I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 107

Chapter 107: Casting a Long Line to Catch a Big Fish

Early the next morning, Charles, as usual, headed to the City Defense Command under Laurent’s escort.

Unlike normal days, the streets of Paris were lined with crowds of people who had gathered early. At first glance, it looked like a protest or a parade. The police were also on the scene, nervously holding the crowds back to leave the middle of the street clear for vehicles to pass.

As the car carrying Charles approached, someone in the crowd screamed:

"Look, here he comes! That’s his car!"

"It’s him! He’s a lieutenant now!"

...

In the next instant, cheers erupted. People called out Charles’s name and waved to him. Some even scattered fresh flowers from rooftops. The entire street seemed to rain fragrant petals.

The vehicles on the road slowed down instinctively. Some drivers pulled aside to make way for Charles, while others simply wanted a glimpse of him. Drivers and passengers alike leaned out of their windows, saluting or waving enthusiastically in Charles’s direction.

Charles was taken aback by the overwhelming scene. Looking ahead, he saw an endless sea of people stretching into the distance, countless hands waving from streets, windows, and even the smallest imaginable gaps—like a field of wheat swaying in the wind.

"What are they doing?" Charles asked, bewildered.

"They’re saluting you, Lieutenant!" Laurent replied. "It’s for your near-perfect performance in Antwerp!"

Charles couldn’t understand. When he invented the tank to save Paris, people hadn’t been this enthusiastic. Yet now, over Antwerp—a place that seemed almost unrelated to them—they were ecstatic.

After some thought, Charles seemed to grasp the reason. This might be a reflection of French pride; they cared more about their international reputation.

Yes, Charles had saved Paris and their lives back then, but that had come during a humiliating defeat when France’s capital was nearly overrun again.

Although Paris had been spared thanks to Charles, the event was still a stain of disgrace.

But Antwerp—there, the French had demonstrated their prowess in Belgium, especially with the presence of 10,000 British reinforcements.

The two events were fundamentally different. Charles’s success in Antwerp allowed the French people to shake off the gloom of defeat, to stand tall and hold their noble heads high once more. It had restored their confidence, and that was undoubtedly worth celebrating!

The cheers lingered for a long time. Even after Charles had disembarked and entered the City Defense Command, the crowd continued to chant his name, unwilling to leave.

Gallieni stood at a window, his hands behind his back, gazing down at the nearly delirious crowd. When Charles arrived upstairs, Gallieni turned and gave a wry smile, laced with irony.

"If they showed this level of passion on the battlefield, the Germans wouldn’t dare set foot in Paris!"

With that, he gestured for Charles to follow him to the lounge. "Come, Lieutenant. I have some things to discuss with you."

Once inside, Gallieni sank into a chair and rummaged through the stack of telegrams on the table. After a moment, he pulled out two and handed them to Charles.

"These are telegrams from King Albert I, requesting us to send you to Antwerp again!"

Charles took the telegrams and asked in surprise, "Have the Germans launched another attack?"

Gallieni nodded.

"General Gillis may be dead, but that hasn’t ended the matter. People are demanding severe punishment for everyone who colluded with him, including members of Parliament."

"But King Albert I believes evidence is necessary and has refused to take such action. This has caused internal strife, and the military has become involved."

"The Germans have taken advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack, seizing several key towns."

"There’s also confirmed intelligence that another ‘Big Bertha’ is on its way to Antwerp!"

Charles’s heart sank. This nearly extinguished any hope for Antwerp.

Gallieni took a sip of coffee brought in by an orderly before continuing:

"King Albert I believes that only you can both calm the populace and hold off the German offensive!"

"So, he hopes you’ll reinforce Antwerp once more."

"I refused on your behalf!"

Charles was stunned. If it had already been refused, why tell him? Was it merely to inform him?

Gallieni seemed unwilling to discuss the matter further. To him, it was a settled issue—or perhaps he thought Antwerp had brought this upon itself.

Whatever the reasons, Gallieni saw this as Antwerp’s problem to solve.

Turning his gaze to a map, he continued:

"The second matter: your special tactics have proven highly effective. Over the past few days, we successfully raided three German regimental command posts, five divisional command posts, and one corps command post."

"In addition, we destroyed three munitions depots, five supply warehouses, as well as bridges and railroads. For detailed data, you can consult Lieutenant Colonel Fernand."

"What I want to say is that we plan to purchase an additional 3,000 sidecar motorcycles—immediately!"

Charles hesitated and said awkwardly, "General, our production schedule is already booked through next year..."

"We’ll pay in full!" Gallieni interrupted.

"But we only have so much production capacity..."

"Then clear other orders!" Gallieni left no room for negotiation.

"We’ve already signed contracts!" Charles pleaded. "We’ve even received down payments..."

"We’ll cover the breach-of-contract penalties!" Gallieni replied decisively.

"But it’s also a matter of reputation..."

From a businessman’s perspective, Charles knew he shouldn’t accept such queue-jumping orders. They wouldn’t be particularly profitable and carried significant hidden costs, such as disrupting production schedules.

Moreover, once it happened once, it could happen again. Too many instances would erode trust from other clients.

But Gallieni fixed Charles with a firm gaze, his tone leaving no room for argument. "You must understand one thing, Lieutenant: I am issuing an order to my staff officer. How you solve the problem is up to you. A staff officer’s job is to resolve these issues—understood?"

Charles was momentarily speechless. Was this why Gallieni had made him his staff officer?

Seeing Charles remain silent, Gallieni snorted and shot him a sidelong glance, his expression threatening.

Charles quickly straightened up and replied, "Yes, General!"

Gallieni finally nodded in satisfaction, as though his actions were perfectly reasonable.

Before Charles left, Gallieni added, "Eric and the members of the Carter Flying Club are being held at the police station next door. You should go check on them!"

"Uncle Eric’s been arrested?" Charles was shocked.

"Don’t worry," Gallieni replied while reviewing documents. "After questioning, we’ve determined they’re innocent. Go notify the police to release them."

Watching Charles rush out toward the police station, Gallieni’s lips curved into a slight smile.

This is about building connections, young man!

I play the villain; you play the hero. That way, once you’ve acquired the aircraft manufacturing plant, things will go much more smoothly for you!

But... Gallieni chuckled smugly. This is a win-win strategy. Without some small benefits, how could I ever catch the big fish in the future?

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