Chapter 257: Professional Killer
The person sent by Britain to negotiate with Charles was General Winter. The British side may have thought that General Winter and Charles were old acquaintances, and bargaining would be easier.
Charles guessed that the term "killing the familiar" must not have been known in Britain at that time.
General Winter was so confident about this that he went straight to Charles' office.
He thought that inviting Charles to a hotel for a formal talk was a waste of time and would not reflect the familiarity between the two.
Gallieni was very enthusiastic about General Winter's arrival. He specially cleared out the headquarters' meeting room for the two to negotiate, and even arranged fruits and coffee. He also asked guards to stand guard at the door to prevent anyone from disturbing them.
This was a seldom-used meeting room. Gallieni did not pay much attention to formalities, and most of his meetings were just held by calling people to the Operations Department and briefly discussing the matter.
It is about 30 square meters, with a long European square table in the middle, and chairs neatly arranged around it like guards. A palm-sized French tricolor flag is also inserted diagonally in the center of the square table.
"There is something I must tell you." General Winter sat down opposite Charles, with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Although I tried my best, the Minister of the Navy always insisted that only warships could be used to force the Ottoman Empire to surrender."
Then General Winter added: "Unfortunately, I couldn't convince him."
This was within Charles' expectations; the Navy Minister was well-known for his stubbornness and his willingness to do anything to achieve his goals. It would be strange if General Winter could convince him.
"Perhaps you shouldn't try to convince him," Ciel replied.
"Why?" General Winter looked at Charles in confusion.
According to Charles's previous statement, shouldn't a well-prepared landing operation be launched against the Ottoman Empire from the beginning? Why shouldn't he be persuaded now?
If the Navy Minister's plan to use only warships fails, wouldn't that alert the Germans and the Ottoman Empire and allow them to prepare?
Charles leisurely bit the apple with his knife and fork, and explained slowly: "We can consider this as part of the plan. You can let people spread some news that Britain never thought that the navy alone could make the Ottoman Empire surrender. This is extremely ridiculous."
General Winter was stunned for a moment, his mind was a little confused. If it was "extremely absurd", why did he do this?
It soon dawned on him: "The Germans and the Ottoman Empire will think this is part of a deception plan. They will allow the Admiral to do this 'absurd act' and keep their attention on the north where we 're really' going to land!"
Charles said "hmm" and nodded slightly.
The virtual is made real, and the real is made virtual. There is virtuality in the real and realness in the virtual. Even if you do it clearly for the enemy to see, it is difficult for the enemy to guess what your real intention is.
This was just a little trick for Charles, but it was a big deal in the eyes of General Winter.
General Winter has tried every possible method during this period, whether it was arguing or finding lobbyists, he even went so far as to slam the table with the Navy Minister with a red face, all in order to make the Navy Minister pay attention to his opponent and make good use of the opportunities created by Charles.
But the Minister of the Navy refused to budge. He kept saying "pay attention to the enemy" but always believed that landing troops was "unnecessary" and a "stupid act of wasting manpower and financial resources."
In his opinion, sending dozens of warships to deal with the Ottoman Empire was already a sign of respect and even giving enough face to the enemy, and there was no possibility of failure.
But now, with just a few simple words, Charles turned the Navy Minister's stubbornness into "part of the plan."
At that time, General Winter only needs to make some movement in the north, such as the assembly of warships and troops, or planned minesweeping, and the Germans and Ottomans will regard the attack of the Minister of the Navy in the south as a "feint."
"You are excellent, Colonel!" General Winter's eyes were full of envy and even a hint of jealousy: "You are a natural strategist, and everything seems to be in your calculations!"
Charles replied without comment: "You are too kind, General."
I said this, but in my heart I was thinking that this "calculation" should also include you, General!
Then it was Winter's turn to be plotted against.
Winter seemed to have been frozen when he came by train. He held a cup of hot coffee to keep warm, dragged his chair towards the stove, and changed the topic to the right track:
"You know what I mean, Colonel."
"I am here on behalf of the military to discuss the authorized production of bombers. We have already discussed this with your country and obtained their consent."
"I think we should have a better price than Russia, after all, we don't have the pressure of transportation."
Charles smiled softly and asked, "Why do you think I would authorize the bomber to Britain?"
General Winter was stunned: "Why not?"
Charles answered directly: "The reason is simple. We can be assured that Russia cannot drop bombs on us if we sell bombers to it. But this is not the case with Britain."
General Winter's eyes flashed with a strange look, and then he laughed: "You are so humorous, Colonel, you seem to have forgotten that we are allies and we are fighting against a common enemy!"
Charles didn't say anything and just ate his apple.
He didn't touch the coffee. He found that he seemed to have drunk too much coffee recently and his sleep was always half asleep and half awake, with no quality.
General Winter finally chose to give up. He knew that no matter how gorgeous his words or how realistic his acting was, they were all pale and could not deceive Charles.
"Okay!" General Winter said helplessly, "Tell me your terms, Colonel. How can you sell the bomber to us?"
Charles still refused to give in. "If Britain owned this bomber today, would you sell it to France? You might use it to drop bombs on Paris, General!"
General Winter was silent.
The British did have considerations in this regard. They did not want France to drop bombs on London without scruples while the British did not have the same countermeasures.
Although France is an ally, this will still create strong psychological pressure on Britain and cause it to lose some of its international voice.
(Note: During World War I, Britain was still the world's most powerful country. It could not tolerate other countries challenging its hegemony, which might even drive it down from the world's number one position)
"So, unfortunately." Charles spread his hands towards General Winter. "For the benefit of France, I can't do this. I have to consider even selling this bomber to Britain. Those idiots in the government just don't see this. But it doesn't matter. I will convince them."
Charles' words actually told General Winter two pieces of information in a very obscure way:
1. Charles did this for the benefit of France, not for the benefit of Charles the capitalist.
Second, Charles has not yet convinced those fools in the government, and by the time he does, it will probably be too late.
So, what are you waiting for?
Make a high offer, old friend!
(End of this chapter)
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