I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

Chapter 581 581 "Unspoken Rules" and Their Intimidating Effect

Blu Command, a little past eleven on Christmas Eve.

Though Shire had nothing to do, he did not rest.

He was flipping through a novel, "Wulanspig Legend," which tells the story of the protagonist's determined struggle for national liberation and freedom of belief.

But in fact, Shire was passing time, waiting for possible developments tonight.

A few meters away, Ganmelin took a telegram from a staff officer, glanced at it, smiled slightly, and walked slowly towards Shire's desk. The sound of his army boots hitting the floor was heavy and demonstrative with each step.

Ganmelin stopped in front of Shire, made a formal salute and then handed over the report: "Commander, a telegram from Paris. They plan to transfer two divisions from the British Expeditionary Force and another division from the Northern Army Group to help us quell the unrest."

When he mentioned 'quell the unrest,' he slowed down and emphasized as if worried Shire wouldn't hear.

Shire didn't move, still reading his book casually with his legs crossed.

Ganmelin gently placed the telegram on Shire's desk, bent slightly, and spoke with a tone of mockery: "Rest assured, Commander. Blu is very safe."

"Really?" Shire responded calmly, "What do you plan to do when these troops arrive? Let the British take over our battlefield, or let them take over our troops?"

Ganmelin was taken aback. He indeed had no further plans, but still answered, "I'll discuss a plan with Admiral Avis. Everything will return to normal."

Shire chuckled lightly without even looking up, "I heard you are the smartest general in France. I'm skeptical."

The smile on Ganmelin's face froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered: "That's not important. What's important is whether you're smart enough. Right, Commander?"

He stared intently at Shire as he spoke.

Shire looked up at Ganmelin, "If I'm smart enough, should I give up everything I'm doing now and surrender to you?"

"More or less." Ganmelin nodded slightly, "While there's still time."

He then added:

"We don't need to waste time, General. I mean, we don't need to make the troops run back and forth in this dangerous time."

"If you are destined to fail, persisting will be meaningless."

"You will make a wise choice, won't you? I believe you are a smart man."

Shire sighed softly and shook his head slightly, "Poor Mr. Ganmelin, you still haven't figured out the situation."

"What?" Ganmelin's eyes showed surprise.

Shire changed his address to Ganmelin from 'General' to 'Mr. Ganmelin.'

In the next second, Ganmelin realized that Shire meant he wasn't worthy of being a 'General.'

Ganmelin's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth with a fierce look in his eyes, "They say you're a conscientious capitalist, but it seems that's not the case. You will regret your stubbornness today!"

Shire closed the book, put it on the desk, and pushed the telegram back toward Ganmelin:

"Do you think the parliament dispatched troops to quell the so-called unrest?"

"Think about it. Why would parliament mobilize the British Army? Do they want the French Army and the British Army to come into conflict?"

Ganmelin was stunned.

Using the British Army to quell unrest indeed seemed inappropriate. Internal conflicts within the French Army should be resolved internally, and the involvement of the British Army might complicate issues or even cause misunderstandings.

"That's not for you to consider," Ganmelin replied, "You seem to be incapable of protecting yourself."

"I agree." Shire nodded with a smile, "That's what you should be considering."

"What do you mean?" Ganmelin asked.

Shire answered calmly, "When the parliament encounters thorny problems they cannot solve, their most common tactic is to divert conflict and people's attention."

Ganmelin laughed, "You mean the parliament wants to shift the soldiers' attention to the British?"

He didn't believe a word of it.

Shire responded solemnly:

"Not the soldiers, the people."

"At this moment, the parliament is in a difficult position. They brought in the British Army to make people believe the whole incident is related to British coercion, providing the parliament with a way out."

"In simple terms, the parliament is ready to concede, while you think I'm losing this 'battle.'

Ganmelin stared at Shire in silence, then suddenly burst into laughter, "Perhaps I am not as smart as others say, but I am not a fool, General. I won't be intimidated by you..."

Shire interrupted Ganmelin, his voice full of confidence:

"Let me tell you what will happen next."

"The dispatched troops might have some minor conflicts with the 6th Army Group, just like you mentioned, to quell the unrest, but they won't actually achieve anything."

"It won't take long before the parliament steps in to mediate. They will pretend to be the 'middlemen' rather than the initiators."

"Finally, they may even reward me and the soldiers of the 6th Army Group to appease us. They will transfer you and give me command of the 6th Army Group to ensure stability."

The smile gradually faded from Ganmelin's face.

This did seem like something the parliament would do—making the British the scapegoat to avoid damaging parliamentary authority.

"Are you that sure?" Despite his words, Ganmelin was already shaken inside.

Shire raised his eyebrows, "We'll see."

The answer was obvious. For an 'unrest' like this, no number of troops would be enough because they didn't know who the 'enemy' was or where the 'enemy' was. They couldn't quell the so-called unrest.

Ganmelin dejectedly returned to his place, sensing that Shire might be right—the parliament might indeed concede.

What Ganmelin found most difficult to accept was that Shire had orchestrated everything, controlling it all to develop as he wished, while Ganmelin had not even seen it coming and proudly tried to persuade Shire to surrender just as he was about to win.

Ganmelin felt his face burning, his mind replaying Shire's taunts, "Are you the smartest general in France?", "Mr. Ganmelin!", and "We'll see!"

No, it wouldn't end like this.

The parliament wouldn't let Shire go; he had committed terrible crimes and should be punished!

However, whether Ganmelin liked it or not, events were unfolding in Shire's favor.

As Ganmelin struggled to guess the parliament's intentions, a staff officer approached him cautiously with a document, lowering his voice to report, "General, this document requires General Shire's signature."

"What?" Ganmelin looked up sharply, glaring at the staff as if to say: Who dares defy the order to 'strip Shire of his command'?

The staff officer answered reluctantly, "The front line brigadier and regimental commanders said if Shire's command is not acknowledged, they might not survive until tomorrow..."

Ganmelin was speechless.

Unwritten rules had already shown their intimidating effect; the front line commanders and staff had no choice but to acknowledge Shire's command!

Shire had effectively won this 'battle' because command was shifting into his hands!