London is in a patch of pink in March, and a heavy snowfall makes the foggy air look exceptionally fresh.

In the meeting room of the Prime Minister's Office in Downing Street, there were fierce disputes, and the rise of China triggered a series of changes in the pattern of the Far East finally showed serious consequences, if China was thought to be a bluff before, then this time the Chinese military actually ordered the siege of the concession, that is, to show its fangs to the Western world.

"War! The Empire must stifle such provocations with the toughest hand, so that the whole world will realize that there is a heavy price to be paid for provoking the majesty of the Empire. ”

"Against! The empire has been so damaged by the world war that it can no longer afford a large-scale war thousands of miles away. We cannot undermine the international situation that the Empire has barely maintained for a small profit. Giving up the interests in China, 'bringing disaster to the north' is the strategy that is most in line with the layout of the imperial world. ”

"This is the will of the royal family, and it must be carried out."

"The royal will does not represent the interests of the British Empire. The best time to deal with China is after the Chinese and the Red Empire have lost both. ”

"Adjournment, adjournment!" Baldwin was dizzy by the two factions of people who were arguing in the meeting, which can also be said to be the drawback of democracy, and each expressed his own opinions and quarreled endlessly. Originally, the British Empire had decided to back down temporarily, but because of the intervention of the royal family, things were once again at an impasse. It can also be seen that although the British royal family has withdrawn from the center of power, its influence is still extremely huge.

Baldwin returned to the Prime Minister's office exhausted, dejected, not knowing how long the quarrel would last.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister!" There were a few knocks on the door, and Churchill pushed the door open.

When Baldwin saw Churchill, he immediately beckoned Churchill over and said, "Sir Churchill, you have come just in time, please take a seat." ”

Churchill sat across from Baldwin and smiled, "I think you've had a bad two days." ”

Baldwin smiled bitterly, "It's not bad, it's very bad." Did you know? I now envy the dictatorial governments and dictatorships, they don't have such troubles at all, and all policies can be implemented as quickly as possible. Like we are now, the endless quarrels are almost overwhelming. I'm going crazy. In fact, each of us knows very well that the best choice is to lead the water north, isn't it? ”

Churchill sighed: "Yes, Your Excellency, Prime Minister. This has become a partisan conflict of interests, and in this dispute, we have all seen the huge influence of the royal family on the government, and the opposition parties cooperate with the opposition of the royal family in order to gain the support of the royal family in the future election. The Chinese military leader Li Bufan forced the Japanese emperor to death and threatened the royal family in Siam, causing strong resentment from almost all royal families in Europe. I don't think we can be too weak or we'll let them down. ”

Baldwin was surprised, "What do you mean?" ”

Churchill said with a straight face: "At present, the Chinese have used the means of military threats, the whole world is watching us, if we back down at this time, what will the countries of the world think?" What would the anti-colonialists in the vast colonies of the British Empire think? ”

Baldwin looked at Churchill in disbelief and said in a half-loud voice, "Churchill! Do you also think that empires should choose war? Is the Empire fit to wage war at this stage? ”

"Of course not." Churchill was well aware of the current situation in Britain, because of the world war, the British Empire was still in debt, not to mention that the financial vitality had not recovered, and even the people would not support the war. He looked at Baldwin seriously and said, "But we can't lose the support of the royal family, otherwise we will lose power and our supporters will lose their interests." I think we should show a tough posture appropriately, for example, we have a detachment of the Far East Fleet patrolling the South China Sea, you know. ”

Baldwin looked at Churchill in a daze, then shook his head and said, "I see what you mean, but does it make sense?" That would only exacerbate the conflict. What if war breaks out as a result? The millions of Chinese troops can drive us out of the Far East and Southeast Asia like garbage before our military deployment is in place. Did you know? ”

Churchill was helpless, he knew that what Baldwin said was the truth, China could raise millions of troops at home, but Britain could not deploy enough troops in the Far East to guard against China's millions of troops, in that case, the manpower and material resources invested were simply a bottomless pit, at least the interests in China were not enough to make Britain make such a determination.

It was very painful for Churchill, as a traditional foreign hardliner, to make him back down, and for this reason, he also carefully studied the situation in China. "Your Excellency, I think you only see the situation of the empire, but you have not carefully considered the situation facing the Chinese. Although we occupy a lot of interests in China, but after all, we have not invaded China's territory, even Hong Kong, it is just a concession, we should not be the main enemy of the Chinese at least at this stage, I do not think that the Chinese will turn against the entire Western civilized world at this time, such a war is also not what they want to see. ”

Baldwin's expression changed uncertainly, and he said with some hesitation: "You mean Soviet Russia?" In those years, Russia invaded and occupied a large amount of territory in western China, such as East Kazakhstan and the Ferghana Basin, which originally belonged to Chinese territory, and also in the entire Trans-Khingan Mountains in Northeast Asia. I understand that with Li Bufan's character, he will definitely not give up with Soviet Russia. However, if he wants to do this, it is based on the basis that the situation in the country is completely under control, and he will not allow the existence of the concession to avoid accidents. ”

Churchill said: "We must ensure that there is a concession somewhere to show that the empire is different from the rest of the country, because we are the number one power in the world." ”

"I think I see what you mean." Baldwin nodded thoughtfully.

Soon, an airwave was heard.

In the vast southern part of the South China Sea, a fleet of several warships is cleaving the waves, and the rice flag is fluttering in the wind.

The British Empire is only an island country, with a territory of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers and a population of tens of millions, but after defeating Spain's "Invincible Armada" more than 300 years ago, it dominated the world for more than 300 years with its powerful navy, and the Royal Navy of the British Empire is synonymous with invincibility.

This fleet was the detachment of the Far East Fleet of the British Empire, and Rear Admiral Miller was leisurely drinking coffee in the command cabin, although he knew that the situation in East Asia was not good, but he could be sure that no navy in this era dared to challenge the majesty of the Royal Navy of the British Empire.

The sound of a telegram made him raise his eyebrows, and soon the chief of staff, Colonel York, came over with a telegram to report: "General, the Prime Minister has asked the Admiralty to let us divide our fleet to quickly go north to deter China's southeast coast. ”

"Oh God!" Miller jumped up and said in shock, "Colonel, are you kidding?" Just a few of our warships to deter China? Don't those idiots in the Prime Minister's Office know? The combined Japanese fleet, which has the third largest navy in the world, was annihilated by the Chinese navy. ”

Colonel Chief of Staff York said helplessly: "General, I am as shocked as you, for this I confirmed it twice to the Far East Fleet Command. ”

Major General Miller telegraphed the results, read and looked, and was speechless for a long time.

York hesitated: "General, I think we can refuse such an impudent request, which is more to send us to death." ”

Major General Miller glared at York for a while, gritted his teeth, and said, "Soldiers have a duty to obey orders, even though this is a son of a bitch's order. But we can't afford not to have the courage to go to China, and then we will be an eternal disgrace to the Royal Navy of the British Empire. ”

"But General," Colonel York cried out anxiously, only to see Miller's strange expression.

Miller blinked, "It's a stressful trip, at least this telegram doesn't have an order for war, does it?" ”

No matter what the current size of China's navy is, it is a fact that the Chinese navy has completely annihilated the Japanese Combined Fleet, which is the third largest fleet in the world, and such a record is enough to demonstrate the prestige of the Chinese navy. During this period, there was no naval force in the world, and China's navy was full of fear, because the defeat of the Japanese navy was too unexpected and too strange, and the navies of various countries received very little information, and it was precisely because of the unknown that people felt even more frightened. Moreover, the Chinese Navy is ruthless enough, and when it defeated the Japanese Navy, it did not leave a living mouth at all, for which they could only get some news from telegrams, only knowing that the Chinese planes and submarines sank the Japanese capital ships, which is terrible, but how terrible it is, no one knows.

The military order was like a mountain, and the detachment of the Far Eastern Fleet quickly went north, sailing for two days, and the wind and waves were calm.

However, on this day, suddenly there was a dull motor sound in the sky, "Airplane, Chinese plane." The British sailors on board the warship let out a cry of terror, which caused Miller and York, who were resting in the command cabin, to run out of the cabin and look up into the sky.

It was a twin-powered monoplane, which seemed to be twice as large as the usual fighter jets and seaplanes, and it hovered at an altitude of three thousand meters above the fleet. With the prestige of the Chinese Air Force, cold sweat broke out on both Miller and York's foreheads.

York exclaimed in some panic: "Damn, here is at least six hundred kilometers away from the area of Guangzhou, China, how can there be a Chinese plane?" ”

Miller stared at the plane in the sky, his hand on the railing bulged, and he gritted his teeth and said, "This is normal." Colonel, tell me, what is the name of this cape? ”

"South China Sea." York replied reflexively.

Miller gritted his teeth and said: "Since it is called the South China Sea, it is the sea of the Chinese, is it strange that the Chinese plane appears here?" Damn it. ”

At this moment, a staff officer ran out of the command cabin and shouted: "Report to the general, the Chinese patrol plane has sent a telegram in clear code, saying that this is China's territorial waters, and our fleet has not made a diplomatic report, which is an illegal invasion, and we are required to leave immediately, otherwise we will bear the consequences." ”

Sweat broke out on Miller's forehead, you must know that the Chinese planes are famous, sinking many Japanese capital ships, if the other side really summons a group to attack, I am afraid that they will only have a dead end. However, the dignity of the Royal Navy of the British Empire made him unable to retreat, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Call back in a clear code and tell the Chinese that we are the Royal Navy of the British Empire and have the right of freedom of navigation in any sea area of the world!" ”

"General!" York's face had turned pale at this moment, and he was sweating with nervousness.

Miller's face turned pale, at this point, he could no longer retreat, and the dignity of the Royal Navy of the British Empire made it impossible for him to retreat. He didn't know what kind of response this call would make the Chinese, maybe a thunderous blow, and at this moment, he just wanted to curse fiercely: those damned politicians