Zhou Wen looked at Alice in surprise when he heard this.
He knew in his heart that although the British were unwilling to directly face the Japanese expansion in Southeast Asia, they were not yet ready to face a formidable enemy.
You must know that during this period, Britain's core interests and foundation in Asia were actually in India. Burma and the Malay Peninsula were both secondary colonies, and their importance and strategic position were not as important as those of India.
Just because it controls India, it is equivalent to turning the Indian Ocean into the inland sea of the British Empire. Although Southeast Asia is also important, there are too many competitors. Those who truly regard the Pacific as their greatest core interest are the Americans and the Japanese. The British are even the weakest among the three countries.
But now the British are trying to keep Siam from surrendering to the Japanese even if they don't have to spend any money. It seems that they are making a fuss out of a molehill.
Zhou Wen wondered whether there were some inside stories that he didn't know about, or hidden dangers involving British interests in Asia.
As if Alice knew Zhou Wen's doubts, she just shrugged and said, "Actually, I have the same doubts as you, but our boss didn't tell me, and I can't ask."
At this time, Chen Weiwen, who was ignored because Zhou Wen and others were inspecting the weapons, answered: "It may be because our King has promised that as long as the King can return to power, the Kingdom of Siam will consider joining the Commonwealth."
Zhou Wen immediately understood it as soon as he heard it. This must be the reason.
Here we will talk about the origin of the British Commonwealth.
After the First World War, British power was weakened. People in various colonies demanded independence and national liberation movements arose. The conflicts between the mainland and the autonomous territories also intensified, and the colonial system gradually collapsed.
In order to save the decline, in 1926, Britain was forced to recognize the Dominion and gain independence in domestic and foreign affairs. The dominions and the sovereign state formed the Commonwealth by "joint loyalty to the (British) King". Both parties had equal rights and were not subordinate to each other.
In 1931, the British Parliament passed the Act of Westminster, approved the above-mentioned resolution, and confirmed that each British Dominion would obtain completely independent sovereignty. The British Empire existed in name only, and the Commonwealth was formally formed.
The Commonwealth is not a country and has no central government. The King of the United Kingdom is the titular monarch and head of state of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth has no authority, and the United Kingdom and its member states send high commissioners to each other as diplomatic representatives.
It can be seen from this that the Commonwealth was a helpless move after the national power declined significantly. This means that as long as you nominally obey me as your suzerain, then you are actually an independent country. Not only will you not be oppressed and exploited by the suzerain country, you will even be protected by the suzerain country when you encounter foreign enemies.
Once the Kingdom of Siam joins the British Commonwealth and the Japanese want to attack Siam, it will be tantamount to declaring war on the British Empire.
This was the only way the King of Siam could think of to avoid being invaded by Japan, and it was also a sign that the Kingdom of Siam could no longer survive after surviving for hundreds of years between British and French colonies.
In other words, you must choose to take sides now. If you don't take sides, you will be in danger of being destroyed. For Rama VII, who has received Western education and has a strong sense of identity with Western culture and technology, he is naturally willing to choose the United Kingdom.
If nothing else, just look at Myanmar as a neighboring country. Although the British governor still has the final say, the economic development of the entire country has surpassed that of the Kingdom of Siam, which still despises the ignorance and backwardness of the Burmese people.
And looking at North Korea and Taiwan, which have been ruled by Japan for decades, it goes without saying which side to choose.
And what did the British get?
What Britain gained was face and reputation, which was the best proof to announce to the world that the influence of the British Empire was still there.
You know, after World War I, Britain's international influence and deterrent power had been significantly exhausted. The British Empire, which was almost brought down by Germany, made the world realize its weakness. So now it desperately needs a chance to restore its international reputation.
Moreover, having a younger brother take the initiative to take action can be regarded as a slight advantage for Britain and Japan in the game in Asia, which invisibly enhances the deterrent power against Japan.
Zhou Wen can understand that when the glory of the past is fading into the sunset, any dynasty will seize the opportunity to delay the decline. Even sometimes, this opportunity is just a false name.
Zhou Wen secretly sighed: "Once upon a time, the empire that dominated the world for nearly three hundred years, and the sun never sets, also needed this false reputation to satisfy its fragile psychology."
After thinking about this clearly, Zhou Wen smiled and said to Alice: "Miss Alice, I see the sincerity of your British side, but I also ask you to believe in our abilities. I say unceremoniously that when it comes to killing people, we are The most professional in the world. Now the death of Na Bowen and his comrades is not far away."
"But, before that, I need detailed information, including their recent whereabouts, family situation and address, as well as the layout drawings of the Prime Minister's Office. In addition, we have to go to the scene to check out the locations, and we also need cover from you and Siam. and arrangements.”
Zhou Wen was happy at this time. Even in later generations, this kind of remuneration can be regarded as the treatment of a top mercenary group.
If you think about it, five million US dollars would be considered a huge amount of money in future generations. There are also offers of £100,000 each for other cabinet members. Calculated based on the fact that Siam had 17 cabinet members at this time, that was 1.7 million pounds, which would be 8.5 million in US dollars.
Theoretically speaking, the mercenary group could receive up to 13.5 million U.S. dollars in remuneration for the assassination of Bowen, which is already comparable to the appearance fees of the ace mercenary groups in the world in later generations. And will the value and purchasing power of American knives in a few decades be comparable to those of American knives today?
Even though Zhou Wen is now considered a wealthy man, even though he is already a master of Qi Jin realm who can control his body freely, he still can't control his heartbeat when faced with this huge number.
This is called getting rich overnight, this is called windfall.
but I like it.
Of course, Zhou Wen also knew that under normal circumstances, it would be almost impossible for him to kill all 17 cabinet members. Because once the main leader Na Bowen was assassinated, Zhou Wen would consider running away. He would not dare to take the risk of lurking down and killing all the others. These politicians and soldiers who can oust the king are not fools. Not to mention how others will mobilize the army to protect them, even if they are all hiding, you can't go to the streets to find them, right?
And it's even more impossible for you to kill a few cabinet members before assassinating Na Bowen. Wouldn't that be a way of alerting the enemy?
Therefore, Zhou Wen thought that if there happened to be a few close ministers around him when he took action against Bowen, then he might as well catch the rabbit and take care of it.
It would be best if they held a cabinet meeting and then sneaked in without anyone noticing... Hehe! That would be perfect.
