Chapter 53, The Return of the British Empire (Part 2)
"...According to the latest secret agreement, after the imperial power returned to the South Asian subcontinent, the moderates of the original Congress Party headed by Gandhi and Nehru, as well as Hyderabad, Updale, Gwalior, and Mysore The twenty-six princes of the princely states of Indore, Nagpur, Bhopal and Rajputana who have not been destroyed will renew their allegiance to our Majesty King George VI, and the King of Nepal also agrees. Join the Commonwealth ”
In the Prime Minister's Residence at No. 10 Downing Street, Churchill held a cigar in his hand and showed off the huge breakthroughs made by the wartime cabinet in Eastern diplomacy, "... In this way, two-thirds of the entire territory of Hindustan was once again occupied. It is included in the territory of the empire..."
"...So, what price are we going to pay for this?" Labor leader Attlee asked.
"...Well, this is a bit much. First, let Marshal Wavell's troops withdraw from Delhi and hand over the capital of the Indian Empire to Nehru; second, agree to establish a new government of the Indian Republic, with Gandhi as president, and Nepal With Heru as Prime Minister, on the premise of swearing allegiance to the British Crown and joining the Commonwealth, the new government of the Republic of India should enjoy at least autonomy no less than that of Canada; third, each princely state directly joins the Commonwealth and becomes an autonomous dominion with Their respective governments and armies have the same status as South Africa and Canada; fourth, to Nigeria Heru's army and the armies of various princely states urgently provided a batch of ordnance and ammunition, as well as heavy artillery, tanks and instructors, as well as bombers and volunteer pilots, and dispatched a Royal Navy fleet to assist the new Indian Republic government in annihilating domestic opposition as quickly as possible. faction; fifth , permanently deposed the title of Vice-King of India, and could retain Marshal Wavell's title of Governor-General of India, but his jurisdiction and garrison scope were limited to the eastern region of Bengal Province. Nehru suggested that Marshal Wavell could establish a temporary headquarters in Dhaka. ”
"... Damn it! In other words, the empire only regained more than half of Hindustan on the map, but in fact only half of the province of Bengal was actually controlled? And for this, it had to hand over Delhi? And it also had to continue to participate in a war A colonial security war that will inevitably lead to heavy casualties? ”
Attlee frowned and said critically, "...even East Bengal, which Nehru and Gandhi were scheduled to hand over to the empire, seems to be a place where Jinnah's Muslim League has the upper hand and racial vendettas are in full swing...Gandhi and Neh Where is Lu’s concession? It’s clearly a time bomb thrown at the empire!”
"...There is no way. Nehru was just such a guy. He was always trying to take advantage of him. All he said was empty words and lies. He was basically like Hitler before he launched the war... But the British Empire could only Cooperate with him, Lord Attlee.”
Churchill blew out smoke rings and replied, "...The world has changed and is almost beyond our recognition. The Empire can no longer be firmly established with only nine thousand administrative officials and twelve thousand British soldiers. Rule over India, a country with a population of three to four billion.
After the fall of Bombay Port, Delhi, which was under heavy siege, was destined to be unable to hold on, and the empire was destined to withdraw miserably from Asia. Nowadays, the empire can not only save the more than 10,000 remnants of the army trapped in Delhi, but also take back half of Bengal, and maintain the last trace of dignity living in India without being completely driven out, which is already very good. What cannot be obtained on the battlefield cannot be obtained entirely through diplomatic negotiations!
Well, besides, the Empire could also reclaim the island of Ceylon. After the Japanese troops guarding the island evacuated, there fell into a state of anarchy. Although Chandra Bose sent a small force in an attempt to take over this rich island, due to racial and religious barriers and too few troops, they did not occupy much of the island. Therefore, as long as we can dispatch a fleet, gather two brigades of landing troops, and let Gandhi help coordinate, it should not be difficult to reestablish the rule of the empire there, and the Royal Navy's Eastern Fleet can also have a presence between Africa and Singapore A reliable port base..."
"...Although it is not perfect, it is slightly better to be able to take back Ceylon and East Bengal than to lose all of India."
Marshal Brooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, pondered for a moment, and then echoed, "...But, how should we fulfill the covenant next? Chandra Bose and Ali Jinnah, who are entrenched in western India, have half a million Indians. The total strength of the National Army, plus the Sikh army, is expected to reach 700,000, and these are the most skilled soldiers in the South Asian subcontinent, Bose! There is also a simple but durable weapons production system. Even if Britain's regular army is deployed, we will need at least 200,000 people to ensure victory-but where can the empire find the last 200,000 people now? The elite army is either staying at home or fighting the Soviet Red Army on the European continent. It is impossible to transfer them to India! ”
"...You are right. When the fierce fighting on the European continent is raging, the empire cannot send too many troops to the South Asian subcontinent. But...why should we really send troops to annihilate Chandra Bose and Ali? .Jinnah? Well, and the Sikhs?”
Churchill raised his eyebrows, "... Now that the empire has actually lost its ability to rule Hindustan, they are enemies of Nehru, Gandhi, and the princes of the princes, but they are no longer enemies of the empire. Well, at least until they can conquer the entire Ganges River Basin and reach East Bengal, or build their own fleet to cross the Palk Strait and land on the island of Ceylon, I have no real plans to fight them..."
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"...But if there is no foreign aid, Gandhi and Nehru will be defeated soon! If the Indian National Army of Chandra Bose and Ali Jinnah is still half a regular army, Gandhi and Nehru Our troops cannot even be called militiamen, they can only be described as farmers carrying guns..."
Marshal Brooke shook his head, "...The strength of Gandhi as an ascetic lies in his popularity and appeal. But once he turns to cooperate with us, many radical Indian nationalists will feel that they have been betrayed. And then went to the side of Gandhi’s enemies..."
"...So I found a few helpers for the ascetic Gandhi and the evil litigator Nehru, and asked them to help drag Bose and Jinnah down."
Churchill turned sideways and turned the globe next to him, and explained to Marshal Brooke, "...The first is Iran. Didn't the empire already sign a treaty and armistice with the Kingdom of Iran in the Middle East battlefield? Then the next step is to go one step further and invite Iran to send troops. India - Regarding Balochistan in western India, Iran's Shah Pahlavi had long ago had an idea... Of course, in order to show the empire's sincerity, our army needs to abandon Mosul and recognize The Kingdom of Iran occupies the entire territory of Iraq as a preliminary payment for inviting Iran to send troops. Then there is Afghanistan. Kashmir and Peshawar in northwestern Hindustan are originally Afghan territory. The empire can now sign an agreement to return these lands to Afghanistan. , let King Zahir send his own troops to get it. As for the next provinces of Sindh and Punjab, it depends on who moves faster, the Iranians or the Afghans..."
"...Iran and Afghanistan... these seem to be the traditional birthplaces of Indian conquerors in history!"
Attlee frowned and said, "...Adding two more external forces like this will inevitably plunge India into chaos for a long time..."
"...It is to plunge India into chaos for a long time! After all, the current empire no longer has the power to conquer the entire India."
Churchill rubbed his stubby fingers and said, "...Therefore, it is necessary for us to formulate future Indian policies just like we treat Europe..."
Formulate future Indian policies as we treat Europe... After hearing this, Attlee's lips couldn't help but twitch. Due to special geographical factors, Britain has always maintained relative independence in European political history. It manipulates the "balance of power system" and acts as an "offshore balancer" to manage its relations with the European continent. Strictly speaking, Britain's European policy has not changed for 500 years. That is to create a divided Europe. To achieve this goal, the British fought with the Dutch against the Spanish, with the Germans against the French, with the French and Italians against the Germans, with the French against the Germans and Italians, and now Contacting the whole of Europe and fighting the Soviets, or in other words, Beaten to death by the Soviets... Now if we switch to the South Asian subcontinent, it is to create a divided India, so that Nepalese, Iranians, Afghans, Hindustani, Tamils, Bengalis, Burmese... all You beat me and I beat you, conquering each other and killing each other endlessly.
However, this is also a very reasonable choice under adverse circumstances and a traditional norm in ancient Indian history.
"...Well, relying on the two spoilers, Iran and Afghanistan, should be able to hold back Jinnah in Sindh and the Sikhs in Punjab, but what should we do about Chandra Bose, the culprit who colluded with Japan to invade India? ? His base is in the south, out of reach of the Iranians and Afghans.
With the prestige brought by launching this rebellion, Bose is now the chairman of the Congress Party, the supreme leader widely recognized throughout India, and the theoretical superior of Gandhi and Nehru. Once Nehru and Gandhi quit the Congress Party and surrendered to the empire, it would legally constitute rebellion and rebellion, and they would suffer a huge loss in morale and image. Even if this issue is not taken into account, although the actual number of troops controlled by both sides is similar, their combat effectiveness is vastly different. Without strong foreign aid, Nehru and Gandhi were doomed to fail even if they dealt with Bose alone. ”
Marshal Brooke continued to criticize and said, "...People like Gandhi and Nehru basically make a living by marching, striking, giving speeches, and going to jail. It may be okay to engage in propaganda and canvassing votes, but it is terrible when they really want to run the government. , the combat effectiveness of the army is even more despairing.
Their enemy, Chandra Bose, although he returned to India with the help of Japanese bayonets and the combined fleet, he also relied on his own army to carve out territory bit by bit. His entire direct lineage grew up from scratch in the flames of war. They learned warfare during the war and gradually cultivated their own civilian and officer corps. Even if we give Gandhi and Nehru more guns and ammunition, they will not be able to win.
However, it is impossible for the empire to invest much land force in South Asia, and the Royal Navy's Eastern Fleet cannot help much. It is simply impossible to destroy the determination of such a military organization to resist by just a few sneak bombings by naval aviation or bombardment of ports by naval fleets.
What's more, although Bowes did not have a fleet, he did have a small air force that the Japanese helped him train. It is said that there are also submarines and torpedo boats, as well as a large number of coastal defense fortresses left by the empire. The great Nelson once said that warships should never shoot at shore batteries. After our grand fleet suffered two atomic bombs from the Soviet Union, the empire now does not have many spare warships that can be squandered on such secondary battlefields. ”
"...But after the withdrawal of the Japanese Combined Fleet, we have at least mastered sea and air supremacy in the Indian Ocean. At least the small air force of Chandra Bose will definitely not be able to completely block the bombing of the Royal Navy Air Force."
Churchill said calmly, "...So, in order to weaken the power of the remaining Congress rebels as much as possible after Gandhi and Nehru turned their backs on the dark side, I planned to experiment a little with gas warfare and germ warfare in Bombay and Surat. Well, And maybe nuclear weapons too.”
"...What? Nuclear weapons?!" Everyone present exclaimed together.
"...Yes, they are nuclear weapons." Churchill smiled and nodded, pointing to the map of India hanging on the wall. "...Not long ago, the secret factory in Oak Ridge in the United States produced the second batch of three atomic bombs. . President Truman prepared to transport one of the atomic bombs to Great Britain to deter the Soviet Union; the second atomic bomb continued to bomb Japan in an effort to disintegrate those countries as soon as possible. The yellow-skinned dwarf’s will to resist; I haven’t figured out the use of the third atomic bomb yet. Therefore, I plan to try to contact President Truman and persuade him to drop this atomic bomb in Goa, India, to give the Indian rebels the severest punishment. , and at the same time, it can also shock the uncivilized barbarians in other colonies and let them understand the consequences of betraying the empire!
In this way, even if Bose is not killed, at least his base camp and military industrial base can be destroyed, and the advantage of the Congress rebels over other forces in India can be weakened. As for the rest, there are some bandits, small warlords and red guerrillas, but these are the tasks of Nehru and the princes of the princes. If they can't even defeat such an opponent, then there's nothing Whitehall can do..."
Having said this, he turned around again, took out a huge globe, put it in front of everyone, stretched out his hand to make it spin, "...Okay, let's talk about the arrangements for India. . The following is how to recover the other colonies of the Empire and the Allies in the East..."
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For the next hour, Churchill eloquently described what he envisioned as the next step in his Far Eastern strategy.
At present, if we do not count the British troops stationed in the Middle East to confront the Iranians, then in East Africa, South Africa, India and Singapore surrounding the Indian Ocean, as well as East Asia and Southeast Asia east of Singapore, the British Empire only has a third-rate military force. The small fleet, plus less than 30,000 pure-blooded British Army soldiers, and then the 50,000 American and British prisoners of war who had just been rescued from the Hainan Island prisoner of war camp...
However, with only such a very limited military power and the power vacuum left by the collapse of the Japanese Empire in the nuclear explosion, Churchill was confident in regaining Britain's lost Far Eastern colonial empire and further encroaching on the French Empire. Indochina and the Dutch East Indies!
Not to mention that just when Churchill was planning to march to the east, his rear was still in chaos and turmoil - not to mention the tug-of-war with the Soviet Red Army and red elements in various countries on the European continent, the remaining imperial possessions from North Africa to South Africa were also in chaos. The flames of uprising and riots are everywhere.
With such little capital at hand, Churchill wanted to make this grand dream plan a reality. In addition to relying on the remaining power of the Sun Never Sets Empire in the past, he also had to mess with John Bull, the Supreme Leader of Hunyuan Wuji. The talent of the shit-stirring sticks has been used to the extreme - to put it simply, they are sowing discord, tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall, borrowing strength from others, borrowing chickens to lay eggs, and using banners to make tiger skins. A kind of deception...
In this unprecedented and cruel world war, Britain has lost three million people. The British boys really can't afford to die anymore. Therefore, Churchill can only use various methods to spread the pie to Iran. , Afghanistan, Thailand and Palestinian Jews, these little friends who originally looked down upon them also joined the British Empire's chariot. Then use the Jews to fight the Arabs, the Arabs to fight the black Africans, the black Africans to fight the Indians in Ceylon and Bangladesh, let Iran and Afghanistan deal with the Muslim League rebels in western Hindustan, and use the Thais to fight the Vietnamese. and the Burmese, use Indians to fight against the Malayans and Indonesians, use Jewish connections to lobby the Americans, and use American nuclear weapons to frighten the Indians...
If it weren't for the fact that the Japanese Empire's homeland continued to resist and did not give up the fight, Churchill, who was pressed by the lack of troops, and even the Japanese prisoners of war who had just surrendered in various parts of Southeast Asia wanted to rearm and use them.
In short, Churchill's plan was to "use the power of the world to conquer the whole world" when Britain itself was seriously weakened.
How to say it? It feels like crowdfunding, more like a scam, and it can also be said to be shameless.
As a half outsider, Labor leader Attlee thought about it in his mind and found that there was indeed some possibility of success.
However, the foundation of the British Empire's world dominance was its sea power that overwhelmed all other powers, its fleets all over the world, and its advanced and efficient systems, technology, and industry. But as of today, all of this has gone by the wayside. Great Britain's fleet has been destroyed, sea power is over, industry has collapsed, scientists have defected to the United States with all their technical data, and even Britain itself is at risk of Soviet nuclear bombs at any time. under the haze.
Even if Churchill's plan goes well, how many days can a colonial empire like this, which was only achieved through opportunism and shamelessness, last?
Well, if Portugal has declined like this and can still maintain the Macau colony to this day, maybe the British Empire can have the same luck?
Of course, this kind of long-term strategic planning is something that the next government and even the one after that need to consider. If this cabinet can regain the lost territory in the east, it will be able to reach the top and become a god. However, let alone how to fool various "uncivilized lower-class countries" into fighting for the empire to restore colonies, will the process be as smooth as Churchill said? Even if they are really fooled into boarding the British Empire's chariot, At best, it only provides some cannon fodder. How to deal with the following ordnance, ammunition, and material logistics? The British Empire couldn't produce it anyway. It is difficult for the local arsenal to maintain the consumption on the European battlefield. The British warriors themselves have to fight with US aid supplies and eat Spam luncheon meat!
In fact, because they neither defeated Sukarno's Indonesian indigenous rebels and seized the Palembang oil field and the Baliba refinery, they also failed to fully negotiate the terms of alliance with the Kingdom of Iran, which occupied most of Iraq and blocked the Persian Gulf. , to restore crude oil supply from Middle East oil fields. The current British Empire is not even self-sufficient in fuel, and almost entirely relies on Americans to provide it!
So, after hesitating for a moment, Attlee asked Churchill the above question, and Churchill waved his hand confidently, "...Don't worry, the Americans will pay for all this, since the White House wants to lead the free world. To win, then all this is the necessary price..."
At this point, everyone can only pray to God, hoping that President Truman will be more generous than Santa Claus and respond to Prime Minister Churchill’s requests...
Then, on the other side of the Atlantic, President Truman in the White House nearly burst his lungs out - "...an additional five thousand planes, ten thousand tanks, five million rifles, half a million tons of wheat, and ten million more Tons of fuel? A thousand "Freeships" and fifty escort carriers? And atomic bombs?! Churchill thinks we are Santa Claus. He just needs to put a card in his stinky socks and hang it at the door. Anything? ”
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PS: Many people say that I am a crow’s mouth, but this world really has the potential to collapse day by day. When I wrote about the civil unrest in the UK, some of my assumptions are now starting to become reality: Cameron walked a tightrope in the referendum and got lost. As a result, after the UK voted to leave the EU, a movement broke out in London, where 70% of the immigrant population has reached. Establish the city-state of London. Then, in Scotland, which advocates remaining in the European Union, a second secession referendum is imminent. Ms. Rowling, the author of "Harry Potter" and a long-time resident of Scotland, has expressed her intention to "say goodbye to England." In addition, some people have proposed that London and Scotland form a federal "Scottish Kingdom". At first glance, they thought it was a Scottish stew pot, and even the flag of the "Scottish Kingdom" was tinkered with.
——It would be even more hilarious if those banana people in Hong Kong joined in the fun and said that since Britain no longer has a capital, they simply suggested moving its capital to Hong Kong.
In short, if there is no need for rationality, reality is more bizarre than fiction. The British Empire has become the next Ukraine. The same "total war in the age of empire" as in Kiev is staged on the streets of London. Li, who fled Hong Kong and "hunted for bargains" in the UK, lost his pants. That would be... so delightful!
It is said that someone in Taiwan is developing mobile phone referendum software so that referendums can be conducted every day, votes are counted in the middle of the night, and announced in the morning. I think this great invention can be spread to democratic countries around the world, and can very effectively promote the entertainment of politics and increase the participation of all people in politics. The level of enthusiasm... at least for this Brexit referendum, you can quickly vote again after discovering something is wrong, and maybe it can be reversed in less than forty-eight hours.
In addition, there is an even longer-lasting thing. Taiwan is really going to spend NT$470 billion on construction. President Tsai said that he will build 12 Aegis ships, the world’s first-class ones! Could it be that Yukikaze Danyang II, the ship girl with chuunibyou disease whom I still have in my mind, is going to show up too? In short, let us raise the flag of the SOS group here and look forward to seeing a more lively and noisy world! Meow——