"All the people of Britain, the officers and men of the three divisions. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 It is with the deepest of sorrow that the British Empire's War Cabinet, the Royal Navy Command, announces that on 19 January, the Home Fleet suffered an unfortunate defeat in the battle in the waters south of Norway. Twenty warships, including seven large capital ships such as the USS Rodney and HMS Ark Royal, were sunk, and the commander, Admiral Forbes, and 11,000 sailors were martyred. 2 aircraft carriers of the German fleet were sunk, the remaining 2 aircraft carriers and 2 battleships were heavily damaged. We were powerless to prevent the German invasion of Norway, and millions of people were caught in the clutches of Nazi brutality. This is an unprecedented setback for civilization and justice in this war. ”

At 7 o'clock in the evening of January 19, 1940, a deep and solemn voice came from the British BBC radio channel, and tens of millions of British people listened to it for only a moment, and their bodies were like falling into an ice cellar, shocked, terrified, confused, and grieved...... Emotions engulfed their hearts like a tsunami.

The Royal Navy was defeated again, and 7 large warships alone sank, which was definitely a heavy setback for the current Britain, and may even become the most critical factor in determining the victory or defeat of the war. And the families of the officers and men of the home fleet were brought into endless fear and torment by this sudden bad news, how they hoped that their relatives could come back alive, but the terrible number of dead made them have no luck and hope at all!

The voice on the radio could not hear the roar and weeping of the whole of England, and continued to broadcast in a solemn tone: "At 5 o'clock this afternoon, Prime Minister Chamberlain has submitted his resignation to the House of Commons and His Majesty the King. He was unable to lead Britain to victory and was willing to take full responsibility for this defeat. However, ladies and gentlemen, the most important thing now is not to hold the Prime Minister accountable and those responsible, but to act to save Britain from the current crisis. ”

"There is no doubt that Hitler's Germany is the fiercest, most brutal, and most insane barbarian group in the world today. They pursued a narrow pan-Germanic nationalism, inhumanizing the so-called 'inferior races' represented by the Jews, while the populations of countries annexed by Germany, such as the Czech Republic and Poland, were subjected to the brutal oppression of the Gestapo. ”

"Today, Denmark and Norway also fell before Hitler's butcher's knife. The next target of the Germans was France and Great Britain, which were still fighting unwaveringly. And once the United Kingdom also kneels weakly in front of Hitler, then all citizens, your homeland will be looted and looted, your wives and daughters will be molested, humiliated, raped, and you yourself will lose your freedom and dignity, and you will forever suffer from pain, exhaustion, hunger, and shame under the threat of bayonets and bullets! Will you give up your slavery or will you take up arms and fight to the death? The announcer's voice grew high, and finally he shouted.

At the same time that the BBC was trying its best to emotionally call on the people to fight to the end, the British Navy, which had been criticized and scolded, also began to analyze the confidence and necessity of continuing to fight the war from a rational level. After a narrative of the Norwegian naval battle, the German fleet is portrayed as a group of crippled skins that "can be sunk in pieces by the last shell"; By the time these boats come out of the springs, it will take at least half a year. As long as the British shipyards were in full swing during this period, the Royal Navy would be able to have a large number of new ships in service by the end of 1940, and thus re-establish its superiority over the German Navy.

After repeated calls and encouragement from the media and officials, the haze of armistice and peace that hung over Britain finally gradually dissipated. The 47 million British people began to see the roaring Germany as a national catastrophe: since there was no escape, they had to grit their teeth and accept it. However, the British, who have been immersed in the glory and comfort of the past for too long, are still overly optimistic about the current situation facing themselves. In less than a day, the defeat in the Norwegian campaign had an extremely serious negative effect on Britain around the world.

As the sun sets over the high-rise streets of Manhattan in New York, a wealthy middle-aged man in a luxurious suit walks out of the lobby of Citibank, saluted by staff and security guards along the way. The middle-aged man walked briskly with a happy smile on his face; An elongated limousine was parked at the gate of the bank at this time, and the old driver standing outside had obviously been waiting for him for a long time.

"Mr. Director Varif what makes you so happy today?" The old driver helped the middle-aged man open the right rear seat door, smiled and asked casually. The man in front of him was something he had grown up watching, and the relationship between them had long since moved away from the traditional master and servant, but more like friends or even relatives. In daily interactions, the old driver is not at all as shy and restrained as ordinary people when facing the head of a super-rich family, perhaps in his heart, this senior director of Citibank will always be the teenager who picks up and drops off school every day.

The middle-aged man, known as Warif, lit a Brazilian cigar and said with great joy: "The British shipping trade in which I invested was a great success. Yesterday alone, three large ships laden with steel, timber, and livestock had just docked at the port of Southampton when they were swept away by British merchants on the docks! At present, the price of poultry meat in Britain has jumped to three times that of its pre-war level, and the price of raw materials such as steel and timber has also increased by more than two times. It can be said that as long as you load something from North America and ship it to England, you can earn a lot of gold coin wealth in one trip. ”

"The next step is to borrow $20 million from the bank and then work with the arms dealers like Carnegie and Bethlehem to sell the weapons and ammunition to the British." Varif's eyes lit up, and his expression was full of hope for the future, "Britain is currently expanding its army on a large scale, and its military production capacity will definitely not be able to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding army in a short period of time. According to the information I have, the old M1903 Springfield rifles sold by Bannerman & Sons to the British War Office for $110 each. And the profit of artillery is even more staggering, dragging an old gun from the warehouse of the National Guard can be sold for more than 5 times the price in Britain. ”

Variv spat out a smoke ring and said confidently: "For such a large piece of cake as British arms sales, unless the government of the United States comes forward, absolutely no company can afford to monopolize it." I'm sure I'll get a piece of the feast. Speaking of which, this is all thanks to the wise policies of President Roosevelt. Had it not been for his advocacy of amending the Neutrality Act to allow the belligerents to purchase the military equipment of the United States with cash, I would never have been able to obtain this source of money. ”

After the words fell for a long time, the expected response and praise did not appear as usual. Variif looked up in confusion, just in time to see the old driver's heavy, worried face in the rearview mirror. Variif tapped on the seat in front of him and said puzzledly, "Mr. Jimmy, what's wrong with you?" ”

"Mr. Director Varif, I don't know how to invest, but I think you'd better take a look at this." Jimmy, the old driver, drove out of the street with one hand on the steering wheel, and with the other hand took a newspaper from the passenger seat and handed it to his back, "This is a temporary evening issue of the New York Times, and I bought it from the store with great difficulty on the way here." The British suffered another great defeat, and now there are only a few of their main battleships left. ”

Variv took the newspaper and was confronted with a series of headlines that were extremely eye-catching: "Shocked! The British Navy suffered such a defeat in the waters of Norway! "The New York Times exclusively exposes the shocking secrets of naval warfare." "Men will be shocked when they see it, and women will collapse when they see it! The King of England was desperate when he found out! ”

"Ahem...... These bitch news editors, they should all be stuffed into the sow's fart and eye to eat poop and maggots! Seeing these titles, Variif almost didn't catch up in one breath, and immediately turned red and scolded. He resisted the nausea and anger in his heart, and reluctantly scrolled down to the text. Gradually, Varref's expression began to change, and he was horrified, incredulous, and finally slowly sank and fell silent.

"Hell, I was really shocked by this big news?" I don't know how long it took, but Varif, whose palms were sweating, finally put down the newspaper. He took a deep breath, and he understood why the old driver Jimmy had that expression just now. The British Navy suffered a major setback, and the number of ships it could use to cruise the Atlantic Ocean was bound to be drastically reduced. Not only would the western Atlantic be unsafe, but the waters close to the British mainland would be dangerous, and German submarines and surface warships could cruise at any time.

If the Germans had been encountered, the merchant ships under Varif who had transfused blood for the British would definitely not have had good fruit to eat. If the ship was loaded with arms and other contraband, the Germans could sink the ship with its cargo; And even if it was just a load of grain, it was impossible for the Germans to let the ship sail normally to England, and it was a matter of minutes to detain and force the purchase. In either case, Variif will no longer be profitable. A businessman is not a philanthropist, and Variif felt the need to make a new and serious assessment of his future investment plans.

"Damn the British, I just subscribed to $3 million in war bonds two months ago!" Varif suddenly remembered his last investment, and hissed in pain. With Britain's complete defeat in the Norwegian campaign, its bond credit ratings will plummet; Varif had lost money on the previous purchase, and the interest was small, so he was afraid that he would not even be able to return the principal in the end. For the British, who had been defeated repeatedly, Varif was really bitter and disappointed: how could Nelson and Wellington's bloodline be passed down to this day, giving birth to such a bunch of fools who couldn't fight?