Chapter 810

As the old hegemon of the world, the British had long cultivated their arrogance over the past hundred years.

After receiving the final order from the Government of Vienna, the British parliamentarians, who felt that their dignity had been challenged, were rarely efficient and made a choice in a short afternoon.

After the parliament reached an agreement, on the evening of December 26, 1904, Edward VII issued a national war mobilization order, and at the same time, officially declared war on the Holy Roman Empire.

First to declare war, perhaps there was an element of anger! But it was more because of political needs. Although the means were somewhat low-level, as long as it was effective, it was fine.

The arrogant British were not afraid of this war, but it did not mean that the allies who followed along were not afraid.

In fact, if the Government of the United Kingdom had not been clever and coaxed countries into joining the war chariot, they would not have joined in the fun at all.

Since the end of the European War, the armies of the world, which had originally learned from the French Army, had turned around and learned from the Shinra Army.

Whether or not they learned the essence of Holy Empire's teachings didn't matter for now, but Holy Empire's influence had spread far and wide. Especially for the American countries of immigrants who knew the history of Shinra, the ideological impact was even greater.

Only the ignorant would be fearless. Sometimes, knowing too much might not be a good thing. At least for Britannia, it was not a good thing for their allies to know too much.

In the beginning, the British only told everyone that they were fighting against the Holy Roman Empire alone, and there was no need for the European countries at all.

In order to enhance everyone's confidence, the Government of the United Kingdom had repeatedly promised that many European countries would join the anti- Shinra alliance, such as: the Russian Empire, France, Portugal, the Netherlands … and even the German princes.

There was no problem with the logic. One mountain could not accommodate two tigers, and the European continent could not accommodate two continental powers. When it came to national strategic space and European hegemony, everyone had reason to believe that Russia and Austria would turn against each other.

France and Shinra were enemies. In the past few hundred years, the history of Europe was a history of hegemony between the two countries.

A few years ago, Shinra gave them a wave of ruthlessness. With the new and old hatred added together, it would be a problem if the French did not want to take revenge.

Portugal, the Netherlands, and other countries were all hardcore brothers of Britannia. Although they had a good relationship with Shinra, everyone believed in John Bull's diplomatic means.

However, the plan could not keep up with the changes. The predetermined allies became enemies, and the strength of the two sides also changed.

The more they knew, the more uncertain they became. The brothers panicked, and the boss must find a way to stabilize the morale of the army. Otherwise, they would not be able to lead the army.

After thinking about it, Franz instantly knew what was going on. He was not afraid of the British reaction, but the British had no reaction at all.

At its peak, the British Empire was extraordinarily powerful. At its peak, the British, of the Britain's Kingdom, the Great power. of Kingdom, the British Empire.

Kingdom, it, the Shinra, the British Empire Empire, was defeated. Soft power was hard to define. Although the Vienna government did a good job in this aspect, they did not dare to say that they were better than the British.

The main reason was that reality was too nonsensical. Sometimes, it was even more magical than novels. Many things could not be measured with common sense.

In the face of an opponent who was good at playing politics, Franz never dared to take it lightly.

As it turned out, he was overthinking. No matter how good the British were at diplomacy, there was a limit.

With the weight off his mind, Franz continued to draft the Letter to the People of the British Isles.

As for the declaration of war, the 27th was the 27th. He could not be led by the British.

…

Late at night, the Nanyang Daily editorial office was still brightly lit. The editor-in-chief, Lauren Cromwell, yawned, got up and made herself a cup of instant coffee.

There was no way. There was no day or night for journalists. Especially the editor-in-chief, she worked the night shift more often than the day shift.

News had to be effective. In order to ensure that the newspaper was delivered to every reader the next morning, the newspaper could only be printed in the middle of the night.

"It's war! Quick, Mr. Lauren, quick, reorganize the typesetting. We must start … "

The excited voice attracted the attention of everyone in the editorial room.

"Mr. Steve, calm down. We all know it's war. There will be no concessions at home this time. The British can't accept our terms. War is inevitable.

This is the newspaper template that was just printed. We have already made predictions in advance. I believe there won't be too many discrepancies. "

Lauren was optimistic about the young man in front of him. However, he was very disappointed with Steve's current performance.

The colonies had already started fighting. Today, the government issued a 24-hour war order to the British. There was no possibility of reconciliation between the two sides.

Calculating the time, he knew the war would start tomorrow. What's more, the Government of Vienna had already released the news. It was even published in the newspaper, but in a different way.

After taking a deep breath, Steve hurriedly explained, "It's different, Mr. Lauren. Just now, the Government of the United Kingdom declared war on us. The outbreak of a full-scale war has been brought forward. "

Hearing this news, everyone's expression immediately changed. Fortunately, the news came in time. The newspaper had not been published yet. Otherwise, there would be a big accident.

Accuracy was the most important thing when it came to political news. Once the published news did not match the reality, it would be a big accident.

Not only would it ruin their reputation, but they might also be reported by readers and be investigated by the news office.

Don't think that the colonies were an exception. The Holy Roman Empire's news management law was applicable throughout the empire.

Of course, this kind of misunderstanding of the outbreak of war did not constitute a crime. It could only be regarded as not being rigorous enough.

Upon hearing this news, Lauren snatched the telegram and read it carefully before Steve could finish his words.

After a moment, Lauren asked cautiously, "Have you checked with the country to confirm that only the British declared war on the 26th, we didn't …"

Steve: "Don't worry, Mr. Lauren. When I received this telegram, it was already midnight. Even if there were any changes, it would be on the 27th. "

After calming down, Lauren breathed a sigh of relief. This kind of thing could not tolerate the slightest carelessness. Any negligence could bring an eternal stain to his career.

"Good job, Steve. Fortunately, you came in time. Otherwise, we would be in big trouble.

The editorial department will rewrite the article and come up with a new manuscript as soon as possible. This time, we must make a big splash. I have a hunch that the newspaper sales will explode.

I can't guarantee a promotion, but your bonuses will definitely increase with the increase in newspaper sales. "

This was the truth. The newspaper would start printing a little later. In order to ensure that important news was not missed, they would either stop and reprint or publish a special column.

It seemed that publishing a special column was the easiest and could sell for more money, but in fact, it was not.

With the development of the times, all industries were full of competition, and the newspaper was no exception.

Just the island of Sulawesi alone had more than 30 news agencies of various sizes. It was not easy to survive.

The era of rough news supply was long over. Now, not only did they have to provide news content, but they also had to provide good customer service.

In this context, it was very important to start a special column. Not only must there be enough news content, but there must also be a refreshing interpretation.

In a few hours, the newspaper would be published. Excluding the printing time, there was even less time left for the editorial department.

It was almost impossible to come up with a special column that the readers would buy in such a short period of time.

It was not like similar situations had not happened before. In order to ensure that important news was not missed, the usual choice was to scrap the previous printed newspaper, reprint it, and reprint it.

Due to the limitations of productivity, the cost of newspaper printing these days was not low. The loss of every reprint was a kind of pressure on the newspaper.

Under such circumstances, journalists had a love-hate relationship with breaking news.

…

At the headquarters of the Holy Roman Empire's Nanyang Fleet, as the fleet commander, Admiral Arest, received the news earlier than the newspaper.

Since a full-scale war had broken out, the confrontation with the Royal Navy had also entered a new stage.

Before the full-scale war broke out, they wanted to find an opportunity to launch a sneak attack and eliminate the enemy's main fleet in one go. They could not be so picky now, and they could not let go of the small fish and shrimp.

For the time being, there was no need to think about sneak attacks. The birth of the plane had changed the pattern of war.

In a situation where the enemy was on guard, it was impossible to hide from the enemy's reconnaissance planes and ships.

Unless they had the guts to risk getting lost or hitting the rocks by sailing in the middle of the night and launching a sneak attack at the enemy's door.

In any case, Arest would not gamble the Nanyang Fleet on such a minuscule chance of success.

Holding the baton, he pointed at the map on the wall. "This is Cam Ranh Bay, one of the best ports in Asia. It is also the headquarters of our opponent, the British Royal Navy's Far East Fleet.

With the efforts of our intelligence personnel, we have a rough idea of the situation at Cam Ranh Bay. It can only be said that it is not optimistic.

Perhaps it was because the Empire's air force was too famous that the British were scared out of their wits. They were now placing a lot of emphasis on air defense.

In Cam Ranh Bay, the British had deployed two air regiments and three air defense regiments, but the details were not clear. There were about eighty fighter planes, at least fifty anti-aircraft cannons, and a number of anti-aircraft machine guns.

These were all things that could be detected on the surface. For the time being, it was unknown whether there were any hidden weapons.

Even though the performance of these weapons was not that great, they were still a threat to the fighter planes that were carrying out low-altitude bombing.

Under normal circumstances, this would naturally not be a problem. As long as the results were big enough, it would be worth paying some losses.

The current situation is an exception. The Suez Canal has been cut off. For at least the next six months, it will be difficult for us to get supplies from the country.

The fighter planes we have are now one less fighter plane to lose. The aircraft carrier strike group has a total of about three hundred fighter planes, including those in reserve.

It may seem that we have more planes, but the aircraft carrier's fighter planes are mainly bombers. The number of real fighter planes is very small.

Once the battle starts, the British air force stationed in the surrounding areas will also send reinforcements.

We must now re-evaluate whether it is worth it to use our precious aircraft carriers to trade with the enemy. "

Reality was cruel. No matter how superior the fighter planes of the aircraft carrier strike group were, bombers were still bombers. When they encountered specialized fighter planes, they would still die.

Coupled with the enemy's concentrated anti-aircraft firepower, Cam Ranh Bay was clearly a tiger's den. If the surprise attack failed and turned into a frontal assault, it was unknown whether the aircraft carrier strike group could hold on.

If there were heavy losses, then after a wave of attacks, the aircraft carrier strike group that the Government of Vienna had spent a lot of money to build would be useless.

It must be known that this thing was used to deal with enemy warships, not for aerial combat. If they really wanted to fight in the air, that was within the scope of the air force's business.

Chief of Staff Ebbert Gupostela: "Your Excellency Commander, the mission given to us by the country is to cause destruction and reduce the flow of Far East supplies into the British Isles as much as possible.

Compared to the vastness of the Empire, the British Isles were simply too small. Once they leave the outside world's supplies, their war potential will immediately be greatly reduced.

In this context, it is the British who are anxious to seek a decisive battle. As long as we block the Strait of Malacca, the mission will be half done.

As for how to solve the problem of the Royal Navy's Far East Fleet, that is not a problem that can be solved in a day or two. As long as the situation is stabilized, we can slowly look for opportunities later. "

Conservative, inflexible?

No, this was rational.

War served politics. If the Holy Roman Empire wanted to win this war, the first thing it had to do was to cut off the supply of supplies to the British Isles.

As long as this strategic goal was achieved, the success or failure of other parts of the battlefield was generally not important.

It was all for the sake of this war. There was absolutely no intention of cowering. At most, it was just following their hearts.

Rear Admiral Davidson: "Chief of Staff, you are right. The British are in a hurry to fight now. If they do not move, we will first take Singapore and lock the Strait of Malacca.

At the same time, the war to break diplomatic relations must also be launched quickly. Having colonies all over Nanyang is our greatest advantage.

Once this advantage is brought into play, it will not be so easy for the British to transport supplies from the Far East to the British Isles.

If this situation really happens, in order to ensure the smooth flow of the coastline, the British Far East Fleet will have no choice but to fight us. "

Passivity and initiative were very important. Not only did it mean the right to speak, but more importantly, it could affect the choice of the location of the decisive battle.

It was always more advantageous to fight at one's own doorstep than to fight at someone else's doorstep. If they were lucky, the air force could come out and join in the fun.

…