Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain, hero of the First World War, head of state of France and soul of the Vichy government, is completely old, and all who are close to and know him at the age of 86 still holds the supreme ruler of France.

His hair was all white, his skin was sagging, his steps had become staggering, he could not walk without crutches or the support of others, his energy and memory had deteriorated greatly, his old eyes hung down weakly, the corners of his mouth involuntarily seeped saliva from time to time, and he could even doze off at any time during high-level meetings. In his usual administrative work, he entrusted all the day-to-day affairs and specific work to the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Reival, and he simply said yes or no, and then carried out the necessary formalities. But even so, no one dared to underestimate this famous man, because when discussing major matters and making great decisions, his cloudy eyes always burst out with a terrifying light, and his prestige was still enough to dominate the whole situation, without his decision, the Vichy government could not have made any important decisions, and at this time he was the king of France, and even Reival did not dare to disobey him.

Today he is meeting François-Darlan, Admiral of France and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, who has just returned home from North Africa. Marshal Pétain's attendants knew that the old marshal had been deliberating for five days before making up his mind for this meeting, and that the 86-year-old had deliberately taken a three-hour nap in the afternoon in order to keep his energy up for the talks.

"Honorable Führer, I see that you are in good health and in good spirits. I couldn't be happier. Darlan was now only 61 years old, the prime age of statesmanship, and he saw that Pétain seemed to want to stand up to meet him. He hurriedly took three steps and two steps forward to support the old man and greet him, signaling that he did not have to get up.

"Seeing your energetic appearance, I feel that there is hope for France." "What is the state of North Africa lately?" Petain asked. ”

"Both the Americans and the Germans had representatives who came to secretly operate and win over, but I didn't pay much attention to it, and only gave it a general perfunctory." "The situation is under my control. All officers and men are consistently loyal to France and to you, the Führer. ”

"What about the Gaullists?"

"There were some activities that were more powerful, but they got me to catch them, and overall it didn't hurt the big picture. You will also need to be consulted on how to deal with it. ”

"Hold them secretly for a while, see if they have the tenacity, and if after a few months they can still change their minds, they can secretly let them go to London, if they so want to go to de Gaulle." Petain confessed. "I don't think he likes apostasy either, right? As for the wavering elements who are easily mutinous at both ends of the rat. It's also a scourge to let it go, so deal with it when it should be dealt with. ”

"Yes, Your Excellency." Darlan didn't expect Petain to say that, and he looked strange, but readily agreed.

"Disagree with my opinion?"

"This ...... It's a little weird. "I remember when you demanded that de Gaulle be tried in absentia for treason." ”

"Huh." Petain suddenly smiled like a naughty child, "That's for the Germans, otherwise how would we get through?" I really want him to die, why don't I send an assassin? On the British side, there are our people. ”

"It's a pity that he can't understand your magnanimity and hard work. They attacked us with impunity, and they were willing to take advantage of Churchill's fire. ”

"De Gaulle was a character. He just disagrees with our political views, but for the sake of France's mind, I understand, acting hastily and unscrupulously is also a common problem of young people, I just hope that he will not fall into Churchill's trap. Besides, isn't that weird in politics? The French hero who resisted to the end in 1916 became a traitor who surrendered to the enemy in 1940......"

Darlan knew that Petain was talking about himself, and as early as 1939 Petain was suggested to run for president, but he smiled and refused, saying: "The presidency is a position to be filled by a field marshal after the defeat." I didn't expect it to become a prophecy later. Darlan comforted Pétain sincerely: "Don't think so, it's not fair to you, it's you who pulled France back from the precipice, and no conscientious Frenchman or historian will forget your merit of saving France at the expense of fame, which will not be lost by the smear of the Gaullists, and sometimes it is more difficult to bear the burden than to die generously." ”

"Forget it, don't talk about it yet."

After the greetings, Dar Lang asked strangely, "What is the important matter that you are in a hurry to summon me back to China this time?" ”

"There are really important decisions." Petain waved his hand, and the attendants shrewdly retreated, "Have you heard of the secret negotiations between the Germans and us?" ”

"A little, but I don't know the details." Dar Lang looked indignant and said, "You know, Prime Minister Reival is in control of everything, and he has a prejudice against me. ”

"You can't blame him entirely, I ordered it to be kept secret - because it's too big." "But I can tell you now that it is a note from the Germans a month ago, which lists a number of matters of cooperation, which the Cabinet and the Government have largely agreed to accept, after in-depth discussions, with the exception of a few amendments, and tomorrow is the day of the final reply from the Germans, but I would like to hear your opinion before that." ”

Darlan slowly looked at them one by one, and his initial puzzled expression gradually turned into grim and uneasy:

1. Germany will return 500,000 French prisoners of war within 2 months, and promise to release all French prisoners of war in the next 3 years at the rate of 500,000 per year (note: the Germans have economic conditions and require us to pay with relevant materials or products in the future);

2. Germany handed over part of the French territory temporarily occupied by Germany in accordance with the provisions of the Franco-German Armistice Agreement, including Paris, and promised to return all occupied French territory after the war, in exchange for the free passage of German troops on French territory (including the colonies) during the war (with a new map of the demarcation line, the free zone was extended to 60% of the French territory, and remarks: Alsace and Lorraine were not included);

3. The French government moved to Paris and declared that it would participate in the European Union on the basis of "freedom, equality and justice" after the war;

4. The German government agreed that the French authorities would use the released prisoners to form 5-10 defense divisions, and that the total strength of France could be expanded to 300,000 people, including 2-3 armored divisions;

5. All naval warships in the ports of France's current home are to be handed over to the German side intact;

6. The French military industry will be revived under the premise of transparent notification, and Germany will use fair prices to procure;

7、……

"It's a conspiracy." Darlan, who had not read all the terms, exclaimed, "This is a deeper conspiracy by the Germans to seize our fleet in order to drag France into the water......"

"Tell me what you think."

"Judging from these conditions alone, the Germans seem to be very lenient towards us, not only in terms of territory, army, defense, military industry, administration, etc., but also that we need to pay not much, except for those fleets that are themselves under German control and cannot be used at all. But......" Darlan flicked his finger at the document, "the Germans will certainly reveal this information, and they will use this fleet to exert psychological pressure on Britain and the United States, and at the same time make the British and Americans mistakenly believe that we have completely fallen to Germany." ”

"Isn't it good to put pressure on Britain and the United States? Are they allowed to put pressure on us, or threaten to destroy us at every turn? "In this great war, it was not the Germans who destroyed the most of our warships, but our former allies, the British." ”

In the previous two years of Ballista operations and intimidation, the British Navy sank and damaged a number of French warships, including the battleships Brittany, Richelieu, and Jean-Bar, which triggered a rupture in Anglo-French relations and firmly established the French Navy's most hated target as the Royal Navy.

Darlan nodded, as long as he was an upright French navyman, he would admit that Germany was an enemy country that treated France better than England as an ally—at least it was clear that they were doing so.

"In the face of the conditions laid out by the Germans, my initial views were close to your ideas, but the subsequent threats from the Germans made it impossible for me to remain indifferent." "The Germans threatened that if we did not accept this clause, they would send all 2 million soldiers captured to concentration camps in the east, or to work as coolies in the newly developed mines," Petain looked distressed. ”

"What? Concentration camp? Darlan shuddered for no apparent reason, he knew some inside story on the German side, and he was shocked and angry, "How dare the Germans do this?" They can't do that! This is a violation of the Geneva Conventions. ”

"Guess what the German delegates say? Yes, of course I know that the convention has been violated, but in your eyes, there are still few cases of Germany violating international treaties, and if Germany defeats us, the final outcome will be to go to the gallows, so what does it matter if there are more violations of the convention and one less thing? - You can't hang someone twice! ”

Darlan thought to himself: This answer is cruel enough! There was no room to fight back. He hesitated, with an uncertain look and asked, "This can't be true, can it?" ”

"They could have done anything to force Hitler into a hurry, not to mention that he had that madman Himmler under him - otherwise what do you think would be the final fate of the Jews we handed over?"

"But......," said Darlan, embarrassedly, "I promised the British and Americans that we would not hand over the French fleet to the Germans. (To be continued.) )