France in 1917 was teetering on the crossroads of war.
The Americans have not yet entered the war and are only focused on doing business and making money, the British are exhausted and still trying to support themselves, the Russians are in civil strife and have nothing to do, and France is almost drained of blood.
In this winter, former Prime Minister Joseph Caillot, who belonged to the Radical Socialist Party like George Clemenceau, proposed peace with the Germans and called for an end to this war without a winner. At the same time, the new emperor of Austria-Hungary, Karl I, had just succeeded.
He sent his two younger brothers to Paris to start secret peace negotiations with the Allies.
It looked as if the war was coming to an end.
At least there is hope for an end.
Karl I was less than 30 years old. He was an idealist. Before succeeding to the throne, he had not received any political training or any management experience. Let such a person serve as the leader of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, one of the five traditional powers.
The emperor is really worrying.
Like their young emperor, Karl I's two younger brothers, Prince Hist and Prince Sevier, had previously worked as stretcher-bearers in the Belgian army and also had no political experience. This made the Austro-Hungarian peace negotiation seem unlikely.
There is no sincerity.
Unlike Caillot, Clemenceau was a staunch militant. Clemenceau opposed any form of compromise and advocated fighting the Germans to the end so that the Germans would receive the punishment they deserved.
You can hear it in his tone.
We can't get Alsace and Lorraine from negotiations. If we don't get them on the battlefield, then we can't get them at the negotiating table either. When talking about these, Clemenceau was emotional and spoke quickly.
Quickly, his face flushed, and the beard on his lips kept blowing up. With his firm and powerful movements, he showed extremely strong tension and appeal: We do have many difficulties, but at the same time we should see that the Germans
The difficulties are not small at all, even more than ours. If I come to power, my internal plan is: I will fight. My external plan is: I will fight anytime. Anywhere, and I will fight until the end of my life.
At that moment, life goes on and the fight goes on
At the end of his speech, Clemenceau couldn't help but stand up from the sofa. Although he slowed down in speaking, he was more decisive, sonorous and strong.
Hua Hua Hua Foch and Lyotaire couldn't help but applaud.
George, I support your old Reno slogan.
Qin Zhiyuan remained calm and politely applauded as Foch and Lyautey stood up.
Qin, as a Frenchman, I don’t blame you for your behavior on Corsica, but I am grateful to you because you are working hard for the interests of France. But now, the time has come for you to work hard again. Gram
Limenceau looked serious.
Qin Zhiyuan knew that Clemenceau would become Prime Minister of France at some point in the future. Then he would play a key role in World War I. But Qin Zhiyuan did not know when Clemenceau came to power, let alone Clemenceau.
How did Limonceau come to power?
According to Clemenceau's status in France, Clemenceau's words now are equivalent to giving Qin Zhiyuan official recognition. This is equivalent to giving Qin Zhiyuan a death-free gold medal, which can guarantee that Qin Zhiyuan will survive the war.
Not be held accountable.
Of course. According to Clemenceau, whether this death-free gold medal will be effective depends on Qin Zhiyuan's subsequent performance.
At this moment, Qin Zhiyuan could no longer hesitate.
So Qin Zhiyuan made a decisive promise: If you need me to do anything, please tell me directly. As a soldier of the Foreign Legion, I have no shirking responsibility. Qin Zhiyuan is serious.
Qin Zhiyuan's attitude towards Clemenceau is completely different from his attitude towards Nivelle. This does not mean that Qin Zhiyuan is duplicitous, but is determined by the status of Clemenceau and Nivelle.
When dealing with big figures, you cannot blindly be tough, as that will lead to serious consequences. You also cannot blindly obey, as that will also lead to serious consequences.
Qin Zhiyuan may be a bit angry, but he is definitely not a middle schooler.
In Paris, there is now a voice advocating negotiations with the Germans. We must absolutely stop the emergence of this trend of public opinion and must nip them in the bud. Therefore, you need to do something. Clemenceau's words are unclear, I guess
Again, Qin Zhiyuan was asked to exert his subjective initiative.
Don't think that Wai Guoren is very straightforward. They are the same. When it comes to their own interests, everyone wants to watch from the other side and benefit from it.
To what extent can I achieve, I need authorization. Qin Zhiyuan doesn't mind being used as a weapon, as long as there are benefits to be gained.
Clemenceau and Foch and Lyoté all looked at the old Reno.
There are four newspapers in total, including Le Figaro, which has a good relationship with you. We need them to shut up during this period. Do you have any good ideas? Old Reno will come out as a villain.
As expected, the division of labor was clear, and Clemenceau and the others did not even say anything, completely avoiding suspicion.
Maybe it would be better for them to go out for a drink now.
Fortunately, they did not act so heartlessly, otherwise, Qin Zhiyuan would have wondered whether this was another trap.
Can they be acquired? Qin Zhiyuan fundamentally thought of a way.
Acquisition is indeed an effective way to control public opinion. As long as these newspapers are acquired, ordinary people can only know the news they want to know.
I tried it. Old Reno looked gloomy, and the results spoke for themselves.
As the richest man in France, when old Renault encounters a problem, his first reaction is to use money to solve it. But it is not easy. There are always things that money cannot do, especially when the other party’s strength is different from yours.
When the difference is almost the same.
According to Clemenceau, it was former Prime Minister Kayo who advocated for peace talks. If Kayo became prime minister, there must be supporters behind him, especially in the economic field. Under such a background, it would be difficult for those newspapers to be bribed with money.
Qin Zhiyuan was curious about what the Germans said about this peace negotiation.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a traditional land power country that always followed the German Empire. What is difficult to understand is that although the Austro-Hungarian Empire was one of the five traditional powers in Europe, it did not have many overseas colonies.
It was only in the new century that the Austro-Hungarian Empire began to pay attention to naval construction and wanted to expand externally. However, at a glance, the global colonies have been divided up by Britain and France, so the Austro-Hungarian Empire had the same interests as the Germans.
In Qin Zhiyuan's impression, the First World War seemed to not end until next year, and the Germans were not yet desperate. Therefore, Qin Zhiyuan was curious as to why the Austro-Hungarian Empire would send people to Paris to negotiate peace at this time.
There were no Germans in the peace negotiation team. Old Renault was thoughtful.
So, can we understand that the Germans are not aware that Qin Zhiyuan is so imaginative?
Clemenceau and others' eyes suddenly lit up. Yes, it was really possible that the Germans didn't know.
Hindsight
Not necessarily, these people are all heroes of the world, they are just bound by fixed patterns of thinking.
I don’t know the true face of Mount Lu, just because I am in this mountain. To be continued.
