So when Cunningham got the news of the departure of the Romanian fleet, the whole heart finally relaxed. It's just that in the face of the current tragic situation of the Mediterranean Fleet, it is simply tearful.

All 3 aircraft carriers sank, the only counterattack cruiser sank, and 5 battleships sank two. Together with the other ships that were sunk, they had already suffered more losses than in the Battle of Jutland. However, compared with Jutland, Britain now does not have the strength to drive 5 warships in one go.

And at this time, Cunningham said to the chief of staff who was also sad next to him. "Send a telegram to London and report our losses. I am willing to take all these responsibilities. ”

Cunningham's words made Hawkins' expression very bitter, such a tragic result could not be borne by the commander Cunningham alone, and he also had no choice but to run away as the chief of staff.

Now is not the time to think about this, London is still waiting to report the results of its losses.

So when this telegram of the loss of 3 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 1 battle cruiser, and 8 other warships and hundreds of aircraft was sent to London, Chamberlain, who was anxiously waiting for news, was darkened and almost fainted.

And the palm seal and the air force minister Hall, who had been waiting on the sidelines, immediately stepped forward to help him, while the other ministers who were urgently recruited because of the news of the Alexander air raid looked at the prime minister's expression and secretly screamed in their hearts.

Sure enough, when Chamberlain circulated the contents of the telegram, everyone's faces were very ugly. And they knew that at this time, the world throne of the British Empire was kicked by the Romanians, and it was also kicked on the navy of the British Empire.

When Chamberlain recovered, he asked. "Let's talk about it, what now?"

In the face of Chamberlain's inquiry, War Secretary Belisha took the lead in giving advice. "I believe that Egypt needs to be reinforced immediately to ensure that the security of the region is not violated. Our War Department can arrange reinforcements from India and Australia and New Zealand on a priority basis. ”

It is clear that the attitude of War Minister Belisha is to give priority to the preservation of Egypt.

And his words were echoed by other cabinet ministers.

"That's right, we have to keep Egypt."

"The Reich cannot afford to lose Suez."

Everyone present knew the importance of Egypt to Britain, not to mention the importance of its location to Britain in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, and the Suez Canal alone was worth Britain's desperate efforts to protect. The canal, which connected the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, was of vital importance to India, the most important British colony. The name "Emperor" of the British Empire was given by India (Emperor of India or Empress).

As the Seal of Hands and Air Force Secretary Hall said at this time. "I think Egypt's air defenses need to be strengthened at the moment, and now we can send more advanced aircraft from other colonies to support Egypt. In addition, I believe that the local side should also send four squadrons of Spitfire to support Egypt.

In addition, since Egypt will face the threat of the Romanian fleet and needs more aircraft capable of dealing with ships, I think it is also possible to draw a group of reinforcements from the mainland. ”

Hale spoke, and then the conversation changed. "These were our responses to the attack on Alexandria, and now I think there's a very critical issue that has to be addressed."

After successfully focusing everyone's attention on himself, Hall named a country. "That's the Italian attitude problem."

His words instantly let others know that the attitude of Italy is extremely important now, especially after the heavy losses of the British Mediterranean fleet.

After the outbreak of the war, the division of labor between the British and French navies was that the British Mediterranean Fleet blocked the Romanian Navy's access to the Mediterranean, while the French fleet watched over Italy. As for the British Home Fleet, it was naturally carried out the task of the First World War, blocking the German warships in the North Sea.

And now, with the Mediterranean fleet under air raids in the harbor, no one is looking at the Romanian fleet, who can guarantee that Mussolini will not be moved. As long as the fleets of the two countries converge, then the French fleet is simply no match for the combined naval strength of the two countries. And the Mediterranean Sea will become a dangerous sea for British and French ships. This is something that Britain will never agree to.

"What, then, can we do to prevent Italy from being consumed by the desire for profit, knowing that they have an alliance with Germany and Romania, although the strength of our country and France has made it dare not act rashly. But now that our Mediterranean Fleet has suffered such huge losses, it will be very difficult to keep it in order. ”

Thomas, the Coordinating Minister for Defence, voiced his doubts.

Faced with Thomas's doubts, Hall gave his own advice. "We have a way, and that is to hand over Greek interests to Italy and use Greece to stabilize Italy."

Hall's words drew the others to each other, isn't this an improved version of the previous policy of appeasement?

"I know what you're trying to say, it's a betrayal of Greece. But I haven't thought about it, now our country and France are at a disadvantage in the Mediterranean, and the home fleet needs to supervise the North Sea, and there is no way to draw excess fleets to replenish the Mediterranean fleet. If Italy is not stabilized now, then we may lose the Mediterranean, and who can bear the responsibility? Moreover, throwing Greece to Italy would also deepen its contradictions with Romania. ”

Hall's words caused other cabinet members to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.

And Chamberlain, seeing Churchill, the Admiral who was sitting there without saying a word, asked. "Churchill, what do you think about this?"

Churchill, who was named by the prime minister, shook his head and said. "I have nothing to say, and if Greece can be exchanged for Italy on our side, I am in favor of it."

Chamberlain, however, was not satisfied with this, and asked further. "So do you Navy Department have any plans for this?"

Although he had only been the Lord of the Navy for less than a few days, Churchill still had a clear understanding of the Navy, and I saw him speak. "At the moment our work is mainly to assess Alexander's losses, and to investigate whether the two fleet commanders were negligent in their duties. In addition, the construction and outfitting of other battleships of the George V class was expedited, and they were brought into service as soon as possible.

As for the aircraft carrier, at present, the first two ships of the Radiance class, the Radiance and the Victory, have been underwater, and we will ask the shipyard to work overtime to complete the outfitting work, and we will also urge the work of carrier-based aircraft. When this batch of warships is completed, we expect to be able to take into account the Mediterranean side. As for now, only by the naval power of our ally, France. ”

It was clear that Churchill had no good idea of the current situation in the Mediterranean, and he could not turn up warships to replenish the losses of the Mediterranean Fleet.

And Chamberlain waited until he had finished speaking, and then said, these suggestions are very good, so let's discuss the question of what to do.

After a period of deliberation, the Cabinet reached a solution, first to assess the damage, and then to send a team of investigators to assess the commander, General Cunningham, and the chief of staff, General Hawkins.

In addition, troops will be sent to reinforce Egypt, mainly to secure the Suez Canal. In addition, if the diplomatic department is to woo Italy, it can propose to Italy that Greece in exchange for its position will not change.

There is also the need to speed up the construction of warships, and to reach out to the United States to see if it can buy its decommissioned warships.

After everyone else was gone, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain left Churchill behind.

The tired Chamberlain rubbed his astringent eyes and spoke to the young Admiral in front of him. "There are some things I need to say to you alone."

Hearing Chamberlain's words, Churchill nodded and did not speak, because he knew that there was still something to be said next.

Sure enough, I saw Chamberlain continue. "This biggest defeat for the Royal Navy in 100 years will cause public outrage, and I can't be prime minister for long, and although the rest of the cabinet has been coming up with ideas, I know that the day is not far from stepping down."

Chamberlain paused here and continued. "As you know, I wasn't interested in politics in the first place. They were all forced into politics later, but I only think they did a good job, and it only took ten years to become the core of the party. Originally, I didn't want to be the prime minister, but there was no one in the party, so I had to go on the job. I don't know about Germany's military expansion, it's not that it can't be financially supported, but it is necessary to leave enough room for health finance. Otherwise, we risk following in the footsteps of the First German War. ”

After saying all this, Chamberlain stopped venting himself, only to see him ask about Churchill in front of him. "Churchill, are you interested in becoming the next Prime Minister?"

"Very happily."

"Well, then, you're going to resign as Lord of the Admiralty. Next, you need to show your tough side to the people. ”

Looking at the departing Churchill, Chamberlain felt a headache, and then he needed to convince the party to accept Churchill as prime minister.

Just that night, British newspapers reported the attack on the Mediterranean fleet.

The result of 5 sunken and 3 wounded made the British people completely angry, and they demanded that the government launch a counterattack against Romania.

The newspapers also blamed the government for the loss. In addition, Cunningham, as the commander of the matter, was scolded by the newspapers, and some newspapers even ridiculed that it was better than the general Cunningham to let his own dog serve as the commander of the fleet.

In this regard, in order to calm the anger of the people, the government can only let them retire in advance.

When Chamberlain, as prime minister, knew that both of them retiring could not calm the anger of the people, and the best choice was himself. It's just that I still need a little time to prepare.