"... In the history of human wars, there has never been a war as cruel as this war. On the muddy battlefield, human beings verified for the first time how fragile their bodies are. In the past hundred years, human beings have enjoyed

Technological civilization has brought about changes, but on the battlefield, human beings are also suffering unprecedented massacres.

The industrial revolution turned war into a battle between blood and steel. It seems that the way of war has sharply changed to rely on "whether the passage of life can offset the production of steel" to determine the outcome of the war. There is no doubt that the outcome of the war

Yes - in this war, whose blood is shed first will have to bear the defeat of the war!"

"A Century of Western World"

War has always been cruel, but for the Europeans in 1915, they experienced the cruelty of modern war for the first time. When the war broke out a year ago, everyone thought "the war will be on Christmas"

It will end", but in the end, the war continued, and now even the most optimistic people do not believe that the war will end when Christmas comes today.

In the past year, France, as the main participant in the war and the main battlefield, has received full support from the United Kingdom. However, for the United Kingdom with limited population resources, what troubles the United Kingdom is not the supply of weapons, but how to provide more

The problem with soldiers is that weapons can be bought with money, but soldiers cannot be bought.

This is not only true for Britain, but also for France. In 1914, in order to block the German attack, the French mobilized millions of troops. In order to defend the long defense line and avoid the defense line being torn apart by the German army, they still needed to invest.

A large number of troops.

The long front requires troops to be replenished, and the heavy casualties of the defense forces also need to be replenished. For both France and the United Kingdom, replenishing troops is a top priority for both countries.

As the most important country participating in the war and the location of the battlefield, France not only needs to constantly mobilize troops to participate in the frontline battlefields, but also deploys personnel to engage in combat service affairs. This has caused huge casualties to France. Facing a long front, the French government's biggest worry is

I can't find anyone to fight with.

Faced with the dilemma of having no men to fight, France finally turned its attention to the "allies" in the East. First of all, they considered Japan. But Japan refused, and among them, the Japanese army won the "Jiao'ao Incident".

After the news reached France, the French Army Ministry was shocked and began to consider inviting China to send troops to fight in France.

"They may not be able to attack, but at least they can stay in the trenches and defend!"

The marshals and generals of the French Army Ministry were thinking this way. Therefore, inviting China to send troops was a major event before the French government. Unlike Japan, which had no interest in sending troops to participate in the war, China was far more enthusiastic about sending troops to participate in the war than France.

Of course, this requires France to pay "appropriate returns", such as a military pay of 13 silver dollars per person per month. A field allowance of 0.2 silver dollars per person per day, well! This is acceptable. The monthly field allowance for French soldiers also exceeds

This figure. As for the pension, it is only three hundred silver dollars per person, which is acceptable.

After preliminary discussions on several conditions proposed by China, Minister Conde of the French Embassy in China began negotiations with the Presidential Palace. Although one of the two sides needed reinforcements to save the country, and the other needed to send troops to improve their international status, they failed because of

Disputes over the conditions for participating in the war continued and were delayed, and the negotiations were even interrupted several times.

The most fundamental difference of interest lies not in the treatment and care of the Chinese participating troops, but in the command method of the army. According to France's vision, the Chinese Army will be divided into battalions and evenly distributed to all the troops on the entire front.

Among the French troops. But the Chinese refused without hesitation.

The reason is very simple, it is the insistence of the State Council! The State Council attaches great importance to the integrity of the military. If the troops are subject to divided command, they will never agree to participate in the war. If the State Council is just a simple State Council, perhaps the Presidential Palace and the embassy will not consider it.

, but the Prime Minister has nearly 200,000 troops in his hands, and the subsequent recruitment process still requires the full cooperation of the State Council. It was the persistence of the State Council that led to the negotiation after making initial progress.

There was a stalemate over the terms.

The French mainland was the main battlefield of World War I. After a brutal and fierce battle, hundreds of thousands of casualties were common. France bore almost all the pressure on the Western Front. At France's request, Russia continued to launch attacks on the German army to relieve France.

pressure to buy them time, but after the Russian army on the Eastern Front suffered several disastrous defeats, the French generals knew very well that after Russia suffered heavy losses, the Germans would turn their attention to France again. Before that, France

Must be prepared.

Time is running out, and the European War is urgent. In the past few days, there have been constant calls and telegrams at the French Embassy in China. The French Cabinet, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of War, etc., are urging China to send troops every day. Finally, facing the needs of reality,

The War Department finally gave in. They no longer insisted on dividing the squadron and agreed to what China had always wanted - to maintain the integrity of the force.

"alright!"

In the spacious office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after Liang Shiyi signed the troop dispatch treaty and when the two exchanged the text of the treaty, the French Minister to China, Kant, stood up and said.

"Secretary-General Liang, from now on, China will use its own way to win the respect of the international community!"

Minister Kant, who was obviously much thinner than before, had a somewhat sullen look on his face. He had completed the negotiations and did not let the issue of sending troops go to waste, but what was the price?

"Minister Kant, I believe that when the Chinese Communist Army appears in Europe, the whole world will see the bravery of the Chinese Communist Army!"

Liang Shiyi said excitedly, he knew clearly what this meant, which meant that China, a weak country, could truly make its voice heard on the international stage from now on. It can be said that as long as the Chinese ** team has an outstanding performance in France,

Then after this war is over, China will definitely become a big country that is valued by others, and will no longer be a weak country that can be insulted.

"Mr. Minister, look, let's take a photo together!"

Liang Shiyi, with a look of joy on his face, said to Kant.

"To commemorate this historic moment!"

Yes, this is a historic moment, for every Chinese, and China will take this as a starting point to win respect for the country and dignity for the nation on the world stage.

"This matter is related to national security. In the face of national crisis, every French citizen shows a sense of mission and responsibility."

The meeting in the embassy was chaired by Boonny, a representative of the Ministry of War. This French army representative was withdrawn from the front line two months ago with a special mission to rescue the national crisis. After flying to China, he worked non-stop and worked hard for two consecutive months.

His eyes were bloodshot. With the keenness of a soldier, he quickly glanced around the members. After taking a sip of coffee, he said:

"Dear gentlemen, I was ordered by the Ministry of War to come here specifically to negotiate with China about sending troops to join the war. The war in France is currently tense. If the personnel cannot keep up, our army will lose fighter planes, and the defense line may even be broken through by the Germans again, and the German army will again

Approaching Paris at once, and even occupying Paris. You will naturally understand the consequences of this situation. I have just come down from the battlefield. As a soldier, I would like to remind you. When France is in crisis, you should understand that you should do your job well.

Everyone should understand how important time is to France. The first batch of Chinese teams must strive to set off by the end of the year, otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable."

At this time, he made a habitual move and ended his simple and inflammatory speech.

The venue was extremely quiet. Only the sound of the European-style clock in the corner was beating rhythmically. Everyone stopped their usual routine of drinking coffee, smoking, and whispering.

Robertson was the military attaché in the legation and had to express his position. Moreover, it was his initiative to invite the Chinese troops to participate in the war. The success or failure of this move was of great responsibility. As soon as Boony finished speaking, he stood up and continued:

“Representative Boonni’s speech was very exciting, I like it. Let’s put it this way, this matter cannot be handled well. If Boonni leaves, I can’t leave either. To use an old Chinese saying, from today on, we people are

Grasshoppers strung together by a thread, maybe no one can escape!"

"Ha ha……"

Everyone laughed. The serious atmosphere in the venue began to relax.

"What do you mean?" Boone asked.

At this time, the counselor of the embassy sitting opposite him continued:

"Colonel Booney, Mr. Robertson is right, once we fail to send the squadron to France before the end of the year, we all have a responsibility!"

At this time, Minister Kant stood up and continued:

"Everyone, now that the negotiations have ended, the most important thing for the embassy is to urge the Chinese to send troops. I will do my best to fulfill my full responsibility and ensure that this is done well. But, gentlemen, you

As a French officer, you must ensure that the Chinese send the best troops, not the squadrons we knew in the past. In this regard, you need to use your professional skills as military personnel!"

As soon as Kant finished speaking, there was a burst of applause. Other people spoke one after another. Each of them knew very well that what France needs is by no means opium-smoking soldiers, but a group of troops who can fight. Not only can they fight, but they can also fight.

A tough Chinese team!

Although they still had a certain degree of skepticism towards them, each of them immediately threw themselves into the busy preparations for China to send troops to join the war after the meeting.

Cigar smoke filled the Prime Minister's Office. Li Zicheng held a cigar between his fingertips. His expression looked extremely solemn. The negotiation with France was over. There is no doubt that in this negotiation, China is the

A winner.

But...is it a real victory?

Yes, France agreed to give up the agreed tariffs, and China gained tariff autonomy. France also agreed to give up extraterritorial rights. Like other countries, it will set up a five-year inspection period after China establishes a modern legal and judicial system, and even reached an agreement on the Guangzhou Bay lease.

protocol.

This is a diplomatic victory!

Why not? In the past month, as every negotiation progressed, every newspaper would always report those negotiations with "Diplomatic Victory". In the eyes of every citizen, this was a conflict between the State Council and the old government.

Differently, the State Department is working hard to recover the lost national rights and interests little by little. During these diplomatic negotiations, the reputation of the State Department has reached its peak.

But... now, when looking at this "Treaty on China Sending War Troops to France to Participate in the War against Germany", Li Zicheng fell into silence because he knew clearly that World War I might be the most important thing for mankind.

One of the most cruel wars in history, but now the Chinese Army has to participate in this war, and it will happen sooner than he thought. It will take two full years. The war will not end, which means that in the next two years,

Millions of Chinese troops will be thrown into the French battlefield and fight against the German troops on the French front.

And what they sacrificed for is to enhance the country's status and help China gain respect from the international community.

"Prime Minister. According to the requirements of the treaty, we need to send at least three divisions to France before December 1. According to the plan of the Ministry of War, the three divisions will be organized into the First Army of the Chinese Participating Army, which will be led by the First Army of the Central Army.

The Army will allocate a division, the Jiangsu Army will allocate the First Division, and then other central forces will allocate troops to form a division..."

As the Prime Minister's military adjutant, Xiao Xiao was reporting to the Prime Minister who had his back turned. At this time, he was a little envious of his colleagues. Because they were going to France to join the war, fighting for the honor of China and the prestige of the nation, and

What about him? But he can only stay in the capital, stay in the role of Prime Minister, and prepare for something that does not exist yet.

"Xinren, are you envious of them?"

Although he never looked back, Li Zicheng still asked this question. In the process of establishing the Jiangsu Army, he never thought of turning that army into a private army, but an army always has people he is loyal to and serves.

objects, especially for military officers.

For the officers of the Central Military Commission, they often serve only one person, while the officers of the Jiangsu Army serve only an abstract republic. For the newly established Republic of China, this concept was not only abstract, but also cold. Loyalty

Constitution? China does not yet have a written constitution. As for the so-called "Provisional Constitution", it is also not binding, and it is impossible for soldiers to arouse their sense of obligation and pretend to be loyal to it.

So when establishing the Jiangsu Army, there were only two conditions for reference: first, the concept of obligation to the Chinese nation, and second, absolute obedience to superiors. Only such generals could be used.

The establishment of the Jiangsu Army relied on absolute obedience and the concept of obligation to the nation to maintain the closeness of the officer corps, the core of the army. In the past two years, Li Zicheng used various means to deal with the officer corps.
To be continued...