May 3, 1940, 3:20 p.m., in a conference room at 10 Downing Street, London.

Recalling the attack on him by the crowd of parliamentarians at the Palace of Westminster in the morning, Chamberlain felt his stomach ache even more.

Remembering Leo Emery, who was gushing in front of the public, Chamberlain realized that his closest friend and political partner had now been transformed into a "former" closest friend and political partner.

Emery was unsparing in his criticism of the optimism shown in Chamberlain's pre-war negotiations with Hitler and his careless attitude towards British defence after the outbreak of the war, and then spoke of the defeat that the British had just suffered in the Battle of Norway.

"Should I say that you are naïve to invade a sovereign country without authorization, regardless of the reaction of international public opinion, and to deceive yourself under the slogan of coordinated defense against the Germans? Or should you say you're shameless? Most importantly, you suffered a humiliating defeat in the Battle of Norway, the 3rd Infantry Division fled back to England in disgrace, and the 49th Infantry Division surrendered with more than 8,000 men from the division commander down. We still have troops in Narvik, what are you going to do with those troops? Let them surrender too, and then go to the German prisoner of war camps to eat the Germans? ”

Emery's words caused a roar of laughter among the lawmakers.

"For eight months from the beginning of the war last September, until today, you have carried out the foul-smelling battle plan of attacking Norway, except for the connivance of the Germans. As an old and decaying military man, you have sat here for too long in terms of the contribution you have made. Let's go, I say, let's end our cooperation with you, in the name of God, go away! ”

Thinking of his own departure from parliament, the members in the back row rhythmically let out "Get out!" Get lost! Get lost! The roar made Chamberlain feel that he had been completely frustrated.

Tomorrow the National Assembly will hold a vote of no confidence in the government, and the prime minister is already in jeopardy, what should I do? Chamberlain couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

War Secretary Dent and Field Marshal Churchill and Dowding looked at each other and came to the common conclusion that the Prime Minister was distracted.

Dent coughed lightly, pulling Chamberlain back to reality from his own little world.

"We also have a division in Narvik, which is now alone, and Narvik is the only remaining stronghold of us in Norway. What should we do? I don't think they can hold out for long, let's let them retreat, France is where they should go. Dent said.

After Dent finished speaking, he glanced at the depressed Chamberlain, and then at Churchill, who was not in a high mood, but the more he looked at it, the more he felt that the low mood on Churchill's face seemed to be faked.

"Winston, what do you think of Mr. Dent's suggestion?" Chamberlain asked feebly.

"I think they should hold out for a few more days, and if we just quietly withdraw from Norway, we will be more passive in public opinion, and the Prime Minister will not be able to account for Parliament." Churchill pondered for a few seconds before saying.

"The Germans have taken Trondheim, and the airport of Varnes near Trondheim will soon be filled with German planes that will drop countless bombs over the heads of our troops in Narvik. Of course, the ships of the Navy will also be bombed, and isn't that how the Navy's fleet in Namssos was driven away? After the navy fled, the soldiers could not fight the Germans without air support and naval supplies, and they had no choice but to surrender. If they surrender, I am afraid that Mr. Prime Minister will not be able to account for more than just Parliament. Dent retorted unceremoniously.

"What is really terrible for the Germans is their air force, Marshal Dowding, can we build a field airfield near Narvik and transfer the air force there?" Chamberlain asked.

Thinking of the earthquake caused by the surrender of the 49th Infantry Division in British politics, Marshal Dowding secretly rejoiced that it was fortunate that the Air Force did not go to Norway, otherwise the consequences would be unpredictable.

Marshal Dowding originally planned to hang up without caring about himself, but now seeing that Chamberlain suddenly had the intention of pulling the air force into the water, how dare he agree, and hurriedly shook his head and said: "Narvik is located in the Arctic Circle, where it is still icy and snowy, and the ground conditions are not suitable for building an airfield. In addition to the aircraft to protect the homeland, the Air Force has now transferred all the aircraft at its disposal to France, and there are no extra aircraft that can be used in Norway. And I would like to remind you that France is the main battlefield and we cannot distract ourselves from the secondary battlefield of Norway. ”

"I agree with Field Marshal Dowding that, according to the intelligence submitted by MI6, the Germans are likely to start a war against France this month, and we must concentrate all our energies on defeating them in France. If we can't defeat the Germans in France, then it doesn't matter how well we fight in Norway, so I think we should withdraw Narvik's troops to France at once, and not let them waste their time in the snow and ice of Narvik. Dent looked at Churchill again.

"Since Mr. Dent insists on withdrawing troops, the Navy will fully cooperate. It's just that I would like to remind Mr. Prime Minister that after the withdrawal, the Germans and Norwegians will definitely laugh at us, and there will definitely be many people in the country who will use this as an excuse to provoke a fight, and you have to be mentally prepared. Churchill did not insist any longer, agreed to Dent's proposal to withdraw his troops, and immediately became concerned about Chamberlain's situation.

"What advice do you have for the negative consequences of the withdrawal?" Chamberlain was very moved to see that Churchill cared so much about him, and asked Churchill sincerely.

Dent saw Chamberlain humbly asking Churchill, and said in his heart that the prime minister was really hopeless, and the battle plan of the Norwegian campaign was almost manipulated by Churchill from beginning to end, and now the war situation is unfavorable, and Churchill should be the first person responsible. If public opinion is not in Chamberlain's favor, it is entirely possible to push Churchill, the culprit, out and apologize to the people. But now it's good that Chamberlain took the initiative to stand up as a shield, and even asked Churchill, the culprit, for countermeasures, and the prime minister's infantile illness is really hopeless.

Churchill saw Chamberlain asking for his advice, and said solemnly: "We can ask the French for help, we can do this・・・・・・"

On the morning of May 4, French Prime Minister Renaud received a diplomatic document from Britain in the name of Chamberlain. In the document, Chamberlain begins by mentioning signs that Germany was concerned about the imminent invasion of France and that England was heartily concerned about the situation of France. Chamberlain also stated that Britain was willing to send the last infantry to France to help the French people defend their homeland if France needed it.

Renault was naturally full of joy at the generosity of the British, and of course he hoped that the more British soldiers would come to France, the better, and that there would be no upper limit, and in the diplomatic documents in reply to the British, Renault directly stated that he needed more British Expeditionary Force, and said that the British Expeditionary Force would be treated like family in France.

Soon after Chamberlain received the reply from France, a high-sounding order was sent to the garrison of Narvik: because of the needs of France, your troops would move to France, and as soon as they received the telegram, they would pack their bags and prepare to depart.

After receiving the order to retreat, the British troops stationed in Narvik collectively cheered, they did not want to spend another minute in the ice and snow of Narvik, and they were eager to return to France to enjoy the touching customs of the French maidens.

They didn't delay even a second, and after receiving the order from their superiors, they packed up overnight and prepared to drive.

While the British troops in Narvik were packing, the Rostock, a transport ship loaded with the field investigation mission, was slowly departing on the dock in the Norwegian port of Oslo.

Looking at the Norwegians who came to see them off on the dock and waving German and Norwegian flags vigorously, Chen Dao felt no joy in his heart.

According to the current itinerary, tomorrow morning, when the French campaign begins, he may have just landed in Hamburg, and in any case he will not be able to catch up with the attack on France. It's really sad enough that I have been planning for so long, and finally missed the start of the war because I was late.

Chen Dao was melancholy on the ship back to Germany, and Lieutenant General Manstein was also melancholy in the northeastern German city of Stettin, the military headquarters of the 38th Infantry Corps of the German Army.

He did not hesitate to offend the Army Headquarters and actively formulated a plan to attack France, and finally ended up being kicked out of the post of chief of staff of Army Group A. Not only that, but in the battle against France, he could only be an idle bystander, watching others realize his ideals, and fate really played a cold joke on himself.

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