Reborn in Hong Kong: The Tycoon Grows Up

No one wants the country to enter a state of war, but when the enemy has already launched an attack on you, it is impossible to remain indifferent. Even if the British Empire is in decline, it must dare to show its sword; even Argentina cannot stop it; it will inevitably cause a chain reaction.

Parliament quickly passed the proposal for a second Falklands War. After all, this was related to the international status of the British Empire.

Obtaining the support of the royal family and Congress and solving the funding problem are only one aspect; at this moment, Argentina is standing behind the Soviet Union. If Britain wants to win the war, it must get the support of the United States.

Therefore, after leaving Parliament, the Iron Lady returned to No. 10 Downing Street and immediately dialed the number of US President Ronald Reagan.

During the Falklands War in 1982, the United States began to mediate on the Falklands issue. From some standpoints, there was an early intention to support Argentina.

At least the United States did not support Britain in the early days of the Falklands War. As the gravedigger of the British Empire, dismembering the British Empire’s global interests and taking a share of the pie has always been the theme of the United States’ confrontation with Britain. The Soviet Union strongly supported Argentina and provided intelligence services to Argentina during the Falklands War.

Shortly after the Falklands War broke out, the attitude of the United States made a 180-degree turn; it began to shift from mediating to openly supporting the United Kingdom, which set a model for the Western world at that time. After the European Community expressed its stance in the United States, Just support the UK; you can see the clues!

In the middle of the war, the United States united with other Western countries to impose sanctions on Argentina and banned all countries from selling weapons to it. Later, it openly supported the United Kingdom because of Argentina's close ties with the Soviet Union.

In order to prevent NATO countries from being tied down in the Atlantic for a long time, it not only provided a large amount of arms assistance to the United Kingdom; it also transferred 98% of Argentina's combat intelligence to the United Kingdom.

Of course, it was also because the Iron Lady gave Reagan two choices, either Britain or Argentina. In order to fight against the Soviet Union, the Americans did not dare to completely offend Britain. The situation at this moment is more tense than in 1982; the balance of victory is not entirely in favor of Argentina, but at least it is not in favor of the British Empire. The Americans must take a stand, otherwise the UK can only make a unilateral choice.

The entire American continent is the back garden of the United States; when the British Navy was sunk by a submarine, the Americans immediately grasped the relevant information.

CIA Director William Webster comes to the White House. The matter is too big; Reagan must know.

After meeting the real owner, the CIA director said without any nonsense: "Your Excellency, the British Navy stationed in the Malvinas Islands was attacked; more than ten warships were sunk. Although it is not yet certain which country was responsible. , but Argentina’s suspicion is very high.”

Reagan was very depressed when he heard that the British warship had been sunk. Because that means that a war is about to break out between Britain and Argentina.

Although the overall strength of the United Kingdom is far stronger than that of Argentina, a series of problems such as military expeditions and logistical supplies need to be properly resolved. This is a critical period in the fight against the Soviet Union, and no mistakes must be made, otherwise all previous efforts will be wasted.

It seems impossible to ask the British to give up their grievances with Argentina and wholeheartedly fight against the Soviet Union. Two fighter jets were shot down before, and now more than ten warships have been sunk. If this can be tolerated, the Iron Lady must be impeached.

Not even the United States can make the always arrogant British swallow their anger.

Reagan thought for a moment and said: "The Argentine navy has the strength to sink ten British warships at once! Is there any misunderstanding here?"

Doubt is normal, even if Reagan is not a professional military personnel; he also knows what the combat effectiveness of the Argentine army is like. Not to mention the President of the United States, it is estimated that the whole world is skeptical of the combat effectiveness of the Argentine army.

Not being beaten is already very good, but how could it be possible to sink more than a dozen British warships? No one would believe it.

William Webster said very seriously: "The intelligence has been confirmed by many aspects and will never be wrong. At this moment, the British troops stationed on the Falklands have entered a state of combat readiness."

"The Argentine military alone cannot do it; the Argentines received full support from the Soviet Union and urgently purchased four submarines. It is not clear whether there will be additional orders in the future."

"In addition, the British warships stationed on the Falklands are all old models and have limited combat effectiveness. Previously, Argentina's several submarines were very weak, so they did not care about anti-submarine warfare; it is normal to suffer losses."

Hearing that it was the Soviets who took action, Reagan knew that the United States could not remain indifferent. During the first Falklands War, the Soviet Union supported Argentina.

Before the war started, Argentina signed a nuclear agreement, trade and fishery agreement with the Soviet Union; it promised to provide the Soviet Union with enriched uranium and allowed it to carry out fisheries near the Falklands.

During the war, Argentina received intelligence support from the Soviet Union. Later, with the help of Soviet reconnaissance satellites, Argentine Air Force attack aircraft successfully sank Britain's most advanced warship with missiles.

As for why it did not directly participate in the war, Argentina and the Soviet Union did not establish a very close alliance at that time; the war required weapons, but the Soviet Union was not Argentina's largest weapons market. The largest source of Argentina's military weapons was France, and the Soviet Union would not gain anything from its intervention.

Besides, Argentina is located in South America, so it is not the backyard of the United States; it does not belong to the same camp as the Soviet Union, and the distance will create barriers; the distance between the Soviet Union and Argentina is really too far.

Also, the Falklands War was just a one-on-one fight between Britain and Argentina; it did not cause much turmoil or much bloodshed in the entire world. The United States did not directly send troops to assist Britain, and there was no need for the Soviet Union to get involved in this worthless war.

Even knowing that Argentina shot down a British fighter jet and there was a high probability that a war would break out, it still urgently sold weapons and equipment to the other side, and it was a big killer like a submarine. It is clear that they do not want to make things easier for the British, but now it seems that the goal has been achieved.

As President of the United States, Reagan naturally considered issues more deeply than other heads of state. In his opinion, it is likely that the Soviets sensed something was wrong and deliberately used the Falklands to cause trouble for the British.

With Britain's current strength, if it wants to completely win the war with Argentina, it must use the strength of the entire country. The Falklands are too far away from the United Kingdom, and Argentina is equivalent to fighting on the mainland; the British will never feel comfortable waiting for work.

Reagan: "Did the Soviets directly mobilize active submarines to participate in the war, or did the Argentines have a premeditated plan?"

It is not difficult to tell from his words that Reagan was very unhappy; anyone else would be so. The dawn of victory is about to be seen, and suddenly there are waves; for the president who is about to retire, all previous achievements may be negated. For Reagan, who wanted to make a difference, it was difficult to accept.

Submarines are no different than other commodities. Even if the Soviet military industrial system is maturing, production will take a certain amount of time. Could it be that Argentina had ordered it a long time ago, or that the Soviet Union had transferred it from active troops; otherwise, even if it was rushed production, the delivery time would not be so fast.

The withdrawal from active-duty troops shows that the Soviet Union has the idea of ​​participating in the war; then it is reasonable for the United States to want to do something. But if Argentina had already ordered from the Soviet Union, then it would be a serious dereliction of duty by the intelligence agency.

If a country orders four submarines, it cannot grasp the information that can break the regional strategic balance; it is debatable whether it is worth spending such a huge amount every year!

Fortunately, William Webster was well prepared and said directly: "Fucaira ordered more than a dozen submarines from the Soviet Union, plus other Warsaw Pact countries also ordered; the Soviet submarine factory has been operating at full capacity."

"It's mixed with orders from Argentina, so it's hard to find."

"Even if Argentina has not ordered one before, with the Soviet Union's current submarine production scale, it is not difficult to urgently dispatch four submarines."

Although he was not very satisfied, Reagan also knew that as the most important military-industrial department of the Soviet Union, even the CIA would find it difficult to penetrate intelligence.

Especially after Ustinov Jr. took over as the head of the General Armaments Department, the salary of employees in the military industry department was significantly improved; at the same time, counterintelligence efforts were strengthened, making it even more difficult for the CIA to start. Being able to master these is already very good.

Reagan said with a serious expression: "The Soviets have made their attitude clear, and it is time for the United States to make a choice. To be honest, this decision is difficult to make, but we must still try our best to safeguard the interests of our allies."

Supporting the United Kingdom on a large scale, or directly sending troops to intervene; will inevitably cause dissatisfaction in other South American countries. Although the Falklands are disputed islands between the United Kingdom and Argentina, they are part of South America after all.

This is not the Age of Discovery. For the people of South America who were persecuted by European colonists, why did the British occupy their land and refuse to leave?

Even if the British lost the Falklands, they were occupied by the Argentines; increasing Argentina's national power in disguise would not be of much benefit to other countries. But that was South America's internal affair, and it was also a great victory against colonization; South American countries were naturally happy to hear about it.

If the United States helps the United Kingdom, it will inevitably cause a strong backlash; during the Cuban incident, almost all South American countries stood against the United States. Everyone will wonder whether it will be their turn tomorrow if it is Cuba today; there are many things that have to be guarded against.

But just like last time, with Britain's current strength, the chance of defeating Argentina is not very good. Especially after the opponent possesses four of the most advanced Soviet submarines, the balance of victory has completely tilted.

When Reagan was in a dilemma, he answered the phone at No. 10 Downing Street.

The Iron Lady said directly: "President Reagan, regarding the British Empire's Royal Navy's Falkland Islands Fleet being attacked by the enemy; I believe you are already aware of it."

"In addition, two fighter jets were shot down not long ago, and the British Empire decided to organize an expeditionary fleet here; the purpose is to conquer Argentina and make it dare not have any undue thoughts about the Falkland Islands from now on."

The Iron Lady was also testing, and she was always doubting in her heart whether it was the Americans who were behind this. Everything is too weird, from country to country; faces change very quickly.

Reagan was speechless when he heard that he was still calling himself the British Empire. More than a dozen warships were sunk, yet they dared to be so arrogant; I really don’t know who gave the Iron Lady such courage.

But we can't sit idly by, no matter what we say, Britain can also involve some of the Soviet Union's energy.

Reagan thought for a while and said: "I only know a general idea, the specific situation is not very clear yet; what exactly is going on, can we find out which country is behind it!"

Hearing that Reagan did not directly point out Argentina, the Iron Lady instantly felt an ominous premonition; could it be that the Americans were stabbing him in the back? Normal people would think of Argentina. Only those who are fully aware of the truth would have such doubts.

Even if the Americans really dug a hole, Britain would have to jump in and bite Argentina to death; otherwise there would be no way to explain to the people.

The Iron Lady said very seriously: "The Argentines ordered four submarines from the Soviet Union and evaded the surveillance of the Royal Navy, which caused us heavy losses. This revenge must be avenged, and I hope the United States can provide strong support."

If you want to get Reagan to relent, the best way is to talk about the Soviet Union.

The world's only two superpowers, the Soviet Union, has already taken action. As Britain's traditional ally, the United States will never stay out of the matter and will not show any sign of it.

If that were the case, it would inevitably increase the Soviet Union's influence; it would not be a good thing for the struggle for hegemony.

Reagan: "I already know what the Prime Minister means; what is needed from the United States."

It is simply unrealistic to dissuade the British from stopping now; it would be counterproductive. There’s nothing left to offer but great support. As for the Soviet Union issue, let’s leave it to the next president!

Reagan, who was about to end his term as president, knew very well that the British could not let Argentina go; and it was unrealistic to ask Argentina to compensate the British for losses and publicly apologize.

Since war is inevitable, we can consider getting more benefits from the British.

Although the two world wars basically emptied the British family, as the saying goes, there are still 3,000 nails in a broken ship. As the British Empire has dominated the world for hundreds of years, it must still have some stocks.

For the United States, it is not a bad thing for domestic arms dealers to make more money.

The Iron Lady was still very satisfied with Reagan's attitude. Of course, as a veteran politician, I know very well what Americans are like; they are all people who can't afford to do anything early, and they will definitely not give up until they get enough benefits from the British Empire. But does the British Empire have any other options at this time? The answer is absolutely no.

Iron Lady: "Currently, the Royal Navy does not have many ships that can operate in oceans. We hope that the United States can provide some of them; the most important of them are aircraft carriers, at least two of which are needed."

"In addition, for military logistics, we need to rely on your country's military bases in South America. There is also a funding issue. I hope that the President will agree to the British government's issuance of war bonds on Wall Street."

Although there are only three, they are all useful information; the British really dare to speak about two aircraft carriers. Providing a military base can save enough transportation capacity and greatly facilitate the fight against Argentina. The issuance of British war bonds by Wall Street showed that the United States had opened up its financial financing system; to put it bluntly, it was providing money to support the British.

No matter which one, it will offend Argentina and other countries in South America. But Reagan knew very well; he could not refuse at this moment, he could only agree!