Chapter 15 A Promise

At the headquarters of the 6th Army in Paris, Gallieni was restless like an ant on a hot pot.

The intelligence he has received so far is all bad news:

"The Germans appeared in Darouz and launched a storming attack."

"A secret German force crossed the river last night. They attacked from both sides and successfully captured the Marne Bridge!"

"Our army's defense line collapsed, Major General Gard led the command to retreat first!"

…

"Go to hell!" Gallieni cursed: "You bastards can run faster than anyone else in a war! When you talk about 'retreating', you clearly mean abandoning the troops and running away!"

Gallieni had the urge to shoot Major General Garde to stabilize the front.

Unfortunately, Gallieni was only the military governor of Paris. The only troops he could command were the 6th Army and the police forces stationed in Paris. The 5th Army was commanded by Joffre.

At the same time, Gallieni knew that Jia Fei would not do this. Generals in high positions often have inextricable relationships with capitalists, and some are even children of two hundred families. They are often only responsible for enjoying and escaping.

"The 5th Army cannot fail!" Gallieni said while pacing back and forth, with an anxious tone: "They are the only ones in Daroise. If they are defeated across the board, Paris and the main force of France will be divided by the German army. By then Paris It’s like being surrounded by German troops!”

This may be the plan of the German First Army. Their judgment is that they can easily penetrate the defense line of the 5th Army, thus dividing and surrounding Paris while killing France's effective forces.

Gallieni suddenly stood still in front of the map, and his tone gradually turned into a low tone:

"What is Joffre doing?"

"Our opportunities are gradually losing. Now we should immediately attack the enemy and stabilize the 5th Army's defense line!"

"Otherwise it's all over, everything!"

Gallieni slammed his fist on the location of Darvaz on the map, as if he hoped to personally defeat the Germans there.

He prayed in his heart: Give the order, Joffre! For God's sake, we can't lose this battle!

At this time, a staff officer who answered the phone suddenly looked shocked. After being stunned for a while, he turned to ecstasy. He ignored the etiquette that subordinates should have towards their superiors and shouted in the direction of Gallieni from a distance of more than ten meters:

"We are victorious, General! We are victorious!"

Gallieni looked confused. He turned to look at the staff officer:

"What did you say? What victory?"

The other people in the headquarters also stopped what they were doing and looked at the staff officer, all confused.

All defense lines are retreating. How can there be victory?

Even the group army commander has fled with his headquarters. Who can win?

Those farmers with hoes and sticks?

The staff officer was so excited that he was speechless: "It's a major named Brownie... No, it should be a guy named Charles, he... he is the key point. It is said that he invented a weapon..."

Gallieni puffed up his chest and scolded his staff dissatisfied:

"Speak clearly, Major! Or I'll kick you out of here!"

The headquarters doesn't need this kind of trash who can't even speak clearly.

"Yes, General!" The staff officer swallowed and tried to stay calm, but his chest was still heaving violently.

He spent a few seconds organizing his words before reporting:

"It was a man named Charles. He invented a piece of equipment using a tractor. Major Browne led his more than 300 men and relied on this equipment to launch a counterattack at a critical moment and win!"

The headquarters instantly became quiet, and the sound of the typewriter stopped. The typist wearing glasses raised his head and looked at the staff officer through the lenses with a shocked look on his face, as if to say, how could this happen? Are you sure this isn't a novel?

Gallieni was so excited that his beard trembled slightly, but he still couldn't believe it was true. He asked dubiously: "Has the intelligence been confirmed?"

"Confirmed!" The staff officer raised the phone in his hand and nodded with certainty: "The Germans have been driven to the north bank of the Marne River. They have lost at least more than 5,000 people!"

The headquarters burst into cheers, and some signalmen even threw documents into the air excitedly. Papers were flying everywhere in the air and on the ground.

Gallieni asked again: "What kind of equipment is that? Can three hundred people defeat thousands of Germans?"

"I don't know, General!" the staff officer replied: "They couldn't explain clearly on the phone. It's something like an 'iron can'. They called it a 'tank'!"

"Tank?" Gallieni was confused. This was a completely unfamiliar word and he couldn't imagine what it was.

Gallieni planned to put it aside first, with a hint of joy in his tone: "The person who invented this equipment, I say his name is..."

"His name is Charles, General!"

"Well!" Gallieni nodded: "Which army is he from? We should give him the most generous reward..."

"No, General!" the staff officer replied: "He is a 17-year-old boy and does not belong to any army!"

Gallieni was stunned. A 17-year-old boy invented the tank and then saved France...

Why does it sound so unreal?

"Oh, by the way!" the staff officer added: "That's the businessman who funded us, his name is Francis, and Charles is his youngest grandson!"

Gallieni was stunned: he funded the 5th Army to bring the troops to Daroise, then rumors emerged to lead the German army to Daroise, and finally he invented a "tank" to defeat the Germans.

Are these all coincidences?

If it's not a coincidence...

Gallieni vaguely felt that it was not him who was fighting this battle, but an invisible hand behind his back!

…

While Gallieni and the others were busy, Charles was finally able to escape from the enthusiasm of the French soldiers.

When he got home, he thought something had happened. There were people surrounding him three times inside and three outside.

When they saw Ciel, they all exclaimed:

"It's Master Charles!"

"Master Charles is back!"

…

They took the initiative to make way for a path that led to the small yard in front of the door.

Djorka and Camille were busy greeting each other, and the door was already full of things: flour, eggs, cheese, fruit...

"Char!" Mom Camille waved to Charles on tiptoe through the crowd, her face full of excitement and pride: "The neighbors brought you gifts, they are so nice!"

Charles took off his peaked cap and nodded humbly as he walked:

"Thank you, thank you everyone!"

His polite and decent behavior immediately received praise:

"What a sensible boy!"

"We should thank you, Master Charles! You saved us all!"

"We are proud of you, you are our hero!"

…

A fat man was pushed in front of Ciel by his parents.

Charles recognized his name as Teddy, a classmate who always bullied him in the past. If Matthew hadn't blocked him, Charles might not be alive until now.

"Apologise to Master Charles!" His father grabbed Teddy's back collar like he was holding a prisoner.

Teddy seemed frightened, but not because of his father.

He raised his head in horror, his eyes wandering and he did not dare to look at Charles, and his jaw trembled uncontrollably:

"Xia...Xiaer, you won't...you won't use that 'iron can' to deal with me, right?"

Charles laughed:

"Of course not, Teddy! It's for use against enemies!"

Then he looked towards the surrounding neighbors and raised his head:

"Our guns will always be aimed at our enemies, not our friends!"

The neighbors cheered:

"That's right, Master Charles!"

"Well done, Master Charles!"

…

Teddy relaxed and glanced at Ciel gratefully:

"We...are friends?"

Ciel nodded firmly:

"certainly!"

"Thank you, Charles!" Teddy's eyes were red and his voice was choked: "Thank you very much!"

Then his eyes lit up, he came forward and whispered: "I can introduce Ada to you!"

Ada is Teddy's sister, three years older than Teddy. She is plump, youthful and beautiful, and is the object of admiration and discussion among many of her peers, including teenagers like Charles who have entered adolescence.

But unfortunately, Teddy's words were heard by Ada.

"Teddy!" Ada screamed and stood out from the crowd, with a murderous look in her eyes. She also glanced at Ciel with a little panic and shyness in her eyes.

Teddy realized that something was wrong, and immediately broke away from his father's control and ran away, saying something from a distance:

"See you later, Ciel, I keep my word!"

Ciel responded half-jokingly:

"It's a deal!"

The neighbors burst into laughter, and Ada blushed, pretending to run after Teddy.