Chapter 448 Newspaper Office on Motorcycle

When Albert I found Charles, Charles was signing the document as if nothing had happened.

Albert I stepped forward and asked cautiously: "Brigadier General, have you heard? They are going to ask Joffre to surrender."

"Yes, I heard." Charles nodded calmly.

"You, what do you think?" Albert I asked again.

Without waiting for Charles to answer, Albert I cursed indignantly: "Too much, everyone knows that this is your credit, we can never tolerate this. In addition, they didn't even consider Belgium. Aren't we the ones who really have the right to speak?"

Albert I's words are correct.

Although the war was fought by the British and French coalition forces, the battlefield was Belgium. From the perspective of respecting national territorial sovereignty, Albert I's opinion must be sought in any case.

Then Albert I assured Charles: "Don't worry, Brigadier General. I will go to Paris right away to explain Belgium's position to them."

"It won't work, Your Majesty." Charles continued to sign the document: "They are not afraid of you."

Albert I nodded dejectedly. At this time, he basically had no say, which had been verified before.

"It's nothing, Your Majesty." Charles stopped writing and looked up at Albert I and Colonel Eden, with a relaxed tone: "I'm just worried that Joffre might transfer my troops out because of this. You know, they are unlikely to leave here after accepting the surrender, or let us continue to guard this land, which will give others a handle."

Albert I's heart stopped for several beats immediately.

He has been worried that Charles would be upset, but now it seems that the problem is not here, but Joffre.

After thinking about it, Albert I felt that Charles was right. If Joffre accepted the surrender, Joffre should lead the troops to occupy the encircled area and disarm the encircled German army.

Well, you can't just rob Charles of his victory and let Charles' troops stay in Antwerp to protect him, right?

Selling people and letting them count the money for you?

The media's saliva and people's anger will drown Joffre!

Albert I looked at Colonel Eden.

Colonel Eden nodded slightly, with a trace of fear in his eyes.

Colonel Eden didn't expect this either. It seems that the matter is much more serious than they imagined. This is not something that can be solved by coaxing Charles's thoughts or exchanging interests.

"But please rest assured." Charles had a confident smile on his face: "Belgium will not have any problems. One day Joffre's troops can't hold on, and they will still transfer me and my troops back, just like the Dardanelles. They always want to transfer me back now."

It would be fine if we didn't mention the Dardanelles. Albert I swallowed hard when he mentioned it.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Dardanelles is powerless to save the situation, but Charles is now insisting on not going back.

One day, will Charles also refuse to return to Belgium because of the war in other places?

Charles seemed to see through Albert I's thoughts:

"No, no, I will come back, I promise."

"You and your people are my friends, I will not forget this."

"In this battle, I saw the power of Belgian citizens united together. Without your support, we could not have won this victory."

"To be honest, I think the guerrillas and the Belgian people should be part of the surrender, but unfortunately they don't think so."

Albert I was moved and nodded repeatedly.

...

After leaving Charles's headquarters, Colonel Eden remained silent.

He knew what was happening in Belgium now. Although the guerrillas were very large, the total force had reached more than 200,000 at this time.

But they were all militias, and a considerable number of them came for Charles.

This is Charles' cohesion. They are Charles' fans. They believe in Charles' leadership and believe that they can win under Charles' command.

Once replaced by Joffre, the guerrillas are likely to collapse, and the current good situation will instantly vanish or even worsen.

"We can't let this happen." Colonel Eden said: "Never!"

"I know what to do." Albert I replied.

"What?" Colonel Eden looked at Albert I in confusion.

"We can mobilize everyone to oppose Joffre." Albert I replied: "In addition, there are newspapers, and Belgians in France and Britain, distributing leaflets or speeches, or expounding on the interests in their newspapers."

Albert I just thought of it.

He recalled Charles' words over and over in the carriage:

"They are not afraid of you."

What are they afraid of?

It is public opinion, people's opposition, and media criticism!

And Charles is right. The Belgian people also contributed a lot to the victory of this battle. If Joffre is allowed to take away the fruits of victory, it will also be a huge blow to the morale of the Belgian people!

Therefore, all Belgians should be mobilized to resist this unreasonable practice.

Colonel Eden thought for a while and nodded: "This sounds like a good idea, Your Majesty, we should do this, not only to fight for Charles' rights, but also to help ourselves!"

...

So, the Belgians were quickly organized.

The next day, the Belgian "Patriot" published an article on the front page with the headline "We defeated the enemy, but are about to be defeated by our allies."

The article wrote in sharp words:

"The Allied forces did have sacrifices, but war is never about the greater the sacrifices, the greater the merits, but who defeated the enemy so that the army and the people do not need to continue to sacrifice."

"From this perspective, Charles is the savior of the Allied forces, the savior of France and Belgium, and the savior of the people, but some people think that his merits are not enough to accept the surrender of the Germans."

"They think that those who should accept the surrender are those who were rescued from the pain of war by Charles!"

"Did Charles rescue them, or did they rescue Charles?"

"What is even more puzzling is that what does the sacrifice and dedication of the front-line soldiers have to do with Joffre?"

"Is it a merit to let the soldiers charge on the battlefield and cause them to suffer huge casualties?"

...

The Patriot was founded in 1884 and published in Brussels.

After the outbreak of World War I, when most of Belgium was occupied, it did not choose to withdraw from Belgium, but turned into an underground newspaper to continue calling on people to fight against the German occupation forces.

In order to deal with the Germans' searches and crackdowns, they used motorcycles to travel around, so they were called "newspapers on motorcycles".

At this time, it was absolutely the authority in Belgium, and the articles immediately caused a strong response once they were published.

Coupled with the guidance of Albert I and Colonel Eden, it soon set off a wave that swept across the entire European continent.