"Dear General Feng, I'm very sorry to disturb you at this time, but as the mayor, I have to ask you for help."

Mr. Schroeder, the tall, thin, slightly bald mayor, saw Feng Guozhang and said apologetically that Feng Guozhang enrolled in the Beiyang Armed Forces Hall in his early years and graduated with honors. The Beiyang Armed Forces Hall was founded by the Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang.

From the beginning, Feng Guozhang spent huge sums of money to recruit professional officers from Germany as instructors. Therefore, Feng Guozhang was no stranger to German. Although he was a little rusty after not speaking it for many years, he quickly picked it up again after he came to Europe as the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force.

Seeing Schroeder coming in a hurry, Feng Guozhang politely asked him to sit down first, and Yang Du also sat down beside him as his companion. Schroeder knew Yang Du's identity. On the day Yang Du arrived in Oberhausen, Schroeder

He was invited to attend the dinner party hosted by Feng Guozhang to welcome Yang Du, so he was not surprised. He just nodded slightly to Yang Du to show courtesy.

"Mr. Mayor, what happened? Are the French here to harass you again?" Germans are rigid in doing things and like to get straight to the point. Feng Guozhang did not put off the clouds and fog in the domestic officialdom and waited for the guards to serve tea.

Then he directly asked about the other party’s purpose.

Due to the toughness of the Chinese and the ugly behavior of France after the war, which greatly dissatisfied the other Allied countries, under Feng Guozhang's unyielding attitude, the French government ordered the army to withdraw its order to control Oberhausen, but this did not

On behalf of the French ***, there is no action. The proud Gallic chicken is now full of anger. From the head of the government to the lowest level soldiers, they want to tear the entire Germany to pieces in retaliation for being beaten with black nose and swollen eyes on the battlefield.

hatred. Although they gave up their intention to occupy Oberhausen because of the intervention of the Chinese, they also accelerated their crazy plundering of the entire Ruhr area. Some days ago, some people close to the Chinese-occupied area of ​​​​Oberhausen even

The French army tried to test the patience of the Chinese again with a small-scale infiltration, but were eventually driven back by Feng Guozhang with a tougher attitude. However, the French's unwillingness to give up still caused a little trouble for Oberhausen.

, so Feng Guozhang asked this question.

"These damn French guys, how could they defeat us without the help of the Allied Powers, but look at their current behavior, they are just like bandits..." He cursed through gritted teeth, and Schroeder suddenly remembered sitting in front of him.

The Chinese were also members of the Allied Powers. They were also one of the "chief culprits" in defeating their motherland. Thinking of this, Schroeder inevitably looked a little embarrassed and quickly stood up to apologize for his gaffe.

"It doesn't matter. There are many factors that led to the outbreak of the war. Although we are on both sides of the war, it does not mean that there is no friendship between China and Germany." Feng Guozhang comforted the other party with a smile and waved his hand to express that he did not mind.

"General Feng, you are a true gentleman. Oberhausen and even the whole of Germany will always remember everything you and your men have done for us. As you said, war is beyond the control of those of us, but

It will not destroy the friendship between us. China and Germany will always be friends!" Schroeder's eyes flashed and he bowed deeply with excitement.

After a few words of comfort, Feng Guozhang continued to ask Schroeder about his purpose. Schroeder let out a long sigh and then revealed his purpose.

As a city in the Ruhr area, Oberhausen originally had a population of about 300,000. Due to the war, the population dropped to 180,000 in early 1919. After the war, as the Chinese Army occupied Oberhausen

After expelling the French troops who tried to seize it, the depressed Oberhausen turned into a "paradise" for the entire Ruhr area. Because the Chinese maintained order and ensured local security, and the Chinese provided a large amount of supplies

With the support, the citizens of Oberhausen lived far better than the citizens of other cities in the Ruhr area. For a time, under the oppression of the French occupying forces, other homeless cities in the Ruhr area fled one after another, and continued to move toward

Oberhausen is coming. In just over a month, the population of Oberhausen has soared from 180,000 to 430,000, and this situation is still on the rise.

Oberhausen is just a small and medium-sized city in Germany. It cannot be compared with a large city like Berlin with a population of more than one million. The small Oberhausen suddenly increased its population by so much. In addition, the people stationed here

The total population of Oberhausen now exceeds 500,000, which is a huge pressure on such a city.

Although the Chinese Communist Party does not need the municipal government to be responsible, the German compatriots who continue to flow into the city still need Schroeder to resettle them. At first, with the help of Feng Guozhang, Schroeder's municipal government could barely maintain the resettlement work.

But as the number of people increases, Schroeder is overwhelmed by the problems of accommodation, food, medicine and other issues faced by countless compatriots every day.

The European War destroyed the most fertile area in Europe. Oberhausen is an industrial city rather than an agricultural and grain-producing area. If nothing else, the food consumed by so many people every day is not a small city of Oberhausen.

Although the government was able to solve the problem with the help and support of the Chinese people, when it was unable to make ends meet, the city government soon could no longer support it.

Today I came to see Feng Guozhang. The mayor, Mr. Schroeder, just wanted to ask the Chinese Communist Party to allocate more supplies to the city government to ensure the minimum living standards of all Germans. In front of his eyes, the surrendered Germany no longer had an emperor.

In addition to planning their own future in Berlin, the officials of the nominal provisional government were negotiating with the Allied Powers. How could they care about the Germans in the occupied areas? In Schroeder's eyes, only the Chinese could help them. This would

It is not only the hope of Oberhausen, but also the last hope of the Germans in the entire Ruhr area.

"General Feng, there are now 100,000 people struggling on the edge of survival. They have no accommodation, lack of food, medicine, and even clothing...most of them are women and children. I beg you to save these poor people and save my compatriots.

!Your kindness and help will be forever remembered by Germany..." When it came to the emotional point, Schroeder burst into tears and couldn't help but kneel down to Feng Guozhang. For Westerners, kneeling is the most sacred and sacred act.

Regarding matters of dignity, even if Schroeder met the Kaiser as mayor, it was unlikely that he would do this. But now that he had made this move, Feng Guozhang couldn't help but move his face and hurriedly stretched out his hand to stop him.

"Don't be anxious, the matter will be solved, it will be solved..." Holding Schroeder's hand tightly, Feng Guozhang comforted him, frowned and thought for a while, then turned to look at Yang Du: "You can't just ignore death.

, Xizi, could you please allocate some of the newly arrived supplies to Mr. Mayor as soon as possible so that everyone can solve the immediate problems first."

"That's no problem!" Yang Du agreed immediately, but he asked again: "What is the specific amount allocated? Although new supplies have arrived this time, the total amount is not too much."

Feng Guozhang thought about it and waved his hand resolutely: "Except for the daily necessary consumption of the remaining troops, the rest will be allocated to the city government. After all, rescuing people is important. In addition, we should immediately contact the domestic and diplomatic missions in Paris and let them find a way.

Speed ​​up the transportation of supplies, especially food and medicine and tents."

Yang Du nodded to show that he understood, but he felt a little confused after thinking about it: "Hua Fu, it is not practical to transport materials from the country. I calculated that if the necessary consumption of the troops is removed, the most materials can be allocated to the city government.

It is enough for everyone to consume for about a week. The next batch of domestic supplies will arrive in a month, and even if we push it, it will take about three weeks, which is simply not enough!"

Yang Du's words made Feng Guozhang stunned, and the smile on Mr. Mayor's face that had just seen hope froze. Yang Du was right, the expeditionary force's material replenishment was planned, and every day was prepared according to the original material.

This replenishment is enough to supply the expeditionary force for about one and a half months. Although it is calculated that there will be some relief before the next batch of supplies arrives, under the current circumstances it is simply a drop in the bucket. No matter how kind Feng Guozhang is, he cannot divert the necessary supplies to the army.

on the German people.

"What can we do? If you don't eat for three days, you will starve to death. How can you pay for it in three weeks?" Feng Guozhang seemed to be more anxious than the disappointed Schroeder, and rushed to say: "No, how can this be done? Three weeks?"

It takes too long, we have to arrive in a week anyway, this is life-saving!"

"It's useless for you to tell me this. The material allocation plan is implemented by the General Staff with the approval of the cabinet. Besides, it takes time for a ship to sail on the sea. I'm not a Monkey King. How can I get something out of it?" Yang Du was embarrassed.

He spread out his hands, looking helpless.

"No, no, no!" Feng Guozhang shook his head repeatedly, with a stern expression and frowning, walking around the room as if thinking of a solution. Schroeder's heart was hanging in the air, his eyes fixed on Feng Guozhang. All his hope now lies in

This is on the Chinese people.

For more than ten minutes, Feng Guozhang seemed to have not come up with a better way. Just when he was sighing in frustration, Yang Du suddenly said: "Actually... there are not no ways..."

"What can we do? Hurry! Speak quickly!" Feng Guozhang turned around suddenly and asked urgently. Schroeder also stood up suddenly and looked at Yang Du with eager eyes.

"We don't have supplies, but other Allied countries should have supplies, especially the United Kingdom, France and the Americans. If they can be helped, maybe..."

Yang Du talked eloquently, but as his suggestions came out, the look in Schroeder's eyes dimmed.

"This is impossible..." Schroeder shook his head and said: "The French want us Germans to starve to death. They don't care about the survival of the Germans. The same is true for the British. These guys who call themselves gentlemen are just a group of pirates.

There is no difference between them and the French. As for Americans... I'm afraid it's impossible..."

"Haha, Mr. Mayor, please don't worry. What if I have a way to get supplies from them?" Yang Du asked with a smile when he saw that Schroeder was not in a good mood.

Schroeder couldn't believe his ears. He suddenly looked up at Yang Du: "Sir, are you... kidding?" (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!