In Paris, several off-road vehicles are driving smoothly on the streets, and the strange shape of the cars makes passers-by on both sides can't help but look twice, but that's all. For people during the war years, anything but life was a luxury, and even the French, who were once romantic, are now much less interested in luxury goods such as perfumes.

"I'm sorry, General Cai, I couldn't get you a grand welcome ceremony..."Sitting beside Cai Yi, an official sent by the French government said apologetically.

"It's nothing..."Cai Yi smiled very gracefully. Extraordinary times, understandable..."Cai Ye said and looked out of the car window, through the window, you can clearly see the scenery on the street. "Speaking of which, this place seems a little more deserted than the last time I visited..."

For Cai Ng, this official is very appreciative, after all, the etiquette and demeanor shown by Cai Que in front of him can be described as impeccable, so his conversation with Cai Que has always been relatively pleasant. "No way, in times of war, you can't compare it with the past...", the official said through gritted teeth. Blame the damn Germans..."

"Don't worry," Cai smiled, and then looked out the window at the deserted street. It won't be long before we can defeat the Germans ...

"yes, it won't be long," he said, and a mysterious smile appeared on the official's face.

Noticing this, Cai Yi's heart moved, and he felt that this was probably related to the content of the telegram sent by Yan Shao. But if they come, they will be safe, since they let themselves come here just to tell themselves about it. Then Cai Ye naturally doesn't need to be too eager...

Thinking of this, Cai Ye became calm and idle again, and his eyes turned to the car window. Admire the exotic architecture outside.

In Cai's view, Paris is indeed a beautiful city, and it is true, at least in this period, as the 'old Paris', Paris is still a beautiful city. And not nearly a hundred years later, because the gap with the imagination is too big. The city that has caused many tourists to suffer from the 'Paris syndrome'...

The so-called Paris syndrome is a mental illness that arose in Yan Shao's time. The main patients are Japanese, and the cause is a mental illness caused by the huge difference between what Japanese tourists find in Paris and what they know about it. Symptoms include nausea, insomnia, convulsions, indescribable fear, low self-esteem, humiliation, and paranoia of persecution, and even suicidal tendencies.

In later generations, the Japanese loved Paris for a long time. In fact, not only the Japanese, but also many countries consider Paris to be a romantic and fashionable city. What attracts the Japanese is Parisian elegance, fine French food, and luxury goods such as Louis Vuitton bags. Most of the 28,000 Japanese expatriates in France live in Paris, and millions of Japanese travel to Paris every year.

The problem is that a hundred years later, the real Paris is different from what many people imagined. Akira Hasegawa, a Japanese tour guide who has been working as a tour guide in France for 15 years, said: "The tourists I receive are often particularly disappointed in Paris. They thought Paris was supposed to be clean. Parisians should be polite and friendly. The result is quite the opposite......... What they were looking forward to was old France – full of ideas like Jean? Gabin and Alain? Someone like Delon. ”

At the same time, the locals in Paris are very unfriendly. In Japanese stores, the customer is God, but in Paris, the salespeople basically don't take them seriously. The locals you see on the bus or subway all look grim, and the presence of bag snatchers can dramatically increase the negative emotions of tourists.

Of course, this refers to Paris a hundred years from now, at least in this era Paris is still a beautiful city. And because the gap with the imagination is too big, there are actually suicidal tendencies. This is more or less related to the spiritual fragility of the Japanese ...

It's just that neither Cai Yi nor the official next to him know what to say, in the past two years. This beautiful city would be threatened by German artillery fire...

'Paris Cannon'

One of the most famous cannons in history, with a range of more than 100 kilometers, could send shells directly to Paris.

But in fact, the caliber of this thing is only 210mm, which can only be considered a large-caliber artillery. Moreover, with a system weight of up to 375 tons, the shells that can be projected weigh only more than 120 kilograms, which is not particularly powerful ...

Moreover, the impact points scattered 120 kilometers away make aiming meaningless, and it is completely a matter of luck. Such weapons can only be used as a deterrent weapon, nothing more ...

Even the later more famous 'Multi-Pull Cannon', although it has a caliber of 800mm, allows it to project shells weighing more than 7 tons, which can be called infinitely powerful. But considering the weight of more than 1,000 tons, plus thousands of operators, to be honest, although it is really shocking to use, but instead of building such a thing, it is better to build a few large bombers and equip them with 10-ton aerial bombs—————— during World War II, the British once built a 10-ton slam bomb and blew up an elevated railway of the Germans...

Although it is certainly not as powerful as this kind of giant cannon to use, at least it is convenient to use, and it does not require thousands of people to operate, let alone N more time to set up the cannon...

There was that time, which was enough for a group of bombers to go back and forth several times.

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After a period of driving, the convoy finally arrived at its destination.

At the stairs of the destination, several military generals and government officials had been waiting for a long time. It's just that compared with the smiling faces of those officials, those generals have a sneering face...

"Alright, Mons...", seeing that his companion still looked sarcastic, the other general standing beside Mons said helplessly. Anyway, these Chinese saved Verdun after all ...

"Without them, Verdun wouldn't be able to hold on...", Mons said disdainfully when he heard his companion's words. In the opinion of many French officers. Even without Cai Ye and his expeditionary force, Verdun would have been able to hold out until the arrival of reinforcements, so Cai Ye's title of 'Hero of Verdun' is not worthy of the name at all...

Apparently. The general, Mons, had the same attitude.

Seeing his companion like this, the general was a little helpless. But you have to admit that Verdun was captured by the Germans in one day three outer lines, if it were not for the timely arrival of those Chinese, I am afraid that the fourth line of defense would be difficult to hold, and in addition to the Chinese expeditionary force of the Chinese, the closest reinforcements to the fortress would also take three days to arrive. Without these Chinese, no one dares to guarantee that Verdun will really be able to hold it..."

Hearing the words of his companion, the general named Mons was a little unhappy. But there is no way to argue with it, because it is.

As if to see that his companion was unhappy, the general continued. "Okay, don't keep a straight face. Besides, isn't this time what you like..."

"That's right—" seemed to have something in mind. A smile appeared on Mons' face.

As the commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, the general of the Chinese Army, and the famous 'Hero of Verdun'. Originally, Cai Ye came to Paris to participate in the award ceremony with great fanfare, at least it should be more lively, let the people go to both sides of the street to greet —————— in terms of Cai Yi's influence in France, there is no need to even mobilize, just need to tell the time to those people, and the citizens of Paris will run over to greet them.

However, the French government was worried that if the Germans became aware of the fact that Cai and Petain had come to Paris. would take advantage of their absence to launch an offensive, so they didn't do what they said above.

Of course. This is official, because there is some truth, so Cai Ye and Liu Guangyuan and others also accepted it.

But in fact, one of the main reasons for this is the strong opposition of the French military. The French were already very proud, and now let a foreign soldier come to Paris to receive such an honor, how could those French generals who had long been jealous of it bear it.

Eventually, under the influence of these people, plus some influential people within the French government, what should have been a huge welcome ceremony turned out to be like this.

Although Cai Yi guessed a little, he didn't care much.

As for Petain and Leonard, they are completely harmed by the pond fish—————— since they didn't even get a welcome ceremony for Cai Yi, it is naturally not good for Petain and Leonard to get one alone, wouldn't that expose their intentions obviously.

Although the French are reluctant to let Cai Ye be in the limelight, they are not brainless to this point after all. Now the Entente is losing a mess on the Eastern Front, and on the Western Front is also out of a stalemate stage, which is exactly the time when the Chinese are most needed, and at this time the Chinese are offended, even if you just think about it, you know that this is not a good idea ...

But in the final analysis, for China, whether it is Britain, France or Russia, there is a sense of superiority and contempt, although China's national strength is now much stronger than in the past, and even not inferior to many European powers, but after so many years, the view is not something that can be changed in a short period of time...

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After Cai Ye arrived, the ceremony of awarding the medal was not immediately held.

After all, this kind of thing always needs to be prepared a little more, even in times of war, and it can't be hastily held. However, when it was nightfall, Cai Ye got a special invitation...

When he arrived at his destination, he found that there were not only Petain and Leonard in the room, but even Xia Fei, who was supposed to be in the headquarters...

"General Xia Fei, how can you..."

Seeing that Xia Fei was actually here, Cai Ye was somewhat surprised, after all, it stands to reason that Xia Fei should be in the General Headquarters at this time. Compared with his appearance, there is nothing unusual about the lieutenant generals and major generals in that room...

"I have to come..."Maybe it's because Cai Yi saved Verdun and also saved Xia Fei, so Xia Fei's attitude towards Cai Ye is very good." I believe you must have learned something from your president, for example, that you are invited to Paris not only for the purpose of honoring me, but also for other things..."

"That's right." Cai Yi bowed slightly. "That's true, but I don't know what the road is so far..."

"Big deal..."Xia Fei sold a pass, and Cai Ye was not in a hurry to ask.

About half a minute later. Xia Fei led everyone to a map in the room, on which some of the situations of the Entente and the Central Powers on the Western Front were drawn, and countless red and blue arrows appeared on the map. It gives a glimpse of the situation on the battlefield on the Western Front ...

Seeing that Cai Ye focused his attention on the map, Xia Fei said with a smile. "I believe the general also knows that the situation on the Western Front has been stalemate, and in order to win, we must break through the German defenses and push the show to the Franco-German border..."

Cai Yi nodded, because of the position. In fact, Cai Ye, like Yan Shao, hopes that this war will be fought as tragically as possible. Because the more weakened the Europeans, the better their chances of rising...

But by the nature of a soldier. He did some research. So it's clear that if you want to get out of this situation, you have to solve the current impasse...

Otherwise, if it keeps dragging on like this, neither the Entente nor the Central Powers can afford to drag it out—————— of course. This has nothing to do with China. After all, China is only responsible for sending expeditionary forces to Europe to fight in the war. The flames of war did not burn on China.

Moreover, with Britain and France bearing most of the military expenses of the expeditionary force, the financial pressure on the Commune government was not very great. So for China, the longer this war is fought, the better...

Of course, such a thing should never be said in front of the French...

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Cai Ye is a smart person, and at this point, he has more or less guessed something.

"What does the general mean is that your country is planning a big battle?" After a deep groan, Cai Yi asked softly.

A hint of appreciation flashed in Xia Fei's eyes. He really liked the young general in front of him, so he bowed slightly. "Not bad. We have reached a relatively unanimous opinion with your country and with Great Britain, that is, to launch a major campaign to break through the German defenses and push the front back to the Franco-German border..."

Saying that, Xia Fei continued. "Inviting the general to come this time, of course, awarding the medal is one of the things, but the most important thing is to take the opportunity to discuss this battle with the general..."

A slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and Cai asked with a smile. "Cai and the expeditionary force are mainly responsible for the Verdun direction, could it be that the general wants to launch a counteroffensive in Verdun?" Cai Ye didn't think that Xia Fei would choose there, he had more or less guessed some of Xia Fei's intentions in his heart.

"Of course not—" Xia Fei shook his head, a slight apology flashing in his eyes. The purpose of inviting the General here this time is to bring your expeditionary force together in this campaign and to attack together with our and British allies..."

"Sure enough..."Cai Ye said secretly in his heart.

He had long guessed that the French wanted to transfer the expeditionary force from Verdun, after all, the honor of holding Verdun could not all be handed over to the Chinese. Now that the Chinese have eaten meat, they can't even leave the soup and water to the French, right?

Now it seems that the French are planning to take back the soup.

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Now that he has understood, Cai Ye doesn't plan to beat around the bush with Xia Fei and them, and he said straightforwardly. "I wonder who your country intends to appoint as the commander of the Verdun region after the departure of the expeditionary force?" After all, after staying there for a long time, Cai Ye is still more concerned about the problems there. Forget about the rest, in case the French send a second cargo over...

At present, although the situation in Verdun has been relatively stable, it cannot withstand the toss of a second goods.

Seeing that Cai Ye said it so straightforwardly, a trace of shame flashed in Xia Fei's eyes. After all, Verdun was guarded by others, and although it was French territory, it was more or less ......... to take it over like that But this time the shame quickly disappeared from Xia Fei's eyes without a trace.

In fact, there have long been many people in the French government who are dissatisfied with a Chinese being called a 'hero of Verdun', and this time Cai Gong and their departure is not not to solve this problem. Otherwise, even if Xia Fei is the commander-in-chief of the French Army, it will be difficult to withstand this pressure...

"We have decided that General Petain and General Leonard will be in charge of the combat mission of Verdun..."

It's just that when they walked out, the faces of the two were more or less uncomfortable.

After being in Verdun for so long, they have always had a good relationship with Cai Yi, and now that things have become like this, they naturally feel a little uncomfortable.

However, when he heard that the successors were Petain and Leonard, Cai Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

He is still more at ease with Petain and Leonard, after all, he has been fighting together for several months, and he has always been very relieved of the ability of these two people, Leonard's words may be worse, but in Cai Yi's opinion, Petain's ability is absolutely no problem. Now that these two people are in charge, he can rest assured—————— at least he doesn't have to worry about any second goods coming out and ruining the situation of Verdun...

So after the last little worries were removed, Cai Ye walked to the map hanging on the wall and took a closer look, and only after half a sound did he turn his head to look at Xia Fei and the others.

"I don't know where you plan to launch a campaign, and use this as a breakthrough point, let me think about it......... It can't be the Somme..."

Hearing Cai Ng's words, Xia Fei and the others changed color, if it weren't for Cai Ng's special identity, I'm afraid they would have already done it. However, looking at their expressions, a smile appeared on Cai Ye's face.

After half a ring, ignoring Xia Fei and the others who were looking at each other, Cai Ye turned around and looked back at the map behind him and muttered to himself.

"The Somme..." (To be continued......