Chapter 682: Saudi Statehood (14)

The sound of devotional chanting echoes in the sky, and the morning in Muscat is serene and quiet.89 reading.com

The yellow sand and blue waves, the fortress camel caravan, the exotic atmosphere is full. In the British ** camp near the harbor, there is a small world surrounded by barbed wire, and a purebred Arabian camel runs back and forth on the playground, and dozens of soldiers dressed in Chinese Navy sailor uniforms shout and race to ride it, racing against each other in this narrow world for fun.

The heavily armed British guards in the distance turned a blind eye.

Jiang Wennian sat next to him, looking thoughtfully at his comrades-in-arms who were enjoying themselves. His left arm was still wrapped in thick gauze, his hair had been shaved clean, and a scar on his left brain that was more than ten centimeters twisted and twisted downward, and when it reached the pinna, he could not see anything. The collision between the two ships broke off his left hand, his head was torn open by the sharp corners of the steel plate, and the entire outer circumference of his left ear was flattened. If it weren't for the desperate rescue of the soldiers, perhaps this life would have been buried in the blue outside.

Fortunately, the British were kind and found a doctor to help everyone heal. Although he saved his life, he couldn't completely make up for the trauma after all, making him what he is now. Jiang Wennian glanced at the harbor, and the three large oil tankers in the middle of the bay were a pain in the hearts of him and his comrades. The destroyers were gone, many comrades were sacrificed, and even the ships they protected were captured, which was a defeat for any naval man.

He doesn't want to shirk responsibility, failure is failure, and what he is most concerned about now is what is going on outside? Can I go back with these brothers? The only thing that gave him some peace of mind was that looking at the British soldiers at a leisurely pace would at least prove that war had not yet broken out. But the more he didn't fight, the more scared he became, what if the country had to give up rescuing his people for some conditions? Do you really want to be locked up here for seven or eight years? Looking at his comrades-in-arms who were riding camels in the race, Jiang Wennian was actually very worried in his heart. He can not care about being arrested, or he can not care about failure, but he is afraid of being treated like an outcast!

Maybe this is the sadness of the little people, right? Thinking of this, his mind began to be chaotic, and the more time passed, the more uneasy he became, and finally he simply got up and patted his ass and prepared to go back to the house to sleep, but at this moment, the sound of a car motor suddenly sounded behind him.

Since they were captured and imprisoned here, Jiang Wennian and everyone have not seen the car, let alone anyone to see them. So the sudden sound of cars made everyone stop playing, and even the comrades in the barracks ran out.

In their eyes, two French Renault trucks slowly drove into the camp through the gate, and the big red cross on the body disappointed everyone. They still knew about the Red Cross, China had joined the organization, and the Navy had even helped the Red Cross carry things. Seeing the person he didn't want to see the most, Jiang Wennian was about to leave again, but at this moment, the car door suddenly opened, and a familiar figure walked down.

Everyone's eyes straightened all at once!

"Minister!"

The person who came was none other than Song Ziqing, the Minister of Defense who kept his promise and stayed in Riyadh, and he was also very happy after seeing Jiang Wennian and the others, and walked up in three steps and two steps: "Wennian, I finally see you!" ”

Jiang Wennian knew Song Ziqing, he thought that the navy would send someone to check, and he thought that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would come to pick them up, but he never thought that Song Ziqing would come in person! Thinking of the minister's previous visit to Riyadh, his face turned pale. Could it be that the war was lost, and even the Minister of Defense was captured? The stunned expressions of the soldiers made Song Ziqing smile and patted Jiang Wennian's forehead affectionately: "What do you want!" I'm here to pick you up. ”

"Back home? We can go back home! Minister, is this true? Could it be that we won?! Song Ziqing's words made the surroundings explode suddenly, and the soldiers surrounded him one after another to ask. Song Ziqing had to explain some things after the outbreak of the Saudi crisis with a smile, and said: "I should have come to pick you up earlier, but the negotiations have not started." The President is afraid that you will suffer, so I must come and pick you up in person. He asked me to thank you for your sacrificial spirit and outstanding contribution to the protection of the country's oil waterways! ”

When he heard that Yang Qiu would rather fight with Britain for the sake of his own people, and had refused to negotiate in a cold confrontation so far, Jiang Wennian suddenly felt hot on his face, and couldn't help but feel ashamed of his idea just now. The president would rather go to war with Britain and ask for the release of his own minions first, what else is there to say?! Suddenly, everyone's fists were clenched, their eyes rippled, and Jiang Wennian, who had never been very articulate, felt a fire burning in his chest, and took a step back: "South 17, all assemble. Salute! ”

The simple military understanding was full of a thousand words, and it also made the British naval officer sitting in the car a little frustrated. After spending so much effort to mobilize the ships and making sufficient preparations, they were told that they were finally ready to negotiate a solution. This result made them very breathless, although no one likes to fight, even the proudest Royal Navy does not want it, but since they want to compromise, why should they go earlier?

No one likes to stay here, and since it has been decided to let people go, the British officer is also very simple. Of course, Jiang Wennian and they could not return to China directly, and they needed to wait for the final negotiation results to know what their fate was, so they followed Song Ziqing to Riyadh to wait for news from Beijing. Outside the harbor, the heavy cruiser Kent and the Rodney walked side by side, and on the deck, Roger John and Cunningham looked at the three oil tankers heading for Saudi Arabia, especially the former, whose crisp finger snapping could be heard from afar.

"General, it's time for us to go." Cunningham wasn't happy either, but he knew why MacDonald was compromised. India cannot be lost no matter what! Just like the oil red line that Yang Qiu said, this is also the red line of the British Empire! A Britain without India could not have imagined.

At the same time that Song Ziqing took Jiang Wennian and the tanker, Henderson also set foot on the dock of Tianjin Port.

This was his first time in China, and although he had heard a lot about the development and changes in the Far East, he realized that Britain had missed something when he saw it with his own eyes. In the past, Tianjin Port, which could not dock 10,000-ton ships, has changed greatly, and the deep-water wharf that extends out is closely lined up with 10,000-ton ships. Cattle and horses are no longer visible on the roads, and instead there are most various vehicles. The city light rail tinkles and colors appear in the streets and alleys, and the whole city is full of life.

Compared with the senses at first glance, the crowd that greeted him from the dock made the corners of the foreign minister's mouth jerk unnaturally twice.

There was no guard of honor, no grand welcoming ceremony, except for Yang Du, who came to greet him on behalf of the Beijing government, only British Ambassador Lampson and his good friend American Ambassador to China Nelson Jensen. This extraordinarily disrespectful behavior is like the current Sino-British relationship, cold and indifferent to each other.

"I'm sorry Mr. Foreign Minister. The prime minister couldn't leave for the time being, and Minister Gu couldn't find a boat back in Riyadh, so he had to send me, an idler, and please bear with me. Yang Du's words were still so sharp, especially Minister Gu's sentence that he couldn't find the ship, which was simply accusing Britain of blocking the passage of Chinese ships through the Persian Gulf.

Henderson had heard of this minister who had helped Yang Qiu a lot, and he was also a little surprised by his sharp words. Suddenly, he found that after 20 years of monopolizing power, the country had been completely branded with Yang Qiu's character, whether it was the development of the city or the hairstyle and clothing of people in the distance, whether it was the government's principles or the words of this Mr. Yang Du!

When a country has only one voice to the outside world, the country is particularly scary.

Even after getting in the car, the thought made Henderson worry a little more about the trip. The people have been released, the ship has also left, and now the most difficult problem is how to win Yang Qiu's trust! If we can't find a way to do it, the Saudi crisis won't end, and neither will India. Co-jurisdiction of the straits? That's not going to work! The Straits of Malacca and Hormuz were the lifeblood of Britain, without which it would be impossible to control India. Let the Chinese Navy increase its escort forces? No, without those fortresses in the strait, it would not be possible to protect them by sending out battleships to escort them. Give the Sunda Strait to China? Otherwise, this will only lead to Sumatra and Java, and will push the Netherlands to the enemy of Europe.

After things got to this point, Henderson suddenly realized that it was too difficult to regain mutual trust! So I had to ask Jensen for help to pick him up: "My dear old friend, do you have any good advice before meeting with His Excellency Yang Qiu?" ”

Jensen and Henderson had indeed known each other for many years, and when Lampson sat on the sidelines, he did not ask his ambassador first, but asked himself first, which made Jensen feel uneasy in his heart. But now that Sino-British relations have deteriorated to the extreme, it is impossible to achieve mutual trust unless there is a large-scale operation. So he shook his head too: "Old friend, my job is to persuade you to sit down, and now that I've done it, I'm afraid I won't be able to help with other things." ”

Henderson also knew that this was too difficult for him, and although the two had a good personal relationship, in the end, Jensen served the U.S. government. In fact, the contradictions between Britain and the United States are no smaller than those between China and Britain, but everyone refrains from each other. He believes that if it were not for India, the United States might still be willing to facilitate a naval war between China and Britain. But Yang Qiu's intervention in India was not so acceptable to the United States, and China, India, and Arabia, and perhaps the Strait of Malacca and even the East Indies were terrible to think about, which made Hoover determined to facilitate negotiations.

After all, they are old friends, and Jensen is not embarrassed to do nothing, thinking about it and saying, "Henderson." If Prime Minister McDonald really wants to resolve the crisis peacefully, then first of all, you have to find a way to solve the problem of maritime security! As far as I know, this is what His Excellency Yang Qiu values the most, and if this point is not satisfied, then even if the Saudi affairs are over, he will no longer fulfill the naval treaty! You must know that although China is now controlled by him, the Chinese National Socialist Party and the Indian National Congress Party are different, they have become the largest political interest group in the world, and as the leader of the party, His Excellency Yang Qiu needs to balance the internal situation. However, there is now a strong opposition to the naval treaty within the party and the military, especially after Japan's withdrawal, and you feel that Britain has deceived you.

The opposition of thousands of people, His Excellency Yang Qiu must be considered! I know it's painful for you too. I can only tell you that His Excellency Yang Qiu has promised us that he will not seek Arab and Indian lands, that he is willing to recognize the privileges of Britain in these areas, that he will not meddle in India, that he believes that the affairs of India should be settled by the Indian people themselves, and that he has begun to crack down on arms smuggling on the border, which shows that he does not want to escalate into war. Jensen couldn't use the word treachery, so he had to say deception, but Henderson could still understand what it meant. Although Yang Qiu was willing to acknowledge Britain's special position in India and the Persian Gulf, this concession did not reassure him, but found it more tricky.

It was he who got Yang Qiu's signature in exchange for ensuring the safety of maritime transportation, and now after strangling someone's waterway, he ran to the door and said that he would continue to ensure safety, no one would believe it, right? Yang Qiu has now conceded and is willing to recognize the privileges of the British, so what can he let be?

Seeing his sad face, Jensen smiled bitterly, sat up straight and suddenly changed his serious face: "Henderson, there is something I think I should tell you." In order to facilitate the meeting between you and His Excellency Yang Qiu, President Hoover made a statement last night. Support His Excellency Yang Qiu's proposition of freedom of trade and his demand for ensuring the safety of the country's maritime transport lanes. ”

Henderson blinked, and suddenly he wanted to say something.

"Is this a thing?". (To be continued.)