Beiyang reactionaries

With so many planes, once China really wants to do something, it will be difficult for the UK to bear.After all, hundreds of planes raided the British Far East Fleet, how could the UK bear it.Moreover, Sumatra Island and the Straits of Malacca are within easy reach, and it doesn't take long to fly by plane.Once China really wants to make trouble with the United Kingdom, whether it is the British navy or the army, there will be no chance to react.Because China only needs three or four hours to mobilize hundreds of planes to attack Singapore.Such a thing is very scary to think about.

Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for Britain to agree to China's deployment of so many troops in Sumatra.

"Special Envoy Shi, I think in the current situation, we should cooperate to calm Japan and the Netherlands. Don't continue to expand the conflict and disrupt the situation in Nanyang. Your country should not add fuel to the fire and send troops to Sumatra."

"Ambassador Cadogan, I have just explained this matter. Our country has not even solved our own problems, so we don't have the energy to take care of other people's affairs. In any case, our country should solve our own affairs first before we can free up Come on, mind other people's business. And as Ambassador Cadogan said, the situation in Nanyang is unstable now, and our country is just to prevent it from happening, and it doesn't mean to target any country. So please forgive me for this, our country is very New troops will be deployed to Sumatra soon."

Shi Zhaoji just didn't let go, and his stance was very tough.

Alexander Cadogan couldn't help scratching his head.Alexander Cadogan is in a hurry now, and Britain is and is really in a hurry.Japan's ambitions are getting bigger and bigger. It has already intervened strongly with China in Nanyang affairs and controlled Java Island.This time it was another excuse to completely wipe out the Netherlands' influence in Nanyang.

If this is the only way, the UK is really not worried.

What Britain is worried about is that Japan is still not satisfied after destroying the influence of the Netherlands in the Far East and taking Sulawesi.With Japan's naval strength in Southeast Asia, even the British Far East Fleet is no match.If Japan's ambitions continue to grow, where will their next goal be?

Next to it are two targets.

One is the Australian-controlled Irian Island, and the other is the British-controlled Kalimantan Island.These two islands are just north and south of Java Island.Not only because these two islands are next to Java Island controlled by Japan, but also because when the Indonesian Republic supported by Japan was established, discussions on the ownership of Kalimantan Island and Irian Island had already begun.

It has been stated within the Republic of Indonesia that both Kalimantan and Irian belong to Indonesia.If Japan uses this as an excuse to start thinking about Kalimantan and Irian Island, it will be very dangerous at that time.

And no matter which one it is, it is inseparable from the UK.Australia is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. If Japan takes a fancy to Irian Island controlled by Australia, that is something that the United Kingdom has to deal with.

Japan is ambitious.

Britain knows this.Compared with China, which is rich in its own resources and can be self-sufficient, Japan is an island country that lacks resources.Most of the raw materials needed by Japanese industry need to be imported, which cannot be met domestically.And because Japan is too small and the domestic market is insufficient, Japan can only rely on imports and exports to develop their economy.However, compared with established colonial countries such as Britain and France, Japan lacks colonies to dump their industrial products.

In order to change this situation, Japan has great ambitions for territory and colonies.Japan needs to expand its own land area, and also needs its own colonies.

Britain used to be an ally of Japan and the force behind Japan's rise.Therefore, Japan's ambitions are clearer than anyone else.The more one thinks about the situation in Japan, the more worried Britain becomes.That's what Alexander Cadogan is now.

Japan's ambitions are getting bigger and bigger, and its courage is getting bigger and bigger.Looking at the actions this time, Japan completely ignored the British attitude and ignored the British statement.

Therefore, a consensus has been reached within the UK.

That is, the actions of Japan must be restrained.Otherwise, Japan's ambitions will continue to increase, and it will inevitably damage Britain's interests in the Far East in the future.So Alexander Cadogan already had preliminary plans.

This time, several countries with interests in Southeast Asia must warn Japan together.The last time China and Japan annihilated the main force of the Dutch Far East Fleet, Britain, France and the United States originally wanted to deal with it toughly.It's just that China and Japan are both big countries in the Far East with strong strength.In the Far East, China and Japan are undoubted powerhouses.Therefore, Britain, France and the United States are not absolutely sure to suppress the two countries.So in the end everyone just signed the "peace agreement" and ended up selling the Netherlands.

But this time is different.

This time it was Japan's unilateral action, and China did not participate, at least on the surface.Therefore, Britain hopes to win over China and warn Japan with the four countries of Britain, France, the United States and China.As long as China does not stand with Japan, it is impossible for Japan to really fight against Britain, France, the United States and China.

But?

Alexander Cadogan looked at Shi Zhaoji and didn't know what to say.

China's attitude is obvious, and it will not back down at all.The biggest problem for the United Kingdom at present is that it has lost the absolute strength that ruled the world back then.At present, the United Kingdom still has a greater deterrent force and more bargaining chips for China.However, none of the advantages and bargaining chips possessed by the United Kingdom can kill China with one stick, or make China have to back down.With the current size of China and the current position of China, as long as China can withstand it, Britain really has nothing to do with China.

Without Britain, China would play with Germany, Italy, Japan.In the Far East, as long as China is willing to stand with Japan, Britain, France and the United States really do not have much confidence in controlling Japan's actions.

"Special Envoy Shi, if your country solves its own problems, how are you going to deal with this time?"

Shi Zhaoji smiled slightly when he heard what Alexander Cadogan said.

And he finally breathed a sigh of relief.Negotiations with the UK this time took too long.Although the country did not urge Shi Zhaoji, Shi Zhaoji himself was a little anxious.After all, the third five-year plan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a total of three goals, and now it only solves the Macau problem.Now that Alexander Cadogan is finally letting go, the negotiations will go much smoother.

Of course, Alexander Cadogan also needs to listen to Shi Zhaoji, or China's bargaining chip.

"Stability in Nanyang is good for everyone. But now that Japanese troops have landed on Sulawesi Island, it is a done deal and cannot be changed. I think another meeting should be held in Singapore to discuss the future of Nanyang and restrain Japan's future behavior."

"Restrain future behavior? What about this time?"

"Ambassador Cadogan, you don't want Japan to abandon Sulawesi, do you? Since the Japanese army has entered Sulawesi, it is impossible to let them leave. But we can formulate a new order in Nanyang As long as a new order in Nanyang is established, our country can change the plan of deploying troops in Sumatra.”

Both sources.

What China is doing now is doing both things, and it is blatantly doing both.At present, the core problem in the Far East is that Japan's growing ambitions have seriously affected the order established by the United Kingdom in the Far East.After the First World War, Britain's strength has declined a lot, and it no longer has the hegemony that ruled the world back then.The strength of many rising countries is catching up with the United Kingdom, which makes the United Kingdom a headache.But for now, the world order is still established by several old imperialist countries headed by the United Kingdom.

Under such an order, British interests can be best protected.

It is precisely because the United Kingdom has formulated a world order that is beneficial to itself, which has caused dissatisfaction with rising powers such as the United States.Therefore, at the time of the Paris Peace Conference, the United States was also a giant country and participated in the entire process of the Paris Peace Conference, including the establishment of the League of Nations.But at the last moment, the United States chose to leave, not even joining the League of Nations, and returned to America to live its own life behind closed doors.

But in recent years, the Soviet Union, Germany, Japan, and China, which is rising, are all breaking this order.The Soviet Union relied on exporting revolution, Germany broke the Treaty of Versailles, Japan increased its strength in Southeast Asia, and China got rid of the shackles of the great powers.No matter which one it is, it is breaking the world order established by the United Kingdom.In the Far East, the biggest factor of instability is Japan.

What is the biggest contradiction in Nanyang at present.The biggest contradiction is the contradiction between Britain, which maintains the order in Nanyang, and Japan, which is increasingly ambitious and constantly expanding its territory.

Moreover, this is still a contradiction that is difficult to coordinate, and there is almost no solution.

First of all, the Nanyang order is most beneficial to the British and French countries.Because most of the territories in Nanyang are colonies of Britain and France, it is in their best interest to maintain the order established by their colonies.But they met Japan.

Japan must expand.

Not to mention the ambitions of Japanese politicians and the army.The public opinion of Japan alone supports Japan's expansion.Especially after the Great Kanto Earthquake, there was a sense of insecurity throughout Japan, and this sense of insecurity enveloped the entire Japanese society.And this sense of insecurity brings a kind of panic to Japanese society, always feeling that one day the island of Japan will sink.Under such panic and such a sense of urgency, Japan's outward expansion is inevitable, and it is something supported by public opinion across the country.Japan's development of militarism in history has a basis of public opinion and soil.

But where is Japan's expansion headed?

There are not many directions in which Japan can choose.One is to go north, first take the Korean Peninsula, then enter the Manchurian and Mongolian regions of China, and finally take the Siberian region of the Soviet Union.This is Japan's road to the north, and it is also Japan's goal and plan for the previous half century.It's just that Japan's plan to go north died halfway.

Mainly it was hit three times.

Once, after the end of World War I, during the Russian Civil War, a large number of Japanese troops entered the Russian Far East, wanting to take it as their own.But later the Soviet Russian Red Army won successive victories in the civil war, and its strength also rose rapidly, and the number of troops swelled like a balloon.The combat effectiveness of the Soviet Russian Red Army became stronger and stronger, which made the Japanese feel that fighting the Soviet Russian Red Army was not worth the loss, and the logistical supply in the Russian Far East at that time was really too difficult.Therefore, Japan can only slowly withdraw from the Russian Far East. The dispatch of 10,000+ troops finally resulted in such a result, which was a big blow to Japan's northward movement.

The second time was in the northeast of China.Because of the Kanto Continent, when the Japanese army and the Chinese army fought inextricably, the Great Kanto Earthquake shocked the world.After Japan suffered a huge blow, it had no choice but to choose to withdraw from Northeast China.Abandoned the Northeast where they have been operating for 30 years.Not only withdrew from the Northeast, but also from the Jiaodong Peninsula, and spit out a lot of interests in China.It can be said that Japan's plan to go north in this battle almost died.

The third blow was the rise of the Korean Independence Army.

With the support of China, the Korean Independence Army rose very quickly and quickly took control of the northern part of the Korean peninsula.As a result, Japan successively lost a large amount of their interests in the Korean Peninsula, and even lost half of the Korean Peninsula.It can be said that Japan's Northward Plan, which has been developed for decades, has completely gone bankrupt.

Except for the north, the east of Japan is the Pacific Ocean.So the only place that can develop is the South, only Southeast Asia.This is determined by the current situation in Japan.It is not something that a few politicians in Japan can decide.Japan's southward movement is the general trend and an inevitable choice.Japan is absolutely not giving up on this.

And what about the UK?

Southeast Asia is one of the very important colonies of Britain.

There are abundant raw materials here, and the population is not too small.More importantly, controlling Nanyang is tantamount to controlling the connection between the Far East and Europe.Moreover, the British colonies in Southeast Asia can echo with India, the most important British colony.In particular, the Malacca area, although not as important as it will be a hundred years later, is still the lifeline of transportation now.The reason why the British Far East Fleet is stationed in Singapore is also for this reason.Therefore, it is impossible for Britain to give up its interests in Nanyang.

This is where the contradiction lies, an irreconcilable contradiction.

Japan wants to expand, and Britain wants to protect their interests.The contradiction between them is irreconcilable.And this kind of contradiction is currently the biggest contradiction in the Nanyang region, and even the entire Far East region.

Are there any other contradictions in the Far East?

Yes, and many.

Including the current negotiations between China and the United Kingdom, discussing the ownership of Hong Kong and China's status in Nanyang, these are all contradictory.There are even contradictions between Britain and France, between Britain and the United States, between the United States and France, between these colonial countries and colonial power factions.However, these contradictions are secondary contradictions. At present, the biggest contradiction in the Nanyang region is the contradiction between the expanding Japan and Britain, which maintains the order in Nanyang.

It is against such a background that China is given the opportunity to have both ways.