Chapter 510: Sword of Damocles

From the time after the Napoleonic Wars to World War II, that is, from about 1815 to 1939, Britain was undoubtedly the most powerful country in the world.

Before the Napoleonic Wars, during the North American War of Independence, France enlisted European countries, including the Netherlands, Spain, and other countries, to fight against Britain, eventually forcing Britain to recognize the independence of the United States. Although Britain won the previous Seven Years' War, it did not establish Britain's position as the world leader.

It was not until the end of the Napoleonic Wars that Britain truly established its position as the world's leader by suppressing Napoleon's dominance, and dominated the world for more than a hundred years. I have to admire the resilience of this nation. They are able to fight against each other every time. Although they have gone through countless failures, in the end it is often these unruly British people who have the last laugh.

Until World War II, the whole world still believed that Britain was the most powerful country in the world, and the United Kingdom still regarded itself as the most powerful country in the world. As a result, World War II broke out, and when the British Empire was struggling to survive under German bombing, the whole world was surprised to find that the Empire on which the sun never sets has weakened to this point.

Even without the support of its allies, Britain would definitely not be Germany's opponent.

Since then, the world has shifted its hopes from Britain to the United States.

Later, Britain's naval strength declined, and its colonies could not be maintained, which also led to a further decline in its naval strength. After the collapse of the British colonial system, the United States naturally established the Bretton Woods system and inherited the British "mantle."

With a sigh, the plane arrived at the destination of this trip, London Luton Airport. Amid passionate military music, "Air Force One" slowly landed on the runway. The island welcomed its second foreign conqueror in nine hundred years.

The entire airport has been surrounded by the Guards Corps, and there are a large number of sentries on the periphery. The surrounding five-kilometer area is tightly blocked by the German Army. There are two fighter squadrons on alert in the air, and there are also helicopters whizzing by from time to time. Patrol formation.

"..." As soon as he walked out of the cabin, Yannick couldn't help but frowned slightly. There was an indescribable strange smell in the air, which seemed to be the sour smell of something rancid. Although it was not very strong, it smelled a bit disgusting; it must have been because the city of London had been soaked in water for several days.

A red carpet has been laid out on the ground. Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee led a group of senior government officials to wait. Next to Clement stood little Elizabeth in a formal dress.

"His Royal Highness, welcome to London." Clement said respectfully as Yannick walked down the hanging staircase.

"It seems that Prime Minister Churchill is very busy."

Seeing Yannick's face looking a little unkind, Clement hurriedly explained. "Prime Minister Churchill suffered a cerebral thrombosis more than 20 days ago and is bedridden. Please forgive me."

"Oh? Is there such a thing?" No wonder, if Churchill was in charge, London would not be able to surrender so easily. Even if London fell, Churchill would have fled abroad to establish a government in exile to continue resisting Germany. "Then I'll go visit Prime Minister Churchill later." He had never seen this "great man" after traveling through time. He wanted to see the current Prime Minister Churchill with his own eyes.

After greeting everyone, Yannick looked at little Elizabeth aside. "Elizabeth."

Little Elizabeth curtsied. "Hello, Your Highness Yannick."

Yannick nodded slightly. "Then let's go to the palace to visit His Majesty the King first." A Mercedes-Benz "Army One" slowly drove out from the accompanying transport plane, and Yannick faced little Elizabeth. "Elizabeth, sit with me."

Sitting in the car, Yannick smiled and touched her hair. "What's the matter? You don't seem happy?" From the moment we met until now, little Elizabeth has always had a sullen face.

"Brother Yannick..." Seeing little Elizabeth hesitate to speak, Yannick said with a smile. "Have you forgotten what I told you last time? You are descendants of Germans. Now that Germany has finally conquered Britain, you should be happy. Even if you regard yourself as British, haven't you thought about those who were conquered by Britain before? Is it a colonial country? There is a saying that goes, "Thirty years to the east of the river and thirty years to the west of the river." When the British colonized other countries, they should have thought that they would also be conquered in the future. "

Little Elizabeth asked immediately. "Will Germany also be conquered in the future?"

Yannick shrugged and nodded. "Of course, this is the law of historical development, but you and I can't see it anymore. And after this war is over, there will be super bombs like Pandora's Box in the world. One of these bombs can easily destroy a city. "

Seeing little Elizabeth's shocked face, Yannick smiled. "But it will be like the Sword of Damocles. Although it seems extremely dangerous, it can protect mankind in peace."

The so-called Damocles was a courtier of Dionysius II, the tyrant of Syracuse, Italy in the 4th century BC. He liked to flatter Dionysius very much. He flattered: As a great man with power and prestige, Dionysius was very lucky. Dionysius offered to exchange identities with him for a day, so that he could try the fate of the leader. At the banquet held in the evening, Damocles enjoyed being a king very much. When the dinner was almost over, he looked up and noticed the sword hanging above the throne with only a horsehair. He immediately lost interest in food and beautiful women and asked the tyrant to let him go. He never wanted to be so lucky again.

The sword of Damocles is often used to symbolize this legend, representing that having great power is very insecure and can be easily taken away, or simply speaking, it means feeling the coming of doomsday.

Einstein once said: Although we don't know what weapons will be used in the Third World War, we know that the Fourth World War will definitely be fought with stones. When German scientists Otto Han and Fritz Strassmann discovered the phenomenon of nuclear fission, nuclear bombs became possible. This ultimate weapon known as the destruction of the earth has become the sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of many countries.

Nuclear weapons cannot avoid small-scale conflicts between countries, but they can avoid the danger of direct war between major powers. So the existence of nuclear weapons is not necessarily a bad thing. It is a double-edged sword. It depends on how to grasp the scale.

Little Elizabeth couldn't help wondering. "How can it maintain peace?"

Yannick explained with a smile. "Why, you don't understand? It's like ten people living together, all with bare hands, and suddenly one person got a knife, then he has the final say, because it's easy for everyone to suffer if they fight him with bare hands; then one person got a gun, then he is the overlord, because anyone else would definitely die if they fight him; later everyone got a knife and a gun, and had the ability to kill others and be killed by others, no one dared to make the first move, and no one could guarantee that they would not be killed by others when they could kill others, so the ten people sat down to hold a meeting, and the rules were born, that only fists are allowed in a fight, and knives can be used if you really can't help it, but guns are absolutely not allowed!"