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

Chapter 982 The spearhead is pointed at Britain.
Charles took the document handed to him by Etzberger and flipped through it. It contained population statistics for Lorraine and Alsace over the years, and they had even carefully provided a chart with curves.

The subtext of this was that Alsace and Lorraine had experienced stable population growth under German rule, and no massacres had occurred.

Charles asked, "Shouldn't the troops in these two places also be returned?"

Etzberger's eyes widened suddenly. How could he have overlooked this even with such meticulous planning!

Yes, after the outbreak of war, Germany conscripted soldiers from these two places and sent them to fight on the Eastern Front.

Sending them to fight on the Western Front is impossible; they are French and have a deep sense of French identity, and they would defect on the battlefield.

Etzberger turned his gaze to his secretary.

The secretary nervously flipped through the documents, but of course he couldn't find them since he hadn't brought them with him.

“No, I’m very sorry, Lieutenant General.” Beads of sweat appeared on Etzberger’s forehead. “We will transfer the soldiers from these two locations back to the Western Front and hand them over to you as quickly as possible.”

Charles hummed in agreement: "Then, let's discuss the prisoner-of-war issue..."

Before Charles could finish speaking, Etzberger interrupted, "We will release all prisoners of war, French prisoners of war!"

If Charles were willing, all Germans would become his prisoners of war; of course, Germany had no courage to detain French prisoners of war.

“Very good,” Charles replied. “We will also release all the German prisoners of war.”

Etzberger was stunned.

Release German prisoners of war?

All of them?

At least a million German soldiers were captured by Charles on the battlefield, while only about 300,000 French soldiers were captured by the Germans.

Exchanging over 300,000 prisoners for over a million prisoners is a win no matter how you look at it!
Etzberger thought he had misheard: "You, you really will release all the prisoners, but this..."

“Of course!” Charles answered confidently. “Is there a problem?”

The German prisoners were too numerous, and Charles had previously promised them "favorable treatment," thus becoming a burden on France, and Charles was eager to get rid of them as soon as possible.

“No, no, there’s nothing wrong!” Etzberger quickly shook his head.

“As I said, sir,” Charles emphasized, “the German people and military are not enemies of France. Now that you have overthrown Wilhelm II’s dictatorship, we certainly have no reason to detain prisoners.”

Charles was taking this opportunity to add some prestige to the "League of Nations".

From now on, if Charles dislikes a country, he will say it is targeting its political system, not its citizens.

Then, the country may immediately experience a split between "citizens and the state".

Etzberger stood up excitedly, grasping Charles's hands tightly:

"Thank you very much, Lieutenant General."

"You are indeed a true Frenchman, just as people say."

"We are very fortunate to have a general like you leading the League of Nations!"

Etzberger, as chairman of the "Ceasement Committee," was caught in the middle.

Maintaining a bottom line and arguing with Charles, the next second Charles ordered armored forces to advance towards Berlin.

If you abandon your principles and pander to Charles, you'll be called a "traitor" by your own people.

Etzberger once wanted to turn down this thankless task, but someone always had to take the blame.

Now that's good, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Charles didn't seem harsh at all; in fact, he could be described as very friendly.

But what was Charles's purpose in doing this?
Or is it simply, as he said, just because of the French spirit?

……

Freeman Joint Command.

General Winter, adopting a condescending tone, said to Fisher, "First, we expect you to release the prisoners of war unconditionally." Fisher countered, "Then, how many prisoners of war do you intend to exchange with us?"

General Winter was taken aback.

Britain had over 40 prisoners of war in German hands. Although the British army also had tens of thousands of German prisoners of war, they were usually handed over to the French for management. There was no prisoner exchange.
“These are the conditions, sir,” General Winter emphasized. “I’m not talking about an exchange.”

Fisher laughed:
“If I remember correctly, we are still at war, General.”

"British troops are attacking us, even though Germany has now changed regimes."

"Do you think we would release over 40 British prisoners of war back to them so they can pick up guns and fight us again?"

General Winter snorted coldly, then glanced at Pershing, implying that it was time to join forces and exert pressure again.

But Pershing pretended not to see it.

Pershing considered this request "excessive," tantamount to asking the Germans to hand over the handle of their sword to their enemy.

No one would be that stupid.

Seeing that Pershing did not respond, General Winter became furious and stood up with a flushed face: "Fine, perhaps I should contact Charles."

Fischer shrugged, meaning "Do as you please."

……

At the Pontice Fortress, Charles is discussing control of the Ruhr region with Etzberger.

“I have no attachment to the Ruhr industrial region.” Charles’s tone was casual, as if the Ruhr industrial region was insignificant to him.
“That’s German land, and we should return it to Germany.”

“But my allies might not agree, and you know why.”

Etzberger nodded emphatically: "Yes, of course."

Once the Ruhr industrial region returns to German control, Germany will immediately regain its formidable fighting power and the vitality to wage war.

This is something that Britain and the United States do not want to see.

As for Charles, if he can occupy the Ruhr industrial region once, he can occupy it a second time, a third time...

"So," Charles said reluctantly.
"I suggest that your country should place the Ruhr industrial region under the administration of France."

"One year, two years, or three years."

"I will guarantee production in the Ruhr region, and, depending on the circumstances, provide Germany with the necessary munitions."

Etzberger's eyes lit up: "Provide weapons to Germany?"

“Of course,” Charles replied. “Germany needs weapons for self-defense, and it also needs weapons to maintain order, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes, of course, Lieutenant General!” Etzberger nodded vigorously.

God, another surprise!
At that moment, Charles received a phone call from General Winter.

"Lieutenant General, I have a favor to ask," General Winter said.

"We are discussing the issue of exchanging prisoners of war with the Germans."

"As you know, France has a large number of prisoners of war remaining."

"Then why not exchange your prisoners of war for British prisoners of war? After all, we are allies..."

Charles said with a regretful expression, "I just signed a document with Mr. Etzberger regarding the mutual release of prisoners."

That's the truth; the documents are in Etzberger's hands.

After glancing at the document, Etzberger suddenly realized that Charles had turned his attention to Britain!

(End of this chapter)