The Rise Of A Billionaire 1943-Chapter 142 - 15-2-3-4: Churchill, Your British Empire Has Fallen

Chapter 142: Chapter 15-2-3-4: Churchill, Your British Empire Has Fallen

Just after stepping down from the stage and before Pierre and his subordinates could make further arrangements, a subordinate brought over a British Army major from Allied Headquarters. Everyone was naturally polite to representatives of the Allied Headquarters. The British major stepped forward, saluted, and said:

"Mr. Pierre, someone would like to meet with you—right now."

A British officer?

Although Paris was now full of Allied soldiers, mainly Americans and Brits, the task force had almost never had dealings with the British.

So why were the Brits coming to see him now?

A few dozen minutes later, Pierre finally found out who wanted to meet him—Winston Churchill.

Yes, that very same man, always chomping on a cigar and making the V-sign.

Two days earlier, Churchill had flown from London to Paris. Officially, he was there to "bring warmth" to the French people—delivering several thousand tons of food and medical supplies. In reality, however, he was there for secret talks with de Gaulle. No one knew exactly what they discussed, but it was certain that the demise of Germany was now just a matter of time.

Now, after his secret meeting with the sprinting champion, Churchill had come to see Pierre as well. This... was a bit unexpected.

Although it was a surprise, it was also somewhat inevitable. After all, meeting Churchill was bound to happen sooner or later. What was unexpected was just how urgently Churchill had rushed from London to Paris, specifically to meet him.

The Prime Minister of the British Empire himself, coming all this way in such a hurry.

Indeed... today’s British Empire...

The empire is no longer the British Empire of yesterday.

Churchill’s image—thanks to countless films and documentaries over the years—has long been familiar to everyone. In particular, that classic photo of him with a cigar in his mouth and making a V-sign is iconic. But the first time I met Churchill, he neither had a cigar nor was making the V-sign. All I saw was... a face full of displeasure.

"Pierre, I don’t know what kind of agreement you’ve reached with the Americans, but you must understand one thing: Borneo is a British colony! British!"

Almost as soon as we met, Churchill put on an air of superiority, his arrogance completely undisguised.

As Prime Minister of the British Empire, he seemed to genuinely believe he had the right to act so high and mighty.

But he had clearly forgotten that this was 1944, not 1914!

Sir, times have changed!

Your British Empire is about to fall!

Faced with Churchill’s arrogance, Pierre paid him no mind. Instead, he took out a cigar, lit it, and started smoking, acting as if Churchill wasn’t even there.

Uh...

Churchill, having swung his fist into thin air, was momentarily stunned. Li’s reaction was completely unexpected.

As he smoked, Pierre gazed out the window, admiring the scenery as if he were alone in the room, simply enjoying the view.

Seeing this, Churchill also took out a cigar, lit it, took a couple of puffs, and finally broke the silence.

"The Americans might be able to give you some promises, but North Borneo is British, and in the future it will be retaken by British forces. That is British colonial land..."

Pierre glanced at Churchill and replied,

"Legally speaking, everything in North Borneo belongs to the North Borneo Company. That land was bought by the company from the Sultan of Brunei. A British colony? One could only say that North Borneo holds a royal charter, but in legal terms, it does not belong to Britain."

"Law..."

A mocking smile appeared on Churchill’s face.

"It’s almost laughable to hear you talk about the law."

Puffing on his cigar, Churchill continued,

"Without Britain’s support, you will never return to North Borneo. The people there have always lived under the rule of the British North Borneo Company. Without the British Empire, you are nothing!"

In fact, he originally didn’t need to get involved in North Borneo’s affairs; the Colonial Office would have handled it. But now the Americans had intervened—or rather, this man’s identity had made the Colonial Office cautious.

Roosevelt’s agent.

That alone was enough for the Colonial Office to tread carefully, even to accept his acquisition of the company. Of course, there was no official reason to object. As he had said, legally speaking, he was the company’s rightful owner.

Now, with the Americans recognizing the Borneo Security Force, Churchill felt a certain sense of crisis, which was why he had come to Paris.

"Hmm, Dr. Goebbels of the Nazis said something similar."

Pierre’s retort brought a flash of anger to Churchill’s face, but he quickly regained his composure.

"The North Borneo Company cannot survive without the support of the British Empire. And Britain will never give up its colonies."

As Churchill emphasized this point, he added,

"The treaty between the British Empire and North Borneo remains binding, Li."

"Of course, I don’t deny that."

Pierre smiled.

"Prime Minister, I am well aware that the treaty is valid. But according to the treaty, North Borneo merely accepts British protection; it does not mean it is a British colony. The royal charter it holds is not for ruling North Borneo under royal authority, but for accepting the protection of the British Empire."

Pierre and his legal team had studied the treaty between North Borneo and Britain countless times. They knew exactly what made North Borneo different: it was land privately purchased by a company in the 19th century, and only a decade later did it sign a treaty with Britain—a protective treaty.

That’s why Pierre kept emphasizing the law: legally, the territory was not a British colony.

In fact, Pierre had even considered that if he ever had to go to court against the British government, Churchill might not win. But with the Labour Party... well, with that prodigal lot, anything was possible!

"Although there is no specified term, according to the treaty, Britain has not fulfilled its duty of protection, Prime Minister!"

Pierre smiled at Churchill and countered,

"In these circumstances, I have every right to question the validity of the treaty—and even to overturn it."

In the past, Pierre would never have had the confidence to say this. But now, the situation was different.

With the United States recognizing the North Borneo Company and the Borneo Security Force, Britain’s threats... were hardly worth mentioning.

"So this is your answer?"

Churchill asked, cigar in mouth.

"No, Prime Minister. Rather than overturning the treaty, I would prefer further negotiations. Colonies... Prime Minister, you may do your utmost to protect the colonies of the British Empire, but what about after you? What will the Labour Party do? Will they defend the colonies of the British Empire at any cost?"

Pierre’s counter-question left Churchill momentarily speechless. Even his hand holding the cigar trembled slightly. Compared to...

The real threat that worried Churchill was not the Americans’ attempts to undermine the British Empire, but rather the Labour Party... because the Labour Party truly had the power to dismantle the Empire.

Let alone North Borneo—a place most Britons had never even heard of—even India, according to Attlee and his associates, could be given up for the welfare of the people of the British Empire.

What if they won the postwar election...?

For a moment, Churchill was speechless.

The reason he was in Paris was because he knew what Attlee and his Labour Party would do once the war ended.

They would withdraw from the cabinet and call for an election. And then? Those people would use promises of welfare, higher wages, and the like to incite the foolish masses to support Labour. Just as they had promised over the past few years—"the suffering we endure now is for a better future after the war."

But all those increased welfare expenditures require money!

And where would the money come from?

Britain was already so poor that it had pawned not just its trousers, but even its underpants.

To win popular support, they would go to any lengths to cut government spending—even if it meant breaking up the British Empire itself!

As long as it bought them public support, they would stop at nothing!