Beiyang reactionaries

pity.

Britain and France declared war on Germany, but they did not intend to fight at all.The British and French allied forces nestled in the Maginot Line and started their "strange war" with the German army for several months.

"Prime Minister, the Chinese government is actively mobilizing troops."

"How many troops? Who are the generals? Are they really going to fight? Or are they threatening us?"

Daladier was more nervous.

Like Britain lost Kalimantan, France did not have many troops in French Indochina.Even compared to Britain, France has no strength in the Far East.Although the United Kingdom lost Kalimantan Island, the United Kingdom still has a powerful Far East Fleet in the Far East, and there are about [-] Far East Army troops.Not to mention, Britain also has India, the largest colony.

Based on the situation of Britain in India, more troops can be formed and put into the Far East battlefield at any time.

But not France.

France has nothing in the Far East and has a very poor military.The French troops in French Indochina did not add up to 1 people, and they were all colonial troops.Plus some local troops in French Indochina, that is about 3 to [-] people.These troops are poorly equipped and trained, so they are not considered regular troops at all.The war weariness in France also spread to the French officers of these colonial armies, and they did not want to fight.Therefore, none of them has much energy to train troops.So even if the military expansion starts now, it will take time.

"The Kunming Consulate sent a telegram. According to the information they have, China has assembled more than 30 divisions of army troops with more than 40 people in Yunnan and Guangxi bordering Indochina. And these troops are equipped with many tanks and artillery. Our intelligence personnel saw hundreds of tanks gathering on the front line on the road. Moreover, there are many Chinese air force bases in this area, and our intelligence personnel can usually see the Chinese air force training. But how many are there? The air force is stationed, how many aircraft are here, but it is not very clear."

"More than 40 troops?"

"Yes."

Minister of War in the French Cabinet Henri-Philippe Pétain, who later formed "Vichy France", is currently the Minister of War in the French Cabinet.Petain is a French field marshal with a high status and high prestige in France.Because he was a hero of the French army during the First World War and a famous French general.

When Petain introduced it to Daladier, I was also very surprised.

really.

Hearing that China is a big country with a population of 8 million people is not a joke.The troops of 30 divisions can be deployed casually.France is not without troops. There are currently nearly 100 French divisions deployed on the Maginot Line.

But this is already the bulk of the French army.

But Pétain knew that China currently has the most troops confronting the Soviet Union.According to French intelligence, China has placed one million troops in the confrontation with the Soviet army, and there are another million troops as reserves very close to the front line.It can be said that China has deployed more than 200 divisions in the northern region, and can also deploy 30 divisions in the two southwestern provinces.

Just think about the potential of these populous countries.

With so many troops, even if they all carry rifles, they are not easy to mess with.What's more, intelligence shows that China still has a considerable number of aircraft, tanks, and artillery.

"Their front-line commander is Yu Xuezhong, a four-star general of the Chinese army, the third-ranked general in the ranks of the Chinese army after the marshal and five-star general. However, the Chinese army does not yet have a marshal and a five-star general. General, so the four-star general is the highest rank in the current Chinese army. I have read the information of this general. He is an old subordinate of the current Chinese cabinet prime minister Duan Xun. He has followed him for 30 years and is his most trusted one. General."

"Is China really going to war?"

"Probably not."

Bethan shook his head.

Daladier immediately came to his senses and asked, "Marshal, on what basis do you base your judgment?"

"According to the situation of their army. We don't actually have many troops in Indochina. If China really wants to fight with us, then it will form a capable force. It doesn't need much, as long as it forms five or six divisions, it can directly attack India China. Even if China is more cautious, forming 10 divisions can already crush us, and we can't stop the Chinese army at all. Especially the Chinese army still has so many tanks and air force support. And we are in India There are basically no tanks and no air force in China. However, the Chinese government has adopted an alternative method. In a short period of time, 30 divisions were concentrated, and they were assembled openly. They did not conceal the movements of our troops. A large number of aircraft And tanks are also exposed to our intelligence personnel. This is not to prepare for war, but to put pressure on us."

"Aren't you going to fight us?"

"Yes."

Petain gave Daladier a clear answer.

But Petain quickly said: "However, this is only based on our willingness to negotiate with them. If we are unwilling to negotiate with them, the deterrent force of these 30 divisions may become an offensive force at any time."

"Does China really dare to fight us?"

Daladier was very quiet.

It seems to be asking Petain, but the voice is very small.But there is only Petain here.Unlike Germany and Japan, Daladier looked down on China and looked down on China.It is really because Germany and Japan are both traditional industrial countries and traditional powers.They all used their performance on the battlefield to establish their status.

But what about China?

There has been no war in these years.Especially the kind of war that can attract the attention of the world's powers, China has never fought in the slightest.Even if the main force of the Dutch Far East Fleet was wiped out a few years ago, in Daladier's view, the main credit is Japan.

Does China really dare to fight France?

"Prime Minister, I think it is best to avoid conflicts with China. Such a populous country and a country that can produce large-scale weapons, once we conflict with them, we may fall into the quagmire of war with China. The British When Sir Markle was serving as a minister in China, the Prime Minister of the Chinese cabinet told him publicly that it was easy for China to build an army of 500 million, and there was no difficulty in forming an army of 1000 million. It has been almost ten years since Sir Markle left China. In the past ten years, China's strength has become stronger. I think China's formation of 1000 million troops is definitely not a joke. With such a behemoth, it is best not to fight. What's more, our army in the Far East is weak, it is even more There should be no war with China."

"So what exactly do they want?"

"Prime Minister, we can contact them. Let's see what they want? I think since they don't go to war directly like Japan, then they must want to get what they want through negotiation."

"Correct."

Daladier nodded.

It's no use guessing here.Still, we should contact China to see what China really wants.Petain is right. China is a big country with a large population and a large industry.It is not good for France to conflict with such a country.

Because China is a country in the Far East, France and China have conflicts, and France can't do anything to China.For the Far East, which is thousands of miles away, China is the home team and France is the visiting team.As long as there is a conflict in the Far East, France will be at a disadvantage.Once a conflict does arise, China can easily resolve France's colonies in the Far East.The current situation between the two sides is completely unequal.

If you want to keep Indochina, it is better not to go to war with China.

Thinking of this, Daladier immediately said: "Okay, I will organize people to negotiate with China immediately to see what they want."

Daladier has been under too much pressure recently, and finally agreed to negotiate with China.Even if it is to buy some time for the French Indochina region, Daladier can only negotiate with China.

However, the request of the French delegation is that China stop military operations during the negotiations.It is really because the troops of 30 divisions are in the border area, putting too much pressure on French Indochina.The French governor of French Indochina was even prepared to flee.Moreover, after the Chinese army assembled at the border, the resistance forces in French Indochina became active.Not only them, but even the Vietnamese royal family is a little bit ready to get rid of the control of France.

It is really because the number of Chinese troops is too large.

Worry just thinking about it.

China promised that it would never provoke a war during the negotiation period, but China also stated that the negotiation period will be 3 months.If the negotiations do not produce results within three months, then China can only take some other measures and does not rule out the use of military action.

In this way, China and France began negotiations.

At this time, World War II had broken out, but China did not take neutral measures like the United States.Isolationism is prevalent in the United States now, but they don't forget to make war fortunes, so they came up with a "neutrality bill."

To make money or to make money.

But the United States is entitled to neutrality.Because whether it is the war in Europe or the conflict in the Far East, it has nothing to do with the United States and cannot involve the United States.It is impossible for the flames of war to reach the continental United States.The only thing related to the United States is the Philippines, an American colony, and nothing more.

The United States has no problems left over from history to solve, so the United States can calmly watch the world fight.And no matter who the other party is, as long as you give money, you can sell things, and you can make war fortunes from both sides.But China can't do it. The situation in China and the United States are different, and the history is also different.

First of all, the places where the conflicts in the Far East are currently concentrated have China's interests.

There are too many historical problems left in the northern region, and the millions of troops of China and the Soviet Union are facing each other, and war may break out at any time.The war in the Nanyang region also affects China's interests.After all, there are more than 3000 million overseas Chinese in Nanyang, and the number is still increasing.Most of the wealth in Nanyang belongs to these overseas Chinese.Under such circumstances, problems in Nanyang will certainly affect China's interests.

Another point is that if China wants to stand tall again in this world, a war is inevitable.Without the proof of a war, China will never be able to truly stand up in the eyes of the great powers.

Therefore, although China was not directly involved in the war, it welcomed the Second World War with a very positive attitude.China has promised Japan to take orders from the Japanese Navy and build warships for them.Also in accordance with the previous alliance, it will provide raw materials and war supplies to countries such as Germany, Italy, and Spain.According to everyone's contract back then, China will have a lower price than the market price.And China does not want to completely fall out with Britain and France.

Therefore, the Chinese version of the "Neutrality Act" has already begun to be brewed, that is, the "War Act" that China is preparing to launch.In such an atmosphere, the Chinese People's Party convened the Central Committee of the People's Party after the outbreak of World War II.