"Your Excellency, although the current situation is very unfavorable for us, we can continue to fight. We still have more than a million troops, and our British allies, and hundreds of thousands. If we keep fighting, maybe a miracle will happen. Marshal Xia Fei expressed his attitude uncompromisingly.

President Poincaré nodded and looked at the others.

"Your Excellency, if we continue to fight, are we sure of winning? The French Republic has already lost too many troops in this war. "René? Prime Minister Viviani asked.

It is clear that the position of the French government, with heavy losses and little hope of victory, has wavered somewhat. If you are doomed, why keep fighting? In that case, I'm afraid it will only make them pay a bigger price and let more people die.

"No, Your Excellency Prime Minister. We don't have a good chance of winning, but we have a chance to win. If we surrender to the Germans, then the Germans will definitely slaughter us. When the time comes, we will lose large swathes of territory and be burdened with heavy war reparations. France will sink from this, and there will be no chance of rising again. Marshal Xia Fei said.

The faces of the government bigwigs attending the meeting were ugly, but they all had to admit that what Marshal Xia Fei said was correct. From the information they obtained, Russia paid a great price in order to withdraw from the war. If France surrendered, it would undoubtedly be sent to the door by itself, to be slaughtered by the Germans. When the time comes, the Germans will definitely not be polite. They may come up with even harsher conditions than they do with Russia.

"Alas, how nice it would be if the current rules of war were all followed more than two hundred years ago!" Minister of War Alexander? Millerand said.

Everyone was stunned, but then smiled bitterly. They all understand Alexander? The meaning of Millerand. It's just that that's obviously impossible. More than 200 years ago, there were many wars in Europe. But at that time, there was never a war that caused a country to perish, or even lose its territory. If you lose, you just need to bow your head and admit your mistakes, apologize, and be more or less meaningful, then everything is over. It's not like now, it's easy to destroy the country!

Of course, the mention of this undoubtedly shows how little confidence the French have in their hearts about this war.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Minister, if we surrender, what harsh conditions will the Germans presumably offer?" President Poinkale asked.

"Your Excellency, in the style of the Germans in this war, they will probably slaughter us severely. First of all, in terms of territory, the territory in the north of the republic will probably have to be lost, even including Paris. Secondly, in terms of reparations, the Germans have always opened their mouths. With the richness of the republic, the Germans are afraid that they will demand reparations of 20 billion marks or more. "Foreign Secretary Theophile? Delcasse guessed. Of course, this is nothing more than his personal speculation.

But even this has made the faces of President Poincaré and others very ugly. If they agree to such conditions, then France will really be no different from the dead country. The northern part of France, which is the richest and most industrially rich place in France, if ceded to Germany, will make France a second-rate country in Europe. Not to mention, Paris is the capital of all French people and a spiritual symbol for everyone. Once Paris is ceded to Germany, is France still France? In addition, the reparations of 20 billion marks are undoubtedly a great burden. Although, France is very rich. Their loans abroad alone amounted to 50 billion francs, equivalent to marks, almost 40 billion marks. However, this money cannot be simply withdrawn. What's more, two hundred billion marks is nothing more than Theophel? Delcasce's own speculation was just that, and the Germans' demands would be higher than that. France will never be able to accede to such harsh conditions.

"Gentlemen, if the Germans really put forward such conditions, even harsher than this, will we be able to accede to them?" President Poinkale asked.

The senior French government officials attending the meeting shook their heads one after another. If they had agreed to such conditions, they would have become sinners through the ages, and would have been the object of scorn by all Frenchmen.

"Your Excellency, we must not accede to the harsh conditions of the Germans, nor can we surrender to the Germans. If we keep fighting, we may have a chance to win. Marshal Xia Fei continued.

"Oh?" President Poincaré and others immediately focused their attention on Marshal Xia Fei. If they can win the war, or even a draw, it will be a great thing for France. That way, at least they won't have to pay too much.

"Your Excellency, on the British side, didn't we let our navy cooperate with them? If the navies of Great Britain, France, and the Kingdom of Italy combined could defeat the German navy. Well, the Germans did not have much advantage. As long as we continue to fend off the German attack in France. Gradually, the scales of victory will tilt in our favor. Marshal Xia Fei said.

"Navy? Your Excellency the Minister of the Admiralty, our Navy, will it be able to defeat the Germans? President Poincaré asked.

"Your Excellency, the Navy of the Republic has set sail for England. According to the plan, it was to be coordinated with the British fleet. The fleet, which Britain purchased from the United States, is expected to return to the UK next month. When the time comes, we will unite to fight against Germany. As for whether the Germans will be defeated, it is difficult to say. But judging from the strength of the two sides, the gap is not large. With a little more luck, winning is entirely possible. "Secretary of the Navy Victor? Gagnur said.

"In that case, Your Excellency, I think we can continue to fight. No matter how bad it is, it can be delayed a little longer. Wait until the decisive battle between the navy and the German navy is over, and then decide what to do next. If the Navy can win, then we can continue the war until the day of victory. If the navy fails this time, then I don't think we need to hold on any longer. "René? Prime Minister Viviani said.

President Poincaré nodded: "If you don't have any other opinions, then do it." May God bless the Navy and bless us for defeating the Germans! ”