Respectfully

At the end of April, the Chinese Congress was still discussing whether to declare war on Germany, and the public opinion among the people had been raging.

On the western front of Europe, the French army once again took the initiative to attack the German army.Unlike in history, the French army used a large number of armored vehicles in the offensive, and also borrowed three tanks from the British army, and the German army also dispatched ten tanks.After the Battle of the Somme, the German General Staff paid more attention to this new weapon.While the British still stubbornly put Fuller's tank attack plan aside, the Germans have realized the huge role this weapon can play in the war.

At the beginning of the battle, the French army achieved certain results, but when the battle could not be settled quickly and fell into a seesaw again, the casualties of the French army began to increase, and the confidence of the soldiers was shaken, while the German army was planning a counterattack.

On the southern European front, Italy is still preparing for the tenth Battle of the Isonzo River. The Noodle Army’s actions were so slow that the head of the Allied Powers sent a telegram directly to the King of Italy. The wording was elegant, but the central idea was only one : If it doesn't start, the French army will not be able to hold on to the Western Front!

The other members of the Allied Powers did not expect much success from Italy. They only hoped that the Noodle Army could force the Austro-Hungarian army to ask for help from Germany, thereby reducing the pressure on the Western Front.

As they said in the telegram, if you don't do anything, the French frontline army will really be in big trouble.

The trouble is not all from the enemy, but from within the army.

The loss of 10 people is not a terrible figure in the three years of European war. The British army lost 6 people in one day in the Battle of the Somme!

But the biggest difference between today's French army and the original French army in the European War is the number of recruits.

A large number of battlefield casualties must be supplemented with recruits. In terms of psychological endurance, recruits are naturally inferior to veterans.The French army on the front line is showing signs of instability. Once a large-scale mutiny occurs, it will be fatal to the entire Western Front battlefield.

On May [-], under the joint pressure of Britain and France, Italy finally took action on the southern front.When the cluster artillery roared, the leaders of the Allied Powers finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, the Eastern Front of Europe was peaceful.

The Tsar abdicated, and the newly formed bourgeois provisional government also experienced its first crisis since its establishment. Kerensky became Minister of the Army and Navy.After taking office, the first thing Kerensky did was to personally go to the front to persuade the soldiers not to lay down their arms.

Unfortunately, the Russian soldiers were so tired of fighting that they even gave Kerensky the nickname "Minister of Persuasion".

"Mr. Minister's persuasion has no doubts from the very beginning." A Russian military officer wrote in his memoirs after the war: "Many soldiers have no weapons at all in their hands, and they don't even have shoes. How can they put down their weapons?"

In the rear, with the support of Trotsky and Kirov, Vladimir became more determined to launch an armed uprising.Even though members of the Bolsheviks disclosed the plan to the newspapers and criticized it, he always believed that victory would belong to him.

Kazan arrived in St. Petersburg with Kirov and also saw the "enthusiasm" of the Russians.However, he was more eager to meet the intelligence agents lurking in St. Petersburg than to "listen" to Comrade Vladimir's speech.

It is reported that the Tsar’s family is still staying in St. Petersburg. The King of England has rejected their request for asylum. It is even more impossible for Kaiser Wilhelm II to agree to asylum his cousin who was an enemy at the last moment.Empress Dowager Maria is abroad and is running for her son, but it doesn't help much.The provisional government was quite polite to the tsar’s family. After Kerensky became prime minister, he only expelled them from the court and put them under house arrest in Siberia. But when the Bolsheviks took control of the state power, everything would be different.

The tsarist couple and several children are still living in the palace, but their every move is monitored.The Grand Duchess Takyana accepted the suggestion of her loyal maid, Irina, and sewed a whole box of gems into the interlayer of her jacket.Her sisters did the same.

Queen Alexandra did not have the opportunity to do this. She was monitored more closely than the Tsar's children, and she did not have a "loyal" maid like Elena.

"Your Highness," Irina cautiously glanced at the corridor, then closed the door and walked to Takyana's side in a few steps, "Britain has rejected His Majesty's request for political asylum."

"God!" Takyana let out a sigh, and then covered her mouth. The life of house arrest has made the royal princess grow a lot. "What should we do? These rebels who deserve to go to hell!"

"Your Highness," Elena bit her lip, seemingly wanting to say something.

"Dear Elena, is there any worse news?"

"No." Elena shook her head, "Your Highness, my aunt has sent me a message."

"Is that Lady Josephine?"

"Yes," Elena lowered her voice again, "She said that there is a way to help me get out of here. But, Your Highness, my conscience and loyalty prevent me from hiding this matter from you."

"leave?"

"My aunt told me," Elena leaned closer to Grand Duchess Takyana's ear, "she agreed to a businessman's proposal, and that businessman was planning to go to China."

"Huaxia?"

"Yes, my aunt told me that this is the best way." Elena's voice was more soothing, as if with magic, which she learned from Rasputin, "Your Highness, Europe is at war, and no one I don’t know what will happen next moment, I heard gunshots last night. It’s too dangerous to stay here. Your Highness, if you can allow me... I hope you can leave with me.”

"However, China is also at war with Russia..." The princess doesn't care about political affairs like the queen, but it doesn't mean she knows nothing about politics.After all, as a Russian princess, Takyana also has the right to inherit the throne.

"Your Highness, this is the only chance."

Leave, go to Huaxia?

Yes, leave, they must leave!If they don't leave, they will be exiled or killed.What does China want?Territory or Gold?These can be given.She had to persuade her father and mother, even if she didn't give it to the Huaxia people, they would be taken away by the rebels!

Only by leaving this group of rebels can we have a chance to gather the supporters of the royal family and take back everything that belongs to them!

"Irina, you are an angel!" Grand Duchess Takyana hugged her maid for the first time, "But, I can't leave alone, I can't leave my parents and sisters, and my brother."

"Your Highness, this is too dangerous."

"Yes, I know. Irene, dear Irene, I beg you, your aunt, the kind merchant, if you can help us get out of here, and when my father regains the throne, he will be knighted , you and your aunt will also become noble ladies, I swear in the name of God!"

Elena looked at Takyana, bit her lips tightly, and finally nodded, "Your Highness, I will find a way to see my aunt again."

"Thank God!"

Takyana prayed devoutly to God and decided to find an opportunity to confess the matter to the Tsar and his wife.

Elena turned and walked towards the door, and when she heard Takyana's voice praising God, a strange smile appeared on her face, and soon disappeared without a trace.

On the streets of St. Petersburg, disheveled beggars and homeless men with tangled hair and beard can be seen everywhere.

"This is St. Petersburg?" Kazan muttered to himself, which was far from what he had imagined.

Most of the taverns and shops on the street have closed their doors, and a few of them are still open. There is a long queue in front of the door. Among them, the queue in front of one shop is particularly eye-catching. There are too many people crowded here.

Kazan stopped in his tracks.This is a shop specializing in Chinese products. The sign in front of the window says biscuits, bread and canned food, and the prices are marked on the back.In the inconspicuous corner of the sign, there is a sign that only the intelligence personnel of the six northern provinces can understand.

A dozen tall and strong Slavs and Tatars stood in front of the shop with sticks, staring fiercely at the people queuing in front of the shop.God knows what the Russians would have done without them.

Soon, a man walked out of the shop, and hung another sign in front of the door, indicating that today's products were sold out.There were sighs of disappointment from the crowd, and a Russian woman begged, her child hadn't eaten in two days, "for God's sake, just a piece of bread, or a few biscuits."

The woman took out a necklace, a gold chain, and the pendant was a solid ruby.

Unfortunately, the owner of the shop will not make an exception for her. In today's St. Petersburg, a ruby ​​​​is probably not as good as a piece of black bread.

Even if they didn't want to, they didn't dare to make trouble in the presence of big Slavs and Tatars wielding sticks.It's not that no shops have been robbed before, but the result is that fewer and fewer shops are open. If this continues, let alone robbery, even if you hold gold bricks, you won't be able to buy a grain of grain.

The big landlords and noble lords lived well, while the declining nobles, commoners and lower-class serfs could only starve.

After the crowd dispersed, Kazan walked to the shop, knocked on the door three times, and opened a small window on the door, "There is no bread today!"

"There is no more bread, but there are always steamed buns?"

"Steamed bun?"

"Yes, Mantou."

The small window was closed again, and after 2 minutes, the door opened, and a middle-aged man about 40 years old appeared in front of Kazan, he had a pair of gray-blue eyes, "There is no bread, no steamed buns, how about steamed buns? "

"That's good too. I like cornmeal better than sorghum noodles."

After speaking, Kazan made a gesture, and the shopkeeper patted Kazan on the shoulder, "Come in."

In fact, people in the Intelligence Bureau were also very puzzled as to why such a code was used.However, compared to poems and songs, steamed buns and steamed buns are much easier to remember.Especially in the land of foreigners, many people probably don't even know what Wowotou is.

On May 23, Li Jinyan received a message from intelligence personnel from Russia. Looking at the above content, Li Jinyan was a little uncertain.

"Save" the Tsar's family now?At least wait until they are exiled to Siberia, right?

But this opportunity is too rare. Kolchak was sent abroad by the provisional government for "investigation", and he will return to China after the October Revolution. Marshal Lou is still marching in Central Siberia. He is indeed marching. On the way of the independent brigade's attack , did not encounter any decent resistance, and many villages and towns encountered along the way were empty, or there were only women, old people and children left, and most of the middle-aged men were transferred to the Eastern Front to fight.

After the safety is confirmed, the village chief or a prestigious elder will be summoned to receive a ration.

There was no looting, no massacre, and the cries of women and children were not heard in the village.There is only the long-lost aroma of potatoes and the hot soup.

"From today, this place belongs to China."

These words of Young Marshal Lou were engraved on the stone tablet and left on the Tunguska Plateau.In later generations, this stele was regarded as the "evidence" that China "invaded" neighboring countries and seized their land.

Even so, with this stele and Lou Xiao's words, this land belongs to Huaxia!

On May 26, the Independent Brigade and the Northwest Cavalry finally joined forces on the Tunguska Plateau.

The soldiers from the northwest were riding on horses, their faces were full of post-war excitement, and their unsheathed sabers were faintly bleeding.

Young Marshal Lou jumped out of the car, and Young Marshal Ma also grabbed the reins and got off the horse.

"I met a group of Cossacks on the way. It happened that the brothers were bored, but they got a lot of good horses."

"Cossack?" Marshal Lou signaled Adjutant Ji to take out the map from the car, spread it on the hood of the car, and pointed at several places on the map with his slender fingers wrapped in white gloves, "Here."

Young Marshal Ma also leaned over, the two stood in front of the map and discussed for a while, then decided to turn east and join Du Yuzhang's second division as soon as possible.

The roar of the internal combustion engine sounded again, and the soldiers from the Northwest rode their horses around the tank. They were surprised to see that the oil dug out of Yumen was used for these big guys?

Young Marshal Lou also switched to a war horse, and he pushed his black whip against the brim of his hat, swept over the saber on Young Marshal Ma's waist, and remembered the one in the Marshal's mansion, he raised his thick eyebrows, "Brother Ma, how about a competition?"

"Okay!" Young Marshal Ma said loudly, "Brothers, today I will open your eyes!"

"Ow!"

Wolf-like roars resounded through the wild, this is a group of sons from the Northwest.

The soldiers of the Independent Brigade were very silent. They just stood quietly, with their guns on their shoulders, the tanks in front, and the infantry in the back, silent and chilling.

The whip volleyed in the air, and amidst the sound of breaking wind, two steeds galloped out like lightning.

The horse's hooves rumbled, and the black and red cloak fluttered in the wind. The knights on the horse seemed to be two wolves galloping on the Tunguska Plateau.

A reporter accompanying the army wanted to take pictures of this scene, but the bulky camera made him unable to do so. When he set up the camera, there was only a distant back of the two horses and the two young marshals.

The Northwest cavalry and the Independent Brigade followed closely behind. To the surprise of the soldiers in the Northwest, not only did the infantry of the Independent Brigade not fall behind at such a fast marching speed, they even stayed in the same formation.

There were no slogans, no urging and orders, except for the officer's whistle and the collision of guns and kettles, the rest was only the terrifyingly neat footsteps.

"This……"

Several Northwest military officers who had followed Ma Qingxiang to the north and south, or should we say they robbed the north and south, couldn't help but look at each other, and what arose in their hearts was not just shock.

On June [-], following the Northwest Cavalry, Du Yuzhang's Second Division also arrived on the Tunguska Plateau.At the same time, the army in Hebei and the army in Shanxi are also ready to go.

Before Shaoshuai Lou left, Li Jinyan was still worried that he would lead the team all the way to Europe, and there would be no need to "declare war".

In fact, Li Sanshao didn't realize how big Siberia was at all. Even though most of the land of more than 1000 million square kilometers is still desolate, it is basically impossible to occupy it all in a short period of time with only [-] to [-] troops.

In addition to more troops, there are also a large number of immigrants to completely digest this vast land.

That's why Lou Shaoshuai asked Li Sanshao to look at the map.

After Li Jinyan returned to the Marshal's Mansion, he wanted to understand the meaning of what Marshal Lou said. With the mobilization of troops in Hebei and other places, his daily homework, apart from practicing calligraphy, listening to Old Master Ran's lectures on history, was reading maps.

During the period, Bai Baoqi sent him several economics monographs and notes from the capital. Li Jinyan knew that the congress was discussing not only the issue of China's participation in the war, but also the proposal to issue banknotes.

"Gold, gold." Li Jinyan once asked Ren Wuchu in private, and the answer he got was that it was time for Huaxia to consider issuing banknotes. Not only the six northern provinces, but many economically important provinces, it was out of date to only use metal currency.

Thinking of this, Li Jinyan finally made up his mind, anyway, sooner or later he will be "rescued", so it's okay to start early, right?

Soon, a telegram was sent from Guanbei. The independent brigade of Young Marshal Lou brought Mr. Zou’s improved military radio, which was lighter, smaller and more portable than before. Li Jinyan didn’t have to worry that Young Marshal Lou would not accept it to this telegram.

After the telegram was sent, Li Jinyan called Leopards again. The British and French spies captured in the capital were interrogated and handed over to Xiao Youde. After the incident with Zhao Furen, he realized that the role these people can play is far more than just a simple confession. .

Maximizing "benefits" is not in vain for them to be traitors.

As for how the Zhan Changqing Association bargains with Britain and France, I should just watch it myself.

The intelligence agents lurking in Russia are all arranged in one place and four places. Uncle Dumb is dealing with the group of Japanese in Dalian. There are two merchant ships, and there will be a third ship soon. If the goal is not achieved, the British actions will not stop , but there are quite a few Japanese in the POW camp. If it is really impossible, the third division can only be asked to capture prisoners from North Korea.

Li Jinyan did not plan to touch the Japanese in the Shanghai International Settlement, they were "common people" after all.As for the Japanese prisoners of war in Dalian, I am afraid that even their relatives have regarded them as dead.If they can survive by luck, they will be able to leave the prisoner-of-war camp, and they will not be sent to mines, and they can get money and women, just like those who were taken away by Oshima Yoshimasa and Kawaguchi Rei!

After a "long time" life as a prisoner of war, these Japanese people's loyalty to the emperor has long been worn out.

It's easy to die, but it's really hard to live and suffer.

The prisoner-of-war camp guards showed them the newspaper on purpose. After reading that the five surviving "Chinese crew members" in the newspaper had all received a large sum of compensation, many people were looking forward to the next "opportunity".

Die at sea, or gain "freedom" and riches.

Crazy and gambling, this is the nature of the Japanese scorpion.History has proved this time and time again.It's just that the previous Japan always gambled and won. After a certain butterfly flapped its wings, the goddess of victory completely abandoned them.

Marshal Lou replied quickly, and there were only three words on the telegram: Got it.

Li Sanshao took the telegram and looked left and right, but he still couldn't figure out whether Young Marshal Lou had agreed or not.

In the end, he could only tell Leopard, who was about to leave for Siberia, to obey the command of the young commander.

After Leopard left, Uncle Dumb also returned from Dalian. Not long after, Mrs. Lou sent a telegram from the capital. In July, Major General Lou Er was packed and sent to Guanbei.

After receiving the telegram, Li Jinyan was speechless for a long time, then sighed, what was supposed to come, came anyway.

On July [-]th, the day when Lou Er Shao arrived in Guanbei, the Chinese Congress finally passed a vote and decided to declare war on Germany with more than two-thirds of the votes in favor.

The next day, Britain and France formally sent a note to the Chinese coalition government to return all the concessions of the two countries in China. The Chinese government also promised to ensure the personal and property safety of the nationals of the two countries.Other members of the Allied Powers followed in the footsteps of Britain and France, and the customs issue raised by the Chinese government several times was finally answered positively by the British government. The UK will hand over all customs powers within half a year.

The Japanese expats living in the Shanghai International Settlement were like a thunderbolt.

Huaxia had already declared Japan as an unwelcome country, and the concession was taken back by Huaxia. They seemed to see Huaxia soldiers holding bayonets and driving them into the sea one by one...