。 It is the number one power in the world. Britain was indeed so exhausted by the wars in Europe that it was unable to take care of Asian affairs, so when the news of the outbreak of the Nanyang War came back to Britain, the first reaction of the British government was to send a telegram to the British Embassy in China, asking the ambassador to China whether the news of the Nanyang War was true, not the imagination of the Dutch journalists after their insanity.

No wonder the British government is so cautious, after all, in the eyes of many British politicians, China, as a weak country that has just escaped the fate of colonization, after a war against Japan, decided to fight a war against the interests of the Dutch Far East after two years, which is somewhat incomprehensible, what gave the Chinese confidence in the war? In addition to China's rapid industrial and economic development in recent years, I am afraid that the most important thing is the war in Europe, which has been unable to decide the winner for a long time.

European countries have been trapped in this protracted war for more than two years, and the countries participating in the war have no time to look east in order to cope with the war, and the countries that have not participated in the war are also worried that the war will spread to their own borders, so they have no time to look eastward. Moreover, when the situation in the South Seas became more and more tense, the attitude of the US Government suddenly became ambiguous, and neither the British Government nor the French Government knew exactly what the US Government intended to do. Is it like the Russo-Japanese War back then, when the U.S. government planned to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and then go down the mountain to pick peaches?

Although it is not clear exactly what the US government took on the South Sea War, at least one thing the British government can be sure of is that the direct financial and industrial investment of US financial and industrial consortia into China has so far reached a very staggering number. In the face of the turbulent situation in Europe, American capital has chosen a relatively safe Chinese market, which is of course the instinct of capital to avoid risks and seek profits, but it may not have the role of US government policy, the British government is very clear that the United States is getting stronger and stronger, and now it is unwilling to be Britain's follower, and now the United States urgently needs to challenge Britain's global hegemony, and Britain obviously will not watch the United States replace itself as a global leader, back then. Although the establishment of the Entente bloc was mainly aimed at confronting Germany, it also had the purpose of curbing US ambitions, and the US Government obviously understood this, so the US Government decided to look for a breakthrough in the areas where Britain's power was weak, and the breakthrough was chosen in the Far East. Originally, supporting Japan could also be the US government's Far East policy, but the problem was that Japan was too close to Britain, and by contrast, China, which had never been polite to Britain, became a small and important ally in the US global strategy, before China was strong enough to threaten US interests in the Far East. Obviously, the United States will not easily abandon its stance of supporting China. Perhaps Britain, then, could take a punch from this aspect and study the position that the United States might take in the South Sea War.

Now, sitting in the lounge, the British ambassador to China, Jurdian, was studying the position that the United States Government might take in the South Seas War, and with him the French ambassador was studying the issue. The two sat on the sand in the corner, discussing the topic in a low voice, while the American ambassador sat quietly in the opposite corner, as if no one was studying the ceramic teacup in his hand, and only one of the American embassy members sat beside him.

Hustle, while Zhu Erdian was speculating about the purpose of the American ambassador's rush to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, a staff member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs walked into the luxuriously decorated lounge, walked straight to the British ambassador and the French ambassador, and whispered a word.

"Mr. Don asked Mr. British Ambassador to move and meet him in his office, if Mr. French Ambassador thought it convenient. You can go together

Just now, the Japanese ambassador had already held a meeting with Chief Tang General, and although he was a little dissatisfied with this kind of favoritism, Zhu Erdian was still able to understand what Chief Tang was doing, because he knew very well that in this Nanyang War, Japan would soon sit on the same bench with China, and then the British Government's original plan to win over Japan to contain China's ambitions would not be implemented.

Now that Britain had to deal not only with the challenge from China, but also with the unfed wolf of Japan, Jurdian and his colleagues had to be cautious about the current situation, with a heavy burden on their shoulders.

"Very well, let's go together

Jurdian shrugged his shoulders, stood up with the French ambassador, and followed the staff member out of the lounge, before leaving the lounge, Jurdian looked at the American ambassador, who was still studying the teacup in his hand, without even raising his head.

Following the staff to Tang Shaoyi's office, Zhu Erdian was surprised to see that the foreign affairs chief's husband was fiddling with the flowers on the windowsill, and seemed to be very idle.

However, Zhu Erdian knew that the current Chief Tang was probably the busiest of the heads of various departments of China's central government, and yesterday, he discussed issues related to the Nanyang War with this Chief Tang, and at that time, the other party was still tired.

"Mr. Ambassadors, please sit casually, I am still here as yesterday, and the black tea is domestic. Coffee is imported

Tang Shaoyi turned around, smiled at the two foreign ambassadors, put the handful of flower scissors in his hand on the desk, and then rubbed his hands.

"Mr. Tang, I have been ordered to come here to convey to the central government of your country the official opinion of the British government on the South Seas War."

Zhu Erdian got straight to the point and told Tang Shaoyi the purpose of his coming.

"Listen up

Tang Shaoyi didn't say anything wordy, since the person who came was not good, then he could only see the moves.

Zhu Erdian took out a very formal official document from his briefcase, held it in both hands and handed it to Tang Shaoyi. This diplomatic memorandum is not only the opinion of the British government, but also the opinion of all the members of the Entente, Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, the Negro, Serbia, Romania, Greece, and all the European countries that are currently at war with the Allies have made clear their position on the Sino-Dutch war, and the above governments have agreed that the Netherlands is of a self-defensive nature in this Sino-Dutch war, and if China is determined to carry this war to the end, the governments cannot guarantee that it will survive this war born in the Far East

Tang Shaoyi took the diplomatic memorandum, glanced at it, and immediately caught a flaw.

"All Entente members? Aren't Japan, Russia, and the United States now allies in the Allies? Moreover, the Italian government had already officially announced yesterday that it would defend itself in the Sino-Dutch war, and now the Italian government has changed its position.

Zhu Erdian did not answer Tang Shaoyi's question directly, but once again emphasized the British government's determination to maintain the balance of power strategy in the Far East.

"The British Government considers it necessary to remind your central government that, in the present situation, if the Sino-Dutch war affects the trade between China and the Entente countries, the damage to your economy and industry will undoubtedly be very great, and the British Government proposes that it is necessary to establish an international mediation organization to settle the dispute between China and the Netherlands by peaceful means and restore peace in Southeast Asia

"Is this the official position of the British government? I will forward the documents to the Presidential Palace as soon as possible. ”

Tang Shaoyi immediately put away the diplomatic memorandum, picked up the relevant documents handed over to him by the Japanese ambassador when he met with the Japanese ambassador to China, and said to the British ambassador and the French ambassador: "Mr. two ambassadors, this is a diplomatic memorandum handed over by Mr. Japanese ambassador last month, and according to the contents of it, the Japanese government has officially issued an ultimatum to the Dutch government late last night, demanding that the Dutch government immediately extradite the German fugitives who had fled to the Ukrainian-Dutch territories in the East Indies to the Japanese side. and severely punished the Dutch colonial officials who harbored German fugitives, and the Japanese Government had a 24-hour ultimatum to reply, after which the Japanese Government would act freely if the Dutch Government refused to accept the Japanese Government's proposal. Now that war between Japan and the Netherlands is about to break out, I believe that it is obviously impossible for the Entente to organize international mediation under such circumstances, and if the Entente persists in adopting a hostile stance against China and Japan, then I cannot guarantee that the situation of cooperation between Europe and Asia will continue, nor can the President guarantee that the situation of cooperation between Europe and Asia will continue, and that the government of Chaula expressed the same position as China and Japan during consultations with Ambassador and Mr. Chauna (Thailand) yesterday

"The position of the Japanese Government is not in my consideration, but I am responsible for conveying the views of the British Government and European governments to your Government.

Now, now that Mr. Tang has accepted this diplomatic memorandum, I may be able to take my leave

Zhu Erdian said very politely, and he was certainly very clear about the position of the Japanese government. As a matter of fact, the reason why the British and French governments are in such a hurry to come up with this diplomatic memorandum to frighten the central government of China is that last night the two governments had received accurate information from the pro-British politicians in the Japanese government, and according to that information, the Japanese government had already decided to follow China in blackmailing the Netherlands.

Zhu Erdian and the French ambassador soon left the Chinese Foreign Ministry and got into the British embassy car. Rushed to the British Embassy in Beijing.

After returning to the embassy, Zhu Erdian immediately sent a secret telegram to the British Correspondence Department.

"As far as I can tell, Japan's war against the Netherlands is about to break out, and this maritime conflict born in Southeast Asia may soon spread from the sea to the land, and once China and Japan fight side by side, then this war will rise from a simple confrontation between countries to a confrontation between Europe and Asia, and this is a war that is enough to challenge the colonial order of the entire powers, and I think that at this time, any mediation or intimidation will no longer be able to achieve its goal, and it is not only Britain and the Entente that will face the challenge in Asia, but also Germany and the AlliesUnless the war in Europe ends immediately, the European powers will soon lose their paradise in Southeast Asia and even in the whole of Asia. Perhaps, in our lifetime, we will see a total defeat of European power in Asia, and this defeat will begin with this war in the South Seas! There is no doubt that Asia is awakening, and the one who awakens Asia is clearly the one, the "Far Eastern madman" who is fearless and has also picked a good time. ”