"Damn it! Get out of the way! This is a warship of our country! ”

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant Colonel, but we can't let you and your soldiers aboard."

Walker Dock in Newcastle is the outfitting dock of Ellswick Shipyard, where all the warships built by Ellswick Shipyard put the finishing touches on outfitting and finishing.

On the docks, which were supposed to be busy, the shipyard workers stopped to watch as if they had nothing to do, and what intrigued them was the clash between two groups of soldiers in different uniforms. The two sides of the conflict are not the sworn enemies of the European continent who may become a mess at any time, but the officers and men of the British Royal Navy and the Royal Greek Navy, who were close to each other two months ago.

"I repeat, Major! This battleship Salamis was a warship of the Royal Greek Navy! You are not qualified to prevent the soldiers of the Royal Greek Navy from boarding their own warships, understand? Major! "Lieutenant Colonel Dimitris of the Greek Navy? Forcas tried to use his rank to put pressure on the major in front of him, but it was clear that the proud Royal Navy lieutenant was not going to accept it.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant Colonel, but from now on she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy." The young Major West raised his head high and pointed his nostrils at the Greek lieutenant commander in front of him.

"Bastard! Who gave you the power?! We have paid for this battleship in full, she belongs to the Royal Greek Navy! You are robbers! Lieutenant Colonel Forcas roared angrily.

"I would like to remind you that the Armstrong shipyards have not officially handed over this battleship to you, and besides, the battleship has not been completed yet, has it?" Major West said with a smile on his face, but Forska could still feel the mockery hidden beneath the polite words.

"Bastard! Bastard! "I felt like I was being mocked by Lieutenant Colonel Forcas's outrage.

On August 3, the Salamisa had already undergone sea trials. During the trial, he and his sailors boarded the ship and participated in the ship's operational test, and the trial went well, and it only took a few more days to wait for the two MK-XIII guns on the X turret to be installed, and the giant ship could set off to join the Royal Greek Navy.

However, this morning, after receiving the news that the British Royal Navy was going to requisition the Salamis, he rushed to the dock with 1,100 Greek officers and sailors who had come with him to the British to receive the ship, and then he was blocked by at least one battalion of Royal Marines. What is even more infuriating is that the warship, which belongs to the Royal Greek Navy, is now full of Royal Navy personnel, who are walking and pointing at the Salamis as if they were their warship.

As the highest-ranking self, he went to negotiate with the British major who led the team, but standing at the bottom of the gangway, Fosca could even hear the Royal Navy on the deck instructing the shipyard workers to make changes to the battleship!

A rush of blood rushed to his head, and Fosca didn't bother to waste words with the major in front of him, and pushed Major West to go up the gangway, and then the shiny bayonet was on his chest.

The Greek naval officers and soldiers behind him saw that the lieutenant colonel was forced with a bayonet and just wanted to rush up, the Royal Marines held the bayonet-mounted Lee? Enfield rifles stopped them.

"Sorry, Lieutenant Colonel, this is our task. Now please come with us back to your station. Major West, who had been pushed, seemed unconcerned, and said in that polite but arrogant manner: "The gathering of so many people on the docks will affect the work of the shipyard. If you have any questions, you can respond to your ambassador, but for now, please do not get in the way of our mission. ”

However, the Royal Marines who stepped forward and handed the bayonets to the Greeks under their noses did not act as gentlemanly as the lieutenant appeared.

The Greeks, who were outnumbered and unarmed and only a group of sailors, were helpless against the bayonets of the Royal Marines.

"You bastards! Bandit! Rogue! Bastard! Lieutenant Colonel Foska couldn't care about the top hat at this time and scolded: "You will pay for this!" ”

"You're going to get us into a diplomatic mess if you do that." In his office in Whitehall, London, Foreign Secretary Gray complained to Churchill: "The Greek ambassador has protested to us. ”

"Protest? These are extraordinary times, protests are of no use, only action can solve the problem. Churchill said nonchalantly, "And I have taken the most advantageous action against the Royal Navy." ”

"Greece is not involved in the war. We cannot detain their warships under the pretext of not selling weapons to the belligerents! This would seriously damage our diplomatic image! Especially if this behavior is compared to the Germans, then we will be more passive! Gray said with a headache.

"Edward. You can't look at things that way. Churchill said with a smile: "First of all, we are not far from the Germans in terms of the number of capital ships in the navy, so we have to strengthen the Royal Navy, and now we have a battleship of almost 30,000 tons." Secondly, the position of the Greeks is not necessarily on our side. They had ordered 2 battleships from the Germans, but one of them was built to German standards. They apparently had a private deal, and now the Germans could keep the ship for themselves on the grounds that it was unfinished. Thirdly, in the present period, the Germans did not detain the Navarino, but stepped up to complete its delivery. The Germans apparently did not worry about the impact that the Greeks would have on their operations in the Mediterranean if they acquired a battleship, so the Greeks were not a trustworthy partner. ”

Churchill's words sounded like the Greeks were secretly colluding with the Germans, and if the Greeks joined the alliance, they would have seen through the Greeks' conspiracy with their own eyes. If the Greeks did not join the Alliance, then the seizure of the battleship themselves would not have any bad effect, and the Royal Navy could get a battleship. In Churchill's eyes, battleships were much more important than Greece.

"The Greeks have more than 1,000 naval officers and sailors coming to pick up the ships, and you think these people will watch their warships being requisitioned? And you have to say these things to the Greek ambassador yourself, and I will see if he will accept your words and not pursue your detention of the warship. Gray had a splitting headache, his feet were busy and exhausted, but the person in front of him was refreshed, and now this refreshed guy was happily burdening himself.

"Don't worry, I've got the Marines to get those Greeks under control." Churchill said with an expression that I had already done something, and seeing that Gray was about to have another seizure, he immediately made a gesture of calm and continued: "You tell the Greek ambassador that it is a time of war, and even if we deliver the warships, the Greeks will not be able to pass through the blockade of the Germans in the eastern Mediterranean, and since the ships cannot be returned, it is better to lend them to us, and we will pay the rent every day." ”

The Germans were able to speed up the delivery of the Navarino ahead of schedule, so how could they prevent the Salamis's return? Who are you fooling? But will Salamis really be able to return home? Are you a Gibraltar fortress ornament? The Greek ambassador should recognize the reality if he is not a fool, and it is impossible for Salamis to return to Greece in peace.

As for rent, historically, the daily rent paid by the British to the Ottoman Turks before the Ottomans joined the Central Powers was not enough for the Ottomans to repay the daily interest on the loan, so how could the Greeks get more money than the Ottomans?

"Alright, let's not talk about that." Churchill didn't want to waste time on a single Greece: "Edward, the Germans have declared war on France and Russia, when will we declare war on those Germans?" ”

"Now is not the time for us to step in." Gray shook his head: "We lack a single excuse to declare war on the Germans. ”

"Timing? There's never been a better time! Churchill waved his hands: "The whole main force of the Royal Navy is not going on vacation to leave Newcastle and Portsmouth for Scarpa Bay!" We need to act! ”

"The Council isn't all as eager to get involved in the war as you do, Winston." Gray sighed, "We need a good time and a reasonable excuse. ”

"The old parliamentarian stubborn believe that as long as the Three Low Countries are safe in the English Channel, there will be no danger, and it is no longer Napoleonic times! The Germans did not have to occupy Belgium and the Netherlands to strike at us! Churchill was dismissive of this.

"But the majority of the parliament still thinks that Britain should remain neutral as long as Germany does not threaten Belgium." Gray said.

"And what about the covenant between us and the French?" Churchill asked.

"The parliament thinks that we can secretly give the French some aid, resources, weapons, etc., but we can't go directly to the war." Gray's attitude towards parliament is also very helpless: "I will continue to lobby His Excellency the Prime Minister and the parliament, but it may not be easy to see results in a short period of time." ”

"Then it seems that we need to put a little more pressure on His Excellency the Prime Minister and the parliament so that they can make up their minds quickly." Churchill smiled, but the smile looked a little distorted.

"What are you going to do? Winston? Gray looked at Churchill's smile and felt a sense of unease.

"Don't worry, you'll find out soon." (To be continued.) )