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

Chapter 726: You Can Now Start the Second Investigation

Shire remained silent, holding the half-eaten apple in his hand, staring out the window with a pensive expression.

After a while, Lucia couldn’t help herself and asked, "Don’t you want to know who’s targeting Mr. Dejoka?"

Shire’s tone was calm yet filled with murderous intent, "Does it matter?"

Lucia gave a grunt.

Previously, she thought Shire only possessed remarkable talent in the military and business realms, but now it seemed Shire’s gift for intelligence was also not to be underestimated.

For instance, he had just seen through Lucia’s trick of using coffee to mask the smell of blood, and easily pierced her disguise with a lie.

Clearly, Shire knew that those capitalists on the surface were merely puppets, and even if they were all found and killed, it wouldn’t mean Dejoka was safe.

Pausing for a moment, Lucia walked over to Shire and comforted him, "Don’t worry, General. I’ve placed informants in the town, they will secretly protect Mr. Dejoka, I won’t let anything happen to them."

She believed the best approach was to repel the enemy force with countermeasures, confronting the capitalists too early might provoke them into reckless retaliation.

But Shire thought differently. He took a bite of the apple and chewed slowly, "You can start investigating Bureau Two!"

Lucia instantly understood Shire’s intention.

Bureau Two was the root of everything.

The big capitalists controlled the parliament, the parliament and government controlled Bureau Two.

Without Bureau Two, capitalists might not even find a decent assassin.

Once resolved, things would be much simpler.

"Yes, General." Lucia nodded and responded, waving the crystal ornament in her hand as she left.

Soon, Lucia’s voice was heard downstairs, bidding farewell to Camille.

Lucia appeared downstairs, pushing her bicycle. She put on a sun hat, got on the bike, and turned to wave at Shire standing by the window, blowing a kiss with a bright smile on her face.

Shire felt as though he no longer recognized Lucia, it was hard to associate her with a sharp and capable killer.

Yet thinking about it, it wasn’t surprising, she was originally a member, and a core one at that, of the "Lady in White," surviving this long certainly required great skill.

Things within the intelligence unit were far more complex and darker than the battlefield, their existence was meant for matters done in secrecy.

As a modern senior officer once said: we lie, we cheat, we steal, and we even have a course dedicated to teaching these skills, that’s the pursuit of our glory!

Shire understood.

To control France, merely defeating them on the battlefield and in public opinion was not enough, mastering Bureau Two was more crucial.

It was the ears and eyes of the parliament and government, the claws of the tiger.

Bourgeoisie’s defeat back then was ultimately due to Bureau Two, even with the support of the military and civilians, he remained lonely against the entire intelligence unit of Bureau Two.

This was another realm of warfare, contrasting public opinion and the battlefield.

Bourgeoisie’s failure to comprehend this led him to put a gun to his head, ending his tragic life.

Shire would never repeat that mistake.

Once Bureau Two was controlled, the parliament and government were like blind and deaf men, powerless without claws and fangs, subject to manipulation.

Therefore, Shire reorganized veterans into the "Lady in White" to strengthen its power.

While Shire was staring out the window, Camille’s voice could be heard from downstairs:

"Shire, telephone! General Gallieni is calling!"

"General Gallieni is calling personally, hurry up!"

Feeling it was insufficient, she grabbed the phone and said, "I am truly sorry, General, Shire will be here shortly..."

From the receiver came General Gallieni’s voice, sounding puzzled:

"No, Madam Bernard, you don’t need to apologize for this."

"We are just having a regular conversation; it’s not an emergency."

"So..."

Suddenly, Gallieni understood the situation, he laughed:

"Madam Bernard, perhaps you haven’t realized that Shire is already a Vice Admiral?"

"His rank is the same as mine, his renown even surpassing mine."

"If someday I return to the battlefield, I will certainly be under his command!"

"So, you don’t have to be so tense, not at all!"

Camille was stunned, holding the phone, unsure how to respond.

Gallieni hit the nail on the head; she always saw Shire as her child, regardless of his status.

In her heart, Gallieni was a big figure while Shire was still a child.

She had never realized that Shire could stand on equal footing with Gallieni, even surpass him.

Fortunately, Shire timely came down to take over the phone, resolving the awkwardness.

"It’s me, General," Shire responded casually.

Camille stared blankly at Shire talking on the phone, an inexplicable sense of pride surged in her heart, tears uncontrollably flooded her eyes as she laughed.

Worried that Shire might notice, she turned quickly to the kitchen.

Shire did not notice Camille’s abnormality, his attention drawn by Gallieni’s words.

"Two pieces of news, I think you should know," Gallieni said excitedly, "First, the Germans trapped west of the Meuse River have surrendered, initial estimates say about 300,000, you’ve created another miracle!"

At that moment, the excited shouts of the neighbors could be heard from outside:

"The Germans have surrendered, they’ve surrendered."

"I heard it’s over 300,000 of them, we’ve reclaimed all the territory west of the Meuse River!"

"Incredible, they even said the encirclement wouldn’t close until tonight, but the Germans surrendered ahead of time."

Someone excitedly shouted into the kitchen at Camille:

"Madam Bernard, it’s true, Shire’s maneuver did reclaim vast lands, though we don’t understand how."

"Unbelievable, over 20,000 defeating tens of thousands of Germans, how did Shire manage that?"

"Is Shire home or back at the front line?"

...

Camille quickly responded one by one amidst the noisy surroundings.

Holding the phone, Shire turned to make the environment quieter, "I know, General, what’s the other news?"

Gallieni’s voice came through the receiver with surprise, "You’ve already guessed the Germans would surrender?"

"Of course," Shire replied:

"Though the encirclement isn’t closed, we have air forces, General."

"If the Germans try to pass between Bicangxi and Mezieres, they’d face mechanized troops’ pursuit and aerial bombing and strafing."

"That area is not only flat but also obstructed by rivers, nothing could be more terrifying."

Gallieni nodded in agreement.

Therefore, the battle was essentially over when Fuxu’s troops reached Bicangxi, no need to wait for the encirclement to close completely.