African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1278 Britain's Regret

The British government naturally saw East Africa's cash flow in the Persian Gulf and was anxious about it. As the situation worsened, the British government became more and more worried about its own situation.

London.

Number 10 Downing Street.

"These damn East Africans, if they hadn't messed things up, this war would have ended long ago!"

The new British Prime Minister David has been in a bad mood recently. The political turmoil in Russia, the entry of the Ottoman Empire into the war, the escort in the Persian Gulf in East Africa, etc., all seem to prove that the war situation is developing in a direction that is unfavorable to the Allies.

In 1916, former British Prime Minister Asquith resigned because of his poor organization and coordination of the war, and David took over this mess.

In 1917, the situation of the war not only did not change, but due to the influence of various factors, it became increasingly unfavorable to Britain.

David is of course well aware that the outcome of the current war lies in the two foreign powers, the United States and East Africa.

"If we cannot cut off the Allied supply lines, the war will continue, and once the Allies have finished their battles on the Eastern Front, the Western Front will also become precarious."

"Now the war is developing in a direction that is increasingly unfavorable to us. What do you think?"

Facing the Prime Minister's inquiry, a group of senior cabinet officials were also worried. Foreign Secretary Balfour said at this time: "Britain has no other choice, either withdraw from the war or fight to the death. But if we choose the former, the reputation of the empire will be completely ruined. Moreover, we have made so many sacrifices for the war. If we get nothing, the angry people will overwhelm London."

"But fighting to the death until the final victory of the war seems extremely far away for the empire. The current trend of the war has fully demonstrated that it is difficult for us and the French to fight against the Allies, especially when the Russian ally is in an extremely passive state."

"Therefore, in order to ensure victory in the war, we should no longer hesitate to use any means. At the same time, we need more allies, especially the United States, Italy, Romania, etc. We should actively strive for any country that may have an impact on the war situation."

"This is the case at the national level. Other forces in Europe, such as Jews in the financial sector, anti-war activists in the Allied countries, and even the Labour Party can serve as alternatives."

In the face of Balfour's extreme remarks, Minister of Munitions Winston strongly objected: "Other aspects are naturally no problem, but we must not allow the Labour Party to become bigger in Europe."

"Now that the Russian Labor Party has become a force to be reckoned with, I feel that they will become the great enemy of the entire free world. That is, we cannot interfere with the changes in the domestic situation in Russia now, otherwise I will fully support and help the Russian government liquidate the Labor Party."

"Even losing to the Germans is not terrible, but letting the Labour Party become bigger in Europe would be a terrible disaster. They have no national consciousness and are building a new country through idealism, which is extremely easy to incite the people who are ignorant of the truth."

Balfour and Winston are both warmongers, and of course, Prime Minister David is no exception. Now the British cabinet is entirely composed of warmongers.

It's just that Balfour and Winston disagree on some details about the war.

Prime Minister David said to Winston: "Since you are so opposed to the Labour Party, this is understandable, but now the fate of the empire depends on the war. If we want to achieve the final victory, we must have stronger, more allies, and even all the forces that can be united."

"If we can use the European Labour Party to destroy the German order and help us win, this is not a bad idea."

Winston obviously did not want to change his mind. He said to everyone firmly: "Your Excellency the Prime Minister, and all the ministers, you are now in a misunderstanding."

"That is what determines victory in war. It is never about expecting the opponent to make mistakes. The key now is who can gain the support of the two major powers, the United States and East Africa."

"The only way to change the situation is to pull the United States onto our warship and try to stabilize East Africa so that it does not really side with the Allies." "If East Africa joins the enemy camp, the war can basically be declared over ahead of schedule. We will lose India, Australia, Egypt, the Persian Gulf... and the British Empire will disintegrate immediately."

Prime Minister David looked embarrassed. He said to Winston, "Now, we want to win over the Americans, but the Americans are also hesitant to make a bet because of East Africa's position. They are afraid that if they join our side, East Africa will then join the German and Austrian camps, and they may be caught in the vortex of war."

"The US government's invitation to us is also stuck at the critical point of East Africa. However, East Africa is also a German country, so it naturally has a closer relationship with the Allies. In addition, East Africa's industry is no less advanced than that of the United States. If they join the war, it will be a disaster."

Winning over the United States and East Africa has always been what the two major camps, the Allied Powers and the Central Powers, have done, but the effect has not been significant.

Prime Minister David went on to say: "The United States and East Africa stayed out of the European war and made a fortune from it. It can be said that they had no need to intervene. In fact, the two countries hoped that the European war would continue."

"Looking back now, I deeply regret that the Empire joined this seemingly endless war. The former government can be said to have been fooled by the French."

"Just think about it, maybe it would have been best for Britain not to join this war from the beginning. If that were the case, it would not only be the United States and East Africa that would sit back and watch the situation unfold, but also the Empire."

"After all, even if the Germans develop their navy, they won't pose much of a threat to us unless they gain an advantage in the North Atlantic."

"But even if we don't join the war, we may be able to achieve this. As long as Germany's naval strength does not exceed that of the Royal Navy, the North Sea will be a fortress that they will never be able to break through."

"At the same time, it is impossible for Germany to fully develop its naval power. After all, they are restrained by France on land."

"If our diplomatic methods had been more sophisticated, we could have avoided the formation of the Allies. The diplomatic mistakes in the Balkans, Russia, and Austria-Hungary have put us in such a passive situation today."

Of course, the real reason why David said these discouraging words is that he was jealous of the achievements of the two so-called "neutral countries" in the United States and East Africa.

At this point in the war, Britain has discovered that the United States and East Africa are rapidly dividing up Britain's original overseas interests.

Even if Germany was defeated, Britain would still be at risk of losing its hegemony in the face of two fully grown world powers, the United States and East Africa.

So Prime Minister David changed the subject: "Everything we do seems to be a wedding dress for the United States and East Africa. In fact, even if Germany gains European hegemony, the impact on us will definitely not be as great as the threat from the two maritime powers, the United States and East Africa."

"Unfortunately, it is too late to make these assumptions now. We are completely trapped in the European war. If we don't deal with the Allies, we will have no future."

"It can be said that the empire has now reached a life-and-death juncture that it has never faced before. Any mistake in the next step may drag the empire into the abyss."

David dared to say that in British history, there has never been a prime minister with a more difficult period than him. Regardless of whether Britain could eventually win the war, it seemed that its decline was impossible to stop.

David's words also infected every cabinet member. Looking back from the war to now, they suddenly realized what they had lost.

There is no doubt that Europe is important, but for Britain, a maritime power, the United States and East Africa are also encroaching on British overseas interests to an alarming degree.

Especially in East Africa, it can be said that every step of East Africa's overseas expansion makes Britain feel nervous. In addition, the East African Navy, which has been letting go like a wild horse, is not much different from the German Navy in strength.

(End of this chapter)