At the beginning of the twentieth century, the British Government was still highly efficient. After all, the entire country was in a state of "flourishing prosperity," though the growing strength of other nations had posed a certain threat to the Empire's hegemony.
However, the British at this time could never have imagined the fate of their descendants, who would rapidly decay after entering the twenty-first century. Britain at this time was like the United States of later generations; the vast majority still had considerable faith in their country. Without such confidence, Britain could not have held on through the World Wars.
Before long, the Asquith Cabinet drafted the first version of its domestic proposal and delivered it to Asquith.
Asquith studied the proposal for a long time. After confirming that there were no problems, he said to George, "Send this draft to the Embassy to East Africa. Negotiate with the East Africans according to these standards."
"Yes, Prime Minister!" George said, then took the draft and turned to leave.
Rhine City.
In the National Assembly Hall, negotiations between East Africa and Britain were underway. At this moment, the hall was as chaotic as a bustling marketplace.
The contest between the East African government and the British representatives was intense, because the gap between the two sides' expected terms was indeed enormous.
Foreign Minister Freer questioned Britain's Ambassador Russell in an exaggerated tone, "Five hundred thousand tons? That standard is simply impossible to achieve. The standard naval allocation for the world powers is now above eight hundred thousand tons. Even the little devil you sponsor—Japan—has a total naval tonnage already very close to five hundred thousand tons. Breaking through that mark will probably be a matter of only a year or two. Therefore, we absolutely cannot accept Britain's proposal."
"If