Chapter 916 Japanese Ambition 1
"Both the British Empire and Japan are maritime countries, and for maritime countries, the most important cornerstone of national security is the fleet! The British Empire can tolerate the loss of hundreds of thousands of people in the army, but can it withstand the defeat of the fleet? No! Britain can't do it, and neither can we. And your country requires us to provide naval assistance. But this time, we are not dealing with the decadent Qing Dynasty, Russia, or Americans who don't understand anything! We are fighting the German Navy. !”
"Honestly, I was shocked when our Satsuma-class battleship was sunk in the Gulf of Aden. It reminded me of the time during the Sino-Japanese War when a German armored cruiser killed one of our fleets. And in the Battle of Dadonggou and a series of subsequent battles, the nightmare the armored cruiser Munich brought to the empire! This is simply terrifying. Can you understand how one battleship can make a country quite helpless? I It may be difficult for you to understand, but your General Thomas and General Betty should feel the same way."
Speaking of this, Katsura Taro showed some fearful expression on his face. "From that time on, we began to pay attention to the German Navy, a country that had not jumped out at sea before, and then we purchased the Asama-class armored cruiser through various means."
"Starting from the Asama and later the Rurik 2 battleship, we have felt the power of the German fleet from actual combat time and time again. Coupled with Germany's strong industry and national power, although they are separated by the entire Eurasian continent , but the empire is absolutely unwilling to have a head-on conflict with Germany."
"Especially after General Thomas's encirclement and suppression failed, and your navy was severely damaged in the North Sea, some influential figures in the country have begun to question the value of the Anglo-Japanese alliance. We cannot benefit from this alliance, and When our opponents have disputes, our allies do not help us, but instead ask us to face powerful enemies.”
"Perhaps the High Seas Fleet is still far inferior to the Grand Fleet, but if we really encounter it at sea, an inadvertent blow from the other party may cause irreparable losses to the empire. I saw the ship in the distance coming from your country's Amsterdam Shipyard "King Kong battlecruiser?" Katsura Taro said, pointing to the last large battleship ordered from Britain not far away.
"If it weren't for the bad relationship between Germany and Japan, if Germany and Germany weren't an alliance, we wouldn't even order warships from your country! In terms of performance, we recognize German products more! And for warships like this, the Germans In a naval battle, three ships were killed! Three ships! In less than an hour, the lives of thousands of officers and soldiers, a cost of more than 7 million pounds, and tens of thousands of tons of steel disappeared from the sea."
"The Japanese Empire is facing such a risk, and your country is so stingy. Therefore, I want to say that your country's opinions are simply unacceptable." Katsura Taro finally said.
"So what conditions are you going to accept? With all due respect, every inch of land in the British Empire and the French Republic is unalienable! This is the bottom line. If you want these, then we don't have to talk!" Lloyd George also knew The negotiation has now reached the final moment of turning over the cards.
Therefore, when answering Katsura Taro, the British Empire's special envoy was also very solemn.
"Your Excellency, special envoy, please move to the captain's room." Katsura Taro didn't waste any time. After finishing speaking, he led the British directly to the bridge. At this moment, he could feel his nervousness very clearly, and a trace of cold sweat broke out from his palms. The final resolution of the Japanese cabinet had been proposed three days ago. Whether the empire could get what it wanted in this war completely depends on This fight! The Japanese don't really want the talks to collapse. If the talks collapse, it will be a zero-sum game. Japan will need to rely on the big tree of the Allied Powers to fight against the United States.
In the captain's cabin, a huge curtain covered half of the wall, and on the table in the middle, there was a huge sand table from the Far East. Arriving in front of the sand table, Katsura Taro looked at Lloyd George who was also a little nervous and said, "If you have any other requests, please make them now."
"The territory of East Asia should not change, and the colonies of Britain and France should not be invaded." Lloyd George thought for a while and said, the territory of East Asia should not change, and the implication was very clear. So except for the British and French colonies, there is nothing in the entire Far East, right? The British envoy thought in his mind.
"Okay, no problem, we can accept this request." Guitaro nodded. Said with great certainty.
"The differences between us seem to be smaller than imagined." Lloyd George smiled slightly, expressing satisfaction with the other party's answer. But when he noticed that Katsura Taro's eyes gradually wandered to the continuous islands in southern Southeast Asia, Lloyd George's face turned pale!
"This is what we want!" Before the British could react, Katsura Taro walked up to the huge curtain and pulled it open with a swipe! Then a huge map was presented in front of Lloyd George. The red area representing Japan extended downward from the south of Sakhalin Island, first to the Japanese mainland, then to the Philippines, and further down to Japan which had been taken from Germany. Those contiguous islands that were snatched. The bottom and largest piece is the entire Dutch East Indies!
Now, the British finally understand what the Japanese want to gain! They did not plan to attack East Asia because it was too difficult, but directly chose another country in Europe that had declined! What they did was exactly the same as the United States back then! Netherlands! The Japanese want to completely drive the Netherlands out of the Far East!
Lloyd George felt a chill rush from his tailbone directly to the top of his head! "This is simply too bad! The Netherlands is a neutral country, we can't do anything to it." Lloyd George subconsciously said loudly.
"So what about neutral countries? Isn't your country also restricting the maritime transportation of the Netherlands? As far as I know, the Netherlands, as a transit point, provides Germany with a large amount of raw materials and supplies. This is already an enemy's behavior, and even if we and the Netherlands What can it do if we do it? A country that has completely declined to a fourth-rate country is no longer worthy of enjoying such huge colonies and resources in the Far East. These things should be provided to a new empire!" At this moment, Katsura Taro had no clue. Instead of being arrogant and conciliatory, he said it in a rather tough manner!
"This is the condition we mentioned. We don't even need your country to send troops. We will handle it ourselves. As long as you don't interfere and admit it in the end." Katsura said.
The third update is here~~~! Please subscribe and reward~~~!