Chapter 852 This is the choice of the battlefield

Shire's intentions were finally confirmed by opposition MPs, including James of Schneider.

But James said nothing.

He knew that voicing opposition at this time would be tantamount to confronting the entire country and would be labeled a traitor and a spy, even though he was opposing Charles rather than France.

But others were not so smart.

Meral of the banking consortium stood up to object. He pointed out from another angle: "The British will not agree. They have been trying to command the French army. How can they accept the command of the French army in turn? So I think this plan is unrealistic!"

But his objection was immediately drowned out by the voices of others:

"They cannot disagree with this. The French commander-in-chief is also the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces. In principle, we have the right to command the British army."

"This is what the British colonial army wants. They want to quell the mutiny and restore the army's combat effectiveness. The best way is to accept our command."

"Look at what the British Expeditionary Force did. They failed, retreated, and collapsed. They exposed the weak points of our defense line to the enemy. How could such a force still want to command us?"

…

There was a burst of laughter in the meeting room, and someone shouted disdainfully: "Surrender to the Germans under their command?"

The MPs burst into laughter again.

Mahel of the Marseille Colonial Consortium stood up and said, "But if we can win by maintaining the status quo, why do we need unified command? What I mean is that unified command requires a process and may waste precious time. The Germans may consolidate their defenses within a few days and make us miss this offensive opportunity..."

His statement was immediately suppressed by a chorus of curses:

"It won't take much time to unify the command. If necessary, we only need to unify the command of the Eastern Army Group."

"Yes, we can just kick the stupid British aside and let them go back home."

"Army Group East is our own army, it is decided by us!"

…

It is a fact that although the Eastern Army Group was commanded by Gamelin, Gamelin was a member of the opposition parliament.

And the opposition had to agree unless they could give a legitimate reason.

Otherwise, they will be accused of treason:

"You don't want us to win, to recover Lorraine and Alsace!"

"You are spies, you bastards, you must have been bribed by the Germans so you want to let them go."

"This is our chance to drive the enemy out of the country once and for all. To oppose it is to oppose France and all citizens!"

…

The opposition looked at each other.

Although he knew that Charles was tying his own interests to "recovering Lorraine and Alsace", he was still helpless.

James looked ashen.

Charles's method is too clever.

James believed that Charles could recapture Lorraine and Alsace on his own, but he did not do so.

He has been waiting for this opportunity.

Now, the opposition could only watch helplessly as the last of their troops were taken away by Charles.

But what else can we do?

After thinking for a while, James stood up and said loudly in a rhythmic voice: "I agree to put these troops under unified command. This is a requirement of the battlefield. But of course, I think the commander-in-chief Foch should be in charge of these troops."

The opposition was surprised when they first heard James agree to "unified command", but they understood when he mentioned Foch.

James was "retreating to advance": since he could not prevent "unified command", he would push Foch up to become Charles's competitor.

Thinking of this, the opposition expressed their support.

Gallieni smiled slightly. Do they think they can stump Charles like this?

Clemenceau shrugged his shoulders. This was the only possible thing for the opposition. It was probably their last struggle.

Steed sighed softly, victory came too easily, the opposition was no match at all.

Wells shook his head. In front of Charles' absolute strength, all the conspiracies and tricks were nothing but clumsy tricks of a clown.

…

"I have no problem." Charles said calmly, "In fact, I think so too. We should hand over the troops to Commander-in-Chief Foch."

Then he spread his hands to the members of parliament:

"It is decided, then, gentlemen."

"The military situation is urgent. We cannot delay any longer. Every minute and every second of delay will add unpredictable variables to the battle situation."

"We need to organize Army Group East and the British Expeditionary Force as soon as possible, otherwise it will be too late."

Gallieni couldn't bear to watch any longer. He stood up from the observation seat and supported himself on the guardrail with both hands:

"Gentlemen, I have no intention of influencing your thoughts and choices. But as Secretary of the Army, I feel it is my duty to remind you."

“It is hoped that it will not only be the British colonial army but also the Eastern Army Group that will fight under the command of Lieutenant General Charles.”

"You know Foch's tactics. If he were in charge, it would simply be to order the soldiers to attack the enemy's defenses, regardless of casualties or costs."

"Not only will this not unite the troops, it will not restore their combat effectiveness, let alone enable them to attack."

"They might even mutiny like the colonial army!"

“So you are wasting our time and making us miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

After saying this, Gallieni glared at Charles.

This guy knew all this, but he pretended to say "I agree" and "I support Foch."

He was confident that Gallieni would not let the parliamentarians act recklessly and would not let France miss this opportunity, so he was fearless.

Ciel smiled back, as if to say, "It's been a pleasure working with you, General."

Gallieni was so angry that he rolled his eyes.

After hearing what Gallieni said, the parliamentarians, including the opposition, understood that Charles had to be the commander.

This is the battlefield, this is reality, and this is the choice of the soldiers, and it cannot be influenced by others.

"That's right, I agree with what the Minister said." James stood up again: "But I think this is an expedient measure to recover the country. Once the battle is won, should we return to the status quo ante?"

Opposition lawmakers expressed their support.

Gallieni thought for a moment and said, "I have no problem."

What he wanted was for France to recover its territory, to recover Lorraine and Alsace.

Gallieni then turned his eyes towards Charles.

Charles nodded generously: "I have no problem with that either. After the war, the command should be returned to General Gamolin."

Opposition lawmakers breathed a sigh of relief.

They didn't notice that Charles had a barely perceptible smile on his face as he sat on the podium.

Of course the command had to be returned, but by then, Gan Molin's power would have been hollowed out.

Are you ready, Gan? Remember what you did in the 6th Army?

This time I'm going to use it on you!

(End of this chapter)