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"What do you say? The Japanese and Germans are attacking Ceylon? Can't hold it there? ”

On June 26, when he saw the telegram sent by Mountbatten urgently, the famous fat man, the Prime Minister of the British Empire, only felt that the world was spinning, and his hand holding the telegram trembled, as if he was suffering from acute Parkinson's disease.

Mountbatten actually delayed the report for two days, and initially hoped that he could rely on the Ceylon defenders and related reinforcements to keep the island, but when the German Marine Brigade landed on the shore was deployed on all fronts, and Army Commander Hawkins was forced to lead his troops to surrender, he finally knew that something was wrong, he was going to lose Ceylon, and India was also very dangerous in the next step. For the British Empire, which had lost its naval supremacy, the entire Indian subcontinent was riddled with landfall. He could not and did not dare to take on this responsibility, so he could only send the telegram to London as soon as possible.

In the telegram, he involuntarily exaggerated the number of landed German troops: they thought that they had at least 3 armored divisions, and the Japanese sent a marine corps of the division and regimental level, and then the entire main force of the combined fleet, and then also picked a surprise attack at dawn...... Overall, in a word, I have done my best, and I will see what happens in London.

In the conference room, everyone heard the news as if they had encountered a thunderbolt from the sky, and they were so shocked that they couldn't speak for a long time. Everyone knew that India might be attacked, but no one expected it to be so soon, and they didn't expect the Japanese to be eager to plan on the way home, let alone the Germans.

"Can we send reinforcements to India?" Churchill turned his head and asked Field Marshal Brooke, Chief of the General Staff, "After the Japanese army occupies Ceylon, the next target must be the interior of India, which the British Empire cannot afford to lose under any circumstances." ”

Field Marshal Brooke said bitterly: "Although I am very reluctant to admit it, I must say that at the moment we are not in a position to mobilize reinforcements to India. The Royal Navy is currently not strong enough to break through the blockade of the Japanese fleet, and if we bring in reinforcements from the mainland, it will take at least three months to reach India......"

Pound nodded and acknowledged that the Royal Navy was no match for the Combined Fleet at this time, but said that there was still a chance if he was assisted by the main force of the US Navy.

"The question is...... Now the main force of the Atlantic Fleet is returning from the direction of South America, preparing to deal with the German naval fleet in the North Atlantic, because of the appearance of the German army, we have lost a full 1 merchant fleet, and another 7 fleets are stranded in Canada, the mainland has not been replenished for nearly half a month, and the fuel is depleting reserves at a rapid rate, if this broken fleet is not resolved, the mainland will be completely blocked. ”

"How many days will the Atlantic Fleet arrive?"

"It's about another 1 week."

"Prepare reinforcements first, and then escort the reinforcements to India after the Atlantic Fleet has repelled this broken fleet; Lord Mountbatten still has more than 300,000 troops under his command, which can deal with the enemy for a long time, enough to support the arrival of reinforcements. Churchill was anxious, "sent a telegram to the Australian and New Zealand governments, asking for their assistance." ”

"I suggest that you ask President Roosevelt directly for assistance, and now only the United States has the ability and strength to help us." Attlee pondered for a moment and then said, "The loss of India would certainly be a far-reaching blow to the United Kingdom, but it would be as harmful to the interests of the United States as the overall strategic deployment, and I hope everyone can think of a way to defend India." ”

"You can also ask the Chinese army to support us, yes, we can ask the U.S. government to exert pressure and let the Chiang regime send 300,000 troops to help us defend against the Indian ......."

After listening to everyone's gossip, Churchill's chubby round face barely squeezed out a smile that was more ugly than crying: "Gentlemen, this is the second quagmire that the Japanese army has fallen into after falling into the quagmire of China, Chinese can resist it, I believe that we will be able to support it in India for a longer time, this will be the turning point of this war, and the turning point of the Japanese Empire to its demise......"

Turning point or something has been a mantra on Churchill's lips recently, and Attlee and others are almost tired of hearing it, and every time they talk about turning points, the situation deteriorates day by day, and it seems that even India is about to be unable to preserve.

"Your Excellency, what if, I mean, what ......if," Attlee opened with difficulty, "we have unfortunately lost India, what next?" ”

Everyone's eyes "brushed" on Churchill, and he was stunned, as if he had never expected such a result, and after a long time he opened his mouth weakly: "Then we can't give in, I don't believe that India will fall." In the unlikely event that we do not anticipate the consequences, I hope that the government and the king will move to Canada, and that we will continue to fight against the axis of evil on the North American continent. ”

The meeting soon dispersed, and everyone looked preoccupied.

At the time of parting, Ayden, the foreign secretary who had been in the two parties with Attlee, got into Attlee's car this time, but the others did not take it to heart, due to the strict implementation of the fuel rationing system, the domestic civilian cars could get very little gasoline, and even the cabinet ministers also set an example and began a career of "carpooling" to save fuel.

"What do you think about today?"

"Do you need me to praise the Prime Minister for his determination to fight to the end?"

"Don't be funny...... Aiden frowned, "You know I didn't bother to joke with you, I mean it." ”

"I'm also serious, the Prime Minister's indomitable fighting spirit is worthy of our recognition and learning, but ......" Attlee looked around, as if he was afraid of someone eavesdropping, and said in a low voice, "This is a road that will lead the British Empire to a dead end." ”

"You don't agree?"

"Nope! I agree. ”

"And you're still there?" Aiden was about to get angry, but suddenly reacted, "You mean, he can go, but His Majesty can't?" ”

"Which Your Majesty do you mean?"

"Which Your Majesty?" Aiden was inexplicably surprised by what he said at first, but suddenly came to his senses, showed a shocked look, and involuntarily covered his mouth with his hands, "Duke of Windsor? ”

The Duke of Windsor was the famous Edward VIII, the famous British king who was forced to abdicate in 1936 because of a conflict with the government and the church over marrying Mrs. Simpson. He was succeeded by his brother George VI and changed his title to Duke of Windsor in 1937. During World War II, he was stationed in France as a British military representative, and after being accused of sympathy for the Third Reich, he went to the Bahamas as governor-general.

"Love beauty people do not love the country" is of course a folk opinion, at the level of Aiden and Attlee, it is very clear that the reason why the Duke of Windsor was forced to abdicate was because of sympathy for the Third Reich and a good personal relationship with Hitler, and when he went to Germany for a private visit after abdication in 1937, he was warmly received by the Führer, and the specifications were directly according to the current king. What is even more incredible is that in the second month after the start of World War II, the Duke of Windsor visited France, and in addition to seeking intelligence for Britain on the French defense, he also handed over the intelligence he had collected on the French front to Hitler, and Germany revised and perfected the French campaign plan.

The Duke of Windsor is obviously pro-German, and has even always advocated Anglo-German negotiations to jointly dominate the world, and the theoretical root of the theory is the routine of "Britain out of the navy, Germany out of the army can be invincible in the world". Moreover, the reason why he was willing to cooperate with Germany was obviously not to betray the idea of the country - he had already become a king, and what was the interest of betraying his country. In the final analysis, as the Prince of Wales, he was deeply concerned about the living conditions of the working class in the economic crisis, and advocated social reforms to alleviate this predicament, which was contrary to the conservative political views of George V.

Germany's path to "National Socialism" coincided with Edward's idea that Britain could be transformed according to this idea, and when his brother George VI reminded Edward that communism threatened Europe, he blurted out: "Then Hitler and National Socialism will liberate Europe!" ”

"I have had no contact with the Germans, nor with the Duke of Windsor, but I don't think the current state of affairs in the British Empire can continue...... If we were to promote an Anglo-German rapprochement, the Duke of Windsor would be an important part of it, and oh, and Hess, the deputy head of the prison. ”

"But we can still hold on, Hitler can't get to Britain, he can't beat us."

"The Germans didn't need to land, they could destroy us with siege and starvation." Attlee sarcastically said, "The people are losing weight day by day, and Mr. Prime Minister is probably the only fat man we have seen so far." Without fuel, millions of troops cannot fight; Without food, tens of millions of people are hungry...... To speak a word of conscience, the life of the British people, who are now resolutely resisting, is far worse than that of the French people, who surrendered and conceded defeat. ”

Aiden was tempted to argue against this, but after thinking about it, he found it unconvincing. One of the things he was most dissatisfied with about Churchill was that he followed the ass of the Americans all day long, burying the good fortune of the Royal Navy in vain.

"What are you going to do? A case of no confidence? ”

"Changing people and not changing routes can't solve the problem, if you insist on fighting to the end, it's better to let the prime minister continue to work." Attlee smiled bitterly, "The Americans said that they could regain their superiority at sea next year, at the latest the year after, do you believe it?" ”

"This ......"

"Whether you believe it or not, I don't believe it anyway! Even if it's true? Will we still be able to hold out until 1945 or 1946? Indifferent to starving millions of people like Stalin? I can't do that kind of thing -- after all, I'm a working-class politician, not an aristocratic lord. ”

"So, your idea is that the government and His Majesty could go to Canada to continue the resistance, and continue to call for the colonies and dominions of the world in the name of the United Kingdom, while the mainland is re-ruled by the Duke of Windsor and another set of governments and to achieve an understanding with Germany?"

"This is the only way to solve the suffering of the people at the moment, and it is also the starting point for me to greet you and let you discuss together. I don't want to talk to him, he's gone mad. ”

"You have to make me think about it, it's useless for me to agree, I have to get the majority of ...... to agree" (To be continued.) )