Chapter 1 Yes, Governor!

Outside the window of the car cacophonous noise came from time to time, Allen Wilson, however, had already practiced the ability to turn a deaf ear, isolating himself from the outside world with the curry flavor of the English language, the young face as if it had been ironed, a pair of eyes did not shift from the hands of the newspaper at all, the front page headline with a striking headline, “The British Empire has a few months, the recovery of the entire Burma of certainty.”

“Ai!” With an imperceptible sigh, so small that even the party himself could not hear it, Alan Wilson put the paper away and looked out of the window plaintively, the heavily accented English hawking long gone from his ears.

The bus had now crossed the Delhi Gate and gone in to the area of New Delhi, later the capital of India. It was now 1945, and the biggest difference between New Delhi and Delhi was that New Delhi was entirely a newly constructed urban area where the British had moved the capital of British India to Delhi because Calcutta was too remote, and New Delhi was long inhabited only by the British.

In 1945, this is Alan Wilson to face the biggest problem, rampant in the world for three hundred years of the British Empire has been thinning, although still has 30 million square kilometers of colonies, five million troops fighting on the battlefields around the world, but the end of this World War, is the beginning of the decline of the British Empire.

Compared to the United States and the Soviet Union, two over ten million troops, a dominant land and a dominant sea country, it seems that the post-war world has no place for the British Empire, the former hegemon, which makes Alan Wilson, a civil servant ready to replicate the journey of countless classic protagonists feel at a loss.

And with the memory of his previous life, Alan Wilson certainly understands that the horn of the disintegration of the British Empire was first blown in the land under his own feet now, the most important colony of the British Empire in the world, British India with an area of more than four million square kilometers.

And this is simply can not be stopped, not to mention Alan Wilson is just a not senior civil servant, even if he is now the Governor General of India, but also not be able to ignore has become the consensus of British India’s independence voice, all you can think about is the day earlier or later, what benefits can be gained from it.

Getting off the bus and passing through the guards again, Alan Wilson stood directly in front of the Viceroy’s House of India, which very much resembled the White House, his eyes sweeping from the British Indian flag on the dome of the Viceroy’s House, knowing that the way ahead lay ahead of him.

“Sir, what’s wrong with you?” The guard who had just finished his inspection looked at Allen Wilson with some amusement, “But a man as young as you is rare in the Viceroy’s Palace.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, thanks.” Alan Wilson slightly lowered his head and replied with a smile, incidentally hiding the embarrassment he had just felt, and stepped towards the building that was somewhat similar to the White House.

In the middle of the Viceroy’s residence, it was full of office workers in a hurry, and in a well-lit room, the current Viceroy of India, Archibald Percival Wavell, was reaching out in front of the fireplace to draw in the heat, and without looking back, he asked, “Barron, the people from the PML-N and the Congress Party have already left?”

“Yes, Governor, they have left.” The man named Barun, who looked to be in his mid-forties, with a polished face that was obviously well groomed, replied in a serious voice, “Every time the two sides meet, the differences seem to be more, not less, than the last time, and that’s not just for the two sides, but for us as well.”

“Damn, the Prime Minister must not wish to learn of this.” Governor Wavell grunted in a not-so-loud voice, but it was more of a helpless sigh than a grunt. The internal strife that gave him a headache from time to time always managed to dampen his good mood as Viceroy of India than the public news that the Anglo-Indian Corps on the front line had stormed into Burmese territory and was about to make a clean sweep of the Japanese.

“They, and Ali Jinnah and Nehru, whom they represent, do give us a great headache. Mr. Viceroy!” Although Barron still had a breezy look on his face, he had to admit that compared to the World War, which had already seen the dawn of victory, the biggest question was whether the jewel of the British Empire was still shining as brightly as it was now.

There was a suffocating awkwardness in the room, except for the coals burning in the fireplace, there was not a sound.

Although there are some liberal imperialists in the Conservative Party, claiming that the inputs of India and even the entire colony have exceeded the outputs, and hoping that the British Empire will give up the entire colony and stop the current money-losing business.

As Adams, the author of the Wealth of Nations, called for the independence of the thirteen states of North America one hundred and fifty years ago, British India has become a black hole that consumes the wealth of the British Empire, just as the thirteen states of North America did at the time.

However, in the Conservative Party this voice is not the mainstream, now the British Empire’s Prime Minister Churchill, has also always claimed to defend the glory of the British Empire, but now the British India of several leading figures, the heart is clear, things are far from being so simple.

“Inform London of the news that the British Indian Army is deep in Burma, Barron.” Viceroy Wavell drew back his hands in front of the fireplace and sighed, “London still wants more good news, put the Congress and PMLN on the back burner.”

“Yes, Governor!” Agreeing with a programmed smile, Barron took a few steps back in place and walked out of the room.

In the middle of the entire Viceroy of India’s residence, like the norm in times of war, everyone was wearing a hasty look, dealing with information from the battlefields of British India as well as the whole of Southeast Asia, appearing to be very busy.

Barron, who had left Viceroy Wavell, waited with a gentle countenance for his guest of the day, and at this time he was not idle, but was playing chess with himself and himself with one mind.

It wasn’t long before an aide pushed the door open and Allen Wilson, who was following behind him, walked in, and without looking up Barron walked out the last move to finish the game of chess before looking up at the young man in front of him.

Getting up in passing, he reached out and pointed to a place for Allen Wilson to sit before returning to his place and pulling out a stack of folders and reading them to himself, his afterglow sizing up the visitor as if verifying his identity.

“You are Groot Wilson’s son, and I am very saddened by the loss of your father. He and I were on good terms!” Barron said as he looked at the document, “Born in London in 1924, you then followed your father’s work and went to live in Xiangjiang, where you received information of great importance to the Allies before Pearl Harbor, and the subsequent fall of the colony in Xiangjiang to Calcutta. Before the war you had enrolled in Oriental College, Oxford.”

At that Barron closed the pouch of papers and spoke, “Your father could have had a bigger job, but alas, there is still more disease here in South Asia. Alan, you’re a little younger than I thought you would be.”

“Perhaps that is not much of an advantage! Entering the Eastern Department stems mostly from my father’s work experience.” Alan Wilson replied softly, and couldn’t help but sigh in his heart, he had already taken advantage of the special environment of the colony to convince his father in this life to change his age to three years older, as the elementary and middle school curriculum really wasn’t much of a challenge for him. That’s what made the upbringing seem a little more normal…

As for providing information on Pearl Harbor, the intention was that he wanted to be a rich second generation who could hold his own and make his father, who was a civil servant, soar while gilding the lily, but it turned out that heaven forbid, the responsibility of entrepreneurship had fallen back on his shoulders.

“Very good, but don’t be overly modest, your academics are very beautiful, if not for the outbreak of the world war, you could be the smallest graduate of Oxford University in recent years.” Barron nodded in satisfaction as he sat back in his chair, then the conversation turned and asked, “Although you haven’t completed your studies, some concepts about Orientalism have been accumulated, what do you think of India as a place?”

Barron knew the purpose of this age person, similarly Alan Wilson also knew what the purpose of the question asked by this civil service chief was, both sides knew each other’s thoughts, unspoken.

“Hm?” Alan Wilson pondered for a moment, and quickly gave an answer, “There is no doubt that during the time period of the Agricultural Age, the Eastern countries could accumulate far greater wealth than Europe because of their advantages in size, and geography. South Asia is the best of them, and British India has always been the cornerstone of the British Empire’s prosperity, the brightest jewel in its crown, both past and present.”

Barron nodded approvingly, and heard Alan Wilson continue, “It was thanks to the wealth created by the extensive colonies that the British Empire was able to face off against challenger after challenger, whether it was Napoleon, or William II. India was a land of wealth, and Oxford University opened up the systematic study of Orientalism, producing a large pool of talent that had a broad vision and recognized the nature of the world more than the narrow minds of other European nations.”

Speaking at the end Allen Wilson also praised Oxford University, he knew that Barron also came from Oxford University, from this aspect to draw the relationship between the two sides closer.

Obviously Barron to this young man who came here is very satisfied, think of each other’s father and their own relationship is good, the heart also has a little carry the meaning of this place in British India, Barron’s authority is not worse than a few head figures.

As the head of the civil service Barron quickly asked up the views of British India, as well as now and then rise up the Congress Party, the PML-N, as well as on Gandhi, Nehru and Ali Jinnah, these local political figures of India’s awareness.

To all this Alan Wilson gave his answers and gave some ideas for the future.