Chapter 97 Guessed Plan
Sorry, there are only two updates tonight. An old roommate from college came to visit me. I haven't seen him for many years. I refused him last time, but I can't refuse him this time.
I will continue to update three times tomorrow!
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The battlefield fell into peace because of the bombing of "Big Bertha".
This time, the "peace" is truly peaceful. The morale of the German army has fallen to the extreme because of the "bombing of the airship" and "the bombing of "Big Bertha".
And even if we don't consider the morale problem, the German army has no other equipment to bomb the fortress outside the enemy's range.
This makes Antwerp like a hedgehog covered with spikes. Although it is weak, it makes the German army, a beast, unable to start.
More importantly, a "rumor" spread like a gust of wind within the German army: Charles moved the artillery to the plane.
This may not be a "rumor" but a "fact". After all, all the German soldiers saw it with their own eyes. The plane fired several shells to blow up the airship and the "Big Belsa". Everyone heard the explosion and the flame.
Coincidentally, the Congreve rocket was an unused equipment that had been put in the warehouse fifty years ago. The German soldiers who were only in their twenties and thirties now had no idea what it was.
Naturally, they would use their imagination:
"If they can move the artillery onto the plane, they can also attack us from the air!"
"Of course, we are much more fragile than the airship and the "Big Belsa"!"
"Did you see the "Big Belsa" when it was blown up? God, its 420MM caliber gun barrel was blown off!"
...
If the 420MM caliber gun barrel can be blown off, wouldn't it be as easy to blow up their flesh and blood bodies as walking and eating vegetables?
The plane flew in the sky, coming and going like the wind. The Germans had no way to deal with it, but the plane with artillery could blow them up for fun!
It is common for human beings to be afraid of unknown things, and the more they think about them, the more afraid they become.
The German army was no exception, which made them dare not launch an attack on Antwerp, for fear of being the first to stand out and being hit by flying artillery.
What made Bessler even more helpless was that the well-trained German army even had deserters!
...
General Gis returned to the headquarters alone. He sat in the operations office and listened to the cheers of his subordinates outside, but his mood became heavier and heavier.
What flashed through his mind was not the destroyed airship and "Big Bertha", nor the brave Belgian planes, but the look in Albert I's eyes, which was full of contempt, disdain, and even disgust.
General Gis knew that he was completely abandoned by Albert I.
Although Albert I had no real power, he had a good reputation and image in the public, so he had considerable appeal.
Albert I used this to persuade the parliament to make one decision after another.
In fact, Albert I did not convince the parliament, but convinced the Belgian people in public speeches, and the parliament had to choose to be "convinced" under public pressure.
In view of this, General Gis thought that he might not stay in this position for long, and he thought about resigning, which would allow him to step down with dignity!
However, decades of hard work and management ended in such a dismal way, and he was still unwilling to accept it.
At this time, there were two gentle knocks on the door outside. Without waiting for General Gis to respond, De Blom pushed the door in, took off his hat and bowed slightly to General Gis, then turned back to close the door.
In General Gis's puzzled eyes, he walked to the opposite side of the desk, pulled out a chair, and asked: "Can we talk?"
"Of course!" General Gis nodded.
De Blom is the leader of a powerful Labor Party in Belgium, and he is certainly qualified to talk to General Gis.
(Note: The Labour Party is a pseudonym. Several old Belgian parties still exist today. Using the real name would be a concern for harmony.)
De Brum thanked him and sat down in front of General Giss, saying, "General, I wonder if you realize that Antwerp is on the brink of crisis?"
"On the brink of crisis?" General Giss looked puzzled. He suspected that he had heard it wrong. Wasn't the crisis just resolved?
But De Brum nodded firmly: "General, what do you think will happen next? Will the Germans stop here?"
General Gis thought for a while and shook his head slightly: "No, they won't. Antwerp is behind the German supply line. The king will continue to send people to attack. The Germans must remove this thorn!"
De Brum said "hmm": "If the Germans only have three "Big Berthas", I believe we have resolved the crisis, but this is not the case. The Germans have ten, or even more, which means..."
Perhaps out of military instinct, General Gis gave a positive answer without hesitation: "As long as they dare to come, we dare to blow them up!"
"Really?" De Brum asked back, staring at General Gis without saying a word.
At this time, silence is better than words, and General Gis immediately realized that this was impossible.
Charles used Congreve rockets, which were not powerful enough to blow up Big Bertha. The reason why he succeeded this time was because he ignited the charge of Big Bertha. They might not have had time to push the shells and charge into the barrel...
What's more, the next time Big Bertha appears outside the fortress, the Germans will definitely be on high alert, and it will not be easy for planes to get close.
After thinking for a while, General Gis asked back: "What do you want to tell me?"
De Blom replied softly: "Think about your friend's advice, General!"
"Friend?" General Gis frowned and immediately thought of Bessler.
Bessler's advice was the letter he gave, which was...hand over Charles!
General Gis was so shocked that he almost jumped up.
Before saying that handing over Charles could be explained as Antwerp, if there is still this idea now, it is collaborating with the enemy!
But the next second, he immediately understood what De Blom meant.
If this continues, Antwerp will fall sooner or later, and only handing over Charles can prevent this tragedy from happening!
"But..." General Gis said, "The king will not agree, and the Belgian people will not agree. They will send us to the gallows as traitors..."
"Then don't let them know!" De Blom handed General Gis a cigar: "You see, Germany sent spies into Antwerp to negotiate with him. He couldn't resist the temptation of a large sum of money and fled Antwerp overnight to Germany..."
Needless to say, General Gis also knew who this "he" referred to.
After thinking about it, General Gis nodded thoughtfully: "It seems to be a good suggestion!"
With the power in General Gis's hands, it seems not difficult to do this. It only needs a little cooperation from the German side-don't expose this lie.
And General Gis happened to have General Bessler as a connection.
De Blom reminded: "If you think it's feasible, you have to hurry up, otherwise..."
General Gis immediately became nervous. As long as Charles left Antwerp, Belgium would have no bargaining chips to negotiate with the Germans, which meant that Antwerp would only end up being destroyed.
What General Giss didn't realize is that if he recalled the conversation between the two verbatim, he would find that De Brum didn't mention "Charles" at all, nor did he say anything about the plan.
All of this... was all guessed by General Giss himself!
Thank you for the very important reward! Thank you!
