April 1, 1917, Reims, a city in northeastern France.

On the edge of Reims, a not-so-wide river flowed quietly. This ordinary river had a once ordinary name: "Marne River." Since the outbreak of the European War in 1914, this river had been dyed red several times by the blood of the French and Germans. It had also been blasted countless times by whistling shells, splashing water and mud everywhere.

Now, on this land where shrapnel could be kicked up with a few casual steps, a regiment of French soldiers was about to take on the task of the vanguard launching an attack on the German army. The "anti-gas" tablets had been taken by the French army, and the "breathing aid" powder had also been inhaled into the nostrils of the French officers and soldiers.

Only a few minutes later, these French troops, who originally looked suspicious and exhausted, changed. Their suspicious gazes became firm and sharp, and their exhaustion flew away from those French soldiers without a trace, as if they had grown wings. The French officers and soldiers, who hadn't exercised seriously for a long time, spontaneously began to stretch, squat, and stretch their legs. The strength that had been dormant for a long time suddenly erupted from within them, forcing the French officers and soldiers to release it through exercise.

Not only the soldiers and lower-ranking officers, but even the regimental commander, who had been gloomy for months, showed a long-lost smile. He issued orders in a voice full of power, and various units began to run, move their bodies, and perform military drills. Even the order to clean guns was carried out.

Since the Battle of Verdun last year, French troops generally had been unwilling to engage in offensive warfare again. The French upper echelons had to agree to let the French soldiers implement defense. The French army had been fighting against the attacking German army with machine guns and mortars in fortresses and bunkers. Even if the German army approached the trenches, the French army refused to expose themselves to German fire to shoot. They relied on powerful slingshots to launch grenades against the incoming German army.

This was already very lucky. The regiment appointed to lead the charge now had almost started a mutiny back then. And the reason why this regiment, used as a vanguard, was not punished was that the entire French army was almost about to launch a collective mutiny.

The roar of cannons on the battlefield that seemed never to stop, and the bullets that seemed to be everywhere, almost drove all the French troops crazy. Even bearing the stigma of mutiny, these soldiers were unwilling to stay on the battlefield equivalent to hell. However, such a unit had now magically recovered its vitality.

Even though they knew their task was to launch an attack, and they also understood very well that the French upper echelons had once promised that "soldiers will never participate in harsh battles attacking the German army again," the rapidly flowing blood and the unusually clear mind unknowingly established confidence, driving fear and unease out of their minds. These French soldiers felt a desire in their chests, an indescribable true desire. After the exercise, these soldiers gathered again into neat ranks, and everyone's eyes invariably looked towards the regimental commander standing on a stool looking down from above.

"Compatriots of France! Behind us is the land of France, where our parents and relatives are. In front of us is still the land of France, but it is not the French who are entrenched there, but the Jerries! Today, we are going to take back our French land. If we can't do it, we will kneel before the Germans again like 46 years ago..."

The regimental commander felt his thinking was particularly clear today. He could actually clearly remember that the Franco-Prussian War broke out and ended from 1870 to 1871. He even calculated in just an instant that 1917 minus 1871 equaled 46. He discovered even more that he actually had the courage to fight, and could clearly explain the reasons for fighting to the French officers and soldiers of his regiment who were listless not long ago.

Scanning with his eyes, the regimental commander could almost see the face of every French officer and soldier clearly, and could feel their increasingly excited emotions. The intense breathing, the skin becoming lively due to surging blood, the regimental commander could see and even feel it all.

After a long series of highly inflammatory mobilization, the regimental commander shouted: "Soldiers, although we once dared not fight, the time to wash away our shame has arrived! Long live! France!"

"Long live! France!" Nearly half of the soldiers shouted in unison.

Humans are such a group-oriented creature. With repeated shouting, all the officers and soldiers shouted together. The blood boiling in their chests, and that indescribable desire, were all gathered under the slogan "Long live! France!" amidst the excited mass emotion. Even the regimental commander himself became intoxicated.

Finally, the regimental commander used his last bit of strength to shout: "Go! Follow me to battle!" That cry full of true feelings pierced the air and almost echoed in the sky.

Four hours later, the headquarters received the news. Led by this French infantry regiment filled with defeatism, where the vast majority of soldiers could almost be equated with traitors, the French army launched a brave attack on the opposite German position. The attack failed, but according to the observations of observers and reconnaissance planes, when other regiments hesitated to advance under German artillery fire, lay on the ground, and hid motionless in trenches huddled together, the vanguard regiment continued to advance despite suffering huge losses. Some soldiers who rushed into the German trenches launched a tragic bayonet fight even when surrounded by the German army.

After summarizing this news, the personnel at the headquarters suddenly exploded. The general process was first to curse the female relatives of all generations of the traitors on the front line and rear, and then curse the logistics department for sending "anti-gas drugs" to the front line only after the war had been going on for several years.

This unit was not the only one taking and inhaling "anti-gas drugs." The French General Headquarters collected more results.

"Anti-gas drugs" could effectively improve all ability indices of the French army. Physical strength, speed, reaction time, and even courage that could not be seen or touched could be generated out of thin air like magic.

The war had lasted so long. Whether Britain or France, they had long used various drugs in large quantities in the army to treat mental illnesses on the battlefield. Cigarettes were nothing; opium and morphine had long become the most common therapeutic drugs. Those drugs could only relieve the heavy pressure and great pain on the soldiers' minds after the war. No drug had ever been able to stimulate soldiers' strength and fighting spirit before the war like "anti-gas drugs."

Of course, not all experiments achieved extremely satisfactory results. Those damned people in the logistics department requested finding eloquent soldiers to carry out large-scale pre-war mobilization, shouting slogans, brainwashing, etc. However, with the current fighting will of the French army, it was difficult to find enough guys who could incite fighting will, so some attacks were inevitably discounted.

France did not lack orators. After discussion, the General Headquarters believed that orators could be urgently recruited and allowed to take and inhale "anti-gas drugs" before giving speeches. In short, various strategies emerged like a blowout. This was also an extremely rare thing in the French General Headquarters.

However, when the General Headquarters asked the logistics department to continue providing "anti-gas drugs" for the upcoming large-scale offensive battles, the logistics department stated, "The drugs are used up; you have to wait a bit longer."

Such a delay in war opportunities almost made the General Headquarters send the logistics department to a military court. Telegrams from the French side immediately flew to China, ten thousand miles away.

Wang Bin, the commercial representative of the People's Party, said sincerely to the French Minister: "Although we have not conducted enough research, this drug will inevitably lead to a considerable degree of side effects. We have already listed these drugs in the list of controlled drugs attached to our 'Narcotics Control Regulations.' So I hope your country can consider large-scale use only after conducting more research on it."

The French Minister politely waited for Wang Bin to finish. His folded arms pressed on the table, and his upper body leaned over the table. In a tone of genuine anxiety, the French Minister asked: "Please say it! What price do you want?"

On April 4, 1917, in front of the heavily guarded Louvre in Paris, the Chinese Minister and staff, together with the French, carefully loaded the "spoils of war" looted by France from China and then exhibited in the Louvre onto trucks. The long convoy would drive to Cherbourg, where Chinese cultural relics would be shipped to China. Along with them was a considerable amount of silver, which was the price Wang Bin demanded.

China and France reached a secret agreement on this matter. China did not admit selling any drugs to France, and at the same time, France could not sell these "anti-gas drugs" back to China for any reason or in any way after the war. Just one day before these looted Chinese cultural relics were loaded, France entrusted British warships to enter the Yangtze River and sail urgently to Wuhu. After receiving the "anti-gas drugs" in Wuhu, they turned and sailed to Europe, striving to transport these goods to Europe and France in the shortest possible time.

For France, the last attempt not only organized a real offensive that had not been seen for a long time but also achieved another unexpected effect: it could consume a large number of those "dangerous soldiers with treasonous intentions." The fighting will of the new recruits replenished in the rear defense was far tougher than those old soldiers tortured by the battlefield for three years, and the loyalty of the new recruits was more reliable. The French upper echelons had been frightened by the near collective mutiny of the French army in 1916 and dared not touch those old soldiers just to maintain the army. With a brand-new solution, they felt as if a big stone had fallen from their hearts. They were filled with doubled longing for the "anti-gas drugs" to arrive in France as soon as possible.

"Chairman Chen, is it appropriate to do this?" Although commercial representative Wang Bin negotiated a big deal, Wang Bin felt very uneasy about France preparing to use this stimulant on a large scale.

"The Germans have advanced military technology; the French rely on divine skills to protect their bodies. That's probably what it is." Chen Ke was not as sentimental as Wang Bin. The French organizing death charges in the late stages of World War I was not "news" to Chen Ke. If he didn't know the nature of the French, Chen Ke originally planned to sell the drugs to the British.

On the battlefields of World War I, stimulants were already extremely popular. Britain had hundreds of thousands more drug addicts who had served in the army after the war. The French relied on death charges to consume French soldiers driven to mutiny by the hellish battlefield. Originally, Chen Ke didn't know this. It was thanks to the French; a French female director made a movie depicting the Battle of Stalingrad called "Enemy at the Gates." Chen Ke could remember this movie because of the road; he and a few brothers and girls walked home after watching the movie.

Later, there was news that when this female director visited Russia, she was protested by Soviet veterans throwing stones. After discussions on various forums, the matter of the French death charges in the late stages of World War I was finally dug out.

The French were so cruel to their own people; Chen Ke had no reason to be more merciful than the French upper echelons. As for the British side, methamphetamine addiction was much easier to treat than heroin addiction. Chen Ke had explicitly ordered Wang Bin to emphasize again and again to the government purchasers from France and Britain who came to buy these drugs the possible consequences and side effects of the drugs. Without any coercion, narcotics trade between countries was completely legal. After the People's Party had done everything it could, there was absolutely no reason to refuse the purchase requests made by the British and French governments.

Wang Bin had never seen the movie where Dongfang Bubai played by Brigitte Lin said "You have Western technology, I have divine skills to protect my body," so he couldn't understand Chen Ke's sense of humor. Moreover, Wang Bin cared more about the moral level of the People's Party, so he still advised: "Chairman Chen, once this starts, I'm afraid there will be endless troubles."

"Comrade Wang Bin, you say this because you haven't experienced those extreme environments. Have you walked on the bridge of a steel mill? Below is molten steel at thousands of degrees. If a person falls, not even dregs remain; they are burned to fly ash immediately. Have you driven a car for more than ten hours continuously? Have you experienced a battlefield where shells explode every second in front of and behind you? We, the People's Party, don't use these things now because our soldiers know why they fight, so they can endure such a terrible environment. But many workers under extreme conditions cannot endure it. Not to mention those European soldiers fighting for Entente capitalists. Of course, we will not allow these things to become popular domestically; you can rest assured about this. And don't consider this trade with pan-moralism. In the face of inescapable reality, people's moral considerations are different. Drinking poison to quench thirst; when extremely thirsty, even poisoned wine must be drunk."

Listening to Chen Ke's words, Wang Bin fell silent. He knew very well how firm Chen Ke and the People's Party were in their stance on drug prohibition and anti-drugs, but the world was just this cruel. To win the war, the French Minister begged Wang Bin to agree to provide drugs. If there was even a tiny bit of hesitation in France's attitude, this deal would not have been made. The French had no hesitation; what the French had was a strong desire.

At least those looted national treasures could finally return home! Wang Bin could only use this reason to comfort himself at this time. This was also the only reason he could find to put his conscience at ease.