British civil servant

"Ms. Vivien Leigh is very well-known in the Soviet Union." Foltseva thought about it for a while, and seemed to think of something at once. "If I really have the opportunity to meet her, I believe I will be very excited."

Before the war, Vivien Leigh and Oliver both starred in Mrs. Hamilton, a film that was well received in the United States and a success in the Soviet Union, where Fultseva had seen it.

It is worthy of being the Minister of Culture, after all, it is still labeled as our bank.Although he thought so in his heart, Alan Wilson nodded in approval and said, "If one day the lady comes to the UK, I believe Vivien Leigh would also be very willing to meet you. It might be a joy between our two countries."

The two little Xiami who had a good talk naturally didn't know that when they were talking about cultural matters, the first nuclear blackmail in human history had already appeared. If Alan Wilson knew, he would not regret not seeing the famous scene. The nuclear bomb It doesn't necessarily make him bow his head, and neither does Maomei, so the formula is probably that one nuclear bomb equals one Maomei.

The Potsdam Conference has come to an end, and the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union have begun to draft a communiqué, which will be announced in a few days.

Chapter 111 Disposal of Thailand

The remaining few days are nothing more than getting the representatives of France and China to sign and express a common attitude to urge Japan to surrender.Compared with the war in the Far East, it was considered by Prime Minister Attlee to have nothing to do with the British Empire, but Britain still gave a lot of support to France's proposition.

The two old colonial empires chose to report to the group at this time to keep warm. The fact now is that if they are taken out separately, Britain and France will not get any advantage from the two behemoths of the United States and the Soviet Union. Even if the two countries are added together, It can only deal with one of the United States and the Soviet Union.

Since the two sides officially fought in the Hundred Years War, after the Thirty Years War, the Anglo-Dutch War, the Spanish Succession War, the Austrian Succession War, the Napoleonic Wars, the American War of Independence, and the Indian Colonial War, until now, the two have never looked at each other directly The enemy finally realized the importance of unity for the first time.

If unity is not recognized at this time, the two suffering brothers will soon have no place in the world.

The next thing Edward Bridges discussed with Prime Minister Attlee was related to newspaper groups to keep warm.

As I said before, the colonial issue is not just a problem of the British Empire itself, but a common problem of many European countries.

In some channels Edward Bridges has learned about other colonial countries, and the feedback is very gratifying.

At least the Netherlands is ready to return to Indonesia, "Do you know anything about Indonesia? I remember you lived in the Far East."

"Of course, Sir Edward." Alan Wilson secretly thought that you are asking the right person, "The geographical situation of the entire Dutch East Indies can be summed up in fragments. The problem that the Dutch are facing now is the same as ours, that is, the high-level officials in Indonesia already have independent ideas. To be honest, with the strength of the Netherlands now, if they want to suppress this independent force amplified by the Japanese, the results may not be satisfactory. As expected."

Alan Wilson remembers that the Dutch rejoined Indonesia almost as soon as Japan surrendered.The Dutch-Indian War broke out suddenly, even one month earlier than France's return to Vietnam.

Alan Wilson mentioned that at the end of World War II, before Japan officially surrendered, it deliberately armed the local armed forces against the suzerain in the Asian colonies of European countries. Not only Indonesia and Vietnam, but even the Philippines in the United States, Japan also did the same.

In Indonesia, the Japanese troops stationed in India received secret instructions from the Japanese mainland, asking them to hand over their weapons and equipment to the local Indonesian national independence movement and instigate the Indonesians to carry out a revolution, so that they would create chaos for the Allied forces.

On the second day, the Japanese troops stationed in India sent a message to the whole of Indonesia to establish the Indonesian Independence Preparatory Committee.

At that time, the Dutch army was still on the way. Since everyone was a member of the colonial empire family, Alan Wilson felt that he was obliged to remind the Dutch that the goddess Hepburn in his dream was Dutch. superior.

"Out of solidarity with Europe, the Dutch Expeditionary Force can start now. If Japan has not surrendered in Asia, it can be repaired in British India. Once Japan surrenders, it will immediately return to Jakarta." Alan Wilson gave his selflessness heart advice.

"Very good!" Edward Bridges said with satisfaction, "and according to some real but undisclosed sources, we can also know that our old opponent, the French, is also ready, no matter what kind of pressure, are ready to return to Vietnam."

"I have never dared to doubt the courage of the French." Alan Wilson replied with a pun. In fact, the French are very angry with Alan Wilson himself. Let's not talk about whether we can fight or not, at least the French have shown the attitude of the colonial empire.

After praising his old opponent for 900 years, Alan Wilson suddenly had a flash of inspiration in his heart, as if he had forgotten an important thing. At the end of the world war, the British Empire still had advantages to take advantage of.

Many issues are actually not qualified to be raised at the Potsdam Conference. Take the issue of Yugoslav refugees as an example. If the timing of the outbreak was not too coincidental, and the Soviets found an excuse to put pressure on them, they would never have been brought up at the Potsdam Conference. to discuss.

Those 10,000+ Tito opponents have died without any disturbance in history, and no one cares at all.

"Sir Edward, in fact, we still have a chance to grow the colony." Alan Wilson couldn't bear it anymore. He still wanted to return to British India to be a master, but the independence of British India was suppressed only theoretically. Maybe, he has to find a good next home for himself.

"Oh?" Edward Bridges asked in surprise, "Where are you referring to, Somalia?"

The idea of ​​annexing Italy's African colonies has been discussed within the UK, but there are also many opponents, such as the suspicious ally the United States and the suspicious ally France.

"We have an aboveboard reason. It is well known that the existence of Thailand is based on the goodwill between Britain and France, and this time the Thais followed the Japanese to attack British India. It is not too much to pay a price." Alan Wilson said eagerly "Our handling of Thailand is legal and reasonable, and it is not easy to be interfered by the Americans. This can be classified as part of the liquidation of Japan, and no one can object."

Alan Wilson knows that the good days of British India may not be long, but he doesn't want to go to Africa to be with the black uncle.It is best to find a home that can integrate without barriers. The next home he planned for himself is British Malaya.

But there are both advantages and disadvantages of British Malaya. The advantage is that Britain will not give up Malaya in the short term.The downside is that Malaya's potential is not great, and we have to find some way to make up for it.

In addition to the fact that the Dutch East Indies is currently uniting other colonial empires, it may not be able to do anything for the time being.But Thailand can take care of it. Why should Austria be occupied by partitions like Germany? It’s okay to follow the Japanese behind Thailand?

"You want Thailand to be treated like Austria?" Edward Bridges thought for a while, the indifferent look on his face gradually changed, and he said with a knowing smile, "Yes, Thailand is the axis A member of the country. Some punishments are reasonable and legal, what do you think is the right place?"

"Kara Isthmus, directly merged into British Malaya." Alan Wilson held his head high and gave his own answer.

Chapter 112 Reasonable

The later Kra Isthmus is located in a narrow strip of Chumphon and Ranong provinces in Thailand.It is the narrowest point in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, only fifty kilometers wide.It connects the Indochina Peninsula in the north and the Malay Peninsula in the south, and the area belonging to Thailand is about [-] square kilometers.

As for the rest, it is now under the jurisdiction of British Burma, covering an area of ​​[-] square kilometers.The Kra Isthmus is the intersection of Myanmar and Thailand.

What is known so far is that part is in the hands of British Burma and part is in the hands of Thailand, with a total area of ​​about [-] square kilometers.

Together with West Malaysia, once incorporated into the British colony, the area will be more than 23 square kilometers.West Malaysia is only a part of British Malaya, and East Malaysia still has more than 20 square kilometers of land.If a strong colonial government can be established in Malaya, a large part of the employment problem of British Indian civil servants can be solved.

Apparently, Cabinet Secretary Edward Bridges also thought of this. What worries him most about the independence of the British colonies is what will happen to the [-] civil servants serving British India once they become independent.

There are only 26 civil servants in the UK, and in any case, it cannot afford employment for up to 10 people.Moreover, a large part of the authority of the cabinet secretary itself rests on the colonies.

There are only so many ministers elected, which is extremely disparate compared with the size of civil servants, and this disparity is magnified to the extreme in the colonies, which is even more serious than in the mainland.

"Allen, sit down and talk slowly." Edward Bridges let Alan Wilson relax with a gentle smile, "As far as I am concerned, civil servants returning from the colonies have always been treated equally without any prejudice. Yes. You can see that in Alexander, let's talk about our future."

Edward Bridges bit the word us very hard, referring to the group of all British civil servants, "In fact, the most lacking in the civil service group is people who protect our interests. You can think of this at your age. It’s so rare, it can be seen that you are very fond of the place in British Malaya.”

"Sir Edward, I did this out of selflessness, all for the sake of the civilization and order of the British Empire." Alan Wilson said with a correct attitude, "We cannot give up all the colonies. Once we return to the British Isles, with the resources of the United Kingdom and the The population is always under the shadow of the United States and the Soviet Union, and once it becomes normal, even the original colonies will look down on us, and the consequences are extremely serious."

"Does Malaya have advantages over other colonies?" Edward Bridges was not persuaded, but wondered whether British Malaya was worth being favored by resources. "British India is the richest colony, but we Had to consider evacuating."

"The biggest advantage of British Malaya and the biggest difference from British India is that the proportion of Chinese and Malay populations is close to half and half. In British India, even if we support Jinnah, the population of peace believers is only Indian. A small part of the religious population still cannot play a role in containment. But it is completely different in British Malaya!"

Alan Wilson knew that the starting point of a bright future is today, suppressed the excitement in his heart and analyzed in detail, "Two ethnic groups with similar population sizes are in one colony, and we have saved a lot of cost in terms of containment. .The colonial government didn’t consider containment at all, we are the judges. Whoever we say is right is right!”

Alan Wilson was eloquent and deeply believed that this was an advantage for the British colonial government.In other colonies, the British Empire had to bother to provoke ethnic conflicts, but in British Malaya there was no need for this, conflicts existed naturally.

In the eyes of local Malayans, the British Empire is of course an undoubted colonizer, but the Chinese are also invaders on another level. The Chinese have their own country, but they are stuck in Nanyang.

The most important thing is that the Netherlands is now ready to return to the Dutch East Indies. In a sense, the UK can leverage on this. The UK and the Netherlands can cooperate in Nanyang.

Moreover, British Malaya is also very important in terms of location, not far from the two most populous places in the world.It is also most suitable as a base from the unknown considerations of the comeback that the liberal imperialists in the UK now have in their minds.

The benefits are not limited to these. British Malaya is not far from Australia. Once a British colony is focused on management, Australia will give more consideration to the United States.

For the British colonies, the cultural influence of the United Kingdom far exceeds that of the United States, but no matter how strong the soft power is, it is not as effective as the hard power. If the British army has a sense of presence in Southeast Asia, it may be able to get some help from Australia, and Australia will not completely to the United States.

"The construction of British Malaya requires a huge amount of manpower. Your idea is very good. Do you want to allocate manpower?" Edward Bridges was a little troubled. The British Empire of India has been built for more than 100 years, and now the European battlefield has just begun. In the end, the UK needs to be rebuilt. How about making Malaya prosperous first?

"Marshal Montgomery has reorganized the German soldiers to maintain order in the British-occupied area." Alan Wilson gave his own answer, "The Japanese army's military operations in Nanyang focused on punishing the Chinese in order to win over the local people. If we put The surrendered Japanese troops were handed over to the Chinese to manage, which can save a lot of management costs.”

"What you said is true?" Edward Bridges' eyes lit up, and he said smoothly, "Given the extent of the Japanese army's damage to Nanyang, it shouldn't be too much for us to temporarily detain Japanese soldiers to build the area."

"It's not too much, Sir Edward." Alan Wilson lowered his head and chimed in.

"This is also for justice to come." Edward Bridges nodded to himself, "Very reasonable."

"Very reasonable!" Alan Wilson turned on the repeater mode, expressing his determination to stand in the same trench as the cabinet secretary.

"As for letting the Chinese take care of the Japanese soldiers, it's all because of their similar appearance, which may reduce conflicts." Edward Bridges straightened his back, "The Chinese are always gentler than the Malays."

"I really didn't expect Sir Edward to have such a research on Asian customs." Alan Wilson was greatly admired, and flattered him as a top student of the Oriental College, although he himself had not yet officially graduated.

"Then, you can send a telegram to Barron in my name." Edward Bridges glanced at Alan Wilson with a look that I am very optimistic about you, and said, "I want to send a copy to the Prime Minister." Economic revitalization plan, and at the same time talk about when, find an opportunity to talk with European countries that share a common position.”

Chapter 113 The Attlee Project

The core of the so-called economic revitalization plan is that the British Empire will never surrender until the blood of India is shed.Of course, this only refers to the part that belongs to the United Kingdom, and there are parts involving other countries.

The European colonial community has hurt the feelings of other regions and peoples too much, and in fact this generalization is wrong.

It just so happened that the countries that the British Empire wanted to contact happened to be colonial countries.In a very coincidental situation, everyone has common interests, so they sat down quietly and talked about how to restore the legal system and order in Europe.

The basis of the economic revitalization plan is the establishment of what Alan Wilson said, the connection between British India and the British-occupied area of ​​Germany, adopting a dual-track price system, restoring and utilizing Germany's industrial strength as soon as possible, supplementing the lack of production capacity in the UK, and using British India The market is a dumping ground for German products.

Of course, in principle, it is not too much for the British Empire to sacrifice its own interests to help Germany recover its vitality, and it is not too much to extract some negligible rewards from it. This is very reasonable.

The United States has not been affected by the war and now has strong funds.The Soviet Union has a vast territory and abundant resources, and has an overwhelming advantage in conventional military and administrative power, so for Western European countries, they can only find advantages from themselves.

From Alan Wilson, a civil servant eager to improve, to the cabinet secretary Edward Bridges, and finally to the Prime Minister of the British Empire, Attlee, this European economic revitalization plan, later known as the Attlee Plan, has been published for a long time. Getting closer.

As for Xiao Xiami at the Potsdam Conference, Alan Wilson, the liaison officer of the Ministry of Indian Affairs to British India, conveyed the instructions of Cabinet Secretary Edward Bridges to Sir Barron in New Delhi.

The fall of the Japanese Empire is not far away, although the Soviet Union's war in the Far East has basically nothing to do with the British Empire.But according to some intelligence, the Soviet Union has already attacked Hokkaido.

The part related to the British Empire lies in the battlefields of Southeast Asia, according to the division of the Potsdam Conference.With the exception of the Japanese in the Philippines and North Vietnam, all Japanese soldiers in Southeast Asia, known as the Japanese Southern Army, would surrender to the British Empire.

The surrendered person, Alan Wilson, could figure out with his eyes closed that he must be Pamela Mountbatten's father.Most of the nearly 80 Japanese Southern Army will fall into the hands of the British Empire, with a scale of about 60 to [-].

In the telegram to New Delhi, it was stated that in view of the destruction of the Japanese army in Southeast Asia and the idea of ​​participating in post-war reconstruction and atonement, this is not new. There are now 40 German soldiers in the UK to repair bridges and roads.What the British Empire is happy to show is the humane treatment of German soldiers in the British-occupied areas of Germany, not the German prisoners in the country. It must show flexibility in moral terms, not pedantry.

After the paragraph about the detainment of Japanese soldiers to participate in the reconstruction, Alan Wilson added the statistics of the population ratio of Chinese and Malays in British Malaya after returning to British Malaya.

Of course, it has not been forgotten that in view of the fact that the Netherlands may not be able to arrive in Jakarta on time, the British army can control the situation in Jakarta first and wait for the Dutch army to arrive before dealing with it.

After the paragraph about the treatment of Japanese prisoners of war, it belongs to Thailand.People in the UK may not understand this point, but the civil servants of British India are very clear about Thailand's role. Sir Barron must be very understanding of Thailand's treatment as a defeated country and some appropriate punishments.

The civil attack and military intimidation against Thailand has started from now on. Thailand has always had a grudge against France for seizing Laos and Cambodia, two long-term younger brothers of Thailand.In the eyes of many Thais who care about politics, the imperialist countries are Britain and France, and have nothing to do with Japan.

However, the enemy that punishes Thailand is not Japan, but the United States, which appears as its current ally.The pro-Japanese Luang Phibun government fell and was replaced by a civilian government.

All this has a lot to do with the "Free Thai Movement" launched by the ambassador to the United States.Thailand gave up the northern Malays and Shan State allocated by Japan, and was willing to repay the loss of British and American interests in Thailand during the war.

In addition, Luang Phibun itself was the tyrant who expelled the VII and manipulated the VIII. The US government stated that this military government could not represent the Thai people, and advocated giving up further liquidation of Thailand.The interest behind this is that further punishment of Thailand will only make Britain bigger in Southeast Asia. The United States needs a Thailand that can check and balance the British and French colonial systems and has a deep impression of itself.

Alan Wilson has stated clearly in the telegram that the new Prime Minister Attlee's attitude towards British India is not as tough as Prime Minister Churchill. Once he judges that he cannot suppress the wave of resistance in British India, he may abandon British India.

Then the next [-] civil servants in British India will become unemployed overnight. The British mainland cannot accept so many civil servants, so whether it can cede land from Thailand is related to the potential of British Malaya in the future.

The seriousness of the matter was stated in the telegram, which was related to the reemployment of [-] civil servants. I believe Sir Barron would take it to heart, and now that the war is not over, it is a good opportunity to strike in the name of liquidating Japan.

In fact, in the last few days of the Potsdam Conference, the representatives of various countries had nothing to talk about. Specifically, on the British side, Prime Minister Attlee, who has always wanted to save costs and restore local prosperity, has not met face to face in recent days. The dealings with the United States and the Soviet Union were all handed over to Churchill, who had no official position but only a consultant title.

Prime Minister Attlee himself discussed the post-war economic recovery plan with Cabinet Secretary Edward Bridges.Specifically, the European Colonial Community.

"France, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal." Attlee was talking about the surviving colonial empires in Europe, and at the same time, he was very interested in the dual price system in which Britain dominated the German-occupied areas and British India.

"Will this arouse the dissatisfaction of the Germans?" Attlee had some doubts, the world hegemon still wanted face.

"The Germans have lost everything, and they are lucky to be alive now. Compared with the prisoner-of-war camps in the Rhine River camp and the no-man's land in Siberia, what else can the Germans be dissatisfied with?" Edward Bridges said earlier Prepared, he said, "I'm saying it's temporary, it's good for British India, it's good for Germany, and it's appropriate but insignificant for the British Empire."

"Then let's find an opportunity to talk to the French. If the French are dealt with, the problems of other countries are not big." Prime Minister Attlee nodded, officially approving the economic revitalization plan, "Arrange a time, let's talk together .Hey, how do we get the French on our side?"

"You can support the French to return to Asia. They are going to do so. I believe that the support for the British Empire will not be rejected." Edward Bridges sincerely gave suggestions.

Chapter 114 The Battle of the Nation

In the unity and common interests among the colonial empires, Britain will support the French no matter what on the colonial issue. This is beyond doubt.Even more countries can be supported, and the newspaper group of the living colonial empire is warming up.

On such a special occasion as the Potsdam Conference, Alan Wilson, who barely got into the decision-making circle, learned about it the next day, flattered him without hesitation, and shouted wonderful...

"Now we can be sure that France wants to return to Vietnam, and the Netherlands wants to take back the Dutch East Indies. Honorable Sir Edward, these are all places that British Malaya can reach. If we can guarantee the relative It is stable, and it is absolutely possible to use the British Malay Adams as a production base to supply the French and Dutch armies with combat materials."

Alan Wilson said unabashedly, "Sir, since the French are so eager to revive the glory of the great power, they must spend no money on the war. British Malaya can be used as a base to support the Netherlands and France, as long as The war lasted for more than two years, and British Malaya could take advantage of the war, not to mention that we have Japanese prisoners of war as free labor for construction. And we don’t need to ask the French for anything, it’s all chosen by the French and the Dutch .”

"For example, the French's military expenditures and repair expenses, right?" Edward Bridges pointed out the subtext of Alan Wilson. The French sent troops again with the embarrassment of being cut by Germany in World War II. They will not simply forget it. .

Massive investment is foreseeable, as long as a little of these costs flow into British Malaya, it will be a huge boost.

Alan Wilson did not deny it, and smiled embarrassedly, "On the colonial issue, of course Britain and France must maintain the same position, but on some details, the French are willing to play a role model, and we can't stop it." .”

"The Prime Minister said that in September, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain will discuss the corresponding positions of the territories in Brussels. At present, this matter is still confidential, so don't let it out." Edward Bridges said sternly, "At that time, I will send you an order to go to Brussels, and you are ready."

"Sir Edward, I can't express the gratitude in my heart." Alan Wilson looked sincere. He really wasn't pretending. How could he think that he would be valued by the cabinet secretary.

"After all, you proposed the economic revitalization plan. We officials are just doing things. All the glory and fame belong to the politicians. You don't need to thank me." Edward Bridges said flatly, "This is what you deserve remuneration."

Regardless of the effect of the plan to connect British India and the British-occupied area of ​​Germany in the future, including the dual-track price system, whether it can get Britain out of the decline immediately, and on a larger level, whether the European colonial empires can work together to tide over the difficult time.Allen Wilson should be rewarded as the first to propose the idea.

Edward Bridges didn't mind letting the young civil servant go his way, within his purview.Not to mention that Alan Wilson is very capable in his own right.

Of course, it is impossible to formulate the overall plan immediately. Once the Potsdam Conference is over, Edward Bridges will return to London, mobilize various departments to formulate a detailed plan, and come up with a plan that can convince other countries, especially France, before the Brussels Conference.

As for how to persuade France, Edward Bridges has already made a record. According to the agreement with the United States and the Soviet Union, the Japanese troops in South Vietnam will also be surrendered to the United Kingdom. Britain can give South Vietnam to France, and at the same time form the British and French colonies in Southeast Asia to support each other. .

With Alan Wilson's reminder, Edward Bridges had noticed the Japanese army's mine-laying behavior before the end of the day. The British Empire was an expert in mine-laying. Now that it knew the Japanese's actions, it naturally had a solution.

If the Japanese soldiers did not recover the weapons that were deliberately distributed to the local anti-colonial forces, their desire to return to Japan might not be realized so quickly.

In the midst of each other's thoughts, time passed day by day, and the Potsdam meeting also came to an end.

All issues have been discussed, and the result of the separation of Germany and Austria has been determined. Germany and Austria will be divided into four districts and handed over to the four divisions of Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union and France.

Dissolution of the German Concern Consortium.It is stipulated that the supreme power in Germany shall be exercised by the commanders-in-chief of the occupying forces of the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and France in their respective occupied areas in accordance with the instructions of their own governments.

New Polish borders were defined, and the Polish government-in-exile in London could return to Poland to participate in Poland's post-war reconstruction.

All Germanic people outside Germany were deported back to Germany and temporarily resettled in the Soviet-occupied area.The German commercial fleet was owned by the Soviet Union, and the German naval fleet was divided equally between Britain, the United States and France.Königsberg and adjacent areas to the USSR!