Expedition to Europe

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Entering December, the battle for the commander-in-chief of the French Army on the Western Front gradually became less suspenseful.

Nivelle and Pétain have been almost ruined. One or two newspapers are still publicizing their achievements, but they have been drowned in more criticism.

Among the opposition parties, some members of the Radical Socialist Party are trying to make trouble through this incident and attack the ruling Republican Socialist Party.

Joffre's deputy, Castelao, was transferred to the War Department to take charge of the Swiss war.

There is no war at all on the Swiss side, Switzerland is a neutral country.

Foch became the only candidate for commander-in-chief of the French army. Foch would take over as soon as Joffre left office.

In this process, Qin Zhiyuan made outstanding contributions. Qin Zhiyuan spent a total of nearly 50,000 francs to bribe media reporters. The money was well spent. For a whole month, news about Foch appeared in newspaper headlines one after another. Every record of Foch's past achievements was boasted by reporters. Even the conservative side of Foch's character was criticized. Beautification has become mature and stable.

Foch simply became the military god of France.

In all of this, Qin Zhiyuan is only responsible for formulating the plan, not the specific executor. As the commander of Army Group North, Foch also had a group of supporters around him. These people were his old friends, friends, and even advisers.

They will gain their own benefits after Foch becomes the commander-in-chief of the French army. This is the French version: one person can achieve enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

Qin Zhiyuan has been staying in the military camp during this period, presiding over the expansion of the First Brigade and entertaining visiting groups from home.

That's right, the Beiyang government sent another visiting group, this time with a higher standard, led by Qin Yunpeng, the former governor of Shandong.

Most of the Chinese workers who went to Europe were Shandong people. Qin Yunpeng was the former Shandong governor and could be regarded as the parent officer of the Shandong people. He must be able to communicate well with the Chinese workers.

At this time, Qin Yunpeng was in his prime. When Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor earlier this year, he was dismissed for opposing the imperial system. After Yuan Shikai's death, Qin Yunpeng had not had time to arrange a position, but he was unwilling to do nothing, so he requested to go to Europe to observe the ongoing World War I.

In Qin Zhiyuan's view, Qin Yunpeng's arrival has another meaning. Because of the emergence of Qin Zhiyuan, the Beiyang government has actually participated in the First World War. Now it is absolutely impossible to dream of neutrality. In this case, the Beiyang government will definitely find a way to control the military power in its own hands. This will be in line with those old foxes. Their usual behavior.

In this regard, Qin Zhiyuan is completely capable. This is not the Far East, but Europe. There is no meaning in domestic connections. Qin Zhiyuan already has Foch as his backing. It can be said that he has the upper hand. Even if the Beiyang government sends President Li Yuanhong to come in person, Qin Zhiyuan cannot be shaken. position in Foch’s heart.

Calm and relaxed, Qin Zhiyuan entertained Qin Yunpeng and others politely, while also personally presiding over the expansion of the First Brigade.

After the expansion, the first brigade has two infantry regiments and one artillery regiment. The infantry regiment uses a three-three formation, with each regiment having nearly 2,000 infantrymen. The artillery regiment has added 12 infantry regiments based on the original "Miss 75". Their 155 mm caliber heavy artillery formed a powerful artillery regiment.

The artillerymen under Zheng Dali have not yet fully mastered artillery technology, so Qin Zhiyuan, through Foch, retained the French lieutenant Dinard who was previously responsible for training, promoted his military rank to captain, and stayed in the First Brigade to continue teaching artillery.

In addition to front-line troops, the 1st Brigade also has a transportation battalion, a medical battalion, an engineer battalion, and a special agent battalion. The total strength of all the troops is close to ten thousand, which is far beyond the strength of a brigade and not much more than a French division.

Qin Zhiyuan felt a sense of crisis and established a training camp next to Camp Kapi. Now more than 5,000 Chinese are training in the training camp. In addition to French instructors, there are also some Chinese who were disabled in previous wars. This training camp is still expanding. It is estimated that the first batch of soldiers will leave the training camp after the year and join the first brigade under Qin Zhiyuan. By then, the first brigade may be expanded again.

Although it is almost the end of the year, Huimin Company has not stopped transporting Chinese workers. Recently, several cruise ships have arrived in Marseille every other day. Huang Fugui led a dozen people to set up an office in Marseille. As soon as the Chinese workers landed, they would sign a new contract with Huang Fugui.

This contract did not conflict with the previous contract signed by the Chinese workers. It only entrusted the placement rights of the Chinese workers to the First Brigade of the Foreign Legion. Qin Zhiyuan hired a team of lawyers to deal with the British who were dissatisfied with this. Talk nonsense.

When the contract was signed, the British and French did not pay attention to it, and there were many loopholes in the contract. The lawyers hired by Qin Zhiyuan did not spend much effort in finding more than ten loopholes. The Paris District Court then ruled that the contract signed by the Chinese workers before was illegal, and that the contract signed by the Chinese workers and the First Brigade would prevail in the future. The First Brigade now cooperates directly with Huimin Company. The Chinese workers no longer sign contracts with the French or British, but directly sign contracts with the First Brigade. Qin Zhiyuan legally obtained the agency rights of the Chinese workers.

The Paris District Court cooperated so well, and Old Renault made great efforts. For this reason, Qin Zhiyuan and Old Renault's cooperation was upgraded again. As long as Old Renault needed manpower, Qin Zhiyuan would provide it unconditionally, even if it was from the army, Qin Zhiyuan would meet Old Renault's requirements.

Of course, Old Renault still had to pay wages.

When each batch of Chinese workers just arrived in Marseille, Huang Fugui would allocate them according to the wishes of the Chinese workers. Those who wanted to join the army were of course the first-class treatment, with the highest salary, the best treatment, and the most vacation. Those who wanted to join the factory were the second-class, and their salary and treatment were slightly lower than those of the soldiers, but slightly higher than the previously signed contracts.

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The result was a happy ending.

The British were very dissatisfied with this. Compared with Indians and blacks, the Chinese had higher labor efficiency, were easier to manage, and were more cost-effective. But compared with the French, the British were the most demanding towards Chinese workers. They did not even treat Chinese workers as human beings, but implemented military management on Chinese workers like prisoners. This is the consistent practice of the British, not only towards Chinese workers, but also towards Indian workers and black workers.

Because the French treated Chinese workers well, the British even complained about it. They complained that the French's kindness to Chinese workers affected their management of Chinese workers.

It's really shameless!

The United States has not yet become the world's leader, and the British are the world's number one. Qin Zhiyuan plans to fight with the British.

At least it was like this before the rise of the Americans.