Chapter 1112 New Foreign Minister

The key to integrating British capital into management and control is not whether Alan Wilson or the Governor of Hong Kong has more moral integrity.

On the power side, London decides how to make decisions. On the capital side, isn’t there Pamela Mountbatten?

Regardless of whether the Hong Kong Governor is willing or unwilling, he cannot change the final result. Just like the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Hong Kong was not consulted. As long as it opened up connections with London, there was nothing the Hong Kong Governor could do.

The current struggles of the Hong Kong Governor are not on Alan Wilson's mind at all. Who is fooled by the idea of ​​financial independence? Even the Governor of Hong Kong cannot be too selfish and should consider the interests of all civil servants.

"The four major family businesses are not opposed, so is it his turn to object?" Pamela Mountbatten, who returned to Kuala Lumpur, also agreed with her husband's judgment and informed her of the communication with Princess Badia. Her Royal Highness was willing to help reach arms sales, and A series of collaborations on island purchases to strengthen a strong alliance with Britain.

"There are only a few Titan-class ships left, and they are finally packed out this time." Alan Wilson breathed a sigh of relief, as if a piece of his heart was gone. .

This year, the Royal Navy still has a tonnage of 2.3 million tons, including the Eagle-class, Queen Elizabeth-class, Queen Victoria-class heavy aircraft carriers that have not yet been completed, plus four Centaurs. It still maintains the global navy. s frame.

Compared with 1945, the Royal Navy's tonnage has dropped by one million tons. It has dropped from 3.3 million tons to 2.3 million tons. This is the result of the continuous decommissioning of old ships and packaging and selling.

If compared with the United States, the ratio is still one-quarter of that of the United States. The total tonnage of the U.S. Navy in 1945 was close to 12 million tons. This year it has become 8.8 million tons.

In fact, the tonnage of the US Navy is also declining, but the replacement cycle is exactly one cycle later than that of the British Royal Navy. The replacement cycle of the U.S. Navy should have accelerated sharply after the 1970s. It happened to be when the Vietnam War was raging.

From 1970 to 1980, the total tonnage of the U.S. Navy dropped from 8 million tons to 4 million tons. At the same time, the Soviet Red Navy made great strides forward, and only then did Reagan come to power to revitalize the U.S. Navy's large fleet plan.

Alan Wilson believes that it is better to complete the replacement of Royal Navy warships as soon as possible while the cost is not too high. Otherwise, when the United States secretly prints money, even the United States itself cannot guarantee the orderly replacement of naval warships, and it will be even more difficult for the United Kingdom to replace them at that time.

As for the next cycle, let’s talk about it when the time comes. Let’s get past the 20 or 30 years in front of us first. If we can’t do it right now, what about the future?

The current United States is definitely not in a hurry.

Nor does it feel that the Royal Navy's tonnage poses any threat.

The United States has not entered the quagmire of the Vietnam War and can start a shipbuilding plan at any time without losing its national strength. They will not pay much attention to the Royal Navy, which has only one-quarter of its total tonnage. Americans do not look down on the Royal Navy, let alone the Red Navy, which is not very strong.

Alan Wilson thought from the perspective of the United States. It is estimated that before getting involved in the Vietnam War, Americans would not have thought that this war would have such far-reaching significance. They almost left the United States alone and seeking defeat in the tropical rain forest before the war.

A war left the United States devastated, and the country was about to be turned upside down, let alone a normal replacement of the navy.

As long as Britain can stay out of the situation and maintain normal naval turnover, this will be a good opportunity to draw closer to its maritime power.

If the Red Navy continues its historical trend, it will pose a powerful challenge to the U.S. Navy in more than ten years. At that time, in order to maintain the advantage of the free world over the Soviet Union, the United States will also try to win over Britain even because of the size of the Royal Navy.

So far, Alan Wilson is still thinking about how to be independent and be a significant ally.

I didn't think about how to defeat the Soviet Union, let alone defeat the Soviet Union independently. If you want Britain to be independent and defeat the Soviet Union, even a map is not enough, unless the Soviet Union is talking about his son. Is this possible?

On naval issues, the daughter of the Admiral naturally has a say. Pamela Mountbatten asked whether Alan Wilson wanted to strengthen the naval power in the Far East.

"No, a few Centaurs are enough, no need to add more." Alan Wilson flatly denied.

The current layout of the Royal Navy, simply put, is that it becomes weaker as it goes east. The Queen Victoria class is not fully completed in the mainland and the Atlantic Ocean. The Queen Elizabeth class and the Eagle class are in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. When it reaches the Pacific Fleet in the Far East, only the Centaurs are left. -class and a bunch of battleships that normally cruised at fourteen knots.

Of course, it is completely sufficient to deal with Indonesia. Furthermore, Malaya has air force support, and Western Australia also has Vulcan bombers.

The table is filled with detailed intelligence about the current situation in Indonesia, especially the current assessment of the strength and influence of the Indonesian Communist Party.

After Iran killed Mossadegh, Alan Wilson was now thinking about how to pursue the victory.

Complete the plan that he had been planning for a long time but had been patiently waiting for the opportunity to appear. The reason why Pamela Mountbatten just suggested strengthening the Royal Pacific Fleet was because she saw so much information about Indonesia and thought that her husband wanted to do something to Indonesia.

It is certain to do something, but it has nothing to do with the Royal Navy. What to do to strengthen the Pacific Fleet? Launch an amphibious landing on Jakarta? Isn’t that the Asian version of the Bay of Pigs landing? As long as the son does something embarrassing, daddy will still want to save face.

"Indonesia is an archipelago. Doesn't it need the Royal Navy?" Pamela Mountbatten was puzzled. How could it deal with Indonesia without the Royal Navy?

"This matter needs to be considered in the long term, and Sukarno is not stupid. If the Pacific Fleet is strengthened, it will not be able to hide it from the Jakarta government."

Alan Wilson took the evaluation report of the Communist Party of Indonesia and said to himself: If I can't succeed, can I still fail? Wherever there is success there is failure. Who says that planning a coup will definitely succeed? Failure is the mother of success.

When it comes to taking action, you must choose a good entry point. He feels that it is very appropriate to take action in the months after the Cuban missile crisis and the battle for the roof of the world, when the whole world is thankful that peace is hard-won.

When everyone has just breathed a sigh of relief from the haze of nuclear war and is still exhausted, Alan Wilson can try to cooperate with the cultural czar. It can't be any later, otherwise there will be the possibility of long nights and many dreams.

When the civil servants from the Overseas Asset Management Committee arrived in Hong Kong, this round of resistance by the Hong Kong Governor was officially declared a failure. This round of power struggle that did not meet at all ended with Alan Wilson's victory.

With Indonesian intelligence documents in hand, Alan Wilson considered returning to London to concentrate on planning how to maximize profits next year.

In Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, under the witness of British Foreign Secretary Macmillan, the Dominion of Nigeria declared its official independence under the announcement of Governor Azikwe and amid the cheers of 100,000 people present.

London newspapers unanimously expressed their optimism about Nigeria's prospects. It seemed that a natural African hegemon was about to emerge. The last person to receive such treatment was Nehru, who by this time had become an impressive prime minister of a great power.

It seems that Azikwe is also going to lead Nigeria on a spectacular path, preparing to embark on a glorious road to dominance in Africa, without looking down upon France at all.

Macmillan's recent days have been characterized by both opportunities and risks. Britain finally accepted the plan offered by the United States and signed the memorandum. As Foreign Secretary, he was naturally the first to bear the brunt of the Labor Party's firepower.

Fortunately, as Prime Minister, Eden expressed his trust in Macmillan in time. Just as the Nigerian Dominion was about to become independent, Eden suggested that Macmillan take the opportunity to lower his presence and go to Lagos to witness the independence ceremony, so that the Labor Party would lose the target of criticism. , and he stayed to deal with the Labor Party.

This was a good idea, and Macmillan readily accepted it. As a result, the British Empire's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had a rare situation in which neither the Foreign Secretary nor the Permanent Under Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were in London.

Alan Wilson and Macmillan returned to London almost immediately. Just one day later, the results of the cabinet reshuffle were announced.

"Dear Minister, welcome you to lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I am the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!" Alan Wilson expressed his welcome to Rab Butler, who took office. As for the former Foreign Secretary and current Education Secretary Macmillan, he has already forget.

It is normal for people to take tea after leaving. After saying that the foundation of a country lies in education, Macmillan's appointment as education secretary also reflects Prime Minister Eden's emphasis on education. Moreover, in this cabinet reshuffle, Macmillan was not kicked out of the cabinet and was still one of the cabinet ministers. Isn't this a good result?

"Alan, I have heard about you. You are a very thoughtful deputy secretary." Rab Butler stretched out his hand and shook it with Alan Wilson. "There is a lot of work that requires our sincere cooperation in the future."

"Of course, our aim is to fully cooperate with the minister's work." Ellen Wilson smiled and said in a determined tone, "I thought that the former minister would participate in the NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Since the minister has just taken office, let's discuss this Things can come in time.”

In fact, fate is sometimes very interesting. Macmillan was appointed Secretary of State for Education, which was the position held by Rab Butler before the war. Rab Butler served as Secretary of State for Education during the Second World War. During his tenure, he passed the "Education Reform Act" establishing free secondary education.

After Churchill lost to Attlee, Rab Butler helped transform the Conservative Party and announced the "Industrial Charter" on behalf of the Conservative Party. He later promulgated the "Agricultural Charter" and other documents, and formally agreed to the Labor Party's proposal for nationalization. The policy of mixed economy and building a welfare state has eliminated the policy differences with the Labor Party, greatly changed the image of the Conservative Party in the minds of British voters, and won the support of many workers.

Rab Butler supported the Munich Conference during World War II and supported consensus politics after the war. This time, the purpose of being appointed as Foreign Secretary by Prime Minister Eden was clear. He was reliable... and resolutely defended any opinions of the Prime Minister and party leader.