Chapter 682 For the Free World

“You can’t say that, there are still competitors, like Burke Trench, like Loggins, and Douglas, and Frank, and so on.” Alan Wilson didn’t feel that he envisioned it would be smooth sailing, he wasn’t Mountbatten, he could really bring back what he had blown over.

“Sir Edward’s deputy? Ambassador to the United States and Commissioner to the EEC?” Pamela Mountbatten matched the names that came out of her husband’s mouth, then said, “What you lack is experience in the domestic civil service, which of course cannot be left vacant on a permanent basis, but of the few you mentioned, Burke Trench is the greatest threat, and how much importance Sir Norman attaches to him by placing him at Sir Edward’s side is evident.”

Alan Wilson agreed with this, who was Edward Bridges? Former Cabinet Secretary, now Chief of the Civil Service and Permanent Undersecretary of the Treasury, this was the equivalent of Burke Trench being placed at the side of the Dowager Emperor as the current Emperor’s confidant, the level of trust was evident.

“My dear, Sir Edward seems to be celebrating his birthday soon, if you don’t mind the effort. Let’s organize a private party!” Alan Wilson suggested after a long moment of contemplation, “Sir Edward happens to be sixty years old on his birthday, and the Orientals feel that sixty years old has great significance.”

In fact, in England sixty was no less significant; at this time in the fifties the retirement age for British civil servants was sixty, but so far Edward Bridges showed no signs of retiring completely for the time being.

“Good idea, in terms of internal Whitehall relations, you don’t have to worry about that instead of being in the country.” Pamela Mountbatten was very agreeable, Edward Bridges’ birthday was in August.

Saying yes, Pamela Mountbatten decided to do what she could to help for her husband’s future.

This was of course thanks to the vast financial resources she had now amassed. But there was no power or money involved, and she was all for nothing personal, just using an occasion to socialize as necessary.

Although it would be another five years at most before Edward Bridges had to leave his job as well, for the time being Edward Bridges was still the Chief Civilian Officer of the Imperial Civil Service.

Pamela Mountbatten was clearly much more comfortable on such occasions, and Alan Wilson generally followed his wife’s lead. Although in was not as professional as his wife, it still worked very well in terms of the final result.

Edward Bridges was very happy that the once favored young buck kept knowing what he was doing, and that was very pleasing.

He was also very much in favor of Alan Wilson leaving his mark on the matter of the founding of NATO, and at the same time hinted that he looked more favorably on the more well-connected Alan Wilson than on Burke Trench, his supposed assistant.

“Thank you very much Sir Edward for thinking highly of me.” Allen Wilson couldn’t help but smile as soon as he heard that, “I have always used reliability, as the criterion for dedication to the Empire, and I don’t dare to slack off in the slightest.”

“Allen, I have always had no doubts about your reliability. There are no shackles on your body except for your age. In fact, well, age isn’t much of a problem. Loggins didn’t start his civil service career until 1945 either, and he’s just as far along as an EC Commissioner now.” Edward Bridges referred to the current EEC Commissioner.

“Of course, the Empire is full of talent, which is never good for our country.” Alan Wilson nodded busily.

There were more than a few candidates who could compete for Cabinet Secretary, and besides the few he had already targeted, how could the Cambridge Five not be the young talents of the Empire? It was just that they were serving another country.

The matter of this NATO signing was naturally also in the discussion between Edward Bridges and Alan Wilson.

Going into nineteen fifty-two, the hit-and-miss Korean War was no longer in a condition to involve the whole of the American experience. The beginning of the Berlin Crisis caused the United States, which had already withdrawn some of its energies, to look again at the question of European security.

Compared with Europe, the Far East was, after all, only a matter of minutiae, and the Berlin Crisis, which followed immediately after the annexation of Hokkaido by the Soviet Union, made Britain realize that the conclusion of a military alliance had become imminent.

Britain’s recovery from the war was accompanied by the Soviet Union’s recovery from the war; after all, the two countries were of completely different sizes. The Soviet Union’s ceiling was not comparable to Britain’s with only 50 million people.

The United States had also emerged from its early post-war period of confusion and was also interested in getting involved in European affairs, and Britain and the United States hit it off.

“The military responsibilities of the Brussels organization would be merged into the new military alliance, and the economic and trade components into the EEC. What about the colonial garrisons? I wonder if that aspect of affairs was talked about?” What about the garrisons in the colonies, now that the Western European countries combined still colonize quite a bit of the world?

“That part is not in the framework.” Edward Bridges said that Britain still had reservations about the colonies, and that the United States was still a dubious ally of Britain when it came to the colonies.

Alan Wilson breathed a sigh of relief, Britain was not yet as confused as the Soviet threat to the end, NATO’s protection was only European in scope, and Britain’s overseas garrisons were still armed forces under Britain’s own control.

And the current distribution of power in NATO is that the United States is the Commander-in-Chief, and the United Kingdom is the Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Chief Civilian Officer.

Thinking about this issue, Alan Wilson suddenly laughed bitterly, “Is our candidate Field Marshal Montgomery? If it’s him, I guess the command level of the military alliance may not be very amicable.”

The problem now is simple, the two senior five-star generals of the United States, MacArthur and Eisenhower, MacArthur has been distrusted because of the Korean War ability.

As for Eisenhower, he’s now running for president on behalf of the Republican Party, with the Democrats’ current low polling. Eisenhower took the presidency has been eighteen ninety-nine sure.

So NATO’s commander-in-chief is certainly not Eisenhower, but in addition to these two people who can do NATO commander-in-chief? Can’t pull out Nimitz from the Navy, right? Nimitz is a candidate that even the United States knows is unreliable, and the confrontation with the Soviet Union has little to do with the Navy.

Alan Wilson couldn’t even imagine the combination of Nimitz as NATO Commander-in-Chief and Mountbatten as Deputy Commander-in-Chief. Candidates for NATO Commander-in-Chief must be chosen from among the Army generals. Don’t look at any first class man or second class man, the Army is the force to be reckoned with in moments of life preservation.

As far as the current winds are concerned, making Li Qiwei the NATO Commander-in-Chief? Montgomery was the commander of the British Army Group during World War II, not to mention Li Qiwei, who was often connoted by Montgomery in Eisenhower.

If Li Qiwei is the Commander-in-Chief, Montgomery is the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of this configuration, it is estimated that Li Qiwei day and night the most troublesome is not the Soviet Union threat, but Montgomery’s mouth.

In fact, in addition to Eisenhower and MacArthur, the U.S. Army out of the five-star generals still left Omar Nelson Bradley, perhaps as the commander-in-chief of the person is he may also say.

Omar Nelson Bradley and once fought in North Africa, Montgomery also know this five-star general. But now this man is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, to come to be the commander-in-chief of NATO chances are not very good.

“I think it would be better for Field Marshal Montgomery to be the Commander-in-Chief, anyway, the United States does not have a candidate.” After thinking for half a day, Alan Wilson spread his hands and said, “But I’m afraid that the United States won’t agree.”

“They definitely don’t agree, it’s not after World War I anymore.” Edward Bridges laughed bitterly.

After this birthday party, Alan Wilson went to Paris to wait, and Pamela Mountbatten was very happy, not that she didn’t want her husband around, but he had been, and her cheeks were swelling.

She had thought that her husband in the telegram was joking, but it was aggravating when she came back and was really always jerked in the face.

With the heavy responsibility of guarding the free world, Alan Wilson was about to set out with great pride, wary of Princess Margaret’s behavior of coming to his house every now and then, in order to maintain the shaky Munich agreement. It was well to go to Paris and prepare first!

“Brother-in-law, isn’t it the twenty-fifth? You just came back and said you were going to Helsinki to see the Olympics.” Princess Margaret’s face was upset, and when no one was around, she directly helped Alan Wilson’s arm, and her movements have become more and more skillful.

If you don’t have you brushing your existence every day, I really want to take my wife or my wife’s lady of equal status to see it!

He hadn’t been to Northern Europe yet, he did want to go and see it! Although he thought so in his heart, Alan Wilson drew back his arm in an appearance of national importance, ”Your Highness, the signing of Paris is a major event that will change the pattern of the world, and we have to guard the free world. I gladly accepted the mission from Whitehall, how could I be delayed by personal matters?”

What is there to see in the Helsinki Olympics, just look at the final results, and then see how much revenue the Commonwealth Sports Lottery has, and slowly build up experience in the future, there are many sporting events, what World Cup and Europa League can be mixed.

In front of his sister-in-law’s righteous statement, Alan Wilson boarded the Paris flight without delay. A few hours later has been lying in the big bed of the woodpecker headquarters, lamenting his own laborious life.

When he was feeling sorry for himself, Ingrid Bergman came out of the bathroom wearing a towel and said, “The water is ready, and the temperature is just right. Take a soak to relieve your fatigue.”

Allen Wilson suddenly up, a moment later has been naked, walked past the side of Ingrid Bergman when pulled off the latter towel, some effort to say, “in fact, hardware is too good is also a burden, every time I hold you as if holding a cannonball.”

“You can let go if you don’t want to hug!” Ingrid Bergman’s arm hooked around the man’s neck discontentedly said.

“I said cannonball in positive terms.” Alan Wilson said the words, has walked to the bathroom door, the back heel as if growing eyes to bring the door closed, for the sake of the stability of the free world, less weight to carry forward.