Chapter 246: Erecting High Walls
As 1937 arrived, the hands of history quietly shifted forward by a small arc.
The eyes of various nations turned away from the tumultuous French battlefield and toward the British Isles, focusing on one question.
Would Churchill accept Germany's peace proposal?
The governments of different countries held different views.
In the United States, the European interventionists represented by Roosevelt actively supported Churchill's resistance to the end. This attitude was reflected in the newspaper that served as the mouthpiece of the American Progressive Party.
[Why should we support England? Is the establishment of an unprecedented great power in Europe truly a good thing?]
From [American Progressive Weekly].
Where there was support, there was naturally opposition.
Newspapers advocating isolationism, as well as the newer form of isolationism that regarded the Americas as the United States' natural backyard, such as [American Forward], fiercely refuted the narrow views of progressives and interventionists.
They argued that the United States only needed to maintain external neutrality. It should neither nod nor shake its head.
If Roosevelt wanted war so badly, why not look south at Mexico?
Whether to go to war with Mexico had become a major point of contention between the progressives and the isolationists.
The isolationists believed that military action against Mexico and the unification of the Americas were directly related to tangible American interests. This was far more practical than interfering in other countries' wars.
The progressives, on the other hand, believed that the country should look outward, join the League of Nations, and actively establish America's reputation in the international community. In their eyes, a war with Mexico was an unwise choice.
Compared with the division inside the United States, other countries took far clearer stances.
Japan believed that after the Great War, it had seized Germany's rights and interests in Asia. A now powerful Germany would inevitably seek revenge. A peaceful Europe would be even less favorable to Japan's interests in Asia.
Thus, after much consideration, on January 5th, Japan chose to stand with Britain's war faction.
However, it did not completely sever ties with Germany.
France, or rather Vichy France, stood entirely with Germany.
Major newspapers all expressed the hope that England would embrace peace and move toward European integration.
Free France, led by De Gaulle, supported England in continuing the war.
They were like a spear and shield facing each other across the sea, each echoing a different future.
The one-week response period gradually passed.
By January 7th, the deadline for Germany's peace proposal, almost all British citizens were huddled beside their radios, eager to learn whether peace or war awaited them.
However, within British society, there were actually not many young Britons willing to join the war.
The reason was simple.
Churchill's invasion of the Belgian border had disgusted many peace-loving Britons. They did not want to support an aggressive government.
There was also no real reason for conflict with Germany.
If peace could be negotiated, why not embrace it?
What they did not know was that Churchill had already prepared a reason for them to step into the abyss.
MI6 had transferred dozens of death row inmates from various British prisons.
The whereabouts of these condemned men were already on Churchill's desk.
Richard Sinclair, the current Director of Intelligence, wore a bowler hat as he reported the progress of the mission.
"Mr. Prime Minister, the operation was carried out very smoothly. These photographs are enough to stir the passion of the English people."
Churchill flipped through the photographs.
In the pictures, MI6 personnel dressed in German Army uniforms were smiling as they dragged several "British prisoners of war" toward a deep pit for execution.
In addition, there were also images of "British prisoners of war" being tortured in various ways.
To ensure authenticity, Sinclair also produced a reel of film.
"Excellent."
Churchill was very satisfied with the photographs and the footage.
With these, he could completely restore the public's willingness to participate in the war and allow the wind of resistance to rise once more.
"Henry, is my speech ready?"
The secretary nodded while helping Churchill put on his coat.
"It is ready, sir. Shall we go now?"
Churchill took the speech, cleared his throat, and rehearsed the emotions he would need during the broadcast.
"Let us go now."
London.
Inside an upscale pub.
Piccolo entered a private room with a bouquet of flowers. After giving the waiter a generous one-pound tip, he closed the door and looked at Sempill with a half-joking expression.
"Mr. Sempill, the mission failed. Yet as a representative of the peace faction, you were not even thrown into prison?"
Sempill puffed on his cigar and explained the logic of British aristocracy to Piccolo.
"Never mention that in front of other nobles, Mr. Piccolo. It would quickly expose your identity as a spy."
"England still has a monarch, at least in the legal sense."
"And that gives England a political logic completely different from other countries."
He exhaled smoke.
"You cannot imprison a baron merely because he holds different views, especially when he is also a senior military figure."
Listening to Sempill speak nonsense with a serious expression, Piccolo tossed a set of keys onto the table.
"The keys to a vineyard in France. A compensatory reward from Berlin."
Knowing very well that there was no such thing as a free lunch, Sempill asked, "What do you want now?"
He leaned back in his chair.
"Honestly, the war is about to end. What is the point of this military intelligence?"
"Society is almost entirely in favor of peace talks. Even several military men I know, men who were originally hawks, now believe this is an excellent opportunity to negotiate after being frightened by your Army."
"Do you think the war will continue?"
"That is impossible."
Sempill spoke with certainty.
"Churchill will sign the agreement like a gambler who has lost all his chips. Then he will quietly sign a reassignment order for himself and live out his life peacefully in Australia or some other colony, perhaps spitting whenever he hears the word German."
Piccolo did not answer any of these questions.
He picked up his wine glass, watching the red wine swirl beautifully against the rim.
"I do not know."
His tone was calm.
"All I need to know are Berlin's orders. And Berlin has given me new mission objectives."
No sooner had he spoken than the radio, silent for a long time, crackled to life.
Churchill's slightly hoarse voice reached everyone's ears from the streets and from the radios indoors.
"Weeks ago, I signed the order to send the expeditionary force to France."
"At that time, several military generals and politicians warned me that it would become a military disaster, that it would cost me my position as Prime Minister."
"Unfortunately, their prophecy was correct."
"The retreat was not entirely successful. As of this moment, tens of thousands of British soldiers remain prisoners of Germany."
"They are good men."
"Truly courageous warriors."
"If I could, I would exchange my own life for theirs."
Churchill's voice suddenly rose.
"But never for an armistice!"
"Because an armistice represents betrayal."
"It betrays the courage engraved into England's national roots. It betrays the martyrs who died resisting Germany's colonial expansion."
"Some say those soldiers have been treated well. Some say abandoning resistance will bring peace."
"But I tell you all, there is no peace at a wooden table."
"There is only peace at the barrel of a gun."
"Only peace under the cannon."
"All of this is a deception orchestrated by Jörg von Roman and the dirty empire behind him, an empire built on lies and trickery."
"According to photographs sent by several secret journalists and German citizens of conscience, who risked their lives infiltrating prisoner of war camps, Germany has organized cruel and inhuman racial massacres against these soldiers."
.....
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