After visiting Germany, Song Biao went to the Netherlands for a visit, where he met with Queen Wilhelmina and Prime Minister Charles of the Netherlands. Berenblauk, at this time the Netherlands really wanted China, hoping to conclude a military alliance with China to deal with the Benth.

The empire has no intention of taking the opportunity to possess the whole of Indonesia, because in the present situation Indonesia is equivalent to one of China's colonies, and there is no difference in the exact sense of the word.

From the perspective of long-term interests, the empire never wants a country as big as Indonesia in Southeast Asia, so through special cooperation with the Netherlands, the empire split Indonesia into four parts, and included the Batam Islands on the other side of Singapore and the Tamilan Islands and Anambas Islands around the Riau Islands into the scope of the empire's overseas provinces, and at the same time established the empire's root base here, directly confronting the entire Strait of Malacca, and protecting the empire's maritime shipping lifeline.

The empire did not consider concluding an alliance with the Netherlands for a long time, but the Sino-Dutch alliance in the Indonesian waters was acceptable, and although the strength of the Dutch navy was not strong, it was better than nothing, and it could tie up the Netherlands and let the Netherlands contribute to it.

As for the imminent third Sino-Chinese war, Song Biao didn't have too many plans, in his opinion, he could fight or not, the focus was not to fight, but to curb the expansion momentum of Yueben and let Yueben rot in his own country.

Time is always in the empire's favor, and if it is delayed for another six or seven years, let alone the complete annihilation of the three armies of the navy, land and air force, even if it is to eliminate the population of the empire, it is not something that the empire cannot do.

After leaving the Netherlands, Song Biao visited Sweden.

The whole trip to Europe, whether it was the Soviet Union or Germany, was actually not the focus of the Empire's economic visit in this round of the world, the haze of World War II had already begun to loom over Europe, and the Empire certainly could not invest in Europe on a large scale during this period, with a few exceptions, notably Sweden.

Not only does Sweden have a good industrial base, but as a neutral country, it is also one of the very few countries that can enjoy war prosperity.

Prior to this, the Far Eastern consortium had been in Sweden for 20 years, from the initial sale of soybeans and raw silk, to other agricultural products, primary textiles and wool, and now it has taken advantage of the financial crisis to acquire a large number of excellent companies in Sweden, merge with the Swedbank, buy Ericsson and ABB from the investment bank of Yinruida, incorporate SKF Ball Bearing Company into its subsidiary, and Volvo from SKF as the Far Eastern consortium's largest vehicle manufacturing company in Northern Europe. Licensing of technology for the production of electric trains by Volvo.

Throughout the Great Depression, the Far East consortium invested $173 million in Sweden, which already occupied an extremely important position in the Swedish economy and used Sweden as a bridgehead for the empire's investment in Europe.

On the third day of the emperor's visit to Sweden, Zhang Jun, director of the Central Secret Bureau, personally arrived in Stockholm by special plane and submitted the battle plan drawn up by the Central Military Department to the emperor for approval.

After the emperor's confirmation, Zhang Jun only sent a telegram in Sweden in the name of a commercial company to a China Resources company to report the progress of the acquisition of the new enterprise, and this telegram had no practical significance, only to inform the Central Military Department that the battle plan could be started.

In the words of Akiyama Shinyuki back then, if the two sides gave priority to apologizing and made every effort to conclude friendship with China, it would be a very beneficial thing for both China and China, but the result always made people feel regretful, and the two sides were moving towards complete confrontation step by step, and the antagonism and hatred from the state to the nation had been a matter of more than 20 years.

Even if the Ministry of Military Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Cabinet of China, and the Central Military Department of China had no real intention of starting an all-out war, the Nagano incident would be enough to push the two nations into a complete abyss.

Purely as far as the navy is concerned, the situation is actually very unfavorable to the Chinese navy, the navy itself is 40% higher than the Chinese navy's capital ship tonnage, and during the Song Emperor's round-the-world visit, two battleships and four cruisers of the Northern Fleet accompanied the visit in Europe, and the tonnage gap between the two sides on the main battleships in the Pacific waters is more than doubled, but on aircraft carriers, the four aircraft carriers and two training aircraft carriers of the empire can be in a state of being able to fight together, and one aircraft carrier is being maintained and upgraded, In the field of submarines, the gap between the two sides in technology and tonnage is large, but submarines are not the key to determining victory or defeat.

The anti-submarine capabilities of the two navies are far apart because of the problems of the air force, and the 24 S-15 patrol aircraft temporarily transferred from the air force to the navy have a patrol area of more than 3,500 kilometers, and are the first generation of patrol aircraft equipped with airborne radar in the empire, which can sail at night, compared with the airborne radar that Britain only completed in 1937, the imperial Nikola22 airborne radar is based on the shipborne radar modification, because it is used in patrol aircraft, its size, weight and power can be expanded, The power supply can also be increased a lot, and surface ships can be spotted at a distance of 40 km.

The multi-cavity magnetron technology developed by the empire and French enterprises has matured, and it is officially used on the Nikola22 airborne radar, so that the radar can reach the standard of decimeter level and enter the field of microwave.

Although there is a lot of controversy within the military, it is just that whether or not there is a war has been related to the face of the empire, and the two heavy cruisers were sunk, whether the original sin is their own or China's, then war must be declared, otherwise how can the empire maintain its dignity as the first naval power in Asia and the third naval power in the world?

For the navy, there are only two ways to enter Southeast Asia, one is to take the Luzon Strait and the South China Sea, and the other is to take the deep sea of the Pacific Ocean on the east side of the Philippines, but on this side, China has the colony of the Palau Islands, where it has a large air force aviation regiment and naval base.

The Palau Islands belonged to the Caroline Islands, which belonged to Germany before World War I, and because of its special geographical location, the Empire held it firmly after World War I, and invested heavily in building a naval port and air base here.

Among the naval bases in the South Pacific, Bandar Seri Begawan is the largest naval headquarters in the South Pacific, and Sioux City and Palau are the two largest sub-bases.

Because Palau was the choke point of blockading the naval headquarters and the Sorong naval base, the intention of the two sides to fight to the death here was inevitable, and through the Southeast Asian corridor from Vietnam, Brunei, and Sulawesi, a large number of imperial air divisions were transferred south to Sulawesi air base, and the two spare air bases were activated at the same time, and a large number of fighters and torpedo bombers were transferred to the Southeast Asian theater.

In the north, a large number of warplanes and the main division of the Central Army were transferred to the northeast, and the central government also officially declared war, but in fact there was only one last step left before a large-scale war, and only one more step forward was needed, and no matter who had a large-scale attack, a full-scale war would eventually break out.

After all, the Chinese Empire is not the pitiful and warlord-fighting Republic of China, the strength of the empire is so strong, after all, there are still many people of insight in the country, who have risen up and shouted for restraint, and Britain and the United States, which are stuck in the Great Depression and cannot move, can only be a symbolic appeal, and they are more worried about the rupture of the "Washington Naval Treaty" than the war between China.

After all, the Chinese Empire was not the weak and incompetent Manchu Qing Dynasty, and if such a big empire went to war, it would either create a miracle or be torn to pieces, and it would be better to end the dispute in a more appropriate way if it gambled on the fortunes of the country.

At this time, the prime minister of the Cabinet is no longer Inuyang Yi, that guy has been assassinated by the blood alliance of the fascist organization with an army background, and the new prime minister of the cabinet is Admiral Minoru Saito, and there is still a relatively good way to control the Navy, but the Navy has sunk two heavy cruisers, if war is not declared, it will really be shameless, and there will be no way to raise his head in front of the army in the future.

At the same time as the declaration of war, Minoru Saito personally persuaded the Minister of the Interior, who was a close minister of the Emperor Showa, Makino Shinaki, to go to Yenkyo to submit a personal letter, hoping to end the matter with full compensation from China for the two heavy cruisers and compensation for one aircraft.

To play or not to play, the ball was kicked back to the Chinese side.

On September 7, 1933, Song Biao led a Chinese delegation to London and went to Buckingham Palace to meet George V.

When Emperor Song arrived at Buckingham Palace with the empress, princess and prince Song Weiguang, it was still morning, and they took a photo of the two royal family members together during a meeting with George V's royal family.

After the Empress and other members of the royal family visited Buckingham Palace, George V invited the Song Emperor to sit down behind the balcony of the parlor to have a discussion, George V was guilty of a serious lung disease because of his long-term smoking, but he was so stubborn that he did not believe the doctor's advice at all and continued to smoke.

Song Biao drank tea quietly, like Hitler, the tea of George V and the British royal family was also Qimen black tea gifted by the imperial court, and there were also Yunnan red, Pu'er and other teas.

Britain said that the alliance has not been dissolved, which means that once China and China start a complete war, Britain must also give all possible support to China, for China and Britain, this is definitely the worst situation, that means Britain, France and Europe will also fall into this huge whirlpool.

King George V's later years were a little painful, not only did he have a severe lung disease, he coughed violently when smoking, but also suffered from cataracts, which were still difficult to cure during this period, and there was no possibility of surgery.

He and Emperor Song have been on the throne for more than 20 years, one after the other, only 9 months apart, but this is the first time they have met, but at this time George V can no longer see Emperor Song clearly, his eyesight is in a very poor state, and normal official documents need to be read by others to him.

Although the Indonesian crisis and the Nagano incident during this period were very serious, and Chuyue once again entered a state of war, the two monarchs had experienced too many storms and did not care much about these difficulties in front of them.

The two talked about the years when they first ascended the throne, especially the fall of the Manchu Dynasty, which was a big event that was still fresh in their memories, that was the real international event, and George V at that time had just ascended the throne and had no political experience.

For a long time, George V had a hard time understanding how an ancient empire as large as the Manchu dynasty could collapse in an instant, without warning, and this filled him with a sense of insecurity about his empire, which was carried through almost all his life.

The two monarchs talked a lot about the old things, and also talked about the harm caused by Britain to China during the two Opium Wars, especially the sins caused by the opium trade, and the old and stubborn George V expressed his apologies for the hurt that the Song Emperor had said, and hoped that China and Britain would forget this regrettable history.

The two continued to talk about the sale of cigarettes in Humen, the East India Company, and the Old Summer Palace, and both sides had their own feelings.

The two monarchs talked about this issue for about two hours.

Water-cooled tea cool.

The sun continued to shine through the glass in the window, and after the maids in the palace changed the new tea, Song Biao drank the Keemun black tea purchased by the British from China, and felt a lot of emotion in his heart, and thought for a moment before saying to George V: "History cannot be forgotten, but hatred can be dissolved, as long as we actively work for this, it is not a luxury for the Chinese and British people to become a friendly nation, in fact, it is still a very easy thing." I would like to make a few suggestions here, first, that Britain should apologize for the Opium War and the Opium Trade; Second, Britain and France should return some of the Chinese cultural relics looted from the Old Summer Palace, and after negotiation, some of the cultural relics can be kept in Britain and France for exhibition and preservation for a long time, as well as for cultural research, on the premise that they belong to the National Museum of China. Third, can the UK be more sincere in proposing a part of the compensation to be included in the scholarship plan, donating to Chinese students studying in the UK, or setting up a university with a commemorative surname in Guangzhou, Yanjing, Tianjin and other places, or jointly funding the establishment of a Sino-British International College jointly funded by the Chinese and British political axes, so as to strengthen exchanges and understanding between young people in China and the UK, and deepen friendship and cooperation; Fourth, China and the UK have issued a joint statement on this issue, giving a decent summary of history and laying a good outlook, plan and foundation for future Sino-British friendship and cooperation. ”

King George V thought in silence for a while, and then replied: "The proposals you have spoken of are very good, and should be given to our Cabinet to take them into consideration, as far as I am concerned, it is entirely reasonable and necessary, just considering that Britain is currently in a deep economic crisis, and may appear to be inadequate in terms of fiscal expenditure." ”

Song Biao took the opportunity to say: "My visit to the UK is also to unite more countries to work together to solve the economic crisis, and I suggest that China and the UK sign a new and more positive trade treaty to encourage mutual investment and encourage trade." China is one of the most populous countries in the world and has the largest capital market, and we welcome the investment of British capital, but we also need to invest abroad, invest in areas that we are interested in and good at, and we can develop together through such efforts, rather than simply opposing each other for the sake of protecting ourselves, and confrontation will not solve the problem. ”

King George V agreed: "The UK has always been a country of traditional free trade, and we need to protect a world of free trade, and we need to work together to revive the economy and start working together." Specific matters and policies need to be decided by the cabinet, but we, as monarchs, should take the lead and promote cooperation between the government and the government. ”

Speaking of this, he and Song Biao reminded: "There is another very important obstacle between us, Your Majesty the Emperor, that is, the military conflict between your country and Yue Ben in the waters of the South Pacific, after the official declaration of war between China and Yue, the situation has become even more difficult. I would like to confirm that you had fired and sunk a heavy cruiser before they returned fire. ”

Song Biao said: "Regarding this matter, I think that China's diplomatic department should have given a correct report to all countries, but it is necessary for me to continue to confirm here that the reason for the matter is that our country hopes to prevent Yueben from crossing the border and starting a war against the Netherlands, so as to avoid the deterioration of the situation in the South Pacific, and at the same time to avoid the rupture of the Indonesian Entente. There is no one who does not want to survive, and if they can leave that area safely, our patrol pilots will not sacrifice themselves, which is a very simple reason, although it is not possible to fully confirm the specific situation at that time, but the captain did not be able to fly back when he called back. ”

After a little thought, Song Biao continued to add: "The problem now is that China has declared war, and it is said that it is still not satisfied with the benefits in the South Pacific, and wants to further expand the scope of the colony, and the only country they can bully in Southeast Asia is the Netherlands, which is the reason why they have repeatedly sought Indonesia to attack." The war has begun, but the most important thing for China is to maintain the situation and the Indonesian Entente concluded a few years ago.

George V bowed his head slightly and said, "No matter what the truth is, the most important thing now is to hope that your country and the book can take a step back and prevent further all-out war." At this stage when Sino-British relations are gradually regaining friendship, we do not want China to continue to provoke China, and considering this, China has begun to completely break the "Anglo-British Treaty of Alliance", and if this situation is allowed to continue to spread, Britain will sooner or later be drawn into this endless war. ”

Song Biao was silent for a moment, and suddenly replied: "It was a fulcrum in the past, but now it is a trouble, a trouble for Britain, and even more trouble for my country, Asia and the world. The reasons for this war are many and very complex, and it is difficult for even China and the two countries themselves to explain and sort out, let alone foreign countries. In the past, the contradiction between China and Britain was relatively large, and now, there is no contradiction between China and Britain, and the contradiction between China and Britain will become the most complex problem in the Asian world, our country needs stability, peace, and Asian countries need to maintain the status quo, and this is actively seeking new colonies, the question is where there are still colonies that can be occupied by it, to put it mildly, Asia looks very big, China, Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States, and France are basically wiped out, and in the end what is left is Indonesia. There are also some scattered islands in the Pacific Ocean. Ben wants to start breaking through with Dutch Indonesia now, and once it breaks through this hurdle, it is difficult to guarantee that it is not pursuing the next step. ”

George V asked: "Is it possible to make adjustments and negotiates to give a part of the colony?" In any case, after all, Ben is one of the world's naval powers, at least once defeated the Russian navy. ”

Song Biao thought for a while and said: "My country will not agree, even if the Netherlands is willing to take the initiative to transfer, my country will not agree, because my country's interests in Dutch Indonesia are very important." When Indonesia is part of the Netherlands, our country can enjoy more benefits through this, and once it is controlled by the Netherlands, even if the country has promised in advance, the result will still be the expulsion of our country from Indonesia. It is said that Ben and Europe talk about commitments, but never talk about promises with our country, and this is a country with extremely strong double-faced surnames and extremely powerful. When the British Empire was strong, they were eager to conclude an alliance with Great Britain, and when the British Empire began to weaken, they wanted to get rid of the restrictions of the alliance immediately. As an island country, if they want to develop, they must have this kind of tenacious and cunning surname, and this kind of surname may not only fulfill them, but also destroy them, in short, it is useless to say more, as long as the two great empires of China and Britain continue to maintain this expansionism, there will be a large-scale all-out war between China and China sooner or later, although we do not want Britain to be involved, but if Britain must be involved, trying to use the name to weaken China, the end may be that the two great empires of China and Britain collapse at the same time, and the book will profit from it. ”

George V reminded: "The British Empire will not collapse. ”

Song Biao said: "You can say that, I can also say this, you and I are very clear about what the specific situation looks like." The situation in the world has developed to this day, and the cooperation between China and the UK will be a win-win situation, and a war will collapse together, which is a truth that is difficult to change, not my threatening words. ”

George V was silent.

After waiting for a moment, he replied: "War is the worst thing, so I hope that there will be peace between China and China, which is the foundation of peace in Asia." Especially in this new Indonesian crisis, we sincerely hope that China will make some concessions. ”

Song Biao asked rhetorically: "How can you back down and connive at Yueben to attack the Netherlands and occupy the island of Java?" If that's what Britain thinks, you can say that directly to the Netherlands, and we will continue to stand by our principles, no matter what, at all the sacrifices and costs, to maintain the status quo in Asia. ”

George V could only admit: "Maintaining the status quo is more important than peace." ”

Hearing this, Song Biao also nodded silently.

China and Britain are the largest colonizers and protectorates in Asia, and they certainly want to maintain the status quo, and any military action that tries to challenge the status quo is an unacceptable challenge for them.

It would be a big mistake to say that Britain and the United States have a serious state of mind about China and can use this mentality to their own advantage.

(To be continued)