"It was the most insidious and outrageous sneak attack I ever know, and the greatest humiliation ever suffered by the Royal Navy! The Royal Navy and the British Empire will not rest on their laurels! ”

"Under the oppression of the superior navies of the two imperialist countries, China and Britain, the heroic officers and men of the Japanese Red Navy fought to the end without fear of sacrifice, and finally won the victory, repelled the enemy, defended the red regime of Soviet Japan, and at the same time sounded the clarion call for the demise of imperialism and capitalism!"

"I didn't expect the Japanese Navy to fight so much, and there is really no comparison with history......"

The above three passages are respectively the comments of British Prime Minister MacDonald, the great leaders of international GCISM, Trotsky, and Chang Ruiqing on the "Sino-British-Japanese Battle of Okinawa".

Of course, at this moment, Eisuke Yamamoto and Fifty-six Yamamoto didn't know what these three giants thought of this naval battle, let alone how brave the Japanese Combined Fleet was in the original history, and now their attention was attracted by the battlecruiser Hood, which was already tilted in the distance and seemed to be sinking. Through the binoculars, they saw that British sailors were scrambling on the deck to abandon the ship, lifeboats were lowered one after another, more sailors were jumping into the water like wontons, and a Chinese Nanhui-class destroyer was already speeding up, ready to rescue the British officers and soldiers who had fallen overboard. But the Hood's damage management team was still making a final battle, dousing high-pressure taps on the raging fire.

Eisuke Yamamoto put down the binoculars and sighed softly, "We won, didn't we?" ”

"Yes. We've won! Yamamoto Fifty-six also put down his binoculars, received the report on the battle situation that had just been counted from Onishi Takijiro beside him, and read aloud: "The results of this fleet: sinking the battleship Emperor of India, sinking the battleship Iron Duke, sinking the battleship Benbao (which has been confirmed to be sunk), severely damaging the battleship Nelson, and the battleship Zhongchuang Rodney. Coupled with the Hood, which looks like it is going to sink, after this battle, the British Far East Fleet will not have the strength to fight again! ”

"Are our losses coming out?" Eisuke Yamamoto asked lightly.

"The battleship Settsu was sunk, the battlecruiser Akagi was heavily damaged, the battleship Kaga was heavily damaged, and the battleship Tosa was heavily damaged, in addition to four heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and eight destroyers were sunk, and 43 aircraft were lost...... But, Commander, we sank at least three British battleships. Two ships were heavily damaged, and one was created in China, which is still a big victory! ”

Eisuke Yamamoto smiled bitterly: "How much time does it take for the three ships of Akagi, Kaga, and Tosa to be repaired?" Why do it take three to six months? During this period, what will we use to fight for sea supremacy in the Pacific? It looks like the plan to go south is going to be delayed......"

Kantaro Suzuki also put down his binoculars. Shaking his head slightly: "I'm afraid it's not a matter of delay." He pointed to the formation of Chinese battlecruisers moving slowly on the sea in the distance: "Although the Chinese battlecruisers are not firepower, they are fast, the armor is well-protected, and the officers and men of the navy seem to be well-trained...... And their 280mm guns have a fast rate of fire. High accuracy. At close range, it can even wēixié against Kaga-class battleships...... Yamamoto-kun, in the next three to six months, I am afraid that the control of the sea in the Pacific Ocean will belong to the Chinese, and I am worried that they may launch an attack on Okinawa, and once Okinawa is lost, Japan will no longer have the possibility of going south......"

Yamamoto Fifty-six smiled coldly: "How can Okinawa be so easy to fight, it is a big stronghold to go south and blockade China, and it has long been built into a giant fortress!" He paused slightly. And again: "And in the next three to six months, the Chinese Navy probably won't have much energy to seize Okinawa, right?" ”

"Yamamoto-kun. What do you mean......"

Yamamoto Fifty-six smiled reluctantly and said loudly: "Your Excellency Commander, although we do not have a powerful capital ship available for the time being, and the aircraft carrier cannot compete with the Chinese aircraft carrier because of the lack of excellent carrier-based aircraft. But we still have in our hands eight heavy cruisers and a dozen light cruisers, as well as hundreds of submarines of the Haida series. We can block China's foreign shipping routes with broken belligerence...... The Chinese ordered a large number of aircraft and equipment from the United States and Europe before the war, and now they have not fully shipped it back to their country, and as long as we take a break to the war, they must use the fleet for escort, so the Japanese mainland and Okinawa are still very safe.

Moreover, the Battle of Okinawa and the Korean Campaign before it will certainly attract the main forces of the British Navy to the East, and we will also be able to contain part of China's forces, thus creating a great possibility of success for the next military action of the Soviet Union. It can be said that we have achieved a strategic victory.

There are also more than 6 million tonnes of oil stored in the local oil depots, and the reserves of iron ore and scrap iron, copper and various rare metals are enough to sustain a year's production. So we can hold on, as long as the Soviet Union's attack on China, Britain and Germany can succeed. I believe that the final victory is ours! ”

……

London, England, due to the time difference, it is still the early morning of July 3, 1932. However, the Admiralty building on Whitehall Street is brightly lit.

Sir Fidel, First Sea Lord, trembled slightly, as if he was fully aware of the perilous situation facing the British Empire, and listening to his heavy tone, and the unbelievable array of losses, everyone in the room felt a heart-wrenching sensation.

"Three battleships/battlecruisers were sunk, the Iron Duke, the Emperor of India, and the Ben Bou; Hit one hard, the Hood, which is still being rescued and may sink at any time; Two of the vessels, the Nelson and the Rodney, of which the Nelson had damaged rudder and were sailing in the direction of the Philippine Islands, and the corresponding tugboat had departed from Singapore......"

Sir Fidel put the telegram on the conference table, originally thinking that he was just going to cheer for his allies, but he did not expect to get such a result, and the whole empire was also involved in a war, and it was likely to be a world war! Faced with such a situation, the First Sea Minister sighed in a trembling voice: "Judging from the information sent back by Admiral Bakes, it is likely that the Japanese attack was premeditated. Even if the Far Eastern Fleet does not leave Singapore, they will launch a sneak attack. So ......"

"So we're in big trouble, big big trouble......"

Sir Fidel's words were not finished. Interrupted by a sigh, Sir looked up and saw that it was the Prime Minister of the coalition government, John McDonald.

"Mr. Prime Minister, this trouble is going to come sooner or later, and you can't hide from it." Foreign Minister Neville Chamberlain took over the topic and said: "But the empire can still be saved, as long as we adopt the right strategy, we can preserve the strength of the empire to the maximum." As he spoke, he glanced at the First Sea Lord. Sir Fidel. The loss of three Iron Duke-class battleships won't have much of an impact on the strength of the Imperial Navy, right? ”

"No, it won't." Sir Fidel was silent for a moment, and said, "We still have the battlecruiser Lion, the battleship Sovereign, the battleship Thor, the battleship George V, the battleship Centurion, and the battleship Ajax in our hands. These six capital ships were to be dismantled in accordance with the Shanghai Naval Treaty. However, due to the United States' breach of contract in purchasing nine Japanese capital ships, we suspended our obligation to dismantle these capital ships and temporarily sealed them. ”

"Great, enable them right now!" Hear this. Prime Minister Macdonald's face finally looked a little better. He gritted his teeth and snorted, "In addition, send eight more capital ships to Singapore!" This time the matter can't be counted like this, we must let the Japanese devils understand the power of the British Empire! ”

However, Sir Fidel still cried and said: "Mr. Prime Minister, it doesn't matter if you lose three Iron Duke-class, but if the badly damaged Hood can be saved, it will take at least a year to repair, and the two Nelson-class watches in the Battle of Okinawa are very bad. In addition, the number of carrier-based aircraft on the Valiant-class aircraft carriers is too small. These three problems are the real problems for the Royal Navy at the moment. So we need to ......"

"It doesn't matter, the Japanese are worse off than we are, and we still have China as an ally!" Prime Minister MacDonald interrupted Sir Fidel and stood up with his hands on the table, his voice full of anger: "Before the end of the year! We are going to destroy Soviet Japan by the end of 1932, no matter what the difficulties, we must ......"

"Mr. Prime Minister." Before MacDonald could finish his sentence, a panicked secretary suddenly slammed in the door and interrupted him.

"What's going on?" Looking at this secretary, everyone's hearts sank, and a very bad premonition appeared in everyone's minds at the same time.

The secretary looked at MacDonald's eyes full of panic, took a deep breath, and then gritted his teeth and said: "Prime Minister, there was a call from No. 10 Downing Street, just now, the Soviet ambassador to London suddenly came to visit, asked to meet His Excellency the Prime Minister, and brought an ultimatum from the Soviet government!" ”

"What! Soviet ultimatum!? Foreign Minister Neville Chamberlain was the first to jump up and shouted at the young prime minister's secretary: "What did the Soviets say? ”

"The Soviets demanded that we withdraw from India, Iraq, Burma, Malaya and Egypt within 48 hours, from the Anti-Third International Treaty!"

My God! A world war is about to break out, and the British Empire is already involved in World War II!

Everyone's pupils began to tighten, and everyone felt an atmosphere of impending catastrophe as they looked at each other. Although such a day had been expected for a long time, when the day came, these people at the helm of the British Empire still found that their empire was so fragile and almost unprepared......

……

"Representative Zirnekh! I don't think there is any need for us to waste our tongues and precious time on issues that are destined to lead to nothing. The ambition of you, the Soviet Union, to conquer the world in the name of liberating all mankind, is not clear to us in China, and we knew that there would be today as early as 1924 when you supported the Chinese People's Revolutionary Party in launching an armed rebellion, so now we are not surprised at all. ”

Almost at the same time, the sudden arrival of Zirnykh, the representative of Soviet interests in China, also interrupted the ongoing meeting on mobilization for war in the Tangshan Chancellery in Nanjing. In the meeting room of the Prime Minister's Office, Chang Ruiqing, dressed in military uniform, was answering the ultimatum put forward by the Soviet Union in the strictest tone. The Soviets demanded that China withdraw from North Korea, the Far East, Taiwan, and Penghu, return to Soviet Japan the territories gained from the "aggression against Japan," and withdraw from the Anti-Third International Treaty. Otherwise, the USSR would have declared war on the Federation of Great China in 48 hours!

Of course. Everyone knows that it is impossible for China to accede to the demands put forward by the Soviet Union, and even if China agrees to all the unreasonable demands put forward by the Soviet Union. War will still break out within 48 hours. Trotsky had been preparing for this world war or world revolution for 12 years! Now it's ready to shoot and has to be sent!

On the Chinese side, Chancellor Chang Da is actually looking forward to the stars, the moon, and the representatives of Trotsky to declare war. Although China has long begun to expand its armaments and prepare for a world war. But the current Federation of Great China is dressed in a democratic cloak after all, and after the 1930 election, China's GCD has lost its overwhelming advantage in parliament. If the issue of declaring war on the USSR and Japan is not handled well. I am afraid that the CG will lose some seats again in the 1935 general election.

However, now the Soviet Union took the initiative to put forward an ultimatum to China, which helped Chang Ruiqing solve this problem. So don't look at the righteous indignation on the face of our Prime Minister Chang Da, in fact, my heart has long been happy. I guess when I go home, I'll have to open champagne with my wives to celebrate.

Thinking of this, Chang Ruiqing tried his best to hide the pride in his heart, and raised his voice and said righteously: "Representative Zirneh, the time of both of us is very precious. So there's no need to wait 48 hours to reply. Now, on behalf of the Federal Government of Greater China, I formally reject all the demands of the Soviet Government! ”

That's all for now, what else is there to talk about?

Zirnech walked away with a straight face, but there was not much anger in his heart, only the deepest worries. He became the representative of Soviet interests in China after Lenin's funeral, and during these two or three years in China he conducted a thorough investigation of the country's industrial strength and war potential, and came to very worrying conclusions...... China's overall national strength has increased rapidly, although it is generally inferior to that of the Soviet Union. But there is a lot of stamina. In particular, after the economic crisis of 1930, China's implementation of the heavy industry development plan of more than 40 billion yuan was fully completed. China's heavy industry will definitely surpass that of the Soviet Union!

As soon as the worried Zirnekh left on the front foot, the voice of Foreign Minister Wang Jingwei sounded in Chang Ruiqing's ears: "Prime Minister, British Ambassador Lampseng, German Ambassador Todmann have just called, and the Soviet diplomatic representatives in London and Berlin have just delivered an ultimatum to the British and German governments, and they want to meet with you as much as possible to listen to your views on the joint operations of the three countries." In addition, the ambassadors of Poland and Persia to our country are also on their way to the Prime Minister's Office, presumably to issue an ultimatum......"

Chang Ruiqing turned his head and saw that Wang Jingwei had come in at some point, so he nodded with a smile and said, "Very good, the enemy camp in this world war is basically clear." We, Germany, and England are all in one group. The Soviet Union, Japan, Poland, Persia were the other camp. The United States appears to be neutral for a while. By the way, is there any news from France, Italy and the Netherlands? ”

The neutrality of the United States was to be expected, Trotsky would not be so hot-headed as to liberate the American people now, and the United States would certainly have spent its war money on its wishful thinking of saving the economy, and would not have intervened in the war so early. As for whether it will intervene in the end, it's hard to say, after all, the history of this time and space has changed beyond recognition.

France, Italy, and the Netherlands have a very special status, among which France has an army comparable to that of China and Germany, and the tonnage of the main ships of the navy is also comparable to that of China, which can be regarded as an important combat force in the capitalist camp. However, with the rise of Germany, the Franco-German contradictions have become more and more serious, so it is unlikely that France will join the Sino-British and German camps at the beginning of the war. But the French could not really stay out of the situation, and they would definitely cooperate with China, Britain and Germany that participated in the war or dismantle Taiwan. As for Italy, Chang would like the country to remain neutral...... Finally, there was the Netherlands, which was the suzerainty of the Dutch East Indies, which was likely to be the main target of Japan's invasion. However, Japan's losses in the just-concluded Battle of Okinawa seem to be a bit large, and the invasion of the Dutch East Indies will be delayed, so I wonder if the Dutch are willing to stand on the side of the Sino-British and German in the case that the Dutch East Indies will not be wēixié for the time being, and let the Sino-British allied forces be stationed in the Dutch East Indies in advance?

Wang Jingwei also understood these questions that Chang Ruiqing thought about, and he said with a smile: "Prime Minister, it is estimated that France, Italy, and the Netherlands will not participate in the war for the time being...... And we don't need to worry about wooing them into the war, the British will naturally find a way. The subordinates believe that the first issue we should consider now is how to divide the theater of operations and unify command. Since China, Britain, and Germany are now allies, this issue will certainly be raised, and the division of the theater of operations is likely to be related to the distribution of interests after the war. Don't forget that we and the Japanese are both members of the yellow race of Asia, and the British, German, and Soviet countries are all members of the white civilization of Europe......"

Wang Jingwei did not continue, but Chang Ruiqing also knew that his idea had a market in China, that is, he had been using the "Sino-Japanese Treaty" and the Hanhe family to fool those Japanese reactionaries in exile in China. Moreover, except for Siam, which has become a member of the Great China Federation, other countries in Nanyang are still colonies of Western white civilization! In a certain way, China and Japan still have some common interests......