London, Chinese Embassy in the UK.

"What is the specific political situation in the UK?" Wang Rizhang couldn't wait to ask. Although he is nominally arranged as a secretary to Zhou Hexuan, he has the responsibility to deliver news to Chang Kaishen at any time - after all, Lao Jiang likes to play micro-manipulation and wants to take care of everything, including diplomatic negotiations.

Guo Taiqi said: "Now the British cabinet belongs to the wartime coalition government, the Conservative Party represented by Churchill is in charge of military and foreign affairs, the Labour Party represented by Attlee is in charge of domestic affairs, and the Liberal Party is dispensable. ”

Wang Rizhang asked: "What are the attitudes of the Conservative Party and the Labour Party towards China?" ”

"The Labour Party advocates uniting all potential international allies, including China," Kwok said. If Britain had been in power, the Burma road would certainly not have been closed, but the Labour Party rarely intervenes in foreign affairs. You can understand that the Labour Party only has the right to advise and discuss British foreign policy, and the decision is up to the Conservative Party. ”

"What about the Conservatives?" Wang Rizhang asked.

Guo Taiqi smiled bitterly: "The Conservative Party is divided into two factions. Although Chamberlain has stepped down, he still has a strong influence on the Conservative Party, and he advocates compromise and peace. Churchill was a puppet at the beginning of his reign, but after two months of hard work, Churchill has gained the support of many Conservative MPs. Now the Conservative Party is dominated by Churchill in the general direction, and his diplomatic philosophy is to abandon Asia, first unite with the United States to solve the European problem, and then go back and solve the Asian problem easily. ”

Zhou Hexuan summed it up: "In other words, Churchill did not pay attention to Asia at all, and no matter how lively Japan and China fought each other, they could not compare to any battle in Europe." ”

Guo Taiqi said: "Yes, Churchill's entire focus is on Europe, and as long as Japan does not attack the South Seas, he will not care whether China lives or dies." ”

Wang Rizhang turned his head and asked Zhou Hexuan: "How is Mr. Zhou going to start negotiating?" ”

Zhou Hexuan thought for a while and said: "I want to meet the leader of the Labour Party Attlee, if I can convince him, it will be better, after all, the Labour Party is also one of the ruling parties." ”

When Zhou Hexuan visited the United Kingdom, Attlee was only a small role, and he was also ordered to be a tour guide for Zhou Hexuan, and the two were a little nodding friends.

Ironically, just a few years ago, the Labour Party was opposed to all wars and pursued an idealistic foreign policy. They believe that war is evil, and that under the leadership of the League of Nations, we can disarm together, and the world can become infinitely better.

Even in 1935, when the British government rearmament, the Labour Party stood up and criticized that some members of the Labour Party even wanted the British government to "close the recruitment stations, disband the army, and disarm the air force...... abolish the terrible war facilities".

Well, it is to advocate the demilitarization of Britain.

If the idea of the Labour Party is really implemented, then there is no need to say that Hitler can occupy the LinkedIn Islands without a single soldier.

Attlee belonged to the outliers in the Labour Party, just as Churchill was an outlier in the Conservative Party, and both pursued a hardline military foreign policy. So they came to power, and now Churchill is Prime Minister, and Attlee is the equivalent of Deputy Prime Minister (at this time, the Keeper of the Seals, and two years later he became Deputy Prime Minister).

Churchill wanted to unite the United States to solve the European problem, and Attlee wanted to unite all the anti-fascist countries to solve the world war – but neither could fully call the shots.

Churchill was very aggrieved, and when he first came to power, Chamberlain was still equivalent to the emperor.

Therefore, when Germany attacked Belgium, although the British government had already sent troops, the cabinet was discussing how to sue for peace, and even planned to cede the colonies to Germany. When France formally surrendered, the British cabinet was again discussing peace with Italy, intending to give up Mediterranean interests to curry favor with Italy.

Every time Churchill made tough measures, he had to go to great lengths to persuade the cabinet, and again and again agreed to the cabinet's weak peacemaking moves. In Churchill's words: "I know it's useless, but I have to do it hard to please my teammates like pigs." ”

……

The day after Zhou Hexuan arrived in London, the British Foreign Office secretly called the United States to ask Roosevelt for his opinion again. If the United States does not explicitly object, Britain will temporarily close the Yunnan-Burma Highway.

When Hu Shih learned the news in the United States, he immediately telegraphed to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and the elder Jiang ordered Zhou Hexuan and Guo Taiqi to immediately launch diplomatic lobbying.

Guo Taiqi was busy giving speeches and meeting with officials of the British Foreign Office, while Zhou Hexuan went directly to Attlee.

"Zhou, long time no see." Attlee shook hands and smiled.

Zhou Hexuan smiled and said, "Congratulations on becoming the British Keeper of the Seals." ”

Attlee said, "It's not a pleasant job, it's terrible. ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "You can overthrow Chamberlain's appeasement cabinet, this is the greatest contribution to the world's anti-fascism." ”

"Maybe I should be happy about that." Attlee shows British humor.

Chamberlain was ousted by Attlee, and Churchill was able to stand firm, and Attlee supported him from beginning to end. At least in 1940, Attlee had a huge influence on Churchill, and convincing him was half the battle.

Wang Rizhang, as the deputy envoy, sat next to him and listened, while Ma Jue carefully recorded the speeches of both sides.

Zhou Hexuan and Attlee talked nonsense for a long time, talking about their experience of traveling to London together, and finally got to the point.

Zhou Hexuan asked: "Does Britain want to give up the Far East and give all the colonies to the Japanese?" ”

Attlee laughed and said, "Of course not. ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "Then why close the Yunnan-Burma Highway, it is one of the only two communication lines in China to the outside world, and it is the most important one!" Once the Yunnan-Burma Highway is closed, it will be tantamount to helping Japan blockade China by sea. China's war of resistance is already very difficult, and if Britain falls into the trap again, Japan will inevitably be able to draw up forces to attack Southeast Asia. ”

Attlee said: "Mr. Zhou, I greatly admire the will of the Chinese people to resist, and I also deeply dislike Japan's fascist aggression. But Britain is in a bad situation right now, Germany is trying to block the English Channel, and even wants to send troops to invade the British mainland. Under these circumstances, we cannot go to war with Japan again, so please understand this helpless choice. ”

"In that case, why did Britain declare war on Germany?" Zhou Hexuan sarcastically said, "Japan invaded Poland, you can sit idly by, and now you don't have to fight." ”

"Poland is our ally, and we cannot sit idly by and watch Germany grow," Attlee said. ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled: "It turns out that the British government will also think long-term, I thought you would only pay attention to the current situation." Perhaps a war with Germany and Japan at the same time would put Britain in a very critical position. But have you ever thought that once China is defeated, Japan can invade Southeast Asia without worry, or even annex India? ”

Attlee said, "I'm sorry, but I understand what you said. But Britain is currently not in a position to go to war with Japan, and we need time. In fact, I hope that China will be able to negotiate peace with Japan. ”

Zhou Hexuan laughed out loud angrily: "Hehe, can Britain negotiate peace with Germany?" ”

"We are determined to resist to the end, but we are not willing to give up the possibility of peace talks," Attlee said. ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "Hitler should be very happy to hear this. ”

Attlee, of course, was talking nonsense, knowing that peace negotiations could not succeed. But the British government did exactly that, and the Peace faction, represented by Chamberlain, still did not give up the peace sue until the Germans began to bomb London.

And with the exception of the Soviet Union, the major European powers were surprisingly unanimous in their views on the situation in the Far East. At this moment, Britain, Italy, and Germany all want an armistice between China and Japan, and they are putting it into practice to draw the strings in the process.

Germany and Italy wanted to win over China and join forces with Japan to attack Southeast Asia. Britain wanted to maintain peace in the Far East and strive to keep Japan from fighting, and if it did, it would be better to run to the Soviet Union.

Britain really regards itself as an uncle, in history, after they closed the Yunnan-Burma Highway, they actually ran out to engage in Sino-Japanese mediation, and the response of China and Japan was: Get out of you!

After talking for two hours, Zhou Hexuan still couldn't convince Attlee, but he also gained something - Zhou Hexuan successfully detected the diplomatic attitude of the British cabinet, that is, delayed time until the United States made its position clear.