If London is the heart of the UK, then Downing Street is the heart of the UK government.

As the residence of the British Prime Minister, 10 Downing Street is the core of the core.

By this time, London had become more or less depressed due to the effects of the war, and Churchill stepped out of the car, and his face was full of exhaustion.

Just yesterday, because of China's so-called 'Battle of Longkou Bay', Churchill and many admirals could almost say that they did not sleep all night. Because they suddenly discovered that their so-called invincible fleet had always faced such a huge threat.

That's right, after getting rid of those strange submarine models, Britain is indeed a country with very advanced submarine technology, but Germany is no different. If the same tactics as China had been at Longkou Bay had been adopted to launch a surprise attack on the British warships in the harbor, the British would have lost their advantage, or even fall into a disadvantage.

Before he could think of it, Churchill broke out in a cold sweat, just like the rest of the officers.

So all night yesterday Churchill and the other generals were thinking about ways to deal with the threat from underwater, no way, who called him the Secretary of the Navy, who else could think about this matter if he didn't think about it?

And because of the UK's leading technology in submarines, they really came up with some solutions. Although it is not known whether it is useful or not for the time being, in any case, the British government finally breathed a sigh of relief―――――― if it was really like the Japanese army in Longkou Bay, almost all the capital ships were wiped out by a surprise attack by Chinese, then Churchill and they even had the mind to hang themselves.

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Churchill, the Lord of the Admiralty, was still well-known in Downing Street. So the waiter outside the door saw that it was Churchill and hurriedly welcomed him into the room. In the room, there are now two ministers in the British Cabinet. But there are still many that have not arrived.

Churchill was not surprised, after all, the time had not yet come. So he didn't say much, but went up to a minister with whom he was in good contact and chatted with him.

"Done?"

The minister also seemed to know what Churchill had been busy with last night, so he looked at the two dark circles in Churchill's eye sockets and spoke in a joking tone.

"yes," Churchill smiled bitterly. After a long night, there were finally some results, although the effect was unclear. But at least I can finally get a good night's sleep..."

Hearing Churchill say this, the minister smiled and chatted with him.

But just when the two of them were chatting. Herbert? Henry? Asquith walked in from the room. Herbert is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, having held the post since 1908 and held the post until 1916. Herbert, who was in his sixties by this time, seemed to be in good spirits, and when he entered the room, he greeted everyone at first. Immediately afterwards, he walked up to Churchill's side and asked about the security of the military port.

Churchill had been prepared for this. hurriedly replied.

At this time, the major military ports of Britain had begun to take comprehensive defensive measures, in order to avoid the occurrence of something like Longkou Bay. However, due to the urgency of time, I am afraid that no results will be produced in a short time, and Churchill does not dare to guarantee whether those methods will be useful or not.

Having said that, Herbert nodded in satisfaction.

Because of the relationship between Longkou Bay, he didn't close his eyes almost all night last night, for fear that the Germans would learn the same as the Chinese. A surprise attack was launched on the British fleet in the harbor with submarines, for which almost all the British ships in the harbor were dispatched. In order to avoid being found by the Germans. Now, in any case, he was finally able to sleep peacefully―――――――― he did not know, in fact, the Germans really wanted to do this, after all, if they could inflict heavy damage on the British fleet, then the balance of their sea power could be reversed.

But in the end, the Germans shook their heads and vetoed the plan. The reason is also very simple, since there is such a thing, it is impossible for the British to be unprepared for such actions. And if there is a deviation in the operation, then whether it can succeed or not is not mentioned for the time being, I am afraid that the submarine force, which is not large in number, will suffer large casualties, and if so, it will undoubtedly be somewhat unworthy.

So after much consideration, in the end the Germans vetoed this proposal. However, because of the battle of Longkou Bay, the Germans attached great importance to submarines to a considerable height―――――― in fact, there are several countries that do not attach importance to submarines...

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After getting Churchill's answer, Herbert seemed to be in a pretty good mood. After about ten minutes, the other members of the cabinet arrived one by one, and the whole cabinet meeting could be regarded as beginable.

The content of this meeting is very simple, that is, about the conflict that is taking place between China and Japan in Shandong―――――― yes, the conflict, although the 'tragedy' of Longkou Bay has just happened, but at this time there is no formal declaration of war between China and Japan, so we can only use the conflict to describe what happened between the two countries.

"I thought that with the superiority of the Japanese at sea and the army that had been verified in the Russo-Japanese War, this war should not be too much of a problem even if it was not won too lightly, but now it seems..." Rubbing his forehead, Herbert shook his head. Looks like it's time for something to change..."

"Is this the time for this?" Edward? Gray agreed. "Originally, we thought that the Japanese would be able to win in a short period of time, so we would support their military operation in Shandong, but now it has been proved that they may not win so easily. Although there has not yet been a head-on clash between the two armies, the Battle of Longkou Bay has proved that even if the Japanese win on the road, they will not be able to completely defeat the Chinese government. And as long as the Chinese government has not conceded defeat, I am afraid that this war will continue forever..."

"Japan is our ally, and China. Considering that relations between China and France can be barely considered our quasi-allies, such a conflict between two countries is definitely not what we want to see..."

"A particularly important point..."George? Lloyd interjected. He is the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he is also the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and when Herbert leaves office, he will be replaced by the man in front of him. "We supported Japan because they could help us, especially in the navy, and the two battlecruisers of the Japanese Navy were very much needed by us, but now. The Japanese Navy was almost completely wiped out. According to the information transmitted by the Observation Mission, one of those two battle cruisers has now sunk at the bottom of Longkou Bay, so it is difficult to say whether the Japanese will be able to provide the support we need. It can even be said that the only thing that Japan can care about now is the two battle cruisers and two dreadnoughts that are still under construction, and their little army, but the former has not yet been completed. As for the latter..."Speaking of which. George? Lloyd's face showed a contemptuous smile.

At this time, large-scale battles on the Old Continent had not yet broken out, and it would take some time before the first Battle of the Marne took place. Neither the casualties of the Entente nor the Allied armies were very large, George? Lloyd's naturally couldn't imagine how much they would need strong men to fill the trenches in a year's time, and there was inevitably some contempt between the words.

"Now the Japanese have only one battle cruiser left in their hands, while the Chinese have three dreadnoughts in their hands, and we will favor the Japanese at first because we think they will win, and then we can use the power of the Japanese navy." But now the Japanese Navy is gone, and the Chinese Navy is unscathed. So......... Shouldn't we make some changes..."

Immediately afterwards, several other ministers also spoke, and they all agreed that the war that had taken place in Shandong should be stopped. In this way, both Japan and China could devote their forces to Europe and help the Allies win―――――― and when they talked about this, they did not seem to think that China or Japan would refuse their demands.

Hearing the above words, Herbert also shook his head with a wry smile. "What a disaster, anyway, except for the Chinese, I am afraid that only the Americans are the happiest about what happened in Longkou Bay..."

Hearing Herbert's words, whether it was Churchill or others, they also showed a slight wry smile.

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Things are just as Herbert thought, except for the Chinese of the victory in Longkou Bay, at this time I am afraid that only the Americans are the happiest, and even the Germans have to be ranked behind――――――, although the Germans are indeed very happy about the fact that the Japanese Navy is almost completely annihilated, but Longkou Bay is also equivalent to a wake-up call to the British, so that the Germans can not make another surprise attack according to Longkou Bay, so the joy in their hearts is diluted a lot.

For Americans, the Japanese have always been a big threat. Especially at that time when the Panama Canal was not opened and the US Navy had to be dispersed across two oceans.

However, this is different now, not only was the Panama Canal officially opened a few days ago, but even the Japanese navy was almost completely wiped out, and the threat faced by the United States was greatly reduced. Even yesterday, the American diplomats in Britain had a smile on their faces.

Listening to the rhetoric of mediating the Sino-Japanese conflict everywhere, Herbert rubbed his forehead, thinking that this would be the end of today's meeting. But it was at this time that Churchill put forward a different opinion.

"I think that at this time, instead of mediating the war, we should give the Japanese government some support to help them win this victory..."

Hear Churchill say that, George? Lloyd frowned slightly.

As Chancellor of the Exchequer, he was well aware of how much the government had spent on the military during this time―――――― and although it was only a small amount for the next few years, it was already a big expense for George Lloyd's.

Historically, in 1908, George Lloyd's even demanded that the prime minister cut the navy, because in the general election two years earlier, the Liberal Party had promised voters to cut military spending. At the same time, it was proposed to reduce the number of dreadnoughts from six to four. His proposal was accepted by the government, but was met with the Conservatives and First Sea Lord, Field Marshal John Brown. Abbasnot? Sir Fisher objected, and they launched a campaign with the slogan 'We want eight dreadnoughts, don't wait any longer'. At last. Lloyd's? George's proposal was opposed by other cabinet members and ultimately could not be realized. The government adopted Sir Fisher's plan to build dreadnoughts. Lloyd's? George later said. This was a turning point in the Anglo-German arms race and one of the causes of the First World War.

But just when George Lloyd wanted to say something, Churchill's next words blocked George Lloyd's words.

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The fleshy face showed a stern expression, and Churchill looked at his colleagues, especially George Lloyd, who was about to speak. "I know very well what you are thinking, which is to mediate the conflict between the Chinese government and the Japanese government. And then let them concentrate their forces in Europe, and at the same time share the pressure on us, especially financially. But there's one thing I hope you can understand..."

With that, Churchill looked at Herbert. "It is not in our interest to have either a strong Japan or a strong China, and in the past we have pursued a policy of balancing, that is, keeping the two powers on a balanced scale. The same is true for China and Japan. ”

"In the past, China had great potential. However, it is inferior to Japan in both industry and militarily, and even financially. Of course, after the emergence of a national government, the situation changed dramatically, even very dramatically, first militarily, then financially, and even industrially because of the Seventh Five-Year Plan. It can be said that China has changed dramatically in the past year or so..."

"In counting the huge territory, there is an equally large population. No matter how you look at it, Japan will not be an opponent of China, and our balancing policy is just a joke, but China's navy is still in a very immature state, and it is not an opponent of the Japanese navy at all, and the three dreadnoughts he has are all bought, and most of the Japanese battleships, although they are only former dreadnoughts, are built by themselves, and some of them were captured during the Russo-Japanese War, and there are two Kongo-class battle cruisers whose combat effectiveness can be comparable to that of dreadnoughts..."

"And it also has the ability to build dreadnoughts and battle cruisers, and there are even two battle cruisers and two dreadnoughts being built on Japan's slipway, and if these four ships are launched, then counting Japan's original more than ten battleships and other capital ships, China will not be Japan's opponent at sea for at least twenty or thirty years, and our balancing policy is precisely based on this."

"But because of the relationship with Longkou Bay, the Japanese Navy has suffered heavy losses, and the Battle of Longkou Bay has also proved to us that the Chinese Navy does not seem to be as immature as we think, and it can be said that if we don't think of some way, our balance policy between China and Japan can almost be declared bankrupt..."

"The problem is that we have a lot of interests in Asia, including China itself, and a lot of interests in the Far East, South Asia, like Tibet, India, and so on. If there is a balance of power between China and Japan, then both countries will seek our help, but if one of them suddenly falls, then we will have to consider our interests in Tibet and India, and other places, but the importance of India to the empire is well known to all of you..."

"You mean that China could be a threat to India?" Herbert frowned slightly.

"That's right." Churchill nodded in acknowledgement. "Of course, this is not the case with China at the moment, but a strong China will inevitably expand around, and India is right next to China, and judging from the information obtained by Minister Zhu Erdian, the Chinese ruler is also a very enterprising young man, and if China lacks checks and balances, we will have to think about India..."

"We can wait until the war is over to think about it..."Edward? Gray frowned. "After all, it's still Europe that matters..."

"The question is how long this war will last, and if it can be over in a year, it doesn't matter much, but if it drags on......... In fact, according to the information we got not long ago, because of the 'Seventh Five-Year Project', China's industry already has a relatively comprehensive foundation, and only some key points are still under construction, if we waste all our time on the European battlefield, then by the end of the war, we will have to face a new threat..."

That being said, Churchill didn't think things were really going to be so troublesome, but only to emphasize his own ideas, so he was alarmist. Because in Churchill's view, this war will last for a year or two at most, but he could never have imagined that this war would last for four years, and the tragedy is far beyond his imagination.

"And what do you think?"

Looking at Churchill, Herbert asked softly.

"Increase support for Japan." Without hesitation, Churchill replied. "Although the Japanese have been defeated at sea, they still have an army on the way that has defeated the Russians. The case of Longkou Bay can only be regarded as an accident brought about by a new weapon, and it is difficult for such a thing to happen a second time, and as long as the Japanese can succeed on land, then our Sino-Japanese balance policy can also be continued..." (To be continued......