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"Is it true that your country cannot return to the Philippines? The Dutch East Indies issue has seriously jeopardized the interests of the South China Sea, and the Philippines is also very tense, is President Roosevelt willing to turn a blind eye? Under the broad open canopy of maple leaves, a small coffee table was placed, on which the coffee wafted a rich aroma, and Ambassador Xu Gesen sat on a wicker chair, looking anxiously at Jensen and Situ Leiden opposite.

The situation in the Far East was already like a wild horse on the loose, Japan wantonly sent troops to Batavia under the pretext of revenge, Britain and France were bound to Europe, Yang Qiu deliberately prevaricated, and the Netherlands was completely unable to independently protect the Dutch East Indies, all of which made the British Empire anxious. Southeast Asia must be protected, regardless of whether it has signed a protection agreement with the Dutch government, the Strait of Malacca, which accounts for half of the world's shipping, must not be lost! The loss of Malacca is the loss of the Far East, Japan understands, China understands, even Jensen, who is sitting opposite, understands. Therefore, when Prime Minister Chamberlain solves the Sudetenland crisis, he will definitely turn around and force Japan to withdraw its troops! But how to force it, and what excuse to use is to consider, you must know that Britain in the Far East is no longer what it used to be, except for Singapore and Malaya, which has about 100,000 troops stationed in the West and the Far East Fleet at sunset, it is no longer possible to draw too many troops from other regions. In Asia alone, the balance of power cannot be compared with China and Japan, so he, as a diplomat, must win over more allies for Britain before the prime minister makes a decision.

In fact, he also knew in his heart that the United States, which had already withdrawn from the Philippines, would definitely not come back now, because the domestic political atmosphere vetoed the possibility of sending troops to Asia again, so the main reason for his visit this time was to hope that the United States would stop selling supplies to Japan and force Japan to leave the Dutch East Indies.

Jensen picked up his coffee, understood his thoughts, and smiled: "Mr. Ambassador, the Philippines has become independent. And the Japanese government did not invade the Philippines. Therefore, my country is not in a position to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty. Of course, I am also very concerned about the current situation in the Dutch East Indies, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a neutral country recognized by all countries in the world, but the Japanese government is not invading this time, but only arresting the murderer! Of course, in line with the principle of not selling weapons to the warring areas, I still made a suggestion that the White House stop selling weapons and supplies to Japan, and hoped that President Roosevelt would reply as soon as possible. ”

Xu Gesen was already satisfied with this sentence. A return to the Philippines is unlikely anytime soon. As for Japan's so-called statement, he does not believe it, and that kind of child can only deceive children, and his greatest hope now is to pull in China, the United States, and France, and use the previous methods of the three countries to interfere in and return Liao, and put pressure on Japan together. It was forbidden to send troops to the Dutch East Indies. But just as he was about to continue talking, he saw Major Stilwell trotting over.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Grex Tsukasam."

"Colonel, is there something going on?" Seeing that he was in a hurry, Jensen asked after saying hello.

Stilwell nodded, and even showed a look of surprise on his face before speaking: "Mr. Ambassador, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called just now. Please join us at the press conference in one hour's time. They say that both the prime minister and the defense minister will be present and announce one thing. ”

"Mr. Wang Zhengting personally announced?" Jensen slowly put down the cup, his face solemn. What does the Prime Minister need to announce to reporters? You know, Beijing is different from the United States. It is unlikely that the thousand-year-old official custom will change in 30 years, and although Wang Zhengting's status is equal to that of the US secretary of state, he rarely attends public press events, but he does. Then there must be something big to announce. Of course, Yang Qiu is an exception. He was an alternative Oriental who was very fond of reaching out to the media and promoting his political and governing goals through newspapers and radio.

So not to mention the two ambassadors, even Mr. Yes's Situ Leiden was surprised and asked, "Colonel Stilwell, can you know what is going on?" ”

Stilwell looked at Xu Gesen before saying, "I just got the news that Chinese naval planes bombed the Balikpapan oil field this morning!" ”

"What!"

"What!"

"What!"

Although Stilwell did not know the truth and referred to the Air Force as the Navy, the three exclamations still blurted out in unison. Then the embassy staff saw Ambassador Xu Gesen and Ambassador Jensen, who were usually strict in their words and deeds, rushing into the car like children. By the time they arrived at the press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was already crowded with people. Ten minutes later, Wang Zhengting, the premier of the Republic of China, and Song Ziqing, the minister of national defense, jointly arrived, and the former officially announced the news of the bombing of the Balikpapan oil field to the press and diplomats from all over the world.

One stone stirs up a thousand waves! No one would have thought that China, which refused to send troops to the South Seas the day before yesterday, would suddenly attack the oil fields of the Balikpapan Anglo-Dutch Shell Oil Company! And judging from the words just now, it is obvious that it has been completely destroyed!

"Mr. Prime Minister, why attack the Balikpapan oil field, is this a declaration of war against Japan?"

"Your Excellency, may I ask if the Natuna base was used for this air raid? Did it really destroy the oil fields? Did you encounter resistance? ”

"The Balikpapan oil field belongs to the Anglo-Dutch Shell Company, and your country is not worried about the protests of the British government when it launches an air attack?"

"How much did you lose in the air raid?"

“。”

In the face of the sudden news, the reporters were also shocked, and after a short silence, everyone rushed to Wang Zhengting and Song Ziqing in a frenzy, trying to figure out the inside story of the air raid. And Xu Gesen, who came in a hurry, was even more dumbfounded, could it be that Yang Qiu was playing with himself before? Even Jensen was surprised, because he didn't expect it. No! It should be said that the whole world did not expect that Yang Qiu would suddenly make a move at this time.

In the face of the surging reporters and diplomats, Wang Zhengting was prepared, and after his eyes swept over the faces of Xu Gesen and others, he returned to the reporters and raised his hand and smiled: "Everyone! Ladies and gentlemen! Please be quiet. As I have just said, this air raid was carried out at the request of the Dutch and British governments to prevent the Dutch East Indies rebels from using the Balikpapan oil fields as weapons for military purposes, and does not represent our country's involvement in the East Indies conflict! You can ask Ambassador Xu Gesen for confirmation on this matter. China still adheres to the principle of consistency and will never interfere in the internal affairs of other countries without harming China's interests, so we hope that all parties concerned will continue to peacefully handle the East Indies crisis in accordance with the principle of safeguarding regional and world peace. At the same time, the Chinese Government will continue to pay attention to the accidental injuries caused in the bombing. Thank you, thank you. ”

Wang Zhengting's hand pointed and threw Xu Gesen directly onto the fire. The poor British ambassador to China gritted his teeth in anger, when did Britain authorize you to bomb British companies? But now is not the time to turn the other cheek, not to mention that the British government still needs Beijing in Far Eastern affairs, and simply destroying the oil fields to prevent Japan from profiting can lay a good foundation for the next step of forcing Japan back. Therefore, when the reporters surrounded him and the Dutch ambassador, they could only knock out their teeth and swallow in their stomachs, and praise the Chinese government and Yang Qiu who had fought against the rebels in the Dutch East Indies with flowery rhetoric.

The news of Beijing's bombing of Balikpapan quickly spread to the surrounding areas, and unlike military strategists who paid more attention to air attack tactics, newspapers around the world devoted a large area to the incident, which once suppressed the boiling Sudetenland crisis. Britain and the Netherlands were angry, but this breath could only be swallowed with a swollen face, and it was better to destroy the oil fields than to let Japan get them. The United States began to pay attention to its own bomber forces, and the order for a thousand B17s was passed by Congress shortly thereafter. While gloating, France began to consider deepening relations with China to ensure the safety of the French East Indies.

Of course, the happiest is Moscow! The loss of the Balikpapan oil fields would inevitably anger the Japanese government, so Stalin immediately sent Motolov around to the United States to visit Japan, hoping to bring about a war between China and Japan.

Some people are happy and others are sad, in the charred harbor of Balikpaban, looking at the oil depot and oil refinery that have been blown to pieces, Nagata Tetsuyama and other Japanese officers have faces as black as the bottom of a pot. 2.7 million tons of stocks were burned, the refinery became scrap metal, and the flame of the oil well has not been extinguished! Not counting the losses, it will take tens of millions of dollars and more than a year to rebuild the oil fields and refineries!

Yang Qiu's slap was too hard!

He took advantage of the disadvantage that Japan did not openly occupy the Dutch East Indies under the guise of helping Britain and the United States fight the rebels, so that Japan could not find the slightest excuse! You must know that now that Japan is stationed in Balikpapan, it is also under the guise of crusading against the rebels to avenge Kobayashi, and in a sense, the two countries are still non-aligned allies.

There are no oil fields, and most of the victories in the south are diminished. What's the use of making enough money? There have been rumors from the United States that it will impose a temporary embargo on Japan, and it is even more impossible for China to sell even a little bit of supplies, and Soviet aid will be blocked by Britain outside the Suez Canal; if it cannot find a way to replenish oil as soon as possible, even if war is declared on China, Japan, without external support, will only become weaker and weaker. What's more, Yang Qiu's failure to attack the Kaohsiung also shows that he is telling Japan that if he fights China, he must consider the cost of the same bombing on the mainland!

A single bombing completely changed the prospects of going south, so that Japan had to kill the Palembang oil field and the Sarawak oil field for oil, but these two places are the lifeblood of Britain, does this not force Japan to declare war on Britain?!

This revenge will definitely be avenged, and if China is not resolved, Japan will not be able to become a world power! However, before dealing with China, it must first solve the South China Sea, otherwise it will be impossible for Japan, which is isolated in the Pacific Ocean, to get in touch with its allies if it is caught in the middle of a single attack. Thinking of this, Nagata Tieshan's hand clenched tighter, and the green tendons on the back of his hand could be seen from a few meters apart. Kenji Dohihara, who was beside him, also had a sad look on his face: "Nagata-kun, you should call back to China and block this news." ”

Nagata nodded numbly, this news was too big a blow to the people in the country who were carnivaling to celebrate the success of the south. If they knew that the oil fields had been destroyed, perhaps enthusiasm would immediately turn to fear, so a blockade was necessary. Kenji Dohihara continued: "The Palembang oil field is the last hope of the empire, and I believe that Britain is already thinking about learning from China to bomb there, and this time we are very passive. ”

"Inform the base camp that the 5th Division should not go to Batavia and go ashore directly from the port of Lampung." Nagata Tetsuyama picked up a piece of bomb fragment and looked at it deadly. There are some roads that you can't retract back after taking a step. The southward movement has already begun, and retracting it will only make Japan worse! Therefore, there is no way back for myself and Japan, so I can only gamble!

Thinking of this, he threw the fragment aside fiercely: "The rise and fall of the imperial kingdom, in one fell swoop!" ”