July.

In the port of Marseille, colorful flags were unfurled, and hideous gun barrels poked out of the cold fortress group, and under the muzzles were mighty steel giants, and the two Changfeng-class large ocean-going destroyers flying the flag of the Republic of China Navy next to the queue were eye-catching. On the wharf, French Foreign Minister Viviani and Wang Zhengting, the special envoy of the Republic of China who arrived early, chatted and chatted, and Zhang Xiaozhun and others, who had brought the officer corps to observe behind him, were also greeting each other with the French ** officer. Reporters separated by the soldiers turned their cameras on them.

Much of the conversation focused on the Battle of Skagerrak and the terrible Verdun meat grinder, the bright sun did not dispel the clouds of war over Europe, and the nearly two million tons of steel in the North Sea stirred up the storm as the British and French armies groaned in Verdun's blood. No one wanted to get to Chapter 393 in France! The proud Overlord of the Seven Seas was simply beaten eight to two by the rising star, and when the Sedlitz, thought it sunk, returned to the port of Kiel after five days of arduous sailing, dragging a broken body that could not even be seen from the deck, all of Europe was burned!

Germany declared a great victory, as they cost the British Navy up to 160,000 tons in just one day, while losing only Lützov and an old ex-dreadnought. Britain also declared victory on his heel, as Jericho's Grand Fleet completed the strategic goal of bringing the German Ocean Fleet back home and becoming a port presence fleet.

No matter how fierce the verbal battle on both sides of the North Sea is, in the eyes of ordinary people, German power at this moment has undoubtedly reached its peak! The army was just a stone's throw from Paris, and the navy had defeated the mighty England. According to the grapevine, when the four most powerful Queen-class battleships returned to the Scapa Bay anchorage, the commander of the base, Admiral Clark, a veteran of the British Navy, directly shed tears, it was too miserable!

Most of the damage was caused when Betty made an early U-turn due to communication problems and left four battleships alone to face the main force of 24 German ships, and it is said that all four Queen Elizabeth-class ships will rest for at least half a year! On the contrary, after Germany deliberately released in France, the two Bavaria-class ships have already begun sea trials, the third De Vorlinger also said that it will be launched, and the Mackensen-class, which is comparable to the Hood-class battlecruisers under construction, is said to be at full power.

But England did not know at the moment, in fact that Mackensen was close to stopping work, and did not know that the last ship of the "Dao" de Felllinger was far from being completed, and did not know that William II actually had no more resources, and that the Continental Army and the Great Navy would always be irreconcilable contradictions! But at this moment, Germany is the strongest in the Europa!

Viviani was a veteran diplomat on the continent, and his political career has made him more stable, and his dry suit and thin body have made the French ridicule him as "the old peasant from Saint-Etienne". His conservative style of thinking can also be seen from this nickname, but everyone cheered for him after the war began, because it was this "old peasant" who brought France back to Italy, although they had recently lost their Caporetto, and were killed by the rotten and incompetent Austro-Hungarian army, but at least 300,000 Austro-Hungarian troops were pinned down.

In addition to Italy, will he be able to bring new allies to France?

The influx of hundreds of thousands of Chinese laborers since the end of last year has given a glimmer of hope to the desperate France, and just when the British and French Far East politicians have tried their best to get no answer, the brightest young man in the Far East suddenly came to visit Europe. What will he bring? While everyone was anxiously waiting, the armored cruiser Marseille, which had been accompanying from Cam Ranh Bay, appeared at the end of the waterway, and a moment later four warships flying the flag of the Republic of China also followed into the quiet bay.

Thrown into the arms of the port of Marseille, which is known as the first fortress in the Mediterranean, all the people on the four warships understand what is the direction of development of China! Neat and clean docks, lined chimneys and giant docks, from battleships to hospital ships, from private yachts to Atlantic cruise ships larger than battleships, this is the heritage and strength of a strong country! If Britain is 100, then France can reach 70, Japan is only 30, and the Republic of China can only barely squeeze into the 15 list, the reason why it is so low is mainly the lack of education and large-scale metal processing capabilities.

Yang Qiu was not disappointed, because the Republic of China was catching up, and the elite generation led by him was using this war to try their best to obtain technology and funds, and the ultimate goal of this visit was to fill up the gas again for this chase game.

After the Feihong lowered the gangway, Yang Qiu, who had changed into a suit, appeared in France's sight. When everyone is used to seeing a photo of him in a military uniform in the newspaper, he sighs in his heart now, is he hinting? Viviani also frowned, he didn't believe that Yang Qiu would hint that China would not join the war, in fact, from his temporary addition of the East Indies and the Persian Gulf region, you can see that he is deliberately testing the bottom line of Europe! On the one hand, this kind of side-kick is to tell the world that China is gradually changing its policy of focusing only on domestic affairs, and on the other hand, it is also to tell Europe that "I am ready, and I am willing to enter the war if I am given the benefits of these places." ”

The crowded port of Marseille made the sailors who came out for the first time excited, and even Gu Weijun, who had visited abroad many times, was surprised that Yang Qiu had such attention on this trip. But Yang Qiu himself understands very well that Europe is not concerned with itself, but with hundreds of thousands of troops in its own hands.

Viviani greeted him with a smile: "Your Excellency the Vice-President, I welcome you on behalf of the French government!" Yang Qiu replied to him with warm footsteps and a long handshake, as well as words that made France look forward to it again: "Thank you, Your Excellency, for your welcome, I really hope that peace will come soon." ”

Sure enough, Viviani confirmed his suspicions. He didn't mind this temptation, because every diplomat likes to deal with a stable and long-term government, the overall situation of the Republic of China is decided, and although this young man has not yet climbed to the top of his political career, it seems to Europe that he is nothing more than a trick to prolong his political career. What's more, His Excellency Raymond, the current president of France, is also playing this kind of small game, so Yang Qiu undoubtedly represents the political trend of China in the next 20 years in his eyes. If France can establish a more friendly relationship with him and obtain a stable market for twenty years, what is the difference? More importantly, in addition to the meager interests of Guangzhou Bay, France and China did not have too serious conflicts, so he continued to smile: "Thank you for your blessings, China and France have a deep traditional friendship, we have no conflict in Far Eastern affairs, but have many common values to work together, I really hope that you can take this visit to achieve the foundation of eternal friendship between the two countries, and I hope you fall in love with France." ”

In Viviani's flattering words, the beautiful French girl sent blessings and spicy kisses.

Yang Qiu's images of accepting fragrant kisses and hugs, and praising the girl in French, began to loosen the traditional European view of the Far East, looking at his neat short hair, as if he had been accustomed to a well-fitting suit for many years, and the equally energetically dressed young officers and diplomats behind him, all of which showed that a different "China" country was beginning to appear on the world political stage.

Allowed reporters surrounded Mr. Yang and Viviani, who were able to capture the young vice president and the country's supreme commander in the armed forces while asking a number of spicy and even unprepared questions, but Mr. Yang showed his wit and humor, pausing only when asked if China's export of labor to Europe was a sign of entry into the war.

"I don't want to lie! In the East, there are more than 400 million of my compatriots who still live in poverty and backwardness, and perhaps they can only buy a glass of pine nut wine for a day's work here, but they can feed three relatives in the country. Here, I would like to thank the Government of France for providing 530,000 jobs and helping my Government to address the lives of 1.5 million poor compatriots. In the same way, we do not like war because of poverty, and in fact we are willing to maintain long-term friendly relations with any country if it were not for reasons known to some people. My Government is working to improve basic issues such as land, education, livelihood, etc. Of course, if someone wants to impose war on us, I can solemnly tell you that a country that will be conquered at will has disappeared! ”

While the reporters pondered these words, Yang Qiu had already begun his visit to the Marseille industrial area, accompanied by Viviani. Although the French government tried its best to maintain its strong coat in front of foreign guests, the rusty shells of Normandy-class battleships on the slipways, the Chinese laborers who filled the factories, and the long queues outside the aid stations in the streets and alleys after the implementation of the rationing system showed that the proud French rooster was slowly lowering its head.

This pre-war country, which claimed to have the most powerful army in Europe, was ruthlessly pulled off its coat in front of German artillery fire, and the price paid by France, as the main battlefield in Europe, to win the war is unimaginable! Seventy percent of the country's population was in the service of the war effort, and the rich plains of France were even in a food crisis.

Human resources have become the most urgent issue in France and even in the Entente, in the face of muddy trenches and barbed wire, the only way to win is to keep increasing the number of troops, when the mobilization capacity of all things is squeezed to the extreme, external forces have become the key to the competition! With a population of 400 million, cheap soldiers and labor, and the United States, with strong industrial capacity, the key has become the key.

The problem is that neither the United States nor China has shown signs of letting go of their hands.

While Yang Qiu, as vice president, visited 50,000 Chinese workers working in Marseille, dined with them and rested for the night in the workers' quarters, earning a pro-people image, including praise from European newspapers, Bordeaux and Whitehall went over all the speeches he had made since his visit. When the key words of poverty, backwardness, lack of funds and other keywords recurred, Germany fell into a deep anxiety.

All eyes of Europe were focused on one point, even the equally young team around him. When Marseille, Toulouse, Lyon and other places left him with great interest, everyone was speculating about when he would go to Bordeaux! When to go to the front。!!!