In this world, after all, the law of the jungle is still the strong. The great powers dominate the whole world and dominate the whole world. Other small countries are just pawns in the hands of these big countries, and they can be sacrificed at any time.

The British boast of being the world's number one power and the world's hegemon. However, in fact, under the pressure of the Germans, the British world hegemony was already shaky and could collapse at any time. Therefore, the British did everything possible to defeat the Germans and retain their supremacy. But in reality, this is nothing more than the delusion of the British. Wu Haoxuan was familiar with the time and space, although the British won the war. However, they have actually lost everything. The Great War cost the British tens of billions of pounds of wealth, and directly consumed all the wealth accumulated by the British over the centuries. Although the British maintained their position as world hegemon on the surface, in reality they still lost their dominance over the world. In particular, their large number of orders during the war made the United States on the other side of the ocean greatly develop. Especially in the high-tech field, the peaceful and stable United States is very attractive to those high-end talents. As a result, the United States has quickly caught up with Europe in terms of scientific and technological strength. After the end of World War II, it quickly replaced Britain as the new world hegemon.

Even before the outbreak of World War II, the British knew they were in a bad situation. Therefore, they tried in every possible way to delay the outbreak of war. This allowed them to satisfy the Germans at the expense of the small countries. This policy is also known as appeasement. However, history later proved that the policy of appeasement was a failure. Britain's concessions, far from satisfying the Germans' appetites, intensified them. In the end, war inevitably broke out.

The current situation is also very similar at the beginning. Although the British knew that war was inevitable, they did not want it to break out either. After all, wars are all about money! This would greatly threaten Germany's world hegemony. In addition, Britain does not want to offend more countries at this time. So, in the face of British demands on the Dutch East Indies. It is unlikely that the British will choose direct confrontation. In order to appease China and prevent China from joining the Allies, they would most likely choose to sacrifice the Netherlands to satisfy the interests of the Chinese Empire. Moreover, they hoped that by satisfying the appetite of the Chinese Empire, the Chinese Empire would not be open to the British and French colonies in Asia.

Therefore, Wu Haoxuan was sure that this operation against the Dutch East Indies would definitely be successful. The Dutch themselves did not have the strength and wanted to rely on other countries to protect their interests. That's simply not possible.

In this world, after all, whoever has the biggest fist has the final say. Only when we have strong force can we protect our own interests. Otherwise, defending national interests and sovereignty will be nothing more than empty talk.

The expansion plan of the Chinese Empire to Nanyang began to be implemented in full swing. The warships of the South Sea Fleet of the Chinese Navy frequently appeared off the coast of the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch navy in the Dutch East Indies had nothing more than a small fleet. This small fleet. Fighting pirates and the like might also be able to deal with the Chinese Navy's Nanyang Fleet. That's a bit of a hard time for them. It can be said that the coastline of the Dutch East Indies is almost undefended. The Imperial Navy was able to easily deliver those weapons and equipment to the Chinese in the Dutch East Indies.

The Military Intelligence Bureau also secretly sent a large number of retired soldiers and officers to Nanyang to train Chinese armed forces. Armed in the hands of the Chinese with the support of the Empire. It's almost snowballing, and it's growing rapidly. It is expected that in half a year or even less, the Chinese in the Dutch East Indies will have enough weapons in their hands to confront the Dutch colonial authorities. When the time comes, it will be time for the empire to officially intervene in the South Seas.

At a time when the Chinese Empire was secretly preparing to expand into the South Seas. Japan, the empire's eastern neighbor, is watching in horror the development of China's naval power, as if it were facing a great enemy. The entry into service of two 'Longxing-class' battleships and two 'Longfei-class' battlecruisers further widened the gap between the Japanese and Chinese navies. Even at this moment, the Japanese Navy did not have a single capital ship. Two 'Hanoi-class' battleships are under intense construction. Construction of two 'Kongo-class' battle cruisers, also with the help of the British, is underway at the Yokosuka Naval Base and the Kure Port Naval Base. Plus two 'Kong-class' battlecruisers built in Britain. It was expected that in two years, the Japanese Navy would receive two battleships and four battlecruisers. Such strength is no longer weak in the Far East. However, it seems that it is not enough to defeat the Chinese navy with such a force.

In the Japanese Admiralty, Gonbei Yamamoto and Heihachiro Togo, who have become veterans, are discussing the current situation with the current three commanders of the Japanese Navy. The expressions on everyone's faces were very solemn. They all know that it will undoubtedly be very difficult for the Japanese Navy to defeat the Chinese Navy.

"The people of China actually used a trick to deceive the world and the sea again. Once again, they received two battleships and two battlecruisers from the Germans, which brought the total number of battleships and four battlecruisers to the Chinese navy. Even if all the capital ships we are building are in service, there will be two fewer capital ships than the China Navy. Our odds won't be great, I'm afraid. Japanese Navy Minister Rokuro Yashiro said.

"Yes! The 'Longxing-class' battlecruisers and the 'Longfei-class' battlecruisers of the China people are both giant ships with a displacement of nearly 30,000 tons, which are not much smaller than the imperial 'King Kong-class' battlecruisers. Its 343 mm guns posed a great threat to the Imperial Navy's 'Kong-class' battle cruisers. With only four 'King Kong-class' battlecruisers and two 'Hanoi-class' battleships, it will be very difficult to suppress the Chinese navy. "Said the head of the Japanese Navy's Command, Shimamura Suo.

"Two adults. From the last naval battle, it can be shown that the quality of the Chinese navy is actually comparable to that of the imperial navy. In addition, the Chinese people shamelessly destroyed the Etajima Naval Academy during the war, causing many of our naval elites to die before they could grow up, which further dealt a blow to the development of the Imperial Navy. Therefore, if we want to make sure that we will defeat the Chinese in future wars, then at least we will not be much inferior to the Chinese in terms of the size of our fleet. Gentaro Yamashita, commander of the Combined Fleet of the Japanese Navy, also said.

Gonbei Yamamoto and Heihachiro Togo both nodded. The Japanese Navy is undoubtedly much more rational than those armies that cut their stomachs at every turn. They all knew that Rokuro Yashiro and the others were telling the truth. The Japanese Navy has fallen from its peak to the bottom. If you want to seek revenge on the Chinese Navy, you really need to build more capital ships.

"We are not without advantages in the face of the Chinese navy. The shipbuilding industry of the people of China is far from being comparable to that of the Empire. They do not have the ability to build capital ships on their own. Although, they still have eight capital ships. However, for a long time to come, they will only have eight capital ships. In the Empire, on the other hand, we can build our own capital ships without being controlled by others. When the strength of the Imperial Navy surpasses that of China, we can wait until the strength of the Imperial Navy recovers. Now that the 'Kongo-class' battlecruisers have begun to be built, we can build the next class of capital ships on our own. Heihachiro Togo also said.

Yamamoto Gonbei nodded: "The current finances of the empire are not very good. However, Britain, France, and the United States were all providing a steady stream of support to the Empire. If the construction of new warships begins, there should be no problems. ”

Although, the Japanese have long been in debt. If Japan were to be compared to a company, they would have long since become insolvent and could have been declared bankrupt. However, in order to contain China, Britain, France, and the United States did everything possible to support Japan to confront China, so that Japan could develop armaments beyond its national strength. Of course, the Japanese hoped to defeat China in a future war. In this way, no matter how much foreign debt they have borrowed now, they will be able to get it back from China even harder. It can be said that as long as China is defeated, Japan will be able to turn the tables. As a result, Japan has almost fallen into a kind of pathological paranoia, and the country's hopes are completely focused on defeating China.

Of course, it can also be understood that the Japanese are gambling with all their national fortunes. If the bet wins, then Japan will once again be able to become the hegemon of East Asia, a world-class power. Even, their status is higher than before they were defeated by China. However, if it fails, Japan will be completely destroyed, and it will never have the power to turn over.

However, there is no other choice for Japan today. They have no choice but to willingly become pawns of Britain, France and the United States. Otherwise, the huge amount of foreign debt owed alone would be enough to bring Japan to a complete collapse. Japan can only exert all its strength to defeat China in a decisive battle in the future, so as to reverse the fate of the Yamato nation. Even if it fails, it is estimated that it will not be much worse than it is now.

The capital ships of the Chinese Navy have doubled, which makes Japan feel a great crisis. In order to resolve the crisis, they can only expand their military power as much as possible. (To be continued.) )

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