is a common method used by the aristocracy to safeguard their own interests.

In fact, it's all nonsense. The chances of aristocrats becoming crazy are much higher than those of civilians. Think about how the world wars started.

"So, if the Netherlands is invaded by Germany, or France, are we responsible for the Netherlands?"

George was indifferent. Many countries applied to join the CSTU, which was why George rejected them all.

From the first day of the establishment of the CSTU, Mexico applied to join the CSTU.

For Mexico, the biggest benefit of joining the CSTU is that it no longer has to worry about invasion by the United States.

According to Vasily, by accepting Mexico into the CSTU, Russia can also put its gun to the chest of Americans.

This has no meaning other than changing the relationship between Russia and the United States.

George never forgot that the biggest threat to Russia was not the United States, or even Germany, but Britain.

"The Netherlands will not be invaded by France."

Vasily was disappointed and hoped to divert domestic conflicts by using foreign wars.

George stopped talking nonsense.

Vasily himself knew that although the Netherlands would not be invaded by France, it was very likely to be invaded by Germany, so George's decision not to expand was correct.

Even if we take a step back, Russia is willing to be responsible for the security of the Balkan Alliance countries because in the World War, the Balkan Alliance did contribute to Russia's final victory.

For countries that have made no contribution to Russia, even if they are willing to open their defense and immigration to Russia, George will never take responsibility unless the benefits are as huge as Australia.

George could even keep out the geographically important Netherlands.

George had never considered countries such as Czechoslovakia and Hungary, which were established on the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.

While Vasily left in disappointment, Mussolini was furious.

The Italian army's use of poison gas on the battlefield in violation of international conventions was unanimously condemned by the international community. Even Britain, which had appeased and condoned Italy, had to issue a bland statement expressing regret for the Italian army's actions.

Although the Abyssinian army's defense line was broken by the Italian army, the war was not over. The daily military expenditure was like water, making the Italian government overwhelmed.

The rebellion that broke out in Italian North Africa at this time made the situation even worse.

"Although we have not yet obtained direct evidence, there are various signs that the rebellion in North Africa is directly related to Russia."

Ciano, who was ordered to investigate the North African rebellion, looked nervous. His conclusion was correct, but his reasoning was weak.

Ciano's father, Count Costanzo of Capri, had a very good relationship with Mussolini. Since the march to Rome, Costanzo became Mussolini's most staunch supporter. Ciano also gained Mussolini's trust and married Mussolini's daughter two years ago. "Everyone knows that the North African rebels are funded by Russia. Where is the evidence?"

Mussolini was very disappointed and felt like he was pushing his daughter into the fire.

In terms of appearance alone, Ciano is outstanding, a typical Italian hunk.

But to become Mussolini's son-in-law, being handsome is not enough. Mussolini hopes that Ciano has sufficient personal abilities in addition to resources.

It now seems that you can't have your cake and eat it too.

"Aren't those Russian military standard weapons that we seized on the battlefield enough to prove it?"

Ziano looked sincere, but he was roaring madly inside.

Political marriages have nothing to do with feelings. Italy not only produces handsome men, but also beautiful women with charming looks. The reason why Ciano married Mussolini's daughter was also based on Mussolini's power.

"No, not enough!"

Mussolini was in great pain, and only then did he realize the difficulty of expanding territory.

Similar to the dilemma faced by Germany, the Kingdom of Italy was unified relatively late and missed the era of colonial development. By the time Italy was able to expand outward, the world had already been divided up.

Italy was good at seizing opportunities and it forcibly seized Tripoli and Cyrenaica from the Ottoman Empire, which became one of the few bright spots in Italy's colonial development.

After Mussolini came to power, he continued to try to expand abroad. After hitting a snag in Yugoslavia, he had to turn his attention to the Abyssinian Empire.

Mussolini never expected that the weak Abyssinian Empire would be so difficult to deal with.

What made Mussolini even more uncomfortable was the sanctions initiated by Russia.

The common weakness of European countries is due to their own lack of resources and heavy dependence on foreign countries.

Although the Kingdom of Italy had obvious geographical advantages, like France, it even needed to import food to meet domestic demand.

Russia is not only an energy supplier to Europe, but also a food supplier to Europe.

After losing grain imports from Russia, Italy has been forced to increase its reliance on the United States.

American grain traders are not easy to deal with either, and the export price they pay to Italy is almost twice that of Russia.

"Damn Americans! Damn Russians! Damn Abyssinia! They all should go to hell!"

Mussolini was furious and nothing went his way.

"We will send more reinforcements to Tripoli to completely suppress the rebellion there."

Speaker Costanzo took the initiative to help his son out of the predicament.

"Yes, we should call in more troops."

Mussolini gave face to his old friend.

My old friend looked embarrassed and asked where the money came from.
The situation in Italy is different from that in Russia. There is no special group like the Cossacks, and the cost of conscription is very high.

In order to conquer Abyssinia, Italy has mobilized 50 expeditionary forces and its finances are on the verge of exhaustion.

There are only 20,000 troops stationed in Tripoli and Cyrenaica. Such a small number of people can only ensure public security in the coastal areas, but they are really powerless for the vast inland areas.

Not only did Tripoli and Cyrenaica fail to provide Italy with the expected benefits, the taxes they generated could not even cover the costs of stationing troops and maintaining local governments. This was why there was no incentive to increase troops.

If it were George, it would be worth it even if all 50 expeditionary forces were transferred to Cyrenaica in order to develop Cyrenaica's oil.

This is the meaning of Gold Finger.

The more serious problem is that, based on the quagmire in North Africa, the Abyssinian Empire is on the verge of another big pit.

Like Tripoli and Cyrenaica, the Abyssinian Empire was equally poor, otherwise it would have been taken over by Britain and France long ago, and Italy would never have gotten it.

Costanzo's scalp tingled when he thought about Abyssinia, with a total area of ​​110 million square kilometers.

How much would it cost to station troops there and set up a colonial government? When would it pay off?

Forget about making a profit, it is a long way off.

"Raise taxes! We are creating a wider living space for Italy, and all Italians will benefit from it. Italians should fully support the ongoing war."

Mussolini is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Due to the economic crisis and foreign wars, Italy's taxes are already so high that Italians can't bear the burden. Increasing taxes further will lead to rebellion by the officials, and the people's tolerance has its limits.

Ciano tried to persuade him, but Costanzo stopped him with a stern look.

After leaving the Prime Minister's Office, Costanzo gave a warning: "Remember your identity and don't do things you shouldn't do."

"We are in danger now and are walking a tightrope."

Ciano has not yet transformed into a qualified politician.

"so what?"

Costanzo's smile was mocking and cold.

Ziano's eyes twitched. He's my child's grandfather. Is this really okay?

"You must always remember your name. Your name is Galeazzo Ciano."

Costanzo's focus is on the last name "Ciano".

In a kingdom, family is above all else. No matter who is the king, he has to rely on the aristocracy to control the entire country. If this point is not understood correctly, it would be difficult for the family to be passed down to the present day.

There are always some hot-blooded guys who put the interests of the kingdom above the interests of the family, and give everything for the kingdom. In the end, they die, their families are destroyed, their heirs are cut off, and their titles are taken back.

Even if Italy lost the war, it was Mussolini, not the Ciano family, who bore the primary responsibility.

If Costanzo is ruthless enough, he can cooperate with the king to restore order in time. In this way, he will not only not be held responsible for the defeat, but will be a hero of the kingdom.

As for the children of Ciano and Mussolini's daughter.

It’s not like I can’t have children.

(End of this chapter)