854 The sunset of the old empire greeted the liberation

The twilight was deep, and the last night before the great upheaval was quiet for everyone in the South Asian subcontinent.

In front of the Victoria Palace, where the majestic Mughal legacy and British style are exquisitely elegant, the guards are wearing short-sleeved British summer uniforms and Lee Enfield rifles on their shoulders, standing motionless and upright on their posts, staring at the empty and quiet square in front of the Victoria Palace with vigilant eyes, as if the protest crowd gathered there during the day has not yet dispersed.

Although the Indian self-government has been formed, it is clear that the government, which is controlled by the Indian National Congress Party, cannot satisfy the aspirations of all Indian political elites, including the powerful All India Muslim League and the Indian GCD. Just today during the day, the two opposition parties unexpectedly joined forces to organize a demonstration on an unprecedented scale! Victoria Palace Square was almost a sea of red and green, and the angry Muslim masses and the Hindu underclass, instigated by the GCD, shouted slogans against the Indian self-government and British colonial rule for an entire day. Viceroy of India, Victor. The Marquis of Hope even mobilized the Anglo-Indian troops in New Delhi to prepare for a crackdown! If it weren't for the Mahatma Gandhi's hunger strike at the most critical moment of the situation, there would have been a river of blood on Victoria Palace Square today.

And just as the quiet night was about to pass, a car came to a screeching halt at the entrance of Victoria Palace with a screeching sound of brakes.

The car door opened, and a skinny middle-aged man wearing a well-made suit on the top, a skirt on the bottom, and a small black hat on his head got out of the car. Then he strode towards the palace under the escort of two retinues.

"That's not Mr. Jinnah!" The guards immediately recognized the person as the leader of the Muslim League of India, Muhammad. Ali. Jinnah, one of the organizers of that protest during the day! At this time, he actually came to the Indian Governor's Mansion in the dead of night...... Could it be that he wants to betray the revolution and accept the recruitment?

Just as the guards were about to come forward to stop them, a secretary of the governor's palace ran out of the palace at a trot, and when he saw Jinnah, he hurried to meet him.

Jinnah and the secretary of the Governor's Mansion seemed to be old acquaintances, and after the two of them hugged each other cordially, Jinnah asked in a low voice, "Mr. Houghton, what happened?" ”

"Mr. Jinnah! Oh no, no! At about 6 o'clock this afternoon, a Chinese fleet of 250 to 300 ships passed through the Tenth Degree Strait! ”

"What!? So much! Jinnah gasped, grabbed Horton's arm, and asked loudly, "Do you know where these China are going?" Are you coming to attack India? ”

Horton nodded slightly, reaching out and making a gesture of surprise. "Your Excellency the Governor-General, Mr. Gandhi, Mr. Nehru, and the Commander of the Indian Theater of Operations, Admiral Die, have arrived and are meeting in the conference room of the Governor's Palace to discuss countermeasures, and they are waiting for you."

"Discuss countermeasures!?" Jinnah was stunned when he heard this, looked at Horton suspiciously, and said, "When will these British discuss the real big matter with us Indians?" Even Nehru's so-called self-government could only take care of trivial matters, and even such things as India's declaration of war on China, Germany, and Japan were decided by Governor Hope alone, and Nehru was not even informed...... The guy still knows from the newspapers that his country is already at war! ”

"Let's go, Mr. Jinnah, the situation is urgent, if we don't unite again, I'm afraid the whole of India will become a colony of the Chinese!" Tall, bear-like, Horton didn't care about any gentlemanly demeanor, and hurriedly walked towards the Victoria Palace with Jinnah, who was still hesitating. The two of them dragged one by one, trotting all the way, passing through many palaces, corridors, and courtyards, and finally came to the gate of a gorgeous hall guarded by armed guards

"Mr. Governor, Mr. Jinnah has arrived." Horton shouted.

"Please, please come in!" The voice of the Governor, Marquis Hope, with a slight anxiety, came from the hall.

I even used it please! A strange feeling welled up in Jinnah's heart. This arrogant British aristocrat would never say "please" to an Indian, let alone add a "sir" to his last name after using two "pleases" in a row. Looking at the posture, the British will probably not be able to keep India unless they get no help from the Indians. Of course, the price is not two "please" and one "sir", but real independence and freedom!

It seems that this time, all blood will not be shed in vain, whether it is Muslim or Hindu!

Thinking of this, Jinnah took a firm step and stepped into this gorgeous conference hall. The chamber had been set up to look like a war room, with a huge map of India hanging on the walls and a large electric sand table in the middle of the room. Several uniformed British staff officers were standing on the edge of the sand table, holding batons in their hands, as if explaining something. Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, chairman of the Indian Autonomous Government, Bose, chairman of the Congress Party, Hope of India, Governor General of India, and General Deere, commander of the Indian theater of operations, surrounded the sand table, all with solemn expressions

"Alright, Mr. Jinnah has arrived, and our meeting can begin." Sweating profusely and pale, Marquis Hope, the Viceroy of India, squeezed out an ugly smile and beckoned at Jinnah.

"Come and listen, Ali, I'm afraid it's time to really unite, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and the British."

This time he spoke to an old Indian man who was shorter and shriveled than Jinnah, wearing a "bed sheet" and stepping on a pair of slippers, and he was the spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi's voice was soft and had little strength, but to Jinnah's ears it sounded like a few thunderbolts! Because from these words, Jinnah heard that this Mahatma had actually decided to tie India to the British chariot completely!

"I have received a letter from the King of England promising that after the end of this war, India will be free and independent." Gandhi's words were calm, but his expression was full of helplessness. He continued: "The Chinese will not liberate us, and I am sure that for the sake of our future country, the British Empire must now stand together and call on all Indians, regardless of religion, caste, rich or poor, to unite and take up arms to fight the invading enemy to the end!" ”

Looking at the spiritual leader in front of him, who was respected by almost all Indians, Jinnah was silent for a long time before asking, "What do Muslims get?" ”

A pained expression flashed across Gandhi's face, "Ali! We are all Indians, we are the same people, and there should be no Muslims, Hindus or Sikhs......"

"Mr. Gandhi, I am the president of the Muslim League, and my supporters want a country that belongs to them, a country that is Islamic." Jinnah walked to the map table, stretched out his dry finger, and pointed to East Bengal in northwestern and northeastern India: "We Muslims are not demanding, as long as the Muslim-majority states can form an independent state, then they will fight for freedom." Otherwise, even if I make a call, not many people will respond. At this point, he furrowed his eyebrows and added, "Now the Muslim coalition of Central Asian Muslims supported by Chinese has arrived in Afghanistan...... They were planning to wage a 'holy war' with the call to help the Muslims of India establish an independent state, and now many tribal leaders in northwestern Pakistan have been deceived by them. If we can't come up with the same, I'm afraid the whole of Northwest India will fall in a very short time! ”

"Nope! The defense of the northwestern part of India is impregnable, and it will definitely not be captured by a rabble! Admiral Dill interrupted Jinnah, commander of the Indian theater of operations, "And as long as there are enough troops, we can guarantee that all of India will not be invaded by the Chinese!" This will be the sad place of Chinese imperialism! ”

The admiral seemed to be a little impatient with the temptation to beat around the bush, and bluntly put the subject of tonight's meeting bluntly. Tonight, the Chinese army pressed the border and summoned several leading figures of the Indian independence movement to Victoria Palace for only one purpose, that is, conscription! The elite of the Imperial General Staff had long planned the fate of these lowly Indians, who were cannon fodder for the British Empire! According to preliminary calculations, this race, with a population of up to 350 million, can theoretically provide up to 40 million cannon fodder! Of course, in reality the scale of conscription could not have reached such an astonishing scale. But 10 million cannon fodder, no matter how you look at it, it's possible. Although the combat effectiveness of the army composed of Indians is very worrying, if the number can reach 10 million, maybe the Chinese can be completely trapped in India, right?

"May I ask Mr. Admiral, how many more troops do we need if we want to repel the Chinese?" Nehru glanced at Jinnah and asked first. Of course, he knew the true intentions of the British to summon him and Jinnah into this chamber at the same time. It was an "auction" for the territorial integrity of the future Republic of India...... And it's life that is used to bid! Hindu, or Muslim!

"Now we have 1.2 million Anglo-Indian troops, divided into 30 corps and 90 infantry divisions. Although there are a lot of them, our enemy China has an army of 6 million people! Admiral Dill sighed worriedly, raised his eyes and glanced at Nehru and Jinnah, and continued: "And according to the analysis of the Imperial General Staff, the combat effectiveness of the squadron is at least three to five times that of the same number of Anglo-Indian troops!" Therefore, with 1.2 million Anglo-Indian troops, it is really difficult to keep the whole of India from being invaded. We estimate that the Chinese may end up committing 1 million to 1.5 million troops in India. If we are to ensure the safety of India, we need to recruit another 4 million young and strong men in at least 6 months! As for weapons and ammunition...... I will try to find a way to get London over, and of course all the factories that India can use to produce arms will have to work overtime. ”

"Okay, 4 million is 4 million! Give us three months, and the self-government will be able to hand over 4 million people to you. Nehru agreed to Diel's request without even thinking. After saying this, he quietly glanced at Jinnah from the corner of his eye, and looked at the other party's gloomy face, and his heart couldn't help but become proud. There are so many more Hindus than Muslims! And now that India's self-government is also in the hands of the Congress Party, 4 million people is simply a piece of cake......

"Great!" Governor Hope breathed a sigh of relief, slapped his face lightly, and said with a smile: "In six months at most, we will have an army of 5.2 million!" At that time, the Chinese will have to suffer. Then he said to Jinnah: "Mr. Jinnah, before you came, I discussed with Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Nehru the possibility of reorganizing the Indian self-government, and we feel that the Muslim League can also join the self-government, and the self-government can set aside a post of deputy prime minister for you, and in addition, it can also give the Muslim League several ministerial posts. ”

"This ......" Jinnah was stunned when he heard this, and the formation of a coalition government with the Congress Party was the goal of the Muslim League for some time in the past. After all, in India there is still a Hindu majority, and the Muslim League will never come to power by voting. But that was before the arrival of the Chinese army!

"Why, Ali, don't you want to fight with your Hindu brothers?" Gandhi walked to Jinnah's side, held his right hand, and said earnestly: "A truly independent and free India can only be achieved by the joint efforts of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, and if you leave now, the separated India can only be broken by the Chinese, and finally become a Chinese colony forever!" ”

But ......" Jinnah did not know what to say to the Mahatma in the minds of the Indians, because many of the top leaders of his Muslim League were now advocating the establishment of an independent Muslim state, with whom they would cooperate with whoever could give independence to the Muslims!

……

At a time when the reactionary forces of various factions in India are bargaining for resistance to the approaching People's Army. A mighty Chinese naval fleet is sailing across the vast expanse of the Bay of Bengal.

General Ye Ting, commander-in-chief of the South Asian Army of GC International, stood on the island of the "Heilongjiang" aircraft carrier, looking at the endless Indian Ocean. The sea here seems to be surprisingly gentle, and the azure surface of the ocean is like a huge blue velvet, calm and peaceful. The 32nd Task Force, composed of more than 100 ships of various types, was quietly gliding on the sea like this, and Ye Ting, who was standing on the ship island, could not even feel the ups and downs of the ships, as if he was standing on land. Perhaps the calm sea here indicates that the journey to liberate India will be smooth sailing?

According to intelligence, the British ** team has almost completely withdrawn from India, and only Ceylon, the Maldives Islands and Mumbai still have about 100,000 British troops. In other parts of India, there are only more than 1.2 million puppet troops, the so-called Anglo-Indian army, on the defensive. The troops, which consisted of a handful of British officers and a large number of hired Indian civilians, were poorly trained and equipped, and their morale was not worth mentioning. In the previous battles of Hong Kong and Singapore, these British and Indian troops only symbolically resisted for a while, and then surrendered so-so! These Indian soldiers who surrendered to the Anglo-Indian army have now been handed over to the Central G, and after some ideological education, these people will be trained as the backbone of the Red Army in various Indian countries...... It is believed that it will not be long before more working people of all ethnic groups in India will join their ranks.

"Chief Ye! Commander Zhang, please go to the command center for a meeting to make arrangements for the landing operation. A Wehrmacht Navy staff officer came behind Ye Ting at this time, gave a routine military salute, and said loudly.

"Okay, I'll go." Ye Ting glanced at the calm blue sea again, took a deep breath of salty air, and then followed the staff officer to the command center on the second floor of the ship's island.

There were already many senior generals of the Wehrmacht and the G Army standing in the command center, all of them politely smiling, pointing around a large electric sand table and talking in low voices. Seeing Ye Ting coming in, the guards standing guard at the door shouted: "Commander Ye has arrived!" "Everyone, regardless of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, also stood and saluted. Although Ye Ting's rank in the National Defense Force is the same as Zhang Yiming's, he is a general, but after all, he is an old-timer and once served as Sun Yat-sen's guard battalion commander. In the Wehrmacht, which likes to rank seniority, it is quite respectable.

"Commander Ye," after saluting, Zhang Yiming said solemnly to Ye Ting: "This is the landing plan drawn up by the headquarters of our 32nd Task Force. Speaking of this, he paused, raised his eyes to look at Ye Ting's face, and said: "According to the operational regulations of the National Defense Forces, the commander of the joint landing operation by sea and land should be the supreme commander of the navy, so ......."

Hearing this, several officers of the G Army wearing blue-gray uniforms couldn't help frowning, and just wanted to say something, but Ye Ting smiled and opened his mouth first: "Then follow the order, our army is now the shells of the navy, where you shoot us, we will land!" ”

"Since this is the case, the junior has the courage to draw up a battle plan and ask Chief Ye to take a look." As he spoke, he took a copy of the battle plan from the staff officer beside him and handed it to Ye Ting with both hands.

"According to the plan, the landing operation was to be launched at 7 a.m. on April 17, 1939, in the area of Balasol Bay in the Bay of Bengal. According to reconnaissance, there were no British and Indian troops in the area around Balasol Bay, so the landing would be very smooth. However, there are no good port facilities there, so your army will have to move north quickly to capture Calcutta after landing. It is the third largest city in India and has good port facilities where convoys can dock and unload supplies. In addition, there are a large number of ships on the Hooghly that are evading the fighting, and if you can capture them, you can use them to march along the Ganges......"