The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 280 Britain's Sorrow (asking for monthly ticket subscription)

“We will persevere!”

In the Prime Minister's official residence at 10 Downing Street in London, Mrs. Thatcher, known as the 'Iron Lady', spoke the last words of this sentence in a very powerful voice to the live camera in front of her.

The British people who were watching on TV were all stunned.

Originally, they thought that Mrs. Thatcher's emergency live TV broadcast was to tell everyone that the British Expeditionary Force had won a great victory and that Britain was still the powerful empire.

But no one expected that Mrs. Thatcher's live TV broadcast would tell them that the British Royal Navy had suffered a major defeat in Argentina.

Those well-known warships that the British considered proud were sunk.

Even Britain's most powerful and advanced aircraft carrier, the HMS Invincible, was sunk.

You know, ever since the Invincible aircraft carrier entered service, it has been the pride of the British. The British have always boasted to foreigners that the Invincible aircraft carrier is the most advanced aircraft carrier in the world, even better than the American aircraft carriers.

But now, the "Invincible" aircraft carrier was sunk by the Argentines.

The "Exocet" anti-ship missile, once again like Satan from hell, cast a shadow over all British people.

Before that, the destroyer "Sheffield" was sunk by the "Exocet" anti-ship missile, and all the British hated the "Exocet" anti-ship missile with gnashing teeth.

And now, the "Exocet" anti-ship missile has once again become the nightmare of the British.

All the British people who watched the live broadcast on TV or listened to the radio were in disbelief at this moment, and then burst into tears.

Even the strongest British people couldn't help shedding tears at this moment.

They never thought that this war in which adults spanked children would result in such great losses.

This loss is simply unacceptable.

For the families in this task force, it was as if the sky had fallen. They were terrified that their children, their husbands, and their loved ones would be injured or even killed in battle.

Heartache, pain, regret, anger!

Everything is intertwined together to form an undercurrent that is surging.

Turbulent undercurrents are rising and falling.

Number 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence, is the center of power in the UK.

Mrs. Thatcher, who had just finished her TV speech, collapsed on the sofa.

The British Expeditionary Force suffered an unprecedented defeat. When the news reached Britain, Mrs. Thatcher faced the most serious crisis of confidence since she came to power.

As for the Falklands War, Britain was actually prepared for war.

Because for Mrs. Thatcher, this war was also an opportunity.

On May 1979, 5, the Conservative Party won the general election and Mrs. Thatcher became prime minister, becoming the first female prime minister in British history.

However, the two world wars shattered Britain, the world's largest maritime power, and when she came to power, she could only maintain the Commonwealth, a characteristic national symbol. Moreover, after she came to power, she had to face the strong replacement of the US dollar for the British pound in the financial sector.

The situation in the UK is a mess.

In 1975, the inflation rate in the UK reached a staggering 27%, trains were often late, payphone boxes were always broken, everything was broken.

The worst of all were the frequent strikes: coal miners struck, dock workers struck, printers struck, garbage collectors struck, and even gravediggers struck.

When Mrs. Thatcher came to power, she was faced with such a bad Britain that Britain had no way out. So Mrs. Thatcher used a tough approach, drastically cut welfare, and launched a series of drastic reform measures to bring about revolutionary changes in Britain's social order and economic structure.

However, her reform measures also made many people dissatisfied.

Gary Tierre wanted to use the Falklands War to divert domestic conflicts in Argentina. Mrs. Thatcher also hoped to use the Falklands War to divert domestic conflicts, thereby gaining bargaining chips for next year's general election and getting a second term.

From the very beginning, Mrs. Thatcher positioned this war as a limited local war, rather than a full-scale war of attrition with Argentina, as long as Argentina surrendered.

This is why it has the support of the opposition Labour Party.

Now, faced with the huge losses of the expeditionary force, the Labour Party is once again ready to launch a motion of no confidence in the government. Other forces are also preparing to explode in the turbulent undercurrent.

From receiving the news to taking immediate action, Mrs. Thatcher was extremely anxious. After a series of political tactics and proper measures, she temporarily calmed the undercurrent.

But this is only temporary. Once the turbulent undercurrent breaks out again, she will be powerless to do anything.

Mrs. Thatcher rubbed her aching temple weakly.

This location is simply a powder keg.

"We will definitely persevere! Victory will eventually belong to Great Britain!" Mrs. Thatcher talked to herself, as if she was talking to others, or as if she was talking to herself, to encourage herself.

Mrs. Thatcher knew very well that Britain could not afford to lose this war!

Once the war is lost, her political career will be over, and she will never have a place in politics again. Similarly, her Conservative Party will also suffer a severe blow, and it is likely that it will not be able to win an election for ten or twenty years, and will become a long-term opposition party.

The Labour Party will govern Britain for a long time.

These are all minor matters. What is even more terrifying is that Britain will become a third-rate country and a marginal country in the world, no longer having a say.

This is undoubtedly unacceptable to Britain, which was once the "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets" and the world hegemon.

At this moment, a secretary came over quickly, whispered a few words in her ear, and then handed her a confidential document that had just been received. Mrs. Thatcher took the document, glanced at it, and then straightened her limp body. Then she urgently ordered: "I want to see the head of MI6 immediately, immediately, immediately!"

The secretary walked away quickly.

"I originally thought that the French had openly agreed not to sell Exocet anti-ship missiles to Argentina, but were secretly doing something to harm the British Empire. I didn't expect that the anti-ship missiles were not the French Exocet anti-ship missiles." Mrs. Thatcher looked at the document, "Anti-ship missiles from the East?"

Mrs. Thatcher's face was gloomy.

After receiving the report from the expeditionary force, Mrs. Thatcher and others' first reaction was that they had been tricked by the French.

The grievances and hatreds between Britain and France over the past few hundred years are so numerous that they could not be fully described even if ten books were written.

At that time, Britain and France were the world's largest powers, with the world's most powerful navy, while France was the world's second largest power, with the world's most powerful army and the world's second most powerful navy. The two sides competed for the position of world hegemony.

It was because of the help of the French that the United States was able to gain independence and break away from being a British colony.

Even the Statue of Liberty in the United States was a gift from France to the United States as a symbol of friendship between France and the United States.

Of course, Britain and France have competed and joined forces. For example, in World War I and World War II, the two sides were allies.

It’s just that France has always regarded itself as the boss of Europe and is always unhappy with Britain, while Britain cannot sit idly by and watch France become the boss of Europe, so naturally it has to act as a troublemaker.

Otherwise, if Europe is truly unified, Britain will just be able to play on its own on the island.

(End of this chapter)