I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 59: Revised - All Traps

In the Bourbon Palace’s House of Representatives, Gallieni stood quietly on the podium, awaiting the questioning from the deputies.

The parliamentary questioning system was established in 1869. The French Constitution stipulates that any deputy can consider themselves entitled to question a minister or an official. The latter has the right to adopt a stance they deem appropriate: answer or not answer.

This is considered a means for the parliament to supervise the government’s work.

Those being questioned hardly have the right to ’not answer,’ otherwise, they would likely lose their position. Just like during an interview, you have the right to remain silent, but the other party has the right not to hire you.

Gallieni might be an exception. As a capable general who turned the tide of war, he could completely ignore the deputies’ questioning. No one dared or could remove him from his position. Even hinting at retirement could scare the deputies half to death.

But Gallieni accepted the questioning.

This is how he explained it:

"Those disgusting reporters turned word-of-mouth rumors into news!"

"Do they think a 17-year-old child can easily sway the course of the war? Is war a game? Or a child’s toy?!"

"This is an insult to soldiers, to the military, and to the martyrs!"

"I will not allow such things to happen, absolutely not!"

Arman and Grevy sat still, not asking questions.

They didn’t want others to see that they were behind all this.

The first to ask questions were the impatient deputies, both left-wing and right-wing. Having read the newspapers, their curiosity drove them to ask questions, even knowing they wouldn’t get answers.

"General Gallieni, is it true what the newspapers say? That the 1st German Army exposed their flank because of Shire?"

"Shouldn’t you be asking Shire himself?" Gallieni replied disdainfully.

"It’s undeniable that Francis bought grain and machine gun factories, right?"

"Of course, so some people linked this to the Germans’ change of direction. Your imagination is impressive!"

"It’s also a fact that Shire invented the tank!"

"What does that prove? Do we owe him? No, we paid him!"

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Gallieni answered impeccably. Although the events were factual, they couldn’t prove that Shire had intentionally led the Germans to Davaz.

Gallieni’s attitude was clear: don’t believe it? Go ask Shire. If the involved party denies it, then it never happened!

Arman couldn’t hold it in any longer. He stood up, half-raising his right hand to indicate he wanted to speak. He took a step forward and calmly but deliberately asked Gallieni on the podium, "General, I only care about one thing. Shouldn’t we enlist talents like Shire into the military? This could save many lives, maybe even rescue France from danger!"

This was Arman’s shrewdness. He positioned himself on a moral high ground right away, guiding everyone to consider saving lives and rescuing France.

If Gallieni denied it, he would be disregarding the lives of frontline soldiers and the safety of France.

If he admitted it, then Shire should join the military.

What Arman didn’t know was that Gallieni also wanted Shire to join the military. He was just trying to avoid having Shire sent to the front as a regular soldier. He appeared to be rejecting Shire to bargain.

"Oh, really?" Gallieni lowered his head to meet Arman’s gaze. "We need a 17-year-old child to save us? I think you should replace all the frontline soldiers with teenage children. We’ll stay in the rear, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper, waiting for their victories, sir!"

The deputies were amused by Gallieni’s sarcasm. Arman’s face showed some involuntary embarrassment as he realized Gallieni was not easy to deal with.

Arman responded,

"No, General!"

"We are discussing a special case. I wouldn’t ask for any other underage child to join the military."

"Shire is different. We all know he has exceptional military talent, whether it’s inventing equipment or other things."

"I think many people, like me, don’t want to see his talent buried, especially when the country urgently needs such talent!"

These words immediately resonated with many deputies. Even if the rumors were unreliable, it was true that Shire’s inventions had defeated the Germans more than once, proving that it wasn’t just a coincidence.

"Your idea is innovative, sir!" Gallieni retorted without a thought. "You want a capitalist, who should be inventing tanks and sidecars for us at the rear, to take up a rifle and head to the battlefield and call it ’preventing the burying of talent’? Yes, you don’t want to bury talent, you just want to bury him!"

The deputies burst into laughter again.

Arman was speechless because Shire invented the tank and sidecar in a factory, not on the battlefield.

"I think I need to remind you!" Gallieni added, "Only in a factory can you access tractors and motorcycles, and have the time, space, and conditions to convert them into tanks and sidecars. In the military, you only need to consider three things: eating, sleeping, and waiting to die!"

"No, no, we can also create a similar environment for Shire..."

"Unfortunately, there is no such environment in the military. I would be happy to invite you to try it!"

"We can appoint Shire as a staff officer at headquarters!"

"You might not know, sir, but headquarters on the battlefield often receive enemy artillery shells!"

"Then just don’t send him to the battlefield!"

"You mean to keep an entire army as a decoration in the rear just for Shire?"

...

The deputies laughed even louder. Despite Arman’s eloquence, his ignorance of the military made him completely outclassed in this debate.

At this point, Grevy stood up. Instead of facing Gallieni on the podium, he turned to the deputies behind him:

"Why don’t we have Shire serve as a staff officer by General Gallieni’s side?"

"General Gallieni is the commander of Paris’ city defense. Shire will be safe by his side!"

"This way, Shire can advise the military and still manage his factory in Davaz!"

This proposal immediately received the deputies’ support:

"Great idea!"

"Exactly, Paris is very safe!"

"This way, Shire can continue inventing!"

...

Gallieni kept a neutral expression, but inwardly he was delighted. These fools had finally fallen into his trap!

Arman looked at Grevy with a peculiar expression. This wasn’t their plan. Their goal was to send Shire to dangerous places.

But Grevy subtly shook his head towards Arman.

Arman suddenly understood Grevy’s deeper intent. If the goal of "sending Shire to dangerous places" couldn’t be achieved, they should at least get him into the military first.