"Gentlemen, are you ready for war?" British Prime Minister Attlee asked the cabinet members with ugly expressions in a weak voice, sporting dark circles under his eyes like a panda.

The cabinet members did not answer immediately, but they were all very clear that this war was unavoidable.

Just the day before yesterday, on October 21, the main force of the British Burma Army was annihilated by the Upper Burma Army on the border line. Not a single person from the six brigades escaped.

The armored forces of the Upper Burma Army pounced straight on Rangoon and captured it with the cooperation of the local "We Burmans Association" in Burma. The British Burma Army Command had to evacuate Rangoon, and the Burmese "We Burmans Association" immediately declared Burma's independence.

If only Burma had been lost, the British Cabinet might have been able to force themselves to endure it. However, yesterday, on October 22, uprisings broke out in the Bengal region bordering Burma, as well as in the southern and eastern regions of India. The slogan of the insurgents was "Drive out Britain, Independence and State-building." The judgment reached by the British Cabinet was that China was the mastermind behind this series of events.

Although declaring war on China at this time could not stop China from continuing to expand in the Central and South Asian region, if war was not declared, Britain would really lose its last dignity.

Seeing that none of the cabinet members objected, Attlee said loudly, "I will propose a declaration of war in Parliament and go to see His Majesty the King immediately."

He Rui had been waiting for Britain's declaration of war. Finally, at 9:00 AM British local time on October 25, the British House of Commons passed the war declaration proposal.

Yawning, He Rui ordered his secretary, "Go to the National Assembly. Prepare to send a telegram to Yamamoto."

Yamamoto Isoroku had been commanding the Japanese Combined Fleet to cruise in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin since October 21. By the 24th, Yamamoto even suspected that the British were not going to declare war. Yamamoto put himself in Britain's shoes many times and felt Britain might not necessarily dare to declare war because the disparity in strength between the two sides was too great. As long as Britain declared war on China, Southeast Asia would be finished immediately. If war was not declared, it could be dragged out.

After waiting through days that felt like years until the 25th, as soon as he received the news of Britain declaring war on China, Yamamoto immediately ordered, "Move closer to the Chinese fleet!"

International politics was sometimes this interesting or very uninteresting. The Sino-Japanese Coalition forces had already completed the wartime joint operation plan. But if the war didn't break out, operations couldn't start directly.

Soon, the Japanese Combined Fleet also received news from the Chinese fleet. The Chinese Marine Corps had begun to board ships, and the Chinese 5th Fleet was escorting the Marine Corps south. The 6th Fleet was moving closer to the Japanese Combined Fleet.

One hour after Britain issued the declaration of war on China, at 18:00 Beijing time on October 25, the National Assembly of China passed the resolution to declare war on the United Kingdom. The Republic of China and the United Kingdom entered a state of war.

At 19:00, the emergency meeting of the Japanese Diet passed a resolution declaring war on the United Kingdom in pursuit of peace due to Britain's unreasonable declaration of war on China. It also requested to form a coalition force with China, with He Rui as the commander of the coalition force.

At 19:15, the government of the Republic of Champa announced that the National Assembly of the Republic of Champa had passed a resolution to declare war on Britain in an emergency meeting. The Republic of Champa declared war on Britain and invited Chinese troops to station in Champa.

At 19:30, the National Assembly of the Republic of China approved Japan's request and agreed to form a coalition force, with the Chairman of the Republic of China, He Rui, serving as the commander of the coalition force.

At 19:45, Coalition Commander He Rui issued Order No. 1, establishing the Sino-Japanese Joint Naval Command and appointing Japanese Navy Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku as the Commander of the Joint Naval Command.

At 20:00, Yamamoto Isoroku received a telegram from Commander He Rui: "Go south immediately and launch the military operation to liberate the British colonies in Southeast Asia, code-named 'Spring Rain'."

Yamamoto immediately ordered his adjutant to record, "I am grateful for Your Excellency He Rui's trust. I will fulfill my duties faithfully, sweep away the stubborn enemy, and devote myself entirely to world peace together with my naval colleagues of the coalition force."

Three hours later, at 21:00 Beijing time and 12:00 Berlin local time, Nazi Germany announced a declaration of war on the Republic of China.

Half an hour after Germany's announcement, Italy announced a declaration of war on China.

At 13:00 Paris time, the French Vichy government announced a declaration of war on China.

At 14:00 Dutch local time, the Dutch government declared war on China.

At this time, except for the United States and the Soviet Union, other Great Powers in the world had completed declaring war on each other. The flames of World War II had seemed to extinguish for a short time, but in the blink of an eye, war reignited in most parts of the world. And this time, no one dared to predict how long the war would last.

The air control radio stations of Vietnam and Champa operated with unprecedented efficiency, providing navigation services for the clusters taking off from Hainan Island and the Guangdong/Guangxi regions.

The Chinese Air Force crossed the airspace of the two countries and headed straight for the destination, the airfield near Cam Ranh Bay. The fighters dispatched this time were all J-9s. Along the way, a distinguishable thin line running from south to north could be seen on the narrow territories of Vietnam and Champa. This was originally a one-meter narrow-gauge railway built by France. After the independence of the four southern countries, China signed agreements with the two countries. China lent money to the two governments, and China would transform this railway into a standard-gauge railway adopting Chinese railway standards.

The territories of Vietnam and Champa were narrow and long, basically running north-south, only 50 kilometers wide at the narrowest point. Such terrain, being close to the coast, allowed materials needed for railway construction to be obtained quickly from various ports. This nearly 2,000-kilometer-long railway was divided into six sections, and construction and renovation began simultaneously at both ends of each section. Construction started in November 1940 and was expected to be completed in December 1941. By then, Chinese trains could leave Zhennanguan and drive all the way to the southernmost part of Champa.

The railway starting from Saigon, passing through Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, and reaching the Thai border was also under construction, planned to be completed in June 1942. One of the goals of the Air Force's emergency sortie was to protect these railways from destruction by the British-Dutch coalition forces.

Britain had not been waiting to be beaten in the past six months. The British Pacific Fleet anchored in Singapore had been strengthened and now possessed 6 battleships and 1 aircraft carrier. The Indian Ocean Fleet anchored in Ceylon possessed 6 battleships and 2 aircraft carriers.

Although this indeed led to a significant shortage of ships in the British Home Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet, after making peace with the fascist alliance, Britain did not have to worry particularly about being attacked for the time being. The strength of Britain's current Home Fleet was enough to suppress the German Navy. Moreover, British shipyards were working overtime to produce warships, while ordering warships and aircraft from the United States to supplement Britain's military strength.

At this time, Singapore had almost turned into a huge military camp. In addition to the 100,000 Commonwealth troops defending Singapore, the British-Dutch coalition forces centered on 6 battleships gathered nearly a hundred warships of various sizes. Six air force groups of fighters were stationed at various airfields centered on Singapore. Only one British air force group was equipped with aircraft developed in Britain. Of the other five air force groups, three were equipped with P-47 fighters imported from the United States, and two were equipped with P-51 fighters developed specifically for Britain by North American Aviation.

Both fighters had the characteristic of American aircraft: long range. The ferry range of the British Spitfire fighter had just exceeded 1,000 kilometers, which was completely incomparable to the ferry range of P-47 and P-51 exceeding 2,500 kilometers.

With such long-range fighters, Lieutenant General Stephen, Commander of the British Singapore Theater Air Force, formulated a plan to raid the Chinese Air Force. The British General Staff did not expect the Chinese army to withdraw completely and neatly from the four southern countries after their independence, but they could predict that once war broke out between China and Britain, the Chinese Navy and Air Force would immediately move south.

Based on the experience accumulated in the Battle of Britain, Lieutenant General Stephen believed that he could use the long range of American fighters to launch a surprise attack when the advance units of the Chinese Air Force arrived at the airfield near Cam Ranh Bay, inflicting heavy losses on the Chinese Air Force while bombing the airfields in the Cam Ranh Bay area.

The J-8 fighters flown by the Chinese Volunteer Army left a deep impression on the British Air Force, who could observe them at close range during the Battle of Britain. The ferry range of the J-8 fighter was 2,400 kilometers, which was exactly the distance from the Sino-Vietnamese border to the Cam Ranh Bay airfield.

As long as a fierce attack was launched on the Chinese Air Force at this time, the Chinese Air Force, which had run out of fuel, could absolutely not be a match for the British Air Force.

In order to ensure that the British Air Force could exert its best combat effectiveness, the P-47 and P-51 fighter groups first moved north to military airfields in central Malaya, several hundred kilometers closer to the Cam Ranh Bay airfield.

In order to monitor the movements of the Chinese Air Force, Britain contacted the Jews settled in the Republic of Champa, where Cam Ranh Bay was located, through the World Jewish Congress headquartered in Britain.

Britain had previously generously stated that it was willing to allocate 5,000 square miles (about 13,000 square kilometers) of land in the British African colony of Uganda for the Jews to establish a state. Although the World Jewish Congress sent people to Uganda for inspection, they were frightened by the ferocity of the local lions and hyenas and declined Britain's kindness.

But Britain's generosity came from the heart, and the World Jewish Congress indeed appreciated this favor. In addition, many Jews wanted to return to Palestine to build a state, and Palestine was now a British colony, so the World Jewish Congress cooperated very well and contacted the Jews settled in the Champa region. Soon, many Jews were arranged to monitor the movements of the Chinese Air Force in the Cam Ranh Bay area under various names.

Britain not only sought out Jews but also contacted the Free French government, trying to ask the Free French government to send troops to occupy Cam Ranh Bay and even the entire Republic of Champa. Although the leftist parties within the Free French government rejected this request, some French people privately cooperated with Britain to provide intelligence to Britain.

This plan was submitted to the British War Office after obtaining the consent of Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, Commander of the Singapore Theater, and was immediately approved. The British Cabinet was particularly satisfied with this plan; giving China a head-on blow was very good, and provoking the relationship between Jews and Chinese was a part the British Foreign Office appreciated even more.

Shortly after the Chinese Air Force sent a message to the government of the Republic of Champa before departing for the Cam Ranh Bay airfield, the French and Jewish collaborators sent a telegram to the British Singapore Theater Commander.

At 8:32 AM on October 26, a group of British P-51 fighters had approached Cam Ranh Bay and began to circle at high altitude over the South China Sea. According to the experience of the Battle of Britain, fighter ambushes at high altitude were very effective. British short-legged planes with a ferry range just over 1,000 kilometers could perform such missions, and American long-range planes were undoubtedly more suitable.

Around 8:44, the first batch of Chinese fighters arrived over Cam Ranh Bay. After the Cam Ranh Bay base sent navigation signals to the Chinese fighters, the British fighters waited another 10 minutes before starting to advance towards the Cam Ranh Bay air base.

The British fleet did not hide; they already knew that China had radar stations in the Cam Ranh Bay area. In the Battle of Britain, the British army relied on the radar network to capture the position of the German Air Force to ambush. German planes could be detected, and the British Air Force could not escape radar searches either. Since there was no difference between sneaking and acting openly, Lieutenant General Stephen of the British Air Force decided in his plan to simply start the attack openly. The advantage of doing so was that since the Chinese planes ran out of fuel during the transfer, and the Chinese pilots were exhausted after 4-5 hours of long-distance flight, suddenly being attacked, especially having received a warning beforehand, the Chinese pilots would lose their best judgment because too many things happened at once.

When the 100 fighters of the British Air Force Group divided into three teams and charged near Cam Ranh Bay, Chinese fighters with shapes very different from the J-8 fighters came head-on. The British Air Force squadron leaders admired the choice of the Chinese Air Force in their hearts; there were three airfields near Cam Ranh Bay, and the Chinese Air Force rising to fight back instead of making an emergency landing was the choice that could pose the greatest threat to the British Air Force.

Since this was the case, then fight. The British Air Force engaged the Chinese Air Force in air combat using the four-plane formation mode stolen from the Chinese Volunteer Air Force.

In less than a few minutes, black smoke was already emitting from a plane fuselage, which had to disengage from the air battle. This plane was a P-51 of the British Air Force. Other British Air Force pilots were long accustomed to such scenes; they were unmoved and continued to use the most intense aerial maneuvers to dogfight with Chinese pilots.

After fighting fiercely for more than ten minutes, both sides suffered losses. Fighters emitting black smoke constantly disengaged from the air combat field. Some fighters also lost control, and the pilots had to parachute. Huge parachutes were like colorful big mushrooms in the air, slowly descending towards the sea surface.

The more the British pilots fought, the more alarmed they became. Many of them had participated in the Battle of Britain and were experienced. The combat capability of the Chinese Air Force opposite did not show the immaturity of novices but had quite the flavor of old birds.

What surprised the British pilots even more was that high-maneuver air combat consumed far more fuel than cruising flight. The Chinese fighters had maintained high-maneuver air combat for more than ten minutes. The fuel consumption during this time was enough to fly for an hour at cruising speed, yet the Chinese fighters showed no intention of saving fuel and continued to output full power. It was as if they had just filled up with fuel.

In addition, the agile reaction shown by the Chinese pilots didn't look like they had flown for 4-5 hours at all. British Air Force officers had also discussed a question before the sortie: Did China still have airfields in Vietnam and other places? According to the news obtained by Britain, the nearest airfield to Saigon was also 1,000 kilometers away. But all signs showed no indication that the Chinese Air Force had flown from 1,000 kilometers away.

Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the British Air Group Captain made a prompt decision and ordered the troops to disengage from the battle and return to base. The American P-51 fighter was excellently designed and well-manufactured, and it withdrew quickly. But something that terrified the British pilots happened: the Chinese Air Force did not land but chased after them.

The P-51 fighter had a top speed of nearly 700 kilometers per hour, and the speed of the Chinese fighters did not fall behind at all. The British Air Group Captain hurriedly called his troops to pull up and enter an altitude of 7,500 meters. Only at this altitude could the P-51 fly at its limit speed of 705 kilometers per hour. Just during this pull-up process, several British fighters were hit and fell helplessly towards low altitude.

The remaining British fighters exerted their engine power to the maximum. Fortunately, after such a battle, the British fighters had consumed a large amount of fuel and bullets, and the aircraft's weight was reduced a lot, finally reaching the highest speed. The Chinese Air Force chasing fiercely behind also used top speed, but obviously failed to exceed the maximum speed of the P-51. Seeing that they could not shorten the distance, Chinese pilots began to strafe with machine guns, and the last two P-51s flying at the rear were unlucky enough to be shot down.

Although the recoil of machine gun firing was not very large for a plane weighing several tons, it could not be ignored. The British fleet took the opportunity to widen the distance between the two sides a bit. This aerial chase continued for more than 100 kilometers before the Chinese Air Force stopped pursuing and began to return.

The British Air Force pilots who had finally got rid of the Chinese Air Force's pursuit just breathed a sigh of relief when a pilot's angry scolding came from the British Air Force radio: "They are animals!"

Other pilots did not speak, but this sentence indeed voiced their heartfelt feelings. Before this battle, the British Air Force intended to hunt the Chinese Air Force, but in reality, they were forced to retreat first after fighting a well-regulated air battle. The skilled combat techniques and extraordinary courage of the Chinese Air Force left a deep impression on the British Air Force. The British Air Group Captain was full of anger. He had participated in the combat meeting and heard many views from the upper level that seemed very reasonable. But he didn't expect the situation to be completely different from the views of the upper level.

Where was the agreed-upon Chinese Air Force planes running out of fuel? Where were the agreed-upon exhausted Chinese Air Force pilots? The British Air Group Captain felt that he really couldn't believe a single word from above!

"Group Captain, I need to lower altitude and speed. Otherwise, my plane doesn't have enough fuel to fly back!" A pilot's voice came from the radio again.

The Air Group Captain was startled and hurriedly looked at his own plane's fuel gauge. He found that his plane didn't have much fuel left either. The Group Captain slapped the fuel gauge in anger. If the Chinese Air Force continued to chase, he wouldn't even need to continue shooting to see the entire British Air Group crash into the sea due to lack of fuel.

This idea somewhat overestimated the Chinese Air Force. The reason why the Chinese Air Force gave up chasing the British Air Force was also due to insufficient fuel. As soon as the Chinese Air Force landed, they immediately contacted the headquarters and recounted what they had encountered.

Before the Chinese Air Group Captain could voice his suspicions, the commander on the other side said first, "We have already begun arresting suspicious elements. Such things will not happen again in the future."

Hearing that the superiors had already noticed the problem, the Group Captain also breathed a sigh of relief. Fighting desperately on the front line, death was just death. But being stabbed in the back must not be let off!