Chapter 448: Newspaper Office on Motorcycle

When Albert I found Charles, he was signing documents as if nothing had happened.

Albert I stepped forward and asked cautiously: "Commodore, have you heard? They are going to ask Joffre to surrender."

"Yes, I heard that." Charles nodded calmly.

"You, what do you think?" Albert I asked again.

Without waiting for Charles to answer, Albert I shouted indignantly: "This is too much. Everyone knows that this is your achievement. We cannot tolerate this. In addition, they did not even consider Belgium. Aren't we the ones who really have a say?"

There is nothing wrong with what Albert I said.

Although the war was fought by the British and French forces, the battlefield was in Belgium. From the perspective of respecting national territorial sovereignty, Albert I's opinion had to be sought in any case.

Albert I then assured Charles: "Don't worry, Brigadier General. I will go to Paris right away to explain Belgium's position to them."

"It won't work, Your Majesty." Charles continued to sign the documents. "They are not afraid of you."

Albert I nodded dejectedly. It had been verified before that he had basically no say at this moment.

"It's nothing, Your Majesty." Charles stopped writing and looked up at Albert I and Colonel Eden, his tone relaxed: "I'm just worried that Joffre might transfer my troops out because of this. You know, they are unlikely to leave here after accepting the surrender, or let us continue to guard this land, which will give others a handle."

Albert I's heart skipped a beat.

He had been worried that Charles would get upset, but now it seemed that the problem was not with him, but with Joffre.

After thinking about it, Albert I felt that Charles was right. If Joffre accepted the surrender, he should lead the troops to occupy the encircled area and disarm the encircled German troops.

Well, we can't just snatch the fruits of Charles' victory and let Charles' troops stay and protect the Antwerp front line, right?

You sell someone out and ask them to count the money for you?

The media's saliva and people's anger will drown Xiafei!

Albert I looked at Colonel Eden.

Colonel Eden nodded slightly, a hint of fear in his eyes.

Colonel Eden had not thought of this either. It seemed that the matter was much more serious than they had imagined. This was not something that could be solved by doing some ideological work on Charles or by exchanging benefits.

"But please don't worry." Charles had a confident smile on his face. "Belgium will be fine. One day, Joffre's troops can't hold on anymore, and they will still transfer me and my troops back, just like the Dardanelles. They always want to transfer me back now."

It would have been fine if we didn't mention the Dardanelles, but as soon as Albert I mentioned it, he swallowed hard.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the situation in the Dardanelles was hopeless, but Charles now insisted on not going back.

Will Charles also refuse to return to Belgium one day because of the war elsewhere?

Charles seemed to see through Albert I's thoughts:

"No no, I'll be back, I promise."

"You and your people are my friends, and I will never forget that."

"In this battle, I saw the power of Belgian citizens coming together. Without your support, we would not have achieved this victory."

"To be honest, I think the guerrillas and the Belgian people should be part of the surrender, but unfortunately they don't think so."

Albert I was so moved that he nodded repeatedly.

…

After coming out of Charles's headquarters, Colonel Eden remained silent.

He knew the current situation in Belgium. Although the guerrilla force was very large, its total strength had reached more than 200,000.

But they were all militia, and quite a number of them came for Charles.

This is Ciel's cohesion. They are Ciel's fans. They believe in Ciel's leadership and believe that they can achieve victory under Ciel's command.

Once Joffre is replaced, the guerrillas are likely to collapse, and the current good situation will instantly disappear or even worsen.

"We can't let this happen," said Colonel Eden. "Never!"

"I know what to do," replied Albert I.

"What?" Colonel Eden looked at Albert I in confusion.

"We can mobilize everyone against Joffre," Albert I replied, "and the newspapers, and the Belgians in France and England, who will distribute leaflets or make speeches or write in their newspapers."

Albert I had just thought of this.

In the carriage he repeated over and over what Charles had said:

"It's not you they're afraid of."

So what are they afraid of?

It is public opinion, it is people’s opposition, it is the media’s criticism!

And what Charles said was very right. The Belgian people also made a great contribution to the victory of this battle. If Joffre were to take away the fruits of victory, it would be a huge blow to the morale of the Belgian people!

Therefore, all Belgians should be mobilized to resist this unreasonable practice.

Colonel Eden thought for a while and nodded: "This sounds like a good idea, Your Majesty, we should do this, not only to fight for the rights of Charles, but also to help ourselves!"

…

The Belgians were quickly organized.

The next day, the Belgian newspaper Le Patriot published an article on its front page with the headline "We defeated our enemies, but are about to be defeated by our allies."

The article wrote in sharp words:

"The coalition forces did make sacrifices, but war is never about who makes the most sacrifices, the greater the merit. It's about who defeats the enemy so that the army and the people don't have to make any more sacrifices."

"From this perspective, Charles was the savior of the Allied forces, the savior of France and Belgium, and the savior of the people, but some people think that his contributions are not enough to accept the surrender of the Germans."

"The people they think should accept surrender are the ones the Shire saved from the pain of war!"

"Did Ciel rescue them, or did they rescue Ciel?"

“What is even more puzzling is, what does the sacrifice and dedication of the soldiers on the front line have to do with Joffre?”

"Is it a merit to simply let soldiers charge on the battlefield and cause them to suffer huge casualties?"

…

The Patriot was founded in 1884 and is published in Brussels.

After the outbreak of World War I and most of Belgium was occupied, it did not choose to withdraw from Belgium, but instead turned into an underground newspaper and continued to call on people to rise up and fight against the German occupying forces.

In order to deal with the German searches and crackdowns, they moved around on motorcycles, so they were called "newspapers on motorcycles."

At this time, it was absolutely an authority in Belgium, and the article immediately caused a strong response once it was published.

With the guidance of Albert I and Colonel Eden, a wave soon swept across the entire European continent.

(End of this chapter)