Chapter 449 Public Opinion Offensive

The Belgians were united in a state of war. Some of them even went to Paris to hand out leaflets on the streets:

"Look, we can't let the real heroes go unnoticed."

"It was Charles who defeated the Germans and saved Belgium. Only he could accept the German surrender on behalf of the Allies."

"Charles also saved France, as well as many soldiers. We will not succumb to power and manipulation, we seek the truth!"

…

The Belgians are very smart, or rather, this is Albert I's method, which he learned from the British.

Balfour's statement hoped to stand on the moral high ground and use the front-line soldiers to support Joffre, but Belgium's propaganda made it easy for people to think that there might be insider trading between Belfort and Joffre.

What the truth is is not important; what matters is how people think about it.

The British were masters at this, for example, they used newspapers to spread rumors that the German army was cannibalistic or that they laid mines against civilian ships.

(Note: Britain did promote this during World War I. The former is an unconfirmed folk rumor. The latter, most of those mines were British. They used a large number of mines to blockade the German Navy. Inevitably, some of the mines were broken by the waves and drifted randomly in the sea. They occasionally sank civilian ships. But the mines were blown into pieces. No one could deny that they were laid by the Germans, and no one would look for evidence.)

Unexpectedly, a boomerang would now hit the British themselves.

The French felt guilty facing the Belgians who spoke up for Charles: Charles was a Frenchman, yet he needed the Belgians to speak up for him, and the truth was so clear and obvious.

Therefore, the French military and civilians quickly organized a demonstration, and the soldiers strongly opposed using them to morally blackmail Charles:

"We support Charles in accepting the surrender on behalf of the Allies."

"Whoever defeats the Germans should accept their surrender!"

"Don't try to put us against Ciel, we are his staunch supporters!"

…

Public opinion continued to ferment, and public anger was out of control.

If Xiafei was smart, he should let go at this time.

As long as he expressed his support for Charles' surrender, his prestige would not be affected because he was not the one who proposed it. He might even gain a reputation as being "magnanimous" and "reasonable".

However, Joffre was never willing to give up the possible fame and fortune.

He still tried to struggle to see if he could change his reputation.

Thus, he emphasized in his newspapers the victory of the 1st Special Artillery Regiment at Cambrai:

"It is well known that the 1st Special Artillery Division had great success at Cambrai."

"I think that victory was decisive. In that battle, we defeated the main German armored forces, which laid the foundation for the victory of the Second Battle of Cambrai."

"Of course, I will not argue on the issue of surrender, because the success of the Shire is equally important."

"But we cannot quantify success and compare who is more important. I respect the public's choice, even though many people don't know much about the military."

…

This is a very successful rhetoric.

Joffre made good use of the role played by the 1st Special Artillery Division and made people question themselves: "Do we think Charles is more successful because he doesn't understand military affairs?"

At this time, Xiafei did not realize that although the statement he made seemed clever, it actually cut off his own retreat.

Just when people were half-believing and half-doubting, a piece of news suddenly broke out: "In the First Battle of Cambrai, the reason why the 1st Special Artillery Division was able to win the night battle was not because of Joffre's command, but because of Charles' idea."

A wounded and retired special artillery division staff officer told the media:

"I can prove it."

"The 1st Special Artillery Division was in trouble, and our tanks were no match for the Germans' Upper Silesia."

"Major General Christian was helpless, but the Commander-in-Chief (Joffre) still ordered us to attack. We were almost in a desperate situation."

"Major General Christian had no choice but to call Charles for help."

"Charles' call back contained only two words: 'Night Battle', so we won!"

…

Public opinion was once again boiling over.

The focus of people's debate immediately turned to Xiafei, and they all sighed:

"It turns out that Joffre is the one who doesn't understand military affairs."

"It turns out that all the credit belongs to Charles, including the First Battle of Cambrai."

"Shameless Xiafei, he was saved by Charles, but he tried to use this to defeat Charles!"

…

Joffre could be said to be innocent in this regard. He did not know that the 1st Special Artillery Division was able to win that battle because of Charles' help. Christine did not tell him this.

He angrily called Christine to his front, and after getting a positive answer, he scolded Christine.

Christine was timid in front of Xiafei, but there was a barely perceptible smile in her eyes.

The staff officer who spoke in front of the media did so at his instruction.

"General, now we..." Kanais asked Xiafei for his opinion with an embarrassed look on his face.

Xiafei frowned and remained silent. He didn't know what to do. He was in a dilemma.

Admitting a mistake is a heavy blow to one's prestige.

They refused to admit their mistakes. The ironclad facts were right before their eyes, and they had witnesses.

The point is that prestige was very important to Joffre. The reason why Parliament allowed him to continue to stay in the position of commander-in-chief was not because Joffre had extraordinary command ability, but because he was portrayed as a hero to rally the military and people of France.

If even this is of no use, then his career as commander-in-chief would be over.

so……

Xia Fei gritted his teeth and turned his gaze to Christine: "Is there any battlefield record of this incident?"

"Of course not, General," Christine replied. "If there was a record, it would have been known to the world long ago."

Joffre said with a "hmm" and expressionless face: "Then it is just a rumor. You never received Charles' telegram, understand?"

"General." Christine said awkwardly, "But Major Ede..."

"You don't need to care." Xiafei interrupted Christine.

Christine answered with difficulty: "I understand."

This guy might want to bribe Major Erde to change his words. This bastard, I have been under his command for so many years!

Xiafei's persistence in fame and fortune is unimaginable to others. He will never give up until the last moment, even if it means using any means necessary.

But at this moment, the signalman hurried to Joffre and said, "General, Lieutenant General Baird of the German Army has issued a statement through the Belgian newspaper The Patriot that they will only surrender to Charles!"

Xiafei looked up at the signalman in shock, and the fat on his face twitched uncontrollably.

(End of this chapter)