One man's resistance against Japan, I mobilized a million people to aid Shanghai.

The study door closed.

The composure Chamberlain had been trying to maintain vanished instantly, and his forehead was covered in a thick layer of cold sweat.

"Zhu Ganglie is not even human!!"

"No, this can't go on any longer."

"To stake the entire foundation of the empire on those colonies in the Far East, which have already been largely lost, is neither in line with realistic politics nor with the fundamental interests of the British Empire!"

A thought quickly took root and sprouted in his mind.

We must cut our losses! We must negotiate!

He sat up abruptly and pressed the summoning bell.

"Immediately notify all core cabinet members to convene an emergency top-secret meeting in one hour."

He gave orders to the secretary who came in, his voice regaining its usual coldness.

......

One hour later.

An emergency meeting room deep underground at 10 Downing Street.

Chamberlain sat at the head of the long table, his expression calm, even regaining some of his usual slightly rigid and dignified air.

But his opening remarks caused the expressions of several ministers present, especially First Lord of the Navy Winston Churchill, to change instantly.

"Gentlemen, I'm sure you all know about the tragedy at Pearl Harbor."

Chamberlain's voice was calm and direct: "This is not just a disaster for the bald eagle, but a loudest wake-up call for all of us."

"It completely confirms our previous suspicions that Zhu Ganglie possesses some kind of extraordinary ability that we cannot understand and cannot counter with conventional military means."

He looked around at everyone:

"Ambassador David has just left, bringing with him Washington's most urgent request: that we increase our investment in the Far East at all costs and engage in a decisive battle with Zhu Ganglie."

He paused, then abruptly changed the subject: "But, gentlemen, I would like to ask you to think about this calmly."

"After the attack on Pearl Harbor, do we really have to continue fighting Zhu Ganglie to the death?"

"Your Excellency, what do you mean by this?"

Foreign Secretary Halifax frowned.

"What I mean is,"

Chamberlain leaned slightly forward, his hands clasped on the table, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"To continue a major battle in the Far East, thousands of miles from our homeland, against an enemy capable of sending troops to our backyard at any time, is tantamount to suicide!"

"It will send the Royal Navy into an abyss!"

He raised his voice:

"Look at Pearl Harbor! The most powerful fleet of the Bald Eagle was wiped out without even being able to put up a decent resistance in its own port!"

"Haven't we learned enough lessons from the Far East Fleet's experience in Singapore?"

"Faced with the enemy's unpredictable attack methods, traditional naval forces, long supply lines, and vulnerable overseas bases have all become fatal weaknesses!"

"So what should we do? Surrender to that butcher?!"

An angry voice suddenly rang out.

Churchill stood up with a bang, his hands on the table, his face flushed, and his bull-like eyes fixed on Chamberlain.

"Surrender? No, Winston, that's reality."

Chamberlain met Churchill's gaze without flinching, his tone icy.

"Make the most rational choice!"

"Zhu Ganglie has proven himself to be a heartless butcher and tyrant through the massacres on the Japanese islands, in Manila, and in Thang Long City, as well as the attack on Pearl Harbor!"

"Negotiating with such a demon? Have you considered what that means?"

"It means bowing to barbarity and evil! It means the utter loss of centuries of glory for the British Empire!"

Churchill roared, his spittle almost hitting Chamberlain in the face.

"Glory can't put food on the table! Nor can it stop enemy bayonets or those... those armies that appear out of nowhere!"

Chamberlain also raised his voice and roared:

"Churchill, put away your romantic, outdated heroism!"

"We're talking about the survival of the empire now!"

"Look at the map!"

"Mughals! Australia! The Suez Canal! Even the mainland!"

"These places could all become Zhu Ganglie's next targets!"

"Do we have the capability to defend against such an enemy while simultaneously dealing with the Third Reich?"

"So you're going to cowardly sue for peace?!"

Churchill suddenly swung his arm in protest:

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, what did your appeasement back then bring you?"

"In return, we suffered the humiliation of Munich, and now Europe is in grave danger!"

"Now, do you intend to use the same trick on an even more dangerous and brutal demon?!"

"Do you think compromise can bring peace?"

"No! That will only fuel his greed, making him think we are weak and easy to bully, thus emboldening him to act even more aggressively!"

"Zhu Ganglie is not XHZ!"

Chamberlain retorted sharply, "His...his abilities render traditional deterrence and balancing strategies ineffective!"

"We have no chance of winning if we go head-to-head with him!"

"Negotiation can at least buy us time, stabilize him, and perhaps even demarcate spheres of influence, protecting the empire's most core areas of interest!"

"This is about cutting losses! It's about preserving strength!"

"That's like trying to get something from a tiger! It's wishful thinking!"

Churchill refused to budge, saying, "Do you think a butcher like Zhu Ganglie would abide by the treaty? Would he be content with the defined boundaries?"

"Look at his expansionist trajectory! His goal is conquest, it's destruction!"

"Any compromise will ultimately become a noose tightening around our necks!"

"We must fight! Unite all forces that can still fight—the Bald Eagles, the Free French, the Dutch, and even... if necessary, adjust European strategy and concentrate all our efforts on this common enemy of humanity!"

"If we back down now, we won't even have the right to fight in the future; we'll just be slaughtered like pigs and sheep!"

"What you can't get on the battlefield, you can't get through negotiation!"

"We must fight, until we are dead!"

The argument between the two was like a storm, sweeping through the entire conference room.

Other cabinet members, such as Halifax, Chancellor of the Exchequer John Simon, and Keeper of the Seal Kingsley Wood, looked pale and were caught in a dilemma.

Churchill's impassioned speech and eloquent words stirred their blood and made sense to them.

But Chamberlain's depiction of a hopeless future sent chills down their spines, making them inclined to take a more "safe" approach.

"Enough, Churchill!"

Chamberlain finally lost his patience, slammed his fist on the table, and shouted, "I am the Prime Minister!"

"I must be responsible for the survival of this nation! I cannot gamble the fate of the empire with your blood and courage!"

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger, and announced in as authoritative a tone as possible:

"I've made up my mind."

"Immediately attempt to contact Zhu Ganglie's side through secret channels to explore the possibility of a ceasefire or even a peace agreement."

"The primary objective is to ensure the security of the Mughals and Australia, as well as the security of the Royal Navy in the Indian Ocean."

"That's an order!"

"You can't do this! This is treason! It's a desecration of all the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Far East!" Churchill's eyes were bloodshot.

"Watch your words, Minister Churchill!"

Chamberlain retorted coldly, "Cabinet meetings require reason and loyalty to the Empire, not sycophantic shouting."

"If you cannot accept this difficult decision made for the survival of the empire..."

He didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was already clear.

Churchill looked at Chamberlain, then at his colleagues who mostly avoided his gaze, and a great sense of sorrow welled up in his heart.

He knew that Chamberlain had made up his mind, and the shadow of appeasement once again loomed over 10 Downing Street.

This weak prime minister dared not do anything but appeasement. What he did not know was that appeasement could never satisfy a greedy and ambitious person; it would only make the other side more unscrupulous.

"In that case, Your Excellency Prime Minister, I cannot continue to serve as Minister of the Navy under such policies."

"My conscience and my judgment will not allow me to participate in a surrender that will inevitably lead to greater disaster."

He grabbed the Navy Minister's hat from the table and slammed it down on his head.

Then, without glancing at anyone again, he turned and strode out of the conference room with heavy but firm steps.

The heavy door slammed shut behind him with a dull thud, bringing a huge end to this fierce argument that would determine the future of the empire.

The conference room was deathly silent.

Chamberlain's face was ashen, and his chest heaved.

He glanced at the remaining cabinet members.

"Gentlemen,"

His voice regained its calmness, yet carried an undeniable decisiveness: "Begin preparations."

"Contact Zhu Ganglie immediately. Remember, everything must be kept absolutely secret."

"Until we receive a response from Zhu Ganglie, our promise to the bald eagle... will remain unchanged for now."

"We must reach an agreement with Zhu Ganglie no matter what. If necessary, we can... we can abandon the alliance with the White Eagle..."

Chamberlain was now utterly terrified of Zhu Ganglie. After all, even without his strange abilities, Zhu Ganglie's combined fleet and Pacific fleet were enough to crush the British expeditionary fleet.

But before he could even contact Zhu Ganglie, his own backyard was already on fire.

XHZ has made his move.