Moscow, Kremlin

Just as Aiden and Rattenau hurriedly embarked on their way home with Chang Ruiqing's reply, the great leader of the world revolution was thrillingly shaking hands with the French guests, and said fluently in French: "Welcome Mr. Renault and General Charles de Gaulle to visit Moscow. Your arrival will reopen the long-severe great friendship between France and Russia."

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for taking the time to meet us in his busy schedule. President Lebron and Prime Minister Daraday have always attached great importance to developing relations with the Soviet Union and hope to mediate the conflict between the Soviet Union and Britain, Germany and China."

The speaker was Paul Renault, the current Minister of Defense of the Daraday coalition government. Although he was a right-wing politician, he always regarded Germany as a major concern for France and firmly opposed France's attack on the Soviet Union with Germany, so he became an old friend of the Soviet people. After the news of the Chamberlain Hitler Agreement was confirmed, Renault immediately came to Moscow to visit Syria (France Trustee) at the first time, and the one who accompanied him to visit the Soviet Union was his friend, Major General Charles de Gaulle, the deputy chief of the French Army.

"Mediation conflict?" Trotsky couldn't help but mock the French innocence in his heart. He had never thought about joining France. After all, the French were very close to Kolchak and Krenzky, and they kept placing the debts of the former Tsarist Russian government and insisted on repaying them. However, after reading the copy of the Chamberlain Hitler Agreement sent by the British GCD, he realized that the two imperialist countries of Britain were going to take serious action this time, so he instructed the representatives in Paris to step up contact with France. He hoped to form an anti-German alliance with France and gather the strength of France and the Soviet Union to deal with Germany. At this time, Renault's visit was exactly what Trotsky wanted. However, the French's ideas seemed a little unrealistic. He made him feel a little embarrassed and didn't know how to answer for a while, so he looked at Livinov and Tukhachevsky around him.

The new Soviet People's Commissar Maxim Livinov is a fat Jew. He is one of the few senior officials in the Soviet GCD who does not agree to go to war with the entire capitalist world at the same time. However, he did not lose Trotsky's trust because this red diplomat is a famous "honest man". He never conceals his views and even tells the truth in person. Such a quality may be very dangerous if he is placed on an ordinary Soviet citizen. But in the core of Soviet power, such a "honest man" still has a place. After all, Trotsky doesn't want anyone around him to tell the truth, right?

Moreover, although Livinov was honest, his diplomatic talent was no worse than his ex-Checellin, who was good at playing brain teasers. His diplomatic style was to say one thing, two things, not be clever, nor do he use any flashy diplomatic wisdom. However, he was extremely tough on the issue of principle. Seeing Trotsky's wink, the honest man Livinov coughed gently and took over the question: "Mr. Reno, you just said that President Lebron and Prime Minister Daraday wanted to mediate the current war? So is there any feasible plan?"

Renault looked at Charles de Gaulle, who took out a document from his briefcase. Livinov took the document, looked at it in ten lines, immediately handed it over to Trotsky, and then whispered to him in Russian. It turned out that this was a letter drafted in the name of French Prime Minister Daradhi, which proposed a peace plan. It required the Soviet army to withdraw from the British colonies and spheres of influence in exchange for Britain to withdraw from the current war. However, it did not mention Nordic, Balkans and Turkey, nor how the war between the Soviet Union and China and Germany should end. Renault met Tuo

Lotsky looked extremely serious. He breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and said, "Britain withdrawal from the war is only the first step to achieving peace. Without the support of Britain, China and Germany believe that they will adopt a more pragmatic attitude. Especially Germany... They have obtained Austria, Czechoslovakia, and control Hungary and part of Romania. They should be satisfied with the status quo. As long as our country and Britain jointly come forward to exert pressure, they believe that peace in Europe can be achieved quickly. In this way, the Soviet Union can concentrate its efforts to solve the challenges faced in Asia..."

After listening to the prospect depicted by Renault, Trotsky's thoughts suddenly became active. The current situation has shown that the Soviet Union has no power to defeat Britain, Germany and China at the same time. If he can first cease the war with Britain and Germany, and then concentrate his efforts to deal with China, he may have the opportunity to achieve his established goals! Thinking of this, his eyes involuntarily looked at Tukhachevsky.

Tukhachevsky frowned. He also knew that this war was a bit difficult to fight. But he did not believe that Britain would withdraw from the war as long as it took back the colonies of the Middle East and India, and he did not believe that Germany would give up its ambition to expand eastward. If Renault had come a month earlier, Daradi would have succeeded in his letter. But now, the conditions for the elimination and division of the Soviet Union have probably agreed on the conditions for the eradication and division of the Soviet Union. How could it be that the Soviet Union would disband because of the Soviet Union's concessions? Maybe once the Soviet Union retreated, the arrogance of the British, German and Chinese would be even more arrogant!

Seeing Tukhachevsky not speaking, Trotsky understood that he was not optimistic about France's mediation. To be honest, if you think about it carefully, it is indeed a bit of a joke. Now it is a world war, not a house! Britain and Germany have finally gained some advantage. How could they stop because of the Soviet Union's temporary retreat and then watch the Soviet Union liberate China? If the United Kingdom rebels after taking back India and the Middle East colonies, the Soviet Union will not even cry!

Trotsky smoked a cigar hard, and the white smoke drifted away in circles, and in a short while it made the living room smoke storm. Livinov and Tukhachevsky, who were familiar with Trotsky, knew that the revolutionary prophet was hesitating. Although he did not believe in reconciliation with England and Germany, he hoped to win over France, a potential ally. Sure enough, Trotsky slowly put down the document, put away the hesitant look in his eyes, and asked faintly: "Mr. Renault, if we agree to retreat from Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Neizhi, Hanzhi and other areas, France is very sure to bring Britain back to the road to peace?"

This sentence disappointed Renault for a long time. It seemed that Trotsky was unwilling to give up India! India was the pearl in the crown of the British Empire. If Britain still wanted to regain its former prestige, it would never give up. However, in addition to disappointment, Renault also knew that his trip to the Soviet Union must achieve results, because the Chamberlain Hitler Agreement clearly stipulated that Britain would not participate in the struggle between France and Germany! In other words, Britain had abandoned France and "wholeheartedly" to form an alliance with Germany.

If Britain cannot be brought back to France, France's security can only be guaranteed through cooperation between Russia and Germany. Although the Soviet Union is an evil GCist country, it is the only force that can restrain Germany. Once the Soviet Union perishes, France will absolutely be impossible to fight against the German Empire that occupied the entire Central and Eastern Europe!

"Mr. Reno, I think you came to Moscow thousands of miles away not just to mediate this world war, right?" This is Livinov's speech. It's the kind of truth-telling style, not at all. "Did France want to cooperate with the Soviet Union to establish an alliance aimed at opposing Germany's aggression and expansion? Faced with Germany, which has re-emerged as a world power and has once again embarked on the path of imperialism, should our two countries work together as they did in history?"

Seeing the other party's direct proposal to join forces to fight against Germany, Renault no longer hid anything, but nodded seriously and said: "Carculating Germany is indeed France's consistent national policy. But France is a democratic country. Moreover, the French people have always cherished peace and will not take up weapons until the last moment."

"But now is the best time!" Tukhachevsky suddenly interrupted: "All the Germans' forces are on the Eastern Front to deal with us, and there are only symbolic troops on the Western Front. You have 1.5 million to 2 million well-equipped troops, as well as at least 15 armored divisions and 2,000 aircraft with excellent performance. With just one sudden attack, France can eliminate the danger in its infancy!"

Renault's face changed a few times, and he turned his head to look at Charles de Gaulle. This tall and somewhat bizarre deputy chief of the Army made the same suggestion to him. Since Germany will fight against France sooner or later, why can't France take the initiative first?

Renault scratched his head. France is not a proletarian dictatorship like the Soviet Union. It is not something that Prime Minister Daraday can decide if he discusses it with him. It is necessary to follow the parliamentary procedure, and the parliament must consider the public opinion and the wishes of big capitalists. Obviously, the former is unwilling to fight, while the latter is unwilling to help the Soviet Union eliminate Germany. So he could only look at Trotsky with regret: "Mr. Chairman, although the knowledgeable people in France have already realized the threat of Germany, launching a war is not France's choice now. We hope to take a containment method... I believe that restoring the traditional friendship between France and Russia is the best way to deal with Germany."

Trotsky nodded. This was indeed the only feasible solution at present. As long as the war between the Soviet Union was still in a state of equal strength, France would not be able to join the Soviet Union on the side of the Soviet Union. Even if the Soviet Union was at a disadvantage, France would not join the war immediately, but would adopt some methods to aid the Soviet Union to balance the situation. Such aid was also urgently needed by the Soviet Union, but he still wanted to get a guarantee from the French to join the war. So he asked: "Mr. Renault, what if France's containment measures did not work? Germany's power was becoming stronger and stronger during this period... According to the information we have, just last week, 200,000 fully armed German troops entered Sweden, forcing this country that had been neutral for 120 years to board the German chariot."

"But the Soviet Union occupied Finland before the German army entered Sweden!" Renault's face turned a little yellow. "Sir, as far as I know, your country's attack on Finland is the main reason why the Chamberlain Hitler Agreement was signed." His tone was solemn, obviously with some dissatisfaction.

"We were forced into Finland." Trotsky sighed and said, "We have received information that the Finnish warlord Mannheim had reached a secret agreement with Germany and was preparing to participate in the war in 1935 and cooperate with the German army to attack Leningrad."

"This is just a rumor!" Renault shook his head. There are really many such rumors in Europe now! Recently, there are rumors that Hitler is preparing to support the pro-Germany Spanish royalist party and the spear party to rebellion and overthrow the republican regime, and is also preparing to sign a secret treaty aimed at opposing France... Can France send troops to Spain and Italy for this? He sighed: "France hopes that there will not be a second 'Finland incident', otherwise the French government will find it difficult to convince the public to accept friends like the Soviet Union."

"There will be no second Finnish incident. I promise." Trotsky looked at the two Frenchmen with his hands overlapping. "But I also want to remind France that the Germans are very powerful, and our power is restrained by Britain and China. There is no power to take the initiative on the Pod battlefield. Perhaps... the Germans will first consider solving the worries of France!" As soon as he finished speaking, a Kremlin official in military uniform hurried in and leaned over to Trotsky's ear and said something. The latter's face changed slightly, and he immediately stood up and smiled apologetically at the French guest: "Some small troubles need to be dealt with immediately. Let's talk about it later." After that, he left with Tukhachevsky and Livinov.

Looking at Trotsky's back as he left, Renault sighed: "It seems that the Soviets do not want real peace, nor do they want to give up the interests they have obtained." De Gaulle nodded. Germany wants to dominate Europe. The Soviet Union wants to liberate all mankind. Both are enemies of France, just one is a little farther away and the other is a little closer.

Thinking of this, Charles de Gaulle leaned into Renault's ear and whispered: "Mr. Minister, should we go to Washington after the trip to the Soviet Union end?"

...

Washington, White House, Oval Office.

General MacArthur, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, was shocked when he saw Franklin Roosevelt sitting in a wheelchair. The president, who won the election in a wheelchair and governed the United States in an orderly manner and successfully brought the country into war, looked so haggard and tired today. His tall and burly body shrank weakly into the wheelchair, without any gaze in his eyes. He also gave people a drowsy feeling. Standing next to him was the new US Navy Secretary of Operations William Lai.

General Xi is very familiar with the former. He is one of the most outstanding naval officers in the United States. He is not tall, has a blue face, a thin lips as thin as paper, and has two large eyes slightly sunken. He looks a little funny with two thick and short eyebrows. The latter is President Roosevelt's confidant and has little interaction with professional officers like MacArthur. Now his face is also ugly. I wonder if there is any bad news coming?

"Hello!" The president shook hands with MacArthur listlessly. His hands were very cold and a little wet. This was obviously a sign of poor health. "Harry, tell General MacArthur the latest news." Roosevelt looked at the Chief of Staff of the US Army and smiled bitterly: "It's very bad news, the worst since the United States joined the war."

MacArthur, who was startled by Roosevelt's words, quickly turned his head to look at the short Hopkins. Hopkins sighed: "The British Empire has given up their pride and dreams... Last week, Chamberlain and Hitler held a secret meeting in Berlin to reach a "Chamberlain Hitler Agreement". Britain recognizes Germany's hegemony in the European continent! Three days ago, British Foreign Minister Aiden and German Foreign Minister Rattenau negotiated with Chinese Prime Minister Chang Ruiqing in Nanjing. It is believed that China, Britain and Germany have reached an agreement to divide the Soviet Union and jointly lead the world!"

MacArthur was stunned for a moment. He didn't know what this news meant to the United States. So he looked at his old friend William Lexi. The US Navy's global vision must be greater than that of the US Army, which is similar to the militia. William Lexi explained with a wry smile: "It should have been the United States and Britain to sign an agreement to divide the world, but now it has been taken the lead by China and Germany."

"Does China, Britain and Germany plan to divide the world with the United States on their backs?" MacArthur seemed to understand a little. How could the world be divided without the participation of the United States? It's really my aunt and uncle can't bear it anymore!

Roosevelt sighed and stroked his thin layer of gray hair with his hands. The direction of the world war was obviously beyond his expectations. After the unrealistic fantasy of maintaining world hegemony, Britain actually reached a compromise with the two imperialist countries of China and Germany! This means that after the end of the world war, the colonial system will not only not collapse, but will also be further strengthened! This is very unfavorable for the development of the United States... Moreover, the combination of China, Britain and Germany is enough to suppress the United States. What is even more troublesome is that due to the war with Japan, it is difficult for the United States to establish an alliance or partnership between the United States and the Soviet Union. The American people will not agree to the government to provide assistance to Japan's "master"! So the United States seems to be able to watch itself be excluded from the game of world power reshuffle, unless the Sino-British and Germany alliance suffered a heavy blow in the war...

"Admiral," Roosevelt looked at MacArthur and said, "The United States cannot be excluded from the new order of the future world...I want you to travel to Paris, Berlin and London with Harry before the Berlin Conference officially begins." The president paused and strengthened his tone: "Admiral, your task is to comprehensively examine the army strength of France and Germany. I want to know, if France and Russia join forces, what will Germany have a chance of winning?" (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!