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

Chapter 97 The Guessed Plan

Sorry, there are only two updates tonight. An old classmate who was my roommate in college came from far away to visit me. We haven’t seen each other for many years. I rejected him last time, but I really can’t refuse him this time.

There will be three more updates tomorrow!

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The battlefield fell into silence after the bombing of "Big Bertha".

This time the "calm" was truly calm, as the morale of the German army had fallen to the extreme because of the "bombing of the airship" and the "bombing of 'Big Bertha'".

And even without considering the morale issue, the German army had no other equipment to bomb the fortress outside the enemy's range.

This made Antwerp like a hedgehog covered with sharp spines. Although it was weak, it made it impossible for the German army, a ferocious beast, to attack it.

More importantly, a "rumor" spread like wildfire within the German army: Charles moved the artillery onto the plane.

This may not be a "rumor" but a "fact". After all, all the German soldiers saw it with their own eyes. The plane fired several shells to blow up the airship and the "Big Bertha". Everyone heard the explosion and the flames.

Coincidentally, the Congreve rocket was an unused piece of equipment that had been placed in a warehouse fifty years ago, and the German soldiers, who were now in their twenties and thirties, had no idea what it was.

Naturally, they let their imagination run wild:
"If they can get artillery on planes, they can also attack us from the air!"

"Of course, we are much more fragile than the airship and Big Bertha!"

"Did you see what happened when the Big Belsa was blown up? My God, its 420mm gun barrel was blown off!"

……

If they can blow off a 420MM caliber gun barrel, wouldn't it be as easy as walking and eating vegetables to blow up their flesh and blood bodies?
The planes were flying in the sky, coming and going like the wind, and the German army had no way to deal with them, but the planes equipped with artillery could bomb them for fun!
It is common for human beings to be afraid of unknown things, and the more they think about them, the more afraid they become.

The German army was no exception, which made them dare not launch an attack on Antwerp, for fear of becoming the "first bird to stand out" and being hit by flying artillery.

What made Bessler even more frustrated was that there were even deserters among the well-trained German troops!

……

General Gis returned to the headquarters alone. He sat in the operations office and listened to the cheers of his subordinates outside, but his mood became increasingly heavy.

The scenes that flashed through his mind were not the destroyed airship and "Big Bertha", nor the Belgian planes fighting bravely, but the look in Albert I's eyes, which was full of contempt, disdain, and even disgust.

General Guise knew that he had been completely abandoned by Albert I.

Although Albert I had no real power, he had considerable appeal due to his good reputation and image among the public.

It was in this way that Albert I persuaded the parliament to make one decision after another.

In fact, Albert I did not convince the parliament, but convinced the Belgian people through public speeches, and the parliament had to choose to be "convinced" under public pressure.

In view of this, General Giss thought that he would probably not stay in this position for long, and he thought about resigning, which would allow him to step down with dignity!
However, he was still unwilling to accept that decades of hard work and management ended in such a dismal failure.

At this time, there were two gentle knocks on the door. Without waiting for General Guise to respond, De Blom pushed the door open. He took off his hat, bowed slightly to General Guise, then turned back and closed the door.

Under General Giss's puzzled gaze, he walked slowly to the opposite side of the desk, pulled out a chair, and asked, "Can we talk?"

"Of course!" General Guise nodded. De Blaum was the leader of a powerful Belgian Labour Party, so he was certainly qualified to talk to General Guise.

(Note: The Labour Party is a pseudonym. Several old parties in Belgium still exist today. If we use the real name, we are worried about the harmony.)
De Brum thanked him and sat down before General Guise, saying, "General, do you realize that Antwerp is on the brink of crisis?"

"On the brink of crisis?" General Giss looked confused. He suspected that he had heard it wrong. Wasn't the crisis just resolved?
But De Brum nodded firmly: "General, what do you think will happen next? Will the Germans stop here?"

General Gies thought for a while and shook his head slightly: "No, they won't. Antwerp is behind the German supply line. The king will constantly send people to attack. The Germans must remove this thorn!"

De Brum said, "If the Germans only had three Big Berthas, I believe we would have resolved the crisis, but that is not the case. The Germans have ten, or even more, which means..."

Perhaps out of military instinct, General Giss gave a positive answer without hesitation: "As long as they dare to come, we will dare to blow them up!"

"Really?" De Brum asked back, staring at General Guise without saying anything.

Silence was better than words at this moment, and General Gis immediately realized that this was impossible.

Charles used Congreve rockets, which were not powerful enough to blow up Big Belsa. The reason why it was successful this time was that it ignited the charge of Big Belsa. They may not have had time to push the shell and charge into the barrel...

What's more, the next time "Big Bertha" appears outside the fortress, the Germans will definitely be on high alert, and it will not be easy for planes to get close.

After thinking for a while, General Giss asked back, "What exactly do you want to tell me?"

De Brum replied gently: "Think about your friend's advice, General!"

"Friend?" General Gis frowned and immediately thought of Besler.

Bessler's advice was in the letter he gave, which was...hand over Charles!
General Giss was so surprised that he almost jumped up.

Before, when we said we would hand over Charles, it could be explained as Antwerp. But if we still have this idea now, it would be treason!
But the next second, he immediately understood what De Brum meant.

If this continues, Antwerp will fall sooner or later. Only by handing over Charles can this tragedy be prevented from happening!

"But..." said General Guise, "the king will not agree, and the Belgian people will not agree. They will hang us as traitors..."

"Then don't let them know!" De Blom handed General Gies a cigar. "You see, Germany sent spies into Antwerp to negotiate with him. He couldn't resist the temptation of a large sum of money and fled Antwerp overnight to Germany..."

Without being told, General Giss knew who this "he" was referring to.

After thinking about it, General Gis nodded thoughtfully: "It seems to be a good suggestion!"

With the power in General Giss's hands, it does not seem difficult to achieve this. All it requires is a little cooperation from the German side - not to expose this lie.

And General Giss happened to have General Bessler as a connection.

De Brum reminded: "If you think it is feasible, then you must hurry up, otherwise..."

General Guise immediately became nervous. As long as Charles left Antwerp, Belgium would have no bargaining chips in negotiations with the Germans, which meant that Antwerp would only be destroyed.

What General Guise did not realize was that if he recalled the conversation between the two verbatim, he would find that De Blom never mentioned "Charles" or any plans at all.

All of this... was all guessed by General Gis himself!
　Thank you for the very important reward! Thank you!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)