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

Chapter 61 It’s all a trap
In the Chamber of Deputies at the Bourbon Palace, Gallieni stood quietly on the podium waiting for questions from the members of parliament.

The parliamentary interpellation system was established in 1869. The French Constitution stipulates that any member of parliament may consider that he has the right to ask a question to a minister or an official. The latter has the right to take the attitude he deems appropriate, either to answer or not to answer. "

This is considered a means for Parliament to monitor the work of the government.

The person being questioned has almost no right to "not answer", otherwise he may lose his job, just like when applying for a job, you have the right not to speak, but the other party has the right not to hire you.

Gallieni might be an exception. As a powerful general who turned the tide in the war, he could completely ignore the questioning of the members of parliament. No one dared and could not remove him from office. Even Gallieni could scare the members of parliament half to death just by mentioning retirement.

But Gallieni accepted the questioning anyway.

He explained it this way:
"Those disgusting reporters turned hearsay into news!"

"They think a 17-year-old can easily influence the war situation. Is war a game? Or a toy for children?!"

"This is an insult to the soldiers, the army, and the martyrs!"

"I won't allow this to happen, never!"

Armand and Grevi sat there without moving or asking any questions.

They don't want others to see at a glance that everything was organized by them.

The first to ask questions were those impatient congressmen, both left and right. After reading the newspapers, out of curiosity, they always asked some boring questions that they knew had no answers.

"General Gallieni, is what the newspapers say true? Did the German First Army really expose its flank because of Charles?"

"Shouldn't we ask Charles himself?" Gallieni said with disdain.

"You can't deny that Francis bought food and the machine gun factory, right?"

"Of course, so some people have linked this incident to the German turn. You have very rich imaginations!"

"It is true that Charles invented the tank!"

"What does that prove? Do we owe him? No, we paid him!"

……

Gallieni's answer was flawless. Although what happened was true, it could not prove that Charles deliberately led the Germans to Davoise.

Gallieni's attitude is clear. If you don't believe it, go ask Charles. If the parties involved deny it, then it didn't happen!
Armand could no longer hold back. He stood up and half-raised his right hand to indicate that he was ready to speak. He took a small step forward and asked Gallieni on the stage calmly, "General, I only care about one thing. Should we let a talent like Charles join the army? This may save many lives and even save France from danger!"

This is Armand's strength. He puts himself on the moral high ground from the beginning and guides everyone to think in the direction of "saving lives" and "saving France".

If Gallieni denied it, he would be ignoring the lives of the soldiers on the front line and the safety of France.

If he admits it, Charles should join the army.

What Armand didn't know was that Gallieni also wanted Charles to join the army. He just tried his best to prevent Charles from being sent to the front line as an ordinary soldier. The reason why he acted as if he wanted to keep Charles out was actually bargaining.

"Oh, really?" Gallieni lowered his head to meet Armand's gaze. "We need a 17-year-old kid to save us? I think you should replace all the frontline soldiers with teenagers, and we can hide in the back, drink coffee and read newspapers, and wait for their victory news, sir!"

The congressmen were all amused by Gallieni's irony. Armand unconsciously showed some embarrassment on his face, as he realized that Gallieni was not easy to deal with.

Armand responded:
"No, General!"

"We are discussing a special case. I will not ask other underage children to join the army." "Charles is different. We all know that he has extraordinary military talents, whether it is inventing equipment or something else."

"I think many people, like me, don't want to see him buried, and the country is in urgent need of talents like him!"

This statement immediately attracted the approval of many parliamentarians. Even if those folk rumors were not credible, it was true that Charles invented equipment to defeat the Germans, and more than once, which meant that it was not a coincidence.

"Your idea is very novel, sir!" Gallieni retorted without thinking: "You let a capitalist who should have invented tanks and sidecars for us in the rear carry a rifle to the battlefield, and call it 'avoiding burying talents'? Yes, you don't want to bury talents, you just want to bury him!"

The MPs laughed again.

Armand was speechless because Charles invented the tank and the sidecar in a factory, not on the battlefield.

"I think I need to remind you!" Gallieni added: "Only in the factory can you get access to tractors and motorcycles, and have the time, space and conditions to convert them into tanks and sidecars. In the army, you only need to consider three things: eating, sleeping, and waiting to die!"

"No, no, we can also create a similar environment for Ciel..."

"Unfortunately, there is no such environment in the army. I would like to invite you to give it a try!"

"We can let Charles serve as a staff officer in the headquarters!"

"You may not know that the headquarters on the battlefield often receives shells sent by the enemy, sir!"

"Then don't let him go to the battlefield!"

"You mean, for the sake of Charles alone, we have to leave an army behind as a decoration?"

……

The congressmen laughed even louder. Although Armand was eloquent, his ignorance of the military put him at an absolute disadvantage in this debate.

At this time, Grevy stood up, and he turned not to Gallieni on the podium but to the deputies behind him:

"Why don't we allow Charles to serve as a staff officer to General Gallieni?"

"General Gallieni is the commander of the defense of Paris. Charles is safe with him!"

"This way Charles can give advice to the army and still take care of his factory in Darvaz!"

The proposal was immediately supported by the MPs:

“Great idea!”

"You're right, Paris is safe!"

"This way, Ciel can continue to invent!"

……

Gallieni appeared calm on the surface, but he was very happy in his heart. These bastards finally fell into the trap I set!
Armand looked at Grevi with strange eyes. This was not their plan. Their goal was to send Charles to a dangerous place.

But Grevi shook his head slightly at Armand.

Armand suddenly understood Grevy's deep meaning. If the goal of "sending Charles to a dangerous place" could not be achieved, he should settle for the second best option and send him to the army first.

(End of this chapter)