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British Indian colony, Calcutta, seat of the Viceroy of India. The current Viceroy of India is Henry. Sir Harding. His predecessor, Lord Ehrenborough, had taken responsibility for the defeat in the war against the Chinese Empire and was relieved of his post as viceroy of India. For Lord Ehrenborough, though, just being removed from office was already a good ending. More than two years as Viceroy of India had allowed him to accumulate a fortune, and even after returning to England, he was able to live the life of a wealthy man.

Henry. Sir Harding only became the Viceroy of India in July last year, and although in the eyes of the British magnates, the Viceroy of India was still a fat shortage, but India was too close to the Chinese Empire, and the relationship between the British Empire and the Chinese Empire was very unharmonious, which made the position of Viceroy of India full of dangers. If he can be the governor of India for two or three years, it will be very good, but if a war breaks out between the British Empire and the Chinese Empire, India will inevitably become the target of the Chinese Empire. It is difficult to say whether India will be able to hold on to the defeat of the British army. As India's supreme military and political chief, will the Viceroy of India come to a good end after the fall of India?

Therefore, the appointment of Viceroy of India was very important to Henry. For Sir Harding, it was more like a gamble. He hoped that his luck would not be as bad as that of his predecessor, and that he would be the governor of India for a few years and make a lot of money. Go back to England and enjoy yourself. Of course, in order to secure his position, Henry. After the Governor of Harding succeeded him. A series of measures have also been enacted to increase India's military strength against a possible strong enemy.

Henry. Sir Harding sent a report to the British Government calling for further strengthening of India's military strength, especially its navy, and for the transfer of Britain's latest steam warships to the Indian fleet so that it could compete with the Chinese Navy's 5th Fleet deployed in Singapore. The Indian fleet now has only a few old sail warships. These sail warships are simply no match for the steam warships of the Chinese Navy. The British Navy has now mass-produced a steam warship that is said to be inferior to the Chinese Navy's 'Xia-class' cruisers. In order to increase the strength of the British Navy, the British government purchased 20 new steam warships of this type at one time. Moreover. More advanced next-class warships are already in the midst of intense design. In naval construction, the wealthy British have always been willing to invest, hoping to quickly catch up with the Chinese Empire. to defend the position of British maritime supremacy!

The total strength of India's land forces. Also high, Henry. Sir Harding planned to expand India's army to one million men, of which more than 200,000 were elite units made up of British. The other 800,000 were British-Indian troops composed of British officers of all ranks, indigenous Indians. Henry. Baron Harding believed that as long as India had strong military strength, the Chinese would not dare to provoke India. When the time comes. India's security will be much improved, and he, the Viceroy of India, will be more comfortable. As for the money that needs to be spent to build the army. All came from the Indian colonies. The so-called wool comes from the sheep, as long as the exploitation in India is increased, one qiē is enough.

Thailand's envoy, King Rama III, Phiraphorn, arrived in Kolkata only on March 10. Because they wanted to avoid the attention of the Chinese side, Phiraphorn and his party were very careful, and they first took a boat from Thailand to Myanmar, and then from Myanmar to Kolkata.

After Phirapong arrived in Kolkata, he was secretly taken to the Viceroy on the outskirts of Kolkata by the Viceroy of India. The British never gave up on Thailand, and even after the loss of the Straits Settlements, the British intelligence agencies still left some people in Bangkok, who secretly obtained information about Thailand for the British under the cover of their professions as priests or doctors. The trip to Kolkata by the Thai envoy Phiraphorn was also completed with the help of these intelligence officers.

When Phirapong arrived at the Governor's Palace, the Viceroy of India, Henry Phirapong. Sir Harding was already waiting for him in his study, and under the guidance of the secretary of the Doge's Palace, Phirapong met Henry. Sir Harding.

"Good afternoon, Your Excellency the Governor, it is a great pleasure to see you." Phirapong respectfully addressed Henry. Sir Harding saluted. Because King Rama III of Thailand advocates Western learning, there are many English schools in Thailand, and some Thai elites will also learn English.

"Your Excellency, good afternoon!" Henry. Sir Harding was smiling all over his face, and looked very gentlemanly.

After the maid of the Doge's Palace brought the coffee, Phirapong and Henry. Sir Harding's talk, this is the point.

"Your Excellency the Governor, the Chinese are too ambitious, they have already shown strong ambitions for Thailand, and as a friend of Thailand, we need the help of the British." Pirapong said directly.

"The ambitions of the Chinese are very terrible, and I know that they destroyed two East Asian countries in quick succession last year. If this continues, the whole Far East will become the territory of that vast empire. "Henry. Sir Harding said. The aggressiveness of the Chinese Empire also worried the British government. Once the Chinese Empire had completed its occupation of the Far East, they would inevitably turn to the West. When the time comes, rich India will certainly become the first target of the Chinese Empire. This is important for Henry. Sir Harding, that wasn't a good thing.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Governor. The Chinese are so greedy that they are like an unfed dragon, trying to swallow the whole world. Although Thailand is weak, we will not sit idly by, and we will do our best to fight back against the Chinese. However, Thailand is too weak, and we hope that we can get help from the British, and I beg His Excellency the Governor to help us. Phirapong said sincerely.

"Your Excellency, Thailand has always been a friendly country of the British Empire, and of course we will not sit idly by." Henry. Sir Harding said. However, he began to weigh what he could do to help Thailand and at the same time avoid conflict with the Chinese Empire. Because of the Hong Kong problem, the relationship between Britain and the Chinese empire has fallen to a freezing point. If there is another conflict, there is a high probability that a fierce conflict will break out between the two countries, or even a war. The current Chinese Empire is in a period of rapid rise, and even the mighty British Empire can only temporarily avoid the edge.

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency the Governor, with the help of the British Empire, we are confident that we can withstand the aggression of the Chinese." Phirapong said excitedly.

"Your Excellency, how does Thailand want us to help you?" Henry. Sir Harding said.

"Your Excellency the Governor, Thailand wants to form an alliance with the British." Phirapong said.

Henry. Sir Harding was stunned that the Thais actually wanted an alliance with the British, and if it had been before, the British might have agreed to such a request. But now, China has revealed its ambitions for Thailand, and if it forms an alliance with Thailand at this time, it will directly drag Britain into the water! This is not a good thing for the UK. Britain's policy is to suppress China, but it must try not to directly oppose China as much as possible. Otherwise, it will have a huge impact on the UK.

"Your Excellency, I can report back to China on the alliance. However, such a major event is obviously not something I can call the shots. Also, I can tell you unequivocally that this is almost impossible. The British Empire was reluctant to confront China directly at this time. "Henry. Sir Harding said.

"Your Excellency the Governor, if Britain agrees to an alliance with Thailand, we can develop territory with Britain, let Britain station troops in Thailand, establish military bases, and so on." Phirapong said hurriedly.

Henry. Sir Harding was not at all interested in the conditions put forward by Phiraphorn. Although Thailand's geographical location was important, if the British were able to station troops in Thailand, they could pose a direct threat to the Chinese Empire. However, now stationed troops in Thailand, this is clearly to help the Thais and the Chinese Empire fight. The British government won't agree!

"Your Excellency, please wait patiently for a while, and I will send a telegram to the cabinet immediately!" Henry. Sir Harding said. Inevitably pestering Phirapun again, Henry. Sir Harding left directly on the grounds that he still had important matters to deal with.

Subsequently, Henry. Sir Harding reported the news of the visit of the Thai envoy to India to the British Cabinet by telegram. As for what the cabinet will do and whether it will accede to the Thais' request for an alliance, this is not Henry. Sir Harding could have intervened. However, he believed that as long as the cabinet bureaucrats were not out of their minds, they would definitely not agree to an alliance with Thailand, which would directly drag Britain into the water and even involve it in the war. Of course, Britain was happy to see the Chinese Empire and Thailand fight, and they were even willing to sell or provide free support to Thailand a batch of weapons and equipment to resist the invasion of the Chinese Empire, so that the Chinese Empire would be mired in the war in Thailand.

British Foreign Secretary Henry. Viscount Temple received the Viceroy of India, Henry. Immediately after Sir Harding's telegram, he rushed to the Prime Minister's Office to report to Prime Minister John Harding. Sir Russell debriefed. Henry. Viscount Temple sees this as a good opportunity for Britain to return to the South Seas. After the Straits Settlements were occupied by the Chinese Empire, Britain had been blocked to the west of the Straits of Malacca, and had completely lost its influence in the South Seas and the Far East. Even if Hong Kong is a colony, it has no effect. Hong Kong has been under heavy siege by Chinese* troops. If Thailand could turn to the UK, it would be different. (To be continued......)