Chapter 692 He is our role model

Paris, France.

Citizens received information a little later, and the war that occurred in the morning did not spread until the afternoon.

To be exact, it was not spread in the afternoon, but the news was spread sporadically after the parliament ended at noon.

However, when it was first spread, citizens generally did not believe it. They thought it was a rumor because it was hard to believe:

"Charles's troops were in Belgium. How could they suddenly arrive in Mezières?"

"I heard that they not only reached Mezieres, but also successfully occupied it. It's a fortress city, which is surrounded by the Meuse River and backed by the Ardennes Mountains!"

"Is this fake news from the government? To stabilize the emotions of the citizens."

…

It’s no wonder citizens think this way, as governments often exaggerate their victories and keep their failures secret.

The government believes this can reassure citizens that hard work is worthwhile, rather than losing confidence and striking.

Of course, there are many different voices mixed in:

"Charles is only thinking about his own interests in Belgium. How can he attack Mezieres if he doesn't even send reinforcements to Dunkirk?"

"To attack Mezières, we should break through the German defense line from the direction of Mons, right?"

"Yes, it's a joke that he suddenly appeared in Mezières. It's impossible. It's a deliberately fabricated lie!"

…

Most of these people were bought by capitalists, mainly Schneider, who believed that the best and cheapest way to defeat Shire was to create negative public opinion.

And now is a perfect opportunity: as long as Charles does not reinforce Dunkirk, he can say that he did it "for his own selfish reasons."

Even though Charles reinforced Dunkirk and even won the battle in the end, it can be said that it was a choice made by Charles out of helplessness. He was not doing it for the country but to achieve dictatorship.

Once this consensus is formed among the citizens, even a lie can easily bring down Charles.

It was not until after two o'clock in the afternoon that Le Merit published a supplement, which included a photo of French tanks entering Mézières.

The newspaper made a few casual comments, using official language without any emotional color, as if it was talking about a trivial matter:

"At 9:10, Charles's First Panzer Corps successfully crossed the Ardennes Mountains and arrived in Mezieres."

"At 10:05, the First Armored Army successfully entered the city of Mezieres. With the help of the citizens of the city, they successfully gained control!"

"At 10:30, the German First Tank Division besieging Dunkirk began to retreat. The danger of Dunkirk has been resolved!"

…

This is Kobdo's method. He believes that the more low-key the statement is at this time, the more sensation it will cause.

Because, "No fancy words can describe the greatness of this victory."!

As soon as the newspaper came out, those who secretly created negative public opinion were instantly silenced.

They had considered various scenarios, even thinking of Charles attacking the fortress of Liege, but they had never considered that Charles's troops would appear in Mézières and decide the outcome of the battle.

What else can I say now?

That Charles refused to reinforce Dunkirk for his own selfish interests?

His attack on Mézières had already relieved the siege of Dunkirk, and there was certainly no need for reinforcements.

That Charles wanted to achieve his own dictatorship?

The battle of Mézières was obviously planned in advance: first capture Charleroi, then build roads and bridges in the Ardennes Mountains, and finally defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.

In other words, Charles had been preparing for the British army's collapse from the very beginning, rather than ignoring his allies for his own interests and power.

What is even more shocking to the rumormongers and their capitalists behind the scenes is that...

They thought that this time Charles would eventually be forced to reinforce Dunkirk and lose Belgium's interests.

Because to save Dunkirk, all troops must be brought, and this will cause Belgium to be occupied by Germany again.

However, Ciel easily resolved the dilemma:

The 6th Army remained in Namur to shock the Germans and deter them from attacking Belgium.

The 1st Panzer Army penetrated from the Ardennes Mountains to Mezieres to relieve the siege of Dunkirk.

The best of both worlds.

In fact, it’s not just the best of both worlds.

Through this battle, Charles broke all the negative public opinions woven around him and further consolidated his prestige in society.

Paris was once again crazy about Charles' victory. The moment the newspaper published the news, those who got the newspaper ran around telling others like crazy.

As the Meritorious Newspaper was sold out, citizens were excited:

Some doing housework at home, some walking on the street, some even working in the factory... everyone poured into the streets and cheered.

Many people jumped and shouted:

"Mézières, we have recaptured Mézières."

"Charles is our hero forever!"

"Charles is the savior of France, he is the savior of all of us!"

…

Compared to the excitement of Paris, the small town of Darvoise seems quite deserted.

The news was spread by Fabio, a newspaper deliveryman. His means of transportation was originally a horse-drawn carriage. His daily job was to travel between Paris and Darvaise to bring the day's newspaper to the town.

Perhaps because the town of Darvaz is Charles' hometown, the government provided Fabio with a car and a novice driver, Fidel.

That day, Fabio drove his car into Darvaz, honking the horn and shouting frantically: "Charles has won, Charles has recaptured Mezieres, Charles has saved France once again..."

However, the reaction of the neighbors in the small town of Darvaz was mediocre. They just looked in Fabio's direction, smiled and said to the people next to them: "Oh, Charles wins again."

The person next to him responded: "Yeah, he always wins, that's great!"

And then nothing happened. They continued with their work, planning to buy a newspaper and read it in detail when they had some free time.

They had no idea of ​​Mézières, what the battle meant, or how difficult it would be for armored forces to move through the Ardennes Mountains.

As for Charles' victory, they were already accustomed to it.

As the car passed Dejoka's hut, Fabio shouted: "Stop, stop, you idiot, this is Ciel's house!"

The car made a screeching noise as Fidel stepped on the brakes.

Fabio jumped out of the car before it stopped, waving the newspaper in his hand and running towards Camille who was coming out to greet him, shouting excitedly, "Madame Bernard, would you like a copy? Charles has won again, a great victory!"

"Okay, of course." Camille took the newspaper and handed over the money with a happy and proud smile on his face.

Fabio didn’t take the money: “No, Mrs. Bernard, this is for you!”

Camille insisted on giving him the money, but Fabio ran away quickly. He jumped into the car and took off his cap when the car started again: "Salute to you, Mrs. Bernard, you have an excellent son, he is our role model!"

(End of this chapter)