Expedition to Europe

In the early morning, Qin Zhiyuan woke up from his deep sleep and felt a splitting headache.

"God, you finally woke up." Julie threw the book on the carpet next to her, ran over from the balcony, helped Qin Zhiyuan up and leaned against the head of the bed, and casually pulled a pillow to stuff behind Qin Zhiyuan.

"Julie? Why are you here? Am I dreaming?" Qin Zhiyuan hadn't come back to his senses yet.

"Your Excellency the Admiral, you forced me to send you back yesterday, don't say you don't remember anything." Julie was not very happy, and handed a bowl of hangover soup to Qin Zhiyuan.

"Uh... I'm sorry, I really don't remember..." Qin Zhiyuan tried to recall, but couldn't find any impression, raised his head and drank the hangover soup: "It tastes good, when did you learn it?"

"Don't change the subject, Your Excellency the Admiral, really don't remember what happened yesterday?" Julie stared at Qin Zhiyuan's eyes, trying to tell if Qin Zhiyuan was lying.

Julie sometimes drinks a little, but not too much, so Julie can't understand the feeling of "blackout". Therefore, in Julie's opinion, most people who drink too much are "playing dumb".

Well, actually this is Julie changing the subject. This bowl of hangover soup was made by Misha, and Julie doesn't want Qin Zhiyuan to know.

Admiral...

Qin Zhiyuan tried hard to recall, and finally recalled the clues of last night.

The grand welcome ceremony, the banquet with clinking glasses, the chaotic and noisy faces, the congressional medal specially established for Qin Zhiyuan, and the freshly baked admiral...

The Battle of Reims ended with a great victory for the French army. In the one and a half months of fighting, the German army lost a total of 79,000 people, nearly 140,000 were captured, and all the areas south of the Seine River in the direction of Reims were lost. In contrast, 37,000 French soldiers were killed, including nearly 4,000 Chinese, nearly 7,000 Japanese, nearly 10,000 Annamites, and more than 10,000 French.

This is the most significant victory France has won since the war began, and it is not an exaggeration to praise it in any way.

Qin Zhiyuan was promoted to general because he had won two Grand Knight Medals. The French Parliament specially established the Parliament Medal to commend Qin Zhiyuan's contributions. So far, only Qin Zhiyuan has won this medal.

The Foreign Legion, which had been fighting on the front line for three consecutive months, was given a vacation. Most of them chose to go to Corsica for vacation. Only some officers and soldiers stayed in the Bois de Boulogne to maintain the tanks that shone brightly in the Battle of Reims.

It was indeed a brilliant performance. Within twelve hours after the last battle began, the tank troops assaulted 42 kilometers from Gaiu to the Aisne River. Even the Xupu River did not stop them.

After this battle, Chen Kangjian and his tank troops made a sensation around the world. Everyone had to admit that tanks had replaced cavalry and became the decisive force on the battlefield.

It was really unreasonable not to admit it. In the Flanders battlefield of the same period, 500,000 British troops launched an attack in a traditional way. So far, after more than a month of hard fighting, they only advanced four kilometers, which was only one-tenth of Chen Kangjian's twelve-hour assault distance.

The huge halo has made a large number of people successful. Not only Qin Zhiyuan, but also Chen Kangjian and Liu Zizheng are famous. Both the French government and the Beiyang government are promoting them in a competitive manner. Chen Kangjian, Liu Zizheng and Ge Lifu were promoted to lieutenant generals, Xu Sheng and Xiang Ankang were promoted to major generals, and even Chen Kangjian's chief of staff Zhang Jingzong was promoted to major general.

It seems that the headquarters of the 17th Army is becoming more and more worthy of its name.

In the past, although the Joint Operations Command was also a headquarters, there were too few generals, only a few people, but now there are more than 20 people, which looks like a bunch of generals.

With the end of the Battle of Reims, the 17th Army was disbanded on the spot, and the Foreign Legion began to take a vacation. Bastien led his troops to build a defense line from Avenson to Pelt, and continued to stalemate with the Germans on the north bank of the Aisne River five kilometers away.

Bastien, who was also promoted to general, said with a smile that Bastien would not launch an attack before Qin Zhiyuan returned to the Reims area, and would never surrender even if Leothe pointed a gun at Bastien.

This was of course a joke, but it proved Qin Zhiyuan's current reputation from another aspect.

The soldiers of the Foreign Legion can rest, but Qin Zhiyuan cannot.

Qin Zhiyuan is going to Algeria to rebuild the French Foreign Legion.

In another week, Qin Zhiyuan will go to Algeria. This is also Qin Zhiyuan's last time in Paris, so Qin Zhiyuan is a bit indulgent. He was drunk last night and actually dragged Julie back to the Black Swan Castle.

It seems that Foch is not in Paris, otherwise Qin Zhiyuan would not be so presumptuous.

After drinking the hangover soup, Qin Zhiyuan felt much better, and took a cold shower in the bathroom, and then walked out of the Black Swan Castle in high spirits.

Today, Qin Zhiyuan is going to the Ministry of the Army to find some information about the Foreign Legion.

Qin Zhiyuan didn't want to go to Algeria in the dark, as that would not help his work at all.

Pierre drank too much yesterday, so he went home to accompany Anne, while Julie came to take care of Qin Zhiyuan.

Qin Zhiyuan was still a gentleman, sending Julie home first, and then going to the Army Department.

Coincidentally, at the entrance of the Army Department, Qin Zhiyuan met Akashi Motojiro and his group.

The Sixth Division led by Akashi Motojiro is actually a French mercenary. During their stay in France, the French will pay their salaries and all the weapons and equipment they need. However, it is certain that Akashi Motojiro came to the Army Department this time not for the salary, but perhaps for Qin Zhiyuan's execution of Japanese soldiers.

Qin Zhiyuan is now completely indifferent to Akashi Motojiro. This is not because Qin Zhiyuan is arrogant. From the perspective of military performance, few of the current Allied generals can not be ashamed in front of Qin Zhiyuan.

Of course, this does not include Foch and Lyautey. Foch and his military performance may not be as dazzling as Qin Zhiyuan, but their qualifications are there, and the military is a place where seniority is extremely important, so Qin Zhiyuan is always a junior in front of Foch and Lyautey in his life.

But Qin Zhiyuan didn't need to be polite to Akashi Motojiro, who didn't belong to the same system. Therefore, when he saw Akashi Motojiro, Qin Zhiyuan ignored him directly. Akashi Motojiro stood at attention and bowed half a bow, with a very correct attitude.

Japanese people can't be spoiled. From the emperor to the foot soldiers, they are the type of "three days without fighting, go up to the roof and tear the tiles".

Akashi Motojiro is pretty good among the Japanese. At least he knows what kind of people can be provoked and what kind of people can't be provoked. Therefore, even if he hates Qin Zhiyuan in his heart, he can still maintain enough respect on the surface.

But some of Akashi Motojiro's followers don't think so. A major who looks only in his twenties didn't stand at attention or bow after seeing Qin Zhiyuan, but just stared at Qin Zhiyuan.

Looking at people with such eyes is really unfriendly.

Qin Zhiyuan felt that kind of unscrupulous gaze and glanced at it subconsciously.

It was this absent-minded and casual glance that made the young man feel that his self-esteem was seriously frustrated, and he was a little eager to try and open his mouth to provoke.

This work was compiled and uploaded by Liujiu Book Bar~~

Major, the rank in the Japanese army is equivalent to major, and now he is not even qualified to meet Qin Zhiyuan directly. Qin Zhiyuan certainly doesn't take it to heart and goes directly into Leotai's office.

Well, the place where Qin Zhiyuan met Akashi Motojiro was at the door of Leotai's office. It seems that Akashi Motojiro is waiting for Leotai to meet him.

Qin Zhiyuan wanted to see Leotai, so he didn't have to wait. Leotai's secretary didn't even make a phone call and directly invited Qin Zhiyuan into Leotai's office.

Look, this is the difference between close and distant.

There were no visitors in Leotai's office, and Leotai didn't work. He was drinking coffee and reading newspapers, a standard working state for civil servants.

Seeing Qin Zhiyuan come in, Leotai casually pointed to the chair opposite the desk, without putting down the newspaper and coffee in his hand, and even didn't look away.

"You are so relaxed. I can be like you in Algeria?" Qin Zhiyuan was really envious. Only after experiencing the tension and fear of the front line could he feel the beauty of peace.

It was indeed fear. When on the front line, there was fear of the unknown, fear of changing the "unknown", fear of an uncertain future, and all kinds of fear. Perhaps in the next moment, a large-caliber artillery shell from the German army would fly over, and Qin Zhiyuan would continue to cross. It was precisely because of this fear of the unknown that Qin Zhiyuan was unruly and got drunk after leaving the battlefield.

"If you want, you can do the same." Lyautey took a sip of coffee, then happily handed the newspaper to Qin Zhiyuan: "Look at this, the British cursed in the newspaper, questioning when Haig and the fortune teller could win the Battle of Fier-Antoine and the Battle of Reims. I heard that the battle report reached London yesterday, and the fortune teller held a meeting for a whole morning, and Haig broke three cups in an hour."

There is no doubt that Lyautey was gloating. If Qin Zhiyuan's record was a sharp blow to the British people's scarred heart, then Lyautey was rubbing salt into the wound.

"Just relying on Haig? You'd better go to bed." Qin Zhiyuan didn't even look at the newspaper in his hand and sneered at Haig.

Just in the previous Ypres Offensive, Haig gave up the armored forces and still used cavalry to attack the German defense line. It would be strange if such a stubborn person could win the battle.

In fact, it is not Haig's fault. It was raining in Flanders some time ago. The entire Flanders region is a swamp. Even if there are tank troops, they cannot exert their true strength.

"Regarding Algeria, I only have one suggestion for you." Before serving as the Minister of the Army, Lyautey had been serving in the colonies and was known as the smartest "colonial soldier". If anyone can give Qin Zhiyuan some advice, it must be Lyautey: "Never trust those Algerians, and don't trust those European descendants. You can only trust yourself. If it is about colonial management, then you must understand that the stick is always more effective than the carrot. If they don't listen, let them die."

Lyautey didn't say much, but it sounded chilling.

This is not Lyautey's fault. Look at India, French Indochina, and Borneo. At this time, Europe relied on blood and massacres to maintain colonial rule. There was no other good way.

For Algerians, locals are untrustworthy. They only hate France, not love it. European immigrants and their descendants are even more untrustworthy. These people are opposed to the war. They will support Qin Zhiyuan's work, but will never use force to support it. Even if Qin Zhiyuan asks them to join the Foreign Legion, they may migrate to a farther place.

Originally, these Europeans moved to Algeria to escape the endless wars on the European continent. If Algeria also fell into turmoil, they would definitely choose to continue to escape.

In another time and space in the 21st century, European immigrants in Algeria and their descendants, after Algeria's independence, in order to avoid the increasingly crazy locals, they did not choose to take up arms like Israel, but chose to return to mainland France.

According to relevant records, there were more than 1 million European descendants who fled back to France at that time, accounting for one-tenth of the total population of Algeria.

The Europeans who stayed in Algeria and the pro-French "Haggis" were killed by the local Algerians. It is estimated that 50,000 to 150,000 people were killed. The exact number may never be known.

I don't know what these "Haggis" were thinking when they died. Did they regret not resisting?