But Konoe Fumimaro did not give up. When his plan failed, he came up with another plan, and this time, the person he used as bait was Britain. The situation was not good after the fall of Britain. However, because of its influence in North Africa and the Middle East,
There are still a considerable number of troops and servants in India, so although it is generally at a disadvantage in the contest with the German army, it is also the absolute main force in fighting the German army in the North African battlefield and the Middle East battlefield. In the past, because the Indochina Peninsula was
Due to the Japanese occupation, Britain was forced to go to war with the Japanese army, and the results were full of ugly things. In the end, it was only with the help of the Chinese Expeditionary Force that it was able to survive in India. In this time and space, the fate of Britain has completely changed. Compared with that time and space,
On the one hand, the fall of the British mainland seemed to be worse; but at the same time, because the Indochina Peninsula was actually controlled by the cadet army, it was able to avoid fighting with the Japanese army. In addition, because the government was in exile in India, its control over India was greatly reduced.
Strengthening, it seems, has given Britain a more stable rear area. There has been no relationship between Britain and Japan for more than a year since the Japanese army shifted the focus of its offensive to Australia and Britain gave up the dominance of the Australian battlefield to the United States.
An armed conflict has broken out, and the British army, as the main force of the Allied forces in the North African battlefield and the Middle East battlefield, is under increasing pressure. As a result, the British have no energy left to settle old scores with the Japanese, so in their hearts, they seem to have forgotten
Knowing the existence of Japan as their mortal enemy, the British "do not hold grudges", but the Japanese were unwilling to settle the matter. When the British intelligence department deciphered the secret telegram sent from Tokyo to Berlin, they learned that the Japanese army wanted to launch an east-west pincer attack with the German army and first move the British army from India.
After being driven out, the British were furious and had to look at Japan, their mortal enemy, head-on again.
The strong reaction of the British is related to the importance of India in the British Commonwealth. The reason why the British army can still persist in resistance in North Africa and the Middle East has something to do with India's geographical location and stability. Originally, the British could continue to receive supplies from
The United States has obtained weapons, equipment and even food, so it only needs to concentrate on fighting a good war. However, now, not to mention that the United States has to reduce its aid to Britain because it is trapped in the Pacific battlefield, in terms of the performance of weapons and equipment, because it can now compete
Only China can produce German weapons and equipment. The British army actually relies on weapons purchased from China to support its defense line. The reason why the British army can relatively conveniently obtain the standard weapons of the Chinese army is because
Taking advantage of the fact that India is close to China, it is conceivable that once the British lose India as their rear area, it will be difficult for the British army to resist the German offensive in North Africa and the Middle East.
The Japanese army currently does not have the conditions to send troops to India. Konoe Fumimaro sent this secret message, which is actually a dead horse being used as a living horse doctor. However, the British did not dare to think so, so while Konoe Fumimaro was still worried about the gains and losses, he waited.
When Hitler heard back, Churchill’s special envoy, Viscount Simon, had already arrived in Chongqing by flying fortress.
This is Simon's second visit to Chongqing, and the gap between them is only half a year. Half a year is neither long nor short, but for Simon, when he began to dive towards Xiaolongkan Airport in the Sky Fortress, he revealed that
Looking at the ground through the porthole, I suspected that I was about to visit not Chongqing but another city.
Simon's deepest impression of Chongqing half a year ago was of those refugees with ragged clothes and disheveled food. If he had to use a set of words to describe Chongqing at that time, then there were only three words: "dirty, messy, and poor". Words: Once upon a time, when looking at Chongqing from the air, all he could see were ant-like crowds and ruined walls. Now, the density of the crowds has decreased. Instead of the ruined walls, there are blue-gray houses. What surprised him most is , as the plane lowered to a certain height, he could see the faces of pedestrians on the ground. The confusion, stiffness and indifference that once impressed him were gone, replaced by vigor, cheerfulness and positivity.
After coming out of the airport and onto the main road in Chongqing, Simon felt even more deeply. The road was no longer full of potholes, and the people walking on it were no longer just pedestrians, cars, buses... these could only be seen on the streets of London before the war. The prosperous scene has actually reappeared in Chongqing.
It was a coincidence that Simon came to Chongqing, because at noon that day, good news came back from the Chinese side about the Wuhan battle. After four days and nights of fierce fighting, He Zhengjiang's troops completely annihilated a Japanese division surrounded by his troops in Jingzhou. Another independent brigade of the Korean Communist Army captured two Japanese major generals alive.
When a woman ran past her car waving a newspaper and shouting "Great Victory in Jingzhou", Simon ordered the car to stop, and then bought a supplement of "Xuebingjun Times", "The Chinese have won another war." He said. Beside him, his assistant Valais looked over and took a look and then said,
Simon read it slowly, then looked up out of the window and said, "No wonder Chongqing feels different. It turns out that it's because the victory news has washed away."
Valais obviously had little confidence in this mission. He asked cautiously: "Your Majesty the Viscount, do you think we can convince the Chinese?"
Simon glanced at him and said word for word: "We must convince him, for the sake of our motherland."
Valais said solemnly, "Yes."
Simon did not see Ouyang Yun immediately. The first person the coalition government met was Foreign Minister Song Ziwen. Simon used two reasons to convince Song Ziwen that China must help Britain destroy Japan and Germany's plan to attack India from east to west. First, he believed For China, India is actually a barrier that prevents the German army from attacking China from the west. As long as India is still in British hands, southwest China will be absolutely safe. On the other hand, he believes that if the Japanese army wants to attack India, it will inevitably gather heavy troops. Attacking the current Third Chinese Expeditionary Army, he proposed that the British army would be willing to cooperate with the Third Expeditionary Army to resist the Japanese attack or launch an attack on their own initiative to break the Japanese defense line of Denver. Finally, he threw out his trump card and implicitly proposed that he was willing to recognize the Chinese military power in Central and South Africa. The legal status of the peninsula, saying that as long as China can prevent the Japanese army from moving north, the British government will no longer insist on its suzerainty rights over Myanmar.
When Simon stated the reason why China must help Britain to destroy Japan and Germany's east-west attack on India, Song Ziwen acted very gentlemanly and just listened attentively without expressing an opinion. When Simon narrowed his eyes and said the last words, he smiled. He immediately countered: "Sovereign rights, Mr. Viscount, did I hear you right? How long has it been? Your government is still dreaming of colonial dreams. Ha, I don't think you need to see our Prime Minister. We The Prime Minister hates power politics the most. Well, it's getting late. I have other official duties, so that's all for today."
After Song Ziwen finished speaking, he stood up and turned around to leave, not giving Simon a chance to change his story.