Chapter 280： Churchill's plan (part 2)

"Think about it, everyone. Germany was weakened by the defeat, Austria-Hungary was split, and Russia was occupied by the Red Devil. After the war, France will find that it has the best era since Napoleon."

After listening to Churchill’s generous statement, the ministers did not wonder why Italy was not mentioned. As a great power, Italy can lose even a small African country. It is simply a shame. I thought it would be shameful and brave, but it can be seen from its performance in this war. In the face of a small number of local forces in Austria-Hungary, Italy can still retreat, and there is no one in this war.

"But why do we have to choose Romania?"

Seeing a cabinet member questioning himself, Churchill said naturally. "This is my comprehensive consideration from factors such as location, economics and politics."

Churchill's words made everyone look at him. Seeing that the cabinet members were interested, he decided to explain.

"I believe you all know the geographic location, so I won't talk about it. The political and military documents I have given you already have enough explanations. Now I will talk about the point that I value most."

Churchill said what he valued most. "That is the King of Romania, Edel I. Here I need to mention that this young king has very high prestige and power in Romania."

"How high can it be?"

A cabinet minister who didn't know much about Romania asked him, and it seemed to him that Queen Victoria's power and prestige were already very high. For the British Empire, the Victorian period was the most memorable era. During this period of time, the British Empire suppressed all the great powers.

As the British economist Jevons described in 1865: "The plains of North America and Russia are our cornfields; Canada and the Baltic Sea are our forest areas; Australia has our sheep farms; Peru sent silver, South Africa and Australia Gold flows to London; Indians and Chinese grow tea for us, and our coffee, sugar cane and spice plantations are spread across the East Indies. Our cotton has been cultivated in the southern United States for a long time and has now expanded to every warmer region of the planet."

You can imagine how spectacular it is. The whole world is serving Britain. Unfortunately, at the time of the second industrial revolution, the British Empire gave two latecomers a head start. The United States and Germany have surpassed the empire economically. The economic foundation is reflected in the military. The two countries have peeped at the vital sea power of the British Empire. The Kaiser Fleet on the High Seas and the United States have also built the Great White Fleet in silence.

In the face of the actions of the two rising stars, the British Empire calmly adopted superb political skills to suppress one by one. For the United States across the Atlantic Ocean, the empire relied on surrendering a small portion of its interests to pull the greedy Wall Street capitalists on board. For their own interests, they vigorously encouraged the United States to join the Allied Powers.

As for Germany, which is close to itself and located in Central Europe, of course, it can only be suppressed. The empire wooed the two land powers, allowing Germany to retain only part of its energy at sea. The British Empire was able to devote most of its energy to the navy to ensure absolute overwhelming power against Germany at sea to protect its colonies all over the world. Now it seems that the process is a bit tortuous, but everything is moving forward in accordance with the established development track.

"According to my investigation and the report of the ambassador to Romania, the Romanian monarch Edel I is a bit like the eastern monarch."

After Churchill finished speaking, he added a sentence unconsciously. "It's kind of like the power of the monarch of the Far East."

Facing Churchill’s additional sentence, the cabinet ministers present all smiled. It is rare to see Churchill with such an expression, but they all know the reason.

When Churchill was young, he was madly obsessed with *** education and Eastern culture, and his family had to write to discourage him from becoming a ***. For example, in 1907, Gwendrine Bertie, who was about to become Churchill's sister-in-law, asked in a letter. "Please don't convert to the *** religion. I have noticed your orientalization and Pasha-style tendency." If Churchill believed in the *** religion at that time, then he would not be able to serve as a high official in the political arena.

"Can Europe still have the backward power structure of the Far East?"

A cabinet minister who was obviously not convinced asked about Churchill. In his opinion, it looked like the power structure of the monarchy in the Far East, which was backward and uninspiring. In the civilized European continent, it is incredible that there is such a power structure, but fortunately he does not have the universal spirit of the later generations of the United States.

Facing the inquiry, Churchill said frankly. "Yes, I didn't expect to have this kind of political structure in Europe before. The power of the Romanian monarch is greater than that of Germany and Russia, but this is not a bad thing for us."

Churchill's words, let Prime Minister David George speak. "It's true."

Excessive concentration of power has various shortcomings, such as reducing the government's ability to adapt, not conducive to mobilizing the enthusiasm of lower levels, and officials wantonly catering to higher levels for their own future. But there are also good aspects, such as ensuring the unity of the overall policy and ensuring the speed of decision-making implementation. Now it has a sufficient advantage for the United Kingdom, that is, as long as a few people such as the Romanian monarch can be convinced, it can be drawn into the camp.

"In order to allow the war to end as soon as possible, and for the post-war layout, I think it will be enough for us to promise Romania's conditions now."

In the face of Churchill, there are still voices of disapproval, and Foreign Secretary Belfort has different opinions. "Mr. Churchill, I think there are still many details that need to be discussed in your proposal. For example, Romania's post-war division of power and obligation in the Balkans, its attitude towards the Russian red regime, and whether it is willing to form an intervention army, etc. Things that cannot be treated carelessly."

Belfort's words made Churchill scold him secretly, and the Foreign Secretary was always confused. For the Russian red regime he is a famous hardliner in British politics. However, he can still distinguish the priorities. Discussing these matters with Romania now will only increase the difficulty and hinder the progress of the negotiations. Does this Minister of Foreign Affairs still consider this to be the Victorian era?

When Churchill thought of this, he sorted out the language and said angrily. "Gentlemen, what we need to see now is the benefits of Romania's joining. I don't think it should be discussed now for its shortcomings. We must know that we have spent too much manpower and money in this war, if it is procrastinated. , Will make us have more challengers in the world. And the purpose of our war is not to find more rivals for ourselves."

Churchill's words made Prime Minister David George feel that they can no longer let them discuss this way, so he ended the topic. "Gentlemen, I don't think Romania's accession conditions are a matter of our country. I believe Paris must be more anxious than us. I think I can wait for the news from France."

The words of Prime Minister George made Churchill even more anxious, and he spoke to him in an urgent tone. "But Mr. Prime Minister, if we wait for news from France, then we will not be able to seize the opportunity. You must know that Serbs now have strong support from France. After the war, it is estimated that Serbia will pay more attention to the voice of France."

"But you must also pay attention to the loss of France in the war. My Minister of Military Supplies, you are too eager."

Finally, it was Prime Minister George who ended this government discussion, and everything was mainly about waiting for news from France.

In the end, they didn't make them wait too much, and France sent over its own decision the next day. This made Churchill aggrieved and felt that his proposal was not taken seriously. (https:)

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