606 Reconciliationism! Second, the backstage requirements

British Embassy in Wuhan.

In this bustling metropolis that was about to become the sole capital of the Republic of China, the British Empire's embassy was still stubbornly located on the territory of the former public concession in Hankou District. Instead of moving to Wuchang Donghu District, which is closer to the National Government, the President's Office and the Executive Yuan, as the embassies of the United States, Germany, France and other countries do.

Somewhat tired, Ambassador Lambson stepped out of a Rolls-Royce, took the briefcase handed by the first secretary, and strode into the embassy, which was full of the grandeur and splendor of the British Empire. A dozen Indian asans, who served as gardeners and servants, all saluted him respectfully. But the old man didn't even look at them, but kept his head down and walked towards the living room, looking a little preoccupied.

In the living room, there was already a middle-aged man in a dark blue "colored" rear admiral's uniform waiting for him. This officer was the new commander of the Eastern Fleet of the British Navy, Charles Murphy. Major General Forbes. Since the outbreak of this war between China and Japan, the British Empire has begun to increase its military power in the Far East. A large fleet of four battleships and battle cruisers, including the Hood, which is considered to be the most powerful battleship in the world, was stationed in Singapore, the eastern fortress of the British Empire. At the same time, this young and promising senior admiral, who was very favored by the British naval leadership, was also sent to serve as the commander of this fleet. However, the commander of the Far Eastern Fleet did not stay well in the impregnable fortress of Singapore these days, but hurried to Wuhan to meet with the British ambassador to China, Sir Lampsang, as if he had been given the title of special envoy.

Seeing Lanpu Pig Iron walking in with a blue face, Major General Forbes smiled with a piece of whiskey: "Hey, sir, what makes you look like this?" Is it because of the current war? This unfortunate war grew bigger and bigger, and almost all of it was about to affect the possessions of the British Empire. Did you know? During this time, the Chinese in Malaya were simply happy, the Chinese restaurants there were full of friends, and everyone was excitedly discussing the strength of their home country, as if they were about to become the masters of Malaya......"

He sat down on the sofa wearily, and the Indian servant offered him a glass of whiskey, and during this time His Excellency the Ambassador had become more and more drunk. He smiled bitterly: "General." They are about to become masters of Malaya, and perhaps French Indochina, and Lanin, and Burma...... Do you know that in the history of the East for thousands of years, for most of the time, this empire has been worshiped by these small countries in the South Seas, and we British have only been here for two or three hundred years, and this empire has risen now, and what Emperor Napoleon said may really become a reality. God, I've seen the revival of this empire in the last few years, and we think we're going to lose the Far East, and I'm glad that China wants to get back what they've lost in the future."

Seeing the steady-looking knight in his sixties gushing pessimistic opinions there, Forbes just smiled and asked faintly, "I heard that the Western world is ready to take concerted action to curb China's ambitions for the South Seas and bring this war to a just end?" ”。

Sir Rampson just sneered: "When has the Western world ever been unanimous? China can rise so fast, is it not behind the United States and Germany, two important members of the Western world? Without the industrial know-how of the Germans, and without the abundant funds of the Americans, this ancient empire would have struggled for at least twenty years to get to where it is now. And now these two countries are still supporting China, especially the United States, although they participated in the joint protest, but they did not agree to the blockade of the Philippine Islands, and now we are playing the villain with the French and the Dutch, and the United States is playing the role of angels, this group of damned eruptors first helped Germany to revive in Europe, and then supported China in Asia, I really don't know what they want to do."

Forbes listened carefully to Lan Pusheng's whining words, and smiled deeply: "Sir." In my opinion, what the Americans want is to smash the old world order and then establish a new order in which the rules of the game are set by the United States, and perhaps China and Germany are the hammers they use to smash the old order. What the British Empire needs now is two chains that hold these two hammers together, and do you think it is possible for a defeated Japan to act as one of them? ”

Lan Pusheng was a little surprised, what is the special mission of this Forbes Major General? Is it to examine the performance of Chinese Navy aircraft carriers in the South China Sea war, or something else? Perhaps the old guys in London have seen the need to contain China, and although China itself is still an important pawn in containing the Soviet Union, it should not be too indulgent in China's expansion, especially their expanding navy. And what could the British Empire use to contain China's naval power? The ongoing Conference on the Limitation of Naval Armaments alone is obviously not enough, and it seems that the newly defeated Japanese Navy is really the best choice, but there are some problems. He shook his head slightly: "General." From what I know about Japan, this country is actually more dangerous than China, because their expansionist ambitions are bigger and more urgent than China's. Imagine that almost 70 million people are crammed into a few islands full of volcanoes and earthquakes, without abundant resources, without enough arable land, what is the way out for them but to expand outward? To know...... Japan is also an industrialized country. Moreover, the process of their industrialization was accompanied by constant expansion and wars of aggression. ”

Speaking of this, Lan Pusheng looked at Forbes seriously, and said helplessly: "In the past thirty years, the target of Japan's expansion and aggression has been China, and after this fiasco, they will definitely choose the direction of expansion again, and the eastern colonies of European countries are very likely to become their new expansion targets." ”

Forbes was a little surprised by this conclusion, in fact, he was going to Okinawa to inspect the port there immediately after his visit to China, and according to his friend in the Admiralty, it seems that Japan wants to lease Okinawa's port and part of the land to Britain to establish a base...... And the Admiralty was very interested in this proposal. Their interest was not so much in the Okinawa base itself, but in Japan's sincerity in surrendering to the British Empire. After all, Japan is also a "small power" with a certain industrial base, and their current industrial indicators are on a par with China's, and if they can abandon the development of the army and focus on the navy, they should be able to maintain a strong fleet enough to contain the Chinese navy.

Of course, China can still expand into Southeast Asia with its powerful army. Occupy French Indochina, Burma, Siam, and perhaps all the way down the Malay Peninsula to Singapore. However, this situation was not fatal for the British Empire. Because Singapore will be built into a fortress that will be difficult to conquer both by sea and land, and Burma will be able to abandon it if necessary, as for India...... On the Indo-Burmese border is the impassable Savage Mountain, where the British will build the Imphal fortress to block the expansion of the squadron into India. In this way, the best parts of the British Empire could be preserved, and perhaps China could be appeased by abandoning Burma and sacrificing Siam and French interests in French Indochina, allowing them to shift their expansion to the north.

As for the Japanese mutiny, it seems that the Admiralty, Downing Street, and Whitehall never thought about it, right?

Major General Forbes said with a look of surprise: "With a small defeated Japan, dare to betray the British Empire? Aren't they afraid of being completely annihilated by the wrath of the Empire? Mr. Ambassador, I really don't understand why you would come to such a conclusion? Perhaps you should write a detailed report to Whitehall and explain to them Japan's unreliability. ”

"I will write a report like this to remind Whitehall of Japan's expansionist ambitions," he said coldly. Then he drank the whisky from his glass: "But I still support the Anglo-Japanese alliance, because we have no choice in Asia." ”

……

When the British Empire began to wonder whether to use the iron chain of Japan to tie China, a hammer that might shatter the old world order, Luo Yaoguo went to the American Embassy as a guest.

In the living room of the U.S. Embassy, U.S. Ambassador to China Nelson. While laughing and talking with Luo Yaoguo, Jensen looked at the young chief of the general staff of the squadron who was a little unspeakable, and his eyes showed some complicated feelings.

To be honest, the United States does not have any ill feelings towards this emerging Asian power, or should have a good impression of it, although the United States itself has a "Chinese Exclusion Act" to limit the inflow of Chinese. However, China is still very much in line with the "values" of the United States, a republic on the way to democracy, a huge market open to American capital, and a frontier to curb the expansion of the GCIST Soviet Union. If China weren't that big and not so populous, Nelson. Jensen believes that a stable and long-term alliance between China and the United States will be formed, although the day when the two countries will have a conflict of interest is still very far away.

"Mr. Jensen, this is the home port of our navy, including military ports, batteries, airfields, barracks, everything here is open to American friends. For you, not only is there no secret here, but there are no secrets for the entire Chinese Navy. Luo Yaoguo pointed to a spread out map and said, "The U.S. Navy delegation can go anywhere they want and meet whoever they want." ”

What he is saying at the moment sounds like a loyal lackey of the United States of America, but in fact, at present, he and Hu Hanmin, Chiang Kai-shek, and other Kuomintang bigwigs are lackeys, traitors, compradors, and spies of US imperialism...... This fact is known even to the children of the Soviet district

When it came to Luo Yaoguo's confession on behalf of the Nationalist "government", Ambassador Jensen nodded as if he didn't care, and said casually: "Marshal, then I want to thank you and China for your kindness on behalf of the U.S. Navy delegation." As he spoke, he said tentatively: "Where do you think the end of this war will be?" ”

Luo Yaoguo smiled and replied, "We just want to get back what was compensated to Japan in 1895 and 1901. ”

"1895 and 1901?" Jensen was a little surprised, he straightened up and stared at Luo Yaoguo: "You want Taiwan, the Penghu Islands, and almost 270 million taels of silver in compensation?" ”

Luo Yaoguo nodded and said with a wry smile: "This request is very reasonable, after all, my country has also suffered huge losses in this war, and we should get a little compensation." At this point, he frowned and looked at Jensen: "We are a poor country, we still owe a lot of money to the United States, and China is still facing a huge threat from the Soviet Union and GCISM, as well as serious social problems in China. I think you have been in China all these years, and you also know how unfortunate the poor in this country are, so every copper plate is very precious to us. ”

Jensen was stunned, and from Luo Yaoguo's words, he already understood that the national "government" would turn its energy to the north and domestic problems after ending this war. It seems that these Chinese do not want to expand their already powerful enough navy, and if that were the case, the friendship between China and the United States would be more consolidated. Is it just that the Japanese will accept the terms of the armistice with land cession and reparations? They don't seem to have lost everything yet, right? Moreover, the Japanese had informed the U.S. embassy in Tokyo of the terms of their armistice, which, according to reliable sources, were supported by the British

Thinking of this, Jensen pondered and said, "Your Excellency, I learned from the State Department about the conditions of the Japanese side. Their armistice was conditional on the withdrawal of Japanese troops from complete Manchuria, including the transfer of all Kwantung Prefecture and Manchurian Railway to the Chinese side; China withdrew its troops from the island of Taiwan, after which Taiwan was demilitarized under the joint administration of China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, although the Penghu Islands could be returned to China. And as far as I know, the British side is already ready to support the conditions of Japan. ”

"Hehe, it turns out that these Japanese devils have hooked up with the British" Luo Yaoguo sneered in his heart, if the United States wants to stand out for Japan, it will be a little troublesome, Britain really doesn't need to pay attention to it, the British Empire has long been in decline, and it is impossible for Japan to start a war with China. However, the thighs of US imperialism still have to be held on to for the time being, and as long as there is the support of the United States, the reparations may not be paid, but there is no problem in swallowing Taiwan.

Luo Yaoguo was silent, looked up at Jensen and asked solemnly: "Mr. Ambassador, can you reveal to me whether the US 'government' is interested in this plan?" Perhaps our two countries could consider jointly administering the island of Taiwan. ”

Oh, no, Busen shook his head with a smile: "We in the United States have no interest in the island of Taiwan, and Taiwan's belonging is a matter between China and Japan. ”

Luo Yaoguo sighed softly in his heart, after this trial, he could basically be sure that the United States still continued to favor China in this war. However, the US ambassador in front of him will not suddenly invite himself to the embassy for a cup of coffee, and the United States must also want to gain something from this change in the situation in East Asia.

Luo Yaoguo took a sip of coffee, sorted out his thoughts, and then spoke slowly: "Mr. Jensen, after defeating Japan, the threat to my country will mainly come from the north, that is, Soviet Russia and GCISM, and from the current international situation, these two are also the biggest threats to the entire free world, in order to deal with such a threat, China must concentrate all its energy and financial resources, and after getting Taiwan and Penghu, the threat from the southeast can basically be lifted, and China can go all out to fight against Soviet Russia and GCISM." ”

Jensen can of course understand that the Chinese are still playing the two trump cards of Soviet Russia and GCISM, in fact, as long as they continue to hold high the anti-Soviet and anti-G signboard, the Western world, including Britain, will not do anything to them. And the reason why Japan will be unlucky this time is probably inseparable from the fact that they have been getting closer and closer to Soviet Russia in the past few years. However, the instructions given to him by the US State Department were not limited to inducing the Chinese national "government" to oppose the Soviet Union and the G.

"Your Excellency, I understand your country's vigilance against the Soviet Union and GCISM, after all, the Soviet Union adhered to the aggressive and expansionist line of the Tsarist Russian Empire, and forcibly occupied more than one million square kilometers of China's territory, and in 1921 they sent troops to occupy China's Mongolian region before they were internally settled, and in 1927 they also launched the Middle East Road War." Jensen's words were slow, and there seemed to be a sense of sympathy for China's misfortunes:

"In modern times, however, the invasion of China began with the British, who used the criminal opium trade to extract huge wealth from China, and also used the Opium War to cede Hong Kong from China, and they still occupy Hong Kong, and they also have concessions in Shanghai and Tianjin. I suppose that as a new power, there shouldn't be such a state within a state on its own territory that only colonial countries have, right? ”

Luo Yaoguo hesitated, he knew that what Jensen said in the end was definitely not out of friendship or a sense of justice for China, but a condition for the United States to continue to support China, it turned out that the United States wanted China to challenge the hegemony of the British Empire

"Mr. Jensen, the Chinese people can feel the friendship of the United States towards us from your proposal, and the recovery of all concessions, including Hong Kong, is indeed our next goal."

Jensen smiled and nodded: "I think this goal of China will definitely be achieved in a very short time." In addition, there is the need to reconcile the positions of our two countries at the London Conference on the Limitation of the Naval Forces. The South China Sea War has shown the world's naval powers the value of aircraft carriers. He paused and smiled: "The era of battleships is gone, so we estimate that in the next stage of negotiations, aircraft carriers will become the focus of contention." ”

"The United States will propose to reduce the number of battleships and increase the quota for the construction of aircraft carriers, the United States wants to build aircraft carriers with a gross tonnage of 200,000 tons, and hopes that China can put forward a request of 150,000 tons."

Luo Yaoguo shook his head a little suspiciously: "The 150,000-ton aircraft carrier has come to China?" And we don't have the financial resources to maintain such a large fleet. ”

606 Reconciliationism! Second, the backstage requirements

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