The wind was howling, rolling up the leaves all over the city, and Big Ben on the banks of the River Thames in London rang five melodious bells, and it was already evening when the sun was setting. However, in front of the Palace of Westminster, next to Big Ben, there is a crowded scene of vehicles and people. Hundreds of members of the House of Commons, dressed in leather shoes, stepped out of their cars and walked into the palace gates, most of them with puzzled faces on their faces, asking each other about what was going on.

"Mr. Ronnie, do you know what's going on?" A middle-aged fat man, holding a suit that was almost swollen, walked quickly to a thin old man and asked. The middle-aged fat man looked nervous, and his words were full of worry: "Since the formation of the cabinet in January this year, Prime Minister Churchill has never summoned all the members of the House of Commons to a meeting. We've all been called today, and there's definitely some big news to be announced. And I always had a bad feeling about it. ”

The emaciated old man known as Ronnie stopped, his face was full of solemnity, and he slowly shook his head and said, "Mr. Blue, I don't know the specific situation. But my guess is that it is most likely related to the land battlefield. According to some secret reports I have received, the coalition seems to have suffered defeat on the battlefield in France recently, and the Prime Minister even flew to Paris with several army and air generals more than a week ago. This is definitely a situation that can only happen when something big happens on the land battlefield. ”

"Isn't it? The land war has only been fought to this day...... Uh, 16 days, can't France plus us plus the Belgians resist even half a month? It's impossible! Fat Blue was shocked and couldn't help but speak. You must know that in the last war, Belgium alone dragged Germany for more than ten days. And this time, Britain and France were prepared for a long time, and they showed confidence before the battle began, threatening to forge an impregnable defense on the Western Front - how could it be so quickly collapsed?

The old man Ronnie didn't answer, but walked into the door of the venue with a gloomy expression. Fat Blue, who was full of nervousness and puzzled, hurriedly followed, looking for a seat next to Ronnie and sitting down. After a while, the staircase room in Westminster Palace was full, and some of the late legislators could only stand in the hallway, uneasy and waiting for the parties to appear. The last time the House of Commons was full was 26 years ago, when Foreign Secretary Gray loudly explained to the world the significance and necessity of Britain's war against Germany.

At 5:15 p.m., Churchill showed up on time. He did not hold the speech in his hand as usual, but walked to the center of the podium with a calm expression, accompanied by War Minister Aiden. In the face of everyone's gaze, Churchill said in a low voice: "Members of the House of Commons, I have very heavy bad news to tell you: the British Expeditionary Force under the command of Sir Gordon has been surrounded by the enemy. Barring a miracle now, the force will be removed from the British armed forces forever for the next 5 days. ”

Hearing Churchill's words, the fat man Blue seemed to be struck by thunder, and his mouth suddenly grew in shock, but he couldn't make any sound. Due to the wartime control of information, the members of the House of Commons, who were far away from the army, generally did not have a detailed understanding of the ongoing land war, and they only heard that the coalition forces had not fought well in the last seven or eight days, and were retreating from the middle reaches of the Maas River and Belgium, and they did not know anything about the rest. And for Fat Blue and other parliamentarians, this situation can be said to be completely commonplace - in the last war, was there less time for the British and French troops to retreat? In the end, they didn't all stabilize the battle line, and no matter how the Germans attacked, they didn't move at all!

Just as Fat Blue wanted to ask a loud question, Churchill on the podium took the initiative to give a detailed account of the ground situation and the causes and consequences of the British Expeditionary Force's fall into the encirclement. Churchill had nothing to hide, and put before the parliamentarians the most serious situations, including the fall of Calais and Dunkirk, and the completion of the meeting of the two German armies on the beach.

The fat man Blue listened in a daze, the anger and resentment in his chest gradually subsided, and a sense of powerlessness and despair surged up, and began to quickly encroach on his heart. It turned out that it was not only the British Expeditionary Force that was in a desperate situation, but also all the men and horses of Belgium and the 30 main divisions of France became cages, and it was difficult to fly. There is no doubt that this will be an unprecedentedly tragic defeat, even worse than Napoleon's defeat of Russia!

Just as he was in a panic, Churchill's calm and firm voice came from the ears of the fat man: "However, I will only add one point. No matter what happens in this war, we will not be able to abandon our duty to defend the just cause of the world to the death, nor will it destroy our conviction to forge ahead. As in many key moments in Britain's history, we have the strength to overcome many difficulties until we finally defeat our formidable enemy. ”

"Today, Hitler's Germany is the most evil existence in the history of mankind, in which civilization and freedom, human rights and justice, equality and benevolence have been completely trampled under their feet. Tens of millions of Europeans fell into the white terror of the Nazi Gestapo, and countless innocent people were tortured and even killed. Churchill's voice gradually turned into a high-pitched voice, with a powerful force that directly lifted people's hearts, "This war has become a defense of civilization against evil, and it is the historical responsibility and sacred mission entrusted to us by the nation and the state." Therefore, no matter what happens to the expeditionary forces and the European continent, we must continue to fight! ……”

Fat Blue's eyes widened suddenly. He stared closely at Churchill, who was in the center of the room, with his fists and arms, and his expression was solemn, his eyes were determined and high, and he did not shy away from responding to the gaze of everyone in front of him. Being stared at by those eyes, Fat Blue instantly felt the other party's tenacious will that contained honor and dignity, as if no difficulties and obstacles could shake him in the slightest. Fat Blue first admired and respected, and then gradually gave birth to a bit of recognition called fighting spirit: how could glorious Britain be defeated and conquered like this? As long as we live, we will continue to fight against Hitler's Germany!

A few steps away, the old man Ronnie, who had a gloomy face, also trembled with his fists. Churchill's words swept over his mind like a morning bell and a dusk drum, and the previous thoughts of a compromise with the German armistice almost vanished in an instant, leaving only the thought of insisting on fighting. It's just that in addition to the excitement, Ronnie, who has been tested by struggle for a long time, also has a strange thought: if Britain is really defeated, then with his wealth and status, he can easily escape to Canada with his family. If Churchill wants to fight, he will continue to fight, anyway, he will not go to the front line to fight!

Churchill's speech, which was a retreat to advance, was an unprecedented success. Although the various MPs had different views on the war, they were all applauding Churchill's resolve: none of them wanted to hold Churchill responsible for the defeat of the Army and oust Churchill from power and reorganize the new cabinet, but all believed that Britain must continue to fight until the final victory. After the speech, Churchill was constantly shouted in front of Churchill, which made the latter immersed in great surprise and happiness, and even became difficult to leave.

At the beginning of the day, Churchill finally shook hands and said goodbye to the last member of parliament who had come to support him. The hall gradually became deserted, except for War Secretary Aiden, who was still accompanied by Churchill in the brilliant lights. Looking at the senior politician in front of him, who was a head shorter than himself and weighed a grade heavier than himself, Aiden said convincingly: "Your Excellency, your wisdom and speech are really legendary, and I am far inferior to you. ”

Churchill sighed, the smile on his face gradually faded, and he shook his head a little bitterly: "Now, I am just temporarily calming down the most difficult domestic parliamentarians, so that I will not be distracted and dragged back by them." The real trouble is to save the expeditionary force that is under siege. In my speech I said that the expeditionary force was irretrievable, and that it was only to test their faith with the worst possible outcome; But as long as there is a glimmer of hope, even if we can only save one brigade or even one battalion, we must not abandon those trapped soldiers. ”

Aiden said in a deep voice, "Please rest assured. Sir Gordon had already been informed of our rescue operation, and had withdrawn all his troops from the front at noon to-day, and headed straight for Dunkirk. It was expected that by midnight our vanguard would be able to engage the German defenders at Dunkirk. Our army has a total of 10 integrated divisions, and the Germans can only assemble a maximum of 2~3 divisions on the beach at present; Moreover, they are running long distances, and the physical strength and logistical supply of personnel are at the lowest point. In the end, our army will definitely be able to fight a way to escape to the sea. ”

Churchill nodded slowly, and the heaviness in his heart melted a little. As Aiden said, although the current expeditionary force is surrounded on all sides, there is still a glimmer of opportunity: in order to encircle the Northern Coalition forces, the German armored forces are sweeping the coast at the same time, but also the battle line is slender and sparse, as long as the British army concentrates on launching a resolute counteroffensive, it can take advantage of the German army's unstable foothold to capture a beach.

By that time, ships that had already been prepared in the southeast of England would be able to rush around the clock. Even if only a small number of personnel can be saved, these veterans who survived and returned home will become irreplaceable backbones of the new troops in the upcoming home war.

"The only question is how long the Franco-Belgian armies will be able to hold out after our troops have withdrawn from the front line......" Aiden looked worried, and looked at Churchill with some intent. In order to keep the expeditionary force alive, Gordon withdrew his troops from the front without consulting the French and Belgians; This meant that a huge gap suddenly appeared in the originally coherent and solid battle line, exposing the flanks of the surrounding friendly forces in an instant. Once the Germans seize this fighter plane and chase after it, the Franco-Belgian armies will quickly collapse, and there will be no reason to be spared!