At 3 p.m. on 10 May, the U.S. Joint Command in Shanghai received a telegram from the Naval Intelligence Bureau that more than three hours earlier, at 4:40 a.m. German time, just after dawn, the Luftwaffe dispatched thousands of warplanes to violently bomb airports, railway junctions, and heavily assembled areas and cities in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

At 5:30, on a front of more than 300 kilometers between the North Sea and the Maginot Line, German ground forces launched a large-scale offensive against the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg......

The staff officer on duty in the staff office immediately called his superiors and the heads of various departments, and while making a phone call, he was greatly impressed by Commander Pan Sen's "prediction" in his heart! And they have lost count of how many times this prediction has happened, and the military vision of the officers for the commander has changed from admiration to admiration!

Li Junhao in the office breathed a sigh of relief, the wheel of history is unstoppable after all, and his identity as a "prophet" can still continue to play.

He was also nervously concerned about the follow-up situation, for fear that the war in Europe would affect Huhai, and he wondered if the year and a half in his previous life could still be given to the concession?

——

In the early morning of May 11, the General Staff Office called the mansion and asked Xiaohu on duty to tell Commander Pansen that at 6 p.m. British time on May 10 (8 hours later than China time), King George VI summoned Winston Churchill, and after the talks, formally ordered him to come forward to form a cabinet.

Subsequently, Churchill met with Attlee, the leader of the Labour Party, and invited the Labour Party to join the cabinet and gain support; A coalition government of the Conservative and Labour parties was announced, and Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Li Junhao, who heard Xiaohu's report, just said "I know" and continued to sleep, which is good news, indicating that another thing has happened normally, I hope it will always be like this!

It was Saturday, and in the morning Li Junhao went to the police station to deal with some official documents, and before noon, he received news from the General Staff: On the European battlefield, the Netherlands officially declared war on Germany, and Luxembourg surrendered, and its government and the Archduchess Charlotte fled to England and established a government in exile in London.

Well, after Poland, Luxembourg is the second, and Britain has already hosted two governments in exile!

Li Junhao knew that this number would increase soon, but it made Britain worthy of the title of European leader.

——

As the newspapers began to publish the news of the European war, the atmosphere in the concession became a little tense, and the expatriates from all over the world were very concerned about the war.

Although the "Concession Bulletin" sponsored by the Ministry of Industry Bureau was delayed for 24 hours on the orders of Li Junhao, it still became the most authoritative source, resulting in a large increase in circulation, and soon became the first newspaper in the concession.

The reason for the delay in the release of the battle report was that Li Junhao needed to take advantage of this time difference to assess the situation in the concession and make corresponding judgments.

As early as the afternoon of the 10th, there was some change in the number of Japanese military police on duty outside the concession area, and the number of Japanese military police on duty outside the concession was doubled, and the citizens who left the concession area were subject to stricter inspection by the Japanese side;

On the Huangpu River, the frequency of warships of the Japanese First Fleet sent to China has increased, and in order to cope with this situation, the US Shanghai-Haihai Detachment has correspondingly increased the frequency of its warships, and the warships of the two countries often pass by on the river and sea, and although there has been no conflict yet, a tense atmosphere has been created!

From the 11th, Li Junhao ordered the public security level of the concession to be upgraded to the third level (alert), all units and police stations canceled their vacations, doubled the number of personnel on duty and patrols, and the duty troops of the People's Army Self-Defense Corps began to distribute live ammunition.

Li Junhao was not sure whether the Japanese army would attack in advance, but he had to prepare accordingly.

Of course, the citizens in the concession could feel the change in the atmosphere, and many people began to rush to buy food, salt, coal and other daily necessities. Industrial and commercial enterprises, on the other hand, began to consider safety issues, suddenly increased production forces, consumed production raw materials as soon as possible, reduced prices for the sale of finished products, and reduced the number of inventories......

In order to stabilize the market, a joint statement by the Ministry of Industry Bureau and the US Joint Command was published on the front page of the "Concession Bulletin" on the 12th, claiming that the garrison was capable of ensuring the safety of the concession and calling on the public to maintain a calm mind and support the management of the concession by the Ministry of Industry Bureau......

At the end of the statement, he reaffirmed the previous view: "Europe is Europe, Asia is Asia!" ”

I don't know if it was the power of this statement, but the inside and outside of the concession quickly calmed down, and even on the 13th, when the news came that the German army had begun to attack France, it did not cause any more big waves!

In particular, the Japanese troops in the concession area quickly returned to their usual duty level, and the Japanese warships also reduced the frequency of patrols, and the situation in the concession area eased all of a sudden.

——

On the 13th, Li Junhao stayed at the Consulate General for a day, and together with Acting Consul General Sheehan, he received the consuls of European countries in batches, and said over and over again that "the United States will still remain neutral in the war", which "soothed" the tension of all parties, but at the same time said that "there must be no chaos in the concession", and if any expatriates from any country provoke an incident, the police and the military will severely crack down on it!

After sending away the last group of consuls from the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and other countries with grief and indignation, the time for work was over, Li Junhao and Sheehan glanced at each other and let out a long breath!

"Going for a drink?" Sheehan offered to extend the invitation.

"Okay!" Li Junhao promised, "Why don't you go to the consulate restaurant!" ”

"No problem." Sheehan immediately understood what he meant, in this situation, the staff in the consulate also need to feel at ease, the two of them eat and drink in the restaurant, although it is a little unruly, but it can play a role in calming people's hearts, it can be regarded as a small trick!

Sure enough, when the first and second leaders sat in the restaurant and drank beer, the staff who were eating were a lot happier, and many people who were working overtime in the office came to the office, and in the end it developed into a situation like a big dinner.

Li Junhao still drinks his favorite beer, and he does not refuse to come to chat and toast with his colleagues, and he mingles with everyone!

Sheen was drinking red wine, and soon he couldn't resist it, so he could only call his subordinates from the administrative office to accompany him and start a drinking lawsuit with his colleagues......

The effect of this temporary dinner was very good, and the mood of the staff of the Consulate General immediately calmed down, and the attitude of the two chief officers let everyone know that the situation has not yet reached a serious time, and there is no need to worry about it at all!

When Sheehan and Li Junhao were "drunk" and sent to the car, the two secretly looked at each other and smiled!

(End of chapter)