Chapter 147 The Brussels Conference

"Look at a person, don't look at the surface!" Hepburn's mother looked at her daughter and taught tirelessly. The daughter is still too simple, but she doesn't want to think about a person who conveys information for the guerrillas, can she be simple?

In terms of simplicity, Alan Wilson is the only one who has been deceived many times in this sinister society. Otherwise, how could he miss life in British India! That is the most friendly place for him, the haven of peace of mind.

Audrey Hepburn didn't listen to her mother's words, she thought that the Englishman was good. Because of malnutrition, Hepburn didn't have much confidence in her appearance, and she didn't grow up with praise.

If it weren't for being too familiar with this face, it would be impossible for Alan Wilson to recognize the juvenile Earth Ball Flower.

Audrey Hepburn in 1945 was not as good-looking as Chinese and Western, and even worse than Sister Isabella in Bonn, just an ordinary little girl with a pretty face.

Audrey Hepburn was really known after Roman Holiday. It is no exaggeration to say that the top Hollywood makeup artist single-handedly created the well-known Audrey Hepburn. Tailored the most suitable makeup and hairstyle for her, his makeup technique was a radical change for Hepburn, and he also became Hepburn's queen makeup artist.

With a shriveled figure and a handsome appearance, if it weren't for Alan Wilson's super memory, she would be just an ordinary girl with a good appearance, until Audrey Hepburn auditioned for Givenchy in the 1950s.

Audrey Hepburn, who was shriveled and dressed in ordinary clothes, appeared in front of Givenchy himself. Givenchy, who had a broken dream, refused all of Audrey Hepburn's requests without shame on the spot.

After being rejected, she did not give up, and repeatedly invited Givenchy to dinner. During the dinner, Hepburn drew a blueprint for her career to Givenchy, which made Givenchy her royal fashion designer.

If you look at it from the perspective of realization, if Alan Wilson does not have a deep memory of this face, it is very normal to miss it. But to look at this matter from the perspective of development, he did not hesitate to leave his contact information in London, and he believed that this ugly duckling would grow up.

Alan Wilson thinks that most of the time, his IQ is absolutely online. After Hepburn's mother and daughter came, he became a model of imperial civil servants, an outstanding representative of British Empire civil servants, and the most famous image of civil servants in the UK. The image of the gentleman who saved French women on the streets of Paris.

In the past few months, Alan Wilson's impression in the newspapers is no less than that of well-known domestic actors, even Vivien Leigh can only be comparable to him in terms of traffic.

He has not yet reached Brussels,

But the tone of the Brussels meeting has already been set, and the place where the tone of the harmony between Britain and France is set is still in the far East.

Although France quickly decided to return to Asia after the end of the European war, after all, the emperor was far away, and France's military power in Vietnam was better than nothing, just like the comparison between the four occupied areas of Austria, Britain, the United States and France, and the Soviet Red Army a few months ago. It can only be regarded as a theoretical existence.

France was unable to accept surrender in Vietnam, so it was the British army who surrendered in southern Vietnam. Before the Brussels meeting, London had already promised Paris that it would replace the French army in defending the French colonies in Southeast Asia. In exchange, France must support Britain's claim to the Isthmus of Krata to show the unity of Britain and France on the colonial issue. unanimous.

After Japan surrendered, British troops had landed in southern Vietnam, and they had telegraphed France that they would definitely help France defend the colony. For Vietnam, a hot potato, the UK actually doesn't want to take care of it.

Regardless of whether it is resolutely suppressing or letting go, the importance of British India is far higher than that of Vietnam. However, in order to win France and Britain to stand together on broader issues, Mountbatten still deployed troops to stand for France and return to Asia. base.

Against such a background, Britain's limited forces must be assembled, and Britain does not want to have too much involvement in Vietnam. I just hope the French move faster and don't let the UK stay in Vietnam for too long.

Three days before the Brussels meeting, Alan Wilson arrived in Brussels, the capital of the future EU.

Decades later, Brussels is the capital and largest city of Belgium. It is also the seat of the main administrative body of the European Union and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It is known as the capital of Europe.

The whole city is centered on the imperial palace and built along the small ring, and it is better to walk around. Although originally a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has developed into a bilingual city with both French and Dutch.

Even at this Brussels meeting, the French representative said that French must be added as a written language, and other countries also agreed, and the United Kingdom did not express any objection. It is meaningless to object on such details.

After arriving at the residence of the British delegation and meeting Alexander Cadogan, the permanent undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also teased the French with the attitude that France must add French, "The French think that French is the representative language of the civilized world, but they forgot That was all a long time ago, but Belgium does have an advantage in French-speaking population, so it’s hard for us to object, right?”

"It shows the respect the British Empire has for its allies and thinks nothing else." Alan Wilson echoed Alexander Cadogan's words.

There is a saying in Europe that the center of Europe in the seventeenth century was France, and the leader of Europe after the eighteenth century was Britain. Of course, this kind of talk is relatively rampant in France, but there is no such talk in the UK.

But the language environment in Brussels is indeed as Alexander Cadogan said, French is the dominant language, Dutch represents the poor and backward Flanders, and the official language of the Belgian government is only French.

Educational institutions in Brussels are also taught in French, which further hinders the promotion of Dutch and also leads to the impression that Dutch is inferior.

However, from the perspective of the British, this is just a remnant of the era of the French Sun King. The degree of progress in different parts of the world is different. It is not incomprehensible that there are traces of hundreds of years ago in some places.

In this world where the influence of English has long surpassed that of French, sympathy and understanding should be given to the stubborn French.

"The stubborn persistence of the French is really cute. Haven't we overwhelmed the French without any objection?" Alan Wilson shook his head and smiled wryly.

"A few more times, but not many times like this." Alexander Cadogan said slowly.

"When was the last time the French had nothing to say?" Alan Wilson asked with interest.

"1815, the Battle of Waterloo. The French have absolutely nothing to say!" Alexander Cadogan said with a smirk.

Perhaps out of consideration for their debut, the French arrived on the second day after the British delegation arrived in Brussels. At this time, Alan Wilson was fully improving his cultural accomplishment under the guidance of the cabinet secretary and the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. know.

Cabinet Secretary Edward Bridges expressed his satisfaction with the current work in the British-occupied area. Regardless of the effects of many policies, Whitehall has seen the efforts of the British-occupied area trade committee.

At the same time, he said that in terms of significance, the Brussels Conference is definitely more important than the reconstruction of the British-occupied area, and even determines the future direction of the British Empire. Whether it is at the imperial level or from the perspective of civil servants, it is worth paying 100% effort. In this sense, it is even more important than the Potsdam Conference.

How to unite European countries, the consensus within the UK has been determined, which is to work hard from the colonies of the countries currently participating in the Brussels Conference. This is also the biggest commonality among countries with different interests, different ideas, and even discord.

The relationship between Britain and France is delicate due to historical reasons, but it is not only Britain and France that are subtle. The relationship between Spain and Portugal is not close. Spain has annexed Portugal, and Belgium's opponent in the War of Independence is the Dutch.

Of course, the supporters of Belgian independence were the French, while the countries that supported the Netherlands were Great Britain, the Russian Empire, the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia.

It can be said that the hands of every country are stained with the blood of other countries. At this time, they must be united. If they are not united, these countries that have once enjoyed great glory will soon disappear and become the eyes of the United States and the Soviet Union. small shrimps.

The Belgian king who welcomed the countries to participate in the Brussels Conference was Leopold III. This king is currently in deep controversy. Because of his ambiguous attitude towards Germany during the war, Leopold III can be said to be in trouble at present.

The reason why this meeting was held in Belgium was also the result of Leopold III's vigorous efforts. The fundamental reason is that the French do not approve of holding it in London, and the British do not approve of holding it in Paris.

Brussels is deeply influenced by France, so I chose such a place to sit down and have a good talk about what the future of the colonial empire will be like.

The person responsible for receiving the delegations from various countries was Prince Charles, the younger brother of Leopold III. Alan Wilson is very uncomfortable with the name and title of Prince Charles.

He believes that only the Yinfeng of the British Empire, who became the crown prince in 1958 and has been in the British Empire for 62 years, is more in line with the image of a prince in his heart, and the other Charles are fake and shoddy.

In the Royal Palace of Belgium, the national flags of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Belgium fluttered high, indicating that the Brussels Conference, which was declared to be the European Post-War Restoration Conference, officially kicked off.

British Prime Minister Attlee and Chairman of the French Provisional Government Charles de Gaulle are undoubtedly the most important figures in this post-war recovery meeting. Their attitudes determine the future of these colonial empires.