"Mr. Ambassador, how many times have we met this month?"

As soon as he entered the living room, Yang Qiu made a joke. It's a pity that Xu Gesen doesn't have any heart to laugh now. Since Japan declared war, Britain has been trying to persuade China, France, the United States and other countries to intervene, but in addition to France's response, Beijing and Washington have ignored the war situation in Southeast Asia.

If it weren't for China's support in the newspaper since the start of the war, Xu Gesen really didn't want to come to see this guy. But he couldn't help it, the British army was defeated faster than anyone could have imagined, and London, although it was stepping up its mobilization, was certainly unable to send more reinforcements before July, and Burma, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were all in danger. At this critical juncture, the diplomats of the British Empire urgently needed to find an ally for their country.

"Mr. President, the situation in the South China Sea is already very dangerous. You should know the importance of the Strait of Malacca and Singapore for the countries of the Far East! If we were the British, the Japanese would take control of Malacca and then move into Burma, Siam and the French East Indies as two countries with traditionally friendly relations, and we have built a solid foundation of cooperation over the past twenty years or so, and the British have been working to promote Chinese culture and products. Now that our two countries are in danger of being cut off, don't you think that at this time, we should join hands to thwart the aggression, as we did more than 20 years ago? The Far East needs peace, a great country like China to exert its strength to resist tyranny and aggression, and we should not consume it in the confrontation of each other's consciousness and culture. This time, I have come here with a mission on my shoulders, and I hope that His Excellency the President will let me go satisfied. "Xu Gesen analyzed the situation in Southeast Asia very dutifully, and spoke so quickly that the translator had to cut back on words to catch up. The anxiety is palpable.

Yang Qiu listened quietly, and Xu Gesen's mouth flew up and down reminded him of the appeasement policy of Britain and the United States when the Japanese army invaded China in later generations. These old empires are a set of faces, and when they need you, they will make things as if you don't cooperate is the end of the world, but when it's not in their interest, it's as if they haven't seen anything. You must know that whether it is in reality or in the later years of the Anti-Japanese War, China has never been Japan's largest source of raw materials, on the contrary, Southeast Asia, which has always been inconspicuous, is the source of Japan's strength. Iron ore from Malaya. Copper and nickel from Indonesia, rubber and sugar from the Philippines, rice and chromium from Vietnam, and timber from Myanmar can be said to be responsible for 50% of Japan's raw material demand since 1920. The United States accounts for 20 percent, so Japan is a wolf that was fed by Britain and the United States, and then came to bite China.

Thinking of this, Yang Qiu felt that Britain was too hypocritical, but it was not as good as Roosevelt's direct withdrawal from the Philippines, and the conspiracy to sit back and watch the Sino-Japanese conflict was admirable. So! This empire on which the sun never sets must be completely dismantled through this war, not until after the war, as was the case in later generations. So even though he knew that Singapore was in danger after it was lost, he endured it for the sake of the future, looked at Xu Gesen with a smile, and sighed softly in a rather helpless tone: "Mr. Ambassador." I know your anxiety and that of your country, but I also hope that you will understand the current difficulties of my country. Your country is now unable to fulfill the Treaty of Tsingtao, so I have to send a fleet to the Persian Gulf to protect the oil security, and their departure has caused a drop of 100,000 tons in the total tonnage of our navy. The total naval strength in the Far East is only 60% of that of Japan. You can see for yourself. How many ships are still under repair and maintenance in our country, the Anhai and Zhenhai will not be repaired until March next year, and now I have only 6 battleships (Anhai is listed as a fast battleship after improvement), 6 heavy cruisers and 6 aircraft carriers, this number is still only counted in number, and the two Liaoning-class aircraft carriers that have just been delivered will not have combat effectiveness until August at the earliest. And what about Japan? After dispatching 6 battleships and 4 aircraft carriers, they still maintained 4 powerful Nagato and Fuso-class battleships in the Far East, as well as 2 aircraft carriers and up to 12 heavy cruisers! They have always been eyeing China's Taiwan and coastal areas. Moreover, in the northwest of our country, the Soviets have concentrated their million troops, more than 15,000 tanks, more than 6,000 aircraft of various types, more than 100,000 artillery pieces, and new fighters and equipment imported from Germany!

At this time, do you think I can still draw out the fleet and the army? Of course, please also trust me, Your Excellency, that I regard your country as our most important partner and will order the provision of intelligence support to the best of my ability. So I'm calling up more troops, more ships are being built, and I need time! I believe that as long as your country can hold the Singapore Fortress, we will soon come together. ”

The words cunning and despicable flashed in Xu Gesen's heart, and he gritted his teeth and quietly listened to what Yang Qiu said. I remembered my ex's evaluation of the man in front of me: "A despicable national supremacist is the best at disguising his inner calculations in the midst of fierce events, and taking advantage of the opportunity to gain benefits and political capital." War is only his tool, friendship is only his stepping stone, and he only has interests in his eyes. ”

Xu Gesen finally understood the shamelessness of the supremacy of this country, and at this moment, he also had some anger, and stood up and spoke much louder: "Mr. President! I have taken note of your statement in Parliament that the British Government has acquiesced in the termination of the Treaty of Tsingtao with great kindness and goodwill, and has no intention of pursuing differences between Iran and Afghanistan. We also note that your foreign minister is negotiating with France to protect its interests in the South China Sea, perhaps by now. Now that you've got what you want, and you're willing to work with the French, why do you treat England like that? The Versailles system is the cornerstone of our country, and under this system your country has already reaped great benefits in the South Seas, hasn't it? So. His voice suddenly lowered, his speech slowed down, and his gaze gradually condensed into a line: "I hope you can think about the farther future and send troops to maintain the pattern and system of peace in the Far East." I myself have expressed the greatest expectation of this, and England has expressed the greatest expectation of the President. ”

This almost naked diplomatic rebuke made Miao Luo, who was about to come in with coffee, stop, and also made Song Ziqing, who hurried with a telegram, stand still. Xu Gesen also saw the two people at the door, but he didn't regret saying this. The interests of the British Empire in the Far East have reached a critical moment, and what hypocrisy is there now? But what made him strange was that Yang Qiu's expression didn't seem to change in the slightest, so he listened to all his speeches with a smile, and said slowly: "Mr. Ambassador, I believe you have misunderstood, I didn't say that I can't help your country. ”

"What do you mean?" Xu Gesen, who was just about to sit down, quickly got up, and even Song Ziqing outside the door frowned inadvertently.

Yang Qiuyi waved his hand, interrupting his excitement: "Mr. Ambassador." It is impossible to send troops immediately, and you should know what it means in my analysis just now, relying on 18 warships to defend the coastal defense front from Sakhalin to Natuna, which is more than 8,900 kilometers long, and I believe that no country can do it! I can't do it either! So, I need time to prepare. But I am also aware of the current situation in your country. So I've got a lot of weapons ready for tanks, heavy artillery, howitzers, and ammunition, and they're right here in Guangzhou, ready to be shipped away. In addition, in order to alleviate the shortage of our maritime capacity, I also hope that you will persuade Prime Minister Chamberlain to sell or temporarily lease all your freighters in the Far East to our country. ”

Xu Gesen couldn't cry or laugh when he heard the end, but he didn't expect Yang Qiu to have the heart to dig a piece of meat from Britain on such a negotiation occasion. It really made him laugh. How can I evaluate it? Idiot? A sucker? Or is it the shrewdness of a businessman? What is the matter of putting huge Southeast Asian interests in the eyes of more than 2 million tons of British cargo ships of all kinds in the Far East? But he didn't have anything to refute, and Japan already controlled the shipping lanes. British merchant ships in China and Southeast Asia are no longer able to return to China, let alone lease, and they can sell them directly. However, he was still very annoyed that Yang Qiu only provided weapons and intelligence support, and did not send troops.

Yang Qiu seemed to see that he was not angry. Finally, he said: "Mr. Ambassador, please remind General Percival and Blashua of it. The front of the Singapore fortress is impenetrable, so the biggest threat should come from the Malayan side. The Japanese army was generally short of heavy equipment, and the tanks and heavy artillery I provided could just make up for the weakness of this defensive line. In addition, I would like to tell you that our National Socialist Party will be holding a congress of the United Front for the Liberation of Asia in the near future, and I hope you will be able to attend it at that time. ”

Xu Gesen was slightly stunned, then his eyes were hot, and he left the presidential palace with anticipation. After Yang Qiu had been sending him to the door and couldn't see his back, Miao Luo asked, "Chenhua, why did you change your mind?" Didn't you say that you won't fight Japan for the time being? ”

"Hehe, ma'am, the president hasn't changed his words." Song Ziqing recalled the conversation just now and replied: "Since we have declared neutrality, it is not easy for us to intervene directly, so the president's suggestion to hold an Asian liberation conference is actually telling Britain that as long as it holds out for a period of time, some armed forces supported by us will attack the Japanese occupation forces from all sides. ”

"What about the equipment? Really help them defend Singapore? And what's going on with cargo ships? ”

"This equipment will not be able to hold Singapore, as long as the British Navy cannot open the shipping lanes to provide direct support, the battle of Singapore will be lost, and these equipment will only make Japan pay some more price. As for cargo ships, it is simpler, because Europe and the United States have a total of about 500,000 tons of merchant ships in the Far East, half of which are British. Since there is no Taiwan, even if we are neutral, they will not dare to take the nearest Taiwan, and they will not even dare to use the middle line of Guam and the Philippines, so they can only make a detour to the farthest southern route. From the Japanese mainland to Rabaul and then to the South Seas, the transportation line is more than 10,000 kilometers long, and it takes more than a month to go back and forth! With Japan's current maritime capacity, it can only support the logistics of 25 divisions at most, so what they urgently need now is seaborne ships. If Britain loses in the Far East and these ships are acquired by Japan, they will be able to hold out for a while, otherwise Japan will have to take Guam and the Philippines and shorten the route by 4,000 kilometers, otherwise it will not be able to support the needs of long-term operations in the South Seas. ”

Miao Luo understood, and said with a smile: "It's a good thing, you have to go around in such a big circle." Yang Qiu didn't seem to hear his wife's words, he had already done what he could do, and how long Britain could hold out in Singapore could only depend on God's face. When Japan lost its transport ship, it had no choice but to take risks. So he retracted his gaze, took a deep breath and asked, "By the way, what's the matter?" ”

"Oh, yes. Shaochuan's telegram said that France had agreed to sign the South China Sea Agreement, and our two countries would jointly protect the security of the French East Indies, Hainan Island, the South China Sea Islands, and the Beibu Gulf. Song Ziqing was still reminiscing about Yang Qiu's step-by-step calculations, and he almost didn't react to such a sudden question, and hurriedly said: "Also, the German army has entered Prague three hours ago. ”

Although there is a long history, Yang Qiu, who was in it, was still stunned, and only after a long time did he pinch his eyebrows: "Britain, it's really going to suffer an ulcer!" ”