It's not cold in London in November, and the temperate maritime climate makes the city still above 10 degrees, but the occasional showers can be a little depressing.

But for thousands of years, the British have been accustomed to this climate.

In the Downing Street Prime Minister's Residence, some of the most important members of the British Empire's cabinet continued to discuss the current situation.

"From '32 to this year, Germany's iron ore imports have increased from 14 million tonnes per year to about 20 million tonnes under the continuous growth of industry, and of these iron ores, more than 8 million tonnes are high-quality ore from Sweden."

"See, these ores are generally mined in the Kiruna-Yelival region in the Arctic Circle and exported to foreign countries by ships in Luleå or Narvik. It should be noted that the two ports are connected by a specially built railway. ”

"During the winter, from November to April, the port of Luleå is frozen, during which time only exports can be made through Narvik. Because of the pressure we put on, Norway's railways and shipping departments began to try to delay and not cooperate (exports to Germany). ”

"This has led to a significant drop in the amount of iron ore that the Germans have received in the last three months, to less than 500,000 tons. To solve the situation, the Germans began to try to send their own merchant ships to Narvik instead of transport, and last month there were 12 of them. ”

Foreign Secretary Frederick stated that he was a third-generation Viscount of Califax, but that he suffered from congenital atrophy of his left arm, which is equivalent to a single arm.

Even so, he had a remarkable resume and a wealth of experience – a graduate of Oxford University, a Conservative, Secretary of State for Education, Secretary of State for Agriculture, and later Governor of Indo.

"It is not effective enough to stop the shipment of iron ore from Luleå, and all shipping routes between Luleå and Narvik must be cut off at the same time." Prime Minister Neville said calmly, looking at the map.

Contrary to historical impressions, Neville was in fact a warmonger, but his personal will had to be compromised by the national policy – which happened to be appeasement in Britain at the time.

"So we still have to seriously consider the proposal of the French." The Foreign Secretary replied.

Lord Chatfield, the Coordinating Secretary for Defence, glanced at the Prime Minister and said, "That's right, for this we need to seriously consider ways to master Scandinavia." ”

As he spoke, he pointed to the documents on the table and said, "The Chiefs of Staff has conceived two plans, the 'big plan' is to control the mine itself and cut off the iron ore export at the source, and the 'small plan' is to lay mines and the navy and air force will continue to patrol to prevent merchant ships from passing. ”

But the foreign secretary was still worried, muttering: "The consequences of a paramilitary operation in Norwegian territorial waters are difficult to predict, and the laying of mines, patrols, and landings will not be welcomed by either Norway or Sweden." In fact, it's more likely to spoil the big picture. ”

"It's not necessary, Chancellor, the Swedes and Norwegians, although they don't want to get involved in the war, but if they have to make a choice, they will definitely not be on the opposite side of us." The Prime Minister said confidently and firmly.

The Minister of Defense Coordination nodded, "I agree, but it still needs to be carefully studied, and the Chiefs of Staff Committee should come up with a conclusion as soon as possible." I think the chaos in Russia is the perfect reason for us to intervene. ”

The post of Coordinating Minister for Defence is very new, and it has not been around for a few years. Twenty years later, the British Cabinet and politicians reviewed the shortcomings and omissions of the war in Europe, and concluded that the three branches of the British Imperial Army - the Army, the Royal Navy, and the Royal Air Force needed closer cooperation.

As a result, the Council of Chiefs of Staff was formed, and about a decade later, in the thirties, the then Prime Minister created the post of Minister for the Coordination of Defence.

The French were very unhappy with the hesitation of the British, and over the next three days they urged twice in succession.

As a result, a group of old men with the Zhengmi flag had to work overtime to discuss the relevant details and argue endlessly.

After that, the British detailed the overall planning of the big and small plans in the memo they submitted.

There is no doubt that the big scheme was fully supported by the French. Although it would seriously infringe on Norway's neutrality with Sweden, the French side did not care.

As an old power, France was in many cases no less powerful than England.

At this very moment, the British Empire's cabinet and the Foreign Office are engaged in a war of words, warning that the consequences of such a move will be unpredictable and will seriously damage Britain's reputation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends that diplomatic pressure be continued only on Norway and Sweden and that no radical moves should be made.

However, the Cabinet ministers have reached a consensus and are determined to continue to move forward with the implementation of the grand plan.

On the morning of November 16, the sky in London was overcast and it seemed that it was going to rain again.

Foreign Secretary Frederick summoned the Norwegian ambassador to Great Britain and chatted with him very kindly.

However, the ambassador knew that the other party must not be drunk, so he behaved a little cramped and nervous.

After the small talk, the Foreign Secretary rightly expressed the British Empire's vigilance over the recent German defaults and the German Navy's concern about the invasion of Norwegian territorial waters.

"The situation is very bad, and the British government is forced to take effective measures to sanction Germany, one of which is to prevent [German] warships and merchant ships from passing through Norwegian territorial waters," he said solemnly. ”

Immediately afterwards, he emphasized an even more gunpowder sentence - if necessary, the Royal Navy will be able to carry out combat missions in Norwegian territorial waters.

The words of the British Foreign Secretary shocked the Norwegian ambassador, and his composure as an envoy was almost washed away by a torrent of words at this moment.

Although Frederick has always been quite kind, and there is no threat or warning, it still makes the ambassador feel like he has fallen into an ice cave.

Immediately after returning to the embassy, the ambassador sent back an urgent telegram to the capital, Oslo.

Worried, he said to the others around him: "I'm afraid it's hard for us to stay out of it, but the most frightening situation is happening, war is approaching." ”

The military attaché of the embassy also sighed: "This is indeed the worst-case scenario, the Germans will certainly regard the actions of the British as a military provocation, their war machine is about to be launched, and the war will affect Norway." ”

There was a negative and pessimistic atmosphere in the embassy, and everyone was worried.

They are all very helpless, which is also the sorrow of small countries - it is extremely difficult to stay out of the situation and be alone.

Over the next two days, the Norwegian government had a heated discussion about the "notification" given by the British side.

The final consensus was that they would still try to stop the British in every possible way, but if there was no other way to do so, they would not be able to stand on the side of the Germans and at the same time begin to prepare for war and mobilize with all their might.

The reply given by the Norwegian side afterwards appeared to be a bit "cowardly" - the government did not intervene, but the King of Norway sent a letter to King George VI of the United Kingdom, and the content of the letter was clearly approved by the Norwegian government.

「…… It is frustrating and worrying that Norwegian territorial waters have become the operational zone of the British Royal Navy, and it is hoped that His Majesty will find a way to put an end to such actions. Otherwise, the Kingdom of Norway will be forced into a war, which will put its sovereignty and people's lives at great risk......

Good guys, what do you Norwegians mean?

The Norwegian side's "unusual" response made the British cabinet very speechless - if you agree, you agree, if you don't agree, you don't agree, and you don't dare to answer positively?

Not to mention, although the British king, the benchmark of constitutional monarchy, has been stripped away and transferred to the prime minister and parliament, there is still a lot of residual power.

For example...... Directly appoint the prime minister, or even dissolve parliament directly.

It's just that no sane king would exercise these powers under normal circumstances, because such a move would undoubtedly lead to a constitutional crisis, and the existence of the king and the royal family would be questioned.

It's not appropriate to put a good mascot, you have to toss, right? So what do you want to do as a king?

George VI was so helpless that he wrote back with a few words of relief and assurances that the British Armed Forces would protect Norway from threats in the event of an accident.

Norway was so reluctant, Sweden was the same, and both small Nordic countries behaved very negatively.

In order to force them to make concessions, the British Foreign Office greeted the Netherlands, Denmark, and Belgium, and asked them to also send a request to Norway and Sweden to exert pressure on many sides.

Of course, this is only a matter of doing their best, and even if Norway and Sweden still disagree at the last minute, the British and French will not get used to them.

In particular, the military generals were excited one by one and were ready to do a big job.

The Chief of Staff, General Edmund, instructed his men: "This plan will disrupt the preparations of the Germans, and it will be beneficial to us...... It's not just that, it's important to maintain an attitude in favor of our country in everything else at this critical time."

As the days passed, the plan to intervene and take control of Scandinavia was steadily advancing.

As of 25 November, the Committee of Chiefs of Staff had completed three action plans, which are complementary and will be implemented simultaneously.

The first programme is in northern Norway; the second programme is in southern Norway; The third programme is in southern Sweden.

The Chiefs of Staff Committee discussed the plan of action with representatives of the Army, Navy and Air Force and submitted an assessment report, emphasizing that the benefits of the operation were enormous, but the risks were equally high.

But they couldn't make up their minds about one scenario - what if the Norwegian or Swedish army dared to resist?

While the odds are slim to none, careful planning can't ignore this.

In response, the Cabinet replied that it would strike back decisively and break its resistance as quickly as possible, without showing mercy.

Even though the British were moving and moving relatively quickly, the anxious French were still slow, and they felt that these indecisive fellows would only make mistakes.

So the French government gave the embassy a directive to publicize the matter openly in London, so as to accelerate the progress of the British side.

As a result, this matter was soon spread in London, and everyone in the streets and alleys knew about it, which upset the old men of Zhengmi Ziqi.

On the last day of November, Britain and France formally established an intervention committee, and immediately agreed to form a joint expeditionary force.

The expeditionary force was nominally to be deployed in Scandinavia and to land in the Baltic Sea region at any time to help stabilize the situation in Tsarist Russia and guard against aggressive actions by the Germans who reneged on the treaty. But in reality, its core task was to control the iron mines of Sweden and to occupy control of the Norwegian coast.

At the same time, the expeditionary force must complete its preparations by January 10 at the latest.

On the same day that the Intervention Commission was formed, the military plan of action was also largely completed, with three complementary options all named after British port cities.

About four divisions were to be deployed along the two port cities of Narvik and Luleå, and their task was to defend them from German capture.

It was also planned to establish a defensive line starting from Bergen (a port city in western Norway), passing through Oslo and extending east to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

A total of 130,000 troops will be involved, of which about 70,000 will be British and the rest will be French, all of whom will be under British command and will be deployed to Scandinavia with the support of the Royal Navy and Air Force.

During this period, the Ming court also kept an eye on the British and French measures, constantly speculating and analyzing their intentions.

The Metropolitan Governor's Office and the Ministry of War believed that since the British and French had not made the decision to send troops to Norway and Sweden until now, they would not be in place until at least January of next year, and they should only talk to the German side before that.

Zhou Changfeng led his army back at the end of the month, perhaps because the weather was cold this year, and the dock of the sea cucumber was frozen early, and the fleet full of thousands of officers and soldiers had to go south to Korea, where they disembarked and returned to China.

“…… The destruction of the oil field is really impossible to prevent, we can only say that we can do our best. ”

"Indeed, to put it mildly, it will be in vain for us to hurry up at that time, and the imperial court might as well think more about how to repair it faster."

When we went to Kuye Island to conduct exercises in the middle of winter, the whole brigade was somewhat resentful, especially the non-combat attrition of more than 1,000 people.

Even if the cold protection measures have been put in place, it is difficult to jump into the icy sea water when the temperature hovers around freezing, and then continue to land on the beach wet, and it is difficult not to catch a cold.

The exercise itself went smoothly, and the generals and officers who observed the movement of the first Marine War were very satisfied.

Many people praised Zhou for his ability to manage the army and lead the troops effectively, but it is difficult to say whether he is sincere or praised.

Early in the morning on the first day of December.

In the mist, the military column slowly crossed the Yellow River Bridge.

Not long after he woke up, Zhou Changfeng felt a little unwell and groggy, so he complained casually, "Alas, dizzy, I don't feel quite right." ”

At this time, Yao Liangchuan, who was full of sadness, walked into the carriage and was about to present the patient's report, and when he saw that his face was red and his spirit was not good, he frowned and said, "Your face is not right, so red?" I'm afraid it's a fever. ”

After checking the temperature later, the mercury thermometer read close to 39 degrees.

For a while, the people in the carriage were busy, boiling hot water, greeting military doctors, and taking blankets.

Thinking that the woman who made this decision should still be in the warm room like spring now, the depressed Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but complain: "It's really, doing this on a cold day, it's just playing the piano!" ”

The map of Europe has been posted, and there are easter egg chapters and posts in the comment area.

(End of chapter)