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Text Chapter 682 The Founding of Saudi Arabia (14)

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    Chapter 682 The Founding of Saudi Arabia (14)

    The sound of pious chanting echoed in the sky, and the morning in Muscat was peaceful and quiet.  

    The yellow sand and blue waves, the fortress and the camel caravan, are full of exotic atmosphere.  There is a small world surrounded by barbed wire in the British camp near the harbor. A purebred Arabian camel runs back and forth on the playground. Dozens of soldiers wearing Chinese navy sailor uniforms shout and compete to ride on it. In this narrow world  They have fun competing with each other.

    The British guards with guns and ammunition in the distance turned a blind eye to this.

    Jiang Wennian sat nearby, looking thoughtfully at his comrades enjoying themselves in hardship.  His left arm was still wrapped with thick gauze, his hair was shaved clean, and a scar of more than ten centimeters on the left side of his head twisted and twisted downwards. When it reached the auricle, nothing could be seen.  The collision between the two ships broke off his left hand, his head was torn open by a sharp corner of the steel plate, and the entire outer contour of his left ear was flattened.  If the soldiers hadn't fought desperately to save him, his life might have been lost in the blue outside.

    Fortunately, the British are kind enough to find doctors to help everyone heal their injuries.  Although he regained his life, it could not completely make up for the trauma, which turned him into what he is now.  Jiang Wenian glanced at the harbor. The three large oil tankers in the center of the bay were a pain in the hearts of him and his comrades.  The destroyer was gone, many comrades died, and even the ships they protected were captured. This is a failure for any naval person.

    He doesn¡¯t want to shirk responsibility. Failure is failure. What he is most concerned about now is what is going on outside?  Can I and these brothers go back?  The only thing that gave him some peace of mind was that the leisurely look of those British soldiers at least proved that the war had not broken out yet.  But the less he fought, the more frightened he became. What if the country had to give up rescuing people like him due to certain conditions?  Do you really want to be detained here for seven or eight years?  Looking at his comrades riding camels in the competition, Jiang Wennian was actually very worried.  He may not care about being arrested or failing, but he is afraid of being treated as an outcast!

    Maybe this is the sadness of little people?  Thinking of these, his mind began to become confused, and the longer the time went by, the more uneasy he felt. Finally, he simply got up and patted his butt and prepared to go back to the house to sleep, but at this moment, the sound of a car motor suddenly sounded behind him.

    Since being captured and imprisoned here, Jiang Wennian and others have not seen a car, and no one has come to see them.  So the sudden sound of cars made everyone stop playing, and even the comrades in the military camp ran out.

    In front of our eyes, two French Renault trucks passed through the gate and slowly drove into the camp. The large red cross on the vehicle made everyone a little disappointed.  They still know about the Red Cross, China has also joined this organization, and the navy has even helped transport things for the Red Cross.  Seeing someone who was not the person he most wanted to see, Jiang Wenian was about to leave again, but at this moment the car door suddenly opened and a familiar figure walked out.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes were straightened at once!

    "Minister!"

    The person who came was none other than Minister of Defense Song Ziqing, who had kept his promise to stay in Riyadh. He was also very happy after seeing Jiang Wenian and others. He walked up three steps at a time: "Wennian, I finally see you!"

    Jiang Wennian knew Song Ziqing. He thought that the Navy would send people to check, and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would come to pick them up, but he never expected that Song Ziqing would come in person!  Thinking that the minister had visited Riyadh before, his face suddenly turned pale.  Could it be that the war was lost and even the Minister of Defense was captured?  The dumbfounded expressions on the soldiers' faces made Song Ziqing chuckle and pat Jiang Wenian's forehead affectionately: "What are you thinking about? I'm here to take you back home."

    "Go back to the country? We can go back to the country! Minister, is this true? Do you think we won the battle?!" Song Ziqing's words caused the surroundings to explode suddenly, and the soldiers surrounded him and asked.  Song Ziqing could only smile and explain some things that happened after the Saudi crisis broke out, and said: "I should have come to pick you up earlier, but the negotiations never started. The president was afraid that you would suffer, so he asked me to come to pick you up in person. He asked me to thank you.  Thank you for your sacrifice and outstanding contribution to protecting the national oil waterways!"

    When he heard that Yang Qiu was willing to be at war with Britain for the sake of people like him, and had been in a cold confrontation and refused to negotiate, Jiang Wenian suddenly felt his face burning, and he couldn't help but feel ashamed of what he had just thought.  The president would rather go to war with Britain and demand the release of his own little soldiers first. What else is there to say?  !  Suddenly, everyone clenched their fists and stared blankly. Jiang Wennian, who had never been very articulate, felt a fire ignited in his chest, and suddenly took a step back: "Everyone gathers on South No. 17. Salute!"

    The simple understanding of military personnel is full of words, which also makes the British naval officer sitting in the car a little frustrated.  After spending so much effort mobilizing the ships and making adequate preparations, they were told that they were ultimately prepared to use negotiation to resolve the issue.  This result made them suffocate. Although no one likes war, even the most proud Royal Navy does not want it.But since we have to compromise, why did we go there earlier?

    No one likes to stay here anymore. Since the superiors have decided to let people go, the British officers are also very straightforward.  Of course, Jiang Wennian and the others were not able to return directly to China. They needed to wait for the final results of the negotiations to know their fate, so they followed Song Ziqing to Riyadh to wait for news from Beijing.  Outside the port, the heavy cruiser Kent and the Rodney were walking side by side. On the deck, Roger John and Cunningham looked at the three oil tankers heading towards Saudi Arabia. Their expressions were not very good, especially the former, who was so far away.  You can hear his clear finger cracking sound.

    "General, it's time for us to set off." Cunningham was also unhappy, but he knew why MacDonald had to compromise.  India cannot be lost no matter what!  Just like the oil red line mentioned by Yang Qiu, this is also the red line of the British Empire!  A Britain without India is unimaginable.

    While Song Ziqing took away Jiang Wennian and the tanker, Henderson also set foot on the Tianjin Port Terminal.

    This was his first time in China. Although he had heard a lot about the development and changes in the Far East, it was only when he saw it with his own eyes that he realized that Britain had missed something.  Tianjin Port, which used to be unable to dock 10,000-ton ships, has changed drastically. The 10,000-ton ships are closely lined up on the extended deep-water pier.  There are no more cattle and horses on the road, and instead there are all kinds of vehicles.  The urban light rail makes a clanging sound, beautiful colors appear on the streets and alleys, and the whole city is full of vitality.

    "Compared with the first sight, the crowd coming up to greet him at the pier made the Foreign Minister's mouth twitch unnaturally twice.

    There was no guard of honor, no grand welcome ceremony. Except for Yang Du who came to welcome him on behalf of the Beijing government, there were only British Ambassador Lampson and his good friend Nelson Johnson, the U.S. Ambassador to China.  This extremely disrespectful behavior is just like the current Sino-British relationship, which is cold and indifferent to each other.

    "I'm sorry, Mr. Foreign Minister. The Prime Minister has something to do without us at the moment, and Minister Gu couldn't find a boat back in Riyadh, so he had to send me as an idler. Please bear with me." Yang Du's words are still so sharp, especially Minister Gu.  The sentence that the ship cannot be found is basically accusing Britain of blocking Chinese ships from passing through the Persian Gulf.

    Henderson had heard about this minister who was very helpful to Yang Qiu, and was a little surprised by his sharp words.  Suddenly, he discovered that after 20 years of monopolizing power, this country had been completely imprinted with Yang Qiu's character, whether it was urban development or the hairstyle and clothing of people in the distance, whether it was the government's principles of doing things or the personality of Mr. Yang Du.  words!

    When a country has only one voice to the outside world, this country is particularly scary.

    Even after getting in the car, the idea made Henderson feel more worried about the trip.  The people have been released and the ship has left. The most difficult problem now is how to win Yang Qiu's trust!  If no practical and effective solution can be found, the Saudi crisis will not end, and neither will India.  Joint jurisdiction over the straits?  This is not possible!  Malacca and the Strait of Hormuz are the lifeblood of Britain. Without these two straits, it would be impossible to control India.  Let the Chinese navy increase its escort force?  No, without those fortresses on the strait, even dispatching battleships to escort them would not be able to protect them.  Hand over the Sunda Strait to China?  What's worse, doing so will only make Sumatra and Java fall into the tiger's mouth, and will push the Netherlands towards its European enemies.

    After things reached this point, Henderson suddenly found that it was too difficult to regain mutual trust!  So he had no choice but to ask for help from Jason, who came to pick him up: "My dear old friend, do you have any good suggestions before meeting with Mr. Yang Qiu?"

    Jensen and Henderson have indeed known each other for many years. When Lampson was sitting next to him, he did not ask the ambassador of his country first, but asked himself first, making Jensen feel the uneasiness in his heart.  But now that Sino-British relations have deteriorated to the extreme, it is completely impossible to achieve mutual trust unless there is a big move.  So he also shook his head: "Old friend, my job is to persuade you to sit down. Now I have finished it. As for other things, I'm afraid I can't help."

    Henderson also knew that this was too difficult for him. Although the two had a good personal relationship, in the final analysis, Johnson served the US government.  The conflict between Britain and the United States is actually no smaller than that between China and Britain. It's just that they restrained each other and did not break out.  He believed that if it were not for India, the United States might still be willing to promote a Sino-British naval war.  But Yang Qiu's intervention in India was not so easy for the United States to accept. China, India, Arabia, and perhaps the Strait of Malacca and even East India were terrifying to think about. This made Hoover determined to facilitate negotiations.

    After all, they are old friends. Jason was too embarrassed to do nothing. Think about it and said: "Henderson. If Prime Minister McDonald really wants to resolve the crisis peacefully, then you must first find a way to solve the problem of maritime security!"  As far as I know, this is what Mr. Yang Qiu values ??the most. If this cannot be satisfied, then even if the Saudi incident is over, he will no longer fulfill the naval treaty! You must know that nowAlthough China is controlled by him, the National Socialist Party of China and the Indian National Congress are different. They have become the largest political interest groups in the world. As the party leader, Mr. Yang Qiu needs to balance the internal affairs.  It just so happens that the opposition to the naval treaty within the party and the military is very strong now, especially after Japan withdrew, and you and them feel that Britain has deceived them.

    The opposition of thousands of people must be considered by Your Excellency Yang Qiu!  I know this is painful for you too.  I can only tell you that Your Excellency Yang Qiu has made a promise to us that he will not seek Arab and Indian lands, and is willing to recognize British privileges in these areas. He will not interfere in India. He believes that Indian affairs should be managed by the Indian people.  He has already started to crack down on border weapons smuggling, which shows that he does not want the intensification to turn into a war.  "Jensen couldn't use the word "treachery", so he had to say "deceit", but Henderson could still understand the meaning. Although Yang Qiu was willing to recognize Britain's special status in India and the Persian Gulf, this concession did not make him feel at ease.  It feels trickier.

    ¡°It was me who had to ensure the safety of maritime transportation in exchange for Yang Qiu¡¯s signature. Now he has strangled other people¡¯s waterways and came to his door to continue to ensure safety. No one would believe it, right?  Yang Qiu has now given in and is willing to recognize Britain's privileges, so what can he do?

    Seeing his frown, Jason smiled bitterly, sat up straight and suddenly changed his serious face: "Henderson, there is something I think I should tell you. In order to arrange a meeting between you and Mr. Yang Qiu, President Hoover has already  and issued a statement last night. We support His Excellency Yang Qiu¡¯s trade freedom proposition and his request to ensure the safety of the country¡¯s maritime transportation channels.¡±

    Henderson blinked, suddenly wanting to say something.

    "Is this **** adding insult to injury?".

    (To be continued.
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