I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 233

Chapter 233: Merry Christmas

The sky over Ypres, Belgium, which had already been devoid of sunshine, gradually darkened.

The weather grew colder, and the once damp, muddy land had frozen into solid ice, with only small white spots left when a shovel was struck into the ground.

Captain Claude hoped to carve a "ladder" into the side of the trench, so he could climb up to take a look at the situation outside more easily.

But in the end, he gave up, tossed aside his entrenching tool, and crawled into the tunnel, rubbing his hands together as he complained, "Perhaps we can only hope that the German shells will help us finish those damn fortifications."

The soldiers packed into the tunnel laughed, and the remaining cigarettes passed around in the dim light of the flickering candle.

One benefit of winter was that the fortifications became much harder. German artillery would often freeze as well, and the intensity of the war naturally diminished.

Or perhaps it could be said that, after more than three months of fighting, they were already tired of the war they had once thought would soon end.

Lieutenant Deni handed Captain Claude a newspaper. "Take a look at this; it might warm you up!"

Shivering, Captain Claude took the paper, unfolded it toward the candlelight, squinting as he read, "Charles will distribute ten thousand field blankets to the soldiers on the front line before Christmas."

"That's indeed good news!" Captain Claude said, though his response was rather flat. "There are too many people on the front line, and if these blankets get to us, there might only be a few scraps left."

The soldiers laughed again:
"Charles is a great officer. He always brings victory to France."

"He also sends us supplies, never failing."

"But he is just one man, and the other capitalists treat him as an enemy and rival, just because he's different from the others..."

"No, no." Captain Claude shook his head. "You fools!"

Seeing the puzzled faces of his subordinates, Captain Claude explained, "Do you think the other capitalists see Charles as an enemy just because he's different?"

"For what reason then?"

"What else do you know, Captain?"

Curious, the soldiers crowded around. In the dull, harsh, and dangerous tunnel, fresh and interesting topics were always the most welcome.

Captain Claude didn't answer but instead asked, "Think about it. Why would capitalists rather pour milk away than give it to the starving people? Do you know why?"

The soldiers were stumped. They knew that capitalists indeed did this, but they didn’t know why.

It was truly baffling—on one side, the capitalists dumped unsellable milk into the river, and on the other side, there were people about to starve to death.

Why not give that milk to the starving people? It would also earn them a good reputation.

Captain Claude answered in a low voice, "The reason is simple. Among the starving people, there might still be 1% who can afford the milk, or maybe 100 people can pool their money to buy a cup. But if the capitalists give them the milk, they won’t need to buy it. And once the demand pressure drops, the already low price of milk will drop even further. That’s like going against their own interests!"

The soldiers suddenly understood:
"It would prevent them from making money."

"How disgusting, these capitalists would rather watch people starve to death for a little money."

"They only care about making a profit, whether others lose their lives is none of their business!"

Soon, they started thinking about Charles again. Someone asked, "But what does this have to do with Charles?"

Captain Claude only gave a faint "Hmm" and smiled without answering.

Before long, someone realized:
"Charles uses his own wealth to send a large amount of supplies to the front line for free. This lowers the demand at the front."

"Yes, this stops the capitalists from raising prices and prevents them from making money."

"My God, the capitalists are enemies of Charles because of his good deeds!"

The tunnel echoed with the soldiers cursing the capitalists and standing up for Charles.

Suddenly, Captain Claude issued a sharp command: "Silence, silence!"

The soldiers immediately quieted down. At Captain Claude’s command, they grabbed their weapons and rushed out of the tunnel, spreading out to take up positions along the trench, ready for battle. They thought the enemy was about to launch a surprise attack.

But upon listening closely, a song drifted from the darkness on the opposite side.

Lieutenant Deni carefully stuck his head out and listened for a while. When he pulled his head back, his face wore a strange expression. "The Germans are celebrating Christmas. These bastards, what a memorable Christmas. May they have today and every year from now on!"

The soldiers chuckled softly, but their laughter was tinged with bitterness, for they too were experiencing this "memorable Christmas."

Someone jokingly waved his hand and shouted to the other side, "Hey, Germans, Merry Christmas!"

This humorous gesture made the nearby soldiers laugh out loud. Someone teased, "André, your words are more useful than the cannon!"

However...

From the darkness across the way came the response, "Merry Christmas," spoken in French.

Soon, more and more voices joined in the "Merry Christmas" chant, some of which were clearly newly learned, their pronunciation already distorted.

Captain Claude realized that the Germans had taken the soldiers' humor seriously.

But why couldn't it be real?

"Merry Christmas!" Captain Claude shouted, his tone sincere.

The soldiers froze for a moment and then followed suit, shouting one after another, "Merry Christmas!"

Before long, a faint light appeared on the German side. It began very bright but quickly dimmed.

However, the French soldiers could still make out what it was—it was a Christmas tree, decorated with candles, though as soon as it poked out of the trench, the flames went out, leaving only a small flicker...

Oh God, it was a German officer, shielding himself from the fierce wind with his hand.

The French soldiers should have shot him. He was the enemy, and a military officer at that. He was exposed to the light, his upper body completely out of the trench, only about a hundred meters away!
If they fired, he would be certain to die!
But no one shot. It seemed as though they had reached a silent understanding.

The German officer shouted across, "How are things, Frenchmen? We're freezing to death here!"

Captain Claude smiled gently. He understood the German officer’s humor: They didn't need to worry about capturing them; they just needed to wait for them to freeze to death.

"Everything is fine, Germans!" Captain Claude responded. "We’ll just see who can hold out the longest. Don’t you think?"

Both sides laughed.

Then everyone realized that, in such conditions, it seemed unnecessary to push the other side to death!
Humans have this tendency. In times of crisis and hardship, they would rather unite and get through the tough times together, and Christmas was merely the catalyst.

At first, they shouted back and forth across the trench, but soon someone boldly ventured into the "no man's land" between them to exchange gifts.

This act was like opening Pandora’s box. More and more people joined in, exchanging cigarettes, candy, chocolate—anything and everything.

In the end, they even invited each other to their trenches to have a drink, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

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