Wild North America 1846

Chapter 554 Peace Talks and Visits

Two months later
1870 year 12 early month
Today
The Franco-Prussian War is still going on. 10,000+ Prussian troops surrounded Paris and bombarded this magnificent European metropolis day and night. It has been more than three months, and the war still shows no signs of ending.

In the city of Paris, the emergency national salvation government composed of bourgeois and Orleanists commanded more than 7 urgently mobilized government troops and the "National Self-Defense Force" composed of more than 30 Parisians, preparing to defend the capital of France with blood and lives .

Under the high patriotic enthusiasm of the French, the Prussian army also felt very difficult, so it did not launch a large-scale offensive campaign to avoid serious casualties, which would not be worth the candle.

On the battlefield, they won a head-on contest with the French army simply and beautifully. If they stumbled in the city of Paris, it would be unreasonable no matter what!

Facing William I's questioning, General Moltke, Chief of Staff of the Prussian Army, replied cautiously;
"Your Majesty, this is a super metropolis with more than 240 million French people, and has almost unlimited war potential. Armed citizens of Paris can shoot from the solid barricades and building windows, but our army has to spend several times The power to get rid of these cockroaches. The biggest problem is...you don't know how many enemies there are?"

Prime Minister Bismarck also agreed with the military's opinion, and the Prussian army finally adopted General Moltke's opinion and temporarily refused to enter Paris until France surrendered.

However, the Prussian army was not idle, and took advantage of the trend to occupy about 1/3 of the territory in the north and northwest of France. It began to perform the duties of the occupying army and started a large-scale smuggling business. A lucrative smuggling commission.

In this cold and windy winter day

At the invitation of the French Provisional Government, His Royal Highness Tang-Li Kun and his entourage, representing the Tang Empire, entered the war-torn Paris city together with military observers sent by Britain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States of America.

on the way into the city
There are typical French buildings on both sides of the street, mostly 2-3 floors, and the bare trees with fallen leaves make the streets of the metropolis of Paris even more bleak.

A large number of "National Self-Defense Forces" carried muskets on their backs, and they all wore a variety of civilian clothes, some were typical gentleman's dresses, some were coarse work shirts, but without exception, everyone had an expression eager to fight , the soldiers were quite high.

From the beginning of entering the city, one has to go through one solid barricade that separates the streets, which is a feature of French urban defense.

The barricades are composed of bricks and various broken door frames and furniture. Behind each barricade are guarded by as many as a hundred "National Self-Defense Forces" officers and soldiers, which seem to be heavily guarded.

On the heights of the buildings on both sides of the barricade, figures could be seen faintly in the doors and windows.

Those are the soldiers of the "National Self-Defense Forces" who are responsible for watching and guarding. They assist in the defense during the battle and jointly attack the Prussians who dare to invade.

Every time they pass a barricade, the French provisional government officials responsible for leading the process of observers of military delegations from various countries will show their pass, which is a piece of paper with the red stamp of the provisional government and the autograph of General Verdier.

Countless indifferent, vigilant, and eager eyes swept across, and some rude soldiers whistled frivolously when they saw British officers, and muttered loudly;

"My God, look what I saw...it was a nasty Brit!"

"Damn it, aren't these Brits here to see our joke?"

"I hate these stinking British guys, they are like ominous crows, bringing disaster wherever they go."

"That's very well said, Sonny."

British Major General Mace raised his head indifferently, as if he could not hear these deliberately provocative words, but his livid face showed the anger in his heart, and he followed His Highness Tang Li Kun through the barricade.

said while walking;
"Seriously, I appreciate the optimism of the French. Their last emperor, Napoleon, was exiled on St. Helena, and their current emperor, Napoleon III, is already a regular guest of London's upper West End society. And they still laugh, What a forgetful nation!"

"Mr. General, your evaluation is realistic but somewhat harsh." His Royal Highness Tang Li Kun took a big step forward nimbly, crossed the puddle of sewage on the street, and then turned his head to remind; "Be careful where you step..."

"Crack..."

General Mace stepped into the sewage with his shiny long leather boots, and finally couldn't help "fa-ke", probably in a terrible mood.

The French colonel and officer who was walking in front looked back, and the beautifully trimmed French beard on his lips could not help but curl up, full of schadenfreude, but he suppressed his laughter out of politeness.

The French taunt the British every day, and the British derogate the French every day. This is a daily operation.

"God, we've been walking for nearly two hours, how far is it?" General Mace asked angrily.

The French colonel replied politely; "In order to guard against those damned Prussians and their disgusting allies, the brave citizens of Paris have built many barricades. We have passed more than 20, um... there should be more than a dozen?"

A straight long street is divided into many sections by barricades. Today, the city of Paris is full of barricades. The patriotic "National Guard" and government soldiers are guarding the barricades. The metropolis of Paris has become a huge urban battlefield.

look at the situation
If the Prussian army attacked, every step forward would have to pay the price of blood.

The tall figure of His Royal Highness Tang-Li Kun stood down, frowned and looked around, then sighed softly and said, "One general is incompetent, exhausting the entire army! A French citizen with such a heroic spirit and strong desire to fight can easily kill him." It's a pity to lose the war!"

"You will get used to it, my lord, and this is just another occasion where the French are often carried away by their passions to acts of unimaginable folly."

When the French colonel in front heard General Metz's words, he turned his head and stared at him angrily.

According to His Royal Highness Tang-Li Kun's estimate, if the mission was not in hand, the French colonel would most likely demand a duel. The British guy's mouth is too bad.

"This war is a disaster for the whole of Europe. I hope it will pass as soon as possible!" His Highness Tang-Li Kun made a round in the middle, turned around and said to France; Looking forward to a delicious French meal will make us feel better in this difficult time."

"Thank you Your Highness, your elegant demeanor reflects the cultivation of a true gentleman." The French colonel gave Major General Metz a hard look, followed His Highness and walked forward a little later, saying as he walked;
"French food with table wine is the pride of the whole of France. We have prepared everything and will welcome you with the warmest gesture... Your Royal Highness. Please go this way, we have to pass the next barricade. "

Some of the barricades are narrow and small doors, and some directly break a hole in the street wall, and you need to go around the house, which is quite troublesome.

But this is wartime, and that's all there is to it.

The reason why the French provisional government invited military observers from various countries was to show the world the determination of France to resist to the end, the firm belief of the people of Paris never to surrender, and vowed to fight the Prussian invaders to the end.

The important thing is to show a posture of going on with the bloody battle.

In fact, this is just a negotiating strategy. Paris, which was besieged by the Prussian 10,000+ army, still has many routes that can connect the southern provinces. Paris is just the forefront of the war.

The provisional government hoped that by demonstrating the spirit of national resistance with concerted efforts, the Prussians would lower the negotiation price, end the passive situation of Paris being besieged as soon as possible, and end the war.

Today's provisional government is struggling internally and externally. How to feed more than 240 million Parisians is a big problem.

Factories shut down, vendors shut down, farmers and craftsmen took to the streets with arms, so who will produce the products?Who will produce food to supply millions of people?
Today, the food production and supply in Paris is all dependent on imports. Because of the impact of the war, winter wheat sowing in more than a dozen provinces that have suffered from the spread of the war has almost been abandoned.

In the south of France, a large number of people were armed under the turbulent situation, and food production was naturally severely affected. France's food production was more than half that of before the war.

The missing parts can only be imported from the Great Tang Empire in North America.

The French interim government is facing enormous financial pressure, and is currently in intense negotiations with the Datang Empire multinational bank, seeking to borrow a large amount of funds to breathe.

In fact, France does not lack this money. Private usurers and the bourgeoisie have a lot of wealth. The key is that the provisional government does not have the universality and legitimacy to represent the French people. It cannot be recognized by these wealthy French classes. Can't borrow money.

The same problem also existed in the negotiation with Datang Empire Transnational Bank.

In the absence of substantive collateral, the provisional government's existing credit alone cannot borrow much money at all.

The concerns of multinational banks are also very reasonable. If the interim government is overthrown again, who can they ask for money?

Today's provisional government is facing a huge crisis that may be shut down at any time. If there is no money, there will be no bread. This will inevitably lead to chaos between the government army and the National Guard without a fight, and the consequences will be extremely serious.

Faced with difficulties
The government of the bourgeoisie and the New Orleanists could only compromise and try to reach a mutually acceptable armistice agreement with the Kingdom of Prussia.

Inviting the military observers to Paris is part of this effort.

In His Highness Tang Li Kun's view, the French's wishful thinking may have been wrong, and the Prussians were never ready to let them go easily.

North America

Imperial Capital Chang'an
"Oh...President Simmons is coming to visit. It's a good thing...you should be welcomed." After hearing the report, Li Cha immediately made a statement.

The old man was sprayed quite heavily, and the pressure on his body was not small. He probably came to the Tang Empire to find warmth.

The Tang Empire is still very supportive of its North American brother, instead of staring at other people's slavery all day long.The rule of the feudal dynasty is not much more advanced than slavery, let alone the second brother!

But if the Tang Empire is the world's hegemon, it will be different.

Not in his place, not seeking his government.

Sometimes things in the world are like clubs, each boss has his own style, and with a good boss leading the club, the club will develop in a stable and united way, with fewer messy wars and more disputes resolved through international organizations.

If you have a boss who is aggressive, greedy and selfish, like a British guy, it's terrible!

(End of this chapter)