I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

Chapter 15 A word is settled
At the Sixth Army headquarters in Paris, Gallieni was fidgeting like an ant on a hot pan.

All the intelligence he had received so far was bad news:
"The Germans showed up at Darwaz and stormed."

"A secret German force crossed the river last night. They attacked from both sides and successfully captured the Marne Bridge!"

"Our defense line has collapsed. Major General Gad is leading the command center to retreat first!"

……

"Go to hell!" Gallieni cursed. "When the battle starts, you bastards run faster than anyone else! You say 'retreat', but it's obvious that you just abandon the troops and run away!"

Gallieni had the urge to shoot Major General Gade to stabilize the front.

Unfortunately, Gallieni was only the military commander of Paris. The only troops he could command were the 6th Army and the police force stationed in Paris. The 5th Army was commanded by Joffre.

At the same time, Gallieni knew that Joffre would not do this. Generals in high positions often had close ties with capitalists. Some were even descendants of the Two Hundred families. They were often only responsible for enjoying themselves and escaping.

"The Fifth Army cannot fail!" Gallieni paced back and forth, speaking in an anxious tone. "They are the only ones in the Darvaz area. If they are defeated across the board, Paris and the main force of France will be divided by the Germans. Then Paris will be surrounded by the Germans!"

This might be what the German First Army was planning. They judged that they could easily break through the Fifth Army's defenses, thus dividing and encircling Paris while killing the French manpower.

Gallieni suddenly stopped in front of the map, his tone gradually turning low:

"What is Joffre doing?"

"Our chance is gradually disappearing. We should immediately attack the enemy from both sides to stabilize the 5th Army's defense line!"

"Otherwise it's all over, everything!"

Gallieni punched the location of Davaz on the map hard, as if he wanted to defeat the Germans there personally.

He prayed in his heart: Give the order, Joffre! For God's sake, we cannot lose this battle!

At this time, a staff officer who answered the phone suddenly looked surprised. After a moment's silence, he turned into ecstasy. He ignored the courtesy that subordinates should have towards their superiors and shouted in the direction of Gallieni from a distance of more than ten meters:
"We won, General! We won!"

Gallieni looked confused. He turned to look at the staff officer:
"What did you say? What victory?"

The other people in the command center also stopped what they were doing and looked at the staff officer, all of them were confused.

How can we win when all our defenses are collapsing?
Even the army commander has fled with his headquarters. Who can win?

Those farmers with their hoes and sticks?
The staff officer was so excited that he could not speak clearly: "It was a major named Brownie... No, it should be a major named Charles. He... He is the key point. It is said that he invented a weapon..."

Gallieni puffed out his chest and shouted at the staff officer in dissatisfaction:

"Speak clearly, Major! Or I'll kick you out of here!"

The command center doesn't need this kind of trash who can't even speak clearly.

"Yes, General!" The staff officer swallowed and tried to stay calm, but his chest was still heaving violently.

He took a few seconds to organize his words before reporting:

"It was a man named Charles who invented a piece of equipment using a tractor. Major Browne led his 300-plus men and relied on this equipment to launch a counterattack at a critical moment and won the victory!"

The headquarters fell silent instantly. The sound of the typewriter stopped. The typist with glasses raised his head and looked at the staff officer through the lenses in shock, as if to say, how could this happen? Are you sure you are not writing a novel?
Gallieni's beard trembled with excitement, but he still couldn't believe it was true. He asked doubtfully, "Has the intelligence been confirmed?"

"Confirmed!" The staff officer raised the phone in his hand and nodded with certainty: "The Germans have been driven to the north bank of the Marne River. They have lost at least 5,000 people!"

The headquarters erupted in cheers, and some signalmen even threw documents into the air excitedly, with pieces of paper flying everywhere in the air and on the ground.

Gallieni asked again: "What kind of equipment is that? Can three hundred people defeat thousands of Germans?"

"I don't know, General!" the staff officer replied, "They couldn't explain it clearly over the phone. It was something like an 'iron can'. They called it a 'tank'!"

"Tank?" Gallieni was confused. It was a completely unfamiliar word and he couldn't imagine what it was.

Gallieni was about to put it aside. There was a hint of relief in his tone: "The person who invented this device, you said his name is..."

"His name is Charles, General!"

"Yes!" Gallieni nodded. "Which unit is he from? We should give him the most generous reward..."

"No, General!" the staff officer replied, "He is a 17-year-old boy and does not belong to any unit!"

Gallieni was stunned. A 17-year-old boy invented the tank and then saved France...

Why does it sound so unreal?
"Oh, yes!" the staff officer added, "It's the businessman who funded us, his name is Francis, and Charles is his youngest grandson!"

Gallieni was stunned: he funded the 5th Army to bring the troops to Darvaz, then spread rumors to lead the German army to Darvaz, and finally invented the "tank" to defeat the Germans.

Are these all coincidences?

If it is not a coincidence...

Gallieni felt vaguely that it was not him who was fighting this battle, but an invisible hand behind him! ...

While Gallieni and his men were busy, Charles was able to escape from the enthusiasm of the French soldiers.

When he got home, he thought something had happened because there were people surrounding him in three circles inside and outside.

When they saw Charles, they exclaimed:
"It's Master Charles!"

"Master Charles is back!"

……

They took the initiative to make way for a path leading to the small courtyard in front of the door.

Dejoka and Camille were busy greeting people, and the door was already filled with things: flour, eggs, cheese, fruit...

"Charles!" Camille, Charles' mother, stood on tiptoe and waved to him through the crowd, her face full of excitement and pride. "The neighbors brought you gifts. They are so kind!"

Charles took off his cap and nodded modestly as he walked:

"Thank you, thank you everyone!"

His polite and decent behavior immediately won praise:
"What a sensible child!"

"We should thank you, Master Ciel! You saved us all!"

"We are so proud of you, you are our hero!"

……

A fat man was pushed in front of Charles by his parents.

Charles knew him as Teddy, a classmate who always bullied him. If it weren't for Matthew, Charles might not be alive today.

"Apologize to Master Charles!" His father grabbed Teddy by the back of his collar, like he was holding a prisoner.

Teddy seemed terrified, but not because of his father.

He raised his head in fear, his eyes wandering and not daring to look at Charles directly, his jaw trembling uncontrollably:

"Xia...Xiaer, you won't...you won't use that 'iron can' against me, right?"

Charles laughed.

"Of course not, Teddy! It's for use against enemies!"

Then he looked toward his neighbors and raised his head:

"Our guns will always be pointed at our enemies, not our friends!"

The neighbors cheered:
"That's right, Master Charles!"

"Well done, Master Charles!"

……

Teddy relaxed and looked at Charles with gratitude:
"We are friends?"

Charles nodded affirmatively:

"Of course!"

"Thank you, Charles!" Teddy's eyes were red, and his voice was choked: "Thank you very much!"

Then his eyes lit up, and he leaned forward and whispered, "I can introduce Ada to you!"

Ada is Teddy's sister, three years older than Teddy. She is plump, youthful and beautiful, and is the object of admiration and discussion among many of her peers, including teenagers like Charles who are entering puberty.

But unfortunately, Teddy's words were heard by Ada.

"Teddy!" Ada screamed and pushed her way out of the crowd with a murderous look in her eyes. She glanced at Charles with a little panic and shyness in her eyes.

Teddy realized that something was wrong, and immediately broke free from his father's control and ran away, saying from a distance:

"See you later, Charles, I mean what I say!"

Ciel responded half-jokingly:
"A word is settled!"

The neighbors burst into laughter, and Ada blushed and pretended to chase Teddy and ran away.

(End of this chapter)