As the British Colonial Secretary and the battlecruiser HMS Hood, the world's most powerful capital ship, came all the way, the standoff between China and the Dutch East Indies continued. In Siam, however, there was a lot of noise. The pro-British elites, led by Prince Bachadipo (Rama VII), were adamantly opposed to an alliance with China. They believe that the current Siam should still adhere to the line of relying on Britain and France to guarantee national independence, and not follow the path of pan-Asianism. They advocated that Siam's domestic and foreign affairs should closely follow Britain and France, alienate China and Japan, and at the same time rely on the support of Britain and France to strengthen the control of the royal family and the government over the army and government, and nip any possible unrest in the bud.

As for the pro-Chinese (Japanese) faction in Siam, the current expression is very contradictory. Their leader, Prince Zachcapong, had recently died of illness, and the Admiralty, Prince Bripa, had become their new leader. Naturally, the Admiral also suffered from Anglophobia, and could not muster the courage to resist the British. But at the same time, he also realized that the dissatisfaction of the Siamese people and even within the army with the monopoly of power and wealth by the Rama royal family and nobles was growing! If China uses its enormous influence among the Siamese Chinese to incite it, it is very likely that there will be riots within Siam. At that time, the British and French powers would definitely send troops into Siam to intervene, so that Siam would become a British and French colony. Therefore, they advocate a two-pronged approach, on the one hand, to repeal all anti-Chinese bills, and on the other hand, not to seek an alliance with China -- that is, to mix with wherever it counts.

The young officers of the Siamese Army, on the other hand, were indignant. Because Siam has maintained special friendly relations with Japan for a long time, and has also regarded Japan, which has embarked on the road to becoming a strong country through the Meiji Restoration, as its own teacher, under the indoctrination of Japanese teachers, there are also feelings of national chauvinism and pan-Asianism in Siam. These people insisted that Siam follow the Japanese and Chinese and follow the path of militarism. Build a powerful army and regain lost territory on the Indochina Peninsula with the help of China and Japan, and even seek hegemony in the Indochina Peninsula! This part of the Siamese young officers, who were a little hot-headed, combined with a group of radical Siamese intellectuals, expressed strong dissatisfaction with the domination of the Rama royal family and the aristocracy at home and the compromise and betrayal of the country abroad. Young officers of the army and young officers of the Siamese government, as well as some radicals. Now they are stringing up again, spreading all kinds of dissatisfaction with the rule of the Rama royal family. This information, in turn, was channelled through the British Legation in Siam and the Anglophiles in the Siamese government, and soon became information on the desk of Chancellor Churchill.

But what about China? The Chinese side has been quiet lately, and Churchill looked at Hong Kong's governor, Frank Stubbs. British Ambassador to China Eston. There is also a joint report on the Oriental question submitted by Sir Jurden, who has been living in Hong Kong since retiring from the post of British minister to China. Every time he read it, he felt that the interests of the British Empire in Asia were facing a serious challenge! Moreover, the policy of suppressing and containing a potential adversary that he had adhered to was simply not working.

“…… The Chinese government's focus has shifted to economics and education, and their State Economic Planning Commission has recently drawn up a five-year plan for the development of heavy industry, possibly beginning in 1923. There will be dozens of national key projects and hundreds of supporting projects to start construction at the same time, and the total investment involved will exceed 200 million pounds! To this end, it is also necessary to hire a large number of engineers and technicians from abroad and import a large number of machines and equipment...... By the end of last month, their huge army had completed two rounds of disarmament programs, and more than 600,000 young people had taken off their uniforms. However, they did not go directly back to the countryside to work in agriculture or to work in the city. Instead, they entered hundreds of rapidly established vocational and technical schools, where they were trained in vocational skills for six months by Belarusian or Chinese teachers, all at the government's expense. According to conservative estimates, the number of China's army has been reduced from 1.4 million at its peak to less than 800,000! There is also rumoured to be a third round of disarmament planning.

Judging from the above situation, China has no intention of using force against other countries for at least the next five years. It is likely that their co-optation of Siam and their protests against the Dutch East Indies were motivated solely by the interests of the local diaspora - at least not until they were strong enough.

But what about five or ten years from now? When China completes its initial industrialization and Japan builds the so-called 'Ten Wings,' will the two Asian powers unite and move south? Will there be millions of Chinese troops armed to the teeth. What about the prospect of a powerful combined Japanese fleet marching on the colonies of Western countries in Asia? If Soviet Russia also launched an attack on Poland and Germany at the same time, Western civilization would really have to undergo the most severe test......

Therefore, the starting point of the empire's interests in the East cannot be based solely on preventing China from protecting its diaspora in the South Seas - such an act is meaningless except to anger the Chinese and make China more inclined to unite with Japan and Soviet Russia to break the existing international order by force. Because the greatest threat facing the empire in the East is not at all the Chinese diaspora, but the southward policy of China and Japan!

Therefore, the focus of the empire's policy in the East should be to divide Sino-Japanese relations.

The two countries have not yet signed any military alliances against third countries. At least not openly signed. This shows that they are not completely in harmony with each other, after all, Japan has invaded China twice and still occupies the island of Taiwan, and the Far Eastern State, the current economic lifeline of Japan, was once Chinese territory -- and there are always calls for reconquest and revenge in China.

The same. The Japanese have also never completely abandoned their ambitions for Chinese mainland. Although this ambition is well disguised, if there is any way to make Japan realize that their southward policy is hopeless. It is also likely that Japan's development focus will shift back to the mainland again. As long as the two Asian powers, China and Japan, fall into internal friction, then the colonial interests of Western countries in Asia can rest easy.

In this regard, our proposals are: First, the empire should not blindly suppress and contain China, and should protect and satisfy the interests of Chinese nationals in Nanyang in a certain way. In fact, these people are the main creators of the wealth of Nanyang society, and the whole of Nanyang, including the imperial colonies, cannot do without them.

Second, the empire should encourage China to develop a navy, while at the same time trying to limit Japan's development of a navy - the most important clause of the non-aggression pact signed between China and Japan was that China did not develop a large navy and Japan did not develop a large army. If China violates this clause, Sino-Japanese relations will inevitably deteriorate.

Third, the empire should give top priority to containing Soviet Russia. If the order in Europe is not disturbed by Soviet Russia, even if China and Japan form a military alliance to carry out the policy of moving south and seizing the colonies of Western countries, Western countries will still have the spare strength to deal with it. Moreover, once the road of Soviet Russia's westward expansion is completely blocked, they will inevitably turn the direction of exporting revolution to China and Japan in the east, and then the non-aggression pact between China, Japan and Russia will become a piece of waste paper......"

After reading this long oriental shì analysis report. Churchill sat quietly in his spacious cabin and pondered. The advice of these experts on the Chinese and Oriental issues of the British Empire can be said to be quite insightful, and they are also very much in line with the balancing policies of the British Empire -- but the core of these policies is to contain the westward advance of Soviet Russia. It seems that Poland will not be able to take on such a responsibility, so it can only revive Germany and let these damned Germans act as a bulwark of the civilized world!

But will Germany itself become another threat to the civilized world? Germany's combat effectiveness is not comparable to that of a weak Russia! In the world war that has just ended. Germany is fighting the armies of the whole world almost single-handedly! If it weren't for the United States in the New World, it would have joined the Entente at the last moment. Britain and France will definitely lose the war!

When he thought of the United States, a rare bitter expression appeared on Churchill's face. The United States is now on the verge of becoming the enemy of Britain! This deep-pocketed nation is pouring a lot of money into their navy - they have the most steel and the most money in the world, and they can build the world's largest navy! And the hegemony of the British Empire was built precisely on her superiority at sea.

United States, Soviet Russia, Germany, China, Japan...... These countries now seem to have become rivals of the British Empire, even during the Victorian Golden Age. Britain may not be able to fight so many enemies at the same time, let alone the current declining empire.

……

At this time, Chang Ruiqing was also reading the latest issue of the summary of the situation in Europe and the United States in detail. Due to his own butterfly effect, the course of the history of this world may have completely changed, and he can no longer judge the direction of the international situation by relying on the memory of his past life. Only the latest changes in the situation in Europe and the United States can be passed. I analyzed the various possibilities of future existence.

Of all the affairs, his main focus now was the situation in Germany and Soviet Russia. The situation of the former is still a bad mess, and the situation seems to be no different from history, including the German Socialist Workers' Party. The latter, on the other hand, have escaped a great famine in which millions of people starved to death. As a result of the early launch of the New Economic Policy, Russia enjoyed a bumper harvest in 1920. Although the country's food tax revenues have been significantly reduced compared to those of the original surplus grain collection system, the market supply situation has improved significantly. As for the recovery of Soviet Russia's industry, a small amount of foreign capital flowed into Soviet Russia to lease some poorly run enterprises, allowing them to regain their vitality and vitality -- all of which look like the situation in the early days of China's reform and opening up in history. It's just not known how long such a NEP could last under Trotsky?

When Chang Ruiqing was concentrating on reading the summary of the situation, he heard a loud "Report!" at the door! Chang Ruiqing raised his head and shouted in the direction of the door: "It's Brother Jiansheng, come in!" Come on in! The door was gently pushed open. Sure enough, it was Bai Chongxi, who had just returned from the Northeast, and he was now the Minister of the Army, and he was working in the Military Commission building, so he didn't bring his entourage. I reported a stack of official documents and walked in with a smile.

Chang Ruiqing stood up from behind the desk, walked over and took the stack of official documents with his own hands: "Sit." Have a seat! Tangshan's new home is still satisfied, right? This will henceforth be the nest of our Wehrmacht. Seeing that Chang Ruiqing was in a good mood, Bai Chongxi just smiled and nodded: "Okay, the mountains and rivers are beautiful, and there is a hot spring, which is much better than the stinky Nanjing City." ”

The two of them talked and laughed for a few words, and then Bai Chongxi looked pale: "Yaoru, the official document here is the plan for the formation of the standing army, the replenishment of soldiers, and the expansion of mobilization after the compulsory military service system is fully implemented throughout the country. In peacetime, the Army will maintain the strength of twenty-one corps, including twenty infantry corps and one cavalry corps, each of which will have three divisions and each division will have three regiments. In addition, at the corps and division levels, auxiliary units are also attached to them, and the units directly under the corps level are all regiment-level establishments, and the division-level auxiliary units are battalion-level establishments. In addition, brigade-level auxiliary units directly subordinate to the Artillery Command, the Engineer Command, the Armored Corps Command, the Cavalry Command and the Joint Logistics Command have been established. ”

He groaned. He continued: "In the future, the establishment of the Wehrmacht Army will also be divided into wartime and peacetime, and an infantry division should have 12,000 men in wartime and 7,500 in peacetime. The total strength of the entire Wehrmacht Army in peacetime will not exceed 600,000. The wartime mobilization system will refer to Japan and Western countries, and adopt a system of phased mobilization, with the first mobilization being to replenish all 21 armies to full strength. The total strength of the army will exceed 900,000.

The second phase of mobilization was to expand all 21 armies into group armies. All divisions will also be expanded into corps, regiments into divisions, battalions into regiments, and the total strength of the army will increase to 2.8 million to 3 million.

The third phase of the expansion will include the formation of 21 new armies. The total strength of the army will be expanded to more than 6 million troops...... At present, the limit of the mobilization expansion plan drawn up by the War Department is 42 group armies, 126 armies, and a total strength of 6 million troops, and it will take about a year and a half to complete this mobilization plan.

In addition, to ensure that this mobilization plan is realized. We also need to establish a reserve system for weapons and equipment. In peacetime, it is necessary to reserve all the weapons and equipment that can arm at least 42 armies, and it is also necessary to store ammunition for the maintenance of all 63 armies for at least three battles. ”

Chang Ruiqing knocked on the stack of official documents on the table and listened to Bai Chongxi's words, nodded slightly, and said in a deep voice: "Include this army mobilization and expansion plan in the first five-year plan, and complete it by the end of the 16th year of the Republic of China." The Second Five-Year Plan will further double the upper limit of the army's mobilization and expansion scale, and the army's weaponry and mechanization will also be comprehensively improved, and the division level will be assigned to the artillery regiment automobile regiment, and the army level will be assigned to the artillery brigade automobile brigade, in addition to the establishment of a considerable number of armored corps, motorized corps, and mountain and jungle corps......"

Bai Chongxi was a little stunned. Asked in a low voice: "Yaoru, 12 million troops are needed!" There is also the establishment of ...... Armored Corps and Motorized Corps? Who are we going to fight against? ”

Chang Ruiqing looked at him with some incomprehension, and sighed slightly: "What is needed, what awaits us in the future is a world war!" As for who the opponent is, let's be honest. I don't know now, and I'm afraid no one knows...... The current world is still in the process of being rebuilt, and it is unclear who we will ally with and who we will fight against. But we must be ready to win a world war! Brother Jiansheng. Do you understand what I mean? ”

Bai Chongxi nodded, with an indescribable excited expression in his eyes: "I understand!" Yaoru. Don't worry, when the two five-year war preparation plans are completed, our defense forces will not be afraid of any opponent in the world! No matter who fights the future world war, China will definitely be the victor! ”

Chang Ruiqing patted the text on the table and said to Bai Chongxi: "I plan to announce the army's first five-year preparation plan in the near future, which will be announced on the same day that Churchill, the British Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs, visited Siam. As he spoke, he took out a top-secret document from the drawer of his desk and handed it to Bai Chongxi: "Brother Jiansheng, this is the plan that the General Staff has just drawn up to enter Tibet, you can take it and take a look...... The War Department should make preparations for entering Tibet by force before next spring! The Nationalist Government will also present an ultimatum to the Tibetan authorities in the near future! ”

"Yaoru, will we make the situation worse by doing this?" Bai Chongxi hesitated for a moment, but still raised a question. "Britain has always regarded Tibet as the ...... of its sphere of influence"

Chang Ruiqing smiled coldly: "In front of the paper tiger of the British Empire, we don't need to pretend to be grandsons!" The more he pretends to be a grandson, the more this paper tiger will show his teeth and claws. We are now a second-class power on an equal footing with Soviet Russia and Japan! Since it is a great power, it should be like a great power, and the military movement of a great power on its own territory does not require the approval of a foreign country. The Great Powers also have the right to conclude treaties of alliance with any sovereign State. And as a great power, you should also be qualified to defend the interests of the diaspora abroad! ”

Bai Chongxi somewhat understood what Chang Ruiqing meant. He wanted to take advantage of the current situation when Britain, the world's number one power, was in a difficult situation at home and abroad, and established China's status as a great power through the struggle against Britain! Once a big country like China shows signs of rising, it will inevitably be suspicious of the world's first-mover powers. No matter how much you show weakness to the outside world, it won't help! Instead of living in a wrestling bag like that, it is better to openly claim to be a great power and openly fight for its own power and interests in the international arena!