The Treaty of Versailles was signed. At the Paris Peace Conference, Britain and France shamelessly supported the Japanese in inheriting all German interests in Shandong Peninsula, including sending troops to invade and occupy the German concession area of Qingdao.
News of the Paris Peace Conference reached China, and the whole country was in an uproar.
Prime Minister Lu Zhengxiang almost resigned. As the President of the Republic, Lin Shuo actually led students to march on the streets together with Education Minister Fan Yuanlian and Peking University President Cai Yuanpei. They held placards and demonstrated in front of the British, French and Japanese embassies, and then went to Xinhua Palace to submit their submissions. The protest letter made the Presidential Palace Guards not sure how to deal with it, and they almost let the angry students into the Presidential Palace.
How could it be appropriate for a sitting president to lead a group of students to protest against his own government? Even a group of well-informed foreign journalists were dumbfounded. The British Minister Juldian had written a protest to the Chinese government. The book is torn up again, what is this? If you are dissatisfied, you can call me to the presidential palace to protest in person. This is the first time I have heard of the president of the host country holding a sign and protesting at a foreign embassy.
French Minister Kant even wrote a letter of protest directly to his own government. The Chinese people's national strength is significantly increasing. According to the current trend, China's industrial capacity will surpass Japan in less than two years, and those stupid people in his own country will Many government officials still hold the perspective of more than ten years ago, and it would definitely be a waste not worth the gain to please Japan and resent China in the Far East.
American Minister Rui Xuanen was secretly having fun. Lin Shuo's reaction was beyond everyone's expectations. However, if you think carefully about this unconventional president's move, it makes sense. The anger of the Chinese people has been ignited. This incident The movement seems to be inevitable. Instead of waiting for this fire to burn on ourselves, it is better to participate in it personally and lead the spearhead to the Japanese, British and French. Soon they will pay for the bitter consequences they have brewed. There is this person The president has taken the lead, and the Chinese have already raised the banner: Boycott Japanese, British, and French goods. These countries will soon be squeezed out of the world's largest market.
"It's such a cunning political trick. Maybe only the Chinese can think of politics being played like this!" Rui Shien found it funny when he thought about it. Fortunately, US President Wilson supported the Chinese proposition at the Paris Peace Conference and commented on the past. As a result, the United States withdrew from the Paris Peace Conference.
This move only increases the goodwill of the Chinese people, and the world's largest market has opened its arms to Americans.
Chinese peace negotiators Wang Chonghui and Gu Weijun withdrew from the Paris Peace Conference and refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Regardless of whether anyone listened or not, the Chinese had been saying good things for the Germans just to win the favor of the defeated Germans.
A large business delegation composed of Chinese businessmen rushed to Germany. According to the Treaty of Versailles, most of the large German factories were included in the war compensation list, and many large-scale machinery and equipment are what China urgently needs now, which is more important. What's more, a large number of engineering technicians and technical workers working in these factories are facing unemployment.
Lin Shuo sold off all the stocks that were originally frozen in the United States. The huge dividends brought by the war made these stocks worth more than 300 million U.S. dollars before the war appreciate to more than 900 million U.S. dollars. Although these funds staying in the United States may be better than investing in the country. It can capture greater benefits, but domestic construction is more important.
Hamburg, Vulcan Shipyard, led by Zheng Qinglian, chief engineer of the Shipbuilding Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, and Chen Changling, chief engineer of the Naval Ship Bureau of the General Armament Department, a small Chinese shipbuilding industry business delegation came to this company that has always been in contact with China
German shipbuilding companies that have maintained good cooperative relations.
After the European War, the victorious countries such as Britain and France squeezed as much oil and water from Germany as possible. Almost all large-scale machinery and equipment were included in the compensation list by the newly established compensation committee. Due to "Operation Rainbow", the Germans destroyed almost all the warships of the original High Seas Fleet.
All were sunk to the bottom of the sea, which greatly annoyed the Allied countries who originally planned to take those German warships as their own. Under the leadership of Britain and France, the victorious countries jointly established a Peace Treaty Supervisory Committee, which was responsible for controlling Germany's major factories and shipbuilding
The factory's equipment was dismantled and sold off as a sign of their "severe punishment" for the German crew's act of sinking the warship.
The only countries that are interested in German equipment are countries like France, Spain, China and South America that use international standard measurement units. However, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and other English-speaking countries have been using imperial measurement standards, and these are manufactured using metric standards.
There is little interest in German equipment.
And now only the Chinese have pockets full of cash.
The Chinese are eyeing Germany's equipment manufacturing industry. Now the entire Germany is underemployed and the unemployment rate is as high as 50%. The factories that produced a large number of ships, weapons, cars and trains for Germany during the war are almost half-stopped.
.German steel companies are not much better. Due to the economic downturn throughout Europe after the war, the civilian market has shrunk extremely, and almost all steel plants have ceased operations. The main reason is because the Allied Powers have seized the main equipment in the factories.
Factory owners had to lay off a large number of engineering technicians and skilled workers, and the German economy was on the verge of collapse.
The main purpose of the Chinese is not to buy the equipment that is already somewhat old. Purchasing this equipment is just a cover and the main excuse to recruit a large number of technicians and skilled workers. Moreover, buying these things does not cost much more than buying scrap iron.
Feeding the family and ensuring that the family does not starve have become the first problems that these Germans have to solve. For this reason, these engineers and technicians who rely on technology are willing to leave their homes and go to work in that distant country in the East. This country is very important to the Germans.
It’s not too unfamiliar. A few years ago, they owned a beautiful city there known as the “Pearl of the Orient” and a sphere of influence much larger than Bavaria.
Zheng Qinglian’s team visited several large shipyards in Hamburg, Bremen and Kiel. The situation in these German shipyards is generally the same. The operating rate is less than 20%, and a large number of engineers and skilled technicians are unemployed. The British
People and Americans don't need them. The British Empire has never lacked shipbuilding talents.
These are exactly what the new republic of China urgently needs, a large number of experienced large ship and submarine designers, engineers and construction technicians. During the war, they built dozens of large surface warships and several types of submarines with excellent performance.
This is good news for the Republic, which is preparing to vigorously expand its navy.
The autumn sunshine shines on the desolate slipway. The huge slipway equipment is stained with rust. Several warships with keels are still placed on the slipway, allowing it to be soaked by wind and rain. There is no longer any busy place during the war.
Figure, two large hulls that have not yet been outfitted are moored on the pier, the second ship of the Mackensen-class battlecruiser, Graf Spee, and the York-class battleship that were not completed during the war.
The Chinese had shown a strong interest in these large warships and hoped to pay to complete the construction of these warships and then have the Republican Navy buy them.
The French have agreed to the plan proposed by the Chinese. After all, the Chinese are willing to pay 160 million francs for the hulls of four Mackensen-class and two York-class battleships that have not yet been completed. This is a good news for the French who are suffering from financial problems.
It was quite a temptation. However, the British rejected the Chinese request, mainly because of the strong opposition of its Far East ally Japan. They would rather drag these warships back to the slipway and dismantle them into scrap metal than sell them to the Chinese.
Because Chief Designer Streicher presided over the design of the Scharnhorst-class armored cruiser, and there are a large number of slipway and dock equipment orders from China, the Vulcan Shipyard has been able to successfully complete the relocation of this old shipbuilding company to Hamburg.
During World War I, this shipyard participated in the construction of almost all types of battleships in the German Empire, including the Rhineland, Frederick III, Grosser Kurfürst, York and two-class battlecruisers.
You Xicheng, Chen Yukun and Chang Tingqian had been sent by Mawei Shipyard to study ship design and construction with Streicher since 1906. They did not return to China until March 1917 when China and Germany severed diplomatic relations. It was noisy during the war.
Compared with the busy dock slipway, today's deserted shipyard is disappointing.
The shipyard owner Rudolf, wearing a black tuxedo, went to the gate of the shipyard to wait for these guests from the East. Over the past two years, this German who had already gone bald had a lot of white hair on his temples.
After leading more than 30 Chinese people around the shipyard, the group came to the shipyard's conference room. "I'm sorry, most of the equipment in the shipyard has been seized by the British and French. If you want to buy it,
Shipyard equipment can only go to auctions held by the Compensation Commission."
Rudolf did not hide the difficult situation that the shipyard is currently facing, and the Chinese seemed to come here for the equipment in the shipyard. To be honest, the current predicament of the shipyard made him very frustrated.
Zheng Qinglian nodded, and You Xicheng began to translate, "We have obtained the ownership of these equipment from the auction, and we just checked the condition of these equipment. Mr. Rudolf, this is not the purpose of our coming to the shipyard. You know
Our shipbuilding industry has just started, and we are still very lacking in professional designers, engineers and senior technicians in ship construction! Maybe we can cooperate in this regard. We do not intend to dismantle these equipments. We can cooperate with Volcan
The shipyard signs a formal cooperation agreement. Your shipyard can re-recruit those laid off engineers, technicians and designers and send them to China to assist in cooperative construction. In return, we will send them to China every year.
Fifteen percent of the total personnel salary will be paid to your factory as corresponding remuneration!"
Rudolf was smoking a cigar while mentally calculating the pros and cons of this business. Obviously the Chinese are very ambitious. If they want to reach the level and scale of the entire German shipbuilding industry, they will need tens of thousands of technical personnel.
If calculated based on the average salary of US$800 per person per year, this 15% commission would be as high as one to two million US dollars. In this era, this was a huge business. Perhaps the income from building twenty merchant ships
The profit will not be more than this.
How much impact will the Chinese shipbuilding industry have on Germany? Perhaps only the Japanese and the British who have great interests in the Far East will worry about this.
Moreover, these technicians are still nominally employees of Volcan. Perhaps, within a few years, Volcan Shipyard will regain its former prosperity.
The two parties quickly reached an agreement. Volcan Shipyard was responsible for recruiting employees in Germany and sending these people to China to work in the form of labor export, while China would pay the corresponding fees and remuneration. However, Zheng Qinglian verbally asked him to do all the work.
When it was possible to recruit shipbuilding experts, especially submarine experts, from other shipyards, Rudolf had already vaguely guessed the Chinese ambition to vigorously develop the navy.
God bless, I hope they don't end up like the German Navy.
The same thing happened in Essen. The Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from developing military industry, which was a fatal blow to the Krupp family, which mainly focused on military industry. Gustav and the young man who took charge of the Krupp family
Alfred, the 22-year-old family heir, decided to move Krupp's main business abroad.
Which country should we open the factory to?
When he was hesitating, the Chinese came to the door. The Chinese offered extremely favorable conditions to the Krupp family and allowed the Krupp family to hold shares in Chinese military enterprises. Gustav did not do too much.
After considering signing an agreement with the Chinese, Alfred, the ambitious heir of the Krupp family, decided to personally go to China to take charge of everything.
The Krupp factory is the only supplier of armor steel to the German Navy, and its subsidiary Germania is the main shipyard for building German submarines.
Later, Rheinmetall, Siemens, and Farben Chemical, all extremely important consortiums in Germany, went to China to start the road to reconstruction. In 1920, about 20,000 German engineers and senior technicians went to China. Due to the deterioration of the economy and the continued growth of unemployment
By 1923, this number increased sharply to 460,000. More and more Germans were accustomed to going to China to "dig for gold". While China accepted a large number of German technical talents, it was also absorbing and digesting the world.
First-class industrial technology.
In Shanghai, the main industrial base, with nearly 150,000 Germans gathered here, German has become the most common language besides Chinese.
Driven by the industrial technology from Germany, China's equipment manufacturing capabilities and technical level have quickly improved dramatically. With the advancement of industrial technology and scientific level, the quality and technical content of industrial products produced in China have improved.