On May 17, 1940, the French campaign had reached the nearest critical juncture, the 19th Panzer Corps led by the German general Guderian marched rapidly towards the Dunkirk area on the east coast of the English Channel, the German armored cluster was so powerful that the French troops encountered along the way all surrendered, because the number of surrendered was too blocking the road of the German army, so that the German commander was unwilling to delay the time to get off the car and take prisoners after encountering a group of French soldiers on the road, and only shouted with a megaphone:" We have no time to take you captive, so lay down your arms and leave the way, lest you stand in the way. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info"

It was at this speed that the German army was advancing, which made the French government anxious, and Renault even said to the commander-in-chief of the British and French allies in private, Gunmarin: "If the war continues like this, I am afraid we will lose." ”

Just as Renault remembered the chaos, Armand's telegram flew across the ocean to his hands.

"What, the Huaxia people promised to send troops?"

Looking at Ganmalin, who was hurrying over, Renault, who was urgently discussing the current situation with Churchill, shouted in surprise.

"Yes, Your Excellency!" Gan Molin nodded and said: "The general of Huaxia did agree to send troops, and he also promised to transfer all the troops of their group army to France, including five infantry divisions, one armored division, one air force division, two heavy artillery brigades and one air defense brigade, with a total strength of about 150,000 people. Among them were more than 400 tanks, more than 300 aircraft, and more than 500 artillery pieces. Your Excellency, once such a large force can reach France in time, it will have a huge impact on the current situation of the war, and at least it will change the current situation in which our army is losing and retreating. ”

"Good...... All right! Renault stood up excitedly and slammed his right fist his left palm, "Great, then what are we waiting for, immediately send a fleet to pick them up." ”

"But Your Excellency, they are also conditional." Looking at the excited Renault, Ganmalin poured a basin of cold water a little helplessly.

"What...... Condition? ”

This sentence pulled back Renault, who had just fallen into excitement, and he nodded unconsciously, although the French are romantic by nature, they also know that there is no free lunch in the world, and the name of people who are not related to you is not Bethune, and they will not come to do good deeds.

"Well, let's talk about their conditions." Renault, who calmed down, asked.

Gan Molin stretched out two fingers: "First, they need us to pay an additional $30 million in opening fees!" ”

"$30 million in opening fees?" Renault was stunned for a moment, and immediately blurted out: "Pull fee, what is this?" ”

"That's it...... It's just ......" Perhaps not knowing how to interpret this new word, Gan Molin thought for a while before saying: "Armand said, the Chinese general said, because their contract with us stipulates that they should be ready to leave after mid-June, but we want them to leave early for their own reasons, which itself has violated the original contract, so he needs a sum of money to deal with related matters, and this 30 million US dollars is the price he needs." ”

"This ......" Renault, who had never seen anything like this, couldn't help but turn his gaze to Churchill, who had not spoken.

And the prime minister of the British Empire said with a disdainful face: "Hmph, those yellow-skinned monkeys are greedy by nature, and it is not surprising that they chose to rob me at this time." ”

"I see!" Renault nodded, but his brow furrowed slightly, as the president of the French team, he knew the government's finances. Although $30 million is not a lot of money for the French government, now that the war has just begun, there are too many places that need money, and it is not so easy for France to allocate such a large amount of money at once. However, he then thought that if 30 million US dollars could be exchanged for more than 100,000 elite troops, then such a deal would still be very cost-effective.

Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, I will immediately give an order to the Ministry of Finance to allocate 30 million US dollars to remit to Huaxia immediately, as long as the Chinese people can send troops, we are still willing to pay this money." ”

Seeing that Renault agreed to the first condition, Ganmalin continued: "Second, the Chinese general said that since we have already started a war with the Germans, and the German government has also announced the official start of unrestricted submarine warfare, he hopes that our country can send a strong fleet to escort his army group, and he does not want him and his army group to be torpedoed by the Germans into the icy Atlantic Ocean before they reach France. ”

"A powerful fleet? How powerful is it? Renault was stunned when he heard this, and couldn't help asking.

Gan Molin swallowed his spit and said with some hesitation: "He said, at least one battleship, two capital ships, three cruisers and eight destroyers, as well as an escort fleet including torpedo boats, submarines, and reconnaissance ships!" ”

"Bang......" As soon as Gan Molin's words came out, Renault, who was about to drink coffee, couldn't help but shake his right hand, and the cup immediately fell to the ground with a crisp crackling sound.

He glared at Gan Malin in disbelief and asked, "You...... What did you say? Say what you just said again! ”

It wasn't until he repeated one side again that he believed he wasn't hallucinating. And before he could speak, Churchill on the side was angry.

Before Renault could speak, Churchill on the side sneered: "Who does he think he is, God?" It would not be an exaggeration to use such a large fleet to escort him, even if it was for the President of the United States! ”

Reynaud had not spoken, and Gammelin did not dare to say anything, although he was nominally the commander-in-chief of the Anglo-French forces, but the French navy was not under his jurisdiction, and even if he did, it was useless, so it was better for him not to say it at all.

Renault, who had been thinking for a long time, asked Churchill, who was sneering: "Your Excellency, in fact, I also think that this request made by the Chinese people is a bit excessive, but the problem now is that we can't refuse his request, and this is the reason why we are most embarrassed." If your country could send another 100,000 expeditionary troops, I think I would not hesitate to throw this telegram into the wastebasket. ”

Now it was Churchill's turn to be dumb, almost all of the British army was with the French army, either near the Maginot Line or scattered on various French fronts, how could he rush to the post and personally send it to discuss the war with Renault.

However, Renault is not a fool, seeing that Churchill's attitude does not seem to agree very much, he did not make a decision on the spot, but said euphemistically: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, I will immediately call Admiral Darlan, the commander of the Navy, and ask for his opinion, what do you think?" ”

"That's all there is to it!" Churchill nodded and never spoke again.

In the war, everything was done quickly, and that afternoon Darlan flew from the port of Sète to Paris and entered the presidential office of Reno.

Darlan has a typical French face, deep blue eyes, fair skin and handsome face, coupled with a well-fitting blue naval uniform, making him look still personable at the age of 59.

I saw him salute Renault and then said aloud: "Mr. President, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Darlan, has come to report for duty, please give an order!" ”

"Sit down!" Renault, who was signing the papers, stood up, pointed to the sofa beside him, then walked to the side and sat down, and only after Darlan sat down did he pass Darlan an urgent telegram from Armand, the French consul in Lu.

Dar Lang took the telegram with some curiosity and read it, but he frowned while looking at it, and after a long time, he raised his head and asked curiously: "Mr. President, is this reinforcement from China really so important to us?" ”

"Yes!" Renault nodded and said: "You have also seen the strength of this support army, 150,000 troops, including five infantry divisions, one armored division, one air force division, two heavy artillery brigades and one air defense division, if such a force can join the French battlefield, it will play a very important role in reversing the current unfavorable situation, it can be said that now in addition to this army, we can no longer find such a huge Ade reinforcements!" ”

Dar Lang asked suspiciously: "But can the combat effectiveness of the Chinese people be guaranteed?" ”

Renault smiled bitterly: "Only God knows this." However, this army has been able to defeat the Japanese many times in the wars with the Japanese in the past few years, and it will not be far behind. And such a combat-experienced unit is exactly what we desperately need, so for the sake of France I hope you will support my decision! ”

Darlang thought about it for a while before shrugging his shoulders and smiling, "Although I am surprised that the Huaxia general is so afraid of death, what does it matter if I make a hard trip for France. Anyway, it's only been a month of hard work, and the fleet will still come back by then. ”

Seeing that Darlang agreed to his decision, Renault breathed a sigh of relief and said solemnly: "General Darlang, I have to remind you that in this mission, your navy must not only beware of the German submarines, but also be careful of the combined fleet of the Japanese. ”

"Thanks for the reminder, I'll have an idea!" Dar Lang was slightly stunned at first, and then his face became serious, and he nodded to Renault, "Don't worry, this time I will send the most elite warships and the best sailors to complete this mission, and I will definitely bring those Chinese people to France safely." ”

"Okay, I hope I'm still very relieved for you, I hope you can assemble the fleet within two days, and you must set off for Huaxia the day after tomorrow!"

"Understood, the task will be completed!" Darlan solemnly saluted Renault. (To be continued.) )