Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 931 Waterloo

The direct reason for Asquith's dismissal of the cabinet was the opposition party's forced palace, and the deep-seated reason was the successive defeats of the British Expeditionary Force.

After the outbreak of World War II, including the Southern African Expeditionary Force, the loss of the British Expeditionary Force on various battlefields has exceeded 100 million people. Since the founding of the United Kingdom, it has never suffered such a large loss in a war. The leader of the Liberal Party, Lloyd George took the initiative to visit Prime Minister Asquith and asked Asquith to improve the poor logistics supply as soon as possible, and urged the expeditionary force to win greater victories on the front line, otherwise Lloyd George would expose the scandal about the government to the whole society.

Asquith succumbed, he was very good at protecting himself, so the cabinet was reorganized, the new cabinet was the first wartime coalition cabinet in British history, Lloyd George became the newly established Minister of Munitions, and took away part of the original Kitchener's power also poses a mortal threat to Winston.

Lloyd George, who was born as a commoner, was the mortal enemy of Winston, the descendant of the duke. At the same time, he also had a personal enmity with Neville. Ten years ago, Lloyd George was almost executed in Birmingham, which was the traditional sphere of influence of the Chamberlain family.

Rock's fears were realized, and Winston was dismissed from his post as Lord of the Admiralty, a prerequisite for the formation of a coalition cabinet.

Rock can't help Winston on this issue either. Lloyd George, an upstart in British politics, is Winston's sworn enemy. Prime Minister Asquith and Winston have a story that they have to tell, from 1908 I have disliked Winston since November 11th.

After being dismissed from the position of Minister of the Navy, Winston's only position is the Minister of the Duchy of Lancaster. This position has no actual power and is more of a symbolic meaning, because the Minister of the Territory does not have the right to manage the territory. So Winston even resigned from the position of Minister of the Territory in a rage, and voluntarily served as a major staff officer in the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.

There was an episode in the middle. Although Winston was ostracized after the new cabinet was established, Winston was still a member of the Marlborough family after all. Since becoming Secretary of the Navy, Winston has not made any obvious mistakes in his work. Britain's logistical woes were not Winston's fault, so Winston was appointed minister without ministry.

As the name suggests, "ministers regardless of ministry" means that they don't care about anything. Although ministers regardless of ministry are also members of the cabinet and are eligible to attend cabinet meetings and participate in government decision-making, ministers regardless of ministry have no actual power. For Winston, this is an approximation humiliating appointment.

Winston rejected the position of minister regardless of the ministry, preferring to command a brigade on the Belgian front, but because Winston gave Roque too much support as minister of the navy, Frenzi did not welcome Winston, and Winston could only To the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.

Rock warmly welcomed Winston's arrival, but Rock didn't expect that Winston came to Cyprus not alone, but with a large group of people.

Winston and Hozier are probably still in the middle of a cold war, so Hozier did not follow Winston to Cyprus, but Winston took his servants, grooms and horses, and filled a whole truck with luggage. Includes a bathtub with its own heater.

Rock has a new understanding of the British nobility.

On the way to the headquarters, Rock and Winston were in the same car.

"You've demolished the whole city. It's such a waste of effort. London is considering giving Cyprus to Greece to win Greece's support." As soon as Winston came up, he threw a big melon. Cyprus, which is 9251 km away, can be given away as soon as it is said to be given away. Why the fuck is the United Kingdom also measuring the material resources of Britain, and forming a bond with the country.

But turning around and thinking about it, Rock immediately understood.

Before the Battle of the Dardanelles broke out, in order to win the support of Greece, Britain once promised to give the surrounding land including Constantinople to Greece after the war.

This situation was known by the Russian Empire, and then there was the letter from the Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire to the Greek government, and then there was the collapse of the Greek government.

British Foreign Secretary Gray was unwilling to fail. Since Constantinople could not be used as a bargaining chip, he tried to use Cyprus as a bargaining chip to persuade Greece to join the war (this is not a fiction).

"Even if Greece joins the war, it can only come up with three divisions. We have sent 50 expeditionary troops in southern Africa. Why not give Cyprus as a prize to southern Africa?" Too much, Britain has not lost for 100 years.

"Isn't Port Elizabeth and Damascus enough together?" Winston's staring eyes and mouth were really annoying. He deserved to be driven to Cyprus. Rock was still a little guilty in his heart, but now that guilt has disappeared.

"Damascus was captured by us, does it have anything to do with London?" Rock retorted. London did not help at all during the capture of Damascus. On the contrary, the capture of Damascus by Southern Africa and the Najd Sultanate objectively liberated Egypt. crisis.

"If London doesn't help, even if you take down Damascus, Damascus doesn't belong to you." Winston was triumphant, and his mood didn't seem to be affected much.

"Hmph, Damascus is right there. They don't know how to run on their own with long legs. Whoever wants to replace us can try it." Rock was full of arrogance, and there was no reason to spit out the meat that had been swallowed in his mouth.

In Cyprus now, except for the only cathedral, there are no buildings left over from the Ottoman Empire.

Even this only church has undergone many transformations. It was originally a Catholic church, then a Christian church, and now a Protestant church.

Like all cities in Nyasaland, the wide road is the most prominent sign. The road has been repeatedly rolled by a road roller and then paved with asphalt. The landscape trees on both sides of the road and the green belt in the middle are just planted. The wide sewer is under construction, and workers like ants are working hard. These workers are all Ottomans who were originally imprisoned in the concentration camp. Better to die.

It is much better now, as long as they are willing to work, they will get better food, although it is only from moldy black bread to the level of stewed potatoes, but the potatoes are enough, and occasionally you can see oily stars or meat flakes, This is already a rare improvement.

After the outbreak of the World War, residents of the Ottoman Empire rarely ate meat.

It's not that there is no such thing, but it's so expensive that ordinary people can't afford it.

Next to the wide road, there are barracks and supporting facilities for the garrison. Soldiers live in collective apartments, and officers live in single-family villas. Hospitals and parks are also under construction. The square in the center of the city is being laid with stone slabs. The area of ​​the square is very large, at least [-] square meters, and there will be a statue of George V in the center of the square in the future.

With this statue alone, no one dared to give Cyprus to the Greeks.

Winston didn't expect that Rock's handwriting was so big, and he didn't know how much it would cost to build such a city.

"It doesn't cost a penny. The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force Command paid for the construction of military camps and hospitals. The urban infrastructure is paid by large companies that are optimistic about the future of Cyprus and are willing to invest in Cyprus. The land around the square has already been sold. , the price will not be used up even if two cities are built.” Rock does not need to be taught to do business. Even in the UK, the main cost of building a city is labor costs, but in Cyprus, there are more than 5 Ottomans. People are available, and this labor is free.

"Hmph, the British government pays, and in the end it's you profiteers who profit." Winston was very dissatisfied with Rock's behavior. Although he was dismissed from the post of Secretary of the Navy, don't doubt his loyalty to the British Empire.

"What the British Empire has gained is world hegemony, what else is more important than that?" Rock did not deny the benefits, but the one that gained the most was London.

Back at the headquarters, Winston was warmly welcomed by members of the headquarters, and even Ian Hamilton, who was replaced by Rock, felt sorry for Winston.

The Battle of the Dardanelles has been going on so far, and the scale has far exceeded what the Ministry of War expected for the Battle of the Dardanelles. Ian Hamilton believes that he cannot do better than Rock in the position of commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force , so there is not much resentment towards Winston.

Winston doesn't hate Ian Hamilton either, and the purpose of letting Rock replace Ian Hamilton is to win the war, not a party like Lloyd George, so when Winston and Ian Hamilton meet, the two There was a hug, and when we met, we smiled and wiped away our grievances.

Winston's attitude was very firm. He wanted to wash away his humiliation with an outstanding record, so when he arrived in Cyprus, he asked to go to the front with the troops.

Both Roque and Ian Hamilton disagreed. The front line had no eyes, and if there was a mistake, Rock and Ian Hamilton could not afford it.

After the routine banquet in the evening, Rock finally had time to sit down with Winston and have a good chat.

"A few months ago, you reminded me that rashly launching the Battle of the Dardanelles would be the Waterloo of my military career. Now that the Battle of the Dardanelles is not over, I have already been relegated to Cyprus. The world is unpredictable. ——” Winston drank a little too much at the dinner party, half-lying on the chair in a very indecent posture, half drunk, no one could see that he was a high-ranking secretary of the navy a few days ago.

It was only then that Rock noticed that Winston's hair was not as lush as it was when they first met.

It's understandable when you think about it. The first time Rock met Winston was in 1900, and 13 years have passed in a flash.

"Don't worry about Winston, you still have a chance to make a comeback, believe me." Rock is not in a hurry, just let Asquith and Lloyd George be proud for a while, and they will soon feel the power of capital.

(End of this chapter)