Chapter 989 Preventing the Alliance between France and Germany
"So," McDonald asked, "do you have a solution to this problem?"
The Minister of Munitions pointed his finger at the air and said, "This is what I want to say, Mr. MacDonald. We should stop Charles from expanding his influence, instead of standing with him or doing the same thing as him."
The left-wing MPs were talking about it.
They suspected that the Quartermaster General was using the threat of Charles to divert attention and ultimately influence their decision, but they had no evidence.
Seeing that the parliamentarians were hesitant, the Minister of Munitions added fuel to the fire:
"Gentlemen, Charles has taken control of many European countries with his so-called 'League of Nations'."
"At the same time, he used the 'French spirit' to give freedom to the colonies. It is not difficult to guess that these colonies would be grateful and follow France's lead."
"You know what Charles wants to do, right?"
Without waiting for the congressmen to answer, he raised his hand and pointed, his aura fully open:
"Yes, you guessed it, Charles wants to end the position of England and replace it with France."
"He has declared war on us, gentlemen. And you are still thinking of cooperating with Ciel. Do you know what the result will be?"
"The whole world will think that Britain has surrendered, the whole world will believe that France is the most powerful country, and the whole world will abandon Britain and choose France."
"Do you want Britain to go to that point?"
Members of parliament were talking about it, including those on the right.
In fact, a considerable number of left-wing parliamentarians do not truly speak for the working class. They are just trying to gain more popular support for themselves. Just like Clemenceau, they will change their positions after they have achieved success. Ultimately, it is all about their own interests.
The same is true for their advocacy of following the Charles and cooperating with the Charles. "Cooperating with the Charles" is the voice of the common people, and the parliamentarians who support this voice can gain more votes.
But if following Charles would shake the foundations of Britain, that would be beyond their psychological tolerance.
"But how can we stop Charles?" MacDonald asked. "Fight a war with Charles? You must be crazy!"
The MPs echoed loudly:
"Yes, Britain still has millions of expeditionary troops fighting the German army on French soil."
"Once the French cut off their supplies, their only option was surrender."
"The most important thing is that no one can defeat the Shire, not even the British Expeditionary Force!"
…
"That's right!" replied the Minister of Munitions.
"It is difficult for us to openly go to war with the Charr. This is where the Charr is smart."
"If we want to start a war, we first need to withdraw the expeditionary force from France, otherwise we will be surrounded by the German-French coalition forces."
"But after we pulled back, we couldn't land and had no idea where to start."
MacDonald seemed to understand the Minister of Munitions's thoughts: "You mean, the Navy?"
"Of course." The Minister of Munitions answered confidently:
"The Shire is invincible on land, but our navy is invincible. We have the most powerful navy in the world."
"Most of the French fleet is in the Mediterranean, and the ships used in the North Sea are just a few small-tonnage warships with anti-aircraft and anti-submarine firepower."
"The North Sea and the Atlantic are ours, gentlemen."
Before he finished speaking, he was opposed by the left-wing parliamentarians:
"So, your suggestion is war again?"
"Like the victory you promised in the Dardanelles, what was the result?"
"What do we get from the war? You seem to have forgotten the torpedo planes of the Ciel!"
…
The Minister of Munitions did not rush to refute, but waited quietly for a while. After the voices of the left-wing parliamentarians died down, he continued: "First of all, we are attacking Germany, the German port of Emden."
(The red circle in the above picture is the location of the German port of Emden, which is close to the Netherlands. Because it is too close to the British blockade line, it is easily attacked. During World War I, it was repeatedly attacked and blockaded from the air by the British. Therefore, as a German auxiliary port, only a small number of minelayers and torpedo boats were deployed. The blue circle is the location of the Ruhr industrial area.)
The Minister of Munitions stood in front of the left-wing members, watching the secretary distribute the prepared schematics, and said proudly:
"Look at the location of Emden Harbor, gentlemen."
"Germany is unwilling to accept negotiation conditions, so it is reasonable for us to attack him and it is also in the interests of the Allies."
"What objection does Ciel have?"
The congressmen took the map, glanced at it, and then nodded.
In other words, he did not break off relations with Charles. It was Charles's business to reconcile with Germany, and it was Britain's business to fight for its own negotiated terms. Charles had no reason to interfere.
"Don't forget, gentlemen, that the French occupy the Ruhr," the Minister of Munitions continued.
"The French are our allies. They certainly cannot deny us an attack on the Germans through the Ruhr."
"then……"
"We will form a pincer attack on the port of Emden, attacking it from both land and sea."
Right-wing MPs have expressed their support for the plan:
"The Germans have lost the Ruhr and their army is seriously under-supplied."
"Charles can only watch as we attack Emden Harbor. If the Germans don't agree to the terms, we'll fight until they do."
"As for how much compensation Charles demands, it has nothing to do with us."
…
The left-wing MPs suddenly realized that they had been led astray by the Minister of Munitions.
Originally they were against war and advocated peaceful negotiations, and even lowered the negotiation standards, but now they are discussing with the right wing whether the attack is justified.
The Minister of Munitions duly added:
"I know what you are thinking, gentlemen. Everyone wants the war to end as soon as possible. It is just around the corner."
"But we can't end the war like this, because our enemy is not only Germany, but also the Shire."
"And the Shire is obviously more formidable and difficult to deal with than Germany."
"From this perspective, do you think this plan is reasonable?"
The Minister of Munitions cleverly transformed the "compensation" conflict into a conflict with the Charles, which was related to Britain's international status and even its survival.
Prime Minister George added fuel to the fire:
"Once we capture the port of Emden, it means we have one more forward base in Germany."
"Our supply lines will not be controlled by France, and supplies and troops can be transported to Germany continuously."
"At the same time, we can also surround and even control the Ruhr industrial area."
The Minister of Munitions said confidently:
"Yes, whoever controls the Ruhr industrial area controls Germany."
"Then we can fulfill the terms of the compensation and strike a blow to the prestige of the Shire."
"It can also prevent France and Germany from forming an alliance!"
The faces of the congressmen changed drastically.
They were frightened by the last sentence, as Britain had always been doing one thing: preventing the formation of a strong alliance on the European continent.
Otherwise, Britain will be marginalized.
(End of this chapter)
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