I was acting crazy in North America, and all the crazy people there took it seriously.

Chapter 59 I'll Lead the British to Sell Wine
The news of British and American destroyers exchanging fire in the North Atlantic came as a bolt from the blue, leaving the world stunned.

Radio stations interrupted all programming to broadcast this startling news: "...A US Navy destroyer and a British Royal Navy destroyer engaged in fierce combat! The cause is unknown! Both sides sustained heavy damage!"

The news spread via transoceanic telegrams and radio waves, and the reactions of media outlets around the world were remarkably consistent: first, they repeatedly confirmed it with disbelief, followed by an uproar.

Weren't you just talking big? How come you've suddenly started fighting with real weapons?
Terrifying!

Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events!

They really fought! Not for colonies, not for hegemony, but for a... smuggling ship!

What kind of smuggling ship is so valuable? Worthy of Britain and the US each losing a destroyer?

Even Moscow's policymakers are squinting, carefully examining this sudden rift in the capitalist world.

Washington and London were caught completely off guard and descended into chaos.

Both sides immediately ordered the survivors not to disclose any details and quickly dispatched investigation teams.

Because they were so close together, both ships were severely damaged, with particularly heavy casualties.

The captains of both ships, and even the gunners involved, were all blasted into the air by a single shot, and it was unclear for the time being how the fighting started.

However, both the survivors of the British warship and the people on the smuggling ship testified that it was the American warship that fired that fatal first shot!
The anger in London, triggered by a series of unexpected events, quickly reached its peak.

Downing Street issued its toughest and most strongly worded statement against the United States in history, condemning the U.S. Navy's "despicable and deliberate sneak attack" on a Royal Navy warship on the high seas as "an outright declaration of war"!
The statement further broadened the scope of the crackdown, sharply criticizing the U.S. Coast Guard for "long-standing practice of boarding, inspecting, and detaining foreign vessels outside the three-nautical-mile territorial sea line, which is a serious threat to the freedom of navigation of all maritime nations!"

"The British Empire, as the defender of the maritime order, will not tolerate such acts that seriously violate international law and the principles of freedom of the seas, and will take all necessary measures to safeguard its rights and dignity!"

—According to the international law at the time, the universally recognized territorial sea boundary was the three-nautical-mile territorial sea line.

The problem is that the second British smuggling vessel seized by the United States was already nine nautical miles from the coast!
From Britain's perspective, this is tantamount to saying that you seized my merchant ship on the high seas and even bombarded my warship!
This is something that Great Britain always does to others; when has Great Britain ever suffered such a loss?

They rebelled!

Washington already knew its warships had made a huge mistake, but faced with Britain's aggressive accusations, especially its elevation of the law enforcement actions to the level of "violation of international law," it could only bite the bullet and fight back.

The White House cited provisions from the newly revised Customs Act, arguing that "according to regulations, ships bound for the United States are not allowed to unload cargo within 12 nautical miles of the coast, therefore we have the right to inspect and detain ships suspected of violating this regulation in that area..."

"As for the exchange of fire between the two warships, we will not discuss it before the truth is ascertained."

One side insists on the international convention of "three nautical miles," while the other adheres to its domestic law of "twelve nautical miles." Neither side will budge on matters of principle, and tensions in the Atlantic are escalating further!
The mindset of other European countries is somewhat conflicted.

On the one hand, neither the old hegemon Britain nor the newly emerging power America are any good. Watching the Anglo-Saxons fight like dogs gives one a strange sense of satisfaction!
On the other hand, the collision of two behemoths could very well drag them into it.

In particular, the fragile postwar economic recovery was heavily reliant on transatlantic trade. If Britain and the United States went to war in the Atlantic, even if they were not directly involved, life would be unbearable for everyone.

People in other countries have many things to consider, while ordinary people in Britain and the United States have much simpler things to consider.

The newspaper photos of their own warships being bombed to pieces greatly provoked nationalistic sentiments.

"Our ships have been damaged like this right on our doorstep! How can we tolerate this? The British must pay the price!"—the American people roared.

"How can the Royal Navy's century-old glory be trampled on by American upstarts? Blood for blood!"—the British public clamored.

Just as public opinion was boiling over, Logan once again demonstrated his unparalleled ability to stir up trouble.

Taking advantage of the situation, The Sun released a short film titled "World War II (Mini Version) 3: The Northern Front." The film opens by picking up where the second film left off, with British veterans inviting American soldiers after bayonet training to "have the most intense clash between real men!"

Then, changing the subject, the French soldier asked him, "Although you're good at bayonet fighting, aren't you an artilleryman?"

The Englishman chuckled and said, "That's right, that's why I said let's have the 'most fiery clash,' tell me, how about cannons?"

"You know that this will mislead the Americans, right?"

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. What can we do when Americans are so simple-minded?"

What followed was a familiar scenario for Americans: when American troops prepared to fix bayonets, they were met with fierce artillery fire and bullying from the British!
This isn't the most hateful thing. The most hateful thing is that the British, while firing their cannons, gleefully declared, "We Great Britain have long wanted to give these unfilial American sons a good beating!"

This remark made viewers in other countries burst out laughing, and it broke the hearts of American viewers!

"They were playing us from the very beginning!"

"That treacherous Englishman!"

Normally it's just empty talk, but at this critical moment, it's as effective as pouring gasoline on a raging fire.

Angry spectators even surrounded the British Embassy in the United States, expressing their deepest concern for their "ancestors" with rotten tomatoes and rotten eggs.

Perhaps outraged by the "American filial son" rhetoric, the Royal Navy subsequently announced that it would dispatch an "escort fleet" consisting of a battlecruiser, two light cruisers, and several destroyers to escort the cargo ship "Indomitable," which was fully loaded with Scotch whisky and British gin, to the east coast of the United States.

This fleet will anchor in international waters beyond the three-nautical-mile territorial sea line of the United States, and then—sell alcohol!
Yes, I'm bringing the British to sell alcohol with armed forces!

When the news broke, the world was like: ???
Armed...selling alcohol?!

This operation is too perplexing and exceeds the comprehension of most international political scientists and military commentators.

So, if you sell this ship full of wine, will you be able to cover the fleet's fuel costs?

Besides, given the current tense situation, which American businessman would be so reckless as to sail out to sea to buy a few bottles of whiskey?
To be honest, France understands Great Britain better.

A French analysis optimistically stated: "Don't worry, the UK and the US won't start fighting!"

"The British have always been like this, talking about upholding principles and international law while their hearts are full of business."

"They don't care how much wine they can sell. Their real goal is to use their powerful navy as a backing to force the United States to recognize and strictly abide by the international practice of the 'three-nautical-mile territorial sea line' in practice."

“If the United States backs down in this incident and tacitly approves of Britain’s ‘selling alcohol’ three nautical miles away, it will be tantamount to giving up its claim to ‘12 nautical miles of law enforcement rights’.”

"This would open a huge door for the smuggling of alcoholic beverages from Britain’s vast overseas colonies (especially the Bahamas and Canada, which are close to the United States) to the United States."

The article concludes with a sour remark: "The profits from the bootlegging will far exceed the cost of this fleet's voyage. Britain is using warships to 'escort' their smuggling trade and 'expand their market'!"

Damn it, I'd love to smuggle alcohol into America too!

So, will America back down?

……

(End of this chapter)