Reborn in Hong Kong: The Tycoon Grows Up

At this time, Paris is waiting for news from the front line. Although deep down, it is believed that the French army will easily win; but before the results come out, it is inevitable to worry. War is not a game, there are too many uncertainties; in addition, this is an important moment for France to promote strong force, and there must not be any problems.

Not only the uranium mine in Niger, but also the entire Africa; losing Africa means what it means to France; no one knows it better than the top French officials.

Mitterrand personally came to the Ministry of Defense just to get the news as soon as possible so that he could make the next decision.

At this time, the battle report about the front line finally came back; after seeing the data, the Minister of Defense almost fainted from anger. Today is not April Fools' Day, and there is no room for jokes in war.

What kind of weapons and equipment did the Nigeriens use to shoot down more than 200 of the world's most advanced fighter jets? It's simply incomprehensible. The frontline would definitely not dare to joke about the battle report, and then things would become difficult; someone must be held responsible for this matter.

After Mitterrand saw the telegram, he was also confused. You must know that he is also a soldier and served in the army during World War II. He does not have a clear understanding of the situation of the Niger army and the comparison of strengths between the two sides, but he has a basic understanding. France's military strength definitely has the advantage of crushing its opponent; who can explain what is happening now?

Mitterrand said with a serious expression: "Call General Jacques on the front line and ask him to report in detail."

The losses on the first day of the war were so heavy, so how to fight the next battle; whether France can bear it, all need to be considered in advance.

General Jacques is already waiting for news. It's not that he doesn't want to take the initiative to call the country; it's that he wants to give the president and the defense minister time to think. At the same time, he is ready to return to the country to report on his duties.

After the call was connected, Mitterrand said directly: "General Jacques; I need an explanation!"

Mitterrand had a lot of experience and had already reached the point where he could express his emotions and anger; it was very rare for him to speak so seriously at this moment. Everyone familiar with it knows that the president was very angry at this time, but the way he vented his emotions was different from ordinary people!

Admiral Jacques said directly without any hesitation: "Everything is my responsibility. There was no investigation before the war; Niger obtained a large number of Soviet-made Sam-14 individual air defense missiles."

"My instinct is that the Nigeriens only have a few anti-aircraft guns, and even if they have missiles; they won't be many."

"The pilots who came back alive from the front line have reported to me that there are a lot of two missiles and they are very skillful in operation; the Soviet Union should be directly involved."

The French will definitely not be able to accept being defeated by the Niger army; now they put all the responsibilities on Lao Maozi. Even if they feel unhappy, they can at least seek some comfort!

If the Soviet Union strongly supports it, then things will become difficult to handle!

Mitterrand thought for a moment and said: "Admiral Jacques, what else do you want to say?"

After hearing this, everyone immediately understood what it meant; someone must be responsible for this defeat, as the frontline commander; no one is more suitable than General Jacques. After all, the loss was so heavy that it would be impossible for the French Air Force to recover in just a few years.

Knowing that he could not escape what was coming, Admiral Jacques said without hesitation: "I am willing to take responsibility for this defeat."

Just be willing to take the blame, and it will save you a lot of trouble.

Mitterrand said very seriously: "It is now decided to relieve General Jacques from his position as frontline commander; he will stay in Algeria as a military adviser and continue to serve the country."

"At the same time, Lieutenant General Andre was appointed as the frontline commander and we will continue to work hard; I don't want to see what happened today."

As long as you can stay on the front line, it doesn't matter what position you hold; Lieutenant General Andre is the deputy commander-in-chief of the front line, and no one is more suitable than him to take over. Sending one from the mainland rashly will not solve the actual problem at all. There has been no war for so many years. There is really no clear judgment as to who is stronger.

The least expected result happened; France would fall into a protracted war. But there is no turning back when the bow is fired; France is already being roasted on the fire, and retreat is no longer possible; to be precise, there is no way out!

Mitterrand was not idle either, ordering domestic military industrial enterprises to speed up production while coordinating war funds. Since victory cannot be achieved in a short period of time, capital must be consumed.

But there is one more thing that must be done, and that is to warn the Soviet Union. If it continues to strongly support Niger, then I am sorry; it is reasonable for France to make decisions that are harmful to the Soviet Union.

The Soviet ambassador, who had long known the battle report, was summoned by French President Mitterrand; he naturally knew what the other party wanted to do. It hurt from being beaten, otherwise I wouldn't be so anxious.

But that's fine, we can take the opportunity to put forward some conditions that are beneficial to the Soviet Union.

The top priority is to appease the Soviets. Mitterrand was very polite when he met him just now. He said with a smile: "Your Excellency, Ambassador, long time no see. You should get used to living in Paris these days!"

Although the Soviet Union was a powerful country, its ambassadors in European countries were not very popular. When did the always arrogant French speak so politely? It seemed like he was really hurt by the beating. Know the superior performance of Soviet weapons and equipment and the strength of the country.

As a diplomat, he has received formal training before; Mitterrand is also the president of France after all, so he must give him the face he deserves!

The Soviet ambassador smiled and said: "Paris is a beautiful city, and the environment is much better than at home; but now I feel a little uncomfortable returning to the Soviet Union!"

As a world-famous city, Paris is much more famous than Moscow; as for the climate and environment, there is no comparison between the two sides, but there is no exaggeration or compliment!

After the two sides complimented each other a few times, Mitterrand suddenly changed the subject and said with a serious expression: "Your Excellency, Ambassador, Niger innocently detained and tried the French; and tore up all the contracts previously signed with France; I believe you should know."

"France had no choice but to use force against Niger, but what is very surprising today is that a large number of missiles produced by your country appeared in Niger."

"It was these missiles that caused the French Air Force to suffer very heavy losses. However, in the international arms trade, the Soviet Union did not sell any weapons and equipment to Niger; I hope you can give me an explanation."

Hearing Mitterrand's words, although the Soviet ambassador was disdainful, he still admired him very much in his heart. He did have the demeanor of a general. More than 200 fighter jets were shot down by Niger, and he was able to pass them by in an understatement; ordinary people would never be able to do this.

Not to mention France, even if the United States and the Soviet Union suffered such huge losses, they would probably feel pain for a long time.

The Soviet ambassador thought for a moment and said: "The Soviet Union has indeed not directly sold any weapons and equipment to Niger. Therefore, we are not aware of the presence of Soviet weapons in Niger."

"I want to know what kind of weapons and equipment it is, and report it to the country; find out the cause, and then I can give an explanation to the President."

If it is clearly a shirk, the Soviets will not know; the small number may be understandable. But with such a large number of heavy weapons, equipment and missiles, they still pretend not to know; they are simply treating the French as fools.

But now that we are asking for help from the Soviet Union, it is not easy to fall out in person; even acting has to be like that.

Mitterrand thought for a moment and said: "It's mainly the Sam 14 individual air defense missile; I hope the Soviet Union can give a reasonable explanation."

"In addition, France is currently carrying out military attacks on Niger, and we hope that the Soviet Union will not intervene; let alone send any weapons and equipment to Niger."

Seeing the unhappy expression on the Soviet ambassador's face, Mitterrand naturally knew what was going on.

With France's current strength, it is okay to scare small countries; threatening the Soviet Union is overestimating its capabilities. But now the problem must be solved from the source, and Niger cannot be allowed to obtain any weapons and equipment.

For Lao Maozi, we still have to try our best to appease him.

Mitterrand continued: "Your Excellency Ambassador, France has withdrawn from NATO in order not to be an enemy of the Soviet Union."

"I hope the Soviet Union will also show enough sincerity. Only in this way can the European continent be more harmonious. In addition, the two sides can cooperate in some cutting-edge fields; there is no need to treat each other as enemies."

If the Soviet Union does not agree, it will have to rejoin NATO; fortunately, it has already received instructions from Moscow before coming here, so there is no need to rush!

The Soviet ambassador said very seriously: "I will report France's sincerity to the country; there are not many conflicts of interest between the Soviet Union and France; therefore, they will never do anything that harms the diplomatic relations between the two countries."

"As for weapons and equipment, they will be strictly controlled; your Excellency, the President, can rest assured!"