Learvan's visit to Churchill must have been more than just a matter of photographs, for it was not worth the trip. The main reason for Leerwin's visit this time was to ask Churchill for advice on the strategy of this step.

"Is it according to the previous plan to intensify the temptation of the Soviet Union? Or a pause? ”

According to Churchill's previous orders, MI6 was prepared to constantly create small frictions to provoke the Soviet Union. In Churchill's words, it was to burn the fire little by little until it provoked the Soviet Union. The purpose was to completely destroy the relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, so as to achieve the idea of making the United States hate the Soviet Union and thus get closer to Britain.

This idea has been intensively implemented before, especially with the fermentation of the B29 incident, the British were once gearing up. And now that the B29 incident has come to a shocking reversal, it is worth considering whether to continue the previous assumption.

Churchill thought for a moment and then resolutely ordered: "Continue to carry out the operation according to the previous plan, but control the intensity, not too slowly and not too violently, and just the right amount to make the Soviets uncomfortable!" ”

Li Erwen naturally knows in her heart, she is the best at this kind of work, and she can't immediately order her elite soldiers to prepare for a big job.

So where are the British ready to create friction? The location is in the northern waters of the United Kingdom. MI6 specially requisitioned some Royal Navy destroyers and Q ships and ambushed them south of Iceland, quietly waiting for an opportunity to cause trouble.

The Iceland problem was a thorn in the hearts of the British, who had taken advantage of the British Empire's worst times to occupy Iceland, and Iceland's strategic position in the North Atlantic was quite important, almost equivalent to Malta in the Mediterranean. Soviet long-range bombers could have taken off from their bases in Iceland and hit the British Isles, which was the most direct threat!

The British have been trying to find fault with this, and have been trying to get the Soviet Union out of Iceland. For example, the Danish government-in-exile has always been talking about things, refusing to recognize Iceland's independence, and demanding that the Soviet "invaders" get out of Iceland immediately. All in all, the British have been chattering about Iceland like a resentful woman.

Prior to this, the Soviet Union basically exercised restraint and operated a sea and air base in Iceland in ******** anyway, and the Soviet Union not only carried out military construction in Iceland, but also especially strengthened its assistance to the Republic of Iceland. In the eyes of the natives, the Russians were pretty good, at least in the very difficult time of the World War, when Iceland's subsistence fishing industry was not very profitable, and without the help of the Soviet Union, the whole of Iceland would have to drink the northwest wind.

And a stable Iceland oriented towards the Soviet Union must not be seen by the British, so the British are desperate to do something, and it is better to get an excuse to intervene in the Icelandic problem.

And now, Learvin is ready to make such an excuse. The UK and Iceland are not without their disputes, and the focus of the dispute is cod. Yes, with the great development of the European economy, the standard of living is naturally rising, and the demand for cod is also getting stronger and stronger. The waters around Iceland are home to the most cod.

In order to compete for cod resources, the Nordic countries naturally rushed to Icelandic waters, and the most uncomfortable thing for Iceland was a large number of British fishermen. With the British Empire as their backer, these people are simply robbers at sea, more fierce than Icelanders fishing, and they are simply scraping the ground.

At first, Iceland didn't dare to offend the British, after all, at that time, Denmark, the suzerainty of Iceland, still had to mix with the British, how could it be possible to barn its teeth at the master? However, Iceland gained independence in World War II, and Iceland, freed from the shadow of Denmark, naturally could not tolerate Britain as a bad neighbor like a bandit.

In order to protect its cod resources and to protect the rights and interests of its fishermen, Iceland has announced that it requires fishing vessels from other countries to leave Iceland's territorial waters within a specified period. Historically, this period was August 30, 1958.

After this deadline was reached, fishing boats from other countries left the 12-nautical-mile territorial waters established by the Icelandic government, but the British did not take it seriously. How could a weak chicken like Iceland be put in the corner of the eyes of the British Empire, as the world's leading maritime power, the British Royal Navy can hang Iceland with both hands tied, and naturally the trawlers will be opened, and the fish will be caught correctly.

However, Iceland is still very temperamental, and does not fear the British because of the difference in strength, but actively protects its maritime rights and interests, and even fired the first shot before the British. The Icelandic ships that guarded the fishing opened fire to drive out the British ships (of course, Iceland also kept a hand, only hitting the boats and not people, just to prevent excessive irritation of the British), which was later called the First Cod War.

Of course, this is historical, and now the situation is different. The Soviet Union, which was a protectorate of Iceland and had a navy, army, and air force stationed in Iceland, naturally had to support Iceland. Therefore, since Iceland declared its independence, the Soviet government has made it clear that it respects Iceland's maritime rights and interests, and Soviet fishing vessels will not enter Iceland's territorial waters to fish.

Not only was it a verbal promise, but the Soviet Union also actively supported Iceland's military construction, and with the assistance of the Soviet Union, Iceland established a short and capable fishing protection force, the main force of which was 12 Type 36 frigates supported by the Soviet Union free of charge.

With the support of the Soviet Union, the Icelandic government sent a note to the Nordic countries in 1943 declaring that Iceland's territorial waters were 12 nautical miles from baselines and that any foreign fishing vessels had to cease fishing in Iceland's territorial waters by 30 June 1944. Otherwise, the Government of Iceland will retain the power to take coercive measures.

Obviously, this one made the British quite unhappy, and they still need permission to fish in Icelandic waters for thousands of years? When will a mere Iceland be able to yell at the British Empire?

Anyway, Britain's attitude at this time was basically the same as in history, and it still didn't take Iceland seriously, even if the Soviet Union stood behind Iceland at this time, and the British Empire still didn't think that the Red Navy was anything great.

So neither the British government nor the British fishermen took the Icelandic government's ban seriously. After the second half of 1944, they continued to enter Icelandic territorial waters for fishing.

So from July 1944, a series of cat-and-mouse games began in Icelandic waters, British trawlers swaggered into Icelandic territorial waters to fish, once discovered by the Icelandic Navy and Coast Guard, they did not rush to Icelandic territorial waters, and even directly called the Royal Navy to come to reinforcements.

Under the protection of the Royal Navy, the Icelandic Navy and the Coast Guard naturally have nothing to do with these fishing boats, after all, the Icelanders are not stupid, and they know that it is not appropriate to directly clash with Britain now, even if it is covered by the Soviet Union, it is relatively risky to engage in such a situation. After all, the world war has not yet ended, and Britain and the Soviet Union cannot turn their faces immediately, and everyone can get over the general minor problems by playing haha.

Therefore, Iceland's approach is to strengthen law enforcement at sea, not only 12 Type 36 frigates poured out of the nest, but also modified a number of law enforcement vessels, once they found British fishing boats stealing fish, they immediately rushed up to "encircle" and "expell", either to shoot at the relevant sea areas to scare away the fish in the sea, or to rush up and directly cut the fishing nets, so that the British fishermen lost all their money.

As a result, British fishermen were not completely unable to catch fish, but at least their fishing efficiency was reduced exponentially, and even a considerable number of fishermen made a trip to Iceland with enough fish to pay for oil.

Churchill was naturally very annoyed by this, and he wanted to teach the Icelanders a lesson who did not know the height of the sky. So there was this operation planned by MI6.

In this operation, the plan of the British was to "fish", first use a specially modified Q boat to attract the attention of the Icelandic Navy or the Coast Guard, lure them to open fire, once the Icelanders opened fire, even if they shot into the water to scare the fish, the Royal Navy had a reason to intervene, and would categorically rush out of the spur to repair the Icelanders. According to Learwin's request, it was necessary to capture one or two Icelandic ships and give the Icelanders a little color.

On a full moon night, the Harvest sneaked into Icelandic territorial waters, and like other British fishing boats stealing fish, they quietly infiltrated and then lowered their trawls and began to search for cod.

It's just that unlike ordinary British fishing boats, the real identity of the Harvest is a specially modified Q ship, that is, an early submarine hunter. It looks like a normal fishing boat, but the power is much greater. Ordinary fishing boats are great at 10 knots, but the Harvest can run up to 18 knots. Such a speed is no weaker than that of ordinary corvettes during World War II.

"Keep your eyes open, keep an eye on the sea, and you have to let me know as soon as the Icelanders appear!" The captain of the ship, Admiral Mitchell, ordered his men in an unquestionable tone.

For Mitchell, this mission is really disgusting, it is actually used to lure the Icelandic ship to hook, he is a little incomprehensible about this, in its opinion, the powerful Royal Navy can completely crush Iceland, and what kind of fishing tactics are played, just show the cart and horse to kill the door to tear up the Icelandic pirates. Now this obscene fishing tactic is simply a disgrace to the Royal Navy!

However, although he was very dissatisfied with this mission, as an old navy, he still chose to obey orders. But after the successful completion of the task, he must report to his superiors and talk about the matter well.

Just as Captain Mitchell was grumbling, a cloud of black smoke rose from the sea level northeast of the Harvest, apparently a ship approaching. The approaching vessel was none other than the Icelandic Coast Guard 2135. It's also pitiful, but the 2135 is old, and in 1900 this small frigate with a full load displacement of less than 1,000 tons was already in service in Iceland. He was 44 years old this year.

In the ship industry, a 44-year-old ship can really be said to be grandparents, but this kind of generation is useless. At sea, there is no tradition of respecting the old and loving the young. The qualifications of the 2135 can also show how embarrassed the Icelandic coast guard is. Who made Iceland a small country with a small population and limited economic power?

The staggering 2135 seemed to have spotted the Harvest, and he approached the Harvest in an old fashion, and shouted to the Harvest in Icelandic English: "Please note that the British fishing boat on the other side has entered Icelandic territorial waters, and according to Icelandic law, you must leave immediately." And to repeat, you must leave now! ”

Mitchell glanced at No. 2135 with a telescope, and to be honest, he was really quite disdainful, it was a joke that such a steaming garbage that was too dilapidated for steelmaking would dare to order him to leave.

In Mitchell's view, No. 2135 is the epitome of Iceland's sea power, what is there to be afraid of such a garbage sea power, it can be rushed up and hanged!

It's just that the orders from above are clearly written, and Mitchell can only act according to the orders and must not trespass. So according to the script developed by MI6, it was time for him to stage a "death" trip next.

"Put away the trawl, prepare to retreat, pretend like a little!" Mitchell ordered angrily.

Soon, No. 2135 noticed that the Harvest was beginning to turn, and it seemed that the sailors on board were also in a mess, and everything was normal. So 2135 also performed its duties in the established way, according to the rules set by the Icelandic parliament, as long as the foreign ships stealing fish left voluntarily, they did not have to use force to expel them, and 2135 only needed to send them out of Icelandic territorial waters.

So the captain of the ship ordered: "Tell the engine room, don't be in a hurry, slow down, and try to save fuel." ”

Due to the heavy task of protecting the fishery, in order to stay at sea as long as possible, the Icelandic coast guard and navy will try to save fuel as much as possible, unless they encounter that kind of leper dog, they generally do not go full speed to pursue. As is the case at the current standard, they usually just make a show and watch the British leave.

"***, these damn Icelanders, what a waste of time!"

Mitchell is quite unhappy with this situation, his mission is to lure the Icelandic coast guard out of the territorial waters, but the grandson who should be roaring and chasing is still unhurried, what does this mean? I don't take the Royal Navy seriously at all!

Fighting back his anger, Mitchell slowly headed towards the open sea, as long as the Icelanders followed. But what he didn't expect was that just when it was not far from the territorial sea line, No. 2135 suddenly gave up "pursuing" the Harvest Harvest. He drove away in the other direction.

Mitchell was speechless, he really couldn't figure out what the Icelanders thought, whether your nerves were too big, or if you didn't take the Royal Navy seriously at all!

When No. 2135 Shi Shiran drove away, the first mate asked Mitchell, "Captain, what should I do next?" ”

Mitchell was also crying and laughing, just now he also sent a telegram to the friendly forces in ambush behind him, so that they were ready for battle, who would have thought that the prey would turn around and run away after going to the mouth of the net, what is going on? Could it be that the Icelanders had insight into their plot?

No, there is only one reason why No. 2135 turned around and left, Iceland's maritime fishing protection force is really insufficient, and there are too many British fishing boats that have gone to Iceland's territorial waters to steal fish, so the Icelandic coast guard is really a little busy. Seeing that the harvest was more honest this time, No. 2135 felt that there was no need to continue tracking, so hurry up and go to another sea area to catch people!

For Mitchell, it was really painful, he couldn't catch up with No. 2135 and shout, "Fool, come after me!" "That would be a sign that the Icelanders, no matter how stupid, would cause them to be wary, and if they didn't get it right, the whole operation would be ruined.

So Mitchell could only curse the Icelanders for not being a man enough, and send a report to the friendly ships in ambush, telling them that the Icelandic fish was not easy to catch.

"It's all a bunch of stiff-minded idiots!" Li Erwen soon learned the news, and she was not polite to her compatriots at all: "If you don't provoke others, how can people chase after them with all their might?" Do you want me to teach you this little thing? ”

Provocation? This Mitchell really knew it, so he returned to Icelandic territorial waters without saying a word, determined to implement the above requirements well.

"Look around and see if there are any Icelandic fishing boats!"

Soon the Harvest met with another Icelandic fishing boat, and the Icelandic captain immediately issued a warning to the Harvest to get out. Mitchell just snorted coldly at this, and then ordered without hesitation: "Give them a little color to see, bump into it!" ”

"Isn't that too much?" The first mate hesitated.

"It's not too much at all, I'm carrying out the orders of my superiors, hurry up, get full power, crash! Give these stinky fishermen a little color! ”

The Harvest quickly picked up speed, and to the amazement of the Icelandic fishing boat, the damn British fishing boat actually crashed straight into them!

"My God, are the British crazy?" The Icelandic captain let out an exclamation of surprise, then quickly turned the rudder to try to dodge.

The question is, can you get out of the way? The Harvest is not really a fishing boat, and its bottom plate is a naval ocean-going tugboat, so don't look at it small, but it is powerful. And because it often has to tug and top boats, the Harvest is not ordinarily sturdy. So when the two boats collided, the Icelandic fishing boat was really quite miserable, with a sharp metal friction sound, the left rotation of the Icelandic fishing boat was knocked open a big hole, the turbulent sea water rushed madly inward, and the fishing boat was sinking at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In fact, it was still Mitchell who kept his hand, if it wasn't for the last moment when he changed the rudder, when the two ships really collided, the Harvest could directly knock each other over. However, the Icelandic fishing boat was still miserable, and the captain was crying out for help through the radio in a hoarse voice, and he only had time to shout three times before he had to jump ship with a lifebuoy to escape.

Obviously, this time is still quite ruthless, and Mitchell is also quite satisfied with this, only to see him triumphantly say to his subordinates: "See, this is the end of the mantis arm to stop the car!" ”

The first mate asked a little nervously, "I'm afraid it's not good to kill someone, right?" ”

Mitchell said very domineeringly: "It is only by killing him that it has an effect, if you don't kill him, how can you let the Icelandic miscellaneous people know that they are afraid, otherwise they still think that the British Empire is easy to bully!" ”

Although the first mate doesn't quite agree with Mitchell's statement, whoever makes the family a superior, what the captain says is naturally what he says. Still, he suggested, "Should we save people?" ”

Mitchell snorted coldly and said disdainfully: "What to save, let the Icelanders soak in the sea water for a while, the current temperature is just right to cool down their feverish brains and let them come to their senses again!" Saying that, he waved his hand and ordered categorically: "Listen to my orders, start fishing, and pretend to be a little bit for me!" ”

Under Mitchell's order, there was a shocking scene on the sea, on one side of the Icelandic fishermen who were constantly struggling for help in the waves, and on the other side was the harvest ship that Yuzai Yuzai had started fishing, and Mitchell, who was in a good mood, even took out his fishing rod and started fishing.

This scene was quickly seen by the 2135 who rushed to the news after hearing the news, to be honest, this made the crew of the 2135 a little dumbfounded, they had never seen such a frenzied behavior, even if the two countries on the ground were at war at sea, they would try their best to rescue the crew who fell into the water, even if the other party was an enemy, they could not see death without saving it!

The actions of the Harvest infuriated 2135, and the Icelandic Coast Guard glared at the Harvest one by one, almost wanting to eat it alive. Especially when the captain found out that the harvest was the "second palace", this anger was like pouring oil into the fire, and it rose up in an instant.

"Open fire and order the British to stop the ship immediately!" The captain of the 2135 gritted his teeth and ordered, at this moment he really regretted it, if he had continued to follow just now, until the British were driven out of the territorial waters, maybe this tragedy in front of him would not have happened. So at this moment, he really wants to give the British a little color.

The double-barreled 57mm gun at the bow of No. 2135 fired a shot at the Harvest area, and then ordered the Harvest to stop immediately for inspection by radio and flag.

"Let Lao Tzu stop the boat? You deserve it too! Mitchell spat in the bridge and commanded contemptuously: "Tell the Icelanders to fuck off!" ”

Mitchell's reply undoubtedly made the 2135 furious, but at this time, the captain of the ship could still maintain the last line of sanity, and he ordered: "Put the traffic boat down, save people first." Keep shouting over the radio and stop the British! ”

It's just that the British's reply made 2135 absolutely unexpected, and under Mitchell's order, the crew of the Harvest on deck collectively pointed to 2135, and this international standard gesture directly eliminated the last line of reason of the captain of 2135.

"Fire the gun, give these bastards a little color!"

At first, Mitchell didn't pay much attention to the Icelanders' lack of courage to actually shoot at him, but when a 57mm shell hit his bow, he quickly realized that the Icelanders were really playing!

To be honest, Mitchell was a little stunned at that moment, because he had always thought that Icelanders were nothing great, and he didn't dare to really wrestle with the British Empire. And now the facts have slapped him in the face, how can he not be stunned! (To be continued.) )