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

Chapter 955 Russia's Attitude
"Now, Lieutenant General," Queen Mary gently lifted her chin in front of Charles, tilting her head slightly to examine him closely, "shouldn't we proceed with our plan to move forward?"

"You mean attacking Austria-Hungary?" Charles shook his head slightly: "I'm afraid that won't work."

Queen Mary's smile faltered, a hint of doubt appearing in her eyes.

Was it because we didn't give enough? Or was the explanation not clear enough?

“It’s not that I’m unwilling, Your Majesty,” Charles leaned closer and explained in a low voice, “I think you’ve heard that Britain and the United States are currently trying to bypass France and negotiate with Germany. If we attack Austria-Hungary as you plan…”

Queen Mary understood instantly.

As someone who travels between various countries, she is certainly aware of the interests between France and Britain and the United States.

If the French army launched its attack from Saarbrücken, the British and American forces would likely be able to linger in the rear.

As a result, Charles's troops were isolated deep in German territory, and even with Charles's extraordinary abilities, it was inevitable that they would suffer heavy losses in a battle with the Germans.

And this is exactly what Britain and the United States hope to see.

Queen Marie was starting to panic. Did this mean that Charles couldn't save Romania?
"Perhaps I can persuade Britain and the United States," Queen Marie Antoinette suggested. "Let Britain, the United States, and France unite to fight the Germans."

Charles chuckled softly: "Do you think this will be useful?"

Queen Mary shook her head slightly, looking dejected.

It certainly won't work; the biggest interest of Britain and the United States right now is to curb the rise of France.

What does Romania mean to them?
Trade them oil fields?

If Britain and the United States can bring down France, they won't have to worry about getting oil fields.

Just as she was worrying, she suddenly caught sight of Charles calmly flipping through the contract, and her furrowed brows immediately relaxed.

"Lieutenant General," Queen Mary said, her voice tinged with a lingering sorrow, "you must have a way, won't you?"

Charles stared at the 30% equity stake on the contract: "There is a way, but..."

"What an insensitive fellow," Queen Mary cursed inwardly. "All he cares about is oil."

"Rest assured, Lieutenant General." Queen Mary said, slightly bored, "I would be happy to change the shareholding to 50%."

"If you are interested, we can also talk about shares in coal, iron and copper mines."

"Or it could be the preferential policies that led to the Bernard Group's factory construction in Romania."

Charles's eyes lit up.

He is preparing to enter Romania to develop the military industry. If he can simultaneously own coal, iron, and copper mines and have favorable policies, it will form a complete industrial chain and greatly reduce production costs.

“It’s a deal,” Charles said.

“It’s a deal!” Queen Mary nodded with a smile.

As Albert I said, this was to complete the binding of the interests of the Charles, which meant the security of Romania and even Transylvania.

Who says that "what you can't get on the battlefield, you can't get at the negotiating table"?
As long as we cling to Ciel's coattails, anything is possible!
“Actually, it doesn’t need to be that complicated,” Charles replied. “You should remember the French paratroopers capturing Saarbrücken, right?”

A hint of surprise flashed in Queen Mary's eyes: "You mean, send paratroopers to reinforce Romania?"

“You could say that.” Charles put the file aside, picked up the map, located Romania, and pointed at it with his finger: “France may not be able to reinforce Romania by land or sea, but the air is a different story.”

"We don't actually need to send many reinforcements; we just need to use transport planes to send a batch of troops to Romania."

"Then the Germans realized that there were French troops in Romania, and that these French troops could be parachuted into their rear at any time."

(The blue line in the image above marks the southward advance of the German and Austro-Hungarian troops. This line is known as the Thessaloniki Line because it passes through the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. The red arrow points to Thessaloniki. The area circled in red represents the Allied Powers, which were occupied by the German army in 1915. Their airspace was open, and the German and Austro-Hungarian forces were unable to block it.)

Queen Mary exclaimed excitedly, "Fantastic, Lieutenant General, you are a genius!"

Overwhelmed with excitement, she leaned forward and kissed Charles on the cheek, whispering in his ear, "You are my hero, Lieutenant General!"

Charles didn't see anything wrong with it; it was common etiquette among Europeans. He just felt that Queen Mary had been holding her for a bit too long.

After the Queen released him, Charles continued, "But all of this is just a facade. It can make the Germans uneasy and hesitant, but all we gain is some time. What will truly force the German army to retreat is Russia's attitude."

"Russia's attitude?" Queen Mary looked at Charles in surprise: "I thought it was too busy to take care of itself."

Russia's performance has been consistently unsatisfactory. Despite being a major power with formidable military strength, it has been on a losing streak.

Unlike my Charles, who repeatedly defeated the mighty German army with only a few tens of thousands of men in the First Panzer Corps!

“It must be Russia.” Charles pulled Queen Mary back from her reverie.
“You should know one thing, Your Majesty.”

"Transport planes can only carry infantry; they cannot carry tanks, artillery, vehicles, or even a few machine guns."

"If the Germans had understood this, they would still have attacked Romania."

Queen Mary suddenly realized: "But how can we get reinforcements from Russia in its current state?"

She then added:
"The Russians have not yet resolved their internal problems, so they will not be interested in external wars."

"Moreover, the Germans are not attacking Russia now, and Russia is happy to maintain the status quo."

"If Russia were to reinforce Romania at this time, it would likely anger the Germans. Russia would not do something so foolish."

This is in Russia's interest, and no amount of lobbying or offering benefits will change that.

Charles sighed softly: "Think about it, Your Majesty, the bourgeoisie that now rules Russia, that is, the capitalists of Russia."

After the February Revolution, the Soviets voluntarily relinquished power, and the bourgeoisie came to power.

Queen Mary remained silent for a moment, still unable to grasp the connection: "So what? Will the capitalists continue to fight the Germans because of this?"

“Otherwise?” Charles retorted. “Would you allow a ceasefire? Would the Germans let Russia cease hostilities like this? What the Germans want is Russia’s surrender, reparations, and a large amount of resources from Russia in the hope of defeating the Allied Powers on the Western Front!”

These words were like a wake-up call, and Queen Mary nodded repeatedly:
"Yes, Lieutenant General."

"Russian capitalists are unlikely to pay this money; they would want the war to continue."

"Especially with the Allied victory in sight, they hoped to hold out until the moment of Allied victory, and then they would be the victors!"

Charles nodded: "So, go find Brusilov; his attitude is crucial!"

(End of this chapter)