Now Britain can no longer rely on its traditional ally France. The United States and Southern Africa are eyeing these two allies. Winston wants the British Empire to ensure its competitiveness. Russia may be the last hope.
This is really not nonsense. If Winston does not want to see the British Empire reduced to a vassal of southern Africa and the United States, and completely becoming a second-rate country, then he must work hard to muddy the water and profit from it. This can be regarded as a traditional British skill.
Otherwise, the British Isles would have no chance of becoming a country on which the sun never sets.
However, with Britain's current strength, it really cannot support Winston's huge plan.
Cyprus is not far from Crimea and can be reached by plane or ship. In order to save time, Rock, Roosevelt, and Winston all chose plane as a means of transportation.
Rock's plane is the famous "African Emperor", Roosevelt's plane is Air Force One, and Winston, as the British Prime Minister, doesn't even have his own plane, which is really a bit shabby.
You can't blame Winston for this.
Customized special planes are expensive, and the UK cannot afford to spend the money. Although the UK is currently financially exhausted, it can still make money if it squeezes the money.
The problem is that if you want to customize a special plane, you must pass a special budget from Congress, which makes the members of Congress very unhappy.
With finances so tight, it would be too extravagant for our Prime Minister to waste precious funds on a customized special plane!
If there is a fight for the prime minister, then should we have a fight for the king? Where is the queen? Where is the speaker? And where are there so many dukes and marquises?
After all, let's forget it. If we modify the "York" transport aircraft that Avro Company has just finalized, it won't be unusable.
When it comes to transport aircraft, the British Air Force is full of complaints.
The British did not pay much attention to the air force at the beginning, which caused the British air force technology to lag far behind that of southern Africa.
After the outbreak of World War II, the importance of the British military increased rapidly. During the Battle of Britain, in order to obtain related technologies from southern Africa and the United States, the United Kingdom was forced to sign many "unequal treaties", one of which stipulated that the United Kingdom could not develop its own research and development.
Military transport aircraft.
This is not a request unilaterally put forward by Southern Africa. It is also a request by the Americans. If it does not develop military transport aircraft, it will not be able to accumulate relevant technologies. In this way, after the war is over, if the UK wants to develop its civil aviation industry, it will have to rely on the resources of Southern Africa and the United States.
help.
The British are also thieves.
R&D was not allowed, and modification was not allowed. The Lancaster bomber produced by the British copycat Southern African Flying Fortress had quite good performance, so Avro Company "developed" the York based on the Lancaster.
Although the "York" is nominally a transport aircraft, it is essentially a bomber. It is fine for transporting cargo, but it is more uncomfortable for people to ride on it.
The discomfort is secondary.
The key is that the dignified Prime Minister of the United Kingdom can only fly on a special plane modified from a transport aircraft. The transport aircraft itself is a copycat. Considering that he is the Prime Minister of the British Empire, he is not even worthy of having a comfortable special plane. This is really embarrassing.
Russia went.
It's not over yet.
Crimea is still covered in ice and snow in January. This year's winter is particularly cold. There was another blizzard a few days ago, so landing conditions at the airport are a bit harsh.
The African Emperor landed at the airport first without any incident.
When Air Force One landed, snowflakes began to fall in the sky again. Fortunately, the pilot's skills were very good and there was no danger.
When Winston's special plane landed, the snowflakes all over the sky had turned into heavy snow. The pilot's flight was seriously hampered. He couldn't even see the runway clearly. He circled the airport several times without daring to get off. In the end, he had to choose the nearest one.
Landed at the airport and arrived at Yalta the next day.
The bearded man still knows how to entertain guests. In order to receive the three allies, the bearded man mobilized tens of thousands of people and used 1,500 train carriages just to repair the building materials used in the palace.
Considering Roosevelt's physical condition, Beard placed Roosevelt in the Livadia Palace, which was the summer palace of the Tsar. It was specially used for the Tsar's summer escape and had more than 90 rooms.
During the renovation, the Russians added electricity and heating systems to the Livadia Palace, and laid 20 telephone lines. The underground air-raid shelters can withstand the pressure of the collapse of the entire building.
In addition, Beard also thoughtfully arranged for 60 service personnel and 40 cars for Roosevelt and his entourage, most of which were American-made cars.
Roque did not need to arrange cars. All the cars used by him and his entourage were shipped from Cyprus.
There is no need for service personnel. Secret Service staff are more professional than the service personnel arranged by Russia.
Rock's residence is the Vorontsov Palace. This palace was built from 1828 to 1848. It was the official residence of Count Vorontsov, the executive director of the Novorossiko Territory, Russian politician and military strategist during the tsarist period. The palace was built by
Designed by British palace designer Edward Blore, it faces the Black Sea and is built on the mountain. It has more than 150 rooms.
The bearded man's residence is Yusupov Palace.
Compared with Roark and Roosevelt's palace, the most outstanding feature of Yusupov Palace is its solidity. It is more like a fortress than a palace. Its two-meter-thick cement roof, coupled with a one-meter sandstone-covered bulletproof
, the gas-proof bunker is enough to withstand a direct attack from a 500-kilogram bomb, and its defense is comparable to the Liege Fortress.
Relatively speaking, Winston's residence is relatively shabby.
The palace where Winston stayed was called Massandra Palace. This palace was also the palace of the Tsar and was specially built for Alexander III.
Ominously, Alexander III died before Massandra Palace was completed.
Like Roosevelt, Beard also provided service personnel and cars for Winston and his entourage.
The difference is that half of the cars provided by Big Beard are produced in southern Africa, half are produced in the United States, and none are from the United Kingdom.
This is also in line with the bearded character.
After all, Britain has the lowest enthusiasm for aiding Russia. Since the war broke out, the aid provided has been pitiful. The list of supplies even includes single-shot rifles from the last century. I don’t know which corner of the warehouse they came from.
Found it.
Winston was not in the mood to pay attention to these minutiae. He arrived in Yalta one day later than Roark and Roosevelt. Roark and Roosevelt had already met with the bearded man last night. Winston urgently wanted to know, Roark
What did he and Roosevelt talk about with the bearded man?
"After yesterday's dinner, the three of them watched a performance. It's unclear what they talked about. Our people couldn't get close, but it can be seen that they were in a good mood." British Ambassador to Russia Sir Clark Carr
I was in a bad mood. Among all the four palaces, Massandra Palace was the smallest and could not accommodate all the members of the British delegation. Sir Clark Carr and some members of the delegation even had to find another place to live.
The bearded man was very considerate and built a dormitory for the people accompanying the delegations from the three countries at the Shaki Air Force Base not far from Yalta. The conditions were definitely much worse than the palace.
Winston remained silent. He could accept the smaller size of the palace, but the early contact between Rock and Roosevelt and the bearded man made Winston uncomfortable.
At this moment, Winston had forgotten that it was his suggestion that the trio met in Cyprus in advance.
As usual, there will be a banquet in the evening, which will be held at the Livadia Palace where Roosevelt stayed. Due to Roosevelt's physical inconvenience, the following meetings will also be held at the Livadia Palace.
The British delegation's motorcade arrived at the Livadia Palace almost at the same time as Roque's motorcade.
The Russian officer in charge of security work did not know whether intentionally or unintentionally, he signaled to let the British delegation's convoy wait and let Roque's convoy go first.
This detail was noticed by Winston, and his expression turned colder than the weather.
The dignified Prime Minister of the British Empire, when will you give way to others, not even Roark? After all, this is a matter of national integrity.
The Russian officer had the same expressionless expression, and looked at the British delegation's motorcade with extremely cold eyes.
The hatred between Britain and Russia is at least as high as a feud.
Not to mention Britain's troubles diverted to the north before the outbreak of the World War, Napoleon's earlier attack on Russia also had a lot to do with Britain.
Britain has always adopted a continental balance policy towards Europe. France was extremely strong during the Napoleonic period. In order to maintain continental balance, Britain naturally formed an alliance with Russia to jointly fight against Napoleon.
Considering the strength of the Royal Navy, Napoleon chose to attack Russia first to break the Anglo-Russian alliance.
Therefore, Russia has always been the scapegoat of Britain. Every time Britain encounters a serious crisis, Russia suffers.
In this context, the Russian officer directing traffic did not directly draw his gun and shoot at Winston's convoy, which was already very conscientious.
The scale of Livadia Palace is indeed much larger than Massandra Palace where Winston lives. Compared with Livadia Palace, Massandra Palace is almost a common country house in the UK.
As the temporary owner of the Livadia Palace, Roosevelt did not greet guests at the door. This was acceptable to Winston. After all, Roosevelt was physically handicapped and could not ask for too much.
Greeting guests at the door was Catherine Harriman, the daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Russia. She was also one of the supervisors during the restoration of the palace. Americans still attach great importance to safety issues.
The British also paid attention to it, but they had no chance to send supervisors because the Russians did not renovate Massandra Palace at all.
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, welcome to Crimea. I hope you can have a pleasant stay here. After all, the winter in London is a bit difficult -" The bearded man's attitude was not very good either. He would tease you as soon as they met, and he would also make fun of you.
Pun.
Fog City, I understand everything.
The meaning of the big beard is also obvious. Not only London, but the whole UK is having a hard time this winter.
Although Russia is also having a hard time, compared with the UK, the bearded man feels pretty good.
Roark and Roosevelt were not uncomfortable. They sat by the fireplace and each had a glass of wine that Roark brought from southern Africa. The vodka was too strong for the two elderly people.
"You two guys are too luxurious. Don't you know that there are still many people in the world who are suffering from hunger?" Winston pointed at Sang and scolded Huai. Although the winter in England is difficult, at least no one wears sackcloth or mourning.
It's impossible to directly scold the bearded man. Winston is still counting on the Russians to help balance southern Africa and the United States.
Both Rock and Roosevelt were very well-educated people and would not fall out with Winston just because of a word.
A big beard is not necessary.
"Come and warm up by the fire, the winter in the northern hemisphere is really too cold——" Rock also made a pun, the winter in the northern hemisphere——
Southern Africa is pleasant all year round, neither too hot nor too cold. Roque really doesn’t have much experience in the world of ice and snow.
This is also a reassurance for bearded men.
There is no reason for southern Africa to attack Russia. It's too cold here and southern Africans can't stand it.
"I am beginning to understand now why the Russian people are so tenacious." Roosevelt did not touch the wine glass in his hand. He could not drink any alcoholic beverages.
In such a bad physical condition, and still running around halfway around the world for peace, just for this, Rock has to give Roosevelt a toast.
"Of course, no matter what difficulties they face, the Russians have never and will never give in!" The bearded man's expression and voice were proud. The performance of the Russians in this war was indeed admirable.
But then, having a big beard makes people unhappy.
"——So, Russia deserves the biggest harvest, and everything Germany owns should belong to Russia." The bearded man has a big appetite. According to him, even France has to pay compensation to the Russians.
Italy has to look at the situation. After all, Italy is also responsible for Russia's losses.
"It's time to discuss the issue of post-war reparations." Rock didn't follow Big Beard's train of thought and would wait until we discuss the land cession. Let's talk about reparations first.
The compensation must not be less, and the land must also be ceded. During the St. Petersburg Conference, Big Beard proposed that the territory obtained by Russia and Germany through the partition of Poland should be permanently owned by Russia. In addition, some land should be taken from Germany to compensate Poland.
As for how much hatred this will leave behind, that is not at all considered by Big Beard.
Therefore, Poland and Russia also have a feud. Think about how great the hatred was when they were partitioned four times in history.
"It seems that Germany's reparations for the last world war have not been paid in full yet--" Roosevelt followed Rock's words, also reminding the bearded man that with the way Germany is now, he can't make much money by sucking out the bones and marrow.
"Yes, if it hadn't been for the last world war and we were too kind to Germany, there wouldn't have been World War II." Big Beard's request for Germany is not just to compensate Germany, but to knock the bones and suck the marrow is light.
Of course, these words were also aimed at Winston.
The Paris Peace Conference was led by Britain and France.
Since the methods of the Paris Peace Conference have been proven to be a complete failure, it is best for Winston not to speak on how to deal with Germany this time.
Winston is very depressed. Russians are less reliable than southern Africa and the United States.
