∷ Shuha Novel: Novel

"The year 1914 was destined to be a year of great disastrous for the Allies and for Shijie as a whole. At that time, although the war was raging, it was not out of control; Missing the opportunity to control the war was a big mistake made in 1914. Since then, the flames of war have spread everywhere until they are burned out. Since then, the unfolding of events has greatly escaped the scope of people's conscious choices. Both the government and the individual obeyed the rhythm of this tragedy, staggering forward in desperate violence, slaughtering each other and exerting resources on an ever-increasing scale, until the resulting trauma affected the fabric of human society, a wound that could not be erased for a century, and which conceivably proved to be disastrous for today's civilization. However, in December 1914, the bad situation was not yet out of control.

With the passing of the old years, a stalemate on the Western Front was formed between the major belligerents. The German fleet was cowering in a well-guarded harbor, and the British Admiralty was helpless as it left the harbor. The trenches stretched from the Alps to the seaside, and movement warfare was no longer possible. The admirals were completely convinced of blockade tactics; The army generals, on the other hand, were pinning their hopes on a war of attrition, and even more desperately tried to break through the enemy's defenses. In the history of Shijie warfare, the construction of such a continuous trench is unique. More than 30 miles of fortifications, heavily defended by millions of troops and supported by thousands of cannons, stretched from the Swiss front to the North Sea.

War is the bloodiest war of attrition, and only frontal attack is the best strategy. As a result of these two brutal contingencies adopted by the French and British authorities, the men's jīng hua in their countries was consumed for three consecutive years. But the brutal carnage caused by the war of attrition was not equal to both sides. In 191, 1916 and 1917, Britain and France paid a much higher price for their offensives than Germany in almost every case, and the total cost was certainly much higher than that of Germany. The situation is not the equivalent of the jiā for one life. The British and French armies often had to sacrifice two or even three lives to destroy an enemy, and the grim figures ultimately proved that the Entente still had a difference of millions of casualties in the end. The dogma of professional soldiers driving brave and obedient hot-blooded young men to die on the battlefield is not only terrible but also inconceivable to future generations.

This is the true story of the suffering, mutilation or extinction of millions of people, the true story of the sacrifice of all the most illustrious and noble in an entire generation. This fragmented shijie in which we live today is the heir to these terrible events. However, there is always a way to avoid this massacre and shorten the time of this catastrophe. Circuitous areas could have been found on both flanks of the front; The line of defense could have been broken through by other tactics, which could have been found and benevolently carried out, without violating any principles of military art, but only by truly understanding military principles and applying them correctly according to the facts.

The exhibition of events could have been in the hands of humanity, and it would have been possible to end everything with justice and fruitful shengli, so as not to exhaust the whole shijie, to avoid the shattering of the mountains and rivers of the countries, the collapse of the empire, the destruction of Europe, in a word, the European civilization is falling"

China Times, December 1914.

Before entering the wax moon, a heavy snow at night, for Nanjing, which is located in the south of the Yangtze River, adds a bit of the charm of the northern country, in the early morning, the sky is fluttering with snow, pure white, crystalline, like a piece of fluttering goose. Slowly, the snow grew bigger and bigger, more and more......

On the side of the road, perhaps some NV children from Guangdong who came to Nanjing to study, wearing scarves and thread hats, looked at the snow curiously, and then opened their hands in a happy mood, closed their eyes and raised their faces, feeling the feeling of the snow hitting their faces......

On the road under the snow, the cars are one after another, because of the weather, the speed is not fast, and Zhu Erdian, who is sitting in the car, does not have a trace of leisure, to look at the snow in Nanjing, not to mention some ambassadors, there is a leisure and leisure to go to the Purple Mountain to enjoy the snow, as the British ambassador to China, he clearly knows his mission.

Britain had never been so eager for an ally as it was now, and the war in France changed everything, and a stalemate between the main belligerents on the Western Front was formed. In October and November, when the French mainland was still weak in its defenses, German troops attempted to break through. They suffered heavy losses. The French and British general commands were also ordered to hold their positions with barbed wire and machine guns in the trenches. …,

Given the power of modern firepower, the frontal offensive has been abandoned for more than 40 years. In the Franco-Prussian War, the Germans achieved a major shengli by using a considerable number of troops on a certain wing to carry out a wide detour tactic. In the Russo-Japanese War and the Sino-Japanese conflict, Shengli's side also used this tactic. In Liaoyang, General Kuroki's troops attacked from the left flank of the Russian army, and it was also in Liaoyang that Xiao Xinren transferred Jīng's troops from Mukden to attack the right flank of the Japanese army. A frontal attack that is not coordinated by the flanks is certainly costly and likely to fail. However, at this moment, for the first time in the history of war between France and Flanders, there was a battle without two roundabouts. The oldest tactic of roundabouts is no longer possible. The neutral zone and the sea blocked the further extension of the battle line, and the armies of all stripes were close at hand, eyeing each other, but at a loss.

In this situation, the French High Command, in concert with the British, once again resorted to the hopeless tactics of a frontal offensive, although it had been discarded by the painful lessons of the past. At the same time, since the Russo-Japanese War, especially after the Sino-Japanese conflict, the firepower of modern weapons has increased exponentially, and it is increasing day by day. In addition, the iron barbed nets and mines that were widely used by the squadron in the Sino-Japanese conflict have become the magic weapons of the defenders, and in order to destroy these weapons that will make the attacking troops become targets, the time of shelling needs to be extended, effectively preventing the opportunity for surprise attacks.

In the present situation, it is impossible for France to attack successfully on the battlefield; There was no way to break through the center of the front, and there were no two wings to make a detour. In the face of this stalemate, tactics are powerless; The generals and their staff had nothing to do but attack head-on, which was beyond their experience and training. They have no other way but to fight a war of attrition.

War is the bloodiest war of attrition, and only frontal attack is the best strategy. As a result of these two brutal contingencies adopted by the French and British authorities, the men's jīng hua in their countries was consumed for three consecutive years. But the brutal carnage caused by the war of attrition was not equal to both sides

The harsh realities forced the British to face up to the fact that they needed reinforcements, that they needed China, the country with the second largest army in the pre-war period, to send their jīng sharp forces to Europe, to France

However, how easy is it to convince the politicians in Nanjing, who are more than foxes? Moreover, even if they were convinced, if the emperor refused to send troops, even if Yijing had a plan agreed to by the State Council, it would be denied, in short, if the squadron was to appear in France, it was necessary to convince the "emperor of soldiers" and persuade the emperor to send his soldiers to Europe.

How easy would it be for Danshi to let the emperor send his own soldiers to France and shed his blood for the interests of Britain and France? This is almost impossible unless Britain is able to show good faith.

What kind of sincerity can Danshi show in the UK now?

Withdrawal of troops from Weihaiwei? Return Weihaiwei to China?

When the Germans returned Jiaoao to China and withdrew their troops, Britain reached an agreement with China, according to the agreement in 1917, Britain returned Weihaiwei Jiā to China, and the Chinese obviously would not take what Yijing got to let the soldiers bleed in vain.

Do you want to return Hong Kong to China?

No way

This thought is only a fleeting thought, and then it is followed by the veto of this idea, Hong Kong is the last shackle of Britain to contain China, and the Chinese have always longed for Hong Kong, Victoria Bay is the best natural harbor in Asia, the Chinese Navy needs it, but Britain also needs it.

In the future, the conflict between Britain and China will only become more and more intense, and keeping Hong Kong is tantamount to putting a sharp blade near the heart of China, and Hong Kong cannot give them.

Otherwise......

Suddenly, a smile appeared on Zhu Erdian's face, the British shed so much blood and so much money for the French, and now even if it is necessary to pay the price for China to send troops, then the French should come up with something

After making up his mind, Zhu Erdian's mind was finally settled, perhaps because of the sudden relaxation of his mood, his hands tapped the beat on his knees from time to time.

“…… We believe that as a large country with influence in Shijie, it is undoubtedly inappropriate for another country to enjoy leased land in China."

In the living room of the palace, Zhu Erdian had a smile on his face, and after some foreshadowing, he finally got back to the point. …,

"Again, it is contrary to China's international status"

International status When mentioning these four words, Zhu Erdian deliberately accentuated his tone, he really knew too much about the emperor in front of him, he knew that this emperor was receiving Western education, Danshi When he was in Europe, it was when European nationalism was most prevalent, it can be said with great certainty that he was a nationalist in his bones, and for these nationalists, he knew very well how to provoke them to have heartstrings, how to make their hearts move.

Great power status, isn't this what the Chinese dream of? They aspire to become a real great power, a real great power, and how can there be leased land by other countries, and for China, a country that is eager to become a great power, perhaps only this one condition is needed for them to send their own troops to Europe and shed blood for the Europeans.

Zhu Erdian's words only made Chen Moran's brows jump slightly, and at the same time he carefully glanced at Zhu Erdian, there are only two countries that still enjoy leased land in China, one is Hong Kong leased by Britain, and the other is Guangzhou Bay leased by France.

"Mr. Ambassador means ......"

Therefore, Chen Moran's face suddenly realized a smile.

"Is London ready to negotiate with our country on Hong Kong? If that were the case, we would very much welcome London's concessions on Hong Kong."

Hong Kong

Seeing Chen Moran mention Hong Kong, Zhu Erdian almost didn't bite his tongue with hatred, and his momentary mistake was too careless

"Your Majesty, I think the most important thing now is to first settle the leased land in Chinese mainland, and as for Hong Kong, at the right time, I think London will start talks with your country"

Not Hong Kong

In an instant, Chen Moran understood what Zhu Erdian meant, for the British, they only have interests in their eyes, and what kind of leased land and great power status Zhu Erdian mentioned simply wanted to sacrifice the interests of France to achieve their goals.

"China is willing to support China's negotiations with France on Canton Bay, and is willing to lobby France to make concessions on the Canton Bay issue, Your Majesty, please believe that now may be the best time"

Guangzhou Bay

The moment he heard this geographical term, Chen Moran's brows jumped slightly, and then the whole person fell into deep thought, more than ten years ago, he didn't even know that there was a Guangzhou Bay in China, and he also didn't know that it was leased by the French.

In 170 years, a French steamer named "Amphitrid" ran aground near Guangzhou Bay because of a typhoon, and the crew found that Guangzhou Bay was actually a natural harbor during their stay, with a flat water depth in the bay and islands such as Nansan and the East China Sea as barriers, so they secretly began to explore the waterways and draw a map, which attracted the attention of the French government after returning to France.

In 1898, that is, the 24th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, the Western powers slaughtered Huaxia Shenzhou at will with strong ships and cannons, and the decaying and declining Qing Dynasty was already full of devastation and became a soft persimmon that could be pinched by others. In the face of Germany's forcible occupation of Jiaozhou Bay and Russia's occupation of Lushun, France was unwilling to lag behind, and on April 9, he simply sent a letter to the Qing Dynasty directly to the Qing Dynasty to the Governor requesting permission to repair the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway to lease Guangzhou Bay and to hold a postal note, unreasonably demanding that Guangzhou Bay be forcibly leased for 99 years, and the hooligan and scoundrel emphasized that "it must be approved".

The "sage" and "wise" Qing Dynasty obediently reverted to the lease the next day, and the Qing Dynasty was so subdued that the French greatly surprised it, so they had to make inch in, without waiting for the two sides to survey the boundary and negotiate the rent, and on April 22, they sent Vice Admiral Bidoriel of the Far East Fleet to lead three warships to drive straight into Guangzhou Bay, land in the area of today's Xiashan, and forcibly demolish the houses to build barracks.

In November 1899, the Qing Dynasty appointed Su Yuanūn, the governor of Guangxi, and Gao Lirui, the French admiral of the navy, to formally sign the "Guangzhou Bay Concession Treaty", leasing the Guangzhou Bay area with a land area of about 518 square kilometers and a water area of about 1,612 square kilometers to France for 99 years. In order to strengthen the management and control of the leased land, the French established the Canton Bay Minister's Office, which was under the authority of the French Governor-General in Vietnam.

In the past ten years, there has always been a dream in my heart, that is, to reclaim Guangzhou Bay and Hong Kong, but the two countries of Danshi, Britain and France, are not something that China can regret, at least not now. Danshi tried to solve the problem through the channel of the outer jiā, but in the face of China's demands, the British and French reached a secret agreement, and the two countries agreed on the leased land, refusing to hold any level of meeting with China, thus completely cutting off the road to the reclaim of the outer jiā. …,

If you can't do it, then you can only rely on force, but you can't use force now, and you have to wait a little longer, but now, Zhu Erdian has revealed such a message that Britain is ready to help China recover Guangzhou Bay.

Even if Britain is generous to others, it must be for the sake of profit, otherwise Britain would obviously not have made such a big "sacrifice" in its usual way.

What made their decision come at the expense of France?

Europe

For this reason alone, they must have sent troops to France to fight in China. After figuring this out, Chen Moran thanked him silently.

"If that's the case, then zhende is so grateful to your country"

While following Zhu Erdian's words, Chen Moran thought in his heart that this matter must be passed through a channel, before the fact is accompli, to the French, the British sacrificed the interests of France, wouldn't the French come up with their agreement to say things?

The two countries are unanimously a powerful weapon against China, and now they are also a weapon to fight back against them, sending troops to Europe, and even if they hold Hong Kong and Guangzhou Bay in front of them now, it is impossible to send troops to Europe.

For those Europeans, even if the Chinese shed even a drop of blood, it is not worth it, and now the war has just begun, and to fight this war of attrition in Europe is simply to let the donkey kick in the head.

However, this is indeed an opportunity, an opportunity to take Guangzhou Bay and Hong Kong, at least the New Territories, leased land, and the New Territories are also concessions, but this matter, I am afraid that it is really inseparable from the help of the French.

"We, Xiwang, will go directly to France to make a request, and China will intervene in this matter at an appropriate time, mediate from it, and finally bring about an agreement between China and France on Guangzhou Bay."

As he spoke, Zhu Erdian noticed that the gratitude on the face of His Majesty the Emperor in front of him disappeared, and it was replaced by another smile, which seemed to be like, well, as if it had seen through him, but Zhu Erdian did not feel any surprise, he knew that if this emperor could not see through this, he would definitely not become the ruler of this empire.

"Mr. Ambassador, I have a question in my heart, and I would like you to answer it."

While saying this sentence indistinctly, Chen Moran looked at the other party with a smile, he knew very well what the British wanted, but they didn't know what they wanted.

"I think that Britain's help to China must be reciprocated in some directions."