reorganize the world map of the top three powers
May 30th.
Capital of Belgium.
Brussels.
Bismarck entered Brussels by train, as one would expect from a country bordering the German Empire.
As soon as she stepped off the train, she hastily covered her mouth with her handkerchief against the black smoke that stung her nose.
"Is this Brussels? Hmm.... Looks like the sky in Berlin."
"Well, Belgium is an industrial powerhouse, after all, they started industrializing before our German Empire, so it's no wonder that so much coal is mined, factories are cranking up, and so much smog covers the capital of Brussels."
Belgium industrialized after the British Empire.
If the German Empire, the world's fourth-largest economy, had a GDP of 1.2, Belgium's was a modest 0.2.
That's because it ranks 14th in the world, with a nominal GDP higher than the Ottoman Empire, which covered a vast amount of territory.
"Still, I thought all of Belgium's heavy industry was concentrated in Wallonia, with most of the country's coal and iron mines located there?"
"Belgium now mines more coal than the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire, and that's enough to industrialize not only Wallonia, but also Brussels, which is close to the Flanders region."
Bismarck nodded at the adjutant's words.
Of course, the affairs of a small country like Belgium did not matter to her.
In the German Empire, an industrial complex of any size would exceed the industrial power of Belgium as a whole.
Until last year, of course.
'If the Kaiser unites the Aryan peoples as he wishes, the Kingdom of Belgium will come under the banner of the Aryan Empire. What will we do about the air in Brussels then?
The capital of a country with air-breathing citizens like Léopold II, the wrist collector.
The reason for sending Bismarck there was the Berlin Conference of 1876.
Talks with the world's three major powers, the British Empire, were a bonus.
"Shall we go in then?"
***
Königlicher Palast von Brüssel.
Five nations attended a conference that reshaped world dynamics, global hegemony, and the map of the world.
World hegemon, the British Empire.
Population: 33 million people .
Economy size: 3.5 (mainland 1.5 India 2).
"Hmm.... For a tea used by the Belgian royal family, it tastes pretty good, though not as good as the black tea of our own Great Britain, which rules the five continents."
"..."
The German Empire, the world's second-largest power.
Population: 50 million.
Economy size: 1.2
"I must disagree with Secretary Joseph Chamberlain, this tea is much better than the tea we use in the Imperial German Empire."
"What? Huh. Huh. Huh. I thought you were a cold, Germanic woman, but Chancellor Bismarck tells funny jokes, doesn't she?"
"..."
"The Hohenzollern imperial family of the German Empire, the so-called second largest power in the world, has worse tea than the royal family of Belgium, a small country."
"Unlike the British Empire, which dominates the six continents of the five oceans, our German Empire regrettably has no colonies to grow tea."
"..."
The battle between the world's number one, the British Empire, and the world's number two, the German Empire, was fierce.
And the diplomats of the three most powerful nations rolled their eyes intently.
G10, the Dutch Colonial Empire.
Population: 4.5 million.
Economy size: 0.4
'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Fuck! What the hell is going on? We're about to lose the East Indies, and why is the United States of America and the Russian Empire going crazy?'
G14, Kingdom of Belgium.
Population: 6 million.
Economy size: 0.2
'Fucking British Empire.... How do you think our imperial tea tastes, it's the finest tea imported with money we got from slitting the wrists of Congolese blacks!'
The Dutch colonial empire participated because they were generally beaten up by the German Empire, and the Kingdom of Belgium was invited because they were lending the conference venue.
But there was a country in attendance for no apparent reason at all, and its name was G22, Reino de Portugal e dos Algarves.
Population: 4.9 million people.
Economy size: 0.07
'What? Why are we here, why are we here, why are we here, why are we here, why are we here, why are we here, why are we here, why are we here, why are we here, why are we here, why are we here, why are we here, why are we here, why are we here?'
The Portuguese diplomat, who had attended at the special invitation of the German Empire, could not keep his thoughts straight.
There was a time when Brazil was so powerful that it could have been colonized, but now it is a weak country, weaker than Belgium.
It was only because of the diplomatic assets that its ancestors had built up over hundreds of years that it was able to withstand the pressure of the Spanish colonial empire.
Otherwise, it would have been merged into the Iberian Union long ago.
...No? How many times has it been annexed?
***
As the stakeholders from the five countries gathered, Chancellor Bismarck and Secretary of State Joseph Chamberlain warmed up over tea.
It was the same for the other three kingdoms.
-Hahahahaha
-Ho-ho-ho-ho
The problem is that the German Empire and Great Britain talked beforehand and confirmed each other's intentions?
"And what does the British Empire think about the German East Indies?"
"Well, that's just the way it is."
"...!!!!"
"Since the German Empire already occupies the northern part of the island of Sulawesi and the northern part of the island of Borneo, there is no way that we, the British Empire, can be involved in the establishment of the German East Indies, which would incorporate the jurisdictions of New Guinea, the Pacific Islands, and the island of Sulawesi."
"...!!!!"
The diplomat from the Dutch colonial empire turned her head to look at Joseph Chamberlain.
Her expression was a mixture of anger and the powerful glare of a traitor.
...As if to say, "When did things ever look like this between us?
But Secretary of State Joseph Chamberlain shook his head sternly.
What could a small country like the Netherlands possibly hope to do with a German empire that had already aligned itself with them?
"Ho, ho, ho! If it's the British Empire's will...."
"Off! I can't be here anymore, this is the tyranny of the great powers!"
"Ah! Dutch diplomat, I recommend you leave."
"...What does that mean, Chancellor Bismarck?"
Bismarck smiles the humanizing smile of a diplomatic genius.
Her smile set off alarm bells in the Dutch diplomat's instinctive senses.
"...What?"
"Don't you think the German East Indies are too small for our German Empire?"
"...!!!!"
"Don't you, Mr. Secretary Joseph Chamberlain?"
"No. What kind of bullshit is that, even if we were the second largest power in the world, we would not be able to control the East Indies, which we have ruled for hundreds of years-"
"I guess Chancellor Bismarck is right, the German East Indies are too small for the country directly beneath us in the British Empire."
"..."
The Dutch diplomat's eyes widened at the betrayal of the British Empire.
In the harsh world of international relations, they understood betrayal, but they never dreamed they would be sold out.
"What do you think we should do then?"
"Well, someone has to give up, even if it's a colony they've ruled for centuries. I suppose that's the only way to preserve their national integrity."
"..."
***
Triple Intervention
三國干涉
After Japan won the Sino-Japanese War, the Russian Empire, the French Republic, and the German Empire objected to Japan's claim to the Liaodong Peninsula, forcing it to be returned to the Qing Empire.
In 1896, the Japanese Empire was considered a semi-power.
Despite its lack of economic power, it proved its military strength by defeating the Qing Empire, and its industrial strength, industrial power, and technological prowess by launching the first battleship of the dreadnought class on February 28, 1896.
Even the Japanese Empire was forced to abandon the Liaodong Peninsula, with its fertile farmland and vast reserves of iron ore and oil, under pressure from three of the five major powers.
Even if it did not actually colonize it, but only signed a document to cede it.
The Dutch colonial empire, which had less population, military power, and economic strength than the Japanese empire, was treated as a quasi-power.
Could the Dutch empire withstand the pressure from the top three powers, the British Empire and the German Empire?
If the British Empire moves, all the countries of the Commonwealth spread across the globe will move.
If the German Empire moves, so will the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, all of which are among the world's top 10 powers.
Even the Russian Empire and the United States of America sided with the German Empire, as if Bismarck had worked some kind of magic.
..no answer.