Brian frowned, turned to Qiao Yu and asked: "What exactly is the further action that the young diplomat, Your Excellency, the patrol ambassador, is referring to? Don't you want to help the Germans?"
"Haha, Mr. Special Envoy is overly worried. We are firmly on the side of the Allied Powers. However, you are also aware of the situation in our country. Especially since the southwest has just experienced a war, it can be said that there is nothing to be done. The focus of investment will naturally change.
But don’t worry, I will try my best to ensure that supplies are provided to the Allied Powers!”
After listening to Qiao Yu's words, Brian suddenly cursed in his heart. It would be weird if I could believe you. This is a typical threat to the Allies with supplies, but now the Allies just do this. China's supplies are absolutely unacceptable to the Allies.
In addition, the mud-legged giant Russia also relied on China to transport arms, which made the Allies even more dependent on Qiao Yu's support.
No matter how outstanding diplomats are, they cannot ignore the reality. Now it is Britain and France who are begging Qiao Yu, not Qiao Yu who begs them. As long as you dare not to hand over power, Qiao Yu will have enough means to cause Britain and France to suffer huge losses and cut off material supplies.
To recruit European workers, Qiao Yu has many ways to make them surrender.
Brian also saw clearly that if he did not relent on the tariff issue, he would not be able to get support. The young man in front of him was not one of those idiots from Beiyang, so Brian smiled and said: "Since Southwest insists on asking for the right to water irrigation, I think
This is negotiable. In order to avoid confusion, I suggest adopting a gradual transfer of power, and the time will be set at ten years. During this period, we will help the southwest cultivate talents, familiarize you with the tariff collection model, and slowly increase the number of Chinese officials.
Quantity, how about any of you?"
Brian shamelessly used delaying methods again. Not only Qiao Yu didn't believe it, but even Gu Weijun didn't believe it. Europe will be over in ten years. By then you will have recovered your strength. Will you still give in?
How can I back down now when I am taking advantage of your illness and killing you?
"Mr. Special Envoy, is it a bit too much for you to treat your allies with such a prevaricating attitude? Moreover, tariffs belong to a country and its power. There is no such thing as returning the southwest part. What we want to discuss is the entire tariff!"
Gu Weijun could be regarded as a lion at this time, directly asking for the country's tariff power. Zhu Erdian on the side was not willing to let Brian fight alone, so he also interjected: "Mr. Gu, in this war, Qiao Patrol Envoy
We took the lead in reaching an intention to cooperate with the Allied Powers and provided great help to the Allied Powers. It is precisely because of this contribution that we agreed to discuss the issue of tariffs. As for extending it to the entire China, it would be a bit inappropriate!"
"Mr. Zhu Erdian, since you don't want to talk about national issues, you don't have to discuss it, but ten years is too long. The Chinese are not that stupid. One year is enough to train customs talents. This is the basis for our participation in the war.
Absolutely no change!”
Qiao Yu knew that China did train customs talents, but ten years was too much nonsense. Britain and France were not good people. The British also promised to give India independent status as long as the Indians helped them fight the war. However, as soon as the war ended, the British immediately
He threw the promise out of the window, so it was best to completely control the tariff power in his own hands during World War I. Only in this way can he be safe.
"Your Excellency, Inspector, the customs personnel are very professional. One year is definitely not enough. I think it will take at least three years. In addition, I hope that you will send 500,000 troops and 1.5 million workers!"
Qiao Yu immediately shook his head. The combined armies of the three southwestern provinces are now just over 100,000. Recruiting an army of 500,000 would take a lot of energy. Moreover, it is simply impossible to send these people to Europe.
Task!….
"Mr. Special Envoy, sending troops and workers is not something you just say. Now the shipping routes from the Far East to Europe are extremely busy. We don't have that much transportation capacity at all, and the army must be fully trained. I will never allow the Chinese army to arrive.
As cannon fodder on the battlefield, we have made estimates that we can send up to 80,000 soldiers, and the total number of workers cannot exceed one million, and the Allies do not have such strong organizational capabilities!"
Sichuan's industry is developing rapidly and it is in urgent need of labor. Although China has a large population, it cannot be sent to Europe casually. Brian was obviously not satisfied with the figures given by Qiao Yu. He shrugged and said: "Your Excellency, the patrol envoy
, Europe is a big battlefield. An army of less than 100,000 people is only consumed in one battle and cannot solve the problem at all. You should show greater sincerity!"
"Mr. Special Envoy, please pay attention to your wording. The tariff power belongs to China. We are just taking back what should belong to us. This is not an exchange. We are only sending troops based on international morality. Only if you realize the mistake first can we
Let’s talk about sending troops!”
Although both parties knew that this was a deal of human lives for power, Gu Weijun used the diplomat's ability to confuse right and wrong. This was not a deal, but a charity from China after the Allies admitted their mistake. This suddenly changed the nature of the incident. Bai Li
An was not willing to give in, but had no other words to say, so the situation immediately fell into embarrassment.
"Mr. Special Envoy, you are tired from the journey. Take a break for now and see the great mountains and rivers of Sichuan. After you have rested, we will talk about this issue again. China has lost its tariff power for decades. I don't care about these days!"
"
After Qiao Yu said these words, Brian was so angry that he almost vomited blood. You don't care about time, but I do. Europe is dying, how can I afford to delay it, but Brian also knows that today's negotiation is over for now.
Here, I have indeed underestimated Sichuan's determination, and any delaying method will not work.
Briand really needs to care about time now. Another more terrifying and bloody war has broken out on the European battlefield. Britain and France concentrated a huge force of thirty-nine divisions to launch an attack on the Somme. This war is Joffre
Launched, he wanted to force Germany to withdraw its troops from the Russian front and Verdun by attacking the Somme River line, relieve pressure from other aspects, and at the same time eliminate a large number of German troops and break through the German defense line.
After the Battle of Jutland, both Britain and France were worried that Germany would attack the sea blockade again. It was unknown whether the severely damaged British Home Fleet could stop the Germans. Therefore, defeating Germany as soon as possible became the common aspiration of Britain and France.
In the Battle of the Somme, the British invested more than two-thirds of their troops, which can be said to be a huge investment.
Starting from June 24th, Britain and France began to bombard the German defense line fiercely. Lu Jianzhang and others in Europe also received news of the outbreak of the war. Lu Jianzhang, Long Jiguang and Zhang Xiaohuai gathered in front of the map.
Studying the battle situation.
Long Jiguang looked at the map and shook his head: "Lao Lu, I see that the British and French commanders are constantly getting smarter. Since they are preparing to break through the opponent's defense line, the most important thing is to take them by surprise and attack them unprepared. They have been bombarding them for a week. Are they telling them
Are the Germans going to start attacking?"
It has been nearly a month since Lu Jianzhang came to Europe. His soldiers are all undergoing adaptive training. At first, Lu Jianzhang and others were frightened by the cruelty of the European war. There were thousands of artillery pieces, hundreds of aircraft, and artillery shells at every turn.
The launches were all in units of tens of thousands, and every inch of land on the battlefield was plowed. The momentum was really scary...
However, after seeing more, they also discovered the problem of rigid tactics of the British and French armies, which were all based on strength and recklessness. Zhang Xiaohuai felt the most profound, "Two brothers, it's no wonder that the British and French troops have not read Sun Tzu's Art of War!"
"
While they were chatting, Li Zongwu ran over in a panic and said breathlessly: "Three of you, the Chinese army is about to be pulled back to the front line!"
Lu Jianzhang and others were shocked when they heard the news, "Mr. Li, are you kidding me? We need four months of adaptive training. It's only been one month. The soldiers' physical fitness has not been adjusted at all. How can they participate in the war?"
ah!"
Zhang Xiaohuai also said: "Mr. Li, you are not mistaken. If you join the war now, you are joking with the lives of your brothers. As the chief of staff, I firmly oppose it. Qiao Shuai will never agree to such a reckless move!"
"You two, don't refuse in a hurry. Take a look at today's battle report!" After saying this, Li Zongwu handed a report into Lu Jianzhang's hands. When everyone took a closer look, their eyes widened.
"Mr. Li, this British man is a pig, how come more than 80,000 people died in one day?"
Zhang Xiaohuai was calmer and read the battle report carefully. He suddenly understood that the Germans had gathered a large number of Maxim machine guns. These machine guns became the gods of death. Germany learned the importance of machine guns from Sichuan in World War I.
After the outbreak, machine guns were indeed very good weapons. Germany concentrated nearly 2,000 heavy machine guns on the battlefield of the Somme. In one day, more than 80,000 British and French soldiers were swept up. Suddenly, the British troops were stretched thin. Now
The high command was frantically mobilizing troops to join the battle on the front lines, and the strength of the two Chinese divisions was also thought of by Britain and France.
"Mr. Zongwu, the British cannot bear this anymore and are in urgent need of reinforcements. However, our military strength is limited and training is insufficient. It is really not an opportunity to join the war!"
"Commander Lu, I also know this, but the country is currently discussing the issue of tariffs with Britain and France. At this time, if we can win a battle, how much support will we have for the country? The Chinese army is not a coward, it is a fighting force. Only
Only in this way can we confidently claim back our rights."
Lu Jianzhang, Long Jiguang and Zhang Xiaohuai looked at each other. They also knew that this battle was for political purposes. However, it was obvious that this battle had to be fought. No matter how many troops were exhausted, as long as they could get
It was enough to regain the lost rights and interests. After arriving in Europe, they became more aware of the meaning of the three words "Chinese". Even if they died in battle, they could not weaken the majesty of China. They wanted people all over the world to know that China is not only
The sick man of East Asia!
"Mr. Li, in this case we will prepare immediately. The Chinese army will definitely be able to reach the front line within seven days!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to () to subscribe and reward. Your support is mine.