Chapter 609 The King's Command

Charles's headquarters was located in an armored reconnaissance vehicle. There was no canvas covering it in the open air. Snowflakes continued to fall from the top. The cold wind blew loudly and made everyone shiver.

But Ciel knew this was necessary.

Covering the vehicle with a canvas to protect it from the wind and snow looks nice, but once the armored reconnaissance vehicle is attacked and catches fire, or encounters an emergency, it will cause great inconvenience for jumping out of the vehicle to escape and fight back.

Nothing is more important than safety on the battlefield, and everything else must give way to safety.

Charles was eating his lunch, a piece of black bread taken from the German army. It was as frozen as a stone and had to be held in his mouth for a while before he could bite it.

Tijani handed Charles a telegram, his excitement and pride undisguised on his face: "The Germans have sent us another batch of supplies, filled with more than twenty cars!"

Charles took the telegram and looked at it. It was the tank troops walking in the front that ran into a German supply convoy. The Germans surrendered after only firing a few shots. The supplies were captured by the French army together with the cars, many of them.

This happened more than once, and it happened in all directions. The First Armored Corps, which was originally short of supplies, suddenly became rich, at least there was no shortage of food.

"I heard that Hasselt is the material distribution center for the German army?" Charles asked.

"Yes." Tijani nodded: "The German army's train line goes directly to the city of Hasselt, where many underground warehouses were built to store supplies."

This was determined by Charles's previous control of the air and his continuous attacks on the German logistics supply lines.

The Germans did not dare to drive the train line directly to Leuven or closer to the front line, otherwise the railway and the trains would be blown into scrap metal.

They could only transport the supplies to Hasselt, and then use cars to disperse across the front line at night to avoid bombing by fighter planes.

"Very good." Charles looked at Hasselt on the map and ordered: "Order the troops to prepare for an all-night march. They must reach Hasselt before dawn tomorrow."

"Yes, General." Tijani responded and passed on the order.

He knew the importance of troops and speed. The sooner he arrived, the fewer the enemy's reinforcements would be. The less prepared Hasselt was, the greater the chance of capturing it quickly.

At this time, a car followed behind and honked its horn several times as it caught up with Charles's reconnaissance vehicle.

Charles and Tijani looked at the car in confusion, and saw Albert I sticking his head out and waving to Charles excitedly: "Hey, General, it's me. I came here as soon as I got off the plane!" "

Ciel and Tijani looked at each other and saw surprise and panic in each other's eyes.

Albert I made at least three fatal mistakes:

One is to drive on the battlefield in an unarmored and very conspicuous car. If there are German soldiers ambushing on the roadside, you can tell at a glance that the person sitting in the car is a "person".

The second is that he waved to Charles and called "General". If there happened to be a German sniper or a small team ambushing nearby, Charles and his headquarters would be in danger.

Third, he was wearing an extremely exaggerated military uniform: a high-top military hat with gold rims on his head, a thick stand-up collar with conspicuous leaves tattooed on it, a yellow sash hanging on his shoulders, and a medal on his chest. Look. He looks like a president during the Republic of China.

This outfit would bring danger to him and those around him no matter where he went.

(The picture above shows Albert I in military uniform)

Tijani poked his head out and looked around cautiously. He didn't notice anything strange before turning back to look at Charles, with a tone of joy and disdain: "Do you think he is suitable to command the Belgian army?"

Charles was a little helpless. He ordered the reconnaissance vehicle to stop and replied softly when Albert I got on the vehicle: "Yes, Major General, there will be no one more suitable than him."

Tijani thought that Charles was speaking sarcastically, and originally wanted to retort, but seeing Albert I approaching, she said nothing more, and just pursed her lips in disapproval.

He believed that this king was more suitable to stay in the rear and stabilize the overall situation, and the battlefield was not the place for him to stay.

"My dear friend." Albert I hugged Charles excitedly as soon as he got in the car, then patted Tijani on the shoulder, turned around and held Charles's hand tightly, his eyes He was full of gratitude: "I knew you would be able to lead us to defeat the Germans, General. I have never doubted this, and so have my soldiers!"

"Your Majesty." Charles took off his helmet and handed it over: "If you want us to defeat the Germans, you must wear it."

Albert I was stunned for a moment, suddenly realized, and said with embarrassment: "Of course, General, I made you laugh. But I shouldn't use your helmet, I can..."

He suddenly remembered that the Belgian army had not yet been equipped with helmets.

"Go on." Charles handed over the helmet: "My helmet is the same as everyone else's, and my orderly will get another one for me."

Charles actually wanted to get Albert I to replace the high hat with gold rim as soon as possible, which was especially obvious in the semi-open armored car.

"Okay!" Albert I finally listened to Charles's opinion and changed.

But this was not over yet. Charles sent away the car that was following him, and asked Albert I to take off his medal, cut off the epaulettes and sash, and then gave him a white cloak.

Albert I was quite smart and knew what this was for, so he had no objections from beginning to end.

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"What can we do, General?" asked Albert I.

"You may already know where our target is." Charles replied.

"Of course." Albert I pointed to a point on the spread-out map and said: "Hasselt."

This is not difficult to guess, and it can be analyzed from the direction of Charles's troops.

"First," Charles replied: "I need your troops to build a supply line from Namur to Hasselt."

"Understood!" Albert I nodded very straightforwardly.

He knew what it was like to build a supply line.

The supply line is different from the defense line.

The defense line is to build trenches and pull barbed wire, guarding every point without loopholes.

The supply line is to occupy villages and towns along the way and guard them, and provide cover and protection for the supply convoys when they come.

Charles did this when he attacked Antwerp, and Albert I had studied these thoroughly long ago.

"Secondly," Charles continued, "I hope you can send a team of militiamen to infiltrate Hasselt and lead the people of Hasselt to cooperate with our army's attack."

"No problem." Albert I nodded confidently, which was what he often did.

Tijani suddenly realized it, he looked at Charles and then turned his gaze to Albert I.

The king is indeed a suitable commander, Tijani thought, because the Belgians along the way would think that it was the king who brought the army and Charles to liberate them!