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

Chapter 976 Releases Recordings
The room fell silent instantly, and everyone turned their attention to the secretary, including General Winter and the British representative.

Clemenceau was also somewhat incredulous. He looked at his secretary with a skeptical expression: "Are you serious? But it's only been a little over four hours since Charles attacked the Leigh Fortress!"

The Liege fortress is about 190 kilometers from the Ruhr industrial region, which is about four hours' marching time for mechanized troops.

In other words, it's hard to believe that Charles's troops occupied the Ruhr as soon as they arrived.

Just then, the phone rang. Clemenceau answered it, identified himself, and soon his mouth dropped open. He then turned to face the representatives of various countries, his voice trembling with excitement:
"A call from General Gallieri."

"This news is true; Charles's troops have occupied the Ruhr."

"We have won, gentlemen! We have successfully captured the Ruhr!"

In his final words, Clemenceau forgot all about maintaining his composure; he clenched his fists and waved them wildly at the delegates, letting out a beastly roar.

The delegates erupted in cheers, shaking hands and embracing each other in celebration.

The Belgian representative shed tears of emotion.

Recapture of the Liège fortress was not the best option for them. As long as Germany existed and remained powerful, Belgium would be at the mercy of German forces.

But if the French army captures the Ruhr, it means that Belgium will no longer need to worry about the German threat on the border.

The Dutch representative also breathed a sigh of relief, his face showing joy and relief.

They had always feared that Germany would attack the Netherlands at the last minute and plunder its wealth and resources to supply the battlefield.

Fortunately, Khal's attack was fast enough that no one, including the Germans, could react in time.

General Winter slumped back into his chair, a result that was not good news for Britain.

Just then, Clemenceau called out General Winter's name, saying sarcastically, "Our British representatives and generals don't seem too happy. Don't you think you've had enough?"

The representatives from various countries burst into laughter.

Emboldened by the presence of the coalition forces, the Greek representative added, "Or perhaps they are relieved that the Charles achieved victory so quickly. Now, they just need to wait to share in the spoils of victory!"

The laughter in the meeting room grew louder.

General Winter stood up awkwardly, ignoring everyone else, as if only France was worthy of his attention.

“No, Your Excellency the Prime Minister.” General Winter tried to maintain a smile, but his praise was insincere:
"Of course I am happy for Charles' victory."

"It's a miracle that he was able to capture the German industrial base in such a short time."

"I just... can't believe it's real..."

Clemenceau interrupted General Winter's performance.

“Is that so?” he countered. “But I think that Britain does not want France, or rather, Britain does not want the League of Nations to win.”

General Winter's expression changed: "I don't understand what you're saying, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

Clemenceau raised his hand to signal the representatives of various countries to be quiet. His sharp gaze swept across the room and finally landed on General Winter. He said with a hint of sarcasm, "Wait a minute, General. Let's listen to a recording."

He nodded to the side, and his assistant immediately brought out a phonograph and started playing it.

The sound wasn't very clear, and was even severely distorted due to the combined obstruction of the recording equipment and the telephone, but ambassadors and representatives from various countries could immediately tell that it was a conversation between the US Secretary of War and Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, Hague.

"Good news, General. We have reached an agreement and they will launch a counterattack in five days."

“Excellent, Your Excellency Minister. Now, it’s time to tell Pershing about the plan.”

These two very brief sentences caused General Winter's expression to change drastically. He knew what they meant, but the other delegates were completely confused and did not understand what they meant.

Clemenceau raised his needle, head held high, facing the representatives from various countries:
"Gentlemen, let me explain." "This is a conversation between War Secretary Baker and General Haig, which is not surprising."

"The strange thing is that this recording was made five days before the German army launched a counter-offensive against the British and American forces."

"Let's hear it one more time..."

As he spoke, Clemenceau played the recording again.

This time, all the representatives understood.

“God, Baker and Haig know when the Germans will counterattack.”

"It's not just about knowing; they say 'we've reached an agreement,' which means they've reached an agreement with the Germans?"

"Therefore, the British and American retreat in the Hindenburg direction was intentional; their aim was to have the German army encircle the 1st Panzer Corps stationed in Saarbrücken!"

……

General Winter quickly retorted, "No, that's slander. This recording proves nothing; it might just be another military operation..."

But before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the angry representatives:

"Shut up, you traitors."

"You are colluding with the enemy to try to deal with your own allies. This is a shameless betrayal."

“You should all be hanged, as well as Baker and Hague, they are spies!”

……

Britain has always been hated, but other countries dare not speak out against it due to its hegemony.

Now that such a thing has happened and powerful France is backing them up, they are taking this opportunity to vent their dissatisfaction.

As more and more people joined, the criticism and struggle sessions became increasingly intense, soon escalating to spitting and throwing crumpled paper. Some representatives even found eggs from somewhere and threw them at the British representatives.

General Winter was caught off guard; his head was covered in yellow and white egg yolk, looking both disheveled and furious, but there was nothing he could do.

In the end, the British representative slunk out of the venue amidst the jeers.

Not only did they escape the venue, they also hurriedly packed their bags and immediately took a train to Dunkirk.

(Note: At this time, apart from Shire's transport planes, there were no other aircraft capable of carrying so many people.)
They escaped quickly, before the French military and civilians could react.

But the people involved, Baker and Hague, were not so lucky.

At that time, Baker and Haig were discussing Charles's capture of Ruhr in the Freeman Joint Command office.

“It’s unbelievable how easily the Germans were defeated,” Baker said. “Even the Liege fortress was breached by the Charles, and in just a few hours.”

Haig did not speak.

As a general, he knew it wasn't that the Germans were "easy to defeat," but rather that Charles's equipment and tactics were terrifying.

He actually managed to develop a bomber that could penetrate a 3-meter-high concrete fortress!

From now on, is there anything the Ciel cannot destroy?
I'm afraid even London isn't safe anymore!
Just then, a commotion came from outside the door. The area around the headquarters was packed with people, both soldiers and civilians.

Amidst the confusion, a guard rushed in, panicked, and reported to Haig: "General, you should evacuate immediately; they are targeting you."

Then he added, "And His Excellency the Minister!"

(End of this chapter)