diymy Chapter 733 "Tearing Apart" in Diplomatic Relations
Chapter 733 "Tearing Apart" in Diplomatic Relations
Clemenceau stared at him: "Rest? You've withdrawn battle-hardened veterans and left behind fresh recruits. You've transferred your elite troops away, leaving us with the weakest lines of defense—is that what you call rest?"
Gray didn't say anything.
Clemenceau continued, "Moreover, you didn't just start evacuating today. You began on January 31st, and by today you've evacuated 150,000 people. Where are those 150,000 people now?"
Gray remained silent.
Clemenceau sneered: "In the Mediterranean, perhaps? On the ship to Egypt?"
Gray finally spoke, his voice very soft: "Mr. Prime Minister, Britain's military deployments do not need to be explained to France."
Clemenceau's eyes narrowed.
"No need to explain to the French? Sir Grey, we fought in the same trenches for three years. Our soldiers bled together, starved together, and died together from German shells. And now you're telling me there's no need to explain?"
Gray looked at him, a complex look flashing in his eyes.
After a few seconds of silence, Gray spoke.
This time, his voice lacked the politeness of a diplomat, replaced by a cold calm.
"Mr. Prime Minister, as far as I know, the French have also sent people to Dubai."
Clemenceau's expression changed instantly.
Gray continued, "How long did Mr. Laval stay in Dubai? What agreement did he sign with Chen Feng? London knows all of this too."
The office fell into a deathly silence.
Clemenceau stood there, motionless.
Gray straightened his collar, his voice regaining its diplomatic politeness, but that politeness was even more unpleasant than his previous harshness.
"Mr. Prime Minister, Britain and France are allies. But even allies need to be frank. If France can have its own 'overall considerations,' why can't Britain?"
He bowed slightly.
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."
He turned and walked towards the door.
As he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Clemenceau.
"Mr. Prime Minister, I wish you all the best."
After the door closed, Clemenceau plopped down in a chair.
He stared at the closed door for a long time.
Pi Xiong stepped out from the corner and said softly, "Prime Minister..."
Clemenceau waved his hand.
"Get out. Leave me alone for a while."
Pi Xiong hesitated for a moment, then turned and left.
The door closed again.
Clemenceau sat there alone, looking out at the gray sky.
He recalled three years earlier, when the war had just broken out. At that time, Britain and France stood side by side, vowing to fight together to victory. The British Prime Minister then said that the Anglo-French alliance was unbreakable.
unbreakable.
He gave a wry smile.
In the distance, the church bells rang. Once, twice, three times—it was three in the afternoon.
He stood up and walked to the window.
Outside the window, on the streets of Paris, several women dressed in black mourning clothes walked slowly by. They were the mothers of fallen soldiers, widows, women who had lost their sons.
He looked at them and suddenly felt very tired.
After three years of fighting and millions of deaths, allies are now turning against each other.
When will this end?
he does not know.
All he knew was that from this day forward, Britain and France were no longer the same Britain and France they had been before.
At the same time, on the French front.
Pan Xing sat in the command post, a thick stack of reports in front of him. These were the handover records of positions sent by various units over the past few days.
The British troops withdrew from the 3rd Division's position, and the 1st Division of the Merika took over the defense.
The British troops withdrew from the 5th Division's position, and the 2nd Division of the Meilika Division took over the defense.
The British troops withdrew from the 7th Division's position, and the 3rd Division of the Ryukyu Islands took over the defense.
The British troops withdrew from the 10th Division's position, and the 4th Division of the Ryukyu Islands took over the defense.
……
He stared at it for a long time, then looked up at Chief of Staff Hubbard.
"Hubbard, have you calculated how many men the British evacuated?"
Hubbard took a statistical table out of his briefcase.
"General, from January 31st to today, the British have withdrawn at least twelve divisions, 180,000 men. On the Merika side, seven divisions, 100,000 men, have arrived. They've all been deployed."
Pershing remained silent for a few seconds.
"180,000 people. Hubbard, where do you think the British went with so many people?"
Hubbard shook his head: "I don't know. But it's definitely not a rest day."
Pershing stood up and walked to the window.
Outside the window, soldiers in the Merika were training in the trenches. Some were clumsily learning how to use bayonets, some were practicing throwing grenades, and some were gathered together listening to officers explain the key points of position defense.
They worked very hard. But they lacked experience.
Pan Xing recalled his first time on the battlefield when he was young. At that time, he thought he knew everything, but when the first shell landed, he was so scared that his legs went weak. If it weren't for the old soldier next to him pulling him up, he might have been dead.
These young people will also experience the same fears.
But the question is, will they still be alive after they've experienced the fear?
"Hubbard," he suddenly asked, "do you know why the British withdrew?"
Hubbard thought for a moment: "Because Miracle is here, they feel they can finally breathe a sigh of relief?"
Pershing shook his head.
"It's not a relief. It's that they're going to fight somewhere else."
He turned to look at Hubbard.
"Do you remember what President Wilson said?"
Hubbard paused for a moment: "The president has said a lot, you mean—"
Pershing's voice was very soft: "The British used so many underhanded tricks to get Melika into the war."
Hubbard's expression changed.
Pershing continued, "The Lusitania incident, those so-called reports of German atrocities, those beautiful young men from America who joined the army at the instigation of the British propaganda machine—do you think any of that is true?"
Hubbard did not speak.
Pershing walked to the map and pointed to the front lines in northern France.
"Look, the British have withdrawn their most elite veterans, leaving us with their weakest lines of defense. If the Germans attack now, how many of the Merika will die?"
Hubbard fell silent.
Pershing turned to look at him.
"So, from now on, remember one thing."
"What is it?"
"Don't believe a word the British say."
Hubbard was stunned: "General, you mean—"
Pershing did not answer. He looked at the young soldiers outside the window with a complicated expression.
"Hubbard, you know what? I received a letter yesterday."
"letter?"
"It was my wife who wrote it. She said she saw in the newspaper that the British were grateful for Merika's aid. They thanked us for sending troops to save Europe."
He gave a cold laugh.
"Save Europe? We're here to take the bullets for the British."
In the distance, the sound of artillery fire rang out again. It was the routine shelling of the German army, muffled and distant.
Listening to the sound of cannon fire, Pershing suddenly asked, "Hubbard, do you think the Germans know the British have withdrawn?"
Hubbard shook his head: "They probably don't know. Our positions are full, everyone's here."
Pershing nodded.
"That's good. At least for now, the Germans don't know."
He walked back to his desk and sat down.
"Order all units to strengthen their vigilance. We can't rely on the British; we have to rely on ourselves."
Hubbard nodded: "Yes!"
He turned to leave, but Pershing called him back.
"etc."
Hubbard stopped.
Pershing paused for a few seconds, then said, "Tell the division commanders that if—I mean if—the Germans really attack, don't count on the British. They won't come back."
Hubbard was stunned.
"General, what should we do?"
Pershing looked at him.
"What to do? Fight. Even if we can't win, we have to fight. We are soldiers of the Meilika Army, not cannon fodder to take the fall for the British."