Chapter 149 Did you do this on purpose?

The rain was falling quietly, sometimes heavy, sometimes light. It would stop for a while occasionally, but soon it would start to fall again, as if it would never stop.

As the two-week deadline drew closer, the railway was completed ahead of schedule and officially opened to traffic.

In order to prevent the Germans from knowing when the tanks were shipped out of the Charles Tractor Factory, the train regularly entered the Charles Tractor Factory at five o'clock every night and left the factory and returned to Paris at five o'clock the next morning.

They were not all empty. Gallieni announced that the military had signed a long-term tractor and motorcycle purchase agreement with the Charles Tractor Factory, and that the railway was built to facilitate their timely delivery to the battlefield.

There was at least some truth in this statement; the demand for military tractors was completely monopolized by the Shire Tractor Works.

Although Francis had a factory and production line that could produce 500 tractors per month, he did not dare to enter this market to compete with Shire.

However, the real purpose of the train transportation was to prepare for the Battle of La Faux.

One day in the future, Charles will transport tanks and troops instead of tractors and motorcycles, and no one will be able to detect it, so the Germans will not be able to determine the time of Charles' attack.

During this week or so, Charles was relatively free. He was responsible for training the troops in preparation for the attack on La Fox, so he did not need to report to the headquarters.

That day, when Charles and Estiny were further discussing the coordination between sidecars and tanks, Laurent stepped forward and reported: "Lieutenant, the general asked you to go to the headquarters!"

Charles was a little surprised. Gallieni had completely handed over the training to Charles and did not ask any questions. Why did he suddenly want to rush to the headquarters by himself?

Charles told Estinnie something and got into the car with Laurent in confusion.

On the way to the headquarters, Charles suddenly guessed why Gallieni was looking for him. A smile appeared on his face, and he thought to himself that he would be scolded again this time.

…

Sure enough, when Charles walked into the headquarters, Gallieni took him directly into the lounge.

Gallieni took a newspaper from the table, turned around and handed it to Charles, and said in a low voice: "Don't you want to explain it?"

Charles took the newspaper and read it. The headline on the front page read:

"Charles believes that speed and mobility are important indicators of a tank, only in this way can it avoid enemy fire."

Gallieni stared at Charles, his eyes burning with anger, and asked: "Did you say that?"

"I'm sorry, General..." Charles replied, "I let it slip!"

This happened yesterday evening. Charles left work early, without waiting for the troops to finish their training. The training was taken care of by Estiny and Brownie, so he had nothing to worry about.

As soon as I went out, reporters swarmed around me, shouting one after another:

"Lieutenant, General Joffre launched his third attack yesterday, but was still frustrated. What do you think about this?"

"As the inventor of the tank, do you think this kind of attack is necessary?"

“Do you think there is anything that needs to be improved in their tactics?”

…

Charles usually doesn't answer any questions because they are confidential. If he speaks even a single word, the enemy may guess something.

Colonel Laurent cooperated and came up with his guards to block the reporters away so that Dejoka's car could pass.

A reporter approached the car before it started and asked loudly: "Lieutenant, many people think your tanks are vulnerable. Is this true? Your refusal to participate in the bidding and your delay in sending tanks to the battlefield mean that you have tacitly acknowledged this?"

Charles couldn't help himself, he turned around and replied: "Which tank is vulnerable? Hasn't it been proven on the battlefield?"

"But they think your tanks are no different!" The reporter found that the provocation method was effective, so he continued to lure Charles to talk in this way: "Many people think that your tanks are even worse than theirs, because it is obvious that your tanks only have machine guns and no artillery, and there are far fewer machine guns!"

Charles replied with disdain: "Artillery and machine guns are not important. This is precisely the biggest mistake they made. Tanks must have speed and the ability to cross trenches. First, they must be able to get close to the trenches and drive in front of the enemy. Only in this way can the weapons be effective. Otherwise, they are doomed to be 'vulnerable'!"

The reporters were in an uproar. Many of them had been writing military articles for many years and had some understanding of military affairs. They knew that if Charles' theory was followed, the CA-1 tank and the "Saint-Chamond" tank were undoubtedly going in the wrong direction.

Then they thought about it and realized that it made sense: if tanks couldn't even get to the enemy, then what was the point of artillery and machine guns? They were just decorations!

Instantly, the reporters raised their cameras and took a lot of photos of Charles as if they had caught the topic, and then they crowded in to ask:

"Do you think, then, that General Joffre's offensive should not be continued?"

"Does your tank have the performance to defeat the enemy?"

"Do you have confidence in your tanks? If you were in charge of this battle..."

Charles seemed to realize that he had let the cat out of the bag, and regretfully urged Djoka to drive away as if escaping.

Gallieni could not contain his anger. He pointed at the report in the newspaper and said sarcastically:

"Now, your correct development ideas have been exposed to everyone, Lieutenant!"

"Congratulations, many people believe that you are right. You have once again become the hero of France, the only one who is right!"

"The military and civilians now think that you should fight this battle. They say that others are fools who don't understand tanks!"

"but……"

Gallieni's face darkened. "Have you ever considered that the Germans will also know what you said?"

"Yes, of course!" Charles replied with a smile and a calm tone.

"But you..." Gallieni was stunned. He realized something was wrong. After thinking for a while, he suddenly laughed: "Did you do this on purpose?"

Charles nodded slightly: "Yes, General. There are too many spies in my factory. I can't eliminate them in a short time. This is the only way!"

Gallieni had a strange expression on his face. He was silent for a while, then nodded and said with emotion: "You lied to me, little guy! But... I forgive you!"

Charles was stunned. Isn't it time for me to consider whether to forgive you?

Then, without Charles being able to prepare himself, Gallieni suddenly roared:

"You actually told everyone such important information, including our enemies!"

"This is simply espionage!"

"Do you know what this means?"

"We will pay a heavy price for this, not only tanks, but also the lives of French soldiers!"

…

(End of this chapter)