One hundred and forty-four chapters at the state banquet
In early 1915, the traditional Chinese festival of the Spring Festival, the stars shining in the Chinese palace, and domestic and foreign political leaders gathered together, and the annual Spring Festival national banquet was held.
Deng Ai, Jiang Wei, Pang De, Xun You, Guo Jia, Hua Biao, Liang Qichao, Zhang Taiyan, Zhang Jian, Huang Xing, Song Jiaoren and others gathered together to celebrate the best moment of the year. In addition, there were the local kings of Inner Mongolia, the Lamas of Tibet, the tribute envoys of Central Asian grasslands and Persia, the territorial kings of small countries in Southeast Asia, the special envoys of Brunei, the envoys of Siam, the consuls of Japan, and the ambassadors of Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, who also congratulated each other on the side. The visitors in the Chinese Palace have exceeded any previous time, and also demonstrated that the Chinese Empire has played an important role in the current world.
As the protagonist, Li Zhe held the wine glass with Li Huamei and thanked the guests who congratulated each other. Even the Japanese consul and the ambassadors of Britain and France were treated equally. At this moment, it was a time of pure joy. Those hatreds and filth in the past were completely put down now, just raise your glass to drink.
In the past year, the world situation has changed drastically
In December 1914, with the German armored forces giving their all, France finally fell completely. The German tank troops even drove directly to the feet of the Pyrenees. The Spanish French had to cross the English Channel and flee to London, organized an exile government in London, and continued to organize a confrontation with the Germans.
The Germans' unprecedented blitzkrieg conquered the old enemy Gauls. The German upper class was extremely proud and arrogant. He wanted to cross the sea and conquer the British Isles, resulting in the battle of the English Channel. The unprecedented collision between the German high seas and the British fleet. The old Great Britain still showed the unmatched strength of the navy.
In this battle, the two sides dispatched more than 100 large and medium-sized warships and more than 500 aircraft. The result of the battle was that the Germans lost 5 battlecruisers, 2 old battleships, 8 light and heavy cruisers, 15 destroyers, 110 aircraft, and about 20,000 casualties and captured. The United Kingdom lost 3 battlecruisers, 7 armored cruisers, 8 destroyers, 162 aircraft, and a total of 7,800 casualties.
There is no doubt that this battle was won by the British and also a blow to the Germans who were in a state of fanaticism!
Although the Germans lost most of Europe's territory, as long as the overwhelming power of the navy was guaranteed, the Germans could not really defeat Britain. Although France lost its homeland, at this time, a considerable number of citizens and most of the capital were in overseas colonies, and they were also able to fight!
Occupy France does not mean that it will completely dominate Europe. This battle is completely different from any previous war between European countries. Even if it is now, the French still swear to never surrender! Even if Germany wants to stop decently, it can no longer find an opportunity.
The battle finally entered a time period that neither side could predict in the future. The Germans had to consider opening up another battlefield to further suppress the forces of the Allied Powers. The scale of the war was obviously to be further increased.
As time enters the new year of 1915, the world will undoubtedly enter a more chaotic situation
At this time, under such a confusing situation, as a major power in the East, every move of China is related to the balance of the global situation. At this time, any country has to care about China's domestic trends, even if a country like Britain and France is already in power with China, it cannot give up such an important diplomatic position. The same is true for Japan.
At the banquet, Deng Ai, Jiang Wei and Pang De each held a goblet and were drinking wine while chatting.
Pound pointed to a corner of the banquet hall and asked, "Look, the French ambassador over there, I think the situation is a bit strange now! Don't they know that we are going to take action on the Indochina Peninsula now? Your 10th Army has already reached their noses. Is it their most important reaction now not to issue a serious warning letter and then vent, and break off diplomatic relations with our country?"
Pang De's words made Deng Ai, the commander of the Southwest Front Army of the Chinese Empire, amused. It seems that this brave and invincible senior on the battlefield does not have the potential to be a commander! These have been through several time and space and fought for decades. They are still a little aware of the exchanges at the national political level. No wonder His Majesty the Emperor never treats him as his own.
"Uncle Pang! This is not the case. In this era, France is still a veteran power for hundreds of years. Hundreds of years of diplomatic experience in the alliance is not in vain! Although we have conflicts of interest in the Indochina Peninsula, it does not hinder our cooperation with them. Even if we are really a life-and-death enemy, as long as we do not declare war directly, there is still room for improvement between the two sides. At least on the diplomatic level, not to mention that now, aren't we bordering the allies? For them, this is seeing an opportunity!"
"Hmph! Do they still want to try to instigate us to go to war directly with the Germans, although from the future, this battle is inevitable, but now, I think neither we nor the Germans have this plan now!" Jiang Wei sneered beside him and said with a sneer.
"This is not good. Britain and France are now venting their anger. They have ruled the world openly and secretly for more than 100 years. Just from the perspective of strategic power, it is fine, but the Germans are definitely not their opponents! Maybe if you accidentally get caught up with them! Now, we are between the Allies and the Allies, and there is such a huge variable. It is hard to guarantee that they will not make any decisions about us!"
"Oh? You mean, it is possible to have an emergency like an assassin, which will make it impossible for the Germans and our country to turn around and have to start a war?" Deng Ai's words made Jiang Wei think of this idea in an instant.
"Haha!" Deng Ai continued to laugh, "The reason why political conspiracy is a conspiracy is that it is useless in front of people with truly firm will and strong strength, but for some people, it is not necessarily the upper class of Germany now. Haha! I have to say that there is still far from the ability to control such a big country and face such a complex world situation!"
Deng Ai's words were hidden and revealed. Although he didn't understand it very clearly, Jiang Wei had already heard the meaning. The current Germans may be invincible in Europe in war, but their ability to control international politics is still lacking. What's more, there is a strange German Emperor William II, who is irritable and politically elusive. This is undoubtedly a terrible variable for a mature decision-making level.
Now in the Middle East and the Caucasus region, the Chinese National Defense Forces have more and more troops. The Caucasus and Ural Mountains have been upgraded to European Front Army. After the arrival of several subsequent troops, the Central Asian Front Army was established and the control scope was quickly planned. The scope of control was also extended to the Mediterranean of Syria. Everything it was doing was definitely not the scale that Turkey should have. There is no doubt that this is the empire preparing for the future. What is afraid of is that something suddenly appears in the Allies and launching a sudden attack on Asia.
The Empire was obviously ready for all this
On this side, a large group of people guarded the protagonist Li Zhe, and they were very troubled. But on the other side, the British and French ambassadors sat alone in a corner of the banquet hall, chatting quietly. When the Japanese Consul Ichiro Osawa Fujiro walked over, he heard the conversation between the two in a vague way.
"Are you sure you really want this?"
"Yes, I'm sorry. The current situation no longer allows us to be half-hearted. We have to lose anyway. Instead, it's better to deal with it straightforwardly. In short, France now needs the French people to give everything they should give for it. Only in this way can the great France have the opportunity to regain its territory!"
"But you shouldn't inform us of this? Don't you know that here, we are one in Southeast Asia. Once you quit, the situation of the British Empire in Southeast Asia will be completely collapsed!"
"Oh? Strange, isn't it supposed to collapse long ago? Is your country still hopeful to make the overall situation here?" The French are not showing weakness
But the two of them quickly reacted and stopped immediately when Osawa Fujiichiro approached, and asked Osawa with a stern face:
"It turns out that I don't know that the noble envoy actually had the problem of eavesdropping on the corner of the wall. No wonder Yuan Shikai lost Luanzhou that day, and the secret discussions with your country were leaked, which made the country lose its country in one fell swoop! I just don't know if your country's behavior of selling teammates is occasionally, or is it simply a habit passed down from historical traditions?"
The British ambassador's attitude towards Ozawa was extremely bad, as if he wanted to completely vent the depression caused by the quarrel with the French. It pointed out the ugliest thing that the Japanese did back then, and it was also a case that made the Japanese regret later.
When scolded, Ozawa almost bowed in habit, and then raised his head and suddenly thought, "Hey? No! It was back then, now, Britain was indeed extremely powerful, and I, Japan, have something to ask for, but now I, Japan, and Britain have no interest in it. Britain is about to lose its head. As the consul of Japan abroad, why should I be so humble? This really hurts the national character!
Ozawa was secretly ruthless in his heart, but he smiled slightly and replied:
Chapter completed!