July 16, 1917, Paris, France.

Huang Xing, who got off the train, was coerced out of the train station by the crowd of people, and just after leaving the station gate, he heard the rumbling sound of cannons in the distance.

Huang Xing and several Chinese traveling with him instinctively wanted to find a place to hide, but found that the flow of people around them was still the same, and two French women with cigarettes in their mouths looked at these plainly dressed Chinese with flirtatious eyes, and a sarcastic look appeared on their faces, as if to laugh at their timidity.

Like these two girls, the people around them did not react abnormally in the face of this rumbling cannon.

Like what Huang Xing saw in other places, the people of Paris were accustomed to such sounds at this time.

Years of bloodshed, hunger and frustration have smoothed the passion of the French people. They are no longer as fanatical as they were at the beginning, but they are enduring it. The enthusiasm of the past has been worn out by the suffering brought about by the war, and all that remains is apathy and numbness.

"Look there! Mr! ”

A Chinese student pointed in the direction of the distant explosion.

The explosion of the cannonball became closer and closer, Huang Xing followed the prestige, under the gray sky, flashing like a red glow, with dreamlike colors, it looked very magnificent, easy to make people feel a kind of excitement and excitement, but Huang Xing saw disgust and fear in the eyes of the people around him.

The two girls had been looking at these Chinese who seemed to be uncoordinated with their surroundings, and when they found that some of these Chinese were so interested in the shelling scene, they couldn't help but smile at each other, and then got up and walked towards Huang Xing and the others.

"Are you Chinese?" A girl smiled and spit out a smoke ring, took a seductive pose in front of Huang Xing, and asked loudly in French.

Huang Xing, who didn't know French, couldn't help but be a little stunned by her sudden question, and an international student gave him a positive answer in French.

"Where are your guns? Chinese GIs? Another girl asked.

"We are not soldiers!" The Chinese student replied in French with some annoyance, "We are here to study in France!" ”

"Oh? Then you must be a minister under the Emperor of China. The girl said in a greasy voice, stepped forward with a smile and pinched the collar of Huang Xing, who was extraordinary, "Then how many people did your emperor send?" Half a million or a million? Can you tell us? ”

Huang Xing smelled the smell of fat powder mixed with the smell of tobacco from her body, his face couldn't help but turn red, he wanted to shake off her hand, but he was a little embarrassed, and his face was full of embarrassment for a while.

"Yes! How many of you came? Another lady also smiled and said, "Now there are only two divisions of soldiers guarding Paris, and the damned Germans are about to fight." ”

Hearing her words, the faces of several Chinese students showed surprise.

"What is she talking about?" Huang Xing sensed the abnormality of their expressions and asked.

"She said that there were only two divisions in Paris now, and the Germans were about to fight." A Chinese student replied.

"Two divisions? How can it be so little? Another Chinese student asked, a little alarmed.

"Please, Chinese, come and protect us!" The French lady suddenly changed her tone and sang in a tone similar to that of a singing and dancing drama, "Paris is in danger!" Help us! Please! We need you! The Motherland needs you! France needs you! ”

A Chinese student finally couldn't help it, he stepped forward and pushed away the hand of the French girl, and left with several other students hugging Huang Xing.

"Welcome to Paris! Have a great trip! Behind them, the French girl laughed loudly, "You cannon fodder! ”

Huang Xing listened to the unbridled laughter of the two French women, turned his head to the people around him and asked, "What did she mean by the last word?" ”

"She said we were cannon fodder." A Chinese student said, "Sir, don't listen to her nonsense there. ”

"Cannon fodder ......" Huang Xing sighed, and his gaze returned to the flickering red light in the sky.

September 12, 1917, in northern France, a field headquarters.

In a large and bright conference hall, a British general in a military uniform draped with medals was sitting in a chair, his eyes closed, listening to the discussion of the generals and officers gathered around the map table, his face always maintaining a calm and confident expression, although the chatter of his subordinates had become more and more loud by this time.

"Tanks have been proven in the swamps of Flanders without the slightest value! Its mobility is guaranteed by a dry and sturdy field! Where do we find such a suitable site for a tank attack? A general asked loudly.

"I've already looked into it, and in Cambrai we have the terrain we need." One of the colonels calmly replied.

"Cambrai? Where is it? Another general asked, his question eliciting strange glances from several staff officers, who made no comment.

"Cambrai is a town forty-five miles south of the Pahandael-Messina battlefield. To the south and west of the city is a solid land of chalk cut by creeks and banks. The Colonel took out a map and unfolded it on the table, "Between the Knoll Canal and the Saint-Quentin Canal, there is a wilderness of about six miles with twists and turns, which is best suited for tank maneuvering. The Germans had only six divisions in this area, two of which were stationed between the two canals, and we could just use tanks to annihilate them. ”

"The Germans have dug each trench to a width of 4 meters, will those tanks be able to get over them?" Another general asked.

"We have experimented and prepared foolproof methods to get over those trenches without any problems." The colonel replied in the affirmative.

"Can you concentrate hundreds or thousands of tanks on the front line without leaking information?"

"As for the issue of confidentiality, there are some measures that can be taken to solve it." The colonel replied. "The Great Forest of Afrancott, close to behind the British lines, provided shelter for a large number of tanks. In order not to let the enemy know about our strategic plans, tanks will not be allowed to go within a mile of the outposts of the German front before the attack. ”

After listening to the colonel's answer, although there were still many doubts in the minds of the generals, most of them began to tend to agree with the colonel's battle plan.

"Colonel Fuller, what I want to know is, do we have so many tanks?"

The British general, who was sitting in the chair, raised his legs, opened his eyes sharply, and asked, and with his movements, the delicate kicking spurs on his feet spun rapidly.

"We have four hundred tanks at our disposal." Colonel Fuller looked at General Haig, who was still a firm believer in the power of cavalry, and said, "The relevant personnel are also ready." ”

"Four hundred, that's too little." General Haig shook his toes, "It's not proportional to the scale of the battle I need." ”

"The [***] squadron brought more than six hundred tanks." Colonel Fuller said, "Their tanks will operate with ours." ”

"Chinese tanks?" A curious look appeared on Haig's face, and he leaned forward slightly to show concentration, "The Chinese also have tanks?" ”

"Yes," replied Colonel Fuller in the affirmative, "I have visited their tanks, and I have to admit that their tanks are much better than what we have designed, and much more small and nimble. ”

"I really can't imagine that the Chinese can come up with something more advanced than the designers of the empire." Haig said in a slightly mocking tone, "Are you sure your eyes are seeing the truth?" Colonel Fuller? ”

"The tanks they designed are more reasonable, and they have been tested in battle, and these tanks have posed a great threat to Yue himself in the Shandong battlefield," Colonel Fuller took a few photos out of the folder and asked a staff officer to hand them over to the high-ranking General Haig, "and their crew has also formed their own set of relatively mature tactics." ”

Haig took the picture from the staff officer, looked at it, and nodded thoughtfully.

These photos were taken by a French photographer, showing Chinese soldiers wearing large-brimmed military hats and military uniforms facing the photo, with a simple smile on their dark and thin faces, and behind them, a tank with a Chinese flag, unlike the British tank, this tank has a turret above the hull and two cannons.

"It seems that the Chinese will be the main force of this attack." Haig put down the photo in his hand and said.

"No, the Emperor [***] team is the main force." Commander of the British Third Army, Julian Brown. General Bean replied, "According to our plan, there are twenty-two divisions in battle, of which only three are Chinese. ”

"The main tactical purpose of our assault was to use these mobile armoured vehicles along the six-mile front line to storm the enemy's lines on the front, to wipe out the enemy between the two canals, and to capture the town of Cambrai." Colonel Fuller added.

"I hope you all understand that our intention is not to make a decisive breakthrough, but that this tactical assault is in fact a feint to pin down the German forces on other fronts." Haig said, "So don't pin more hope on the tanks of the Chinese, understand?" ”

Listening to Haig's words, Colonel Fuller couldn't help but look stunned.

"I still think that this limited offensive plan needs to be revised. We should not limit the movement of so many tanks to the area between the two canals, we should deploy the tanks along the vast front line in an unfolded cascade formation to provide shelter for the advancing infantry. "Hugh, commander of the British Royal Tank Force? Sir Els advised, "I have discussed with the commander of the squadron [***], and they have dealt with my own front in this way in Shantung, with great success. ”

"It seems that the successful experience of the Chinese has begun to affect us." Haig looked sarcastic and said, "You can use your and the Chinese's little toys as you like." But I will remind you that the scale of the operation is limited, and you will not have more reserves except for five cavalry divisions, and those Chinese. ”

With that, Haig nodded to the stunned General Bing and Sir Els, got up, took his beautiful nail helmet and put it on, and turned to leave with the lieutenants.

"Are you still sticking to your advice?" General Bing smiled bitterly and asked General Els.

Els and Fuller glanced at each other, and Fuller nodded meaningfully.

"Of course." Els replied firmly, "However, we need more help from the Chinese." ”

On October 5, 1917, early in the morning, at 5:30 a.m., in northern France, the former enemy headquarters of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

"Commander! Commander! It's time to go! An adjutant looked at Yuan Keding, who was still snoring in the bed, and the white beauty in his arms, and carefully pushed him with his hand.

"Damn! What's the call of the early morning? Get lost! Yuan Keding pulled away the adjutant's hand with his hand, and wrapped himself and the French woman tightly in the quilt.

"Commander! General Wang, Chief of Staff Chen, and the British are waiting outside! The adjutant said anxiously, "Didn't you order me to call you at this time yesterday?" ”

"! Lao Tzu forgot about this! Yuan Keding suddenly woke up and sat up immediately, probably because his bare body felt the cold, and he immediately shrank his body into the quilt.

The French woman, who was also naked, lying next to him, woke up, saw Yuan Keding sit up, showed a lazy and charming smile, hugged him, and began to kiss him on the chest.

"Alright, okay, can't you do it this morning? Do you hear that? Yuan Keding comforted the French baby in his arms, and finally got out of her arms and began to get dressed in a hurry.

With the help of the adjutant, Yuan Keding got dressed as quickly as possible, and then two soldiers came in, wrapped the French beauty on the bed tightly in a quilt, and quietly carried it out of Yuan Keding's room like a noodle bag, Yuan Keding straightened his clothes in front of the mirror, cleared his throat, and then walked out with the adjutant.

Yuan Keding followed the adjutant to the conference room, Wang Shizhen and Chen Eun had been waiting there early, and there were two British generals in the room.

"Good belly and oily belly ......" Yuan Keding made a cold noise with the British in English, and a Chinese [***] official who served as an interpreter introduced them, and after the guests and hosts were seated, the two Britons couldn't wait to express their intentions.

"What does he mean is that we want to take all the troops up?" After Yuan Keding understood, he turned his head and looked at Wang Shizhen and Chen Yan with a pleading gaze.

"Don't your army even have a little reserve?" Wang Shizhen did not answer Yuan Keding, but looked at the Englishman and asked.

"Yes, we only have five cavalry divisions that we can use as reserves." The Englishman replied, "We hope that our Chinese friends will help us." ”

"What do you see? Yangtian? Wang Shizhen looked at Chen Yan and asked.

At this time, everyone's eyes in the conference room were invariably focused on Chen Eun.

"Of course we're going." Chen Yan frowned and thought for a while, and said, "This is the first battle that our army has fought since it arrived in Europe, and it must be fought well." ”

"Alright then!" Seeing Chen Eun say this, Yuan Keding said happily, "Let's all go over!" ”

Hearing Yuan Keding's clever words, a trace of annoyance flashed in Chen Eun's eyes, but in an instant, he didn't speak, just nodded.

"Damn! Lao Tzu's good chariot is painted like this, what the hell are these Britons doing? ”

An officer of the Chinese Expeditionary Force's ironclad convoy screamed in annoyance as he watched his "Land Patrol 1" multi-turret heavy tank being painted by the British in a messy camouflage color.

"These camouflage colors can make our tanks blend in with the surrounding environment," Xiao Yi looked at the surrounding tanks that were well hidden in the forest, and couldn't help but be in a trance for a while, "The British also make sense to do this." ”

At this time, Xiao Yi did not think that after he went to join the army, he would come to the European battlefield thousands of miles away so soon.

He can't figure out why he asked Yang Shuoming to join the army in the first place.

Perhaps, just to be able to get close to this ironclad chariot?

Xiao Yat raised his head and looked into the sky, seeing British planes constantly circling over the forest, and the propellers made a deafening roar, making people feel their heads swelling.

Xiao Yi looked at the watch on his wrist, and the hands on the watch indicated the current time, 6:12.

An officer ran over quickly and handed the battle order to Xiao Yi, who nodded, climbed into his chariot, and began to start the engine.

Seeing that the command vehicle began to start, the surrounding Chinese tankers ended their rest, got into their tanks one after another, and began to start the engine.

Soon, the forest was filled with the roar of tank engines, but these roars were completely drowned out by the loud noise of aircraft engines above the forest.

"The British really keep secrets!" Su Xin, a Korean tanker from Mukden, smiled and said loudly to Xiao Yi, "There are so many fucking ideas." ”

"The Germans certainly don't know, and we're going to clean them up now." Another tanker, Li Wenyu, also said, "This time, we can avenge their revenge for forcibly occupying Qingdao back then." ”

"I'd rather beat me up again." Su Xin said viciously, "Although the Germans occupied Qingdao, they still engaged in some construction, and they said that they were purely fucking robbers." We're actually allies with Yu myself now, and I really can't fucking do it. ”

"Yes! This time, we are tantamount to beating our own teacher. Xiao Yi smiled bitterly and shook his head, "This feels really different!" ”

(To be continued)