Chapter 61: All Traps

In the Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Palace, Gallieni stood quietly on the podium waiting for the questioning of the members of parliament.

The parliamentary questioning system was established in 1869. The French Constitution stipulates that any member of parliament can think that he has the right to ask a question to a minister or an official. The latter has the right to take the attitude he thinks is appropriate, or to answer or not to answer. ". This is considered a means for the parliament to supervise the work of the government.

The person being questioned has almost no power to "not answer", otherwise he may not be able to keep his position, just like you have the right not to speak when applying for a job, but the other party has the right not to hire you.

Galieni may be an exception. As a powerful general who turned the tide in the war, he could completely ignore the questioning of the members of parliament. No one dared and could not dismiss him. Even Gallieni could scare the members of parliament half to death just by mentioning retirement.

But Gallieni still accepted the questioning.

He explained it this way:

"Those disgusting reporters turned the rumors heard from the people into news!"

"They think a 17-year-old child can easily influence the situation of the war. Is war a game? Or children's toys? !"

"This is an insult to soldiers, the army, and martyrs!"

"I will not allow this to happen, never!"

Armand and Grevy sat still and did not ask any questions.

They did not want others to see at a glance that everything was organized by them.

The first to ask questions were those impatient parliamentarians, both left-wing and right-wing. After reading the newspaper, they always asked some boring questions out of curiosity, knowing that they could not get answers.

"General Gallieni, is it true what the newspaper said? Did the German 1st Army really expose their flank because of Charles?"

"Shouldn't we ask Charles himself?" Gallieni looked disdainful.

"Francis's purchase of food and machine gun factories cannot be denied, right?"

"Of course, so some people linked this matter with the German turn, you have a rich imagination!"

"Charles did invent the tank!"

"What does this prove? Do we owe him? No, we paid!"

…

Galieni's answer was flawless. Although what happened was true, it could not prove that Charles deliberately led the Germans to Davoise.

Galieni's attitude was clear. If you don't believe it, go ask Charles. If the parties involved deny it, then it didn't happen!

Armand couldn't bear it anymore. He stood up and half-raised his right hand to indicate that he wanted to speak. He took a small step forward and asked Gallieni on the stage calmly: "General, I only care about one thing. Should we let a talent like Charles join the army? This may save many lives and even save France from danger! "

This is Armand's strength. He put himself on the moral high ground and guided everyone to think in the direction of "saving lives" and "saving France".

If Gallieni denies it, he will ignore the lives of the soldiers on the front line and the safety of France.

If he admits it, Charles should join the army.

What Armand doesn't know is that Gallieni also wants Charles to join the army. He just tries his best to prevent Charles from being sent to the front line as an ordinary soldier. The reason why he pretends to refuse Charles is actually bargaining.

"Oh, really?" Gallieni lowered his head to meet Armand's eyes: "We need a 17-year-old to save us? I think you should replace all the front-line soldiers with teenagers, and we hide in the back drinking coffee and reading newspapers, waiting for their victory news, sir!"

The parliamentarians were amused by Gallieni's irony, and Armand's face unconsciously showed some embarrassment. He realized that Gallieni was not easy to deal with.

Armand responded:

"No, General! "

"We are discussing a special case. I will not ask other underage children to join the army."

"Charles is different. We all know that he has extraordinary military talents, whether it is inventing equipment or something else."

"I think many people, like me, do not want to see him buried, and the country is in urgent need of talents like him!"

This statement immediately aroused the approval of many parliamentarians. Even if those folk rumors are not credible, it is true that Charles invented equipment to defeat the Germans, and more than once, which means it is not a coincidence.

"Your idea is very novel, sir!" Gallieni retorted without thinking: "You let a capitalist who should have invented tanks and sidecars for us in the rear carry a rifle to the battlefield, and call it "avoiding burying talents"? Yes, you don't want to bury talents, you just want to bury him!"

The parliamentarians laughed again.

Armand was speechless, because Charles invented tanks and sidecars in the factory instead of the battlefield.

"I think I need to remind you! "Galieni added: "Only in the factory can you get access to tractors and motorcycles, and only then will you have the time, space and conditions to convert them into tanks and sidecars. In the army, you only need to consider three things: eating, sleeping, and waiting to die!"

"No, no, we can also create a similar environment for Charles..."

"Unfortunately, there is no such environment in the army, I would like to ask you to try it!"

"We can let Charles serve as a staff officer in the headquarters!"

"You may not know that the headquarters on the battlefield often receive shells sent by the enemy, sir!"

"Then don't let him go to the battlefield!"

"You mean, for Charles alone, we have to put an army group in the rear as a decoration?"

...

The laughter of the parliamentarians became louder. Although Armand was eloquent, his ignorance of the army put him at an absolute disadvantage in this debate.

At this time, Grevy stood up, not facing Gallieni on the podium, but turning to the parliamentarians behind him:

"Why don't we let Charles serve as a staff officer beside General Gallieni?"

"General Gallieni is the commander of the defense of Paris, and Charles is safe with him!"

"In this way, Charles can give advice to the army and take care of his factory in Darvoise!"

This proposal was immediately supported by the parliamentarians:

"A great idea!"

"You're right, Paris is safe!"

"In this way, Charles can continue to invent!"

...

Galieni remained calm on the surface, but he was very happy in his heart. These bastards finally fell into the trap I set!

Armand looked at Grevy with strange eyes. This was not their plan. Their goal was to send Charles to a dangerous place.

But Grevy shook his head slightly at Armand.

Armand suddenly understood Grevy's deep meaning. If the goal of "sending Charles to a dangerous place" could not be achieved, they should settle for the second best and send him to the army first.