Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 154 Free France
Geneviève de Gaulle never dreamed that she would become a shameful "traitor".

She had a temporary pass issued by the city government, francs in her pocket to pay her salary, and a special carriage would be waiting to pick her up at the gate.

Because she had just agreed to act as a translator for the Germans entering the city.

"Don't be like that, you're not really siding with the Germans." Qin Hao, dressed as a servant, stood aside carrying luggage, while Anna, dressed as a newsboy, was also carrying a small empty suitcase, looking quite professional.

The three of them acted as if they were about to go on a trip.

“When any country has just fallen, the first batch of traitors are a scarce resource. To win them over, the traitorous government and the occupying forces will often offer a good price. If you don’t agree to their demands, where will you get the passes and carriages?” Qin Hao advised from the side.

"You're right, but I just can't shake this feeling." The woman in the trench coat and flats turned her head away, sulking.

"Think about it, you're using resources from a traitorous government right now. If you take a little more, you're contributing to saving France. Doesn't that make you feel better?" Qin Hao nudged the other person with his elbow.

“Hmm.” Miss Genaviev sniffed and said somewhat resentfully, “I’ll make them pay me double later.”

As the carriage approached, the man in black driving it paused slightly upon seeing three people on the other side.

“These are my assistants and followers; they have to follow me,” Miss Genave said, reciting a pre-arranged statement.

Although it was different from what was initially agreed upon, there was a great shortage of people willing to act as translators at this time, and he didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble, so he tacitly allowed a few people to get on the bus together.

The carriage began to move forward, and Anna looked around at the scenery with curiosity.

Qin Hao looked around at his surroundings, then gripped the cross in his hand. At such close range, he was 100% confident he could take down the guy in front of him with a single blow.

“Miss de Gaulle, you will cover Anna’s eyes in a moment.”

The cross-shaped sword was drawn, and the guy in front of him was no more than half a meter away.

Quack!
A crow cawed abruptly from the roof of the car, and several men dressed as workers suddenly rushed out from both sides of the road, carrying black objects in their hands.

"Get down!!!"

boom! ! ! ! ! !

Thick black smoke rose from the middle of the road.

Ten minutes later, a group of men dressed as workers rushed into a small warehouse by the Seine.

"Did it explode?" someone asked breathlessly.

"No, I don't know. I was too busy running to see clearly."

"It must have exploded. I added double the amount of gunpowder," his companion replied nervously.

"That's how it should be! Let these traitors taste their own medicine! We'll give the Germans another taste of their own medicine later!" someone encouraged everyone present.

"Wait a minute, Joseph, who's that next to you?" Someone looked at the last person to enter, who was accompanied by a little girl of about eleven or twelve years old, who was looking at the people in the room with a blank expression.

"I don't know. I saw her standing there, and I was worried about her safety, so I brought her here," a slightly younger worker said, scratching his head.

"Fool!"

"idiot!"

The companions around them started cursing, "Now that she knows what we look like, what if she tells the Germans?"

“Uh…” The worker named Joseph was stunned. He took off his hat and rubbed it, and finally said uncertainly, “Why don’t we leave her here for now? She doesn’t seem like she likes to talk much.”

"Sigh~" the leader sighed, "We can only leave it like this for now."

Fluttering sounds filled the air as birds flapped their feathers outside the window, and a chilling voice rang in everyone's ears.

"Everyone, shouldn't you ask the parents first before taking someone else's child away?"

! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
The men were horrified, and some instinctively reached for their weapons.

Boom!
A large cluster bomb was dropped in the middle of the crowd, and the workers, knowing its power, almost instinctively backed away.

The man named Joseph felt a blur before his eyes, and a great force threw him to the ground.

Click!

The sound of a pistol being cocked rang out, and a cold object was pressed against his head.

"Don't move, I'll shoot!" A slightly nervous woman's voice came from the side, and a tall woman picked up a pistol and pointed it at the people in the house.

The situation was brought under control in an instant.

A man and a woman appeared at the door, holding cold, short guns. Only then did the workers realize that the bombs they had seen earlier were fakes made of cardboard boxes and old newspapers.

Joseph was pinned to the ground, and everyone in the room raised their hands. Anna held onto the hem of the man beside her and watched him quietly.

"Damn it! Are you German lackeys?!" the foreman said angrily.

"Sorry, it seems like I should be asking questions now." The man raised the cold muzzle of his gun.

"Tell me, who are you?"

The people in the room responded with silence, and the next second a sharp knife was pressed against Joseph's eye, less than an inch away.

"Wait a minute! I'm telling you!" Someone raised their hand and stood up.

Just like the two sides of light and shadow, wherever there are traitors who compromise and live in ignominy, there will always be patriots who fight one after another.

This was a small group of workers who had spontaneously organized a resistance, attempting to cause trouble for the surrendered government with the explosives they had.

However, this group is currently just full of enthusiasm but lacks any sense of organization, and is basically still considered a mob.

Wow!

The man in front of them put away his pistol, and the tense atmosphere in the room immediately eased.

"Aren't you from the German side?" the leader asked suspiciously.

"Sorry, I've probably killed more than a hundred Germans in Moncolney, they won't let me join them." The man said this and slowly left the house with the two women.

"Wait a minute! You said Moncorne town?!" a voice came from the next room.

A short, stout man came out leaning on a cane.

"Father?! It really is you!"

A few minutes later, the short, stout artilleryman Antoine sat opposite Qin Hao. "After the breakout that day, I was scattered to the 4th Infantry Division. We fought another battle with the Germans in Abbeville. I was left behind when we retreated because I was injured in the leg."

"Fortunately, the workers here let me stay. Don't let their appearance fool you, they are all brave and good young men."

At this point, Antoine shouted loudly to the people in the room, "Gentlemen, this is the hero of Moncolney! He has taken down many German tanks and is a friend of His Excellency de Gaulle!"

"The general's friend?!" The workers all looked surprised.

General de Gaulle had just been wanted by the surrendered government, and notices of his trial were posted all over the streets.

These workers had a simple, unassuming logic: if the government was mixed up with the Germans, then the government must be a bad thing.

Since the government is no good, then General de Gaulle, whom they are after, must be a superhero.

"I'm sorry, sir! Oh, no, Father! We didn't know you were... Anyway, I'm very sorry..." The worker leader, who had just been at odds with the worker, now had an embarrassed look on his face.

He rubbed his hands vigorously on his work clothes, then stretched out his rough hands to Qin Hao.

“I am honored! Mr. Antoine told us a lot about your deeds, saying that if there had been ammunition available at the time, Guderian might have been killed by you long ago.”

Then his eyes suddenly lit up. "Someone as capable as you, why don't you lead us? With you leading us, we'll definitely become even stronger!"

Qin Hao glanced at the other party, neither confirming nor denying, but instead asked, "How many of you are there?"

“There are many. Don’t be fooled by the fact that there are only a few of us here. We have people at the docks, cargo stations, and factories. In total, there are at least a thousand people.”

Do you have any transportation?

"Yes, drivers have joined in on ships, buses, and even trains."

Hmm~ Qin Hao pondered for a moment, then stood up. At this moment, all eyes in the room were on him.

"Everyone, there's actually someone more suitable here," Qin Hao said to the workers.

"Who?! Where?!" People were buzzing with discussion.

"Right here." Qin Hao pushed the bewildered museum curator in front of him.

"I think there's no one more suitable than her here."

In the years that followed, a minor controversy persisted in modern French history: whether the Free French movement was born from Charles de Gaulle's lecture platform or from that unassuming little warehouse in Paris.

(End of this chapter)