Where there is politics, there are factions, and where there are factions, struggles are indispensable. www.biquge.info This sentence applies not only to China, but also to the British Empire, which is the global hegemon.

As the Prime Minister of the Empire, Asquith is far from being as glamorous as outsiders seem, and since he took over as Prime Minister of the British Empire, various problems have occurred one after another. the contradiction between the upper and lower houses with veto power; the constitutional crisis that convened parliament to discuss after the new King George V ascended the throne; docks, coal miners' strikes, and the women's suffrage movement led by Mrs. Pankhurst; At the same time, there is the Irish autonomy movement, and the increasingly dark clouds over Europe. The fierce domestic contradictions and the deteriorating situation in Europe simply annoyed him, the prime minister. And now, the news of the sudden arrival of tens of thousands of troops by the Chinese once again upset him.

It had been a week since the Chinese army invaded Burma, and the Indian governor Harding had several times to make a statement, but Asquith did not say a word. It was not that he pretended to be deep and deceitful, but that he really did not think about what the British Empire should do. With a whole body in mind, Asquith had to think calmly about how to deal with the various situations in front of him and this "small" local warlord in the Far East.

Asquith remembered what U.S. President Abraham Lincoln had said: Yes, any decision is made for the good of the United States. But it is important to consider which decision is in America's best interest. And now he had to make a decision that was in the best interests of the British Empire.

For the sake of a little trouble in Tibet, he did not hesitate to use the force of the British Empire to fight with the Chinese in the Far East, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to gain widespread support at home and abroad. Like Churchill, the Lord of the Admiralty, it was only a few who shouted about the yellow-skinned monkey color, after all, the immediate first threat to the Reich government was the increasingly assertive and aggressive Germans. You must know that the foreign policy of the British Empire has always been to pursue a "balance of power policy" on the European continent. They were not happy to see any power that could upset the balance there, and even more so, it was the Germans who were eyeing the interests and status of the imperial world hegemon.

A glance at the daily newspapers shows that the dark clouds over the European continent have just emerged from the Moroccan crisis, the Balkan war that needs to be focused, and the resumption of war with China for a place that has nothing to do with the British Empire. The British people felt that they were about to go crazy, and they all seemed worried about this, and began to constantly warn and question the prime minister and the government:

- We are very skeptical that the soldiers of the Empire will fight for a place that has no interest in the Empire.

――How many British lives do you plan to sacrifice in support of several rebels in Chinese mainland?

-- It would be terrible to wantonly provoke a war for the sake of an inconsequential place.

-- What right did Britain have to decide the ownership of other countries' territories, and were the lessons of the Boer War not enough for Britain?

As the first and statesman of the British Empire, Asquith must have had his own merits. He understands that the solution to any dilemma in the world is often not an either/or problem, and people who hold this way of thinking often fall into a predicament from which they cannot extricate themselves. If we think differently and use either/or as the method of analysis, can we see the dawn of a dead end?

After a few days of deliberation, Asquith finally relented to what he had already assumed from the beginning: the British Empire had to demonstrate a strong military presence in the Far East in order to assert its global hegemony and secure the resolve of the British colonies. At the same time, however, the British Empire had to take all measures, including its efforts to support the Yuan Shikai regime in Beiyang and the confrontation in the southwest. In order to avoid the British Empire facing a direct conflict and really fighting with the southwestern side of China. After all, the current focus of imperial policy is still on the European continent, and it is not too late to clean up those yellow-skinned inferiors when they have their hands free.

On the morning of August 1. Asquith summoned a group of cabinet officials, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd George and Secretary of the Admiral Winston Churchill, to 10 Downing Street. There was only one issue, and that was the time when the British Empire had to make a decision on the conflict in the Far East.

Churchill strongly advocated a tough response to China, sending a fleet around its coastline, believing that everything would be solved, how simple and convenient, how painful. He said: "I think it is necessary to teach these uncivilized barbarians some lessons. ”

"For the sake of the British Empire, we must take political and psychological risks and use all necessary means to deal with a conflict of any scale," he reminded. We must guarantee the security of the entire colony in Southeast Asia. ”

Churchill really had a heart and gall that was not afraid of heaven and earth, but he went too far. Asquith immediately vetoed Churchill's proposal, not to mention that the Beijing government and the southwest side are two completely different political forces, at this time, you drive the fleet to the doorstep of the people's house to show off your might, this does not arouse the Chinese hatred? Even so, no matter how powerful your warship is, it won't be able to sail ashore? You know, the southwest of China is landlocked. Therefore, in this case, Asquith would never agree to Churchill's suggestion.

During the meeting, the latest news was obtained that the Chinese army had crossed the Savage Mountain, occupied the Hugang Valley, and Chen soldiers on the Indian border.

Asquith no longer hesitated, and put his thoughts and calculations out: "First, the imperial government should immediately issue a statement, the tougher the tone, the better, order the Chinese to withdraw their troops immediately, hand over those responsible for the war to the British Empire for punishment, and pay war reparations; Second, the Indian Ocean Fleet was notified to immediately transfer troops from the Middle East and Southeast Asia to be responsible for transportation, consolidate the defense lines of India and Burma, and prevent Chinese troops from invading the Indian region.

The British Empire finally played its "cards", but at this time, the situation in Burma had undergone earth-shaking changes, and it was a different scene.

After the 18th Regiment of the 6th Division annihilated the Gurkha Regiment and captured Myitkyina, it pursued the retreating Anglo-Indian army led by Hertz along the road until it reached Mon Yang. And in Mengyang, Colonel Hertz, the former governor of Myitkyina, finally decided to fight back after several successive defeats. For this reason, he specially mobilized the troops who were mobilized to defend Moda and Molu and the British troops who retreated here for training, but the result of the battle disappointed Hertz, and the battle lasted only a few hours, and hundreds of corpses of British and Indian troops were scattered across the wilderness outside Mengyang. The British army once again retreated on all fronts, and the remnants of the army did not dare to stay for long, so they could only go all the way south and continue to flee to the cities in the rear.

But at this time, the Chinese army no longer gave Hertz a chance, and Dao Anren, the commander of the 17th Regiment after the border line from Ruili in China, gave Hertz a hard stab in the back. After occupying Ba Mo and sweeping the enemy along the line, the 17th Regiment marched all the way west, Liankexin Street, Ruigu and other places, and during the period when the 18th Regiment captured Mengyang, it took advantage of the false occupation of LinkedIn Road and cut off Hertz's southern escape route. Colonel Hertz, who got the news on the way to escape, finally could no longer bear this blow, let go of his usual arrogance, and chose to turn around and surrender to the Chinese army chasing behind him.

At the same time, after the 11th Division recovered the Jiangxinpo area, leaving one regiment to defend the grapes and shoals on the Sino-Indian border, the remaining troops, together with the 16th Regiment of the 6th Division, crossed the Savage Mountain in a week, and attacked the Hugang Valley despite fatigue.

Hugang Valley is the collective name of the Daluo Basin and the Xinpingyang Basin, most of the area is primeval forest, rivers meet, mountains are steep and dense, and only a small number of British security forces are stationed in important places such as Mako, Mengguan, Lahe, and Xinbei. But how can such a security force be the opponent of the wolf-like Chinese army? A few days later, the entire valley had fallen into the hands of the Chinese army, and the three regiments of troops had officially deployed on the Indian border, echoing the two regiments of the Sixth Division, which were hundreds of kilometers south of them.

At this time, the Chinese army, which had been fighting continuously for nearly 10 days, began to rest and recuperate after achieving the predetermined combat objectives, waiting for the replenishment of ammunition and materials delivered in the country.

The first phase of the counterattack against Britain officially came to an end.