I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 64 Shire’s Work

Shire’s job was to report directly to General Gallieni, which meant delivering the latest intelligence to Gallieni.

This sounded like a very simple job, just delivering information, but there was a lot to learn.

"You must have a considerable understanding of the battlefield!" Fernan laid a thick map and a pile of documents half the height of a person in front of Shire: "You are a staff officer, not a courier, a courier only needs to know how to read, talk, and walk. But you must be ready to answer the General’s questions at any time, such as where a certain unit is, what the battlefield situation is, etc.!"

"How can I remember all of this?" Shire looked at the pile of documents in front of him in surprise.

"You don’t need to remember, Lieutenant!" Fernan raised his eyebrows: "Here’s a little secret for you, wherever there is a battle recently, you should try to understand as much as possible and follow it in a timely manner, so you can answer the General’s questions!"

Shire thought this was quite reasonable. After all, the battles were updated in real time, and the General was unlikely to ask about old battles and unrelated environments.

Thinking this, Shire spread his hands in front of the documents: "So, Colonel... What else do I need them for?"

The proud expression on Fernan’s face slowly disappeared as he realized he might have given his "little secret" too early.

What Shire didn’t know was that his task was actually carefully planned by General Gallieni.

Before this, Gallieni rarely went to the rest room. If he did, it meant he was extremely exhausted.

But since Shire arrived, he went to the rest room more frequently and stayed longer, sometimes even having a cup of coffee and some fruit brought in.

The staff officers in the operations room didn’t find this unusual; they attributed Gallieni’s change to the shift in the war situation:

Previously, the Germans had pushed to the gates of Paris, so they had to deal with it with all their might.

Now that the Germans were retreating, the front line was gradually moving away from Paris and a counterattack seemed unlikely, so it was natural to relax. Besides, Gallieni was already 65 years old, and his body couldn’t endure such fatigue.

But the reason wasn’t what they thought...

Before delivering intelligence, Shire prepared a lot, just as Fernan said. He took note of some geographical names and the general situation of the current battles, including the positions and conditions of relevant troops, so he wouldn’t need to look things up at the last moment.

At this time, looking things up was no simple task; it might involve digging out the answer from a mountain of intelligence and documents.

However, Shire found that these preparations were meaningless.

Shire gently knocked on the wooden door of the rest room, holding a telegram, and entered with permission to report: "General, the 5th Army has advanced another 3 kilometers to the north and has now reached the Unar region!"

The 5th Army’s harassment campaign was the most successful, making its advance unstoppable. They had left other units behind by more than a dozen kilometers, forming a salient on the offensive line.

Major General Monuri, commander of the 6th Army, thought that the 5th Army should stop advancing and wait for the other units, or there would be a risk of being surrounded by the German Army.

General Gallieni, while looking at the map, made a sound of acknowledgment, lightly took the telegram, crumpled it into a ball, threw it on the ground, and asked: "What do you think?"

"What?" Shire didn’t understand Gallieni’s meaning.

"Do you think Major General Monuri is right?" Gallieni’s eyes were fixed on the map, his tone calm, "Should we stop the 5th Army?"

Shire uttered a sound, stunned, looking at Gallieni.

This old guy shouldn’t be asking about the left and right flanks of the 5th Army, whether the logistics are keeping up, and where the reinforcements are...

Gallieni then pointed to the map and began explaining:

"The left flank of the 5th Army is the 3rd Army, and the right flank is the 8th Army."

"Although these two armies are not advancing as quickly as the 5th Army, they are also making steady progress."

"Last night, the 5th Army received a batch of reinforcements, so there shouldn’t be a problem with their numbers."

"Additionally, a few days ago, they captured a German warehouse, giving them a lot of food supplies!"

...

Shire was confused by these words, old man, are you stealing my lines?

Seeing that Shire didn’t answer, Gallieni looked up at him and asked, "What’s wrong? Is your staff officer identity hindering your abilities, or is your lieutenant rank limiting your imagination? This doesn’t seem like you!"

"General!" Shire answered, "What you are asking seems to be something you should consider yourself!"

"That’s right, Shire!" Gallieni looked at Shire with deep meaning, "But a staff officer is my assistant, and also a part of my brain. So, I’m thinking!"

At first, Shire didn’t understand, but after a while, he finally got it:

If Shire, the staff officer, was part of Gallieni’s brain, then Shire thinking was equivalent to Gallieni thinking, and if Shire solved the problem, it meant Gallieni solved the problem.

Could it be explained like this?

Seeing that Shire was still hesitating, Gallieni tilted his head: "It seems you are not suited for thinking, Shire! If that’s the case, I’ll have to let you practice your military posture, which may suit you better, and you seem to like it!"

He looked up, making a gesture to call Fernan.

"No, General!" Shire quickly stopped him.

He had long been tired of reacting like a robot to orders, and it was torture for him.

The reason he pretended to like it was to avoid giving this old man a chance to exploit his weakness, but it seemed to have no effect at all!

Noticing the difficulty on Shire’s face, Gallieni’s mouth showed a conspiratorial smile. He nodded toward the map on the table and said: "Then let me see if you’re suitable for thinking!"

With a look of despair, Shire leaned in, looked at the map and considered for a while, and said, "I think we shouldn’t let the 5th Army stop, but rather let it speed up!"

"Why?" Gallieni was a bit puzzled.

He had thought of maintaining the speed of the 5th Army but hadn’t considered increasing it. This youngster surprised him once again.

"Do you remember the ’special operations’ I mentioned before?" Shire asked in return.

Gallieni’s eyes instantly lit up, this new term had been bothering him for days!

Seeing Gallieni’s excited expression, Shire suddenly thought, could all this have been Gallieni’s plan?

The stance, this special job, and the rest room... Could it all be a coincidence?