Frankish Palace, Bruges, Belgium.

The sound of thunderous artillery came from two south-east directions into the old Frankish Palace, where the Germans advancing to the vicinity of Bruges were bombarding the Belgian defensive positions outside the city.

At the Frankish Palace, the Belgian king and commander-in-chief of the army, Leopold III, Queen Astrid, Prime Minister Herbert. Pierrot and the King's adviser to the British Admiral John Anderson. Brownlow. Together, Keith is meeting with Prince Bernhard, the husband of Princess Juliana of the Netherlands.

Prince Bernhard was a member of the German royal family and a former cavalry officer in the Wehrmacht, who became a Dutch naturalized only after marrying a Dutch princess. However, he maintained close contacts with the top brass of the Wehrmacht and the court of Kaiser Wilhelm. Today he ventured from Holland to Bruges, besieged by war, in order to convey the rather sincere terms of peace offered by Germany:

1. Belgium returned the German lands seized after the First World War;

2. The Belgian Government to return all reparations paid to Belgium by Germany under the Treaty of Versailles and the Keynes Plan (in-kind indemnities are also converted into cash);

3. The Belgian government undertakes to join the European Customs Union and the European Monetary Union at the request of Germany;

4. The colonies of Belgium will serve as shared colonies of the European Customs Union and the European Monetary Union;

5. The main cities and ports of Belgium are to be occupied by Germany until the end of the war against Britain and France, but most of the powers of the Belgian government and parliament will be retained, and the German garrison will not interfere in the civil and judicial affairs of Belgium;

6. If the Belgian Government is unable to pay the compensation, Germany shall be entitled to take part or all of the equity interests in the Belgian steel works, arsenals and mines as compensation, and in case of any deficiency, Germany shall waive its right of recourse;

7. Until the end of the war operations against Britain and France, the Belgian army and military installations were to be placed under the administration of the Wehrmacht.

"What is the European Monetary Union?" Belgian Prime Minister Herbert. "Does Germany want to seize the monetary sovereignty of Belgium so that Belgium will become a vassal of Germany forever?" ”

"The European Community will be a federal state in the future," said Prince Bernhard, "and it is only natural that the members of the Federation will cede some of their sovereignty to the Federation." Not only will the Belgian franc not exist, but also the Deutsche Mark, the Polish Zloty, the Slovak koruna, the Hungarian forint and the Luxembourg franc will not exist, and even our Dutch guilder will most likely be replaced by the Euromark. ”

"You Holland ...... too," said the British Admiral John Brown. Brownlow. Keith was taken aback, "Germany is ready to invade Holland?" ”

"No," said Prince Bernhard, "Germany wants to achieve its ends by peaceful means...... If the Netherlands joins the European Monetary Union, the European Bank (formerly known as the European Development Bank), which is responsible for issuing the Euromark, will move from Geneva, Switzerland, to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which will become the world's financial center like London and New York. ”

The world's financial center certainly means a lot of money! As soon as the Netherlands agreed to join the European Monetary Union, Amsterdam would take the place of London and Paris - a guarantee given by the German Emperor to the Queen of the Netherlands.

"You Holland are going to join Germany against the British Empire?" Admiral Case asked loudly.

"No, we will not declare war on anyone," said Prince Berhard earnestly, "and we in the Netherlands will remain neutral." ”

"But you're going to join the German Customs Union?" Admiral Case asked.

"Not the German Customs Union, but the European Customs Union." Prince Bernhard corrected Admiral Keyes's statement.

"And you're going to use Mark!"

"The Euromark, this is the international currency to be used by the European Monetary Union in the future," Prince Bernhard shrugged, "and it won't happen right away, it may be a year or two." ”

After the Germans landed on British soil? Admiral Keith thought to himself: It is disgusting that the Netherlands has a clear position in favor of Germany, but still wants to approve a coat of neutrality, and at the same time wants a piece of the German spoils!

But the current British Empire has nothing to do with the Netherlands, and it is impossible to attack the Netherlands itself. The only means that could be taken now was a "limited embargo", restricting the import of war materials by the Netherlands to help Germany.

However, for Admiral Keith, how to deal with the "pro-German neutrality" of the Netherlands is not a problem for him to consider, and the position of the Kingdom of Belgium is a headache for him.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Prime Minister," asked Admiral Keith after Prince Berhard had left the Frankish Palace, "Belgium will not succumb to German violence, will it?" ”

"Of course, Belgium will not give in!" Belgian Prime Minister Herbert. Pierrot said.

"But the war will soon be over." King Leopold III's answer made Admiral Keith's heart tighten. The "weak" king said: "The situation is much worse now than in 1914, and there will be no more forces on the European continent to resist Germany." The Germans had won the war, and Europe would eventually become a community led by Europe...... How can we, Belgium, resist? ”

"Your Majesty, the final victory will not belong to Germany!" Admiral Keith hurriedly persuaded, "The defeat of the coalition is only temporary, and you and the Belgian government can go to London to continue leading the resistance." The people of Belgium will fight with guerrilla warfare against Germany under your leadership until the day when victory comes. ”

Leopold III shrugged, "Admiral, do you think the Flemish will fight the Germans to the end for hundreds of square kilometers of German-speaking states and Walloon factories and mines?" ”

This is certainly impossible! The Dutch-speaking Flemish and French-speaking Walloons have always been at odds with each other. Because Belgium was in the majority at the time of independence and had a heavily industrialized economy, it dominated Belgium for a long time before the First World War, looking down on the Flemish people. Moreover, the Walloons are pro-French and French-speaking, while the Flemish speak Dutch and are more pro-German. Therefore, in the last world war, when the German army invaded the Flemish area, it was welcomed.

Although after the First World War, due to the decline of the heavy industrial areas of Belgium and the economic population growth of the Flemish areas, the population ratio of the two sides reversed. The Flemish gradually gained the upper hand, but the conflict between the Flemish and Walloons did not ease, but became more intense - the Flemish did not want to stay in the same country as the Wallonia. If the Germans annexed the Walloon region, the Flemish would only be grateful to Germany.

"And the Belgian franc," said Admiral Keith, "Belgium will lose its currency!" ”

Leopold III still shook his head, "Belgium has done its best, we have resisted for 15 days, isn't it enough?" ”

"Your Majesty, the government cannot agree to surrender," said Belgian Prime Minister Herbert. Pierrot shouted, "The government will not surrender." ”

"Very well," the Belgian king nodded, "you go to London or something, and I stay in Belgium with my army and my people." I am the commander-in-chief of the Belgian army, and I will give the order of the armistice! He glanced at British Admiral Keys, "Today is the 24th, and I will send an envoy to the Germans to sue for peace at 12 noon on the 25th, and before 12 noon on the 26th, the Belgian army will stop resisting." ”

……

"Dutch ancestry? No, I can't say that, although my family has several relatives living in the Netherlands, my family has a much longer history than the Netherlands. The Heinsberg family dates back to the time of the Frankish kingdom and was a Carolingian vassal, when there was no Dutch and Belgian ......"

"So old, then you must be a German aristocrat."

"That's right, I'm the heir to the Marquis of Heinsberg, and we also have the title of Count of Altel in our family."

"Altel? Altel near Ghent? ”

"Yes, this is this Altel, one of my ancestors was a vassal of the Duchy of Flanders, later a vassal of the Duke of Burgundy, then a vassal of the Habsburgs, and finally driven out by Napoleon's men. But the title still remains......"

In some area of the city of Ghent, surrounded by German troops, and a band of Belgians, oh, the Flemish people were talking about Rudolf, the eldest son of Hersmann. He was careless during his parachute jump yesterday, landed near the Belgian army's position, and then became a prisoner - German soldiers have no tradition of preferring suicide rather than being captured, and Rudolph is a Catholic, and committing suicide is going to hell.

However, the Belgian soldiers who captured him (in fact, the militia in Ghent) treated him favorably. It's not because the Belgians know how to treat their captives preferentially, it's because the Belgian militia thinks Rudolph is their own!

It may sound strange, but it's normal in Belgium, where political life is all about the struggle between Dutch-speaking Flemish and French-speaking Walloons. Not only was Rudolf very fluent in Dutch (his home was on the edge of the Netherlands, and there were estates and residences in the Dutch province of Limburg), but he also shared a common religion with the Flemish people, who were both Catholics.

There is a common language, and there is a common religion, of course, they are their own people. As for the ongoing war, in the eyes of many Flemish people, it was a matter for the French, British and Germans, and had nothing to do with them.

And the war will soon be over, at least for these Ghent militias. SS "Adolf. Hitler's banner has now occupied most of Ghent, surrounded the rest of it, and has now sent military envoys to persuade him to surrender. (To be continued.) )