The red, white and blue flags, which symbolize freedom, democracy and equality, once fluttered everywhere in that fertile land, but the relentless war destroyed people's homes, and a large part of France was shrouded in the shadow of the black, white and red flags.

The war showed the whole world the great military power of the Germans, but also made the French synonymous with cowardice and incompetence, and the war not only reduced the land of France to ruins, but also put heavy shackles on the French. Since the signing of the Franco-German Peace Treaty, mainland France has been artificially divided into two parts, with the northern part of the country under German control, and only the southern part of the country, which accounts for 55% of the total area of the country, is still controlled by the French government.

Despite the devastating military and economic blows, the 26 million people of southern France were constantly looking forward to recovering their homeland and expelling the invaders, and the Clemenceau cabinet formed during the armistice was gradually gaining the approval of the people, and at the same time planning the revival of France. On the surface, it was only a matter of time before the French came together to revive their country, but in reality their crisis was far from gone.

Soon after the new Kaiser ascended the throne, a northern "French government" was proclaimed in Paris. As we all know, this government, from the cabinet to the local officials, is pro-German, and some of them are simply under the orders of the traitors in Berlin, such a puppet government that currently governs nearly 250,000 square kilometers of German-occupied territory, and has most of the political, economic, judicial, and even military power in that land. The greatest threat to the government in the south of France is the so-called "Wehrmacht" composed of old French people, which has 10 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry divisions, and some aircraft and ships, and the Wehrmacht has 140,000 people, nearly three times the number of the southern government army. In addition to the weapons of the former French regular army, nearly a third of the troops of this army used standard German-style equipment.

In contrast, France, which was truly free in the south, was weak, poor, and burdened with heavy war reparations, and the high echelons of the government had to settle displaced people and rebuild the economy first, and Foch's 50,000 troops, all of whom had been tempered by the war, had not yet recovered from the defeat of officers and soldiers, and their equipment had been greatly affected by the current predicament. Sometimes, even the purchase of a cannon had to be approved by the General Headquarters, and the situation was generally difficult.

Under such circumstances, the French government in the south would not miss any opportunity to exchange for aid, but there were very few people in the world who dared to oppose the German government.

Nevertheless, not so long ago, Clemenceau's government made a good deal with a foreign power. But Marshal Foch's face has been clouded with a gloomy color ever since, even at a private reception hosted by Prime Minister Clemenceau.

"Oh, my honorable marshal, do you mind the agreement with the government and those men? Ha. It's not in your style, Marshal, to be so obsessed! I remember a week ago, when that money was transferred to your Army's account, and the shipment of equipment you had always dreamed of, your officers weren't smiling like flowers! ”

One of the speakers was Messimi, who had served as the French Minister of War, and after turning from a military man to a politician, this old man had become much more sophisticated, and it seems that this time he came to persuade him on the orders of Prime Minister Clemenceau.

In front of these provocative words, Marshal Foch's face turned white for a while, but he couldn't attack in front of Messimi, but he still held the wine glass silently.

"Well, I also know it's a big risk. But except for those people. Who will have mercy on us at this time? As he spoke, Messimi's wrinkled face was full of sadness. Before the outbreak of the war, France was Europe's largest creditor, but times have changed. Now that France has not only lost many overseas colonies, but has also been saddled with a huge war reparations, the current French government needs funds in such a way, while those foreign governments and consortia that were once close to them have become extremely stingy, which makes the French deeply appreciate the heat and coldness of the world.

"You know the stakes are enormous, and it's even ......," Foch said in a very agitated voice, lowering his voice, "to provoke another war!" You know, war! ”

"Are you afraid of war? Or do you not even dare to think about war? Messimi asked with false contempt.

"It's not that I'm afraid. God of the earth! We simply can't cope with a war with our financial and military might! You know? Foch blushed, and it seemed that these words had been holding back in his heart for a long time.

"What if those people succeed?" Messimi is optimistic, "We can get a huge benefit from this!" Taking a step back, even if they don't succeed, at least Germany will be weakened by civil strife! Otherwise, with Germany's current strength, no country would dare to challenge it, not even if Russia and Austria-Hungary united! ”

"I know that maybe the tide of things will change because of this, but we cannot link the fate of a country to a coup d'état with an uncertain future!" Foch's excitement continued unabated. Eyes glued to Messimi, "What's more, how can we be sure that it is not a German conspiracy?" A conspiracy to start another war? ”

"Conspiracy?" Messimi smiled contemptuously, "The Germans don't need and don't have that kind of cell!" ”

Foch breathed a sigh of relief that if the Germans were as old-fashioned as ever, France might not have lost the war. He glanced at Clemenceau, not far away, and it seemed that the Prime Minister's face had become ugly because of his argument with Messimi, and he decided to abandon the helpless argument.

"Anyway, I think I should stop working with those people immediately, maybe it's too late!"

"But it's already begun! (All the way, computer station)" Messimi shook his head regretfully, "There is no room for retraction!" ”

Foch was stunned, he had been excluded from the decision-making circle of this transaction from the beginning to the end, let alone such a crucial thing.

Messimi patted Foch on the shoulder and comforted: "Don't worry, we'll take care of everything!" ”

Foch didn't go on with this, but he wanted to tell Messimi that if the country was destroyed, it would be useless to say who would be responsible!

After a few words of false comfort, Messimi returned to Clemenceau, and the two went to a corner and began to talk in a low voice.

Foch walked to the table, where he took his glass and drank the wine inside, and suddenly a bitter sense of loss filled every corner of his heart.

Verdun, France.

One of the largest military fortresses in France before the war, the land of Verdun was home to hundreds of thousands of French and German soldiers. The once tragic battlefield has calmed down, but the grand fortress system no longer exists. Today, stationed in the ruins is an army from neighboring Germany, the 24th Regiment of the 3rd Army, known as the Iron 24th Regiment. Since the beginning of the Napoleonic era, this regiment has been recognized as an unstoppable iron army, and the commander of the 3rd Army, General Hausen, said of this regiment: "There is only one flaw in this regiment, and that is that they are too brave!" ”

In 1914, the "Iron 24" passed through Belgium with the autumn wind sweeping away the leaves. In the bloody Battle of Verdun, this regiment once again took the lead in the front line, making great contributions to the victory of Germany.

After the Battle of Verdun, the "Iron 24", which suffered heavy casualties, was ordered to garrison this important stronghold, and although it was replenished by domestic recruits, the regiment did not participate in other battles after that, until the defeat and surrender of France.

Among the recruits who were later added to the regiment was a captain named Joachim William, although there were many William families in Prussia. But this Captain Wilhelm had a status that was anything but ordinary - he was the youngest son of the German emperor at the time. At the outbreak of the war, he had just graduated from the Royal Prussian Higher Military Academy.

For the 24-year-old Prince Joachim, joining this team with a glorious tradition is no accident, compared to his older brothers who enlisted early. The prince was not born a man who loved the military, and it is said that his childhood ambition was to become a world-famous painter, but unfortunately this noble ideal was not recognized by the members of the royal family, and not only that, but most people were pessimistic that the little prince would be a mediocre character. In the tenth year of the twentieth century, four years before the outbreak of the Great War, war clouds were gathering over Europe, and many believed that the ongoing conflicts in the Balkans would trigger an even greater crisis, and Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, and Russia all began to prepare for war.

It was at this time that Joachim made a surprising decision: to join the army!

Wilhelm II happily granted his youngest son's request to join the army. However, Joachim did not want to serve before the emperor, and instead went to Hanover as an ordinary soldier in the 2nd Infantry Regiment. Half a year later, Joachim volunteered to study at the military academy, and ended up staying at the Royal Prussian Higher Military Academy for four years.

It is said that the little prince was not the kind of student with particularly outstanding grades when he was in the military academy, and he could only be described as ordinary in terms of physical fitness, tactics, command, and firepower configuration, and finally graduated with a 7th place among more than 300 cadets in the same period, and this 7th place was only the result of special care from the instructors.

Joachim graduated just in time for the outbreak of the Great War, and the Army General Staff sent him to the 1st Janissary Hussar Battalion, apparently. This unit did not have any chance to go to the front to fight. Joachim also knew that this was the idea of his father, Wilhelm II, and complied.

In a country like Germany, where military supremacy is supreme, the heroes on the battlefield are undoubtedly the most admired by the people. In the notoriously bloody and brutal Battle of Verdun, Crown Prince Prince, who commanded the German 5th Army, was in the limelight, and Germany praised the prince from top to bottom. In addition, a large number of heroic troops also emerged in this battle, among which the deeds of the "Iron 24" bloody battle are even more well-known.

Ever since he saw a report about the Iron 24 in the Berliner Zeitung, Joachim quietly made up his mind. A week later, he arrived at Verdun with an assignment.

Unfortunately, this seemingly wise choice became something that Joachim regretted for a whole year, during which time he changed from prince to son, and although the title of Grand Duke was in particular, it was really an empty title. As the war ended, Joachim found himself trapped in this desolate place with Iron 24, but his request for repatriation was repeatedly in vain, and he directly sought the help of acquaintances in the War Department, who excused themselves or were vague. At this time, Joachim really tasted the warmth and coldness of human affection.

Since the assassination of Wilhelm II and the accession to the throne of Wilhelm III, Joachim has had less and less contact with his brothers, and there has not even been any news about them in the last two months. That night, Joachim had no idea what was happening in the country, and after dinner, he went back to his small room as usual. In this somewhat cold stone room, there were drawing papers scattered on the walls, on the bed, and on the desk, all of which were the work of the young duke.

Just as Joachim was about to finish a landscape painting depicting the surrounding landscape, there was a gurgling knock on the old wooden door.

"Captain, you're being looked for by two officers from Paris!"

"An officer from Paris?" Joachim was surprised, he thought for a moment, and responded, "Oh, I see! I'll be here soon! ”

After tidying up a bit, Joachim went downstairs to the command room on the first floor of the old fortress.

Waiting for him there were two officers whom he had never met, a colonel and a major.

After glancing up and down at the comers, the major unfolded the scroll in his hand and asked, "Captain Joachim William?" ”

"Yes!" Joachim looked curiously at the two men in front of him, who did not have the number of the unit they belonged to on their collar badges, which meant that they belonged to the military department above the divisional staff headquarters.

"From now on, you have become a staff officer of the General Staff of the German Empire in the French Army Group, and this is your order!" When the Major had finished announcing, he handed the scroll to Joachim.

Joachim took the scroll, and there was no flaw in the order, except for a small piece of paper with two lines written on it: "We take you out of here on the orders of the Grand Duke Friedrich, and when you have finished reading it, you will not make a noise, and you will come with us as soon as you pack up your things!" ”

After a flash of excitement in his eyes, Joachim quietly pinched the piece of paper in his hand, then rolled up the order, stood upright and saluted, "German Army Captain Joachim Wilhelm, accept this order unconditionally!" ”

Although the other officers present were a little surprised, it seemed that it was a high-ranking officer who had come to convey the order, and the commander of their regiment was only a lieutenant colonel, so although they were surprised by this sudden transfer, they did not question or stop it.

After verifying the order, Lieutenant Colonel Farik, the regimental commander of Joachim's immediate superior, signed it and handed it back to Joachim.

"Congratulations, Captain Joachim!"

"Thank you!" Joachim replied lukewarmly, for a year the regimental commander had treated himself in the same way, neither making things difficult, but also nothing good.

After packing up some personal belongings, Joachim followed the two officers out of the barracks at Verdun. After getting into their car, Joachim finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where are you going to send me?"

"South of France!" The colonel replied.