Did Zhou Hexuan say in 1932 that Britain had lost so much strength after World War II that it could not control its many younger brothers, so the colonial system was collapsing?

Of course not, because it was divination, not an academic lecture.

Zhou Hexuan started a few hundred years ago: "When the new shipping route was opened in the 15th century, Great Britain was only two small kingdoms of England and Scotland, with a total area of only 220,000 square kilometers and a total population of only 6 million people, which was in stark contrast to the current British empire. At that time, Spain and Portugal were crossing the Atlantic Ocean and bypassing the Cape of Good Hope to carry out colonial aggression, and Britain had no confidence in a head-on contest, so it could only find another way to target the northern shipping route and Africa, and pick up the leftovers that Spain and Portugal could not take into account. It wasn't until the Dutch Revolution that Britain seized the opportunity to defeat Spain and finally entered a period of rapid expansion of colony, eventually becoming the most powerful empire in the world. ”

Many students in the audience did not react much, because this is common sense of history and does not need Zhou Hexuan to retell.

"Why do I say that the British colonial system is going to collapse," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "For hundreds of years, the British management of the colonies was very chaotic, and there was no special agency to take full responsibility, but many different departments jointly managed it." The King of England was the supreme ruler of the colonies, the Privy Council was responsible for the supreme legal affairs and the issuance of orders in the colonies, the Southern Ministers were responsible for appointing the governors of the colonies, the War and Admiralty were responsible for the defense of the colonies, and the Parliament was responsible for making relevant laws. In this way, the colony becomes a situation in which no one cares, but everyone can manage it. Each department dealt with the affairs of the colony in accordance with its own interests. There is a lack of communication between the various departments, and there are even situations where the orders of the various ministries contradict each other. As a result, the British institutions governing the colonies, although large, were overlapping and lax, the administrative efficiency was extremely inefficient, the composition of power was scattered and chaotic, and the British rule over the colonies was actually very weak. ”

A British student suddenly raised his hand and said, "Mr. Zhou, I would like to interrupt, why doesn't the British government set up an agency to deal with colonial affairs?" ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled: "That's a good question. There are two main reasons, one is the check and balance of power, and the other is the competition of interests. Once the British government set up a special colonial affairs agency, it would quickly grow into a behemoth, more powerful than the ministries of the interior, foreign affairs, and education. This is absolutely unacceptable, and even the King of England will be afraid. At the same time, the power and interests involved in the colonies were so great that it was impossible for them to give up their rights and interests at all. Therefore, the problem of the weakness of Britain's ruling power over the colonies is not that no one wants to change it, but that it is impossible to change it. ”

The student said, "I understand, Mr. Zhou, please continue." ”

"Let's look at the types of British colonies," Zhou added, "and the first is the indirect and direct colonial model, the main example being India. In the beginning, the British government, through the East India Company, gave full authority to administer the Indian colonies. By the time Napoleon swept across Europe, the British government had weakened the East India Company to directly administer India. The second was the composite colony, represented by North America, which was jointly governed by the Colonial Trade Bureau, the Governor, the Council of Counsellors, and the Councillors. The third is a high degree of autonomy, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc., where the governor has a high degree of autonomy. The fourth is the type of war coercion, such as Hong Kong, where Britain used force and war to force China to cede the concession as its own and establish direct colonial rule. ”

Attlee, the future British Prime Minister, nodded his head from the sidelines. He had also studied the British colonies, and even studied the advanced topic of "the possibility of Indian autonomy", so he thought that Zhou Hexuan had accurately divided the types of colonies.

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "From a historical point of view, although there are more and more British colonies, its colonial system is gradually declining. The first is the compound colony of North America, where the native Americans were basically killed by whites, but the countries that immigrated from Europe gradually formed a new people, the American nation. Culturally, economically, and politically, the new nation aspired to secede from its mother country, hence the American Revolution. From this point of view, the composite colonial rule model in the Americas is completely unworkable, so the British government chose to change its means to make Canada, Australia and other white-dominated colonies highly autonomous, and weaken the sense of independent resistance in these places. But I dare predict that as soon as Britain's native power declines further, these highly autonomous regions will gradually become independent. ”

"If you look at the Indian colonies, the majority of the population in these colonies are alien peoples, and they are very different from the British in terms of culture. Britain had to rely on force to suppress and induce profit to keep its colonies functioning. The colonized peoples will revolt again and again, and each large-scale wave of resistance will weaken the British dominance in the local area and increase the cost of British colonial maintenance. Once the anti-colonial wave reached the point of being out of control, Britain would not only not be able to profit from the colonies, but would need to give them a blood transfusion. ”

"As for the coercive colonies, such as Hong Kong. This is the territory of the existence of a Juche country, which is dangerous and unpredictable, and perhaps one day China will become strong and will inevitably take back Hong Kong with all its might. ”

"And morally, colonization was barbaric, bloody, and inhumane, especially in Africa and Asia. With the spread of the concept of state and nation, the struggle of the colonized groups will inevitably become more and more intense, which is a historical development trend that is difficult to contain. ”

"During the Great War in Europe (World War I), Britain damaged 8 million tons of ships, accounting for more than 70% of the total tonnage of merchant ships, and the naval death toll was close to 30,000, and Britain had essentially lost its maritime supremacy. As a result of the post-war economic decline, the vast colonial system was no longer sustainable, and the dominance of the colonies weakened. ”

In order to restore its own strength, Britain intensified its plundering of the colonies after the war, which led to an increasingly active wave of rebellion in the colonies, and the highly autonomous colonies did not want to transfuse blood for the mother country. Just last year, the British Parliament passed the Westminster Act, which recognized the independent statehood of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa, and Egypt gained independence 10 years ago. ”

"Britain's global colonial system has developed to the present with only direct domination and military oppression. These two types are the bloodiest and most brutal, and they are also the most likely to get out of control, while also preventing the coveting of emerging powers, such as Japan, Germany, and Italy, from grabbing British colonies through war. ”

"And the United States is also a competitor of Britain, and the normal thing for the United States is not to snatch it by war. As long as the United States is given a good opportunity, the United States will inevitably help the colonies to become independent, so that it has the right to intervene in these areas. ”

"Now there is only one war left, as long as another major war breaks out in Europe, Britain's strength weakens, and the colonial pattern of the world will be reshuffled......"

Immediately afterwards, Zhou Hexuan elaborated on the rebellion of the colonies, and linked it to the expansion of fascist forces around the world. He spoke for about two hours, explaining the predicament of the British government very clearly, so that the students who listened to the lecture realized that the sun never sets on the empire, and the sun is about to set.

Students from backward regions such as Asia, Africa and Latin America all showed happy expressions, while students in Britain were very depressed.

"Bang bang bang!"

The applause rang out, and the students began to ask questions enthusiastically.

When Zhou Hexuan left the classroom, Attlee couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Zhou, how do you think Britain should handle itself in the future?" ”

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "Take the initiative to give up the colony and try to maintain the influence of the original colony." Human civilization is moving forward, the colonial era will eventually end, and Britain should maintain its gentlemanly demeanor. ”

"Perhaps, that's the only way to go." Attlee couldn't help but sigh.

As Zhou Hexuan said, Britain's influence in the colonies was getting weaker and weaker. A few years ago, Attlee was involved in the study of the issue of Indian autonomy - that is India, the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, and the British government actually began to consider making India self-governing (a high degree of autonomy for the Governor-General), which shows how bad the British Empire has become.

It wasn't until 15 years later, when Attlee, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, told international reporters when he recognized the independence of India and Pakistan: "Fifteen years ago, a Chinese scholar told me that human civilization is moving forward, and that the colonial era will eventually end. Today I am honored to be a promoter of the progress of civilization, I am very proud, the British people and the Indian people will always be good friends, and I hope that the two countries can progress and develop together. ”

Attlee is of course talking about the scene, after this guy became the British Prime Minister, he also invited Zhou Hexuan to be his international affairs consultant, and he had to make an international call every two or three months on average.