Churchill's "Memoirs of the First World War", which he called "very undignified", was submitted to the representatives of Britain, France, the United States and Italy by Youngdo, who had returned to Europe and had withdrawn to Bordeaux with the French government, 70 hours after the German occupation of Paris. Of course, Italy and France, which do not endanger their own interests, have no objection to this, and even French Prime Minister Clemenceau very much agrees with these demands, believing that as the main force of the Entente, the Chinese should be treated equally, especially on the issue of overseas Chinese, and should not be discriminated against.

Evacuated from Paris to Orleans, a hundred kilometers away, the frightened people were holding a joint meeting thinking about how to contain the German offensive, but at this time, China and Japan made such a request very impolitely, and the British and Americans immediately became dissatisfied. The cheeky Yang Du is not ashamed of taking advantage of the fire and robbery in the country, but thinks that the domestic consideration this time is simply very thoughtful, although these requirements can be raised after the war, but after the war it is not as good as now, and China's requirements are not excessive at all. In addition to some mines in the British and French colonies, and the Jinghan, Zhengtai, Jinpu, Shanghai-Nanjing, Shanghai-Hangzhou, Zhejiang-Jiangxi, Guangdong-Hanzhou and other railways controlled by Britain, France and Belgium, and their right of way, what was added was only a clause on the equality of overseas Chinese; The rights and interests of the Russian Far East, Central Asia, and northern Persia had been confirmed before, and they were only included in it for the purpose of making up the number -- why it was necessary to make up the 21 articles, Yang Du did not know at all.

"Gentlemen, this is ......" General Tesmats, a member of the British wartime cabinet and a member of the wartime cabinet, wanted to be furious, but having already learned the war situation, he still held back the bad words he was about to spit out, and only his tone was unusually serious, "....... It's so unseemly. I've always believed that we should be close allies. ”

The British said kind words. The gaze swept over the French and Italians, and finally fell on the face of Colonel Hausen, the special envoy of President Wilson. Colonel Hausen had long been very angry about this. He had no concerns about the British, and said indignantly without concealment: "Gentlemen, this is simply a smash!" Such immoral behavior should be resisted by all civilized nations! ”

"Nope! No! Gentlemen, this is just a reasonable and very fair request. "When Yang Du received the instructions from Beijing, he knew that he would face a debate in which he was outnumbered, so he was prepared." Since China and Japan are close allies of various countries, they should enjoy a corresponding and equal status of power. As for the redemption of railways and right-of-way invested by various countries in China, this is only a fair commercial transaction, and it is not a redemption at the original price. Rather, it is redeemed at a high price while ensuring the return of the original investor, which is really fair.

Now that the issuance of banknotes in various countries is getting larger and larger, and there are more and more orders for our products, and you are refusing to open the exchange of gold, who can guarantee that these banknotes will not become rubles and depreciate in large quantities? Now that countries have sold a lot of bonds and assets in the United States of America, why can't Chinese assets be sold, and at a high price?

The issue of overseas Chinese is the issue that the Chinese government is most concerned about, and one-fifteenth of the votes of the Revival Association come from overseas Chinese and those related to overseas Chinese. Moreover. Of the second group of troops who came to Europe to fight, at least 100,000 came from overseas Chinese. They took the initiative to sign up for the war, and their purpose was to exchange their blood and sweat for a status equal to the civilized world, excuse me. What is wrong with their demand for non-discriminatory treatment in their colonies?

Gentlemen, the world needs some new forces to curb the increasingly rampant forces of evil. China and Japan are willing to dedicate their strength to the sacred cause of safeguarding world peace, but the premise of this dedication is that the people of these two countries should not be discriminated against and treated equally in all parts of the world. For you can't make a slave or a second-class person fight as honorably as a knight.

In relation to our righteous demands, poll tax is imposed on Chinese people in various parts of Nanyang. The United States of America's targeting of Chinese immigrants and discrimination against Chinese in the United States of America is the most uncivilized and immoral behavior, and my Government has solemnly raised this issue with other countries many times, but each time it has not been resolved, especially the Chinese exclusion incidents that occurred in the Dutch colony five years ago and in Mexico seven years ago.

And the ...... of the students who went to the United States, Mr. Colonel, I would like to ask you, if your country wants to build a long-term friendship between China and the United States by sponsoring our students, why do you have to confine them in a wooden hut after arriving at your customs? Does this make them love your country or make them hate your country? ”

Yang Du's non-stop speech swept everything through like a well-loaded Makqin machine gun, ...... and when he finally concentrated his fire on the Americans, Colonel Hausen was speechless. The experience of those Chinese students who took visas issued by the Chinese embassy in China to enter the United States was really inhumane, and the incident caused an immediate uproar when a student fell ill and died in a wooden hut where he was detained the year before last.

After sweeping the Americans down, Yang Du turned his attention to the British, "Your Excellency, I believe that your government is civilized and friendly to China, and since our government has withstood tremendous pressure, especially the pressure of pro-German forces in the military, do you know why our Prime Minister appointed Lieutenant General Lin Wenqian instead of Lei Yizhen or Lieutenant General Qi Qingyuan as commander of the expeditionary force?" It is because Lieutenant General Lin Wenqian's favorable impression of Germany is far less strong than that of the other two generals.

This is only the appointment of generals, and now our Government has provided 95 percent of the raw materials for explosives in all countries, and together with Japan, it has provided 70 percent of the world's ocean-going cargo transportation, and in addition, according to the plan for increasing troops, China will eventually send an expeditionary force accounting for one-third of the strength of the Allied Powers. These efforts are crucial to the final victory of the Entente countries, and we do not ask for additional benefits, we just want equal treatment, even if it is only human equality.

If none of this is satisfied, the people at home will lose confidence in the war, the newly recruited overseas Chinese troops will be in disarray, and the Cantonese and Fujian sailors in the merchant fleet will frequently sabotage or even strike because of the unfair treatment of overseas Chinese of the same clan. These will bring terrible disasters not only to our Government, but also to the entire war......"

It's good that Yang Du didn't mention the strike of the merchant fleet, he mentioned it on his side. French Prime Minister Clemenceau jumped out of his chair, the tiger waving his arms. "No! No! No! Our civilian supplies are all transported by the merchant fleet, and now Paris is lost, and military supplies also depend on the merchant fleet for transportation, and the loss of the merchant fleet means the loss of everything, which is absolutely not allowed to happen. After roaring, he looked at French President Poincaré and said loudly: "I think France can fully agree to these trivial demands, and even we can send a directive to Governor Annan tomorrow, asking Annan to immediately abolish the discriminatory and unequal poll tax system against the Chinese." ”

So the French stated. The Englishman shrugged his shoulders and tried to maintain decency, and said, "The British colonies may accede to similar demands, as long as the Dominions do not object." But I would like to remind you that the Netherlands was not a member of the Entente,"

"This is not a problem," said Yang Du, "and if the Dutch do not accept the fair proposals of the countries, then our country will enter into separate negotiations with them in a friendly manner, free from outside interference, and I believe that he will eventually return to a civilized position." ”

Yang Du's words emphasize the word 'free from outside interference'. The general also listed this sentence separately when translating it to emphasize this particular meaning. Neither the French nor the British were noncommittal, but the Americans, who were relieved at this time, said: "I have another incident to remind you of is that the Russian Provisional Government is now fighting against the rebels. The declaration of the Entente countries recognizing the Russian Far East and the Steppe Governorate as belonging to your country will be rejected by them as soon as they are issued. Such a statement would also undermine the motivation of the Provisional Government to fight, and it is quite possible that they will abandon the offensive on Petersburg and turn to your country together with the rebels. ”

"Then we can make a secret pact. The date of entry into force of the treaty was set after the end of the war. Yang Du replied-for-tat,

"But our President, Mr. Wilson, does not wish to enter into secret treaties with any country. In his opinion, this is immoral. Colonel Hausen smiled apologetically, "At the same time." The United States is a democratic government, and any adjustment of national policy requires the consent of Congress, which is premised on the consent of the state legislatures. Even if Mr. President were to agree now to change the restrictions imposed on the Chinese in the United States, it would take a very long time to meet your country's requirements, and my Government would not be able to make any commitment to the Russian Far East and the Steppe Governorate and its policies concerning the Chinese. ”

"If it is only because it is inconvenient to sign secret treaties, then our government can sign relevant treaties with the Russian provisional government, and the US government can recognize these treaties in a timely manner; As for improving the various restrictions on Chinese in the United States, taking into account the national conditions of your country, we can first determine this direction, and then follow up from various details. Direction and willingness are crucial, and even if Mr. Wilson only makes a targeted message, it would be extremely useful in my country's view. Yang Du said.

"Speaking of which, I have to remind you once again that the majority of overseas Chinese are Cantonese and Fujianese, and the boycott of American goods thirteen years ago was led by Fujianese. My Government is totally opposed to such unruly boycotts, but just as your country is a democracy, we are also democratic to some extent, and the people, a sufficient number of them, will have complete control over the Government's decision-making. If this time the overseas Chinese launched a campaign not to boycott American goods, but to refuse to ship American goods, the result is really unpredictable. ”

As far as the current world situation is concerned, the Atlantic route can only rely on high-speed cruise ships, and without the loss of the Sino-Japanese merchant fleet, American goods and troops will not be able to reach Europe as planned, which is very deadly! Wilson's real intention in participating in the European war was to take the opportunity to make the world run according to the blueprint he had set, although he received nothing after the war under strong resistance from Britain and France. But now, without knowing the futility of participating in the war, if the American army is blocked on the other side of the ocean, and it is the Chinese army that helps the Allies to win, then the United States will completely lose its voice in the post-war conference, which is what Wilson fears the most, and this is also another kind of balance-of-power diplomacy pursued by the cunning British.

The word 'refusal' deeply stimulated Colonel Hausen, and the size of the American merchant fleet, which had been ravaged by German submarines, was less than four million tons, and the chaotic management and inability to establish a container transportation system in the short term made the merchant fleet extremely inefficient. Without the merchant ships of China and Japan, it would have been extremely difficult to transport a million troops to the European continent. Taking a deep breath, Colonel Hausen tried his best to calm down, "Your Excellency. I think I'll send the U.S.-related provisions back to Washington right away, and Mr. President and Congress will make a final decision on that. ”

Listen to him say this. Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief. The British envoy, General Smats, said: "Gentlemen, I think the most important thing is how to hold back the German offensive. Right now. There are enough indications that the Germans' next step was to drive the British expeditionary force out to sea, and if they did achieve this, the result would be fatal. ”

Smats had been to the British Expeditionary Force before flying to Orleans for a meeting, accompanied by General Robert, Chief of Staff of the British Expeditionary Force. Seeing that the envoy had opened up the scene, Admiral Robert immediately said: "According to a large number of aerial reconnaissance, the German Crown Prince Army Group is gathering troops and preparing to attack from the east of Persan to the flank of the expeditionary force......

Admiral Robert spoke of attacking. I had to glare at the French commander-in-chief Petain, who was sitting beside Clemenceau, and said hatefully: "The Renault tanks they captured were transported to the front line, and our soldiers were very panicked about this, thinking that France had been completely defeated. Gentlemen, the expeditionary force now has only fifty-six divisions of disengagement, and five hundred and forty-four thousand infantry have to defend one hundred and ten miles of defense, which is very dangerous. We desperately hope that the French and Chinese armies will immediately launch an offensive in order to contain the German offensive. ”

After the German army surrounded Paris, it was still brave enough to break south, and the French army, which had become a frightened bird, would abandon its position and flee as soon as it heard the sound of tank engines. This allowed the Germans to occupy Etamp, 60 kilometers south of Paris, without much difficulty, and more than 100,000 French troops surrendered in the encirclement, and if it were not for the 300,000 American troops who rose up, the army was likely to be completely defeated.

I heard that the British had asked the French to launch an attack to pin down the Germans. Chief of Staff Foch said calmly: "Sir, I am well aware of the current situation of the British Expeditionary Force and their importance, but the French army is not in a position to launch any effective offensive at this time. They were still in the chaos they had before, and they didn't have a week to ten days of rectification. I can't command them effectively. ”

"Then we hope that six divisions of American troops can be transferred to the Western Front." Admiral Robert also understood the current confusion of the French army, and turned to ask for reinforcements. And it is the US military units that are wanted. With the establishment of a division of 28,000 US troops, six divisions are 170,000 people.

"It can't be." Foch again refused, "It was the American army that stopped the confusion of the French army and stabilized the line." They could not leave until the French army had been thoroughly put in order. ”

The French didn't want to put it in, Robert's eyes couldn't help but look at Yang Du and Zhou Sixu, the chief of staff of the expeditionary force who came urgently, he looked at Zhou Sixu Zhou Sixu looked at Yang Du, and saw Yang Du nodding slightly, Zhou Sixu said: "I think instead of transferring the Revival Army to the Western Front, which is hundreds of kilometers away, it is better to launch a diversionary attack on the Eastern Front, which may disrupt the offensive rhythm of the German army......"

After the occupation of Paris, the French army was in disarray, and morale fell to a minimum; And because the British army was isolated, these more than 500,000 people were really in danger of being driven into the sea by the German army; As for the Americans, although they really wanted to be as imposing as the cowboys of the West, most of the troops lacked training, not to mention that even if they attacked, they lacked enough heavy artillery and chariots - after the Germans won such a brilliant victory with chariots, the armies changed their previous contempt for armored forces and began to equip chariots on a large scale, but the Americans did not know how to make this thing at all, and the French Renault chariots ordered before were captured by the Germans, so they could only help the French army defend the trenches.

Now only the Revival Army, which won the Battle of Baledik, has the ability to organize a decent offensive, so as soon as Zhou Sixu said about the attack, the eyes of the representatives of the countries attending the meeting lit up, and the most urgent British preemptively said: "Where will the attack be this time?" Will the offensive be launched in a few days? ”

Standing up and walking to the map by the wall, Zhou Sixu took the wooden pole used for explanation, pointed to a place and said, "We will attack here." ”

"Verdun!" Everyone present was taken aback, including Foch, the French chief of staff who had communicated with Zhou Sixu before.

"Yes, gentlemen." Although everyone was moved, Zhou's thoughts were not happy, because the staff of the expeditionary force believed that the best way to contain the German offensive was the occupation of Metz. "To be exact, we will occupy Saint-Mière, and then go north along the valley of the Maas and attack Verdun, forty kilometers away. Just as Germany used armored fighting vehicles, our army will also use armored fighting vehicles on a large scale, and it is believed that this attack will be unexpected by all Germans.

Verdun was a very crucial fortress in northeastern France. The occupation of this area not only cut off the eastern and western lines of the German army, but also threatened the two important railways from Metz to Sedan and from Theonville to Arlon. to put the iron and coal mines, which were vital to Germany, under the guns of our army......"

The Chinese said it so well, but did not say the specific time of the attack. Admiral Robert interrupted very rudely: "General Zhou, may I ask when your attack will be launched?" ”

"Just these two days." Zhou Sixu said, "In addition to gathering troops, another thing that affects the time of the attack is the weather in the east. Whenever the rain stops, we will attack ......"

The Entente joint meeting, which had lasted more than four hours, finally adjourned, and as soon as the delegates left the room, the reporters who had been waiting for a long time rushed over, but most of them rushed to French Prime Minister Clemenceau to find out what the tiger's optimistic view of the current situation was. Only a dozen Chinese and Japanese reporters surrounded Yang Du and Zhou's thoughts, chattering and asking questions.

Yang Du didn't care about military affairs, he was only thinking about how to implement the 21 articles. He was silent on his side, and Zhou Sixu confidently answered the question of the Japanese national newspaper reporter according to the strategy agreed at the meeting: "......, the Baath Army will soon launch an offensive that is extremely deadly for the German army to contain its offensive, unlike the Battle of Baledik, this time all the forces of the Baath Army will be mobilized, and the offensive will continue until Germany can no longer resist and has to transfer troops from the Paris Line......"

In fact, Britain and France are in Italy, as long as there is an independent defense line, any side will release the message that it will immediately attack with all its might. In order to boost the morale of the Entente countries, but Zhou Sixu's statement to the Japanese reporters thought that the revival army wanted to save the decline of the coalition army by itself, and he said in disbelief: "Your Excellency, do you want to say that the yellow race wants to save this war that may have been doomed?" ”

The Japanese are so ignorant. Zhou Sixu couldn't help but laugh when he looked at him, and he said, "What's impossible about this!" Tell those who still doubt us. The revival of East Asia is unstoppable, if surprised. Just get used to it! ”

"I'm sorry, I was rude!" The Japanese were stunned just now, and immediately bowed and apologized. At this time, a reporter from the China Times hurriedly asked: "General Zhou, after Russia withdrew from the war, many troops of the German and Austrian armies were transferred to the Western European battlefield. After the last Battle of Baledik, the Baath Army lost nearly 100,000 people, can the Baath Army launch a large-scale offensive at this time? ”

"With the recovery of the wounded soldiers and the arrival of new troops in the country, the strength of our army is not only not weaker than before, but much stronger than before. Now that the focus of the German offensive is Paris, and most of its fresh forces are concentrated here, it can be said that the defense of the eastern side of the German army is extremely weak, and once our army launches an attack, the German army, which is caught off guard, will suffer heavy losses.

It has been four years since the German army fought the war, and the materials, manpower, and morale have reached an unsupportable level, although this time although they were lucky enough to occupy Paris, but there were no German prisoner of war camps in Paris, let alone granaries, and only factories and weapons destroyed by the French army before they calmly retreated, and millions of bottles of whiskey and spirits, perhaps now German soldiers are drinking bars on a large scale. Zhou Sixu said with a smile. This will not help the German strategic forces in any way, not only will it not help, but it will be a fatal weakening, I did not dare to assert before, but now I can basically conclude that the day of the surrender of the German army can be counted down. ”

After the loss to Paris, the whole world thought that the Allies were about to win the war, and they did not want to think about it, but instead said that the day of the German surrender could be counted down. He is the chief of the general staff of the revival army, so the reporters are even more impatient, and they don't want Yang Du to be around him but they pulled him away, and after getting into the car, Yang Du asked, "You said that we were going to attack immediately, so didn't the Germans have defense?" ”

"It's too late." Zhou Sixu said with a smile.

"Why is it too late?" Yang Du asked.

Zhou Sixu smiled again, "When the large corps is fighting, there is no way to change the layout in a short period of time when the layout has been decided, this is like a person can stop immediately, but the train has to rush out for more than a few hundred meters when it stops." If the Germans had not arranged it beforehand, it would have been too late to arrange it at this time; If he arranges it, then everyone will really fight with a knife and a real gun, and see if it is our steel or the German's steel hard, and the one who meets the narrow road wins. (To be continued......)