Chapter 853

The British Far East Fleet was miserable. As the losers of the Battle of Malacca, the Japanese Navy didn't have an easy time either.

More than half of the navy's assets accumulated over the past 30 years of the Meiji Restoration were ruined. The number one naval power in East Asia became a joke.

For the newly rising Japanese nationalism, the defeat in the Battle of Malacca was obviously unacceptable.

Following the news of the defeat, the slogan "God will punish the traitors" resounded throughout the Japanese archipelago.

The navy that was once hailed as the "hope of the nation" had become a national sinner that everyone despised overnight. The extreme nature of Japan was vividly reflected here.

Ever since the news of the defeat of the Battle of Malacca came, Emperor Meiji held a series of meetings in front of the Imperial Palace.

They had to be nervous. There was a price to pay for the failure of speculation. The defeat of the Battle of Malacca put Japan in a dangerous situation.

Prime Minister Katsura: "The search and rescue ships have returned one after another. Because of the encounter with the Spanish Navy, we also lost two search and rescue ships. I'm afraid the rest of the warships won't be able to return.

Combined with the battle report released by Austria, it can be confirmed that General Itō Yūhō died for a noble cause.

According to the intelligence from Cam Orchid Bay, the British Far East Fleet also suffered heavy losses. There are no battleships of more than 10,000 tons in the harbor.

The situation in the Far East region has completely deteriorated. For a long time to come, we will face the threat of the enemy at sea. "

Regardless of whether Itō Yūhō died in battle or not, he had to die for a noble cause. Otherwise, there was no way to explain to the people of Japan.

The ordinary people didn't care about the reason for the defeat. After all, if they lost on the battlefield, they were incompetent, useless, and traitors.

Only by dying on the battlefield could they slightly alleviate some of the people's resentment. However, the title of "useless" was still unavoidable.

Relatively speaking, whether Itō Yūhō died in battle or not was only a small problem. The biggest problem right now was the deterioration of the situation in the Far East region.

As an island country, it was undoubtedly fatal for them to lose their sea control rights. Especially the war between Japan and Russia.

Once the Shinra Navy moved east, not only would the Japanese Army at the frontline be finished, even the Japanese archipelago would be in danger.

Itō Hirobumi: "The result of the Battle of Malacca has proven the strength gap between us and the top powers.

To make up for this gap, it would be impossible without decades of effort. However, what we lack the most right now is time.

The situation in Europe was equally tense. Holy Empire was currently attacking from all sides, while the English were already exhausted from running around.

The Royal Navy was not omnipotent. In a short period of time, the British might not be able to transfer enough warships to reinforce the Far East.

As for the other allies in the alliance, everyone knows that the Union has some power. Only the United States has some power.

Although the Washington government also sent troops, they had limited control over the western states. Unfortunately, the western states were anti-war.

I'm afraid it's unrealistic to expect them to send reinforcements for a while. We can only rely on ourselves for now.

The empire's navy has already suffered great losses, and the enemy can seal off the Sea of Japan at any time. There's no way we can win militarily, so we can only seek a breakthrough diplomatically.

It wasn't that Ito Hirobumi was a coward, it was just that he really couldn't fight right now. "Ito is." It Ito was not Japan.

Once the sea transportation was cut off, the Japanese army at the frontline would soon be defeated due to the loss of logistical supplies. At that time, the Shenluo Navy only needed to send the Russian army in the far east to the island.

The only thing they could hope for now was that the Shenluo Navy had also suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Malacca and would not be able to advance eastward in a short period of time.

"But the probability is low. According to the intelligence, the enemy won't fight them head-on. They are only using the air force to attack.

Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru: "Ito-kun, if you want to make a breakthrough in diplomacy, it is also very difficult. It can even be said to be impossible.

"The relationship between the Empire and the Government of Vienna has never been good.

Even though we've been trying to repair it, Emperor Franz is too biased against the Empire. "No matter how hard we try, it is useless.

In the past, the Austrians had caused trouble for the Empire more than once. "If we didn't respond well, the conflict would have broken out.

"In addition, the hatred between us and Spain and Russia is also a big obstacle.

"They are all important members of the Continental Alliance. It is too late to hit us when we are down. It is impossible for us to retreat."

"Adaptability is an important factor in the rise of Japan. But when it comes to strongman politics, this trick doesn't work.

"No matter how they act humble and show goodwill, Franz pretends not to see it. Whenever there is an opportunity, he will make things difficult for Japan.

In a sense, the Japanese Navy's decisiveness in heading south was also forced.

"There are a lot of enemies in the Continental Alliance. If they don't go with the British, who should they go with?

"Unfortunately, the British have fallen too fast. Before Japan can really rise, they are already on the decline.

"Influenced by the narrow-minded thinking of the Volcano Island, the Japanese are especially easy to go to extremes. Even the senior government officials are no exception.

"The defeat in the Battle of Malacca made the Government of Japan lose confidence in the Oceanic Alliance to win the war.

"Many members of the Oceanic Alliance are not so pessimistic. "In the eyes of the other members, even if the Oceanic Alliance can't win the war, it is not difficult to end it with dignity.

"No one is a fool. If they are 100% going to lose, who will continue to play with the British?

"Politics is the most realistic. Politicians first consider interests. Once they find that things cannot be done, the alliance is a piece of waste paper.

After a sigh, Ito Hirobumi said slowly, "It is not that serious. The Government of Vienna has to consider interests first.

"Don't look at Russia and Austria as allies. As long as the Holy Roman Empire wins the war, the situation will change fundamentally.

"Without a common enemy, there will only be interests and conflicts between Russia and Austria.

"There is a natural strategic conflict between the world's number one and the world's number two. Especially since they have a long border, there are even more hidden conflicts.

"With the greed of the Tsarist government, they will never give up any opportunity to expand. "I personally speculate that after the war, India will become the focus of the conflict between Russia and Austria.

"If the Russians take half of India, will the Holy Roman Empire tolerate them taking the Far East?

"They will either fight the war themselves or support an agent. "As long as the Government of Vienna cares about their manners, it is impossible for them to attack their ally after they just defeated the British.

"The Empire of the Far East is useless and can't be supported at all. "In this context, the Empire is their only choice.

"Of course, unlike the British, the Holy Roman Empire itself is the world's number one military power. The need for the Empire is not that big. Our expectations are lower."

It could be seen that Ito Hirobumi also had no confidence. Speculations were always speculations. The East and the West had different modes of thinking. No one knew what the Government of Vienna was planning.

"It is not difficult to be a hired thug. It would be a waste not to use a hired thug. "The problem is that there are two types of hired thugs: one is long-term nurtured, and the other is disposable cannon fodder.

"What Japan needs is to be the former and receive long-term support. They don't want to be the latter and become toilet paper that can be thrown away after use.

…

After the violent explosion, a raging fire ignited below. The flame released endless enthusiasm and warmed the cold winter.

But for the people in London, they would rather not have this special warmth. Even in this winter, it was exceptionally cold.

After many days of fighting, the British Air Force had seen through the true purpose of the Shinra Air Force and no longer blindly intercepted them.

In order to preserve their strength, the British Air Force took the lead in a strategic shift and retreated to the Scottish area that the Shinra Air Force could not cover.

Without the protection of the Air Force, the sky of London completely fell into the world of the Shinra Air Force, and the bombing pattern gradually changed.

"Napalm" could form a layer of flame sputtering around after the explosion, emitting a high temperature of about 1000 ° C. It could stick to other objects and burn for a long time. It quickly stood out from many bombs and became the favorite of the Shinra Air Force.

Especially in a place with heavy smog like London, the flame produced after the "Napalm" explosion also played a role in guiding the target.

The only regret was that the smoke from the burning buildings was too big, which would also affect the pilot's vision.

But this was a small problem. Don't worry about the place with smoke. Throw the bomb at the place without smoke. It was another kind of carpet bombing.

The main reason why the original "Napalm" did not shine in the First World War was that the raw materials were insufficient and a large amount of natural rubber was needed.

However, as a strategic resource, the production capacity of natural rubber was limited, and it would take several years. It was not possible to increase the production capacity in a short time.

The production capacity was insufficient, and there were many places that needed to be used. Naturally, there was no way to take out too much natural rubber to make bombs.

Now it was different. Under the impetus of the butterfly effect, the automobile industry and the electric power industry exploded in advance, and the natural rubber market had long been opened.

The Holy Roman Empire alone consumed millions of tons of natural rubber every year. With a market, there was production, and the production capacity of natural rubber also exploded.

After the outbreak of the war, the economy went into wartime mode. Squeezing out tens of thousands of tons of natural rubber to make bombs was not a problem for the Holy Roman Empire.

Then, there was the current raging fire. Unlike the previous explosions that ended with a single sound, the visual impact of the raging flames now was much greater.

More and more British people were disgusted with this war. Even if Edward VII personally made a radio speech, calling on everyone to take up arms to defend the country, it could not stop the anti-war voices from getting louder and louder.

Especially after the air force gave up air defense, it was criticized by all sectors of society. For a time, the Campbell Cabinet seemed to have become the sinner of Britannia.

Campbell, after all, was not Churchill. His personal integrity was much higher, and he could not ignore public opinion.

After taking a puff of cigar smoke, Prime Minister Campbell asked, "When can the air force fight again?"

"I'm sorry, Prime Minister. In the previous battle, Air Force's vitality had already been damaged. We don't have the ability to fight again in a short time. "

It could be seen that Prime Minister Campbell's expectations had dropped a lot. He no longer asked the air force to defeat the enemy, only to "fight."

Unfortunately, the reality was cruel. Such a small request was still rejected by Air Force Minister Attilio.

There was no other way. They really couldn't fight now. In the past month, the British air force had lost thousands of fighter jets and more than 800 pilots.

Although Britannia's aviation industry was second only to the Holy Roman Empire, it was still impossible to replenish thousands of fighter jets in a month.

In particular, the domestic factories were also heavily bombed by the enemy, which further delayed the progress.

If the planes were not replenished in time, the speed of the pilots would be even slower. They couldn't be sent to the battlefield after training for ten days or half a month, right?

Minister of the Interior Azevedo: "There is a lot of political pressure. The people are already very disgusted with the air force's inaction. If we don't do something …"

"Sir, we are already on the move. Half a month ago, we attacked Paris. Last week, we attacked Madrid. Yesterday, we even attacked Norden.

The Imperial air force has launched a counterattack against the enemy with all its strength, but this still can't change the gap in strength between the two sides.

We need more pilots and more advanced fighter jets. These will take time. Before these problems are solved, the air force should not fight the enemy.

No one can guarantee that the enemy won't forcefully land. The air force must preserve a certain amount of strength and give the enemy a fatal blow at the critical moment. "

Although they were unwilling to accept it, they had to admit that Attilio was right. The Royal Navy could no longer guarantee the safety of the English Channel.

The Battle of Malacca had already proved that the air force could slaughter the navy in close combat.

Without an air force, Britannia would not be able to stop the enemy if they forcefully landed.

If the enemy successfully landed, there was no need to say anything else. There would be no way to fight the following battles. It was hard to have confidence in the lobster soldiers to protect the British Islands.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Adam: "Don't worry too much about the pilots. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already reached an agreement with our allies.

In the next six months, 1,000 pilots will be imported from various countries. Three hundred pilots will arrive next week.

In addition, the 200 fighter jets we purchased from the United States will also arrive next week.

If the performance can meet the requirements, there will be an endless supply of fighter jets from America.

Although these won't completely solve the air force's predicament, they can still relieve some of the pressure. "

It was rare for there to be such good news. The wrinkles on everyone's forehead finally showed signs of melting. Only Chancellor of the Exchequer Asquith's face was still frighteningly gloomy.

"It's not that simple. I don't know if everyone has noticed, but the price of industrial raw materials has increased again recently.

The factories that accepted the order have already sent representatives to the logistics department to ask for a renegotiation of the price. The report has already been sent to the Ministry of Finance.

I sent someone to check. Since the outbreak of the war, there has been a general increase in domestic prices.

Especially the industrial raw materials related to strategic materials, the increase has been even more rapid. Some of the raw materials have even been out of stock.

Because of the war, the shipping route to the Far East has been completely cut off; the shipping route to the Indian Ocean has also been extended by more than 10,000 nautical miles; although the shipping route to America has not been affected much, the frequency of accidents on merchant ships has increased significantly.

This is only the beginning. We will only face more problems in the future. The Royal Navy needs to escort merchant ships … "