At this time, Attlee had a look of recognition on his face and thought to himself, I admire how similar you are to Churchill. They both wanted to save face and suffered. The former Churchill also felt that the British Empire was still at its peak and was spending money without restraint.
The last pound.
Of course, history will not simply repeat itself, but if the Americans insist on proving that the US military is invincible, the British army did not participate in the war anyway. As the British Prime Minister, he has no reason to object.
"Of course, Senator Churchill still recognizes the United States' willingness to shoulder greater international responsibilities around the world. It's just about the European direction. Let me put it bluntly. If the United Kingdom fights against the Soviet Union alone, it will exceed the country's national strength at this stage. The United Kingdom really wants to
Stabilizing the situation in Europe cannot do without the help of the United States."
When he learned that before he even got off the plane, Truman had already passed $20 billion in special expenditures to support this so-called police operation, Attlee expressed envy on the surface, but he was actually very envious.
Several years of world war have fattened this American country across the Atlantic Ocean. Attlee knew in his heart that the current British army still relies on the accumulation of previous wars. Once this accumulation is used up, it will be difficult for Britain to maintain its current scale.
The military is strong.
Truman also made precise assurances about Attlee and the current issues of common concern to European countries. The use of nuclear weapons is just a misunderstanding, and the United States will not use nuclear weapons.
But Attlee mentioned other issues, such as the legitimate seat of a certain major country in the United Nations, and the fact that a certain major country and the Soviet Union were not simply dependent, but Truman refused to listen.
At present, in the United States, the Republican Party is making a lot of nonsense, and the originator of Internet celebrities, Mai Tianhuang, is constantly saying that President Truman is not in a very good situation, and his support rate is falling all the way. The situation forces him to show his determination to face difficulties head-on, and he cannot show it even
A little concession.
Apart from the promise not to use nuclear weapons, Attlee got nothing. This also reflects the current comparison of national power between the United States and the United Kingdom. In name, the two countries are equal allies, but it is an indisputable fact that countries are strong and weak.
At present, asking the United States not to use nuclear weapons is itself the biggest purpose of Attlee's visit. As for other things, he has already stated the British position. There is nothing that Truman can do if he doesn't listen.
In Brussels, Belgium, opposite Alan Wilson holding a bottle of water, was Lord Magins of Sheffield, who was also drinking afternoon tea. The meeting on economic and trade cooperation was of course also a part of the meeting, even the main part.
After all, the Brussels Treaty Organization is not a colonial country. Countries like Sweden have a neutrality policy and do not participate in mutual defense. They just come here to discuss business.
The current situation in Northern Europe is similar to history. Sweden is armed and neutral, Finland maintains its sovereignty and independence and does not align with the West, Norway, Denmark and Iceland promise not to pose a threat to the security of the Soviet Union. The Nordic balance is conducive to maintaining regional stability and peace.
The Nordic balance strategy is completely different from the scene after the Cold War when the whole of Europe was fighting around Russia. After all, the Soviet Union was too strong.
The current Sweden is not weak. With the end of World War II, Canada began to reduce its military strength. After all, it is not wise to rely on the United States to develop its military strength. And Sweden's military expenditures are increasing year by year because of the hostility between the two camps.
The Swedish Air Force is currently the fourth largest air force in the world, behind the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom. The number of aircraft exceeds that of France, ranking fourth in the world. The number of first-line fighter aircraft remains at more than 1,000.
Why does Alan Wilson know this? Because although Sweden is a neutral country on the surface, it privately shares defense plans with the United Kingdom. Sweden usually leaves the work of unarmed neutrality to Denmark and Norway. And for the Soviet Union
Friendship is left to Finland.
From a Chinese perspective, the Nordic balance is based on Sweden as the central axis, leaning more toward Western Europe. Currently, there is no NATO, so the military technology needed for Sweden's armed neutrality is mainly provided by the United Kingdom.
In terms of Sweden's domestic atmosphere alone, the United Kingdom has greater influence than the United States and the Soviet Union. Sweden, Norway, and Denmark joined the Marshall Plan, but they still never mentioned military cooperation.
At this time, the United Kingdom came up with an idea: Since the three Nordic countries would never join the military bloc with Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union, then they would simply let the three of them form a group on their own. This idea was supported by the British Foreign Office and the army, and they believed that this defense alliance would be in Sweden.
Under the leadership of the United Nations, a small country like Denmark can say no to the Soviet Union. Moreover, no one in the Western camp is an enemy of the three Nordic countries. Therefore, if this defense alliance can really be formed, it will not be hostile to itself.
Therefore, the United Kingdom should work hard to bring together defense cooperation among the three Nordic countries. However, the military proposed that this defense alliance must receive assistance from the West, otherwise it will not be able to effectively resist the Soviet Union.
So much for the current efforts to win over Northern Europe. Britain and Sweden maintain defense cooperation, especially in the field of navy and air force.
Markins was the British representative in charge of the European Economic Conference. During busy working hours, he sat down with Alan Wilson.
Seeing Alan Wilson holding a glass of bottled water, Makins couldn't help but joked, "Alan, how come you've been in Asia for so long that you don't even have the habit of drinking afternoon tea?"
Turns out I didn't either! Alan Wilson raised his eyebrows, looked at Lord Sheffield's thinning hair, and said calmly, "I think the Chinese like to drink boiled water, so I gave it a try. After all, it's not a bad thing to do as the Romans do."
Most men in the UK suffer from hair loss. It is not just British genes that favor hair loss.
In fact, foreigners who have settled in the UK will soon join the ranks of hair loss. The water quality in the UK is very calcium-rich!
For the sake of his own personal image, Alan Wilson cannot appear in front of Vivian, Heidi, Ingrid and a series of women with a smooth forehead. Therefore, he does not drink pure British groundwater at all.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The two chatted, and Makins said that as the Marshall Plan came into effect, British industrial products were under increasing competitive pressure.
There are more, and exporting is not as easy as in previous years.
"This is also the original intention of Whitehall to recognize the Malayan development plan. European countries are in ruins and their costs are lower than ours, and our labor costs are considered high in Europe. I believe that the textile industry is the most directly competed.
"Alan Wilson expressed optimism when he said this, "Once the situation in Malaya improves, European countries will find that lowering costs to seize the market is useless for Britain."
"I hope so!" Maxkins nodded. "In the current situation, the Netherlands and Belgium have recovered very quickly, Germany is also following closely behind, and France is a little slower."
"The French are busy fighting a war, and a lot of military supplies are provided by Malaya." Alan Wilson said directly, "I know about this, but I will discuss this issue with the French in my meeting. However,
I believe that the French will not listen to me."
"You want to hand over the French to fight? It's a pity that you don't have the power to command the Malayan army." Makins smiled slightly and regarded Alan Wilson's words as a joke.
"If the French are willing to ask for help, I can help the French communicate with General Bilton and dispatch battleships to blow Saigon into rubble. It depends on whether the French are willing to do so."
After taking a sip of the bottled water he brought with him, old man Alan Wilson said, "But it would be best if you do this yourself when the French retreat and plant explosives to destroy Saigon City. Maybe it can make the Vietnamese sober up."
"Alan, if the British Empire had to evacuate from Malaya, what would you do?" Maxkins opened his mouth and asked.
"I have other ways. If it doesn't work in the end, of course I will." Alan Wilson chuckled.
On the last day of 1950, the meeting to discuss colonial affairs finally came to the stage of Alan Wilson, who had been waiting for a long time. The purpose of this meeting was that in view of the painful lessons of the partition of India and Pakistan, in the process of decolonization
, the sovereign states involved should take greater responsibility.
This kind of upright and upright situation is very suitable for me, Da Ying. I, Da Ying, usually do bad things first, and then forbid them from doing bad things. For example, the recent uproar about the surrender of black American troops as an organization basically has nothing to do with Britain.
Although the early triangular trade was related to the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom was also the first country to ban triangular trade. When the United Kingdom banned triangular trade, it was nearly fifty years before the Civil War. After that, the black problem in the United States had nothing to do with the United Kingdom.
The Americans themselves did this under moral pressure.
At the beginning of the meeting, Alan Wilson elaborated on Britain's colonial policy, saying that at the appropriate time, the colonies would become independent countries without repeating the tragedy of the partition of India and Pakistan.
"Of course Britain will remember its responsibilities to the friendly countries present. So I also want to hear everyone's thoughts." Alan Wilson started with very moral words and officially started this colonial meeting.
Its main purpose is to gradually integrate African colonies into modern society over the next fifty years.
In principle, the United Kingdom is willing to see the colonies become independent immediately, but the objective facts cannot ignore the backward living environment of the current colonies, especially the African colonies. At this stage, Africans cannot manage themselves, so the metropolitan countries present must shoulder the moral responsibility.
responsibility to manage them temporarily.
The French were the first to come to their senses and said that France, like Britain, did not like the current situation in principle, but the objective environment had to continue to take responsibility to the end. "Those tribes belong to different languages and cannot even communicate with each other. We
If you leave one-sidedly, you may fall into war."
"It is definitely falling into the war." Alan Wilson corrected him calmly. Representatives from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Portugal also nodded, saying that their countries were also at a loss to solve this problem and could only use time to teach them slowly.
"Dear partners, in principle we all agree that this situation cannot continue. However, the objective facts are in front of us, and we still have to shoulder our common obligations." Alan Wilson said compassionately, "We can't just ignore them.