The rider holding the white flag high rushed through the long and thick front of the Prussian army like wind. No one dared to stop him along the way. He carried the French Emperor's personal letter of surrender, which he wanted to deliver to the general headquarters of the Prussian army.
On September 1, 1870, after a whole day of bloody fighting, at the moment when the sun was about to sink into the earth, Napoleon III, the commander-in-chief of one hundred thousand French troops, declared his surrender.
Standing on the huge Zeppelin, watching the enemy and ourselves begin to break away from contact below, and listening to the intensive blowing of the assembly horn, Xiao Letian let out a long sigh.
"Don't you listen to me... Forty years later, France will definitely take revenge. By then, they will rely on national power to drag you, Germany, to death!"
"Hey... these officer corps have not died enough. Now after the armistice, France can at least return to the position of a second-rate military power. If they fight for another night, they will have to slip to the position of a third-rate military country..."
Xiao Letian's worries are not something people of this era can understand. Xiao Letian knew that more than forty years later, a gunshot in Sarajevo would directly ignite the raging flames of the First World War.
Xiao Letian knows better that this world war cannot be stopped by any time traveler, because when all capitalism escalates to imperialism, war is something that no one can avoid.
Humanity's competition for resources and markets was only then intensifying. The fundamental reason why capitalist powers launched wars was that they could not survive without war. Without war, it would be chronic cancer, and war might be just a surgical operation.
By that time, countries entering the second industrial revolution had already completed deep industrialization, and the destructive power of war had doubled. The scale of war was not hundreds of thousands or millions, but tens of millions of people strangled together.
"Bismarck! Do you know that among the French army participating in the Sedan Station today, there will definitely be countless generals and countless middle- and high-level officers in the future!"
"The seeds of hatred have taken root in their hearts. Forty years of irrigation by the water of hatred will definitely make the poisonous flowers of war bloom more and more brilliantly!"
"These are all the future officer corps! The command structure of World War I is actually all here... Why don't you listen to my advice! Forget it, forget it... maybe this is the fate of your country in the future of Germany!"
"Not even your iron-blooded prime minister can stop the national destiny!"
A slightly disappointed Xiao Letian waved his hand to Zeppelin, "As you wish, the war is finally over... It seems Bismarck is calmer and more rational than I thought..."
"I'm exhausted...Give me some wine...Give me something to eat...Give me the order to let our troops rest where they are and not to retreat to the rear. We must keep an eye on Napoleon in the central fortress all night. Three generations..."
"Isn't this bad?" Pierre, the intelligence officer who had been watching the battle record on the airship, walked to Xiao Letian and whispered, "The surrender ceremony has not been completed yet, the weapons of the French army have not been collected, and they have not been imprisoned. Prisoner of war camp..."
"Look at the Prussian regiments, they all retreated a certain distance and then repaired... They were on guard against the French breaking their word!"
"Haha... Needless to say... Do the French still dare to attack at night? Listen to me, Napoleon III has long been frightened. The closer we are at this time, the less he dares to go back on his word!"
"We are like a sharp knife, stuck at Napoleon III's throat all night, keeping him awake all night!"
"Sneak attack? I don't believe it..."
The Chinese-Belgian coalition forces commanded by Xiao Letian had their own independence in the entire battle. As long as the grand strategy did not hold back Mao Qi, the Germans would not get involved in the details.
This formed a very interesting scene. The Prussian army began to retreat to the inner side of the outer city wall of Sedan, and began to build blockade fortifications based on the city wall. Of course, it was very simple.
These Prussian troops began to light bonfires and set up marching pots. With the semi-finished food sent from the rear, these soldiers who fought bloody battles for a day only had to boil some hot soup to have a full meal.
Wounded soldiers were continuously sent to the wounded camps in the rear areas. North of Sedan, Belgium and Luxembourg provided doctors from almost all of the country and were building large field hospitals, where wounded soldiers could get the best treatment.
In order to celebrate the victory, the Prussian logistics department can be said to have gone all out. Sausages, white bread, ham, rationed beer, and mashed potatoes... the aroma of a sumptuous dinner is fragrant.
The remaining French troops around the Sedan Fortress were not so lucky. They gnawed on the only black bread, drank cold water, and lay on the cold ground to endure the dark night.
The most annoying thing was Xiao Letian. They did not retreat to the city wall, but rested directly at the position where the fighting stopped.
This place is only five or six hundred meters away from the central fortress of Sedan. The Chinese position was so firmly pressed against the throat of the King of France, making him panic all night long.
Xiao Letian's troops naturally have privileges. This war established his reputation as Asia's No. 1 God of War. From now on, the whole of Europe can look down on the whole of Asia, but no one dares to look down on the Chinese.
In order to get closer to the Eastern heads of state and gain some future market share in Asia, the Belgian dinner was already ready before Prussia's logistical supplies were delivered.
Beer and wine were open to the public. Leopold II organized six carriage teams specifically to transport fine wines. Wine alone was divided into six categories, and beer was shipped with more than 20 different flavors.
There were even more preparations for other things, such as cheese, herring, veal, pork knuckles... They even sent caviar and foie gras to the officers!
When the Prussian army's logistics carriage brought dinner, they found that the aroma of food permeating the entire Chinese position was something they never dared to imagine.
"These Belgians really know how to please the head of state... It smells so good, it tastes like fried veal steak... with basil leaves and a lot of black pepper added..."
Just when these logistics officers were sitting on the carriage and preparing to return, more than ten war horses rushed out from the Chinese position, with heroic Chinese officers on the horses.
"Gentlemen, do you know where the position of the first battalion of the 3rd Guards Regiment is?" the Chinese officer at the head asked with a smile.
Several Prussian soldiers in the logistics department quickly saluted, "Sir...it seems to be on the east wall, it should be not far away..."
"Okay, thank you... let's go!" More than a dozen war horses rushed over.
By this time, the dinner party by the Sedan city wall had come to an end. The beer given to these soldiers was limited to no more than three glasses. This amount of beer was completely a drink for the Prussians.
After drinking down the rationed wine, they finished their dinner. Many soldiers hugged their blood-stained rifles and put a blanket on them and fell asleep leaning against the wall.
From morning to night, the fatigue of the soldiers can be imagined. Many soldiers cannot be described as lethargic, it is as if they are dead!
As soon as he leaned his head against the brick wall, the whole world had nothing to do with him, and his brain suddenly fell into a deep sleep!
In the midst of the snoring team, several Chinese officers carefully walked between the legs and feet of the soldiers, shouting in a low voice, "Where is the Third Guards Regiment...the First Battalion..."
"Where is the 3rd Guards Regiment... where is the 1st Battalion?"
