London, March 1, a city that has been considered the center of the world since more than a hundred years ago, the center of the industrial revolution, the center of the capitalist world, the center of the power of the sea, and the British Prime Minister Asquith believes that this has not changed. The arrogance of the British led him to declare war on Germany and Austria-Hungary in the Allied powers at the first time, although some people in China believed that Britain should wait and watch Germany and France fight each other, and the traditional balanced foreign policy still affected many British. But Asquith believed that the British Empire could not sit idly by, and this view was driven by the great threat to the German navy, Wilhelm II, whose aim was not to defeat France and dominate Western Europe, but to replace Britain as the new maritime hegemon.

However, the British Empire has never lacked challengers, from the Holland, the sea coachman, Spain, the maritime hegemon, to Napoleonic France, Tsarist Russia, and the Manchu Empire, one by one fell at the feet of the British Empire, achieving the pride and glory of the Anglo-Surgesons.

It's just that the rise of the German Empire in modern times, the nouveau riche United States, and the military power of China have made the British Empire feel that it has never been tricky. Germany relied on its powerful army to move on the European continent, had a decent fleet at sea, and purchased four advanced super battleships from China, surpassing the number of new warships in the British home fleet in one fell swoop.

The nouveau riche United States was not willing to be lonely, and began to attack everywhere in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the naval power of the United States in the Atlantic Ocean was suppressed by Britain, and the Americans had to look for colonies in the Pacific. Now the United States, with its unparalleled industrial power, is trying to grab wealth from Europe, stepping on the heads of the British. He sold supplies to both the Entente and the Central Powers, giving Asquith a headache, but not provoking the nouveau riche.

Another military power, China, is the only problem that Asquith has no way to solve, and it has risen so fast that it seems to have turned the sick man of East Asia into a world power overnight; It is too weird, with countless advanced technology, unlimited funds, a large number of high-quality talents and machinery and equipment from nowhere, the study of China has become a discipline, but there are too many puzzles in this discipline to solve; Its leader is too naïve and arrogant, not at all like a mature politician, but like an easily angry ultra-nationalist, and unfortunately this president has too many cards, and his strength allows the Chinese president to vent his emotions at will.

For example, China actually declared war on the United States! This is something that Asquith cannot understand, from any point of view, it is not in the national interest of China to go to war with the United States, but that President Lu Liang did just that--the great prestige and centralized rule made the country closely follow in the footsteps of Lu Liang--didn't he know to come out and oppose it?

Fortunately, the Chinese president has not completely disappointed Asquith, the war in the Pacific Ocean has not affected British interests, the Chinese navy has not attacked the British fleet in Asia, and the Chinese army has not captured British colonies in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Australia is safe, Malaysia is safe, Myanmar is safe, India is safe, and the increasingly important Middle East is also safe. British merchant ships still transported strategic materials from all over the world to the mainland, without any obstruction from the Chinese warships, but Asquith's heart still couldn't let go, when the two camps were stepping up preparations and the European war was about to begin, he didn't want the Chinese to stab Britain in the back.

"Dangdang!" There was a knock on the heavy wooden door of the prime minister's office, and Esquith's blonde secretary twisted the **** to open the door, and Esquith retracted his thoughts that spread to the sky, moved his ass to sit upright, and waited for the visiting guests.

Liang Dunyan, the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom, walked in front of the British prime minister, which should be placed in the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the Beiyang period, how could he be so confident as a diplomat? At that time, he was eager to bend down deeply, just to get Britain to show mercy to his country, and at that time the diplomat's face was not worth a penny, and he used the most humble attitude, but he still could not control the fate of his country.

Nodding his head in greeting, Esquith sat behind his desk, without the slightest hint of getting up to greet him, his head held high like all Englishmen, not because he looked up at himself, but because of the pride that went deep into his bones that made him do so.

"I also have the capital to raise my head high!" Liang Dunyan thought in his heart, the countless warships, the millions of soldiers, the factories all over the country, the dense cars on the streets, and the bulging ears of rice in the farmland, all of which could make him proud!

"Mr. Ambassador, welcome to Downing Street, please sit down and try the black tea shipped from Mumbai, which is the best tea in the world, and a cup on a cold afternoon is enough to make the mood happy." Esquith said with a smile.

"Thank you very much for your hospitality, Your Excellency, India is truly a treasure of feng shui, and it is a gift from God that your country has India!" Liang Dunyan, who roughly knew what was going on, was also happy to follow Asquith's words, he had already received a secret telegram from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but he didn't expect the British to endure until now to find him.

"I completely agree with Mr. Ambassador that India is the crown of the British Empire, and to have India is to have an invincible foundation. We, the British Empire, use cotton from India to produce cloth, from South Africa's ore production machines, from South American rubber to make tires, and from Middle Eastern oil to supply our factories. It was the British Empire's innumerable overseas territories that allowed it to have the high status it has now. ”

Liang Dunyan couldn't help but want to buckle his ears, he really couldn't stand the British nature of showing off when they saw people, as if people all over the world didn't know what colonies the British had. Why didn't he say how many resources Britain had grabbed from China back then? Why don't you say how many civilians and how many races the British slaughtered? Why don't you say that Britain is still salivating over Tibet?

Asquith continued to talk endlessly, but fortunately, Liang Dunyan had already practiced the magic skill of being cheeky as a professional diplomat, and although he despised it in his heart, his face was as innocent as the angel on the mural in the church.

"The British Empire strives to maintain the order of world peace, and our warships sail the seas to prevent the harm caused by the flames of war to civilians with the utmost sincerity. But the reality is disappointing, the British Empire is not being duly rewarded for its efforts, and the world order is being violently violent. ”

"The ambitions of the German Empire and Austria-Hungary to destroy the peace were undoubtedly leaked, and at the end of January Austria-Hungary sent a large army to invade peace-loving Serbia, and the speed of the army dispatch was clearly premeditated. The course of the war was regrettable, and the Serbian people rose up to resist, but were unable to cope with the powerful Austro-Hungarian army. The Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria to the east are also eyeing Serbia, and once Serbia is eliminated, the Ottoman Empire is likely to draw troops to march into the Arabian Peninsula, which is not good news for your country's oil interests in Kuwait, and it is also a huge challenge to the oil order in the Middle East! ”

Liang Dunyan nodded, seeing that the other party agreed with his point of view, Asquith became even more excited, looking at his mouth flying up and down, it seemed that there was no sign of stopping for a while. Liang Dunyan had no choice but to divert attention to kill time.

Britain, France, and the United States immediately sent a large number of oil explorers into this barren land to explore in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and other Gulf regions, and finally discovered a new oil field in Iraq at the end of 1908. The huge reserves and easy to exploit oil in the Middle East immediately became the object of contention among the industrial countries, and the Middle East region also became a new battlefield for international power competition.

It was the British who had the upper hand in this contest, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and other regions became British protectorates, and in the face of the lure of oil, Ottoman Turkey joined the contest despite the strength of the British. In the end, the countries temporarily eased the growing tension through negotiations, and Britain accounted for 40 percent of the oil interests in the Middle East, France 10 percent, China 10 percent, Germany 10 percent, the United States 10 percent, Turkey 5 percent, and the remaining 20 percent was acquired by local forces.

In order to protect the strategically valuable oil fields, the British sent troops of one native division and two Indian divisions to Iraq to prevent the Turks from expanding their ambitions and moving south. For the Chinese, the Turks will only find trouble with the British, and the Huaguo's oil fields in Kuwait will be absolutely safe until the British are settled.

Seeing Asquith take a sip of water and feel that his nonsense was almost over, Liang Dunyan once again focused his attention on the other party. What he heard finally intrigued him.

"The troops of the German Reich are massing towards the western frontier regions, and all the trains in Germany are roaring, and countless supplies are being sent to the border. In order to ensure peace and order in Europe and to protect Belgium, Luxembourg and other countries from the invasion of evil enemies, the British Empire is sending land forces to Belgium and France, and we will work with the French army to resist the evil invading forces. His Majesty the Great Russian Emperor Nicholas II also responded to the call of the British Empire to transfer its land forces to the western borders, and the peace-loving nation would finally win the war! ”

"But what is happening in the Pacific Ocean is shocking and disappointing, and the provocation of your Navy to the US Navy will be seen as a challenge to Western civilization, and the British Empire, as the leader of Western civilization, has the right to know your intentions! (To be continued.) )