Since it is the British mediator, they still have to give face. After all, they are the boss of the world at this time. Although their boss status is already in jeopardy, Emperor Yang is still willing to show his respect for the British.
Of course, face must be given, and military operations cannot be relaxed. After the victory in the naval battle, an army division that set off from Yazhou Port landed in Vietnam, and was carried directly by a landing ship to land outside Hue City. At this time, Fa
The French army had wisely withdrawn to Da Nang and was ready to withdraw southward to Saigon at any time. It would be very foolish to fight the Chinese decisively in northern Vietnam, and the French knew this very well.
The four divisions on the North Road continued to march into Vietnam along the road from Zhennanguan to Hanoi, and then went down the Red River to quickly complete the encirclement of Haiphong. However, it was only an encirclement and did not launch an attack. This was a force
As a lone army, the best way to deal with such an enemy is to besiege him. Emperor Yang was not in a hurry anyway. It didn't matter if he was trapped for two years. Of course, I believe that the French would have starved to death if they had not surrendered by then.
Gallieni was very dedicated at this time. He led his men to dig the perimeter of the coastal defense into a spider web. Moreover, this guy was very clever and used bayonets to drive out all the Vietnamese in the coastal defense, leaving only French expatriates and troops.
, prepare to hold on here.
When the squadron that landed in Hue increased to three divisions, the French even gave up the defense of Da Nang, and then withdrew all their troops southward to Nan Qi. This was their bottom line, and until now the French still don't want to hand it over.
This is their most important colony. In the view of the French government, they still have the strength to fight on land. Together with the second batch of reinforcements and the withdrawal from Da Nang, France has more than 70,000 troops in Nanqi.
Although supplies at sea are cut off, there is no problem if they rely on reserves to support them for more than a year. They believe that Emperor Yang will definitely not spend too much money on his Vietnamese brothers. If the losses are too great, he will naturally retreat. Negotiations will be easy at that time.
More, that is to say, using land battles to win a result with the least loss possible.
As for Gallieni and his 30,000 French troops, they can only resign themselves to their fate. They will not be able to withdraw anyway. In fact, the French Ministry of War has told Gallieni in a very subtle way that if it doesn't work, just surrender. No.
Someone will laugh at them!
"Are you kidding me? I've been struggling for so long just for Saigon and Cam Ranh Bay? If we don't take back the six provinces of Nanqi, what's the point of this war?" Emperor Yang was speechless at the naivety of the French. Vietnam came to him.
The most important thing is Cam Ranh Bay, and other things like rice, coal, iron ore, etc. are simply not of interest to him.
His goal is to build a springboard for himself into Southeast Asia. Panay Island is not good, and he cannot build a railway across the South China Sea. A military port without railways has no meaning. Only this one is still used by countless people even a hundred years later.
The bay he is staring at is the one that best suits his wishes. As long as a fleet is stationed here, he can compete for the entire Southeast Asia and even Australia when entering, and when retreating, he can protect the South China Sea and lock Malacca away. It can be said that it is a battleground. From the beginning
His number one target is Cam Ranh Bay.
"Tell the French that they must hand over the six provinces of Nanqi. Since Nguyen Phuc Chiu has said that he will no longer recognize all the treaties signed by France and Vietnam, it will naturally include the first Treaty of Saigon. As for my brother's last words,
As an elder brother, I have to help him complete it no matter what. Otherwise, how can I face the orphans and widows he left behind." He sneered and said to Zhang Quan.
Zhang Quan is about to go to Singapore as a Chinese negotiator. Since the peace talks are mediated by the British, they will naturally be held on British territory. At this time, the French negotiator, Foreign Minister Delcasay, has already passed by on a cruiser.
Suez Canal.
"What about war reparations?" Zhang Quan nodded and asked. He knew that Emperor Yang would definitely not sign a peace treaty without reparations.
"Five hundred million francs!" Yang Feng stretched out a paw and said with a grin.
"Isn't this a bit much?" Zhang Quan took a breath. In fact, he thought that this symbolic point would be enough. After all, France has not been completely defeated yet. It is still unknown whether Saigon will be surrendered. This kind of
It is difficult for a lion to open his mouth under such circumstances.
"Is it a lot? It's only 20 million pounds. It's not much at all. Besides, this can't be called compensation. You can clearly tell the French that this is the ransom for their warships and sailors in Vietnam. If you don't pay this money
, I will order the navy to sink them all. Don’t think that I can’t do anything with them by hiding in the bay. Although those old battleships have little value, don’t forget that there are also those new diesel engine battleships. According to a destroyer plus
The torpedo I originally sold him for was 150,000 pounds. Even the more than 20 destroyers in Cam Ranh Bay cost more than 3 million, not to mention five armored cruisers, two battleships, and four protective ships.
For a cruiser, 20 million pounds is already considered a discount." Yang Feng said.
"Peace talks must include compensation. If there is no compensation, what kind of peace talk is it? Besides, they killed hundreds of members of the Vietnamese royal family. Don't they give them some compensation or something? How can Nguyen Phuc Chiu rest in peace in heaven?" This guy followed up.
added.
Zhang Quan has been completely speechless by him. It was obviously you who killed that person, okay? Look at how tight the French people are! But to be honest, 500 million francs is not much. I think they gave it to the Germans back then.
When they took out four billion francs without even blinking, you can know that these French guys are really rich. After all, it is their ancestors who can steal it. Think about Napoleon's sweep of Europe and you will know.
How much gold flows to France.
Of course, the peace talks have returned to peace talks, and the military pressure before the peace talks must still be intensified. Just when Zhang Quan set off for Singapore, the Chinese Army's Second Group Army, which had completed the landing in Hue, also began to move south along the railway line, because the French
Having given up their defenses, they easily captured Da Nang and then continued south from Da Nang.
In fact, at this time, the French army had completely given up its defenses north of the Bajiang River and organized a defense line on the south bank of the Bajiang River. Therefore, the Chinese Army's march southward was simply a march amidst the cheers of the Vietnamese people. Just before Zhang Quan
On the same day it arrived in Singapore, the 11th Division, as the vanguard, had already occupied Quy Nhon. This was the capital of the old Champa State, and it was also considered a famous city. More importantly, it was a seaport.
Materials no longer need to be transported from Hue or Da Nang via the railways that have been riddled with holes by the French. They can be unloaded directly at this port.
On the third day after Zhang Quan arrived in Singapore, Delcasse also arrived. Immediately afterwards, in the British Straits Settlements Governor's Palace, hosted by the British Foreign Secretary, the Marquis of Lansdowne, who came specially for the occasion, the two sides began formal peace talks.
However, this peace negotiation was destined to be difficult from the beginning, because the two sides were simply unable to reach a mutual compromise.
"Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, we can only agree to hand over the protection rights to Vietnam and recognize Vietnam as a sovereign state. Its territorial scope includes the former Annan Protectorate and the Beiqi region. We will not agree to anything else. As for war reparations, it is
There is no way to start. In fact, we also require the Kingdom of Vietnam to compensate for the losses caused by killing our nationals and looting their property during the war, and to hold those murderers accountable." Delcasay said righteously.
"Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, I think the Vietnamese government will punish them in accordance with the law for some criminal activities committed by some criminals in Vietnam during the war. There is no need for us to get entangled in this issue. If we have to entangle the Vietnamese, they will be irrational towards French expatriates.
behavior, then we need to carefully study the massacre of the Vietnamese royal family by Colonel Philip of your country, and the massacre of innocent Vietnamese civilians by General Galieni during the rescue of Hanoi. According to Vietnamese government statistics, he killed at least 50,000 Vietnamese civilians.
They were all defenseless old women and children, and some photos in newspapers can provide enough proof.
As for the 500 million francs, you can regard it as a ransom for the remaining warships of your country's Far East Fleet and Expeditionary Fleet. I think this price is not much compared to those warships and the officers and soldiers on board. A Joan of Arc
The cost of building the ship seems to have exceeded 30 million francs, not to mention there are two first-class battleships there." Zhang Quan said with a smile.
"Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, I need to remind you that they have not yet become prisoners of your army." Delcasse said with a sneer.
"Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, I also need to remind you that if we want them to become our prisoners, then they will definitely become our prisoners or be buried in the sea!" Zhang Quan still said with a smile.
Delcasay's heart sank. He knew that Zhang Quan was not bluffing. The remaining battleships of the two fleets were already in the hands of the Chinese. They could kill them at any time if they wanted, especially those hiding in Kampong Som Bay.
More than a dozen diesel-engine warships are now just relying on the closed environmental protection of this bay, and there are no forts or the like around. If you just get a batch of torpedo boats and find a way to get in on a dark and windy night, you can directly
A massacre unfolded inside.
"You should understand that once we do that, your country will lose more than just warships. How valuable a group of officers and soldiers who have experienced large-scale naval battles are. I don't think I need to explain this to you, especially those who participated in
After such a naval battle, even though they failed, sometimes failure is also wealth, a wealth that is crucial to the development of your country's navy." Looking at his uncertain face, Zhang Quan said lightly. (