Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 129 Let Farlan negotiate on his own!

Churchill cast what he considered to be an extremely sincere look at the Emperor.

As a citizen of the British Empire who grew up in the British Isles and under the glory of the kingdom, Churchill believed that what he had just said was entirely in line with the needs of the empire.

Admittedly, it would not be respectable to suggest that the Empire temporarily halt its attacks.

Regardless of the country, the military will choose to reduce its forces during the crucial period of winter.

After all, large-scale mobilization consumes a lot of food and supplies, and in winter they cannot harvest the materials needed to wage war as steadily as in spring and autumn.

Throughout history, no war has ever been more devastating than this.

Therefore, Churchill was almost certain that the Empire would agree to postpone the attack, because they must have already planned to stop the attack, and they would never refuse such a favor.

However, the way of agreeing may change slightly.

It was precisely because Churchill was able to foresee this that he expressed his strong approval of the Kingdom's urgent need for the Empire to defend its territory at this time.

The matter concerning Verdun was decided long ago.

Churchill himself, Asquith, and even the King of the United Kingdom, who had only learned of the request a few days earlier, all believed that it would certainly satisfy the Empire to some extent.

Inside the parliament hall.

Churchill looked at the Emperor.

Before the sound of the blows stopped, Churchill pressed his hand to his chest—his pocket watch was separated from his hand by a piece of clothing.

The ticking of the clock sent a jolt through his palm, a reminder of the passage of time, but his mind was far from calm.

Why hasn't the emperor agreed yet?
Several minutes had passed, but the outcome that Churchill and the Royal Cabinet had hoped for had not yet materialized.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, the back of his neck, and his back.

Churchill could also see out of the corner of his eye that Asquith and the King were clenching and unclenching their fists from time to time.

Clearly, they were no less relaxed than Churchill.

But the emperor still showed no sign of responding.

Is something wrong?
Or was there some condition that displeased the empire?
Churchill's mind raced, exhausting all possibilities, each based on his understanding of the empire's interests, but each answer was inevitably one of agreement, with no reason to refuse.

This isn't right.

Churchill's heart began to pound uncontrollably.

It was at this moment that the emperor's expression changed.

He finally shifted his gaze from King George V of the United Kingdom and looked at Churchill.

That was the sharp gaze of a true soldier, a true imperial soldier.

But there was no superfluous emotion in it.

All Churchill could feel was an unstoppable chill.

That gaze lingered on Churchill's face for a long time, and Churchill almost felt suffocated by it.

Then, I looked away.

Caesar of the Empire turned his attention to Renn, who was standing in front of the podium.

After a while, he looked away.

He looked directly at the king again and said, "I am only the emperor of the empire, not the commander of the empire's army."

“My dear Mr. Winston, the conditions you just proposed are all matters within the jurisdiction of the military. As the Emperor, I have no right to intervene.”

"The only military matter that the Emperor can intervene in is declaring war on another country in order to represent the interests and security of the entire nation."

"Therefore, I think you should seek the answer directly from Colonel Frieze."

After speaking, the emperor stopped talking, a slight smile playing on one corner of his mouth, looking relaxed.

What he said was a script that had been prepared long before the mission went to the United Kingdom.

The script was drafted by General Schlieffen, the old marshal of the empire.

During his conversation with Raine, he analyzed all the possible demands that the United Kingdom might make, and after Raine left, he suggested to the Emperor that he take Raine with him to the United Kingdom.

This was Churchill's, and indeed the United Kingdom's, biggest blunder in this meeting.

They never imagined that the empire would avoid the problem in this way.

Churchill and Asquith were almost dumbfounded.

What emperor doesn't care about the army?
This is absolutely unheard of!

The same idea turned into a huge shock, instantly sweeping across all the seats of the United Kingdom's parliamentarians.

But at that moment, they didn't dare to utter a single breath.

Because they are able to clearly understand something.

In other words, if the kingdom wants to persuade the empire to abandon its military operations on the European continent through diplomacy, it will inevitably have to get past Rennes.

And that Colonel Ryan Frieger was clearly not an easy guy to deal with.

Churchill understood this deeply, even more clearly than Asquith, who was standing beside him.

But he still couldn't control his tone and actions.

"Wha...what?"

He blurted out a thoughtless remark, but immediately shut his mouth, took a deep breath, and then looked at Ryan beside him.

"You mean... Colonel Frieger?"

Churchill's lips twitched noticeably.

It is clear that such an outcome is unacceptable.

the other side.

Ryan stood there, looking at Churchill, with that same smile on his face.

He thought to himself: I've won.

Although he didn't know exactly how Churchill made such a foolish decision, Ryan knew very well that Churchill must be regretting it terribly now.

But this is not enough.

Because regardless of whether the Empire agrees or not, it will inevitably fall into an irreversible situation due to the conditions just proposed by Churchill.

He looked toward the reporters' section beside him.

Several journalists wearing armbands in the colors of the French flag stared blankly at them, at the people of the United Kingdom.

Their camera equipment was being controlled by the Royal Guards of the United Kingdom, and their pens were being taken away.

This shows that the royal guards were already aware that the United Kingdom would make such a request.

That's why the journalists from France looked at everyone present with such eyes after Churchill expressed the Kingdom's opinion.

Renn could even imagine that after the Kingdom and the Empire entered the venue, the United Kingdom would immediately send diplomats to the Farland embassy for a meeting.

And inform the Farland diplomat of the statement that the United Kingdom should make.

This is exactly what the people of the United Kingdom would do.

They despise all nations except themselves, because they consider themselves the masters of the world.

And Renn could imagine how furious the Farland diplomats must have been after learning of the United Kingdom's plans.

But he had no way to stop it.

Because Farland had absolutely no right to express his own opinions.

In fact, he wasn't even qualified to participate in the negotiations!
This negotiation will become a territorial division negotiation between the kingdom with the world's strongest navy and the empire with the world's strongest army.

The reason why things have developed into what they are now.

There's only one reason—Falland is too weak.

Weaklings are not qualified to sit at the negotiating table.

Inside the venue.

Renn clearly turned his neck and looked at the reporters from Farland.

He extended his hand to the guards, signaling them to release the journalist from Farland.

The guards didn't understand why Renn would do this, but they eventually stepped aside, their hands still on their weapons.

Another ten seconds or so passed.

Then Ryan turned to Churchill and began his well-prepared speech.

He leaned forward slightly, resting his head in front of the microphone.

"Thank you, His Excellency Prime Minister Winston Churchill, for the goodwill shown on behalf of the Kingdom."

"As a soldier, I am in full support of all the terms of the armistice."

Before the words were even finished, the reporters from Farland tried to make a move. But they were immediately subdued again by the kingdom's guards.

Raine saw all of this, but did not stop it or get distracted; he simply continued speaking.

"But as a soldier of the Empire, I cannot agree with what the Prime Minister just said."

"?"

Churchill's eyes widened as if he thought he had misheard.

What does it mean to disagree? He was filled with deep doubt.

He immediately said, "So, Colonel Frieg, as a representative of the Imperial Army, insists that the Empire should continue its offensive against Farland?"

Churchill deliberately changed "counterattack" to "offensive," which, while conveying the same meaning, sounded completely different to the journalists.

Those news reporters, in order to grab attention, will inevitably change "attack" to "aggression" or "retaliation."

A small, simple, yet extremely intimidating scheme.

But that didn't scare Ryan.

Because Ryan had seen far more than he had.

How does Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, come to this conclusion?

Ryan's face remained relaxed, as if he had never felt the slightest bit nervous about Churchill's speech.

This made Churchill even more puzzled. He thought, "The Empire can't possibly let someone who can't even tell right from wrong be its spokesperson, can it?"

But he guessed wrong.

Ryan knew all too well what was good and bad, he said, looking at Churchill.

"The purpose of the Empire's visit to the United Kingdom is to ensure that no war breaks out between the United Kingdom and the Empire."

"As a civilized nation, the Kingdom did not follow Fallan in declaring war against the Empire after Fallan launched the war. This stance is evident to the whole world."

"It was precisely because the Imperial Government took into account the Kingdom's sincerity that it made the decision to send an envoy to the Kingdom to sign a peace agreement."

"As an Imperial soldier, I have high hopes for a peace agreement between the two countries, because I do not want to see the Kingdom fall into the quagmire of war like the Empire."

"I do not want the mothers and fathers of the kingdom to receive the same tragic news one morning that their sons have died on the front lines, as those living in the empire do."

"We also believe that the Kingdom's government shares the same view on this matter as the Imperial government."

"Then why is the empire still hesitating?"

Churchill slightly raised his right hand, looking at everyone as he asked a question.

But Raine shook his head.

"It's not a matter of hesitation."

he said.

The fundamental reason why the Empire did not agree to the conditions proposed by the Kingdom, and why it did not accept the friendly attitude shown by the Kingdom on the issue of a ceasefire, is that the Empire only wants to negotiate peace between the Empire and the Kingdom on the Kingdom's territory.

"We respect the sovereignty of all nations, and the armies and people of all nations, even if they are the ones who launch aggression, even if they have harmed countless citizens of the empire."

"If the Kingdom wants the Empire to make a statement on the Empire's anti-aggression war against Farland, then there is no need."

"Because it was Farland who was at war with the Empire, and only Farland had the right and the obligation to negotiate with the Empire on the issue of a ceasefire."

"Here, on behalf of the Empire and its army, I sincerely advise the Kingdom that war is no child's play. If you want to bring peace to both countries, the most important thing is to show your sincerity, not to betray the interests of your allies."

Having said that, Raine straightened his chest and looked toward the direction where the King of the United Kingdom was located.

"Your Majesty the King."

"The Empire may indeed lack the ability to compete with the United Kingdom at sea, but the Ingrid Strait is not very wide."

"Furthermore, the Empire may not necessarily win this war with Farland."

"If the Empire agrees to the Kingdom's request here, but then loses to Farland..."

"Then perhaps the next countries sitting here negotiating will be the Republic of France and your loyal ally, the Russian Empire."

Upon hearing this, the members of parliament from the United Kingdom almost immediately turned cold.

They knew perfectly well what Ryan's statement meant.

It is now clearer that every word Ryan just said was a direct attack on Churchill and even the Royal Cabinet!

Because everyone knows that the United Kingdom, which possesses the world's largest navy, will absolutely not be defeated by the Russian Empire and the French Empire.

But they also know that not being defeated doesn't mean they can defeat those two countries.

Just as the United Kingdom sought to maintain its hegemonic position in Europe, they chose to ally with Falland and the Imperial State, with the essential purpose of suppressing the Empire, which possessed a powerful army.

In this plan, the United Kingdom actually represents the naval role within the Three Kingdoms Alliance.

All they can do is blockade the sea routes.

But Farland and the Empire are indeed land-based powers.

Even if they can't defeat the kingdom at sea, they can easily destroy all of the kingdom's overseas colonies with their massive army.

The kingdom was powerless to do anything about it.

more importantly.

Just now, in front of everyone, Ryan said the most important and also the most hurtful thing.

Betraying one's allies

In fact, almost everyone knows that Farland is now a weak country that will be swallowed up by the empire.

It was precisely for this reason that Churchill and his cabinet made the decision to sacrifice Verdun in order to give Farland a chance to breathe.

However, Raine completely ignored the kingdom's opinion and directly labeled the kingdom's decision to protect Fallan as "betraying its allies."

He even said it in front of reporters from all over the world.

Even a fool could have predicted that their words would be recorded in history, and from then on, the phrase "the kingdom betrayed its allies" would forever be etched in the annals of history.

How could those members of the Kingdom's Parliament tolerate such a statement?
This is a direct insult to the kingdom!
They glared angrily at Renn, as if all the popularity he had built up had never existed.

But they also knew that this statement could not be made domestically.

The people of the kingdom will never know what Rein said.

At least not now.

Because they knew very well that if the public found out, it would only further confirm that Raine was the Empire's anti-war hero.

The people will not support a war, especially when they know what an enticing olive branch the empire is extending to the kingdom.

Churchill and Asquith were even more nervous, even terrified.

They never imagined that Ryan would respond in this way.

So much so that they couldn't even think of a response to Ryan's words at the very beginning.

But Ryan had no intention of speaking to them.

He remained silent for a while, waiting for the Farran journalists to recover from his remarks before speaking again.

"Of course, even taking into account the alliance between the Kingdom and Farland, the Empire will not abandon negotiations with the Kingdom because of this."

As he spoke, he looked at the French journalists and switched his words to standard French.

"Friends of Farland".

"As one of the Empire's spokespeople at this conference, I hope you will relay my words back to your homeland."

The reporters were almost immediately stunned.

They stared at Renn in astonishment, never imagining that he would speak to them in Farlan at this time and in this setting.

What do you want to say!?

"A reporter shouted the question."

The surrounding guards dared not stop them.

Ryan looked at him.

"The Empire respects the sovereignty of Farland, whether it was Farland during the Kingdom period or Farland during the Republic period."

"I believe everyone has their own thoughts on this war that has lasted for two months."

"Here, please allow me, as a representative of the Imperial Army, to take this opportunity to address Marshal Joffre of Farland, and your Head of State, President Raymond Poingale, and Prime Minister René Viviani."

"The Imperial Army is willing to suspend all offensive operations on the western front starting tomorrow in exchange for relative peace between Farland and the Empire throughout the winter."

"As a gesture of goodwill, the Imperial General Staff is willing to withdraw all its main forces stationed in Verdun and guarantees not to proceed with the fortification of Verdun."

"The Empire hopes that Verdun can become a permanent, unmanned military buffer zone, and that Farland can dismantle all the surrounding fortresses as soon as possible and guarantee that no more troops will be stationed in Verdun in the future, in order to confirm Farland's sincerity in pursuing this temporary peace."

"above."

(End of this chapter)