"Hahaha, Marshal Steinmetz, let's let the Parisians have a quiet Christmas! We have already won this war. As long as the French capitulationists begin to gain the upper hand, our benefits will continue to flow. Come here!"
Xiao Letian said with a smile, "I wonder if the old marshal likes fishing? People who really know how to fish, when they encounter a big fish and take the bait, will not keep fighting with the fish, they will just pull it up with all their strength..."
"It's about pulling a section, then releasing a section, constantly wrestling with the big fish, slowly consuming the big fish's physical strength and endurance, and finally you can gain something!"
"If you are really desperate, maybe the fish dies, the net breaks, and the fishing rod is broken. What should I do? The big fish would rather commit suicide than let you catch it. What do you think you should do?"
Xiao Letian poured a cup of coffee for the old marshal, "Just wait patiently. I'm afraid our soldiers won't have to bleed and die anymore. Someone will take the initiative to give us money!"
Old Moltke looked at the puzzled eyes of his comrades: "The head of state is right. All the soldiers should do in this war has been done. The rest will be left to these treacherous politicians..."
Bismarck smiled, "Indeed, relying on war is no longer very effective in the current situation. We have been studying the situation in Paris since the siege!"
"Fortunately, the airship invested by the head of state has given us a rare intelligence platform, so we can get first-hand information inside Paris!"
"After thinking about it for a long time, we can't let our young men die in vain, because the Paris Commune is a tough nut to crack!"
Upon hearing this, Steinmetz didn't like hearing this anymore. He stood up and said, "Our powerful Prussian Iron Army has conquered most of France. Is it still unable to deal with a small Paris?"
"The 300,000 National Guardsmen are all untrained stragglers. Why should we be afraid of them? I am willing to accept the order of a general offensive. I will lead the team to exterminate these thugs. I will never return to the country!"
"Okay, okay... Marshal, please be patient. We are not doubting the combat effectiveness of our legion. What we want to say from the beginning to the end is that there is no need to die in vain!"
"We should not let our soldiers die when we can obviously solve the problem at the negotiation table! What's more, the situation in Paris is too complicated. The head of state's intelligence personnel and military experts once made statistics. If we want to completely capture Paris, at least we must At the cost of one hundred thousand lives..."
"One hundred thousand?" Steinmetz was stunned. "How did you come up with this data?"
When Lao Maoqi heard that his subordinates questioned the head of state's judgment, he was afraid that Xiao Letian would be angry and quickly replied, "This data is still reliable. You must know that the Chinese army has the richest experience in street fighting in the world, and urban offensive warfare has always been their research. Point!"
This sentence is indeed true. From the moment it was born, Xiao Letian's Chinese forces have prospered from urban melees, whether it was the bloody battle to seize power in Naha, or several siege battles in Tanggu Industrial Zone, or even to The final liberation of Vladivostok was achieved through the most brutal street fighting.
The strategic core of the entire Chinese nation can be seen from the equipment of the Chinese soldiers. Special operations are a principle that has always been adhered to. The Chinese have completely abandoned the ancient battle models of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Hunan Army, and the Taiping Rebellion that completely piled up numbers.
There are many types of grenades, shotguns of various calibers, the highest proportion of snipers in the world, and a large number of dangerous weapons... Even the Chinese military research institute is working with Prussian scientists to improve mortars and try to make this kind of Artillery became more useful for individual soldiers.
All of this is linked to the Chinese's grand strategy of liberating China in the future. In this world, if someone says that the Chinese's urban street fighting level is second in the world, then no one dares to say that they are first.
"The 300,000 National Guardsmen are just a number for external propaganda. If a war breaks out, all 500,000 workers in Paris can be converted into combat soldiers!"
"Not only that, the Paris Commune also controlled more than 1.5 million poor citizens... These people belong to the extremely poor class. They are like grass on the wall and are swayed by the wind. Whoever gives them some benefits and some publicity, these people will Who will you fight with?"
"All the neighborhoods in Paris have been armed. The streets and alleys are all fortified with sandbags. Cannons procured from various channels are spread all over the city. Once a war breaks out, every street here will become a meat grinder!"
"One hundred thousand dead is just a conservative figure. The reality may be even crueler than these!"
Listening to Xiao Letian's cold analysis, Steinmetz was speechless. All experts knew what fighting was like. There was an essential difference between a decisive battle in the wild and a street fight in the city, and the difficulty was already very different.
But Steinmetz was very unwilling, "But you can't agree to such a small amount of compensation just because you are afraid of death? This is simply..."
Bismarck walked over and patted his shoulder with a smile, "My old friend, if it's ours, there won't be a coin missing! Let me tell you some good news..."
"Ludwig II of Bavaria has united the German states for the third time and asked our king to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor!"
"And this time, our Majesty did not refuse. He has made a clear statement... After Christmas, in January 1871, let us choose a good day. His Majesty will ascend the throne in the Palace of Versailles!"
This was really good news like thunder. All the people in the room smiled and shouted "Long live your Majesty! Long live Germany!"
"We can finally wash away the shame brought upon us by the French! The shame of Jena is finally washed away today!"
"Step on France's corpse and form our empire!"
"Hahaha... That's great. If you had told me earlier, I would have understood. Give Paris a little peace. Just treat it as a little grace bestowed upon them by His Majesty after ascending the throne!"
"Hahaha... The French abandoned the empire and chose the most stupid and internally strife republic! But we finally created a great empire!"
"From now on, the French will always be trampled under our feet, long live!"
There were cheers in the Hall of Mirrors, and at this moment an adjutant quietly walked up to Bismarck and whispered, "The French Member of Parliament from Thiers hopes to meet you..."
"Haha, isn't this coming? France has produced traitors since ancient times. As long as we can defeat their arrogance on the battlefield, the weaklings will come to their doorsteps!"
"Tell him I'll meet him in the study!"
Bismarck went to see Thiers. Steinmetz drank wine from the cellar of the French Royal Palace and walked up to Xiao Letian. He whispered, "Can the head of state reveal a little bit of the truth to me? Are we really going to let it go like this?" Are you in Paris?"
