Chapter 1696 Exorbitant Demands

Chamberlain proposed this concept out of helplessness regarding Britain's current strength. As a long-established imperialist country, Britain's various strengths have not actually declined significantly, and it remains a major world power.

However, the four "superpowers" he mentioned are larger than Britain, have larger populations, and are developing faster, which puts Britain in a very awkward position.

"Germany is currently the only industrial power in Europe with a population of over 100 million. Its industry ranks first in Europe, making it the most powerful country in Europe and a major global power."

"The European order needs Germany to set an example. After all, Europe is now facing the threat of the Soviet Union to the free world on the one hand, and competition from countries outside Europe on the other."

"Compared to before the 20th century, Europe as a whole is now in decline, especially with the rise of powerful countries outside Europe such as East Africa, the United States, and Japan."

With great power comes great responsibility. Chamberlain's point was simply to get Germany to step up and take on more responsibility.

There's nothing wrong with that, but what gives Germany the right to do that?

Adolf then spoke up, saying, "Prime Minister Chamberlain, your idea of ​​a superpower is interesting, but why should we ask Germany to guarantee European security and compete with countries outside Europe, such as East Africa and the United States?"

"As Prime Minister Benito said before, the distribution of interests among emerging countries like ours is unreasonable, both globally and even just within Europe."

"Even if it is the job of the police to catch thieves, the premise is that someone can pay them a salary, which is a reasonable demand for the police profession itself."

"As the saying goes, you can't expect a horse to run without feeding it. Whether Germany can shoulder more responsibility depends on whether its status and interests in the world are commensurate."

After going around in circles, Adolf still expressed his attitude, which was clearly something he had discussed with Benito beforehand.

By bringing Britain and France on board, besides the demonstrations, Adolf naturally wanted to demand benefits. Not wanting to ask directly, he had Benito play the bad cop, but the British simply didn't take the bait.

Adolf then had no choice but to explain himself.

It is true that Benito was in a bad mood during the parade. He and Adolf did discuss how to deal with Britain and France, but that was before he came to Warsaw from Italy.

Upon arriving in Warsaw, the formidable military strength and the imposing presence of the German army made him feel somewhat unbalanced.

This contradictory mentality accompanied Benito ever since Adolf succeeded in becoming the leader of Germany.

After all, Benito was the founder of an extreme nationalist party, but after Germany shifted its stance, especially after annexing Austria-Hungary, Germany increasingly seized control of the Axis powers.

Italy is increasingly becoming Germany's follower, which makes Benito very uncomfortable, but he can only grit his teeth and accept it.

At Villanueva Palace, Benito was noticeably more active than during the parade. It is an established fact that Italy is not as strong as Germany militarily, and this is difficult to change.

However, in such diplomatic events and solemn occasions where personal style is displayed, Benito felt he should play a more prominent role.

"Prime Minister Chamberlain, I think Prime Minister Adolf is right. The situation in Europe is very clear now: the Axis powers, as the leaders in European affairs, have not enjoyed the status they deserve, and the corresponding benefits are also unreasonable."

"Therefore, in order to safeguard the freedom and overall interests of Europe, we should redistribute the interests of Europe and the relevant regions."

The atmosphere at Villanueva Palace seemed to instantly turn icy due to the conversation between the three.

Chamberlain glanced at French Foreign Minister Bonnet, whose brow was furrowed. Adolf and Benito, on the other hand, seemed confident. The silence between the four contrasted sharply with the noise of the others around them.

Chamberlain inwardly resented his French teammates' silence. In reality, Foreign Minister Bonne had no choice, since he was the only one among the four who was not the leader of his country.

He is naturally inferior in status to the other three, since he is not the Prime Minister of France and therefore cannot more easily determine France's attitude.

"So, what do Germany and Italy think is the right way to redistribute the interests of Europe now?" Chamberlain could only continue to probe personally.

He continued, "Now, in Europe, your Axis powers actually hold most of the power and influence."

"From the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Balkans in the east, from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Mediterranean Sea in the south, the Axis powers occupied almost the entire Central and Eastern Europe and Southern Europe."

"Moreover, Britain and France have made several proactive compromises and concessions to the Axis powers, demonstrating the goodwill of both our countries."

"Including tacitly approving the unification of Italy, the merger of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and favoring you in the Spanish Civil War."

At this point, Chamberlain's tone became somewhat hurried, but it was clear that what he said was true.

In recent years, Britain and France have indeed made compromises and concessions to Germany and Italy on many issues. If the two countries had truly opposed the Axis powers, Germany's desire to annex Austria-Hungary would likely have encountered more difficulties.

Benito then stepped forward and said, "Prime Minister Chamberlain, please don't get agitated!"

"We, Italy and Germany, are naturally willing to maintain friendly relations with Britain, but the current situation in Europe does indeed require the efforts of our two countries and the entire Axis Group."

"So we are not acting out of self-interest, but from the perspective of safeguarding the interests of the whole of Europe. On this basis, isn't it reasonable for European countries to give our two countries some compensation?"

To put it bluntly, Benito meant that the offers from Britain and France weren't enough, and they needed to add more money.

"What a scoundrel!" That was Chamberlain's thought at that moment.

Chamberlain looked down on Benito's background, after all, everyone knew that the Italian prime minister did not come from a prestigious family.

Benito came from a truly humble background, while the leaders of Britain and France mostly came from prominent families. For example, Chamberlain's family was considered an elite family in Britain, with influence throughout the British business and political circles. His father had served as the mayor of Birmingham, the British Secretary of State for Trade, and the Secretary of State for the Colonies, among other important positions.

Chamberlain's half-brother, he also served as Postmaster General, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary of State for India, and Foreign Secretary.

With his family backing him up, it's no surprise that Chamberlain rose to the position of Prime Minister of the British Empire.

Judging from his father's and brothers' illustrious resumes, as long as Chamberlain doesn't have any major flaws in his interpersonal skills, he's guaranteed a place in the British cabinet.

In contrast, Benito's path to rise was a true example of a comeback. However, precisely because of his lack of experience, after becoming the leader of Italy, Benito inevitably continued the practices he had adopted in his youth in politics and diplomacy.

To put it bluntly, Benito was a social outcast in his youth, which was exactly what made dealing with the old European aristocracy and elites so troublesome.

Benito wouldn't talk about the unspoken rules and traditions of traditional European political elites, and in fact, Adolf was the same way.

Benito then continued, "Prime Minister Chamberlain, our demands are actually not many: to better confront the enemies of the free world and to safeguard the overall interests of Europe."

"Britain and France should clearly recognize the leading role of Germany and Italy in Europe, and in return, we should strive to achieve our reasonable demands in the division of European interests."

“I think Prime Minister Adolf also shared this view, especially regarding the division of interests among European countries and related colonies.”

After blatantly demanding benefits, Benito turned the conversation to Adolf, because only Germany could squeeze anything out of Britain and France.

Benito was well aware that Germany was the real protagonist of this conference, and Italy could only follow behind Germany to reap some benefits, which was determined by the gap in national strength between the two countries.

Without Germany stepping in, how could Britain and France possibly have paid any attention to Italy, let alone relinquished their interests?

Adolf said, "Sir Chamberlain, I know Benito. He's a straightforward and honest person, so you can be more tolerant of him."

"But Benito's words are often rough but reasonable, and his words also expressed what I was thinking."

"You bastard! Who doesn't know you and Benito are in cahoots?" Chamberlain thought to himself.

He forced himself to suppress his discomfort and asked, "Prime Minister Adolf, what new views does Germany have on the current distribution of interests in Europe?"

Adolf stated without any hesitation: "The biggest security threat to Europe right now is the Soviet Union, so I believe that the distribution of interests in Europe and related regions should be redesigned around the Soviet Union."

"Therefore, in addition to Britain and France fully recognizing Germany's hegemony over Central and Eastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, we also hope to take over the leading role in the political and other fields in the Middle East."

Adolf's words instantly made Chamberlain's face even uglier. Britain didn't really care much about the hegemony in Central and Eastern Europe, because Germany was already the de facto hegemon in the region.

When it comes to the Middle East, it really means cutting into Britain's flesh, because Britain does have huge real interests and deep influence in the Middle East.

Currently, there are mainly four powers in the Middle East: East Africa, Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union. It is clear that Adolf could not extort anything from East Africa or the Soviet Union, as neither country would agree to such demands.

Germany's objective was clear: to annex Britain's sphere of influence in the Middle East.

Britain has considerable interests and influence in the Middle East; if Egypt is included, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Britain has the largest sphere of influence in the Middle East.

Of course, Egypt is clearly a red line for Britain, as it concerns the Suez Canal, a vital artery of global trade.

Besides Egypt, Britain's sphere of influence in the Middle East remains considerable, including the eastern coast of the Red Sea, the northern coast of the Gulf of Aden, the Persian Gulf coast, and the eastern Mediterranean, encompassing regions such as Palestine, Jordan, and Cyprus.

Cyprus has a unique location, but many people are accustomed to classifying it as part of the Middle East.

Looking at the distribution of Britain's sphere of influence, it can be seen that Britain has included almost most of the coastal areas of the Middle East.

If Germany were to acquire these regions, along with the Ottoman Empire, which was essentially within Germany's sphere of influence, Germany could almost instantly become the most important dominant power in the Middle East, and even gain an advantage over East Africa and the Soviet Union.

Chamberlain thought of more than just that; he considered that if Germany took over the Middle East, it would gain more than just that. It would also gain a springboard to expand its influence into northeastern Africa and South Asia.

This could also pose a new threat to Britain's global interests in the future. After all, Britain also had Somaliland and Egypt in the northeast of the African continent. Between these two colonies, France's Djibouti colony was almost negligible due to its small size, but Italy's Red Sea colony was quite large.

This means that if the Axis powers were to conquer the Middle East and then expand westward toward the Red Sea, they could instantly cover the entire northeastern part of the African continent.

From Egypt all the way to the eastern Ethiopian Highlands, to the Red Sea coast, and the Gulf of Aden, France, relying on tiny Djibouti, clearly could not stop the expansion of the Axis powers.

At that time, the entire Red Sea will truly become the "inland sea" of the Axis powers.

Then there's South Asia, which is clearly the region Britain values ​​most. If Germany gains a foothold in the Middle East and continues to expand into South Asia, it would obviously be another huge blow to Britain.

Although India is now geographically threatened by the Soviet Union and East Africa, East Africa has not shown any greed towards India over the years, and Britain has become accustomed to coexisting with East Africa in India.

Although the Soviet Union was somewhat domineering, Britain was able to suppress it. After all, it wasn't just the British who were afraid of the Soviet Union; the Indian nobility and princes were also among them!

In this way, East Africa and the Soviet Union, at least in Britain's view, did not pose a threat to India's security. But what about Germany? Chamberlain obviously dared not draw a conclusion easily.

Therefore, Chamberlain did not dare to easily trade Britain's interests in the Middle East with Adolf; he wanted to hear the German's specific demands first.

Adolf said, "If Germany can establish its dominant position in the Middle East, it will be able to completely exert geopolitical pressure on the Soviet Union, putting most of the Soviet Union's borders under pressure from the free world in Europe."

Adolf completely ignored Germany's external expansion and instead raised the banner of "anti-Soviet," which placed him on the moral high ground in Europe. At least for the so-called liberal world of Europe, anti-Sovietism was politically correct.

Germany's suppression of the Soviet Union was naturally the most "correct" course of action in Europe. Therefore, it was only natural for Germany to enter the Middle East and form a military and geopolitical encirclement of the Soviet Union from the south, in order to protect this common enemy.

Germany's statement truly put Chamberlain in a dilemma. Without a doubt, Britain most wanted to see Germany and the Soviet Union go to war.

But was it worth it to push this forward and trade Britain's own interests in the Middle East for Germany's offensive against the Soviet Union?

This was something Chamberlain had to carefully consider, and he was troubled by the question of which interests and regions to concede to Germany while minimizing Britain's losses.

(End of this chapter)