afterglow

Chapter 319 Crossing the Demilitarized Zone Line; Point of No Return
The situation that was almost the same as the inherent impression caused Zhou Changfeng's original interest to quickly dissipate. Even though the figures of these two women are quite good, the pale makeup is really uncomfortable to look at.

But he soon figured it out, anyway, he didn't plan to do that anyway, this kind of attire can just disperse the interest and better control it.

Ahem, look at the performers with appreciation!
One of them played the string music, while the other danced leisurely. The two of them cooperated perfectly, and it could be seen that they had practiced hard for many years.

It is not easy to become a qualified geisha. The selected little girl will be sent to special training when she is about ten years old, and then she will start five years of practice, poetry and painting, dancing, playing, and tea ceremony. And so on, learn everything, even the footwork when walking has special rules.

At this time, with the sound of music, the quiet tone of the shamisen is very Japanese, and this situation is completely different from China.

Zhu Lishuo has done a lot of research in this area. He used to work in a military band and he is good at rhythm. In the past, when he went to relatively elegant brothels in Daming, he could often have a good chat with girls.

"The shamisen is similar to our sanxian, which can be regarded as evolved after it was introduced to Ryukyu and Japan. However, this thing has a short single note, a narrow range, and relatively poor performance. Listen, its sound always drops and sinks. , so when playing, there is often a string of notes in succession."

"So, this instrument has a big disadvantage?"

"Not necessarily. Different musical instruments have their own unique expressiveness, but in our country, they generally don't play it alone. Maidens still mainly play the pipa. It can be clear and bright, soft and moist. Very expressive."

"Really? How to say?"

Zhu Lishuo looked at Zhou Changfeng with a look of contempt on his face, and said with a bit of resentment: "My brother Zhou, Uncle Zhou, when you went to (brothel) in the past, it was purely for fun?"

He thought for a while, and said: "Bai Letian's "Pipa Xing" is not nonsense. The big strings are noisy like torrential rain, the Youyan Spring is falling under the ice, and the iron cavalry protrudes with knives and guns...any sound can be played."

Zhou Changfeng nodded, glanced at the two women who were performing a few steps away, and then pondered: "The characteristics of musical instruments are indeed the same, but it is precisely the shortcoming of the shamisen that is more suitable for Japan."

"That's true. It is quite suitable for playing to express depression, sadness, and sadness. It just matches the folk customs of Dongying Island..."

After Zhu Lishuo finished speaking, he muttered again, "However, I don't think it's good to always listen to this stuff, it's really too depressing."

The end of the song, the end of the dance.

Compared with his unrestrained and calm, Zhou Changfeng is a little uncomfortable - it always feels weird to be approached by others to serve tea and water.

Especially the makeup of these two geisha... To put it bluntly, it is a bit off-putting.

So Zhou Changfeng couldn't help being a little curious, "What do you think, kid? That's it, can you really do it later?"

"What does it matter? Once the lights are turned off, they all look the same?" Zhu Lishuo replied nonchalantly, "Besides, let them wash off the makeup on their faces later, wouldn't it be fine?"

"The two of them?" Zhou Changfeng asked in surprise with a puzzled look on his face.

"Who told you not to? My little brother, of course I can't waste it." Zhu Lishuo stretched his waist and said meaningfully: "This night is still long."

"I advise you to take it easy."

"I'm a dragon and a tiger, Brother Zhou, you look down on me too much."

"Are you serious?" Zhou Changfeng chuckled, then stood up, "Staying outside? You really don't take the rules seriously, do you?"

He raised his hand and looked at his watch, "You must return to camp before nine o'clock!"

The [-]st Marine Brigade, which is temporarily stationed in Sapporo for training preparations, can be said to be treated very well. Although it is not as good as it was during the training in Gyeonggi, it is far beyond the "hard days" that officers and soldiers thought at first.

The garrison units of the Ming army stationed on Kuye Island acted as imaginary enemies this time, and they placed a considerable number of obstacles on the beachhead and in depth.

Because there are oil fields and coal mines in the north-central part of Kuye Island, the Ming army has long built permanent fortifications and semi-permanent fortifications on the traffic arteries and steep terrain in this area.

On the east and north coasts of the island, some beaches suitable for landing also have deer villages that delay landing operations, and it is difficult for larger-tonnage ships to land on the beach.

The preliminary aerial reconnaissance, hydrological survey, and plan formulation only took more than four days, which is very fast, but actually a bit hasty.

There is no way to do this, because it will be frozen in a short time, so time waits for no one.

Beginning on the eighth day of November, a fleet composed of dozens of destroyers, minesweepers, landing ships, and barges "approached" the northeast of Kuye Island, and began to carry out a hasty landing exercise that was quite suitable for the future.

Compared with the Ming Dynasty who was able to carry out all aspects of combat preparations more leisurely, the situation in Europe has completely fallen into chaos.

In other words, it evolves rapidly one day at a time.

The situation changes so quickly that it is often completely beyond expectations, so countries have to adapt to the situation-and this is precisely the most test of quality and the easiest to go wrong.

November [-]th, a day that was regarded as a shopping spree in later generations, is now the German National Day.

After assessing that the civil strife in Tsarist Russia could not be quelled within a short period of time, a large number of German troops gathered west of the demilitarized zone line in just a few days.

As if to celebrate the birth, they chose to officially cross the line on such a jubilant day, completely ignoring the restrictions of the Treaty of Rotterdam.

In the port of Kiel, the fleet set sail carrying two infantry divisions to Königsberg in East Prussia.

Even though the Versailles peace treaty was not recognized and implemented, as a product of compromises that had to be made under the difficult circumstances of the year, the Treaty of Rotterdam also imposed many restrictions on the German Society.

Although German Poland, or the Posen area is still the territory of the German Society, it has been designated as a demilitarized zone-only police units exist in these two places, and no organized army and heavy weapons are allowed.

The same is true of East Prussia.

This time, the civil strife in Tsarist Russia gave the Germans an excellent reason to trample and ignore the previous treaty restrictions.

In the morning, on the road leading to Poznan, motorcycles and trucks full of soldiers sped by, one after another.

Although standing high and looking far away, the workers who repaired the electric poles could not see the end of the long line even if they stood on the electric poles several meters high.

The civilian cars, trucks, and tractors all pulled to the side of the road in a hurry. People with complicated eyes looked at the passing army with mixed emotions.

After more than ten years, nearly a generation, this land finally ushered in the army of its own country.

The reconnaissance and search battalion headed by the 6th Motorized Infantry Division passed quickly, followed by the 37th Motorized Infantry Regiment, the 18th Motorized Infantry Regiment, and the 7th Motorized Artillery Regiment...

The thick se.FH34 150mm howitzer looked mighty and mighty, and it drove past slowly under the drag of the Hannomag SS-55 diesel tractor.

When these kings of war rumbled past, they rolled up clouds of flying dust, and people only felt that the earth was trembling slightly.

Later, when the supply unit passed by, the officers and soldiers sitting under the hood of the truck threw chocolates and candies to the people watching on the side of the road, and then waved.

However, the movement of the motorized infantry division is still relatively slow. At this moment, the two battalions of the 11th infantry division, which are transported by the air force, are almost arriving at Poznan Airport.

The sky was fine and cloudy, and under the escort of Bf-109 fighter jets, dozens of Ju-52 transport planes flew to the outskirts of Poznan.

Looking up from the ground, the size of such a fleet is actually overwhelming, because citizens usually only see one or two passenger planes that occasionally fly by for more than ten years.

Slower than the troops transported by air were the armored units, which were transported by rail to Poznan.

The BR50 steam locomotive has red wheels, and its shiny paint is extremely shiny under the sunlight. Under the traction of its strong power, dozens of flatbed cars behind it rattled and passed quickly.

As a direct manifestation of the technology of the new era, the BR50 locomotive with the newly designed water pipe and ventilation system is absolutely world-class. Its boiler efficiency is 20% higher than that of the old German-made locomotive, and it is powerful.

On the platform of Poznan Railway Station, citizens in black and gray jackets or fur coats are waiting for the train.

Poznan in November is already a bit cold, and the daytime temperature is only about 8°C. People who are afraid of the cold gather around the stove.

Compared with the fashionable French, the daily outfits of the Germans have been complained about. They are often one-on-one, short-sleeved, shirts, sweaters, coats, both men and women, and the colors are often only black, white, gray and green. , at best it is low-key and calm, at worst it is tedious.

This feature is even more distinct in the German Society, which advocates thrift and simplicity and opposes extravagance and waste.

However, at this time, an unexpected announcement came from the train station radio:

"All citizens, the decaying Russian Empire has spontaneously come to the brink of collapse. It is disintegrating, but we must not lose our vigilance while encouraging the local people to resist tyranny..."

"Today, citizens in Posen, please pay attention. In order to protect your safety and avoid any accidents, the People's Army has crossed the demilitarized zone line. Please don't be surprised..."

What?The army is coming?

People on the platform looked at each other.

Consistent with what the broadcast news said, the scheduled train did not arrive. Amidst the sound of the whistle, the citizens waited for a long military train.

The No. I tank and No. II tank were fixed on the light flatbed car with calipers and steel cables. As the train stopped, the officers and soldiers it carried jumped off the car one by one and began to prepare for unloading in an orderly manner.

I don't know who took the lead. When the first applause sounded, warm applause filled the Poznan Railway Station.

From 7:08 in the morning when the first three-wheeled motorcycle crossed the border, by 24:00 that evening, an infantry regiment and an armored division had already arrived in Poznan, as well as four infantry divisions and a motorized infantry division Entered the Posen area.

In addition, an infantry battalion also arrived in Königsberg by air; the 9th Infantry Division transported by sea was much slower, a day and a half later.

After stating the facts, The Times commented with the sentence "The Germans have walked into their front yard, and we can do nothing".

If the British side is more shocked and worried, then the French side can be said to be furious.

Several main telephones of the German Agency's embassy in Paris have not stopped, one after another.

Soon, the summoned ambassador was also questioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"What are you trying to do? This is a disregard for the Treaty of Rotterdam, you have trampled on honor and integrity!"

"No, the current situation in Russia does not allow us to maintain the original state. West Prussia-Posen and East Prussia may be attacked at any time. In order to protect the local people from harm, we consider it necessary to temporarily suspend the terms of the treaty. When the situation in Russia After it stabilizes, we will consider implementing the treaty again." The ambassador replied calmly, disapproving.

Isn't this pure nonsense?Tsarist Russia is the way it is now...God knows when they will get better.

What's more, will you really evacuate obediently?
The official of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs couldn't help saying angrily: "You liars ▇▇▇! Do you want war?"

"Our people certainly don't want war, but they don't fear war being imposed on us."

"There is a limit to our patience."

"So do we."

Not surprisingly, the two parties broke up unhappy.

It can be said that the current situation is about to reach its peak. There is no real need for appeasement and connivance in Britain and France today. On the contrary, this is already trampling on their bottom line.

The pressure on the French increased sharply. They tried every means to find a way to prevent the stalemate of trench warfare on the Western Front during the European War. The proposal to start war mobilization was also put forward for the first time.

A few days later, the French side proposed to the United Kingdom to send an expeditionary force to Sweden in the name of "protecting Sweden" and "supporting Tsarist Russia to maintain stability at any time".

This can take the opportunity to directly control Sweden's iron ore producing areas, as well as the important ports of Narvik and Luleå.

The French believed that there was a possibility of quick victory if Germany could be deprived of the war's most basic source of steel, iron ore.

Conversely, if indecision does not take such action in a timely manner, the war may return to the stalemate of the European War, which will last for several years.

In the UK, some hawks are also very excited because of the drastic changes in the situation in the past few days, and they can hardly hold back their interest.

They took advantage of this opportunity to submit several memorandums to the cabinet, strongly echoing the ideas and plans of the French.

"Cutting off Norway and Sweden's iron ore shipments to Germany as early as possible is an important strategic move, and we can believe that if they are deprived of Swedish iron ore for six to nine months, the blow to their war potential is equivalent to A great victory on land or sea..."

"Moreover, it is very reasonable and cost-effective to act in a timely manner now, which can significantly reduce the possible cost of a large number of lives in the future. For the British Empire, the control of the Scandinavian coastline is of primary importance..."

With the fragile balance broken, we have now embarked on a path of no return.

(End of this chapter)