I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 249

Chapter 249: The Legion of Honour

Charles had indeed been very busy recently; he hadn’t had a single day off since Christmas.

The reason was that the air combat situation at the front was uncertain. Air battles often occurred suddenly and lasted only a short time. If Charles took time off at home, by the time he received the notification and made his way to the command post, the battle might already be over.

Charles occasionally mentioned this to Gallieni: “General, I want to know—are the holidays I’ve missed being recorded day by day?”

Gallieni only replied indirectly, “The New Year has passed, Colonel!”

The New Year’s Day was the fifth day after Christmas, and on that day, Charles had been working in the command post until nightfall.

What Gallieni meant was that, now that the New Year had passed, Charles was an adult, and as an adult and a colonel, it was normal not to have any time off during wartime.

...

As the sky darkened and the streetlights began to flicker on, Charles had spent another busy day dealing with the reorganization of the aviation corps.

In this era, even airplanes were new, so everything—whether it was the formation of the air corps, deployment, or air-ground coordination—needed Charles to teach everything by hand.

He stretched lazily and rubbed his sore neck, complaining inwardly: “No raise in allowance, but the workload has increased by so much. Being an adult doesn’t seem like a good thing!”

“Colonel!” Gallieni, munching on bread, raised his head towards Charles.

Charles understood the signal and reluctantly approached, thinking that the old man had yet another complaint for him to address.

Gallieni hadn’t been doing anything these days except poking holes in Charles’ reorganization plan. Sometimes, he even asked Charles to explain why certain arrangements were made or how to solve potential countermeasures from the enemy.

But this time, Charles was mistaken...

As Charles walked up to the desk, Gallieni took two boxes from the drawer and handed them, along with a document, to him. He said calmly, “This is for you, for your contribution to France!”

Charles, puzzled, opened one of the boxes and found a medal carefully placed inside.

He looked at Gallieni with confusion. Gallieni merely shrugged and continued munching on his bread while signing the documents on his desk.

Lieutenant Colonel Fernand happened to walk by and stopped when he saw the medal: “My God, the Legion of Honour, you’ve received the Legion of Honour!”

Fernand then took the medal and excitedly showed it to others, shouting, “Look, the Colonel has received the Legion of Honour, the Knight’s Cross!”

The people in the command post cheered, one by one stepping forward to shake Charles’ hand and congratulate him, their eyes filled with envy as they gazed at the medal.

Suddenly, someone asked, “What about Kobdo? Shouldn’t he be taking some pictures right now?”

“He’s already gone back to the press office.”

“Call him back immediately. He’s going to be thrilled! This has to be the headline!”

...

Charles opened the other box, inside which was another medal, one he didn’t recognize either.

Fernand, excited, introduced, “This one is the Croix de Guerre. If you receive the Legion of Honour for combat achievements, you automatically get this medal, which represents France’s highest military honor!”

Charles simply replied, “Oh,” thinking to himself that there were so many different kinds of medals.

Charles’ reaction was very indifferent. As a capitalist, he didn’t value these things. He thought medals were much like the knights of old, who were granted titles or lifelong loyalty in exchange for a few words from the emperor or a title, often leading them to sacrifice their lives. Wasn’t that foolish?

Medals seemed like something similar. Compared to these, Charles preferred something more practical, like a few thousand francs in reward.

Gallieni noticed Charles’ expression and nodded inwardly.

Having been through this himself, Gallieni understood that this was just a way for the capitalists to win people’s favor. Giving Charles these medals and honors was merely a response to public protests, fulfilling their expectations to calm the masses.

People might not know much now, but Gallieni remembered very clearly: 27 years ago, Wilson, the son-in-law of the President of the Third Republic and a Member of Parliament, had colluded with the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army to sell Legion of Honour medals in bulk.

This thing, which was the highest honor in the hearts of the French military and civilians, was being sold for just a few thousand francs at the time.

The scandal later broke, and Wilson was only convicted of a minor offense. Soon after, he was released without charge and even re-elected to the parliament. A large group of involved MPs and ministers were never punished.

With such incidents, where was the honor in the Legion of Honour?

“Hey, Charles!” someone shouted. “Don’t you think we should celebrate this?”

Charles was snapped out of his thoughts and wisely responded, “You’re right. This definitely calls for a celebration. How about the officers’ club? I’ll cover all the expenses tonight!”

Immediately, cheers erupted in the command post, and the staff were more excited than if they had won a battle.

“Are you coming too, General?” Charles turned to Gallieni and asked.

“No,” Gallieni shook his head. “Just bring me a cup of coffee.”

Charles readily agreed.

Gallieni didn’t actually lack coffee; the orderly could bring him one at any time. He just didn’t want Charles to feel like he owed him anything.

...

It was Monday, and the club was almost empty.

Most officers wouldn’t choose to visit the club on this day, as many documents and affairs that needed to be dealt with in government negotiations had to be settled that day.

However, as soon as Charles and his team arrived, the club was quickly filled. As soon as they walked in, they eagerly called out to the bartender:

“One cocktail, Lucia!”

“Maybe we should have a champagne,” someone suggested.

“Good idea, today is worth celebrating!”

...

Lucia, the female bartender, skillfully poured liquor into the shaker and curiously asked, “What’s the good news today? Did Charles win another battle?”

“No, no!” Lieutenant Colonel Fernand raised his head towards Charles, who had just entered. “The most worth celebrating today is…”

Fernand paused for a moment and then unexpectedly said, “That Charles is covering all the costs! Let’s celebrate, gentlemen!”

The officers cheered, and some began shaking the champagne bottles, popping the corks and spraying champagne everywhere. The once quiet and somber club was instantly filled with energy, as if it had been set ablaze.

Lucia glanced at Charles, surrounded by everyone, and nodded to another bartender, “Garell, can you cover for me?”

Garell took the shaker from Lucia’s hands, gave her a knowing glance, and wore a subtle smile on his face. “Isn’t he a bit too young for you, Lucia?”

“I heard he’s an adult now!” Lucia answered generously. “No one would refuse a hero, especially one who’s a very rich hero!”

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