Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

Chapter 286 France Surrenders

At the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, there once appeared a tragic figure named Xia Gui. This man had been a soldier all his life and devoted himself to the cause of resisting the Yuan Dynasty. He was a great hero with great military exploits.

However, when he was 79 years old, he was captured and demoted. His surrender led to the complete defeat of the entire Song army, and the Han nation "lost the world" for the first time.

However, Xia Gui died after only four years of surrender. People at that time wrote poems to ridicule him: "You are eighty-three years old, why not seventy-nine. Oh, Xia Xianggong, your name will be immortal forever." It means that Xia Xianggong, you have lived so many years, just to live for four more years, you have given up for nothing. You have earned the label of a traitor, what are you trying to do?

Coincidentally, in the history of the world, there is also such a "traitor" who makes people wonder what he is after.

This person is Henri-Philippe Pétain, the famous French "traitor".

On August 14, 1945, France sentenced Pétain to death for treason. The reason why he ended up like this was because, like Xia Xianggong, he was "unprotected in the late festival".

The life of Pétain fully illustrates the meaning of "the best is yet to come." As a professional soldier, this man joined the army at the age of 20, but remained unknown in the army for more than 30 years. Until the age of 58, he was only a small colonel.

However, just when Pétain was about to complete the retirement procedures, his originally smooth life trajectory suddenly took a sharp curve.

The First World War broke out in 1914. With his outstanding record, Pétain was rocket-promoted from regimental commander to corps commander.

At the age of 60, he commanded the famous Battle of Verdun, in which he successfully defeated the German offensive plan of "let the French bleed dry". After this battle, in view of the French media's vigorous publicity and craze, Pétain suddenly became a hero crazily worshiped by people across the country. In subsequent battles, Pétain repeatedly performed extraordinary feats. By the end of World War I, he had become Commander-in-Chief of the French Army and Marshal of the Republic.

If Pétain faded out of the stage of history during the "long truce period" between World War I and World War II, he could become the most respected national hero in French history like Napoleon and De Gaulle.

However, God was surprisingly kind (or cruel) to Pétain. The old man was still in his eighties and still had a strong spirit, so he witnessed the outbreak of World War II. This time, the Germans came back even more vigorously and wiped out France in one go with a blitzkrieg.

At this time, the performance of the hero of World War I, Pétain, was astonishing. He became the Prime Minister of France at the last moment when France was about to be defeated, led France to surrender to Germany, and later became the "head of state" of the pro-German "Vichy Government". Germany managed France humiliatingly for five years and made itself infamous.

After the end of World War II, Pétain was rightfully found out as a traitor, and was sentenced to death for treason by the French Supreme Court amidst the public scorn.

At this time, this "traitor" was sitting in the spacious office, silently staring at the paper on the table. That was a reply from the envoy to Germany brought in by the secretary more than an hour ago. It was the Germans, or to be more precise, the reply from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Germany.

The thing that really impressed me about Germany's intelligence capabilities was the defection of de Gaulle. If we go by time, as soon as de Gaulle got on the plane, Crown Prince Yannick of Germany had already mentioned the matter to the special envoy.

Crown Prince Yannick seems to suspect that French high-level officials are hedging their bets, so that no matter which side wins in the future, France's strength and status can be preserved to a large extent?

Pétain could have sworn to God that he really hated De Gaulle from the bottom of his heart. Not only him, but many military officers were dissatisfied with this militant faction who had serious pro-British tendencies. None of them was willing to accept de Gaulle's suggestion to flee to England and continue fighting with British support after France's total defeat. This guy even naively believed that aid from the United States would arrive soon, dragging this war into what it was like during World War I.

He pushed de Gaulle out of the government as soon as Prime Minister Paul Reynaud resigned and was replaced by Pétain. Not only that, he also sent people to monitor de Gaulle to prevent him from causing any trouble at the upcoming armistice.

Because Pétain knew that this war was completely different from the last one. The last time it was fought on other people's land or on already barren land, France could afford it, but what about now? ? Where can they fight? ? Paris? Lyon? Sharon? Dijon? Rouen? If we continue to fight in these places for a few years, what will France be left with even if we win?

But he never expected that this bastard de Gaulle would take the opportunity to see off the British envoy Spears at the airport and jump on the British plane that was already taxiing on the runway. The French officials who were accompanying him were all dumbfounded when they saw this scene. They were at a loss and could only stare at the plane flying further and further away.

After all, it is rare to openly flee in a diplomatic setting.

Pétain believed that he was not one of those cunning politicians, nor was he a political idiot. Of course, he understood that the risk of hedging his bets was that he was not a human being inside or outside.

And he also has his own analysis of the current and post-war world structure.

For example, if the United States really wins in the future with the help of the United States, if the U.S. government does not plan to support France to balance Britain and the Soviet Union, then it will designate the puppet France as the orthodox dynasty in French history. De Gaulle's government in exile cannot represent France, and then France will be defeated. country treatment.

If Germany wins, and if the Germans do not plan to support the puppet France, they can also insist that de Gaulle's government-in-exile is the French orthodoxy.

So the key is that you have to prove your worth to the most powerful victorious nation, and giving you the status of victorious nation will be beneficial to it. Otherwise, if you bet on both sides, no matter who wins, he or she may take advantage of the enemy.

A sudden knock on the door woke the old man who was deep in thought. "Come in."

The secretary came in. His face was not very good, and he hesitated before reporting. "Marshal...Your Excellency Prime Minister, Charles de Gaulle is giving a speech in the UK."

De Gaulle? Petain also wants to hear what this damn bastard wants to do! "Turn on the radio."

As soon as de Gaulle landed, he was immediately taken to the Prime Minister's Office. British Prime Minister Churchill personally received him, promised to fund him on the spot to organize a resistance movement, and allowed him to give a speech on the radio.

"I tell you that France has not been defeated. One day we will turn defeat into victory by the same means that have defeated us now. I, General de Gaulle, am delivering a radio address from London. I appeal to the present or future French officers and soldiers who have come to British soil, whether they still hold weapons or not, please contact me; I appeal to technicians or skilled workers who have the skills to make weapons, whether they are currently or will come to British soil in the future, to contact me. No matter what happens , we will not allow the French war of resistance to be extinguished, and the French war of resistance will never be extinguished!!"

Listening to the impassioned voices of the defectors on the radio, Petain's hands were shaking with anger, and he wanted to pull de Gaulle out of the radio and stomp on him.

This bastard is going to push France into despair! !

After finally calming down the anger in his heart, he ordered hoarsely. "Telegraph the special envoy that we agree to all the conditions proposed by Germany."

France was defeated this time, but defeat also had its benefits. The rapid defeat allowed France to retain its flesh and blood, stabilize the situation, and exit this world war in the fastest and easiest way. This is for the French people. That doesn't seem to be bad news.

Yannick received the French envoy in his office. He nodded slightly after hearing the French envoy's words. "Marshal Pétain really made a wise decision. The French people will be grateful to him after we conquer Britain."

"Miss Anne, I want to convene a military meeting. I also inform Reinhard that the 'Queen Operation' can be carried out at any time. In addition, I will inform His Majesty of the news and ask him if he wants to come to participate in the surrender ceremony." If according to the life span of the original time and space, Wilhelm II would die in just over a year. But looking at the photos he sent back last time, he looked pretty good. He was carefree by his lover's side, and maybe he might live longer than before.

"Your Highness is here!"

"Everyone stand up! Salute!!"

Following the command, countless arms stood up in the huge conference room.

"Hi! Hohenzollern."

"Hi! Hohenzollern."

"Hi! Hohenzollern."

The deafening sound of greetings filled the office, but unlike usual, today's greetings did not mean to stop, each one was louder than the last. Of course Yannick knew that they were using this to express their respect for him and the joy of victory.

He raised his hand and suppressed the crowd several times before the voice gradually subsided.

"Congratulations, my highness. France, which failed to conquer for four years in the last war, this time lowered their proud heads in less than two months under your wise leadership. This is the first time in German history. Unprecedented glory and great victory, your achievements will go down in history." Rundstedt said loudly with excitement and joy on his face.

Yannick smiled slightly. "Everyone, what I want to say is that Poland and France are just our warm-up battles. The real war has only begun now."

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like