Chapter 41 Help

"For the Allied goals and the whole world, 1914 is destined to be a disaster. At that time, although the war was raging, it was not out of control; it missed the opportunity to control the war, which was a big mistake made in 1914. Since then, the war has spread everywhere until it burns out. Since then, the exhibition of the situation has greatly escaped from the scope of people's conscious choice. The political axe and individuals all follow the rhythm of this tragedy, stagger forward in desperate violence, and slaughter and waste resources with each other on an expanding scale, until the resulting trauma affects the structure of human society. This trauma cannot disappear for a century. It can be imagined that it is a disaster for today's civilization. Surname. However, in December 1914, the bad situation was not out of control.

With the passing of the old years, a stalemate of land and sea battlefields has been formed between the main warring countries on the western front. The German fleet huddled in the heavily guarded seaport, and the British Admiralty wanted to lure it out of the harbor, but there was nothing it could do. The trenches extend from the Alps to the seaside, and sports warfare is no longer possible. The admirals fully believe in the blockade strategy, while the army generals are pinning their hopes on the war of attrition, and even more urgently trying to break through the enemy's defenses. In the history of world war, it is unique to build such a continuous trench. More than 30 miles of fortifications are closely guarded by millions of troops, supported by thousands of cannons, extending from the Swiss front to the North Sea.

War is the most bloody war, and strategy is the worst strategy and frontal attack. Because the French and British authorities adopted these two cruel emergency measures, they consumed the essence of men in their country for three consecutive years. But the brutal massacre caused by the war of attrition is not equal to the two sides of the war. The price paid by Britain and France for its attack in 191, 1916 and 1917 almost every time greatly exceeded the defensive posture of Germany, and the overall cost must be much higher than that of Germany. The situation is not the equivalence of life for one life. The British and French armies often need to sacrifice two or even three lives to destroy an enemy. The harsh figures finally prove that the Allies still have a difference of millions of victims in the end. Professional soldiers use this dogma to drive brave and obedient young people to sacrifice themselves to the battlefield, which is not only terrible but also incredible in the eyes of future generations.

This is the true story of the suffering, injury, disability or extinction of millions of people. It is the true story of the sacrifice of all the most outstanding and noble people in the whole generation. The fragmented world we live in today is the successor of these terrible events. However, there are always ways to avoid this massacre and shorten the time of this disaster. The two wings of the front could have found a detoured area; the defense line could have used other strategies to break through. These strategies could have been found and implemented kindly, which does not need to violate any principles of military art, but only needs to truly understand the military principles and apply them correctly according to the facts.

The event could have been in the hands of human beings. It could have ended everything with the victory of justice and results, so as to avoid exhausting the whole world, the destruction of the mountains and rivers of various countries, the collapse of empires, and the destruction of Europe. In a word, European civilization is falling!"

China Times - Written at the end of the year - Fallen Europe, December 1914.

Before entering the twelfth lunar month, there was a heavy snow at night, which added a little bit of the charm of the northern country to Nanjing, which is located in the south of the Yangtze River. In the early morning, snowflakes fluttered in the sky, pure white and crystal, like flying goose feathers. Slowly, the snowflakes are getting bigger and bigger... On the roadside, maybe some girls who came to Nanjing from Guangdong to study, wearing a scarf and a threaded hat, curiously looking at the snowflakes, and then happily opened their hands, closed their eyes and raised their faces, feeling the feeling of those snowflakes hitting their faces... On the road under the snowflakes One car after another. Because of the weather, the speed of the car was not fast, but Zhu Erdian, who was sitting in the car, did not have a trace of leisure. He went to look at the snow in Nanjing, let alone some ambassadors who had the leisure of going to Zijin Mountain to enjoy the snow. As the British ambassador to China, he clearly knew that he was responsible for it. Life.

Britain has never been as eager for an ally as it is now. The war in France has changed everything, and the main warring countries have formed a stalemate between land and sea battlefields on the western front. In October and November, when the French mainland's defense was still weak, the German army tried to break through. They suffered heavy losses. The general headquarters of France and Britain were also ordered to use barbed nets and trenches to set up machine guns to strictly guard the position.

In view of the power of modern firepower, the way of frontal attack has been abandoned for more than 40 years. In the Franco-Prussian War, the Germans won a major victory by the Germans by using a considerable amount of force on a certain wing to carry out a broad and detouring tactic. In the Russian-Japanese War and the Sino-Japanese conflict, the winning party also adopted this tactic. In Liaoyang, General Kuroki's troops attacked from the left wing of the Russian army, and it was also in Liaoyang. Xiao Yuren specially transferred the elite troops from Fengtian to attack the right wing of the army. If the frontal attack does not get the round-off cooperation of the flank, it must be costly and there is a possibility of failure. However, at this moment, in France and Flanders, for the first time in the war history, there was a war situation without two wings. The oldest tactic of detouring is no longer possible. The neutral area and the sea blocked the further extension of the front line. All armies were close at hand, staring at each other, but at a loss.

In this situation, the French Supreme Command, together with the British army, once again resorted to hopeless frontal offensive tactics, although it had been discarded by the painful lessons of the past. At the same time, since the Russian War, especially after the Sino-Japanese conflict, the firepower of modern weapons has increased exponentially and has increased with it. In addition, the barbed nets and mines used by the [***] team in the conflict have become the magic weapons of defenders. In order to destroy these weapons that will make the attacking troops a target, the time of shelling needs to be extended to effectively prevent the opportunity of raids.

In the current situation, it is impossible to attack on the French battlefield; there is no breakthrough in the middle of the front, and there are no wings to make a detour. In the face of this stalemate, tactics are powerless; the generals and their staff have nothing to do but a frontal attack, but the frontal attack is unacceptable by their experience and training. They have no choice but to fight a war of attrition.

But how easy is it to convince these politicians in Nanjing who are smarter than foxes? Moreover, even if they are persuaded, if the emperor refuses to send troops, even if the plan has been approved by the State Council, it will be denied. In short, if you want the [***] team to appear in France, you must persuade the "soldier emperor" to send his soldiers to Europe.

But is it easy for the emperor to send his soldiers to France and bleed for the interests of Britain and France? This is almost impossible unless Britain can show enough sincerity.

But what kind of sincerity can Britain show now?

Withdraw from Weihaiwei? Will Weihaiwei be returned to China?

When the Germans returned Jiao'ao to China and withdrew from the army, Britain reached an agreement with China. According to the agreement, in 1917, Britain returned Weihaiwei to China. Obviously, the Chinese would not take what they had obtained to make the soldiers bleed in vain.

Do you want to return Hong Kong to China?

No way!

This idea is just a flash, followed by the idea of whether or not. Hong Kong is the last shackle of Britain to control China, and the Chinese have always been eager to own Hong Kong. Victoria Bay is the best natural port in Asia. The Chinese navy needs it, but Britain also needs it.

In the future, the conflict between Britain and China will only become more and more fierce. Retaining Hong Kong is equivalent to inserting a sharp blade near the heart of China. Hong Kong can't give it to them.

Otherwise... Suddenly, a smile appeared on Zhu Erdian's face. The British shed so much blood and spent so much money for the French. Now even if they need to pay a price to let China send troops, the French should take out something!

After making up his mind, Zhu Erdian's mind finally calmed down. Perhaps it was because of the sudden relaxation of his mood. His hand tapped the beat on his knees from time to time.

"...We believe that as a major country with influence in the world, it is undoubtedly inappropriate for other countries to enjoy leases in China!"

In the living room of the palace, Zhu Erdian had a smile on his face. After the previous preparation, he finally brought his words back to the point.

"Similarly, it is also contrary to China's international status!"

International status! When mentioning these four words, Zhu Erdian deliberately aggravated his tone. He really knew too much about the emperor in front of him. He knew that the emperor was receiving Western education, but when he was in Europe, it was the most prevalent time for European nationalism. It can be said with great certainty that he was a A nationalist, for these nationalists, he knows very well how to provoke their heartstrings and how to make them excited.

Isn't the status of a great power what Chinese people dream of? They are eager to become a real big country, but how can a real big country have the leased land of other countries? For China, a country that is eager to become a big country, perhaps only this condition is necessary to send their own troops to Europe to bleed for Europeans.

Zhu Erdian's words only made Chen Moran's eyebrows jump slightly. At the same time, he took a closer look at Zhu Erdian. There are only two countries that still enjoy the lease in China, one is Hong Kong rented by the United Kingdom, and the other is Guangzhou Bay rented by France. If it hadn't been for the sake of strength, I would have wanted to Take it back in two places.

"Mr. Ambassador means..."

After a meditation, Chen Moran's face showed a suddenly enlightened smile.

"Is London ready to negotiate with China on Hong Kong? If so, our Congress welcomes London's concessions on the Hong Kong issue!"

Hong Kong!

Seeing Chen Moran mention Hong Kong, Zhu Erdian almost bit his tongue and made a mistake! It's too careless!

"Your Majesty, I think the most important thing now is to solve the leased land in mainland China first. As for Hong Kong, I think London will start talks with your country at the right time!"

It's not Hong Kong!

In an instant, Chen Moran understood what Zhu Erdian meant. For the British, there were only interests in their eyes. The leased land mentioned by Zhu Erdian and the status of a great power were simply to sacrifice the interests of France to achieve their goals.

"China is willing to support China and France in holding negotiations on Guangzhou Bay, and is willing to lobby France to make concessions on the Guangzhou Bay issue! Your Majesty, please believe that now may be the best time!"

Guangzhou Bay!

The moment he heard this geographical noun, Chen Muran's eyebrows jumped slightly, and then he fell into meditation. More than a decade ago, he didn't even know that there was a Guangzhou Bay in China, and he also didn't know that it was a French lease.

In 170, a French ship named "Anfitreed" ran aground near Guangzhou Bay because of a typhoon. During their stay, the crew found that Guangzhou Bay was a natural port. The water in the bay was deep and the waves were flat, and there were islands such as the South 3 and the East China Sea as barriers, so they secretly began to explore the waterway. After drawing a map and bringing it back to France, it attracted the attention of the French political axe.

In 1898, the 24th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, the Western powers slaughtered China Shenzhou at will with strong ships and cannons. The decadent Qing Dynasty had long been devastated and became a soft persimmon kneaded by people. In the face of Germany's occupation of Jiaozhou Bay and Russia's occupation of Lushun, France was not willing to lag behind. On April 9, it simply submitted directly to the government of the Qing Dynasty that the Governor asked the Governor to repair the Yunnan-Vietern Railway to lease Guangzhou Bay and hold a postal note. It was unreasonable to force the lease of Guangzhou Bay for 99 years, and the hooligan and rogue emphasized that "it must be allowed". When Shi Alan, the envoy of the State, made a request, he first wrote a recognition document for the Qing government axe, and did not allow the Prime Minister's government to change the character.

The "holy" and "indomly" Qing Dynasty obediently allowed the lease the next day. The Qing Dynasty was so soft that it was far beyond the expectations of the French, so it took an inch. It did not wait for the two sides to negotiate the rent. On April 22, Lieutenant General Bidauri Air of the Far East Fleet was sent to lead three warships ** Guangzhou Bay, today's The area around Xiashan was forced to demolish residential buildings and build barracks. In November 1899, the Qing Dynasty appointed Guangxi Admiral Su Yuanchun and French Marine Admiral Gao Lirui to officially sign the Guangzhou Bay Concession Treaty, renting the Guangzhou Bay area with a land area of about 518 square kilometers and a water area of about 1,612 square kilometers to France. Nineteen years. In order to strengthen the management and control of the leased land, the French set up the Guangzhou Bay Minister's Office, under the jurisdiction of the French Governor in Vietnam.

In the past ten years, I have always had a dream in my heart to recover Guangzhou Bay and Hong Kong, but Britain and France are not something that China can regret, at least not now. I tried to solve the problem through diplomatic channels, but in the face of China's request, Britain and France reached a secret agreement. The two countries reached an agreement on the lease and refused to hold a meeting with China at any level, thus completely cutting off the way to diplomatic recovery.

Diplomacy is not good, so we can only rely on force, but we can't use force yet, and we have to wait any longer. But now, Zhu Erdian has revealed such a piece of information that Britain is ready to help China recover Guangzhou Bay.

There is nothing to pay attention to, not to annihilate or steal. Even if Britain is generous to others, it must be for the benefit. Otherwise, with the usual British faction, it will obviously not have made such a big "sacrifice".

What made their decision sacrifice the interests of France?

Europe!

For this reason, they must want China to send troops to France to fight. After thinking about this, Chen Moran thanked him silently.

"If that's the case, I'm really grateful to your country!"

While following Zhu Erdian's words, Chen Moran thought in his heart that this matter must be revealed to the French through a channel before it becomes a fact. If the British sacrificed the interests of France, won't the French come up with their agreement to talk about it?

The two countries are a powerful weapon against China, and now it is also a weapon to fight back against them, sending troops to Europe, joke! Even if they hold Hong Kong and Guangzhou Bay in front of themselves now, it is impossible for them to send troops to Europe.

For those Europeans, even if the Chinese shed a drop of blood, it's not worth it. Now that the war has just started, they will go to Europe to fight this war of attrition. It's just their heads kicked by donkeys.

However, this is indeed an opportunity to bring back Guangzhou Bay and Hong Kong, at least the New Territories. The leased land and the New Territories are also concessions, but I'm afraid this matter really can't be done without the help of the French.

"We hope that your country will make a request directly to France, and our country will intervene in this matter at the appropriate time, mediate from it, and finally reach an agreement between China and France on Guangzhou Bay!"

While talking, Zhu Erdian noticed that the gratitude on the face of the emperor in front of him disappeared, but changed to another smile. The smile seemed to be, um, as if he had seen through him, but Zhu Erdian did not feel any surprise. He knew that if the emperor could not see through these, he would absolutely He will not become the ruler of this empire.

"Mr. Ambassador, I have a question in my heart, please answer it!"

While saying this sentence indifferently, Chen Moran looked at each other with a smile. He knew very well what the British wanted, but they didn't know what they wanted.

"I think that in the case of helping China, Britain must need China to give appropriate rewards in some directions!"

(to be continued)

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