Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 121 The United Kingdom’s Trick

"and many more."

Churchill obviously had something else to say, but was interrupted by Asquith.

The kingdom's former prime minister looked nervous, and his gaze towards Churchill changed from his previous disdain for the empire and dissatisfaction with Churchill to an indescribable look.

"You mean, they were able to capture our warship purely by relying on the infantry boarding?"

Asquith felt that he had been deceived by the young man in front of him.

His eyeballs kept rolling in his sockets, and his mind was filled with all kinds of complicated thoughts such as absurd, ridiculous, embarrassing, and shameful.

"Is this the conclusion of the Admiralty?"

"Yes, sir."

Churchill nodded his head heavily and sat aside. "This is obviously a difficult matter for the navy to discuss, but the Empire has expressed its willingness to cooperate with us to do our best to prevent the last battle from affecting the reputation of the Kingdom's navy..."

Obviously, Churchill also had strong opinions about these words.

This is mainly because he is now not only the prime minister of the kingdom, but also the minister of the navy of the kingdom.

As First Lord of the Admiralty, Churchill was responsible for all actions and consequences of the navy.

The last troop dispatch to the Kingdom of Perijie directly brought his reputation in the United Kingdom Army to the lowest point. If such an action were to take place again, he would probably lose his position as Minister of the Navy.

But what Churchill valued most was his position as First Lord of the Admiralty.

Not only because this identity has the ability to command the army in battle, but also because this identity can consolidate his position in the Kingdom Parliament.

As Liberal Party reformers, although Churchill and Asquith supported active offense and conservative defense respectively in the Kingdom's Parliament, they had the same opinion on the empire - the empire's sphere of influence must be controlled.

In order to support this action, it is necessary to have a certain amount of military power. Asquith appointed Churchill as a member of his cabinet earlier and supported him to serve as the First Lord of the Admiralty in order to ensure that the Liberal Party could hold the most important naval power in the kingdom.

As a traditional maritime power, the most powerful force in the United Kingdom is its navy.

This is the only reason why the navy is called the Royal Navy.

As for the Army...

Forget about those crawling on the ground.

and then?
Then the powerful Royal Navy lost two warships to the Imperial Army.

What a shame!
This is a complete humiliation!

There was no need for Asquith to name anyone, Churchill himself was already blushing over the Lion-class incident.

The reason why he was calm now was because he had already lost his temper after hearing the analysis of the generals in the Navy Department.

If he and Asquith had known about this, not only Number 10 Downing Street, but the entire Downing Street would have been torn apart by the two of them.

However, in a sense this is actually a good thing.

After all, the Kingdom now knows that the Imperial Navy does not have the confidence to destroy the Kingdom's warships, and they have not really won the naval battle.

In addition, the Empire had deliberately exposed most of the details to the United Kingdom before returning the warships.

Therefore, in the eyes of Asquith and Churchill, this could actually be seen as a gesture of goodwill made by the Empire in order to avoid going to war with the United Kingdom.

And they guessed right.

But they couldn't tell whether this gesture of goodwill was genuine or just a veiled attempt.

Asquith sat there, looking somewhat powerless.

He thought a lot, whether it was the reason why the empire did this, or the empire's current situation, or what kind of rewards the kingdom would reap if it supported Farlan's war.

He knew that Farlan had been forced to resort to foreign wars to divert domestic conflicts due to the economic crisis and widespread crop failure.

He also knew that if Farlan continued like this, it would collapse in less than three years.

Therefore, if the kingdom chooses to join the war, what awaits it is not only a powerful empire, but also a hungry ally.

Considering that the negotiations in the Empire were also ongoing and started and ended almost at the same time as those in the Empire, Asquith was now very conflicted.

Firstly, the current anti-imperial sentiment on the European continent was instigated by the United Kingdom, but the United Kingdom actually does not want its two allies to win the war against the empire at all.

This is inconsistent with the kingdom's power layout on the mainland, nor is it consistent with the kingdom's plan to divide the European continent.

However, if the Kingdom is not allowed to join now, then there may not be any chance for it to join in the future...

All of the above put Asquith into a vicious circle of conditions that were difficult to satisfy.

Should they declare war on the Empire to preserve their two important allies? Or should they remain neutral to maintain the Kingdom's righteous stance in international opinion?
Or should they declare war on the empire, but only to protect their own territory and interests, without taking the initiative to attack?

Every choice is difficult.

And just as Asquith was racking his brains for this, his daughter Violet said this.

"Father, since the Empire wants peace, why not give them the peace they want?"

"How to say?"

Churchill's voice rose faster than Asquith's, which made Asquith very dissatisfied, but the matter was of great importance, so he didn't want to interrupt the conversation.

Violet glanced at Churchill before looking at Asquith. "If we can get the Empire to give up most of its interests in Farland, and simply guarantee their deployment on the current front, on the condition that they give up the offensive, and guarantee that the Kingdom will not declare war on the Empire under this circumstance, then wouldn't we be able to secure our alliance with Farland and gain a firm foothold internationally?"

"?"

A big question mark popped up in Asquith and Churchill's heads almost immediately.

"Who taught you this?"

The two looked at each other, then looked at Violet in unison.

Churchill and Asquith were both people who had been in the political circle for many years, and they understood Violet's meaning almost immediately.

They even immediately discovered a loophole in Violet's words.

However, this loophole is aimed at the kingdom, not the empire.

“I think this approach is feasible.”

Churchill looked at Asquith excitedly: "If Miss Violet is right, then for the Kingdom, no matter how the Empire responds, it will only be a victory for the Kingdom."

"We only need to explicitly demand that the Empire refrain from attacking Farlan to ensure the Kingdom's neutrality, and we'll have an excuse to declare war on the Empire at any time."

"Similarly, if the Empire truly does not attack Farlan, the Kingdom can also use this brief period of peace to mobilize as many fleets as possible deployed around the world."

"Once the fleet reaches a near-saturation point in the English Channel, the Empire will naturally do something irrational due to the threat of its powerful navy..."

Asquith glanced at Churchill, for he and Churchill were of the same mind on this point.

He added to Churchill's remarks: "There's more to it than that, Winston."

"The Imperial Kingdom is also at war with the Empire right now, and troops from both sides have been deployed to the border between the Imperial Kingdom and the Empire!"

"The Empire now has to deal with more than just Farlan. If we can still get the Empire and the Empire to cease fire on the border, then for the Kingdom, this will be an excellent opportunity to weaken the military strength of both the Empire and the Empire!"

"They will deploy a large number of troops into a sit-in war on the border. No matter which side launches an attack, there will be no good results."

"And since the Kingdom has no army, it doesn't have to worry about those things at all. We only need to hold the English Channel, and we'll reap the benefits."

Churchill had no objection to Asquith's idea. He took a cigar from a nearby cupboard and lit it himself, stimulating his nerves with the strong caffeine while watching the blue smoke gradually drifting into the sky.

He said: "But we still have to make a guarantee."

"What guarantee?" Asquith's expression had completely relaxed. He felt that the current plan was enough to ensure the safety of the kingdom in the next few months, and he was sure that the empire would not be caught in a dilemma because of this.

And surprisingly, this plan was even proposed by the empire itself.

It was simply brilliant! In all his life he had never seen a more ingenious plan.

But it was naturally good for Churchill to have other ideas, so he did not stop Churchill.

Seeing that he had the opportunity to explain, Churchill did not dare to waste time and spoke quickly.

"That is to make the Empire firmly believe that the Kingdom does not want war either!"

"This treaty is completely different from any treaty the kingdom has signed in the past. Our current position and international standing are very unstable..."

"Are you talking about the French invasion?" Asquith was a little confused.

"Yes."

Churchill nodded heavily. "Precisely because Farlan initiated the invasion, we must prioritize portraying the Kingdom as being in a dilemma, determined to ensure it stands on the side of justice, yet also facing a dilemma because Farlan is its ally."

"I believe we can, through both public and private negotiations, inform the public of part of the peace agreement between the Kingdom and the Empire. This will allow the entire nation, and even the entire world, to know that in order to appease the Empire, which was invaded by its ally, the Kingdom had to mediate the conflict between the two countries in a neutral manner, sacrificing significant interests to do so."

Asquith was indeed an old turtle. He saw through Churchill's intentions immediately and asked: "Are you trying to stir up public anger in this way?"

“Almost, but this is just an appetizer.”

Churchill held his cigar in his mouth, looked at the newspaper in his hand, and spoke in a vague voice.

"The Kingdom paid its own price in exchange for the Empire's retreat to the borders of the Kingdom of Perijie and a guarantee that the Empire would not initiate an attack on Farlan."

"This will force the Empire to make greater concessions, and it will also further stimulate the members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, who currently tend to be conservative and defensive, and strengthen their determination to fight back in the future."

"On the other hand, we also need to extend the fighting time of the Farlan people by sending humanitarian aid to Farlan."

"According to our intelligence department and our diplomats in Farlan, although Farlan has reached the point where it has to continue with wartime rationing, due to the national cohesion brought about by the previous anti-feudal revolution, their internal security remains in a good state."

"Therefore, I believe we can transport a large amount of food and supplies from the colonies to them, so that the Farlanes can survive this winter in the best condition and make adequate plans for the coming year."

"Whether they are prepared to continue their offensive in the spring of next year, or to reconcile with the Empire in the spring of next year."

"These materials can be provided to Farlan in the form of loans. Similarly, we also need to disclose this information and obtain the Empire's consent."

When saying this, Churchill hesitated for a moment because he didn't know whether what he was doing was in accordance with the rules, and he was also worried that his behavior would cause dissatisfaction with himself at home.

Then he heard Asquith's voice.

"His Majesty would not approve of your idea, Winston."

"I just..." Churchill sighed immediately, but was immediately interrupted by Asquith's voice.

"But we will support you." Asquith said firmly.

This immediately made Churchill lively. He looked at Asquith with a hint of disbelief and joy in his eyes.

"This is a very good plan. I can say that this is the first time in all the years I've known you that you've spoken of a diplomatic plan that satisfies me."

Asquith narrowed his eyes, his entire spine pressed against the back of the chair. "The Empire will agree with your strategy, I can assure you."

"The only problem is that we may have to sacrifice some of the interests of the Farlan people, which may cause Farlan to feel resentful towards the kingdom."

"What interests?" Churchill still didn't understand this point. His left elbow was on his knee, his fat body leaned forward, and the light from above his head could not illuminate his eye sockets.

A faint blue smoke floated up to the ceiling, filling the entire room with the unique smell of cigars.

Violet walked on her high heels and opened the window beside her. The cool breeze blew away the cigar smoke and made Asquith open his eyes.

"The Empire has expended so much manpower and resources, yet has given up the right to initiate an offensive in order to prevent the Kingdom from joining the war. We must compensate them for this."

Asquith thought about it and said, "We absolutely cannot give it to them from Palu, nor from the port of Farlan. Our ships need to provide supplies to Farlan from the port of Farlan."

He drew a map of the entire Farlan in his mind, with countless cities on it, but he marked each of them with bright red marks.

Finally, a city appeared before him.

"Verdun."

"We want the Farlanes to hand over Verdun to the Empire. In return, we demand that the Empire not actively attack the Farlanes in the future."

But this made Churchill hesitate.

He held his chin with a hesitant expression on his face: "As for Verdun... that place is too important to the Farlanders..."

"I know, but it is precisely because of his importance that the Farlanes must cede Verdun to the Empire."

Asquith sighed and changed his tone to a calmer one: "Winston, you must know that Verdun is now under the control of the Empire."

"Therefore, for the Farlanes, whether to hand over Verdun to the Empire is not a matter of choice at all. Even if they choose not to hand Verdun over to the Empire, it will not change the fact that the Empire has already occupied Verdun."

"This..." Churchill was silent for a moment: "It is indeed as you said."

But Asquith added, "Furthermore, based on my understanding of Joffre, he was probably planning to abandon Verdun during the previous battle. I heard from the army a few days ago that Joffre was actually planning to establish a front further south of the Maine River, in the upper reaches of the Seine."

"That means Joffre actually wanted to give up Verdun a long time ago?" Churchill suddenly realized.

"If that's the case, then there's no problem in asking Farlan to cede the Verdun region to the Empire."

In response, Asquith nodded slowly: "That's right."

"Furthermore, the Empire has been wary of the Farlan fortresses for many years. From the last war until now, all of the Empire's operations have been conducted and planned in a way that bypasses the fortress lines."

"If we can get Farlan to cede Verdun to the Empire, it will not only ease the Empire's vigilance against the Farlan threat, but also give the Empire a bargaining chip in this war with the Farlans."

"Once the Empire secures control of Verdun through the treaty, the likelihood of it launching an offensive will be greatly reduced. Similarly, the Farlanders, forced to cede land, will redouble their hatred for the Empire."

"On the other hand, our kingdom..."

At this point, Asquith's mouth corners raised slightly.

He sneered.

"Not only has the Kingdom established a firm international foothold as a peace-loving nation through these multilateral negotiations, but it has also limited the Empire's opportunities for further expansion."

"Fallan will also work harder to arm himself so as to be fully prepared to reclaim the lost territory."

"As for the Imperial Kingdom..."

There was a gleam in Asquith's eyes.

"I think we're going to have the Imperial State launch a massive attack on the Empire over the next few months."

"Perhaps they won't be able to successfully capture the Empire's territory, but this will be enough to force the Empire to divert some of its troops from the Western Front to the Eastern Front to protect its fragile eastern border."

"Similarly, the Empire obviously cannot guarantee that its troops can protect its borders. Therefore, the Imperial troops will enter the Imperial territory and be trapped in a two-year period of advance and retreat after the spring."

"By then, the Farlanes will have recuperated and gathered their strength. They will have enough soldiers, enough supplies, and enough anger."

(End of this chapter)