After receiving the latest news from the negotiation site, the French dignitaries in Bordeaux rushed to the government office as quickly as possible, and discussed and voted on under the organization of President Poincaré. Although it was late at night, the politicians, both old and sick, did not shy away from it: for Briand had already written clearly in the telegram: the Germans had set a limit on France to accept all of them within 24 hours, otherwise the negotiations would be concluded and the war would continue.

Faced with the new terms of the armistice, most of the French dignitaries remained silent. Although they had anticipated the Germans' ultimatum, they felt heavy that the other side had chosen a brazen showdown far higher than they had expected. Although the reparations of 20 billion francs were less than a fraction of what the Germans had originally demanded, it was still a staggering amount for France, which spent just over 2.5 billion francs in 1912 for the whole year. The only thing that kept their hearts from being trampled on was the Germans' promise to withdraw from all the French territories they currently occupy, and to return some of their colonies, including Algeria, Madagascar, and French India, to the French tricolor.

While the French were still struggling to decide, the British, whom they had regarded as their hardcore allies, unexpectedly sent a telegram urging them to accept the terms of the German armistice. The London government said in a telegram that these conditions were already the most favorable armistice for France; An excessive pursuit of reducing losses would inevitably provoke a fierce backlash from the Germans, with disastrous consequences. It was only when the French dignitaries contacted Briand that they found out. It turned out that the British had reached an armistice agreement with Germany. This led to a mixture of anger and anger: to avoid complications and to ensure that the "tolerant" treaty, which did not pay reparations, would be fulfilled. Britain turned against the United States and did not hesitate to sacrifice the interests of their allies who had fought to the death for them to satisfy the gluttonous appetite of the Germans!

After countless curses of the outrageous betrayal of the British, the voices in the French government calling for the rejection of the ultimatum also faded abruptly. For no other reason, the reason why the current French front has not collapsed in several heavy attacks of the German army is that the more than 40 divisions of the British Expeditionary Force have carried a large area of the northern French front on their shoulders; Once the British unilaterally compromised with Germany, it would be absolutely impossible for France to hold back the opponent's troops by its own strength, and then they would only face the destruction of the country! After a round of voting. By an absolute majority of 317 votes to 26, the French government agreed to accept the terms of the armistice, and the Bordeaux government immediately telegraphed to Briand, asking him to immediately sign a peace treaty with the other side. When Brian expressed his willingness to accept these conditions at the negotiating table, Rao is Qingying had already won the battle, and he couldn't help but reveal a trace of indescribable anger in his heart: for the arrival of this moment, he had spent 20 years of hard work, and the decisive factors involved in this period could not be controlled by any one of them, such as strategy, diplomacy, economy, science and technology, and weapons?

The morning sun is dazzling, the warm wind blows, and a round of morning sun rises from the eastern horizon. The whole of Europe is illuminated. This long-lost clear sky is like the current haze of war over Europe: after a brutal and long darkness. This bloody slaughter caused by human greed and cruelty was finally crushed by the unstoppable wheel of history, and ushered in the glorious dawn of the Holy Light.

In the early morning of May 9, 1914, Britain and France, which were still fruitful in the Entente camp, reached an armistice peace treaty with the Central Powers led by Germany and Austria. On top of the delicately bound official text, the representatives of each party signed their names after confirming that they were correct. During the whole signing process, the spotlight shutter of the reporters next to them never stopped, so that the entire venue was always shrouded in bright white brilliance. Feeling the ever-lit silver-white glare, Qingying couldn't help but sigh in her heart, perhaps only in this way can she forever freeze the splendor of the British Empire and the French Republic in the long river of time.

France's overseas colonies were slaughtered and devastated like never before. The colonies of French Indochina, French Guiana, French Equatorial Africa, French West Africa, and Morocco were all lost, with a total territory of more than 8 million square kilometers and a population of nearly 36 million people freeing themselves from the control of the tricolor. The French investors, who had cultivated and lived on these lands for many years, would have to sell their properties in a very short period of time and return to France in disgrace, thus swallowing the bitter fruit of decades of hard work and overnight return to the pre-liberation period.

With the loss of these overseas territories, shipping companies, banking institutions, and commercial factories with which they have direct dealings will also suffer an unprecedented fatal blow. The massive amount of loans poured into these maps will become uncashable bad debts, and factories that have lost dumping bases or raw material sources will suffer as a result: virtual finance and the real economy will be spared from the catastrophe, and the ripple effects of business closures and worker losses will be uncontrollable like falling dominoes. But what can the French do? The current beginning of the 20th century is a world of the jungle, and the exploitation of the defeated countries by the warring countries has always been accompanied by endless blood and tears. In fact, the terms of the armistice proposed by Qing Ying were merciful enough for the present era: in another world without his intervention, Germany would suffer many times more after defeat than France today!

According to Qingying's original plan, he was not prepared to ask France for too much reparations. However, the secretaries of state, including Prime Minister Holwig, have been vocal about the military, insisting that France must pay reparations commensurate with the protracted war. With the successive victories on the battlefield came the rise of nationalism in Germany: the Hohenzollern royal family wielded all the power, but so did the aspirations and voices of the country. In view of this, the Qing British could only force the French to accept a compensation of 20 billion francs, but the consequence was that after the war, France still retained a colony with an area of nearly 3 million square kilometers and a population of more than 9 million overseas. But the blow to France in the partition of the colonies was heavy enough that Germany was able to accept the situation.

In addition, the restrictions on France's military power after the war also added a heavy lock to Qingying's heart. The size of the French Army was limited to 300,000 men, and it was not allowed to have combat aircraft, tanks, or poison gas; Although this yoke is much looser than the historical confinement imposed on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles, with the strength of Germany after the war, it will still be as easy to crush the French Army as it is to find something. Because with the rapid development of internal combustion engine technology, the war of the oil age will be different from the trench squat in the coal and steel age: the side with a strong air force and a large number of mechanized troops will surely break through the opponent's defense line with a devastating force. And with the fantastic attributes of firepower, defense, and speed of mechanized troops, it only takes a very short time for the side that carries out blitzkrieg to complete the crucial outflanking and encirclement and achieve a decisive victory. Therefore, as long as the French air force and armored forces are restricted, then they are like domestic cats whose minions have been sharpened; In the face of the German Tyrannosaurus Rex, which is full of fangs, it only takes one photo to be captured alive!

Since he was absolutely sure on land, Qingying did not restrict the French too much in the navy. With the strength and structure of the post-war France, they had neither the strength nor the need to develop a powerful ocean-going fleet, and it was not easy for them to ensure the maritime communication between the southern territories and Algeria.

In the case of Britain, Germany also gained more than enough benefits from this paper armistice treaty.

Nigeria, located in southeastern West Africa, was ceded to Germany, the only colony that Germany had cipped from Britain for economic purposes. Whether it is its current population of 17.5 million or the rich oil and gas resources contained in its 920,000 square kilometers, it will be an indispensable acre of fertile land for Germany's future peaceful development. Britain's withdrawal from the former Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State also allowed German power to gain a foothold in this treasure trove of gold and diamonds.

For the Boers, who were completely defeated and destroyed in 1902, the British, who brutally slaughtered tens of thousands of their fellow civilians in concentration camps, were undoubtedly mortal enemies; And Germany, which now forces the British to withdraw from their homeland, will inevitably become their savior. What's more, the descendants of these European immigrants already have a part of German blood in their bodies, which will also deepen the harmony and trust between the two sides. When the German influence enters this region, the gold and diamonds produced by it will also flow to the Berlin Central Bank, and the role of these precious metals in the national economy is undoubtedly irreplaceable!

In addition, British Guiana will also be taken over by Germany. This 215,000-square-kilometer territory of South America will become an important stronghold of Germany in the game with the United States in the future, along with French Guiana, which was ceded from the French. Although it is still nearly 3,500 kilometers from Florida at the southern tip of the United States, it is already the best base Germany has to offer. The ring colonies, including Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, and Bahrain, will also complete the change of hands from Britain to Germany; In addition to harvesting a convenient base that could directly threaten shipping in the Indian Ocean, the huge amount of oil contained in these places is also the core reason why Qingying, who has the memory of later generations, must not let go. (To be continued......)

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