Russia was once called the "European Gendarmerie" and dominated Europe with arrogance.
France was once known as "the best army in the world" and was invincible throughout Europe. In the end, it was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.
As for the earlier Spain and the Netherlands, they are all yesterday's flowers and have been submerged in the long river of history. They can only be recalled by future generations.
Talented people have emerged from generation to generation, and each has led the way for hundreds of years. No matter how Attlee struggles, the British Empire will eventually be eliminated by history like Spain and the Netherlands.
In the final analysis, it comes down to overall strength.
Russia was beaten so badly by the Germans, but in the end it relied on its immense war potential to push back against Germany, and this is how it achieved its current status.
In the United States, even the White House was burned down by British troops during the Anglo-American War, but now Britain has to rely on the Americans to survive.
The biggest problems of Britain, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands are that their land area is too small and their population is not large enough. With special historical opportunities, they may be able to be famous for a while, but over time, their true colors will be revealed and they will return to their proper international status.
Attlee was definitely unwilling to give in, so he was still struggling.
When a whale falls, everything comes into being. The British Empire is now the whale that is about to die. Everyone is waiting to share the legacy of the British Empire. The Lion City is just the beginning, and there will be the Suins Canal, the Strait of Gibraltar, and even the entire
The Commonwealth, this is what Attlee is most worried about.
In terms of campaigning, Winston was not as good as Attlee.
In terms of diplomatic relations, Winston was far superior to Attlee. At least when dealing with southern Africa, Winston was more effective than Attlee and Bevin combined.
"You have obtained the Changi Naval Base, can't you let the Lion City go?" Winston was furious when he came to Roque, believing that the chaos in the Lion City was related to southern Africa.
Without Angel's support, the war committee and the others really couldn't defeat Mountbatten.
Mountbatten had many problems. He was vain, had an eccentric personality, and had no outstanding achievements. However, he was able to become an admiral in the navy and a lieutenant general in the army and air force. This had a lot to do with his profound background.
Mountbatten's father is Louis, Prince of Badenburg of Germany, his mother is the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, his uncle is Edward VII, his uncle is Nicholas II, and his wife is the daughter of the richest man in Britain. This man has been favored by thousands of people since he was born.
It has been a smooth journey without any setbacks.
The Governor of the Straits Settlements was Mountbatten's Waterloo.
"If the British Empire remains as strong as ever, there will be no setbacks in the Straits Settlements." Roque also admitted that he must be appointed when it is time to appoint him.
Even if Southern Africa does not seek the Straits Settlements, the Americans will not miss this opportunity. It is better for the Straits Settlements to be controlled by Southern Africa than to fall into the hands of the Americans.
"The United Kingdom can withdraw all its troops from the Lion City, but you must guarantee the United Kingdom's right to manage the Lion City." Winston took the initiative to make concessions. If Roque agrees, this will be what the United Kingdom can achieve under the current circumstances.
Best results.
Now Winston no longer has any resentment about the British election, and he was even a little happy in the dead of night.
Fortunately, it is no longer Winston who is the British Prime Minister. Otherwise, even Winston, a veteran in politics, would really not know how to deal with this complicated situation.
In the past, the United Kingdom was able to implement the continental balancing policy with ease, playing the European countries into its hands, and reaping the benefits of being outside the European continent, with remarkable results.
Now the continental balancing policy is completely unsustainable. Russia is the dominant power, and southern Africa and the United States are strongly involved as two extra-regional countries. The United Kingdom is already beyond its capabilities and stretched.
"What do you think about exchanging the management rights of the Lion City in exchange for Southern Africa's support for the Suins Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar?" Luo Ke opened the condition. The implication is that if the United Kingdom does not agree, then Southern Africa will seek more than just
The Lion City.
If it were Attlee, Rock might be more reserved and wait for Attlee to take the initiative to make conditions.
There is nothing to be reserved about Winston. Having been an old friend for decades, Winston can be straightforward with Roark, and Roark doesn't need to be secretive.
"Aren't you worried about us cooperating with Washington?" Winston also has a trump card, and the worst is to break up.
"Then you are not worried that we will cooperate with the Americans on the issues of the Suins Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar?" Roque smiled. This is the real trump card.
Winston was extremely entangled. He did not want to give up the Straits Settlements, let alone lose control of the Suins Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar.
The Mediterranean is one of the core interests of the United Kingdom in implementing its continental balance policy. If it loses control of the Mediterranean, its influence will shrink directly to the British Isles, which is the Achilles heel of the United Kingdom.
Potential partners of cooperation in southern Africa are not only the United States, but also France, Italy, and Russia on the issue of the Mediterranean.
So Rock has a lot of cards in his hand.
Take your time and don't rush.
"I once thought you were my best friend, and Southern Africa and the British Empire were also the best allies. They would never betray me. You have really let me down. You and Southern Africa will lose my friendship with the British Empire." Wen said.
Stone is backed into a corner and the situation is far more dangerous than he thought.
"For the benefit of the British Empire, Southern Africa was unnecessarily drawn into two world wars. We sent expeditionary forces to fight in Europe and provided material support and low-interest loans to the British. Today, there are still hundreds of thousands of Southern African expeditionary officers and soldiers protecting them.
For the security of the British Empire, southern Africa is not India. It should not and has no obligation to pay for the British Empire for free. If this cannot be used as a testimony of friendship, then the friendship of the British Empire is too cheap." Rock said, making Winston dumb.
Speechless.
Is it true?
Indeed.
But is southern Africa really as selfless as Roque describes?
That's not true, India is truly selfless.
As for feelings.
On a personal level, Winston is indeed one of Rock's best friends in the world.
But personal feelings cannot override national interests. Even after Winston became Prime Minister, he did not stop asking for gold from southern Africa. Roque transferred too many benefits to Winston, which made Winston wrong.
I thought Roque would continue to make concessions on the Lion City issue.
If it were another area, Rock might have given in.
More than 90% of the residents of the Lion City are Chinese, how can Roque give in?
Will the Chinese in the Lion City continue to be squeezed by the British and Malays?
It is said that one should not look at the face of a monk but the face of a Buddha. When Winston was Prime Minister, he did not look at Rock's face to improve the status of the Chinese.
So Rock is now trying to dig into the corners of the British Empire, and naturally he will spare no effort.
Since you British people cannot guarantee the interests of the Chinese in the Lion City, let Southern Africa try. The future of the Lion City will only get better and better.
Unlike the future of the Lion City, the future of this world is full of uncertainty.
After all, Winston was a political strongman and would not place all his hopes on Roque and Southern Africa. After hitting a snag with Roque, Winston went back and accepted a special interview with the New York Times.
In this interview, Winston emphasized the concept of the "Iron Curtain".
"From Szczecin on the Baltic Sea to Trieste on the Adriatic Sea, the Iron Curtain has been drawn across the European continent - behind this Iron Curtain lies the capital of all the ancient countries in Central and Eastern Europe - Warsaw
, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia. These famous metropolises and their surrounding populations are all within the sphere of Russian influence, and all in one way or another have not only fallen under Russian influence
Under the rule of law, and increasingly controlled by Moscow-" Winston is worthy of being the number one anti-Russian fighter, and his highly inspiring and infectious speeches will seriously mislead people who do not know the truth.
What Winston said is not all exaggeration, and a large part of it is true. However, in the interview, Winston seriously misled the readers' attention and directed the readers' attention to Russia's expansion, thereby achieving multiple purposes.
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The first is the ambiguous relationship between the Labor cabinet led by Attlee and Russia.
Russia's success surprised the world. It was able to turn defeat into victory even though it was almost out of ammunition and food. People had to re-examine Russia as a country and became interested in the Communist International.
The success of the British Labor Party is closely related to the victory of Russia.
The concept of "Iron Curtain" was not invented by Winston, but at this critical time point, the attention attracted by the "Iron Curtain" may exceed people's imagination.
The second thing that needs to be separated is the fragile tacit understanding that Southern Africa and Russia have just reached.
Southern Africa and Russia have reached a tacit understanding that the United States cannot withdraw to the Americas. The impact is not serious. The most injured is the United Kingdom.
In the interview, Winston called on all democratic countries to unite to fight against Russia's expansion of power. As a member of democratic countries, does Southern Africa want to follow suit?
If so, the relationship between Southern Africa and Russia will be completely broken.
Otherwise, Southern Africa will exclude itself from the group of democracies.
"It's not that serious. Southern Africa's foreign relations will not be coerced by any country." The day after Winston's interview with the New York Times, although the content had not yet been published in the newspaper, Roque had already learned the entire content of the interview.
This may have been intentional on Winston's part.
Britain and Russia are still allies. As a former British Prime Minister, even if Winston is anti-Russian, many of his words cannot be publicized publicly. The editor of the New York Times will also delete some of them when writing articles.
"We must now work hard to avoid the outbreak of World War III, which will lead to consequences that none of us can bear." Yang Smuts was very angry. Winston was restrained when he was prime minister, but now he is completely relaxed.
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When Winston was Prime Minister, his attitude toward Russia could not be said to be good, but it was passable. The opening of the Arctic route was inseparable from Britain's contribution.
The Arctic route is the main channel for US aid to reach Russia. If this route is not safe enough, then US aid can only bypass the Indian Ocean and enter Russia from Persia.
The UK provides very little direct aid to Russia, which is not a problem because the UK cannot guarantee its own needs. Aid to Russia is mainly provided by southern Africa and the United States.
In the past, Yang Smozi would not have been so worried.
Super weapons have been used on the battlefield. If three wars break out now, it might be the end of the world.
"We have just reached a cooperation agreement with the Russians, and the British are jealous!" Stoudemire was also angry. He was still waiting for the diamonds in the Mir Mine to be replenished.
Although Kimberley's diamond output is high, it will always be used up. The emergence of the Mir Mine comes at the right time, allowing De Beers Consolidated Mining Company to continue to maintain its monopoly in the diamond industry.
Stoudemire has gained a lot during this period. The scope of his cooperation with Russia is not only diamonds. South African companies have broad cooperation prospects with Russia in the fields of timber, iron ore, petroleum, and agricultural products.
Russia lacks everything except resources.
As a resource tycoon, Stoudemire has long been coveting Russia's resources. Now that the preliminary work has been completed and the cooperation is about to start making money, Winston has interfered. You can imagine Stoudemire's mood.
"Confrontation is confrontation, cooperation is cooperation, and there is no conflict between the two." Rock is not worried about the prospects of cooperation. Stoudemire is particularly experienced in this area.
Consider how South African companies bypassed the British blockade and entered the Commonwealth market.
Now we can repeat the same old tricks. In American terms, this is called favors returning to favors and business returning to business.
To put it bluntly, in the early stages of the two world wars, the United States used its neutral status to do business with both sides of the war and made a lot of money. Of course, what the Americans can do, southern Africa can also do.
So the Iron Curtain that Winston calls is really not airtight, it's just Winston's wishful thinking.
"What do the Americans say?" Yang Smozi was still worried about the Americans' reaction.
Rock just laughed and said nothing.
In an interview with the New York Times, Rock did not believe that Truman was not behind it.
During this period, Truman was particularly low-key in Potsdam, which was not in line with American character.
But this is not surprising. Americans are very smart and will never have a head-on conflict with countries of the size of Russia and southern Africa. Their toughness will only be fully demonstrated when facing countries like Mexico and Brazil.
To put it bluntly, they bully the weak and fear the strong. Americans never do anything without profit, let alone engage in loss-making business. Even if they target Russia, they will not come forward on their own.
Winston was also willing to be used as a weapon. He also wanted to make a comeback and continue to compete with Attlee for the position of Prime Minister. The Potsdam Conference was a good opportunity to build up his reputation.
Otherwise, it would be completely unreasonable for Winston, a former Prime Minister who has resigned, to be so active in Potsdam.
Just as low-key as Truman is the bearded man.
The bearded man keeps a low profile not because he is targeted, but because of Japan.
Although southern Africa and the United States have the upper hand in East Asia, Big Beard has not given up and wants to get a share of the pie in Japan.