On November 16, 1914, a hearty rain fell on most of France, which not only extinguished the forest fires in central France that lasted for three days, but also calmed people's restless mood.

On this day, the French government announced a reshuffle of the cabinet, with Clemenceau as the prime minister of the wartime cabinet, and at the same time dismissed Chauffeur from the post of commander-in-chief, promoted Foch to field marshal, and made him the new commander-in-chief of the French army, and put forward a request for armistice negotiations to the Central Powers led by Germany.

Subsequently, the Kaiser convened a royal council, agreed to negotiate an armistice with the French government, ordered the German troops entering France to temporarily suspend all military offensive operations, and appointed the Minister of War and Chief of the General Staff Falkenhein to take full charge of the negotiations, which were held in the city of Vichy on the front line of the German and French armies.

Two days later, on the bus to Vichy, Chen Tian listened carefully to Hindenburg's teachings.

"Prince of East Prussia, you are still too young!"

Hindenburg's tone was tinged with a hint of reproach, a kind of resentment of the teacher to the student.

"In the face of the lure of the French army, it is certainly good that you command the troops to advance steadily, but as a good commander, you should look at the overall situation. Of course, the French army wants to defeat your so-called undefeated division, but when most people's eyes are fixed on your 8th Army, your army group must also be the most well-guarded, so the best chance for the French is naturally not with you. ”

"So the French chose our other two army groups as a breakthrough point, both by surprise and by ambush reinforcements from our army! But how did you know that the French were attacking the right flank of your army? General Heilingen's left flank and the rear of your two armies are all targets that can be attacked! Xia Fei's train of thought was already clear to Chentian, and he was very interested in how Hindenburg could make accurate judgments.

"This requires a comprehensive analysis of all kinds of relevant intelligence and the battlefield situation! Xia Fei's plan did not have any flaws that could be seen at a glance, I first observed this battlefield from his point of view, and found that the French army attacked the right flank of our army, and the left flank of General Heilingen had the greatest grasp. First, our two army groups were the weakest on the flanks during their march, and second, these two positions were the farthest away from the other army groups, and reinforcements were the slowest. Looking at General Heringen's left flank, his left flank was close to the Schelle River, and the French would not attack from the other side of the river, so the rest was our right flank. Hindenburg explained unhurriedly.

Listening to other people's explanations is always clear at a glance, but he didn't think about it so much at the time, Chen Tian couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. However, the troops under his command have never exceeded the size of a group army, and his operational thinking is still limited to his own group army, and the ability to command only one group army is obviously not enough for him.

"The students are taught! In addition, the teacher did not make the deployment until the last minute in order not to startle the snake? ”

"Yes, the official deployment was carried out only after the appearance of the French army, but before that, it was possible to quietly use seemingly ordinary movements to complete the main deployment. When the French came out of the woods, my soldiers only had to dig the fortifications in their place, and the artillery only had to turn around. In this way, no matter whether the other party has spies or not, or whether they can steal part of the content of our army's telegrams, they will not be suspicious in advance! Hindenburg almost spared no effort to teach Chentian in private, and Chentian couldn't help but thank Old Zack for hiring Hindenburg as a military academy instructor.

"I see, the students have learned a lot!" In Chentian's view, Hindenburg's thoughts are far more amazing than his appearance, which cannot be described as "old and cunning" or "ginger is old and spicy". Hindenburg is so powerful, so what kind of person is Ludendorff?

"Your Royal Highness, the war in France is basically over here! If nothing else, the 5th Army under my command will also take part in the battle to land in England, and we will have the opportunity to continue fighting together at that time! I'm looking forward to seeing Your Highness grow in battle! Hindenburg speaks with expressionless eyes looking straight ahead, without the slightest hint of flattery.

"Yes! His Majesty's initial attitude was to overpower Britain as the world's number one naval power, but with the British entry into the war, the bombing of London and the surrender of the Seine, the Emperor was probably determined to eliminate all British threats to us, including navy and army. Unless the British agreed to reduce their naval and army to a very low level and surrender large quantities of weapons, reparations, and colonies, war was inevitable. ”

Judging from the current situation, Chen Tian should start preparing for landing in the UK.

The closer the convoy got to Vichy, the more heavily armed German gendarmes were on the way, and huge Zeppelins were floating in the sky, and not far away two were slowly descending.

The negotiations took place in a French barracks outside Vichy, where the German vanguard in the center and on the left had advanced less than 10 kilometers from Vichy before the temporary armistice. The city, which would have become a symbol of the puppet regime decades later, was to witness the defeat of the French in advance.

When the convoy of Chen Tian and his entourage drove into the barracks, there were already a lot of cars parked inside, the entire barracks were heavily guarded, and the soldiers of the two armies were vigilantly standing at their posts, although the atmosphere was a little thick, but there was no smell of sabre-rattling, after all, the war had reached this level, and the French had already accepted their fate.

Since Vichy is only more than 100 kilometers away from Lyon, the temporary capital of France, all the French representatives came here early, led by Foch, the new commander-in-chief of the French army, and Messimi, the representative of the government, and Michel, Langlezak, Luff and other French generals also sat on the side of the negotiating table with dejected faces.

On the German side, except for the commanders of the German army on the right, General Kluke and General Bülo, who did not come because of the long distance, the chief of the General Staff, Falkenhain, General Hausen on the left, the Duke of Württemberg, and Ruprechit had already arrived first, and when Chentian, Hindenburg, and Heilingen arrived, all the representatives of both sides were present.

Chen Tian carefully looked at the temporary arrangement of this conference room from the barracks conference room, everything here is very simple, wooden barracks and wooden floors, a long square conference table in the center of the venue, a row of chairs on each side, and even the patterns on the flags of the two countries at the front of the venue are also coincidentally matched with this simplicity. It's just that compared to the black, white and red flag of the German Empire, the blue, white and red flag of the French Republic was much dimmer at this time. On either side of the hall stood two rows of German and French soldiers with neat faces and high heads, the German soldiers were as proud as ever and the momentum of the victors, while the French soldiers were more like maintaining their last dignity.

There are no flowers and smiles, no champagne and coffee, solemn air, invisible gunsmoke, this is the venue for armistice negotiations, not much different from what Chen Tian imagined, and even more simple than he expected, but when the armistice agreement is signed, that memorable scene will be arranged more chic. Chen Tian couldn't help but think of the famous Foch carriage, the carriage that witnessed the very different fates of France in the two world wars in another world, and the original owner of that carriage, French Field Marshal Foch, was sitting opposite him. The first official meeting that the new official attended when he took office was an armistice negotiation that prayed for defeat, and he must have felt very uncomfortable.

The 63-year-old Marshal Foch sat silently in the center of the French delegates, perhaps because he had stayed up all night, he looked tired, with gray hair and beard, and a square face that looked like a knife-shaved face, and he looked like a very temperamental old French man. At the beginning of the war, he commanded the French 9th Army, but there was not much opportunity to show itself in the face of the strong German offensive, and after the fall of Paris, he was transferred to the commander of the French Southern Army, mainly responsible for the defense of the temporary capital of Lyon, and had recruited and trained recruits from the south of France, and was leading the Southern Army Group to fight against the German left before the armistice.

Sitting directly across from Foch was the high-spirited Falkenhein, who was relieved that the Kaiser's order to "destroy France in January" had in fact been completed, and that all he had to do now was to gain more benefits for Germany here.

Chen Tian sat on the right hand side of Falkenhein, and directly opposite him was Messimi, who was the French Minister of War at the beginning of the war and the representative of the French government in this negotiation, although he was once an army officer, but now he has turned into a professional politician. Thinking of politicians, Chen Tian conjured up all kinds of jokes that ridiculed politicians, and it seemed that this Messimi would be a French firepower point in this negotiation.

Sitting on the right hand side of Falkenhein is the Bavarian **** Rupresit, that is, the legal heir of the Prince of Bavaria. He usually maintains a very dignified appearance, and he doesn't seem to like to talk very much, and his combat command ability is still relatively reassuring.

The former commander-in-chief of the French army, Xia Fei, was present as a French negotiator, which made Chen Tian feel a little regretful, after all, Xia Fei's performance in the whole war was still good, and in another history he was the winner of the Battle of the Marne, the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme, but until now Chen Tian has not met this legend.

After a simple and reluctant opening statement, Foch, on behalf of the French government, admitted that France had lost the war, "In view of the current situation on the battlefield, the stubborn resistance of our military and civilians can no longer stop the advance of your army, so my government hopes that the two countries will be able to resolve this war by peaceful means, so as to avoid a further increase in casualties and losses among innocent civilians!" ”

Falkenhein politely praised the French government as usual, "The Kaiser is merciful and willing to grant peace to the French people, but since the war was initiated by the French government (Germany demanded in its ultimatum to France that France should remain neutral in the event of a war between Russia and Germany, and handed over the fortifications of Turkey and Verdun to Germany for occupation as a guarantee of neutrality to be returned after the war, but France refused), our troops have come here to defend the security of the country, During the three-and-a-half-month war, the officers and men suffered numerous injuries and consumed huge resources, so Japan made the following demands as a condition in exchange for peace between the two countries. ”

"First, France announced its withdrawal from the war, announced the dissolution of the Entente with Great Britain, the dissolution of the present French government, and the autonomy of all provinces of the country, including the colonies, and the existence of France only in name. Provinces are allowed to retain autonomy, legislative and judicial powers, and provincial self-government and police are permitted, but not in the presence of an army or armed police beyond the specified size. ”

Falkenhein paused here in order to admire the pig-liver-coloured faces of the Frenchmen opposite, a seemingly simple request, but in fact the most deadly, and henceforth France would not be able to pose a threat to Germany as a whole.

"This request is too much, it is simply unacceptable!"

Foch angrily stood up and accepted the request, and France effectively ceased to exist.

"Then let's go back to war! We can divide the ranks on the battlefield, if your army still has the will and ability to continue fighting! At that time, I am afraid that France will be completely reduced to the occupation of our country, not to mention the right of autonomy, and the safety of your people's lives and property cannot be guaranteed! Falkenhain said-for-tat.

Messi pulled La Foch and motioned for him to sit down first.

"Honorable Marshal, I am afraid that our government will not accept this request, and for the sake of the common desire for peace, I hope that both of us will make some concessions!"

Falkenhain gave Messimi a disdainful look, then sat down.

"This is the request of the Kaiser himself, our 3 million German troops on the front are ready to continue the offensive, our soldiers are not afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice, and if your country is unwilling to accept this condition, then our negotiations can be terminated immediately. Starting tomorrow, our two countries will return to a state of war until the winner is completely decided! ”

It can be seen that the French generals are suppressing the anger in their hearts and the urge to shoot the case, and they know very well that it is an indisputable fact that the French army is unable to resist.

Messimi's face was not good-looking, but he still tried to remain calm, "But without the French government, I am afraid that the French fleet and overseas colonies will fall into the hands of the British, I think this is a situation that neither Germany nor France wants to see!" ”

Falkenhain was not surprised, and what Messimi said was exactly what he was going to continue to demand.

"In that case, I may propose to our Emperor that the central government of France be preserved, but your country must pay the corresponding price, that is, the entire French fleet and all the colonies in Africa."

Rather than splitting France into provinces, it seems that the French generals were more willing to accept Falkenhein's later proposals.

Speaking of the French fleet, Chen Tian suddenly remembered that the main force of the French fleet was still in the port of Plymouth in England, it seems that Britain and France still inevitably formed a bond in this matter, let the French hate the British, anyway, Germany is not short of those dilapidated French warships now.