I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 104: Revised - Playing the Long Game to Catch the Big Fish

Chapter 104: Revised: Chapter 104 Playing the Long Game to Catch the Big Fish

Early the next morning, Shire, as usual, headed to the City Defense Headquarters with Lauren’s escort.

Unlike usual, the streets of Paris were already crowded with people early on, making it seem like a parade. The police were also dispatched, nervously keeping the crowd to either side to leave the middle open for vehicles to pass.

As Shire’s car approached, someone immediately screamed:

"Look, he’s here, it’s his car!"

"It’s him, he’s already a lieutenant!"

...

In the next second, the crowd cheered, people waved at Shire and some even threw flowers down from rooftops, filling the street like it was raining with fragrant petals.

The vehicles on the road unconsciously slowed down. Some pulled to the side to make way for Shire, while others did so purely to get a glimpse of him. Both drivers and passengers leaned out to salute him.

Shire was stunned by the grand scene. Looking ahead, the crowd was endless, with countless waving hands emerging from the streets, windows, and every imaginable gap, just like wheat swaying in the wind in the fields.

"What are they doing?" Shire asked in confusion.

"They’re saluting you, Lieutenant!" Lauren replied, "For your near-perfect performance in Antwerp!"

Shire didn’t understand. When he invented the tank to save Paris, people weren’t this enthusiastic, but now they were so excited because of Antwerp, a place that had almost nothing to do with them!

After some thought, Shire seemed to understand. This might be the pride of the French; they cared more about international fame.

Earlier, Shire indeed saved Paris and their lives, but that was after a defeat, and the capital of France almost fell again.

Though they survived because of Shire, it wasn’t something to be proud of; it was still a humiliation abroad.

But for Antwerp, the French showed off in Belgium, especially with ten thousand British reinforcements also there.

So the nature of the two events was entirely different. Shire’s success in Antwerp pulled all the French out of the depression of defeat, made them hold their heads high again, and regained their confidence, which was, of course, worth celebrating!

The cheers lasted for a long time, even after Shire got out and walked into the City Defense Headquarters. People still gathered at the entrance, shouting and unwilling to leave.

Gallieni stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the nearly frenzied crowd through the window. When he saw Shire come in, he turned and gave a bitter smile, then said sarcastically, "If they put this kind of enthusiasm on the battlefield, the Germans wouldn’t dare to touch Paris!"

Finished with that, he led Shire to the lounge, "Come, I have something to discuss with you, Lieutenant!"

After entering the lounge, Gallieni sat on a chair, searched through the telegrams on the table for a while, and picked out two to hand to Shire, "These are the telegrams from Albert I requesting us to send you to Antwerp again!"

Shire took the telegrams and asked in surprise, "The Germans have attacked again?"

Gallieni nodded,

"General Gis is dead, but the people are not willing to let it go. They demand severe punishment for everyone who conspired with General Gis, including parliament members."

"But Albert I believes it requires evidence and therefore refuses to do so! This sparked internal conflict, eventually involving the military."

"The Germans took advantage of this opportunity to launch a surprise attack, capturing several key towns."

"There is also confirmed intelligence that another ’Big Bertha’ is on its way to Antwerp!"

Shire’s heart sank, this almost extinguished Antwerp’s last hope.

Gallieni took a sip of the coffee brought by the orderly and continued,

"Albert I believes only you have the potential to calm the crowd while resisting the German attack!"

"Therefore, he hopes you can reinforce Antwerp once again."

"I refused on your behalf!"

The last sentence left Shire dumbfounded. If it was already refused, what was the point of telling him? Just to inform?

Gallieni seemed unwilling to discuss the matter further. To him, it was a foregone conclusion, or perhaps he thought Antwerp brought it upon themselves.

Although there were reasons, it was still Antwerp’s personnel issue.

He stared at the map and continued,

"The second matter, your special tactics have been very effective. In the past few days, we successfully raided three German regimental headquarters, five divisional headquarters, and one corps headquarters."

"Additionally, there were three ammunition depots and five supply warehouses, as well as bridges and railways. You can check the specific data with Major Fernan!"

"What I want to say is, we plan to purchase three thousand more sidecars immediately!"

Shire was startled, "But, General, our orders are already filled into next year..."

"We’ll pay the full amount!" Gallieni interrupted Shire.

"But we only have so much production capacity..."

"Then clear other orders!" Gallieni gave no room for explanation.

"We’ve already signed contracts!" Shire pleaded, "We even received deposits..."

"We can cover the breach penalties!" Gallieni answered crisply.

"But there’s still the issue of credibility..."

From a businessman’s perspective, Shire shouldn’t take such "jump-the-queue" orders, as they didn’t bring in much profit but incurred many hidden losses, such as disrupting the production schedule.

Moreover, the first time would lead to a second, and if it happened a few more times, clients would lose trust in Shire, right?

But Gallieni stared at Shire firmly, with a tone that brooked no argument, "You must understand something, Lieutenant. Now, I am giving orders to my staff officer. Solving problems is your job. Do you understand?"

Shire exclaimed "Ah," in surprise. Could it be done this way?

Was this one of the reasons Gallieni made him his staff officer?

Seeing no response from Shire, Gallieni snorted coldly, giving him a sideways glance that indicated he was ready to chastise him.

Shire straightened up hurriedly, "Yes, General!"

This finally pleased Gallieni, who nodded with a sense of satisfaction, as if everything was as it should be.

Before Shire left, Gallieni added, "Eric and the people from Carter Flying Club are locked up in the police station next door. You seem to need to take a look."

"Uncle Eric was arrested?" Shire was shocked.

"Don’t worry," Gallieni answered while reviewing documents, "After the interrogation, we believe they are innocent. Go inform the police to release them!"

Watching Shire sprint out towards the police station in a hurry, Gallieni’s lips curved into a slight smile.

This is to build your connections, young man!

I play the bad cop, you play the good cop; this way, after you acquire the aircraft manufacturing plant, your matters will go much smoother!

However... Gallieni smiled smugly. This is a win-win cooperation. Without offering you some small benefits, how could I catch the big fish in the future?!