In the process of Prussia's rise, France was an unavoidable stumbling block. As the ruler of the European continent at that time and known as the world's largest army, France's containment of Prussia was an open secret.
At that time, Britain followed a maritime policy. As long as you do not challenge my maritime interests, then I will not interfere with your rise. Bismarck took advantage of this mentality of the British and paralyzed them, allowing Britain to remain neutral throughout the rise of Prussia.
But France cannot. He will never allow another continental power to emerge, nor will he allow the Germans to challenge their world-leading army status. Therefore, they want to provoke the southern states of Prussia to cause trouble, and they will do everything possible to weaken the rise of Germany.
Since the contradiction cannot be resolved, it can only be solved by war. Although Prussia does not yet have the strength to challenge France, this does not delay Prussia from establishing a huge intelligence network in France, and everything is preparing for future wars.
Xiao Letian's plan is very bold. His only purpose in choosing the border city of Besancon is to sneak into Switzerland and then transfer to Prussia. Everything he is doing now is to paralyze the French.
Paul initially disagreed with Xiao Letian's plan because it was too risky, but when he learned that Xiao Letian was going to use his own officer corps to carry out the rescue mission, he not only thought that Xiao Letian was taking a risk, but also felt that Xiao Letian was taking a risk. This prime minister is going crazy.
However, Xiao Letian's subsequent explanation dispelled his doubts.
"France is now the strongest army in Europe, especially since they had just burned down the Old Summer Palace, the royal garden of the Qing Dynasty, six years ago. At this time, the French leaders despised China very much. In their impression, the Chinese were weak and timid. A country whose capital has been captured does not dare to fight back. This kind of nation does not deserve respect..."
"I just want to use the arrogance of the French to complete my plan. They never imagined that I would use the army to force a breakout from Besançon. Even if Pierre was an intelligence genius, he would not have guessed my plan... …”
"What's more, the French's attention is on you Prussians. Even if they want to be on guard, they will be on guard against you. Their intelligence network in Prussia will pay close attention to every move of the Prussian army. As long as you create a few feints of the army in the border areas, , it will definitely attract their attention..."
"Besançon is very close to Switzerland. I believe that my warriors can escort me to break out over a distance of dozens of kilometers. They are the iron troops I trained with my own hands. I have no doubt about their strength!"
Madman, this is a madman! Paul really couldn't understand where Xiao Letian's strong self-confidence came from. Didn't he know that this kind of forced breakout had a paramilitary flavor? When the time comes, the French army will definitely clash with these Chinese, and a small-scale war will begin.
No matter who loses or wins, the military conflict will turn into a diplomatic disaster, and France will naturally be at odds with China. Isn’t Xiao Letian afraid of retaliation from the French navy and army? Not to mention the little Ryukyu, what if it was the Qing Dynasty? Isn’t it the same failure?
Xiao Letian seemed to have guessed what Paul was thinking. He sneered and said, "It's not that I look down on the French. France now has absolutely no ability to send military power to China again. Napoleon III was just dragging the British to take advantage..."
Xiao Letian said that he was right. The Crimean War, the Second Opium War, and the later expedition to Mexico were all done by France dragging Britain along. Although the French are very tough, they also understand the current international situation. Britain has occupied the most colonies in the world and has the world's largest naval power. It would be impossible to do many things without relying on the British.
"Paul, do you really think that the British will continue to fight against China for France? Don't think that the British are fools. Six years ago, the British had obtained the commercial benefits they wanted, and even entrusted the management of the Qing Customs Leave it to the Northern Irishman Hurd, whose mouth is full of oil, who would risk his own job?"
"Without the protection of a powerful navy, the army is just a landlubber. It still wants to go to war with China across half the world? This is just a dream!"
Xiao Letian did not tell Paul something clearly. The main reason why the French did not dare to go to war was that Prussia was currently holding them back. As long as the momentum of Prussia's rise was not curbed, France's core power would not dare to leave Europe.
In addition, Ryukyu has almost reached an alliance with the United States. The United States will never let France harm their interests in Asia. By then, there will be diplomatic lawsuits to fight.
The most critical point is that Xiao Letian was aware of the war between France and the Qing Empire in Vietnam in his previous life. Although the French at that time destroyed all the Qing's fleets in Nanyang, they never got any advantage in the land war, and in the end they even collapsed. A cabinet.
France has become a bit of a foreign power, but unfortunately the world has not noticed the clues and still treats the paper tiger as a real tiger.
Faced with Xiao Letian's toughness, Paul could only nod and agree to cooperate. It was after they reached an agreement that the negotiation in the water mill took place.
In the whole plan, the intelligence transmission by Paul and his men was absolutely indispensable. Without these eyes and ears, Xiao Letian's plan would be mirrored, so he fought hard to fight the French in close combat and save these Prussians.
Faced with Xiao Letian's toughness, Pierre could only choose to compromise. The French soldiers let go of the Prussians and escorted them towards Besançon one by one with glares, while Lieutenant Colonel Cherif led a group of cavalry and galloped towards Paris. , he wanted to bring the news to His Majesty the Emperor quickly.
"Go ahead, it will take five days to go back and forth. In addition, the bureaucrats in Paris are arguing with each other and passing the buck, and it will take another three or four days. As long as you give me ten days, it will be enough. The brothers from Hamburg came over calmly to save me..."
Just as Xiao Letian was heading towards Besançon, in the far north, the famous German city of Hamburg was already in a state of complete chaos. All the people had read the news about the Chinese bravely rescuing the orphans from the newspapers, and no one dared to do so at first glance. Trust your own eyes, and don’t dispel your doubts until you have repeatedly confirmed it with the people around you.
Facts have proved that Leo, a freelance journalist, is qualified, his pen is strong enough, and the photos he takes are classic enough. With the secret encouragement of the Prime Minister of Bismarck, less than six hours after the rescue ended, so many people in Hamburg The newspapers all published special features written by Leo, and the enlarged photo actually occupied a full page.
It was a group of tall and tall men. The face of the leader was covered in black ash, with only his eyes shining brightly. In his arms was the angelic little girl Mary, and behind them were flames and a large area of ruins.
This is a photo that moved the whole of Germany. The fierce and fierce soldier and the soft German girl formed a sharp contrast. The strong visual conflict moved everyone.
Throughout human history, acting bravely is always the most commendable virtue of mankind. What's more, the predecessor of the Kingdom of Prussia is the Teutonic Knights. Their blood itself has the precepts of knights. They have no rescue actions for the Chinese. Not impressed.
Newspapers, extra articles, and additional special topics, Xiao Letian's new army occupied the front pages of all newspapers, and the whole city was completely boiling.
Leo shouted loudly in the newspaper, "Any Hamburg citizen who witnessed the rescue operation was moved. In the raging sea of fire and under the threat of tons of dangers, none of these Chinese people flinched. They used practical actions to express their gratitude to Germany." The nation demonstrates the virtues of the ancient civilizations of the East..."
"Each of us has heard about the false reports against the Chinese from Britain and France. Many of us have been affected by such false reports, including me. Among those vicious reports , the Chinese people have been vilified as a group of cowardly and inferior people who do not know how to make progress. They are cowards who can be insulted at will without daring to take revenge..."
"Shameful, I am deeply ashamed of my blindness. Today these brave young people have proved to Europe with practical actions what an excellent nation they are. The lofty moral principles in their hearts will only be higher than we imagined." ! I want to apologize to these soldiers, and I want to apologize to all Chinese people!"
Leo raised his arms in the newspaper, and the entire Hamburg citizen class responded. Outside the mission hospital where the New Army was recuperating, countless Hamburg citizens began to gather in a crowd. They silently prayed to the injured and sent flowers. .
In less than three hours, the outer wall of the mission hospital had become a sea of flowers. Tens of thousands of flowers actually surrounded the entire hospital, and the strong fragrance even covered up the smell of the medicine.
Not only the citizens took action, but the Hamburg City Council, the Hanseatic Chamber of Commerce, the Nobel Company... countless political and business groups sent representatives to express their condolences to these young men from the East. Various gifts filled the ward. Not to mention anything else, the various fine wines alone were enough to pull in three large cars.
This was the first battle that the 300 New Army fought for the reputation of the Chinese people. They really lived up to Xiao Letian's hard work. This battle showed the dignity and pride of the Chinese people. In the end, even Prime Minister Bismarck sent Thanks for the call.
"God bless you, soldiers from the East. You have won the respect of the German nation with your practical actions. I am here to express my gratitude to you and to that distant ancient civilization for raising such outstanding talents! Please allow me to express my respect to you on behalf of the Kingdom of Prussia!"
When this cable was published in the newspapers, the people of Hamburg were jubilant, and some members of parliament even wanted to designate this day as a holiday to commemorate these brave young people.
Of course the festival is just a joke, but it also proves how loved these Chinese people are. Xiao Hexin's emotions were also infected by the citizens of Hamburg. In the next three days, these injured young men recovered at an astonishing speed, which amazed countless excellent doctors.
However, three days later, the excitement of the new army was completely extinguished by a scoop of cold water. A piece of top-secret information made all the soldiers furious.
"The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, His Excellency Xiao Letian, has been controlled by the French in the small town of Besançon. Mr. Xiao has given orders to dispatch your troops to the Swiss border quickly to look for opportunities to rescue the Prime Minister!"
