Although Zhou Changfeng had always felt that the domestic situation in Ming Dynasty was relatively unstable and full of contradictions, what surprised him was that the current situation in France was also not good.
In his inherent impression, although the current France is not stable, it should not be called bad, but what he saw along the way surprised him greatly.
For France, the past ten years under the economic crisis have undoubtedly been troubled times. The world situation has become increasingly turbulent, and the conflicts between France and its neighbors have become more acute.
Although after the European War, France took back the Alsace-Lorraine region, which was rich in coal and iron resources, and after the failure of the subsequent intervention war, it negotiated a unilateral peace with the German Society, and was able to relatively calmly escape from the remaining shadow of the European War.
Tsarist Russia obviously had no reason to turn away its huge loans, and the steady flow of repayments allowed France to carry out recovery work, although the speed was greatly slowed down by the serious shortage of young labor.
The impact of the Great Economic Recession that broke out in Qiyuan 7930 was long-lasting, and it was not until last year that French industry finally made a certain recovery.
In recent years, more than 100 textile factories have closed down.
Last year, in the year 7936, there were more than one million completely unemployed people in France. The currency, the franc, had depreciated by as much as half. Inflation was serious.
But what is interesting is that during this period, the speed of capital concentration accelerated significantly. The capital of the Bank of France almost doubled in five years.
Under such increasingly serious contradictions, the bourgeoisie even attempted to follow the example of Italy and turn black. Factions such as "France Solidarity" and "France Action" openly appeared and were very rampant.
As a result, "public tide" people organized citizens to carry out tit-for-tat resistance and resolutely defend the French Republic. Parades and fights were common, and even turned into gun battles.
After Zhou Changfeng arrived in Paris by train, he immediately went to the Ming Dynasty's Embassy in France. The sky was clear and windless, so the yellow background sun and moon flag on the flagpole was drooping.
The history of the Ming Dynasty's Embassy in Paris can be traced back to the Wen Zong Dynasty. The envoys sent by the emperor at that time bought an independent courtyard here, and it has continued to this day. This is also the integration of the Ming Dynasty and the Westphalian system. direct manifestation in the future.
Of course, now we must tear down the old and build a new one.
There are European-style buildings all around, but here are a few Chinese-style buildings with resting and hanging mountain tops. To say they are not unique would be deceiving.
"You...are here for treatment?"
"yes."
The officials of the legation did not dare to neglect him, and repeatedly invited him to come in and rest, and served him tea and water.
"Do you need help with anything else?"
"You guys send a message to Barcelona and say I've arrived."
A lieutenant colonel military attaché in his thirties came over, looked him up and down, and asked, "Do you need someone to take care of you?"
Many people still have the tradition of hiding illnesses and avoiding medical treatment, so no one asked him directly what the disease was.
Zhou Changfeng shook his head, "Don't bother, I can do it on my own. It's not a serious case of tuberculosis. The doctor said it should be cured in half a year."
The military attaché frowned slightly and subconsciously wanted to lean back and stay away, but his subjective reaction was quick and he stopped immediately.
He said with relief: "Fortunately, this is no longer a terminal illness. You can rest in peace and recuperate. We will do our best to help if you need it. Don't be embarrassed to ask. You are indispensable to our country."
"Thank you for your concern." Zhou Changfeng laughed dumbly, stood up and cupped his hands, "I'll go now."
After leaving the Ming Dynasty Embassy, although he knew that the possibility was slim, he still carefully paid attention to whether anyone was secretly following him.
After that, he changed out of the conspicuous and unobtrusive uniform of the Ming Navy and put his saber into the fishing rod bag.
At noon, he came to the office of the French Fashion Party, dressed in everyday clothes. After all, it was completely legal and there was nothing taboo in the eyes of the locals.
What is a Chinese with yellow skin, black hair, and brown eyes doing here?
Although not rare, it is definitely not common.
"Sir, what are you here for?" asked the curious receptionist.
"I heard that you need a mid-level commander. I think I am qualified for this task." Zhou Changfeng said seriously.
The receptionist was stunned for a moment and hesitated: "You mean... the International Brigade?"
"certainly."
"Okay, please come over here."
In fact, the idea of the International Brigade was first proposed by French fashionistas.
Later, the Berlin Executive Committee approved a draft based on this idea, and the International Brigade began to be formally formed.
Its recruitment center is located in Paris, and popular parties around the world are responsible for organizing people who are willing to go to Iberia to fight in the war to sign up.
Theoretically, the International Brigades do not consider party affiliation, and anyone who is willing to fight for the Spanish Republican Army can volunteer to join, but in fact this requires certain tests.
After waiting for about half a quarter of an hour, Zhou Changfeng was led to a room on the inside. Soon, a middle-aged man and an elderly man also walked in.
After a brief self-introduction, the middle-aged man wearing round glasses asked with some confusion: "Lieutenant Colonel, you are a nonpartisan and neutral person. Why do you have the idea of volunteering to participate in the war?"
Although he had expected it, Zhou Changfeng still felt a little guilty when he answered, because in a sense, this might be considered a lie.
"I am indeed neutral, but as a military observer, I personally witnessed and experienced the massacre of local civilians by the National Army and the Italian Intervention Force in Spain, as well as indiscriminate air strikes... It is difficult not to be outraged by such behavior."
The old man wearing a French beret kept looking at him with a smile. After he finished speaking, the old man slowly said: "Lieutenant Colonel, you have found the justice buried in your heart. Thank you for your willingness to risk your life." for this glorious cause."
Zhou Changfeng was silent for five seconds after hearing this, "Maybe you praised me too noblely. There were many factors that led to my decision, such as the Italian officer's ridicule, his hatred for killing civilians, and... I actually want to train myself there. Is this actually selfish?"
"It is almost impossible for people without selfish motives to exist, Lieutenant Colonel. At least in this choice, your selfishness is not worth mentioning, because your enemy is the executioner against humanity."
Zhou Changfeng was silent, nodded slightly, and then made a request, "I lied about contracting tuberculosis as an excuse, so I have to find a way to prove that I am recuperating in the hospital and at the same time hide it from the Ming Dynasty Embassy."
"Don't worry." The middle-aged man smiled and said lightly: "Tuberculosis needs to be recuperated in a place with fresh air. We will ask the Seine General Hospital to issue a diagnostic recommendation, and then lie that you have temporarily gone to a remote place. Rural retreat.”
"It's not that easy," Zhou Changfeng thought for a moment, "I'll stay a few more days to deal with it."
(End of chapter)
