mesbooks Chapter 369 John admits defeat and the dust settles
Chapter 369 John admits defeat and the dust settles
The time came to October 44, 9.
10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence.
Prime Minister Qiu had a gloomy expression on his face, holding a cigar between his fingers. Thick smoke filled the air. He looked at the telegram in front of him and did not speak for a long time.
The room was silent, with only the ticking of the clock.
Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden stood aside, clutching a carefully worded statement, awaiting the prime minister's final decision.
Finally, Prime Minister Qiu took a deep breath, then stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray, his tone somewhat unwilling: "We must cool down the situation in South Asia."
Aiden frowned slightly: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we really have to..."
"Where is our most important battlefield right now?" Prime Minister Qiu knocked on the table. "Europa! On September 17th, our troops will be deployed in Operation Market Garden. Montgomery is urging all war preparations to be in place, and yet we're tangling with a bunch of local warlords in South Asia? This is a huge joke."
It's better to lose the battle than the battle. Prime Minister Qiu will never recognize the Anmin Army and will continue to shout about being a local warlord.
In fact, although this small-scale conflict made the United Kingdom look bad, it did not cause any serious damage.
The real problem is that capable generals like Montgomery and Alexander are fighting against the Nazis in Europe and are about to invade the Nazi homeland. Now there is only an old veteran Marshal Wavell in the Far East. How can he have the energy to fight a big battle with the Nationalist Army?
Prime Minister Qiu rubbed his forehead and said in a low voice: "Issue the statement according to the draft you drafted..."
Aiden was speechless. It was you, Fatty Qiu, who started the war, and now it is you who wants to cool down the war.
You've been both a good guy and a bad guy, but it's me, the Foreign Minister, who has to issue a statement admitting defeat?
Bitter!
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In Myitkyina, in the newly built office building, Zhang Chi sat at the head seat at the conference table, with a group of civilian officials and high-ranking military officers sitting on both sides.
Next to it, the volume of a small radio was turned up to maximum.
The voice of Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden came from inside: "We deeply regret the conflict in Chittagong. We hope that both sides can remain calm and sit down to negotiate, rather than resort to force... Number 10 Downing Street believes that peace and stability in South Asia are in the interests of all... This conflict is purely a misunderstanding..."
Following this is the Chinese translation from South China Broadcasting Station, translating sentence by sentence.
Zhang Chi listened to this pile of official rhetoric with a hint of sarcasm. "Oh, you really have no sincerity at all. And yet you're still so shameless as to ask us to open diplomatic channels through the White Eagle?"
"Deeply regretful?" He chuckled and tapped the table. "That's the Ansar way. When they realize they can't defeat you, they'll pretend it was a 'misunderstanding' and try to use diplomacy to reverse the situation."
A staff officer said disdainfully, "Some of those Nanyang clans and merchants are terrified of the Johns. When the conflict first broke out, they even advised us to back down. I wonder what expression they had on their faces after hearing this statement from the Johns."
Opposite him, several officials in suits suddenly felt uncomfortable. They all came from large local families in Nanyang, and naturally, they knew their own business, and their faces immediately blushed with shame.
The staff officer sneered, "John's people were already aggressively claiming in the newspapers that they were going to send a fleet south to intimidate us. Now, without even seeing the fleet, they're already playing innocent."
Hao Yi, who had rushed back from Siam, shook his head and said, "What's this? The Angsa people are used to fighting colonial wars and using force to intimidate the natives. But what they are facing now is not the natives, but our Security Army."
"Hahaha, this is hilarious. Don't they know that if they can't get it on the battlefield, they can't get it at the negotiation table either?"
The entire conference room was filled with mocking laughter and the atmosphere was relaxed.
But Zhang Chi didn't laugh. He knocked on the table to quiet everyone down and said in a deep voice:
“Anyone with a discerning eye can see that John’s statement is a sign of weakness, but that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down.
This statement only means that they will not take military action in Chittagong in the short term, but it does not mean that they will not take small actions elsewhere."
Upon hearing this, everyone stopped smiling and listened carefully to his continued analysis.
"Number 10 Downing Street sent a message through the White Eagles, hoping that we would release the prisoners and return to the pre-war status quo."
"First of all, these tens of thousands of prisoners can be released, but someone has to pay for their food, drink, and toilet expenses, right?" Zhang Chi smiled slightly. "We, the Anmin Army, are not doing charity."
Chief of Staff Tan Zhijie nodded and said, "That's right. We need to discuss how to calculate this fee."
Zhang Chi continued, "Secondly, our control over Chittagong must be internationally recognized. We cannot allow the United Kingdom to come back and cause trouble again. This must be done firmly. Chittagong is vital to us. It is our only tentacle to enter the Sindhu Ocean. We cannot leave any room for maneuver for the John people."
"So returning to the pre-war situation is definitely impossible. We have worked so hard to seize this land, so we can't just give it back for nothing."
When the officers on Zhang Chi's side heard this, they all nodded in satisfaction.
Some of the civil officials sitting opposite them had unhappy expressions on their faces.
In their opinion, since John has admitted defeat, they should stop while they are ahead. What if they continue to be aggressive and anger him?
Zhang Chi also saw their expressions.
He sighed inwardly. After all, the Chinese in Southeast Asia were used to being bullied by the great powers, and victory in a small-scale conflict could not completely dispel the fear in their hearts.
It seems that I have a long way to go.
Then, Zhang Chi knocked on the table and said, "There's one more thing. Director Jin's intelligence report shows that the separatist forces near Pattani, Siam, are all supported by John's people."
Hearing this, everyone's faces suddenly darkened.
"Damn it, these troublemakers really won't change their bad habits!" Hao Yi cursed angrily.
"So," Zhang Chi's eyes were sharp, "during this negotiation, we have to force them to completely sever this relationship. Make them publicly declare that they will no longer support the separatist forces in Siam."
Everyone nodded, and the atmosphere in the conference room became solemn.
Zhang Guangsong suddenly interrupted, "There's also the Malay issue. General Qi's troops are on the Malay Peninsula. It would be best if we could use this victory to settle the post-war ownership of that region all at once."
After saying this, he had a look of pride on his face.
In any case, this time the Anmin Army defeated John's troops and forced Number 10 Downing Street to surrender, and the Zhang family of Nanyang was completely strengthened.
Zhang Chi thought carefully and felt that the Malaysia issue might be difficult to discuss.
Unlike the poor Pegu colony, Malay is much richer and the Johns have more industries there. The current Prime Minister Qiu is probably unwilling to let go.
Especially since it also includes the Strait of Malacca, even if the An Min Army takes it down, the John people will not be willing to recognize it.
Especially in this victory, the Anmin Army only defeated a small number of John's army.
However, the United Kingdom's trump card for dominating the world - the Royal Navy - is still in good shape.
If they want to completely control Malaya and the Strait of Malacca, they will probably have to fight a battle with the Royal Navy in the end.
"Just because the Johns surrender this time doesn't mean they're truly admitting defeat," Zhang Chi said in a low voice. "But that's okay. We're just negotiating, so we'll just take our time. We have plenty of leverage."