London, Whitehall.

Entering the second half of October, the UK ushered in the most uncomfortable season, the city was shrouded in smog, and the rain seemed to be endless. Compared to the weather, what happened during this time made the whole of Britain feel the harsh winter in advance, with the economic downturn, bank bankruptcies, factory closures, unemployment benefits, etc., recreating the American scene of a year ago.

Attention has quietly shifted, and Londoners, who love to talk about the state of the world, are worried about their jobs and jobs. Workers went out of their homes to hold meetings**, women used every penny seriously, the list of household expenses was curtailed, and even children used their extracurricular time to collect metals and sell them to subsidize the family.

In the first few years after the Paris Peace Conference, Britain seemed to have found the pride of the empire on which the sun never set, but with the rapid rise of new forces such as China, the United States and the Soviet Union, the British Empire felt more and more powerless, countless loopholes had to be filled, and countless money was consumed in the suppression of the national independence movement.

When the U.S. economy exploded, Britain responded with a swift pace, with the pound zone and tariff barriers helping ordinary Britons to withstand the first wave of shocks, so much so that they felt that the depression and crisis were far away. But with the rapid entry of China and the United States, the release of US debt to accelerate the swallowing of a few export markets, and China seized the opportunity to monopolize industries such as tea, raw silk and jute, and hit related industries in India and Sri Lanka, the ship of the British Empire was finally overwhelmed.

A violent stock market crash tsunami swept over the British Isles, and the surging flood swept away all the pride and vanity of the Paris Peace Conference. In just one night, the fruits of Victorian prosperity were destroyed, and when the British looked up, they realized that what they had seen before was only a moment of sunset.

Whitehall, known as the second heart of the empire, was also affected by the storm, and the generals opened their purchase lists to row off the warships that were originally going to be built, and the staff officers cut the planned cruise route in half, and then sadly sent the battleships to the dismantling table. There were even concerns about reducing naval salaries, but fortunately the proposal did not pass, otherwise God knows if the sailors of the Royal Navy would have staged a mutiny.

The Navy is known as the "money-burning" service, and the annual consumption of just one Hood can buy 80 fighter jets or 90 tanks. In order to maintain the world's naval supremacy, the Royal Navy burns tens of millions of pounds every year, and it may be able to survive before the crisis, after all, there are huge colonies transfusion, and there is no huge army like China and the Soviet Union, but now.

In the small living room on the third floor of Whitehall, Henderson looked at Yang Qiu and Chen Shaokuan, who had come to participate in the naval negotiations, and had the urge to bite twice. What do they have to worry about? A trip to Europe and the United States will scatter billions! Looking at the world, who else can have the strength to play with money like this? Even if Japan doesn't renew the contract, you can't compare to you if you work hard to build ships!

He resisted the urge to curse, because the negotiations were too important for Britain. The last time the Washington negotiations only limited the capital ships, but not the cruisers and destroyers, which led to the cruiser race in recent years, so Britain negotiated to continue the negotiations to curb the number of these two types of secondary warships and continue to ensure the maritime supremacy of the British Empire.

Although Japan withdrew from the negotiations, because it was still a signatory to the Washington Treaty, it still had to abide by the restrictions of the Washington Treaty before it expired in 1936, but even if there were no restrictions, Japan, which lacked money and resources, would not be able to make much waves, and it would be terrible if China did not renew the treaty and go all out to expand its navy, so Yang Qiu's attitude suddenly became extremely important.

He first looked at Alexander the Admiralty next to him, and then turned his head and said, "Mr. President, Prime Minister Macdonald still wants you to think about it again." The British Empire is trying to persuade Japan to return to the negotiating table, but even if they don't come back, I don't think they can threaten your country's maritime security. ”

Yang Qiu raised his eyebrows and looked at Sensen: "Your Excellency Henderson, is this the solution that your country has asked me to solve?" The last time the Washington Navy was negotiated, our country made great sacrifices and concessions, resulting in the tonnage of capital ships being far inferior to Japan! Originally, we would have eaten this loss, after all, we were all former allies, and our country needed to ensure land security, and we could not maintain such a large navy. But what about now? In the past, there were treaty bindings that could ensure balance at sea, but now that someone has withdrawn, once they build more capital ships, how can I protect the sea frontier? Note that this is not 1884, much less 1894! We have the right to take all measures to protect the safety of coastal cities, waterways and fishing grounds. ”

Henderson's remarks made Henderson's head tremend, Japan's reluctance to renew the contract had been greatly expected, and Italy had recently been a little nervous, and if China withdrew again, the naval treaty would probably become a dead letter.

Seeing him like this, Chen Shaokuan next to him secretly wanted to laugh. In fact, a telegram had already been sent from China that he was willing to sign the treaty, but Yang Qiu deliberately dragged it out and made it look like he was going to withdraw, just to make Britain feel that you forced me to sign the treaty, and I suffered a big loss, and if something happened in the future, don't blame me for the illusion.

Henderson didn't know that Yang Qiu was actually using naval negotiations as a bargaining chip, so he glanced at Alexander. This old lord is one of the few veteran officers in the Royal Navy, and he is also a member of the royal family, so when he speaks, he always likes to stand up and ask: "Mr. President, what do you need us to pay for your country to sign?" ”

This is tantamount to a showdown, but Yang Qiu's play has not yet finished, so he stood up excitedly and waved his hand: "General, can I think you are joking?" What kind of price do you think is more important than tens of millions of people along the coast, tens of billions of property, dozens of important shipping lanes? I can't accept such a thing, either to increase the tonnage of our country's capital ships to 500,000 tons, otherwise I can't convince the people. ”

500,000 tons of Henderson gasped, and Alexander, who was the Minister of the Admiralty, jumped up in a hurry: "This can't be!" This negotiation is only a supplement to the Washington negotiations, not a new distribution negotiation. The last treaty would not end until 1936, and even if Japan did not renew it, they would not be able to build capital ships! This will not hurt the sea forces of the Far East at all. ”

"General! It should be clear to you that the capital ship is just the fist of the Navy, and it is the cruisers and destroyers that really gather the strength. Although Japan was a member of the Washington Navy and was not allowed to equip new capital ships until 1936, what about cruisers? The tonnage of our capital ships is already small, and the number of cruisers must be limited in this negotiation, if we cannot obtain the tonnage of capital ships, do you want us to withdraw from the treaty and engage in a cruiser race with Japan? ”

Yang Qiu was-for-tat, glaring at the gray-haired old man in his fifties without showing weakness, but Henderson's eyes suddenly froze, what did he say just now? "I want us to withdraw from the treaty", is he going to sign it? Henderson is a veteran politician who quickly catches the nail on the word. But before he could speak, Alexander, who had a hot temper, estimated that he had been suppressed for too long, and puffed out his bull's eyes and shouted: "Mr. President, I also remind you that although the British Empire does not want conflict with friendly intentions, do not think that we will always back down!" The Strait of Okhotsk, the Suez Canal, the Strait of Malacca are all under the control of the Royal Navy, and we can close these waters at any time! ”

When these few words came out, even Chen Shaokuan's face suddenly became gloomy, and Yang Qiu stared at Alexander even more, and he left immediately if he didn't agree with him.

The growing smell of gunpowder brought the atmosphere in the living room to a freezing point, and Henderson, who was watching from the sidelines, saw that the two were speechless, and a trace of pleasure surged in his heart, but he also knew that these words were just a deterrent, and if he really wanted to use these means, I am afraid it would be war. So he hurriedly eased the atmosphere: "I'm sorry, Mr. Lord was just overly angry just now, the British Empire is the protector of the sea, not the destroyer." After saying that, he asked Alexander to leave for a while, ready to have a private chat with Yang Qiu.

Seeing this, Chen Shaokuan also walked out, and only after the two of them were left in the room did Henderson continue: "Mr. President, it's just the two of us now, I don't think there's any need to go around in circles. Although Lord Alexander's words are a bit excessive, I think what I said above is correct. Japan was in economic difficulties at home, and the Washington Treaty was not abrogated, so they would not have new battleships in service until 1936. As for the cruisers, even if they are built, they will not be very numerous and will not have much impact on your country. Besides, I think your navy already has enough self-defense capabilities, unless you want to go on expeditions across the seas, or have a large number of offshore colonies to protect, then I really can't think of a reason why you need such a fat fleet. ”

Yang Qiu had actually made up his mind to sign a long time ago, but he deliberately pretended to be compromised. Although Alexander's words were ugly, he was right, and at present, he was really not sure that he would break through the three lines of defense of the British Navy in a row, so he lowered his voice on the donkey: "Mr. Henderson, I never intended to have an arms race, all I needed was a guarantee. ”

"Rest assured, we are already doing our best to persuade Japan to return, and even if they don't, please believe us that the British Empire will never allow them to serve new capital ships before the expiration of the Washington Treaty." Henderson played a cautious eye, only talking about service and not construction, which opened the door for Japan to build ahead of schedule. It can be seen from this that although Britain hates the act of withdrawing from the negotiations, it is still inclined to rely on Japan to contain China in the bottom of its heart.

Of course, Yang Qiu knew what Britain was paying attention to, and he deliberately thought about it for a long time before slowly walking in front of him. In just two steps, the smell of slaughter made Henderson swallow his saliva, and he looked at the approaching figure and felt a chill rise in his heart for some reason.

Yang Qiumu looked at him, and his tone was extremely serious: "Mr. Henderson, I hope this is the last time, no!" It has to be the last time! This was the last time I made a major concession on national security. So I beg you to tell the Prime Minister, although I don't want our two countries to have a conflict, let alone fight with you for control of the sea, Britain must guarantee the safety of our sea lanes and oil transportation routes! If the scenario in the speech just arises, then I will automatically consider it as a declaration of war against my country! ”

Henderson nodded subconsciously at this momentum, but soon realized that something was wrong, but after thinking about it, he didn't know what was wrong. However, Yang Qiu's promise to sign still made him breathe a heavy sigh of relief, and he quickly got up to say goodbye to report the good news.

Looking at his back, Yang Qiu, who was still angry just now, suddenly raised a smile, it is time for Saudi Arabia to establish a country