Expedition to Europe

(Thanks to Longzhong pp and sleepingun for their monthly votes, and thanks to brother Xiongzhongyoujian for his reward, Yutou is full of motivation!)

The next morning, newspapers led by "The Prisoner" began to report on the ongoing peace talks between the French and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In the report, "The Prisoner" revealed a fact, that is, the two little princes of the Austro-Hungarian Empire promised the two places of "Roxas and Lorraine" to the French without the consent of the Germans.

These reports caused an uproar.

It can be imagined that when the world war was in a stalemate, one party participating in the war was actually negotiating peace with the enemy in private. How sensational this would be.

Almost on the same day, when some newspapers forwarded these news, some even issued "Special Issues".

Of course, there were also German newspapers.

In fact, German newspapers published these news almost at the same time as "The Prisoner". For the Germans, France has no secrets. The battle plan drawn up by Nivelle the day before can appear on Ludendorff's table the next night.

The Germans were extremely shocked by the private actions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, especially the handling of Alsace and Lorraine.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire has always been a vassal of the German Empire. Now the Austro-Hungarian Empire has left the German Empire alone to conduct such peace talks, and it still uses Alsace and Lorraine as the negotiation conditions, which makes the Germans feel incredible.

In the eyes of the Germans, Karl I was too presumptuous.

Karl I also realized this problem at this time, so he began to condemn the French for making up stories. He had never sent any negotiation delegation to France, let alone using Alsace and Lorraine as the negotiation conditions.

This caused dissatisfaction among the French, so in French newspapers, Karl I was not only described as a fool, but also as a "liar".

The peace talks finally broke down.

Waiting for everything to settle, the time is almost March.

Qin Zhiyuan was in no mood to care about the farce in the newspaper. His energy was completely focused on the ordered destroyers, and he could not spare more energy.

As early as in Rome, Qin Zhiyuan ordered four Acorn-class destroyers through the Wanderer Alliance Shipyard in Portsmouth. Qin Zhiyuan has even paid the deposit and is waiting to receive them after the outfitting is completed. For this purpose, Qin Zhiyuan also hired more than 100 technicians from the UK through Gaspard to take charge of the technical work on the destroyers.

Of course, Qin Zhiyuan has also prepared a group of Chinese who grew up by the sea since childhood, so that they can board the ship to become navy, learn various techniques of British mercenaries, and prepare for independent operation in the future.

British mercenaries, this is not a concept first created by Qin Zhiyuan. Europeans have a tradition of being mercenaries. They are not resistant to the profession of mercenaries. As long as someone gives them money, they can fight for the devil. As a traditional maritime power, Britain has countless navigators and sailors. This country now has more people and fewer ships, so it gives Qin Zhiyuan a loophole to exploit.

At that time, Gary Parker promised a week, but when the time came, he sent a telegram to Qin Zhiyuan, requesting an extension of the delivery date because the four destroyers had been requisitioned by the British Navy.

These four warships were originally built for the British Navy, but it was still early for the delivery date agreed with the British, so the directors of the shipyard found Qin Zhiyuan and wanted to sell these warships to Qin Zhiyuan first, and then re-produce them for the British.

For the Wanderer Alliance Shipyard, this really doesn't take too much effort. It only takes one month at most for a warship to be launched from the keel laying to the water, while in the United States, this time can be shortened to half a month.

There was nothing wrong with the British forcibly requisitioning these four warships, but Qin Zhiyuan decided to make a fuss.

Only the crying child gets the milk.

So Qin Zhiyuan found the newly appointed British Minister of Munitions Churchill.

Winston Churchill, this is another giant.

Potential giant, but not yet.

Before the war, Churchill's position was the Minister of the Navy. On August 1, 1914, when Churchill learned that "Germany declared war on Russia", Churchill could not wait to issue a general mobilization order for the navy, which was not ratified by the cabinet until the next day. Perhaps Churchill did this because he hated the Germans too much, but it also left the impression of disobeying orders and being arbitrary in Parliament.

After the Battle of the Dardanelles, the British Navy paid a huge price, but did not capture the strait. Instead, it caused Britain to lose its advantage in the early stages of the war. Churchill was severely criticized for this, and finally lost his position as Minister of the Navy and became the Minister without a Ministry.

The Ministry without a Ministry means that it really does not care about anything and has no real power, just like a mascot.

Churchill resigned in anger and went to the French front with his servants, drivers, housekeepers, and dozens of boxes of daily necessities to serve as the battalion commander of the 6th Battalion of the Scottish Mauser Rifle Regiment.

Last September, the Dardanelles Maritime Investigation Committee was established and issued an investigation report around Christmas. Churchill successfully escaped the crime and was just appointed Minister of Munitions by Lloyd George.

Well, maybe Churchill's head shape is also good, which can be favored by Lloyd George.

It seems that Qin Zhiyuan's reputation is indeed growing day by day. At least after reporting his name, Qin Zhiyuan was received by Churchill.

This work is compiled and uploaded by Liujiu Book Bar~~

"Qin, I don't remember that there is a navy in your army." Churchill looked at Qin Zhiyuan leisurely, his eyes full of inquiry and curiosity.

This is the British munitions department, located in London, the heart of the British Empire, the economic center of the world in the early 20th century, and can also be regarded as a political center.

"Existence is reasonable. If necessary, there may be an air force in the future." Qin Zhiyuan smiled.

Whenever facing a legendary giant, Qin Zhiyuan is always full of interest, especially people like Churchill, this level is rare.

But when Qin Zhiyuan smiled at Churchill, Qin Zhiyuan was alert in his heart.

Churchill did have a good reputation in another time and space, but he also had a huge stain, that is, his racism. When suppressing the Kenyan uprising, Churchill once signed an order to "clear" the local blacks, including the grandfather of the later black president of the United States. Later, when the black president of the United States took office, he returned the bronze bust of Churchill that had been placed in the White House office during the Bush era to the British. This is why.

Later, during World War II, Churchill also forced India to export grain, but when Indians fell into famine, Churchill ignored it and watched 3 million Indians starve to death.

Indians and Chinese are both Orientals, and Churchill's attitude towards Indians is the same, so you can imagine his attitude towards Chinese.

"Oh, it seems that you are very interested in new things like airplanes." Churchill was also interested.

When Churchill was the Minister of the Navy, Churchill personally approved the research plan of tanks and designated the naval term "tank" to refer to this weapon of war.

Churchill is always interested in new things, which is why he can become an evergreen in the political arena.

Perhaps everyone has two sides, one is an angel and the other is a devil.