Chapter 479 Make Britain Great Again

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"As an entourage on a visit to the Soviet Union? Isn't this appropriate?" Alan Wilson muttered to himself blankly, making Ismay, the permanent undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, frown slightly. Why is it that such a burdensome trip seems not to be popular yet? ?

Alan Wilson returned to Europe for the first time. When he was working behind the scenes with the Soviet Union at the Potsdam Conference, Ismay was still working as Secretary-General of British India and didn’t know about it. Naturally, he didn’t know why his subordinate didn’t make progress. He asked directly, "What's inappropriate?"

"Sir Ismay, I am the consul in Boston. I am preparing to return to the United States to continue my work recently." Alan Wilson organized the words, "What if I appear among the entourage traveling to the Soviet Union? It always feels a little weird!"

"Nothing surprising!" Ismay said calmly after hearing this, "Easing the situation is a top priority for this government. You can't be picky when working for the country. You can't be happy just because the conditions in the United States are good. The conditions in the Soviet Union are Just complain."

With a lot of truth poured into his ears, Alan Wilson's face showed recognition, and his spirit of ownership seemed to burst out all of a sudden. He would go through fire and water for the British Empire at any time.

So I took over the preparation of proposals and studied the itinerary of this visit to the Soviet Union. Among them, there was one proposal that London attached great importance to. That is to say, we can adopt a moderate attitude in Germany and appropriately reduce the size of the troops stationed in Germany.

In fact, this was a requirement for the Soviet Union, because the size of the Soviet troops stationed in Germany was greater than the number of troops stationed in the occupied areas of the three countries. London hopes to establish a communication mechanism to maintain transparency in each area.

Alan Wilson believes that the Soviet Union is not at a disadvantage in this regard. The Soviet Union should be aware of the various remarks by the United States about forming a military alliance. Considering that there are people like the Cambridge Five in London, Moscow should also know that London has no intention of starting a confrontation in a hurry. Churchill's Iron Curtain speech was his personal speech.

Now Churchill is just a famous troll in the House of Commons. When the opposition parties have him, he is almost like a chief of staff without a leader.

"The proposal includes the establishment of a transparent mechanism for the military in occupied areas. To mediate the civil war of a certain country?" Alan Wilson raised his eyebrows and took out the proposal directly. He found the deputy secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who he had met at the reception and asked him This material was handed over to the other party.

As a civil servant of the British Empire, Alan Wilson still had to avoid suspicion at critical moments. The most important thing is that this proposal is more difficult than the bill on the troops in the occupied areas. He cannot let the impossible happen to him.

Therefore, Alan Wilson went to great lengths to keep the more difficult bills for himself, and passed on the bills with simple and easy-to-achieve purposes to others.

His colleagues also expressed their gratitude for this. Perhaps everyone in Whitehall, except for Alan Wilson himself, thinks that the bill to station troops in Germany is simpler. China is just a far away corner. What is there to care about?

Because he was going to visit Moscow, Alan Wilson had to consult with Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin about preparations for this visit.

"Oh, Alan, you may be a little unprepared for this trip to Moscow, but it doesn't matter. It won't delay your work." Ernest Bevin stretched out his hand for Alan Wilson to sit down, and then said, "About What is your view on relations with the Soviet Union?"

"Sooner or later we will fall out with the Soviet Union, but if we start confrontation under the current situation, we must be subordinate to the United States. Of course, this is the idea of ​​​​the conservative party. I will not comment on whether there are differences in views between parties." Alan Wilson said At this point the topic changed, "The current situation faced by the British Empire is very contradictory. In terms of the situation in Europe, we should firmly stand on the side of the United States, but when it comes to the issue of overseas territories, the United States is a greater threat than the Soviet Union. Big. This is very embarrassing!"

"Yes, I believe the results of the Dutch incident will come out in the next two days." Ernest Bevin said calmly, "In this way we can see what the United States' attitude is towards the colonial issue. Just like As you said, the UK faces different issues.

Different approaches must be taken, which is very contradictory. "

In fact, just after the war, Britain began to urgently invite the United States to protect Europe. Ernest Bevin made a great effort as Foreign Secretary.

But the war had just ended, and the United States was not very interested in confronting the Soviet Union. Until the independence of British India, the United States had no obvious intention to confront the Soviet Union. This is completely different from the enthusiasm of the past two years!

Two years before the independence of British India, 100,000 British Indian civil servants worked together to mobilize the entire colony to collect 1.2 billion pounds of wealth, solving London's major financial problems. And through various channels, the United Kingdom probably confirmed the Soviet Union's human losses, which indeed fulfilled Churchill's remarks on the operating table.

Under this circumstance, Britain is no longer so eager to confront, while the United States is not as calm as it was just after the war. The current attitude of Britain and the United States towards the Soviet Union is exactly the opposite of what it was in the first two years after the war.

The problems faced by the current Labor government go beyond this. Ernest Bevin and Attlee actually want to get closer to Europe.

However, Bevin's attempts to actively promote the realization of the customs union were always strongly opposed by those economic departments in the British government that influenced the European economic policy. Their magic weapon was that European economic integration would inevitably damage the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom. Trade between federal states.

Opponents believe that the Labor government's choice of weakening the Commonwealth's ties and integrating with a weak and unstable Europe is highly unlikely. It is therefore incorrect to suggest that the Labor Government has given up leadership of a European coalition, which Bevin did secretly seek to lead.

When the union of Europe refers to the European integration movement, it is basically correct, because for whatever reason, Bevin's idea of ​​a "third force" cannot transcend the boundaries of national character.

After a package of three-ring diplomacy, this matter was finally deceived, allowing the Labor Party to overcome many opponents and complete the step of dominating Europe. From this point of view, the Foreign Secretary should thank Alan Wilson.

Britain was too big before, but after the world war, it was not strong enough. As a result, Britain faced different problems, different opponents may appear, and sometimes had to sway with the wind.

Before 1947, the foreign secretary who had been trying every means to pull the United States against the Soviet Union now had to talk to the Soviet Union about eliminating hostility. This was completely the opposite position, and it was difficult for him.

The current Labor government's view on the civil war in a certain country is to try to sit back and watch with a non-intervention attitude.

The most important thing is to stay far away and not in the mood to pay attention. As for the recent Greek Civil War, the foreign minister in front of him used the example of the first apple falling to the ground in spring, saying that once the first apple falls to the ground, the entire apple tree will fall to the ground. This is similar to The domino toppling theory required the United States to take over support for Greece and Turkey in resisting Soviet pressure.

In fact, the current situation in Asia is also in line with Ernest Bevin's call for Washington to intervene in Greece at that time.

But at this time, Ernest Bevin had no original hostility towards the Soviet Union. One time has another idea, and Ernest Bevin's ideas are different from those of two years ago.

"Actually, Alan, don't you consider becoming a minister or something at an appropriate time in the future? Your first cabinet secretary in Whitehall resigned after leaving office and finally became a minister." Ernest Bevin He asked with a smile.

"This is not about being ready for election at any time, so let me think about what kind of slogan is appropriate?" This is the question of the Foreign Secretary. Of course, Alan Wilson could not give the other party a death stare, and said from the bottom of his heart, "How about making Britain great again?" This is absolutely suitable for the situation the UK is facing at this time."

Ernest Bevin's expression changed. In fact, this slogan is indeed acceptable. It is simple and easy to understand. It is also in line with the chaotic situation that Britain is currently facing. It is not impossible to adopt it.

It has been almost four years since the Labor Party defeated the Conservative Party in 1945. Since the British Prime Minister is the head of Parliament, this means that the term of office of the British Prime Minister is consistent with the term of Parliament.

The term of each parliament is generally five years, but it may be temporarily dissolved, so its specific term is uncertain. It also shows that the term of office of the British Prime Minister cannot be determined, but each term will not exceed five years.

Now that the Labor Party has been in power for four years, an election must be held before the term expires next year. This involves whether the Labor Party can really compete with the Conservative Party, which has been in power for a long time, instead of just coming to power for a short period of time.

Ernest Bevin, the second-largest figure in the Labor Party, attaches equal importance to being re-elected this time as Prime Minister Attlee.

"Make Britain great again!" muttered Ernest Bevin, unaware that Alan Wilson had left.

Ernest Bevin came to his senses, and now he still has to consider the issue of visiting the Soviet Union. If he can successfully achieve his goal, it will not be too late to become great again.

Before visiting the Soviet Union, the biggest problem in the current diplomatic field lies neither in London nor in Moscow. But it's at the United Nations General Assembly and in Amsterdam.

The Dutch government officially announced that it would no longer continue to vigorously maintain its rule in the East Indies and immediately came up with a plan. This is the first time that the Netherlands has stated that the future of the East Indies is negotiable after several military operations against Indonesia, which treated the symptoms but not the root cause.

The change in the attitude of the Netherlands has not only attracted the attention of independent Indonesians, but also the attention of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Australia and New Zealand. In European capitals, diplomats from various countries are communicating secretly.