In the official residence of the provisional government of Bordeaux, Wei Gang snorted coldly on the side: "An ant still wants to shake the tree, this is the most ridiculous dream story I have heard." Charles de Gaulle, who did he think he was? A small character who has just entered the rank of general, there are at least 300 people in the French army alone who are more senior than him. Counting politicians, his ranking is not in the stream at all, and this kind of goods is also worthy of another government abroad? ”

Petain's expression was calm, and there was no anger in his tone when his authority was questioned and challenged: "Mr. Churchill has no choice. After Renault's resignation, he could no longer find any agent in our country, and now that de Gaulle had gone to him, he had no choice but to make do with the signboard of the government-in-exile and fight against us in name. Otherwise, he would not even have the slightest ability to intervene in France. ”

"De Gaulle was foolish enough to seek help from England, which was tantamount to becoming one with a dead body, and he could not succeed. Within 3 months at most, Britain will have its neck choked like a chick by Germany! Wei Gang's face was even more sneering, and he said mercilessly, "This kind of argument of continuing to fight can only incite those impetuous young students at best. The governors of the colonies could never have bought it. ”

"Perhaps in some areas, the Governor may choose to secede from us under pressure from the surrounding British colonial powers, but that is not enough to change the situation." Pétain's tone was indifferent, revealing an absolute confidence. The gap between his prestige and that of Charles de Gaulle, whose move to establish a new centre in London was only a small episode. Not to mention that the French people will not recognize this overseas puppet regime, even the Americans, who claim to be liberal and democratic, will not be able to recognize that Charles de Gaulle is a mere brigadier and is orthodox in France. What made Petain uncomfortable now was the German army that was close at hand. After their own request for an armistice was issued, the Germans turned a deaf ear and continued to rush into the heart of France.

What did Hitler want, did he really not want to make peace with us and drive France to the death? But that's not how the Germans behaved in Paris. Petain's mood gradually turned solemn, and his old eyes were only staring at the battle map on the wall. Seeing this scene, Wei Gang understood his partner's worries, and said unhurriedly: "The Germans should want to eat the last formed army group on our Maginot Line, and then talk about the armistice project." Although it was only 500,000 second- and third-line personnel who were poorly equipped and undertrained, it was still a fully equipped army after all. The Germans would not have been reassured without putting them in prisoner of war camps. ”

Petain's brows furrowed slightly, his lips moved without making a sound, Wei Gang went straight to his words, and said lightly: "I have ordered the forward line to allow the troops to surrender to the Germans before they are about to suffer heavy casualties. Now that the situation is irreparable, there will be no gain in fighting to the death, except to shed more blood and make Germany hate us even more. Oh no, it was the British who ultimately benefited from this, and they dreamed of bringing the 40 million French people to death along with the Germans: to help them regain the crown of the empire on which the sun never sets. ”

"France will never shed another drop of blood for a selfish and arrogant England." After a moment of silence, Petain slowly spoke, although he did not say it explicitly, but the meaning of his words fully affirmed Wei Gang's approach. Britain's performance in this war was so disappointing that its contribution to the land theater was even worse than that of Belgium, and even if there were many people in France who understood, they could not help but think that it was Britain's selfish hand-in-hand that led to the defeat of the land war. In this case, Weygand's order of passive resistance became no problem—France would no longer have any war obligations for the Alliance.

"In addition, I have heard that Hitler is inviting the leader of a robber state on the other side of the Alps to negotiate an armistice. It is estimated that the Germans will not stop their actions until they reach an agreement. The corners of Wei Gang's mouth hooked up with a little disdain, and he didn't even want to mention the name Italy. When Petain heard this, a rare smile appeared on his old face, and he sighed and did not speak again.

The "......" train roared over the vast field, and Mussolini sat motionless on a sofa in a luxuriously decorated palace-like special carriage. The coffee on the coffee table had been heated several times, but Mussolini never wanted to reach out and touch it, his eyes flashed with mixed emotions, shame, depression, nervousness, and loss...... It was like a tidal wave that flooded his heart.

Eight days earlier, Italy had declared war on Britain and France, and Mussolini was so complacent that the southern provinces of France were within reach. With the main forces of the front line crumbling, the French were left with only 6 disgruntled divisions to defend themselves on the Alpine front, while the Italians gathered 32 of their best divisions there, enough to defeat the enemy with a whip. However, the end result surprised the whole world, but unlike the epic victory of the German army, which shocked the world, the Italian army has become the laughing stock of everyone.

To this day, the Italian army, which is heavily armed, is still stuck in front of the first line of defense of the French defenders. The simple fortifications built by the latter along the mountain were like the Maginot Line, and became an impenetrable wall for the Italian army. Mussolini was jealous and anxious to see the German army sweeping across the entire French hinterland like an avalanche, but no matter how much he urged and angrily denounced the army staff, the Italian army could not move forward on the front line!

On June 17, when the news of France's request for an armistice came, Mussolini wilted like a deflated ball, no longer in the mood that had been before the declaration of war. He never dreamed that he would make his debut in the European War with such a result: the army with high hopes could do nothing in the face of six dissatisfied French divisions, leaving the whole of Italy disgraced and disgraced. If only this was the case, the key German army slaughtered the French army at the same time, and the number of prisoners was almost too large to contain - compared to the two, Italy received 10,000 critical damage points when they landed!

Therefore, when Hitler sent a telegram to Mussolini inviting him to Munich to discuss the French armistice, Mussolini was so embarrassed and ashamed that he almost wanted to refuse to meet with Hitler. You must know that before the outbreak of the war, Mussolini had boasted about Italy's military power, and he himself regarded himself as a pioneer of Hitler's predecessors, and he was proud and self-conscious in his exchanges. Wouldn't it be humiliating to go to Hitler now under such circumstances?

However, Mussolini was still a politician after all, and it was not at all a matter of sacrificing some face for the sake of national interests. Despite all the depression and unwillingness in his heart, he still took Foreign Minister Ziano Jr. and took a special train north to Munich. It's just that during the journey, Mussolini was extremely worried about what he would gain at the negotiating table - this war was won by Hitler single-handedly, and how much benefit could Italy, an incompetent latecomer, get?

"Leader, what armistice conditions do you intend to propose in front of the German Führer?" Little Ziano broke the silence in the carriage and asked. This was the most important goal of their trip, but Mussolini sat like a log from the beginning of the train, completely unprepared for the upcoming meeting between the two leaders. Although little Ziano is very sympathetic to his father-in-law's uneasy situation, the latter also has to be prioritized!

Mussolini's body moved slightly, and his gloomy eyes gradually glowed with a little light. He moistened his parched lips with coffee, and said slowly: "I want to occupy the southeastern part of France, the four coastal regions, as well as Corsica, to collect enough to offset the occupation of this military operation, and to make the French fleet surrender." The French have no less new warships than we do, and as long as they exist, the Mediterranean cannot be fully mastered by us. ”

Little Ciano looked at him quietly, and Mussolini's voice became lower and lower under the gaze of his son-in-law, and his eyes became more and more empty, and finally he was silent. In fact, Mussolini also knew very well in his heart that the probability of his lion's opening request being met was infinitely close to zero. The purpose of this was only to ask for a sky-high price, and to hope that Hitler would be able to pay it back on the ground, and not just a dime.

Faced with the intently gaze of little Ziano, Mussolini finally gave up after holding on for a long time, and said in an urn voice: "Okay. My bottom line is to occupy the Roni River basin, including Marseille and Toulon, and demilitarize Corsica and Tunisia. As for the French fleet, I also only need some new ships, and if the battleships are not divided, it is not impossible to receive a few cruisers. ”

Little Ziano smiled bitterly in his heart, could this request be accepted by Hitler? You must know that Marseille is the second largest city and the largest seaport in France after Paris, and its industrial economy is as prosperous and rich as the Milan metropolitan area, which has the reputation of "Star of Italy". Whoever controls this place is tantamount to raising a hen that lays golden eggs.

Toulon is the home port of the French Navy, and all kinds of factories, facilities, and warehouses are the family resources that the French have accumulated for decades. If Italy could win a beautiful enough victory on the battlefield, it would not be impossible to fight for Germany in both places, but now, how could Italy claim these areas?

As for the division of the French naval warships, little Ziano also felt that there was no prospect. After all, Italy's contribution to the war was too ugly, and the French navy did not fail like the army, and its ultimate fate was uncertain. What's more, what is it to fish a few boats? For a country, the real value is always land, resources, population, and factories, which are the foundation of a great country standing in the world!