Chapter 403 Let’s destroy the British Empire together (second update, please subscribe)
At the beginning of the new year, London is still full of devastation, filled with thick fog, like a ghostland,
Depression and The coldness still envelopes Britain.
On the fourth year after the end of the war, no, if you count from Asia, it should be said to be the third year, life in Britain is still very difficult.
In fact, no one's life was easy after the war.
However, the British Empire was more difficult to endure.
Because... India is fighting for independence.
Nothing else. During the war, the British government promised to grant India independence after the war. But in fact, Britain was unwilling to give up this vast and important colony. Not only Churchill, the former British Prime Minister, has always been opposed to Indian independence, but all imperial elites with a little foresight are opposed to Indian independence.
Why were both Britain and France able to quickly get rid of the impact of the pre-war economic crisis? Has the economy recovered quickly? However, the United States has fallen into a long-term depression. The essence is that Britain and France have vast colonies as markets and raw material suppliers. They only need to use the imperial preferential system and tariff protection to close the door and rely on the large market of hundreds of millions of people. Can renew a wave of blood.
The United States, without the support of colonies, fell into the "Great Depression". This is also the reason why the United States must get rid of the British and French colonial empires. There is no other reason but interests.
The United States and Russia have the same interests in getting rid of the colonies of the old European powers. The former is for business and the latter is for politics.
But the imperial elites in London will definitely not sit still and wait for death. Whether during the war or after the war, the traditional imperial elites represented by Churchill are doing everything possible to ensure that India is not independent.
However, their efforts have been ruined by Attlee in the past three years. In order to reduce defense expenditures, he has begun large-scale disarmament. Not only has the army been eliminated on a large scale, but also The navy, on which the British Empire relied for survival, also reduced a large number of warships, including huge battleships. The Royal Navy, once the world's second-largest navy, does not even have many ships left, with only two Eagle-class aircraft carriers and one Centaur-class HMS Arenas left.
From this point of view, Attlee is absolutely not unjustly called a "Russian spy" by some congressmen. He kept saying that it was for the welfare of the people, but in fact, in the three years after the war, they did nothing at all - the wartime rationing system was still not abolished, and the people were still living in lack of supplies. The only thing Attlee's cabinet did was to bite the bullet and spend 150 million pounds to build 1,500 simple houses in London and start repairing houses damaged in the war.
Well, the price is that the Imperial Navy has fewer battleships.
In short, according to Churchill - "That bastard Attlee was more powerful than Hitler in destroying the British Empire."
......
At No. 10 Downing Street, the Imperial Prime Minister Attlee, whom Churchill called "a typical mediocre person", was waiting for a meeting with a gloomy face. The arrival of a young admiral.
Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, Viscount Burma, was the great-grandson of Queen Victoria. Mountbatten, who is forty-six years old, is one of the most famous figures in Britain. He was six feet tall and well-proportioned. Although he has shouldered heavy responsibilities in the past few years, his face, familiar to millions of British people from newspapers, shows no signs of fatigue or nervousness.
Now, Attlee summoned him to serve as the deputy king of India, that is, the governor-general of India. The Prime Minister decided to give him this supreme task in India, not to rule India, but to arrange the British withdrawal from India.
After Clement Attlee and his Labor Party came to power, they began to implement the decolonization plan of the British Empire. They believe that this historical process will inevitably begin in India. The Indian Empire is like a magnificent building. It is the cornerstone and witness of the British Empire. It symbolizes the extremely glorious achievements of the British Empire and the culmination of many years of painstaking efforts.
"Get out of India wisely and honorably!"
This was Attlee's speech in Parliament. Although there were boos at the time, he still made everyone believe- -If the withdrawal from India is disgraceful, then Britain will be driven out, and the British Empire will no longer have the ability to continue to rule its colonies.
The premise is...if he had not carried out large-scale disarmament, had not sent the Royal Navy warships to the slipway to be dismantled, and turned the steel plates of the warships into rebuilt steel bars, perhaps Britain would still be able to withstand it.
But... Attlee persisted and insisted on going all the way to the end on the road to dismantling the British Empire.
As in the past, Prime Minister Clement Attlee looked pale and gloomy, wearing a low-quality, wrinkled coat - only in this way could he reflect his true nature as a working people.
But Mountbatten knew very well that this guy was a professor and he had never done any menial work for a day. As early as the 1920s, Attlee's monthly salary was several hundred pounds. Everything is a politician's disguise, but his disguise is successful. He successfully deceives the ignorant people into believing that he stands with them. He was working for their benefit. He succeeded and successfully occupied No. 10 Downing Street.
The shabby leader of the Labor Party chooses a dashing polo player and cousin of the King of England to personally destroy the crown jewel of the British Empire.
This scene seems absurd and bizarre, but the fact is that a prime minister who is determined to dismantle the British Empire and a person who is determined to protect the British Empire stand together like this.
As soon as the two met, Attlee introduced Mountbatten to the gloomy situation in India. he said.
“The situation there is getting worse day by day, and now a decisive decision must be taken... It is obvious that Britain and India are heading towards a massive disaster. Telegrams are pouring in every morning, informing London that new bloodshed somewhere in India Things happen all the time. Therefore, action must be taken as soon as possible. The current deputy king is unable to restore the situation..."
When the Prime Minister stated the situation, he also declared that "Mountbatten should regard his position as deputy king as a sign of loyalty to the country. The admiral's facial expression was always elusive. In his opinion, "This is a mission with no hope of success."
He knew Marshal Wavell and admired his outstanding talent. The two of them had discussed the Indian issue many times. Mountbatten thought to himself:
"He failed, can I succeed?"
But it became increasingly clear to him that he could not shirk this responsibility.
As the king's cousin, Mountbatten was not excited by receiving such an appointment to personally dismantle the British Empire. On the contrary, he only felt boundless depression in his heart.
"I have to repeat it."
Mountbatten looked at Prime Minister Attlee and said,
"I can accept this appointment, as a prerequisite, the government It must be publicly announced that the UK is committed to ceasing to exercise sovereignty. Agree on the exact date of India's independence, which will facilitate in-depth negotiations between me and the Congress Party and the Muslim League; secondly, during my tenure, I enjoy full power and complete freedom without having to ask London for instructions and reports, especially not allowing London to regularly Intervene.”
Faced with the conditions offered by Mountbatten, Attlee seemed a little uneasy. He knew clearly how the traditional elites of the empire opposed granting independence to India. Will Mountbatten use this power to delay India's independence?
"You probably won't ask for special powers that would put you above the power of the government cabinet recognized by His Majesty the King?"
Attlee is really not sure at this time. Which side would Mountbatten end up on?
“That is what I fear and what I expect.”
Mountbatten replied:
"Please think about it, if the cabinet often intervenes, how will I seriously negotiate with them?"
Faced with Mountbatten's unusual request, Prime Minister Attlee was shocked. He was afraid of being These imperial elites were toyed with.
Mountbatten was filled with joy and secretly pondering the effect of this request. He hoped to force the Prime Minister to withdraw the appointment. However, after thinking for a long time, Attlee still did not change his mind. An hour later, Louis Mountbatten walked out of No. 10 Downing Street. At this time, his face was full of sorrow, and he took on the painful task of being the last Vice-King of India and destroying the unprecedented glorious achievements in British history.
On this day, London officially announced that the Deputy King of British India would officially take office.
The secret talks held in London that day irreversibly accelerated the collapse of the behemoth British Empire.
(End of this chapter)