Chapter 387 Embassy in France

"There is no doubt that in the past two years, the hostility between the United States and us has become stronger and stronger. On the contrary, the hostility in the UK also exists, but after all, the Labor Party is currently in power. The Conservative Party where that bastard Churchill belongs is currently in a Opposition status.”

In his own office in the Kremlin, Stalin ordered Zhdanov and Beria, "Britain and the United States are indeed converging, but it is slightly different from the situation in 1945. Roosevelt is dead. , Truman was obviously more confrontational, and Britain was led by Attlee, and Churchill was unable to have an impact, at least in the short term."

"According to reliable information, this time the United States plans to assist Europe, it will explicitly invite us, but it must be at the expense of fully opening the market to allow the United States to attack. At the meeting, the United Kingdom and France will definitely come forward in place of the United States and attack our country. Make accusations.”

"General Secretary, do we protest?" Zhdanov frowned and asked, "Expose the American conspiracy."

"No, use a little clever method. As I said, compared with 1945, the current situation has changed again. At that time, Churchill was the one who was more hostile to the Soviet Union, but now Truman is the biggest Enemy. So our strategy must also change." Stalin shook his head and smiled, "The British still want to save the British Empire. I can help them gain a foothold. Eastern European countries can order British machines as a substitute for the United States. Products, admittedly, because of the severity of the damage, may not change the British desire for assistance."

"But it also has an effect. The changes in the overall environment can give Britain hope of reviving the prestige of the British Empire. As long as the British have this hope, they will not be willing to be completely manipulated by the Americans."

"Now that the General Secretary has made a decision, I will arrange the specific steps." Beria nodded after listening.

"In fact, it is to open an opening to allow British goods to be imported into Eastern Europe. And technically speaking, Eastern European countries do need the update of advanced machinery and technology. Both Czechoslovakia and Finland can be countries that contact the United Kingdom. Anyway, they cannot violate our of will.”

Didn't the United States provide aid only after the Soviet Union opened its market? The Soviet Union would not open its market, but it could cause chaos to the Americans from another direction.

"It's just that even if we show goodwill to the UK, the British will still accuse us for the loan and let the United States exclude us." Zhdanov pondered, "Is there a better way?"

"Not yet. It would be good if we could prevent Britain and the United States from uniting so quickly." Stalin said with a wry smile, "Let's take it one step at a time. In fact, the British seem to be very powerful, but their territories are all overseas. Sooner or later it will be It can’t be played anymore. Judging from the current situation, premature weakness is really not a good thing for the Soviet Union.”

Regarding accepting American aid, Stalin had no choice. After all, the Soviet Union and the United States were not comparable in terms of financial resources. However, since he knew the general direction in advance,

You can make some preparations.

Immediately, Stalin asked Zhdanov and Beria to leave, picked up the phone on the table, and said, "Get Molotov for me."

Alan Wilson is in Paris, the origin of the current city, with a camera hanging around his neck, just like an ordinary tourist walking through the corners of Paris, euphemistically looking for the real side of Paris. Of course, as a diplomat, he brought a gun That's very normal. After all, he is very self-aware and has little confidence in his own strength.

Alan Wilson, who lives in the worst district in Paris, appreciates the prosperous Paris. The walls in the old city are extremely thin, only a little thicker than a matchbox. In order to cover the gaps, layers and layers of pink paper are used on the walls, but It has become loose, and the bed bugs are densely hidden inside. Near the ceiling, long lines of bedbugs marched all day long, like lines of soldiers.

There are everyone in this area, including shoemakers, plasterers, masons, coolies, students, prostitutes, and rag pickers.

Some are destitute, and some are doing fine. There is a student living in an attic in Qiuzhong. He makes beautiful shoes that are sold to the American market. From six to twelve every day, he sat on the bed and made twelve pairs of shoes, earning thirty-five francs. The rest of the time he went to the University of Paris to attend lectures.

The slums of Paris are a place filled with eccentrics who have fallen into a lonely, semi-crazy trajectory of life and no longer strive to live a normal or decent life. Poverty frees them from ordinary standards of behavior, just as money frees people from work.

"Deputy Secretary-General!" Daniel hesitated, wondering whether it was the right thing for him, as a staff member of the embassy in France, to accompany his superiors here.

Alan Wilson was taking pictures of a couple. The couple were old, poorly dressed, and short in stature. They were sitting on the side of the road selling postcards. Alan Wilson was very unhappy when he was interrupted. He turned around and said in a bad tone, "What?"

"Is our behavior inappropriate?" Daniel looked ashamed and did not understand the behavior of his new boss.

"Why is it inappropriate? We are recording the real Paris." Alan Wilson said confidently, "Only by understanding the real Paris can we understand the real situation in France, know ourselves and the enemy, and deal with the United States together."

After saying something illogical, Alan Wilson continued to play with the camera. Although he had not yet found a French luxury car to drive, of course that was not important. The important thing was to understand the environment in which the French Communist Party thrived through his current work.

These were all preparations to jointly deal with the Soviet Union. It was obvious that the embassy personnel who had been arranged to help them did not understand the spirit of this level, and the future development was not optimistic.

Just as he said this, a boy with bare buttocks and dirty body ran out of the alley. Alan Wilson found a new target and quickly took out the camera around his neck to record the moment.

For example, the important meeting of the Marshall Plan cannot be concluded in a day or two. If nothing else happens, it will take at least several months in Paris. When the talks are almost complete and the important moment of signing is reached, the Foreign Secretary will bring Come to Paris in glory.

So of course Alan Wilson had to find something to do, or else? Let the foreign secretary stay in Paris for a few months?

And he was not satisfied with the entourage arranged by the embassy. Just by chatting casually, he would roughly know who Daniel was, Jian Zheng!

But it was related to military aspects. He claimed to have read countless books on strategy and military history. He talked about the theories of Napoleon, Kutuzov, Clausewitz, Moltke and Foch eloquently. , anything related to being a soldier makes him happy.

My favorite cafe is the Lilac Garden in Montparnasse, just because there is a statue of Marshal Ney outside.

You're an Englishman, why are you going to see the statue of Marshal Ney? Don’t you know that he was a marshal of the French army during the Napoleonic period?

Just by virtue of this fact, the life assistant arranged by the embassy has been labeled unreliable on Alan Wilson. If Daniel knew that his boss thought so, he would definitely feel very wronged. Marshal Ney was a member of the French army in the Battle of Waterloo. Commander, why can't he just go and have a look?

Daniel, who was labeled unreliable because of his superior's lack of knowledge, would definitely feel very wronged if he knew what Alan Wilson was thinking.

With the regret of not taking a photo of the French luxury car, Alan Wilson finally left this old town.

The British Embassy in Paris is not far from the Elysée Palace. After the Battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington bought the Duke of Salost's Palace and made it the British Embassy in France.

It goes without saying that the official celebrations held every year at this embassy go without saying. Alan Wilson is actually more interested in the oral history told by the embassy staff. Napoleon's sister Pauline Bonaparte was the first owner of this official residence.

After getting up, she likes to walk around naked to show off her enviable body; a "strong black man" accompanies her to take a bath; if she feels cold, she will put her feet into the breasts of a maid who is already lying on the floor.

After Napoleon's defeat, the mansion was sold to the Duke of Wellington, commander of the British army.

Alan Wilson was in awe after learning about this piece of history, as if he could see with his own eyes the rich history contained in it, which definitely had nothing to do with the life of Napoleon's sister.

"Alan, we have received news from home that Finland, Poland and Czechoslovakia are interested in joining this meeting." Sir Prince, the ambassador to France, called Alan Wilson over and said, "Do we support it at the meeting?" Czechoslovakia, in particular, hopes to receive our support."

"Of course we support it. The Soviet Union will oppose it anyway." Alan Wilson said with a righteous smile, "In fact, from our perspective, what should be more concerned about is Canada's interests."

Canada was similar to the United States—it also suffered little damage from the war and had one of the largest economies in the world in 1945. However, unlike the United States, Canada's economy is more dependent on European trade than the U.S. economy. Therefore, after the war, Canada's economy began to show signs of trouble.

Alan Wilson believes that if Europe can recover as soon as possible, and if the UK can have a leadership position in the European Community, Canada will also benefit. After all, the relationship between the UK and Canada still exists.

"Who is the foreign minister of Czechoslovakia?" Alan Wilson asked politely even though he didn't care much about the attitudes of the countries affected by the Soviet Union.

"Jan Masaryk is the son of the first president of Czechoslovakia after independence. He is now the Minister of Foreign Affairs and was the ambassador to London before the war." Sir Prince shrugged.