Chapter 676 - Reap popularity
Hasselt Command.
Albert I couldn't wait to pull out the telegram from his pocket as soon as he walked into the office. It was indeed from Gallieni:
"We believe that only Charles' troops can change this decline in the recent defeat of the British army in the Somme."
"Given the first troops the Germans put into the Somme had one tank division and three infantry divisions."
"We need to transfer the main force of Shire's First Armored Army and the 6th Army to the Somme River to fight."
"To avoid the Germans taking advantage of the situation in Belgium, please be sure to prepare for defense in advance!"
Albert I hesitated for a while and ordered Major General Eden: "Reply: 'I want to know whether this is General Heg's order, or the decision of the French parliament, or Lieutenant General Charles!'."
Soon, Major General Eden came back with a telegram, with a surprise saying: "General Gallieni said that they have not made the final decision yet, which is General Hegel's personal request!"
Albert I breathed a sigh of relief. If so, there would be room for a turnaround.
Without hesitation, he immediately called Gallieni back: "I don't think this is a wise choice. General, please consider it carefully. And I think the most important thing now is Lieutenant General Charles's idea, he will definitely give it An answer that satisfies everyone.”
If Charles thinks it's OK, it's OK.
Even if something goes wrong, Charles will take responsibility. One day when he returns again, he will still be able to recover the lost land.
Then Albert I ordered: "Prepare the car, I'm going to Paris."
But immediately changed his words: "No, prepare for the plane!"
He wants to arrive in Paris as soon as possible, even if it is not safe to take a plane at night.
Just now, Albert I had decided that he would start from several aspects at the same time:
First, he went to Paris to lobby and made French politicians believe that Hegel's reinforcement plan would be of no help.
Second, mobilize all Belgian military and civilians to protest against Hegel's behavior of ignoring Belgium's safety!
The most important thing is to find out what Charles thinks.
As long as Charles, the "Mars of France", thinks this plan is not feasible, Hegel will lose most of its support.
...
It was already past ten o'clock after Charles finished talking with Gallieni, and he went downstairs to go to the Officers' Club.
But what is strange is that Paris, the former "city of light", is now dark. Candles were lit everywhere on the streets and alleys, but now only a few street intersections in the center can still see a little light.
When I walked into the club, I felt even more confused.
Usually it was not closed until midnight. It was around 10 o'clock, but there was no one left.
Lucia and Garrell are cleaning and they are preparing for the closing.
When they saw Charles enter the door, the two of them were stunned at first, and then they had charming smiles on their faces. I don’t know if it was because of their profession or the military rank taken by Charles.
Garril pushed Lucia, turned his head to Shire and said, "Wait, General. What are you doing?"
"A cup of soda," said Charles, who didn't want to drink coffee and couldn't fall asleep.
Lucia explained: "Ordinary soda."
The soda in the club is made of regular soda and hard soda, which contains 5% alcohol, which is almost beer.
"Okay!" Garrell responded, and soon brought it to the two people who sat on the table. When he returned to the counter, he turned on a few more colorful lights to add to the atmosphere.
Charles looked out the dark window and asked, "Paris seems to be different from before."
"It has something to do with you." Lucia took a few sips of soda, and she seemed a little thirsty.
"It has something to do with me?" Charl looked at Lucia with a confused look on his face.
Lucia nodded and lowered her cup:
“Capitalists try to create an atmosphere that is not good for you.”
"You may not know, because you were commanding the navy in Antwerp during this period, and no one told you about these conspiracies hidden in the darkness of the country."
Shire was confused: "An atmosphere that was not good for me?"
"Yes." Lucia unconsciously rubbed her right arm, and the long-term cocktail made it sore:
"Recently, a sound has been heard saying that Charles used the 'echo detector' to control and monopolize the transportation of materials, which has caused prices to rise sharply."
"Now, people can no longer afford electricity or even candles. The cinema is only open for business for three days a week, and there is no trace of people on the street after 10 o'clock."
“Because people don’t have extra money to spend, including our club.”
Shire still didn't understand: "But I did nothing. I just set up an insurance company and a shipping company. The materials I shipped were always sold at a fair price."
No mistakes, one song, one content, one in 6, one book, one bar, one reading!
The materials should be looser than before, because Charles ensured that more materials were delivered to France safely and were not controlled and exploited by the UK.
"I know." Lucia laughed: "It has nothing to do with you."
This made Charles even more confused.
First, he said "because of you", and now he said "it has nothing to do with you". Are these two sentences not contradictory?
Lucia seemed to see through Charles's thoughts, and she smiled and leaned closer, explaining: "Like I said, this is something capitalists intentionally. They bought all the materials you sold at a fair price and hoarded them in the warehouse, artificially Created the illusion of more tight supplies."
Shire got it.
This is a means by which domestic capitalists blame Shire, and perhaps the parliamentarians will also participate.
They operate at the node where Shire controls the safety of the waterway, which can not only stock up on high prices to earn world-renowned profits, but also hit Shire's reputation and kill two birds with one stone.
"When did it happen?" Charles asked, "I mean, it's not a day since the price has risen to this point, right?"
"Short long after your 'echo detector' won the first victory on the battlefield." Lucia nodded slightly.
Shire frowned. It was two months ago: "You should have told me earlier."
"I think it's the time." Lucia raised her eyebrows.
"What?" Charles didn't understand what Lucia said.
Lucia smiled softly:
"Only in this way, after you make a statement, people will suddenly realize that they have misunderstood you."
"It is only then that people know the ugly face of capitalists and realize that they have been deceived."
"Then they think of a more serious problem: when you fight the enemy on the front and ensure France's supplies and transportation, the capitalists in the rear are raising prices and slandering you."
As he said that, Lucia picked up the cup and touched Charles gently, and they made a crisp sound: "No thanks, this is what I should do!"
At this time, Charles realized that Lucia would not just collect information.
Things are indeed as she thought. If the capitalist's small move was pushed to death in the cradle when there was something wrong at the beginning, it would be impossible to have a reversal or shock.
There is no doubt that this will reap another wave of popularity for Charles!
