Anti-Japanese War: The whole world is a base vehicle

Obviously, Admiral Laborde was very clear in his mind. He had already thoroughly understood the behavior and usual practices of those people in the Elysee Palace.

Therefore, faced with the surrender conditions brought by the German envoy Schulenburg, he had to consider them carefully. After all, this was related to the future direction of the French navy and the naval power structure of the entire Mediterranean region.

"We can guarantee that we will not seize any French warship." Schulenburg slowly conveyed Raeder's meaning to Admiral Laborde. His tone seemed sincere, but his eyes were secretly observing Admiral Laborde's reaction, trying to catch a possible sign of loosening from the other's expression.

"In addition, we can form a joint fleet of three countries and divide the entire Mediterranean together." Schulenburg continued, painting a seemingly beautiful picture of the future. As long as the French Navy nodded in agreement, they could share this huge benefit and have supreme power in the Mediterranean region.

After hearing these words, Admiral Laborde frowned even deeper, and his eyebrows were almost twisted into a knot.

He knew in his heart that these so-called conditions seemed tempting, but in fact they contained hidden secrets.

"This condition doesn't seem very good. I can't agree to it. Besides, the Mediterranean Fleet is not something I can decide alone." Admiral Laborde responded solemnly.

In his view, handing over the fleet to participate in the so-called Triple Alliance Fleet was no trivial matter. It meant handing over the fate of the French navy to others. Moreover, the division of the Mediterranean involved many complex distributions of interests and strategic layouts, and it was by no means an easy decision.

What's more, as an admiral, although he holds an important position in the fleet, he cannot make the decision on his own to sacrifice the entire Mediterranean Fleet.

"Sir, once our three countries form a joint fleet, it will be the most powerful navy in the world. As long as we defeat the Royal Fleet, everything they have will be ours." Schulenburg tried to persuade Admiral Laborde again, trying to impress him with this powerful temptation of interests.

He emphasized the powerful strength of the Triple Kingdom Fleet and the huge benefits that could be gained after defeating the Royal Fleet. The French Navy could also get a share of the benefits and restore its former glory.

"You are indeed right, but I cannot agree to hand over the command of the fleet. I must ensure the integrity of the Mediterranean Fleet." Admiral Laborde still firmly refused.

He was well aware of the importance of fleet command, which was the key to the French Navy's independence and autonomy.

Once the command is handed over, the French Navy may become a vassal of others and lose the ability to make independent decisions and actions. This is absolutely unacceptable for France, which has always cherished the honor and tradition of the navy.

"You are too stubborn. We have no intention of swallowing up your fleet." Schulenburg said helplessly. He felt that Admiral Laborde seemed too conservative and stubborn and failed to see the excellent opportunity for cooperation in front of him.

"In fact, our navy is not weaker than yours. We also have a strong navy." Admiral Laborde responded without showing any weakness.

He had enough confidence in the strength of the French Navy. Although the French army was defeated, the foundation and strength of the French Navy should not be underestimated and would never be easily looked down upon by others.

"Now, we just need an opportunity." Schulenburg explained. He hoped that Admiral Laborde could understand that this cooperation plan was not intended to harm the French Navy, but in the current war situation, everyone needed to seize a suitable opportunity to work together and strive for greater benefits.

But Admiral Laborde had his own considerations in mind. He would not be easily convinced by these arguments. After all, it was related to the life and death of the French Navy, so he would not agree easily.

Admiral Laborde did not rush to respond to Schulenburg's series of words of persuasion and so-called cooperation proposals.

He just stood there quietly, a questioning look on his face.

The German battleships?

How capable can you be?
In his opinion, the German naval strength was not that outstanding, and was even inferior to the Italian Navy in some aspects.

He has always had his own assessment of the German Navy's strength, and does not think they can make much of a splash with their existing warships.

However, he was very curious about another thing at the moment. That is, why did the Italian Navy choose to surrender to the German army and then agree to form a joint fleet with the German army?

This really made him extremely curious.

Is it true that, as Schulenburg said, the German Navy has become very strong?

After all, based on his understanding of the Italian Navy, although the Italian Navy is not the world's top level, it is definitely not the kind that will easily surrender and cooperate with others to form a joint fleet. If the German Navy had not demonstrated enough strength to convince it, the Italian Navy would not have agreed to such a cooperation proposal.

At this moment, a combat alarm suddenly sounded in Oran Port. The sharp and piercing alarm instantly broke the originally stalemate atmosphere, echoing over the port, making people's hearts suddenly tighten.

Moreover, the sound of a warship starting up could be faintly heard. The low roar seemed to be announcing that a battle was about to begin. The entire Oran Port was instantly shrouded in a tense and solemn atmosphere.

"What's wrong?" Admiral Laborde heard the faint noise coming from outside and felt uneasy, so he quickly asked.

"German fighter planes, German fighter planes, hundreds of fighter planes appeared in the sky." The adjutant rushed in hurriedly, looking extremely panicked, beads of sweat the size of beans kept rolling down his forehead, and his voice trembled with nervousness as he reported.

"What?" Admiral Laborde's eyes widened when he heard this, his face full of disbelief.

He turned his head suddenly and looked directly at Schulenburg, his eyes seemed to be questioning: Is this your sincerity in negotiation? On the one hand, you sent people to negotiate with me and try to persuade me to surrender, but on the other hand, you dispatched such a large number of fighter planes. This is clearly a double-dealing trick. How can you be sincere in negotiation?

"Not only that, there are dozens of Italian warships outside the port." The adjutant's next words made Admiral Laborde's face become extremely ugly.

They were already furious because of the appearance of German fighter planes, and now they learned that Italian warships had appeared outside the port, which meant that they had been surrounded and the situation was extremely serious.

"Sir, is this your sincerity in the negotiation?" Admiral Laborde glared at Schulenburg and questioned him angrily. He really didn't expect that the German army would treat the negotiation in this way, simply treating him as an object that could be fooled at will.

"Your Excellency Admiral Laborde, we are very sincere in our negotiations. As long as you agree to our conditions, not only will the port of Oran be safe, we can even hand over the western Mediterranean to you, and even give you a huge oil field." Schulenburg still looked indifferent, as if he was unaware of Admiral Laborde's anger, and he slowly stated these seemingly tempting conditions.

"Hmph, sir, are you threatening me?" Admiral Laborde said somewhat annoyed.

He knew very well that the German army was clearly threatening him with the safety of the port of Oran and the French navy in order to force him to submit and accept the conditions they proposed.

This feeling of being threatened made his anger grow stronger and stronger. How could he give in so easily?
"Does your Excellency want to see the port of Oran reduced to ruins? Does your Excellency not want to retain some vitality for the French Navy?" Schulenburg's words were like a heavy hammer, hitting Admiral Laborde's heart hard.

Although his words were blunt, they hit the nail on the head. Admiral Laborde knew that if they really fought hard with the German and Italian fleets, with the current defense force of Oran Port, it would be difficult to resist. By then, Oran Port would inevitably become a ruin, and the French Navy would also suffer a devastating disaster. It would be extremely difficult to retain any vitality.

Thinking of this, Admiral Laborde fell completely silent. He frowned and fell into deep thought.

"Not only that, we will also give you conditions that you cannot refuse." Schulenburg was secretly happy when he saw Admiral Laborde was silent, because he knew that the other party was tempted.

After all, handing over the Western Mediterranean to France and giving it an oil field was indeed a very good offer, which was very attractive to the French Navy and France as a whole. But he also understood that these conditions were not enough to completely move Admiral Laborde, and he needed to add more fuel to the fire.

"We will soon launch a surprise attack on the British base in the Strait of Gibraltar and completely control the Mediterranean." Schulenburg dropped this bombshell news in an attempt to further impress Admiral Laborde.

Schulenburg's words did stir Admiral Laborde's heart. He was somewhat moved, but also a little surprised.

First of all, Admiral Laborde knew very well that if he wanted to completely take over the vast Mediterranean waters, the Strait of Gibraltar was undoubtedly the most critical and important strategic location, there was no doubt about that.

It is like strangling the Mediterranean Sea by the throat. Whoever controls this place will have a great advantage in the struggle for control of the Mediterranean Sea.

However, what surprised him was that what gave the German army such confidence that they dared to boast that they would take the Strait of Gibraltar and then control the entire Mediterranean?
Is it because of the Italian navy that is gathering outside the port at this moment?
Although the Italian Navy has certain strength, it seems that they alone are not enough to ensure the capture of Gibraltar.

Or is it the new battleship built by Germany?
Admiral Klabor knew that it was a pipe dream to try to capture the heavily defended Gibraltar with only one battleship. It was simply unrealistic. Could it be those fighter planes that appeared in the sky?
But he also understood that Gibraltar's defense capabilities were far beyond imagination, and air strikes by fighter jets alone were far from enough. If he wanted to pose a real threat to it and successfully capture it, he must have the coordinated operations of warships.

Thinking of this, Admiral Laborde couldn't help but feel suspicious. Could it be that the other side had been trying to persuade the French to surrender with the purpose of letting the French fleet take the lead and fight a life-and-death battle with the British defenders in Gibraltar, while the German army would just sit back and reap the benefits?

"You mean that you want us to follow you?" Admiral Laborde frowned and asked thoughtfully.

"Of course, doesn't your Excellency want revenge?" Schulenburg said. He knew that the French army was resentful of what the British did in Dunkirk, and tried to impress General Laborde with this.

Hearing this, Admiral Laborde couldn't help but nodded.

Naturally, he was very disgusted with the British army's actions in Dunkirk, and he always held a resentment in his heart.

So emotionally speaking, it is not completely unacceptable to act together with the German army to teach the British army a lesson.

However, the only thing that worried him was the British fleet far away in Alexandria.

He knew that if Gibraltar was attacked by the German and French armies, the British fleet in Alexandria would certainly not sit idly by.

If that happens, the pressure will be very great and we may be caught in an extremely difficult battle.

"Where is the British fleet in Alexandria?" Admiral Laborde asked with a worried look on his face.

"Don't worry, we will send a special fleet to deal with them." Count Schulenburg said confidently.

There was a sense of confidence in his tone, as if he was fully sure that he could deal with the British fleet in Alexandria.

Hearing this, Admiral Laborde was even more surprised.

Could it be that the German army had some hidden tricks that he was unaware of?

Although he was very curious about this, he also understood that since the other party didn't want to say more, he naturally wouldn't ask any more questions.

"So, what happens after the operation is over? What can we get?" What Admiral Laborde is most concerned about at the moment is what kind of treatment and benefits the French Navy can get after the operation. He now needs to know the attitude of the German army, or to be more precise, Darlan wants to know the attitude of the German army.

After all, if the conditions offered by the German army were good, their navy could indeed consider surrendering.

"The French Navy can retain a certain fleet. After all, you still have so many overseas colonies, and they all need fleets to protect them." Admiral Laborde nodded after hearing Schulenburg's words.

Indeed, France has a lot of overseas colonies, and to ensure the stability of these colonies and maintain French rule in the local area, it does need a fleet to deter and protect them at sea, otherwise those colonies are likely to become disloyal and escape from French control. (End of this chapter)